Calories below BMR not losing weight

kelMee2
kelMee2 Posts: 203 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi
Really need some help to get me back on track. I changed my eating habits and started logging daily at the end of February at that point I was eating around 1300 calories which was to lose 1lb a week. Things were going great and I continued to lose, I dropped my calories to 1200 and still continued to lose until I started feeling tired to upped the calories to just over 1300 again. Everything has been going great until 3/4 weeks ago when all I’ve managed to lose in that time was 400g. I was still eating the same calories and weighing my food but nothing seems to be working. I’ve dropped down to 1200 calories again this week to see if it kick starts things. My BMR is 1400 though and I’m wondering if maybe my weight loss has stalled cause I’m not eating enough or if I should just stick with what mfp recommends. Can anyone advise me how to get over this to get me losing again, I still have over 20lbs to lose.
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Replies

  • kelMee2
    kelMee2 Posts: 203 Member
    I’m 5 foot 3 inches and 170lbs, when I’m cooking I list the weight of the ingredients used to make sure I get the right calorie count. I think a lot of it is water as my weight seems to go up and down by 2lbs at the moment when before the fluctuations were never more than 400g up and down.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    opening your diary might help?
  • kelMee2
    kelMee2 Posts: 203 Member
    Have made my diary public, it was set to friends.
  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
    edited August 2018
    If you eat fewer calories than you consume you'll lose weight.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25782294

    However if you're not drinking enough water you'll start to hold water weight more.

    The initial weight loss will have contained lots of water weight. Your weight loss will slow down however that's expected as the majority of water weight comes off easily.

    Just remember we're talking weight loss and not fat loss here so you'll likely see yourself becoming a similar shaped smaller version of yourself and as such the mirror won't give you the full picture until much later.

    Keep up the good work, maybe up your Cal's to around 1400-1500 though as yours are fairly low and I question if you're getting the nutrition you need.
  • kelMee2
    kelMee2 Posts: 203 Member
    I don’t use butter on bread, never have because I don’t like it, most of my food is oven baked or grilled so no need for oil and I tend not to use salad dressings. Everything I eat is logged even the teaspoon of chilli when I’m cooking gets logged. I drink roughly 2 litres per day I just don’t log my water.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    kelMee2 wrote: »
    I don’t use butter on bread, never have because I don’t like it, most of my food is oven baked or grilled so no need for oil and I tend not to use salad dressings. Everything I eat is logged even the teaspoon of chilli when I’m cooking gets logged. I drink roughly 2 litres per day I just don’t log my water.

    if your diary is accurate then you just need to be more patient. if you are eating in a deficit, then you will lose weight.
  • kelMee2
    kelMee2 Posts: 203 Member
    I just don’t understand why I’ve lost more than 30lbs eating the same way and suddenly for the last few weeks the scale won’t move, I don’t know if I should change the amount of calories I’m consuming or just stick to 1300 and hope the weight starts dropping again. I’ve changed my calories to 0.5lb a week to see if more calories help.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited August 2018
    kelMee2 wrote: »
    I just don’t understand why I’ve lost more than 30lbs eating the same way and suddenly for the last few weeks the scale won’t move, I don’t know if I should change the amount of calories I’m consuming or just stick to 1300 and hope the weight starts dropping again. I’ve changed my calories to 0.5lb a week to see if more calories help.

    you should expect your deficit to decrease as you lose weight. now you're 30lbs lighter you need less calories.
  • kelMee2
    kelMee2 Posts: 203 Member
    Thanks, I’ll change back to the 1300 and hopefully things will start moving again. I refuse to be defeated by the last 20lbs.
  • workinonit1956
    workinonit1956 Posts: 1,043 Member
    I think you just have to wait it out. Keep doing what you’re doing. I had a stall that lasted 3 weeks, the scale would not go below 140 and I knew I was in a deficit. I kept on, and finally lost and am continuing downward. It takes longer the lighter we get. You have to “out stubborn” it, so to speak. That’s where patience and faith in the process come in.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited August 2018
    kelMee2 wrote: »
    Thanks, I’ll change back to the 1300 and hopefully things will start moving again. I refuse to be defeated by the last 20lbs.
    You don't necessarily have to eat 1300 calories, you just have to be in a calorie deficit, but for real, and for a long time, and then you don't have to hope you lose weight, because weightloss is what happens when you're in a calorie deficit for long enough.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    You might also consider adding in a little exercise to give you a few extra calories. I'm not suggesting you go bananas with crazy amounts of cardio, but a brisk walk or maybe fun exercise class or time on the treadmill whatever you would enjoy doing and wouldn't feel like a chore.

    I get 200-300 extra calories a day without too much effort. I find it makes a dent in my deficit and allows me to eat the way I like to whereas eating at a deficit alone leaves me hungry and looking for snacks.

    Good luck!
  • Machafin
    Machafin Posts: 2,988 Member
    Try adding some exercise in, nothing too crazy, but doing some walking could help you out!
  • kelMee2
    kelMee2 Posts: 203 Member
    I’ve already started upping the exercise by using my exercise bike plus I don’t drive so I do walk most places. My phone only picks up some of my outdoor steps as I don’t have it on me when doing housework and sometimes I forget to pick it up if I’m rushing out the door.
  • kordell70
    kordell70 Posts: 49 Member
    The calorie in calorie out statement unfortunately has a couple moving targets, and two areas that most sites don't mention. (1)The BMR calculation is merely an estimate and is not 100% accurate. The problem with estimates is that while for many it is close, for others it is widely inaccurate (outlier). The old put in your height and weight in a box and the site will tell you a BMR can cause you issues. Beside monitoring your calories in (which you may be doing very well); you may also need to personally adjust your BMR estimate on your own. (2) Per governmental rules the calories listed on items is again only an estimate, and producers are allowed to be off up to 10% without fine. The reason for this is it is impossible to make a perfectly uniform product. You may see this when you bake muffins. While you may know the amount of calories going into the bowl when you mix up the batter. The chances that each muffin tin will have the exact same amount of batter is pretty much 0%. Even when you mix up the batter well some muffins will have more of the sugar, a little more of the butter, etc. SO if your entire batter is 1200 calories and you make 12 muffins the chance that each muffin or any muffin being exactly 100 calories is probably 0%. IF you share these muffins with your family you could be eating the 115 calorie muffin and your partners the 89 calorie or 92 calorie muffin. Unfortunately, like medicine weight loss is not an exact science so to speak.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    Weight loss isn't linear. It's very common for females to retain water for a couple weeks then lose.

    Just give it a couple weeks.

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