Frustrated with eating 1200 a day and not losing weight
Replies
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Putting the scale away and weighing far less often can be beneficial to some people too. It certainly helped me. In my first 3 months of weight loss I only weighed 2 times. It taught me that weight loss will happen whether I watch it or not and to stop looking to the scale results for motivation.
I do weigh myself daily now but I attribute that to time and education.
Some people never weigh and they prefer it. They measure themselves in other ways. How clothing their clothing fits seems to be popular.10 -
Dreamwa1ker wrote: »You gotta look at more than one week. I weigh daily and there are definitely weeks where if I picked two points a week apart it would look like I had gained weight. But my overall trend has still been down and near 1lb/week. You can see for yourself - this is from my fitbit app (my scale syncs to it, which then syncs to myfitnesspal) - I like that it shows a trendline as this is very helpful for seeing if I'm actually still tracking downward or not. But it does take more time to see trends - if I looked at this picture zoomed in on a 1 week timescale it would be hard to tell if I was losing at all.
I do like using a scale that automatically syncs to my phone without me having to type the number in (I use Renpho) - not just for convenience but because then I don't need to think about the daily weight as much.
This is so cool to look at! I guess I never thought of it like that. I was in the mindset of "eat less = weigh less" so when the number jumped up I was like WTF body. I did just download an app called Happy Scale as several people here recommended it! It graphs the data in a way that's very motivating instead of fixating on one sole number a week.
I posted an update in a comment earlier that just from yesterday at 131.6 I weighed in at 130.8 today despite not doing anything different from what I'd been doing the entire week prior.15 -
Putting the scale away and weighing far less often can be beneficial to some people too. It certainly helped me. In my first 3 months of weight loss I only weighed 2 times. It taught me that weight loss will happen whether I watch it or not and to stop looking to the scale results for motivation.
I do weigh myself daily now but I attribute that to time and education.
Some people never weigh and they prefer it. They measure themselves in other ways. How clothing their clothing fits seems to be popular.
I'm considering doing away with the scale. Mentally I want to be 105 lbs again, but after giving birth to two babies in the past 3 years, my entire body shape has just changed, and not solely from weight gain. I'm sure I could get back down to that weight again, but it would take a lot of mental energy to stay there and obsessing over being a certain weight is not something I want my kids to see me worry about or feel like they should worry about.9 -
Putting the scale away and weighing far less often can be beneficial to some people too. It certainly helped me. In my first 3 months of weight loss I only weighed 2 times. It taught me that weight loss will happen whether I watch it or not and to stop looking to the scale results for motivation.
I do weigh myself daily now but I attribute that to time and education.
Some people never weigh and they prefer it. They measure themselves in other ways. How clothing their clothing fits seems to be popular.
I'm considering doing away with the scale. Mentally I want to be 105 lbs again, but after giving birth to two babies in the past 3 years, my entire body shape has just changed, and not solely from weight gain. I'm sure I could get back down to that weight again, but it would take a lot of mental energy to stay there and obsessing over being a certain weight is not something I want my kids to see me worry about or feel like they should worry about.
I think it's very important to consider what your maintenance routine would look like. To maintain at 105, you would have a pretty low maintenance calorie allowance unless you earned more calories by working out. Depending on your stats, it may also require many, many months of meticulous logging to get to that weight.
Is 105 at the bottom of your optimal BMI range? If so, you may prefer to lose weight until you get into your optimal BMI range (if you aren't already there) and then start a recomp plan to build muscle and cut fat, rather than continuing to lose weight until you get to 105. Many people feel tempted to lose down to the very bottom of their optimal weight range, but recomp is generally more likely to give them the appearance they want.4 -
What scale do you use?? I’m in the same boat. I track on MFP and I have around the same amount of calories I need to eat to lose bc I don’t weigh “that much”. I’m glad you’ve gone down again! I fluctuate a lot and I guess I could be eating more than I think I am0
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I can't get past the fact that you had a baby on 1st January and its now only 3rd April and you're fretting about not losing weight quickly enough! Your body has just done the most miraculous thing - created and nurtured a new life for 9 whole months then given birth! And now you're restricting the fuel you give it and wondering why the weight isn't disappearing at a faster rate than 1.5lbs a week? WOW!
Please please please STOP being so hard on yourself and your body. Yes its normal to want to get back to your pre pregnancy figure but please give your body longer to recover from childbirth. It might not be what you want to hear but I think you're being too hard on yourself.18 -
I can't get past the fact that you had a baby on 1st January and its now only 3rd April and you're fretting about not losing weight quickly enough! Your body has just done the most miraculous thing - created and nurtured a new life for 9 whole months then given birth! And now you're restricting the fuel you give it and wondering why the weight isn't disappearing at a faster rate than 1.5lbs a week? WOW!
Please please please STOP being so hard on yourself and your body. Yes its normal to want to get back to your pre pregnancy figure but please give your body longer to recover from childbirth. It might not be what you want to hear but I think you're being too hard on yourself.
It's difficult because when I had my first baby 2 years ago the weight came off SO fast. This time it's not.
I started back at work this past Wednesday and NONE of my work clothes fit so I had to buy a few "transition" items to get me by for the time being. 1 pair of pants and 3 blouses. I guess part of my eagerness is to get back into my old clothes because having this limited of a wardrobe is very inconvenient- I get dressed at the last possible moment so that I don't get spit up, poo-splosion, or any other baby related byproduct on my only set of clean clothes.
It's just not in the budget to buy more items (I also wouldn't have the time to go out and shop for other good priced items that fit) and the items I did get were extremely well priced. I found a pair of slacks on clearance from Old Navy for $3.27 and the three blouses from a second hand store for a total of $12.6 -
What scale do you use?? I’m in the same boat. I track on MFP and I have around the same amount of calories I need to eat to lose bc I don’t weigh “that much”. I’m glad you’ve gone down again! I fluctuate a lot and I guess I could be eating more than I think I am
It's really difficult when you don't have "much to lose". The weight takes forever to go away and your calories have to be pretty low to even make a difference.
The scale we have is not fancy, it came from my husbands bachelor pad so it's probably about 10 years old and from Costco haha.1 -
Putting the scale away and weighing far less often can be beneficial to some people too. It certainly helped me. In my first 3 months of weight loss I only weighed 2 times. It taught me that weight loss will happen whether I watch it or not and to stop looking to the scale results for motivation.
I do weigh myself daily now but I attribute that to time and education.
Some people never weigh and they prefer it. They measure themselves in other ways. How clothing their clothing fits seems to be popular.
I'm considering doing away with the scale. Mentally I want to be 105 lbs again, but after giving birth to two babies in the past 3 years, my entire body shape has just changed, and not solely from weight gain. I'm sure I could get back down to that weight again, but it would take a lot of mental energy to stay there and obsessing over being a certain weight is not something I want my kids to see me worry about or feel like they should worry about.
I think it's very important to consider what your maintenance routine would look like. To maintain at 105, you would have a pretty low maintenance calorie allowance unless you earned more calories by working out. Depending on your stats, it may also require many, many months of meticulous logging to get to that weight.
Is 105 at the bottom of your optimal BMI range? If so, you may prefer to lose weight until you get into your optimal BMI range (if you aren't already there) and then start a recomp plan to build muscle and cut fat, rather than continuing to lose weight until you get to 105. Many people feel tempted to lose down to the very bottom of their optimal weight range, but recomp is generally more likely to give them the appearance they want.
Height: 5 feet, 2 inches
Weight: 130.4 pounds
Your BMI is 23.8, indicating your weight is in the Normal category for adults of your height. For your height, a normal weight range would be from 101 to 136 pounds.
I just don't personally feel comfortable with my weight right now. I'm technically in the "normal" range, but I still FEEL quite heavy, if that makes sense? I'm sure building some muscle tone and exercising more would help, it's just not realistic for my lifestyle right now. I'm hoping once the newborn gets a little older and isn't waking up as often throughout the night, I'll feel rested enough to want to get on a better workout routine than my current 30-45 minute yoga wind down routine each night.0 -
This is so true. I’m ecstatic when I lose 1/2 pound a week. If I have a cheat meal (like I did to celebrate my birthday) I don’t lose that week.0
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Putting the scale away and weighing far less often can be beneficial to some people too. It certainly helped me. In my first 3 months of weight loss I only weighed 2 times. It taught me that weight loss will happen whether I watch it or not and to stop looking to the scale results for motivation.
I do weigh myself daily now but I attribute that to time and education.
Some people never weigh and they prefer it. They measure themselves in other ways. How clothing their clothing fits seems to be popular.
I'm considering doing away with the scale. Mentally I want to be 105 lbs again, but after giving birth to two babies in the past 3 years, my entire body shape has just changed, and not solely from weight gain. I'm sure I could get back down to that weight again, but it would take a lot of mental energy to stay there and obsessing over being a certain weight is not something I want my kids to see me worry about or feel like they should worry about.
I think it's very important to consider what your maintenance routine would look like. To maintain at 105, you would have a pretty low maintenance calorie allowance unless you earned more calories by working out. Depending on your stats, it may also require many, many months of meticulous logging to get to that weight.
Is 105 at the bottom of your optimal BMI range? If so, you may prefer to lose weight until you get into your optimal BMI range (if you aren't already there) and then start a recomp plan to build muscle and cut fat, rather than continuing to lose weight until you get to 105. Many people feel tempted to lose down to the very bottom of their optimal weight range, but recomp is generally more likely to give them the appearance they want.
Height: 5 feet, 2 inches
Weight: 130.4 pounds
Your BMI is 23.8, indicating your weight is in the Normal category for adults of your height. For your height, a normal weight range would be from 101 to 136 pounds.
I just don't personally feel comfortable with my weight right now. I'm technically in the "normal" range, but I still FEEL quite heavy, if that makes sense? I'm sure building some muscle tone and exercising more would help, it's just not realistic for my lifestyle right now. I'm hoping once the newborn gets a little older and isn't waking up as often throughout the night, I'll feel rested enough to want to get on a better workout routine than my current 30-45 minute yoga wind down routine each night.
Losing weight is often difficult when you are already in the optimal BMI range for your height, since your deficit will be very, very small, and very easy to wipe out with only a few small logging errors. For most of us, it requires weighing and logging every single thing we eat, and being patient for a long time, because the pace of weight loss at this point is quite slow and is easily masked on the scale by normal weight fluctuations. When I was close to my goal weight, I was losing at about the rate of 0.25 lb/week, which showed up as the scale moving down about a pound every 4-6 weeks.
Additionally, losing more fat does not guarantee the appearance you want, since we can't control where the body burns the fat from. Recomp can help with this because we can target muscle development in areas that we want to strengthen.4 -
Hi.
Have you checked your muscle mass? Maybe you have developed new muscles due to the exercise. A lot of people don’t realise but you can increase muscle in a déficit diet when passing from not exercising to exercise routine. I increased 3% muscle when a 1300 calorie diet in 4 months because I didn’t exercise before. I would have gotten so disappointed if it wasn’t for keeping track not only the weight, but also the fat and muscle mass.
Sometimes it seemed I had put on weight, but when checking the percentage of fat and muscle, I realised I had still lost fat, but gain some muscle. And that still is positive . Don’t give up!!!! You’ll get results!!25 -
Hi.
Have you checked your muscle mass? Maybe you have developed new muscles due to the exercise. A lot of people don’t realise but you can increase muscle in a déficit diet when passing from not exercising to exercise routine. I increased 3% muscle when a 1300 calorie diet in 4 months because I didn’t exercise before. I would have gotten so disappointed if it wasn’t for keeping track not only the weight, but also the fat and muscle mass.
Sometimes it seemed I had put on weight, but when checking the percentage of fat and muscle, I realised I had still lost fat, but gain some muscle. And that still is positive . Don’t give up!!!! You’ll get results!!
@Lesily119 Please stop telling people they are gaining muscle when they are in a deficit.
see response to another post here (CBA to copy/paste it)8 -
Wow, we have a dictator here. I said maybe gained muscle. And you should do research. There are many cases of people, including me , that actually gained muscle on deficit. Specially when they were not used to exercise.
Anyway, suggesting someone to check their muscle mass meanwhile losing weight is a very basic suggestion and beneficial . It’s the only way to actually make sure that you are not losing weight because you are losing muscle instead of fat. What’s the point of losing weight when you lose it from muscles that actually are the ones that help you to keep fit.25 -
Wow, we have a dictator here. I said maybe gained muscle. And you should do research. There are many cases of people, including me , that actually gained muscle on deficit. Specially when they were not used to exercise.
Anyway, suggesting someone to check their muscle mass meanwhile losing weight is a very basic suggestion and beneficial . It’s the only way to actually make sure that you are not losing weight because you are losing muscle instead of fat. What’s the point of losing weight when you lose it from muscles that actually are the ones that help you to keep fit.
Not a dictator just asking you not to perpetuate a myth. How do you know you gained muscle in a deficit? All you have referred to is a body analysis scale in your other post, and as I already pointed out they are a very poor indicator of muscle/fat mass.
People can achieve newbie gains, but I'll repeat again - not so much that it masks fat loss. It's wishful thinking at best!
Edited to add, OP is walking and doing a bit of yoga, that's not going to attract much in the way of newbie gains either.20 -
Wow, we have a dictator here. I said maybe gained muscle. And you should do research. There are many cases of people, including me , that actually gained muscle on deficit. Specially when they were not used to exercise.
Anyway, suggesting someone to check their muscle mass meanwhile losing weight is a very basic suggestion and beneficial . It’s the only way to actually make sure that you are not losing weight because you are losing muscle instead of fat. What’s the point of losing weight when you lose it from muscles that actually are the ones that help you to keep fit.
tinkerbellang83 is not being a dictator. She gives useful, informed advice and has done a lot of research already. Many forms of determining lean mass are highly inaccurate and not useful for data measurement. If you are in a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. That is how physics work.16 -
Hi.
Have you checked your muscle mass? Maybe you have developed new muscles due to the exercise. A lot of people don’t realise but you can increase muscle in a déficit diet when passing from not exercising to exercise routine. I increased 3% muscle when a 1300 calorie diet in 4 months because I didn’t exercise before. I would have gotten so disappointed if it wasn’t for keeping track not only the weight, but also the fat and muscle mass.
Sometimes it seemed I had put on weight, but when checking the percentage of fat and muscle, I realised I had still lost fat, but gain some muscle. And that still is positive . Don’t give up!!!! You’ll get results!!
A professionally trained woman eating in a surplus of calories with spot on nutrition might gain 1-2 lbs of muscle per month. A woman at home eating in a deficit can gain a little muscle as a newbie, but certainly not enough to offset expected fat loss.
Smart scales are notoriously inaccurate for measuring BF%, as the electric pulse mostly measures your lower half and is easily thrown off by water weight fluctuations. 3% is well within the error range of honestly most ways of measuring BF%.
OP was dealing with pretty normal weight fluctuations, especially considering she recently gave birth.14 -
Wow, we have a dictator here. I said maybe gained muscle. And you should do research. There are many cases of people, including me , that actually gained muscle on deficit. Specially when they were not used to exercise.
Anyway, suggesting someone to check their muscle mass meanwhile losing weight is a very basic suggestion and beneficial . It’s the only way to actually make sure that you are not losing weight because you are losing muscle instead of fat. What’s the point of losing weight when you lose it from muscles that actually are the ones that help you to keep fit.
Beloved Dictator!!
What you are suggesting can't be done at home accurately and is a good way to make bad weight loss decisions. You should lose weight at a healthy pace to avoid the possibility of muscle loss.12 -
Now I'm a bit disappointed that no one's called me a dictator yet.
Unless one is making an intentional effort to build muscle, it is usually wishful thinking that lack of movement on the scale is caused by a substantial increase in muscle mass.
OP has specifically stated that she is not currently following a strength training plan. Moreover, OP appears to be losing weight at a pace that is appropriate for her stats, given that she is already in the optimal BMI range for her height. She posted later in the thread to say that the scale had gone down a bit. It sounds like she is losing slowly because she doesn't have much to lose, not because she's building significant muscle mass.17 -
Now I'm a bit disappointed that no one's called me a dictator yet.
Unless one is making an intentional effort to build muscle, it is usually wishful thinking that lack of movement on the scale is caused by a substantial increase in muscle mass.
OP has specifically stated that she is not currently following a strength training plan. Moreover, OP appears to be losing weight at a pace that is appropriate for her stats, given that she is already in the optimal BMI range for her height. She posted later in the thread to say that the scale had gone down a bit. It sounds like she is losing slowly because she doesn't have much to lose, not because she's building significant muscle mass.
I would never be called a dictator. I am called far worse.
You are right, of course. The less you have to lose the more weight fluctuations will hinder seeing the results.7 -
Well, I know I gained muscle because I tracked it, in numbers. Numbers don’t lie. Besides I took measurements, I can se muscles I didn’t see before, I can carry stuff I couldn’t lift before for a minute, I can perform some exercises much better than before, for example walking faster than ever before thanks to my improved glutes. So, yes, I have improved my muscle mass. Not body building, but improve it. I was careful to eat as to ensure I didn’t lose muscle and up to now I have been able to do it. Lost 6% of fat and increased 3% of muscle. And muscles are not made up of air. They also influence your scale.Enough to influence a pound.
I’ll not stop saying it because ,a myth, if you look in the dictionary is something that is not real. And I keep a diary that proves that it is possible.
This improvement of the muscle on deficit only happens at the beginning of your weight loss journey, once you are used to excercise you will not gain muscle on deficit. I know that. But most people don’t ever pay attention to their muscles and they neglect them.
I think, on a loose weight journey you can have two things to feel proud of,1 losing weight and 2 seeing that you have lost it without compromising your muscles or even improving then a little bit as it has been my case. But well, it seems that I am weird enough to encourage someone to get happiness and encouragement from both achievements and not just from one and feel miserable when you don’t drop weight. If you don’t loose weight but your muscles are ok and you actually have lost fat (down in numbers ).... I can’t explain enough the motivation you get to continue, instead of just seeing that all that effort you did, no weight lost, feeling horrible and wanting to give up.18 -
Well, I know I gained muscle because I tracked it, in numbers. Numbers don’t lie. Besides I took measurements, I can se muscles I didn’t see before, I can carry stuff I couldn’t lift before for a minute, I can perform some exercises much better than before, for example walking faster than ever before thanks to my improved glutes. So, yes, I have improved my muscle mass. Not body building, but improve it. I was careful to eat as to ensure I didn’t lose muscle and up to now I have been able to do it. Lost 6% of fat and increased 3% of muscle. And muscles are not made up of air. They also influence your scale.Enough to influence a pound.
I’ll not stop saying it because ,a myth, if you look in the dictionary is something that is not real. And I keep a diary that proves that it is possible.
This improvement of the muscle on deficit only happens at the beginning of your weight loss journey, once you are used to excercise you will not gain muscle on deficit. I know that. But most people don’t ever pay attention to their muscles and they neglect them.
I think, on a loose weight journey you can have two things to feel proud of,1 losing weight and 2 seeing that you have lost it without compromising your muscles or even improving then a little bit as it has been my case. But well, it seems that I am weird enough to encourage someone to get happiness and encouragement from both achievements and not just from one and feel miserable when you don’t drop weight. If you don’t loose weight but your muscles are ok and you actually have lost fat (down in numbers ).... I can’t explain enough the motivation you get to continue, instead of just seeing that all that effort you did, no weight lost, feeling horrible and wanting to give up.
Seeing more muscle isn't a sign that you're actually gaining muscle weight. You can make visual improvements without adding actual weight and losing fat is going to make muscle look "bigger" than it may have previously.
You can also have strength gains without actually gaining muscle weight.
The information you've recorded in your diary is only going to be as accurate as the methods you use to gather the information.22 -
Numbers may not lie but interpretations can be misconstrued. Body fat scales are prone to error.
I can see muscles I didn't before because I've shed fat to reveal the muscle underneath that was moving my obesity-III body around. As others have said, it is well-nigh impossible to build significant muscle in a deficit, BUT you can strengthen existing muscle. I've gone from barely able to lift a pair of 15lb dumbbells to working out with 35s and I have visible delts and quads, but that doesn't mean I've built muscle; it means I've burned away fat and trained existing muscle. Now, you may have decreased your body fat percentage, but it doesn't follow that you've increased your muscle mass. If (and for the sake of argument, let's just pretend that we're made up of only fat and muscle, even though bones, organs, etc. are also involved in the equation/pie chart) If I am 50% fat and 50% muscle and I lose enough weight that I'm now 45% fat, yes I'm also 55% muscle, but that doesn't mean that I built 5% more muscle.12 -
I can see my collarbones now where I couldn't before. I didn't grow them as I was losing weight.32
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janejellyroll wrote: »Seeing more muscle isn't a sign that you're actually gaining muscle weight. You can make visual improvements without adding actual weight and losing fat is going to make muscle look "bigger" than it may have previously.
You can also have strength gains without actually gaining muscle weight.
The information you've recorded in your diary is only going to be as accurate as the methods you use to gather the information.
To illustrate the bolded...
I had a DEXA scan done in March 2018 and one done in October of 2018 (getting another one next week). In that time my lean body mass went from 182.4 lbs to 179.4 lbs (a decrease of 3 lbs). However, in that same period my strength increased. My chest press in 3/2018 was 164 lbs (calculated best 1RM) and was 213 lbs in 10/2018.
Additionally, over that same period it looked like my muscles were growing but that was more about being able to see them better then actual mass gain.22 -
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As far as smart scales go - forget it. I'm an endurance cyclist, and have a very muscular lower body, and carry most of my fat in my middle. My (Aria) scale consistently gives me ~21% body fat reading, but I had a DEXA scan 2 months ago and I'm around 24%. I do weight training 3X a week and am in maintenance so not eating in a deficit. You really can't trust those numbers.
eta: I'm objectively getting stronger as I continue to train, as measured by the grade of the hills I can climb, but I'm not adding muscle, I'm strengthing the muscle I already have.4 -
Is amazing to see all explanations, and maybe they are all valid. Thanks for the explanations. I know most of you really think that I am a dreamer.
But I have really improved my muscles mass, muscles have appeared where there use to be just skin. On my shoulder I just had a bone and skin. No friend would dare to take a nap on my shoulder, too hard. Now, still the bone is there, of course,but no that evident as before. “Something” is between the skin and the bone. I call the something , muscle. I didn’t have fatty arms. I could perfectly see my biceps. They not only look bigger, but measure bigger now. Before I used to sit for hours on a hard chair without any problem.
If someone can explain why my glutes have lifted and they are rounder, and why I kind of feel weird and uncomfortable when I sit down for a long time on the same chair due to actually not being used to have so much “meat”down there, 😁Then I will be convinced that I have not improved my muscle mass.
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