Something isn't working... any thoughts on what? I'm lost.

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InfinityEleven
InfinityEleven Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 28, 83kg, 157cm. I need to get back down to 65kg; ideally, that's my happy weight.

My TDEE is 2,014 calories a day for sedentary, 2,308 for lightly active, taking into account my body fat level.

I've been eating 1,200 calories a day since 25th March. I have exceeded that on maybe 5 occasions. I weigh everything and I'm eating a lot more veg and fish. I do strength and cardio two days a week, swim once a week and as of the middle of April, walk 1.5/2 miles a day in my lunch break.

I've lost 3.75kg overall, at a rate of 0.25kg a week... that seems so low. I've lost nothing for the past three days.

Can I go below 1,200 calories? I'm hearing mixed messages about whether eating more would help... logically I struggle to believe that my body would 'hold' calories, though!

My usual diet at the moment is 40g cereal and an Actimel in the morning, two poached eggs and a flatbread for lunch, fish and vegetables or Spaghetti Vongole or something along those lines for tea. I try to drink 4 pints of water a day, and have a ginger tea or two. That usually comes in at around 1,100. I try not to eat back any exercise calories; but according to my Apple Watch, burn about 400 calories per session. Sometimes I do eat half of that back out of hunger, but I'll try and cut that out... the cereal is a new addition to try and increase fibre, too, I've been struggling with regularness since starting dieting :#

Any thoughts on what I could be doing wrong here? Do I drop to 1,000 calories a day?

Replies

  • Chaos_Angel
    Chaos_Angel Posts: 23 Member
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    I know my maintenance at sedentary is around 1800 -
    So what I do is I set it to that, and then just knowingly eat healthy trying to come in under it :smile: Idk this is just a way less stressful approach to me personally and I've been on this train for a long time :D I lose weight consistently, and it's not a big deal if I eat all of the maintenance because after all, I'm not gunna gain ;) And mental is just as important for weight loss in my opinion, since stress causes so many issues.
    More energy = more motivation = more sensation = boiiiii
    I lose weight consistently!
    Good luck! :smile:
  • ceiswyn
    ceiswyn Posts: 2,255 Member
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    Can you open your diary? People may be able to give more helpful advice if they can see the details of how you're currently logging your food and exercise. There are ways to trip up even when you diligently weigh everything!
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,593 Member
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    I can understand the desire to lose weight quickly. But slow weight loss is more sustainable and will help you retain more muscle as you lose. I personally think 1200 is too low for you. I’d encourage you to eat a bit more (especially protein). Don’t get discouraged if you are losing slower than your expectations. Remember that losing slowly will also help you when you get to your goal weight and need to learn how to maintain the weight loss.
  • yuko0407
    yuko0407 Posts: 67 Member
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    I've similar stats than you, even if I'm older: 51yo, 64 kg (now), 160 cm. Sedentary work and negligible exercise. I'm on 1250 cal/day since March 25 (same day than you :smile: ) and I've lost a bit more that 2 kg, which is about 0.4 kg/week loss. It's in agreement with my deficit (around 250 cal/week). Lowering the calories to go faster will be not a good idea, imo, as others I've said before. Btw, I think that your loss rate is more around 0.75 kg (3.75 kg in 5 weeks), so it's pretty fast! Don't worry if some days the scale doesn't move or go even higher: weight loss isn't linear:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10155495/just-another-plateau-and-weigh-in-thread/p1
    (among other useful post you can find in the "Most helpful posts" thread of this section).
  • yuko0407
    yuko0407 Posts: 67 Member
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    This also:
    http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
  • Yivs_87
    Yivs_87 Posts: 246 Member
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    It looks like your TDEE is at 2300 for lightly active by your description, so why are you cutting 1100 calories per day? It's very aggressive and could be counter productive.

    I'd recommend checking out this thread https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1

    If you've lost nearly 4kg since 25th March - so 4 kgs in 5 weeks, this is a great progress, meaning you've lost roughly 0.8kg per week. You're cutting 1100 calories per day, 7700 calories per week, which is roughly 2 pounds=0.9 kg per week. I'd say you are losing just as expecting for your cut.

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