I'm stuck!

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littlered1981
littlered1981 Posts: 6 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi everyone, I've been at this for a couple of months and have stuck to my calorie target every day except for 5 (even then I'm always under 2000 calories). I've doubled my daily steps but have only lost 2lbs and am struggling to figure out what I'm doing wrong. Any advice??

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  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    littlered1981 wrote: »
    Hi everyone, I've been at this for a couple of months and have stuck to my calorie target every day except for 5 (even then I'm always under 2000 calories). I've doubled my daily steps but have only lost 2lbs and am struggling to figure out what I'm doing wrong. Any advice??

    Do you mean you've lost 2 lbs in 2 months?

    What is your height and weight, and how much are you trying to lose?
    Do you use a food scale for all solids?
    Double check each entry you are choosing in the database to either the package or USDA values to ensure it is giving you the correct calories?
    How often do you weigh yourself?
  • littlered1981
    littlered1981 Posts: 6 Member
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    hi kimny72
    yes lost 2lb in 2 months. Weigh my solids for breakfast and lunch, find it difficult to weigh dinner all the time because I often don't cook it.
    I weigh myself every monday morning.
    Good tip re double checking things, I do with carbs but often forget with protein and vegetables.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    If you don't have much to lose and already are aiming for a low deficit, a combination of bad entries and maybe under-estimating your dinners could be causing you to miss just enough calories to lose really slow.

    If you are eating your exercise calories, it's possible they are over-estimated.

    Without your stats and seeing your food log, it's hard to say much else.

    I lost my last 10-15 lbs at a pace of about 1 lb per month (as I just couldn't maintain my deficit consistently enough to lose at a better pace), so I know it's frustrating. It can also take some practice to estimate food you don't prepare yourself. Hang in there!
  • littlered1981
    littlered1981 Posts: 6 Member
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    I have 61lbs to lose
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
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    That's a big weight loss goal and I wish you all the luck with it!

    Calorie counting relies on 1) having the right plan and 2) logging accuracy. If you have those, you really cannot fail. But, staying on your program requires managing your apatite, which is not always easy. Some people spread the calories out, some eat them in a specific time window, some focus on a particular macro balance. You need to find what works for you.

    Exercise helps so long as you don't over-compensate for the calorie burn.

    Let me add that my wife has lost more than 60lbs and was helped greatly by speaking to a (certified) nutritionist.
  • jenngitch
    jenngitch Posts: 190 Member
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    "Weigh my solids for breakfast and lunch, find it difficult to weigh dinner all the time because I often don't cook it. "

    This could be the culprit. weigh solids.. how about liquids? every calorie counts. every single thing that goes in my mouth I weigh. The more I lose the more I have to be on point with this because it gets tougher. I would guess you are eating more calories than you think.

  • goatelope
    goatelope Posts: 178 Member
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    I’m stuck as well. I have my calorie goal set to 1200, sometimes I go over by a bit but it’s still averaging at less than 1400 per day, even including days when I went over. I lost 10 lbs at first but nothing in over a month now - it’s devastating.
  • Pamela_Sue
    Pamela_Sue Posts: 563 Member
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    First, make sure you have input your information (stats) correctly. MFP recommends the following:

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb/week is ideal
    If you have 15-25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lb/week is ideal
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lb/week is ideal

    Set your activity level based on your daily activities WITHOUT additional exercise.
    Then, input in your other stats, based on the above weight loss guidelines, to determine your daily base calories.

    If you exercise, add your additional exercise calories each day from the exercise database to reach your daily total calories (base calories + exercise calories = total calories per day). Some users find the 'calories burned' in the MFP database to be on the high side, so it is sometimes recommended to start with eating back 50% of your exercise calories (in addition to your daily base calories). Do this for a few weeks, then adjust accordingly. If losing too fast, eat back more than 50% of your exercise calories until you find your proper weekly weight loss rate.

    It would be beneficial to share your stats (height, weight) and others can help you determine if your calorie goals are correct. You can also open you diary for review by others who may be able to point out some areas you can tighten up.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,467 Member
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    You can go under the hood and check everything and adjust and tinker and keep doing that until you get some movement. Or you can bite the bullet and cut some calories. Try 75 per day. Try as we might, calorie counting isn’t all that exact. But see if a cut gets you moving.

    And try to find some way to count dinner. It doesn’t have to be exact to work. But it would help a lot if you can come up with a consistent way to put a number on everything.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
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    I really must disagree with @PamelaSue as to the ideal loss rates. I've lost as little as 5lbs at 1lb per week (too many times, in fact). Also, no matter how heavy you are, trying to lose 2lbs a week is very hard.

    As a rule of thumb, I'd say that going more than 25% below your maintenance calorie level is pretty hard. And why do it? Controlling your weight is a long game, not a sprint.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »
    I really must disagree with @PamelaSue as to the ideal loss rates. I've lost as little as 5lbs at 1lb per week (too many times, in fact). Also, no matter how heavy you are, trying to lose 2lbs a week is very hard.

    As a rule of thumb, I'd say that going more than 25% below your maintenance calorie level is pretty hard. And why do it? Controlling your weight is a long game, not a sprint.

    To be fair, that's a lot easier for an active male than for a shorter female. I would've had to eat 1200 cals at most to lose 1 lb per week and I've tried that before and was miserable. Someone who is taller or more muscular will be more likely to have a tdee over 2000 and be able to carry a 500 cal deficit to lose vanity lbs. Many women have tdee's under (sometimes well under) 2000 and a 500 calorie deficit for the last 10-15 is really difficult and can be quite stressful physically and mentally.

    I have no personal experience losing 2 lbs per week, but many obese people here seem to do it just fine. Regardless, at 160 it certainly would be far too fast for this OP.
  • JenniferAConley
    JenniferAConley Posts: 26 Member
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    You can add me , we can support each other if youd like. Get ideas from each others diaries
  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 850 Member
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    So even though you are eating dinner that is prepared somewhere else. Something I have learned how to do, is to be a more accurate estimator. Meaning when food is served, so how much does it look like it is 3oz, 1/2 cup and so on. Some places have nutrition information but you have to ask for it. Other places may mot have at all, but what I found out, is if you actually ask what portion size is you can find some numbers. Because fact is most places do have portion sizes they go by when serviing people.
    If you can ever even take pictures of it, will help you break it down later.

    Something that many forget and applies to all meals, if you use a sauce, creamer, milk, oil or anything else to make breakfast or lunch, or any snacks or anytime you do make dinner. Those count as calories as well. And they can add up faster than you might think.

    Remember if you snack at all that needs to be counted as well. Log everything, and whenever possible use the food scale.
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
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    In 42 weeks I have lost 30 lbs. I still have 43 lbs until I hit my goal weight, so it will likely be another year to that. It's very, very hard to lose 2+lbs a week or even 1 lb a week for a very long, extended period of time simply because life is life and some weeks you'll be on, some you'll be off, some you'll just be.

    In a year's time, if I lose the next 30 quicker than the first, I might average out to 1 lb per week, or maybe end up at .5 lb per week if it's slower. Either way, i'll take it.

    Keep switching things up and trying new things and be patient. I didn't see consistent progress on the scale for 5 or 6 weeks. Make small changes each week and eventually they'll add up to a big change with an impact. And definitely make sure you are logging everything, from your morning coffee, to the mint you have after lunch, to the bite of ice cream you take right out of the tub standing at the freezer. For people with pretty low calorie goals, those bits and pieces make all the difference.

    Best of luck!

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