Only eating 1200 calories a day and not losing Weight

Strudders67 · May 2020

Do the entries that you're using for the noodles, chips and bread match what it says on the packet?

I just googled Robert Medium Soft White Bread, for which you have 97 calories for one slice. According to their website, each slice is 114 calories.

xmissxamyx · May 2020

I'm goung to play devil's advocate here a little bit and say you can lose weight without weighing EVERYTHING I have managed to lose a lot of weight without weighing a lot of pre packaged food.

I basically just scan or add in the prepackaged item and generally adjust whatever amount comes up to add another 50cals (so if a biscuit I ate scanned in as 80cals I'd add 50 and log it as 130cals) I do that as a way to compensate for the variances that can occur. Sure it's not fool proof there's not even any real logic behind it other than my own, I just find it's always better to assume you've eaten more calories.

I never eat back my exercise calories either because unless you're exercising while hooked up to a machine, you never really know how many cals you've burnt. I logged the same exercise into 2 different 'calorie burning calculators' for the same exercise 1 site said I would burn 569cals the other 314cals.....thats a HUGE difference. Unless you're running a marathon or something equally physically demanding each exercise I wouldn't eat back the calories.

Also, you've got to be honest with yourself, you don't have to be honest with us folks on here if you want to tell us all you've definitely been sticking to 1200 without exception then ok, But be honest with yourself, do you REALLY eat only 1200 calls? Do you DEFINITELY burn 400cals per exercise?? Only you know if what you're saying and what you're tracking is truthful.

After a year of it, you would 100% be seeing results by now.....

emmabrookes1 · May 2020

Where are your fruits and veg? Woman cannot live on cake alone (sadly)

janejellyroll · May 2020

xmissxamyx wrote: »

I'm goung to play devil's advocate here a little bit and say you can lose weight without weighing EVERYTHING I have managed to lose a lot of weight without weighing a lot of pre packaged food.

I basically just scan or add in the prepackaged item and generally adjust whatever amount comes up to add another 50cals (so if a biscuit I ate scanned in as 80cals I'd add 50 and log it as 130cals) I do that as a way to compensate for the variances that can occur. Sure it's not fool proof there's not even any real logic behind it other than my own, I just find it's always better to assume you've eaten more calories.

I never eat back my exercise calories either because unless you're exercising while hooked up to a machine, you never really know how many cals you've burnt. I logged the same exercise into 2 different 'calorie burning calculators' for the same exercise 1 site said I would burn 569cals the other 314cals.....thats a HUGE difference. Unless you're running a marathon or something equally physically demanding each exercise I wouldn't eat back the calories.

Also, you've got to be honest with yourself, you don't have to be honest with us folks on here if you want to tell us all you've definitely been sticking to 1200 without exception then ok, But be honest with yourself, do you REALLY eat only 1200 calls? Do you DEFINITELY burn 400cals per exercise?? Only you know if what you're saying and what you're tracking is truthful.

After a year of it, you would 100% be seeing results by now.....

I don't think anyone is arguing that weighing food is *required* to lose weight. But if one is eating at what they think is a deficit and not seeing results, then switching to a more accurate method of estimating calorie intake is a reasonable step to take, I think.

If one source tells you that you're burning 314 calories and another tells you that you're burning 569, I don't know why you would substitute an estimate of zero calories burnt instead of going with the lower number. There's more of a difference between 0 and 314 than there is between 314 and 569, right?

xmissxamyx · May 2020

janejellyroll wrote: »

xmissxamyx wrote: »

I'm goung to play devil's advocate here a little bit and say you can lose weight without weighing EVERYTHING I have managed to lose a lot of weight without weighing a lot of pre packaged food.

I basically just scan or add in the prepackaged item and generally adjust whatever amount comes up to add another 50cals (so if a biscuit I ate scanned in as 80cals I'd add 50 and log it as 130cals) I do that as a way to compensate for the variances that can occur. Sure it's not fool proof there's not even any real logic behind it other than my own, I just find it's always better to assume you've eaten more calories.

I never eat back my exercise calories either because unless you're exercising while hooked up to a machine, you never really know how many cals you've burnt. I logged the same exercise into 2 different 'calorie burning calculators' for the same exercise 1 site said I would burn 569cals the other 314cals.....thats a HUGE difference. Unless you're running a marathon or something equally physically demanding each exercise I wouldn't eat back the calories.

Also, you've got to be honest with yourself, you don't have to be honest with us folks on here if you want to tell us all you've definitely been sticking to 1200 without exception then ok, But be honest with yourself, do you REALLY eat only 1200 calls? Do you DEFINITELY burn 400cals per exercise?? Only you know if what you're saying and what you're tracking is truthful.

After a year of it, you would 100% be seeing results by now.....

I don't think anyone is arguing that weighing food is *required* to lose weight. But if one is eating at what they think is a deficit and not seeing results, then switching to a more accurate method of estimating calorie intake is a reasonable step to take, I think.

If one source tells you that you're burning 314 calories and another tells you that you're burning 569, I don't know why you would substitute an estimate of zero calories burnt instead of going with the lower number. There's more of a difference between 0 and 314 than there is between 314 and 569, right?

I meant it as an example of how different information from one source to another can be.
If I only used the 1 calculator that told me I'd burn 569 cals for my work out and I took that as gospel and ate back all of those calories but in reality I only burnt 300cals, I've eaten 200 over my allowance. And if one does that constantly well, that number on the scale is eventually goung to start heading in the wrong direction isn't it?

I choose to eat back 0 of my work out calories because that's what works for me man, I don't trust that I'll burn the exact amount of calories each time so I make sure I stick to my limit and anything i may have burnt during exercise is a bonus.
(And I like knowing I have those burnt calls in reserve if you will, incase something comes up during the week where extra calories may be consumed)

bmeadows380 · May 2020

xmissxamyx wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

xmissxamyx wrote: »

I'm goung to play devil's advocate here a little bit and say you can lose weight without weighing EVERYTHING I have managed to lose a lot of weight without weighing a lot of pre packaged food.

I basically just scan or add in the prepackaged item and generally adjust whatever amount comes up to add another 50cals (so if a biscuit I ate scanned in as 80cals I'd add 50 and log it as 130cals) I do that as a way to compensate for the variances that can occur. Sure it's not fool proof there's not even any real logic behind it other than my own, I just find it's always better to assume you've eaten more calories.

I never eat back my exercise calories either because unless you're exercising while hooked up to a machine, you never really know how many cals you've burnt. I logged the same exercise into 2 different 'calorie burning calculators' for the same exercise 1 site said I would burn 569cals the other 314cals.....thats a HUGE difference. Unless you're running a marathon or something equally physically demanding each exercise I wouldn't eat back the calories.

Also, you've got to be honest with yourself, you don't have to be honest with us folks on here if you want to tell us all you've definitely been sticking to 1200 without exception then ok, But be honest with yourself, do you REALLY eat only 1200 calls? Do you DEFINITELY burn 400cals per exercise?? Only you know if what you're saying and what you're tracking is truthful.

After a year of it, you would 100% be seeing results by now.....

I don't think anyone is arguing that weighing food is *required* to lose weight. But if one is eating at what they think is a deficit and not seeing results, then switching to a more accurate method of estimating calorie intake is a reasonable step to take, I think.

If one source tells you that you're burning 314 calories and another tells you that you're burning 569, I don't know why you would substitute an estimate of zero calories burnt instead of going with the lower number. There's more of a difference between 0 and 314 than there is between 314 and 569, right?

I meant it as an example of how different information from one source to another can be.
If I only used the 1 calculator that told me I'd burn 569 cals for my work out and I took that as gospel and ate back all of those calories but in reality I only burnt 300cals, I've eaten 200 over my allowance. And if one does that constantly well, that number on the scale is eventually goung to start heading in the wrong direction isn't it?

I choose to eat back 0 of my work out calories because that's what works for me man, I don't trust that I'll burn the exact amount of calories each time so I make sure I stick to my limit and anything i may have burnt during exercise is a bonus.
(And I like knowing I have those burnt calls in reserve if you will, incase something comes up during the week where extra calories may be consumed)

Or, you could do like a lot of folks who are using the MFP estimates, and eat back a portion - say 50%. Even going with the higher end 569, eating back half is 285, so you'd still be conservative and would still be under even if you actually only burned 300.

Of course, if what you are doing now is working for you now, great; but if it stops working and you find yourself plateaued months on end even though you still need to lose weight, then what you're doing will need to be fine-tuned to get you going again, and the best way to fine-tune is tighten up on accuracy. Weighing items with a food scale is the easier method of getting better accuracy.

lozzyp22 · May 2020

xx1chloe5xx wrote: »

This was my food diary from the other day. The curry was a ready meal from Asda. I gained 3lbs after this and I was under calorie limit and exercised and lost almost 400 calories which I forgot to add on. I don’t know how to open my diary

First of all, as someone else posted below - you did not gain 3lbs of fat from this meal. Weight fluctuates a huge amount, especially for women. Try other methods of measuring your progress such as taking measurements or even just comparing photographs. Try not weigh yourself around your period as this is a major time for water retention and bloating which will skew the scales. Also, if you weighed yourself directly after eating this, of course you will weigh more as the food is sitting in your stomach!

Secondly, eating 1200 calories of foods lacking in nutrients isn't the optimal way to approach your weight loss goals, try to incorporate more vegetables and fruits (fruits restricted to a degree) and focus on increasing your protein intake. From your diary entry above it seems you are eating way under what you should be. It may be worth investing in getting some professional advice because honestly, that looks to be a very unhealthy way to go about things, there are lots of good online coaches which can help you understand your needs better.

janejellyroll · May 2020

xmissxamyx wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

xmissxamyx wrote: »

I'm goung to play devil's advocate here a little bit and say you can lose weight without weighing EVERYTHING I have managed to lose a lot of weight without weighing a lot of pre packaged food.

I basically just scan or add in the prepackaged item and generally adjust whatever amount comes up to add another 50cals (so if a biscuit I ate scanned in as 80cals I'd add 50 and log it as 130cals) I do that as a way to compensate for the variances that can occur. Sure it's not fool proof there's not even any real logic behind it other than my own, I just find it's always better to assume you've eaten more calories.

I never eat back my exercise calories either because unless you're exercising while hooked up to a machine, you never really know how many cals you've burnt. I logged the same exercise into 2 different 'calorie burning calculators' for the same exercise 1 site said I would burn 569cals the other 314cals.....thats a HUGE difference. Unless you're running a marathon or something equally physically demanding each exercise I wouldn't eat back the calories.

Also, you've got to be honest with yourself, you don't have to be honest with us folks on here if you want to tell us all you've definitely been sticking to 1200 without exception then ok, But be honest with yourself, do you REALLY eat only 1200 calls? Do you DEFINITELY burn 400cals per exercise?? Only you know if what you're saying and what you're tracking is truthful.

After a year of it, you would 100% be seeing results by now.....

I don't think anyone is arguing that weighing food is *required* to lose weight. But if one is eating at what they think is a deficit and not seeing results, then switching to a more accurate method of estimating calorie intake is a reasonable step to take, I think.

If one source tells you that you're burning 314 calories and another tells you that you're burning 569, I don't know why you would substitute an estimate of zero calories burnt instead of going with the lower number. There's more of a difference between 0 and 314 than there is between 314 and 569, right?

I meant it as an example of how different information from one source to another can be.
If I only used the 1 calculator that told me I'd burn 569 cals for my work out and I took that as gospel and ate back all of those calories but in reality I only burnt 300cals, I've eaten 200 over my allowance. And if one does that constantly well, that number on the scale is eventually goung to start heading in the wrong direction isn't it?

I choose to eat back 0 of my work out calories because that's what works for me man, I don't trust that I'll burn the exact amount of calories each time so I make sure I stick to my limit and anything i may have burnt during exercise is a bonus.
(And I like knowing I have those burnt calls in reserve if you will, incase something comes up during the week where extra calories may be consumed)

If one sees that one's long-term trend is weight gain, then that can be addressed by eating back a smaller percentage of exercise calories (assuming one is confident that estimates of calories in are relatively accurate). For people who aren't very active, using exercise calories as a bonus may work. For people who are very active or already on lowish calories, it's not a great strategy. If you're adding 300+ calories to your deficit daily, that's not sustainable.

Now if you're doing it to create a reserve for going over on calories and you're actually using them, that's different. However, I'm a person who likes data. Instead of doing it "invisibly" (not tracking exercise calories and trusting everything will somehow balance out when I go over), I prefer to see it so I can make adjustments if necessary. I'm not saying it's the only way that it can be done, but if someone thinks they have been eating 1,200 for a year and not seeing results, I'm generally of the opinion that they need more data -- not less.

nationalvillage3215 · May 2020

RachelAnnSaldana wrote: »

I don’t eat my excercise calories and I don’t like that the app adds the calories onto your total. If I eat the excercise calories I always gain.

I don't eat the exercise calories either since I also always gain. I have been on 1200 calories for 5 months and have lost 23 lbs (4.6 lbs/month). It is a slow go and not linear. I have also adjusted my macros to see what works for me, everyone is different. I try to keep my carbs below 100, my proteins to a max of 8 oz. per day and 25-30 grams fiber daily. I have been chastised on this board for this diet plan with claims that it is unhealthy, I will lose my hair, suffer horrible declines in my health, will not be able to maintain once I lose what I want. None of this has come true so far and my doctor is pleased. I am 70 years old, 5 ft. 2.5inches tall. I walk 5 miles most days of the week. I would suggest you consult your doctor on what plan is healthy for you.

janejellyroll · May 2020

nationalvillage3215 wrote: »

RachelAnnSaldana wrote: »

I don’t eat my excercise calories and I don’t like that the app adds the calories onto your total. If I eat the excercise calories I always gain.

I don't eat the exercise calories either since I also always gain. I have been on 1200 calories for 5 months and have lost 23 lbs (4.6 lbs/month). It is a slow go and not linear. I have also adjusted my macros to see what works for me, everyone is different. I try to keep my carbs below 100, my proteins to a max of 8 oz. per day and 25-30 grams fiber daily. I have been chastised on this board for this diet plan with claims that it is unhealthy, I will lose my hair, suffer horrible declines in my health, will not be able to maintain once I lose what I want. None of this has come true so far and my doctor is pleased. I am 70 years old, 5 ft. 2.5inches tall. I walk 5 miles most days of the week. I would suggest you consult your doctor on what plan is healthy for you.

4.6 pounds a month is not a "slow go."

Lietchi · May 2020

janejellyroll wrote: »

nationalvillage3215 wrote: »

RachelAnnSaldana wrote: »

I don’t eat my excercise calories and I don’t like that the app adds the calories onto your total. If I eat the excercise calories I always gain.

I don't eat the exercise calories either since I also always gain. I have been on 1200 calories for 5 months and have lost 23 lbs (4.6 lbs/month). It is a slow go and not linear. I have also adjusted my macros to see what works for me, everyone is different. I try to keep my carbs below 100, my proteins to a max of 8 oz. per day and 25-30 grams fiber daily. I have been chastised on this board for this diet plan with claims that it is unhealthy, I will lose my hair, suffer horrible declines in my health, will not be able to maintain once I lose what I want. None of this has come true so far and my doctor is pleased. I am 70 years old, 5 ft. 2.5inches tall. I walk 5 miles most days of the week. I would suggest you consult your doctor on what plan is healthy for you.

4.6 pounds a month is not a "slow go."

If not eating back exercise calories leads to this weight loss rate (which is equivalent to a daily deficit of about 535 calories per day) and eating back the exercise calories leads to weight gain, that would mean over 535 exercise calories attributed per day. I can't be more precise since the weight gain isn't specified, but reasonably at least 600 calories to be over maintenance in such a way that it leads to noticeable weight gain, which is quite a lot for a 5 mile walk.

TexasAggie1280 · May 2020

It's important when you're adding your foods into your daily log to be very specific about what it is you ate. I'm not saying you aren't already doing that, but whenever I input something, say for instance cottage cheese, I'll match the nutrition label to the exact item on the fitness pal app. If you pick the wrong brand or the same brand with different health facts (say reduced fat vs regular) it can make a big difference.

Also, I suggest buying a scale and weighing your meats. Before I cook any meat I put it on my kitchen scale and then input the exact amount of grams into my fitness pal. I do the same thing with all ingredients using measuring cups.

One more suggestion: You're never going to get the calories exactly right no matter how accurate you try to be, so what I do is I always OVERESTIMATE how many calories I'm taking in by 100-200 calories. It's better to overestimate then underestimate.

Lillymoo01 · May 2020

nationalvillage3215 wrote: »

RachelAnnSaldana wrote: »

I don’t eat my excercise calories and I don’t like that the app adds the calories onto your total. If I eat the excercise calories I always gain.

I don't eat the exercise calories either since I also always gain. I have been on 1200 calories for 5 months and have lost 23 lbs (4.6 lbs/month). It is a slow go and not linear. I have also adjusted my macros to see what works for me, everyone is different. I try to keep my carbs below 100, my proteins to a max of 8 oz. per day and 25-30 grams fiber daily. I have been chastised on this board for this diet plan with claims that it is unhealthy, I will lose my hair, suffer horrible declines in my health, will not be able to maintain once I lose what I want. None of this has come true so far and my doctor is pleased. I am 70 years old, 5 ft. 2.5inches tall. I walk 5 miles most days of the week. I would suggest you consult your doctor on what plan is healthy for you.

The reality is that you do in fact eat back your exercise calories assuming your goal was around 1 pound a week loss, otherwise your loss would be more rapid. That or you don't exercise much. It sounds to me like those exercise calories counterbalance inaccurate logging.

J72FIT · May 2020

Lillymoo01 wrote: »

nationalvillage3215 wrote: »

RachelAnnSaldana wrote: »

I don’t eat my excercise calories and I don’t like that the app adds the calories onto your total. If I eat the excercise calories I always gain.

I don't eat the exercise calories either since I also always gain. I have been on 1200 calories for 5 months and have lost 23 lbs (4.6 lbs/month). It is a slow go and not linear. I have also adjusted my macros to see what works for me, everyone is different. I try to keep my carbs below 100, my proteins to a max of 8 oz. per day and 25-30 grams fiber daily. I have been chastised on this board for this diet plan with claims that it is unhealthy, I will lose my hair, suffer horrible declines in my health, will not be able to maintain once I lose what I want. None of this has come true so far and my doctor is pleased. I am 70 years old, 5 ft. 2.5inches tall. I walk 5 miles most days of the week. I would suggest you consult your doctor on what plan is healthy for you.

The reality is that you do in fact eat back your exercise calories assuming your goal was around 1 pound a week loss, otherwise your loss would be more rapid. That or you don't exercise much. It sounds to me like those exercise calories counterbalance inaccurate logging.

^^^This is most likely what is happening...

paperpudding · May 2020

nationalvillage3215 wrote: »

RachelAnnSaldana wrote: »

I don’t eat my excercise calories and I don’t like that the app adds the calories onto your total. If I eat the excercise calories I always gain.

I don't eat the exercise calories either since I also always gain. I have been on 1200 calories for 5 months and have lost 23 lbs (4.6 lbs/month). It is a slow go and not linear. I have also adjusted my macros to see what works for me, everyone is different. I try to keep my carbs below 100, my proteins to a max of 8 oz. per day and 25-30 grams fiber daily. I have been chastised on this board for this diet plan with claims that it is unhealthy, I will lose my hair, suffer horrible declines in my health, will not be able to maintain once I lose what I want. None of this has come true so far and my doctor is pleased. I am 70 years old, 5 ft. 2.5inches tall. I walk 5 miles most days of the week. I would suggest you consult your doctor on what plan is healthy for you.

as a long term member of these boards, I am not sure what you would have been chastised for in the above.

With all the information given - you are an older shortish female losing at the rate of just over 1 lb per week over time, then 1200 may well be right for you.

You are the demographic which long term MFP-ers do say 1200 is the right amount for - and if you are not doing highly energetic excercise - ie you are just doing walking - then most likely your non eaten back excercise calories is evening up with some inaccurate logging.

Your results would suggest you probably are eating around about 1200 calories net - and what you are doing is working, so no problem.

But I'm really not getting the point of all these anecdotal 'But I did x and that works for me!' posts

If what you are doing is working for you - great.

Ive always pushed the line that you do not need to log to the nth degree of accuracy, (and I certainly don't) you only need to log to the degree that works for you

What OP is doing is not working though so upping the degree of logging to find out why, would be a good step.

nationalvillage3215 · May 2020

Obviously people think I am losing weight incorrectly, find my post somewhat offensive, and I do not accurately log my food (which I do). I will therefore, probably to the relief of many, will divert to the experts, scientists and mathmetician posters and will no longer be participating on the MFP Community Boards.

janejellyroll · May 2020

nationalvillage3215 wrote: »

Obviously people think I am losing weight incorrectly, find my post somewhat offensive, and I do not accurately log my food (which I do). I will therefore, probably to the relief of many, will divert to the experts, scientists and mathmetician posters and will no longer be participating on the MFP Community Boards.

Nobody thinks you're losing weight incorrectly. At issue is whether or not it is good advice for OP to have less data (what you're recommending) instead of more data. You are seeing results that are satisfactory for you. OP isn't. So your advice that it is okay to be less accurate doesn't really apply here.

Anniejazz · May 2020

Check the EM2WL group here.

Beverly2Hansen · May 2020

MFP vastly overestimates exercise calories. The giant surplus your eating back is ruining your goals. When I stopped using MFP and just ate a deficit without logging exercise I lost 13lbs. Now I'm using MFP without logging exercise or eating back any extra calories and will begin losing weight again. I really wish MFP had settings to stop adding exercise calories and encouraging you to eat them back. I made my own exercise that burns 1 calorie so I could note I'm working out without really effecting my base calories.

lazirlott · May 2020

Your body type can be a factor. I am short (5'2") and have a small build, I have to eat 1000 calories to lose weight. I do not lose weight if I eat 1200.

moonangel12 · May 2020

Beverly2Hansen wrote: »

MFP vastly overestimates exercise calories. The giant surplus your eating back is ruining your goals. When I stopped using MFP and just ate a deficit without logging exercise I lost 13lbs. Now I'm using MFP without logging exercise or eating back any extra calories and will begin losing weight again. I really wish MFP had settings to stop adding exercise calories and encouraging you to eat them back. I made my own exercise that burns 1 calorie so I could note I'm working out without really effecting my base calories.

This is one of those “your miles may vary” topics because I eat back nearly all of my exercise calories logged by Garmin and have lost at the expected rate. If I didn’t eat back exercise calories I would be a mess because some days it’s 800-1000 if I do something extensive (Sprint Tri one day, Sunday I went hiking with the family, then 4 mile run later in the evening, etc.). Most exercise days I average around 300-400 for running and am noticeably hungry for days afterwards if I don’t properly refuel (especially if I stay consistently active, which is happening more and more with warm weather - walks, gardening, yard work, chores, etc.)).

janejellyroll · May 2020

Beverly2Hansen wrote: »

MFP vastly overestimates exercise calories. The giant surplus your eating back is ruining your goals. When I stopped using MFP and just ate a deficit without logging exercise I lost 13lbs. Now I'm using MFP without logging exercise or eating back any extra calories and will begin losing weight again. I really wish MFP had settings to stop adding exercise calories and encouraging you to eat them back. I made my own exercise that burns 1 calorie so I could note I'm working out without really effecting my base calories.

This may work well for people who aren't very active, but it isn't appropriate at all for more active people. You need to account for your activity in some way -- either in your initial calorie goal or through making adjustments.

audrianna4969 · May 2020

I would definitely agree with everyone about weighing your food with a scale. You would be surprised how much calories can vary. Also make sure you’re tracking any oils you cook your food in. Those can be quite high in calories. Try using cooking sprays when you can. I know it doesn’t always do the food justice. You don’t have to do it for every meal but I found that really helped me.

kshama2001 · May 2020

Beverly2Hansen wrote: »

MFP vastly overestimates exercise calories. The giant surplus your eating back is ruining your goals. When I stopped using MFP and just ate a deficit without logging exercise I lost 13lbs. Now I'm using MFP without logging exercise or eating back any extra calories and will begin losing weight again. I really wish MFP had settings to stop adding exercise calories and encouraging you to eat them back. I made my own exercise that burns 1 calorie so I could note I'm working out without really effecting my base calories.

The setting is accurate logging of calories in and calories out and adjusting percentage of exercise calories after collecting data over time

For some people it's 50%, for others 100%, etc.

If 0% is an accurate predictor, something is wrong with the logging of calories in.

paperpudding · May 2020

nationalvillage3215 wrote: »

Obviously people think I am losing weight incorrectly, find my post somewhat offensive, and I do not accurately log my food (which I do). I will therefore, probably to the relief of many, will divert to the experts, scientists and mathmetician posters and will no longer be participating on the MFP Community Boards.

Nobody said you are losing weight incorrectly

or found your post offensive

and I would say none of us log our food accurately - some just do it more accurately than others and it isnt a competition anyway, you only have to do it as accurately as you want to or as works for you - ie gets the desired results.

which is really a paraphrase of what I said before.

Is this what you called before posters chastising you???

seems more like you getting offended at nothing to me.

paperpudding · May 2020

lazirlott wrote: »

Your body type can be a factor. I am short (5'2") and have a small build, I have to eat 1000 calories to lose weight. I do not lose weight if I eat 1200.

More likely you do not lose weight if you eat more than your logged 1000.

Which again, fine if it is working for you - but most likely you are actually eating more than 1000.

5 ft 2 is not excessively short and 'body type' doesnt really change the equation.

bmeadows380 · May 2020

audrianna4969 wrote: »

I would definitely agree with everyone about weighing your food with a scale. You would be surprised how much calories can vary. Also make sure you’re tracking any oils you cook your food in. Those can be quite high in calories. Try using cooking sprays when you can. I know it doesn’t always do the food justice. You don’t have to do it for every meal but I found that really helped me.

I had that driven home for me this week. I decided to make the black bean brownies on the front page this week. Usually, I'll just go by the can's serving and call it 3.5 servings for 1 whole can beans, but I got curious this time, wondering if that can was considering the liquid with the beans as part of the serving. So, after rinsing the beans, I weighed them and found that there was only 2 servings of actual beans in that can by weight! (which was rather nice, actually, as it did reduce the calories of the brownies

)

Lillymoo01 · May 2020

nationalvillage3215 wrote: »

Obviously people think I am losing weight incorrectly, find my post somewhat offensive, and I do not accurately log my food (which I do). I will therefore, probably to the relief of many, will divert to the experts, scientists and mathmetician posters and will no longer be participating on the MFP Community Boards.

If what you are doing works for you and you are losing weight at a healthy rate then you are doing it correctly - FOR YOU! If this is the case then keep going as you are because you should be proud of your efforts. If, for whatever reason, they stop working then reassess.

Mazintrov13 · May 2020

I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned but for those who don’t like the added excersise calories you can also google a tdee calculator and change your calorie amount in MFP and aim to eat that amount every day. It’s just the way MFP works to eat back excersise cals.

This is what I did when I first started then over time was able to figure out my actual maintenance based on the data I had

sijomial · May 2020

Mazintrov13 wrote: »

I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned but for those who don’t like the added excersise calories you can also google a tdee calculator and change your calorie amount in MFP and aim to eat that amount every day. It’s just the way MFP works to eat back excersise cals.

This is what I did when I first started then over time was able to figure out my actual maintenance based on the data I had

Just to point out TDEE method still has you eating back exercise calories - they are just estimated in advance instead of after the event (inherently even less accurate).

It's a perfecty valid method of course which highlights that despite inaccurate exercise estimates if people are eating the right amount (some experimentation required...) they can still lose weight / maintain weight successfully.

Only eating 1200 calories a day and not losing Weight

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