Am I eating enough?

You’re not eating back any of your exercise calories?

Do you use a food scale?

I'm your height, 5'5", also female (just much older/somewhat lighter). Unless you're unusually muscular, I don't think 100g is an unreasonable protein intake. What do you have your protein goal set at, that 100g isn't meeting it?

Are you eating back exercise on top of the 1200? Have you taken a diet break at (estimated) maintenance calories along the way?

It's conceivable to me that you might benefit from at least a period at higher calories, although - speaking generically - eating more calories isn't usually a route to increasing fat loss. (It can be a route to moderating some adaptive effects after a too-long time at severely reduced calories. 1200 does sound like a severe reduction at your current size, especially if not eating exercise calories. It would be severe for me, even at around 16 pounds lighter.)

Like Haitch said, going to estimated maintenance calories will cause a scale jump. If you can cope with that, great. Otherwise, maybe increase by 100-200 calories this week, do it again next week, then keep repeating until you are at estimated maintenance calories. Stay there for at least a couple of weeks to a month. There would still be a scale gain (water weight and average digestive contents in transit, primarily), but not such a big jump all at once.

300g of protein seems WAY too much. How did you come up with that figure? Did MFP give it to you?

Like stated above, you want to aim for 08g-1.0g of protein per lean body mass weight (most people do 0.8g per total body weight). That would give you a goal of 112g of protein per day. Anything too much above that isn't really going to be helpful to be honest.

cauleyschaff wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your advice!! MFP wants me to eat over 300 grams of protein for my settings. I make sure I get at least 100 grams of protein daily. I weigh everything and don't put anything in my mouth that I don't log. Although it can never be 100% accurate. I have MFP set at 1,200 calories and with my workouts (Avg daily burn is 775) I have about 400 - 500 calories left per day. Honestly I will probably struggle with seeing the scale go up if I start to add more calories. Maybe I back off my 2nd daily workout?

Did you reset your macro percents at some point? 300g of protein is 1200 calories worth of just protein. The MFP default protein percentage is not going to recommend 1200g of protein to someone with a 1386 BMR unless they have a massive, massive activity/exercise level; and since its default recommendations are based on percent, it should not be asking you to eat 100% protein by default, if you're set at 1200. Something literally doesn't add up.

100g of protein is going to be adequate for a 5'5" woman at age 45, even when strength training. (It should be close enough to 1g/pound of lean body mass.)

Yes, you should eat more.

With your exercise schedule, and an estimated BMR at 1386, there is no way - short of a *truly major* medical problem - that you will gain fat if you eat more than 1200 calories. If seeing the scale go up is stressful for you, add calories gradually . . . even though any scale increase from increasing faster would not be fat gain, but water weight/digestive contents, so truly not worth worrying about**.

I'm your height. I've been your weight. (Now, I'm 20 pounds lighter, so should burn fewer calories in BMR from that alone.) I'm 20 years older than you are. I don't work out 7 days a week, rarely do 2-a-days, sometimes not even 1-a-days in Winter. I admit, I'm mysteriously a good li'l ol' calorie burner for some reason, but I've been losing weight ultra slowly on 1850 calories plus all exercise calories, so actually eating around 2100 +/- on exercise days.

If you can get yourself past scale stress, I'm quite certain you can lose weight on more than 1200 calories (especially if you're not now eating back exercise!). Keep in mind that stress itself can cause water retention, and mess with scale readings - I'm talking the physical stress of extreme calorie deficit with heavy exercise plus other physical or psychological stress in your life. (You may even be creating significant health risks for yourself at the moment, if you're seeing muscle loss.****)

Set your MFP profile with your accurate daily-life activity level (before exercise), at most one pound a week weight loss, and work your way up to that intake, while logging and eating back a reasonable estimate of your exercise calories on top of that.

If you try a higher level for at least one to two months, and don't feel better and see weight start to move downward, see your doctor for comprehensive blood tests, and ideally ask for a referral to a registered dietitian besides.

Please eat more. 100g protein is enough.

** If you haven't read this article, please do:

https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations

**** Please read this, too:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10761904/under-1200-for-weight-loss/p1

I agree with others your calories are too low which is common esp when dieting for so long. You likely need a reverse to bring your calories back up to a normal maintenance intake and then maintains on those calories for about 6 months before trying to cut again. Your body has adapted to the deficit and you need to get it back on track or losing anymore will be impossible. I am in the bulk phase of dieting due to the same issues and it’s amazing that eating 1800 calories a day I am not gaining or losing same as when I was at 1200 calories a day. I am 4’11 and 128 lbs so you should be taking in more than me.

Ps-if you open your food log, some of the regulars here can help spot if you have any logging errors.

Also - how long have you been 'stuck' at 141?