Not Eating Enough?
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k41875
Posts: 6 Member
My weight loss is going very slow. My calorie count is 1610 but eat around 1200 ish typically. I walk 6-9 miles 6 days a week. Am I not eating enough? The scale is crawling.
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Replies
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what do you mean by crawling? need more info—height, weight, how much you are losing per week and how many weeks you have been at it.1
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Weight loss is a slow process...most people have completely unrealistic expectations for losing weight and how it works which is why I find focusing on nutrition and health and whole body wellness and fitness to be far more beneficial...when you do those things consistently over time, your weight follows.2
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I just completed 8 weeks. I’m 5’6, about 215 and I’m losing like a pound, sometimes a little more a week. But I’m walking 18,000 - 21,000 steps a day.1
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That's a fairly typical rate of loss. You can lower calories slightly on a weekly basis if you want a slightly faster loss. No, you aren't eating too little. I think you're underestimating your weekly calorie amount.0
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I would check logging accuracy as you are likely eating more than you think you are...but a pound or more per week is a good rate of loss.3
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That’s a great rate of loss, but I do agree with you that with your stats, that many steps per day, and 1200 calories, I would expect to lose faster.
Do you log every single day? Do you measure food with a digital food scale? While neither are required to lose weight (and I’ll reiterate that a pound a week is great), either could be an answer to why you aren’t seeing what you expect.0 -
I agree with others - you are likely not eating 1200 — HOWEVER you are in a deficit and a pound a week is a great rate. So nothing wrong with continuing as you are unless you want to tighten up how you calculate / measure for the future1
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This is the point where it feels like a nightmare and it may seem impossible- “I’m barely eating anything and I’m not losing much”. Trust me, the hunger and habit change may be difficult but it will change over time.
You are used to a certain amount of calories/comfort foods everyday. Your body feels like you’re not eating enough. Logging issues make you feel you’re doing it correctly but the scale proves otherwise. This is the crossroads everyone takes, you’re not alone. You either: 1. decide to bypass your comfort zone and weigh your food on a scale to get the reality of what you’re eating, 2. you can fuss with it on your own in an intuitive eating way (results not guaranteed), or 3. just throw in the towel and end up here again in the future.
Sometimes it takes awhile, passed being really frustrated about this, and THAT’S OKAY! Losing weight is more than just being a robot and following a protocol. I wish I were able to be this way tbh, but unfortunately I have a lot of personal work too. Our emotions- thoughts and feelings, need to align, and then our habits can create new lifestyles. Let us know where you are (honestly) and we’ll tick those boxes with you until you’re on the road to success. I wish you all the best!4 -
I just completed 8 weeks. I’m 5’6, about 215 and I’m losing like a pound, sometimes a little more a week. But I’m walking 18,000 - 21,000 steps a day.
Why is this a problem?
Losing steadily at about a pound a week is normal. Have realistic expectations.
It doesn't matter what your calories on paper are. I would guess your actual calories are more but what is important is real life results - which are going just fine.4 -
Not sure if it makes a difference but I’m not eating my exercise calories. Maybe I need to?0
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I’m not sure if my body needs the exercise calories. I’m new to the exercise game and didn’t realize I was earning that many more calories.0
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Well, if you set up your Goals here on this site, then the site calculates a weight loss calorie "base." When you exercise you enter the exercise into the "Exercise" part of the program and yes, eat more. Read this:
https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-
You are losing weight, so I'd say just give it more time and tighten up your food and exercise logging.
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Not sure if it makes a difference but I’m not eating my exercise calories. Maybe I need to?
Yeah, you could. But this won’t make you lose weight faster. It will slow it down, because you are eating more calories.
If you want the most honest, helpful feedback, open up your diary or share some screen shots. There are a lot of people here who are really good and spitting issues.
Recap from the answers you’ve received: Eating more calories will not make you lose faster. A pound a week is good. If you want to step it up, focus on logging accurately and note where you might be able to tighten it up, or cut extra calories in favor of more nutritious options.
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SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
Well, for now, I agree.
Long term, especially if a person has a variable exercise schedule, I think it can be helpful to develop a loose understanding of what our personal exercise calorie needs are, approximately.
Many of us will have times when we can't exercise (illness, surgical recovery, other major life demands), and it's common for that to be something that triggers regain for people. Knowing how to adjust food intake, even very roughly, can help weather those life stages with less tendency to regain, IME.
I don't think that's a skill set that's needed on day 1 of weight loss, or even early in loss. It might be good to work on at some point before reaching maintenance, though. I'm not saying it's essential, just useful.0 -
I’m not sure if my body needs the exercise calories. I’m new to the exercise game and didn’t realize I was earning that many more calories.
Out of curiosity, how new? Are you sore?
That may be masking weight loss temporarily. You retain water while sore, while your body repairs the soreness. I can easily pick up three or four pounds following a tough work out.1 -
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My wife is a sports MD with a nutritionist in her office.
She says The best thing to do is what you are doing now. Log your “ins” and that means everything and that means accurately. Losing a pound a week is about perfect for long term results. I’d suggest reviewing the accuracy of your logging though. At 1200 kCal and walking that much, you should have a significant deficit.
Eating more won’t help. Eating more frequently might. My wife eats 6x/day and works out daily. Her body fat is 15%. She can “cut” to 11%. Recently, she thought she was heavier than she wanted to be and simply cut carbs. She’s losing .5lb./wk.
I’m on the other side, blessed with a Dad Bod. I went in for a checkup after doing nothing for a month after completing a 180 mile bicycle ride.
I had gained 20lbs, my cholesterol was demanding a statin. I started a careful log. It was eye opening. I ate more junk, drank more alcohol than I would have ever guessed.
Careful logging, less alcohol and back on the bike(100miles/week) , walking 4 miles at night and lifting weights and the weight is coming off.
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It sounds like you're right where you need to be! 1 to 2 pounds per week is great weight loss. Any more on a regular basis would not be healthy.0
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