the master o' confusion...

When you're already in the target BMI range weight will tend to come off slower -- this isn't a bad thing though! It'll come off, slowly but surely! What I would suggest is letting go of the scale for this phase and get in touch with weight training. This way, your body will become leaner and you'll notice the results more even if the scale isn't moving as quickly as you'd like. The trick is, weight training will initially make your weight go up a couple pounds, but then as you slim down and keep eating healthily, the results will speak for themselves.

Instead of aiming for 1200 cals a day, I've started eating anywhere from 250-400 cals every 2 to 3 hrs (depending on how active I have been/will be). This way you're responding to your bodies caloric needs a little better.

Banks here in lies the real issue for us shorties! I am 5'2" 138 pounds. I have a petite frame but use medium for calculations.....well just cuz

I haven't lost a pound since around January. I still have obvious fat on my body. I know BMI and BMR and all that good stuff............but for me

1200 + exercise cals= no weight loss
1350 + exercise cals = no weight loss
1600 + no exercise cals= no weight loss

Here is the kicker. When I was really sick a few months ago, I ate approx 1000 cals a day. I was forcing THAT much down with the way I was feeling, but because of MFP I was smart and knew I had to eat and ate all really good, high protien foods. egg whites, boiled chicken, protien shakes with fruits.

The point is no exercise + 1000 calories and I lost 2 pounds.

I am at maint. cals now 1685, exercise 3 days a week, with weight training. I am taking a break from the low cals to see what happens.


I just cant keep my brain from the desire to eat 1k a day!

Banks here in lies the real issue for us shorties! I am 5'2" 138 pounds. I have a petite frame but use medium for calculations.....well just cuz

I haven't lost a pound since around January. I still have obvious fat on my body. I know BMI and BMR and all that good stuff............but for me

1200 + exercise cals= no weight loss
1350 + exercise cals = no weight loss
1600 + no exercise cals= no weight loss

Here is the kicker. When I was really sick a few months ago, I ate approx 1000 cals a day. I was forcing THAT much down with the way I was feeling, but because of MFP I was smart and knew I had to eat and ate all really good, high protien foods. egg whites, boiled chicken, protien shakes with fruits.

The point is no exercise + 1000 calories and I lost 2 pounds.

I am at maint. cals now 1685, exercise 3 days a week, with weight training. I am taking a break from the low cals to see what happens.


I just cant keep my brain from the desire to eat 1k a day!

Right, you probably have a depressed metabolism. I mean, I'm guessing, but it's an educated guess. it takes a LOOOOONG time for your metabolism to do a 180.

Here's my reasoning.

1200, way too low, you were still suppressing your metabolism's desire to increase calorie burn.

1350, ditto above.

So in reality you've been at a decent calorie range for what? A few weeks? A month? Not long enough necessarilly. Takes a long time for your body to recover from famine. 1st it has to recognize that you're feeding it more, that takes a few weeks, then it has to adjust the chemical processes that increase your metabolism, another few weeks, then it has to begin building muscle, another few weeks, it takes a while to reverse.

Put it this way, for someone with a BMI near healthy, the turn around is 4 to 12 weeks to start losing weight, and even then, it's gonna be 1/2 to 1 lb a month. So you may not immediately notice.

You mentioned that you lost weight at 1000 calories. Well yeah, sure you did. I'll bet 1/2 of it was muscle though. I know you know this stuff already so I'm not going to beat you up about it. My other thought is that maybe because you have been working so hard the last few months, that your metabolism needs MORE then the average, so the deficit is actually LARGER then you think it is. Also a possibility. Keep tweaking. Keep giving each tweak 3 to 4 weeks, you'll find it. I know you will.

Banks here in lies the real issue for us shorties! I am 5'2" 138 pounds. I have a petite frame but use medium for calculations.....well just cuz

I haven't lost a pound since around January. I still have obvious fat on my body. I know BMI and BMR and all that good stuff............but for me

1200 + exercise cals= no weight loss
1350 + exercise cals = no weight loss
1600 + no exercise cals= no weight loss

Here is the kicker. When I was really sick a few months ago, I ate approx 1000 cals a day. I was forcing THAT much down with the way I was feeling, but because of MFP I was smart and knew I had to eat and ate all really good, high protien foods. egg whites, boiled chicken, protien shakes with fruits.

The point is no exercise + 1000 calories and I lost 2 pounds.

I am at maint. cals now 1685, exercise 3 days a week, with weight training. I am taking a break from the low cals to see what happens.


I just cant keep my brain from the desire to eat 1k a day!

Right, you probably have a depressed metabolism. I mean, I'm guessing, but it's an educated guess. it takes a LOOOOONG time for your metabolism to do a 180.

Here's my reasoning.

1200, way too low, you were still suppressing your metabolism's desire to increase calorie burn.

1350, ditto above.

So in reality you've been at a decent calorie range for what? A few weeks? A month? Not long enough necessarilly. Takes a long time for your body to recover from famine. 1st it has to recognize that you're feeding it more, that takes a few weeks, then it has to adjust the chemical processes that increase your metabolism, another few weeks, then it has to begin building muscle, another few weeks, it takes a while to reverse.

Put it this way, for someone with a BMI near healthy, the turn around is 4 to 12 weeks to start losing weight, and even then, it's gonna be 1/2 to 1 lb a month. So you may not immediately notice.

You mentioned that you lost weight at 1000 calories. Well yeah, sure you did. I'll bet 1/2 of it was muscle though. I know you know this stuff already so I'm not going to beat you up about it. My other thought is that maybe because you have been working so hard the last few months, that your metabolism needs MORE then the average, so the deficit is actually LARGER then you think it is. Also a possibility. Keep tweaking. Keep giving each tweak 3 to 4 weeks, you'll find it. I know you will.

Thanks Steve. I do know this stuff, just like we knew alcohol shrinks brain cells but still during our late teens early 20s we pickled some organs!

Sometimes we just need someone who is educated,caring, but with a boxing glove to put us in the right frame of mind!!:blushing:

So we shall see with my little experiment. I am eating 1600 cals of good food, exercise 4 x week with weight training (no wimpy crap either) and lets see what happens in 4 weeks.

has gotten confused!!
I am a female, 5'3, 136lbs, 18 yrs and my BMR is 1369....
Which means if I eat the minimum of 1200 calories a day, I should lose .2lbs a week??? :brokenheart:
ONLY?? :noway:
I'm new here btw so help me out!! I want to lose 1-2lbs a week to be ready for my ball! Is this too mush to ask? I've got 9 weeks.

If you were me what would your calorie intake and expenditure be?
Do I eat my exercise calories?
Do I wear my Polar all day or only during exercise?

WHAT SHOULD I DO???

Please help!! (great site too!!)

Thanks guys!! xoxo Sara :flowerforyou:

you say you want to lose 1-2 pounds a week for 9 weeks. Let's go with 2 pounds a week for 9 weeks so 18 pounds to lose...

now this is not a long term plan so you might gain some weight back after the Ball...but to answer your question-

the way ro get a quick loss like that is simple AND hard-

the number of calories you take in is important but noone has mentioned the type of calories...very common here....everyone is so hung up on the number of calories and just as much importance if not more should be placed on the quality of the calories expecially when you want to drop faster than the "lifestyle" change we all promote-

to drop weight fast you need to limit carbs- to get enough calories you want to increase protein

for nine weeks-
cut out all bread
cut out all rice...cut out all pasta...no pizza...no cereal...no white potatoes

cut out all crap- no sugar (cookies, cakes, etc)

no chips.. you know what crap is

increase your protein.. ,,,,get some protein powder and take protein shakes

eat a bowl of oatmeal and some protein for breakfast...the oatmeal has good carbs to fuel your day

do cardio everyday assuming you have no heart..blood pressure issues....get sweaty every day

do not simply limit your calories but do limit your carbs

please understand that I do not promote this regimen for the long term...but to drop the weight for your Ball....this will do it

I agree. The 1st 10 pounds I lost were just from eliminating anything white from my diet and adding protein.

:drinker:

has gotten confused!!
I am a female, 5'3, 136lbs, 18 yrs and my BMR is 1369....
Which means if I eat the minimum of 1200 calories a day, I should lose .2lbs a week??? :brokenheart:
ONLY?? :noway:
I'm new here btw so help me out!! I want to lose 1-2lbs a week to be ready for my ball! Is this too mush to ask? I've got 9 weeks.

If you were me what would your calorie intake and expenditure be?
Do I eat my exercise calories?
Do I wear my Polar all day or only during exercise?

WHAT SHOULD I DO???

Please help!! (great site too!!)

Thanks guys!! xoxo Sara :flowerforyou:

I wear my HRM when exercising only, and when doing strenuous houswork (like gardening or a heavy day of laundry).

It is really hard to lose 2 pounds a week when you are within 10% of your ideal weight. You will have to work very hard with cardio and clean calories to get there. I did this when I was younger and my metabolism was better.

Good luck to you Sara!!

I'm 5'2" and started out in January at 143. I currently weigh 116. Here's how I did it.

I ate 1300 healthy calories a day. I worked out six days a week, alternating strength and cardio. I did not eat my exercise calories at all until I hit about 125. When I hit 125, I upped my calories to about 1400 (sometimes a little bit more). I consistently lost 2 pounds a week right down to where I am right now. I didn't lose muscle at the lower calorie deficit because I wasn't at much of a lower calorie deficit AND I was doing strength training (in fact, I've gained quite a bit of muscle). At this weight, I only need 1400 calories to maintain my weight, so eating 1300 calories is NOT starvation mode for me, even with working out.

At this weight/height, it is actually difficult to burn many calories working out. I burn about 1/2 what MFP says I would burn doing any given activity (especially cardio). This has been confirmed over and over with my HRM. So do wear your HRM when exercising and pay attention to that. You don't need to wear it otherwise.

Your metabolism is going to be faster than mine because you are 25 years younger than I am. However, as somebody who is relatively short in stature, the general rules sometimes don't apply.

My recommendation would be to keep your calories around 1400 (or in the 1300-1400 range if you are comfortable there) and not eat your exercise calories until you are burning more than about 300-500 calories working out per day. You need to create that 500 calorie deficit using exercise instead of diet if your AMR (in other words, your maintenance calories) is below 1700. That's just the way it is for those of us who are shorter.

I lost weight very easily listening to my body, being smart about what I was eating (because what you are eating does matter), and working out hard. I know you are getting alot of conflicting information, but, quite honestly, if you take the time to figure out your body (for example, knowing what your current maintenance calories or AMR is), then it becomes a pretty simple math equation. I didn't plateau once and actually blew right through my goal (of 120lbs). I'm as fit and healthy as I have been in years and am finding it quite easy to maintain this weight, so I obviously didn't do any permanent damage to my body.

Best of luck to you.