going up and down same few pounds?

letsdothis84
letsdothis84 Posts: 77 Member
edited October 26 in Health and Weight Loss
Ive been following the plan now for a few months and it seems to be that im going up and down the same few pounds and not actually losing anything. I choose 1500 cal diet as felt 1200 was too little and i was starving. Has anyone else managed to loose on 1500 calories? I am exercising regulary and ensuring that i eat within my allowance, im definately not undereating.

Can anyone help? this is really getting to me as i have been working so hard. :(

Replies

  • EddieG77
    EddieG77 Posts: 185 Member
    Yes this happens....I was stuck for months as well. Since joining here, I am drinking a lot of water....way more than what I used to and this has helped...perhaps open up your diary and people can provide feedback....if you would want that!! Stay strong.....it takes time but it will happen!!!
  • hayley26d
    hayley26d Posts: 80 Member
    Same thing here, so i will be interested in replies
  • Roblyssa
    Roblyssa Posts: 125
    I am going through the exact same thing, I could have written your post myself, except I am on the 1200 calorie a day allowance.

    I have been doing this for 3 months now and I have barely lost a thing because I keep going up and down over the same weight each and every week. I can not seem to break through this struggle with the scales.

    I sure hope things start to move for us both soon!
  • ScubyUK
    ScubyUK Posts: 271 Member
    Did you take starting measurements? Chest, Waist, Hips, Biceps and Thighs?

    If you are eating right and exercising you may be building some lean muscle (a good thing) as well as losing some of the fat.
    Don't rely purely on scales as a measure of success.

    I had a similar thing, in 20 days, my weight didn't change more than 2lbs, but I lost 5cm off my waist and lost some of my arms, thigh's etc too.
  • MousePinkle
    MousePinkle Posts: 2
    I haven't been on MFP for long but i have found from previous eating/fitness plans, that the thing that makes the fat disappear is exercise. Initially you will loose a bit of weight on the scales, then as you build muscles you will gain weight (but the mirror will tell you the truth) So basically.. what I am saying is... unfortunately... more exercise is needed... and i mean sweaty, vigorous, back breaking exercise.
  • letsdothis84
    letsdothis84 Posts: 77 Member
    I run 3 times a week, do body pump twice a week, shred every day and walk back and forth to work fast past 25mins each way. Dont have time to do anymore at present. I do sweat when im working out but it just doesnt seem to be enough. :(
  • snowbab
    snowbab Posts: 192 Member
    Bump because I have this exact problem! 1500, exercise, healthy food, down 2 pounds then back again and so on... :(
  • letsdothis84
    letsdothis84 Posts: 77 Member
    How do i know what my maintenance calories would be? I could try to eat 1200 as recommended but i really struggled before, i was hungry all the time and found even after excersigin and eating those calories i still needed it to be at least 1400-1500

    Thanks for all your replies!
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
    I think you need to eat more, heres why..

    Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
    With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
    With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
    With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
    and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle building, and reducing fat. This means it is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode).

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

    Good luck on your journey
  • 1cntyrblsng
    1cntyrblsng Posts: 2
    I first started on 1200 cal, with no bread, or pasta. Mainly fruits and veg. I barely lost anything. All thur the holidays I was good. I walked 3 days a week in the snow or cold, drank my water, but nothing was working. So now I'm down to 1000 cal with mostly protein. Breakfast/ lunch ( around 9;30) I have 2 eggs, bacon, cheese scramble. That carries me thur the day. Home at 4, I start dinner. One heart friendly steak 5oz from Kanas City for 140 cal , seasoned with onioons, sweet potote, and winter squash. for a grand total of around 1000 cal. I'm not hungary and finially I see wieght lost.
  • momof3and3
    momof3and3 Posts: 656 Member
    Do you measure your food? This way you are sure of your calorie count is accurate. The maintance calories are the calories that you need before you are given your defiecit to loose weight, it will be in your goals section...

    Try and up your lean protein and cut down on carbs ( cut down on bread, rice, potaotes, etc....) just for a few days....doing that usually jumpstarts weight loss...it takes away water weight...
  • Dtho5159
    Dtho5159 Posts: 1,054 Member
    Are you eating back your exercise calories? If you eat 1500 but burn say 500, that means you're really only eating 1000 which is too low. MFP sets you up with a deficit already without adding in exercise so if you don't eat your exercise calories back, you may want to start and see if it helps.
  • rovinglunatic
    rovinglunatic Posts: 1
    There are calculators to find your daily maintenance calorie intake. I agree with previous posters - it's more important to eat 15-20% under your maintenance number than it is to just shoot for a number. You can find them using Google. I think MFP uses it to figure out what your daily calories should be (maintenance) and you should shoot for the 15-20% under that.

    Also, I find that "a calorie is a calorie" is a useful slogan, but only to a point. If you're still hungry eating the deficit amount, try eating more protein and low glycemic fibrous foods (vegetables or fruits like apples, etc) and fewer carbs (starches, pastas, breads) - they digest slower and you'll feel less likely to find "bad" things to eat.
  • chrisssiex23x
    chrisssiex23x Posts: 431 Member
    I currently eat 1200 calories a day and i manage pretty well better i never manage to eat the full 1200 calories..i aslo try to work out more than i eat to. ive start drinks loads of water.. instead of fizzy juice :( and ive been told of alot of people not to have loads of bread or tin soup make your own soup.. ive only had my breakfast which was and replacement shake.. at 201 calories and the go ahead biscuits for a snack which i think is 248 calories.. and i also work out in the morning because i work 5-9pm and i use to be hungry when i came home but because i have my dinner at 3pm i make use i put more calories on there to make up what ill be using at work.. and now im never hungry..i lost 3 lbs last week but the weekend got me and i put 2lbs on but i know ill lose it again.. cause im at the time of the month (mpt)
    Like someone said you need to change some of you excerises your body has got used to the one your doing all the time and is doesnt help at all.. ive taken up zumba for the wii and just dance 3 which has sweat points on it.. and im always full of engery now..

    I do hope you find something that works for you.. oh for you running you should like jog then spirt then jog then spirt.. i heard its ment to be good for trying to lose weight to <3 x
  • MousePinkle
    MousePinkle Posts: 2
    one other thing i find seems to work for me is restricting when i eat my big calorie meals, I will eat big for breakfast, then a small snack, moderate for lunch, then very small dinner, and make sure dinner is 4 to 5 hours before bed time. This way the energy i consume in the meals is actually burned up in my daily activities and while i sleep there is very little food sitting in my system. I used to work into the evenings then eat a large dinner shortly before bed.. my weight slowly crept up, when i made this change (along with exercise) i saw huge improvements.

    Also, skipping meals so I can fit a large calorie meal into the MFP calorie counter doesn't help as I would be starving myself in between which makes my body hold on to the energy in the next meal it gets. - messes with metabolism.
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
    I think you need to eat more, heres why..

    Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
    With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
    With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
    With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
    and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle building, and reducing fat. This means it is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode).

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

    Good luck on your journey

    ^^this.
    to find out your maintenance calories, in 'goals' there is an option to 'maintain current weight', choose this and it will show your calories, you can then set back to your loss goal.
    if you only have 9 pounds to lose, then you should have your goal set as 0.5lbs per week (a deficit of 250 per day), so even at 1500 you are probably undereating. your body doesnt have enough fat left for you to lose more than this, which will result in burning muscle and making it harder to lose the lbs. As the calorie total MFP gives you already includes the deficit for this amount, it is important to eat back your exercise calories so you dont create too large a deficit.
    Another way to do it would be to set your goals to maintain and eat at maintanence level, and use your exercise to create the deficit by not eating back exercise cals.
    also take measurements - at the end of the day if you can get into the size clothes you would like, it doesnt matter what the number on the scale says. a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat so if you are exercising a lot, especially with weight training, you can quite easily go down a size but maintain or even gain a few lbs!
    hope this helps x
  • hayley26d
    hayley26d Posts: 80 Member
    SO. At the minute im set at 1200 calories a day. I normally exercise between 400 - 500 per day. I generally eat around 1000 - 1300 calories per day. And i dont feel hungry at all.

    Im 5 foot 6 and 155 - 157 lbs.

    How many calories should i eat per day?

    Im easily confused today :)
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    Two things. 1. Open your food diary. 2. Get some more friends on here to hold you accountable. In regards to the food. You may be sticking to your goals but eating terrible food all day which will not help you lose weight. If people can see what you are eating, they can offer suggestions that might help you out in that area. That's really all I can think of since you are working out a fair amount, but it definitely couldn't hurt to try some other exercise. I started using the arc trainer at my gym and it is awesome!
  • letsdothis84
    letsdothis84 Posts: 77 Member
    Ive had a look on here and chose the maintenance option and it says that i should be 1560 to maintain?? if this is right eating 1500 wont help me lose weight!

    Any thoughts anyone?
  • keiraev
    keiraev Posts: 695 Member
    Ive had a look on here and chose the maintenance option and it says that i should be 1560 to maintain?? if this is right eating 1500 wont help me lose weight!

    Any thoughts anyone?

    You are obviously quite small/light anyway then in that case?

    I am 119 lb and need to eat 1670 to maintain. To lose I would need to eat between 1200 - 1450 ish

    If you haven't got much left to lose try adjusting your settings to lose 0.5lb a week - so 250 less than you are currently = 1250 NET (so you MUST eat your exercise calories too or u will be starving and no energy to fuel workouts)

    Hope this helps- the last 10lb are the hardest to shift.
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
    Ive had a look on here and chose the maintenance option and it says that i should be 1560 to maintain?? if this is right eating 1500 wont help me lose weight!

    Any thoughts anyone?

    whats is your height / weight / activity level?
  • letsdothis84
    letsdothis84 Posts: 77 Member
    im 5ft 3 and around 124-126 lbs. I would say i am pretty active, i walk to and from work every day 25 mins each way, run 3 times a week and do body pump on the alternative days and have recently started to do shred ( on day 9) My job is office based though so i dont really move at all while im at work.

    Thanks for everyones replies, it is really helpful to have other peoples opinions/experiences. :)
  • keiraev
    keiraev Posts: 695 Member
    im 5ft 3 and around 124-126 lbs. I would say i am pretty active, i walk to and from work every day 25 mins each way, run 3 times a week and do body pump on the alternative days and have recently started to do shred ( on day 9) My job is office based though so i dont really move at all while im at work.

    Thanks for everyones replies, it is really helpful to have other peoples opinions/experiences. :)

    You sound like you need to adjust your settings to "lightly active" to get your maintenance level.

    Then subtract -250 cals to lose 0.5 lb a week or -500 to lose 1lb a week
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,023 Member
    Ive been following the plan now for a few months and it seems to be that im going up and down the same few pounds and not actually losing anything. I choose 1500 cal diet as felt 1200 was too little and i was starving. Has anyone else managed to loose on 1500 calories? I am exercising regulary and ensuring that i eat within my allowance, im definately not undereating.

    Can anyone help? this is really getting to me as i have been working so hard. :(
    I'm betting you're not as consistent as you think.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
    im 5ft 3 and around 124-126 lbs. I would say i am pretty active, i walk to and from work every day 25 mins each way, run 3 times a week and do body pump on the alternative days and have recently started to do shred ( on day 9) My job is office based though so i dont really move at all while im at work.

    Thanks for everyones replies, it is really helpful to have other peoples opinions/experiences. :)

    You sound like you need to adjust your settings to "lightly active" to get your maintenance level.

    Then subtract -250 cals to lose 0.5 lb a week or -500 to lose 1lb a week

    i agree with above, lightly active will give you 1710 cals to maintain / 1460 plus eating back exercise to lose 0.5lb a week.
    you dont have much to lose though so 1lb a week would be overdoing it.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    ive been given advice on weight management for this. I eat 1350-1600 calories. Ive been told to NOT eat any less ever... certainly never lower than 1200. Ive been told to up the intensity of exercise but more importantly build lean muscle mass by doing strength exercises eg weights, resistance bands, press ups, sit ups etc. bigger loser wii game (assume on other consoles also) is great for this.. Including strength exercises is key... i just need to learn more about it myself really x
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
    Ive been following the plan now for a few months and it seems to be that im going up and down the same few pounds and not actually losing anything. I choose 1500 cal diet as felt 1200 was too little and i was starving. Has anyone else managed to loose on 1500 calories? I am exercising regulary and ensuring that i eat within my allowance, im definately not undereating.

    Can anyone help? this is really getting to me as i have been working so hard. :(

    The bottom line is if you aren't losing over a few month period, you're simply eating too many calories. Whether it be by mistake or by miscalculation or simply by choice. First step is to go back and re-evaluate your intake. Study after study has been done which all showed that people suck at counting calories. Everyone I've tried to help learn how to count calories had problems doing with accuracy. It's okay, it happens.

    Tips:
    Buy a digital scale that measures in grams
    Weigh EVERYTHING that you eat
    Double check everything you log to ensure that its macro-nutrient composition equates to its calorie content
    If you cannot without a doubt name all of the ingredients in a dish, don't eat it. Trace fats are everywhere and can add a considerable amount of calories to your diet
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