increasing exercise, decreasing calories. No change -.-

I've started trying to shift 10lbs since the 1st of january, and I know I shouldn't expect to see major changes yet, but i've only managed to shift about 2lbs since starting!
Its got me so fed up, i started giving up and haven't bothered the last couple of days.
Help!
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Replies

  • MissTomGettingThin
    MissTomGettingThin Posts: 776 Member
    eat more.
  • japruzze
    japruzze Posts: 453 Member
    So increase calories and decrease exercise! I know "wrong" but it can work!
  • netchik
    netchik Posts: 587 Member
    def increase calories. It makes a huge difference!
  • devilsmania
    devilsmania Posts: 2 Member
    Can I ask how increasing calories and decreasing exercise can cause you to lose weight if you hit a brick wall? It seems sort of what you shouldn't be doing.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    I've started trying to shift 10lbs since the 1st of january, and I know I shouldn't expect to see major changes yet, but i've only managed to shift about 2lbs since starting!
    Its got me so fed up, i started giving up and haven't bothered the last couple of days.
    Help!

    Why are many of your days' calories under 800?
  • meggy_182
    meggy_182 Posts: 60 Member
    I've started trying to shift 10lbs since the 1st of january, and I know I shouldn't expect to see major changes yet, but i've only managed to shift about 2lbs since starting!
    Its got me so fed up, i started giving up and haven't bothered the last couple of days.
    Help!

    Why are many of your days' calories under 800?

    I wasn't hungry? I never go hungry.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    eat more.
    ^^^^^^
    THIS!
    You are stifling your metabolism by not eating enough.
    Follow the MFP daily recommendations of 1 [ONE] pound weekly weight loss.

    You've tried it your way, so now try it the right way.
  • eat more.
    ^^^^^^
    THIS!
    You are stifling your metabolism by not eating enough.
    Follow the MFP daily recommendations of 1 [ONE] pound weekly weight loss.

    You've tried it your way, so now try it the right way.

    hahaha YES. Starving yourself doesn't get you anywhere.
  • Rayman233
    Rayman233 Posts: 51 Member
    NEVER give up. You need to eat more when exercising. I found that out myself. I love getting extra food ! Mine is mostly in protein though. Whey and casein both
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 2,951 Member
    trust me it hasn't been long enough.... i have been trying to loose a good 10 lbs since Oct 22 and up till 2 weeks ago i had only lost 4 lbs! I was exercising 45 min a day and eating a min of 1200 cals a day and always eating back my exercise calories! it was this week where i noticed a few more come off. it's slow going and i was about to give up 2 weeks ago, glad i didn't b/c i saw 3 lbs in the last 2 weeks.. with NO exercise, just eating 1200-1300 cals a day!
  • rdunlap81
    rdunlap81 Posts: 94 Member
    If you don't eat the right amount of calories then your body will go into starvation mode and it will not burn weight and you won't lose fat. You have to eat the recommended calories!
  • AmandaCaswell1982
    AmandaCaswell1982 Posts: 170 Member
    Seriously- eat more. that's the one thing that's great about MFP- most people here have been through it. I was eating 1000 cals. HAHAHA... not only was hungry (and that's not good for anyone around me!) I lost about a lb a week. I read a post about eating more when working out and just took a deep breath and gave it a chance.... I started losing about 2 lbs a week! So it worked for me. I eat 1500-1800, depending on my workout. Good luck!
  • meggy_182
    meggy_182 Posts: 60 Member
    I'm never hungry enough to eat the recommended calories : / i don't want to force feed myself food that i'm not hungry for.
  • xcrushx28
    xcrushx28 Posts: 182 Member
    Hunger is usually never a good indicator to tell you whether you are eating enough or not....
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    IMO, not enough time has elapsed for you to make any conclusions about anything.
  • I agree with the people who have posted before me. There were days when I would still have between 500-700 calories left to eat and for some reason, I was never losing weight. I remember being frustrated to tears some days. Then I decided to actually start listening to MFP and have been upping my calorie intake (which, with my exercise is sometimes around 2,00-2,200 per day.) Since then I have been feeling great. I haven't come to my Weigh-In day just yet but I honestly believe that when I do the scale will show a decrease.

    If you have difficulty eating back all of your calories I would suggest eating things like almonds, walnuts, and other high calorie healthy foods to bridge the deficit. If you have a *psychological* problem with eating more (which I had to battle with before I started eating back all of my exercise calories) then that's something you have to work on internally. I know that we've all been coached "eat less exercise more" but sometimes that just isn't the case. I would consider this to be one of them.

    I wish you luck in your weight loss journey and you can add me if you want. :flowerforyou:
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    You've lost 2 lbs in 3 weeks. That's excellent progress.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    I've started trying to shift 10lbs since the 1st of january, and I know I shouldn't expect to see major changes yet, but i've only managed to shift about 2lbs since starting!
    Its got me so fed up, i started giving up and haven't bothered the last couple of days.
    Help!

    Why are many of your days' calories under 800?

    I wasn't hungry? I never go hungry.

    It is not normal to never feel hungry, ESPECIALLY if somebody is taking in such a small amount of calories per day. For this reason, you are strongly advised to visit your doctor.

    Sometimes the hunger signal does not compute with the brain, the body will not feel the normal hunger signals and so not eat - this is particularly so if somebody were on a diet as they would be happy not to feel like stuffing their face, thinking that cutting back on food so drastically will result in great weightlosses. In fact, no hunger pangs is a bit of a bonus really eh.

    The end result will actually be deficiencies in vitamins and minerals which, although you may be fine now, could be detrimental to your health within a short time. Very dangerous.

    Sincerely wishing you all the best and hoping you do visit your doctor to check that all is okay.
  • hiker282
    hiker282 Posts: 983 Member
    I'm never hungry enough to eat the recommended calories : / i don't want to force feed myself food that i'm not hungry for.

    Then eat more calorie dense foods when you do eat.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    I'm never hungry enough to eat the recommended calories : / i don't want to force feed myself food that i'm not hungry for.

    I definitely understand. I eat high fat, high protein and I am almost never hungry. You can see in my diary that I pretty much snack all day and I have to eat a very calorie-dense dinner in the evening after I work out. I'd like to reverse the meal sizes (bigger in the AM) but I am just not hungry. However, I DO make sure I eat a minimum of 1200 calories. Really that's hardly enough because my BMR is a little over 1300, but I know I need the nutrients. Just because I'm not hungry doesn't mean I don't need to eat. Often when we undereat our appetite is depressed as a physiological response while our metabolism slows so that little amount of calories can become sufficient to sustain life.
  • mallory3411
    mallory3411 Posts: 839 Member
    1) Try switching up the exercise you do and the foods you eat. Looking at your diary you don't eat a variety of food and you don't have really any fruits or veggies logged. Eat fruits and veggies, they help and get you the nutrition your body needs. You aren't fueling you body properly based on what is currently in your tracker. That will not help with weight loss.

    2) Eat more. You usually eat under 1000 which is not good, expecially when you exercise.

    3) Drink more water, eat less sodium.

    4) If all else fails go visit your doctor as there may be a medical reason as to why you aren't losing... but with a 3lb loss you are. It doesn't come off quickly, especially the last little bit.

    Overall, you really need to eat better foods. You eat a lot of processed foods and VERY little if any fruits and veggies. From looking at your diary you don't have a very healthy/clean diet. One reason why you may not be losing.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    I'm never hungry enough to eat the recommended calories : / i don't want to force feed myself food that i'm not hungry for.

    Because your metabolism has been to shot to piece by regular undeareating. Eat more regularly and you'll start to feel hungrier - which is normal.

    800 is waaaaaaaaaay too little. Eat more calorie-rich foods and ditch the 'lite' crackers and crap like that.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Hunger is not necessarily a good indicator of when you should eat. When I joined I was eating 900 cals of "diet food" per day (toast for breakfast, a yogurt and a 100 cal bag of popcorn for lunch, and a light dinner) and I wasn't hungry, but I also was totally stalled in my weight loss. My stomach had shrunk from conditioning it to accept a minimal amount of food. You can start out by eating better foods, that have more calories and more nutrients. That way it doesn't have to be about volume. Or you can start by gradually increasing volume so it doesn't make you feel sick. (Now I eat around 1400-1500 cals per day)
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    IMO, not enough time has elapsed for you to make any conclusions about anything.

    Also this. You've lost 2 lbs in 3 weeks, and that's pretty good.
  • Its is a VERY frustrating process to loose weight and tone. Just keep at it man......I feel your frustration. Every person is different and will tone and lose weight differently. You just haven't found that pocket....keep at it!!!!
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
    I'm never hungry enough to eat the recommended calories : / i don't want to force feed myself food that i'm not hungry for.

    Then you'll never reach your goal. Deal with it, or quit. Your decision.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/
  • ConnieSG
    ConnieSG Posts: 376
    I've started trying to shift 10lbs since the 1st of january, and I know I shouldn't expect to see major changes yet, but i've only managed to shift about 2lbs since starting!
    Its got me so fed up, i started giving up and haven't bothered the last couple of days.
    Help!

    When you've eaten too much and you can't write it down,

    And you feel like the biggest failure in town.

    When you want to give up just because you gave in,

    and forget all about being healthy and thin.

    So What! You went over your points a bit,

    It's your next move that counts...So don't you quit!

    It's a moment of truth, it's an attitude change.

    It's learning the skills to get back in your range.

    It's telling yourself, "You've done great up till now.

    You can take on this challenge and beat it somehow."

    It's part of your journey toward reaching your goal.

    You're still gonna make it, just stay in control.

    To stumble and fall is not a disgrace,

    if you summon the will to get back in the race.

    But, often the struggler's, when loosing their grip,

    Just throw in the towel and continue to slip.

    And learn too late when the damage is done,

    that the race wasn't over...they still could have won.

    Lifestyle change can be awkward and slow,

    but facing each challenge will help you grow.

    Success is failure turned inside out,

    the silver tint in a cloud of doubt.

    When you're pushing to the brink, just refuse to submit,

    If you bite it, you write it....But don't you quit!
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
    Patience!
  • ViSabbi
    ViSabbi Posts: 120 Member
    First of all, hunger is something you can gradually learn to master. What I mean is, eat small meals throughout the day. I snack pretty much all the time. It was difficult at first but now it's just natural. If you cannot ingest something that requires you to masticate, are you able to drink something instead? I cannot eat in the morning so I'm drinking shakes as meal replacements. You have to start up your metabolism as soon as you wake up (eat within 30 mins of waking up in fact). It will help you get more calories, more proteins and it really doesn't feel like you're eating.

    Also, are you drinking enough water? Half your weight in ounces is what is recommended.

    You really need to up your number of calories 'cause your body is in starvation mode and holds onto everything it gets. That being said, it's obvious that we're talking of healthy food calories.
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
    You have to start up your metabolism as soon as you wake up (eat within 30 mins of waking up in fact). It will help you get more calories, more proteins and it really doesn't feel like you're eating.

    You don't need to eat within 30 minutes of waking up. This is a myth...
    http://www.livestrong.com/blog/blog/the-dirty-diet-lie/?fb_comment_id=fbc_10150489988558462_20581029_10150498556863462#fee907a9c

    I do however agree that you will get more calories by eating breakfast. But you could also add dessert and have the same effect.