Eating 1200kcals and exercising everyday for 1 month...no we

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Replies

  • I agree-your body goes into starvation mode if you don't eat enough. You could try cutting out some of the fruit and replace with vegtables like carrots, zucchini or cucumbers. I try to have a dish of them at my desk and dip them in honey mustard. You will most likely burn more calories digesting vegs than how much is in them. I take tuna fish (no mayo) and put it cucumber slices. BTW -honey mustard is great on salads and has a lot less calories than dressing-it's really good too! Don't get discouraged -the weight will start coming off.
  • I agree with everyone else...you need to eat more!!!
  • Mawskittykat
    Mawskittykat Posts: 241 Member
    I was eating 1200 and lost for a little while, then I upped it to 1300 and lost for a little while, then a plateau came again and I upped it to 1400 and lost for a little while, Now I eat between 1400 to 1500 calories and seem to be doing ok with it. It appears to me that you exercise a lot for only 1200 calories and your body needs more fuel. You can't drive a car on an empty tank and your body is the same. If you were doing nothing 1200 would probably be okay but not for what all you do. Just my opinion from experience. Hope this helps.
  • ltosoni
    ltosoni Posts: 74 Member
    Sounds like you need to up those calories, you are working yourself at a big deficit and your body is holding on to it all.
  • Mahhafooznit
    Mahhafooznit Posts: 24 Member
    Plateau's happen and they are annoying. Consistancy will pay off. There is no magic number for how many
    calories to eat a day but if you track everything only try to be in a defecit of 400-100 calories as the tracker will not track
    the calories you burn after the exercise has been completed.

    Intense workouts seem to spend alot more calories overall in the course of the day.

    -Strawberrys and grapes are excitingly sweet and taste good.for a snack
    -Plain Oats mixed with lemon juice makes for a good breakfast a couple hours before working out and helps with digestion.
    -lean chicken breast with hot peppers or even just diced peppers has flavour and is good for after workouts.

    I had hit my plateau 11 days ago and today dropped 2 lbs on the scale today. Yesterday I had a low sodium day. Drank a good amount of water in the last 3-4 hours before bed to strip junk out of my system.

    Take a full day off from your routine at least once or twice every 2-3 weeks and completely relax. Being obsessive does help with success but you need to relax every now and then to reward yourself. There has to be a light at the end of the tunnel for each grueling round of excerise. Remember, You're in this for the long haul and the main point is to feel good. It is a war on fat and sometimes you may lose a few battles here and there but follow through with the campaign and you will be the VICTOR!
  • tiffany0127
    tiffany0127 Posts: 378 Member
    I think you are not eating enough for the amout of exercising you are doing.

    THIS!
  • Thanks so much again everyone, i am going to try upping my calories with more protein, ie a protein shake or extra chicken breat fillet a day and see how i go
  • I've heard people having success from switching up their calorie intake. Sometimes the go a couple of days with high calorie intake in the midst of their usual low. It keeps the body guess so that way you don't hit a plateau bc of your body adapting.

    Also, you proally need to gain more muscle mass...that burns more calories.
  • you just need to change up your eating. Your body knows what you are going to eat and when. Since you are not eating enough calories your body just stores the food. Trying eating 5 or 6 small meals a day and you have to change it up. You are also probably at a plateau stage so just keep plugging along. I knwo for me the plateau stage is where I wanted to give up but I didn't and i finally made it to my goal weight. You will get there just keep going and don't give up. I also found that if I worked out at night, after dinner I lost weight easier because I didn't snack after my workout. I would have a piece of fruit right after just because then your body is still burning calories. It was a mental thing for me, I would think to myself "i just did that big workout do I really want to have a bag of chips and waste what I just worked off". If I work out during the day it gives me more time to think of excuses to why I can have the bowl of chips. I do tae bo at home....Billy Blanks yayayayaya.
  • roxane0704
    roxane0704 Posts: 1 Member
    Don't worry I feel the same way, but I have read all the great advice and I am so going to use it.
  • aagnew01
    aagnew01 Posts: 33 Member
    It usually takes 4 weeks for your body to adjust to diet and exercise. But even if the scale is not going down, have you measured your waist, hips, and thighs? My scale didnt move for the first 4 weeks, but I lost 4 inches in my waist and 2 inches in my hips. That means your toning when you lose inches. Then I lost 2 lbs, and this week down 1. Be patient, start measuring yourself, and keep up the good work.
  • I agree with most, you should eat more. Get some green veggies in your diet. I don't seem ,many veggies at all, that will help I bet.
  • hiya yes i did wonder about inch loss so i took my measurements last week, will measure again next week and see if theres a difference, my boyfriend reckons i have lost weight off my face and stomach but i cant see it.....and neither can the scales ahahah
  • missmeliss169
    missmeliss169 Posts: 65 Member
    There are definitely going to be weeks where you don't lose weight but you will lose inches. You have to make sure you are eating all 1200 of your calories everyday or you can send your body starvation mode and you definitely won't lose weight. That happened to me, I hit a plateau for almost a month, and I realized I wasn't eating enough. I was getting full, but I wasn't eating enough and working out like crazy and wasn't losing weight. Now I make sure to eat all 1200 of my calories and sometimes I may even go a little over, but I try to just make sure I am eating healthy balanced meals and 2 snacks a day. I also don't allow myself to go over on my calories unless its a weekend and I am going out with friends. Also, not sure if you're a drinker, but I have essentially cut out almost all alcohol. It really helps. If I want to drink, I limit myself to 2 drinks which I usually have red wine or vodka soda because they are low calorie and low sugar.
  • You are pretty active so I would bump up your calories a bit to see if that helps. 1400 maybe? You could try calorie cycling as well, that tends to work well to break out of a plateau. So you lost 15 pounds before stalling...you might need to kind of mix things up a bit. Above all else be patient, your body is just being stubborn but eventually the weight will come off again.

    Also I noticed you eat a lot of carbs. Perhaps try eggs for breakfast, or greek yogurt with splenda and some berries? Sub the sandwiches at lunch for a big salad with some lean protein on it? You're eating bread at almost every meal so that might have something to do with it.

    Good luck! I'm stalling out too and it's beyond frusturating!!
  • EuphonyChloeH
    EuphonyChloeH Posts: 107 Member
    It is probably that you are not eating enough for the amount you are exercising. You could also change your goal to lose 1lbs a week. Usually the 2lbs a week is intended for people who are trying to lose 100+ make sure you are gettinfpg an accurate reading of calories burned when exercising. You may have to get a heart rate monitor for this. Also try eating back at least half your exercise calories. You have to at least net 1200 and MVP does not include exercise until you do it. Really I think you may need to up the calorie in take and you should see a lose. Good luck and hope this helps.

    Definitely agree. If you eat 1200 calories but you burn off an extra 500 or so exercising, you need to eat back those calories. If you don't, your body is going to think you only ate 700 (because you burned off 500), and it is going to hold onto your weight for safety. So eat a bit more and maybe exercise a bit less.
  • You may not be eating enough....check you BMR (there is calculators online) this is how much you burn just doing nothing, then you also need to calculate how much you burn during exercise. I was eating 1200/c daily and that was not enough with exercise i have been doing, took my calories up to 1400 and starting to lose the weight...may need to take it up more...got to find the right mix.
  • Try taking one day to rest, it'll build your metabolism way up. Our bodies need a day of rest. Take Sunday or Saturday off and just eat healthy that day and either walk or do nothing. If you give your body a rest it really boosts that metabolism, especially if you stick to the same caloric intake....Just try it for a month, one day off a week for one month, see if that helps! You're doing it all right, so dont give up, you know you can do it, it'll pay of I promise!
  • Don't get discouraged!! The first month you're probably loosing more water weight, than anything else. I would suggest eating more calories to offset the calories you burn. Give your body a days rest to recover, or if you must workout everyday, give it your all every other day. Your muscles need time to recover. As everyone else has mentioned, you're probably toning, yet it just isn't showing as you'd like it to. Up your calorie intake, overload every other day, drink plenty of water, and let your body rest 1-2dys a week if possible.
  • DON'T GIVE UP....like a few people have already mentioned...try to mix things up with your exercise routine. Could it be you're not eating enough if you are execising that much. Try to add another protein...you'll get there hang in there girl!!!
  • jenniebean1680
    jenniebean1680 Posts: 350 Member
    I drink abround 3 litres of water a day, my daily diet is below:

    Breakfast: Bran flakes or Fruit and Fibre with skimmed milk

    Lunch: Heinz big soup (chicken and veg) or tuna and cucumber wholewheat pasta or chicken salad sandwich on wholemeal bread with pack of salt and vinegar french fries

    Dinner: 2 poached eggs on 2 wholemeal toast or salmon salad with new potatoes or chicken stirfry

    snacks: bananass, apples, mixed fruit and nuts (2 off the list)

    I want to lose 50lb which will take me into the ideal weight range, im 5ft 8

    Thanks for your reply

    If you are only eating 1200 cals a day (or even if you're eating more like 1500), you are not eating enough to support your activity. If you exercise, you need to eat more, which is why MFP adjusts your calorie goal when you enter your exercise for the day. MFP still will have you at a deficit and you will still lose. It is part of their calculation. This is not a plain for maintenance, so it is not truly "eating back your calories" as people SO love to call it on here.

    Here's an example:

    You eat 1200 cals (calories in)

    You burn 600 cals (calories out)

    With MFP's program, you would need to eat 1800 to be at the right deficit to lose without stalling your metabolism and making it think you are starving.

    Judging by your average day here, I would say you are nowhere CLOSE to eating enough if you truly work out for 1-2 hours each day. I had to learn this the hard way myself. Bodies get used to living on very little and they will hold on for dear life to what you give them unless they get used to getting sufficient nutrients again. And contrary to what most women believe, 1200 is not enough.

    Good luck!
  • mle_k
    mle_k Posts: 88
    I didn't read through all the replies but it seems like you should be eating more... I have a very similar goal and am about the same height. I was set at -2lbs per week (1200 calories) for several months and I didn't really lose any weight... (about 1-2lbs total). Since the start of the month I increased my calorie goal to 1600 and have reduced the amount of cardio I am doing, I have also added in more strength training... I lost the 5 lbs I gained during the holiday and an additional 5lbs... so based on my experience I would suggest you try (for a month or a couple weeks) increasing your calorie goal and switching up your workout routine! Best of Luck to you!
  • alebalestra
    alebalestra Posts: 25 Member
    Try to eat less carbs. Eat 1200 calories in big bowls of salad (prepare your food at home), add half can of tuna or four slices of ham (140 calories) or one chicken breast (you can put some olive oil at a pan and cook with different spices, like pepper, or blackened power or soja soy...), or half t-bone steak or 4 onzes of salmon... I did this for one year, I saw results since the first week. I stopped to eat carbs, except oatmeal with my breakfast or a potato once a week (it has a lot of potassium with the skin). My doctor told me: do not eat sandwich, bring to your job a tupper with a lot of salad and some protein. I eat at least four times per day... when I start to eat bread, cookies, pasta, rice, I gain weight and my belly is turned bigger! You can see my journal and see what I eat and lose weight.
    Good luck!!
  • Micheetah
    Micheetah Posts: 184 Member
    It took me 2 months to lose the first 10 lbs, which for some ppl comes right off. most of it was in the second mo. So I'd say just stick to it and make sure you do get enough calories and rest for your exercise regimen. It will happen.
  • Diggy2011
    Diggy2011 Posts: 198 Member
    I'm 5ft 2 and weigh 148 I set mine at 1200 but always eat around 1400-1500 you need to find a balance its easy to say do this do that you just need to experiment.
  • Don't exercise for a week, stick to the same calorie amount, and make sure you get enough fiber. The second week just walk for 30 minutes or do a 20 minute pilates tape.
  • Not enough calories, and too much sodium. If I was you i would add a portion of protein to every meal and as a snack to what you are eating and you will stop dropping. You are drinking a ton of water, but you are still taking in a ton of sodium.
  • ARDuBaie
    ARDuBaie Posts: 378 Member
    A couple of things:

    1. Watch your salt. No matter how much water you are drinking, if you take in too much salt, you will hold water.

    2. If you are burning a lot of calories, but not eating enough to sustain that, you will not lose weight. You need to increase your calories just a bit to include some of your burned calories to lose weight. This is because if you burn calories, but not eat back some of them, your body's metabolism will slow down a bit.

    3. You just started the weight loss regime, so I would have thought you would have lost at least five pounds in the first month. Are you measuring your food accurately? How about measuring your exercise? Many times a diet fails because the person is only estimating. Research shows that humans oftentimes 'estimate' too high when it comes to how much we are eating and the amount of exercise we do.

    4. It sounds like you may want to get back to what you looked like a few years ago, before you gained the 50 pounds. That may not be realistic thinking. Which do you want to be - thin or healthy? That is the question. You can weigh a bit more than you were 50 pounds ago and still be healthy by making muscle. When you put on muscle, your metabolism will increase because the muscle needs energy. This means you will burn more calories than you would without the muscle. Muscle is compact, so it will take less space than fat on the body. Unfortunately, it makes it appear that one is not progressing when it comes to losing weight. We need to get over relying on the scale to tell us how we look. Look in the mirror or try on clothing to determine how you are doing.

    5. Try interval training. Hop on a treadmill or exercise bike and go your regular rate. After about five minutes to warm up, ramp it up to as fast as you can go for five minutes. Cool off for five, then repeat the ramping up. This often helps burn more calories than just going at one speed as well as boosts your metabolism.

    6. Vary when you exercise. I exercise in the morning before breakfast and in the afternoon. If you exercise before breakfast, you will burn fat because you have not eaten for at least ten hours. When you exercise in the afternoon, you have all those calories from eating in the morning and for lunch to burn. It does make a difference when you exercise. Additionally, exercising in the morning bumps your metabolism. In the afternoon, the metabolism likes to slow down, so if you exercise, you are bumping it up again.

    7. Did you gain the weight slowly over a period of years or over a short time? Do you have signs of a slow thyroid? (You can look them up online.) You may want to get checked out for a thyroid issue.

    Good Luck.
  • bparr
    bparr Posts: 246 Member
    I drink abround 3 litres of water a day, my daily diet is below:

    Breakfast: Bran flakes or Fruit and Fibre with skimmed milk

    Lunch: Heinz big soup (chicken and veg) or tuna and cucumber wholewheat pasta or chicken salad sandwich on wholemeal bread with pack of salt and vinegar french fries

    Dinner: 2 poached eggs on 2 wholemeal toast or salmon salad with new potatoes or chicken stirfry

    snacks: bananass, apples, mixed fruit and nuts (2 off the list)

    I want to lose 50lb which will take me into the ideal weight range, im 5ft 8

    Thanks for your reply

    Try adding more fresh veggies and cut our a lot of the starch. May also want to monitor your sugar.
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