Frustrated and Fuming: Help needed, please!

Are you using a HRM to confirm your calorie burn at the gym or using the machines of MFP guidelines. HRM is the most accurate of the three options so you could be overestimating what you are burning.

keep up the good work it takes time sometimes and dont get frustrated I know easier said than done.. stick to the 1300 calories even tfhough you are exersising make sure you are logging everything., if you want more help join a support group where you weigh in once a week and have the visible aspect of being a group of others trying to establish the same goal as you
I bellong to a group it is called Tops ( stands for take off pounds sinsibley) find one in your area research on line Tops.org it could help and stay here on MFP I am new to it and it has really helped with logging my food and being aware .. we are all out for the same results.. good luck and hope that helped.. feel free to friend me for added motivation and support we all need more friends

Yes and yes, I am sure of the burned calories and no, I do not eat all the calories burned back, sometimes, I eat 100 cals of them, sometimes 200, but never all of them. I drink lots and lots of water, I eat lots of veggies and only lean meats.

I am a textbook-dieter, everything is done correctly... but I keep putting on. I am a routined dieter, I usually put on 2-3 lbs when I first start gym, then steady go down 1-2 lbs but I took a long break (few months). Now that I have returned, I just keep piling on...

:sad: :explode:

Sounds like your not doing is correctly at all really. You are following the diets that eventually fail for most people. You are mostly likely under-eating and not having enough net calories per day. Can't really say for sure as your diary isn't public.

You said you are eating 1200 cals a day and working out roughly 500 cals a day leaving 700 net. That is very very low! At a minimum you should be at 1200 calories net and depending on your lean body mass possibly much more.

It's also possible that your gain is because of your muscles, not of fat. Just go for the measuring tape and see if there's any change

If this is how it has "always been", there could be something beyond simple dieting and exercise. Have your Dr check your Thyroid. You may have an under-active condition (hyopthyroid). It never hurts to check anyway, and can be part of your routine check up/annual exam.

Also, ditch the diets!
All those programs (WW, JennyC, Atkins) are all fad-diets. And you can do them on your own. NBEric said right, these fail for many people. You need to focus on just the healthy foods.
Using the diary here, you should already know what you should and should not eat. So, ditch the fads.

Keep fighting the fight.

Burn more calories! You're probably thinking your logging accurately and so basing what you expect to see on the inaccurate figures.

I burn 1500kCal a DAY though. so you may want to consider upping your exercise and making sure that the burn number you are getting is as accurate as possible. Suggest advanced HRM like Polar RS300X.

Also look at NSVs are you getting fitter? Have your measurements not changed or gotten smaller in terms of size? Has your cholesterol of BP gone down or your RHR?

Agree with Pirate. People managed o lose weight before these diets came into place through exercise and eating less, so you don;t need the fad diet to lose weight.

Burn more calories???? Are you for real? She's eating 1200 calories a day, she can't afford to burn any more calories.

*edited because I was an idiot

OP if you continue doing what you're doing the weight will start coming off soon. It will be because you are starving yourself. You'll also probably lose hair, teeth and so on.

What the OP has posted (if it's all accurate) is not starvation mode, it's flat out starvation. The body initially holds on to what it can but it will start working soon. It won't be healthy but the weight will be gone.

Measurments are more important than the numbers on the scale. I know it can get very frustrating I hear you. But look at the whole picture, how does you clothes fit? Is there more room in them? if you see what a pound of muscle looks like you would be surprised at how small it is. If you see a pound of fat it is 3 times the size of the muscle. It is unbelievable. so measurements mean more if you are working out than the scale.

1200 cal is only to keep your body going, such as making your organs work. But depending on the weight you are at now and the exercises you do you probably are not getting enough calories. You need to replace what you used up, to replace the tear down during exercise so that can't come from your 1200 or your body goes into starvation mode and you will not loose. I am guessing you are not getting enough calories. Here's an example.


An average 25 year old woman, on the other hand, is defined here as standing 5' 5" and weighing 130 lbs. Such a woman would burn 1766 calories each day while sedentary, 2282 with moderate activity, and 2797 with extreme levels of activity. In order to maintain their current weight, the individuals would need to eat as many calories each day as they burned.

So unless you are 130lbs and doing nothing you should only have 1766 cals. this site is a guidline to help you see where you are lacking it is not set in stone for everyone. I love i because I can see where I need less and need more. Wish you luck hang in there.

she said 2500 calories a week

Doh! I swear every time I 'correct' someone I do it wrong. So stupid

NBEric you've misread what the OP posted. She states she is eating 1200 calories and burning 2500. So by those accounts she is at -1300 NET calories.

I think you misread, too; she said she's burning 2,500 in the gym 'each week' - not each day! That really would be a massive net calorie deficit!

I agree with the 'check your measurements' thing. The scale might not say you're changing but you could be building muscle and shedding fat, which will lose you inches and not pounds. You might also want to look at how much water you're drinking, and whether you're actually eating enough to sustain you. To burn fat, you need to feed your muscles. Eating less isn't necessarily best.

^^ What he said!


NBEric you've misread what the OP posted. She states she is eating 1200 calories and burning 2500. So by those accounts she is at -1300 NET calories.

OP if you continue doing what you're doing the weight will start coming off soon. It will be because you are starving yourself. You'll also probably lose hair, teeth and so on.

What the OP has posted (if it's all accurate) is not starvation mode, it's flat out starvation. The body initially holds on to what it can but it will start working soon. It won't be healthy but the weight will be gone.

Actually, YOU misread what the original poster said. She is eating 1200 calories per day and burns 2500 calories EACH WEEK. I agree with NBEric...her net is too low.

You need to be eating back your exercise calories. Your NET should not be below 1200 each day. Your body is hungry, so it is reluctant to give up anything here. It is holding onto the fat in order to sustain itself because it is not getting fed enough and thinks a famine is coming. Keep doing what you are doing....workout, eat your veggies, and lean meats, drink lots of water, but EAT MORE.

^^ What he said!


NBEric you've misread what the OP posted. She states she is eating 1200 calories and burning 2500. So by those accounts she is at -1300 NET calories.

OP if you continue doing what you're doing the weight will start coming off soon. It will be because you are starving yourself. You'll also probably lose hair, teeth and so on.

What the OP has posted (if it's all accurate) is not starvation mode, it's flat out starvation. The body initially holds on to what it can but it will start working soon. It won't be healthy but the weight will be gone.

Actually, YOU misread what the original poster said. She is eating 1200 calories per day and burns 2500 calories EACH WEEK. I agree with NBEric...her net is too low.

You need to be eating back your exercise calories. Your NET should not be below 1200 each day. Your body is hungry, so it is reluctant to give up anything here. It is holding onto the fat in order to sustain itself because it is not getting fed enough and thinks a famine is coming. Keep doing what you are doing....workout, eat your veggies, and lean meats, drink lots of water, but EAT MORE.

I would even go a step further and recommend to the OP to find somewhere in her area that does a body analysis to determine her true BMR based on her current body composition. I know it's not free and it does cost money to do but at the end of the day this is your body, your mind and your health and you want to be absolutely sure you are doing this correctly and safely. Don't just blindly follow what a website tells you to do, seek help in person with professionals who do this every single day.

Thanks for all these comments! It has become a lively debate :flowerforyou:

Well, I may have used the word "diet" in the wrong sense, what I am basically doing is eating healthy food (but keeping it to 1300 cals a day) and adding gym sessions (totaling 2500 cals/week) and I think it is the right way to go about it. I am not doing any fad-diet, no jenny or south beach, or whatever is in fashion now.

Usually, this "life style" should work like a charm (quoting another poster) but this time I am just adding on... also, I am not weighing myself excessively - which can be a bad and destructive habit. :huh:

My BMR is 1700 cals.

Vino, you should be at the very least at your BMR in net calories at the end of the day, your BMR is what keeps your organs and vital functions working at peak efficiency, you don't gain any weight if you net 1700 and your BMR is 1700

If you are eating 400 calories under your BMR and added exercise on top of it then you are causing yourself so much harm in the long run.

I would add to the suggestion of observing your NSV's- how do your clothes fit, how do you feel in general, has the quality of your sleep increased, etc. Don't be so obsessed with seeing your numbers drop, especially if you are doing strength training.

That can also be un-healthy, you need to figure out what your body is made of. How much body fat % do you have, how much lean body mass you have. These are the numbers that relate to health.