Getting really upset

How long do you give the calorie fluctuations to work? You might need to up your calories and give it at least a week or two to see how it works.

Look at the new book out by Dr. Mark Hyman. It's amazing and has really made sense of the whole "food is medicine" and can heal your body and help you lose weight. It's not just eating less, it's the combination of foods you put into your body.

I know how you feel!!!! I started dieting and exercising (mostly exercising) very seriously mid December. At 217 I felt that the weight should have just been falling right off. But, it's been really, really slow. I'm down about 12 pounds, and I'm very relieved to say that none of it appears to be a short term water weight loss. I would agree with the above posters, maybe a little more calories, keep your heart rate up during cardio and add some strengthening routines/light weighlifting a few times a week. Throw in some new, intense exercise to break through that platuea, and don't worry -you got this.
PS...I actually eat around 1600 calories a day....so maybe I need to go down some?

Keep your chin up girl, and keep at it. It will be all worth it in the end

I started at 190 pounds. I went with about 1400-1500 calories and in a few months lost 20 pounds.

I only fell off the wagon because I lost internet. I really need myfitnesspal to do this. So I am back in it again. I am just glad I didn't gain it all back.

I looked at your food diary and it looks like you are eating alot of frozen dinners for dinner.

Those Frozen dinners look like they have alot of carbs (50+) and they are loaded with sodium. You might want to think about dumping those and having a meal with a lean meat and some veggies.

I would up your calories to 1,400, drink more water and try to stay away from the carbs and sodium at night. You also might want to try a new type of cardio for a few weeks. Perhaps do some interval training where you walk for a minute than jog for a minute. Shake things up.

Also, take a week off from the scale, don't let it frustrate you. In a week you will see progress!

The good news is that you are down over 20 pounds already so congrats, don't get frustrated.

Are you also keeping track of your measurements (waist, thigh etc)?

Though I am just getting started on my weight loss journey again after surgery a few months ago, I do recall during my previous weight loss effort, that I would sometimes reach a point where the scale was not moving but I was still losing inches on my waist and thigh measurements - which kept me motivated until the scale started moving again!

Ok....I am going to give you the same speech I give every one else. I looked at your food journal. You are not eating enough and what you are eating is a lot of processed crap. Yes, you do eat some veggies but you also eat a lot of processed food and you are starving your body. That is why you are not losing weight. Plain and simple. Start adding things like avocados, nuts/seeds, salmon, dark leafy greens, fresh fruit, ect. Instead of buying dip for your veg make your own. make some guacamole to go with them.

Oh, and make sure you are eating something every 2-4 hours (not sure how often you eat).

Good luck to you!

You know. I checked out your diary and you are allotted 1200 calories but on avg you you eat 800-1000 calories a day. I don't think you are eating enough. I believe it is hurting your metabolism.

And it looks like I don't eat my calories but I do. I use those for cushion if I take a bite if my husbands dinner, or have a bite of cheese or a piece of lunch meat or anything that I happen to eat that is hard to log

If you're eating anywhere near enough cheese and lunch meat to make up the difference, it needs to be logged. You could have entire standard portions of both and remain within your cushion on many days.

Have you checked possible medical conditions like hypothyroid problems?

Worth a check with your GP.

Oh, and make sure you are eating something every 2-4 hours (not sure how often you eat).

Good luck to you!

Meal frequency has no impact on weight loss. It's a myth that has been disproved. You can eat 1 meal or 10 meals and your body will metabolize food the same.


Lets put things in perspective.

Based on your age and weight with an estimated 5'5 for height, your BMR is around 1700 calories. This means, this is the amount of calories for basic bodily functions or aka your metabolism; i.e - organ function, breathing. Essentially, this is how many calories you would burn if you slept for 24 hours. Now lets say, you have a desk job (or a student) and you work out 3 days a week where you burn 300 calories a day. With this information we can figure out your TDEE (or the amount of calories you burn off every day including all activities).

TDEE = BMR * lifestyle factor + exercise

TDEE = 1700 * 1.2 + 300 = 2340 <-- based on exercise this could go up or down.

For your situation, i would recommend at most 1.5 lbs per week. Which means...


caloric needs = 2340 - 750 = 1590.

This really means, you should be eating 1600 calories a day.



Also, keep in mind your body has stress mechanism (which a calorie deficit is stress on your body) that will prevent your body from losing fat if it's malnourished. Under eating to your bodies caloric needs, is malnourishment. Also, lets say you are working out more and burning more calories, than your deficit is growing even more which means your body is fighting weight loss. And when you do lose weight, it's going to be from muscle and not fat. And as you lose more muscle, the slower your metabolism will be and the harder it will be to lose weight.

Also, with exercise, if you haven't started lifting weights, then you should. Weight lifting provides a lot more benefits for people compared to cardio. Cardio burns more during exercise, but ST burns more overall. After doing ST, your body will work to repair muscle which means, you still burn calories after you are doing working out.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

Instead of berating you as in prior posts which doesn't make any sense to me, I will tell you this. Reduce your sodium intake. I too thought eating frozen dinners was a good way to go. Eat a lot of fresh fruits, veggies and lean proteins. Eat only things that you enjoy. Adding certain nuts, like walnuts and almonds are a good source of protein, just watch the amount you take in. Log everything. Keep walking!!!!!:happy: