Frustrated with lack of weight loss

bella51708
bella51708 Posts: 47
in Food and Nutrition
I have been consistantly coming in under my calorie goal and working out like mad. I was hoping for a 1 pound weight loss this week. I got on the scale this morning and I gained a pound. So frustrating!!! I'm starting to wonder if I'm not eating enough. I usually eat around 1400 to 1600 cals a day with exercise. MFP sets my goal at 1300 before exercise. My net calories are usually between 1000 and 1200 after exercise calories. I try not to eat back all my exercise calories because of possible overestimation of my calorie burn and underestimation of calorie content.

I went over several days with my sodium (over about 500 to 1000mg). I'm hoping it's just water retention. I always drink a ton to make up for it though. I had about 80oz. of water yesterday. I had been steadily loosing weight for the last year, but now, it seems I'm stuck at 242 and can't get under that. I have switched my workout routine up and my foods a bit, but it seems my body is just happy where it's at. Is it possible it's just a plateau and my body will cave in eventually and start loosing again. How long has other people's plateaus lasted?

I've been weighing everyday, but I think I'm going to start doing it once a week. I've also never taken measurements....

Replies

  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    I have been consistantly coming in under my calorie goal and working out like mad.

    And there is your problem. MFP isn't set up for you to come in under goal. You are trying to get as close as you can to that calorie target daily. 1000 net isn't anywhere near enough for an active person. Try eating what MFP tells you to for 2 weeks and you should see a difference. Your weight may fluctuate up in that 2 week time but stick with it.
  • LizKurz
    LizKurz Posts: 340 Member
    I have been consistantly coming in under my calorie goal and working out like mad. I was hoping for a 1 pound weight loss this week. I got on the scale this morning and I gained a pound. So frustrating!!! I'm starting to wonder if I'm not eating enough. I usually eat around 1400 to 1600 cals a day with exercise. MFP sets my goal at 1300 before exercise. My net calories are usually between 1000 and 1200 after exercise calories. I try not to eat back all my exercise calories because of possible overestimation of my calorie burn and underestimation of calorie content.

    I went over several days with my sodium (over about 500 to 1000mg). I'm hoping it's just water retention. I always drink a ton to make up for it though. I had about 80oz. of water yesterday. I had been steadily loosing weight for the last year, but now, it seems I'm stuck at 242 and can't get under that. I have switched my workout routine up and my foods a bit, but it seems my body is just happy where it's at. Is it possible it's just a plateau and my body will cave in eventually and start loosing again. How long has other people's plateaus lasted?

    I've been weighing everyday, but I think I'm going to start doing it once a week. I've also never taken measurements....

    Wait, youre 242 and netting 1000 a day?

    Yeah, that's not near enough. I don't know how tall you are, but I know I'm 190, I'm 5'5" and eat about 2100 each day. I net around 1700.

    Have you given any thought to eating to maintain your goal weight? 2100 is bout what I need to maintain when I'm at my goal weight of 140ish. So I eat that. Now, I have a huge lump on my thyroid and my levels are all over the place, so don't take the fact that I've only lost a couple pounds this month as a testament that what I'm sayng won't work, because I lost 102 lbs 5 years ago eating more than you do, and I startd out at 252 lbs.
  • bella51708
    bella51708 Posts: 47
    My thinking was that since I had so much excess body fat, that I could eat less and my body would be forced to use the fat stores for energy. I guess that's wrong, huh. I lot of times, I'm just not hungry though. My height is 5'4". My maintenance calories would be 1760 for my goal weight of 150. I will try to incorporate more cals into my diet and see what happens...Would it be safe to assume I should lose if I net around 1500-1600 cals a day?
  • aj_31
    aj_31 Posts: 994 Member
    bump
  • aprilgicker
    aprilgicker Posts: 395 Member
    You need to use the TDEE amount to figure out how much you should be eating. I word to the wise, don;t eat your cals if you are just going to fill them with white carbs.

    You can sure other topics for TDEE, BMR and all kinds of help will come up for you.
    But my thinking is, just from what I have seen here, You should be eating 1700-1800 cals. if you exercise 3 or more times a weeks.
  • bella51708
    bella51708 Posts: 47
    Thanks for your help guys!!! I will adjust my cals with good, healthy foods. I guess MFP's goal of 1300 net threw me off.....
  • chickentunashake
    chickentunashake Posts: 164 Member
    You def need to eat more cals, but also try to change your macros. Give it a try to eat a little of carbs and a lots of protein. Kind of like a atkins diet in moderate. If your body doesnt have carbs for energy, the second resource is fat. So, if you burn more then you eat, your body goes automatically to burn fats. Worked wonders for me. Right now, until i reach my goal, I'm eating under 100 g carbs a day, but at least g of protein for each pound of my weight to keep muscle. I know everybody is different,but like I said, it works great for me, it might work for u as well :-) hang in there, you doing great

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