Upping Calories; MFP thinks i'll lose way less weight?
Falling2Grace
Posts: 220 Member
I havn't been able to lose ANY weight for 5 weeks...FIVE! It's quite discouraging, not one single pound. I dont eat tons and tons of salt, i drink water (could improve, but i still drink a good bit), i exercise for an hour 5 days per week.I switch up my routine most days. I alternate between power walking, elipitical, and zumba (starting 30DS on Monday). I always stay within my calorie limit (MFP had it set to 1200) and i eat back my burned calories (it never works when i dont). I also added 500 calories for breastfeeding. I log everything i eat and i follow the recommendation. I take measurements and i havn't made any progress in that department, either. I also am still not fitting into clothing any better....
I know this isn't a platue...i dont see how it could be given that im 5 foot 2 and im currently 188lb. This is very overweight for my height, so i can't see it being that...
Today, i used a calculator from Fat 2 Fit (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/). According to that, I need to consume 1704 calories per day just for my Basal Metabolic Rate. I also found a calculator on breastfeeding, and according to that i only need an extra 380 calories per day (not 500 like i was led to believe). Because of this, i upped my calories on MFP to 1704. Then i subtract 380 (breastfeeding calories). And i eat back all of my burned calories. So now its 1704 + 380 + x # of burned calories. Which means i am consuming at least 2088 calories on a daily basis. (plus whatever i lose from real working out). ...is this going to work? Im really scared its not going to, but i need to change something, otherwise i would have been losing. Im just thrown off because i think the average person eats 2000 calories per day (not dieting), and now all of a sudden im way above...thoughts? Advice? Opinions? Should i lower this? Up it? Keep it them same? Any ideas or helps would be greatly appreciated.
When i logged this info into my customized goals, MFP thought i would only lose half a pound per week, is that even accurate??? I get slow and steady, but half a pound (actually it thought .3lb!) is a little TOO slow for me!...at my previous goal, i was set to lose 1.5lb per week...if im only going to lose half a pound per week, this is going to take an eternity to lose all of this weight...i feel like the last month and a half was a huge waste, and i dont want to lose another few months over something like this...its already going to take me over a year to get to my goal...
I know this isn't a platue...i dont see how it could be given that im 5 foot 2 and im currently 188lb. This is very overweight for my height, so i can't see it being that...
Today, i used a calculator from Fat 2 Fit (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/). According to that, I need to consume 1704 calories per day just for my Basal Metabolic Rate. I also found a calculator on breastfeeding, and according to that i only need an extra 380 calories per day (not 500 like i was led to believe). Because of this, i upped my calories on MFP to 1704. Then i subtract 380 (breastfeeding calories). And i eat back all of my burned calories. So now its 1704 + 380 + x # of burned calories. Which means i am consuming at least 2088 calories on a daily basis. (plus whatever i lose from real working out). ...is this going to work? Im really scared its not going to, but i need to change something, otherwise i would have been losing. Im just thrown off because i think the average person eats 2000 calories per day (not dieting), and now all of a sudden im way above...thoughts? Advice? Opinions? Should i lower this? Up it? Keep it them same? Any ideas or helps would be greatly appreciated.
When i logged this info into my customized goals, MFP thought i would only lose half a pound per week, is that even accurate??? I get slow and steady, but half a pound (actually it thought .3lb!) is a little TOO slow for me!...at my previous goal, i was set to lose 1.5lb per week...if im only going to lose half a pound per week, this is going to take an eternity to lose all of this weight...i feel like the last month and a half was a huge waste, and i dont want to lose another few months over something like this...its already going to take me over a year to get to my goal...
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Replies
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slow and steady.
It took me a long time to lose my weight. But so worth the wait. Eating over your BMR you will keep your muscle and lose more fat in the long run.0 -
the body weight simulator and every clinical study it used in its compilation and verification has the same conclusion - eat more calories for same exercise etc and you'll mathematically and practically lose less.
For it to work as claimed your metabolism has to increase its rate and/or other activities by more than the extra calories.
Or you just accept a lower rate of weight loss and get to eat more.0 -
I have recently done similar things (although I'm not breastfeeding) - used the tools at fat2it and changed my settings here to consume 1700 calories per day. I do eat back most or all of my exercise cals, depending on whether or not I'm hungry. I'm set to lose 1/2lb a week as well, but often lose more than that with these settings.
It sounds like you're doing all the right things, hang in there! When I switched to 1700, it took a few weeks before I started seeing results, gotta give the body time to adjust.0 -
Are your clothes fitting any better? I've only lost 10 pounds, but my size 12 jeans that I have been wearing since I had my daughter 10 months ago are now wayyy too big for me. If you are excercising you may be gaining muscle and losing fat. I just upped mine last week after weighing about the same for 4 weeks and I just lost 2 pounds! But one thing I did do was cut out processed foods-I've been at the same weight for a while, 4 days ago I cut out all processed sugar and white flour and now the scale is moving again. The blog 100 days of Real Food (google it) has some great recipes.0
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My clothes are not fitting any better. And ive done measurements and in the last 5 weeks they have hardly gone down. Jeans are still tight as hell, and im still in a size Large shirt. Nothing is fitting any better.
I rarely eat processed foods. Every once in a while i do (like today we had hamburger helper) but this is NOT the norm for me. If you take a look at my diary you will see that i am more plant based diet than anything. I eat clean as much as possible and the bulk of my diet i fruits/veggies. but we do eat meat on the weekends, and as i said every once in a while i treat myself, but its not often. Ive changed my diet greatly, more focusing on health rather than just losing weight, so its pretty good...but i need to lose weight in order to be healthy....i should be around 110lb....so if its going to take me one month just to lose 2lb....i'll probably be dead by the time that happens.....
im really hoping that upping calories is going to help, but its kind of scary since its a great deal more...heres to hoping i have the same success as some of you
Thanks for the advice and ideas so far. Please keep em coming! I really appreciate this support0 -
the body weight simulator and every clinical study it used in its compilation and verification has the same conclusion - eat more calories for same exercise etc and you'll mathematically and practically lose less.
For it to work as claimed your metabolism has to increase its rate and/or other activities by more than the extra calories.
This is interesting, because this is what i thought before getting on MFP. this is what many sources say...but then i get on here and read a bunch of postings and there are SOOO many people that talk about getting to goal weight and to make sure you eat back burned calories. Theyve said ppl who plateau need to do this (eat back burned calories and eat better) in order to get over that hump....so im confused with all of the conflicting info.0 -
How old is your new baby? I lost the baby weight REALLY slowly (probably about .3lbs/week lol) until I was done breast feeding. I know some women who drop weight like crazy when they breast feed but my body held on to every last ounce. I was back to pre-baby weight right around each of their first birthdays and then lost another 25 that I had gained pre-babies.
Also how is your sleep? Is your little one sleeping well? My boys were not good sleepers at first which also contributed IMO to the slow weight loss. i spent the 1st yr in survival mode. VERY frustrating as my co-worker who had her son a month before me was back to pre-baby weight by the time she returned from maternity leave :-(
sorry this wasnt much advice was it? Just know youre not alone, the weight will come off eventually if you keep working at it.0 -
the body weight simulator and every clinical study it used in its compilation and verification has the same conclusion - eat more calories for same exercise etc and you'll mathematically and practically lose less.
For it to work as claimed your metabolism has to increase its rate and/or other activities by more than the extra calories.
Or you just accept a lower rate of weight loss and get to eat more.
Buddy, we get it! You don't believe in eating enough to fuel your body...Or maybe you do, and is just feeling the need to repeat yourself...You have lost 19lbs doing it your way - a lot of people here, males and females, lost a lot of weight and kept it off, plus kept most of their muscle mass too by eating enough - ie above their BMR at least...
Please don't start harping on the same stupid argument if someone really asks for help - not your little soap box rant...
Fallong2Grace, 1200 calls is not even close to being enough, even if you add extra calories for breastfeeding...Please don't put your health (and your baby's) in danger by eating too little - you are going to need your muscle mass once the little tyke grows!:bigsmile: Do as others have said, eat at least at your bmr plus extra for breastfeeding...If you have a hrm, go for it and eat your exercise cals - if you use the machine count or MFP's count, eat at least half of it...
Stick to lots of protein, fruit veggies and whole grains - both you and kiddo needs it....
And be patient, not sure how old your baby is, but if you are still breastfeeding, your hormones are anyways doing what they want, so it will take time...Slow and steady wins the race...
Go take a look at the eat more to weigh less - it worked for a lot of people! Good luck!0 -
How often are you nursing? I know, when I had my son, I lost half of my extra pregnancy lbs while nursing, but after he stopped nursing as much, I started gaining some of it back (not that I was dieting or exercising) I am also 5'2" and I have gone from 166 lb 135 eating 1200 plus most of exercise calories (I don't if I'm not hungry). I try to make sure I stay under on my fats and sodium, and processed sugars too. It's slowing down a lot though, so I am considering adding more calories... Even though my bmr keeps going down. I'm sure this isn't much help. I'm interested in what kind of responses you get here.0
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How old is your new baby? I lost the baby weight REALLY slowly (probably about .3lbs/week lol) until I was done breast feeding. I know some women who drop weight like crazy when they breast feed but my body held on to every last ounce. I was back to pre-baby weight right around each of their first birthdays and then lost another 25 that I had gained pre-babies.
Also how is your sleep? Is your little one sleeping well?
At 188lb i am back to prepregnancy weight now. So ive lost all of the baby weight...as embarrassing as that is...
Sleep is pretty decent. We co sleep so he wakes up, he latches, i go back to sleep lol. My baby is 3 months old.0 -
How old is your new baby? I lost the baby weight REALLY slowly (probably about .3lbs/week lol) until I was done breast feeding. I know some women who drop weight like crazy when they breast feed but my body held on to every last ounce. I was back to pre-baby weight right around each of their first birthdays and then lost another 25 that I had gained pre-babies.
Also how is your sleep? Is your little one sleeping well?
At 188lb i am back to prepregnancy weight now. So ive lost all of the baby weight...as embarrassing as that is...
Sleep is pretty decent. We co sleep so he wakes up, he latches, i go back to sleep lol. My baby is 3 months old.
good for you! to have lost all the baby weight in 3 months is amazing! btw I so could not figure out how to breast feed laying down. Had to get up, get my boppy, sit in a chair- it was a process!0 -
sarahd2007 - he nurses pretty much non stop lol. At least 12x per day, but i attachment parent, so its a large bulk of the day.
Thanks for the advice everyone!!0 -
the body weight simulator and every clinical study it used in its compilation and verification has the same conclusion - eat more calories for same exercise etc and you'll mathematically and practically lose less.
For it to work as claimed your metabolism has to increase its rate and/or other activities by more than the extra calories.
Or you just accept a lower rate of weight loss and get to eat more.
Buddy, we get it! You don't believe in eating enough to fuel your body...Or maybe you do, and is just feeling the need to repeat yourself.
He attempted to answer her question.0 -
Don't worry about what mfp says. It won't know you are breast feeding, its just a computer program at the end of the day and thinks you are just eating extra. To get an accurate loss prediction I would enter the breast feeding as 380 cals exercise, but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter.
I worked out my cals using fat2fit. My tdee is 2632, bmr 1569, 5'5, 201lbs and I eat 2000 / net around 1550. Mfp says I will lose 0.9 per week, but I actually lose 1.5 most weeks.
The 2000 'standard' for a female to maintain doesn't account for exercise, just normal activity, so it seems high eating that to lose, but when you factor in exercise and breast feeding cals it makes more sense, is maybe even a little low!
You should probably check with your dr, but I'm sure you are meant to eat at maintenance while breast feeding to ensure you are taking in enough cals to keep your milk going, the burn from breast feeding should lose you 1lb a week on its own, so you might need to eat more than you expect and will still lose
eg if I was burning an extra 500 a day breast feeding, I could eat 2500 and still lose 1.5 a week, or at maintenance I would eat 2632 and still lose 1lb.
Re eating more for the same amount of exercise, you will lose less on paper as your deficit is smaller, however when you eat too little even though you technically have a larger deficit, your body can losr muscle along with the fat which slows your metabolism and therefore you lose less.
with the right kind of exercise (heavy weights) you will maintain your muscle mass, which burns more calories than the same amount of fat so your metabolism stays higher and helps burn more cals / fat.0 -
I upped my calories to 1800 after having netted for 1300 for the past year..because of no change...MFP says I will gain weight more that what I have logged in here...but i am going to stick to it for 1 month to see my results as for over a year i have been in 1200 cal to 1400 as my BMR is 1350...I have 10 pounds to lose from day one and lost some and gained back again...0
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Did not read all the previous responses, but if you're following Fat2Fit, you shouldn't be eating back your exercise calories. It factors in your exercise/lifestyle already.0
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I upped my calories to 1500, and eat back the exercise calories. MFP says .4 lbs loss per week. This week I lost 2 lbs. Eat more to lose more - it works.0
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Did not read all the previous responses, but if you're following Fat2Fit, you shouldn't be eating back your exercise calories. It factors in your exercise/lifestyle already.
I think op worked out cals based on bmr + exercise + breast feeding rather than the chart on fat2fit.So now its 1704 + 380 + x # of burned calories. Which means i am consuming at least 2088 calories on a daily basis. (plus whatever i lose from real working out). ...
I get tdee to be 2655 for moderate exercise, not inc breast feeding / 3035 with breast feeding, so op would lose around 2lbs based on eating 2088, and could exercise 384 a day without net falling below bmr.
When breast feeding stops, loss should be around 1.4lbs for same cals.0 -
Did not read all the previous responses, but if you're following Fat2Fit, you shouldn't be eating back your exercise calories. It factors in your exercise/lifestyle already.
I think op worked out cals based on bmr + exercise + breast feeding rather than the chart on fat2fit.So now its 1704 + 380 + x # of burned calories. Which means i am consuming at least 2088 calories on a daily basis. (plus whatever i lose from real working out). ...
I get tdee to be 2655 for moderate exercise, not inc breast feeding / 3035 with breast feeding, so op would lose around 2lbs based on eating 2088, and could exercise 384 a day without net falling below bmr.
When breast feeding stops, loss should be around 1.4lbs for same cals.
So, are you saying i should eat 2088 and then exercise to lose 384. Thus my total food i would consume in a day should be 2088 (even if i exercise). I just want to make sure i understand this. You really sound knowledgeable 0 -
You might try using fat2fit's number for sedentary and don't track your exercise. I've been doing that and losing a pound a week. The numbers on this site are totally unreliable. Also, you can try zig zagging your calories. I can't remember if fat2fit has a calculator for that but some sites do. Be careful which site you select because many of them are not at all reliable and their calculators are not reliable. There are three formulas to determine calorie need. Use the one right for your frame and do take your frame size into consideration when determining how many calories you need.
I know it's frustrating. We've all been there. I know I have. But you can start losing and I'm sure you will. Don't get discouraged.0 -
You might try using fat2fit's number for sedentary and don't track your exercise. I've been doing that and losing a pound a week. The numbers on this site are totally unreliable. Also, you can try zig zagging your calories. I can't remember if fat2fit has a calculator for that but some sites do. Be careful which site you select because many of them are not at all reliable and their calculators are not reliable. There are three formulas to determine calorie need. Use the one right for your frame and do take your frame size into consideration when determining how many calories you need.
I know it's frustrating. We've all been there. I know I have. But you can start losing and I'm sure you will. Don't get discouraged.
What formula determines this based on frame? What sites have you found reliable? Would love to inquire.
And thank you
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Did not read all the previous responses, but if you're following Fat2Fit, you shouldn't be eating back your exercise calories. It factors in your exercise/lifestyle already.
I think op worked out cals based on bmr + exercise + breast feeding rather than the chart on fat2fit.So now its 1704 + 380 + x # of burned calories. Which means i am consuming at least 2088 calories on a daily basis. (plus whatever i lose from real working out). ...
I get tdee to be 2655 for moderate exercise, not inc breast feeding / 3035 with breast feeding, so op would lose around 2lbs based on eating 2088, and could exercise 384 a day without net falling below bmr.
When breast feeding stops, loss should be around 1.4lbs for same cals.
So, are you saying i should eat 2088 and then exercise to lose 384. Thus my total food i would consume in a day should be 2088 (even if i exercise). I just want to make sure i understand this. You really sound knowledgeable
You don't have to exercise 384, thats just the amount you CAN burn without going below bmr. The tdee of 2655 Is based on 3-5 moderate workouts per week.
In theory you would lose 2lb by eating 500 cals per lb below tdee which would be 3035 - 1000 = 2035.
HOWEVER - I would check with your dr that it is ok to create this much of a deficit while breast feeding, I've not had kids myself and don't want to recommend anything that will affect your milk, it might be better to go for 1lb / 2535 while breast feeding.0 -
What formula determines this based on frame? What sites have you found reliable? Would love to inquire.
And thank you
Katch mcardle on fat2fit takes body fat % into account which gives a more accurate bmr.
If you follow mfps way of eating back exercise, your net is always the same and your total varies.
If you do fat2fit way of same cals everyday whether you exercise or not, this creates the 'zigzag' for you as your net cals will be different every day depending how much you exercise.
I find that this way works better for me :-)0 -
1200 calls is not even close to being enough
and that's your little soapbox rant I guess. So yours is ok and other opinions aren't ?0 -
I have no idea how old your baby is but my body took awhile to recover from pregnancy and birth--then when my body was ready it started to let the weight go at a nice happy pace. I've had 4 children. You probably are a little sleep deprived and a little stressed--all things working against you. Have faith and keep moving forward but give yourself some space to breathe and recover from being a new mother. Breastfeeding is terrific but it places demands on your body too and it takes the nutrients it needs to feed your baby--are you getting enough of the vitamins & iron you need for your body? It took 9 months to gain that weight--it may take awhile for it to come off but it will!0
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This is interesting, because this is what i thought before getting on MFP. this is what many sources say...but then i get on here and read a bunch of postings and there are SOOO many people that talk about getting to goal weight and to make sure you eat back burned calories. Theyve said ppl who plateau need to do this (eat back burned calories and eat better) in order to get over that hump
There are a group of vocal people proclaiming this, 'tis true. There's also a fair number that try it and fail. Hard to know what the truth is, isn't it. Maybe on the low calorie target they eat stuff and didn't declare it, or couldn't stick to it and binged, or whatever - and by upping the target and exercising like crazy they could eat like it was going out of fashion and maintain the same or better weight loss. Hard to tell. Or maybe their diet was so crap that things fell apart at a lower calorie intake due to inadequate nutrition.
As a practical guy I would try something different if things weren't working for a month, you could do something different for 3-4 weeks then you would know for yourself which worked for you, without having to listen to long pious sermons about "killing your metabolism" and other BS.
MFPs algorithm sets a calorie deficit and if that meets your goals then eating back your exercise calories will maintain that deficit. Nothing mathematical that I have seen is going to show you a faster weight loss just be eating more, unless you also exercise more.0
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