Nutritionist bad advice? 1500 not losing!
Replies
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Give it time...when u make changes like increasing your cals, you may see an increase before decrease. If you are lifting weights, I wouldnt get caught up on scale, But make sure to look at body fat % and also measure your inches and document on MFP.
Checkout this great video blogs about Eatng more to weigh less: http://www.youtube.com/user/EatMore2WeighLess?feature=mhee
Also, watch your sodium intake, drink lots of water and avoid sugar as much as possible. Carbs dont like my hips, so try to control that too if possible. Make sure your journal shows carbs, cals, sugars and sodium.
Happy journey!0 -
I had the exact same issue. I was at 1400 + exercise calories. I lost 55 pounds in 5 months. The nutritionist had me go to a straight 1800-2000 per day. I got the extra 200 if I had a long workout like a 25 mile bike ride. Otherwise, stick to 1800. I gained 10 pounds in 30 days. We cut it back to 1600-1800 and I am losing again. I don't eat exercise calories.
There is a lot of convincing math out there, but it's your body. 1600-1800 works for me, and I have re-lost the 10 pounds. I also lose more when the protein is higher - I try to keep it even with the carbs.
Here is my theory, eat the amount of calories for the weight you want to be at, and set your activity level to include your exercise. It works for me.0 -
Sometimes it takes your body a bit to adjust. If you are working out a lot your body might retain fluids to repair torn tissues. The truth is that you can go under 1000 calories and be fine as long as it isn't chronic. I would stick to 1350 calories and only eat to 1500 if you are absolutely starving, and only if you are working out. You might just be maintaining and possibly gaining muscle. Sometimes it take just a little jump start and in a week you might just shed it off.
Remember than 1 lb of fat is 3500 calories....it's simple math what goes in and what gets used...(I know it's more complex but for us dieters it beneficial to think of it this way).0 -
You're gaining muscle. It's really that simple. I lost 13 pounds by dieting alone without exercising AT ALL last month. This month I started at the gym, and although I feel better and my clothes fit better - I gained back 3 pounds. It's all muscle. Muscle weighs WAYYY more than fat. What you're doing will ultimately pay off and your trainer is right. Also a good thing to remember is that if you're trying to lose weight make sure you eat 70% of your TOTAL day's calories before dinner. In other words, Dinner should make up 30% or less of your total calorie intake per day. I found this really helps to focus my meals and definitely helped with the numbers on the scale back when I was just dieting. Keep in mind that lean muscle ultimately also burns more, so as you get stronger and more toned, you'll need to actually INCREASE your daily calorie intake. Feel free to message me if you have any questions!
on 1000 cals she did not gain 2lb of muscle, thats just silly.
OP, are you logging your food accuratelly and honestly?
She's working out - regardless of the calories she's consuming .. she's getting muscle.. there's no way around that.0 -
Everyone is different but I definitely say you are eating too few calories if you are under 1200. That's why MFP tells you everytime you complete your diary that you are eating too few calories, it is not good! I have lost close to 60 pounds without extreme dieting, just by eating better and less. I have used MFP the whole time and it has been very accurate on how many calories I need to eat to lose. I have found when I do not eat what is suggested by MFP I simply do not lose what I normally would if I give my body what it needs to keep my metabolism going. You really need to give it more than a week or two but you should start seeing results not long after that, and if not you know you're eating too little. When I figured out that I didn't have to starve myself to lose weight I was overjoyed and you should be too! EAT MORE!
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1000 net calories a day is WAY too low, especially if you are working out regularly. I went to a dietician and got similiar advice, and after weeks of frustration (not to mention a serious attitude problem- I get REALLY grumpy when I'm truly hungry), I finally talked to a friend who is a certified physical trainer. She has studied nutrition and has a degree in kinesiology, and fitness and health are pretty much way of life. She told me to toss out the dietician's plan and eat more food.
You NEED to eat back *some* of your exercise calories. If you don't your body basically say "to heck with you" and starts using muscle tissue for fuel. You can totally sabotage your progress so far if this happens. Contrary to some advice so far, eating 1000 (net) calories per day will not help you lose weight in the long run. It will wreck your metabolism and ultimately you'll gain weight.
Instead of eating too few calories, incorporate weight training into your fitness routine, or, if you already do weight training and cardio, consider changing up your routines. Add new exercises, lift different weights, try a different program. Doing the same program for a long time trains your muscles into efficiency, and while efficiency is good, it doesn't burn as many calories as a new challenge.
Good luck, and eat up!
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Eating 1500 and burning about 500 is too low. You should be eating at least your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). You probably need to eat a lot more if you are going to be burning 500/day.
Here is a link to a great group that has ton of information in eating more to weight less.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less
At 116.5 I was eating about 1900 -2000 / day because I wanted to maintain. I burn about 400 - 500 calories on avg. I got on the scale today and lost weight. I am down to 115. I want to stop the weight loss so I am now going to be eating between 2100 -2200 calories / day
You should calculate your TDEE and eat between 15% - 20% less than that amount to lose weight.
This!! that doesnt make any sense! She wants you to have a 500 calorie deficit. But You are burning WAYYYY more than just the calories you burn working out you burn alllll day! Googl scooby calculator this is pretty acurate compoared to my bmf/fitbit. This will give you an idea of how much you burn all day. Im 21 5'2 150 and with no workout i burn about 1900-2000 a day. so a 500 deficit on a REST day is 1500! On workout days Im easy eating 1900.0 -
It's so frustrating because i'm thinking how do I lose weight without a deficit? So she has to be right but my body is not happy. I don't feel like I am doing this right. She made it seem like I won't lose if I eat them back but the other day I consumed 1500 calories but my net was under 1000. My husband said that I need to eat more and she is wrong. so I went on MFP today and they had me set at 1350 with a 500 cal deficit but that still seems low to me. Do I keep at 1500 and trying eating back some of my calories to keep me over 1200 or try the MFP recommened?
Go to GOALS > click CHANGE GOALS > select GUIDED >
Make sure you current weight is accurate.
at the bottom of the page is says
"WHAT IS YOUR GOAL?" Select MAINTAIN WEIGHT
MFP will give you the amount of calories to MAINTAIN YOUR CURRENT WEIGHT.
Any number less than that includes a deficit.
At my start weight of 175 I was eating about 1790 cal/day
Eating 1290 calories a day was a 500 calories deficit.
If I did 300 calories worth of exercise AND ATE 1590 calories (that is still 1290 calories net) I WOULD STILL HAVE A 500 CALORIE DEFICIT.
I'm a big fan of giving yourself a range.
ROCK BOTTOM: 1200 cal net
TARGET: MFP lose 1 lb a week until you get to 1200 call then move to 1/2 lb a week
TOP OF RANGE; Maintain GOAL Weight
SAFETY VALVE: Maintain CURRENT weight.
As long as I stay under the top of my range I'll lose as long as I stay under my safety valve I should not gain, so no need to throw in the towel, just take a breath and regroup.
I naturally tended to zig-zag my calories I did 2-4 days at 1200 Net then a day at 1500-1600
Lost slower than MFP said, but it was very livable... so it was much easier to stick with. I even exceeded my goal.0 -
You're gaining muscle. It's really that simple. I lost 13 pounds by dieting alone without exercising AT ALL last month. This month I started at the gym, and although I feel better and my clothes fit better - I gained back 3 pounds. It's all muscle. Muscle weighs WAYYY more than fat. What you're doing will ultimately pay off and your trainer is right. Also a good thing to remember is that if you're trying to lose weight make sure you eat 70% of your TOTAL day's calories before dinner. In other words, Dinner should make up 30% or less of your total calorie intake per day. I found this really helps to focus my meals and definitely helped with the numbers on the scale back when I was just dieting. Keep in mind that lean muscle ultimately also burns more, so as you get stronger and more toned, you'll need to actually INCREASE your daily calorie intake. Feel free to message me if you have any questions!
Did you see her age? No way in one week she put on 2 lbs. of muscle.0 -
Well, so far I gained 2 lbs.
So first have to calm down and do some math.
2lbs - 7000 calories, 1 week, right.
If that was fat created, that means you ate 1000 calories ABOVE your maintenance each and every day.
So you ate your BMR level, you ate your daily activity calories, you ate your exercise calories, and you ate an extra 1000 calories on top of that.
Think you did that? Of course not.
It is not fat weight.
You probably ate enough to finally allow your body to store some extra glucose, which stores with water, and weighs 1 lb per 500 calories worth of carbs.
I'd suggest that proves you have been undereating, if your body finally had chance to top off glucose stores just eating a tad more. Those should easily be topped off between workouts, unless you went on 3-4 hr endurance event.
Unless those are really calm workouts 3 times a week, that 1500 still sounds low.0 -
Hii, my dietician told me to do the same thing!!! I spoke with her about "netting." She said there is not enough research to support this netting concept. 1,500 should be enough for your body when you are working out. If you are still hungry at the end of the day, eat a little more. Your body is going to take time to adjust to upping your calories. Be patient.0
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Def. need to eat more. Figure out ur BMR and never eat below that at least always NET that for sure.. So you could be eating anywhere from 1600-1900 calories per day.. minus your 500 to lose a pound per wk. which then ur body should respond well and start losing again BUT ALWAYS TRY AND NET UR BMR!! Go into groups and type in: EAT MORE TO WEIGH LESS
that group is amazing! Thanks to that group I eat around 1900 I burn about 500 which then nets me PERFECTLY at my BMR of 1400.. My body is never starving and is finally shedding the weight. I was where u were gettin fed up! Who knew weight could be so hard to lose without the perfect plan. Its not that hard we just have to figure out what works..0 -
Clearly, this was not a Sports Nutritionist who you saw. Standard nutritionists and dietitians don't know squat about exercise and the need to fuel it. Go to my blog http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainingWithTonya and follow the directions for figuring your BMR, RMR (EER), and TDEE (and your macros if you want those too) and then eat no less then 80% of your TDEE to lose weight.
16 years Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor
9 years Certified Sports Nutritionist
Bachelors in Exercise Physiology with a Minor in Nutritional Science
ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist
NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist0 -
Looking at your age (I feel your pain, I'm right there with you), you might want to have your hormones checked if after a few weeks you don't see any results. Just my 2 cents.0
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If eat my exercise calories back I DO NOT LOSE period.
Also, I have to eat fewer than 1400 to lose at all ... it just doesn't happen for me otherwise.
I'm gonna go out on a limb for you and say that your metabolism is not optimal. I damaged my own metabolism by consistently eating 1200 calories (or less). It's going to take some time eating at a higher calorie intake. Trust me it's not easy - I'm extremely active and have been eating at 1800-2200 calories for a couple of weeks now - this is accounting for a daily average of 400-600 calories burned through running and kickboxing - And while I haven't made any significant LOSSES more than 2lbs (I don't have a lot to lose), it does prove that I can eat more and not gain weight from it. Knowing that you don't HAVE to eat so little is a really significant accomplishment.
I hate the eat more to weigh less group because it's run by a fascist dictator who cannot take any criticism, and healthy debate is met with excommunication. So I won't really recommend it. BUT, you can eat more than 1200 calories a day and if you're an active person, you SHOULD eat more than 1200 calories a day.0 -
Clearly, this was not a Sports Nutritionist who you saw. Standard nutritionists and dietitians don't know squat about exercise and the need to fuel it. Go to my blog http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainingWithTonya and follow the directions for figuring your BMR, RMR (EER), and TDEE (and your macros if you want those too) and then eat no less then 80% of your TDEE to lose weight.
This is an EXCELLENT post!!!!0 -
Yeah, she's getting lots of muscle, I've been lifting heavy for a year and already I look better than Arnold Schwarzenegger! :bigsmile:She's working out - regardless of the calories she's consuming .. she's getting muscle.. there's no way around that.
It's sweet that she's trying to make you feel better though, I do enjoy some of the Pollyanna-ish things I read on here.
To the OP, just do a quick google search to find out how likely it is that you're gaining muscle while on a calorie deficit, you might not like what you learn, but at least it will be sane sensible advice!
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Hii, my dietician told me to do the same thing!!! I spoke with her about "netting." She said there is not enough research to support this netting concept. 1,500 should be enough for your body when you are working out. If you are still hungry at the end of the day, eat a little more. Your body is going to take time to adjust to upping your calories. Be patient.
If your doc can't understand the concept of "netting" ...as in, burning calories, eating calories, and maintaining a deficit while doing so ... then you may want to consider switching doctors...0 -
Hii, my dietician told me to do the same thing!!! I spoke with her about "netting." She said there is not enough research to support this netting concept. 1,500 should be enough for your body when you are working out. If you are still hungry at the end of the day, eat a little more. Your body is going to take time to adjust to upping your calories. Be patient.
If your doc can't understand the concept of "netting" ...as in, burning calories, eating calories, and maintaining a deficit while doing so ... then you may want to consider switching doctors...
She said that eating 1,500-1,800 calories should be enough for me. She took into consideration that I am moderately/very active when doing her calculations.0 -
Stay away from the scale. As soon as you start exercising you are burning fat and toning making your muscle leaner and denser. It`s not always about the number on the scale, but make sure you take your measurements. By exercising you may lose inches not decrease the number on the scale. Make sense ?0
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For your age/height/weight and hopefully even better your weight/bodyfat % - find out your BMR, and see where that 1500 hits in the scheme of activity levels.
She was probably using an activity calculator like this, and perhaps her concept of working out is far removed from what you plan to do.
Then again, you may see exactly what that 1500 is a deficit from, and she selected correct one. Doubt it, but interesting to see where.
Just use the spreadsheet referenced here.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/620206-spreadsheet-for-bmr-tdee-deficit-calcs-mfp-tweaks-hrm0 -
Thank you all for the great advice. I made my diary public so you can see how I eat. I do eat a lot at 1500 and at times I'm not hungry at all. For those of you who asked about me I am 43 133lbs and I'm 5'2. My goal is 120. I try not to weigh myself but I wanted to see if this worked. I know it has only been a week so I will give it more time. I was also go on later today and read the links that some of you posted. Thank you again!!
The things that confuse me (and I know it's simple math) are tdee, bmr, how much I should be eating, getting a deficit. She made it really easy for me. Eat 1500 burn 500. Hope I don't sound like an idiot. Lol. It does get confusing
I am starting p90x next week so hopefully that will help!
Thanks again!0 -
Hii, my dietician told me to do the same thing!!! I spoke with her about "netting." She said there is not enough research to support this netting concept. 1,500 should be enough for your body when you are working out. If you are still hungry at the end of the day, eat a little more. Your body is going to take time to adjust to upping your calories. Be patient.
If your doc can't understand the concept of "netting" ...as in, burning calories, eating calories, and maintaining a deficit while doing so ... then you may want to consider switching doctors...
She said that eating 1,500-1,800 calories should be enough for me. She took into consideration that I am moderately/very active when doing her calculations.
I'm sedentary/lightly active some weeks and moderately active the rest. I always put 'sedentary' and my BMR is about 1450-1500. That means my TDEE is somewhere around 2000-2200. I eat at 1700, and if I exercise, I may eat slightly more (some calories back). I think you may be shooting on the low end. If you stop losing weight, your hormones might be out of whack because of a very low calorie diet (for your body). If you find that you've stalled, try eating around 1700 calories for three or four weeks. I maintained for about a month, then finally started losing again, weight that wouldn't come off otherwise.0 -
You can't up your calories and give up so fast. It takes about 3 weeks to judge if something is working.
Unless you ate 7000 extra calories, it isn't fat. It's water weight. Remember when you first went on the 1200 calorie diet, you likely lost a bunch in the first week or so? It's usually predominantly water, and it will even out in the following weeks, which is why people see their loss "slow down" when in fact when you average it out, they are still consistently losing.
And if you start p90x next week? You'll likely see a gain while your muscles grab water. It's temporary, give it time. 0 -
I use these calculators for deciding how many calories to eat:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
I eat 15% less than my TDEE as of this week. Too soon to say if I am making progress but it's a 200ish a day calorie increase on what I was eating.0 -
Thank you all for the great advice. I made my diary public so you can see how I eat. I do eat a lot at 1500 and at times I'm not hungry at all. For those of you who asked about me I am 43 133lbs and I'm 5'2. My goal is 120. I try not to weigh myself but I wanted to see if this worked. I know it has only been a week so I will give it more time. I was also go on later today and read the links that some of you posted. Thank you again!!
The things that confuse me (and I know it's simple math) are tdee, bmr, how much I should be eating, getting a deficit. She made it really easy for me. Eat 1500 burn 500. Hope I don't sound like an idiot. Lol. It does get confusing
I am starting p90x next week so hopefully that will help!
Thanks again!
It probably won't help if you aren't eating enough.
Actually, even if you are, be prepared not for weight loss, but measurement changes from fat loss and LBM gain. Probably no scale changes.
So your healthy estimated BMR is 1212, Sedentary activity level would be around 1500 then, this means no exercise expected.
This would be to maintain weight.
Since you are so close to goal weight, this will also be might slow, don't expect more than 1 lb every 2 wks. And seeing 1/2 lb weekly will be difficult because of normal fluctuations. Only weigh the morning after a rest day.
Use the spreadsheet I referenced, get your info entered in, select how many hrs a week you plan on doing P90X, and feed that workout.
Frankly, being this close, you could eat at TDEE. That would accelerate seeing improvements from doing that intense workout, and losing fat, at the same time. Body recomposition.
What will happen is, you'll discover that 132 lbs that looks thinner and fits in clothes better and is stronger and is more desired than 120 lbs that you may have seen at some point in your past and are comparing to.0 -
You can't up your calories and give up so fast. It takes about 3 weeks to judge if something is working.
Unless you ate 7000 extra calories, it isn't fat. It's water weight. Remember when you first went on the 1200 calorie diet, you likely lost a bunch in the first week or so? It's usually predominantly water, and it will even out in the following weeks, which is why people see their loss "slow down" when in fact when you average it out, they are still consistently losing.
And if you start p90x next week? You'll likely see a gain while your muscles grab water. It's temporary, give it time.
Thank you! I am so afraid of gaining muscle! I heard about the muscle retaining water so I know what to be prepared for. I will give it more time.0 -
Thank you all for the great advice. I made my diary public so you can see how I eat. I do eat a lot at 1500 and at times I'm not hungry at all. For those of you who asked about me I am 43 133lbs and I'm 5'2. My goal is 120. I try not to weigh myself but I wanted to see if this worked. I know it has only been a week so I will give it more time. I was also go on later today and read the links that some of you posted. Thank you again!!
The things that confuse me (and I know it's simple math) are tdee, bmr, how much I should be eating, getting a deficit. She made it really easy for me. Eat 1500 burn 500. Hope I don't sound like an idiot. Lol. It does get confusing
I am starting p90x next week so hopefully that will help!
Thanks again!
It probably won't help if you aren't eating enough.
Actually, even if you are, be prepared not for weight loss, but measurement changes from fat loss and LBM gain. Probably no scale changes.
So your healthy estimated BMR is 1212, Sedentary activity level would be around 1500 then, this means no exercise expected.
This would be to maintain weight.
Since you are so close to goal weight, this will also be might slow, don't expect more than 1 lb every 2 wks. And seeing 1/2 lb weekly will be difficult because of normal fluctuations. Only weigh the morning after a rest day.
Use the spreadsheet I referenced, get your info entered in, select how many hrs a week you plan on doing P90X, and feed that workout.
Frankly, being this close, you could eat at TDEE. That would accelerate seeing improvements from doing that intense workout, and losing fat, at the same time. Body recomposition.
What will happen is, you'll discover that 132 lbs that looks thinner and fits in clothes better and is stronger and is more desired than 120 lbs that you may have seen at some point in your past and are comparing to.
Thank you for the great advice. I can't wait to start and I understand what you mean about how you look and change your body and not looking a the lbs.. I was told to eat more when I start the P90x...I just don't know what it up it too. I know it will be more then 1500.
Being so close to my goal has been frustrating because I can't seem to budge...lol.0 -
Hii, my dietician told me to do the same thing!!! I spoke with her about "netting." She said there is not enough research to support this netting concept. 1,500 should be enough for your body when you are working out. If you are still hungry at the end of the day, eat a little more. Your body is going to take time to adjust to upping your calories. Be patient.
If your doc can't understand the concept of "netting" ...as in, burning calories, eating calories, and maintaining a deficit while doing so ... then you may want to consider switching doctors...
She said that eating 1,500-1,800 calories should be enough for me. She took into consideration that I am moderately/very active when doing her calculations.
I find it odd she doesn't believe in "netting" when that is essentially what she suggests as well.
Most dieticians, etc, figure your BMR, multiply it by an activity factor which includes regular daily activity plus anticipates how much we will exercise, then creates a deficit from that. You don't "eat back" your exercise calories because they are already accounted for.
MFP figures your BMR, figures in your daily activity (but does not include exercise) then creates a deficit from that. It then suggests you eat back your exercise calories to maintain that deficit.
If done properly, they both usually end up in the same place.
When I first joined MFP, my target was 1450 calories per day. I was burning 350-400 calories most days of the week, so I was eating 1800-1850 calories a day, netting 1450.
I went to a trainer who set me up with a program. She included my exercise in her calculations put me on around 1800 calories per day and i was not "eating back" the calories. I still logged my food and exercise, and usually ended up "netting" 1450 or so.
Two different formulas with pretty much the same outcome.0
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