Please Help! I've been doing this for months.

violetismysoul · June 2012

I'm very young and not too terribly over weight but I would like to lose about 15-20 lbs just to be a happier, healthier me. A good goal right? My mother and I started myfitnesspal together in Janurary of this year and while she lost 10lbs in 2 or 3 months...I've lost 8, at the most,by mid June. I eat better than she does. I work out more. I'm 32 years younger than her and I have completely changed my eating habits. I bet I ate 3000-5000 calories a day before I start myfitnesspal, mostly sugar...I LOVE sweets:) Recently I've begun to cook or prepare my own meals using healthy recipes and substitutions. I work out 2-4 times a week for a good hour of cardio and then strengthening every other day for about 30 mins...I want healthy lean muscles, not bulbus boxer guns. So why is it so hard for me?

I weigh 142 now...jeez took me long enough. I weighed, at my heaviest 153, never going back there again. I'm 5' 7", medium boned, younger than 20, have no major medical problems (that I know of), and eat 1330 calories a day or less. Sometimes I go over like 100 or less and the next day I will gain 3 lbs, not exaggerating:/ I get tired easily, physically and mentally now. I could sleep for days but I actually can't because although I am exhausted I wake up way too earlier and get restless. I thought when you eat better and exercised you feel better.

What is the problem? What am I doing wrong? Please help me.

gaia3rd · June 2012

You've lost 8 pounds since January, which, at 1/2 pound per week average, isn't too far out of line. However, you now get tired easily, physically and mentally, and need more sleep. Whenever you go slightly over your calories, you see your weight pop up. As long as you're healthy overall, this sounds like a classic case of a metabolism that is stalling - eating too little for the amount of activity you're doing, and for far too long. I suggest you calculate your BMR and TDEE and eat 15% under your TDEE. If, as I suspect, that new calorie level is way above your current level, you might try increasing slowly - say 100-200 a week, until you reach your new level. Oh, and by the way, you're not going to develop "bulbus boxer guns" by lifting heavy - really.

violetismysoul · June 2012

Thank you so much:) That is 1760. That sounds like too much. What is the point where your body eats too little or too much?

claire47 · June 2012

I dont know much from experience, but i do read into alot of topics that come up and i guess i'd suggest drinking 2-3 litres of water a day because gaining 3lb in a day might be water weight if your and flushing things like sodium out, and also make sure you eat most of your exercise calories back because it can slow down the weight loss. Also if your doing that much workout and weights you might be gaining muscle weight and losing fat which is sometimes hard to see at first. Cx

cdoyle1126 · June 2012

hannakate16, it sounds to me like you have put you body in starvation mode by eating too few calories a day. Back in the caveman days this was a means by which we survived in dire food times. Our bodies still go into starvation mode when we try to lose weight too quickly by consuming too few calories. I would definitely try consuming the suggested 1760 calories a day for a week or two. I'll bet that after a week or two you will see a kicked up metabolism and an increase in weight loss per week.

BTW, please don't make weight loss a competition with your mother - or with anyone else for that matter. I've been guilty of that in the past and those diets never worked for me. For my current weight loss program I calculated my caloric needs to lose 1/2 a week. Using this caloric number as my guideline I'm at a slower weight loss progress than I have been on other diets I've tried. However, I am now on a diet that I believe I can maintain to reach my weight loss goal. I then plan to use myfitnesspal.com to maintain my goal weight.

Best of luck, hannahkate16 in reaching your weight loss goal. Remember, as the old fables tell us, slow and steady wins the race.

spdaphne · June 2012

Yeah, if you eat too little your metabolism slows down. your body thinks, "oh, i don't have enough energy and there's not enough calories to burn so i need to slow down to conserve energy" and it starts to store fat more.

so girl, sounds ilke you gotta eat more. what are you eating? is it balanced with protein, fiber and carbs? i can't see your diary.

i just started my changing my eating habits in the last 3 weeks after i saw a dietitian to learn how to balance my meals better. i too don't have any health problems, but after having met with her, it really opened my eyes about how to incorporate healthier choices in my meals so i feel fuller, longer and curb those cravings for sugar. it's bizarre eating healthy and balanced can curb the craving to eat a bag of Doritos or chocolate.

ditto about competing with your mom. just focus on you, not how much everyone else has lost. everyone's different and has difference bodies.

MaraDiaz · June 2012

Do you have health insurance? If so, why not try to get a referral to a nutritionist. And probably you should stop comparing yourself to your mom, or anyone else. That never ends well!

gaia3rd · June 2012

That is 1760. That sounds like too much. What is the point where your body eats too little or too much?

Actually, 1760 sounds much more reasonable. I'd recommend the slow caloric increase up to that point (it will take a little while for your metabolism to bounce back, so ignore the scale for a couple of weeks) and then maintaining the 1750 for 3-4 weeks. Reevaluate at that point, if needed. With where you are and where you want to be, 1/2 pound a week loss is a realistic goal. As to your last question, it varies depending on a lot of factors: height, activity level, current weight, goal weight, etc. A good general guideline: don't eat below your BMR and don't eat above your TDEE. Oh, and ditto what others are saying about comparing your loss to anyone else's. Best of luck!

violetismysoul · June 2012

Thank you to all who answered. Me and my mother are partners in this move towards a healthier life so I just used her as an exmple rather than a competitor. The valuable appearance in my generation, as I am sure was most, is to be skinny, not healthy, but SKINNY. I just want to do what is best for my body despite the trend towards being a stick and having brittle bones.

I eat very well but every now and then I snap and grab sugar and I've always blamed that on my weight fluxuation, which always fluxuated up not down. It just confuses me when myfitnesspal suggested that I eat 1330 calories to loose weight and told my mom to eat 1200, I don't know how she stays under her calorie goal.

If I gradually increase my calorie intake to the 1700s I just worry that I'm going to look down at the scale, see 148 and shoot it.

Why would myfitnesspal tell us to eat so few calories?

MaraDiaz · June 2012

Thank you to all who answered. Me and my mother are partners in this move towards a healthier life so I just used her as an exmple rather than a competitor. The valuable appearance in my generation, as I am sure was most, is to be skinny, not healthy, but SKINNY. I just want to do what is best for my body despite the trend towards being a stick and having brittle bones.

I eat very well but every now and then I snap and grab sugar and I've always blamed that on my weight fluxuation, which always fluxuated up not down. It just confuses me when myfitnesspal suggested that I eat 1330 calories to loose weight and told my mom to eat 1200, I don't know how she stays under her calorie goal.

If I gradually increase my calorie intake to the 1700s I just worry that I'm going to look down at the scale, see 148 and shoot it.

Why would myfitnesspal tell us to eat so few calories?

Pretty sure the calorie recommendation decreases with age. Also, is she shorter than you?

alikrorp225 · June 2012

One thing I've really had a hard time with is that I weigh myself every day. My husband, mom, and other friends tell me not to, but it's hard not to try to see progress every day. Their reasoning makes sense though. Our bodies fluctuate every day. Sometimes it's water weight. Sometimes it's those extra calories. No joke, though. The other day, I splurged and allowed myself a small ice cream cone(rocky road, yum!). I weighed 213 lbs. that morning before the ice cream. (did I mention I also didn't exercise and I was right at my calorie goal for the day?) Anyway, the next morning, after no exercise and that ice cream, I weighed 210 lbs. ! What?! lol It's our bodies. They just...well...fluctuate. I've got a long way(weigh tee hee) to go, but one thing I'm desperately trying to learn is to not weight myself every day(morning and night before bed). You didn't specifically say that you weigh yourself every day, but when you said you ate a few more calories than your goal and gained 3 lbs, it made me think maybe you're like me and can't stay off the scale. Also remember that when you're close to your goal weight, you'll definitely slow down...and don't starve yourself! --that seems to be the most likely reason you're tired and yet can't sleep. It's all about eating enough calories...the good kind. Don't give up! You're the same height as I am and are at least close to where you want to be...I've got like 80 lbs to go. :P hehe

gaia3rd · June 2012

If I gradually increase my calorie intake to the 1700s I just worry that I'm going to look down at the scale, see 148 and shoot it.

Why would myfitnesspal tell us to eat so few calories?

It sets it there because of the information you inputted in the beginning (your stats, activity level, goal weight, and how much you want to lose per week), and because it doesn't add your exercise calories to your daily amount until you actually do the exercise and input it. When your metabolism is stalled, folks do have a tendency to gain a little when they start increasing, but that usually levels off within a couple of weeks, which is why I suggested you ignore the scale for awhile. Look at it this way, what you're doing now isn't working. Give this a fair trial and see what happens. Also, you might want to check out the eat-more-to-lose weight group. They've had lots of success with this method.

ishtar13 · June 2012

A quick glance at a couple days shows a lot of McD's and a lot of "quick add calories".

I suggest that you aren't tracking as closely as you think you are. You also drink a lot of your calories (at least today: Mcdonald's - Medium Mocha Frappe W/ Whipped Cream, 1 medium frappe 560) , and have pretty low protein.

A look at Friday, for example, shows 67% carbs (even higher than docs recommend) and just under 11% protein. You don't track fiber, so I can't see that, but I see few veggies and only some fruit, so I bet your fiber is low. Fiber is good.

ishtar13 · June 2012

One thing I've really had a hard time with is that I weigh myself every day. My husband, mom, and other friends tell me not to, but it's hard not to try to see progress every day. Their reasoning makes sense though. Our bodies fluctuate every day. Sometimes it's water weight.

There's nothing wrong with weighing every day unless it demotivates you.

I weigh every day and put it in a spreadsheet. As long as my trend continues down, I'm ok.

ishtar13 · June 2012

And, btw, at 5'7" and 143, you are just inside the healthy BMI range, so how much more do you want to lose?

I can understand another 10-15 more pounds, but you probably aren't going to lose more than 1/2 pound per week that close to goal.

violetismysoul · June 2012

It's all about eating enough calories...the good kind. Don't give up!

Thank you for being so encouraging alikrorp225.

I work so hard for a perfect week and then one day I blow it (big time)...because well...I'm a young woman and we have our little dramatic days that unfortunatly put us right back where we started. I understand the 1/2 lbs a week thing, it makes sense. I'm whining, I know, I just didn't think it would take this long and be so hard. When I first started recording my calories I realized how much of a sugar addict I was, and still am...once an addict always an addict. I want to be a size 4 or 6 before I get to college and that whole "freshman fifteen" I'm determined not to go there. It is a lifestyle change most definitley for me, though I don't have 50 or 100 lbs to lose I knew that that was where I was headed. I'm so close to where I want to be it gets frustrating when I don't see the results of my effort. I think sometimes that one day I'll wake up and be perfect, not just eating wise, but I know that won't happen, I'm terrible at controlling my sweet tooth, unfortunatly food is one of the most reliant and fleetingly satisfying things in my life. Something like that is hard to control when you've unconscientiously been relying on it for years.
Thank you for all of the support. I really appreciate the depth of some of the responses.

leslisa · June 2012

And of course, my stand by that I don't see listed here, you can add some green or black tea to your daily regime. 4 - 5 cups a day for a 140 lb person can make a pretty big difference according to the university studies I've been reading.

Just thought I'd mention it

Please Help! I've been doing this for months.

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