Eat nothing - lost nothing. Ate loads lost three pounds

Giggle78
Giggle78 Posts: 16 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,


Basically for eleven weeks I really hit this hard. I did P90X weight training x 3 days a week and Insanity/Turbo Fire for the cardio days. I also tracked everything I ate.

And NOTHING happened.
It was sooooooooo disheartening because of the effort. In this eleven weeks I started on 1200 cals. Tried to go up to 1900 for a few weeks. Took it back down until 1200 cals because nothing was happening. Still no weight and no inch change really.

Then last Friday something snapped and I went on an eating rampage for a week. MacDondalds x 2. Pizza hut. Massive roast dinner. Crisps. Basically you name it....and I lost 3lbs. Plus so far it seems to have stayed off and my trousers are definately looser.

Now...how do I proceed? I really want to loose weight but don't really know what to eat. Do I eat more fat? Do you think that is what I body needed in order to contiune this weight loss? Has this happened to anyone else and what did you do to keep losing?

I am 5 foot and currently 128 lbs.
Thanks

Replies

  • mrs_dwr
    mrs_dwr Posts: 189 Member
    Check out the group Eat More to Weigh Less and read the stickies with an open mind. Trust me; it'll change your whole approach to weight loss. As a personal anecdote, I've been losing weight eating 1900+ calories every day. It works.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    I'm pretty sure it's not the fat but you could try upping your healthy fats.

    I'm curious if you also quit the extreme workouts over the last few days? I don't know why they seem to hinder weight loss but I see it reported a lot. I used to think 'gaining muscle' but I guess it's 'retaining water'? But usually people see some changes-- clothes feel better, legs look better, feeling better, something. Sometimes when I add a new exercise level, I don't see changes for a long time then BAM, the scale drops 5 lbs. or something.
  • mama2shi
    mama2shi Posts: 300 Member
    Check out the group Eat More to Weigh Less and read the stickies with an open mind. Trust me; it'll change your whole approach to weight loss. As a personal anecdote, I've been losing weight eating 1900+ calories every day. It works.

    ^^^ THIS!! This group changed my thinking and was the best thing I ever did. I am on 1,900 too :)
  • theartichoke
    theartichoke Posts: 816 Member
    Jess knows what she's talking about! I belong to the group as well and second the encouragement to join! :flowerforyou:
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member
    I work out at least one hour 6 days/week and eat between 1700-2000 cals/day. Steady weight loss of 1.5-2 pounds week. Only hit plateaus when I don't eat enough. It's true for most people...your body will stop losing when it thinks it's starving. best of luck!
  • Giggle78
    Giggle78 Posts: 16 Member
    Hello,

    Thanks so much I will check out the group.

    Yes I did cut back on the extreme workouts. I only did one Turbo Fire and one Zumba (where you hardly break a sweat). This week so far I've only done one Turbo Fire. So it is no where near the intensity as before. TBH I am finding it hard to get motivation back...Anyway tomorrow is a new day.
  • txbutterfly69
    txbutterfly69 Posts: 115 Member
    Check out the group Eat More to Weigh Less and read the stickies with an open mind. Trust me; it'll change your whole approach to weight loss. As a personal anecdote, I've been losing weight eating 1900+ calories every day. It works.

    Curious, about how many calories do you burn daily when you eat 1900+ Are you a runner?
  • shelbynicole32
    shelbynicole32 Posts: 179 Member
    With my body, I've learned what I did that week doesn't "catch up" with my until the end of the next week.
  • dlyeates
    dlyeates Posts: 875 Member
    I just joined that group too and am doing a modified metabolism reset....2000 calories a day and not eating back exercise calories unless I burn more than 500 calories (I'll drop below my BMR if I do) and if I don't workout I still eat 2000 calories a day.

    3 weeks ago I gained 3 lbs (thanks TOM) and it wasn't budging!!! At all!!! (at that point with the gain I had only lost 3 lbs since January). Since I upped to 2000 calories I'm almost down those 3 lbs. Maybe I've found my calorie goal to lose weight.

    You have nothing to lose.....more calories will properly fuel your body but also make them healthy calories!!!
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    With my body, I've learned what I did that week doesn't "catch up" with my until the end of the next week.

    Me too. It makes it really hard to change gears and judge what caused what.
  • getsveltEagain
    getsveltEagain Posts: 1,063 Member
    Check out the group Eat More to Weigh Less and read the stickies with an open mind. Trust me; it'll change your whole approach to weight loss. As a personal anecdote, I've been losing weight eating 1900+ calories every day. It works.

    Curious, about how many calories do you burn daily when you eat 1900+ Are you a runner?

    I eat around 1900 and I run (haven't in a long time though) and I lift. Just movement throughout the day is what makes me burn between 2100- 2400 according to my bodybugg :wink:
  • Sassinator333
    Sassinator333 Posts: 2
    That could make sense as eating too little would fool your body into storing energy in the form of fat. Eating more (coupled with exercise, of course) could be spurring the weight loss. Good Luck.
  • smbrooks404
    smbrooks404 Posts: 24 Member
    Where do we find this group?? I am really wondering if that is my problem. I have been working out intensely for several months, eating 1200 calories (mostly healthy with the occasional splurge) and really not budging...well, I will drop 5, gain back 3, drop 3 gain back 2 etc. It is getting ridiculous.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    you don't have much to lose. I have heard of the "whoosh" effect from leangains:
    Refeeding can cause rapid weight loss, a whoosh. This seems counter intuitive, but it's a phenomenon observed in the scientific literature and retold by many dieters. My clients experience this, and so do people embarking on diet regimens where planned carb refeeds are integral parts of the plan (for example, The Ultimate Diet 2.0).

    from here:
    http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Water Retention
  • Giggle78
    Giggle78 Posts: 16 Member
    That was a really interesting website. I just looked at it. Ahhh So there is nothing new under the sun and other people have experienced this too!!
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
    I think if you went back up to 1900 and just made sure to eat healthy foods to fill up the calories you will continue to lose. 1200 didn't do anything for me and hasn't for you...no sense continuing to do that.
  • Giggle78
    Giggle78 Posts: 16 Member
    No 1200 calories is pants. I can't go back to no food hell. Not after eating again. However - whilst eating what I wanted for a week sounds great in theory actually I felt pants last week. Also very down - I think from not exercising. It is funny though even though I know I will feel better if I get my trainers on and start making my lunch the night before I still am sat on this sofa...:0(
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    No 1200 calories is pants. I can't go back to no food hell. Not after eating again. However - whilst eating what I wanted for a week sounds great in theory actually I felt pants last week. Also very down - I think from not exercising. It is funny though even though I know I will feel better if I get my trainers on and start making my lunch the night before I still am sat on this sofa...:0(

    It's so hard to find the motivation to restart after having a break...speaking from personal experience the longer you leave it the harder it gets.

    Good luck!
  • tuffytuffy1
    tuffytuffy1 Posts: 920 Member
    Where do we find this group?? I am really wondering if that is my problem. I have been working out intensely for several months, eating 1200 calories (mostly healthy with the occasional splurge) and really not budging...well, I will drop 5, gain back 3, drop 3 gain back 2 etc. It is getting ridiculous.

    Here's the link:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less
  • Wendyerickson
    Wendyerickson Posts: 73 Member
    bump
  • twoboys2012
    twoboys2012 Posts: 352 Member
    Check out the group Eat More to Weigh Less and read the stickies with an open mind. Trust me; it'll change your whole approach to weight loss. As a personal anecdote, I've been losing weight eating 1900+ calories every day. It works.

    Curious, about how many calories do you burn daily when you eat 1900+ Are you a runner?

    You get your own number depending on how much you weight, age, height and activity level ... so yours will be different ... individualised to meet your needs. You may eat more or less than this
  • cloud2011
    cloud2011 Posts: 898 Member
    There's an old saying in Weight Watchers, that when you plateau, eat a cheeseburger to move through it. While I haven't done WW in years, it sometimes has helped me. I think your body didn't want to let go of the weight until it knew that more food was coming.

    Your body has to be ready to let go of the weight. And, too few calories for too long, your body will hang on.
  • kpellham
    kpellham Posts: 1
    I just wanted to send you a little something to help out. I've done alot of health/fitness courses in my life and learned just recently after all of the hard work and diet, there is 1 simple fact that contributes to this...You need to pick a day or 2 out of the week where you just eat normal... I suggest 1 day. Eat normal fats, good fats bad fats whatever you're craving because the reason you don't drop any weight after a certain point is that your body is afraid that it's being starved of fats with all the working out and low calorie count, so it holds onto the fat that you have as a survival mode...Just give a day of rest on the diet and excercise and let your body release the fats and process them through you as normal.. This has been a BIG helper for me..
  • Giggle78
    Giggle78 Posts: 16 Member
    Thank you to everyone who contributed to this threat it has been really interesting.
    I did do some exercise today! Yay!
  • PinkToes71
    PinkToes71 Posts: 4 Member
    Something that has gotten a lot of interest in some threads on MFP is called "In Place of a Road Map" written up my Helloitsdan. I just stumbled over it when trying to find out if 1200 calories was actually healthy for me since I wanted to eat my hand by the end of the day.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

    It explains how to figure out what your BMR is (how many calories you burn if you were comatose) and then your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) based on your activity level. The purpose is to show you how many calories you should never eat under (otherwise your body doesn't have what it needs to just exist, which it obviously doesn't like) and how many you would need to just maintain your weight so that you can eat at a deficit between those two numbers. When I input my numbers on MFP, MFP's suggested caloric intake put me under my BMR. I simply couldn't maintain 1200 calories a day for long so I was very glad to find that thread.

    I can't attest to its effectiveness (but it seems that many people can on here) since I just started out with it very recently. I can tell you that I have dropped some weight in the last week and I'm not starving (it was hard to go higher in calories--I was afraid I'd gain). I decided to do it a little differently though--I put my daily calories in at the sedentary level of activity for the TDEE and then I eat back my exercise calories. It motivates me to get moving every day AND I was finding that I was having to adjust my numbers every day before I started doing this because once I exercised I was falling below my BMR which they warn you never to do. That all might make more sense if you read the thread.

    Best thing about it is that I'm not starving and I'm not gaining. We'll see about the losing yet--the 2 pounds could have been water differences.

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