fiddletime Member

As I got older and my body less user friendly I realized I couldn’t exercise my way to eating more, with certainty. I exercise for health and if I get some extra calories, that’s a bonus. I could relate to your post, and am also at 1200 cal and am 5’2”. What I’ve come to realize is that most “normal people” are overweight.…

Haha! 2011 thread. Didn’t notice!

When I was in graduate school I also was extremely busy. Since you walk a lot, 10,000 steps, you could do what I did, which was to wake up and work out for 20 min. I chose to buy a cheap little rowing machine although now I’d get a small stationary bike. You can get a good workout 3 days a week if you push it.

Also off gluten for ten years. Caused my joints to swell and be very painful. No pain or swelling since.

To OP. I started lifting weights in a class 3 nights a week, along with body weight exercises. I added this to my cardio biking workout I do 4 mornings a week. I was in maintenance, got more muscles everywhere, but still had the belly roll of fat. I’ve started to eat fewer calories, and my belly roll is getting smaller.…

I lose at 1200 cal but I’m 63 and 5’2”. I’m also at goal weight, so you must be off in your counting. When I started a new exercise regime I plateaued for 3 weeks. Also, be careful about allocating too many calories if you’re lifting weights. For cardio I only eat half the calories back that mfp gives me.

Apple pie has a lot of calories. I eat 1200 a day so don’t bank any. If I have a half a piece of pie, I usually want the other half, really really want it (400 cal). If I have none of the pie, I do much better. It’s a work in progress, this eating in moderation. Going on about a half century now! (I’m 63).

I pre-log meals out. I know that they’ll have some meat, or maybe cheese. So I log it and then eat within my calories. Socializing involves chips and dip. Since I can’t eat “just one” I now skip unless I have enough for ten (about 140 cal). I like eating 10 and feel like I got my junk food in. It takes a lot of practice…

I go to China every year for 3-4 weeks. I usually lose a pound or so. I eat meat but their foods are mostly rice and vegetables (in southern China at any rate) with very little meat anyway. I just need to steer clear of candy and bread things, same as when home, and I eat large portions with no gain. I don’t count calories…

I’m 63 and lose weight like everyone on here. Just follow the steps that MFP has you to set up calories and activity level. Hang in there!

I also pre-log my food for the day. I log 3 meals. If I have extra calories I often choose my snack. If I go over, I log it as soon as possible. Often it wasn’t as bad as I thought. If I ate one candy bar over, at 210 calories, that’s better than 4 candy bars. It still keeps me at maintenance. I’ve been doing this a long…

You might find it very informative at some point to calculate your exercise calories, especially running. Also, see what MFP says your maintenance calories should be. If the ap says 1680 then you must be eating a lot more than that to maintain at their recommended maintenance calories. In the big scheme of life the more…

This^^^ I have 5 pounds to go, but have had to really tighten up my logging, back to weighing everything. Don’t get frustrated.

I like working out, and have a stationary bike and rowing machine at home. But. My son asked me to join their gym’s family plan 9 months ago. I chose a strength and endurance class which was weights or TRX or your own body weight exercises. One day a week was core and upper body, one day was legs. I told myself I’d go…

I also “couldn’t lose any more weight” for 8 months. That was because every weekend I guesstimated how much food I ate at a big dinner once a week, and overate just a little as well at church (how much damage could two or three cookies really do after all?). When I cut out some calories by really really tightening up my…

I was aiming for 125 at 63 and 5’2”. I stopped at 129 for 8 months. Then I got to thinking that my maintenance calories would be the same, at 129 or 125, but I’d lose some unwanted belly fat at a lower weight. So, I’m back in weight loss mode to get the last 5# off (am currently 130#). If you can maintain at 135 you can…

I gained 20 pounds back a few years ago, then ten pounds last year, and 6 pounds this year. Each time I lost it again. This time I almost considered it maintenance, except for the fact that I’m 63 and 5’2” and 6 # is a lot on me. It trended up....and up, not a one shot higher water weight thing.

I also start the portion size creep. Then I stop logging and guesstimate it. Feeling I’ve gained a little I weigh myself, and have. But then there’s the next dinner out and it’s so yummy, so I decide I’ll just not log it because it’ll be inaccurate ( ie I ate way too much and don’t want to itemize it) and I’ll weigh myself…

I may get wooed but if I eat one candy bar i want ten more. I don’t need to be hungry. And I’ve eaten ten more many times. Any time I splurge on cakes, pies, candy, or cookies I immediately want more. I can eat one protein bar or piece of fruit no problem however. So, we each have to be careful with the foods that we know…

I’ve reached goal on MFP twice. The first time I gained 14 pounds back when I thought “I can do this - without logging”. The second time is now after I gained 6 pounds back and have lost 3 of those. I’ve come to the regretful conclusion that I can’t trust myself to control portion sizes. Good for you for catching it at…

You’re doing great. Don’t change anything. If you haven’t lost any weight in 3-4 weeks repost and we can help you to tighten things up in your calorie counting. You didn’t get to your current weight overnight. Just give this process some time.

OP. I thought you did look great in your photo so also wonder your height and weight. I’m 5’2”, 129#, 63 yo, and maintain at 1350. I need to be at 1200 to lose weight and have so little wiggle room that a little slip keeps me in maintenance rather than losing. I weigh my food and I think that I probably overestimate my…

After a month I decide I’m in maintenance and cut some calories. I could also tighten up my logging but either way will work.

I’ve gained 5 pounds in the past two months. I was under no illusion that I was in a plateau! Now I’m working on losing those 5 pounds. You’re doing great. I’m also on 1200 calories. It’s tough to be this low, and my maintenance is 1350, so it’s very easy to gain and there’s very little wiggle room. Just keep doing what…

This is a marathon and you’ve taken the first step. Relax, eat below your calorie goal, be honest with yourself and weigh your portions and log everything. Also, how tall are you and how much do you weigh? If you only have 20 pounds to lose it will probably go very slowly. Hang in there and trust the process. It’ll work…

Overhyped? Hmmmmm. Nothing magical, just that you look better, feel better, and live longer. But not much changes. Wow- I’d say that that is pretty magical. I’d say losing weight might be underhyped (if that were even a word). Interesting take that article had.

My petty reason - No, not all post-menopausal women gain weight, and if they do, they CAN lose it (so cut back on the wine and large dinners out and stop complaining and do the hard work)!

I sometimes find that happening to me too and you just have to learn to ignore “that” voice and log your food and try to stay under your calorie count. Most of us are on this site because somewhere in life we developed an unhealthy relationship with food which resulted in many of us eating too much when we didn’t need…

I’ve used a gram scale to weigh my tsp of butter or almond butter and it’s amazing to me how I can underestimate the calories of the high fat side stuff. Be sure to accurately log the mayo and ranch. Both are high in fat, therefore high in calories. There’s nothing wrong with eating them, just log them.

If you were on a 4 month plateau, as per this thread title, then congratulations, as you were doing s great job at maintenance. If you were logging your calories and activities accurately then you now know what maintenance is for you. Cut 100-200 calories from your daily amount and you’d start losing again. Eating above…