myfitnesspal ladies

[changedname]

Ok, I'm officially depressed. For the last 2 weeks I have been under my calorie count every single day and working out like a demon. Some days it even says my calorie count is too low and I might be putting my body in starvation mode (I think this is because of all the working out).

I did my Friday weekly weigh in today and I still haven't even lost half a pound!!! . wth. Do you think it will take a couple of weeks to kickstart then I will start losing? Do you think I should just stick to the food allowance and not use any of my exercise calories?
 I only have about 10 pounds to lose so I know I'm not going to be pulling in huge numbers but still thought I would have lost a measly lb by now. 

degal99, HoneySpider  - I know you guys have lost - congrats!!

secretariat - I keep trying to tag you but it comes up with a new name - butkus? Did you change your name?

[Deleted]

I've been gaining and losing the same three pounds all year. So, I have no answers, but share your frustration.

[HoneySpider]

I've been doing a low carb diet the last few weeks because I find that it's really the only thing that really work wells for me...I do well with the calories for a week or two, then nothing for weeks and I lose motivation and stop following the program. And I have quite a bit to lose so it should be coming off.

Basically right now I'm just using MFP to log in my weight and exercise (which has been non-existent)

[discogranny]

This sounds weird, but there is a chance you are under eating. MFP is a "dumb" program in that it can only compute what you tell it to.
What are your setting rights now? How many cals per day and pounds per week?

[changedname]

Apr 12, 2013 9:28:03 GMT -5 discogranny said:

This sounds weird, but there is a chance you are under eating. MFP is a "dumb" program in that it can only compute what you tell it to.
What are your setting rights now? How many cals per day and pounds per week?

   1200 and 2 lbs a week. I normally burn about 400-700 with exercise and am trying to low ball my estimates of exercise and high ball (??) my food calorie amounts.

So I am eating around 1600-1700 a day. Maybe I should just eat 1200 and use exercise as bonus rather than using it to give myself more food. I also think I'll try what HoneySpider said and do low carb although I find that so hard.. what do you eat for breakfast, honey?

[HoneySpider]

@icedgems I find it really difficult too, I think it's hard to sustain long-term and that's why I hate doing it, lol

My go-to is breakfast "muffins" - I can get you the exact recipe when I am home, but you mix together egg beaters, light breakfast sausage, cheese, peppers, and onions and bake in a muffin tin. I usually add a few real eggs to bulk it up and you can really put in whatever veggies you want. I will cook a big batch on the weekend and then just heat them up in the morning (usually have 2).

Otherwise, we do omelets or a milkshake - 1 cup skim milk, 1 packet of sugar-free hot cocoa, 1 tbsp peanut butter, and ice in the blender.

It does get repetitive. I have a mid-morning snack which is usually cheese and nuts.

I was just saying to DH this morning that I need some new recipes (we are doing this together which is huge for me)

[HoneySpider]

Ugh why did @icedgems not work

[changedname]

Apr 12, 2013 9:52:58 GMT -5 HoneySpider said:

Ugh why did @icedgems not work

  I notice it hardly ever works. No idea why. I don't know why I can't tag secretariat either... try it, it is so weird.

[discogranny]

Apr 12, 2013 9:45:26 GMT -5 changedname said:

Apr 12, 2013 9:28:03 GMT -5 discogranny said:

This sounds weird, but there is a chance you are under eating. MFP is a "dumb" program in that it can only compute what you tell it to.
What are your setting rights now? How many cals per day and pounds per week?

   1200 and 2 lbs a week. I normally burn about 400-700 with exercise and am trying to low ball my estimates of exercise and high ball (??) my food calorie amounts.

So I am eating around 1600-1700 a day. Maybe I should just eat 1200 and use exercise as bonus rather than using it to give myself more food. I also think I'll try what HoneySpider said and do low carb although I find that so hard.. what do you eat for breakfast, honey?

Depending on your BMR (based on height, weight, age) MFP might be misleading you. 1200 cals is the lowest it will give you for calories (rightfully so), but for some people who don't have a lot of weight to lose 2 pounds per week is completely unrealistic. You can figure out your BMR here and then you can do reverse math to figure out what you would truly have to eat to lose 2 pounds per week.

For example, if you were 5'3, weight 145 pounds and were 35 years old, your BMR would be 1417.35, multiplying this by 1.2 which is the rate MFP uses for people who put themselves at "sedentary" activity level would make it that you need to eat 1700 cals per day to maintain your weight. 1200 cals per day cuts only 500 cals per day or 3500 per week, which is only one pound. Two pounds is unattainable at this rate, actually losing one pound would be very difficult as well. You might need to set your goals more forgivingly to get some better results.

This is all just my take, feel free to tell me to shove it.

[changedname]

Apr 12, 2013 11:23:51 GMT -5 discogranny said:

Apr 12, 2013 9:45:26 GMT -5 changedname said:

   1200 and 2 lbs a week. I normally burn about 400-700 with exercise and am trying to low ball my estimates of exercise and high ball (??) my food calorie amounts.

So I am eating around 1600-1700 a day. Maybe I should just eat 1200 and use exercise as bonus rather than using it to give myself more food. I also think I'll try what HoneySpider said and do low carb although I find that so hard.. what do you eat for breakfast, honey?

Depending on your BMR (based on height, weight, age) MFP might be misleading you. 1200 cals is the lowest it will give you for calories (rightfully so), but for some people who don't have a lot of weight to lose 2 pounds per week is completely unrealistic. You can figure out your BMR here and then you can do reverse math to figure out what you would truly have to eat to lose 2 pounds per week.

For example, if you were 5'3, weight 145 pounds and were 35 years old, your BMR would be 1417.35, multiplying this by 1.2 which is the rate MFP uses for people who put themselves at "sedentary" activity level would make it that you need to eat 1700 cals per day to maintain your weight. 1200 cals per day cuts only 500 cals per day or 3500 per week, which is only one pound. Two pounds is unattainable at this rate, actually losing one pound would be very difficult as well. You might need to set your goals more forgivingly to get some better results.

This is all just my take, feel free to tell me to shove it.

Genius. Ok, so yeah... I can't lose more than 1 a week otherwise I am going to be eating like 300 calories a day. urgh, this reminds me of when I go on the treadmill with DH and he burns 700 calories and I only burn 300. Thanks for this Disco.

[mae141]

You have to tag changedname as noelcallum. When you hover over the name in the post it tells you how to tag them.

I am a huge believer in eating "real" food and cutting the sugar. I lost 25 pounds in a couple of months this way. (Please don't hate me) but I'm actually trying to gain weight because I'm underweight right now, and it's super hard to do when you eat healthy whole grains and don't have any sugar. I more of less avoid anything processed, and try to eat low glycemic index foods. I don't count calories or fat, although I know I do have a very high intake of these. My RE made me go low carb/sugar, so that's why I did it. In the research I've done, and in my personal experience, it really is a great way to lose weight.

[changedname]

Apr 12, 2013 15:33:02 GMT -5 mae141 said:

You have to tag changedname as noelcallum. When you hover over the name in the post it tells you how to tag them.

I am a huge believer in eating "real" food and cutting the sugar. I lost 25 pounds in a couple of months this way. (Please don't hate me) but I'm actually trying to gain weight because I'm underweight right now, and it's super hard to do when you eat healthy whole grains and don't have any sugar. I more of less avoid anything processed, and try to eat low glycemic index foods. I don't count calories or fat, although I know I do have a very high intake of these. My RE made me go low carb/sugar, so that's why I did it. In the research I've done, and in my personal experience, it really is a great way to lose weight.

  This is what I am going to do! This weekend is my last chance saloon for sugar and carbs and then I am on a cyst-busting, ivf-prepping diet!

[changedname]

murdock - I kept tagging you as secretariat and it comes up as butkus???So thanks to mae141 I know to tag you as murdock.

[degal99]

I agree with discogranny. If you only have 10 pounds to lose, you won't be able to lose 2 lbs a week, at least not safely. While there's a huge debate, it's generally accepted that you never want to net under 1200 calories a day, so if that's you minimum, you need to eat your exercise calories.

I honestly found that when I started losing the most weight was when I got my HRM and was able to track exercise burned more accurately.

[HoneySpider]

Apr 12, 2013 15:33:02 GMT -5 mae141 said:

You have to tag changedname as noelcallum. When you hover over the name in the post it tells you how to tag them.

Ooh, good to know. Thanks!

[pamela]

Are you measuring/ weighing food as well?

[changedname]

Apr 13, 2013 18:34:22 GMT -5 pamela said:

Are you measuring/ weighing food as well?

  No and that it probably an issue. I am probably eating more pasta etc than I am accounting for.

[pamela]

Apr 14, 2013 14:07:00 GMT -5 changedname said:

Apr 13, 2013 18:34:22 GMT -5 pamela said:

Are you measuring/ weighing food as well?

  No and that it probably an issue. I am probably eating more pasta etc than I am accounting for.

I really think you should try it for a week or 2 at least. Getting a real idea of portion sizes to be able to accurately track calories was a turning point for me.