Confused

 

I consume an average of 1000 calories a day (850-1100) and burn anywhere from 1900 - 2700 (1900 sedentary and 2700 on gym days - which are 4-5 times a week).

 Theoretically, shouldn't I be losing at LEAST 1lb every 4 days? ( 1900 burned - 1000 consumed = 900 deficit. 900 x 4 = 3400.)

I realize there are 3500cal/lb but I do not record a lot of the daily activities that are done in excess to my standard day.

Can someone help explain this to me? I have been stuck at a plateau for quite some time.

**Also, I realize one is supposed to up their calorie intake at a plateau, which I did last week from 800cal/day - 1000cal/day. It has not made much of an impact and I have kept it at 1000 for 7 days now. I have an office job - please do not think I am starving myself, but I simply am not hungry throughout most of the day because my job does not require too much physical activity. I don't need the food/energy. I snack healthy all day on fruits and veggies which keep me more than full (but low calorie).

 

You aren't eating enough. With all that working out, you should be eating much more.

yeah eat more but more healthy foods that way you should lose more and proberly faster

Hi and W~E~L~C~O~M~E to Calorie Count! I see this is your first post so I hope you find all the information and support on the Forums and on CC to achieve your weightloss goals!

Without knowing what weight and height you are it's tough to say how many calories you should be consuming, but it's safe to say you are eating too little and are probably entering if not already are in the proverbial "starvation mode".

Are you female? Assuming you are, you should be eating no less than 1200 calories just to exist and for your organs to operate properly (even your brain!!).

Your body needs at least 1200 calories per day to survive. Here is a very rough scientific break down provided by a dietician for a  5' 2", 19 year old female weighing approximately 100 pounds, sitting around all day and doing nothing:


-The heart needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The kidney needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The Liver needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The brain needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The skeletal muscle needs 30% of the calories (360 cals)

Reference:

http://www.caloriecount.about.com/forums/post /3178 .html#6

For many people even 1200 is too low and can enter them into starvation mode. Certainly less than 1200 such as 800 or 1000 calories can do it!!

Starvation mode is when your metabolism slows down to accomodate your intake and you are virtually not losing anything b/c what you intake is what you burn. This is an abnormal situation and shows your homeostatic mechanisms are not functioning as they should. The problem with long-term starvation mode (besides the damage you could be doing to your body) is that once you increase your calorie intake you may gain and it might take some time to get back into a normal metabolic pattern.

So I recommend you break that NOW by upping your calories to no less than 1200. Even if you have a brief gain, you will definitely start to lose after that, once your body gets accustomed to a normal level of intake.

Please use the Tools on this site, including calculating Expenditure/Burn Rate and Calorie Target/Allowance to figure out the proper calories you should be consuming for a healthful and maintainable weightloss. Believe me, it works!!

Good luck!

nycgirl,i do think that shorter people like me whos less than 5"2 and less than 100 pounds need less than 1200 to lose weight or even maintain.i only find that i maintain on 1000-1100 but i know it doesnt work that way for everyone

A 5'2" woman, 25yrs,  at ideal weght burns around 1500 calories a day at a SENDENTARY activity level NO WAY is less then 1200 going to cut it for maintainence. If you exercise you need more. The reason you my gain if you eat more then 1200 is because your body is in STARVATION MODE and is storing up all the fat it can get while functioning at below standard levels. That is the way that you  completely ruin your metabolism.

I did some research, you have to be under 4'6" and 80lbs to burn less then 1200 at the sedentary level.

that doesnt apply to everyone,ive read some posts in here from short people aswell who maintain their ideal weight around the 1000-1100 calorie mark    everyones metabolism are dfferent

misundastod, I hear ya as I am a shortie too being 5'1" or so and 105lbs and it is more difficult for us to lose weight and to find the correct calories to maintain without going over ....  but I found by using the Tools on CC that I can eat 1300-1500 cals a day and am *still* losing (want to lose another 5 lbs til my goal weight, and I am lightly active at best too)! If you are maintaining on 1000 you are also likely in "starvation mode" ... 

My metabolic rate is 1200, that's what it takes for me just to breath:

 http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.htm l

Therefore even with a moderate amount of extra activity (like walking and working) I am already at 1500 calories minimum, hence why I can eat up to 1500 cals and still lose. Who wouldn't want to eat more and maintain or even lose!

Everyone's metabolisms are different you are right, but without extra health issues, and within an age range, ours will always be within a normal range. So, for example, if your BMR is down to 800-1000 calories and you are 5'1 or 5'2" or so, and you weigh around 100-110lbs, you have put yourself into starvation mode by continually eating too little. So yes, your metabolism is slower - and therefore different from other people - but only artificially so by an inappropriate diet. Unfortunately it's not a healthy way to maintain.

im 5 ft and 97lbs ive maintained that for about a month on 1000-1100 calories a day,i dont see how i can be in starvation mode because if i was then i would of been out of it already since upping it from 800 which was like 4 months ago.i have tryed maintaining 2 weeks ago on 1300-1500(more on the 1500 side) calories but i gained 2 lbs so i guess i just have a slow metabolism and have to stick with it

1200 calories is universally considered to be the safe minimum for women.  How can it be that the heart, kidney, liver, brain and skeletal mass need 1200 calories exactly? What about the remaining organs of the body, skin tissue, digestive system and so on? In addition, 10% of the calories you eat is used to digest food. So if you eat 1200, only  1080 woud be available for the body... not enough to power even the body parts this dietician said.  What am I missing here?

Even my six year old daughter needs 1200 cals!

I was confused at first too.  I'd always believed that to lose weight you must eat less and less.  Each time I tried to diet, I'd lose at first then hit a plateau.   Then I'd eat even less with no results, until I was starving and i'd drop maybe half a pound in 2 weeks.  Then I'd give up.  I'd come to believe that I just couldn't lose weight.

When I found calorie count, I was in that same frame of mind.  I started out at about 1100 calories, lost 20 pounds in 6 months, then plateaued.  I dropped it down to 900 with no results. 

Then, in desparation, I posted my problem.  I received the first information I'd ever had about "starvation mode", and some very kind expressions of support.  I thought eating more was the craziest thing I'd ever heard, but I had tried everything else, so what did I have to lose?

That month I lost 9 pounds on 1400 calories a day.  I was shocked and delighted. 

However, I fell back into my old mindset and dropped it down to 1200, and sure enough, hit another plateau.  This time I consulted a nutritionist who put me on a 2000 cal a day regimen.  She warned me that I'd gain back a little weight in the 90 days I'd be on this program, but that it would level off.  I gained 8 pounds, then my weight leveled.  At that point, she had me cut 100 cal a day until I began losing again.  That happened at 1600 calories.  I've dropped that down to 1500, and I'm gradually losing.  She says I could lose faster, but didn't advise it for someone my age.

I hope you can find your way to the right level for your own needs.  Everybody is different, so what works for one person might not work for another.

I wish you the best of luck!

Can we have your height/weight/length of time at this diet/exercise level?  Funny that people seem so willing to dispense advice without even having this kind of info.

Also, I realize one is supposed to up their calorie intake at a plateau

More honestly, it is a popular myth on this board and elsewhere.  With little scientific  data to support it.   Those chanting "it works, it works" should consider five words "post hoc ergo propter hoc". 

I have to agree with kae1106. Your in a stall and without uping your calories your body is going to hold on to everything it can for dear life. Up your calories a periodically and at the magic number you'll once again see the weight start to come off. Guaranteed.

Up your calories a periodically and at the magic number you'll once again see the weight start to come off. Guaranteed.

Sort-of.

Man, this same fallacy gets stated in a hundred ways around here.

Sure it's guaranteed - because you are always in a state of caloric deficit. Just like it's guaranteed that if you do lose weight after you up your caloric intake. You would have lost it anyway.

The idea that there is a magic threshold for increasing the rate you burn calories at is actually against the medical data. Any study that I've seen shows RMR scaling with caloric intake and never (with one exception in a second-hand account of a case study which was not well monitored) showing a deficit. 

So what is the answer sarkeizen??

I have been in the same boat.  I lose a pound, gain a pound...I'm very active, do my morning workouts, workout 3 - 4 times during the week and walk at least 3 miles every night, I  keep my calorie counts between 1200 and 1500.  I'm 5'4" and weigh 185.  I have lost 20 lbs but seem to be stuck now!   

Dusty, I have very similar stats and a similar program, I'm experimenting with upping my calories to 1500 min. over the next week or so, check for my posts to see if it's working.

Thank you for the responses :)

For the request for stats:

I'm 21yrs old, 5'4, & 145lbs. I had been around 130lbs from 8th grade to mid-college & was fine with that weight - it suited my curved body well. I did not diet and my activity level was decent, but not strenuous. I was an athlete growing up and was in relatively good shape without exercising.

Last year, I lost too much weight too fast and went down to 119 in a month (yes, my body was in starvation mode then). I remained at 119 for a few months, and then started eating normally again (possibly in excess). Within the next 9 months I gained over 40lbs, yes, over 40. I reached my highest point at 162lbs. After seeing pictures, I started to watch what I ate & exercise more. I've done a decent amount of research and am aware when I stopped eating last year I lost all of my lean muscle, so when I started to eat again all I gained back was fat. My metabolism was very slow and that caused me to put on the significant amount of weight. 

I've dropped down to 145lbs since June (fluxuating b/w 143 and 146 - I weight myself daily). I record everything I eat on CC. I do not eat meat, my diet typically consists of whole-grain cereal, soy milk, fruit, egg whites, raw vegetables, brown rice, legumes, etc. I'm not a big snack eater and will occasionally snack on nuts, but in moderation. I don't drink coffee, soda, or juice - only water and occasionally alcohol. The foods I consume are relatively low calorie and I do not use condiments, sauces, or anything like that (with the exception of mustard - 0cal)

I do an hour of the elliptical about 3 times a week (600-700cal according to the machine) and weight train for a hour 2-3 times a week (not sure cal expenditure). I do notice my legs/arms are stronger and I have more endurance now than I did this past year. I realize that muscle weighs more than fat, but I do not have more muscle than I did at 130lbs, so I am having a hard time accepting why I have not reached the weight I've mainted the majority of my life?

I work in an office and don't do much physical activity during the day since I need to be on the computer.

I upped my calorie intake to 1200-1300 and gained 3lbs this week. I am absolutely petrified to put on weight by upping my calories. Shouldn't my metabolism adjust to a 1000cal diet if it's a regular habit? How do I know what my daily intake should be.. I don't believe my metabolism is normal because I ruined it last year with being in starvation mode for a few months.

 Any suggestions/comments/advice.. ANYTHING helps!!

Thank you =)

I think you need more PROTEIN, so eat  more lean meat like fish, tuna, even chicken and also non-fat milk, cheese and yogurt and keep on working out. You'll lose the fat, eventually. I am doing it this way, I really feel a lot better, the scale might not move much, but my body is changing fast. Good luck.

I have a protein shake 4 times a week (100% Whey Protein Powder) 120cal, 24g protein, 2g fat.

I also have a Kashi GoLean Roll about 3-4 times a week which has 12g protein

I consume about 4-5 large hard-boiled egg whites a day = 14 - 18g protein

My consumption of soy milk varies (I use it with the protein powder to make a shake, and with my Fiber One cereal in the morning)

According to CC, on average I have about 50-65g protein a day.. should I increase that?