what to do?? or....am I doing it right?

I am NOT eating the calories I should.  I am active and have lost 50 lbs in the last year and half.  I am still obese (according to all the hoopla out there)

I have teetered between the same 3 lbs now for the last 6 months.  I will loose and then gain ...lose and gain...  I am doing the same thing that i have for last year when I did lose...(WW)  I have in the last 3 months become a member here and counted calories instead of points. I am to have up to 1500 cal according to CC.

I eat 1100-1200.....I work-out 5 out of 7 days. I have been told by many ...that i am NOT eating enough calories and that i am sabotaging my weight loss and that is the reason I am teetering and not moving  pass the same darn weight.

OK the question.....tonight at 9:30 ...all I had consumed was 1100 cal.  I then made a low fat peanut butter (yes safe PB) and sugar-free jelly sandwich on 35 cal bread.  I drank 1/2 cup milk.  this bumped my cals up for the day.  Is it OK that I am eating this late at night???  Honestly...I feel like its all wrong...LOL....but I do not know what to do. Should I eat something late...IF I see that my calories are not enough?

If your BMI is still over 30 and you're working out 5 - 7 days a week then you're absolutely right about your food intake .... it's simply not enough and that's why you're plataeauing.  Your metabolism is running exceptionally slowly and so you're maintaining your weight on 1100-1200 cals a day rather than the 2500-3000 cals it should probably be at. (I'm guessing) 

Use the CC calculator to help you work out the right calories for your size.  Enter your stats (age, height, weight) and a 'moderate' activity level.  And then start there....  Because you've been starving yourself for 6 months now it will be even more beneficial if you have a whole week at your full 'maintenance' calories.  This will reset the bar, if you like, and while you may find you gain a little weight short-term it will seriously boost your metabolism.

To get the extra calories in it's no use getting to 9.30pm to make up the shortfall.   That's just too late in the day, bad planning and if you eat the missing 600 - 800 cals just before you go to bed you risk disturbed sleep and belly-aches.   Take a more intelligent approach.   Think ahead and map out how you're going to get the calories you need....  Sketch out what foods, what portion-sizes, how many snacks..... in advance   You can even use the CC food log to act as a planning tool.  If you see it's coming up short you can add a bit more to your breakfast or an extra snack mid-afternoon .... and then it's easier to get the right calories.

Good luck

I believe you are correct about the bad planning.  I know I need to put more energy(food/cal) into my body earlier and through out the day. I had hoped I was doing this buy buying some Luna Bars, soyjoys, ect and snacking on them.  I do have problems with making time to eat. I co-teach sped ed and run my own photography business. 

I have such a hard time thinking I have to eat 2300 or so cal.......I think I will GO BACK to the CC calculator and start all over again. I really think you have hit it on the head I am NOT getting enough....calories.

I come from old school and taught by my mom whom was famous for....eat 1000 -1200 to lose weight. I am truly confused and having a very hard time understanding>>>>EAT MORE!!

Thank you and have a great workout/day

JB

If you teach and run a photography business you are clearly someone with a gift for time-management   I don't know how you organise your schedule (blackberry?) but if you make food and exercise a diarised event you'll make it happen.... or at least there will be a better chance of it happening than if food and exercise are an also-ran.

There are ways to make things work better for your busy lifestyle.  I find weekends are a good time to make batch quantities of dishes and freeze them in portions so that I have something quick but healthy and calorie-counted to heat up on a day where I have less time.   Breakfasts and packed lunches you can prepare the night before quite often.  If you need to get up 20 minutes earlier than normal so that you've got time to scramble some eggs or pop some bread in the toaster.... then set the alarm clock so that it happens.

It takes some effort initally to get into a routine but once you're in the habit you'll find these things just slot into your day without much thought.

If 2300 is what you need to lose weight now you'll find that, as you get slimmer, your energy needs will gradually come down.  Start at your mother's 1000-1200 cals (nasty) and where do you go from here?

Best of luck

I am in the same boat. I have lost 60 lbs total but am stuck now with 25 lbs more to go. I have lowered my calories and upped my exercise since the beginning of the year, but my weight is not moving at all. I have been told I need to eat more calories, but that just feels wrong. I try to stay between 1300-1400 a day and I workout for a little more than an hour a day, 5 days a week. On the weekends, maybe 30 minutes of cardio a day, that's it.

Should I eat more, eat less, exercise more??? I am at a loss...

My calories on the weekends are closer to 1500 (with the occasional bad day in there too). But, even with a bad day, I should be burning more than I am taking in total.

Any suggestions? 

Have a day where you get your full 'maintenance' calories.  I'm guessing if you do so much exercise and you're 25lbs overweight that's going to be about 2500 or so.  It does sound counterintuitive to eat more but if you think about it logically...... if you are consuming the amount of food your body needs to maintain your current weight then nothing bad is going to happen.  You have to trust your body.  One day, when you're down at a healthy weight, you'll have to increase what you eat anyway to stay there.... so this is just a dry-run for that event.

When you resume with weight-loss try going back to the CC calculator, entering your stats and setting the activity level to 'moderate'.  See what number comes back.

If you need 1500, 1600 or 1700 on a steady basis to lose weight... that's the number to go with.   There's some kind of myth out there that people need to absolutely starve to lose weight (like the OP's mum) but it's really not the case.  You just need to consume slightly less than you burn up....

Alas,

A rule of dieting is that our bodies become more efficient at using calories as we restrict them. It's a Catch 22: lose 50 or 60 pounds in a year and your body will become the most efficient machine on the planet. This is evolution's way of keeping you alive during a FAMINE.

People have devised various ways of coping with this body defense system but no method is foolproof. I like loosening up a lot with a couple CONSECUTIVE days of a 1000 calore excess every month or so but it's hit or miss.

But I am not fond of the "increase the calories" permanently method. If someojne who has stayed on 1200 calories for a year decides to up the calories to 1600, there will be weight gain and that gain can be demoralizing. With time the body may adapt but then I thinK the person would be looking at ANOTHER eventual plateau at 1600 calories perhaps at an even higher weight.

Mankind has "learned" over the millennia that people who lose 50 pounds in a year will soon DIE and THE BODY musterS EVERY metabolic  trick at its disposal to prevent further loss. It just is the way it is.

I think that if i were to up my calories now I will gain....my body has lived on 1200 to 1300 everyday for 1.5 years...lol.......I have lost weight (50 lbs)and kept it off and do not feel like I have been deprived of any food.

That said....as stated above I have stopped losing.  I am still heavy....182 lbs heavy.... so the thing that will hurt me would be to gain...I have worked hard!!

I am taking everything into consideration here....I will let ya know.

The choice is....

• Eat more, gain two or three lbs short-term, have a good chance of losing the final weight...
• Keep on as you are, stay the same weight and hav to eat 1200-1300 cals for the rest of your natural...