Hi...am new to this site, so I hope I do this right.
I need to lose about 75 lbs (maybe a little more). I am 46, so I know it will be a little harder than it was when I was 20.
I started last week, and dropped 3 lbs the first two days. Since then, I have kept my calories to 1000 to 1200. I am eating fruits and lean cuisines and other healthy meals. Today is day 8 and I haven't lost another ounce! I even joined a gym last Tuesday, and have gone every day except Sunday.
I understand plateaus, but NOT after 8 days when I have so much to lose. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG????
Jen
Well, I think if you are working out everday, and only eating 1000 - 1200 calories, you may considering upping your daily calories.
How much does this site recommend you eat, taking into consideration any activity you do (in other words, if you exercise, you aren't sedentary - at least not for the purpose of the calorie target tool)?
Also please note that this site stresses that women should not eat fewer than 1200 calories per day. I agree with the recommendation that you use this site's calculator/s to help determine a healthy (yet weight-loss-promoting) intake level.
If you consume too few calories, your body will think it's starving and you'll sabotage your weight-loss goals (not to mention that your body will start "eating" your muscles, like your heart muscle).
I agree too few calories! You should never eat less than 1200. That's a standard. And depending on how much exercise you are doing you might need more.
The first time I changed my lifestyle I was eating 1200 a day, doing 1hr of aerobics and 30min or more of running. I wasn't losing and getting pretty frustrated. So I started 'cheating' a little. I was treating myself to extra snacks. All of a sudden the weight started coming off. I realized after that I hadn't been eating enough. My body was probably in starvation mode.
Have calorie count help you figure out your calories. Go to tools and calorie target. You answer questions about your lightstyle, weightloss goals, body type, and age and it helps you figure it all out.
First I wanted to say Way to go! You have made some great changes in just a few days. Joining a gym is a great way to get yourself motivated.
I do have to agree with everyone else though. I would check out the calculators on this site for recommended calories and stick to that. This was something I first did not understand. I was eating 1500 a day and not really losing that much (1 pound a month) so I thought well lets bring it down to 1100 -1200 a day and I should lose more. Nope I didn't lose anything when I did that. So after going back and figuring out that for me I need to be around 1400, I've lost about a pound a week.
Everybody is different so you may need a bit of trial and error to figure out what works for you. If you would like some help feel free to send me a message. Good Luck!
Crystal
I don't think you are doing anything wrong, except for maybe weighing yourself too often. You have lost 3 pounds in one week, which is at the upper limit of healthy weight loss.
You are doing a great job and should keep it up.
Congats on joining a gym - a great way to start.
I have to agree - eat more. Use the tools on the site to find out what is recommended and then don't forget to add your gym exercise into your burn meter. Try to keep a 500 calorie deficit between what you eat and what you burn - maybe a little more if you have a lot of weight to lose. I know first hand that eating too little your body just adapts and learns to function so if you eat 1000 calories every day and exercise it thinks it's starving and just conserves not allowing you to lose any weight. When I started on this site I was under-eating and not losing weight. Since then, using the tools, I've been slowly increasing my calories. So far I haven't lost any weight but I'm definitely eating better and staying above 1200 calories - my eat meter is 1200. Hopefully the weight loss will come. Good luck in your journey. Type in starvation mode into the search - there is an article that explains it - you don't want to get yourself into starvation mode. It's hard to get rid of that mentatilty "eat less to lose" when sometimes you need to eat more LOL
You need to recalculate how many calories you actually need to eat... less is not more, especially at the start of a diet. Your body KNOWS if you're trying to skimp it too much on the food and its response is to hang on to the weight as hard as it can in case you need it later on.
I'm not so sure about the "eat more" thing. That wouldn't stall your weight loss after 8 days. Seriously guys. I'm getting sick of that opinion. I find people yelling "starvation mode!" at the most inappropriate time. Its like a panacea.
However, you do sound like you are impatient to lose the extra weight. I know I always am! I want to see the scale move, and I want to see it move NOW! :-)
Please remember though, sometimes you only see a 1-2 pound drop in a week. Sometimes only a half pound. It takes time. I would look at it this way: you lost 3 pounds, that's your weight loss for at least 1.5 weeks, if not 3 weeks. :-/ That doesn't mean stop eating healthily for the rest of that time, it just means that if you drop more, you are "ahead of schedule". The numbers on the scale just changed a bit too soon.
That being said, please do use this site's calorie tools to find out how much you should eat. Its not so much for the starvation mode thing, but more as for a maintainable calorie deficit. Let's face it, you need something you can maintain for about a year, and I don't think eating 1000 to 1200 calories is something I'd be able to eat for an entire year.
Good Luck!
"I'm not so sure about the "eat more" thing. That wouldn't stall your weight loss after 8 days. Seriously guys. I'm getting sick of that opinion. I find people yelling "starvation mode!" at the most inappropriate time. Its like a panacea."
I wasn't crying 'starvation mode'. I was simply trying to make note that 1200 is the absolute minimum calories someone should eat, and that's if they aren't working out. If I'm understanding that incorrectly, please let me know otherwise.
