One month and only lost 8.8 lbs.

Hi Everyone, I was so excited for find this web site and thought I was doing great at loosing my weight at first.  It has  been a month now and I have exercised 1-2 a week, I work full time, eating 1000-1200 calories a day, starving all the time and counting by fat intake.  I just don't understand why the weight is not coming off faster. I lost 8.8 lbs. the first 1 1/2  but nothing since. 

I am eating very healthy, salmon, soups, veggies, fruits, and very little snacking. Not sure what else I should be doing?

I count calories, am I suppose to count my Protein, Carbs and Fat intake that it shows on the Analysis chart, or should I just keep concentrating on my calories alone.

HELP.  I am getting very discouraged and I am only starting.

Your not eating enough the minimum you should eat as woman is 1200 and as a man I think its 1500.

What are your stats?

first of all, 8.8 lbs in one month is a lot. second, you're not eating enough. the min you should eat is 1200.. and even that is really really low. if you keep it up, you'll stop losing weight all together and your body will go into starvation mode. you'll most likely even gain weight. so stop starving yourself, eat a good amount of calories from wholesome foods and exercise. that way you'll lose fat and prevent gaining it back in ten folds.

Bottom line 1000-1200 calories is not enough with excersise. Even without you shouldnt go below 1200.

Firstly, Welcome to the Calorie Count Plus forums! 8.8 lbs in one month is a huge amount. Congratulations, you should be very pleased with your results!!

What are your stats? How much weight do you want to lose and what was your starting weight? In fact, we suggest the maximum weight loss to be 2 lbs per week, unless you are under doctor's supervision - so you are right on target with successful weight loss.

However, importantly, 1000-1200 calories is not enough to sustain a healthful diet. You said yourself you feel starving all the time. You need to eat more.

Eating such little calories can defeat your diet since it's hard to maintain plus it can be detrimental to your health long-term.

Calorie Count's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management. Have you put your stats into the Tools on Calorie Count to see how much you should be eating? Why not use the FREE tools on this site to help you? Have you checked out the New Member's Forum Unofficial Guide to Calorie Count and the Calorie Count Diet?

You need to eat no less than 1200-1500 calories a day. Will you up your calories? I guarantee your weight loss success will continue and you will feel better!

Eating more than 1000-1200 calories was probably one of the biggest lessons many of us, who have now experienced successful weight loss on Calorie Count, had to learn when we first joined CC.

In fact, after losing some weight while undereating and years of yo-yo dieting and only ultimately getting bigger, did I finally find CC and realize the key to SUCCESSFUL and SUSTAINABLE weight loss is learning how to eat properly. It's not about not eating but rather eating better. I actually re-learned how to eat. Literally, a lifestyle change. I now eat PLENTY but healthful options and I eat about 1500-2500 calories a day depending on whether I am maintaining or losing a few lbs. I am never hungry.

Of course, weight loss is literally math where you have to consume less cals than you expend to lose weight, so, I used the Tools on Calorie Count to do it and have now maintained my goal weight (give or take a few pounds) for >1 year!

Here is some information from Calorie Count and About.com for you on this subject of why 1200 calories is so important.

From Mary Hartley, Calorie Count's Director of Nutrition: "By eating <less than 1200 calories>, you will not get enough energy, protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other components of food. In time, you could become malnourished, which can cause severe health risks such as respiratory infections, kidney failure, blindness, heart attack and even death."

Here is a brief reason why never less than 1200 from the Advice section of Calorie Count Plus, under the Q&A tab:

Why must I eat at least 1,200 calories a day when I want to eat less?

In order to get the daily food servings you need for a balanced diet, it takes about 1200 calories a day. With careful planning, you could have a balanced diet on 1000 calories, but the restrictiveness of a very low calorie level can lead to binging and weight cycling, which will take you further from your weight loss goal. What's more, very low calorie diets can cause excessive muscle breakdown and metabolic adaptations, which can drive down your calorie requirements. In the end, you'll need fewer calories to maintain a higher weight

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)

Please let us know if you need help designing a good diet >1200 calories. We can help and will gladly do so, just ask, start a new topic or send me or one of the other mods a PM.

Well most doctors recommend not to loose more then 2 pounds a week. So you are right on track. I do agree with what other said 1-1.2k Calories is not enough. Eat more!

You're wrecking your metabolism by eating so few calories, and it's going to be counterproductive in the long run by slowing down your weight loss. 9 lbs in one month is quite a bit of weight to be losing so fast. You can't get a fit, toned, in-shape body with lots of energy by eating 1000 calories a day. You have to eat several hundred more calories than that and live an active lifestyle.

There's really no point to starving yourself to lose weight.  If you loose lose too rapidly, then your body sheds more muscle tissue as well.  Muscles you want to keep as they burn calories.  1200F/1500M is the minimum recommendation.  Depending on your stats (height/weight/activity level) you may need more than the recommendation.  Roughly 1% of your body weight per week is about right to maximize the fat loss while losing as little muscle as possible.  As you get closer to your goal weight, you'll probably lose even less.

Fat is not your enemy.  You do need to include the healthy fats (fish, avocado, nuts, olive oil, etc.) in your diet.  You need enough fat for your body to process certain vitamins.

Original Post by chantale1985:

Your not eating enough the minimum you should eat as woman is 1200 and as a man I think its 1500.

What are your stats?

 198 lbs. and wanting to reach 175 by christmas. Is this to much to soon. Also, aside from watching my calories and increasing them to 1200-1500 should I be watching either , Fat, Carbs, Protein for just calorie intake. Sorry, but I am just learning all of this new stuff.

I was on Atkins and lost a ton of weight, but as you know that was Carbs, so now it is hard to change over my wayof thinking to calories. What did you use to go by what kinds of foods you should be eating.

Thanks

Original Post by debramatthews:

Original Post by chantale1985:

Your not eating enough the minimum you should eat as woman is 1200 and as a man I think its 1500.

What are your stats?

 198 lbs. and wanting to reach 175 by christmas. Is this to much to soon. Also, aside from watching my calories and increasing them to 1200-1500 should I be watching either , Fat, Carbs, Protein for just calorie intake. Sorry, but I am just learning all of this new stuff.

I was on Atkins and lost a ton of weight, but as you know that was Carbs, so now it is hard to change over my wayof thinking to calories. What did you use to go by what kinds of foods you should be eating.

 

Thanks

198-175 = 23 lbs.  1% of 198 = 1.98 lbs.  In 8 weeks losing around 16 pounds would be reasonable.  If you start doings some weight lifting you can look like you've lost 23 lbs with only losing around the 16.  Plus then you'll be on track to do it the right way and to keep those pounds off.

I try to have 1 serving of protein and one serving of whole grains and up to 5 servings of veggies with lunch and dinner.  Breakfast is typically fruit and toast or oatmeal, then snacks tend to be fruit and maybe some cracker's with peanut butter or a small handful of nuts.

How tall are you and how old are you?  Without this it's hard to tell how much you should be eating, but I'd hazard a guess that with your workouts, you should probably be eating 1500-1800 calories a day.

As for fats, proteins, carbs, etc, the numbers can vary depending on what you prefer and/or what works for your body, but many people go for a ratio of 50% carbs / 25% protein / 25% fats.  That's a guideline so those amount can go up or down 5-10%.

The important thing is to find a balance in the types of food you eat.  Extreme low-carb or low-fat diets are not healthy or sustainable, and while you might lose weight quickly at first (like you did on atkins), you'll end up gaining it back again once you go off the diet.  The idea is to make a lifestyle change that you can live with forever, not a temporary diet for easy/fast weight loss (which never lasts, unfortunately).

Your body needs fats to process fiber, to keep your skin nice and glowing, and to keep your hair shiny and from falling out.  You want to focus on the good fats, olive oil, salmon, nuts, avacados, etc.  You need carbs for energy (it's your main source of energy, actually) but keep it to complex carbs mostly, like whole grains, brown rice, fruits and veggies.  And protein will help you feel full, and will sustain you longer so you don't get the urge to snack as much.

I try get a source of all 3 in each meal, and although it doesn't HAVE to be done that way, I find it helps me stay satisfied throughout the day.  Also, drink a lot of water, about 3L a day or so for your size, to optimize your metabolism.

Hope that helps and good luck - stop starving yourself!  You'll only be miserable and that's counter-productive to healthy living. :)

Original Post by debramatthews:

Hi Everyone, I was so excited for find this web site and thought I was doing great at loosing my weight at first.  It has  been a month now and I have exercised 1-2 a week, I work full time, eating 1000-1200 calories a day, starving all the time and counting by fat intake.  I just don't understand why the weight is not coming off faster. I lost 8.8 lbs. the first 1 1/2  but nothing since. 

I am eating very healthy, salmon, soups, veggies, fruits, and very little snacking. Not sure what else I should be doing?

I count calories, am I suppose to count my Protein, Carbs and Fat intake that it shows on the Analysis chart, or should I just keep concentrating on my calories alone.

HELP.  I am getting very discouraged and I am only starting.

Debra,

Compare the quotes above with the comments of NYCgirl.  You cannot continue this way and lose weight..........and if you you do you will most likely regain it very soon..............many of us have been there before!  You don't have to starve and that is the secret to keeping it off.  Try the 1200 calories at least and see what happens.  The tools on this site are great and really give you the opportunity to loose weight in a safe way and keep it off.  Good luck

Barbara

dont get discouraged! my doctor says that 1 or 2 lbs a week is perfect because that means your actually burning fat offff. when you lose weight really fast then youre more likely to gain it back faster........you're doing great!! just make sure to eat enough........by not eating enough you just slow down your metobolism and end up gaining weight in the future

good luck :P

Some wise person told me this little gem: You didn't put the weight on overnight, it's not going to come off overnight.

For your own peace of mind, do some research on nutrition (if you haven't already.) Chosing what to eat and when is so much easier when you are armed with knowledge!