Weight-Loss Is This Possible?

Weight-Loss
S

Sarin

New member
Hey everyone. I am having SUCH a hard time losing the last few pounds and staying there.

I am 5'3", 18 years old, and vary between 127-129 lbs. I've been down to 125 once and would like to get back down and maintain my weight there. 120 would be even better but I do not think I am able to do that...

Now, my BMR is 1427.65 calories. Of course I do not sleep all day so I multiply it by 1.375 according to my activity level. (I work at a sandwhich shop 10 hours a day every day.. So I am semi-active. The website says :: If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375)) Which brings me to 1925 Calories to maintain my weight.

I limit myself to 1200-1400 calories a day and I am not losing any weight. I am getting pretty discouraged. That's 525-725 less calories a day. I should be losing weight. But I am not. I do not want to eat 1300 calories a day for the rest of my life... I want to enjoy life and I love to eat. But I do not have much lee-way with so little calories.

I was just wondering if it is possible that because I ate so little for so long that now my body somehow programed itself to maintain my weight at 1200-1400 calories? If I start eating my real maintenance calories at 1900 will I start to gain weight? I really hope not!

I am very confused. Help is much appreciated. Thanks!
 
It's kind of hard to say - sometimes your body has 'set points' that they really really resist dropping beneath.

But it may just be that sometimes it takes a little time while your body holds on to water weight before you see a drop. How long have you been stuck at 127-129 while eating so few calories? If it's a week or so I'd try for a little longer. If it's been over a month... you may want to gradually scale up calories for a bit and see what happens.

If tomorrow you started eating 1900 calories, I think there's a good chance you'd gain weight. But I've seen a lot of people suggest a more gradual scale. So next week you eat 1300 to 1500 calories a day, and the week after you eat 1400 to 1600... etc until you're eating at maintenance. Then do that for a month, and then cut all the way down to 1200-1400 and see if the weight comes off.

One other question - could you be underestimating how much you eat? Do you use a food scale or anything? Packaging can be off by as much as 10% and human estimates even more so. If you're actually getting an extra 100-300 calories more than you think it could definitely slow down your weight loss.

Hope this helps!
 
I agree with Jeanette on all counts.

I'd recommend working out. Doing some strength training and cardio a few days every week could stoke the fire. Make sure that if you do start working out, you follow that gradual calorie increase as listed above.
 
I have been doing this for a couple of years so I feel I am pretty straight on with my calories. I eat almost the same thing literally every day. I have been at this same weight for maybe 6 months or so.

This is basically what my day consists of:

Breakfast: Yogurt & Fruit parfait - 165 cals
11AM Snack: Yogurt - 35 cals
12 NOON Snack: Yogurt - 35 cals
1 PM Lunch: Sub & Soup or Vegetable Wrap - 350-400 cals
3 PM Snack: Yogurt - 35 cals
4 PM Snack: Veggies & Dip - 100 cals
5 PM Snack: Large Peach - 100 cals
6 PM snack: Medium Apple & Yogurt - 100 cals
7:30 PM Dinner: Chicken Noodle Soup & Crackers - 200 cals
8:30 PM Snack: Chocolate Covered Pretzels - 100 cals

Total : 1220-1270 calories. I usually skip my 3 PM Snack because my lunch keeps me full for a couple of hours. I eat a lot of sugar-free gum during the day which I estimate at maybe 30-50 calories extra in the day. I am not sure if this really counts but I count it anyway.

As you can see I eat a LOT of meals a day. If I miss even one snack I find myself starving. I can't usually go for more then an hour (unless after my big lunch) without eating.

I suppose I can try to up my calories but honestly I am scared of getting back into the 130's. I really don't want to get back up there..

Thanks.
 
Sarin said:
This is basically what my day consists of:

Breakfast: Yogurt & Fruit parfait - 165 cals
11AM Snack: Yogurt - 35 cals
12 NOON Snack: Yogurt - 35 cals
1 PM Lunch: Sub & Soup or Vegetable Wrap - 350-400 cals
3 PM Snack: Yogurt - 35 cals
4 PM Snack: Veggies & Dip - 100 cals
5 PM Snack: Large Peach - 100 cals
6 PM snack: Medium Apple & Yogurt - 100 cals
7:30 PM Dinner: Chicken Noodle Soup & Crackers - 200 cals
8:30 PM Snack: Chocolate Covered Pretzels - 100 cals
Click to expand...

I blame the food and health industries, and the government. I blame the morons that write diet books and the "doctors" that endorse them. I blame the media for spreading misinformation and weak science. I blame the people who think that correlation is cause and who spout it to everyone else. This has really left me upset.
 
based on your diet, ya I would say your body has been programmed to live on your low cal diet and your metabolism has slowed. You're starving yourself imo.

I see almost no protein and no fat. Macros work much the same way as calories, if you're missing them, the body will still slow down to compensate. For you, I'm basically seeing nothing but carbs. So I'm not too surprised you're having trouble losing. The body i've noticed with clients seems to be very good at slowing itself down to accommodate and maintain on a mostly carb low cal diet.. Keep carbs to less than 50% of total calories eaten per day. I'm going to venture you're at like 70%+

Also in terms of exercise, for the vast majority of people, it's impossible to lose the last few lbs of fat unless you're doing a good amount of resistance training. And when I say resistance training, I mean actually lifting hard. Doing bi curls with 5lbs dumbells doesn't count. You need to toss on 90lbs onto a barbell and squat yourself into the ground. Things like that.
 
Well, I should've mentioned before that I do not wish to work out.. If that is all that I have left to lose the last few pounds I will not be upset. Working 10 hours a day, there really is no time for working out. And besides tiem, I really have no desire to go through that. (Not necessarily Lazy, I just don't want to depend on heavy exercise to feel good about myself.)

What kind of changes do you suggest I make to my diet then? I absolutely love my fruit and vegetables, and yogurt...

I just want to be the healthiest I can be.



Toddless said:
I blame the food and health industries, and the government. I blame the morons that write diet books and the "doctors" that endorse them. I blame the media for spreading misinformation and weak science. I blame the people who think that correlation is cause and who spout it to everyone else. This has really left me upset.
Click to expand...

Care to elaborate? This made no sense to me and I'd like to know why my diet has "really left you upset".


Thanks again.
 
Sarin said:
Care to elaborate? This made no sense to me and I'd like to know why my diet has "really left you upset".
Click to expand...

Let me start by saying that I don't mean any disrespect with anything that I say. My gf tries hard to make sure I know when I'm being an a**hole, but she's not on this forum.

The first thing that kills me is that you don't have any variation in your diet. Aside from a possible lack of nutrition (a nutritionist would die if they saw your diet), it just sounds boring. I'm a huge foodie, so I love trying new foods and experiencing the delicious world around me. No big deal if you're not on the same page, but I wish you could experience food the way that I do.

35 calories for yogurt means you're not eating full-fat yogurt (granted, it can be tough to find), and soup twice a day means you might have high sodium intake. I disagree with the high carb comment above because yogurt has protein (although yours doesn't have fat), but I definitely think that you could use some more veggies, more grains, less sugar (or sugar substitute, as you're probably taking in a lot of that with your yogurt), and more meat.

But here's the part that gets me. When I saw your diet, I saw an eating plan that was just as bad a plan that calls for McDonalds for all 3 meals. What upsets me is that you think you're eating healthy, and in my (non-professional, keep in mind) opinion, you're not at all.
 
Well then here's your chance to help me. ;) I don't think you're being an a-hole at all. I want to learn as much as I can.

Take in mind I am very self consious when it comes to gaining weight. I'd like to eat healthier without experiencing too much of weight gain. I admit I do have a small problem with that.

Like I said before, I LOVE my zero yogurt and my fruit.. So taking that into account, what do you suppose I should add/subtract to my diet specifically? For my meat intake I usually have 2-4 slices of deli meat a day.

I thought I was eating pretty healthy. I knew I wasn't getting enough fat or protien but I do not know how important these things really are.

I am happy with little variation to be honest. That doesn't bother me.

I will try to absorb all that I can. I just never really saw how unhealthy this diet is. Is it really that bad?
 
It probably took you some time to fall into these eating habits, so keep in mind that moving away from them will take some time and practice as well. Also, your body is used to these foods, so moving away might shock it into either gaining weight or losing weight. Either way, give it some time before you decide if the change is worth it. Finally, check out my thread called "A Different Approach" for the way that I approach nutrition.

The simple changes you could make would be:
-Full fat yogurt. It can be tough to find, especially greek style, but it's worth it. Check the ingredients to make sure the stuff is natural.
-Swap a couple of yogurt sessions with veggies and dip sessions, or small salad sessions. And your dip should be hummus or tzatziki (although that'd be yogurt based...). Make sure you change the veggies around too; broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots, spinach, bell pepper, anything leafy including arugula, endive, radicchio, and even cilantro.
-As for meals, believe me I know how hard it can be to eat right while working. I'd just try to incorporate some different meats, assuming you're not against eating them.
-Oh, and include a handful of nuts as a snack. I'm snacking on raw cashews as I type this. Almonds are great too.

Let me know what you think of this and how it all turns out! I'm excited for you!
 
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