where am I going wrong?!

[eyestightshut]

I am following MFP to try and lose some flab before summer. I am now on day 38 of inputting EVERYTHING I eat and drink. As is usual for MFP, I started on 1200 cal/day, but after a week felt this was too low based on my numbers which I've pasted below, so upped it to 1700. (Based on 1454 x 1.55=2253 Going for 25% reduction in calories =1689),and I eat my exercise calories back. I have gone over my calorie intake by 100cals on one day, and max60 cals on 6 other occasions, but am usually 100-200 calories under my intake most days.

Height 5'5"
Weight 159 lbs
Age 42 years
Gender female
Your Results

BMI 26.46 More info
BMR 1454.75 More info
Waist to Hip Ratio 0.73 More Info
Body Fat Percentage 26.87 More Info

I have really upped my game exercise wise - I am running 2.7k into work, and walk home briskly 5 days a week.I do a 5k park run on Saturday, and a 2k run on Sunday. In total I have lost 4 lb, with no major changes to body fat%age or bust/waist/hip measurements
Please can anyone suggest what I can do to get this fat off, other than some DIY liposuction with a drinking straw and dyson??

What are you eating? And drinking?

High sugar foods or low fat high sugar? Some people break food down differently. It's not just about calories. But sugars and fats too.

You've lost 4 pounds.

It's working.

So you have lost 4lb in 38 days? That's actually pretty good! Especially as you don't have much to lose - your body fat is pretty low too.

It may help to take up strength training, you may not lose weight with it but it will change your shape. If you are brave go to a gym with free weights and lift heavy.

If less brave do some bodyweight exercises at home, I'd recommend "Body by You" by Mark Lauren.

Cardio on its own is a distressing amount of effort for very little reward.

Also, try and eat plenty of protein and get your carbs from veg rather than white carbs like bread/rice/pasta.

I'm no dietician, but I'm investigating the no-sugar way of eating at the moment. There's some interesting science in the book (which I assume to be true) which states that calories in and calories out are not the same thing. Your body burns different food groups in different ways so some foods have a calorie deficit once you've burned them off (these are good to eat!). As horseylady says, if you're consuming a lot of sugar, fructose in particular, this will skew the data.

Don't be fooled by drinking lots of fruit juice and eating low fat yougurt and believing it to be healthy - it's loaded with sugar.

Thanks for your responses! This is a typical day for me, and I normally have about 1.5L low calorie squash (as the water at work is disgusting)

Drink - Black Filter Coffee (No Sugar), 1 cup

Asda - Fresh Milk Semi-Skimmed, 250 ml

Sugars - Granulated (sucrose), 2 tsp

Simply... - Porridge Oats, 50 g

Fruitville - Banana, 100 g

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Lunch
Generic - Cucumber Slices Net Carb, 50 g

Oaklands - Italian Style Salad, 45 g

Vegetable - Spring Onion, 9 g

Home - Aldi Pink Salmon, 3/8 cup (63g)

Baresa - Pitted Black Olives, 19 g

Generic - Golden Kiwi - Raw, Without Skin, 37 g (1 medium)

Generic - Nectarine- Raw, 1 medium

Morrisons - Strawberries, 50 g

Plum - Black Plum, 1 Medium

Sainsbury's - Cherries, 37 g

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Dinner
Lidl - Potatoes, 220.0 g

aldi specially selected - pork fillet, 200 g

Oil - Olive, 10 g

Plum - Black Plum, 1 Medium

Tesco - Broccolli, 1.5 Serving (100g)

Quick Added Calories, 100 calories

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Snacks
Cadbury - Wispa, 1 Bar (39g)

Aldi - Apple Braeburn Medium, 150 g

Walkers - Pops - Melted Cheese & Crispy Bacon (Multipack), 19 g

*Disclaimer - there is quite a lot of premenstrual chocolate and snacks going on!

I'd try to reduce the amount if squash, knock the sugar in the coffee and try to replace the fruits with nuts. Keep some fruit just reduce the amount. You'll reduce the sugars and hopefully feel a bit better.

Nuts while higher in calories per say are more satisfying and full of good nutrients and fat which your body may process easier. That might stop the crisps too?

And try dark chocolate. 70% + helps the chocolate cravings, you don't eat as much!!

Bit you've lost weight and you're doing great exercise!! I agree though, vary what you're doing. Try to mix in sprints and weight work.

In order to lose 1lb you need a calorie deficit of 3,500

As a female you should take in 2,000 calories per day, so if you took in 1,700 calories per day then this is a deficit of 300 calories per day.

So, to get to 3,500, you would need to have a calorie deficit of 300 per day for 11.5 days. In other words, based on your calorie intake it should take you 11.5 days to lose 1lb. So, by that calculation, it should take 46 days to lose 4lb.

You have lost 4lbs in 38 days so it is working. If you want to lose weight quicker you need to lower your daily calorie intake. I note what you were saying about feeling this was too low and that you are eating the calories you have burned through exercise, perhaps only eat half the calories you have burned through exercise to see a difference and not feel too deprived?

Don't eat your exercise calories back! Firstly, the estimate of calories burned could be (probably is) wildly out so you could be eating more than you're burning. Secondly, there's no point in ramping up the exercise if you're just going to eat all the calories back (although of course exercise brings its own health benefits and building muscle through weight training boosts your calorie requirements) as you might as well run 2 marathons per day but if you eat back all those calories you still won't lose weight! By all means do the exercise but calculate your calorie intake as though you're not doing any (sedentary) if you want exercise to help you lose weight.

Looking at your food list there is a lot of fruit. Reduce this & replace with more veg. Also eliminate sugar in coffee, either with sucralose/truvia or re-train your taste buds. This shift away from sugar may help. Good luck!

all of your fruit is made up of sugars
so are the crisps
and the potato
most of the chocolate
the oats
and even the milk might be a problem

the starch / carbs are just another form of sugar

the majority of your calories are coming from sugars refined and unrefined
you are really not eating a very healthy diet and I don’t think this is sustainable
what is the MFP and why are you eating this - sorry - newbie to this board

Here's the equation I use to lose/maintain weight:

Goal Weight in Pounds x (Hours working out per week + 9.5) = Average daily calories

It's pretty simple math to be honest. So if you weigh 159lbs and you work out 5 hours a week:

159 x (5+9.5) = 2305 calories per day maintains your weight.

I lost 40lbs in 12 weeks with this method and have kept steady at my goal weight ever since. The best thing about it is you look to create a weekly calorie deficit, so if you consume more one day you just make up for it later in the week, which means your diet is flexible. It is from the Visual Impact for Women program.

Just aim to drop your calorie intake by 15-20% a week on average. If you consumed an average of ~1850cals a day, you will create a deficit of ~10650 calories a month, so around 3lb - However, you will lose the same amount roughly in water weight, meaning around 6lbs a month weight loss - all in a safe, healty way.

Well done on te 4lbs loss so far. My guess is those choccies and biscuits are holding you back a little!

I would say you are eating a lot if sugar ie. in the feuit, maybe cut back on it?

Also I wouldn't eat my exercise calories.

2253 seems like a VERY high TDEE for your stats, (age, weight) are you sure? That would surely be for so one who is very active, in which case eating your exercise calories must be counterproductive?

A lot of women need nowhere near 2000 calories a day, just like a lot of men need nowhere near 2500. It's a very generous 'allowance' and like a lot of so-called 'guidelines', it's not very accurate. Google 'how many calories do I need' to find out what your daily amount should be based on your activity level. I believe that you SHOULD eat your 'exercise' calories, but don't overestimate them (like I did)-use an online resource to check them accurately.

I'm not sure you're supposed to eat your exercise calories back if you're doing the TDEE method? Your TDEE should have already accounted for the calories burned during exercise.