1200 calories and no loss.....

[fulltimeworkingmumof2]

So..... I work in an office, desk job, but walk between 12000 and 15000 steps a day. Sometimes more. I did 22000 yesterday! Since last Friday I started 1200 calories a day. And my weight has stayed the same?!?!?! Im Tracking on Myfitnesspal. My steps go over onto the app but I don't eat the extra calories it gives me as seems far too much! Is this where I'm going wrong? Someone please help or give me some insight where I'm going wrong.

My average day for food is

A homemade smoothie - no carbs
Salad with ham or eggs - no carbs
Fruit with fat free yoghurt
Some sort of meat with lots of veg and a very small amount of carbs

Help......

500 calories a day under my TDEE is 1200 calories though. Some on here saying it’s a miserable existence and starvation mode.

I eat really satisfyingly on 1200 calories and rarely go over unless we eat out! I only have full fat stuff (except the occasional Coke Zero) and log everything.

Yesterday:

Breakfast: coffee (really hate eating first thing)
Lunch: spinach leaves with Brie and bacon
Dinner: bolognese on a bed of cabbage cooked in butter with a sprinkling of cheese.

Evening snack: strawberries (but most nights I'll have a kitkat).

It's not a miserable existence at all. Miserable existence was seeing my weight spiral upwards and my health deteriorate.

1210 calories a day here, not losing, but am underactive thyroid.

Here are my tips for - exercise and diet:

You need to build muscle to lose weight -
Here are some pointers; add to your exercise

• planks (for 15 secs, building up to 2 minutes)
• body-weighted squats (3 of these, building up to 25)
• 'sitting' with your back against a wall (30 secs, building up to 2 mins)
• anything you can think of to work your arms (lifting bottles of water, hanging from a door frame - progressing to pull-ups)

You also need to eat a Balanced diet of 1800 calories;

• with 10 (Ten!) Different portions of fruit and veggies a day.
• a couple of servings of whole grains
• a type of healthy protein source, such as beans or tofu (I'm a vegan, so I'd never advocate chicken/meant/fish/dairy- I don't believe that they're healthy and they're so horrific for the environment, nothing is worth eating them)).
• Most importantly - add a small portion of healthy fat into your diet - eg. 15g of nut butter, a handful of nuts or seeds, a dessert spoon of olive/walnut oil on your salad, or a serving of full fat coconut yoghurt.

Good luck!

1200 calories is my maintenance level. If I had 2000 a day I would balloon.

OP sometimes it takes a while (weeks with me) before it starts coming off. If you get your steps into the 20 thousands daily then you'll see results.

27,000 steps a day and less calories than you before I lose any weight.

I'm in similar position. Have been on sub 1200 calorie diet for about 8 months and lost 4 lb! I do low carb but also low fat (no oils/spreads/white fat etc).

Bought fancy scales which say MR is 1343 cals per day.

Exercise as follows: 2 x run (1 short, 1 long 12-18k), 1 x HI IT, 2 x team sport per week.

Friend keeps going on that I should eat higher fat, stop counting calories/points and weight train (which I find boring as hell). She has switched to full fat everything, actively eating more cream and butter! She only eats carbs at weekend and had lost 4kg in a couple of weeks.

I have 'been on a diet' for pretty much my whole life (I was the fat sibling of 4) and am overweight now but look kind of average for my age. I am scared of not calorie counting. I have got on the scales every day for 10 years. I also have Crohns which since being diagnosed and controlled, I have gained a stone (but feel in better health). I've had bloods so no interactive thyroid.

You seem to all know what you are talking about and I need a brain shift to help me kick start weight loss (and get past the points/calorie counting) if this is what I need.

TIA.

@SunshineMuffin you do need to up your fat intake if you low carb. Don't be afraid if fat - it makes meals much more satisfying, means less sweeteners that can cause cravings, fills you up.

Take a look at the low carb boot camp thread and click on the spread sheet there as it has all the rules. I do log as I need to plan or I get easily led a stray! However, I find I'm naturally under 1200 calories rather than aiming at that! I love cheese. I've lost 1st since end of January and that is with 2 weeks off plan for my birthday where I put on 6lbs but lost it all in the following 2 weeks. It's very much a way of eating where I can have the occasional slice of toast (once I'd got fully into it by about week 6 or 7). I don't feel like I'm dieting and am not hungry.

Really helpful @m0therofdragons . I will have a look. I have the 8 week blood sugar diet book and looking at following some principles of that.

1200 isn't an abritrary number, it's basically the minimum amount of calories you need before your mind and body starts to have problems from not having enough energy. Work out how many calories you burn on average by finding your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). I'm super short and am sedentary so I only need about 1300 calories a day. Sticking to 1200 means losing weight takes a long time. 3 days is nothing. I only started seeing results after about 3 weeks.

www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1393595237412088

You will not necessarily show weight loss in a week, weight loss seems to go in spurts nothing for two or three weeks then 4 lb loss. Just keep doing what you are doing.
Try to drink plenty of water, I am not sure if the body excrete, exhales or pees out the fat, I think it's a combination but water helps.
Sometimes your body stores water in the fat cells and when it realises the fat is not coming back it expels the water!

James Smith is awesome, lots of swearing
www.facebook.com/JamesSmithPT/videos/920163548088595/

@Poobarb could you write something (opinion or fact) to add to the conversation instead of advertising some guy who swears a lot on Facebook videos?

I have to say James Smith is awesome! It's all about calorie deficit.

Urgh. I contacted James smith directly for advice and he was bloody rude and unhelpful. Really not that nice away from his funny sweary vids.

I’d say you’re almost definitely taking in way more calories than you’re recording. For example a smoothie is almost pure carbs in the form of sugar so it seems your nutritional knowledge is a little off. Give it some time and make sure you’re being as accurate as possible in your calorie counting while eating healthy whole foods.

Also definitely get your thyroid checked if you still don’t lose any weight as anyone really should at that point.

@fulltimeworkingmumof2 how are you getting on?

So you have only been going for 3-4 days? Just keep going - that is no time at all.

I'm in this boat too! I've been doing the 1200 calories a day, so I'm just doing one big meal in the evening and 3ltrs if water during the day. My Fitness Pal is linked to my Fitbit so tells me how many calories I can have in the day.

I've been doing this for a week...and have put on a pound! I'm on the verge of starvation during the day 😂 but I've powered through. How depressing to have actually gained!!