Weight loss stress!

You are absolutely not eating enough. 1000 calories a day is hardly enough for a 6 year old, let alone a grown woman. When you don't eat enough, your body holds on to every single calorie you put into it, because it doesn't have enough to spare. Look up a TDEE calculator and eat more than what that says. The same thing with water - drink enough water and you'll bloat less.

If you up your calorie intake, then you should start exercising. Cardio will burn fat on its own. Lifting will give you a longer lasting increased burn after your workout. Also having more muscle increases your basal metabolic rate, or the amount of calories you would burn in a day by just sitting there.

Keep in mind that you cannot spot reduce. To lose fat, you just have to lose it in general and it will fall off from everywhere on its own. Doing leg exercises doesn't make you lose fat from your legs. It will increase muscle in that area, which will look different than having fat there instead.

If you aren't losing at 1,000 calories, you are eating more than 1,000 calories. Get a food scale and you'll see how much you are underestimating, we have terrible portion control even when we think we are following the labels.

If it turns out you actually are eating only 1,000 calories and not losing weight, go see a doctor because there is something wrong. It isn't because your body goes into starvation mode and/or your body stores fat if you don't eat enough, because that's not real. if that were the case how would anorexics get to be so frail?

How long have you been dieting? It takes 6 weeks of consistent effort to truly see results, at least for me it does. I think if you stick to it, you will see results. I would recommend upping your calories to 1,200 just to be healthier and not feel super hungry. I would also recommend maybe 1-2 cheat days a week so you don't feel deprived. I'm not an expert but this is what has worked for me.

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Date twin!!!

Since you are so close to the wedding and have trouble with eating, I would make small goals. Try to cut back some of what you are eating.

Move more! Exercise at home while watching TV if you can. Every bit counts!

Get rid of all of the junk food in your house. Give it to someone or throw it out!

Get healthy snacks so you can choose to have carrots or have nothing at all!

Yes, drinking water will help!

Maybe you could ask your boss to hide the chocolate for the next two months?!

Having a buddy will help, but you are ultimately the only one who can motivate you to do more!

Hi Emmy,

According to the admin that contacted me this morning I am 100% legit otherwise I would not even be able to comment in these forums. I have PERSONALLY lost weight & am sharing what has worked for me! Therefore I am a very satisfied customer & I am proud to share what has helped me ;-)

You can do it! Honestly I think the thing that helped me the most was getting a pedometer and counting calories, just making sure I burned more than I ate in a day (I stuck to around 400-500 of a deficit, so if I burned 2100 I ate 1600). Finding ways to make food that I craved (like chocolate, ugh) in a low calorie way was helpful. Find some low calorie recipes for foods you crave and then it feels like you're cheating but you're not! I've lost 30 pounds since October by just watching what I eat and walking a lot! Now I'm just maintaining until the wedding, which feels great! You can totally do it. Seeing the numbers on the pedometer (I have a fitbit) really helped to keep me motivated!! Good luck!!

Hire a trainer and a nutritionist. Honestly. Its so funny how many brides come to us (trainers) for advice and dont want to invest in training because they don't have money because of the wedding and want a quick fix. Even if you meet with someone half an hour one time a week they will keep you on track and accountable and design a program to help you that is personalized and give you LASTING results instead of a crash diet that leaves you cranky.

I don't know what your budget is or if this is even an option, but I tried 21 day fix and it's all about portion control and the workouts are challenging but toning for ALL skill levels. 30 min a day. But it also costs a lot of money. I really needed help (and still do) with portion control. I would think I'm eating healthy but I just ate too much.

So people are talking about starting fitness, which I agree with. But you will have to increase your caloric intake when you workout. This isn't a bad thing. You want your net calories to be 1200 (or whatever), so that means if you workout really hard you will have to eat more that day. I also agree that if you're actually only eating 1000 calories a day that is not enough.

I think you have to understand WHY you want to lose weight as well. Isn't it more important to be healthy?

Sometimes suggested doing stairs, and I definitely also recommend stairs. It's good for strength and also cardio. Start small and add a bit more as you go - but listen to your body. Injury will not help.

I walk my local bridge and do HIIT cardio workouts since I've always had "thunder thighs" they are trimming up but it's a work in progress.

The two biggest things are a solid meal plan and a workout routine that you stick to. There are several threads on weight loss so I would take some time to go through them. My favorite post here so far is from Haley on page 1 - switch up your diet to consist solely of lean proteins (chicken/salmon) for big meals, lots of veggies, only water and tea to drink, etc. In addition to the standard "do more cardio" advice, muscle and strength training will also help you drop those lbs. Your muscles help work your metabolism so try researching different thigh and leg exercises that you can do at home and make it a daily routine. Additionally, a large part of staying healthy that most forget is to get enough sleep!

What's your height and weight?

For most women 1000 isnt' enough- if you're like 4'5" and only work a desk job and no activity- I could see around 1000 being a relevant number- but odds are you have more room to eat more.

And quite frankly- you don't get bonus points for eating substantially less- setting a calorie deficit isn't a number you try to avoid- you hit that number as close as you can as often as you can. Some days it will be high and some days will be low- but you don't get bonus points for being chronically low- eat that number as consistently as possible.

have you tried MFP or figured out what your TDEE is ? (total daily energy expenditure?)

That type of calorie deficit is definitely NOT good in any way! You can eat more, just healthier foods...you lose weight in the kitchen, not the gym..it's all about your eating habits

No wonder you're stressed! You're starving yourself! You definitely need to eat more - starvation dieting screws up your metabolism and turns on fight or flight mode (which holds onto fat in case of famine). Since you're craving sweets, that's a sign your brain isn't getting enough glucose, so it makes you want the processed sugar and fat because it's desperate.

Try eating a fruit breakfast (I'm talking 7-10 ripe bananas, or 3-5 ripe bananas + 3 oranges, or a large fruit smoothie with veggies, etc). That is how I eliminated my cravings for every dessert under the sun; let me tell you, my cravings were baaad. Eating a ton of (whole organic) fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and starches while limiting some fats and eliminating others gave me back energy, a clear face, and flat stomach - and I get to eat until I'm satisfied!

Check out 80/10/10 - eating this way eliminates the stress of calorie restriction/cravings/binging/hunger/yoyo dieting/etc, which is unnecessary when your body is getting the right fuel. If you're hungry, fatigued, and/or not losing weight, you're simply not eating enough of the right foods. Choose a sustainable diet like 80/10/10 where it's not a "diet", just a healthy and satisfying way of eating.

You can do this! If anything, do it for your health, not to be temporarily thin for one day of your life. Good luck!

Such helpful suggestions here! It sounds like you have taken action with your FMIL and meal prepping so you are absolutely on the right path, well done!! The only other thing I would add is trying some short meditations to help you destress. There are some cool free apps like Calm and Headspace that provide short, guided meditations. If you feel likely to continue snacking after dinner when you are no longer hungry, try doing a 5 minute meditation first and see if that helps.

And now that you're working out make sure that you're eating enough. When you drop below the number of calories that your body needs to simply function (the basal metabolic rate), you will store everything you eat as body fat because your body thinks it's going into famine and needs to reserve the stores. Eating enough, including healthy dietary fats and cutting back on sugars, will be the key to your success.

Good luck!

Good morning!

I am someone who has always been really physical & small.

After an injury where I had to cease all physical activity for two years (dance, cheer, gym, etc) I gained 20 pounds. Once the doctors gave me the go ahead to access my full mobility, I lost most of the weight. I am now 113.

As soon as I wake up in the mornings, I drink a glass of hot water. The hot water stimulates your metabolism & your digestive system. (It may make you have to go to the bathroom, which is good! You can hold multiple pounds of grossness in your digestive system)

After I drink my hot water, I take my dog for a jog around the neighborhood. What would be the point in sparking your metabolism if you're not going to fully take advantage of it?

Then I make my breakfast- I eat an egg, usually over easy, and an apple.

I have an office job, where it is easy to snack and slouch. I brought in dumbbells, so on my downtime, listening to conferences, or on breaks, I do arm work outs. At first, people would laugh, now I have the whole floor doing the same! I make sure that I drink at least 4-6 water bottles. Force yourself. You need to flush out toxins and keep yourself hydrated. Ironically, water helps you lose water weight. Try to do a lunch that even though its not 100% the best for you, it's something that's on the healthier side. For lunch today, I made baked chicken with peppers and onions.

I also brought two apples with me for my snacks. If you read about what apples can do for you, they can help you lose weight. Apples have all sorts of things in it that are great for your body, but they also make you feel full. This will help you not snack so much on that chocolate!

For dinner, also do something a little more on the healthier side. & if you don't go to they gym? take your dog on another walk. Run up and down your home staircase a few times. Look up at home work outs that are easy to do!

Also, cut out soda (including energy drinks), beer & fast food.

So you are starting your metabolism, eating healthier, eating nutritious snacks that make you fuller, longer, keeping constant body activity, and cutting out a few things.

Lastly- this one is a win win.

Dedicate time to yourself to take an epsom salt bath. It is relaxing, and makes you sweat out toxins and water weight. They have epsom salt with lavender in it that makes your muscles and overall, your well being, relax.

Hope this helps!

People throw around the "don't eat less than 1200 calories" thing--but it is a misunderstood principle. The reason that doctors and scientists do not recommend eating under 1200 calories is because it is difficult to obtain adequate nutrients from under 1200 calories of food, especially given modern eating habits, which typically include highly processed foods that are full of empty calories.

But the reality is: you must consume less calories than you burn to lose weight. I have had my BMR measured, and it is 1010 calories/day. Multiplied by my daily activity quotient of 1.2 (I work a desk job), I burn about 1212 calories a day. So if I eat the minimum--I am just maintaining. And not many people have the motivation to do daily, high-intensity workouts that burn 500 calories per session. I'm muscular and relatively fit, so the moderate intensity work outs that I generally do probably burn no more than 250 cals per day. So if I don't allow myself to go under 1200, the path of weight loss will be VERY slow going.

So, if you want to really get down to it, you need to have your metabolism tested, factor your baseline activity level, then work on your diet, paying attention to vitamin, nutrient, and macro nutrient needs. Because it may very well be that you will not lose substantial weight without 1. over-exercising or 2. eating under 1200 calories.

FWIW, if I am not exercising, the only way I loose weight is if I eat ~800 calories a day. When exercising, my weight tends to stay the same, because I find it difficult to exercise and not eat back most of my calories. It leads to a very modest calorie deficit, which means my fat loss/ muscle gain about even out. I'm ok with it, but others might want to see a steeper line in their weight loss results.

ETA: There is a reason that VLC (very low calorie) diets come with the caveat of needing to be under doctor's supervision. This is because it is easy to become malnourished while on such a diet. If fat loss is a goal, however, and you really want to do it and are finding that eating the minimum recommended calories isn't cutting it (even with exercise), you might want to enlist the help of a dietician to keep you on track.

You need to exersize.for me even if I eat great I still won't loose anything without my exersize 3 or 4 days a week. And not just walking you need to exercise ! Jogging, strength training, biking. Something to get ur heart rate high.

Thank you everyone! There are a lot of very encouraging, helpful people on here. I have been pretty good almost all week. I had a piece of chocolate today (just one) and didn't want another one, but that's all I have had this week. After having four knee surgeries, working out is difficult, and the weather plays a big role into how I am feeling. But I have been trying to work out more, not every day, but trying for more. So far, I don't notice much of a difference in weight (ok, none at all), but I can tell my fingers don't hardly swell when I do work out, probably the salt. I will keep plugging along and see how it goes. I've been getting between 1100 -1200 calories a day this week and feel ok, maybe next week will be even easier? (hopefully )