# Girl not losing weight



## Proteincarb (Oct 12, 2010)

My mate is really struggling losing weight. She is eating less than 700cals and is very active. What's the best way to approach this. Can't recuse cals much more?


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

Is she absolutely certain she's eating 700kcal? My sister was asking me weight loss advice just last week - we established how much she weighed and I told her she should try eating about 1250kcals a day for starters. She told me she already eats that, so I assessed her average diet and it turns out she was eating close to 2000 a day. Many people under or overestimate their intake. Granted, she might have some sort of metabolic or thyroid issue, and if this is the case she should get to the doctors, but the first port of call would be to have a look at her diet and make sure she really is eating the right amount of calories.

P.S. Unless she's actually a midget or anorexic, 700 is far too low.


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## Proteincarb (Oct 12, 2010)

Yeah it's correct. She tracks it on my fitness pal. And what she does eat it's all good food. Lots of greens and protein


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## Archaic (Mar 8, 2010)

Secret eater - or medical mystery...?

I'd put my money on the former.


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## LeviathanBodyBuilding (Jan 9, 2012)

Isn't 700 a bit on the low side, maybe she isn't eating enough to loose weight? Esp if she is very active like you say

Dieting and Metabolism


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## Proteincarb (Oct 12, 2010)

LeviathanBodyBuilding said:


> Isn't 700 a bit on the low side, maybe she isn't eating enough to loose weight? Esp if she is very active like you say
> 
> Dieting and Metabolism


Yeah I think this. What's the best approach.


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## Pinky (Sep 3, 2014)

700cals, you gotta be sh1tting me. I bet her metabolism is damaged. She needs more kals to up regulate it again. The long term health effects of such low cals are horrendous. She needs to eat more mate. She's gonna be ill.


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## LeviathanBodyBuilding (Jan 9, 2012)

Proteincarb said:


> Yeah I think this. What's the best approach.


Well id get her to start again on my fitness pal with her stats and weight loss goal, I recon it will throw up a number a lot greater than 700kcals per day as a starting point, then get her to track her food for a week, and wheigh her self again, and if she has lost weight then she is on the right track, if not then reduce cals slightly and do the same till the scale starts moving.

Also she should take note of how she's looking as you shouldn't really rely on scale weight completely, eg my Mrs has started coming to the gym with me and she noticed although her weight isn't dropping a great deal, she is still losing inches here there and everywhere. So get your mate to make friends with the tape measure 

Get her to up her water intake to 3-4litre per day.

What are the sort of things she does that she considers herself active? What kind of exercise does she do, weights, cardio etc?? Any alcohol intake and junk intake that she may not be counting towards??

Not saying she is but there is a TV program called secret eaters, and 9/10 there is a whole world of difference in what their actual calorie intake is to what they try to say it is?


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## Lean&amp;Mean&amp;Clean (May 9, 2008)

or she is just not cut for it??


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## Jammy Dodger (Nov 2, 2014)

Tommy is correct - there is no chance anyone can eat 700 calories and not lose weight. How many calories did they give out in concentration camps? And apart from the guards how many of them looked like they needed to cut!!

From the Jewish Virtual Library (not likely to be underestimating...):


Factors influencing the nutritional value of the food included the official nutritional norms in the Nazi concentration camps. In practice, Auschwitz prisoners with less physically demanding labor assignments received approximately *1,300 calories* per day, while those engaged in hard labor received approximately 1,700.


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## Brook877 (May 16, 2012)

TommyBananas said:


> She doesn't eat 700kcals.


She does.

Twice.

I'd bet my dinner money there is no medical phenomenon, she's just eating more than she tracks.


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## Skye666 (Apr 13, 2013)

700? Jeez that's nothing there's about 300 in a flapjack lol

I'm not over weight but when I try to diet it won't shift at all I just stay the same until I start to pack In the food which kills me makes me gag yuk! But it does work bit like a shock to the system. She needs to eat more.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Check the data in MFP for the foods she is eating.


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## John. (Jun 24, 2013)

Archaic said:


> Secret eater - or medical mystery...?
> 
> I'd put my money on the former.


This.



TommyBananas said:


> She doesn't eat 700kcals.


And this.

OP, why do yo insist on ignoring these good answers in favour of some metabolic damage bullchit?

Face facts, she's eating more than sh'e burning. Maybe it's all those starbucks that she isn't tracking. Or that 'little' snack pack of biscuits shes eats before bed. Or maybe she's a weekend binger like me.

Either way, she's eating too much. And if she's not, she's in the <1% that actually have a thyroid issue. Go see a doctor.


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## garethd93 (Nov 28, 2014)

sounds like my mother. she dropped the gym in favour of weight watchers and all that shiit, says neither are helping her loose weight. Every time I go round her house the fridge is full of healthy greens and fruit, but the cupboard is full of greggs caramel and chocolate shortbread....

chances are even if your mate is eating super healthy she is the stuffing super unhealthy shiit in on the sly.


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## Proteincarb (Oct 12, 2010)

LeviathanBodyBuilding said:


> Well id get her to start again on my fitness pal with her stats and weight loss goal, I recon it will throw up a number a lot greater than 700kcals per day as a starting point, then get her to track her food for a week, and wheigh her self again, and if she has lost weight then she is on the right track, if not then reduce cals slightly and do the same till the scale starts moving.
> 
> Also she should take note of how she's looking as you shouldn't really rely on scale weight completely, eg my Mrs has started coming to the gym with me and she noticed although her weight isn't dropping a great deal, she is still losing inches here there and everywhere. So get your mate to make friends with the tape measure
> 
> ...


Just redone her cals it says she should be eating 2170cals. So I'v told her to follow it. But she really was eating that little. And spent 2 hours at gym 4 days a week.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Proteincarb said:


> Just redone her cals it says she should be eating 2170cals. So I'v told her to follow it. But she really was eating that little. And spent 2 hours at gym 4 days a week.


Get her to gradually increase calories each week. Whatever she was eating it was likely less than this, and if she suddenly gains a lot of fat you may not be popular...


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

Proteincarb said:


> Just redone her cals it says she should be eating 2170cals. So I'v told her to follow it. But she really was eating that little. And spent 2 hours at gym 4 days a week.


So if she was really eating 700 kcal, why on earth will 2170 kcals make her lose weight lol?


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## 2004mark (Oct 26, 2013)

Get her to take screen shots of this 700 cal dally intake... there's bound to be a mistake somewhere. Sometimes on MFP you have to verify the intakes of some of the entries as they can be well out.


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## Dan94 (Dec 29, 2013)

Did you/she bother trying to work out the calories she needs to lose 1lb a week and gradually decline, or just decide to stick her on 700 calories?


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## Theseus (Feb 27, 2014)

Proteincarb said:


> Just redone her cals it says she should be eating 2170cals. So I'v told her to follow it. But she really was eating that little. And spent 2 hours at gym 4 days a week.


I have no doubt at some point, the fitnesspal was indeed 700kcal.

It is the consistency that counts...calculate her weekly total intake, weight her every week...

eating the same food, and amount all the time. so is easier to track....if by the end of the week, no pounds been shifted, reduce the amount and repeat...

eating occasional bread, pasta of variable portion sizes, dessert etc won't help.

cook lots of food, weight them, put them in containers and in the fridge.

and believing she really been only taking 700kcal per day for a long time, working out 2 hours of intensive exercise 4 times a week and not losing any fat....is not helpful for herself...accepting that she overate, and the workout was not as intensive as she thought, 1 good week is not going to burn off the fat she accummulated for the last 5 years. Once she accepted responsibility and stop hunting for 'medical reason not able to lose weight', she might just lose the weight if she stays consistent...

2 hours in the gym doesn't mean anything...we all have seen those sitting on the bike machine, playing with their phones while cycle like a granny...if she did HIIT for 2 hours, sweat till she puked, that is different story...most people use the example of the perfect one week they did and convinced themself that is what they have done for the last 6 months...


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## wezo (Jun 12, 2009)

you can only burn what you put in and your friend needs to calculate a few things and minus them off her 700cal per day plus you say shes very active

her job

does she train just them 2 alone will burn more than 700 calories so you friend is in deficit not good..

just point this out to her before it gets worse

all the best..


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## andyboro (Oct 1, 2006)

I feel dirty for saying this, but I agree with Tommy.

save the genuine medical issues, or being 2ft4, nobody eats a real 700 cals and trains 4 times a week but doesnt lose weight.

700cals doesn't cover what id use up in an hour in the gym so she'd be negative or at least close to zero in most days.

either MFP is wrong (and this happens quite a lot) or portions aren't being calculated right IMO.

MFP tells me that half a roast chicken with the skin on is 300 cals ffs lol.


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

wezo said:


> you can only burn what you put in and your friend needs to calculate a few things and minus them off her 700cal per day plus you say shes very active
> 
> her job
> 
> ...


She needs to be in a deficit to lose weight, that rule applies to everyone.


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## wezo (Jun 12, 2009)

So you saying 700cals is good then?

when i diet i can consume 2000-2500 and still loose weight..

i just think 700 is way to low..


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## ILLBehaviour (Dec 20, 2014)

agreed, no way can she be eating 700 cals.

she could be eating salad all day but failing to account for dressings, sauces and mayo and stuff like that. Or guestimating the weight of what she eats, miscalculating the amount of milk she has on her tea/coffee.

And/Or myfitnesspal could be showing up wrong cals. for some foods or shes inputting the portions wrong.

All these mistakes are very easy to make.

what are her stats ?


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

wezo said:


> So you saying 700cals is good then?
> 
> when i diet i can consume 2000-2500 and still loose weight..
> 
> i just think 700 is way to low..


She is eating more than 700 calories, probably miscalculating or guessing food weight.

Depends what she weighs. You cannot compare your calories to another persons. I'm guessing you're 80-90kg give or take, she is prob 60-70kg.


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## wezo (Jun 12, 2009)

the thread says less than 700cals yeah

o ans less of the insults please..


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## wezo (Jun 12, 2009)

just over 100kg

im just replying to what im reading..


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## Dan94 (Dec 29, 2013)

Post up her diet @Proteincarb


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## Jon.B (Mar 8, 2011)

Unless she is weighing her foods and checking the info on the packets etc i bet its over 700cal. I know loads of people who log cals with estimations 'ah that massive bowl of oats looks to be 50g' etc they never lose weight usually put it on


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

wezo said:


> just over 100kg
> 
> im just replying to what im reading..


What women do you know weigh 100kg? She is most likely 65-70kg.

She might weigh 50kg and 700 kcals will not be far off.

But point is she is most likely consuming far more than 700 kcal.


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## welshman (May 22, 2008)

Is she logging what she drinks as well? Seeing the look of horror when I explained to one woman that there are calories in wine was priceless!!!! :whistling:


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## wezo (Jun 12, 2009)

women for you a lol


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

MFP data accuracy and portion sizes need to be checked (weighing everything is best as already mentioned). If the problem is eating extra calories from foods not being accounted for at all then encouraging her to eat more calories may be helpful. In that having such an unrealistic target as 700 kcal per day makes it much less likely anyone could really stick to it than aiming for a more sensible deficit.


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

Ultrasonic said:


> MFP data accuracy and portion sizes need to be checked (weighing everything is best as already mentioned). If the problem is eating extra calories from foods not being accounted for at all then encouraging her to eat more calories may be helpful. In that having such an unrealistic target as 700 kcal per day makes it much less likely anyone could really stick to it than aiming for a more sensible deficit.


How did she get to 700 kcal in the first place, which "GURU" PT put her on that lol?


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Dark sim said:


> How did she get to 700 kcal in the first place, which "GURU" PT put her on that lol?


It's quite possible the girl in question just put herself on it, but you're right it would be good to know if she was advised to by anyone.


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## Proteincarb (Oct 12, 2010)

These today's entry's after I set her macros. It's all clean food. Any ideas. She struggling to get the target.


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## Proteincarb (Oct 12, 2010)

Ultrasonic said:


> It's quite possible the girl in question just put herself on it, but you're right it would be good to know if she was advised to by anyone.


A local pt I think.


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## Proteincarb (Oct 12, 2010)

Anyone


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

There are no glaring errors I can see in the MFP calorie figures FWIW.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Actually, were you asking for ideas of what to add to the diet to get up to the target calories? If so I'll say again that I really don't think getting her to jump straight to that level is a good idea.


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## Proteincarb (Oct 12, 2010)

Ultrasonic said:


> Actually, were you asking for ideas of what to add to the diet to get up to the target calories? If so I'll say again that I really don't think getting her to jump straight to that level is a good idea.


No gradually getting her to build up to it. She said she felt miles better today in gym and in general


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## Theseus (Feb 27, 2014)

Proteincarb said:


> These today's entry's after I set her macros. It's all clean food. Any ideas. She struggling to get the target.


first of all she did not consume 700kcal. she ate 1329kcal!

second, her target is 2170kcal for a woman trying to lose weight? what is her stat? height and weight?

third, she burnt 26kcal from exercise for that day? for someone that work out 4 days a week...and on the off day, she sits on the sofa and watch tv? totally sedentary lifestyle I presume

fourth, she has 867kcal 'left' to consume but yet still suppose to lose weight....how sure are you that she didn't go to the fridge at midnight just to balance out her calorie intake of the day with icecream


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## banzi (Mar 9, 2014)

Proteincarb said:


> My mate is really struggling losing weight. She is eating less than 700cals and is very active. What's the best way to approach this. Can't recuse cals much more?


Give her this diet, she doesnt nee to count anything she can eat as much as she likes

*protein sources;*

Eggs

Chicken breast

lean Turkey

Cod

Haddock

Salmon

Tuna

*protein sources are kept to once a day;*

Lean steak

Lean ground beef

Lean roast beef

Veal

*vegetable source;*

Asparagus

Broccoli

Cabbage

Cucumber

Onion

Spinach

lettuce

Tomatoes

Green Peppers

Dietary fats can come from flax oil or a supplement,

No nuts or seeds.

Diet drinks are allowed, they have zero calories anyway.

Keep your veg. to one serving per meal.


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## 31205 (Jan 16, 2013)

Ultrasonic said:


> Check the data in MFP for the foods she is eating.


nightmare for being wrong that app!

6 whole eggs once had 0 protein.. didnt notice for ages and was wondering how my numbers werent adding up.


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## 31205 (Jan 16, 2013)

banzi said:


> Give her this diet, she doesnt nee to count anything she can eat as much as she likes
> 
> *protein sources;*
> 
> ...


actually bookmarked the original thread you made re this diet. gonna use if for next cut. doesnt get any more simple.


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## 25434 (Dec 27, 2011)

sen said:


> actually bookmarked the original thread you made re this diet. gonna use if for next cut. doesnt get any more simple.


Please could you tell me where the original thread was about this way of eating if you have a moment? I would like to take a look. Thank you.


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## 31205 (Jan 16, 2013)

Flubs said:


> Please could you tell me where the original thread was about this way of eating if you have a moment? I would like to take a look. Thank you.


http://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/losing-weight/293327-ultimate-fat-loss-stage-condition-diet.html?highlight=banzi

it actually states egg WHITES in the original so id do whites rather than whole since whites have 0 fat


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## 25434 (Dec 27, 2011)

sen said:


> http://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/losing-weight/293327-ultimate-fat-loss-stage-condition-diet.html?highlight=banzi
> 
> it actually states egg WHITES in the original so id do whites rather than whole since whites have 0 fat


Thank you Sen. Much appreciated.


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## mrwright (Oct 22, 2013)

Give her some tren.


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## banzi (Mar 9, 2014)

sen said:


> http://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/losing-weight/293327-ultimate-fat-loss-stage-condition-diet.html?highlight=banzi
> 
> it actually states egg WHITES in the original so id do whites rather than whole since whites have 0 fat


That was my addition from the previous diet.

I personally never throw yolks away

I can see however how eating more than 6 eggs a day could effect you.

I only eat a maximum of 6.


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## 31205 (Jan 16, 2013)

banzi said:


> That was my addition from the previous diet.
> 
> I personally never throw yolks away
> 
> ...


so you could use whole eggs if you wanted to?


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## Pinky (Sep 3, 2014)

How the hell did she manage to train for that long only consuming 700kals a day, id have passed out, half way through. A deiting female can consume between 1300>1800kals a days and still lose weight, Its all about finding what works for her, and stick to it  Good luck OP


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Theseus said:


> first of all she did not consume 700kcal. she ate 1329kcal!


I believe the screenshots are for AFTER the OP intervened, not what the girl in question has been doing up till now.


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## Pinky (Sep 3, 2014)

Was that 2170kals her maintain kals or weight loss kals? Mine was 2700 to maintain, think 1800kals to lose weight. I eat around 1500kals a day and when i stick to it i can lose a 1lb a week easily


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## banzi (Mar 9, 2014)

sen said:


> so you could use whole eggs if you wanted to?


stick to 6 and yes I believe so.

I have an aversion to throwing food away, didnt have much growing up.


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

Pinky said:


> Was that 2170kals her maintain kals or weight loss kals? Mine was 2700 to maintain, think 1800kals to lose weight. I eat around 1500kals a day and when i stick to it i can lose a 1lb a week easily


It was her recalculated maintenance.

Your maintenance calories, 2700, is that through trial and error or a BMR calculator? It's very high.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Dark sim said:


> Your maintenance calories, 2700, is that through trial and error or a BMR calculator? It's very high.


Really? 2700 doesn't sound that high for a TDEE to me, for a weight training guy. Surely loads of guys here maintain on more than that?


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## Armitage Shanks (Jul 7, 2014)

This poor girl was consuming just 13 calories/day. And it shows!

'I lived on 13 calories a day': Brave student whose weight plummeted to 4st 11lb opens up on her anorexia hell in bid to help other sufferers - Daily Record


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## andyboro (Oct 1, 2006)

Would it be a fair assumption that the MFP posting after you intervened was am improvement on how normal days go?

the lass said she was eating 700cals and logged 1300 on a day when she knew someone would be looking at it.

I may be a little cynical but people tend to behave better if someone is going to see.


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

Ultrasonic said:


> 2700 doesn't sound that high for a TDEE to me, for a weight training guy. Surely loads of guys here maintain on more than that?


I think pinky is female, so am guessing her body weight would be indicative of a female. So 2700 would be quite high for a female.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Dark sim said:


> I think pinky is female, so am guessing her body weight would be indicative of a female. So 2700 would be quite high for a female.


Ah, you'd have a point if they are! Can't really see the avatar properly on my phone.

An optional gender indicator would be a helpful addition to the forum I think.


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

Pinky said:


> Was that 2170kals her maintain kals or weight loss kals? Mine was 2700 to maintain, think 1800kals to lose weight. I eat around 1500kals a day and when i stick to it i can lose a 1lb a week easily


2700... would seriously doubt that - which calculator did you use? Sounds impossibly wrong for your stats (one of the things that often goes wrong is the 'activity' status, most people overestimate just how 'active' they are.. so the calculator will account for much higher calorie values for your energy expenditure).

So for instance, even if you train for an hour daily but spend the other 23 hours sitting at a desk or sleeping... that does not make you 'highly active'. That would still make you somewhere between light or moderately active (even I, in theory, personally consider myself as a 'lightly active' individual.. despite training heavy almost daily, because I literally spend most of the other time sitting and sleeping).

Also, on a side note, I would generally ignore those calculators and use them as a VERY general guide only... they don't take into account body composition at all.

I would say your maintenance for your height would be around 1600-1800, within that region.


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## Pinky (Sep 3, 2014)

Kristina said:


> 2700... would seriously doubt that - which calculator did you use? Sounds impossibly wrong for your stats (one of the things that often goes wrong is the 'activity' status, most people overestimate just how 'active' they are.. so the calculator will account for much higher calorie values for your energy expenditure).
> 
> So for instance, even if you train for an hour daily but spend the other 23 hours sitting at a desk or sleeping... that does not make you 'highly active'. That would still make you somewhere between light or moderately active (even I, in theory, personally consider myself as a 'lightly active' individual.. despite training heavy almost daily, because I literally spend most of the other time sitting and sleeping).
> 
> ...


It was ages ago, some iifym calculator thingy. Thought id filled ot in wrong so i just left it haha I had someone from on here work it out to 180ish, can't remember who now tho  x

Edit: thinking about it i think i put high activity, didn't realise it was job etc not your gym activity.

Think it was this one


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## Yana (May 14, 2015)

Guys where one can actually get the body composition measured? I gained nearly 4 stone while bedriden for 2 years and with an advanced Hashimoto that destroyed my thyroid. I am on 100mcg T3 a day and since I started taking it I stopped gaining but cannot shed the excess. On 1700 cals I hardly manage to shed a kg in a month. I am taking Hydrocortisone twice a day 20mg in the winter and 10 in the summer.

I am not used to restricting calories, before the accident I danced for 5-6 hours a day and weight has never been an issue. I 75kg now and at 165cm thats enormous. The docs in the hospital said it will be completely different life for me now and I will never get back to 45kgs again. Why not? I was 45 just 3 years ago.


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## Dazza (Aug 7, 2010)

Simplest would be a bod pod

COSMED Test Site Locator

Some use a dexa scan, but I'd imagine those would be few and far between.

It's not your weight, but muscle mass that burns calories, try dropping to 1400kcals 1700 seems a bit high.


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## welshman (May 22, 2008)

Yana said:


> Guys where one can actually get the body composition measured? I gained nearly 4 stone while bedriden for 2 years and with an advanced Hashimoto that destroyed my thyroid. I am on 100mcg T3 a day and since I started taking it I stopped gaining but cannot shed the excess. On 1700 cals I hardly manage to shed a kg in a month. I am taking Hydrocortisone twice a day 20mg in the winter and 10 in the summer.
> 
> I am not used to restricting calories, before the accident I danced for 5-6 hours a day and weight has never been an issue. I 75kg now and at 165cm thats enormous. The docs in the hospital said it will be completely different life for me now and I will never get back to 45kgs again. Why not? I was 45 just 3 years ago.


I wouldn't worry about spending money getting your body composition measured at this stage. Whilst getting back to 45kgs is going to be difficult it won't be anywhere near as difficult to lose the majority of the weight gain and probably with minimal exercise. Logging EVERYTHING into MFP for a week and seeing what your current calorie intake/diet is like will be your best starting point.


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