Too few calories?

[renoraines]

Could my intake of too few calories be reducing my weight loss?

Last week I did 76,000 steps, walked 37.7 miles, had a total calorie intake of 13000 and burnt 25000, so 12000 calorie deficit, which I had hoped would mean a really good loss.

When I got weighed I'd only lost 0.6lb which was a disappointment.

Do I need to be taking in more calories and have less of a deficit?

[Inga]

I know that is what people will tell you but I am extremely skeptical of "starvation mode". Watch WWII newsreels footage, in the POW camps all those guys were universally thin. My grandpa was 6'1" and 100 pounds by the time he liberated himself from the Germans and found his way back to the British lines. 

In the 60s and well into the 70s, when someone went to the doctor for a diet they came home with a 1200 calorie diet, not an "all you can eat except carbs" or "all you want except fat" plan.

The scale is a touchy device, keep tracking your calories, keep walking, let your body and the scale catch up. 

[krbrx]

I've done a lot of research on "starvation mode" and it is mostly a myth. You need to be well under your bmr to have an affect. Also you can prevent any impact by doing some resistance training. Weight loss is never a strait line keep it up and the scale will respond.

[renoraines]

Thanks, I'll just keep at it then, 11k steps Monday and Tuesday and 20k yesterday so on course this week.

[Mary]

Be patient.  Water weight affects the scale a lot in short time spans.  If those high step counts are new to you, that's also going to cause water retention and mask any scale progress.

Also be very aware of the possibility of under-recording your intake.  If you consistently lose less than your deficit suggests, it's very likely you're missing a lot of calories in your logging.  Virtually all of us do.  

You're logging over 1800 calories a day, right?  I think you can forget any metabolic slowdown or starvation mode.  Usually, dangerously low calories are believed to be under 1000 or sometimes even 800.

[renoraines]

I'm religious about logging food through MFP so hopefully my intake is pretty accurate, certainly in previous weeks the loss has been pretty accurate working on 3500 calories deficit per pound, just last week that was a disappointment.

The trouble is I have minimal patience!!

[NYGIANTSFAN]

Honestly I use to be obsessed with the scale.  Weighing myself every day.  Its great to see that number go down but if it stays the same or goes up thats when you feel defeated.  I go how my clothes fit and feel.  I went from a size 40 at 293 pounds to now I am a size 33 at 236 pounds.  I am 6'2" so it fits me well.  I am trying to get down to 220.  I have that Aria scale and yes I get on it every morning but that is just to sync with my app.  I believe you will never be happy with what you see because you always feel like you could look or feel better but that one complement you get from someone always makes all the hard work worth while.