Logging food and calorie goal

[XinaRam]

I need help! I've been using my Fitbit Blaze for about 10 days and have been logging all my food. I'm usually under target by a few hundred calories and set it to "medium." So I'm supposed to lose at least 1/2-1 pound a week, right? I haven't really seen a drop in weight. I'm getting discouraged. Any tips?

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[jmattwood · Accepted solution]

@XinaRamIt's not magic.....have you tried moving more?

Are you weighing yourself daily and at the same time of day?

Keep at it.

If you put less in and move more, you cannot fail to lose some weight.

Make sure you correctly set all your measurements within your profile.

Set the food plan to be based on a sedentary lifestyle (if applicable) as the calorie targets are calculated differently during the day.

Be mindful of the fact that if your activities are they type that build muscle, you won't necessarily see a drop in weight.

[XinaRam]

I have set up my profile. I have been working out about three or four times, each workout is about an hour. Mostly cardio. I log all my food in. I just want to see results.

[Heather-S · Accepted solution]

I would not expect results in only 10 days. Are you doing more than just working out for an hour?

I often run for 45 minutes a day, but need to walk a lot during the day even still to keep active and burning calories.

[XinaRam]

I walk over 10k steps most days. I try to make healthy food choices. I've used weight watchers before and have seen results within 10 days. I wanted to try this out but I'm discouraged. I just want to lose about 6 pounds but I don't know if this is the way to do it....

[Rich_Laue · Accepted solution]

A normal person will have up to 5 pound fluctuation throughout the day.
16 ounces of Water weighs 1 pound.
Have you used the restroom lately? This will add excess weight, that meal you just ate also will add to the scale.

My suggestion is to connect your Fitbit account to trendweight.. Trend weight will take your daily readings then look at uh general trend in weight ignoring these daily fluctuations

[Heather-S · Accepted solution]

The only way to lose weight is consistency. Results will come. Why would you give up after only 10 days? That's a very short period of time to expect results and honestly isn't realistic.

If you only want to lose 6lbs, then instead of focusing on the weight loss itself, focus on the health and wellness side of things. Be active to be healthy, eat whole foods, avoid processed crap, get lots of rest at night. The weight loss will happen over time.

[Heather-S]

Also want to add that maybe your Weight Watchers diet was a crash diet, thus the sudden drop in weight in a short period of time. That's not healthy at all.

[XinaRam]

Thanks. I'll look into it. I weigh myself soon after I wake up every morning before I eat or drink. It doesn't fluctuate much at that time but I haven't seen much of a change in weight. 😞

[Heather-S · Accepted solution]

Excess salt and sugars in your diet can make you hold on to water weight, potentially for several days depending on how much you've had.

Drink lots of water to help flush out excess sodium and sugars and to stop bloating and puffiness. Increase your intake of fresh fruits and veggies too.

[XinaRam]

Thank you!

[Rich_Laue]

Slow and steady wins the race, look at all the people that have gained the weight back on the biggest loser.

Ideally this is a change in lifestyle, a crash diet is a temporary fix. 

[KIM246 · Accepted solution]

I am certainly no health "expert"... but here is something you can try... I average @ 17-18K steps per day and have for more than a year... I frequently hit plateaus and have the need to "change things up a bit" to reset (confuse) my metabolic rate.  Have you tried the (relatively) new feature in the FB app. that tracks 250+ steps per hour?...  I find if I try to meet those goals at least 3X per week, I spread my excercise out throughout the day and I will lose weight again.  Be sure to use your "drill down" features in the app... Tap "BPM" > Tap "A particular day" > (Watch how many hours/day you are in the "Fat burn state"...)

Hope this helps... I KNOW it can be frustrating... but 10-days really isn't long enough to obtain an accurate opinion of whether "things" are working or not... Good Luck!!

[XinaRam]

Thanks. I do hit 11 out of 11 hours of activity. If I'm under target on calories most days, is that ok?

[Rich_Laue]

When you say under target in calories, are referring to a in or out?

[XinaRam]

Sent from my iPhone

[XinaRam]

Under target for calories in. I'm usually in the yellow zone. So I'm wondering if I'm not eating enough calories. I'm not hungry so I don't use all the calories I'm alotted. But I'm also under target by a few hundred calories.