1000 calorie deficit, still not losing weight

[shurst05]

I've been logging my food meticulously, getting 10K - 15K steps per day, tracking sleep, and adhering to a 1000 calorie per day deficit.  My weight is yo-yoing back and forth by about 4 pounds.  Two weeks into this, I am currently at my starting weight.  Calories are coming from proteins, fruits, veggies, and lean meats.  I have no known health issues...thyroid function is normal. 

This is so frustrating.  A friend is doing weight watchers, eating way more food than I am, and she has lost 10 pounds in two weeks.  Is the fitbit's process of tracking your calorie burn truly accurate?

[Heybales]

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@HeatherIzzard wrote:

That gives me some hope because today I'm really frustrated. 

I'm logging everything on myfitnesspal have almost 1k deficit pr day, drink 1500g water per day, walk avg 13k steps deliberately up+down the hills where I live AND work as hard as I did aged 30 at an Aqua jog class twice pr wk. I have Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis and a balanced by drugs Thyroid and I'm 59 yrs of age but I've dropped from 11st 13 to 11st 7 and stopped dead week 7! In fact 4days ago I weighed 2lbs less. 

Because of my disability I can't do other types of exercise but I also stroll my dog + garden + look after the house. I feel like I ought to be 11st 2 by now + I'm aiming for another 12 lbs off. Very disheartening 😕

But who knows. This is a very old thread! Clearly others felt like me

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Just so you know - a reasonable rate of loss at the start becomes not reasonable near the end - the more you lose the faster you can do, but the less you have to lose you should be trying for slower - or the body will adapt and stress out.

That 1000 deficit is reasonable if you have over 60 lbs to lose to healthy weight - sounds like it may never have been reasonable - so you likely lost some muscle mass during that loss.

Oh well, that's gone, just have to live with that effect now, which means eating less than you might have otherwise.

Anyway, at this point, if you haven't been losing and inches are not coming off (a better measurement for fat loss) - you are eating at maintenance, you have no 1000 deficit, or you'd be losing.

So recommend you set MFP to a reasonable 250 deficit for the amount left to lose which is reasonable.

Slowly increase calories to that point by eating 100 extra daily for a week at a time, then the next week another increase of 100, ect - until hitting goal.

That in itself may unstress your body enough - moving on up to what maintenance should be would help too for a few weeks - diet breaks are important.

Now - to confirm you are really burning what Fitbit estimates you are, and MFP is attempting to correct itself with - have you ever confirmed the distance Fitbit gave for one of your walks?

Even better, a walk at your average daily pace (not exercise level speed), like walking the dogs perhaps?

It could be you are being given bigger burn than reality for the day.

And how are calories estimated for the Aqua-jog - because Fitbit won't have that right at all.

And for food logging as to what you eat - good job logging everything - but is it by weight, grams since that is what calories is by? Or is it by volume, mL or such?

Inaccurate logging isn't as bad when you have a lot to lose, but can be bad when you have less.

Because your body is already stressed out by your diseases - the last thing you need to do is add to it by the stress of a diet - your reasonable deficit is less than average healthy person because of that fact.

Body can only take so much stress before it adapts in negative ways.

You have good activity levels, you might be surprised how they pick up after eating more.

[Sukhon]

I usually drink most of my water 3 cups in the morning and 6 cups in morning gym, it helps a lot, then I drink another 5 cups all day

[danielpatrik]

Hi, i understand what you are going through. I believe you should start adding up certain weight loss herbs to your diet.  they help in reducing bloating and will help you to loose weight quickly. I myself have added certain natural ingredients like cinnamon, ginger, ginseng and drink ample of green tea. Your transformation is just round the corner. Stay strong and motivated.

Regards,

Daniel

[JT1912]

The actual notion of 8 glasses a day originates from a 1945 US Food and Nutrition Board which recommended 2.5 litres of daily water intake. But what is generally forgotten from this recommendation is, firstly, that it was not based on any research and that secondly the recommendation stated that most of the water intake could come from food sources.

All food has some water in it, although obviously fresh juicy fruits will have more than, say, a box of raisins. Suffice it to say that by eating regular food and having coffee, juice or what have you, you will end up consuming 2 litres of water without having to go seek it out specifically. If you find yourself in a water deficit, your body has a very simple mechanism for letting you know. Put simply, you will get thirsty.

If you are thirsty, drink water. If you are not thirsty, then you do not need to go out and purposefully drink 6-8 glasses of water a day since you will probably get all the water in your regular diet. One important caveat to remember though is that on hot summer days, your water losses from sweating go up and if you plan to spend some time out doors, having water with you is important to avoid dehydration and heat stroke. While the thirst reflex is pretty reliable, it does tend to fade with age and older people are more likely to become dehydrated without realizing it. Thus, the take home message is drink water when you are thirsty, but on very hot days it might not be a bad idea to stay ahead of the curve and keep hydrated. Hopes this helps solve the water confusion.

[Iwishmore]

What low sugar fruits do you eat ? What veggies ?   😉 

[JT1912]

Hi,  I dont limit myself any fruit and veg, being high or low sugar.  I just have real foods. So nothing that comes in a bag or a box. And i dont add sugar at all. I have the occasional dark choc for a sugar hit.

[Dominique]

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@danielpatrik wrote:

I believe you should start adding up certain weight loss herbs to your diet.  they help in reducing bloating and will help you to loose weight quickly.

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Would be interesting to hear what those "certain weight loss herbs" are. However, the truth is such herbs simply do not exist.

[lil-sparkplug]

You do not have to eat breakfast. You’ll actually lose more fat if you DO skip. It’s called intermittent fasting read up on it it helps drastically

[Dominique]

You do not have to eat breakfast. You’ll actually lose more fat if you DO skip. It’s called intermittent fasting.

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Let’s take 3 persons, A, B and D, and let’s assume they are identical in terms of age, size, gender and activity. A has breakfast at 7am, lunch at 12 and dinner at 7pm. B skips breakfast, has lunch at 12 and dinner at 7pm. C skips both breakfast and lunch, has a snack at 3pm and dinner at 7pm. They will all be "fasting": A for 12 hours, B for 15 hours and C for 18 hours.

Now let’s say A eats 400 calories for breakfast, 700 for lunch and 900 for dinner. If B also eats 700 for lunch and 900 for dinner, B will lose more fat than A. Not because breakfast was skipped, but because total calories are smaller.

Now let’s say A eats 400 calories for breakfast, 700 for lunch and 900 for dinner. C eats 300 as their afternoon snack and 1700 as their dinner. C won’t lose any more fat than A, because calories are the same.

Bottom line: you lose fat if you are in a caloric deficit, regardless of the number of meals you eat  during the day, or how you time these meals.  There’s nothing magical about intermittent fasting: it will only result in fat loss if eating that way puts you in a caloric deficit. Now many people may well find IF makes it easier for them to be in a deficit, so for them, it would be a good approach.   

[SunsetRunner]

That’s great 

[Crthorn]

Sounds like to me you’re losing the appropriate weight for what you’re doing but if you arent satisfied with that you can also add weight training to that. It will also make you more toned and defined as you lose weight

[fatjail]

I 100% agree. Since I originally posted this I have started weight training. I have only lost 19 pounds in 7 months but my body composition has definitely changed. 

[Tomaskk]

i was thinking that overates my calorie expenditure as well, but however when started real healthy diet, whole foods and no junk it became obvious that it’s all good. When was eating a lot of junk food it looked that my calorie expenditure about 1k too high, but know i see its not

[AngelaDarcie]

I’m having the same trouble. 12-1400 cal a day (that’s not much) nobody believes me, my stomach is huge. Doc says have I tried cutting out carbs and it’s energy in vs energy out. 

im now keeping a food and exercise diary and will take it in if still no results. I could cry. I’m 58 

[VendettaBoxers]

For me I find I loose faster if my Carbs are 50%, Healthy Fat 30% and Protein 20%. Plus I eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner and snack. I am also doing a brisk 10 minute walk 3 to 4 times a day while at work and then sometimes I walk my all 3 of my dogs at a time around the block when I get home. I am getting about 15000 steps a day. I am staying full and staying about 1200 calories a day. I did this diet in 2015 and from January 16th to July 31st 2015 I lost 65 pounds. Then got stuck and couldn't seem to loose more so I gave up. Since Aug 2015 to now I have gone back up 40 pounds and will loose 10 to 20 and gain it back on other diets so I am going back to what worked in 2015. I started Sunday 12/29/19 and by 1/2/20 I was down 5 pounds. I didn't weigh myself this morning so I don't know what I am today. I am also drinking 16 to 32oz's of water a day. Getting the water in is hard. I am hoping I will have results like I had in 2015. I am 50 years old now so hope that I can still do it. 

[gmj7d]

I'm looking at all this technical data, and I'm banging my head against the wall.  Technical data is like statistics: You can make it say pretty much anything you like.

It's really pretty simple, folks. When's the last time you saw a fat tribesman?  When's the last time you saw an Aborigine with a Fitbit?  What the hell does a caveman care about potential muscle-mass loss if he diets too hard?  Yes, your body goes through stages of dealing with calorie deficit. Stalling, water weight, muscle-loss, increased fat-storage efficiency etc.  And yes, skipping breakfast may do this and working out at such-and-such time of day may do that.

What-the-smack-ever, man.  It'll all work itself out eventually.

It boils down to lifestyle, people.  At first, that means making friends with pain.  We're all stuck in this society that makes food hyper-satisfying and hyper-abundant.  In nature, it is neither.  Get pissed off about that.  Reject society's obsession with food, be it McDonald's or all the health nuts blathering on about protein powder and how much water you should drink.  Once you get used to it, you'll discover raw vegetables actually taste good.  They're not as satisfying as a donut, but NOTHING in nature is as satisfying as a donut.  Same with crack cocaine.  You'll discover working out (whatever way... cardio, lifting, biking, whatever—just push yourself) feels great.  You'll discover the occasional one- or two-day fast gives you energy—clean, pure energy—as if you were high on some new drug that leaves you with no hangover.

But the bottom line is, if you eat like a tribesman (they eat when they can—sometimes not for days—with no consideration whatsoever to whether or not it's "breakfast"—and they drink water when they **ahem**-well feel like it and there is no bread, wholegrain or otherwise), and move like a tribesman (they have to chase down "protein" and walk for miles to forage "carbs," all green), you'll eventually look like a tribesman.  Hopefully sans the war-paint and bone-pierced septums.

I have struggled with weight in the past, but it ain't because I ate or skipped breakfast. Or what time I exercised.  Or how much water I drank.  Or because of carb/protein balance or vitamins or salt or Thermogenics or BMR or metabolism or age or thyroid or any of that crap.  It's because I ate too **ahem** much and moved too **ahem** little.

Get over the struggle to make this pleasant.  That's what all the Fitbits and fact-sheets and water gulping is about. If you're a fat-a like I was, getting started hurts.  Embrace the pain.  Count your calories if that delights you, but if you just don't eat anything a caveman wouldn't immediately recognize as food, you'll be all right.  And move as much as humanly possible.  Lifting, cardio, resistance training, walking, running... whatever.  LOOK for ways to move.  Help your neighbor with the groceries.  Carry the trash around the house before you put it out front.  Ride your bike to work.  LIFT things.  Push yourself.  If calorie deficit makes you feel lethargic, screw that.  Resist it.  Do some jumping jacks and get pissed off.  Make it hurt and enjoy the pain.  You may stall, you may gain or lose water-weight or muscle mass or what-the-hell-ever.  Screw all that; it will all work itself out, just like it does in the jungle.  Eventually.  Throw away your scales and smash your Fitbit.  Just stop indulging, dude.  Embrace hard work, make friends with pain, move move MOVE and never look back.

You'll get there.

[Dominique]

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@gmj7d wrote:

Throw away your scales and smash your Fitbit.

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OK, so you’ve figured it all out (it’s just a question of living and eating like cavemen supposedly did). What I don’t understand is why you felt the need to get yourself a Fitbit (I assume it’s what you did, otherwise you wouldn’t take part in this discussion).

[rahulfitb]

I understand this question is 6 years old but I would like to answer it since I have personally faced the same situation quite a number of times.

Your metabolic rate has shut down. This is most likely due to not eating enough calories and working hard. You should start having some cheat days as I have explained in the post. As your glycogen levels start building up again, you can again lose a lot of weight without having to eat so few calories.

[UESNewbie]

Really interesting links.  Near the end of your comments on the "good news" link, you talk about "recovery", which I took to mean that the gravitational pull of the "set point", which lowers your metabolism in an attempt to get you back to your higher weight, might ease over time. But the "bad news" link seems to say that it will never end.  Their in-hospital Leptin experiment worked, but once the subject left the hospital, the conclusion was that she would have to permanently consume fewer calories than her new lower weight would imply (vs the maintenance diet had she never been overweight before).  Hoping the good news link is more accurate.  I think their conclusion is that if a calorie deficit is achieved via exercise plus calorie reduction, it doesn't need to be as extreme as deficit achieved via calorie reduction alone. Yes?  

[Heybales]

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@UESNewbie wrote:

Really interesting links.  Near the end of your comments on the "good news" link, you talk about "recovery", which I took to mean that the gravitational pull of the "set point", which lowers your metabolism in an attempt to get you back to your higher weight, might ease over time. But the "bad news" link seems to say that it will never end.  Their in-hospital Leptin experiment worked, but once the subject left the hospital, the conclusion was that she would have to permanently consume fewer calories than her new lower weight would imply (vs the maintenance diet had she never been overweight before).  Hoping the good news link is more accurate.  I think their conclusion is that if a calorie deficit is achieved via exercise plus calorie reduction, it doesn't need to be as extreme as deficit achieved via calorie reduction alone. Yes?  

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There have been studies subsequent to the video recap one that showed depending on how extreme the deficit the adaptation isn't nearly as bad.

The good news.

I think for the studies showing benefit to exercise while dieting - it's the fact there was just increased eating level with the fact of burning more, same deficit amount. Told body to keep more LBM too, minor but nice increased metabolism.

But that adaptation effect after having reached healthy goal weight and attempting to maintain hasn't been tested due to the nature of such a test setup - but it's believed to be the reason why so many dieters when they go off the diet rebound so badly in gaining weight so fast.

Not only might they not be correctly eating less because they weigh less, instead going back to some old quantity of eating when they were actually gaining weight when they weighed more (terrible double whammy if non-understanding).

But they go back to that old, or even an appropriate amount less quantity of food - but they are burning even less than they think from calculations.

Like Fitbit isn't going to know those adaptations occurred.

Most accurate way I've seen ones have success is actually taking the final month say of weight loss, and decently accurate logs of calories eaten - and getting a good estimate of what the deficit must have been, added to what was eaten - and there's your avg daily maintenance.

Slowly increase up to at least that, and then adjust as needed. Or just eat the extra the deficit must have been.

Many find that indeed they did adapt slightly, so they actually keep losing slowly at that higher eating level as body recovers, so they can eat a bit more.

I think it's at this point many discover they basically are food loggers for life, if they want to maintain success. Or they have a great handle on the now normal quantities of food to be eaten, and watch the scale and a couple of measurements (to discern between normal water weight and not water).