750 Calorie Defecit not losing

[saralou]

I am 5 pounds away from my goal weight.  I am working out harder than ever and I am burning a lot of calories through cardio and weight lifting.  My defecit is 750 and the scale will not budge.  In fact, I gained a pound!  What am I doing wrong?  Should I increase my calories?

[LewWagner]

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@saralou wrote:

I am 5 pounds away from my goal weight.  I am working out harder than ever and I am burning a lot of calories through cardio and weight lifting.  My defecit is 750 and the scale will not budge.  In fact, I gained a pound!  What am I doing wrong?  Should I increase my calories?

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SaraLou,

Don't know that you're doing anything wrong.  Usually, when a person nears the desired weight, it takes considerably more effort to shed a pound than when you first started out.  Also, as you are weight lifting, you are building muscle mass which adds to your weight. 

Also, consider your calorie "burn rate."  Not saying my way is the way to follow, but I'm intaking around 1,100 calories a day and burning around 2,800-3,100 calories a day.  I'm just walking (alot), about 40 miles per week with over 105,000 steps a week as my goal.  Once I reach 180 lbs (10 lbs from my initial target weight of 170), I plan on doing calisthenics as well (push ups, situps, trunk twists, leg lifts, doggies, 20 lb dumbells, etc.) and I expect I'll start to see some slow down as I build up muscle tissue.

It also depends on how hydrated you are.  The body becomes very efficient at processing food and drawing water out of it, so your stools could be harder.  I usually take fibercon daily and about every other day have a "consitutional" that drops my weight.

Hope any of this is of value add to you and from one person who's "almost there" to one is really there, kudos and keep up the great work!

Lew

[jhowardchoco]

Per Dr. Oz, he & his guest Dr. were talking about "healthy fat" try adding a little fat (try almond butter or coconut oil) creates a different calorie burn.  Good luck!

[Concon]

Hi

If I want to lose weight how do I figure out how many calories to eat a day and how many I need to burn to lose 1.5 pounds a week. Please help

[Stephen1227]

Flax oil--high in Omega 3--is also good.  From what I have read, not only does it have a myriad of health benefit--it can help with weight loss / belly fat burn.  You can find some compelling research online about flax oil's benefits. 

[Concon]

Thanks Stephen but what I'm trying to find out is if I eat 1200 calories a day how many calories do I need to burn to lose 1.5 pds a week?
Is there something that will tell me that?

Thanks

Connie

[Stephen1227]

Hi Connie,

I have a goal of 1/2 a week, so based on my stats, fitbit came up with the figure of a 250 calorie deficit per day. If I wanted to lose 1 lb a week, the deficit would have to be 500 calories per day. Of course, I am sure there are other variables such as type of calories from fat, water consumption, height, starting weight, age, metabolism, health, etc. , but that's what the program has me doing. If you go into the food log from your dashboard, there is a sections that invites you to set up your own weight loss per week plan. It gives you the choice, of 1/2 per wk., 1 lb. per wk., etc. Then, it will tell you what your deficit per day should be to help reach your goal. You have to be consistent with entering what you eat for each meal and snacks, and manually log any activities that aren't walking / running, such swimming, cycling, etc--activities that the FitBit won't count as steps. Then, on your dashboard you'll see a running total of
calories burned for the day. In the food log, you will see how many calories you have consumed so far that day, and how many you can still consume and still be on target. I am new to fitbit, but this is my experience.  I hope that helps some. I am sure there are many users much more knowledgeable than me. I for example, am thinking of seeking the advice of a nutritionist through my doctor's office. Since we're all different, our results will be too. Good luck.

[slysam]

Connie, in theory you would lose a pound for accumulating a 3,500 calorie deficit. So over a week, to lose one pound you would need a 500 calorie a day deficit. To lose 1.5 pounds a week, you would need a 750 calorie deficit each day. So if you want to eat 1200 calories a day, you need to burn 1900 calories a day. This is in theory, there are differences in metabolism among people, calorie burn estimates are all estimates, and for that matter so is food logging (to some extent an estimate, food labels don't have to be exactly accurate and if you don't weigh portions it is even less so). But in theory you would try to burn 1900 a day, and see how that goes.

[Heybales]

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@saralou wrote:

I am 5 pounds away from my goal weight.  I am working out harder than ever and I am burning a lot of calories through cardio and weight lifting.  My defecit is 750 and the scale will not budge.  In fact, I gained a pound!  What am I doing wrong?  Should I increase my calories?

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Only 5 lbs to lose?

You are attempting a fight with your body you will not win, and if you do for the weight loss you won't like the results.

You kinda want the body on your side for later, like successful maintenance so you don't repeat this next year, and the year after.

Reasonable amount to attempt to lose is based on how much you got to lose. Body sees it as a threat when you undereat for your level of bodyfat.

750 is no where near reasonable at this point.

250 is reasonable.

Which means you have less margin for error in doing things right and seeing success.

Log all your non-step based workouts so Fitbit really is showing you a best estimate of daily burn to subract from for your eating goal.

Weigh the foods that go in your mouth, only measure liquids. Much more accurate. Even packaged foods.

And realize that Fitbit is underestimating your daily burn already to some degree.

The less active you are, the bigger it underestimates (because it gives sleeping burn to all non-moving time).

[Concon]

Thank you so much for your input. That is exactly what I wanted know.


Concon