Solved: CANT lose weight

Liitleshadow · ‎05-18-2015

Hey everyone,

I am feeling a little down today.
I've had fitbit charge hr for the past month. Nonetheless, I have been trying to lose weight for the past 1 and a half. I started with 86kg and I am now at 74.3 kg. Its been 1 month amd a half that I have reached my goal (running for 25) and No change has come to my body. I have lost 5 cm on my belly, but my weight has not changed for the past month. I eat only healthy stuff and have been doing a deficit of 1000 calories with the hope of losing 2kg per week (fitbit app deficit goal)

Can anyone help me please? I dont know whats wrong...

HelenaFitbit · ‎05-18-2015

Welcome to the Fitbit Family @Liitleshadow!

Don't feel down, we all hit a wall at some point in our journey. Have you tried logging your meals and weighing in your portions? As @LocoMutant says "You can't outrun your fork".

Also, there is a chance that your Calorie Deficit is too high for the weight loss goal you wish to achieve, I believe member @Heybales may provide some additional information on this.

Stay strong, we can do this!

Helena A. | Community Moderator, Fitbit

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LocoMutant · ‎05-18-2015

@HelenaFitbitlol thanks for the shoutout 🙂

@Liitleshadow logging your calories correctly is vital. Do you have a food scale? Are you eating processed foods, or healthier foods? I would suggest using myfitnesspal to log your food and sync it to fitbit, and log every calorie you eat. A lot of times it's the type of foods we eat that's hampering weightloss. Good luck losing weight it's not a marathon, but a sprint.

Fitbit One + MyFitnessPal = - 100lbs
::You can't outrun your fork ::

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Shortsbysummer · ‎05-18-2015

Exercise can also build muscle, which weighs more than fat and will make it seem like you aren't losing weight on a scale. That is why it is good to track measurements and body fat percentage if you have a way to do that. My $50 Weight Watchers' scale can track my body fat and I know that for me, seeing that go down when the weight is not changing makes me feel better. 5-cm off your belly is great. The weight did not come on overnight, it will take time to come off. This journey is a marathon not a sprint and a 0.5-1 lb loss per week is a victory! Like others have said, check your nutrition, weight your food on a food scale to be really precise and make sure you are eating enough.

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SunsetRunner · ‎05-18-2015

Chin up friend!! Just need some tweaks to get moving again.

So, to help, I'd need more info.

First (yeah, I'm a foodie!!)...when you say you're 'only eating healthy stuff'....what exactly does that mean? In a typical day, or over the past few days, what specifically have you eaten? If this part is wrong, you can be working your butt off with exercise, but torpedoing yourself with 'healthy' foods that go right to all the bad places regardless of your calorie deficit. Contrary to what many ascribe to, all calories are NOT equal.

I say that because of all the marketing crap that is out there for pre-made frozen 'meals' (pick your fav weight loss brand) can make you think you're eating healthy, and if you only consider the macros (calories, fat, grms of this and that) it may all look okay...but highly processed, highly refined foods should NEVER be considered 'healthy'. Frozen, premade anything is a 'short cut' and with nutrition, the only real short cuts are going with whole foods, from the earth, fresh prepped by me and you. Ditch the preservatives, the often very well hidden added sugars, chemicals, GMOs....IMO, unless they're adveristing sales on fresh veg/fruit on tv, most of what they advertise is all marketing hype. (off my soap box now).

Second, as one of the other posters commented, the types of exercise you are doing matters as well. The scale might be reading the same more or less from this week to next as you drop off body fat and build up more muscle, the actual number doesn't give the whole story. How you look in the mirror, how your clothes fit, those are better metrics for noticing progress.

You can do this!!!! 🙂

Let us help!

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littlelisar · ‎05-18-2015

Littleshadow,

I know the feeling. For the last few months, I have been watching what I eat, walking and exercising on a regular basis, and monitoring my calories accurately. I have gained about 7-10 pounds and feeling extremely exhausted and defeated daily. I just had my thyroid checked since I have hypothyroidism. Well, good thing. I am way off and not getting enough of my thyroid medication. Today, my dosage has been adjusted and I hope over the next 6 weeks I can start feeling better. Hang in there. It will one day pay off. Keep up the good work and do not quit trying.

Lisa (livinggoodnow1014

Lisa Reiff

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Heybales · ‎05-18-2015

@Liitleshadow wrote:
Hey everyone,

I am feeling a little down today.
I've had fitbit charge hr for the past month. Nonetheless, I have been trying to lose weight for the past 1 and a half. I started with 86kg and I am now at 74.3 kg. Its been 1 month amd a half that I have reached my goal (running for 25) and No change has come to my body. I have lost 5 cm on my belly, but my weight has not changed for the past month. I eat only healthy stuff and have been doing a deficit of 1000 calories with the hope of losing 2kg per week (fitbit app deficit goal)

Can anyone help me please? I dont know whats wrong...

1000 cal deficit would be 2 lbs weekly, not 2 kg, actually. That would be only 0.9 kg weekly.

Not enough stats to know if that is a reasonable loss goal for you still though. May have been at the start.

Could be very unreasonable now, and a stressed body from undereating not only slows down, but also retains water because of elevated cortisol.

Another aspect of retained water is with more running now, body is storing more glucose in the muscles, and that stores with water.

Sadly, with just running, you aren't adding muscle that is offsetting the fat loss so the scale says 0 loss. That's a phrase people like to throw out to sound encouraging, but it's a whole lot harder to gain muscle than people must think, and walking and now running ain't going to do that for you. Actually, cardio only and extreme deficit is great way to lose some muscle mass, which is actually easy to do.

Do you still have over 27.2 kg to lose to healthy weight for that 1000 cal deficit to be reasonable?

Or should you be eating more by taking a smaller deficit?

Round figures would be 250 calorie deficit for each 6.8 kg you have to lose.

When you last lost weight, how much over what time span?

I'm going to bet your daily burn has been slowly crashing in to the ground, meaning you don't really have the deficit you think you do anymore. You need to get your healthy body back probably so it's burning high.

Then take a reasonable deficit to maintain a loss until you reach goal weight.

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josephz2va · ‎05-19-2015

You may not be consuming the correct kind of calories. There's three aspects to weight loss. A good diet, cardio and weights, and a personal training system.

For diets, there's two ways you can do it. You can follow Nutrition 101: Eat To Build Lean Muscle or a program that's on many workout purchases that contains a food diary of what foods to consume at intervals. Another choice is a dietitian program that works for you. For me, it's Jenny Craig, buying limited groceries (apples, green beans, milk, butter) and staying away from every single purchase beyond that. Beyond that, McDonalds Subway DD etc you're throwing away money not losing weight. $100 breakfast $100 lunch $100 dinner plus your diet equals no weight loss. I lose between 1 and 4 pounds per day concentrating on no extras because I'm mostly sedentary and know my limits. 1200-1500 calories even if Fitbit says I burn 4,000 cals and I have a mega deficit.

For cardio and weights, it's best to have a system in place to do everyday. You can obtain a workout calendar online. Most calendars work on bodybuilding.com. It's important to have a combo system in place. 2-3 days cardio 2-3 days weights. Or you won't shred fat and tone up.

For personal training system, there's many systems out there. There's an annual subscription from Fitstar. There's Jillian Michaels. I use Insanity Max 30 for night personal training. Modifier for 3 days cardio, 2 days body weights, 1 day recovery.

Lastly it's important to keep yourself motivated to keep following your system. Many give up. "It's too hard. I don't have the time." If you push yourself, you'll see progress but know your limits and set recovery time when possible. But get back up on the system when you're recovered. You can also do 1 day recovery as many times as needed to rebalance your body and mind. But the more you progress, the more you win the gold star of a successful weight loss and tone up.

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SunsetRunner · ‎05-19-2015

Hmm....sounds like you're eating way to little food. Effectively you can have pretty much as much fruit and veg as you like. Carb level a little low too. The rest works itself out. Frequency is good, every 2-3 hours. But should be meal....snack...lunch...snack...dinner.....(snack optional).

Agree with Haybales....less is not always 'more'...can have opposite effect.

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CandGsMom · ‎05-19-2015

I'm not an expert. Just another FB user trying to gain control over my weight.

It is important to not let yourself get down. Everyone struggles.

The fact that you lost inches means your body is reacting. You're losing fat and quite possibly converting some to muscle.

Try doing something to quieten that inner voice. Meditation, yoga, take a tai chi class, knit a sweater; whatever you can find to focus your attention away for awhile,

Keep up the good work.

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Heybales · ‎05-20-2015

@Liitleshadow wrote:
Hey!

Thanks for the reply.
I know I still have over 20kg to lose to be "healthy" but I do t know what else to do..

To be ore accurate, I walk every day at 5am (4 to 5km), then I have breakfast (either yogurt with an apple, or a slice of bread with a slice of turkey ham and a cup of milk, or oats with milk) , then around 10/11 I have a slice of pineapple or some strawberries, then I have lunch (always 50g of rice with either broccoli and a lean meat or fish) then around 5 I have a snack and then go for a run for 25 mints (3-4km) plus 4km walking (3 time a week I go for a swim as well after running and walking (25metre pool and I do 14-15 laps). Then I have dinner either yogurt again or just protein (lean meat).
This is what I do normally. There are days that I feel stronger and also do after my workout squats and lunges.. I have been avoiding doing sit ups cause there are people that say you shouldnt until you have loss a lot of belly fat and other say you should, so I do them 1 a week.

I measure my body every 2 weeks in the afternoon after my workout, and I weight myself every 2 weeks in the same day I take the measurements but in the morning before I eat. The last time I measure and weight myself was 2 weeks ago: 74.5kg (2 weeks ago) and 74.3 (yesterday).
I have however, in the last 3 months been betweem 77 and 76 kg.. Only 4 weeks ago did I lose 2 kg but for the past 2 I have weighted the same...

Thank you for your help again, and I hope you can give me more tips and what to do and what exercices I shou ld be doing instead...

Btw, my height is 1.60cm.
Thanks!

So with 20 kg to go, 750 cal deficit would be more reasonable right now - allowing you to eat more, which will make it happy and hopefully work with you not against you.

At 14 kg, 500 cal deficit would be more reasonable.

At 6.8 kg left, 250 would be reasonable.

This is based on an otherwise healthy body and decent sleep and daily stress levels being low. Raise the cutoff points if none of that is true and body is under bad stress already.

Is there a reason why you are spiking your insulin at 10/11 am before lunch with that sugar, and turning off the fat release for energy use?

What is your average daily eating goal in calories, and of that, how many grams of protein and fat?

So good workouts that could be very accurate calorie burns by the Fitbit.

But you do manually log those swims, right?

Have you even confirmed the distance the Fitbit says matches a more accurate measuring method?

Because ultimately, your daily activity is mainy by steps and distance to calculate calorie burn.

Oh - do planks front and sides, better ab/core exercise anyway, and doable even now.

To minimize known expected water weight fluctuations, try to have a valid weigh-in day. Which would be the best measurement day too.

Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

And as a woman, your basic metabolism (BMR) changes throughout the month too, so you can't really discern anything in 2 weeks, you need minimum 4 weeks.

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Heybales · ‎05-21-2015

@healthsidekick wrote:
Losing weight is not a guessing game.. it is very simple. Stay below your HSK Prime # and lose weight. The HSK Prime # anaylizes all you do and gives you an accurate weight loss #.

I would suggest that when the info page for HSK Prime starts out by saying you need to eat less than your BMR to lose weight - there is a huge misconception of what BMR means and the other advice should be viewed very skeptically.

To suggest that you maintain weight eating at BMR, which is sleeping deeply level of calorie burn, and to lose weight you must eat less, is very scary on the understanding scale.

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healthsidekick · ‎05-21-2015

Where does it state to eat less than your BMR? HSK Prime # is a proprietary algorithm and does not claim to be your BMR. It is where you don't lose or gain any weight based on the foods and activity you log and the lifestyle you live. Not your Basil Metabolic Rate. FYI the Harris Benendict or Mifflin (most comonly used by sites like fitbit, nothing proprieatary) are off an average of 17% As a matter of fact if you read the orignal Study it states it should only be use as a basis of generalization. For me my allowable calories if I were to use a fitbit are off 400 calories a day. The only way a user can figure out their basil metabolic rate is under strict conditions. Not plugging the data into a static equation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1091498/

(2) As we have repeatedly emphasized in the foregoing pages, every
individual metabolism measm-ement considered as a basis for generalization
concerning the peculiarities of the individual upon which it is
based {e.g. physical characteristics, pathological state, etc.) has a large
probable error. Thus one can not compare the metabolism of a single
individual of any specified ty-pe with the standard constant and use
it as a basis of generalization. It is only when a series of individuals
of the specified type are considered that generalizations may be drawn.

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SunsetRunner · ‎05-21-2015

wow.....learning! nice share.

happy to be in the camp of not counting calories at all. eating clean, natural foods; watching the mirror and the scale. Losing weight or gaining softness in the wrong places calls for a tweak in either the amounts or types of foods I'm eating. Learning foods and nutrients and understanding that all calories are NOT equal.

1200 calorie, low nutrient density meal at McDonalds or pre-packaged frozen diet meal (pick your brand, healthy choice, weight watchers, lean cuisine, etc.) is not the same as 1200 calorie feast of qunioa, spinach, peppers, lean meat (if you must). Highly bio-available and nutritionally satisfying food, with proper caloric and fat content more than satifies and will keep you from feeling hungry 30 minutes later because your body is still lacking nutrition. Not a 'diet'-- it's relearning and unlearning all the mis-information that is out there.

To me (and I could be wrong -- learning every day) focusing on a negative calorie intake to reach your target weight sounds unsustainable. Seems to me that unless you learn what to eat and how to eat, once you go back to a maintainence level calorie plan you'll be likely to just pack it on again. Calorie focus sounds unsustainable. Learning what to eat, when, and how to balance that with your activity levels for today and tomorrow is where it's at.....

(back to regular programming now).

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SunsetRunner · ‎05-21-2015

thanks! like I said...always learning!!!

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healthsidekick · ‎05-22-2015

It could be clarified that it is BMR + TDEE, but for people that sign up it is clear.

On the other points let’s assume you are right and there is a 5% difference in the Mifflin study to BMI. I have seen studeis much higher. You point out there is a 5% difference to BMR. BMI is a horrible way to measure how fat someone is. It has a huge probable error and a wide range. So increase the 5% up to 10%.

Regardless of this let’s assume you are right in there is a 5% difference, for me it is off 20%. On a 2,000 calorie diet I am off 100 calories a day. I think we can agree this is an average so for some people it will be more and some will be less. I have lost 40lb eating at an average deficit of 40 calories a day. The easiest way to lose weight is by eating as much as possible while still losing.

You are right you can figure out your TDEE on your own (most can’t and won’t), but why would you want to manually adjust it monthly when you can have an algorithm do it for you daily?

That is what Health Sidekick does.

3500 calories being = to 1 pound is a general guide and this also increases the error as well as a multitude of other variables.

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Heybales · ‎05-22-2015

@healthsidekick wrote:
It could be clarified that it is BMR + TDEE, but for people that sign up it is clear.
On the other points let’s assume you are right and there is a 5% difference in the Mifflin study to BMI. I have seen studeis much higher. You point out there is a 5% difference to BMR. BMI is a horrible way to measure how fat someone is. It has a huge probable error and a wide range. So increase the 5% up to 10%.
Regardless of this let’s assume you are right in there is a 5% difference, for me it is off 20%. On a 2,000 calorie diet I am off 100 calories a day. I think we can agree this is an average so for some people it will be more and some will be less. I have lost 40lb eating at an average deficit of 40 calories a day. The easiest way to lose weight is by eating as much as possible while still losing.
You are right you can figure out your TDEE on your own (most can’t and won’t), but why would you want to manually adjust it monthly when you can have an algorithm do it for you daily?
That is what Health Sidekick does.
3500 calories being = to 1 pound is a general guide and this also increases the error as well as a multitude of other variables.

I didn't say there was 5% difference between Mifflin BMR and BMI, I said between calculated RMR and measured RMR for those in the overweight BMI category. BMI has several ranges of weight class - under, normal, over, obese, morbidly obese. Better BMI calcs use gender too. But the BMI usage in that case is NO indicator or attempt to find BMR or BF%, it is merely saying how overweight the person was in the study.

Because those studies almost always are only selecting a group of people within a certain to range to test whatever they are going to test.

But agree it's best to lose eating the most you can - have the least negative side effects that way. Why start with bare minimum that is purely for safety, not for performance, longetivity, or aesthetics.

And yes, 1 lb of fat = 3500 is good math when you do like I said, take a minor deficit. Make it too big and start including muscle mass, and that math no longer applies since muscle lost only provide 600 cal / lb.

That's great it can do it daily, since general activity level can change.

Just seems a hard sell in the forums for a device people have bought to do the same thing.

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healthsidekick · ‎05-22-2015

When you say it does the same thing, does fitbit auto adjust for members?
Or does a member have to manually adjust their tdee to ge an accurate #?
From my understanding (and maybe I am wrong) fitbit uses the mifflin equation with tdee and where a heart rate monitor is not available basic METS calculations.
If it doesn't auto adjust for members it doesn't do the same thing.
I am sure you will have continued success with what you are doing.

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Heybales · ‎05-24-2015

@healthsidekick wrote:
When you say it does the same thing, does fitbit auto adjust for members?
Or does a member have to manually adjust their tdee to ge an accurate #?
From my understanding (and maybe I am wrong) fitbit uses the mifflin equation with tdee and where a heart rate monitor is not available basic METS calculations.
If it doesn't auto adjust for members it doesn't do the same thing.
I am sure you will have continued success with what you are doing.

So you don't even have a Fitbit, just trying to sell a service to Fitbit members?

Yes, the devices auto-adjust daily the TDEE based on activity.

Activity is calculated with METS for the distance/pace/mass seen per step and the Mifflin BMR.

For HR devices HR based calorie burn for above a certain level.

Unaccounted for is the TEF for processing/digesting food, and awake non-moving and standing non-moving increased calorie burn.

Studies have shown that's about 85% accurate for the 23 hrs of the day not exercising, general daily activity.

The other hour depends on your device model and your type of exercise. So in the scheme of things, not a big % off.

You might want to read the success stories section, and discover there are plenty that like running their own numbers, and discover just how correct the Fitbit is for saying what the calculated deficit is to what they actually lost and what the deficit must have been.

I've written activity calculators that when honestly used with time and level of exercise have matched what people got with their Fitbits, and which both matched their level of weight loss when eaten at a deficit.

Neither is going to have success without honest user input.

It's impossible to have any truly auto-system that is going to be 100% accurate, not without wearing a gas-mask tied to backpack analyzer, and even that's going to be thrown off after eating or when doing anaerobic exercise.

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Heybales · ‎12-02-2015

@greenandgroovy wrote:
Heybales - I know you are very helpful in this group and give some great advice- but the comment above might be mistakenly taken by some to mean exercise is not worth doing because you would have to go to extreme measures to get results. I agree with you that muscle cannot be built quickly but those who do not do the reserch might not realize that even if you are not building a lot of muscle you are still losing inches off your body which is what we all want. Exercise will do that. Some are just looking for an excuse to not exercise and would prefer to blame their often imagined slow metabolism - lol. I think you will enjoy this study. I encourage everyone to read it - the charts alone really tell the story.

Effects of the Amount of Exercise on Body Weight, Body Composition, and Measures of Central Obesity
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=216495

Not really sure which comment you are commenting on, since one above it merely is stating the fact you can't trade muscle for fat as fast as some think you can - you can always lose fat much faster than gaining muscle mass. You can also choose to go so slow (recomp) that you indeed balance it out. But if looking for weight loss that ain't the solution.

No, strength training doesn't have to be extreme measures unless there is some misconception about what strength training entails.

It is an interesting study, and shows that exercise on it's own, even the best group lost 2.9 kg over 8 months - that's 0.088 weekly, or 0.2 lbs weekly. Implying they created a deficit of 100 calories daily.

Purposely attempting that low a deficit would be interesting since food labels will be off by more than that.

That slow of weight loss would easily be hidden in water weight fluctuations if not under a research study.

But indeed - if someone can wrap their mind around body improvements being just as beneficial as weight loss (well, too much and the weight is a real health hazard, not matter how much you exercise) - slight deficit is great.

But really, if you aren't losing weight, but think you can lose inches of fat - then something is building up besides the muscle - and that's water weight. Which is fine. And cardio only exercise can do that up to a point.

But eventually, blood volume doesn't need to expand anymore, and muscle stored glucose with attached water won't increase anymore.

Those in the study started with no exercise too - so initially they were indeed resistance training and gaining some muscle mass, still not fast - but some, but even that stops eventually unless you push hard enough for the body to cause adaptations.

Encouraging study though.

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Raviv · ‎12-03-2015

@Liitleshadow wrote:

...on a daily basis i burn 2500 calories and eat 600 to 700 calories.. where 600 calories is what i eat and 600 - 700 calories is actualy from exercise, the rest of calories burn are from sleeping and stuff, thats what my fitbit says anyway.

Your body is barey functioning. It's telling you that, unless you eat more quality food, it will stop working correctly. As of right around August 2015, it decided you must be on an island in the middle of nowhere with nothing to eat, so it would safeguard your brain function and conserve your fat stores by shutting down any processes it didn't feel were absolutely necessary and maintaining your fat as a priority.

Unless you are a meter tall, then you need to eat more than 600-700 calories if you're burning four times that.

*******
FitBit One
"You should really wear a helmet."
5K 9/2015 - 36:59.57
*******

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Heybales · ‎12-03-2015

@Liitleshadow wrote:
I'm 1.59 cm so pretty short.

But that the thing I keep thinkng about. If i was in an island without anything to eat I would probably be super skinny because I had nothing to eat, at first my body would store everything, but then eventually it would need to use what I have (fat) to function, no?

I know this is a very bad example but in cast away, movie, with tom hanks, he gets super skinny..

Its just I know if I eat more than I am at the moment, tmrw I will gain 3 or even 4 kgs..

I'm going to assume you meant 1.59 m, which is 62.5 inches. So shorter, but not short.

As such you have totally trashed your body unless you are under strict eye of either a research study or a specialized weight loss Dr that is monitoring you weekly.

The Fitbit was designed to estimate a healthy full burning body calorie burn. Your's is not healthy now, and as such the Fitbit is not accurate. It's showing what your potential could be, sure - but not what your literal is right now.

Because if you are really eating that little, and perhaps because of bad accuracy it's a tad more - but whatever calories you are really eating at IS your maintenance right now - with that level of exercise and daily life.

You are not burning 4 x what you eat.

I hope that freaks you out - it should be scary as anything.

Because if you get sick or injured and can't workout - how little exactly do you imagine you'd have to eat in order to NOT gain fat weight.

You need to get your mind over the fact that fat is NOT fast, lost or gained.

If you gained that much really after eating just a little bit more, and overnight - it was water weight.

Body-desired-starving-for-water-weight, likely attached to glucose it's been starving for because of those workouts. Metabolism-raising-water-weight also.

Let me know if you are ready to get out of the insanity.

Because right now you have 2 directions to go.

Because the body can only slow down so much (your island scenario) - if you keep eating less and less you will eventually start losing weight. Fat and muscle.

Your workouts will be terrible, not nearly the body transformation they could be, your body will be prone to sickness and injury since not able to recovery well, and your workouts will become more mediocre than they are right now - whether you realize that or not.

If you are even able to reach goal weight - your maintenance will be terribly low. Terrible as in sustaining the weight loss. You'll be very prone to gaining fat easily, because it's running so slow. (same reason majority gain weight back and more after crash diet - which your are on).

Or.

Since you've already wasted this much time doing the same thing with no progress and results (what's the definition of insantity?) - spend some extra time getting a healthy body back.

Let your workouts start become something to transform the body, even as you gain needed water weight back.

Metabolism will increase, daily burn will increase, people will think you've lost weight because of inches being gone and becoming stronger.

Then take a reasonable deficit off what you burn - not starting at some low number that is based on who knows what.

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Yvetteb · ‎12-04-2015

This really scares me, you need to eat more. Food is not the enemy it is your energy/ fuel without proper nutrition you won't be able to function properly. This mind set looks like anorexia, I think you should read some scientific research on nutrition to get a better understanding. You will probably be less scared of food if you gain such an understanding.

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Heybales · ‎12-06-2015

You may not be aware of what is going to happen using that site and the normally good method of figuring out TDEE by means of actual weight changes.

She's already eating less than 800 calories. I'm not sure if you been reading the actual posts or not.

And not losing weight.

Therefore the calculations will say that she needs to eat less.

Except that is the whole reason why her body is in the state it's in.

While the method of looking at weight changes and estimating TDEE on that and eating levels can be somewhat good - they fall apart for weight gains that are related to water because of workouts, and really fall apart because of an unhealthy body that is not doing what the math would suggest - and following those calcs will just make it worse.

I'll sit by for the expirement to start and I'll be listening for what the first recommended eating level is based on the weight change seen.

Which I know she is going to gain water weight, no way around that, jumping her eating up to that suggested BMR level.

That will imply to non-thinking calculations that she is eating too much, and give a recommendation to eat lower.

My only hope is that during the time of eating more her body is willing to get healthy faster than the calculations are going to force her eating level right back down again.

I think in this case the calc's will lose.

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Moosebreath74 · ‎12-07-2015

Here are my thought: I was diagnosed as "obese with severe medical complications, along with diabetes that was totally out of controls". Being in my 50's, to me that sounded like a death sentance. I began reading all that I could find about health and diet. I wrote down info that I felt I could incorporate into my lifestyle, and some ideas where I needed to change my lifestyle. My weight starting out was 308 pounds. First thing I got rid of was soda, and replaced it with water flavored with sugar free, low calorie drink mix packets. I tried to eat more vegetables and less processed meals like pizza. Snacks were fruit, cottage cheese with peaches, yogurt, and a glass of milk mixed with whey protein powder. Exercise. Exercise. Exercise. Walk every morning, or at least once a day to start off with. My waist size at this time was 42-44, and I bought a pair of jeans that were size 36 waist. Every week I would try those jeans on. So....putting exercise along with diet and knowledge, along with some vitamins, after 6-7 months, I am happy to report, I am down to 205 pounds with a 35 inch waist. My medicine for diabetes went from 90 units of insulin twice a day, along with blue Flex insulin pen 3 times a day, and 2 different pills, and now I take No Insulin shots, and only 1 pill of Invokana to control my diabetes. I always need to watch what I eat, and how much I eat, but I continue to get healthy. Now I lose maybe a pound or 2 during the week, and I am ok with that. Someone called me "slender " the other day, a word I have not heard in a long time. Stay positive and never tell your body you can't do this and that. Change your feelings about yourself, and think, "I Can do this, and I Will do this!" Always strive to be healthy and happy will follow-JPF

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HelenaFitbit · ‎05-18-2015

Welcome to the Fitbit Family @Liitleshadow!

Don't feel down, we all hit a wall at some point in our journey. Have you tried logging your meals and weighing in your portions? As @LocoMutant says "You can't outrun your fork".

Also, there is a chance that your Calorie Deficit is too high for the weight loss goal you wish to achieve, I believe member @Heybales may provide some additional information on this.

Stay strong, we can do this!

Helena A. | Community Moderator, Fitbit

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LocoMutant · ‎05-18-2015

@HelenaFitbitlol thanks for the shoutout 🙂

@Liitleshadow logging your calories correctly is vital. Do you have a food scale? Are you eating processed foods, or healthier foods? I would suggest using myfitnesspal to log your food and sync it to fitbit, and log every calorie you eat. A lot of times it's the type of foods we eat that's hampering weightloss. Good luck losing weight it's not a marathon, but a sprint.

Fitbit One + MyFitnessPal = - 100lbs
::You can't outrun your fork ::

Shortsbysummer · ‎05-18-2015

Exercise can also build muscle, which weighs more than fat and will make it seem like you aren't losing weight on a scale. That is why it is good to track measurements and body fat percentage if you have a way to do that. My $50 Weight Watchers' scale can track my body fat and I know that for me, seeing that go down when the weight is not changing makes me feel better. 5-cm off your belly is great. The weight did not come on overnight, it will take time to come off. This journey is a marathon not a sprint and a 0.5-1 lb loss per week is a victory! Like others have said, check your nutrition, weight your food on a food scale to be really precise and make sure you are eating enough.

SunsetRunner · ‎05-18-2015

Chin up friend!! Just need some tweaks to get moving again.

So, to help, I'd need more info.

First (yeah, I'm a foodie!!)...when you say you're 'only eating healthy stuff'....what exactly does that mean? In a typical day, or over the past few days, what specifically have you eaten? If this part is wrong, you can be working your butt off with exercise, but torpedoing yourself with 'healthy' foods that go right to all the bad places regardless of your calorie deficit. Contrary to what many ascribe to, all calories are NOT equal.

I say that because of all the marketing crap that is out there for pre-made frozen 'meals' (pick your fav weight loss brand) can make you think you're eating healthy, and if you only consider the macros (calories, fat, grms of this and that) it may all look okay...but highly processed, highly refined foods should NEVER be considered 'healthy'. Frozen, premade anything is a 'short cut' and with nutrition, the only real short cuts are going with whole foods, from the earth, fresh prepped by me and you. Ditch the preservatives, the often very well hidden added sugars, chemicals, GMOs....IMO, unless they're adveristing sales on fresh veg/fruit on tv, most of what they advertise is all marketing hype. (off my soap box now).

Second, as one of the other posters commented, the types of exercise you are doing matters as well. The scale might be reading the same more or less from this week to next as you drop off body fat and build up more muscle, the actual number doesn't give the whole story. How you look in the mirror, how your clothes fit, those are better metrics for noticing progress.

You can do this!!!! 🙂

Let us help!

Trooper · ‎05-18-2015

It might be that your body is not letting you drop the weight because it needs the calories for exercise and to funtion on a daily basis. Basically,- " You got a big tank of gas that you can use, but you only put a quarter of gas in and you expect to drive that motor over 25 miles on that quarter of gas" Try a slight increase in your calorie numbers or a some decrease in your excercise. That will get you moving. I stopped losing weight for 2 weeks or more a few months ago because of plateaus as well, that might also be the reason.

MareWalks · ‎05-18-2015

Littleshadow.... I know how you feel. It is very discouraging to feel like you are exercising and eating well and the weight just not drop off like you want or expect it to. I am turning 50 in a few months and am 100 pounds overweight. My husband had a heart attack this fall and has type 2 diabetes. I realized that if I didn't get healthy then we were putting our young children at great risk of not haviing parents around for them.

I have lost over 30 pounds since October. I loose a few pounds and then plateau for a week or two and then loose a few more. I was VERY discouraged at first and would sometimes sabataoge my initital small successes with eating binges because I just knew that it all must be my fault.

I have come to terms with the fact that this weight was gained over a thirty year time span and for it to come off in a healthy way...it will take more time than I would like. I have noticed on those plateu weeks that if I really look at by body in the mirror, I notice small changes in my body shape and my clothes are definately feeling less tight and I have gone down two sizes in the past 7-8 months.

Please just be KIND and PATIENT with yourself. You sound like a very determined and lovely lady. The other people who posted asked some really good questions that might help you . Hang in there and keep posting. The support really helps I have found. Take good care....MareWalks

littlelisar · ‎05-18-2015

Littleshadow,

I know the feeling. For the last few months, I have been watching what I eat, walking and exercising on a regular basis, and monitoring my calories accurately. I have gained about 7-10 pounds and feeling extremely exhausted and defeated daily. I just had my thyroid checked since I have hypothyroidism. Well, good thing. I am way off and not getting enough of my thyroid medication. Today, my dosage has been adjusted and I hope over the next 6 weeks I can start feeling better. Hang in there. It will one day pay off. Keep up the good work and do not quit trying.

Lisa (livinggoodnow1014

Lisa Reiff

Liitleshadow · ‎05-18-2015

Thank you so much for your help!

I should have been more clearer... I have been using myfitnesspal since I started 1 year ago, and I go weight all my food before I eat it..

Normally I have yogurt for breakfast, or oats, or a slice of bread with turkey ham
For lunch I always have 50g of brown rice with either turkey, chicken, salmon, lettuce, etc
For dinner, or soup or just yogurt or justprotein (chicken, turkey,etc) with a piece of fruit.
I log everything on myfitnesspal and I aphave been using fitbit app for the last month and a half.
This is why I am getting desperate, because I think, I have been doing everything right.. The food. The weight of the food, the exercise... Everything. I normally do 8 to 10km a day and within this distance I run for 25 mints everyday...,

So for this, but I reLly do need some help.

Heybales · ‎05-18-2015

@Liitleshadow wrote:
Hey everyone,

I am feeling a little down today.
I've had fitbit charge hr for the past month. Nonetheless, I have been trying to lose weight for the past 1 and a half. I started with 86kg and I am now at 74.3 kg. Its been 1 month amd a half that I have reached my goal (running for 25) and No change has come to my body. I have lost 5 cm on my belly, but my weight has not changed for the past month. I eat only healthy stuff and have been doing a deficit of 1000 calories with the hope of losing 2kg per week (fitbit app deficit goal)

Can anyone help me please? I dont know whats wrong...

1000 cal deficit would be 2 lbs weekly, not 2 kg, actually. That would be only 0.9 kg weekly.

Not enough stats to know if that is a reasonable loss goal for you still though. May have been at the start.

Could be very unreasonable now, and a stressed body from undereating not only slows down, but also retains water because of elevated cortisol.

Another aspect of retained water is with more running now, body is storing more glucose in the muscles, and that stores with water.

Sadly, with just running, you aren't adding muscle that is offsetting the fat loss so the scale says 0 loss. That's a phrase people like to throw out to sound encouraging, but it's a whole lot harder to gain muscle than people must think, and walking and now running ain't going to do that for you. Actually, cardio only and extreme deficit is great way to lose some muscle mass, which is actually easy to do.

Do you still have over 27.2 kg to lose to healthy weight for that 1000 cal deficit to be reasonable?

Or should you be eating more by taking a smaller deficit?

Round figures would be 250 calorie deficit for each 6.8 kg you have to lose.

When you last lost weight, how much over what time span?

I'm going to bet your daily burn has been slowly crashing in to the ground, meaning you don't really have the deficit you think you do anymore. You need to get your healthy body back probably so it's burning high.

Then take a reasonable deficit to maintain a loss until you reach goal weight.

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Liitleshadow · ‎05-18-2015

Hey!

Thanks for the reply.
I know I still have over 20kg to lose to be "healthy" but I do t know what else to do..

To be ore accurate, I walk every day at 5am (4 to 5km), then I have breakfast (either yogurt with an apple, or a slice of bread with a slice of turkey ham and a cup of milk, or oats with milk) , then around 10/11 I have a slice of pineapple or some strawberries, then I have lunch (always 50g of rice with either broccoli and a lean meat or fish) then around 5 I have a snack and then go for a run for 25 mints (3-4km) plus 4km walking (3 time a week I go for a swim as well after running and walking (25metre pool and I do 14-15 laps). Then I have dinner either yogurt again or just protein (lean meat).
This is what I do normally. There are days that I feel stronger and also do after my workout squats and lunges.. I have been avoiding doing sit ups cause there are people that say you shouldnt until you have loss a lot of belly fat and other say you should, so I do them 1 a week.

I measure my body every 2 weeks in the afternoon after my workout, and I weight myself every 2 weeks in the same day I take the measurements but in the morning before I eat. The last time I measure and weight myself was 2 weeks ago: 74.5kg (2 weeks ago) and 74.3 (yesterday).
I have however, in the last 3 months been betweem 77 and 76 kg.. Only 4 weeks ago did I lose 2 kg but for the past 2 I have weighted the same...

Thank you for your help again, and I hope you can give me more tips and what to do and what exercices I shou ld be doing instead...

Btw, my height is 1.60cm.
Thanks!

josephz2va · ‎05-19-2015

You may not be consuming the correct kind of calories. There's three aspects to weight loss. A good diet, cardio and weights, and a personal training system.

For diets, there's two ways you can do it. You can follow Nutrition 101: Eat To Build Lean Muscle or a program that's on many workout purchases that contains a food diary of what foods to consume at intervals. Another choice is a dietitian program that works for you. For me, it's Jenny Craig, buying limited groceries (apples, green beans, milk, butter) and staying away from every single purchase beyond that. Beyond that, McDonalds Subway DD etc you're throwing away money not losing weight. $100 breakfast $100 lunch $100 dinner plus your diet equals no weight loss. I lose between 1 and 4 pounds per day concentrating on no extras because I'm mostly sedentary and know my limits. 1200-1500 calories even if Fitbit says I burn 4,000 cals and I have a mega deficit.

For cardio and weights, it's best to have a system in place to do everyday. You can obtain a workout calendar online. Most calendars work on bodybuilding.com. It's important to have a combo system in place. 2-3 days cardio 2-3 days weights. Or you won't shred fat and tone up.

For personal training system, there's many systems out there. There's an annual subscription from Fitstar. There's Jillian Michaels. I use Insanity Max 30 for night personal training. Modifier for 3 days cardio, 2 days body weights, 1 day recovery.

Lastly it's important to keep yourself motivated to keep following your system. Many give up. "It's too hard. I don't have the time." If you push yourself, you'll see progress but know your limits and set recovery time when possible. But get back up on the system when you're recovered. You can also do 1 day recovery as many times as needed to rebalance your body and mind. But the more you progress, the more you win the gold star of a successful weight loss and tone up.

SunsetRunner · ‎05-19-2015

Hmm....sounds like you're eating way to little food. Effectively you can have pretty much as much fruit and veg as you like. Carb level a little low too. The rest works itself out. Frequency is good, every 2-3 hours. But should be meal....snack...lunch...snack...dinner.....(snack optional).

Agree with Haybales....less is not always 'more'...can have opposite effect.

HelenaFitbit · ‎05-19-2015

I agree with @SunsetRunner and @Heybales on this. Eating too few can also impact on your weight loss.

Helena A. | Community Moderator, Fitbit

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CandGsMom · ‎05-19-2015

I'm not an expert. Just another FB user trying to gain control over my weight.

It is important to not let yourself get down. Everyone struggles.

The fact that you lost inches means your body is reacting. You're losing fat and quite possibly converting some to muscle.

Try doing something to quieten that inner voice. Meditation, yoga, take a tai chi class, knit a sweater; whatever you can find to focus your attention away for awhile,

Keep up the good work.

Heybales · ‎05-20-2015

@Liitleshadow wrote:
Hey!

Thanks for the reply.
I know I still have over 20kg to lose to be "healthy" but I do t know what else to do..

To be ore accurate, I walk every day at 5am (4 to 5km), then I have breakfast (either yogurt with an apple, or a slice of bread with a slice of turkey ham and a cup of milk, or oats with milk) , then around 10/11 I have a slice of pineapple or some strawberries, then I have lunch (always 50g of rice with either broccoli and a lean meat or fish) then around 5 I have a snack and then go for a run for 25 mints (3-4km) plus 4km walking (3 time a week I go for a swim as well after running and walking (25metre pool and I do 14-15 laps). Then I have dinner either yogurt again or just protein (lean meat).
This is what I do normally. There are days that I feel stronger and also do after my workout squats and lunges.. I have been avoiding doing sit ups cause there are people that say you shouldnt until you have loss a lot of belly fat and other say you should, so I do them 1 a week.

I measure my body every 2 weeks in the afternoon after my workout, and I weight myself every 2 weeks in the same day I take the measurements but in the morning before I eat. The last time I measure and weight myself was 2 weeks ago: 74.5kg (2 weeks ago) and 74.3 (yesterday).
I have however, in the last 3 months been betweem 77 and 76 kg.. Only 4 weeks ago did I lose 2 kg but for the past 2 I have weighted the same...

Thank you for your help again, and I hope you can give me more tips and what to do and what exercices I shou ld be doing instead...

Btw, my height is 1.60cm.
Thanks!

So with 20 kg to go, 750 cal deficit would be more reasonable right now - allowing you to eat more, which will make it happy and hopefully work with you not against you.

At 14 kg, 500 cal deficit would be more reasonable.

At 6.8 kg left, 250 would be reasonable.

This is based on an otherwise healthy body and decent sleep and daily stress levels being low. Raise the cutoff points if none of that is true and body is under bad stress already.

Is there a reason why you are spiking your insulin at 10/11 am before lunch with that sugar, and turning off the fat release for energy use?

What is your average daily eating goal in calories, and of that, how many grams of protein and fat?

So good workouts that could be very accurate calorie burns by the Fitbit.

But you do manually log those swims, right?

Have you even confirmed the distance the Fitbit says matches a more accurate measuring method?

Because ultimately, your daily activity is mainy by steps and distance to calculate calorie burn.

Oh - do planks front and sides, better ab/core exercise anyway, and doable even now.

To minimize known expected water weight fluctuations, try to have a valid weigh-in day. Which would be the best measurement day too.

Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

And as a woman, your basic metabolism (BMR) changes throughout the month too, so you can't really discern anything in 2 weeks, you need minimum 4 weeks.

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Heybales · ‎05-21-2015

@healthsidekick wrote:
Losing weight is not a guessing game.. it is very simple. Stay below your HSK Prime # and lose weight. The HSK Prime # anaylizes all you do and gives you an accurate weight loss #.

I would suggest that when the info page for HSK Prime starts out by saying you need to eat less than your BMR to lose weight - there is a huge misconception of what BMR means and the other advice should be viewed very skeptically.

To suggest that you maintain weight eating at BMR, which is sleeping deeply level of calorie burn, and to lose weight you must eat less, is very scary on the understanding scale.

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healthsidekick · ‎05-21-2015

Where does it state to eat less than your BMR? HSK Prime # is a proprietary algorithm and does not claim to be your BMR. It is where you don't lose or gain any weight based on the foods and activity you log and the lifestyle you live. Not your Basil Metabolic Rate. FYI the Harris Benendict or Mifflin (most comonly used by sites like fitbit, nothing proprieatary) are off an average of 17% As a matter of fact if you read the orignal Study it states it should only be use as a basis of generalization. For me my allowable calories if I were to use a fitbit are off 400 calories a day. The only way a user can figure out their basil metabolic rate is under strict conditions. Not plugging the data into a static equation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1091498/

(2) As we have repeatedly emphasized in the foregoing pages, every
individual metabolism measm-ement considered as a basis for generalization
concerning the peculiarities of the individual upon which it is
based {e.g. physical characteristics, pathological state, etc.) has a large
probable error. Thus one can not compare the metabolism of a single
individual of any specified ty-pe with the standard constant and use
it as a basis of generalization. It is only when a series of individuals
of the specified type are considered that generalizations may be drawn.

SunsetRunner · ‎05-21-2015

wow.....learning! nice share.

happy to be in the camp of not counting calories at all. eating clean, natural foods; watching the mirror and the scale. Losing weight or gaining softness in the wrong places calls for a tweak in either the amounts or types of foods I'm eating. Learning foods and nutrients and understanding that all calories are NOT equal.

1200 calorie, low nutrient density meal at McDonalds or pre-packaged frozen diet meal (pick your brand, healthy choice, weight watchers, lean cuisine, etc.) is not the same as 1200 calorie feast of qunioa, spinach, peppers, lean meat (if you must). Highly bio-available and nutritionally satisfying food, with proper caloric and fat content more than satifies and will keep you from feeling hungry 30 minutes later because your body is still lacking nutrition. Not a 'diet'-- it's relearning and unlearning all the mis-information that is out there.

To me (and I could be wrong -- learning every day) focusing on a negative calorie intake to reach your target weight sounds unsustainable. Seems to me that unless you learn what to eat and how to eat, once you go back to a maintainence level calorie plan you'll be likely to just pack it on again. Calorie focus sounds unsustainable. Learning what to eat, when, and how to balance that with your activity levels for today and tomorrow is where it's at.....

(back to regular programming now).

SunsetRunner · ‎05-21-2015

thanks! like I said...always learning!!!

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