Caloric Deficit, Exercise, and still struggling......looking for suggestions???

[sherry130]

 I got my Fitbit Alta HR on March 2nd.......Over a period of time I lost 130 plbs......I have Fibromyalgia and between how bad it was affecting me and my being considerably obese found it necessary to do so... I used to work out at the gym two and a half hours a day 6 days a week for 2 yrs then I injured myself and was out of being able to do so for 8 weeks then had an emergency hysterectomy that put me out of being abble to work out for another 12 weeks...... I had to go through 16 seesions of physical therapy to even be able to walk on my treadmill again... Now I complete a minimum of 60-120 minutes of cardio and fat burn a day and reduce my caloric intake by a MINIMUM of 1,000 calories a day and am very strict about logging EVERYTHING I eat and sticking to healthy options as well as my macros.....Yet in the time since Ive had my Fitbit have only lost 4.6 plbs.. I even had a 5,800 calorie deficit in the past 4 days and still NOTHING!!!!! During time I was "out of it" for several months I gained back 30 pounds that I seriously need to lose again!!! According to my resting BPM as well as my VO2 score I am considered fit even though still over-weight.......PLEASE HELP....I NEED to lose this weight again!!!! 

[GershonSurge]

@sherry130,

Head on over to www.drmcdougall.com and do some exploring.

He, and any others, recommend a whole food plant based diet. It really is the healthiest diet in the world. At least none has been shown to be even in the same league.

It will definitely steadily cure your obesity without having to control your intake by calorie restriction. Eat to satisfaction when hungry.

It has a pretty good record of curing fibromyalgia, too. You will need to stay active. I know it hurts when you exercise, so you don't exercise. Check out their forum for some help on that. I can't speak from experience, so I won't.

By the way, this is the only way of eating that has been proven in peer reviewed studies to prevent, arrest and cure heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other. I do speak from experience on that as it cured my cancer in four months.

Good luck on your journey.

[sherry130]

Actually GershonSurge I DO exercise on a daily basis due to my P.T. as well as years of doing so, yes it hurts but I push through it with help from my medications of course lol..... But I WILL check that info out....thank you very much!!!

[Lollia]

I think Dr. McDougall's diet isn't necessarily unhealthy, but being vegan isn't for everyone, nor is such a starchy diet.

@sherry130: How carefully do you track your eating? I know from personal experience that if I'm not weighing my food, I am terrible at estimating how much I am eating! 

[sherry130]

I track and weigh EVERYTHING.......or measure, whatever the case may be.... I'm not only strict with my macros, but make healthy choices only and avoid any kind of "junk food" or anything high in added sugar or sodium.....

[sherry130]

I actually LOVE my fitbit my boyfriend bought me and since I dont work I take full advantage of all the features on it and track everythingas well as create whatever isnt listed in the log from either the bar code scanner or the MyFitnessPal info on foods........so I'm very precise...

[Lollia]

About how many calories a day are you eating?

[sherry130]

anywhere from 700-1200 with a 1,000 calorie deficit goal set (most times I'm several hundred below that though. Like today, just got done burning 1,080 calories on my treadmill ut will NOT take advantage of that in the kitchen lol

[Lollia]

Have you tried eating MORE? You may be eating way too little for your activity level.

[sherry130]

Just seems so weird that eating more could increase weight loss ( even though yes I've heard about the whole starvation mode thing but my metabolism is always running so high.....Plus I do eat til I'm full..Grrrrr it's frustrating

[Lollia]

I would just give it a try. And if you're still not losing, I would talk to your doctor to rule out any metabolic issues.

One more thing -- is your body composition changing? The way your clothes
fit?

[sherry130]

Yes and I have considered the muscle mass increasing since the muscles in my legs are REALLY starting to build as well as my obliques even through all the extra "flab" after over a 100 plb weight reduction I can see this...... My dr has even put in a referral to the cosmetic surgery dept for a "skin removal" surgery I have agreed to undergo

[Lollia · Accepted solution]

Then you might consider it's just your body composition changing more from fat to muscle, rather than the fact that you're not losing weight. Of course, the only way to do that is to monitor body fat percentage (and the at-home scales aren't terribly accurate).

I can tell you that I'm the same weight I was 10 years ago, but I look WAY different (and better!) now than I did then. 

[sherry130]

Thank you and congrats on your accheivements!!!!! Keep up the good work 

[SunsetRunner]

I can’t say I have even the slightest understanding of what Fibromyalgia is, let alone any pain you deal with because of it. However, you may want to try HIIT cardio instead of steady state cardio. Less than 15 minutes of HIIT cardio can burn more calories throughout the day long after the workout as 30 minutes of steady state cardio during the workout. Not only can it burn more calories, it can also spare muscle and increase muscle mass. While exercise can increase metabolic rate, it can’t prevent the metabolic rate from dropping due to sudden restricted calorie intake and in your case, a massive calorie deficit. This is why it’s better to gradually decrease calories over a longer period of time so your body doesn’t go into “starvation mode” where it’s trying to conserve energy. Depending on how long you have been dieting like this, you may want to consider reverse dieting. Unless there is a medical reason to restrict calories to that degree, restricting calories that much can have the opposite effect and frankly, unnecessary. Adjusting your macros can have a huge effect on fat loss if done right without having to go into a caloric deficit.

[sherry130]

@SunsetRunner Iwill look into further information regarding that for sure....thanks for the input!

[Daves_Not_Here]

Hi @sherry130 - sounds pretty frustrating (by the way, I'm in awe of your having lost 130 pounds).

Some ideas that you probably already know:

• A 5,800 calorie deficit would theoretically result in a 1.7 pound loss (at 3,500 calories per pound lost), but that would be masked by your natural water weight fluctuations which swing your weight within a 4 pound window.
• "Exercise induced inflammation" will increase your water weight.  Lots of articles available via googling.
• 4.6 pounds lost in 21 days ain't shabby, particularly if your water weight is increasing.  I think it's too early to assume you are stalled.

Good luck!

[Dominique]

When did the 130 lbs drop take place, and over which period of time? Fitbit uses a standard equation (based on your age, sex, height and current weight) to estimate your BMR and – consequently – your total energy expenditure. Problem is, because of your weight loss history, your BMR may be quite lower than what the standard equation predicts. This is because of metabolic adaptation (or adaptive thermogenesis, to use a more sciency term), which was discussed in this recent topic, and also reported by @SunsetRunner in this other recent topic. The more recent your big weight loss was, and the shorter the time it took, the higher the impact on your metabolism is. Rather than going for a big weight loss right now, you may want to focus on maintaining your current weight (which, even after the rebound, is still significantly lower than your starting weight) for a while, so as to rebuild your metabolism, establish a new "settling point" and be in a better position for your next attempt at losing further weight. Check Losing All Your Weight At Once for the rationale of this approach.