Cant lose weight, this is getting frustrating :/

[mynameisanika]

Hi everyone. 

Ive had my fitbit for 2 months now. Ive been logging my calories religiously. Im at a 700 calorie deficit, trying to lose my last 10 pounds of baby weight (My son is almost 2 ). 

I am logging my calories religiously (Connected through myfitnesspal), Walking between 10k and 12k daily, tried to switch up my workouts with weight training etc. I read that I might be eating too less, but ive found that when I eat more than my 700 calorie deficit I gain weight. I feel like I keep going back and worth with the same 4 lbs. Does anyone have anymore suggestions? Thanks! Love being apart of the fitbit community 🙂 

[SunsetRunner]

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@mynameisanika wrote:

Hi everyone. 

Ive had my fitbit for 2 months now. Ive been logging my calories religiously. Im at a 700 calorie deficit, trying to lose my last 10 pounds of baby weight (My son is almost 2 ). 

I am logging my calories religiously (Connected through myfitnesspal), Walking between 10k and 12k daily, tried to switch up my workouts with weight training etc. I read that I might be eating too less, but ive found that when I eat more than my 700 calorie deficit I gain weight. I feel like I keep going back and worth with the same 4 lbs. Does anyone have anymore suggestions? Thanks! Love being apart of the fitbit community 🙂 

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While it's important to think about how much you're eating, it is even more important to be aware of what you're eating. What does your diet consist of? Do you drink soda? Do you at lots of processed foods? The quality of the foods you're eating will effect whether or not you lose weight. 

Other things to think about include your water intake, sleep, and stress. 

[SynthiaJaymes]

Track your percentages of carbs/fats/proteins use 2:1 ratio for the first 2 weeks then a 3:1 ratio for the next two. This means for two days do low carb 20% / high fat 30-35% /protein 45-50% manage your ratios through the dashboard and aim to do the majority of your carbs before and after a workout. For every two days of this do one high carb day (preferably on a day you are doing heavy weight training or a strenuous workout of over 90 min) so carb 45-50%/ protein 30-35% / fat 20%. Continue this for a few weeks then do 3 days of low carb followed by 1 day of high carb for those last 5 pounds. This is the optimal ratio to limit loss of lean muscle mass while mazimizing fat loss. The high carb days are to restore your glycogen levels and store fuel for your low carb days, it also helps you from going crazy lol I would also create a 500 deficet rather than 700 because your body will be using more energy breaking down proteins. Also the goal is to boost the metabolism with weight training which you will need that extra energy for. Still try to do cardio 5-6 days a week upwards of 30-45 min. Swimming and kickboxing are great cardio/sculpting combos to get into as well. Hope this helps let me know if you have any questions!

Synthia

[glouris]

With walking alone (or any steady state cardio) you're going to have trouble losing the last few pounds. If you had to focus one just one thing to change, I would say be less obsessed with the amount of steps and do a full body resistance based workout 3x a week, preferably HIIT if you you're in good enough condition or have enough experience with some basic movements. If you're not doing any, just body weight exercises should be more than sufficient. Steady state cardio is perhaps the worst way to try and lose fat, especially the last few tough pounds. As another poster said, you also have to modify your macronutrients to maximize muscle gain and fat loss. 

[SunsetRunner]

Are you forcing yourself to eat, when it's time to eat but not being hungry? Eating even if food doesn't look appealing to eat?

Don't use the food plan as excuse to eat, try tuning into your bodies wisdom when it's sending signals it needs nourishment (nutritients), when it's hungry.. which food looks most appealing in the moment, in which quantity,.. basing portions on hunger.

When the food plan says 'you haven't been eating all day yet, or just a little bit..' you can have 1xxx calories more, it's no excuse to eat when your body says 'no we're fine, not hungry yet'. The hunger will come, our bodies let us know by sending appetite, hunger signals, and when having enough (not wanting more vegetables at dinner for example, but a little bit more meat, or anything else, or telling 'we're satisfied', even when there's still food left on the plate..

It's not all about calories, these do count, but nutrients matter more. (which food our bodies need in the moment).. and how much..

Our bodies also seek balance, if over time, the amount of food / nutritients.. is lower or a bit higher.. it can increase / decrease metabolism, using all the energy it gets more efficient and surviving on less calories overall than it actually needs.. (adapting to the total average calories / nutritients it senses to get daily over time).

Allow to have anything you like when being hungry, aim to eat nutritient rich foods 90% and anything else 10%, in moderation, listen to your body what it desires to have in the moment, how you feel before eating (satisfied, but still feeling something's missing, not really hungry but.. after eating a certain food, feeling even more satisfied, yet not stuffed). Notice how your body feels before / during / after eating.. and trust your choices & gaining trust with your amazing body.

When eating nutritient rich foods, our bodies more and more desire to have those foods, and when wanting to eat a prepackaged factory made food, even when it tasted great before, it can taste bad, 'cause our bodies prefer the 'healthier' foods, provided by nature, not factory mode. Which contain less calories overall, while containing plenty of nutritients our bodies need.

It's alright to have 'non healthy' (less nutrient rich food) once in a while when wanting, 'cause when ignoring a craving, it can lead to eventually eating more of it when getting the chance.. (when wanting a piece of cake for example, allow to have and enjoy, even when not being truly hungry, recognize when eating when not really hungry and try eating again when being / getting hungry.

There can also be trigger foods, especially 'junk foods',

Be aware about those,

For example:

Only wanting to have a piece of chocolat (just for the taste), however the specific food (even when knowing only having some for the taste, it leads to eating other food, and even more food.. can be due the taste, can be due the food can have been eaten in the past with other foods, and the combination can be satisfying, but not hungry at all and due eating that one specific food, eating lots more..

When food doesn't taste as good anymore, it can be due our bodies having enough ('specially when feeling satisfied). Try do something else, and when being really hungry, it's possible to have more.

Aim to feel satisfied, not stuffed in tune with your amazing bodies signals.

It will take care of you, when trying honoring it to (with not eating out of boredom, loneliness, eat just to eat, by eating something not wanting to eat and really wanting something else instead..).

Your body can prefer a salad,.. someone else in the family can desire to eat nothing at all in the moment (at dinner) 'cause of not being hungry yet, someone else may prefer french fries, maybe even pizza.. everyone is unique, and not forcing your amazing body to have pizza for example, while it's screaming for a salad, 'cause of not being that hungry, being perfectly satisfied with something else.

With a food plan, it's possible to see habits, change where necessary / wanted.

The plan doesn't know about our bodies wisdom (food choices, hunger / satisfied feeling) and where our bodies are being reverting to (their natural weight range where it's most happy at) depending on eating to nourish, stop when satisfied, when feeling something's 'missing', which nutritient our body wants a bit more from..).. being satisfied with food left on the plate, or still being hungry, being guided by our body to have a bit more (this freedom is restricted when weighing / measuring food), (can only have x grams of meat, but my body does want a little bit more, or a bit more vegetables or one more egg..)..

The plan also can tell 'you can have 50 calories more', ok that be a bit more candy since if choosing a piece of fruit (a banana), it'll be over the calorie allowance, while actually the banana makes feeling satisfied for longer, contains more nutritients, feeling more satisfied until being hungry (next day), the plan can 'prevent' choosing a healthier food our body truly wants in the moment (but having the candy instead)..

If not being hungry but allowed to have hundreds calories more, honor your body not eating more since it doesn't need more at all (can lead to overeating even when in 'deficit').

The plan is a guide, try listening to your body instead and see how it goes.

Don't use exercise as excuse to eat more either, try waiting for your body to catch up and says 'hey you, can I have some of this and that food' 'cause I need nourishment now..' and hungry..

It's possible getting hungry and not being able to eat yet (for maybe even a  few hours), this is okay, try keeping doing something else and nourish your body at the next opportunity to eat. It can also be dehydration, when feeling having dry lips / being thirsty, drink something first to ensure it's actually hunger).

See it has you don't have food access yet when being hungry, needing to go on 'a hunt' and when having food available, your amazing body can be nourished.

Keep believing, never give up (embrace food, we need to eat when our bodies need nourishment (being hungry) for survival, it's energy, our bodies are amazing and using the energy from food to survive, use body fat as energy when all energy from food eaten has been used). Our bodies take care of us constantly.

When needing food, ignoring hunger for to long (feeling starved), we'll be send into a primal drive to go out and seek for food (eating anything in sight)..

When feeling tired, our bodies send us to rest (recovering when sleeping)..

Giving a signal when needing to getting rid of food remnants.. (needing to go to the toilet)..

Our bodies do so much for us.. it's amazing!

Have fun

PS: Don't regret any food choices, when feeling satisfied afterwards (not stuffed), don't question your body / feel bad about or having regrets later on. Your unique body knows what it's doing, know's what's the best.

[Heybales]

How much more than a 700 cal deficit do you eat and how fast is the weight gain?

Because fat is not fast - loss or gain.

And ya, with only 10 lbs to go - 250 cal deficit is reasonable now - not 700 by a long shot.

The problem now is, whatever eating level you are truly at (inaccurate food logging included) - that is your average daily burn.

So your Fitbit is estimating calorie burn for the average healthy body - yours isn't anymore.

So it's inflated calorie burn.

So 2 directions to go here.

Studies have shown the body can only suppress daily burn by upwards of 20%, keep eating less and less or moving more and more and eventually you will start losing again slowly.

Workouts will suck, and improvements from them not very likely. Why would a body that is purposefully slowing you down from undereating expend more energy making improvements that require yet even more energy to maintain them? It doesn't.

Will you adhere to that ugly low eating calorie level - and if you reach goal weight, will you keep it equally low but a tad higher just to maintain?

What happens if sick or injured or vacation and you can't keep up the exercise level currently at? You'll have to eat even less to not gain fat back easily.

or.....

Get a healthy body back, and then take a reasonable deficit, and be done with it probably faster than the above will end up taking when you include the 2 months.

With better workouts you'll see more body transform, and may realize the last 4 don't even matter.

How many people really see you naked on the bathroom scale and see the number?

Surely you don't wear a sign with the current and goal weight on it around your neck - people see you.

Let me know if you want the body to recover - it's not hard, but it does take time. Some patience and time. Precious time. To do it right. Just have to set your mind to it.

At least not the money part.

https://youtu.be/XZGYYDvZnpg