Gaining weight, not losing weight after 2 weeks of working out/tracking

[Annikaleia]

I've been at this for about two weeks, and it seems like I am gaining weight, rather than losing it. Before you ask let me answer the questions that are going to be asked:

1.  I'm vegitarian

2. I work a desk job-but allows me to adjust the height of my desk, so I stand for at least half of the day for movement.  I get up every half hour to check our fax machine, and I take that time to walk around the office floor before going back to my desk

3. I drink plenty of water.  (And I HATE drinking water ) I drink 48 ounces a day

4. I'm 5-5 138 lbs.  I'd like to get to 120-125.  I'm in my mid 30's. 

5. I work out 5 times a day using both cardio and strength workouts

6. I do work out for about 35-40 minutes a day, with a 15-20 minute walk at lunch

7. I track my food using the My Fitness Pal app in conjunction with my FitBit Charge

So..what gives?  Do I increase my cardio?  I'm getting really frustrated.  Any tips would be great and appreciated.  Thank you!

[Heybales]

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@alaska1204 wrote:

Same boat. I am just shy of 5'8 and weigh 156.9 pounds.  Fitbit says I have a daily deficit of over 1000 every single day (I eat around 1300-1400 calories a day and usually burn 2400-2500 calories per day). I eat plant based foods only and also monitor my fat to protein to carb ratio. I usually do 30-50 percent from protein, 10-40 percent from carbs, and the 10-40 percent healthy fats. My carbs come from beans and quinoa and vegetables etc. I work out for 30 minutes to an hour a day (walking, p90x3, pilates, kickboxing, etc.). I just recently cut out whey and plain greek yogurt along with artificial sweeteners in hopes that maybe this will help me start losing. I am also increasing my water intake. I am at a loss as to whatever else I can do. If it is simply calories in vs. calories out I would have been losing 2 pounds per week (and I have been tracking everything that I eat). Any ideas?

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What is now an extreme deficit for the amount you have left to lose has probably changed the equation on you.

Meaning your Fitbit estimate of daily burn for average healthy body of your gender, age, weight, height - no longer applies to your body, and it's inflated amount.

Unless your food logging is just terrible awful and you are actually eating 1000 more daily than you think?

Is your food logging that inaccurate?

If not, do you manually log most of your exercise, and if so, where does the calorie burn estimate come from?

You could be manually logging much bigger calorie burns than reality, so eating less than you burn is actually an inflated amount for reality. The P90X and kick boxing by HR estimate is likely inflated.

Or perhaps you don't manually log exercise when you should, and you burn much more than you think, creating an even bigger potential deficit which body just sees as stress and causes it to slow down even more. The P90X and kick boxing by steps estimate is likely under-estimated badly.

I know 2 lbs weekly is not really in the reasonable range for you anymore.

How many lbs until healthy weight for you?

You really should have lost something in 1 month too - you really don't want the kind of adapting your body is going to do to compensate for eating almost 50% less than it burns and doing intense workouts.

Talk about a recipe for stress on the body.

Think of that, around 50% less than you burn - does that even sound like a good idea.

[dancefoxtrot]

Yard dog,

You are probably only 15-17 lbs to your goal weight. You are also building muscle by working out. You are getting fit. Make sure your calories are from healthy foods. I would drop down to a 500 cal deficit and see if that helps. 

I dropped from 153 to 144.4 but it has taken almost 2 months. Sometimes the scale goes up when it seems it should go down. I'm 5'7" so I'm aiming for 140 for now. Keep at it slow and steady. 

Good luck with it. 

Barbara G

[SunsetRunner]

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@dancefoxtrot wrote:

Yard dog,

You are probably only 15-17 lbs to your goal weight. You are also building muscle by working out. You are getting fit. Make sure your calories are from healthy foods. I would drop down to a 500 cal deficit and see if that helps. 

I dropped from 153 to 144.4 but it has taken almost 2 months. Sometimes the scale goes up when it seems it should go down. I'm 5'7" so I'm aiming for 140 for now. Keep at it slow and steady. 

Good luck with it. 

Barbara G

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@dancefoxtrot It's not me that needs the weight loss advice, as I am perfectly OK, and just trying

to provide some straightforward advice without getting into the overly complicated side issues.

Use my Surge for information while doing some training

[LDQ]

I agree--your progress will be slow. Are you eating all you calories you should be? You have to add on those extra ones as well. I have the same problem at times and especially back when I was around those weights. I get stuck on the same foods--wondering if that has anything to do with messing up my matabolism. 

[getfitfast]

It could be that you are working out too hard for the amount of protien/calories you are putting into your body. how many calories are you eating daily? Also, you should take your weight in pounds and divide by 2 and that's how many ounces of water you should drink a day. 🙂

[Heybales]

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@LDQ wrote:

I agree--your progress will be slow. Are you eating all you calories you should be? You have to add on those extra ones as well. I have the same problem at times and especially back when I was around those weights. I get stuck on the same foods--wondering if that has anything to do with messing up my matabolism. 

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Never fear - Eating the same foods isn't going to "mess" up your metabolism.

Unless you have some stomach issue that came up, the amount of calories needed to process your food isn't going to change.

And that's not metabolism anyway, which is normally your underlying calorie burn for basic functions of life.

You eat food, you burn some calories processing it. Same amount whether 1 big meal or many small meals. Once done processing, body is burning less at normal daily rate.

[LDQ]

Thank you. I am definitely drinking enough water . it is hard to eat
more..I added a Greek yogurt in the middle of day and in evening a frozen
100 calorie one. I keep chicken in fridge and eat some for more protein.
Any other ideas. I am sometimes less than a 100 under calorie when the
extra are added. I am very bad at figuring out foods and all that stuff.

[LDQ]

Thank you for explaining

[getfitfast]

It does matter how you get your calories... Eating 1500 calories in 2 meals
Vs. 1500 calories in 6 divided meals throughout the day... it has been
shown in studies that the people choosing small meals throughout the day
lost weight where the others did not.

Moderator edit: Removed email signature.





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[Heybales]

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@getfitfast wrote:
It does matter how you get your calories... Eating 1500 calories in 2 meals
Vs. 1500 calories in 6 divided meals throughout the day... it has been
shown in studies that the people choosing small meals throughout the day
lost weight where the others did not.

Moderator edit: Removed email signature.

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http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=879792&fileId=S000711459700...

"Although some short-term studies suggest that the thermic effect of feeding is higher when an isoenergetic test load is divided into multiple small meals, other studies refute this, and most are neutral. More importantly, studies using whole-body calorimetry and doubly-labelled water to assess total 24h energy expenditure find no difference between nibbling and gorging. Finally, with the exception of a single study, there is no evidence that weight loss on hypoenergetic regimens is altered by meal frequency. We conclude that any effects of meal pattern on the regulation of body weight are likely to be mediated through effects on the food intake side of the energy balance equation."

I find no more recent study that refutes this meta-study.

Now - there are studies that show in free living people left up to their own choices, people adhere better to a diet with more frequent meals.

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/158/1/85.short

But it doesn't mean that in itself, that is the cause of weight loss or no weight gain, merely they held to their calorie goals better.

So personal choice.

If someone must eat frequently always elevating their insulin turning off fat-burning mode, then so be it.

If someone likes packing their food into a 4-6 hr window later in the day, then so be it.

No weight loss advantage to either, merely personal adherance from the studies I've always seen.

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/24/4/465.short

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/30/5/712.short

And a lovely review of the studies by what many consider a well-respected voice

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/meal-frequency-and-energy-balance-research-review.h...

 Plus - my comment that caused your response - reread it. No claims to losing weight better by eating 1 big meal. Merely commenting on the myth of burning more calories by eating more frequently.

[mrsmurriel]

Wow sounds just like my story. I did go see a doctor and we end up doing a metabolic test as it turns out I have an extremely slow metabolism and I was eating too many calories. It is frustrating especially when you know you're doing the right things. I am 40 years old 5'4 and I work out at least three times a week I need to lose at least 20 pounds. No matter what I did I was gaining at least 1 to 2 pounds a week it was really frustrating. Try doing a metabolic tests and see what happens in order for me to lose weight I would need to eat between 950 cal to 1000 cal and that's just for weight loss.
Don't give up it's a struggle but it'll be all worth it in the end

[LDQ]

What about when you exercise a lot and it adds more calories to your day?
Do you eat more calories? I have been told I may not be taking in enough
calories. I have such a hard time trying to figure out what foods to eat
when trying to add some calories. I am 50 and do something almost every
day. I walk about 4-7 miles each day and try and do some type of other
stuff. I go up and down stairs all day sets of 5 at a time. I am totally
frustrated!!! Just got 21 day fix tapes and they come with the cups to
measure your food. Now I am not sure if I should change to that way of
eating or stick to the calorie count?? I am going to start the tapes and
maybe change my way of eating in a week or so.
Thanks for your advice,