Haven't lost anything!!

[naylon99]

So I started my journey when my kids went back to school on 8.24.15. I have been eating about 1000-1200 calories (balanced diet of fruits/veggies/protein and cabs - no junk ... everything is weighed) and working out at the gym during the work days for about 1-2 hours a day. I have been doing group classes, cardio, and strength training. Nothing on the extreme side though, working with 5 pound weights in the classes and anywhere from 40-50 pounds on the machines. I have been burning around 2800-3200 calories on average but have not seen ANY weight loss. I took measurements and I have not lost any inches either. I feel that I just started and I'm already stuck!

Any ideas??

[DavidC2]

Yes, it is only a week.  Your day to day weight can fluctuate 3-5 pounds just from shifts in fluid.  Keep up with what you are doing ( don't cheat).  Weigh your food and log all calories.  Note that many of the "internet calorie sites" are notoriously inaccurate and under-estimate calories.  Keep with what you are doing and you will see changes in weight, as well as changes in body composition.  Realistically, you can expect to lose a pound a week.

I do question how you calculate 3000 calories in a day.  Weight lifting and exercise machines do not burn a lot of calories.  Running and walking will, however, I note that fitbit tends to over-count steps,over-estimate stired length AND calories burned as a result.

[Raviv]

Are you letting Fitbit calculate how many calories you should be eating?  Or are you sticking to a set number that doesn't change with your activity level.

If you do have Fitbit calculate your allowed calories, what is your deficit set at, and how many pounds are you trying to lose?

[rockin_grandma]

Don't get discouraged. Just keep up with what your doing.  I started with a personal trainer in January when I topped the scales over 200 lbs.  He has busted my butt three times a week and I wonder sometimes why I pay to be hurt.  It has paid off, I am not at my goal by any means but have lost 22 lbs. I just got my fit bit for my 59th birthday in August and I walk a three mile track 5 days a week, go to my trainer 3 -4 times a week and do about 30 - 60 mins of cardio 5 days a week, the weight still has not budged in the last two months but my body fat % is slowly dropping and my clothes are fitting loose.  Just don't give up, it will happen.

[Mermaid3011]

@naylon99

Well... I wonder if you are actually eating enough if you are only taking in 1000 - 1200 calories. 1200 cal is the bare minimum that a body needs to function. And that's laying around on the couch. Your brain, your organs, your bowels.... they need energy. If you are also working out in the gym you should definitely consider eating more. Your deficit is really high too. I would say 750 cal is great. 1000 cal deficit per day max.

The funny thing is that you need to eat to lose weight! 

I know it sounds weird and you would think "the less the better" but really... it's not! 

I've started out with fitbit and almost no exercise in January. Since I am tall and was 284 lbs then I got to eat 1900-2100 cal for a loss of 1-2 lbs per week. And that's what I did. Real food - home cooked. Organic if possible. Tried out some new recipes - mostly plant based, making sure that I got enough protein every day.   And as of today I am down 55 lbs.

No starving, sometimes I was actually so full I couldnt eat everything on my food plan.

Slowly I added yoga to the mix. First really gentle and now a bit quicker, but certainly not a HUGE workout. A lot of meditation and mindfulness training too.

I am now following a Pilates and Yoga class program online (also comes on DVD) for 60 days and am working out 20-35 min a day now. It's quick, easy, from home and I love it. Together with a meal plan and a protein shake that functions as a meal replacement once a day. It's set up as a challenge and if I manage to actually send in a before and after picture there is a $500 prize to win. Certainly added on motivation. 🙂 

so: don't give up! Find an activity that you actually LOVE doing. Find a favourite food or dish. Maybe your favourite new cookbook and HAVE FUN on this journey!

Otherwise you wont be able to stick with it in the long run - and it's all about the long term changes.

Oh and I agree with the others - one week isnt really long. And mind you... if your Time of month is coming up, you may be storing water and see a sudden drop 3 days into the TOM. 

All the best and hang in there! 

Birgit

[Mermaid3011]

@rockin_grandma

Congratulations!!!! 

I am impressed that you hired a coach and trainer!! I didnt do that until about 2 months ago - I met this woman who had made such an amazing transformation and I asked her to be my coach. 

It makes such a big difference in motivation and accountability - to me at least. 

yes - I do have sore legs pretty often after my workouts. But it's the good kind of sore... I know I have worked out and am improving my health! 

I think the best part really is of clothes fitting better isnt it?!? 
I dropped 4 sizes and if I can manage another 20 lbs until the end of this year (which is my mid term goal) I will definitely say good bye to "larger sizes" and shop in "normal" stores again. 🙂

Anyway - just wanted to give you a big high five and well done!!!!!!! 

Birgit

[Alexhimmi]

I definitely agree that you need to eat more! Eating too little is just going to cause your body to store fat, and start eating away at muscle tissue. If you're working out that much, your body NEEDS more protein to repair itself. You need carbs and fat for energy too. To lose a pound a week, your body needs to burn or cut 3,500 calories. If you're burning 500 every workout, that's already 2500. You would only really need to take about 150 calories off the amount you need to maintain.

Also, just remember that it's not a race! Everyone that loses weight in unhealthy ways gains it back, and then some. Eating that little isn't something you can maintain for life. Eat up, and good luck!

[naylon99]

I think I would feel better if I was shrinking in some way but I even took my measurements and I haven't lost any inches from any part of my body. By the end of the day, I have burned about 3000 calories and I just don't understand how I haven't lost an ounce. If I'm being honest, I have actually gained 0.75 of a pound.

Did your trainer happen to give you any idea on why the scale isn't dropping? How many calories are you eating/burning?

Thanks!

[rockin_grandma]

At the present time I have not lost the weight in a couple of months but the inches and body fat have decreased a lot. This being said my trainer explains that the muscle is replacing the fat.


He has me eating 1/2 cup dry oatmeal (cooked) putting a scoop of protein powder in it with a few sliced almonds. After my workout I have a mix of protein powder blended with ice and water or flavored water..no milk. At lunch is a deli chicken sandwich on Ezekiel bread with mustard. Afternoon snack is a tablespoon of peanut butter and celery. For dinner I have 2 - 3 oz of lean meat (beef, chicken, pork, fish) and a vegetable or salad.


He asked me at the very begining to cut out most dairy in order to cut fat in take.
Eat my carbs in the early part of the day and keep fruit intake to one a day.
My calorie intake in a day is about 1200 to 1500 and my burn is runs around 2500.


I also drink (sip on all day) a mixture of powdered fruits and greens with a powdered vitamins and a product called black (pro biotic). I got this from the local vitamin shop and it has made a difference in my energy.


I am very optimistic that the rest of the weight will come off. It takes a long time and life time commitment.

[Mermaid3011]

@naylon99

Hi Tanya, it's been how many days now? 10 days right? 

I really think that your body is hanging on to anything he/she's got because you are suddenly feeding your body less food, less nutrition possibly and you are expecting a lot of workouts. On top of just functioning biologically and stress and your work as a mom. That's a lot for a body to take. 

Why dont you post a sample day of what you are eating here and we may have a better idea of what may be missing. 

Also - how do you know the calories burned? 3,000 - do they all show up on fitbit? Are you logging your workouts on top of your steps and that's what brings your burned calories up? 

One thing I have learned is: Don't trust gym computers. If the eliptical says your work out burned 500 cal it is usually completely incorrect. These computers can never be as exact as a heart rate monitor and a program that is individualized to your body, weight, age, gender etc etc etc. 

And lastly - have you been to your doctor recently? Generally every diet and exercise program should get the o.k. of your physician. And they are not just saying that to cover their bottoms. If you have an undetected thyroid condition for example it is very well possible that you are not losing weight because of that. If you are taking medication (as I did for about a month in April) that has an impact on your insuline or cortisol or serotonine there is a good chance that it makes you actually gain weight - no matter how much work out and how little food goes in.

We all want to see you reach your goals! We are all here with the same dreams and hopes, so let's see how we can turn the ship around for you!!

Best

Birgit

[Mermaid3011]

---

@DavidC2 wrote:

... Weight lifting and exercise machines do not burn a lot of calories.  Running and walking will, however, I note that fitbit tends to over-count steps,over-estimate stired length AND calories burned as a result....

---

What David wrote is exactly what I have seen happen to me too. 

in the end I base my caloric intake on the calories I burn on average. If I have walked a lot, I go 100-200 cal over. But I dont add my other workouts like yoga etc. It's on top of it all and really doesnt burn much that will make a difference in my caloric needs. 

What IS important though is that every calorie I put into my mouth has a VALUE for my body. Not just filling me up, but an actual value for my health. If it doesnt have that, I wont eat it. 

(Unless I go to knit night and everybody is tasting this new pizza from the place next door LOL)

[naylon99]

Also - how do you know the calories burned? 3,000 - do they all show up on fitbit?

Yes, all of the calories burned are given by my fitbit. I do not add any workouts and count only what is recorded by fitbit. 

I am currently using myfitnesspal.com to log my food as it automatically links to fitbit. It breaks down my food and I am eating and for the week of 8/21-8/27 I had: 28% - 80g of protien, 46% - 130g of carbs, and 25% - 42 g of fats although everyday is different. 

Sample of my eating has been:

Morning- (260) Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin, 2 tbsp whipped peanut butter 

Lunch (210) Salad with 4 slices each of ham and turkey with lite red wine dressing.

Dinner (460) 1 serving Angel hair pasta with 4.5 oz sauted chicken breast (no butter), red/yellow/green bell peppers, onions, and chicken and vegetable broths. 

Snacks (300) Nectarine, banana, light cheese stick, and a 80 calorie greek yogurt

I am on no medications and don't feel that I am starving at all or over doing it. I eat whenever I get hungry and move normally except for the added workouts in the morning. 

Any advice on what I could change would be great!

[naylon99]

.......Also - how do you know the calories burned? 3,000 - do they all show up on fitbit?

Yes, all of the calories burned are given by my fitbit. I do not add any workouts and count only what is recorded by fitbit. 

I am currently using myfitnesspal.com to log my food as it automatically links to fitbit. It breaks down my food and I am eating and for the week of 8/21-8/27 I had: 28% - 80g of protien, 46% - 130g of carbs, and 25% - 42 g of fats although everyday is different. 

Sample of my eating has been:

Morning- (260) Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin, 2 tbsp whipped peanut butter 

Lunch (210) Salad with 4 slices each of ham and turkey with lite red wine dressing.

Dinner (460) 1 serving Angel hair pasta with 4.5 oz sauted chicken breast (no butter), red/yellow/green bell peppers, onions, and chicken and vegetable broths. 

Snacks (300) Nectarine, banana, light cheese stick, and a 80 calorie greek yogurt

I am on no medications and don't feel that I am starving at all or over doing it. I eat whenever I get hungry and move normally except for the added workouts in the morning. 

Any advice on what I could change would be great!

[extra_medium]

I might have misread but if you started on 8/24/15 there is no need to panic.  Keep it up.   If you are burning more calories than you consume over an extended period of time, you will lose weight - don't overthink it, it really is that simple and there is no way around it.  But it might take a little more time than a week and a half to start noticing a big difference.

[BlueFlute2Play]

I agree, stay the course, and it will eventually start showing up. Good luck!

[Mermaid3011]

Mmmhhh those are really good percentages and stats. I can't really see anything off there. And your food plan actually makes me hungry now. LOL

I suppose you could add a few almonds or avocado for some healthy fats, but you seem to be doing fine so... lets wait another week and see what happens until then. 

I am crossing fingers that you see a nice drop, because really - it's disheartening to watch the scale not move even though we are doing everything right... 

[JLStone86]

I recently had a similar issue - FitBit was calculating me at about 2200 calories burned/day, and I was consuming around 1600 calories, but not losing weight. I sat at the same weight for 2 weeks, sure that maybe it was water bloating - my period was coming up, afterall... until it came & went with no change. Despite my near certainty that I was eating a deficit, I decided to drop my calorie consumption to 1400 calories a day... and bam! Suddenly weight loss started to happen.

Since weight can vary from day to day, depending on fluid intake and retention, it's possible that after just one week, you might not see results yet. However, if your calorie deficit is as big as you think it is, that seems unlikely. Which means the most likely culprit is: Your calorie deficit is not as big as you think it is.

Regarding calories out, the most important thing to realize is that fitbit provides an estimate of calories burned only. The fact is that everyone's resting metabolic rate varies - my sister can stay skinny on the same amount of calories that will have me packing on pounds. The plus I find of using fitbit is that it provides a much more accurate estimate than most other sources. For example, I'm on my second round of P90X, which claims to burn 572 calories a workout. Well, maybe some people who are stronger and can work harder than me do burn that much, but I average much closer to 350-400 calories a workout. There goes half of my caloric deficit in misestimation right there.

Another question to consider regarding calories in: Are you vigorously measuring and counting calories for each thing you consume? Including cooking oils & drinks? Or do you estimate, or use a program like weight watcher points? Most people overestimate portion sizes, because we live in a society that likes to super size everything. And while weight watcher points can be semi-accurate and work a lot  of people, depending on how you spend your points, your calorie count can vary anywhere from 100-300 calories from what they estimate it will be. Again, there goes your caloric deficit.

Lastly, to address some other comments, even if you are eating too little for your body to properly repair and build muscle, and to send your body into starvation mode, this will not make you retain or gain weight. Starvation mode slows your metabolism, makes you tired & hungry, and less prone to burning calories, but calories in vs calories out is still king - if you're operating on a deficit, you'll still lose weight. (NOTE: Too large of a deficit can be a problem, because it is harmful for your healthy, but not because it will prevent you from losing weight.)

I hope this is helpful! Good luck on your journey.