Help still not losing weight

[Ddazw]

Hi I need some advise please I've been gym going for about 2 years but recently I got a fit bit to track calories and exercise, so I'm burning 3000/4000 calories a day and only consuming 1700 , 15000 steps a day... I'm quite active at work In the gym day one 45 mins run / walking at incline day 2 rowing then weights day 3 30 minutes swim breast / front crawl then Saturday 1 1/2hr mixture of all above but I'm still gaining weight 😩 I'm stuck I don't know what to do can anyone help

[MakMak]

Hi, @Ddazw. That's a bummer! My guess would be that it's not so much exercise that's a problem with you, the problem probably lies with either diet or metabolism. I would suggest that your next steps would be talking to your primary care physician and a registered nutritionist.

[Ddazw]

Thanks for your reply..so you think the same as me I should be losing weight..

Darren Whittingham

[MakMak]

Not knowing your stats, just what you do, it certainly seems like you're active enough.

[OCDOC]

Congratulations on being extremely fit!

Sounds like your body is doing exactly what it's supposed to do; perform what you demand of it, use the food intake wisely, and keep a healthy 'rainy day' fund of fat in storage. YOU might want to drop the fat, but evolution wants you to keep it.

If you want to lose that rainy day fund, you probably have to shake things up..ie 'startle' your system. Imagine what might force your body to use that emergency fund. Ideas include intense HIIT, disrupted food intake, altering the food composition...lots of things to try.

A nutritionist might help, depending on their experience with very fit people.

PS you might try what worked for Lebron James in 2014..google it 🙂

[divedragon]

Sounds like you are very active and that's good.  Exercise only accounts for 15% towards fat loss.  The main reason is it's really hard to calculate calorie burn from an activity.  The calorie burn fitbit is telling you is most likely very high - tells me about the same numbers, but I really don't believe them.  Basil Metabolic Rate, the rate at which you burn just to stay alive, is the primary engine and is what we call our metabolism.  Calorie restriction to lose weight is only effective temporarily as your body will eventually slow down to match the calories you consume.

I ran into that problem last year when did 1500-1800 caloried a day starting in Jan and going through Aug.  I lost from 240 to 214 (I gained 13 back and then lost it a second time), but I stalled at 214.  This is when I discovered Intermittent Fasting (IF) and on Oct 1 began a 16:8 protocol that quickly coverted into a 20:4.  I lost weight quickly, but made the mistake of combining it with calorie restriction, so my metobolism slowed again and I've been stuck between 189 and 194 for almost 2 months.  This week, I'm trying a 5-7 day fast to jump start my weight loss again and then I'll do alternate day fasting until I hit my goal weight.

If water fasting seems too much, there is a new diet I've just been reading about.  The Fasting Mimicing Diet (FMD) in which you can have 700 calories a day, but they must be of a specific composition: 9% protein, 45% fat and 46% Carb.  I have not tried this myself and the diet is more designed for health rather than weight loss, but weight loss seems to be a 'side-effect'.  It was designed and clinically tested by Dr. VAlter D. Longo of the instiute of Longevity at USC.  He is a phd in biochemestry and the benefits of fasting he was after was increased stem cell, decreased insulin and IGF-1, increased ketones, increased autophagy and various other hormonal/chemical changes that are associated with aging and disease.

Good luck with your weight loss.

[JMonkey]

Hi there,

Have you tried measuring your body fat percentage? You might be loosing fat and gaining muscle, therefore your number on the scale does not seem to be changing (or is going up). I'm not an expert, but maybe that's the reason? xD I found this calculator that might help figure it out. Keep up the good work! 😄

http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bodyfat

[SunsetRunner]

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@Ddazw wrote:
Hi I need some advise please I've been gym going for about 2 years but recently I got a fit bit to track calories and exercise, so I'm burning 3000/4000 calories a day and only consuming 1700 , 15000 steps a day... I'm quite active at work In the gym day one 45 mins run / walking at incline day 2 rowing then weights day 3 30 minutes swim breast / front crawl then Saturday 1 1/2hr mixture of all above but I'm still gaining weight 😩 I'm stuck I don't know what to do can anyone help

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Maybe you need to switch up your routine.  If you do not workout mornings on an empty stomach start doing that.   You can include brown rice for dinner the night before to give you energy for the next morning.  If you do not run outdoors start.  You have to keep your body from adjusting to your normal workout routine to see weight loss.  

[Piggy]

The numbers and the science don't lie. If you are burning more than you eat, you must lose weight.

So, you are either eating more than you think or burning less than you think.

Fitbit isn't an exact science. In fact, it's nowhere near that. It's a nice toy to keep you motivated and to keep a tab on what's changed over time, but you can't depend on the number fitbit is giving you. 

You may want to consider switching up your routine. I would also suggest professional help.

Now, I'm no professional, but I'm a huge fan of the after burner effect. To trigger it, you go hard for a short period of time once a day. The key is HARD and SHORT. Not hard enough or too long (more than an hour) won't work. I do it after holidays every year. 

This year, I was able to keep up over the holidays. I'm getting into spring at target weight, since I gained no more than 3 pounds over the holidays.

I decided to hit it anyway. So far I am having a hard time keeping the weight on even eating 7 times a day. I literally have difficulty keeping my weight up. I'm not trying to rub that in your face. I'm only trying to let you know that is really works. It doesn't hurt to take a look. 2 of best programs out there for this purpose are T25 and P90x3. Neither one is marketed for "after burner effect", but I know they both worth the same way. For weight lose, if you are not a skinny fat body type, T25 would probably work better.

Hours of cardio could easily backfire if it's not what your body needs.

Again, I'm no professional, it's only a suggestion. You may want to look into it.

[Dominique]

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@Piggy wrote:

Now, I'm no professional, but I'm a huge fan of the after burner effect. 

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Yes, EPOC (as the "afterburn" is known among scientists) is real, but it’s relatively small compared to the expenditure during the actual exercise.

And yes, EPOC is higher after high-intensity cardio than after steady-state cardio: we’re talking about 14% vs. 7%. As Lyle Mc Donald puts it: "14% of a smaller calorie burn may still be smaller than 7% of a much larger burn. At the end of the day, outside of extremely unrealistic levels of exercise, the basic fact is that the absolute magnitude of the EPOC simply doesn’t amount to very much in the first place."

The original study ("Effects of exercise intensity and duration on the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.") can be found here, but the comments of Mc Donald are probably easier to grasp.

[Piggy]

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@Dominique wrote:

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Yes, EPOC (as the "afterburn" is known among scientists) is real, but it’s relatively small compared to the expenditure during the actual exercise.

Thanks. Like I said, I'm no pro, I don't want to go all scientic on our poor OP.

The effect of EPOC is definitely real, even I can prove it. However, the percentage of total exercise cost is highly debatable. It's generally accepted as 6-15%, but no one can disprove that it can go way beyond that. 

And of course, if I give one of those scientist my data, they will just tell me I didn't collect the data in controled environment, and that I haven't earned the right to challenge their snobbish ideas:-D

The bottom lines is, you get something for doing nothing. That's all you need to remember:)

Happy stepping, all!

[Garry81]

Hi @Ddazw, have you tried HIIT training (high intense interval training)

there is some good videos on youtube, i do it on the elliptical and its really good, 

good luck 

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@Ddazw wrote:
Hi I need some advise please I've been gym going for about 2 years but recently I got a fit bit to track calories and exercise, so I'm burning 3000/4000 calories a day and only consuming 1700 , 15000 steps a day... I'm quite active at work In the gym day one 45 mins run / walking at incline day 2 rowing then weights day 3 30 minutes swim breast / front crawl then Saturday 1 1/2hr mixture of all above but I'm still gaining weight 😩 I'm stuck I don't know what to do can anyone help

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[Ddazw]

Thanks I did try it ages ago ... but Im willing to try anything again

[emili]

I would encourage you to recalibrate your in and out. start with how much you need to survive, factor in a deficit and movement and then measure and weigh everything to that number everyday. if your in is less than out- you will lose weight. make sure your in is good nutrition and you will should do very well in your endeavor to get healthy. much luck..

[bcalvanese]

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@Ddazw wrote:
Hi I need some advise please I've been gym going for about 2 years but recently I got a fit bit to track calories and exercise, so I'm burning 3000/4000 calories a day and only consuming 1700 , 15000 steps a day... I'm quite active at work In the gym day one 45 mins run / walking at incline day 2 rowing then weights day 3 30 minutes swim breast / front crawl then Saturday 1 1/2hr mixture of all above but I'm still gaining weight 😩 I'm stuck I don't know what to do can anyone help

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If you are truely burning that many calories per day then you are eating way way more than you think you are. Or if you are eating the calories that you say, then you are burning way less than you think you are.

If you set your fitbit to lose weight and follow the guidelines, you should lose weight. Alle these activity trackers are not exactly accurate, and some are more accrurate than others, but most are accurate enough to get the job done.

I have been using them for over a year now and have used several different brands (jawbone, garmin, polar, basis, tomtom, and fitbit). My goal was to lose 1 lb. per week, and in 1 year (52 weeks) I have lost 57 lbs.

My approach was simple. I became obese from getting a desk job and not changing my diet over about 20 years. I started power walking every day for 30 to 120 minutes, and trying to eat healthier. I stuck to what my activity tracker told me to do, and lost about 1 lb. per week. Now I eat more because I burn so many calories power walking that I can pretty much eat what I want and still lose weight. I do try and eat healthier foods, but I also have an occasional treat here and there.

If you truely are burning that many calories and eating that little, then you should be losing too much weight too fast. 1 lb. per week is a healthy goal, and better for long term success. And it allows plenty of time to replace bad habbits with good habbits.

Good luck.

[TLSouza63]

What is your BMI, if you don't mind my asking?  Is it possible that you are at a weight that would require you to lose muscle mass in order to lose weight or size now?  It sounds like you may be over exercising for a weight loss goal.