I burn 4000-4500 calories a day and eat 2000-2500 still not loosing weight It’s not making any sense

[Navi1980]

I m 37 ..5’11 ..211 lbs..I burn 4000-4500 a day 20000 steps and eat 2000-2500 calories a day ..still not losing weight ..my weight is stable ..why

[Bishop1968]

Thank you for the reply. Agreed, you can't gain weight when your caloric
output exceeds your input. But from what I am reading, those with
hypothyroidism don't burn calories as effectively as other people. The
Fitbit appears to use a calorie-burning algorithm based on one's age,
gender, height and weight and heart rate. My assumption is that I'm not
burning as many calories as the Fitbit says I am as it can't account for
certain medical conditions.

[JORDY20]

@Dominique @I LIKE to play percentages and if you want to burn you need to do

   1. Teach your body to burn fat not sugar for energy, which means a low carb higher healthy fat diet +

     2.  Exercise while in a fasted state

why mess around?

[Bishop1968]

Thanks, yes, that makes sense. A few years I go I did go on a very low carb
diet.I lost 8 lbs in 8 weeks ( not a lot), but I never felt like I had all
the energy I wanted. I play high level competitive tennis, singles and
doubles 3 times a week, so I don't like to go into these things without the
energy I feel I'll need.

My otherwise health is good. Resting HR is 54. I got the Fitbit about 4
years ago, not to lose weight, but just for " fun". I weighed a healthy 155
then. Only in the last 2 years did I struggle with weight gain, creeping up
to just under 170 recently. My last 2 annual checkups revealed symptoms of
a mildly to moderate underactive thyroid, but my conservative doctor didn't
want to prescribe anything for it. My next physical is in about a month.

[Craigside]

Hi @Bishop1968  yes of course, but the Fitbit will be consistent in it’s calculations, whereas the measuring calories consumed accurately, every time you eat,  isn’t an easy task.., good luck with your endeavours 👍

[Whyshoshoni]

Hello @Bishop1968, I also have hypothyroidism.  When I was diagnosed 20 years ago, it was after gaining 20 lbs in a short time, after having been thin all my life.  The doc put me on thyroid meds, and when my THS level reached 5.0, within ‘normal’ range at that time, declared that the level of medication prescribed was adequate.  

However this did not alleviate my symptoms such as sluggishness, irritability and of course continuing to gain weight.  When she refused to refer me to an endocrinologist, I fired her and got a new doc, who instantly game me a referral.  The endo upped my meds, and 6 weeks later, my TSH was at 2.0 and my symptoms were gone.

You should educate yourself about hypothyroidism before your next appointment so you can speak knowledgeably with the doc.  If your bloodwork still indicates a problem, insist that the doc actually treat it. If no, go find another doc who will follow the science and address the issue.

Good luck!

[caused2lovechri]

Weight loss is more about insulin than calories. The more carbs, the more insulin, the more fat that particular meal creates. Calories can not be ignored, but the ratio of carbs to protein is much more important, especially if you have plateaued. Lower the carbs in relation to the protien.

[Bishop1968]

Thank you so much for sharing your story.
For do many years, I thought " it" was just calories in versus calories
burned that determined weight stability or instability. From a spring work
physical 8 months ago, I just noted also that my fasting glucose is
elevated at 101 ( the normal range is 65-99).

I have a medical doctor blood draw on Monday, and then my physical on
December 6th. The weight gain has been troublesome and my energy is often
low. My BMI is now crept to over 26 from 23 a few years back. Through
tennis and walking at work, I average about 85,000 steps per week, and now
that I adjusted my Fitbit to reveal my current weight of 170, I burn about
2950 calories per day in average. I am NOT eating that much. If I don't get
my BMI down to 24.4 by March next year, I lose a discount on my health
insurance 😞

[JORDY20]

@Bishop good luck - try to due some time restricted eating/intermittent fasting.  This really works well, but it will take a few weeks or so for your body to adjust.  Eat healthy fats.

[Bishop1968]

I will, but can't do it on days I have an important tennis match. Like
today.

[Carlberg]

Fitbit is not a scientific instrument it's ok for step counting nothing else is accurate ,if you want to guarantee to lose weight go to weight watchers or hire a personal trainer. 

[Bishop1968]

I'm sorry to hear that. You are right it doesn't seem to make sense
especially giving the deficit you are citing.

Personally, I think the Fitbit is a somewhat valuable tool, but certainly
not perfect. I have the Ionic. It measures calories burned by your heart
rate, factoring in height and weight. The problem with mine is that it
doesn't seem to calculate heart rate when I'm on the spin bike pumping
hard. I will be almost out of breath in the Fitbit will read 90 beats per
minute. Running at a moderate/slow pace will put me at about 150 beats per
minute, walking at about 105. Tennis singles averages out to about 112
beats per minute. Ironically, road biking at a moderate pace- 16 mph will
show 115- 140 bpm- higher on windy days.

If you're really not losing weight despite the deficit, my thought is you
could be having a medical issue. I don't know. I'm not a doctor. You could
be retaining water or have hypothyroidism, which I have struggled a little
bit with.

Good luck!

[Baltoscott]

Hey @Bishop1968  — wondering if you were successful in pushing your BMI down to your March goal, and your thoughts on what did or did not help?

[Carlberg]

Hi glad you mentioned  medical issue I will see my doc about that ,stay safe bud 

[Bishop1968]

No. I gave up. I am just over 5-8 and 166 lbs. And maintaining that. I
have been weight training with free weights and a medicine ball and have
been getting exercise through tennis walking and running. My doctor said
that I am healthy and that people just tend to get a little bit bigger in
middle age. I haven't had a body fat percentage test done, but I've been
feeling solid and firm. I have tried low-carb diets, but I just don't have
the energy I need to play tennis like I want to.

[Checko]

I have heard that if you dont eat enough sumtimes your body will slow down going into survival mode thinking it wont eat anymore or there is trouble and store more fat Stop doing diets but also dont eat the bag of Cheetos moderation on bad stuff a lil more guacamole is ok but always continue activities  

[Chrisb007]

Are you drinking enough water and sleeping properly. It’s not just physical health but also mental health for you to lose weight. It also depends what you eating. There are more factors then what you just see on you fit. Just saying 

[Glenda]

@Chrisb007 Chris  Welcome to this forum.  You are responding to something said in May or July.  You must always check the date and if it isn't current click the little triangle pointing to the right side of the page at the bottom.  Scroll down there.  Everyone is glad for you to comment anytime.

[Bishop1968]

Thanks for replying. Yes I drink a lot of water but I've had chronic
insomnia a few days a week for about 16 years. It was worse 10 to 12 years
ago.

My weight has not changed, but I look and feel decent at this point
although I'm still at 166 lb at 5-8. I do get plenty of exercise, mostly
through competitive tennis and lifting dumbbells.

Question about stress: I would say I've been a bit more uptight in the last
few years-work and relationship issues that aren't fully resolved. I have
heard that stress can pack on the pounds. But isn't it because one tends to
simply eat more because of the cortisol influence? What if one is stressed,
but maintains willpower not to increase caloric intake?

[KeithRH]

My thoughts are this. 

It's very possible you are not eating enough and your body is storing fat. 

I have a similar body type in that it seems almost impossible to lose weight by calorie counting and exercising. 

The trick is to eat more regular and have 3 main meals a day with 2 snacks. This way the body gets tricked into thinking you are eating more.

Maybe go further and split the meals.

So breakfast at say 7am, snack at 11am, lunch at 1pm snack at 3pm early dinner at 5pm late dinner at 8pm. Note the 5pm and 8pm is the same meal you have just split it in half.

Give it a try. Still count the calories and still get the steps in each day. 

Cut out processed foods and drop your sugars. 

[Heybales]

@Bishop1968 wrote:
Thanks for replying. Yes I drink a lot of water but I've had chronic
insomnia a few days a week for about 16 years. It was worse 10 to 12 years
ago.

My weight has not changed, but I look and feel decent at this point
although I'm still at 166 lb at 5-8. I do get plenty of exercise, mostly
through competitive tennis and lifting dumbbells.

Question about stress: I would say I've been a bit more uptight in the last
few years-work and relationship issues that aren't fully resolved. I have
heard that stress can pack on the pounds. But isn't it because one tends to
simply eat more because of the cortisol influence? What if one is stressed,
but maintains willpower not to increase caloric intake?

---

Stress can pack on pounds of water weight.

Eating more is a stress relief for many, not been shown in studies to be an effect of increased cortisol, just how people deal with things.

But a body under enough stress to increase cortisol starts doing other things too usually, to adapt to what the stress is.

If the stress is due to what the body considers extreme diet, it slows you down in many ways so you burn less so the deficit really isn't as extreme.

None of the myths of "storing more fat" or holding onto the fat are true.

Stress water weight can go up to around 20 lb max it's been found, slowly. So inches could go down as water weight goes up.