Not Losing Weight

[SunsetRunner]

Good afternoon!

I've been going at this by myself, but I finally decided to stop in and see what others may say.

In the past (while I was in college), I was very active, but a couple of years ago I got a full-time job, marriage and all the fun responsibilities, so I stopped working out like I used to (7 days a week, with breaks only if I had a cold).

I've been bringing myself back into it, but the weight doesn't seem to be coming off. It's frustrating! I only weight myself once a week on a Monday, to log it before I start the week off. For the past 3 of those, I barely saw any change, apart from 2 pounds initially.

Hence, a question of how accurate is FitBit tracking. I tend to presume it's not AWFULLY accurate, in terms of calorie burn during exercise, but what about other aspects?

I work out 6 days a week for 1.5 hours (intensive circuit for 30 minutes & elliptical for 30 minutes before and after that), my average calorie intake for a day is around 1500, which is a comfortable range for me, and allows me the benefit of eating a bit more on the weekends, when I want to have a meal out with family, for example.

Still, the fact that the weight isn't coming off is frustrating. What could be an issue? Just looking for feedback from people who've been through the process.

My averages / day:

Steps - 12000

Floors - 7

Miles - 5.2

Calorie Burn - 4000

Active Minutes - 125

Stats:

Height - 6ft

Weight, atm: 262lbs

To note after all that: I do have a lot of muscle. I did close combat martial arts for a while, so I have absolutely zero issue with exercise in terms of intensity (it's hard as hell, but my body can manage it still). Obviously, it's not perfect and I want to die after each workout, but I don't feel like I'm working at max capacity, yet.

I don't feel restricted with food, either, but I am wondering if FitBit tracks calories well. I eat almost the same thing every day though, and it's fine accourding to MyFitnessPal, as well.

Any ideas?

[PappyJ]

Base Runner:
Oh, I know what you mean! I was taking in 3,000 + calories a day then we started tracking kept my daily around 1800 level & my burn level at 3,300 ( which is an exaggerated amount, probably 20% high) and we started to lose weight.

Cheers!
Lyle

Sent from my iPhone

[YJK]

Thanks for the thoughtful tips!

[Duffpic]

So over the past months I've been chatting with my counselor about why I can't seem to lose weight.  I realize I sabotage everything I do - why?  Because in all truthfulness I'm not sure I really want to give up the things that are keeping the weight on.  I make every excuse - "menopause, age, thyroid disease, body type, family genes, etc. etc. etc."   The truth?  the calories I consume are much more than what's being worked off.  Plain and simple.

So I decided last week that I would commit to doing one thing only - not change a thing other than logging in everything I put in my mouth.  I got home and said OK - this is it - I'm going to find out exactly how many calories I'm "really" consuming (to keep the 237 pounds I must have been eating at least 2,500 calorie a day or more). So it began and I found out many things in 7 days:

1.  Measuring portions and logging in (even veggies which you think dont count, but they do)  is a pain in the butt (yet after first day I started to enjoy it - go figure!).

2. I found that I actually started skipping foods (i.e., the handful of croutons while making dinner) because I didn't want to log them in and be accountable for them (I used to say if you don't write it down it has no calories - egads!)  . 

3.  Because I'm actually weighing food, and doing portion control and calorie counting, I ate less.

4.  I pretty much ate what I wanted - so I was not deprived - even had my two 5 oz glasses of red wine each night. 

Result - lost 4 pounds!!!

Seriously?  Is that really been the secret all these years?  (I do admit that I'm exercising every day which helps and the day I ate 2,000 calories instead of 1,500 I walked 3 miles). 

So the journey continues - I know there will be set backs and days I can't measure, but this has been a real eye opener.  It's funny - when I really crave something, I just eat it - alot of times 1/2 of what a portion is just to get the taste, but I always write it down and figure it into my whole day.  Making that commitment, I even have found that I don't really want it after all because I'd rather use my calories towards something I want.   So go get yourself a food scale and make a 1 week commitment to log anything in?  What can it hurt... it worked for me!!

[pjf53]

Congratulations.  If you can manage your lifestyle (diet)  you will achieve your weight goals.  Exercise (cardio and strength training) will maximize your health and support fat loss versus muscle loss.

[PappyJ]

Base runner:
That was a very insightful post! I truly believe “we” are own worst enemy! So much of what we do is driven by events from our past that have shaped who we are today! Most of the time we are not even aware of why we do what we do.

I truly believe it is that simple, recording what you eat and being aware what goes down the pie hole! 😛

That being said, I have found you can only be focused & tightly controlled for more than say a few months. Eventually life starts throwing curve balls & you have to find a long term plan to stay the course but maintain flexibility in your eating & exercising habits.

Good luck with your efforts! Life is precious & short! Enjoy the journey!

Cheers!
Lyle

Sent from my iPhone

[YJK]

Thanks for this, will try it out. Which app are you using to log the food?
ent from Yahoo Mail on Android

[PappyJ]

Jogger:
I have been using the FitBit app for recording.

Cheers!
Lyle

Sent from my iPhone

[bourby]

i think you stumbled onto a couple of important things...... you were strong with logging foods so you didnt eat something if you couldnt be bothered weighing and logging it.
you also still enjoyed a couple of wines. it means your still enjoying things rather than feeling like punishing yourself by depriving what you like.
good on ya

[Colinm39]

I accidentally  posted this without the text.. 

I was in cafe of one of our major hospitals and this is what was displayed.. The person whop served me was wearing a smart watch and we discusses the offering because of the suggested effort need to burn the calories..

                       

I

[Baltoscott]

@Colinm39 — That’s an amazing under-reporting of the amount of exercise needed to burn off the reported number of calories for the two items in your picture.  WOW!

I like that they post the calories for both items, though.  I mentally translate the high calorie counts for things like bakery items or pizza into something a little less processed like eggs or apples.  Helps me realize that even the “Okay” rated Sunflower Slice (= 4 to 6 apples or eggs) should be split with someone and paired with a whole food of some kind ... unless the plan is to gain weight.

[Colinm39]

@Baltoscott   The top photo shows the 1/2 slice, and the calories phew...... When I spoke to the person serving me about the great information on the "treats", she showed me her Apple watch, so I flashed my Ionic.

This hospital is also one of our leading heart areas and 30 years ago I partook in a study for overweight 50+ people for the onset of type 2 diabetes, with equal mix of male and females, and we had to do 3 x 2 weeks over 6 weeks of diet changes. I worked over the road and it was my pre breakfast fasting.

From memory it was Omega 3's, then sunflower type oils, and finally your normal diet..  They provided the food quantities for the first 2 x 2 weeks and we were tested when we went in to get our next food rations.

It involved heart tests, blood tests and ultrasound tests on our coratid arteries.. also the typical weight etc..

This was when I found out my genetic background.. I discussed this with the cardiologists because the changes in diet had little affect on me but the results were exceptional  They even made us look at our heart valves working.. (All in the name of science)

The answer I received was.. "Blame your parents for your genes"..

I never imaged back then that I would be applying that knowledge to my Fitbit experience..

Now 30 years after that my doctor had me checked again.. No change, heart and valves all normal and functioning correctly,.

[AmySterling]

What was in that red velvet cake - concentrated butter and mega-sugar? That's more calories than I eat in a day! 

[Colinm39]

@AmySterling  Yes, that surprised me, because my average intake for the last 6 weeks is 1,890 calories/day and with that I'm now losing the weight I need.. Only a 1lb every week .. Doctor is happy with that and with moderate activity.

I'm watching what I could eat... and... eating smaller portions of the nutritional food.. and I'm never hungry... BUT... pop 2 or 3 choc coated cashews/almonds and my taste buds... say.... more please....

Here is what Red Velvet Cake is....you were close Butter milk and cocoa.. etc.. Devil's Food is appropriate.

All used red food coloring. The reaction of acidic vinegar and buttermilk tends to better reveal the red anthocyanin in cocoa and keeps the cake moist, light, and fluffy. This natural tinting may have been the source for the name "red velvet", as well as "Devil's food" and similar names for chocolate cakes.

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@AmySterling wrote:

What was in that red velvet cake - concentrated butter and mega-sugar? That's more calories than I eat in a day! 

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[ChelleLee]

I'm down 12 lbs in 3 weeks. My calories in are around 800 and my burn is about 2800 a day. I don't work out hard, I am looking for that "fat burn" area and keep my heart rate there but I work out twice a day.  I also don't buy into the eat more lose more mind set. I think its complete and utter nonsense. It's simple, the more calories you put in the more you need to burn!

You didn't mention water. Water increases calorie burn and especially cold water! Fit bit recommends 64 oz my doctor says 90 oz!

One issue I found with the fit bit food list is that much of the items on it are wrong. I'm not sure why but I put in my own and keep a list of my foods so that I know I'm getting the right information on my food log. I shoot for under 50 carbs and 30g fat a day. I also measure EVERYTHING, I don't eat out ever and I don't change my eating on weekends. 

[Dominique]

@ChelleLee : how much do you need/want to lose? Asking as a crash diet, while it may work for a short period of time (as demonstrated by your personal experience over three weeks), is usually not the best approach for losing a lot of weight. Or do you expect to continue to lose at an average of 4 lbs per week for weeks or even months to come?

As to water intake causing more calories to be burned, I’d like to see studies on the subject. Same with cold water vs. hot water. While being properly hydrated is important for overall health and well-being, drinking water in itself doesn’t result in weight loss.

[bourby]

the water thing is right. when the water is icy cool or hot..... the body uses energy to make the water the same temperature as your body. it might not be a huge amount of energy but its better than nothing. i was led to believe that the water causes metabolism to speed up which stays increased for a while after the temp is adjusted...... burning a few extra calories.

[Kayco]

I have an add in for the weighing section of your post.

I was doing some research as I was seeing little-to-no change on the scale on my weekly weigh-ins. Sometimes I would be thrilling if I was down that 1lb, but other weeks I would have a crazy fluctuation (For ex would weigh 153 one day and 161 next week) even if I weighed myself the same time each time.

I thought, "Man, I'm putting in all of this work and it doesn't seem to be working"

So I looked up some info:

If you would like to keep track of your weight, it is suggested you weigh yourself the same time every day and keep a log (like a graph) in a journal and put a little dot as to where you weigh.

I set mine up with my goal at the bottom and about 10 lbs passed where I am now so my verticle axis would be 140-170 and my horizontal would be the days of the week.

This allows you to see the natural fluctuations your body goes through (alcohol consumption, what kind of meal you had before bed, bloating, etc) while still being able to see an avg weight per week.

For example, my first week of tracking looked like this: June 27 - 157 June 28 - 156.2 June 29 - 156 June 30 - 156 July 1 - 155.4 July 2 - 158 July 3 - 155.7 July 4 - 155.4 July 5- 155 July 6 - 156 July 7 - 154 July 8 - 154

After your week, you find the average.

Regardless of fluctuations (which are always going to happen) you should see a decrease week to week if you keep up the cal deficit.

It is happening, your body just needs time to adjust.

Also, try not to stress! Cortisol levels never helped no one!!!!!

[ChelleLee]

@Dominique I had about 50 lbs to lose and it isn't a crash diet. I'm not dieting, I have completely changed my diet. I no longer consume any sugar, milk products, bread products, butter, red meat etc. Just chicken fish turkey and veggies (excluding potato's)  I have consistently dropped approx 12.5 lbs per month and still am! I'm close to my goal but even after I reach it I won't go back to eating the way I was due to the fact that is what got me over weight in the first place. Sugar is evil and it will kill you and carbs (other than the ones you naturally get while eating something, like a vegetable for instance) are one of the biggest reasons for weight gain and disease, not to mention they are horribly addictive! 

I never suggested that drinking water makes you lose weight (although a water cleanse will make someone lose weight) but the body is trying to release the fat that you are burning and it needs water and air to do that effectively! 

[ChelleLee]

@Kayco yep I have the same thing happen and I think it is just the body working to adjust. If it bugs me I just stop weighing myself in the morning and weigh once a week. Without a doubt on the stress!

[Dominique]

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@ChelleLee wrote:

I had about 50 lbs to lose and it isn't a crash diet. I'm not dieting, I have completely changed my diet. I no longer consume any sugar, milk products, bread products, butter, red meat etc. Just chicken fish turkey and veggies (excluding potato's)  I have consistently dropped approx 12.5 lbs per month and still am! 

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I’m glad to hear you have been able to almost achieve your goal in such a short time. However, I’d still call it a crash diet, simply based on the pace (3+ lbs per week) and the average implied deficit (1500+ per day). That you have made a major overhaul of the quality of your diet certainly facilitated your weight loss, but the fact remains the underlying deficit is still very high.