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?

[EmjayH]

@SunsetRunner I use myfitnesspal and have no issues with it. You need to have it set at negative calories though 

[SunsetRunner]

It’s not accurate unless you pay a very expensive fee to make it work properly, most people don’t need a database with around 50 different types of milk or chicken breast with skin and lean, chicken breast with skin and fat... etc etc.... it’s too confusing and then its complicated to add and subtract your exercises too. A much simpler, more accurately and trusted app is CALORIEKING. 


Tony Barhoum

[YJK]

Hi Base Runner,Thank you very much for your suggestion. I will definitely look into this.
Yvonne

[YJK]

Thanks, Strider, this is very helpful.Yvonne

[SunsetRunner]

This is the thing; having to set negative calories and having to do so much
to make it work is really complicated, I have used my fitness pal and have
set it to negative calories, so I do understand exactly what you're saying
but guess what ? it was still wrong , Why ? because if your Fitbit today
tells you you're burning 4000 calories then you'll need to consume at least
3000 to make up the difference and if tomorrow you only burn 2000 calories
then you'll have to eat some silly amount around 1200 calories, come on
guys, we are humans not camels, we don't eat heaps one day to only eat tiny
amounts the next..so I don't recommend this at all.

[SunsetRunner]

You don't need any books, you just need common sense which this Fitbit app
is not providing you with!

[Dominique]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:
It’s not accurate unless you pay a very expensive fee to make it work properly 

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I don’t use MyFitnessPal, but I assume the "very expensive fee" you refer to is the $49.99 annual fee for the Premium suscription. I had a look at the features of the Premium subcription and I couldn’t really see what are the particular features that are a must for MFP to work "properly". It seems most MFP users are using the free version and it’s working for them.

I agree it’s confusing to have the same food items entered multiple times with different calories and macros. OTOH, most people tend to eat the same foods over and over again (at least, it’s my case). If so, they can double-check the "correct" values outside MFP, with a simple Google search. Any errors or inaccuracies in foods they seldom eat won’t have a major impact on their weight loss. Quite often, it’s the mere fact of logging (even if it’s not 100% "accurate") that yields results, by raising awareness of what (and how much) you’re putting down your throat. 

[Dominique]

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@EmjayH wrote:

I use myfitnesspal and have no issues with it. You need to have it set at negative calories though 

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I’ll add that anyone can check @EmjayH’s amazing progress in the Weekly Weigh In discussion: 123 kg in Nov-2016, 98 kg in Mar-2017, 70 kg in Dec-2017. The combination of MFP, Fitbit and the hard work and dedication she’s put in has clearly worked for her.

[SunsetRunner]

It’s the way that my fitness pal and fitbit add back burned calories that destroys your efforts to lose weight, add to that the overestimates of calorie burn by your fitbit wrist band and there lies the problem. Try an accurate calorie counter that has a reliable database and one that adds back only your net ( not gross calorie burn ) and you will see superior results. Does myftiness pal work out your net calories as opposed to adding ba ck your gross calories ? no . Calorieking costs $9Aud For a lifetime licence , it has a trusted and accurate databse of food which are varified before they become part of the database . 

[SunsetRunner]

I found this just now, you might find this of interest...
https://nycfit.com/review-best-nutrition-food-log-apps/


Tony Barhoum

[EmjayH]

Yep and I have myfitnesspal premium. Ur link does say it's the best lol

[YJK]

Hi JustMieka,

Thanks a lot for your feedback. I do indeed sleep very late and often too little and during our high season business wise, there is also a fair amount of stress. It's really just a bad habit. I enjoy the quiet of the night when I can work on my projects without being disturbed. I will try to change this habit and see if it helps!

[YJK]

Thanks, Dave!

[SunsetRunner]

But CALORIEKING is better at $9 AUD for a lifetime membership, so much cheaper, imagine how many big macs you could buy 😊😊


Tony Barhoum

[bourby]

boy you sure love calorie king. you must be getting a commission. unfortunately according to your link earlier, its for iphone only. it doesnt do android or pc. thats going to rule many ppl out. 

[SunsetRunner]

I know, it’s sad. Yep i love calorie king because it works well for me, i live in Australia so it’s geared to good old fashioned aussie foods, they’re all verified so no guessing which entry to pick, no need to google search to see if the entry is correct or not. I guess knowing that it is always accurate is what i love about it, and its $9 for a lifetime subscription, nit $49.99 a year, and no, I don’t work for the computer any and I don’t get any commission, the only thing i get is a 99% reassurance that it’s going to help me achieve what I want, no second guessing, no fiddling around, I don’t even have to blog about it’s useabilty , and it certainly doesn’t contain the calorie values for  **ahem**! 


Tony Barhoum

[Dominique]

Moral of the story: as with diets, exercise and plenty of other things, there is no single "best" solution for everyone. Each of us has to find what works best for them. Whatever floats your boat, that’s my motto!

[SunsetRunner]

Totally agree with you, but I’m just trying to help those who are finding it difficult, i truly beleive what einstein said “ doing the same thing and exoecting a different result is a sign of insanity “  . Take care and have an amazing day. 

[SunsetRunner]

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@pjf53 wrote:

I'm convinced weight training is key to eliminating fat

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Me too. I find cardio slowed my weight loss. Lifting is not the ONLY way, but the best way to change your metabolism and burn fat.

[Dschneier]

Unless you're replacing an hour of cardio with an hour of weight training (and I don't mean the ten reps and stand around for three minutes resting variety), you're burning more calories with cardio. 

It's all about heart rate and not either mysterious or complicated.