Not losing weight with a large calorie deficit

[Scarlehtt]

In short, I have a calorie deficit of on average 800-1500 most days but I just can't seem to shift the weight. 

Ive been trying to lose weight for the majority of the past year but with holidays and celebrations I've always ended back at step 1. The past 9 weeks I've been putting a lot more effort into losing weight and toning my body, but with very little success.  I've only lost 4lbs and 1% body fat. 

Ive been going to the gym regularly these 9 weeks and very rarely miss a session. I run on the treadmill for 30mins 4 mornings a week, usually between 4 and 4.5km and burning 250-350cals. This is always fasted and i don't eat breakfast until 3 hours later.  I then go after work 5 times a week to do either weights or HIIT. I have 2 rest days a week, Wednesday and Sunday. I also go for a walk every lunchtime to get the number of steps up. 

Food wise I try very hard to accurately record what i eat daily, measuring everything. I consume between 1200 and 1500 cals on an average day (closer to 1200 on my rest days) and will occasionally have a "cheat" day up to 2000 cals. I aim for high protein and fat (45% each) and low carbs (under 50g). 

My FitBit is recording between 2600 and 3000 calories being burnt on my gym days and between 2000 and 2200 cals on my rest days. So its saying I'm in a calorie deficit of between 800 and 1500 calories a day. I'm just not seeing this reflected in my weight which hasn't moved in quite a while, and neither has my body fat. 

Im not sure what I'm doing wrong and it's getting increasingly frustrating to not see any progress. I would be really grateful if anyone has some ideas or advice for me. Thanks! 

[MarciM]

Hi @Scarlehtt 

Welcome to the forum. I loved hearing about your commitment to a healthier lifestyle and that you are using this forum to seek advice. I think the first thing to look at is the what you are eating. All calories are not created equal. Green leafy vegetables do a body good, where as a soda, diet or otherwise, rice cakes and other high carb foods messes with how your body metabolized sugar, which can make weight loss seem impossible. After we've looked at your food intake, then we can explore other ideas.   

[Scarlehtt]

Hi @MarciM 

Thanks for replying!

I thought I was doing OK food wise but if that's the problem I'll be more than happy to change.

I'm pretty boring food wise and eat the same thing most days as its easiest for me. Breakfast is usually Icelandic or Greek plain yoghurt with strawberries and pumpkin seeds. Lunch at work is usually 200g chicken with broccoli and edamame beans. Before the gym after work i have a homemade protein bar (coconut flour, protein powder, cocoa powder, sweetener, and lots of peanut butter). After the gym I'll have a protein shake with soya milk. Dinner is sometimes a struggle for me as im often not hungry, but it will usually be some combination of chicken, tuna, eggs, broccoli, salmon. I sometimes have spinach or pumpkin gnocchi.

Weekends are a bit more flexible. I try to stick to my usual breakfast and lunch but sometimes i dont, but im always under 2000 cals.

I dont eat bread, pasta, rice, cereal etc. I do eat out maybe once every other week and maybe have one cider or glass of gin a week.

I try to drink between 2 and 3 litres of water a day and i do have the occasional diet coke. 

Sorry for the information overload, i'm just desperate to see if any one has any advice for me! 

[Dominique]

Calories burned reported by Fitbit sound high to me. You may want to get a "second opinion" by using an online calculator such as this one. You can use your average step count as a proxy for your activity level (you would need 20k or more in order to be in "high" or "extreme").

Energy balance (= calories) come first for weight/fat loss, macros and nutrient timing come after that. In other words, it doesn’t really matter whether you train fasted or not, at what time you’re having breakfast, what’s your macro breakdown etc. Clearly your actual deficit isn’t 800-1500.

Make sure you’re getting enough quality sleep, are able to recover from your training and are keeping stress under control. Also pay attention to informal activity, i.e. your overall activity outside your formal workouts at the gym. 

[Scarlehtt]

Hi @Dominique 

Yeah its always sounded a bit high to me but I didn't have anything to compare it to. The calculator you l gave me a BMR of 1531 and TDEE to maintain weight of 2373. The BMR is pretty much identical to the BMR my fitbit is showing.  I work in an office so it does sound off that im burning an extra 1000 cals a day. I usually do between 10,000 and 15,000 steps a day.

Stress could be a factor as im starting a new job and moving across the country, but I've been doing this routine longer than I knew this was going to happen. 

[Dominique]

Fitbit uses the same underlying equation (Mifflin St Jeor) for BMR, so it makes sense it agrees with the calculator.

One thing to consider is your current weight status: do you need/want to lose weight for health reasons (because you’re currently overweight), or are you already in the normal weight range and you want to lower your weight for aesthetic reasons? It’s usually "easier" to shed fat if you’re carrying a fair amount of extra weight, harder/slower if you’re starting from a relatively thin level.

[Scarlehtt]

@Dominique 

Its a bit of both. My BMI is 25.8 and my body fat is 30% so I could do with shedding some pounds/fat. I carry most of my weight around my belly, upper arms, and thighs (although ive built a decent amount of muscle on my legs recently). Aesthetically I do want to shift the fat but I'm more interested in being toned with decent muscles than being skinny or thin. 

[dpkjj]

I understand your frustration - I, too, have one of those bodies that just wants to hang on to the weight.  What worked for me was intermittent fasting.  In my case it was the 5-2 diet (look it up); for others the 16-8 works (eating only for an 8 hour period and fasting for the other 16).  IF also has many other health benefits:  BP, cholesterol, brain health, longevity, etc.

I assume you have had your doctor check your thyroid function (and not just with the typical single test) and test for other physical conditions that might be causing weight gain.

Good luck to you. 

[Dominique]

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@Scarlehtt wrote:

Its a bit of both. My BMI is 25.8 and my body fat is 30% so I could do with shedding some pounds/fat. I carry most of my weight around my belly, upper arms, and thighs (although ive built a decent amount of muscle on my legs recently). Aesthetically I do want to shift the fat but I'm more interested in being toned with decent muscles than being skinny or thin. 

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OK, you don’t need to drop that much weight, which makes the case for losing it slower rather than faster. As you probably know, you cannot "spot-reduce" body fat: you need to lower overall fat and hope most of it will come from the "right" places. Even if things don’t work out exactly as you wish (in terms of fat distribution), you’d still be better off (from a health perspective) with a lower overall body fat.

Focusing on muscle and strength also makes perfect sense.

[Dominique]

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@dpkjj wrote:

IF also has many other health benefits:  BP, cholesterol, brain health, longevity, etc. 

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I think you’re "overselling" the benefits of IF. What you list above seems to be the typical outcomes of any balanced diet that results in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, combined with regular physical activity.