Should I eat exercise calories back?

[JennMos]

I am having trouble losing weight. I started at 200 pounds around the beginning of March. I lost 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks and have since failed to lose any more. Sometimes I come in at 189 and other times 193. I exercise 6 days a week for a minimum of an hour but typically 2 hours a day. I get between 15,000 and 20,000 steps a day in. Using a Heart Rate Monitor as well as fitbit and myfitness pal the calories logged are correct give or take 40-50 calories. I eat anywhere between 1200 and 1700 calories a day and I can't seem to lose any weight for over a month and a half now. When fitbit syncs with myfitnesspal it adds the calories burned to calories remaining so a day where I burn 1000 calories I can eat 2200 calories. I feel that I am fairly active and on a typical day my fitbit says I burn anywhere between 2700-3500 calories. Why am I not losing weight? I am so frustrated at this point.

[kimmyd871]

You sound like me!!  I believe you need to eat the calories that you have lost.  Are you losing fat and gaining muscle?  My weight lose is extremely slow as well.  Do you see a change is your clothes?  I am 197 and it is very difficult to get myself into the 180's.    Do you use the scale?  You seem you are extremly active!  What are you doing for exercise?

[JennMos]

I am still in the same size pants but I am no longer being choked by them. I weigh myself every morning when I wake up. I get up at 5:30am on Mon and Wed and head to the gym for an hour on the treadmill and then on those days go for another 1-2 1/2 hour walk throughout my neighborhood stopping at our small gym to do weights. On Tues and Thurs I go to the gym for an hour and half to do the treadmill. I vary my workout on the tredmill. Sometimes I walk at 3 m.p.h. at a 10-15% incline and other times I job at 4.5 m.p.h. On Fridays my husband and I go for 2-2 1/2 hours and I again do the tredmill. Saturday and Sunday more of the same. At night I will "dance" with my son for an hour or so as well. I like to think I am pretty active but it doesn't seem to be working. I keep pushing how many steps I get in a day with my max being 26,000 steps in one day. I don't think I honestly have the time to spend any more time than I already am exercising. Maybe I should eat more, but I am afraid to.

[kimmyd871]

WoW!!   That's a ton of exercise!  Are you eating enough protein?

[JennMos]

I have chicken at least once a day on average. Egg whites for breakfast with fruit and 100% whole grain mini bagel and light cream cheese. I do have trouble with wanting to eat more at night and will have some frozen yogurt, but only a half a cup. I am quite **ahem** about accurately submitting my calories in myfitnesspal. My one weak spot is weekend when I tend to eat more and have restaurant food once or twice. I wouldn't think that would be enough to keep me stalled.

[Heybales]

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@JennMos wrote:

I am having trouble losing weight. I started at 200 pounds around the beginning of March. I lost 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks and have since failed to lose any more. Sometimes I come in at 189 and other times 193. I exercise 6 days a week for a minimum of an hour but typically 2 hours a day. I get between 15,000 and 20,000 steps a day in. Using a Heart Rate Monitor as well as fitbit and myfitness pal the calories logged are correct give or take 40-50 calories. I eat anywhere between 1200 and 1700 calories a day and I can't seem to lose any weight for over a month and a half now. When fitbit syncs with myfitnesspal it adds the calories burned to calories remaining so a day where I burn 1000 calories I can eat 2200 calories. I feel that I am fairly active and on a typical day my fitbit says I burn anywhere between 2700-3500 calories. Why am I not losing weight? I am so frustrated at this point.

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Sounds like you think exercise is for weight loss. And you don't want to trust the tools you have available even though your own knowledge on the matter is limited.

Diet is for weight loss - done right just fat loss, done wrong includes muscle mass.

Exercise is for heart health and body improvements - done right can support just fat loss, done wrong can encourage muscle mass loss.

That amount of exercise in a diet is going to be counter-productive, unless it's just walking.

So you eat 1200-1700, and you burn 2700-3500 daily, creating a deficit of 1000 - 2300 calories daily.

Which if you could somehow make it all fat would be 2 - 4.6 lbs weekly lost.

I sure hope that doesn't sound reasonable or healthy, unless you have 400 lbs to lose - which you don't.

Did you know it takes your body more time to recovery from exercise and repair when you eat in a deficit?

Did you know frequent and/or intense exercise is a stress on the body?

Did you know extreme diet (like you have) is a stress on the body?

Food sensitivities, allergies, bad sleep, life, disease are all stresses on the body.

Guess if stress will make it easier or harder to lose weight.

I guess your results have already answered that question.

A healthy body can lose 2 lbs weekly if there is enough fat to lose.

I don't know how much more you have to lose, but 2 lbs may not even be reasonable anymore.

And for what you are doing to your body, it ain't healthy anymore and wouldn't even support a reasonable weight loss goal right now probably.

If you have over 40 lbs, then 2 lbs weekly can be reasonable.

That means a deficit of 1000 calories from what you burn daily in TOTAL.

That is exactly what the MFP and Fitbit sync are trying to do - let them.

Meet your goal in eating level.

If you don't want to eat that much - stop exercising that much. Besides, unless walking like I said, in a diet your aren't getting as much from those workouts as you could anyway, you likely have terrible recovery.

At this point, you probably need to slowly increase your eating level to get to your goal, and I'd suggest keep working up to your daily burn. Yes, take a diet break. Let your hormones reset since all screwed up. Cut down the exercise that week so eating level is more reasonable. Find your sustainable level, unless you really picture yourself doing that much exercise forever.

Go for long term success, not short term success but long term failure yo-yo dieting because you lose muscle mass, each year making it harder to lose and easier to gain. Having a terrible relationship with food and your body.

Now that is a stressful life.

[KareBear1911]

Have you checked out myplate.gov? This site has accurate information on healthy portion sizes to maintain a healthy weight. Make sure that you are keeping track of your macros and drinking plenty of water. I think you may be exercising too much and eating too little which can result in loss of muscle mass. Have you tried intermittent fasting? I have done this a few times and it has worked wonders for me, my trouble is being able to stick with it. The idea behind intermittent fasting is to go without eating for 16 hours (sleep counts as time fasted) and allow yourself 8 hours to eat. Still keep track of what your eating and how much. You can have black coffee or tea in the mornings (no cream and/or sugar), and a zero calorie sweetener such as Truvia. Cut your exercise in half. Walk for an hour a day, 3 days a week. give your body some time to recover. Stress can also negatively impact your weight loss. Try to eliminate stress where you can, and make sure to take time for yourself (read, meditate, massage). 

[DavideFitbit]

Great suggestions @KareBear1911! Welcome to the Community forums. 

I struggle with the same things you mentioned; intermittent fasting has done wonders for me too, but it's a bit difficult for me to stick with it. 

Definitely walking and trying to keep a balance between healthy eating and exercise is important! 😀