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[cbobinsky]

I've had my fitbit since Christmas but been very careful with exercise and food and now I'm 2 pounds heavier than when I started.

Help!

[trainer]

Check your measurements. Are your pants getting looser? Muscle is more dense than fat so you might be building lean mass with or without losing fat mass. Although it is technically/scientifically possible to lose fat while gaining muscle, most people don't seem to be able to do this (no one knows why exactly) and so your body will do one and then the other over and over. At this point you might be building lean mass (which is what you want in the long run anyway) and your body just hasn't revved its metabolism up enough yet to start burning fat fast enough. If this is happening you will notice your clothes are too big and people are saying 'you look good' but the scale will be stuck or even go up.

[cbobinsky]

Thanks for your reply.  They did start to feel a bit better but then went back to being tight.  I think I'm confused by how much I should be eating.  The calories intake vs output always says I'm under and on the log page it always says I have so many calories left to eat.  Am I supposed to be eating all the calories or I was thinking of just limiting calories to 1200 a day.  I have the weight loss setting to kinda hard which is -750 per day so is that amount calculated into the amount of calories I should eat?

Maybe not eating under enough?

[SunsetRunner]

@cboninsky

The fact that you posted to express your frustration and ask for help tells me you will able to do this! You don't offer any details so I will suggest the basics.

Weight loss, as we have all learned the hard way, is a matter of simple arithmetic -- calories consumed must be less than calories burned. The fitbit gives us good data on calories burned through movement & exercise. Other apps will sync with fitbit to allow you to tract the food you consume and tie it in with calories burned. But we have to be brutally honest when tracking food. I periodically write down every bite of food in order to recognize what I call portion creep.

If you are carefully tracking all calories consumed and it is less than what you are burning, according to the fitbit, then there are a couple other things to consider.

Are you developing muscle while decreasing body fat? A muscle test at your doctor's office can answer that. It is good to develop muscle but it will affect the arithmetic of your weight loss.

If you are doing everything right but still see no weight loss, go for a good physical. Bring your food logs and fitbit weekly reports. Then be assertive with your doctor. S/he can make sure there is not a medical problem.

Hope this helps. Please let us know how it goes.

[Odyssey13]

Don't be kicking yourself for the weight gain. You know certain times of the month a woman does retain water and that can account for those two pounds.

You're on the road to more steps and becoming more aware of your active levels. We're here for you and for a better life for us all.

I log everything I eat to keep track of it. It shows me I'm not eating as much junk as I used to and am getting more veggies, which is a good thing. Maybe writing down your food will help you as well.

Also, be sure you drink enough. Sometimes being thirsty, we get confused and think we're hungry.

Many threads on how people have done better, even after slipping. So don't you worry. Just take a deep breath and start again.

[slysam]

A lot of things can cause a weight gain of a couple-few pounds that are not related to gaining body fat. Sometimes when people start vigorous exercise or a new exercise program they gain a few pounds of fluid weight. I typically weigh 2-3 pounds more if I do strength training or very vigorous cardio on a regular basis. I don't continually gain, it just seems to happen right away when I start or restart a program. Then if my diet is good I can continue to lose. Several times when I took a break from vigorous exercise those few pounds just dropped. I was especially surprised to return from a two week vacation to see I lost 3 pounds. I was certainly indulging some on the vacation. I did stay active swimming, dancing and walking, but I didn't do any vigorous activities. And when I returned home and resumed my activity those few pounds reappeared. Hormone cycles can also cause gains and losses of a few pounds. Sometimes when we lose fat at a slow, healthy rate fluctuations in fluid weight can hide our results from the scales. I think it is important to also take measurements and maybe even progress pictures so you have a second opinion.

[Psychobarb]

Hi all.  I, too, have been frustrated lately about no weight loss.  Here's my story.  I walked WAY less January-early March due to snow, ice and cold and ate fairly normally.  I log in what I eat almost everyday and eat very healthfully (olive oil, fish, almonds, apples, carrots, spinach, protein).  Just last week, with last of snow, I started ramping up my walking, over 10,000 steps a day and I feel terrific!

Yes, I am disappointed the scale has not move SINCE FEBRUARY, not an iota, but I suspect it will.  I've decided it makes no sense to cut back on food, I will just be miserable. 

[Heybales]

Did you select a weight loss goal in Fitbit?

Then you should be eating to your goal, which already has a deficit in it to cause weight loss.

You do more, you eat more, you do less, you eat less. Keep what is hopefully a wise choice of deficit in there the same.

How well do you log your foods?

Do you weigh everything but liquids?

Calories is based on weight, not volume, so measuring can be very inaccurate, as can package nutrition labels - "about 2 servings" could be 2.5 to 3 when you actually weigh the package and divide by grams in a serving. 

Do that all day long, you got no deficit to lose weight.

I'll bet either your logging is really bad, or it's pretty good and you are eating way too under already and your body has adapted down, burning less than Fitbit knows.

Sadly, whether a small deficit or big deficit, you aren't building any muscle. Men in a study eating at maintenance and new to weight lifting, so the most improvement, only traded fat for LBM (not even muscle mass, they didn't test how much actual muscle mass) at the rate of 3.5 lbs in 16 weeks, less than 1 lb a month.

If you are a woman eating at a deficit, and not lifting - forget it.

http://jap.physiology.org/content/76/1/133.short 

[Tamilm]

I am also having the same problem. I am using the calories that fitbit says I have and sometimes not all of them. I'm only into this a week. I am very honest about what I'm eating and drinking. Hopeing I'm building muscle. I am walking 3 to 4 miles a day plus my normal activity. Just want to see at least 1 pound gone.

[Heybales]

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@Tamilm wrote:

I am also having the same problem. I am using the calories that fitbit says I have and sometimes not all of them. I'm only into this a week. I am very honest about what I'm eating and drinking. Hopeing I'm building muscle. I am walking 3 to 4 miles a day plus my normal activity. Just want to see at least 1 pound gone.

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Sadly no you are not building muscle. You've likely been walking for years, so there's no need for more muscle as if you are overloading what you've got.

But there is a need to power you longer now, so the boy is going to add more glycogen stores in the muscles, which stores with water. 500 cal worth stored is 1 lb.

With so little to lose, hopefully you selected to lose little, or you'll have a fight on your hand. Just meet your eating goal. It's a goal to reach, not miss. You wouldn't stop before reaching your weight goal, right?

[Tamilm]

I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me

[Heybales]

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@Tamilm wrote:
I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me

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Probably going to want to edit your message fast and delete personal contact info.

I'm not sure what part of what I said is confusing.

You hoped to be gaining muscle by walking - no a chance.

You have 1 lb to lose - select the lowest weekly goal loss, like 1/2 lb weekly.