Weight Loss not working

[truth2ak]

I hve had my fitbit for a month now and I am using it along with diet to loose 20 lbs.  but I have kept gaining and loosing the same 5 lbs even though my daily calorie deficit has averaged 980 calories.

Anyone have any ideas?

Ok this an edit to my earlier post.  I have read and made an evaluation that there is truth in everyones input and thanks.   The reason for the post is that I was wondering how accurate the fitbit charge HR measurement is but since no one mentioned failure of accuracy in Fitbit,  I assume that everyone thinks the calories it says I am burning and the accuracy of Fitbit's scales are not the problem.  My weight has actually begun to come down now and the only adjustment I made is to drop the weights from my exercise routine.  

I think the fitbit band is spot on or at least under evaluates calories and I am back on track... Thanks!

[SunsetRunner]

Well there could be multiple reasons. First thing that comes to mind is what kind of food are you eating? Cutting calories doesn't work so well if you're still eating foods that are bad for the body. 

Another thing to think about is the time of day you eat. Breakfast is important to boost your metabolism and it's important to eat most of your calories during the day rather than in the evening. 

I don't know much about your diet so I'm not sure if anything I said would help you but these are just some things I've had to keep in mind during my own journey.

[HelenaFitbit]

I know it can be a bit frustrating to hit a plateau, but this is the perfect opportunity to start from scratch and map out your next goal. 

What's your caloric deficit? Are you following a plan? What's your workout routine? Are you limiting a food group from your diet? 

There are many ways to lose weight, I am sure members @SunsetRunner @carl669 @PaleoCrossfit and @Heybales can give out some insight on this.  

Stay strong, you can do it! 

[truth2ak]

Yes I have been staying between a 750 and 1000 deficit a day.

My work out routine is pretty much light weights 20 lbs max. Walk briskly with 10 lb leg weights and 3 lb hand weights for 30 minutes. I also do about 15 minutes of yoga, 3 sets of 12 pushups a day, and walk between 8,000 and 15,000 a day… This is almost on a daily basis. I may miss part of it now and again but I at least try and do some of it daily.

Thanks

[SunsetRunner · Accepted solution]

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@truth2ak wrote:
Yes I have been staying between a 750 and 1000 deficit a day.

My work out routine is pretty much light weights 20 lbs max. Walk briskly with 10 lb leg weights and 3 lb hand weights for 30 minutes. I also do about 15 minutes of yoga, 3 sets of 12 pushups a day, and walk between 8,000 and 15,000 a day… This is almost on a daily basis. I may miss part of it now and again but I at least try and do some of it daily.

Thanks

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Weight Training (which is what you are mostly doing) will tend to develop muscle tissue.

Muscle tissue (for the same volume) has about 4 times the weight. So, you may be losing

the fat tissue but gaining weight. The "secret to weight loss" is natural (not manufactured

or refined) nutrition, combined with progressive aerobic exercise (walk/jog/run), which

uses the largest muscles in your body (legs/glutes) and therefore uses many calories.

You don't have to give up the weight training, but it's not good weight loss exercise.

[Trooper]

If you have a digital scale, you might want to make sure the batteries are good. If you drink a lot of water, the scale will show an increase in your weight,  and within a day or two it will show a loss. It drives me crazy!!! I don't log my weight down anymore until I am sure that the weight that I am putting down is accurate. So I will wait for a few days to see what it will say. Never weighe  yourself in the afternoon, but only in the morning. It might not be you, but what you are drinking. Some beverages have a lot of sodium, like Gatorde. It sounds like your Atheletic. So I am assuming you have to drink something like this to get hydrated. If you do drink them, they are probably contributing to the water weight gain. Some foods also have a lot of salt. So you might want to reduce your Sodium intake. I usually weigh myself in the morning and right now I am weighing 210 down from 270 since Christmas. But the problem is that I like to drink a lot of diet tea after I get home from work. In the morning, my weight is back up to 212 or 213. I know that I did not eat 2 pounds of extra calories during the night. I am vigourous about my counting and so I am sure that I am not overeating. That may also be your problem. The good news is that within two days my weight is back down. Digital scales can be very sensitive if you have one. Good Luck. These are just my ideas and tidbits. I am not a medical professional, and or an expert. I am just someone that has been measuring and counting calories for a long time.

[Bobbinyc]

I had the same problem.  First, the calorie deficit is not to be relied on as actual calories.  Everyone burns calories differently.  Mostly, look at your activity.  Is it increasing regularly?  Are you doing aerobics? Strength?  Is your walking at a good pace?  And what kind of "diet" are you on?  Did you cut out all junk food?  Are you aware of portion sizes?

I was super careful for one month before I lost anything.  For me, my metabolism was so slow, both from a health problem and from being sedentary for a long time.  I think it took my body a month or so to realize it was going to keep getting good nutrition and could still handle being active.  I keep increasing the activity, both speed and amount.

Hope this helps.  If not, talk to someone about what you are eating and how active you are.

[DominicJ]

We really need to develop a Statement of Affairs type form for poeple to post 🙂

Whats you current weight?

Whats your goal weight?

How many Calories are you eating per day?

How many Calories are you burning per day?

[josephz2va]

980 deficit based on how many calories burned and consumed depends on the quality of those calories.

1. Calories Burned - Sedentary vs Active Burning. Most of your time is Sedentary. Between 23 hours and 20 hours you're sitting down. Office computers, TV Couch Potato, etc. Active Burning is when you devote your time to Walking, Running, Treadmilling, Gym Activities, etc. The more you do Active Burning, the more you earned eating those calories.
2. Calories Based on Quality - The quality of those calories are very important to get what your goal is to be. Skipping "Restaurants" "Fast Food Joints" "Convenience Store Snacking" "Powerbars" "Dr. Oz tricks" "Advertisements that say taking this fat burning pill or putting a tummy tuck belt on will shred your fat". The quality you consume is by eating good foods. Nutrition 101: Eat To Build Lean Muscle. They have a list of foods you should consume. Like beef, brown rice, eggs, apples, oranges, veggies, etc. Most you can combine or alter. Like I'm going to have an Egg White Sandwich on whole wheat bread. Substituting Ezekial Bread with Whole Wheat 100 calories 2 slices and using an Egg Microwave Cooker with Egg White Liquid for 50 calories.
3. For people such as myself, we don't need to match -1000 deficit. I match -2000 deficit instead. Because I'm 20 hours sedentary and 3 hours active. 3771 burned 1585 eaten but the goal is 1,200 calories eaten. My BMR is: 1,745 calories/day

You have to ask yourself "Why am I gaining fat?" It's from bad quality and sedentary. I changed up my quality and my signature has my results. Devoting a full hour to weights and body training in the morning, and devoting 30 minutes to an hour at the gym in the afternoon burning cardio and body training.

[SunsetRunner · Accepted solution]

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@josephz2va wrote:

980 deficit based on how many calories burned and consumed depends on the quality of those calories.

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It absolutely does not ...

Calories are calories (good or bad), and excess calories are stored as fat.

[dancefoxtrot]

Truth

The only flaw I find is that my Charge Hr does register steps when I'm driving. I try to keep it off the wheel when I drive. Check out your steps before and after driving to see if this is happening to you too.

Keep moving,

Barb

[HelenaFitbit]

I'll be glad to help on this @dancefoxtrot! There are some cases where your hands may be moving but your body is not, such as driving or playing the guitar, this may cause your tracker to count certain movement patterns as extra steps and floors, but not to worry! They can easily be negated from your daily log.

To negate steps from your activity log, you can do the following:

1. Sign into your Dashboard and click the 'Log Activity' icon from the menu at the top of the screen.
2. Select the date in question.
3. In the activity menu, type in "Automobile or light truck (not a semi) driving" and enter the time the commuting began and for how and the duration of your ride.
4. Click "Log Activity." You will see the steps, calories burned, and other data decrease for the time period specified.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions

[Shauna_D]

How much of a deficit should i be at at the end of the day?

[HelenaFitbit]

Hey there @Shauna_D! If you have already created a Food Plan, you should end your day with 0 calories pending.

Since this almost never happens  I usually leave out 100 or less to make up for any innacurate measurements that I might have missed on the food scale. 

[she4book]

I read that we need to eat a certain amount food to get the nutrition our bodies need.  A low deficit will work against us if we continue it for too long.  The suggestion was to eat more calories at least once every week or two, possibly on the same day of the week.  That tricks/challenges the body.  I also read that we need to change up the exercise routine every 6-8 weeks to challenge the body.

[jennyct]

So I have to ask at what point timewise did you start losing? According to my records, I should have lost 10.59 lbs for the last 2 months and I have lost NOTHING at all. I use a scale to weigh all my food (except for one week vacation I estimated). 

[Omannie57]

Hi since I started doing squats and situps daily, up to 200 of each, my weight lose has stopped, any one know why this is please, so unhappy 

[I-train-hard]

Omannie 

200 squats? How do you do 200 squats? What is the weight you carry when you squat?  

[Omannie57]

12st 13Ib, I do them in 6 settings, so it is 200 altogethet

[I-train-hard]

Okay

And what's your height and weight if I may ask?