Weight loss disappointment

[Shortandsweeter]

Okay, so my fitbit was a surprise Christmas present from my husband. I didn't know what it was when I opened it, but I like gadgets and I'm usually weight watching so he thought it was a good idea.

Alas, he knows me well.

January 2, 2015 I put it on and I haven't taken it off except to shower and charge it. I'm fascinated. I've linked it up with myfitnesspal and I'm loving it. Everything I eat and drink, down to the last calorie, is being logged. Myfitnesspal has a great log and it's so easy. I prepare family meals at night from recipes than I can import into myfitness pal. I only eat things during the day I can log; porridge sachets made with water and sprinkled with oatbran, packed fresh fruit salads, weighed ingredients etc. I love the fact the fitbit logs my activity and allows me extra calories for hard work.

I am stupidly delighted to win a badge and I'm running up and down the 7 flights of stairs to my office, I'm not even huffing and puffing now. I feel better. I'm into my 3rd week now and I've been under my calorie goal everyday - even when I've sneaked in a cabury's mini eggs or few and I have been brutally honest!

I have started back running again and, with the running app, I can input the exact time and distance.

However, I need to lose 8 kilos and nothing is happening.

Any ideas why this is?

I've stopped drinking wine in the evenings, and I know I'm definitely eating less as I'm just not snacking at all.

[Bobcat84]

A few possibilities spring to mind;

1. If you are more active than you were you may find that your body composition is changing, this being that muscle is growing and fat reducing. Muscle is denser than fat and so weighs more. The aria scales (or another body fat scale) could tell you whether it is your body composition changing.

2. Not all calories are equal. Protien, good carbs and healthy fats should be the makeup of your food. So try to avoid simple sugars (puddings, chocolate etc) and high GI carbs (white potatoes, white rice, white pasta, white bread). Look for good carbs; wholegrain pasta, rice, breads (if necessary) and sweet potatoes. This means that your body would be fueled with material less likely to convert to fat.

3. If you have only just stopped the wine then you may need to give it a few weeks to take affect - alcohol stops your body burning calories to metabolise the alcohol. they are 'empty calories' and generally starts the body storing fat.

Keep going and be patient, the basic math of calories out > calories in will work. Try to remove the bad calories from the system and your results should come throguh faster.

Hope it goes well, and all the best

[HelenaFitbit]

Hey there @Shortandsweeter ! Welcome to the forums 

Usually when there's still not a weight change, there is a chance that your caloric intake is on a maintenance level, I'd recommend resetting your Food Plan over at MyFitnessPal and set it on a less aggressive goal; let's say... 500 calories per day.

Another tip is to weigh in everything you eat and drink, it's best to do it in weight (gr, oz) rather than volume (cup, tsp) because these measurements can be altered by human error; here's a video that may help:

Also, relax! Don't deny a yummy meal or a super strict diet, that may only cause frustration and bigger cravings, work around it and you'll see a weight loss in no time 

[Dominique]

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@Bobcat84 wrote:

1. If you are more active than you were you may find that your body composition is changing, this being that muscle is growing and fat reducing. Muscle is denser than fat and so weighs more. The aria scales (or another body fat scale) could tell you whether it is your body composition changing.

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Oh yeah, like you lost 2 kg of fat, but you gained 2 kg of muscle at the same time. Not likely to happen, and definitely not in one month. Typical Fitbit-induced activity (= more steps) isn't going to cause much muscle gain anyway.

[Bobcat84]

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@Dominique wrote:

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@Bobcat84 wrote:

1. If you are more active than you were you may find that your body composition is changing, this being that muscle is growing and fat reducing. Muscle is denser than fat and so weighs more. The aria scales (or another body fat scale) could tell you whether it is your body composition changing.

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Oh yeah, like you lost 2 kg of fat, but you gained 2 kg of muscle at the same time. Not likely to happen, and definitely not in one month. Typical Fitbit-induced activity (= more steps) isn't going to cause much muscle gain anyway.

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Not sure i ever suggested quantities as significant as 2 kg; as 2 kg of both fat loss and/or muscle growth in one month would be unrealistic for anyone, however in the remit of pounds (lbs) it is not unrealstic particularly if as mentioned by @Shortandsweeter  she is doing a lot of stair climbing.

Calisthenics (i.e. building muscle by bodyweight exercies) is highly popular and effective. Without knowing the persons activity type and most importantly starting weight i wouldn't rule out muscle growth - climbing stairs when  70+ KG's in weight is a hell of a Calisthenics workout and will certainly trigger  hypertrophy in leg muscles after a few floors. Don't forget your legs house some of the biggest muscle groups in both your quads and glutes - so lots of muscle to develop. So i am not suggesting a large increase in muscle mass i am proposing a small increase that could offset overall weight loss.

assuming we agree to disagree my underlying point is: the scales tell only 1 part of the picture - body composition is nice to quantify fat reduction and often gives a clearer view of things - but other metrics can also be considered and are possibly more important: like can you see or feel a change in your body? do you have more energy and are you feeling happier and more confident in yourself - the number on the scale will go down as will body fat % you just have to stick with it, the other stuff IMO is more important 🙂

[justme70]

I have learned not to use the scale as much for the weight loss/body change indicator... use your clothes....

Are they fitting differently? Are they loose in places where maybe they were not... are they hanging on your body diferently? 

A scale is not the only way to measure the changes that are going on... and remeber a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle... muscle is more dense  takes up  less space... fat is not... take a look at a picture of a pound of fat vs a pound of muscle...

and then remember to realize that it took a while to get to what ever weight your at... its not going to be a quick drop off....

[Dominique]

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@Bobcat84 wrote:

Not sure i ever suggested quantities as significant as 2 kg; as 2 kg of both fat loss and/or muscle growth in one month would be unrealistic for anyone, however in the remit of pounds (lbs) it is not unrealstic particularly if as mentioned by @Shortandsweeter  she is doing a lot of stair climbing.

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No, I was the one who took 2 kg as an example, but it could just as well be 200 g: my point is it's very tough to gain muscle and lose fat in the same amount at the same time, especially if you're on a caloric deficit. I agree with you regarding the importance of body composition, and that centimeters/inches are more important than kilograms/pounds.

It's quite easy to under-estimate calorie intake by 250 calories and over-estimate calorie burn by the same amount, in which case a planned 500 calorie deficit turns into no deficit at all.

I recorded a 79-minute activity (50% of walking, 50% of jogging, on hilly terrain) this afternoon with three different Fitbit trackers.

One:

Charge:

Charge HR:

All three got me about the same number of steps, but there's a difference of almost 200 calories between the lowest and the highest value.

[Dominique]

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@justme70 wrote:

and then remember to realize that it took a while to get to what ever weight your at... its not going to be a quick drop off....

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Yes, the time element is very important: too many people expect significant results way too fast. Slow and steady wins the race.

[Shortandsweeter]

Thank you very much for your responses. You all make reasonable points.

I think perhaps I am being too impatient.

When I started my job at the beginning of August last year I made a promise to myself I wouldn't use the lift. Admittedly the ground floor is Level 2 and I'm on Level 7 but it is true to say that my legs burned when I first started. Now I can run up the stairs quite quickly, and although I'm puffing (who wouldn't be?) my recovery from that climb is pretty quick now. What's more I've made the best gains on my fitbit going up and down those stairs, even compared to runs at the weekend.

So yes, I do feel better, I can't see it in my clothes yet... But then, it is only two weeks.

I think I need to hang in there a bit longer and see what next week brings, and consider the salient points made here.

I will report back next week.

Thank you

[PamelaHazelton]

Another note is that when you first start to lose weight, it can be misleading because you'll also lose water weight. It's possible that you are not losing water weight, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. With that, also be sure you are drinking the right amounts of water because that plays as big a role as what you eat and what you do.

[tmakus]

I had the same problem 2 weeks ago and realized fitbit flex is give me way more calorie burn then is accurate.  It was telling me I could have 2,000 cals per day with my activity factored in averaging between 12,000 and 15,000 steps.  I have my activity set as sedentary on both the fitbit and myfitnesspal, which are linked.  I also set fitbit as normal not sensitive on the tracking the movement.  When I run on my treadmill every morning I burn 500 cals running for 1 hour.  Therefore, if myfitnesspal shows that I've burned 650 cals in exercise from the linked fitbit, I add 150 quick add calories.  This way, I'm only adding the 500 cals of actual exercise.  If I do any extra exercise, I will count that but, if the fitbit says I'm over and above exercise calories I just add quick calories.  My average calorie consumption is around 1750 cals per day rather then 2000, which is way more lodgical.  I've been around my goal weight for 2 years. Following the 1750 cals per day with 500 calorie burn through running.  I just don't feel I can fully trust the fitbit. I had the same results with bodymedia fyi.  I like to use them though to make sure I hit 10,000 steps per day.  Anyone else have the same experience?

[Heybales]

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@tmakus wrote:

I had the same problem 2 weeks ago and realized fitbit flex is give me way more calorie burn then is accurate.  It was telling me I could have 2,000 cals per day with my activity factored in averaging between 12,000 and 15,000 steps.  I have my activity set as sedentary on both the fitbit and myfitnesspal, which are linked.  I also set fitbit as normal not sensitive on the tracking the movement.  When I run on my treadmill every morning I burn 500 cals running for 1 hour.  Therefore, if myfitnesspal shows that I've burned 650 cals in exercise from the linked fitbit, I add 150 quick add calories.  This way, I'm only adding the 500 cals of actual exercise.  If I do any extra exercise, I will count that but, if the fitbit says I'm over and above exercise calories I just add quick calories.  My average calorie consumption is around 1750 cals per day rather then 2000, which is way more lodgical.  I've been around my goal weight for 2 years. Following the 1750 cals per day with 500 calorie burn through running.  I just don't feel I can fully trust the fitbit. I had the same results with bodymedia fyi.  I like to use them though to make sure I hit 10,000 steps per day.  Anyone else have the same experience?

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It sounds like you might not realize that the calorie adjustment on MFP is NOT just your exercise.

It is the difference between MFP's estimate of your daily burn with no exercies and your selection of activity level - and what Fitbit is reporting to it.

You may know that, but I've yet to see someone assume that correctly at first.

I adjusted my height so that the base BMR used for all non-moving time actually is closer to my calculated average BMR/RMR stat.

And then my stride length was manually setup, walking from normal daily speed, running from normal running speed.

And then I manually input anything where it got the distance wrong for walking/running exercise, and manually log all other exercise anyway, based on personal calorie burn formula from testing and using a HRM.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdC10WXNweGI0ZGRNZHE4Wmc3UURaWVE&usp=sh

[Melc29uk]

Hi

I bought the fitbit for my new years resolution of getting fit and obviously losing weight in the process. After three weeks of achieving 10k steps (daily) and integrating additional exercise on top of that, I've found I've only lost 4 pounds. I was expecting a far bigger weight loss the first week as that was the week I started watching rigourously what I ate (I want to achieve a 1.5 lb weight loss a week) and have exercised far more than I have done in years. 

I was feeling a bit despondent today when I weighed myself as I felt that I had lost more than 4 pounds, so decided to see if anyone else was experiencing the same. Pleased I'm not the only one.

Bobcat your comments have helped, my body is changing, I definitely feel happier and other people have noticed the difference. A greater lb loss on a weekly basis would be great but as long as I can see and feel a difference I'll just keep going. I am going to drop the couple of vino's that I have snuck in as my reward (I still was below the daily threshold). 

Thanks for spurring me on!

[Shortandsweeter]

Hi Melc29uk, Our experience sounds very similar.

I gave in a bit last night. My daughter was making cupcakes, with help from me, and then my husband and I enjoyed a little cheese and wine after dinner; I felt I needed a break.

I eventually added 3 cupcakes, 2 x250 mls of wine and a little stilton cheese to myfitnesspal food diary and the total came to a staggering 1,300 calories over my calorie goal of 1,300!!!

The thing is I have been under my calorie goal every day for the last two weeks, yesterday was closer to Christmas or a typical weekend previously.

I don't want to reduce my calorie intake even further, I know that I am eating far less calories than I have been. My weight has been pretty static the last 6 months; I had stopped running when we moved house early last year and it went on as a result, and hasn't shifted.

I'm running again (Zombie! Run!) and eating less, and I was defintely feeling happier until I stood on the scales and the **ahem** thing showed no change!

No treats today though, and I need to remind myself I have promised to get fit for a sprint triathlon in September. I have to be in it for the long game. Perhaps, I need to take out the tape measure.

[Melc29uk]

Hi Shortandsweeter,

I know the feeling of the scale indicator staying the same, I was confused to be honest. I even moved it around thinking there must be something wrong with the floor tiles lol....

It's always the things you love that are things you should'nt really have. Wine and bread for me!

I think I might use a tape measure too and I've decided to weigh myself once a month only. The stats I am happy with and I've never felt so healthy and happy for a long time. It always helps to have a goal, mine's a beach holiday in August! 

Good luck with your sprint training and the inch loss 🙂

Mel 

[gebobs]

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@Bobcat84 wrote:

The aria scales (or another body fat scale) could tell you whether it is your body composition changing.

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No kidding? I always assumed it was an estimate merely based on height and weight. Any idea on how it gets that?

[Bobcat84]

It takes your height and weight into account - but the reason you stand on the scale barefoot is that it shoots a small electrical current through your body (not like an electric shock). Depending on the resistance on the current it can calculate the % body fat. That's about as much as i know - not sure whether it is fat or muscle that is more/less conductive.

There are more body fat % scales out there some also show water %, muscle % and skeletal mass all using the same principal: the aria is the onyl one i know that updates fitbit for you via wifi though (which is pretty cool) - i just need to convince the wife to let me buy one 🙂

Generally lower body fat % means your muscle is more visible (as there is less fat obscuring it) - so if you are after beach abs body fat reduction is the way to go, people often refer to this as "toning up"

[gebobs]

Whoa...very cool.

[Dominique]

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@Bobcat84 wrote:

the aria is the only one i know that updates fitbit for you via wifi though (which is pretty cool) - i just need to convince the wife to let me buy one 🙂

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Actually, Withings also make smart scales that can sync wirelessly. They do it either via Bluetooth (iOS / Android) or wifi (802.11 b/g/n, vs. "b" only for the Fitbit Aria), more here. Data can be synced with your Fitbit account, as explained here.

[Zenseekercu]

Thanks!