Weight won't budge an inch! Help! Thoughts?

[shekinah02]

I am completely perplexed. I have been using Fitbit since late April. I wanted to loose 15 lbs by mid July. I have been tracking my calories, and meeting my step goals. When I started to see no results by mid-June, I kicked it up a notch in the exercise department. I'm doing over 12,000 steps a day, and I've recently started hitting my calories burn goal of 2,230 on almost a daily basis. I also took an extra dance class which started in May so I have two hours of dancing a week as well. Plus I exercise 1 - 2 per week with weights and the elliptical, or I do some more dance rehearsal. 

I've also been tracking my calories. I'm vegan - so no meat, ice cream, etc. I don't drink sodas. Once a week, I have a cheat day to stay sane and keep me on track. I have one treat. I always come in under my calorie goal to loose 1.5 lbs a week. My calorie deficit for last week was around 3,500 and my calorie deficit so far this week is around 3,300, and that should be enough to at least loose 1 lb.

BUT - I haven't. I've gained two lbs since I started. And yes, I probably gained muscle, but my measurements are still about the same in the waste and hips. 

Any thoughts? What can I do to solve this problem and loose the 15 lbs?

[Elendili]

I wonder if you might be getting too many carbs.  I find it is much easier to drop pounds if I keep my carbs under 100.  Don't decrease your calories though.  Get those calories with more protien and fat.  If you are vegan, eat more nuts and seeds (pumpkin seeds are great!) and less tofu and beans.  This will automatically cut your carbs while giving you good fats and lots of protien.  Just a suggestion.  If you are doing this already I'm not sure what else you can do.  BTW, I have lots of food allergies so I have to do this kind of modification to what I eat all the time.  I feel for you!  Hang in there!  Know that even if you are not dropping off those pounds, you are getting healthier!

Elendili

[SunsetRunner]

More protein and (particularly) more fat are counterproductive to weight loss and health.

Along with your "diet", a program of aerobic exercise (walking/jogging/running) will take the weight off.

[shekinah02]

Hmmm...I'll have to take a look at that. I have been paying more attention to keeping my protein intake to 50 grms rather than looking at less carbs. 

[shekinah02]

Oh, I'm getting over an hour and a half of aerobic exercise, as noted in my post. 12,000 steps means that I have 1.5 hours of walking per day, plus exercise on the elliptical and two hours of dance per week. 

[Elendili]

You can overdo any food group.  Balance is key.  Each person has a balance that not only is different from somebody elses, but changes over time.  So I was suggesting changing the amount of carbs to under 100 because it would balance better with your protiens and fats.  Find your best balance of fats, protiens and carbs.  The fitbit software will help with this.  Logging your food with all the stats of each food will provide clues.  This is something you can work on over time.  While you are doing this, know that you are getting healthier by eating better AND by all that exercise you are doing.  Sometimes moving twords a goal is slower.

Elendili

[AppletonDad]

I'm 45 and have never exercised a day in my life. In May, I began a program of diet and exercise.... low carb, high protein, no processed foods (Called the Four Cycle Solution). Did the diet plus two days a week strength training (30 minutes) and 3 days a week of cardio (24 minutes only). Down more than 20 pounds in just over 2 months.

The Fitbit has helped to track my steps, but the key has been getting the heart rate up at the cardio sessions and eliminating all the processed food and as many carbs as I can... and just being sensible. Today, I can ride a bike for hours and walk up stairs without being winded!

[Raviv]

It's kind of hard to see what's not working without more information.  What is a typical day of food for you?  Do you know how much carb/protein/fat you're getting?

[SunsetRunner]

Are you trying listening to your body?

No desire / thoughts for food (to eat yet),.. being satisfied.. not hungry, not needing more in the moment.

When getting the desire for food (being hungry),.. tune into your body, what is it asking for? Is it screaming for 'I want a salad', a slice of pizza (even a whole pizza), if not really hungry, your body can be satisfied with for example a coffee.. not being hungry 'till dinner..

When having eaten little all day, your body can still be satisfied with food / nutritients from the day(s) before.. when eating base portions on hunger (listen to what your body wants, the potatoes may not look appealing to eat, but the vegetables do, and some meat, a egg.. anything your body desires).

When eating not just to eat, but what our bodies are truly craving for when being hungry, we eat automatically less and only when eating when our bodies need nourishment until satisfied (not stuffed).

For example, when eating just to eat, and there's some cake on the table which you don't fancy to eat, but actually truly wanting a cup of coffee, when eating the cake first, your body still will not be satisfied, saying 'something's missing', and having the cup of coffee anyway. That piece of cake was not really needed because it didn't nourish your body 'cause of eating to eat, and not having what your body truly desires.

When eating, have anything your body desires (everything tastes more delicious to), notice your body telling when it's having enough and let it guide if it needs some more (for example at dinner), not being satisfied yet (desiring having more vegetables, may be a little piece of meat more, there can be some left overs on the plate when not needing more..), your body will guide when it needs nourishment, what it wants, how much it wants.. telling when having enough.

The total calories eaten (by listening to your body) can be perfectly lots less than the food plan tells you to have because of having all nutritients it needs in the moment.

When not being hungry, feeling satisfied (not stuffed). Trust your body and honor not having more, don't force feed your wonderful body, even if there's hundreds of calories left to eat..

Your body when eating to nourish, eating nutritient rich food most of the time, while having anything else in moderation (also have the nutritient rich foods in moderation, when your body isn't hungry and not wanting for example a banana in the moment, it's not a license to eat all of the nutrient rich foods unlimited) that can lead to also overeating over time.

Have everything with care, let your wonderful body be your guide. It wants to revert back to a healthy weight range when eating only to nourish, stop when feeling satisfied (not stuffed), not eating out of boredom / loneliness.. based on genes, food choices, activity and trying being in tune with your body needs when it's asking for nourishment.

When logging food, it's to see habits, change where desired. The plan can tell to have 1000 calories to have in the moment but not having a appetite yet, not being hungry yet.. your body knows the best. Try trusting your wonderful body.

When being sick, our bodies may not desire food at all (when it's not focusing on digestion, it's capable to focus all energy on healing), recognize if being sick, to allow having just a little bit of healthy nutritient foods, watch carefully when your appetite / hunger naturally returns or your body screaming suddenly to need nourishment..

Enjoy

[24fitAmeera]

Now that you have added more physical activity I would add more protein your body needs protein to rebuild the muscles that are being used during exercise and muscle burns fat.

How Much Protein Do Women Really Need? - Food Recipes - www.Health.com

The Institute of Medicine recommends .8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, but here's a simpler way to break down you protein needs: 
Activity level Protein needs (grams)

Sedentary	Weight in pounds X .4
Active	Weight in pounds. X .6
Competitive athlete	Weight in pounds X .75
Light body-builder	Weight in pounds X .85

Some good sources of protein for you are soybeans 21g of protein for 3/4cup and lentils 17g of protein dor 1 cup. Lentil burgers are my fav. and Herbalife meal replacement shakes and their other soy based protein products. Don't forget to drink at least half your body weight in water for example 130lbs. a little more than 4 bottles 16oz. a day.  Recommended Daily Carbohydrate Requirements for Women the USDA recommends a minimum intake of 130 grams of carbohydrates a day.

Keep up the great work.

[24fitAmeera]

Now that you have added more physical activity I would add more protein your body needs protein to rebuild the muscles that are being used during exercise and muscle burns fat.

How Much Protein Do Women Really Need? - Food Recipes - www.Health.com

The Institute of Medicine recommends .8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, but here's a simpler way to break down you protein needs: 
Activity level Protein needs (grams)

Sedentary	Weight in pounds X .4
Active	Weight in pounds. X .6
Competitive athlete	Weight in pounds X .75
Light body-builder	Weight in pounds X .85

Some good sources of protein for you are soybeans 21g of protein for 3/4cup and lentils 17g of protein dor 1 cup. Lentil burgers are my fav. and Herbalife meal replacement shakes and their other soy based protein products. Don't forget to drink at least half your body wieght in water for example 130lbs. a little more than 4 bottles 16oz. a day.  Recommended Daily Carbohydrate Requirements for Women the USDA recommends a minimum intake of 130 grams of carbohydrates a day.

Keep up the great work.

[Proudpatriot]

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@yarddog wrote:

More protein and (particularly) more fat are counterproductive to weight loss and health.

Along with your "diet", a program of aerobic exercise (walking/jogging/running) will take the weight off.

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No matter how many times you shout it from the rooftops this is not true.

I would strongly advise the OP to start changing what she is eating to include more protein and more fat.  It is not enough to eat fewer calories.  What you eat is also important.

[DubElle]

Unfortunately, calorie calculators are not perfect. So I doubt your daily caloric expenditure is accurate if you're not losing weight. 

Eat a few hundred calories less, maybe add another work out. Once you start losing the weight -- you will eventually! -- you can estimate how many calories in/out you need to maintain that pace.

[DominicJ]

Hard truths

Steps Goals arent really relevent to weight loss

Neither is a "dance class" or two (maybe, maybe, 400 calories an hour, probably less if you are breaking to learn choreography)

Or any weighlifting at all,

If you are "recently" hitting your calorie burn target of 2230 then until recently you were either over eating or you were starving.

If you are only burning 2230 per day, and you want a 1.5lb weekly weight loss, you should only be eating 1480 calories per day, 1200 is generally considered about as low as you can go whilst still hitting all your micro nutrient needs

Cheat days are a really bad idea, because they reinforce the idea that you are "deprived" the other days.

Yesterday I ate a cornetto, I had 220calories spare so why not.

I ate 2250 calories yesterday, I burnt just under 3000

"Any thoughts? What can I do to solve this problem and loose the 15 lbs?"

How much do you currently weigh?

[Raviv]

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@DominicJ wrote:

Cheat days are a really bad idea, because they reinforce the idea that you are "deprived" the other days.

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Yeah, I have to agree with this.  I mean, sometimes you have days where things happen and you end up eating less than optimally.  It happens and you move on.  And sometimes I will have an occasional small treat, and then swap something out later in the day to even it back up.

But the idea of planning to have a day once a week or so where you don't worry about the quality or quantity of your food is just not healthy, physically or emotionally.

1) You're using food as a reward

2) You're undoing a major chunk of the hard work you just put in, making it even harder as you go along

3) It gives you the mindset that eating right is a temporary thing, not just how you eat now.

[Elendili]

I have to agree with cheat days being a bad thing.  When I tried it I found that I planned my whole week around that one day.  Worse yet, when something happened to that day (not unusual when you have a family) I was the one who felt cheated instead of rewarded because I didn't get my day to cheat.  So at least from the psychological aspect, I think cheat days are a bad idea.  On the other hand...........if they are already working for you then I wouldn't stop just because some of us disagree.

Elendili

[Prev]

Can I ask how much you weigh? 15lbs might be difficult depending on your measurements.

[kate_trek]

I totally agree about the protein. I'm a pretty light eater, and back in March when I got my Fitbit I weighed myself and launched into a fitness program. Not only did I not lose weight -- I gained weight. After journalling my food intake for a couple of weeks, I was shocked at how little protein I was consuming. I was getting less than the required amount for a sedentary person, even though I'd categorize myself as athletic.) At that point, I decided to ignore calories and focus on quality protein and nutrient-dense vegetables. Also shifted my food intake to bigger breakfasts and lunches, and lighter dinners. Finally, the weight is coming off.

[shekinah02]

After many suggestions about upping my protein intake, and reading this article on loosing weight after 30 (which I will never be over 30...I stopped aging at 29 😉

 http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/imimlmarie/view/three-must-dos-for-losing-weight-over-30-269915

I changed my eating habits to add in a vegan protein shake (low sugar and carb, but full of quality protein). I also added more muscle building exercises into my routine. Instead of just walking, I added in some squats and other leg exercises one evening...added on weight lifting for my arms the next. Still did plenty of steps, dancing, etc. 

Also, still did my cheat day. Though some on here have said that it's not a good idea, I find that it works for me. I still "cheat" within my calorie goals though. Cheat days keep me from sneaking in treats during the week, because I can say..."We'll, I'll just have that on Saturday." Or "No, I don't think I'll eat that sorbet. I know I have a party on Friday night and that will be my cheat day." Keeps me in line during the week. 

Viola! I lost 3 lbs! Finally! Let's see what next week holds. 

[Jaems]

I struggled with my weight for years.  I was actually pretty good at loosing weight (strict dieting and tons of excercise) but I'd put it right back on.  As a result, I lost the same 20 pounds half a dozen times over 15 years.  About 3 years ago a friend told me to watch a youtube video called "sugar the bitter truth".  I did, and I took it seriously. 

I eliminated sugar from my diet.  For me that means: no soda, no fruit that has been striped of its fiber (fruit juice, apples sauce, jelley, ketchup, etc.), bread that has more fiber and less residual sugar, no processed foods that have sugar or corn syrup as an ingredient.  I still drink alcohol in moderation, but it wouldn't hurt to stop. 

I consously added more protein and fat to my diet at the expense of carbs. 

Result, I lost 30 pounds and I have never regained it. Funny side note, before the deitary change, my colesterol was elevated, eliminating sugar (and eating more fat) seems to have solved that problem too.

Note, this is not a diet, it doesn't end, and I don't feel deprived.  This is not the Atkins diet as you can still eat carbs.  I tried Atkins once and found it unbearable.  There is also nothing to buy and no complicated rules, you simply don't eat processed sugar in any of its various forms.

I've mentioned my approach to a bunch of people who were trying to loose weight, they always ignore me or start argueing that it cannot work (without trying it or even thinking about it). I doubt this approach would work for everyone, but I bet it would work for a lot of people.

Last Christmas I ate a bunch of sugary baked goods and gained some weight.  I stopped eating sugar again, and the weight dropped back off.

I don't worry about my weight anymore. 

There is a ton of mis-information about diet out there, most of it paid for by the processed food industry which really likes sugars and starchs which are cheap, addictive and shelf stable.  That same industry hates proteins and fats which are often expensive, stimulate you to feel full, and often require refridgeration.  Be cautious what you believe.  Try things for yourself.  Never pay for expensive diet advice or diet products.