don't understand lack of weight loss

[gettingyounger]

I don't understand why I don't lose - 5'3'', 128 lbs - goal is 120lbs Have been using charge for 6 weeks. Have met all fitbit goals every day to lose 2 lbs per week yet have lost a total of 2 lbs in 6 weeks!. I'm 61 years old, organic vegetarian, workout 5 days per week, exercise routines are varied: deep water aerobics & circuit train 1 day for 90 min., yoga at least one day for 45 minutes, free weights 3 days, elliptical 30 min. 3x per week, also walk my dogs 30-45 minutes 7 days per week. PLEASE don't reply that I shouldn't worry about numbers - I know this, but I also know my body & where I'm carrying extra lbs. I worked in diet counseling and weight training for many years, have helped many others but can't seem to help me THIS WEEK for example: 13,581 burned, 5,844 eaten, -7000 plan deficit, -737 in vs. out I'm not clear on ho0w to understand this

[DominicJ]

The most likely is that your maths is wrong, ie you arent working out as much as you think or you are eating more than you think.

2lbs a week is a very high target when you have 8lbs to lose.

Your weight target is also pretty tight

I'm 5'6" and my target 140lbs, with 10% body fat, and I'm a man

What bfp would you target be?  What Bfp are you?

[Raviv · Accepted solution]

It sounds like your calorie intake is too low for your output.  1,000 calorie deficit is really a lot for someone with only 8 pounds to lose.

You're doing a whole lot of activity and not fueling it, and that means your body is not going to cooperate on losing any fat.  It's focused on keeping you alive, not leaning up.

[gettingyounger]

thanks Raviv - this makes sense but it charts that I'm 'in the zone" or 'over" on most days.  crazy!

[gettingyounger]

haven't had opportunity to check my bfp.   As far as the calories - I juice a lot so it is often a guess but then again it's mostly veggies & little fruit

[Raviv · Accepted solution]

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@gettingyounger wrote:

thanks Raviv - this makes sense but it charts that I'm 'in the zone" or 'over" on most days.  crazy!

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The only reason why it says you're in the zone is because you have your Food Plan set for "Harder," which is a 1,000 calorie deficit.

Try setting it to "Medium" (500 calorie deficit) or even "Easier" (250 calorie deficit) and it should change that.  I know it doesn't sound right, but you will either lose the weight slower at a smaller deficit, or not at all (or not without making some serious health issues, at least) with a higher deficit.  And you get to eat more food while you lose weight. 

I don't look at the needle gauge tile (I actually removed it from my dashboard) because I tend to either eat small breakfasts and then larger dinners or vice versa and it's really not accurate at all.  Just switch your Food Plan intensity to a lower calorie deficit (you can do that in the food log where it lists the calories you have left to eat), then keep an eye on the actual number of calories remaining during the day, not the gauge.

Also, make sure you're getting a decent amount of protein, whatever the source.  Otherwise you're tearing up a lot of muscle with all that activity and not giving it the tools to rebuild.

[Heybales]

To the point of you likely aren't burning what you think you are. If this is the Charge HR you have.

HR-based calorie burn isn't going to be good for circuit training and free weights - those will actually caused inflated calorie burn.

If this is the non-HR version - badly underestimated calorie burn - you have even more deficit than you think.

Yoga is other direction though, but that's not going to balance each other out.

Now - that's a not a 1000 calorie deficit amount of inaccuracy being wiped out, but if you are going to wisely lower the deficit to reasonable 250 calorie to lose only fat weight - you are going to have less margin for error. And no need making the deficit even bigger.

Manually log Circuit Training and Weights, just like you hopefully manually log the water aerobics, and probably yoga too since the effort isn't tied to the HR really.

If you were already in a diet before the Charge and diet plan was started, you could have been eating even less and body already adapted.

So get ready for some beneficial water weight gain when you eat more. It's attached to carbs stored in muscle, and it increases LBM and metabolism dealing with it.

Both good things.