@Cindy_Phyfer wrote:
@Heybales (others welcome to "weigh in"). 😉 After having a good cry today, I decided to post this on the board. I started on December 28th, 2015 on my current weight-loss journey. The first week, I lost 5 pounds. From what I can tell on the boards, this was most likely water weight.
My starting weight was either 415 or 420 (not really sure as I didn't zero out the darned scale before I weighed in that first day). My goal weight, although possibly unrealistic, is 160 pounds. I haven't set a certain time goal for this loss. I know the weight took a while to come on, so it's not going to come off overnight.
I have chosen the "Kinda Hard" weight loss deficit of 750 calories per day on fitbit.com, which shows I "should" be losing 1.5 lbs per week. I have set the activity level to "sedentary" because I have a desk job and don't actively seek out activity every day. According to fitbit, I should be eating between 2100 and 2300 calories per day, based on my BMR and the light activity I get everyday just walking around my house, etc. I suppose that's called TDEE? I'm still new to this, so if I get the jargon wrong, please forgive me, okay? 🙂
My jeans are getting looser, to the point of riding down (I have to constantly pull them up...time to invest in a belt?). The scale is not budging though, which was the reason for the aforementioned pity party this morning. Dear hubby was kind enough and patient enough to listen and give advice. Anyway, I want to make sure I'm losing fat and not LBM. How can I tell which I'm actually losing without having a scale that tells body fat %?
I'm completely frustrated today at the scale. Dear hubby recommended that I take a two-week holiday from stepping on the scale and just continue to log my foods as I have been doing. By the way, I eat all the calories that the fitbit says I can eat, with the exception of the 750 calorie deficit I have built in. I also get in all my water. I opt for raw fruit instead of fruit juices, and don't drink soda (diet or otherwise).
Any advice? Not looking for someone to aid in my pity party...just want to have someone tell it like it is.
Thanks. 😄
First week water weight drop depends on amount of likely deficit and how drastically you changed your sodium intake.
If never a big sodium eater - you likely lost 3 lbs of fat if the deficit allowed for it.
You could support a 1000 cal deficit for a good long while though - I'd go for it.
Actually first couple weeks, you could likely support 1500 daily deficit. But then take a couple days eating at maintenance to let hormones reset.
Because it's not the level of eating that starts feed back loops that will screw up the attempt - it's the amount of deficit for amount to be lost.
Great mental attitude for speed of loss - and not setting a time based goal.
No better way to increase stress related retained water than setting a time based goal and it not happening or looking like it won't. The for many adherence suffers and binges start. No need to go down that road - keep it reasonable as planned.
Fitbit is indeed reporting your estimated TDEE.
A BF% scale isn't going to be anywhere near accurate enough to tell what the loss is. If a good scale it'll be consistent (even if inaccurate) and give you the correct trend.
But as you discovered, clothes do the same thing.
Sadly, still being sedentary - the comment about gaining muscle and losing fat is going to happen - someone doesn't know what happens and has heard a sound-good phrase and wants to pass it on.
If you were to do some body weight exercises, especially using legs (curls with pink dumbbells ain't gonna cut it), you might increase actual muscle mass 1-2 lbs here at beginning in first 8-12 weeks. Not in a couple doing what you've always done.
Merely keeping your current level of activity, or just a tad more, will be using your existing muscles and prevent losing them as you have enough fat to spare.
But you will lose LBM - everyone does starting a diet and during the diet.
Lean Body Mass (LBM), aka Non-Fat Mass (NFM) - is everything that is not Fat Mass (FM). That's the 2 compartment model - fat or not fat - that's it.
So when you start a diet, your body will store less glycogen in muscle stores, with attached water - that's less LBM. That's part of big weight drop at start - that everyone gains some of it back when they go off the diet and eat normal levels, and fast.
As you lose weight - your body also needs less blood supply to fat you don't have anymore - that's more water weight drop.
So you will lose LBM - sadly that also lowers your metabolism, which has to deal with that water normally.
But it's minor.
But muscle is part of LBM too obviously - that's what you don't want to lose. That can be harder to tell depending on what you do.
For those doing weight lifting - it's easy.
You do a 150 lb squat.
You lose 30 lbs of weight.
You increase to a 170 lb squat.
Should have been 180 - so you lost strength, likely because you lost muscle, and considering merely doing squats over time should have had an increase because of form - you likely lost more than you think.
So pay attention to those movements during your day that are difficult right now or were, based on moving your weight. Not akward positions.
They should get easier with less weight to move, if they stay just as difficult - not a good sign.
How accurate is your logging of what you eat?
By weight? Because calories is per gram, not cup or spoon - therefore serving sizes should be by weight also.
Eat out often where inaccuracy is increased?
Because you should indeed have kept losing, unless you started a new exercise routine where the body would actually be storing more water for several reasons in other areas besides what is holding your jeans up - but you said not much change there.
Or your food logging is way on the low side and your deficit is much bigger than you think and body got stressed out retaing water (though that is usually in midriff area), or Fitbit is underestimating and you burn much more than you think, or much less.
Were you in a diet prior to using the Fitbit?
If so for how long?
If not for how long prior to last diet?
What Fitbit are you using?
Have you looked at daily stats graph per 5 minute blocks and confirmed no wonky areas of lots of extra steps you know you didn't do?
Do you have access to known distance to get a better stride length stat?
Because default is using gender and age, and I'm pretty sure you can't stride out now like you will be able to later - so your distance could be inflated, and therefore activity calorie burn is too.
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