At my wits end, really need some advice.

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  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    How were you tracking your food before?
    Yes Ive been doing Weight watchers since last June
    [/quote]

    Did you track all your calories? I thought they worked on a points system and had 'free' foods.
  • honsi
    honsi Posts: 210 Member
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    Ah yes that's true, there are free foods, fruit and most veg are' free'
  • CrankMeUp
    CrankMeUp Posts: 2,860 Member
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    Do you weigh your food using a digital scale?

    Exactly what I came in to post:flowerforyou:
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Ah yes that's true, there are free foods, fruit and most veg are' free'

    You look to be mixing up the two methods.

    Track your food accurately for at least 4 weeks. Keep on the calorie allowance you have now. After a few weeks, see where you are and if you have not made progress, drop your calories down by a couple hundred.

    Log your fruits and veggies - you may well be eating more than you think.
  • honsi
    honsi Posts: 210 Member
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    Yes I've only just started using this site, 3 days ago because my WW subscription is ending . I'm not running the two methods of tracking at the same time Because of the 'free' foods it wouldn't be compatible anyway.
    Its true you can end up eating more than you think with fruit and veg, if they are 'free' then it can be easy to forget they have calories and it can add up. I think it is WW trying to encourage people to eat more healthily.
  • RonitaL89
    RonitaL89 Posts: 4 Member
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    Eat more, but what you add in keep it only dark leafy greens, fruits and vegetables. Cut out refined sugars and flours. Good luck!
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    Remain calm! Weight loss can be tricky, but you can sort it out and get results.

    1) It is possible that you aren't burning as many calories with exercise as you've calculated, even if you calculated them with "calories burned" calculators.

    2) It is possible that your actual activity level is lower than you've projected. You might be more sedentary and therefore burning fewer calories. You could try setting your activity level to "sedentary," and seeing what recommendation you get. Sometimes people set their activity level for the extra exercise they're doing AND count their exercise, which means they're counting their exercise twice.

    3) I don't know how tall you are or what you weigh, however my maintenance calories are lower than 1800 a day, before exercise, and sometimes after exercise. You could try cutting another 300 calories a day.

    4) You could track your weight loss with measurements rather than weight. That way, if you gain muscle and get heavier, but lose inches, you'll know that you've lost fat.

    Good luck!
  • maryrosenavoa
    maryrosenavoa Posts: 53 Member
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    Sounds like your body has gotten use to the routine. You need to change it up. When your body does the same workout and eats the same calories day after day, week after week it get use to it. Maybe next week change your exercise routine, then the following week go back to your regular schedule and so on. See if that does anything. Good luck!

    This is probably the best answer.
    I will just add, "pls dont cut down your calorie intake, just increase the intensity of ur exercise as well as the duration. Like what she said, ur body get used to the routine.
  • x58890
    x58890 Posts: 14
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    If your metabolism has slowed significantly in the last 8 months, there is a good chance it would have beem accompanied by dramatic changes in your energy levels during exercise. Have you felt particularly fatigued or sluggish during your workouts? If so, I would suggest you increase daily calories. Otherwise, fluctuate your calories throughout the week, as intermitent fasting has proven helpful for continued weightloss. Also, be diligent with your calorie counting. Good luck!
  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
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    Eat less food.
    The end.
  • KAS0917
    KAS0917 Posts: 172 Member
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    Are you sure you are burning over 6,000 calories a week? That is a TON of calories. Where did you get that estimate?
    I didn't say 6,000 calorie a week. I said 4,500 cals. Its based on the average calorie burn for my exercise classes and calories burned from walking based on my height, weight, speed and distance.
    Last week i 'earned' 90 activity pp on Weight Watchers.
    Of course it will vary each week to some degree but not wildly.


    Hello from another person who just gave up WW this past week, so I understand your WW language :)

    I just went and converted KGs to Pounds, and our stats are pretty similar. I am 5'6.5" and started at 216.

    Question regarding your post above: When you're not exercising, do you have a desk job or are you pretty active in your daily life? It sounds like you are not using a heart rate monitor or an ActiveLink to measure your APs. 90 APs is a lot - that's approximately 9,000 calories burned via exercise and more than 12/day, which seems REALLY high for somebody taking 7 classes a week, plus walking. What I learned when I started using the ActiveLink is that I was way overestimating my APs. I might have burned 700 calories in Zumba, which would be about 7 APs. But I sat at my desk job for the 8 hours prior to that, and I wasn't reaching the baseline activity that they assume you meet by just 'living.' So at the end of the day I hadn't really 'earned' 7 APs. it was more like 3APs, because I had to reach my 'baseline' before that activity started to count as extra. Does that make sense?

    I can't really help with the food, yet. I'm trying to figure out my own calories as I convert over from WW. It's a big adjustment to 'eat more.' I keep thinking WW had me on 1200 a day, but then when you add fruits/vegetables and any APs, it was probably closer to 1600/day. But I'm working out a lot more now than I was then, so I'm trying to find a good balance. I've tried to eat really well this week and the scale hasn't budged at all (Tuesday is my weigh in day, so I have a few days left). I know it's 'only one week,' but I've been eating crap for months, so you would think the scale would throw me a bone. :wink:
  • rebeccagustafson
    rebeccagustafson Posts: 12 Member
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    Make sure your drinking enough water. This was my biggest issue. I have been told that your body will retain more water as you start to work out more to avoid becoming dehydrated. Adding more water to your diet may help your body adjust to the extra workouts and avoid dehydration.
  • jimbo831
    jimbo831 Posts: 15
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    Sounds like your body has gotten use to the routine. You need to change it up. When your body does the same workout and eats the same calories day after day, week after week it get use to it. Maybe next week change your exercise routine, then the following week go back to your regular schedule and so on. See if that does anything. Good luck!

    I'm sorry, but this is pseudo science and horrible advice. Routine can make diet plans more difficult to follow, so it is no doubt good to vary your routine. However, there is no science to the idea that there is any physical effect from doing the same verses different things. Losing weight is extremely simple math: calories out > calories in.
  • jimbo831
    jimbo831 Posts: 15
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    No study has ever found a point at which anyone loses more by eating more. It becomes less efficient to reduce intake at some point (removing 10 more calories might only add 7 to the deficit as metabolism slows) but it never starts going the other way. NEVER.

    Thank you for this. It is unfortunate to see all the bad advice given out by people here based on nothing but bad pseudo science.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    Sounds like your body has gotten use to the routine. You need to change it up. When your body does the same workout and eats the same calories day after day, week after week it get use to it. Maybe next week change your exercise routine, then the following week go back to your regular schedule and so on. See if that does anything. Good luck!

    Unfortunately, that is another myth. On the plus side, do the exercise that you enjoy. You'll be more motivated to do it regularly.
  • Saratini76
    Saratini76 Posts: 115 Member
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    I know how you feel! I wish you lots of luck and congratulations on how far you have come already! You are an inspiration to people out there like me who are just beginning.

    There is so much information out there that it tends to get very confusing. My simple (no scientific) advice is to just keep on going. If your body feels good, and you are satisfied with your diet, just keep going!
  • honsi
    honsi Posts: 210 Member
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    So As I said I will try eating less calories- about 1400 and using the MFP tracker and see how I get on. I will keep the level of exercise pretty much the same as it is still a big challenge for me, I also generally hate exercise; I don't get that ' feel good ' rush that everyone talks about so I will do what keeps me motivated.
    If I don't lose weight over the next couple of weeks I will try something else.
  • honsi
    honsi Posts: 210 Member
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    I know how you feel! I wish you lots of luck and congratulations on how far you have come already! You are an inspiration to people out there like me who are just beginning.

    Thanks!
  • LeanneGoingThin
    LeanneGoingThin Posts: 215 Member
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    Eat less?

    Errr no. The opposite actually. Burning 4500 calories a week is 640ish calories minus'd from your daily 1800, which means you are eating less than 1200 calories a day. You don't eat anywhere near enough to provide the energy needed to fuel your workouts, therefore your body is keeping hold of everything you do consume and not letting go of excesses. NET 1800 and you'll lose weight.

    This is actually a myth. Google "Starvation myth" for details. If in is less than out, you lose weight, first law of thermodynamics ensures that, your metabolism may slow (and you have to adjust the calories you eat to cater for that) but you will lose weight.

    But in the long run, you really don't want your metabolism to slow down like that.
  • DanIsACyclingFool
    DanIsACyclingFool Posts: 417 Member
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    Eat less?

    Errr no. The opposite actually. Burning 4500 calories a week is 640ish calories minus'd from your daily 1800, which means you are eating less than 1200 calories a day. You don't eat anywhere near enough to provide the energy needed to fuel your workouts, therefore your body is keeping hold of everything you do consume and not letting go of excesses. NET 1800 and you'll lose weight.

    This is actually a myth. Google "Starvation myth" for details. If in is less than out, you lose weight, first law of thermodynamics ensures that, your metabolism may slow (and you have to adjust the calories you eat to cater for that) but you will lose weight.

    But in the long run, you really don't want your metabolism to slow down like that.

    This is where a 10-14 day training break and above-TDEE refeed can be useful.

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