Anyone find they need to net low calories or go low carb in order to lose?

JAT74

I have been logging religiously for over 3 weeks now and up until last Tuesday things looked as if they were going well. I was set to lose 1.5 lbs per week and I averaged 2lbs per week until then, but now I seem to be gaining and I'm not sure why/what to do.

I initially lost 5.5 lbs which I'd hoped was fat, but realise could have been water. Almost a week ago last Tuesday I noticed that the scales started to show an increase in weight (so far I'm up 2.5 lbs of the 5.5 previously lost).

I started off with manual goals set to net 800 calories but most days I burned off 450 calories or more so I ate back most of my exercise calories making most days total intake around 1200, sometimes a little less. That seemed to be working, or maybe it's because it was the first 2 weeks but I was definitely losing weight and it was noticeable on almost a daily basis.

The problems started last week when I had a couple of meals out with friends and I knew I would eat a little more and also have a glass or two of wine. I did more gym time on the day of each meal and made sure I had much higher calorie burns on those days so I had more calories available for my meals out but I stuck to what I'd planned to eat. I also very carefully calculated the calories in the food I ate and even asked for sauce on the side instead of on top of my meat etc. so I think my calorie log was quite accurate. The first meal out was in the evening so I ate the majority of my calories at dinner, instead of my normal routing of eating most of them at lunch.

I am starting to think that my body won't accept being given more than 1250 calories per day, as when I've eaten more (in the region of 1400-1450) I have gained weight and this is also how I got to be 30 lbs over my goal weight. I've never been a huge eater and I really don't think my maintenance level is really as high as the calculators tell me. I am extremely sedentary outside of workouts and MFP puts me at a maintenance level of 1650 whereas other calculators say 1550. Personally from past experience I think it's more like 1450 as that's when I seem to start gaining and looking at my daily intake before logging on MFP that's what I probably ate, though I was exercising less. I also think my BMR is massively overestimated and it's probably lower than the 1350 given to me by the online calculators.

Another thing I was doing before the weight gain started was keeping my carbs to around 75-100g per day maximum but I had 2-3 days last week when I ate anything up to 150g so maybe this has also affected my weight, I don't know.

Any others in a similar position and if so what do you recommend? I know That weight loss doesn't happen evenly but seeing the scale go up must mean I'm doing something wrong for my body. Shall I consider capping my maximum calorie intake at 1250 regardless of calorie burns, shall I cut carbs or is there another way to re-start my weight loss?

GiveMeCoffee

So in 3 weeks you've lost 5.5 lbs? And you're not happy?

Weight will fluctuate up and down, you went out to eat it could be some water retention from sodium, it happens.

Also your exercise looks over estimated, 30 minute workout you're logging as 400+ burned, logging your cleaning as exercise?

You don't have to cut carbs, you don't need to lower intake. You are losing, have some patience, and just watch the over estimating on exercise burns. Also you only trying to lose 30 lbs you shouldn't be trying to lose 2 lbs per week. Have patience

RoxieDawn

^

GiveMeCoffee

gia07 wrote: »

Three weeks is when you see most of the changes you are doing start to work. If you are eating out some take into effect a lot of sodium is added to your food. I think you may be retaining water.

Also, try to eat regular meals that = your calories for the day in stead of going up one day and back down the next. Of course eat back some of your exercise on exercise days especially if you need to.

I do not eat back my exercise calories as I think it is counter productive to burn all of those calories just to put them back into my body.

I eat 900 + 1000 calories a day and notice when I up my calories for 2 - 3 days I does hurt the bottom line at the end of week on how much I should have lost.

Have you tried http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ this one most accurate for me and I was able to play around with settings that would go under 1000 calories to meet my goals.

I am low sodium and I eat around 100 carbs sometimes a little more or a little less. I am a short person and my BMR is 1275 on non exercise days.

I hope this helps some..

Yea and you also think you're getting bulky eating less than 1000 calories a day.

Holly_Roman_Empire

gia07 wrote: »

Three weeks is when you see most of the changes you are doing start to work. If you are eating out some take into effect a lot of sodium is added to your food. I think you may be retaining water.

Also, try to eat regular meals that = your calories for the day in stead of going up one day and back down the next. Of course eat back some of your exercise on exercise days especially if you need to.

I do not eat back my exercise calories as I think it is counter productive to burn all of those calories just to put them back into my body.

I eat 900 + 1000 calories a day and notice when I up my calories for 2 - 3 days I does hurt the bottom line at the end of week on how much I should have lost.

Have you tried http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ this one most accurate for me and I was able to play around with settings that would go under 1000 calories to meet my goals.

I am low sodium and I eat around 100 carbs sometimes a little more or a little less. I am a short person and my BMR is 1275 on non exercise days.

I hope this helps some..

lishie_rebooted

gia07 wrote: »

Three weeks is when you see most of the changes you are doing start to work. If you are eating out some take into effect a lot of sodium is added to your food. I think you may be retaining water.

Also, try to eat regular meals that = your calories for the day in stead of going up one day and back down the next. Of course eat back some of your exercise on exercise days especially if you need to.

I do not eat back my exercise calories as I think it is counter productive to burn all of those calories just to put them back into my body.

I eat 900 + 1000 calories a day and notice when I up my calories for 2 - 3 days I does hurt the bottom line at the end of week on how much I should have lost.

Have you tried http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ this one most accurate for me and I was able to play around with settings that would go under 1000 calories to meet my goals.

I am low sodium and I eat around 100 carbs sometimes a little more or a little less. I am a short person and my BMR is 1275 on non exercise days.

I hope this helps some..

I think I'd rather be fat than starve myself with 900 cals.

JAT74

I was happy when I'd lost 5.5lbs BUT NOW I'M GAINING. I just worked out some averages and over the past week my average calorie intake was 1300, whereas the week before my average intake was 1050 so maybe I am eating too much and should try and stick to 1200 regardless of exercise.

I don't think my calorie burns are overestimated, even the cleaning as I used a heart rate monitor when working out accurate burns and was sweating buckets each time. I also make sure to be at least 100 calories under my daily goal in case of overestimation.

I would be happy if the scales stayed the same for a week and I didn't lose for 1 week but as I appear to have gained according to the scale it's very frustrating.

ninayoungdog617

Eating out is the problem. You cannot control the sodium that is in the food. You had a couple of meals out. You should not restrict calories too low as your weight loss will slow down because your body goes into starvation mode. Flush out the salt with a lot of water. Eat clean! That means lean proteins, loads of veggies, fruit and whole grains. Your body will burn fat for fuel.

Hornsby

JAT74 wrote: »

I was happy when I'd lost 5.5lbs BUT NOW I'M GAINING. I just worked out some averages and over the past week my average calorie intake was 1300, whereas the week before my average intake was 1050 so maybe I am eating too much and should try and stick to 1200 regardless of exercise.

I don't think my calorie burns are overestimated, even the cleaning as I used a heart rate monitor when working out accurate burns and was sweating buckets each time. I also make sure to be at least 100 calories under my daily goal in case of overestimation.

I would be happy if the scales stayed the same for a week and I didn't lose for 1 week but as I appear to have gained according to the scale it's very frustrating.

HRMs are not made to track calories burned during house work and sweating does not equal calorie burns. They are for steady state cardio ONLY. Anything else they will overestimate.

I promise you, you are overestimating your caloric burns by at least 1/2.

RoxieDawn

^

GiveMeCoffee

gia07 wrote: »

@Givemecoffee confused by this rude comment..

Not rude, just one of your other horrible bits of advice given in the forums. But, with the advice you give I can see how you might be confused

JAT74

Can that much sodium really be added and can it have that much of an effect? I have changed my settings so I can track sodium levels too, but looking at most days in the last week the levels aren't high so if they go up due to eating out 2-3 meals in a week would it really affect things.

RoxieDawn

^

GiveMeCoffee

JAT74 wrote: »

Can that much sodium really be added and can it have that much of an effect? I have changed my settings so I can track sodium levels too, but looking at most days in the last week the levels aren't high so if they go up due to eating out 2-3 meals in a week would it really affect things.

Many things can cause weight fluctuations. My weight bounces within a 5 lb range, that doesn't mean I gained fat.

PeachyCarol

JAT74 wrote: »

I have been logging religiously for over 3 weeks now and up until last Tuesday things looked as if they were going well. I was set to lose 1.5 lbs per week and I averaged 2lbs per week until then, but now I seem to be gaining and I'm not sure why/what to do.

I initially lost 5.5 lbs which I'd hoped was fat, but realise could have been water. Almost a week ago last Tuesday I noticed that the scales started to show an increase in weight (so far I'm up 2.5 lbs of the 5.5 previously lost).

I started off with manual goals set to net 800 calories but most days I burned off 450 calories or more so I ate back most of my exercise calories making most days total intake around 1200, sometimes a little less. That seemed to be working, or maybe it's because it was the first 2 weeks but I was definitely losing weight and it was noticeable on almost a daily basis.

The problems started last week when I had a couple of meals out with friends and I knew I would eat a little more and also have a glass or two of wine. I did more gym time on the day of each meal and made sure I had much higher calorie burns on those days so I had more calories available for my meals out but I stuck to what I'd planned to eat. I also very carefully calculated the calories in the food I ate and even asked for sauce on the side instead of on top of my meat etc. so I think my calorie log was quite accurate. The first meal out was in the evening so I ate the majority of my calories at dinner, instead of my normal routing of eating most of them at lunch.

I am starting to think that my body won't accept being given more than 1250 calories per day, as when I've eaten more (in the region of 1400-1450) I have gained weight and this is also how I got to be 30 lbs over my goal weight. I've never been a huge eater and I really don't think my maintenance level is really as high as the calculators tell me. I am extremely sedentary outside of workouts and MFP puts me at a maintenance level of 1650 whereas other calculators say 1550. Personally from past experience I think it's more like 1450 as that's when I seem to start gaining and looking at my daily intake before logging on MFP that's what I probably ate, though I was exercising less. I also think my BMR is massively overestimated and it's probably lower than the 1350 given to me by the online calculators.

Another thing I was doing before the weight gain started was keeping my carbs to around 75-100g per day maximum but I had 2-3 days last week when I ate anything up to 150g so maybe this has also affected my weight, I don't know.

Any others in a similar position and if so what do you recommend? I know That weight loss doesn't happen evenly but seeing the scale go up must mean I'm doing something wrong for my body. Shall I consider capping my maximum calorie intake at 1250 regardless of calorie burns, shall I cut carbs or is there another way to re-start my weight loss?

Please ignore the advice to eat 900 calories.

It sounds like you're short like me. I'm older than you and eat around 1200-1250 calories a day and eat around 100-150g of carbs a day. So, it's not carbs you need to worry about.

It does sound like you're worrying prematurely, though. As has been mentioned, eating at a restaurant will give you a big dose of sodium. Depending on what you're doing when you're working out, that could account for water weight gain. Your calorie burns for your exercise do seem really excessive, though. If you're using the amounts in MFP's data base, they are really off. Try only logging about 50% of those suggested figures.

Also? We shorties after a certain age just can't have aggressive loss goals. Anything more than a pound a week takes our daily intake down too low. With you only having 30 pound to lose, .5-.8 might even be a good rate for you. I know that would feel slow, but again, that will probably be the rate it will come off for a shorter person with a lower TDEE with only 30 pounds to lose.

Remember, you are looking to make sustainable changes that will result in a lasting change. This isn't something that you're just doing to go back to your old habits. If it takes you longer to get where you're going but you end up staying there, isn't that better in the long run?

zoeysasha37

I don't even know where to Begin....lol...
Why isn't 5.5 lb loss good enough for three weeks?
Did you gain all your weight in three weeks??? Probably not , so why do you expect that you'll lose it so fast?
I've eaten @170 gr of carbs daily and had no problem losing weight. Unless you have a medical condition, there's no reason to cut carbs.
You should probably start by reading those sticky tans for newcomers. 800calories per day is not enough food.
weight fluctuates for many reasons. Hormones, sodium, and so on. Its normal. Right now, my scale says I'm up 8 lbs. I'm not going to cut carbs or starve, because this is normal and will even itself out. There's no way your gaining real weight while eating at a deficit, so there's nothing to worry about unless you have a medical condition

GiveMeCoffee

gia07 wrote: »

GiveMeCoffee wrote: »

gia07 wrote: »

@Givemecoffee confused by this rude comment..

Not rude, just one of your other horrible bits of advice given in the forums. But, with the advice you give I can see how you might be confused

At least I have a follower...

Yea to correct at least some of bad advice you give

Hornsby

JAT74 wrote: »

Can that much sodium really be added and can it have that much of an effect? I have changed my settings so I can track sodium levels too, but looking at most days in the last week the levels aren't high so if they go up due to eating out 2-3 meals in a week would it really affect things.

Every night I go to bed weighing a certain amount (177 usually). every morning I wake up and weight 171-172. Sometimes I fluctuate 8-9 lbs just on water retention alone. Yes, sodium can do that. It's just water weight.

JAT74

Hornsby even if you were right and I am overestimating my burns by half how can it lead to me gaining?

Online calculators give me an average of 1550 Maintenance calories and in order to lose 1lb per week I need to eat 3500 less in a week, or 500 less per day.

If I log calorie burns of 600 which is really only 300 that means I can eat 1550-500 = 1050 plus 300 so 1350 in total and still lose weight at a rate of 1lb per week but as I've said already I ate an average of 1300 last week and GAINED, how?

My weekly calorie burns amounted to over 4000 or almost 600 per day. Even if it was really only 300 that means I should be able to eat 1350 every day and lose weight but it's not happening. I need to find out why and find a way to get things moving again.

GothyFaery

JAT74 wrote: »

Can that much sodium really be added and can it have that much of an effect? I have changed my settings so I can track sodium levels too, but looking at most days in the last week the levels aren't high so if they go up due to eating out 2-3 meals in a week would it really affect things.

In addition to the sodium, you also had alcohol which will dehydrate you so your body is going to hold on to as much water as it can. That coupled with the sodium will lead to overnight (temporary) gains.

While you may not have tracked a lot of sodium, you were not in the kitchen watching and measuring how much salt they used. Even your best bet when eating out will most likely be underestimated sodium.

JAT74

Ok, so how can I tell my 'real' weight and if the scales are showing a gain due to sodium or water retention what can I do about it?

GiveMeCoffee

JAT74 wrote: »

Ok, so how can I tell my 'real' weight and if the scales are showing a gain due to sodium or water retention what can I do about it?

You have patience and track overall trends, this takes time. It sounds like you weigh daily log it and watch over a couple weeks, if it is an overall downward trend you are on the right track.

GothyFaery

JAT74 wrote: »

Ok, so how can I tell my 'real' weight and if the scales are showing a gain due to sodium or water retention what can I do about it?

Patience. Give it about a week and see where you stand. It's hard, I know.

I use an app called My weight tracker. I log my weight every day and it graphs it out and gives me a trend over several days as well as a projection of where I should be if I continue at that rate. It also allows me to note if I ate more than usual or worked out more than usual so I can see where I stand all around.

I find it very helpful because I'm a numbers person. Some people get bothered by weighing daily as the fluctuations tend to drive them crazy. If you can accept the fact that your weight will change daily, you may want to look into something like that. It gives you a better idea of what you did and why your weight is changing.

AliceDark

You don't have a "real weight" in terms of one single number. You have a weight range. Even if you weigh in under the exact same circumstances (first thing in the morning, after using the restroom, naked, etc.), you won't see the exact same number on the scale. Everyone fluctuates up and down, all the time. The only way to deal with that is to be patient and watch the overall trend line.

JAT74

Ok will try and do that but The last time I lost weight was on 21/1 when I recorded a weight of 142. Then that evening went out for dinner and the following day 22/1 was up to 143, then out again 3 days later 24/1 and today recorded a weight of 144.5. Looks like an upward trend not downward and I don't know if it was the meals out which made the scales jump up or something else.

LeanButNotMean44

AliceDark wrote: »

You don't have a "real weight" in terms of one single number. You have a weight range. Even if you weigh in under the exact same circumstances (first thing in the morning, after using the restroom, naked, etc.), you won't see the exact same number on the scale. Everyone fluctuates up and down, all the time. The only way to deal with that is to be patient and watch the overall trend line.

The bolded part is KEY.

elphie754

JAT74 wrote: »

I have been logging religiously for over 3 weeks now and up until last Tuesday things looked as if they were going well. I was set to lose 1.5 lbs per week and I averaged 2lbs per week until then, but now I seem to be gaining and I'm not sure why/what to do.

I initially lost 5.5 lbs which I'd hoped was fat, but realise could have been water. Almost a week ago last Tuesday I noticed that the scales started to show an increase in weight (so far I'm up 2.5 lbs of the 5.5 previously lost).

I started off with manual goals set to net 800 calories but most days I burned off 450 calories or more so I ate back most of my exercise calories making most days total intake around 1200, sometimes a little less. That seemed to be working, or maybe it's because it was the first 2 weeks but I was definitely losing weight and it was noticeable on almost a daily basis.

The problems started last week when I had a couple of meals out with friends and I knew I would eat a little more and also have a glass or two of wine. I did more gym time on the day of each meal and made sure I had much higher calorie burns on those days so I had more calories available for my meals out but I stuck to what I'd planned to eat. I also very carefully calculated the calories in the food I ate and even asked for sauce on the side instead of on top of my meat etc. so I think my calorie log was quite accurate. The first meal out was in the evening so I ate the majority of my calories at dinner, instead of my normal routing of eating most of them at lunch.

I am starting to think that my body won't accept being given more than 1250 calories per day, as when I've eaten more (in the region of 1400-1450) I have gained weight and this is also how I got to be 30 lbs over my goal weight. I've never been a huge eater and I really don't think my maintenance level is really as high as the calculators tell me. I am extremely sedentary outside of workouts and MFP puts me at a maintenance level of 1650 whereas other calculators say 1550. Personally from past experience I think it's more like 1450 as that's when I seem to start gaining and looking at my daily intake before logging on MFP that's what I probably ate, though I was exercising less. I also think my BMR is massively overestimated and it's probably lower than the 1350 given to me by the online calculators.

Another thing I was doing before the weight gain started was keeping my carbs to around 75-100g per day maximum but I had 2-3 days last week when I ate anything up to 150g so maybe this has also affected my weight, I don't know.

Any others in a similar position and if so what do you recommend? I know That weight loss doesn't happen evenly but seeing the scale go up must mean I'm doing something wrong for my body. Shall I consider capping my maximum calorie intake at 1250 regardless of calorie burns, shall I cut carbs or is there another way to re-start my weight loss?

Serious question: are you weighing all of your food? Not trying to be snarky or rude, but if you aren't weighing there is a really high probability that you are eating much more than 1260 cals.

Also- weight gain/stall after eating out alot could be an effect from excess sodium. Try increasing water intake, increasing potassium (not go over board) and try to cut down on sodium for a week or so. If it rapidly drops off again, it was likely just water weight from sodium.

GiveMeCoffee

JAT74 wrote: »

Ok will try and do that but The last time I lost weight was on 21/1 when I recorded a weight of 142. Then that evening went out for dinner and the following day 22/1 was up to 143, then out again 3 days later 24/1 and today recorded a weight of 144.5. Looks like an upward trend not downward and I don't know if it was the meals out which made the scales jump up or something else.

Trends take weeks not days this is when patience is important.

AliceDark

JAT74 wrote: »

Ok will try and do that but The last time I lost weight was on 21/1 when I recorded a weight of 142. Then that evening went out for dinner and the following day 22/1 was up to 143, then out again 3 days later 24/1 and today recorded a weight of 144.5. Looks like an upward trend not downward and I don't know if it was the meals out which made the scales jump up or something else.

5 days isn't long enough to see a trend line. You need to give it 2-3 weeks. Your weight jumped up and down like this before you started trying to diet, too. You probably just didn't know about it.

JAT74

Thanks Gothyfaery I have already started using a similar App called Libra.

GothyFaery

JAT74 wrote: »

Ok will try and do that but The last time I lost weight was on 21/1 when I recorded a weight of 142. Then that evening went out for dinner and the following day 22/1 was up to 143, then out again 3 days later 24/1 and today recorded a weight of 144.5. Looks like an upward trend not downward and I don't know if it was the meals out which made the scales jump up or something else.

Weight trends take weeks. Give it time and see where the trend is after 2 or more weeks. There are a hundred reasons your weight could go up. You did not eat 7000 calories above your maintenance calories in 2 days so you did you gain 2 pounds of fat in two days.