Trusting calories

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Change1992
Change1992 Posts: 40 Member
edited May 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

Hope everyone is doing well!

I have this issue. I've been losing at 1600 calories for about 5/6 months now and before that I was losing at 1200. (I'm 5'10, SW 200lbs, CW 165lbs, GW 145-150lbs)

Now I have some pretty BIG exams this week and my eating has gone right out the window. I know its a motivation thing and I get that and am sorting it out. I've been eating at maintenance +200 calories for the last 8 days and was of course, expecting it to show on the scale this morning whether through actual weight or water weight.

It seems that I've actually lost a one lb instead? So now I'm really confused. Am I messing my numbers up somewhere? I log religiously, I weigh everything and eat practically the same meals each week (except this last week.) I don't log exercise as I don't do any. I have a FitBit and try to walk 10 000 steps a day but that's all. And during this last week, I've walked about 12000 for the entire week so it can't be down to that.

Any ideas/thoughts/experiences?

Thanks guys :)

EDIT - Typo

Replies

  • mch2829
    mch2829 Posts: 70 Member
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    A one pound loss of fat won't show on a scale. And even if it is one pound of fat lost, it could just be that your maintenance is off. These calculators are estimates and can be off by a lot.

    Keep in mind that a pound of water is only 15 ounces. That's less than a bottle of water.
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,212 MFP Moderator
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    Weight loss is not linear. You may have days or weeks where you eat at maintenance and still lose weight followed by a couple weeks of eating at a deficit with no losses. It takes your body a bit to get used to any changes in your eating habits. Just keep doing what you're doing and getting yourself sorted out. It sounds like you know what you're doing and are going to be getting back on track shortly, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that your weight loss doesn't slow down too much. :)

    Good luck on your exams!
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    So basically, we're talking about half a pound that you should have gained. You are 1.5 lbs lighter than expected. This could very easily be explained as water weight fluctuations. If you continue to eat at +200 and you aren't gaining the weight expected, then it could be inaccurate calculations.

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