Best solution for those who find it hard to lose weight?

JAT74

After several months of trying to lose weight and 14lbs off (though very very slowly) I have come to understand what does and doesn't work for me in terms of how I can lose weight. I still have around 18lbs to lose, and sometimes I feel like I will never reach my goal weight.

Basically I have a low TDEE of around 1450, which means that if I want to lose a minimum of 1lb per week, I can either eat 950 calories per day 7 days a week, exercise 7 days a week and eat around 1250 per day or do a form of intermittent fasting (the 5:2 diet) plus exercise daily so that I can eat a little more 5 days a week.

Since February this year I have opted for the latter, ie. eating around 1400-1500 calories per day 5 days a week with 2 days of 500 calories which is the 5:2 diet. I also have to exercise 6-7 days per week with some days of intensive exercise otherwise I find I don't lose at all.

Eating this way can be really hard, and if I have just 1 day off fasting or 1-2 days off exercising I find that I don't lose. The same goes if I have a day or two of eating slightly higher calories.

It seems like a real struggle and there are weeks when I lose no weight at all because I have social occasions to attend or I feel hungrier than normal which mean I have days when I eat more than I know my body will allow for me to be able to lose weight, but I still think it's preferable to the alternative ie. eating 950 calories every single day.

I was wondering if there were others out there who have similar problems and if so how do you manage? Some people tell me it's easier if you eat low carb, eat 'clean' or if you reduce calories on the other 5 days a week too to around 1200 per day in order to lose a bit faster.

I would like to hear from others in my position as I'd like to find a way of eating that will allow me to lose a bit quicker/more consistently and is sustainable at least until I reach my goal weight and then I know I will be able to eat a little bit more.

I'm happy doing 5:2 as I feel great on my fast days, but the other days can sometimes be hard.

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

Can you give your stats? What sort of exercises do you do, and how much?

JAT74

I do walks of 30-60 minutes, 3-4 times a week at moderate speed plus around 1-2 cardio sessions of about 40 minutes. I also do 4 workouts of 35 minutes each per week using reasonably heavy weights and body weight exercises (Jillian Michaels body revolution). I never count/eat back exercise calories. My TDEE is my sedentary TDEE as I have experimented many many times by eating more than that and I always gain weight rapidly. I have no medical reason for fast weight gain, just a slow metabolism and the fact I am 40 years old! I'm 5 foot 4 and currently weigh 133.8-135 lbs depending on the day.

elvensnow

You may hate to hear it, but it's probably hard for you to lose because you're already very close to a healthy weight. You're within the normal BMI, and from my research I hear it's good if older women have a little extra (5-10lbs) on them--it's usually better health indicators for bone density, etc.

Have you tried taking a break? I mean an honest break of eating at maintenance and only light exercise. You might find giving your body a break helps to revamp some of your energy. I tend to do this when I get absolutely sick of dieting--I just go on maintenance for a while until I feel up to it again, because it has been a LONG process for me.

Also: you say when you eat more you "gain weight rapidly": do you mean you gain up to 5 lbs within a week? Because that's likely just you gaining back your glucose reserves and water weight from being on such a strict diet. People tend to gain about 5 or so lbs once going on maintenance as your body replenishes those supplies. It usually won't mean any inches gained though.

So if you really think you'd gain weight, you'll have to stop yourself from freaking out over a small intial bump, and then try to track maintenance for more than 4 weeks. If you still gain after 4 weeks on maintenance, then you might have to tweak.

Anyway, I know that's a lot of info, but there's other good resources out there. Check out some of the TDEE or intermittent fasting groups here on MFP and see if any of them have info for you!

JAT74

Thanks, I know that rapid weight gain is not all fat gain and most likely water weight, but if/when it happens I find it takes me weeks to get back to where I was, hence why my weight loss has been so slow ie. only 14lbs in 6 months.

Regarding my current weight, I know I am within a healthy BMI but it's deceptive because my body fat is still really high. I initially lost a few % (down from 33.5-29%) though now it doesn't seem to want to budge and it's really frustrating

I'm not massively hung up on weight, though I'd like to be around 115lbs but I'll be happy at whatever weight I am at around 20% body fat.

Talking about taking a break I think that I have been doing that periodically anyway like when I have had days of eating more than will allow me to lose weight. I always track my food intake on MFP so I know what I'm eating from day to day, and there have been some days when I've consciously eaten up to 1700 or 1800 once in a week for example.

I don't tend to gain on maintenance, but with 5:2 your weight can fluctuate and I find I'm always at my lightest on the day after my 2nd fast day of the week. If I skip a fast day or have a day or 2 of eating over maintenance the scales shoot up but in reality once it evens out my weight is not going up massively. I just want to lose weight more consistently now, and body fat more specifically but the only way this seems to work is to eat a bit less and I know that means doing what I said originally ie. eating either low calories every day (which I know is not healthy), eating a bit less on non-fast days (eating around 1300 every single non-fast day and not going over) and also exercising. I find personally that eating above 150grams of carbs = no weight loss too, so if I can keep carbs to 100g or less that seems to work better but again, it's really hard at times to stick to it.

I am a member of some IF groups already, but I seem to be one of the few people who doesn't find the results come easily, though I want to stick with it. I have even started fasting overnight for 16-18 hours more days of the week and eating within a smaller window which is supposed to promote fat loss but this doesn't seem to help me much other than helping with appetite control.

moonpie83

My weight loss has been extremely slow as well. For the last few weeks I have been working out twice a day for at least 3 days a week, going consistently 5 days a week. I do cardio, light weights and take classes (at this point I'm not sure what to do any more). The last time I lost a lot of weight it didn't take me this long and didn't seem to be as hard; but this time it's a different story. I've been watching what I eat, most days not even getting close to my daily calorie goal of 1280! And I'm scared to eat too much because I think that will allow me to gain instead of lose!

ASKyle

It seems like you're at an appropriate weight for your height. It is slow going to lose those last few pounds. Is it the scale weight that bothers you, or the way your body looks? If it's the latter, I would suggest a progressive lifting program.

hush7hush

Make sure to switch up your meals and your workouts so your body doesn't get used to it. Look into HIIT. I'm a big fan of IF. Try a ton of different things and see what works for you. It's a journey, not a race.

JAT74

My main issue is my fat ratio. In clothes I generally look ok and can wear a fairly small size now but I have tons of fat on my thighs, upper arms and tummy area (29% body fat currently). As I carry it mostly in those areas it looks much worse rather than if it was spread out all over. I already do IF and I also do a progressive weight lifting program so am at a loss as to what in can do next as I've tried so much already. The only thing I can try (reluctantly) is lowering calories to 1200 on my non, fast days, clean eating or going lower carb all of which are not very appealing.

BWBTrish

start weighing all your food on the scale I noticed that you dont weigh your fruit and half of a banana ( very dense in calories) is never 28 calories.... or it must be a mini mini banana
60 gram of banana ( which is even a half for me) is already 54 calories
you got all sorts of serving sizes and portions in your diary that indicates you are not weighing those kind of foods

So two things here
you eat more calories than you think
And you dont have much to lose at all ( healthy weight range)
So it will go slow

kimny72

OP, I have basically your stats (half inch taller and 2 yrs older). I do the best I can to eat in the 1400-1500 range, I work out 1/2 -> 1 hr, 5 days a week (plus try to just get in as many steps as I possibly can) and I have been losing about 1 lb a month. The only thing I focus on is getting enough protein (I can get all the fat I need without trying !). My plan is to try to get down to 125 to see how it feels. But I have come to the conclusion as someone mentioned above that I do need to get serious about weight lifting to see the results I want.

So I don't really have any tips, just wanted to say you aren't alone! It is frustratingly slow, but I am comfortable eating how I am, and I think finding the right workout regimen to affect my body comp is the way I need to go, so maybe that's something for you to consider too. I hope you get some sound advice and Good Luck :drinker:

JAT74

Thanks but I do generally weigh and measure almost everything as I work from home so know the weight/size of the things I eat regularly and put things in my scales if not. I do have small bananas for instance and I just weighed one with the skin off and it was 50 grams, I eat frozen banana portions and cut off extra banana along with the skin normally so the final weight of one half is approx 40 grams so probably not far off the calories I've stated. Most other foods are weighed from the packet or before cooking.

I do still have 9% fat to lose which is hard to estimate but I'd say that's at least 15-20lbs in weight. I know I would have to go low calorie to get it off quicker but slowly would be good enough for me!

JAT74

Thanks Kimney I would be happy losing even at that rate at the moment! I was 121 lbs at my lightest but still had a lot of body fat even then (27%) so I'd like to get down lower with less body fat and see how I feel. We can do it!

BWBTrish

measuring is not good and can be way off!!! and you log 20 blueberries and 3 berries Or 1.25 slice of something.

Here a short video of two kinda foods that make your diary go off by hundreds of calories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

BWBTrish

Really ity is proven that people THINK they know how much their portions are but most people are 25% off.
So add that to miscalculations we all have that is around 20% too. And you have whiped out almost all your deficit.

JAT74

Sorry I meant I weigh thinga on a scale, not measure. I also eat a lot of foods with the calorie count listed on the packet so I know it's accurate and if I use a portion size like berries I have the smallest berries you can imagine. I've been counting for so long now I know how grams and portions compare and always aim for numbers to be the same so I very much doubt I'm off or overestimating. In most cases I put too many calories rather than too few anyway (e.g. I only had 15 blueberries but put 20 etc.)

I just think I am unlucky as I have a low TDEE and weight loss can therefore only happen if I eat low calorie.

BWBTrish

JAT74 wrote: »

Sorry I meant I weigh thinga on a scale, not measure. I also eat a lot of foods with the calorie count listed on the packet so I know it's accurate and if I use a portion size like berries I have the smallest berries you can imagine. I've been counting for so long now I know how grams and portions compare and always aim for numbers to be the same so I very much doubt I'm off or overestimating. In most cases I put too many calories rather than too few anyway (e.g. I only had 15 blueberries but put 20 etc.)

I just think I am unlucky as I have a low TDEE and weight loss can therefore only happen if I eat low calorie.

Has nothing to do with your TDEE

and you are wrong sorry to say it right on the packet
I had weeks ago a pre-cut piece of cheesecake.
46 gram said the package and 210 calories. But i weigh my food...all my food
It was way more..253 calories!!! wich means 43 calories more
Than my soft taco which was also more when i weighed it out
calculate that together and you are very quickly 100 calories a day off...not much isnt it? But that is 700 a week!
5 weeks is 3500 calories wrong and there is a whole pound you just whiped away.
that is more than 9 pounds a year!!!

But up to you i say you are NOT special
Your TDEE is NOT that low you just eat more than you think because your diary shows all kinds of wrong entrees. Did you do a V02 max test? Why do you think your TDEE is that low?

i know you will throw this away and dont like me for this, but i am not your judge Your body is.
You can calculate wrong, forget to log ( i dont say you do i give an example) you can chose wrong entrees...your body dont care...AT ALL. It registers for you every calorie it gets. It is the perfect calculator and is your judge
You dont lose weight? or slow or think you are at a plateau? Look at what your body is telling you.
You eat too much calories!!

Sorry and i leave it at this, listen to your body it tells you exactly what you eat!

strong_curves

TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »

JAT74 wrote: »

Sorry I meant I weigh thinga on a scale, not measure. I also eat a lot of foods with the calorie count listed on the packet so I know it's accurate and if I use a portion size like berries I have the smallest berries you can imagine. I've been counting for so long now I know how grams and portions compare and always aim for numbers to be the same so I very much doubt I'm off or overestimating. In most cases I put too many calories rather than too few anyway (e.g. I only had 15 blueberries but put 20 etc.)

I just think I am unlucky as I have a low TDEE and weight loss can therefore only happen if I eat low calorie.

Has nothing to do with your TDEE

and you are wrong sorry to say it right on the packet
I had weeks ago a pre-cut piece of cheesecake.
46 gram said the package and 210 calories. But i weigh my food...all my food
It was way more..253 calories!!! wich means 43 calories more
Than my soft taco which was also more when i weighed it out
calculate that together and you are very quickly 100 calories a day off...not much isnt it? But that is 700 a week!
5 weeks is 3500 calories wrong and there is a whole pound you just whiped away.
that is more than 9 pounds a year!!!

But up to you i say you are NOT special
Your TDEE is NOT that low you just eat more than you think because your diary shows all kinds of wrong entrees. Did you do a V02 max test? Why do you think your TDEE is that low?

i know you will throw this away and dont like me for this, but i am not your judge Your body is.
You can calculate wrong, forget to log ( i dont say you do i give an example) you can chose wrong entrees...your body dont care...AT ALL. It registers for you every calorie it gets. It is the perfect calculator and is your judge
You dont lose weight? or slow or think you are at a plateau? Look at what your body is telling you.
You eat too much calories!!

Sorry and i leave it at this, listen to your body it tells you exactly what you eat!

I know this wasn't directed at me but I needed to hear this today! I have been slacking the past 2 weeks and your post is the swift kick in the butt I needed today! Thanks!

Serah87

TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »

JAT74 wrote: »

Sorry I meant I weigh thinga on a scale, not measure. I also eat a lot of foods with the calorie count listed on the packet so I know it's accurate and if I use a portion size like berries I have the smallest berries you can imagine. I've been counting for so long now I know how grams and portions compare and always aim for numbers to be the same so I very much doubt I'm off or overestimating. In most cases I put too many calories rather than too few anyway (e.g. I only had 15 blueberries but put 20 etc.)

I just think I am unlucky as I have a low TDEE and weight loss can therefore only happen if I eat low calorie.

Has nothing to do with your TDEE

and you are wrong sorry to say it right on the packet
I had weeks ago a pre-cut piece of cheesecake.
46 gram said the package and 210 calories. But i weigh my food...all my food
It was way more..253 calories!!! wich means 43 calories more
Than my soft taco which was also more when i weighed it out
calculate that together and you are very quickly 100 calories a day off...not much isnt it? But that is 700 a week!
5 weeks is 3500 calories wrong and there is a whole pound you just whiped away.
that is more than 9 pounds a year!!!

But up to you i say you are NOT special
Your TDEE is NOT that low you just eat more than you think because your diary shows all kinds of wrong entrees. Did you do a V02 max test? Why do you think your TDEE is that low?

i know you will throw this away and dont like me for this, but i am not your judge Your body is.
You can calculate wrong, forget to log ( i dont say you do i give an example) you can chose wrong entrees...your body dont care...AT ALL. It registers for you every calorie it gets. It is the perfect calculator and is your judge
You dont lose weight? or slow or think you are at a plateau? Look at what your body is telling you.
You eat too much calories!!

Sorry and i leave it at this, listen to your body it tells you exactly what you eat!

OP she is 100% correct. ^^^

BWBTrish

strong_curves wrote: »

TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »

JAT74 wrote: »

Sorry I meant I weigh thinga on a scale, not measure. I also eat a lot of foods with the calorie count listed on the packet so I know it's accurate and if I use a portion size like berries I have the smallest berries you can imagine. I've been counting for so long now I know how grams and portions compare and always aim for numbers to be the same so I very much doubt I'm off or overestimating. In most cases I put too many calories rather than too few anyway (e.g. I only had 15 blueberries but put 20 etc.)

I just think I am unlucky as I have a low TDEE and weight loss can therefore only happen if I eat low calorie.

Has nothing to do with your TDEE

and you are wrong sorry to say it right on the packet
I had weeks ago a pre-cut piece of cheesecake.
46 gram said the package and 210 calories. But i weigh my food...all my food
It was way more..253 calories!!! wich means 43 calories more
Than my soft taco which was also more when i weighed it out
calculate that together and you are very quickly 100 calories a day off...not much isnt it? But that is 700 a week!
5 weeks is 3500 calories wrong and there is a whole pound you just whiped away.
that is more than 9 pounds a year!!!

But up to you i say you are NOT special
Your TDEE is NOT that low you just eat more than you think because your diary shows all kinds of wrong entrees. Did you do a V02 max test? Why do you think your TDEE is that low?

i know you will throw this away and dont like me for this, but i am not your judge Your body is.
You can calculate wrong, forget to log ( i dont say you do i give an example) you can chose wrong entrees...your body dont care...AT ALL. It registers for you every calorie it gets. It is the perfect calculator and is your judge
You dont lose weight? or slow or think you are at a plateau? Look at what your body is telling you.
You eat too much calories!!

Sorry and i leave it at this, listen to your body it tells you exactly what you eat!

I know this wasn't directed at me but I needed to hear this today! I have been slacking the past 2 weeks and your post is the swift kick in the butt I needed today! Thanks!

yvw At least it helped somebody
Did my good deed for today...can i go back being bad now...it hurts hehehe
kidding of course.
but glad to have helped you.

BWBTrish

Serah87 wrote: »

TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »

JAT74 wrote: »

Sorry I meant I weigh thinga on a scale, not measure. I also eat a lot of foods with the calorie count listed on the packet so I know it's accurate and if I use a portion size like berries I have the smallest berries you can imagine. I've been counting for so long now I know how grams and portions compare and always aim for numbers to be the same so I very much doubt I'm off or overestimating. In most cases I put too many calories rather than too few anyway (e.g. I only had 15 blueberries but put 20 etc.)

I just think I am unlucky as I have a low TDEE and weight loss can therefore only happen if I eat low calorie.

Has nothing to do with your TDEE

and you are wrong sorry to say it right on the packet
I had weeks ago a pre-cut piece of cheesecake.
46 gram said the package and 210 calories. But i weigh my food...all my food
It was way more..253 calories!!! wich means 43 calories more
Than my soft taco which was also more when i weighed it out
calculate that together and you are very quickly 100 calories a day off...not much isnt it? But that is 700 a week!
5 weeks is 3500 calories wrong and there is a whole pound you just whiped away.
that is more than 9 pounds a year!!!

But up to you i say you are NOT special
Your TDEE is NOT that low you just eat more than you think because your diary shows all kinds of wrong entrees. Did you do a V02 max test? Why do you think your TDEE is that low?

i know you will throw this away and dont like me for this, but i am not your judge Your body is.
You can calculate wrong, forget to log ( i dont say you do i give an example) you can chose wrong entrees...your body dont care...AT ALL. It registers for you every calorie it gets. It is the perfect calculator and is your judge
You dont lose weight? or slow or think you are at a plateau? Look at what your body is telling you.
You eat too much calories!!

Sorry and i leave it at this, listen to your body it tells you exactly what you eat!

OP she is 100% correct. ^^^

and ty you too

Spreyton22K

Owlhouse has made some pertinent points JAT74......

There are areas in which you could revisit your logging and tighten it up a bit....being a veteran at logging can mask errors in that have crept in over time. It's no one's fault but you are human as we all are and we can become complacent.

Maybe it IS time for you to have a break from all of this. If you haven't already please get tested for your metabolism and see whether it is as low as you think as well as accurate body fat %......stop guessing and stressing.

Transform the body that you are unhappy with by lifting - over time heavy lifting will reduce body fat and replace it with muscle.....this is going too have so many benefits for you. It will not transfer in change on the scale weight but it will result in improvements in the appearance of the problems areas that worry you.

jodybo2

If you are unhappy with your percentage of fat, I suggest upping protein (if you aren't already eating enough), continue lifting heavy weights, and eat at a slight deficit. The TDEE you mentioned seems really low. I figured mine out by keeping up with my numbers on an excel spreadsheet. Mine is around 1900 and I am only 5'2" 128 lbs and 38 years old. I have a very sedentary job and the only real workouts I get in is stronglifts 5x5 twice a week. It has really changed the way my body looks for the better. It seemed when I did cardio everyday my cellulite only got worse.

115Everest

Being brutally honest with ourselves is the only way to succeed to the finish.

So with no need to answer to us at all, I would recommend taking a look at your diary entries one by one and ask the question only to yourself, "do I TRULY and HONESTLY believe that this entry only had a few calories or was that wishful thinking on my part?"

Or "did I TRULY and HONESTLY exercise hard enough and for that period of time to add that level of calories back in?"

If you do that and you GENUINELY KNOW, without kidding yourself, that you've done everything right, you may want to see a doctor to find out if you have some kind of metabolic problem.

Also, I think your goal of 1 pound a week might be causing you to put too much pressure on yourself at the weight you're at. And it's not working anyway. So maybe if you lower your expectations per week, you might find you are way more successful in the long run. If your scale doesn't measure fractions of a pound, maybe you could either invest in one that does, or don't weigh yourself every week if you need to see progress to stay motivated.

In any event, good luck! I think those last 10 or so pounds are some kind of cruel joke that some cosmic trickster has played on us for forever.

zoeysasha37

TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »

start weighing all your food on the scale I noticed that you dont weigh your fruit and half of a banana ( very dense in calories) is never 28 calories.... or it must be a mini mini banana
60 gram of banana ( which is even a half for me) is already 54 calories
you got all sorts of serving sizes and portions in your diary that indicates you are not weighing those kind of foods

So two things here
you eat more calories than you think
And you dont have much to lose at all ( healthy weight range)
So it will go slow

My thoughts exactly

tephanies1234

I saw a few exercise entries anywhere from 440 to 790 calories in the last couple weeks and a good portion of those eaten back. One day you didn't. If your exercise calories are way off and you're eating that portion back plus mistakes in your food entries, this would explain slow weight loss. Eat less exercise cals back or none at all and see what happens in a couple weeks. Then it will just leave food entry mistakes and that can be wiped out by any exercise you did giving you the desired weight loss.

SezxyStef

I find it hard to believe that is your TDEE...why because I know someone 4 years older than you, weighs less 120lbs to be exact and her TDEE is 2300...yah 2300...

I know everyone is different but TDEE is in your control and as Owl said weigh all your food.

ETA: I looked at your logging...yah you need to tighten that up.

Orphia

TheVirgoddess wrote: »

You do realize that your TDEE is largely in your control and if you find it's "too low" then you can get off your butt and be more active to raise it, right?

So true, it's funny.

BWBTrish

SezxyStef wrote: »

I find it hard to believe that is your TDEE...why because I know someone 4 years older than you, weighs less 120lbs to be exact and her TDEE is 2300...yah 2300...

I know everyone is different but TDEE is in your control and as Owl said weigh all your food.

ETA: I looked at your logging...yah you need to tighten that up.

indeed.
And i am 10 years older....my levels are tested in a lab and i have it a bit low....but still hundreds and hundreds more than the OP.
So i have a hard time thinking and believing that TDEE is that low.

And you know when i think or suspect that maintenance level is that low i would go for a test...Most clinics only ask around 50 to 80 dollars and you know ( at least as accurate as possible) what it is.

JAT74

Sorry but I've tried many calculators and my sedentary TDEE is what I said, 1460, maximum on one calculator 1500. I don't 'eat my exercise calories back', I manually set my base calories to 1150 and then try and stick to eating around 1400 if I can, so it looks like I am eating the exercise calories but that's not the case. Also remember that 2 days most weeks I'm eating 500-550 calories too so the average is lower.

I worked out that last week I ate the right amount (plus burned in exercise calories) enough to create a deficit of 3900, so even allowing for Slight calorie overestimation I should have lost at least 1lb or close to it.

My body fat is also quite accurate as its measured on 2 different body composition scales and also fat calipers taken in diff areas. I'm going to continue with the training I'm doing and aim to be 100 cals per day under my goal and hopefully it will happen.

BWBTrish

You know for a lot people i say dont go lower weigh more accurate.
But if you go lower you will start losing weight...not because your TDEE is so low...but because you dont weigh your food properly but by eating less you make your deficit bigger again
now everybody will see dont eat under the 1200...well it doesn't matter for you. You eat more than you know anyway because you dont weigh your food properly

You are the one that miss out on food. and dont (want) to learn your new habit which will help you to sustain your weight when you are at your desired health range.

But like i said up to you.
Now i am really outta here lol.
Good luck on your journey.