Losing body fat but not weight. Seeing a nutritionist soon
Replies
-
Panda_Poptarts wrote: »
Looking at your diary, it looks like you were aiming for 1500 in January and February? You seemed to have most of your days under 1500 yet, for the last 6 weeks or so, there seems to be most days are 1700-2000? Granted, I just took a glimpse, but 2-500 calories extra per day could play a role...
That's correct.
With not eating back exercise calories, I was netting pretty low. My doctor advised I bump it up. For my stats, not counting exercise at all, I'm still well in the deficit range.
I'm 5'11 and 250, so 1800 should be a great number.
Your sodium seems pretty high that could be it. Do you drink enough water??
What I would do is be more accurate with the food weighing, like even weigh it twice to make sure.
Could be your age, 2014 yrs old, wow, you look great!!
0 -
blues4miles wrote: »
Actually bioelectrical impedance is hugely inaccurate, though it can show trends. The problem is, the reading can vary a LOT by how hydrated your are, or where you carry your body fat.
I disagree that you could not still be retaining water.
If you are really losing BF but not scale weight, you are probably eating at maintenance. It's also possible you are just at a natural plateau with a little bit of water being retained to mask any scale loss. Look up the thread "weight loss is not linear". Also ditch the trainer when your initial investment with him is done (but sounds like you know that).
Sometimes I have noticed (in my personal experience, so this is all anecdotal) if I lose weight quickly, my body will sometimes stop losing scale weight but appear to lose inches (like you are saying) that it SHOULD have lost while I was losing the pounds. It will spend extra time at this new weight, like it's trying to adjust, before it continues to lose.
So you can either be patient, or try to nail down your eating habits. I'm glad your using a food scale, but most of us saying that's where the problem probably is learned this the hard way for our own selves, that we got too comfortable in our routine and were being inaccurate in logging. Or even if our logging was accurate, just didn't realize how much of an impact too many high days was having. Have you readjusted your MFP goals since losing the 75 lbs?
Thanks for the reply
I appreciate your detailed response.
I could be holding onto some water for sure. I see water retention as the puffy, can't-get-my-wedding-ring-off state I hit once a month, and we're definitely not there. I have a pretty standard amount of water I drink each day as a minimum, and judging by urine, am almost always quite hydrated. After years of chronically dehydrating myself, I've realized that *gasp* water is important!
I am definitely not eating at maintenance. Maintaining my weight would put me around 2300 calories at a sedentary level. I am neither sedentary, nor eating 2300 calories. I definitely understand the ability to get comfortable with a routine that leads to failure. That's exactly what got me up over 300 pounds, and I refuse to go back there ever again. I'm not sure what eating habits I would need to nail down, other than I already have. And yes, I've absolutely re-adjusted my goals
I have noticed in the past, the tendency to lose some inches, and then drop 5 - 10 pounds unexpectedly. I used to follow a 3 week pattern of staying at the same weight, then suddenly losing a handful of pounds. That's definitely the whoosh effect.
I wonder if it's possible to have a higher or more regular level of inflammation gain, due to regular working out.0 -
I'm 5'11 and 250, so 1800 should be a great number.
Your sodium seems pretty high that could be it. Do you drink enough water??
What I would do is be more accurate with the food weighing, like even weigh it twice to make sure.
Could be your age, 2014 yrs old, wow, you look great!![/quote]
Ugh lol. My MFP has been ridiculous lately. In addition to being 2014 years old, my "if every day was like today" weight has been +150lb for the past week. Super annoying.
I drink lots of water! I'm also in ketosis, which is the reason for the higher sodium. I've tried backing off of sodium, but then get headaches and brain fog due to imbalanced electrolytes. They recommend around 5g per day for ketosis.0 -
BINGO...and I might add: CONGRATULATIONS!I don't know anything about your health, so this is assuming you have no health issues. If you are in fact losing body fat and replacing it with lean muscle at that rate, anyone who would change your diet would be insane. Keep doing what you are doing.
0 -
Panda_Poptarts wrote: »Ugh lol. My MFP has been ridiculous lately. In addition to being 2014 years old, my "if every day was like today" weight has been +150lb for the past week. Super annoying.
I drink lots of water! I'm also in ketosis, which is the reason for the higher sodium. I've tried backing off of sodium, but then get headaches and brain fog due to imbalanced electrolytes. They recommend around 5g per day for ketosis.
Ohhh ok, I guess I would just make sure I'm being accurate as possible. Sometimes when I find I'm not moving on the scale for several weeks I usually have day where I eat an extra 500 calories, that usually gets me dropping again, but not always, lol.0 -
RobertWorthenClary wrote: »
BINGO...and I might add: CONGRATULATIONS!I don't know anything about your health, so this is assuming you have no health issues. If you are in fact losing body fat and replacing it with lean muscle at that rate, anyone who would change your diet would be insane. Keep doing what you are doing.
Thanks! 0 -
Ohhh ok, I guess I would just make sure I'm being accurate as possible. Sometimes when I find I'm not moving on the scale for several weeks I usually have day where I eat an extra 500 calories, that usually gets me dropping again, but not always, lol.
Thank you kindly Being ultra low carb, I am considering trying a refeed once a week or every other week. I'm hoping the nutritionist (while perhaps not as skilled as a dietician - yikes!) may be able to offer some insight into how this will affect my progress. 0 -
OP here is a good link to read: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants0
-
I am a nutritionist and if you came to me with your story I'd look at your food diary to insure you are getting enough protein for strength training (and if anything else is a red flag). Other than that, I wouldn't change what you are doing because it is working. There are times that our bodies need to catch up with us - that's why we see plateaus at all levels of weight loss. I'd say don't waste your time or money at this point - and DON'T become obsessed with the scale! You are doing fantastic - just keep it up!0
-
OP here is a good link to read: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
Thank you!0 -
I am a nutritionist and if you came to me with your story I'd look at your food diary to insure you are getting enough protein for strength training (and if anything else is a red flag). Other than that, I wouldn't change what you are doing because it is working. There are times that our bodies need to catch up with us - that's why we see plateaus at all levels of weight loss. I'd say don't waste your time or money at this point - and DON'T become obsessed with the scale! You are doing fantastic - just keep it up!
The protein is a good point I typically hit around 20 - 25% protein. Given that I am currently doing keto, it's more moderate protein than high protein. That being said, I'm seeing muscle gain. Would you recommend adjusting the protein macro? 0 -
Sounds like your body is doing exactly what it should be doing! You should definitely monitor inches more than weight. I lost over 10% body fat without losing any pounds. The scale is a big, fat LIAR! Sounds like you need a new trainer if they are "psyching you out".
@Panda_Poptarts what @Schuyer is telling you sounds on the money. As an old man when I started I did not lose a pound for 42 days. People were complimenting on my weight loss and I thought they were making fun of me being fat. After I realized my belt bucket had moved one inch to a new hole and I looked in the mirror and my fat jaws were missing I understood what they were seeing that my scales did not see.
Yes we can lose a lot of fat without losing a pound. I know it is not magic but I do not know the science behind it.0 -
Panda_Poptarts wrote: »
Ohhh ok, I guess I would just make sure I'm being accurate as possible. Sometimes when I find I'm not moving on the scale for several weeks I usually have day where I eat an extra 500 calories, that usually gets me dropping again, but not always, lol.
Thank you kindly Being ultra low carb, I am considering trying a refeed once a week or every other week. I'm hoping the nutritionist (while perhaps not as skilled as a dietician - yikes!) may be able to offer some insight into how this will affect my progress.
By refeed do you mean a high carb day? Is the low carb for PCOS, the pre-diabetes and hormonal issues? If yes I wouldn't mess around with high carb days.
I think you should just keep doing what you are doing. You started strength training which often leads to water retention for a small period of time. Give it one more month before trying something else. I bet you will have a whoosh soon!0 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »
@Panda_Poptarts what @Schuyer is telling you sounds on the money. As an old man when I started I did not lose a pound for 42 days. People were complimenting on my weight loss and I thought they were making fun of me being fat. After I realized my belt bucket had moved one inch to a new hole and I looked in the mirror and my fat jaws were missing I understood what they were seeing that my scales did not see.
Yes we can lose a lot of fat without losing a pound. I know it is not magic but I do not know the science behind it.
Thanks so much I've received lots of compliments too, and pictures don't lie. Not sure if you've seen some of the ones I've posted in LCD, but there is clearly major progress happening. I went down a whole pant size this month!
I think we should call it sparkly rainbow fairy magic and move on. Here's hoping for some scale weight loss in my future. In the meantime, I think I need to take what the nutritionist says with a grain of salt.
0 -
By refeed do you mean a high carb day? Is the low carb for PCOS, the pre-diabetes and hormonal issues? If yes I wouldn't mess around with high carb days.
I think you should just keep doing what you are doing. You started strength training which often leads to water retention for a small period of time. Give it one more month before trying something else. I bet you will have a whoosh soon!
Yes. Well, higher that is. I was thinking to aim around 100g net on a "refeed" day. Currently I stay around 25g total. I switched over the keto for the pre-diabetes primarily, but it has had an astonishing impact on my hormones / PCOS too. I'll admit, a carb day sounds pleasant. Ha! I definitely won't be moving back to carbs without the guidance of an actual medical professional who knows my history. And honestly, that likely won't be something I seek until I move much closer to maintenance weight.0 -
Just need to flag this, you are not gaining muscle if you are eating at a deficit. There be some small, teeny tiny, newbie gains but not enough to discredit seeing fat loss. My guess is a whoosh is coming. I'm a whoosher.0
-
VintageFeline wrote: »Just need to flag this, you are not gaining muscle if you are eating at a deficit. There be some small, teeny tiny, newbie gains but not enough to discredit seeing fat loss. My guess is a whoosh is coming. I'm a whoosher.
My strength has improved dramatically. I'm not sure it's possible to get stronger without some impact on my muscles?
I keep waiting for the whoosh 0 -
Panda_Poptarts wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »Just need to flag this, you are not gaining muscle if you are eating at a deficit. There be some small, teeny tiny, newbie gains but not enough to discredit seeing fat loss. My guess is a whoosh is coming. I'm a whoosher.
My strength has improved dramatically. I'm not sure it's possible to get stronger without some impact on my muscles?
I keep waiting for the whoosh
It is. I got a lot stronger while losing weight (220 to 125), but I'm sure I lost muscle mass overall (tried to keep it to the minimum).
Anyway, I'm betting on the whoosh/body catching up to you theory too, and if you are losing inches I wouldn't worry about it. If the nutritionist is good (registered dietitian, I hope) he or she should realize that and be able to focus on things beyond the scale.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Panda_Poptarts wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »Just need to flag this, you are not gaining muscle if you are eating at a deficit. There be some small, teeny tiny, newbie gains but not enough to discredit seeing fat loss. My guess is a whoosh is coming. I'm a whoosher.
My strength has improved dramatically. I'm not sure it's possible to get stronger without some impact on my muscles?
I keep waiting for the whoosh
It is. I got a lot stronger while losing weight (220 to 125), but I'm sure I lost muscle mass overall (tried to keep it to the minimum).
Anyway, I'm betting on the whoosh/body catching up to you theory too, and if you are losing inches I wouldn't worry about it. If the nutritionist is good (registered dietitian, I hope) he or she should realize that and be able to focus on things beyond the scale.
Here's hoping! I'm not sure what her credentials are, but I'll find out soon. At the very least she should be abl to take a look at my TDEE and macros I presume.0 -
I was going to link the whooshes and squishy fat as well. If you have not read it, do so, I wish more people would read it. It is possible to lose inches, yet not have the scale more for a period of time. It is unlikely you are putting on muscle, but if your measurements are going down, you are losing fat, that is the purpose behind this.
I am concerned when a trainer is hired for a specific purpose (train in free weights) and then does not do that. You are the client, you are the one who says what you want. If he does not provide that, you need a different trainer. For that matter, a trainer who is that focused on the scale is a problem in itself. The scale is so easily thrown off by water retention (even the type that doesn't make your fingers swell), food digesting slowly, and the like. In your case assuming your logging is as accurate as you say, 1800 should be a reasonable deficit. Your measurements are going down, so it is likely fat is coming off, so him getting in a twist because of the scale not moving is silly.
I do suggest taking pictures so you can compare month to month how you look different. That is yet another measure of progress, and more data is always better than less.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.7K Getting Started
- 260.1K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.8K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 415 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.9K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.6K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions