10 weeks - 1500 calories - no change :(
trixiex
Posts: 22 Member
Hi! I would love some advice and shared experiences. I've been eating 1500 calories per day for 10 weeks now. This is a 20% calorie deficit and I should be shifting 0.5kg per week. I doubt I could eat less than this without being angry and tired!
I exercise most days: cycling to and from work, rowing competitively, weight training and rowing machine. I have a polar heart rate monitor with chest strap which is pretty accurate in calculating calories burned so was logging exercise each day but rounding down the calories burned to the nearest 100 in case there was any overestimation. After 8 weeks of no progress I started to only log 80% of calories burned so that I was not eating back 100% of burned calories.
But, there is no progress. My weight, measurements and % body fat are all the same!!!
Please help!
I don't want to start a debate on eating back calories or get people's backs up, but please don't advise me to stop eating exercise calories back. I am a competitive (but chunky) athlete so need to make sure my body is adequately fuelled. I can easily burn 900 calories each day in exercise so, if I was to only eat 1500 calories, my net calories would only be 600 to fuel my body for the remainder of the day.
I exercise most days: cycling to and from work, rowing competitively, weight training and rowing machine. I have a polar heart rate monitor with chest strap which is pretty accurate in calculating calories burned so was logging exercise each day but rounding down the calories burned to the nearest 100 in case there was any overestimation. After 8 weeks of no progress I started to only log 80% of calories burned so that I was not eating back 100% of burned calories.
But, there is no progress. My weight, measurements and % body fat are all the same!!!
Please help!
I don't want to start a debate on eating back calories or get people's backs up, but please don't advise me to stop eating exercise calories back. I am a competitive (but chunky) athlete so need to make sure my body is adequately fuelled. I can easily burn 900 calories each day in exercise so, if I was to only eat 1500 calories, my net calories would only be 600 to fuel my body for the remainder of the day.
4
Replies
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are you sure you are eating 1500 calories?
using a food scale? and logging accurately and consistently using correct entries?
weight loss happens when you have a calorie deficit...
ps i agree with eating back exercise calories...8 -
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A few things stand out...
1. If you're following TDEE method, you do not eat back your exercise calories. They are already included in the count.
2. Heart rate monitors are only good for steady state cardio, so you're likely getting an inaccurate reading for your lifting.
3. How are you measuring your calorie intake (food scale, measuring cups, eyeballing portions)?7 -
Are you weighing everything?
Your hrm isn't accurate for calories burned from weight lifting.1 -
Ah quick replies! Thanks guys!
1. My BMR is calculated with having a sedentary job. I'm not following the TDEE method as my exercise can fluctuate week to week. Or I'm just controlling and want to be able to log each session separately!!!
2. I never knew that about heart rate monitors - perhaps I should stop logging my weight training and reduce the calories it says I've burned during cardio by some more (to 60%?).
3. I weigh most of my food except for veggies. I use a measuring jug for liquids and even wine!
The only food I don't weigh is pre-portioned stuff with the portion size already caloried up for me, or available on myfitnesspal.
E.g. tonight I'm having trout fillet pan fried (1/2 tbsp coconut oil), broccoli and (a big) baby leaf salad with balsamic vinegar. 150g 0% fat greek yoghurt with 100g strawberries and 1tsp honey for dessert. The trout fillet has the nutritional info on the label already so no need to weigh.
I was guessing it's because I'm getting older (36) and weight is less easy to shift but this is ridiculous now!!! My other half is away for a couple of months now and I'd really love for him to notice a difference when we see each other again!0 -
A few things stand out...
1. If you're following TDEE method, you do not eat back your exercise calories. They are already included in the count.
This. This isn't a debate about whether to eat back your calories or not. TDEE already calculates your calories burned and has you eating them back so you're probably eating back twice as much as you should be. Plain and simple if you're not losing we ight your not in a deficit.1 -
Ah quick replies! Thanks guys!
1. My BMR is calculated with having a sedentary job. I'm not following the TDEE method as my exercise can fluctuate week to week. Or I'm just controlling and want to be able to log each session separately!!!
2. I never knew that about heart rate monitors - perhaps I should stop logging my weight training and reduce the calories it says I've burned during cardio by some more (to 60%?).
3. I weigh most of my food except for veggies. I use a measuring jug for liquids and even wine!
The only food I don't weigh is pre-portioned stuff with the portion size already caloried up for me, or available on myfitnesspal.
E.g. tonight I'm having trout fillet pan fried (1/2 tbsp coconut oil), broccoli and (a big) baby leaf salad with balsamic vinegar. 150g 0% fat greek yoghurt with 100g strawberries and 1tsp honey for dessert. The trout fillet has the nutritional info on the label already so no need to weigh.
I was guessing it's because I'm getting older (36) and weight is less easy to shift but this is ridiculous now!!! My other half is away for a couple of months now and I'd really love for him to notice a difference when we see each other again!
are you choosing correct entries?
I've seen entries in MFP that are so off it's not even funny....ie Chicken at half the calories it should be.
And are you taking measurements?0 -
Ah quick replies! Thanks guys!
1. My BMR is calculated with having a sedentary job. I'm not following the TDEE method as my exercise can fluctuate week to week. Or I'm just controlling and want to be able to log each session separately!!!
2. I never knew that about heart rate monitors - perhaps I should stop logging my weight training and reduce the calories it says I've burned during cardio by some more (to 60%?).
3. I weigh most of my food except for veggies. I use a measuring jug for liquids and even wine!
The only food I don't weigh is pre-portioned stuff with the portion size already caloried up for me, or available on myfitnesspal.
E.g. tonight I'm having trout fillet pan fried (1/2 tbsp coconut oil), broccoli and (a big) baby leaf salad with balsamic vinegar. 150g 0% fat greek yoghurt with 100g strawberries and 1tsp honey for dessert. The trout fillet has the nutritional info on the label already so no need to weigh.
I was guessing it's because I'm getting older (36) and weight is less easy to shift but this is ridiculous now!!! My other half is away for a couple of months now and I'd really love for him to notice a difference when we see each other again!
You absolutely should be weighing pre-portioned stuff, as it is often off. I buy individually wrapped tuna steaks from Whole Foods and the nutrition label is for 113g or 4oz; my tuna is always 5+oz. Every gram makes a difference in calories, even your veggies.6 -
3. I weigh most of my food except for veggies. I use a measuring jug for liquids and even wine!
The only food I don't weigh is pre-portioned stuff with the portion size already caloried up for me, or available on myfitnesspal.
E.g. tonight I'm having trout fillet pan fried (1/2 tbsp coconut oil), broccoli and (a big) baby leaf salad with balsamic vinegar. 150g 0% fat greek yoghurt with 100g strawberries and 1tsp honey for dessert. The trout fillet has the nutritional info on the label already so no need to weigh.
You should weigh everything solid, even prepackaged things. It's very common, for me at least, to find that everything doesn't quite match the weight it's supposed to be. Those calories can add up, if you eat a lot of prepackaged foods.4 -
Well, it's easy when its branded stuff as you can double check against the label to make sure it's right, so I'm fairly certain the food logging isn't too far off.
I'm taking waist, thigh and hip measurements and there has been NO CHANGE so so so annoying. I have toned up, definitely. But none of the chunk has gone.
With regards to TDEE - I did look at this method before I started really committing to losing weight - the trouble is that the different calculators give such different results. I've tried a few and have intakes varying from 1800 - 2300. I'm also a bit scared of setting my activity level at the wrong level and eating too many calories by accident!
The calculator recommended here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/fivethreeone/view/how-did-i-eat-the-basics-tdee-calories-macros-570878
gave me a total of 1881 calories per day which is about 100 more than what I'm eating just now.
Maybe I should just give that a go!0 -
Ok - good tips for weighing everything! Even veggies
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Yes, weigh everything. Especially stuff like your oils and honey. It adds up! Eating exercise calories is fine IF you know your exact intake AND energy expenditure precisely, which is so rarely the case. Maybe not looking at a certain percentage of them and just eating to your hunger could help.1
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I know you don't want to hear this, but you are likely eating too much, either from inaccurate calorie intake or by inaccuracies in your exercise calories. I would tighten up the logging, reduce another 250 calories, and see if that gets things moving.7
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I'm a pretty greedy person with no food "off" switch so really don't trust my hunger - still learning to separate neck down and neck up hunger!!!
I've looked at a few TDEE calculations and they vary from 1750 to 2000 calories per day, so will go with 1850, stop logging the exercise calories and see what happens over the next couple of weeks.4 -
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I was thinking as active as you are you may need to increase your calorie intake.3
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What is your water intake and liquids are you drinking.0
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My current weight is 171lb, target weight is 156lb, height is 5' 8" (173cm). I don't really know where that puts me in the grand scheme of things.
Water - probably not enough!!! A few cups of mint tea during the day and maybe a litre of water.
Increase my calories - really? sounds awesome!1 -
StacyLynnBennett wrote: »I was thinking as active as you are you may need to increase your calorie intake.
Increasing calorie intake will not result in weight loss.21 -
Please don't increase your calories! The idea that you stop losing weight because you aren't eating enough is a myth.
Losing weight is all about having a calorie deficit. What you eat and when you eat can affect satiety. The only thing that makes a noticeable change to metabolism is exercise.
You don't have much to lose, so you should be expecting to lose around 0.5 lbs - 1 lb per week. I think if you try weighing EVERYTHING solid for 4-6 weeks you will start to see some movement. It will probably be slow but it will be worth it, good luck!12 -
I would not count the weightlifting calories burned at all. Cardio, sure, but unless you are doing circuit training with a continuous high heart rate, you're probably only burning 150 calories per hour weight lifting at best.
Another sneaky calorie source, someone already mentioned it, is oils. If you like to grill your veggies like I do in olive oil, you have to measure it, and it adds up fast. 2 tablespoons of olive oil is 250 calories!
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OK. Final decision. 1850 calories per day. No change to exercise and strength training, just not logging the calories.
And completely brutal with weighing food! I'm even going to start weighing coconut oil instead of using a spoon. And my bunch of grapes. (can I take them off the stalks for weighing?
) 10 -
The answer to "I am not losing" is never "eat more"StacyLynnBennett wrote: »I was thinking as active as you are you may need to increase your calorie intake.
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I wish it was.
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If you are relatively new to strength training, it may be possible that you are experiencing a weight gain which is comprised of both increased muscle mass AND the muscles you train exhibiting water retention due to training. These two things can offset your fat loss, but as you continue and your muscles adapt to training, the gains will start to diminish, which is when you start seeing the scale move downward.0
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OK. Final decision. 1850 calories per day. No change to exercise and strength training, just not logging the calories.
And completely brutal with weighing food! I'm even going to start weighing coconut oil instead of using a spoon. And my bunch of grapes. (can I take them off the stalks for weighing?)
I'm not sure how you're going to accurately weigh oils, but I'd suggest using an accurate set of measuring spoons instead of normal silverware.
I have had very good luck eating back most or all of my cardio calories, but either ignoring the weightlifting, or just giving myself 200 calories per hour, which is completely offset by the 150 calorie protein shake that I down after lifting for 45 minutes.1 -
You should be drinking more water, 8-10 cups
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StacyLynnBennett wrote: »I was thinking as active as you are you may need to increase your calorie intake.
No--that's never the answer for a stall in weight loss.2 -
OK. Final decision. 1850 calories per day. No change to exercise and strength training, just not logging the calories.
And completely brutal with weighing food! I'm even going to start weighing coconut oil instead of using a spoon. And my bunch of grapes. (can I take them off the stalks for weighing?)
I'm not sure how you're going to accurately weigh oils, but I'd suggest using an accurate set of measuring spoons instead of normal silverware.
I have had very good luck eating back most or all of my cardio calories, but either ignoring the weightlifting, or just giving myself 200 calories per hour, which is completely offset by the 150 calorie protein shake that I down after lifting for 45 minutes.
Coconut oil is solid at room temperature -- it's very easy to weigh.2
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