Unreasonably difficult to lose weight.

pennys_plagiarized_passions
pennys_plagiarized_passions Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everybody.
I am an athlete, and have been incredibly active (4-8hrs of exercise per day is not uncommon for me) for the majority of my adult life (I am 24).
Weight loss seems pretty simple... burn more calories than you consume... but for some reason it has not been that easy for me.
I am wondering if anyone has any ideas.

For the record, I feel fantastic. I can workout, literally fighting people (my fellow martial artists) for four hours and still (semi jokingly, you know, in a friendly way...) bully them into staying an extra round to fight me.
Fruits, vegetables, protein... almost never do I have fried/fast/junk foods. Sometimes I have coffee, but I try to stick to tea.

So I do not feel like I am unhealthy in any way... I just pack on some extra pounds.
There are days when I am 600-900 calories below my goal by the time I go to bed.
I will tell you though, my rest days, the days where I don't work out as much, are the days that are the hardest for me to count my calories. I am hungry and irritable.
However, I did not lose ANY WEIGHT AT ALL without counting my calories and "starving" just a little bit.

So... how on Earth do I manage to burn 2,000 calories in a day, consume maybe 1,300 (this is not the norm for me right now, so don't worry, but I had a problem where I had lost my appetite for a while), and not lose weight? ...Really I don't even understand how I remained standing on those days. O.o

Could there be something wrong with my health?
I certainly don't FEEL like there is, but it is sad that I have struggled to lose weight...
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Replies

  • omfgitsray
    omfgitsray Posts: 0 Member
    Do the Ketogenic Diet! Trust me you'll lose the weight quick!:)

    You're welcome
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    Can you open your diary? That will allow people to give you more specific advice.
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    Also how are you measuring your burns do you have a HRM?

    "I will tell you though, my rest days, the days where I don't work out as much, are the days that are the hardest for me to count my calories. I am hungry and irritable."

    I'd start trying to accurately measure your cal intake here you may be eating your deficit back. Once you log your cals accurately every day with scales you can start looking at more obscure culprits like medical conditions with your doctor but I'd try to log accurately for a few weeks first to rule out CICO being an issue.
  • fatblatta
    fatblatta Posts: 333 Member
    Ignore the people that tell you to do what you're doing and not having success. Don't weigh your food and count your calories. Eat until you are full and satisfied.

    https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight

    Good Luck!
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?

    ^ Most important question of all right there.

    I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?

    ^ Most important question of all right there.

    I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.

    Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
    I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.

  • mir1104
    mir1104 Posts: 101 Member
    From an athlete to another. Do you "taper" in your sport before a competition? Have you ever noticed how you'd actually lose some weight during a taper? That assuming you do tapers, us in triathlon do.
    It's cortisol usually anyway, the long hours training raise it, then leptin goes down and you know the effect is that...you're eating nothing but still you aren't losing. The only fix I have found was reducing the training load, to be honest it was the best deal ever even if I wasn't convinced about it at all but my coach pushed it and I tought to give him the benefit of doubt.
    Reducing hours of training (essentially we made a harder single daily session rather than two hald hearted ones) has had me shed 7kg (which coupled up with a 3kg lighter bike makes for way better climbs!) and I have had time to devore to stretching and foam rolling. As for performance, it went up esponentially so I would definitely recommend it but then it depends on what you can and cannot do in your sport/what your coach would do/etc...
  • fatblatta
    fatblatta Posts: 333 Member
    Annie_01 wrote: »
    omfgitsray wrote: »
    Do the Ketogenic Diet! Trust me you'll lose the weight quick!:)

    You're welcome
    fatblatta wrote: »
    Ignore the people that tell you to do what you're doing and not having success. Don't weigh your food and count your calories. Eat until you are full and satisfied.

    https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight

    Good Luck!

    Not everything has to be about a Ketogenic Diet guys. The OP can choose whatever diet works to her advantage...that might even be just eating the same foods that she always has but just eating less of them.

    For me personally...I do eat fewer carbs than I used to...it works for me for various reasons...some of them health related. I don't however think that it is the answer for everyone...nor do I believe that everyone has to eat the same way that I do.

    Let's give it a break...have a discussion that doesn't center around the "CARB".

    Yea, let's give stuff that doesn't work for everyone a break too. "Ignore this?" Really. I'm not getting into it with people on the Internet. The first response on here is to eat less and weigh your food. Give me a break. This is old and tired. If you are someone who has lost weight and gained it back many times, eat less and weigh your food is torture and horribly slow.

    I offered the diet doctor page to provide something many people are not familiar with. I wasn't.

  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    3rdof7sisters wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?

    ^ Most important question of all right there.

    I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.

    Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
    I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.

    Well, obviously not or she'd be losing weight.

    My point is that:

    1.) she is overestimating how active she is and how many calories she takes to maintain her weight
    2.) I think it's pretty obvious she is eating more than she thinks

    Finding the right calorie goal based on her correct TDEE and then actually eating that number of calories is going to be imperative in her success.


    I think it's super important to mention because a lot of people who consider themselves athletes or who exercise a lot experience something called "lash back" hunger where they overeat total calories to compensate for calories burned during exercise. This is especially the case for individuals who perform high-intensity cardio-respiratory exercise and part of the reason I personally don't do well with cardio. My hunger ramps up leaps and bounds beyond the number of calories i've actually burned with activity.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    3rdof7sisters wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?

    ^ Most important question of all right there.

    I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.

    Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
    I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.

    Well, obviously not or she'd be losing weight.

    My point is that:

    1.) she is overestimating how active she is and how many calories she takes to maintain her weight
    2.) I think it's pretty obvious she is eating more than she thinks

    Finding the right calorie goal based on her correct TDEE and then actually eating that number of calories is going to be imperative in her success.


    I think it's super important to mention because a lot of people who consider themselves athletes or who exercise a lot experience something called "lash back" hunger where they overeat total calories to compensate for calories burned during exercise. This is especially the case for individuals who perform high-intensity cardio-respiratory exercise and part of the reason I personally don't do well with cardio. My hunger ramps up leaps and bounds beyond the number of calories i've actually burned with activity.

    Just saying, the average sedentary woman burns 1800 calories per day just living, burning 2000 is not being overly aggressive for someone that exercises 4-8 hours per day. To me, that is underestimating calorie burn for 4-8 hours of exercise that the OP says is not unusual for her.

    It doesn't take an expert to conclude that her calorie intake is way more than she is claiming, or she really does need to discuss this with her doctor to eliminate any medical reason.

  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    3rdof7sisters wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    3rdof7sisters wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?

    ^ Most important question of all right there.

    I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.

    Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
    I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.

    Well, obviously not or she'd be losing weight.

    My point is that:

    1.) she is overestimating how active she is and how many calories she takes to maintain her weight
    2.) I think it's pretty obvious she is eating more than she thinks

    Finding the right calorie goal based on her correct TDEE and then actually eating that number of calories is going to be imperative in her success.


    I think it's super important to mention because a lot of people who consider themselves athletes or who exercise a lot experience something called "lash back" hunger where they overeat total calories to compensate for calories burned during exercise. This is especially the case for individuals who perform high-intensity cardio-respiratory exercise and part of the reason I personally don't do well with cardio. My hunger ramps up leaps and bounds beyond the number of calories i've actually burned with activity.

    Just saying, the average sedentary woman burns 1800 calories per day just living, burning 2000 is not being overly aggressive for someone that exercises 4-8 hours per day. To me, that is underestimating calorie burn for 4-8 hours of exercise that the OP says is not unusual for her.

    It doesn't take an expert to conclude that her calorie intake is way more than she is claiming, or she really does need to discuss this with her doctor to eliminate any medical reason.

    eh. I'm a personal trainer and consider myself active. I maintain on 1,800 on non-workout days and 2,200 on workout days (where i'm teaching group classes for example).

    Regardless, My point is that she needs to get a grasp of what her actual TDEE is so that she can set her goal properly the first time; not that 2,000 calories a day is not her maintenance. Heck, she might maintain on more than that; I don't know.

    My comment about assuming she's burning more calories was moreso based on physiological hunger cues she's experiencing, not the number 2000 she states in her post.
  • fatblatta
    fatblatta Posts: 333 Member
    kq1981 wrote: »
    http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/09/02/4077371.htm

    This. Calories in/calories out
    The diet doctor is NOT a qualified dietician. It's a mass money producing site which offers a "quick fix" rather than sustainable, life-long habits and realistic expectations.

    This is useless. The site is free unless you choose to join. Everything you need is free. It's not a quick fix. It's a lifelong change. Which restricting your calories is not. The young people on here advocating weighing your food and counting your calories, which I did many times, let's chat again in 30 years when you're old and fat. ha ha

    https://www.dietdoctor.com/authors/dr-andreas-eenfeldt

    OP - I hope you find something that works and is enjoyable. Good Luck!
  • marm1962
    marm1962 Posts: 950 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    3rdof7sisters wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?

    ^ Most important question of all right there.

    I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.

    Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
    I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.

    Well, obviously not or she'd be losing weight.

    My point is that:

    1.) she is overestimating how active she is and how many calories she takes to maintain her weight
    2.) I think it's pretty obvious she is eating more than she thinks

    Finding the right calorie goal based on her correct TDEE and then actually eating that number of calories is going to be imperative in her success.


    I think it's super important to mention because a lot of people who consider themselves athletes or who exercise a lot experience something called "lash back" hunger where they overeat total calories to compensate for calories burned during exercise. This is especially the case for individuals who perform high-intensity cardio-respiratory exercise and part of the reason I personally don't do well with cardio. My hunger ramps up leaps and bounds beyond the number of calories i've actually burned with activity.

    Nothing is obvious until it is.

    She could have developed a medical condition that she is unaware of
  • fatblatta
    fatblatta Posts: 333 Member
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    fatblatta wrote: »
    Ignore the people that tell you to do what you're doing and not having success. Don't weigh your food and count your calories. Eat until you are full and satisfied.

    https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight

    Good Luck!

    She's an athlete. She's an athlete participating in a sport that needs quick bursts of movement. The ketogenic diet would be very bad for her performance. Don't throw around the ketogenic diet as a solution for everyone regardless of their needs just because it worked for you.

    This is phony too. There are many world class athletes that follow this and do BETTER than they did on high protein or high carb. No, it's not for everyone. But this reason is bogus.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    edited February 2017
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    marm1962 wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    3rdof7sisters wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?

    ^ Most important question of all right there.

    I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.

    Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
    I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.

    Well, obviously not or she'd be losing weight.

    My point is that:

    1.) she is overestimating how active she is and how many calories she takes to maintain her weight
    2.) I think it's pretty obvious she is eating more than she thinks

    Finding the right calorie goal based on her correct TDEE and then actually eating that number of calories is going to be imperative in her success.


    I think it's super important to mention because a lot of people who consider themselves athletes or who exercise a lot experience something called "lash back" hunger where they overeat total calories to compensate for calories burned during exercise. This is especially the case for individuals who perform high-intensity cardio-respiratory exercise and part of the reason I personally don't do well with cardio. My hunger ramps up leaps and bounds beyond the number of calories i've actually burned with activity.

    Nothing is obvious until it is.

    She could have developed a medical condition that she is unaware of

    CICO doesn't just stop working. As someone who has had a plethora of medical conditions known to affect weight; this is just a strawman.

    If she were eating less calories than she was burning... she'd be losing weight. That's how biology works.

    Unless she has a condition that is undiagnosed, which no one can determine on an internet forum. In which case she should be consulting with a medical professional.

  • grace173
    grace173 Posts: 180 Member
    Story of my life!
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    It isn't possible to burn 2000 and consume 1300 for several days and not lose weight. But it is possible to eat more than you realize and burn less than you think.

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