CICO huh?

DietPrada
DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
edited November 16 in Food and Nutrition
Riddle me this. My calorie target is set to 1460 (used to be 1700 - but I've lost about 37kg). I'm 5'10" and 87kg so 1460 is fine. I wear a Misfit Shine (like a fitbit). It syncs with MFP and does the calorie adjustment based on activity. MFP is set to sedentary to allow for this. The Misfit seems pretty accurate (based on testing over time). I do not eat back my exercise calories. My net calories for this week are in the pic below, and this is a pretty standard week, I'm a creature of habit. So, it seems I'm averaging 900 calories a day. Allowing for some inaccuracy in the tracker lets say 1000 calories a day. I weigh and record all of my food, with accurate MFP database entries (been doing this 4 years, I'm a pro). I have no health issues. I'm not on any medication. I have had no cheats or outings or guesstimates - not one.

Calorie calculator says this:
You need 2,207 Calories/day to maintain your weight.
You need 1,707 Calories/day to lose 0.5 kg per week.
You need 1,207 Calories/day to lose 1 kg per week.
You need 2,707 Calories/day to gain 0.5 kg per week.
You need 3,207 Calories/day to gain 1 kg per week.

So, I should lose just over a kg a week. According to basic CICO maths, correct? And yet, I've lost 3kg in 3 months.

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Replies

  • This content has been removed.
  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
    The 1kg per week is basically just an estimate.. just like the foods we eat, i mean i could log 165 calories for 100g of chicken based on the USDA website but even that is just a guess. Calorie goals are also estimates, in order to know your actual burn for you, you would have to go in and get lab testing done. Your BMR is also just a general guess, calorie burns.. a guess.. So many factors go into it, so yes.. its still calories in calories out, but that number is not set in stone, your calories in/out needs to be different then someone elses even if they matched you in age, weight and height. The numbers visually given to us are just a starting mark, a way to make it easier just to start somewhere rather then blindly picking somewhere to start with no information

    So you'd recommend I eat less than 900 net calories a day? Or do you think my weighing and tracking is out by 500 cals a day? Or my Misfit is wrong and I'm actually dead.
  • This content has been removed.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    annacole94 wrote: »
    How do you know you don't have any health concerns? Honestly, if you're THAT sure you're right, it's time to consult a dietitian and a doctor. If you are correct, science wants you to help end malnutrition.

    ^^This.
    I think it could be a combination of many things..
    I don't recommend eating less, but i just think that taking the numbers like they should be fact is why so many people have a hard time with the CICO process.. We can use everything we can to try and be as close as we can to what the CICO is for us but in the end it's all a guess and if we don't get the results we want we tweak until we do. Since weight loss itself isn't linear, it's often said that we should just keep a weight trend app so that we can see not only fluctuations but that the over all trend is down.. i went 5 weeks with absolutely no loss when i was 213 pounds, despite weighing food, walking everywhere, going to the gym.. scale did not move. It did eventually though.. and you might find next 3 months that the scale might move faster then expected.

    ^^And this.

    Also have you taken a diet break at any stage?
  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    annacole94 wrote: »
    How do you know you don't have any health concerns? Honestly, if you're THAT sure you're right, it's time to consult a dietitian and a doctor. If you are correct, science wants you to help end malnutrition.

    ^^This.
    I think it could be a combination of many things..
    I don't recommend eating less, but i just think that taking the numbers like they should be fact is why so many people have a hard time with the CICO process.. We can use everything we can to try and be as close as we can to what the CICO is for us but in the end it's all a guess and if we don't get the results we want we tweak until we do. Since weight loss itself isn't linear, it's often said that we should just keep a weight trend app so that we can see not only fluctuations but that the over all trend is down.. i went 5 weeks with absolutely no loss when i was 213 pounds, despite weighing food, walking everywhere, going to the gym.. scale did not move. It did eventually though.. and you might find next 3 months that the scale might move faster then expected.

    ^^And this.

    Also have you taken a diet break at any stage?

    Yes I'm that sure I'm right - my tracking is accurate. In fact if anything I will round up (37g feta becomes 40g). I have been doing this for 4 years. I have been to the doctor, had the blood tests.

    Yes, I took a diet "break" early last year. I had surgery (tubes tied). I stopped tracking for about 3 months. I did not binge eat, but I did eat a bit more than I normally would. I also gained 14kg in that time.

    Yes, I have happy scale which tracks weightloss over time. I have lost 37kg in 4 years. Other than the 3 months previously mentioned I was accurately and diligently tracking that whole time.

    3 months ago I dropped from 1700 cals to 1460 cals. I am still losing at the same rate (about half a lb a week). I was actually shocked to see that I'm averaging 900 cals a day net. I walk to and from the bus - about 3km in all, plus other exercise and I just eat my 1460 cals and not worry about it.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    annacole94 wrote: »
    How do you know you don't have any health concerns? Honestly, if you're THAT sure you're right, it's time to consult a dietitian and a doctor. If you are correct, science wants you to help end malnutrition.

    ^^This.
    I think it could be a combination of many things..
    I don't recommend eating less, but i just think that taking the numbers like they should be fact is why so many people have a hard time with the CICO process.. We can use everything we can to try and be as close as we can to what the CICO is for us but in the end it's all a guess and if we don't get the results we want we tweak until we do. Since weight loss itself isn't linear, it's often said that we should just keep a weight trend app so that we can see not only fluctuations but that the over all trend is down.. i went 5 weeks with absolutely no loss when i was 213 pounds, despite weighing food, walking everywhere, going to the gym.. scale did not move. It did eventually though.. and you might find next 3 months that the scale might move faster then expected.

    ^^And this.

    Also have you taken a diet break at any stage?

    Yes I'm that sure I'm right - my tracking is accurate. In fact if anything I will round up (37g feta becomes 40g). I have been doing this for 4 years. I have been to the doctor, had the blood tests.

    Yes, I took a diet "break" early last year. I had surgery (tubes tied). I stopped tracking for about 3 months. I did not binge eat, but I did eat a bit more than I normally would. I also gained 14kg in that time.

    Yes, I have happy scale which tracks weightloss over time. I have lost 37kg in 4 years. Other than the 3 months previously mentioned I was accurately and diligently tracking that whole time.

    3 months ago I dropped from 1700 cals to 1460 cals. I am still losing at the same rate (about half a lb a week). I was actually shocked to see that I'm averaging 900 cals a day net. I walk to and from the bus - about 3km in all, plus other exercise and I just eat my 1460 cals and not worry about it.

    I would seriously consider another break. Your body was going through a lot when you did the last one plus that was some time ago. A couple of weeks at maintenance may do you the world of good. If it doesn't then you need to dig deeper because something is affecting your CO.
  • This content has been removed.
  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    annacole94 wrote: »
    How do you know you don't have any health concerns? Honestly, if you're THAT sure you're right, it's time to consult a dietitian and a doctor. If you are correct, science wants you to help end malnutrition.

    ^^This.
    I think it could be a combination of many things..
    I don't recommend eating less, but i just think that taking the numbers like they should be fact is why so many people have a hard time with the CICO process.. We can use everything we can to try and be as close as we can to what the CICO is for us but in the end it's all a guess and if we don't get the results we want we tweak until we do. Since weight loss itself isn't linear, it's often said that we should just keep a weight trend app so that we can see not only fluctuations but that the over all trend is down.. i went 5 weeks with absolutely no loss when i was 213 pounds, despite weighing food, walking everywhere, going to the gym.. scale did not move. It did eventually though.. and you might find next 3 months that the scale might move faster then expected.

    ^^And this.

    Also have you taken a diet break at any stage?

    Yes I'm that sure I'm right - my tracking is accurate. In fact if anything I will round up (37g feta becomes 40g). I have been doing this for 4 years. I have been to the doctor, had the blood tests.

    Yes, I took a diet "break" early last year. I had surgery (tubes tied). I stopped tracking for about 3 months. I did not binge eat, but I did eat a bit more than I normally would. I also gained 14kg in that time.

    Yes, I have happy scale which tracks weightloss over time. I have lost 37kg in 4 years. Other than the 3 months previously mentioned I was accurately and diligently tracking that whole time.

    3 months ago I dropped from 1700 cals to 1460 cals. I am still losing at the same rate (about half a lb a week). I was actually shocked to see that I'm averaging 900 cals a day net. I walk to and from the bus - about 3km in all, plus other exercise and I just eat my 1460 cals and not worry about it.

    I would seriously consider another break. Your body was going through a lot when you did the last one plus that was some time ago. A couple of weeks at maintenance may do you the world of good. If it doesn't then you need to dig deeper because something is affecting your CO.

    An interesting thread (linked in the post after) and a good concept in theory, but I don't think I can survive gaining any kgs, considering how long it took to get rid of them. I dare not go above about 1700 to 1800 cals a day, and to be honest that extra 350 is really neither here nor there - certainly not a "break". I'm wondering if a day here and there might be okay. As in, I'm seriously about 2000 calories under my target for the week, maybe I could manage a 700 calorie Caesar salad or something on the weekend.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    annacole94 wrote: »
    How do you know you don't have any health concerns? Honestly, if you're THAT sure you're right, it's time to consult a dietitian and a doctor. If you are correct, science wants you to help end malnutrition.

    ^^This.
    I think it could be a combination of many things..
    I don't recommend eating less, but i just think that taking the numbers like they should be fact is why so many people have a hard time with the CICO process.. We can use everything we can to try and be as close as we can to what the CICO is for us but in the end it's all a guess and if we don't get the results we want we tweak until we do. Since weight loss itself isn't linear, it's often said that we should just keep a weight trend app so that we can see not only fluctuations but that the over all trend is down.. i went 5 weeks with absolutely no loss when i was 213 pounds, despite weighing food, walking everywhere, going to the gym.. scale did not move. It did eventually though.. and you might find next 3 months that the scale might move faster then expected.

    ^^And this.

    Also have you taken a diet break at any stage?

    Yes I'm that sure I'm right - my tracking is accurate. In fact if anything I will round up (37g feta becomes 40g). I have been doing this for 4 years. I have been to the doctor, had the blood tests.

    Yes, I took a diet "break" early last year. I had surgery (tubes tied). I stopped tracking for about 3 months. I did not binge eat, but I did eat a bit more than I normally would. I also gained 14kg in that time.

    Yes, I have happy scale which tracks weightloss over time. I have lost 37kg in 4 years. Other than the 3 months previously mentioned I was accurately and diligently tracking that whole time.

    3 months ago I dropped from 1700 cals to 1460 cals. I am still losing at the same rate (about half a lb a week). I was actually shocked to see that I'm averaging 900 cals a day net. I walk to and from the bus - about 3km in all, plus other exercise and I just eat my 1460 cals and not worry about it.

    I would seriously consider another break. Your body was going through a lot when you did the last one plus that was some time ago. A couple of weeks at maintenance may do you the world of good. If it doesn't then you need to dig deeper because something is affecting your CO.

    An interesting thread (linked in the post after) and a good concept in theory, but I don't think I can survive gaining any kgs, considering how long it took to get rid of them. I dare not go above about 1700 to 1800 cals a day, and to be honest that extra 350 is really neither here nor there - certainly not a "break". I'm wondering if a day here and there might be okay. As in, I'm seriously about 2000 calories under my target for the week, maybe I could manage a 700 calorie Caesar salad or something on the weekend.

    As @GottaBurnEmAll said a diet break is eating at maintenance. Why not just try it for a couple of weeks? Given how long you've been at a deficit for I doubt a day here and there at higher cals will be enough. But you could adopt that strategy going forward.
  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    annacole94 wrote: »
    How do you know you don't have any health concerns? Honestly, if you're THAT sure you're right, it's time to consult a dietitian and a doctor. If you are correct, science wants you to help end malnutrition.

    ^^This.
    I think it could be a combination of many things..
    I don't recommend eating less, but i just think that taking the numbers like they should be fact is why so many people have a hard time with the CICO process.. We can use everything we can to try and be as close as we can to what the CICO is for us but in the end it's all a guess and if we don't get the results we want we tweak until we do. Since weight loss itself isn't linear, it's often said that we should just keep a weight trend app so that we can see not only fluctuations but that the over all trend is down.. i went 5 weeks with absolutely no loss when i was 213 pounds, despite weighing food, walking everywhere, going to the gym.. scale did not move. It did eventually though.. and you might find next 3 months that the scale might move faster then expected.

    ^^And this.

    Also have you taken a diet break at any stage?

    Yes I'm that sure I'm right - my tracking is accurate. In fact if anything I will round up (37g feta becomes 40g). I have been doing this for 4 years. I have been to the doctor, had the blood tests.

    Yes, I took a diet "break" early last year. I had surgery (tubes tied). I stopped tracking for about 3 months. I did not binge eat, but I did eat a bit more than I normally would. I also gained 14kg in that time.

    Yes, I have happy scale which tracks weightloss over time. I have lost 37kg in 4 years. Other than the 3 months previously mentioned I was accurately and diligently tracking that whole time.

    3 months ago I dropped from 1700 cals to 1460 cals. I am still losing at the same rate (about half a lb a week). I was actually shocked to see that I'm averaging 900 cals a day net. I walk to and from the bus - about 3km in all, plus other exercise and I just eat my 1460 cals and not worry about it.

    I would seriously consider another break. Your body was going through a lot when you did the last one plus that was some time ago. A couple of weeks at maintenance may do you the world of good. If it doesn't then you need to dig deeper because something is affecting your CO.

    An interesting thread (linked in the post after) and a good concept in theory, but I don't think I can survive gaining any kgs, considering how long it took to get rid of them. I dare not go above about 1700 to 1800 cals a day, and to be honest that extra 350 is really neither here nor there - certainly not a "break". I'm wondering if a day here and there might be okay. As in, I'm seriously about 2000 calories under my target for the week, maybe I could manage a 700 calorie Caesar salad or something on the weekend.

    As @GottaBurnEmAll said a diet break is eating at maintenance. Why not just try it for a couple of weeks? Given how long you've been at a deficit for I doubt a day here and there at higher cals will be enough. But you could adopt that strategy going forward.

    I understand that, but what is "maintenance"? Last time I took a break I know - based on 25 years of counting calories - that I would not have often hit more than 2000 a day and yet I gained 14kg in 3 months. According to the calculations in the first post I should be able to maintain at 2207. I guarantee I can't - I'll gain weight. Hence why I said I dare not eat more than 1700 to 1800 cals a day (which would be about 1400 net).
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    annacole94 wrote: »
    How do you know you don't have any health concerns? Honestly, if you're THAT sure you're right, it's time to consult a dietitian and a doctor. If you are correct, science wants you to help end malnutrition.

    ^^This.
    I think it could be a combination of many things..
    I don't recommend eating less, but i just think that taking the numbers like they should be fact is why so many people have a hard time with the CICO process.. We can use everything we can to try and be as close as we can to what the CICO is for us but in the end it's all a guess and if we don't get the results we want we tweak until we do. Since weight loss itself isn't linear, it's often said that we should just keep a weight trend app so that we can see not only fluctuations but that the over all trend is down.. i went 5 weeks with absolutely no loss when i was 213 pounds, despite weighing food, walking everywhere, going to the gym.. scale did not move. It did eventually though.. and you might find next 3 months that the scale might move faster then expected.

    ^^And this.

    Also have you taken a diet break at any stage?

    Yes I'm that sure I'm right - my tracking is accurate. In fact if anything I will round up (37g feta becomes 40g). I have been doing this for 4 years. I have been to the doctor, had the blood tests.

    Yes, I took a diet "break" early last year. I had surgery (tubes tied). I stopped tracking for about 3 months. I did not binge eat, but I did eat a bit more than I normally would. I also gained 14kg in that time.

    Yes, I have happy scale which tracks weightloss over time. I have lost 37kg in 4 years. Other than the 3 months previously mentioned I was accurately and diligently tracking that whole time.

    3 months ago I dropped from 1700 cals to 1460 cals. I am still losing at the same rate (about half a lb a week). I was actually shocked to see that I'm averaging 900 cals a day net. I walk to and from the bus - about 3km in all, plus other exercise and I just eat my 1460 cals and not worry about it.

    I would seriously consider another break. Your body was going through a lot when you did the last one plus that was some time ago. A couple of weeks at maintenance may do you the world of good. If it doesn't then you need to dig deeper because something is affecting your CO.

    An interesting thread (linked in the post after) and a good concept in theory, but I don't think I can survive gaining any kgs, considering how long it took to get rid of them. I dare not go above about 1700 to 1800 cals a day, and to be honest that extra 350 is really neither here nor there - certainly not a "break". I'm wondering if a day here and there might be okay. As in, I'm seriously about 2000 calories under my target for the week, maybe I could manage a 700 calorie Caesar salad or something on the weekend.

    As @GottaBurnEmAll said a diet break is eating at maintenance. Why not just try it for a couple of weeks? Given how long you've been at a deficit for I doubt a day here and there at higher cals will be enough. But you could adopt that strategy going forward.

    I understand that, but what is "maintenance"? Last time I took a break I know - based on 25 years of counting calories - that I would not have often hit more than 2000 a day and yet I gained 14kg in 3 months. According to the calculations in the first post I should be able to maintain at 2207. I guarantee I can't - I'll gain weight. Hence why I said I dare not eat more than 1700 to 1800 cals a day (which would be about 1400 net).

    maintenance is the calorie intake at which you maintain your weight. I'm really not sure why you're so resistant to at least trying it. But I' also seconding @Look_Its_Kriss 's recommendation to get a referral to an endo to dig a bit deeper if your TDEE is truly that far below 'average'.
  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    annacole94 wrote: »
    How do you know you don't have any health concerns? Honestly, if you're THAT sure you're right, it's time to consult a dietitian and a doctor. If you are correct, science wants you to help end malnutrition.

    ^^This.
    I think it could be a combination of many things..
    I don't recommend eating less, but i just think that taking the numbers like they should be fact is why so many people have a hard time with the CICO process.. We can use everything we can to try and be as close as we can to what the CICO is for us but in the end it's all a guess and if we don't get the results we want we tweak until we do. Since weight loss itself isn't linear, it's often said that we should just keep a weight trend app so that we can see not only fluctuations but that the over all trend is down.. i went 5 weeks with absolutely no loss when i was 213 pounds, despite weighing food, walking everywhere, going to the gym.. scale did not move. It did eventually though.. and you might find next 3 months that the scale might move faster then expected.

    ^^And this.

    Also have you taken a diet break at any stage?

    Yes I'm that sure I'm right - my tracking is accurate. In fact if anything I will round up (37g feta becomes 40g). I have been doing this for 4 years. I have been to the doctor, had the blood tests.

    Yes, I took a diet "break" early last year. I had surgery (tubes tied). I stopped tracking for about 3 months. I did not binge eat, but I did eat a bit more than I normally would. I also gained 14kg in that time.

    Yes, I have happy scale which tracks weightloss over time. I have lost 37kg in 4 years. Other than the 3 months previously mentioned I was accurately and diligently tracking that whole time.

    3 months ago I dropped from 1700 cals to 1460 cals. I am still losing at the same rate (about half a lb a week). I was actually shocked to see that I'm averaging 900 cals a day net. I walk to and from the bus - about 3km in all, plus other exercise and I just eat my 1460 cals and not worry about it.

    I would seriously consider another break. Your body was going through a lot when you did the last one plus that was some time ago. A couple of weeks at maintenance may do you the world of good. If it doesn't then you need to dig deeper because something is affecting your CO.

    An interesting thread (linked in the post after) and a good concept in theory, but I don't think I can survive gaining any kgs, considering how long it took to get rid of them. I dare not go above about 1700 to 1800 cals a day, and to be honest that extra 350 is really neither here nor there - certainly not a "break". I'm wondering if a day here and there might be okay. As in, I'm seriously about 2000 calories under my target for the week, maybe I could manage a 700 calorie Caesar salad or something on the weekend.

    As @GottaBurnEmAll said a diet break is eating at maintenance. Why not just try it for a couple of weeks? Given how long you've been at a deficit for I doubt a day here and there at higher cals will be enough. But you could adopt that strategy going forward.

    I understand that, but what is "maintenance"? Last time I took a break I know - based on 25 years of counting calories - that I would not have often hit more than 2000 a day and yet I gained 14kg in 3 months. According to the calculations in the first post I should be able to maintain at 2207. I guarantee I can't - I'll gain weight. Hence why I said I dare not eat more than 1700 to 1800 cals a day (which would be about 1400 net).

    If you are currently losing 0.5 lb/week then presumably you are eating 250 cals below your true maintenance. You can also reverse diet your way up to it by adding 100 cals/week until you stop losing.

    Honestly though, I'm not getting the sense that you want advice and help as much as you want to refute the concept of CICO. There are reasons why people don't lose at the rate they expect. Most of the time it's underestimating intake or overestimating calorie burn. If that's not the case for you, other options could be, as other posters have said: taking a diet break to let hormone levels restore after a prolonged deficit, or seeing a doctor for underlying medical conditions which may mean that the CICO balance needs to be tweaked for you to work.

    IIRC, you eat a LCHF diet, is that right? Has anything changed with the foods you are eating, have you incorporated new foods that may be masking the weight loss and you are due for a "woosh"? Did you lose faster before and this is a sudden stall?

    I'm currently losing 0.25 per week, not half. And I am netting 900 to 1000 calories a day. I am not resistant, nor am I looking to refute anything. I am simply pointing out that things are not as simple as a mathematic equation. Even if I'm underestimating (I'm not) and my exercise calories are overestimated (they could be) the figures are NOT out by 500 calories a day - it's simply not possible.

    Yes I eat low carb, my Dad died from type 2 diabetes last year, my doctor told me 4 years ago I would suffer the same fate if I did not make changes. Low carb works for many reasons I won't go into again. None of my foods have changed, we eat the same food. Only changes I've tried have been cutting out dairy, cutting out diet sugar, increasing carbs from 5% to 10% (still in ketosis)etc. But if it was a simple matter of calories none of that should matter I could eat 1400 calories of fairy floss and lose weight.

    I had a "woosh" last week. I lost about 1.5kg - I have been steadily gaining it back at the rate of 100g a day. This is generally how it goes.

    I'm not arguing that eating at maintenance is a bad idea (if someone doesn't say "oh sure, great, you're totally right" - it's not arguing, it's discussing something and offering more information/perspective), I'm just pretty sure if I ate 1800 net calories I'd gain weight, quickly.

    I'm not sure I want help. I'm pretty sure over the duration I have tried everything, read everything made any changes it's possible to make and the end result has been the same. Fighting the same BS battle for every single gram.

  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    annacole94 wrote: »
    How do you know you don't have any health concerns? Honestly, if you're THAT sure you're right, it's time to consult a dietitian and a doctor. If you are correct, science wants you to help end malnutrition.

    ^^This.
    I think it could be a combination of many things..
    I don't recommend eating less, but i just think that taking the numbers like they should be fact is why so many people have a hard time with the CICO process.. We can use everything we can to try and be as close as we can to what the CICO is for us but in the end it's all a guess and if we don't get the results we want we tweak until we do. Since weight loss itself isn't linear, it's often said that we should just keep a weight trend app so that we can see not only fluctuations but that the over all trend is down.. i went 5 weeks with absolutely no loss when i was 213 pounds, despite weighing food, walking everywhere, going to the gym.. scale did not move. It did eventually though.. and you might find next 3 months that the scale might move faster then expected.

    ^^And this.

    Also have you taken a diet break at any stage?

    Yes I'm that sure I'm right - my tracking is accurate. In fact if anything I will round up (37g feta becomes 40g). I have been doing this for 4 years. I have been to the doctor, had the blood tests.

    Yes, I took a diet "break" early last year. I had surgery (tubes tied). I stopped tracking for about 3 months. I did not binge eat, but I did eat a bit more than I normally would. I also gained 14kg in that time.

    Yes, I have happy scale which tracks weightloss over time. I have lost 37kg in 4 years. Other than the 3 months previously mentioned I was accurately and diligently tracking that whole time.

    3 months ago I dropped from 1700 cals to 1460 cals. I am still losing at the same rate (about half a lb a week). I was actually shocked to see that I'm averaging 900 cals a day net. I walk to and from the bus - about 3km in all, plus other exercise and I just eat my 1460 cals and not worry about it.

    I would seriously consider another break. Your body was going through a lot when you did the last one plus that was some time ago. A couple of weeks at maintenance may do you the world of good. If it doesn't then you need to dig deeper because something is affecting your CO.

    An interesting thread (linked in the post after) and a good concept in theory, but I don't think I can survive gaining any kgs, considering how long it took to get rid of them. I dare not go above about 1700 to 1800 cals a day, and to be honest that extra 350 is really neither here nor there - certainly not a "break". I'm wondering if a day here and there might be okay. As in, I'm seriously about 2000 calories under my target for the week, maybe I could manage a 700 calorie Caesar salad or something on the weekend.

    As @GottaBurnEmAll said a diet break is eating at maintenance. Why not just try it for a couple of weeks? Given how long you've been at a deficit for I doubt a day here and there at higher cals will be enough. But you could adopt that strategy going forward.

    I understand that, but what is "maintenance"? Last time I took a break I know - based on 25 years of counting calories - that I would not have often hit more than 2000 a day and yet I gained 14kg in 3 months. According to the calculations in the first post I should be able to maintain at 2207. I guarantee I can't - I'll gain weight. Hence why I said I dare not eat more than 1700 to 1800 cals a day (which would be about 1400 net).

    Well, if you gain weight at that, then there's something off in the calculations of your deficit, perhaps.

    Let's get to some real data here:

    How many gross calories are you eating a day?

    What exercise is your Misfit basing that net on? Is it all step-based?
  • Macy9336
    Macy9336 Posts: 694 Member
    I noted you stated that your MFP is set to sedentary as a way to offset inaccuracies in Fitbit exercise calculations. In which case your calorie maintenance level could be higher in reality than what the MFP has calculated. It appears too, that since you don't eat back your exercise calories thus resulting in some pretty low net calorie days, that you are actually pretty active. The sedentary setting would also mean that your calorie goal for weight loss (1460/ day) is lower than needed...thus resulting in higher weight loss than expected. I'd double check your activity setting. The inaccuracies are probably not enough to warrant setting MFP to sedentary instead of active.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    You're chronically underfeeding with super low net calories...you're stressing your body out and jacking your hormones up. Adaptive thermogenesis is a thing...so you don't die...your body is pretty good at that.

    That presumes her data is accurate. I'm not so sure it is.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    You're chronically underfeeding with super low net calories...you're stressing your body out and jacking your hormones up. Adaptive thermogenesis is a thing...so you don't die...your body is pretty good at that.

    That presumes her data is accurate. I'm not so sure it is.

    True...
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