Scale not moving

marshjon74
marshjon74 Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I log everything. Meet my calorie goals. Workout 5 days a week burning about 1000 to 1300 calories per workout. Scale hasn't moved in 4 months. Suggetions?

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    What are your stats? How long have you been at this? How are you measuring your intake and exercise calories?
  • marshjon74
    marshjon74 Posts: 7 Member
    43 year old male..been working out for about a year. Lost 35 pounds quick when I started. Tracking food with MFP and tracking calories burned with a myzone belt.
  • SilverRose89
    SilverRose89 Posts: 447 Member
    marshjon74 wrote: »
    I log everything. Meet my calorie goals. Workout 5 days a week burning about 1000 to 1300 calories per workout. Scale hasn't moved in 4 months. Suggetions?

    How are you working out what you are burning during workouts?

    If you are sure your logging is 100% accurate and it has been four months, I'd be thinking that the inaccuracy is probably in what you think you are burning.
  • Live_life_well
    Live_life_well Posts: 86 Member
    edited January 2018
    Assuming that you are logging accurately, why not decrease your calories by 500 for four weeks and see what happens? If nothing has changed in 4 months then my guess is that you are eating at maintenance - reduce calories and create a deficit.

    Calories at 1,200 per workout is very high unless you train like an athlete. I train hard and likely burn closer to 600 in 1.2 hours.
  • marshjon74
    marshjon74 Posts: 7 Member
    Height is 6'2" weight is 310. I weight my food. The my zone belt is what I go by for calorie burn. I always thought that was high. I strength train and cardio. I work out for about 2 hours. My calorie intake is 3200. I did cut down to 25 for 3 weeks and had the same result.
  • tess5036
    tess5036 Posts: 942 Member
    I use a myzone belt as well. However, I only use it on cardio, as that is where it is most accurate. Any HR monitor has a greater potential to over estimate calories burned on strength training. Also, if you have two different calorie burn figures (one on the app and one on the screen at the gym) it is the app that will be correct.
  • Marilyn0924
    Marilyn0924 Posts: 797 Member
    Based on a loose calculation, you're eating at maintenance. Have you updated your goal settings in MFP after the 35 pounds lost? Your caloric requirements will change as you lose weight.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    without seeing your diary, all any of us can is is that ' you are likely eating more than you think you are'. especially if you are eating back all those 'burned' calories.

    if you want more useful advice, youll need to open your diary.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    edited January 2018
    Remember that your TDEE or NEAT, as well as your calorie burns are all estimates. They are based on the averages (probably the middle 2/3 of a bell curve of the population).

    What that means to you is that once you start, you have to make adjustments, based on what you see happening. You can affect intake and burn, but I promise you, the biggest effect you can have is controlling your intake. Controlling your intake, however, really only happens when everything is logged, measured, and entered correctly (i.e. using reliable database entries, weighing your food by the gram, and including every bit of sauce, cooking oils, etc.).

    Secondly, you have to be careful of how you estimate burn. I ran a rough estimate at a site I use frequently, called shapesense (http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn-conversion-calculator.shtml) where I ran a rough calculation for you. If you ran at 5mph for one hour on a level surface, you would burn a "net" of 760 calories. Net is your gross burn less the amount your body would burn anyway if you were not doing the activity. Again, this is an estimate. I use this site to cross check my fitbit data. If I trusted my intake, I would eat probably 2/3 of those calories back. If, after 4 weeks, I don't see anything, I'd adjust that number down. I (and you) need at least 3-4 weeks to recognize the affect of any adjustment.

    Lastly, doing a lot of cardio does a couple of things to your body:
    1. It adds stress, which causes your body to adapt, and release a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol can slow your metabolism. It's not starvation mode, and it's not the huge factor that some make it out to be, but it is one, nonetheless.
    2. As you get better at cardio (as with anything else you practice), your body becomes more efficient with the movements. When your body becomes more efficient, it takes less energy to do the same thing. So your calorie burns will be incrementally less as you become better at it.

    What I'm guessing, and this is just a guess by a non-expert, is that you probably are estimating incorrectly on both sides.

    I started this almost a year ago, for your reference. I am 54, 5'11" and started at 240 pounds. I averaged about 2400 calories a day and did some cardio, but mostly a lot of walking. I ate 3000 plus on the days that I would run (about 1-2 times per week at about 5.5 mph for an hour). I shed about 45-50 pounds over a 6 month stretch. You are younger, bigger and should be losing easily at 2500. Just looking at this roughly makes me think it's a logging issue.

    You just need to dig a little deeper to find out where the inconsistencies are. The laws of thermodynamics do work for you too. :wink:
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Sounds like logging inaccuracies and over estimation of exercise calorie burns.. 4 months at the same weight means you are eating maintenance calories rather than being in deficit.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Yes, keep us posted. All the best.
  • beany90a
    beany90a Posts: 31 Member
    Amazing will power! really inspiring
  • Kst76
    Kst76 Posts: 935 Member
    Good!!!
  • kirstyfoy
    kirstyfoy Posts: 139 Member
    Excellent news. Ive been working out and logging for 11 weeks. Weight has plateued for 2. Read a blog about changing gym routine every 4 to 6 weeks. After changing it lost a pound straight away! Every 4 weeks i see a PT to put together a new programme. I gym 3 times a week. Feel free to add me.

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