Am I doing bad at this?

Jasp03

So I’m not sure If I’m doing a bad job at this, or if I’m actually ok. Any opinions for those that have been doing this longer than I would be appreciated!

Some info about me:
I’m a 34 year old guy, started about at 237lbs and am currently at 220lbs. My goal is 175 and I’d like to be there 1 year from now.

I went from 237-226lbs before getting going every day on MFP. Since getting back to MFP, I feel I’ve been doing an excellent job. My calorie intake is at 1400-1450, I do about 20 minutes of weight training a day (keeping it light to start, because it’s mostly me working on my form), and then I do 45-60 minutes of cardio (bike or walking/jogging) with a mix of body weight workouts as well (what category would that be?).

Anyways, I do weight myself each day, not because I’m looking to see results each day, but because I want to log data every day, so I can look back at trends, etc. (I know that weight loss should be seen on the scale over time, not daily) Which leads me to this question. It’s been about 2 weeks where I feel great, eating at a defecit, working out daily (no days off), yet, I see my weight fluctuating between 119-220.

I can’t tell if I’m stuck and maintaining at 1450 cal + exercise (sounds very doubtful), or if it’s muscle building and obviously being more dense than fat. However, my scale fluctuates between 33% fat and 32.5% (is fat % on the Aria scale even accurate?) Also don’t see any change in pictures or measurements.

I’m obviously going to keep pushing forward, because I feel great and mentally I feel like I’m making improvements, even though I don’t see it. But I can’t say that I am not getting a little concerned after seeing no change after 2 weeks (when I used to see change 2x a week).

88olds

Seems to me you’re doing pretty well.

But I have a couple of suggestions. I really like your attitude towards data collection. But it seems like you need to expand your time horizon.
If you’re doing weight loss with an eye on body composition at the same time, you’re working with close margins. You will likely do a lot of stumbling around in the dark. I know there are all these gadgets now to calculate CICO but those are based on stats and averages. You don’t live hooked up in a lab. Keep and nurture an attitude of experimentation. You need to be the world expert on you doing weight loss.

And speaking of data, you don’t mention a diary. Do you track you’re intake. It should be priority #1. Track everything, good, bad and ugly.

Last- 45 lbs in a year is certainly reasonable, but don’t let a timetable take over your head. Look for a downward trend. If you find your way to a livable downward trend, ride it. Adjust as needed to keep it going. Don’t concern yourself with the end date. Once you get to goal, you’ll want to stay there. There is no end.

Jasp03

@88olds, thanks for your response. Yes I certainly do keep track of everything on MFP.

smantha32

You'll always lose weight faster the first few weeks then it will drop off. I usually don't see anything major happening until I hit the the 3 months mark. Just keep doing it. your body will be changing shape and composition even if you don't see dropping on the scale. You should also take measurements to see if you notice yourself getting smaller as you go.

steveko89

I think you're doing fine too. @88olds hit all the high points on your attitude and approach; I'm a big fan of weighing daily and appropriately approaching everything as data-collection. I also agree with his comment about tracking your food; logging accurately, exhaustively, and with precision is the path to success. If you aren't already using a food scale, I highly recommend getting one for best accuracy. You can get an Amazon Basics one for like $7.

As far as what you're seeing right now, I don't think there's any way you're maintaining at 1450. You could even increase your calories if you're feeling sluggish during your workouts. The longer you weigh yourself daily, the more you'll find those daily fluctuations are hardly linear. At two-weeks down the path you just need to trust the process and keep doing what you're doing.

JMcGee2018

My .02. One, you're not eating enough. Men generally shouldn't eat under 1500 unless they're under a doctor's supervision. Two, if you're accurately measuring your food intake (food scale, tracking everything you put in your mouth--even that 1 potato chip you snagged out of your friend's bag), I would contribute being "stuck" to water retention as your body works on repairing your muscles after your workouts, especially if it's a new routine. Make sure to give your body rest days to repair, and be patient with yourself.

malibu927

It’s been two weeks. Give yourself a bit more time, especially if you’ve recently changed up your exercise. That said, my only suggestion is to make sure you’re hitting 1500 net (after exercise) calories regularly, if not the goal given to you.

Jasp03

Great advice from everyone, thank you guys. As for a food scale, yes I do use one for everything and I log every gram/oz.