Help! Nothings happening!
Rocio12
Posts: 15 Member
Hello!
So I’ve decided to start using this awesome tool to help me lose some weight. In addition to counting calories I also workout six days a week and use my Apple Watch to help with my total daily calories. In four weeks I managed to lose six pounds (cool) but it’s all stopped. I feel like maybe I’m not eating enough? I’ve given myself 1650 calories to eat. (That’s what calculators are telling me) but my daily “calories going out” are around 2600- 3000. Is this why I’m not losing lbs? Should I trust my Apple Watch? I’m currently trying a different approach by intermittent fasting and doing low carb (almost Keto) and not working as much. My workouts were mostly cardio and some weightlifting. I’m so confused with all this.. please help!
So I’ve decided to start using this awesome tool to help me lose some weight. In addition to counting calories I also workout six days a week and use my Apple Watch to help with my total daily calories. In four weeks I managed to lose six pounds (cool) but it’s all stopped. I feel like maybe I’m not eating enough? I’ve given myself 1650 calories to eat. (That’s what calculators are telling me) but my daily “calories going out” are around 2600- 3000. Is this why I’m not losing lbs? Should I trust my Apple Watch? I’m currently trying a different approach by intermittent fasting and doing low carb (almost Keto) and not working as much. My workouts were mostly cardio and some weightlifting. I’m so confused with all this.. please help!
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Replies
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Hello!
So I’ve decided to start using this awesome tool to help me lose some weight. In addition to counting calories I also workout six days a week and use my Apple Watch to help with my total daily calories. In four weeks I managed to lose six pounds (cool) but it’s all stopped. I feel like maybe I’m not eating enough? I’ve given myself 1650 calories to eat. (That’s what calculators are telling me) but my daily “calories going out” are around 2600- 3000. Is this why I’m not losing lbs? Should I trust my Apple Watch? I’m currently trying a different approach by intermittent fasting and doing low carb (almost Keto) and not working as much. My workouts were mostly cardio and some weightlifting. I’m so confused with all this.. please help!
How long have you not been losing weight?
What's your height, weight, and goal weight?
Are you using a food scale and double checking the entries you are using in the database are accurate? Logging everything everyday?
Sorry for all the questions
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@kimny72 is focusing you on the questions that really matter.
How much weight do you have to lose?
What do you mean by calories going out? Is this your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)?
Open up your diary and have an experienced person review your entries and highlight probable causes.
To put one point to bed - you didn't stop losing weight due to not eating enough. That isn't in the realm of reality.
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no fit-bits and apple watch cal burns can be off by a long shot, not always, but yes off.3
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@kimny72 it’s been two weeks since losing lbs.
I’m 5’3 192 lbs Goal weight-160
No food scale yet. Logging everything, everyday!
You'll be surprised how much a food scale will make a difference. Mostly likely, a combination of overestimating serving sizes and overestimating total calorie burn has chewed up your deficit to this point.9 -
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@kimny72 it’s been two weeks since losing lbs.
I’m 5’3 192 lbs Goal weight-160
No food scale yet. Logging everything, everyday!
1) Get the food scale. Use it for all solids, and semisolids, and some liquids (like olive oil). It is eye opening.
2) If the exercise is higher intensity than usual, you could be retaining some water weight, which will mass fat loss.
3) If you are close to TOM, it could be water weight masking fat loss.
4) Have some patience. Sometimes stalls happen, it depends on a considerable number of things, including the above and can also be effected by stress.6 -
I DON'T! :mad: Freakin' @TackleWasher.7 -
Hawt, right?3 -
And I so wish we would add to the standard questions and graph: Are you weighing daily and using a trending weight app or web site, or are you sampling your weight on a weekly basis and failing to see progress due to natural weight fluctuations? <-- I firmly believe that a GOOD percentage of "help I am not losing" are just simple scale water weight variations and insufficient weight sampling to establish the actual underlying trend.14
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And I so wish we would add to the standard questions and graph: Are you weighing daily and using a trending weight app or web site, or are you sampling your weight on a weekly basis and failing to see progress due to natural weight fluctuations? <-- I firmly believe that a GOOD percentage of "help I am not losing" are just simple scale water weight variations and insufficient weight sampling to establish the actual underlying trend.
I agree. We seem to be seeing this more and more.1 -
@kimny72 it’s been two weeks since losing lbs.
I’m 5’3 192 lbs Goal weight-160
No food scale yet. Logging everything, everyday!
Two weeks may mean nothing. It's well within the bounds of normal weight fluctuations. If you've made any changes to your diet or exercise routine, expect the scale to be kind of wonky for 3-4 weeks before making more changes.
Food scales are great for accuracy, but also be sure you're using good entries and such. You'd be surprised how many people we see who don't log things like cooking oils or veggies or cheat days or who confuse fluid ounces and ounces or eyeball portion sizes or don't use the recipe builder or rely too heavily on other people's "generic" or "homemade" entries or don't know the difference between an entry for the cooked product vs. the raw product.
These little things can really add up, so take a step back and be sure you've got a good handle on your logging. If you're sure you're getting everything entered as accurately as you can, then wait it out and adjust again in a couple more weeks. I'd guess you'll see movement again before then, but if not you'll have to drop your calories further or investigate other possible issues.0 -
And I so wish we would add to the standard questions and graph: Are you weighing daily and using a trending weight app or web site, or are you sampling your weight on a weekly basis and failing to see progress due to natural weight fluctuations? <-- I firmly believe that a GOOD percentage of "help I am not losing" are just simple scale water weight variations and insufficient weight sampling to establish the actual underlying trend.
^yep. This. Two weeks isn't enough time to jump to the food scale issue, imo. That's just normal fluctuations. Especially when the mentions they've just made big changes to their diet.1 -
psychod787 wrote: »no fit-bits and apple watch cal burns can be off by a long shot, not always, but yes off.
Do you know what is close to accurate? I ask because I am in the same situation.0 -
I feel like what's the point of owning a tracker if it's not accurate0
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I always used my Garmin for keeping track of steps walked or run or Zumba'd. Then I'd check MFP for calories burned for those activities. For Apple Watch at least, you can search "how to calibrate Apple Watch for calorie burn" and there are websites that walk you through it.0
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My Apple Watch seems to be accurate for me. I deduct my calories in with my TDEE from my watch to spot check and it always makes sense with my weight loss. I think my fitness activities are easy to estimate though, jogging, walking, cycling.0
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chubbycatcorner wrote: »psychod787 wrote: »no fit-bits and apple watch cal burns can be off by a long shot, not always, but yes off.
Do you know what is close to accurate? I ask because I am in the same situation.
All ways of determining calorie burn are just estimates. Yes, the more factors they can take into the calculation should make them more reliable (if they're used for the right activity) but they are still, nonetheless, estimates. The best thing to do is to use one method and evaluate your progress over time (4 to 6 weeks to start) and make adjustments as needed.3 -
well, from pretty accurate tracking... even weighing and measuring has a margin of error of 5-10%.... mine is off about 10%. Is that a lot? well, does not sound like that, but my maintenance, at this time, is around 3375 cals. my burns are in the 3500-3600 range 300 cals can mean the difference between gaining and maintaining. It fails to take into account a few things. they are good for getting rough...ROUGH! LOL ideas, but not the tell all. if you are not weighing food, your estimations can be 35% off or more. JMHO EDIT*** I just noticed... how many people in the USA I wonder actually weigh and measure almost all of their food? I guess we are an interesting bunch!4
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I find that my Apple Watch is very accurate — if anything, it underestimates my sedentary calories. (I had my RMR tested. Apple is under by 20 percent, as illustrated by that, and my actual real-life intake and weight loss data.)
But if you’re not weighing your food, you don’t really know what you’re eating. Wait a little longer — like others said, two weeks isn’t long enough to declare a plateau — and consider a scale if you still aren’t losing.0 -
chubbycatcorner wrote: »I feel like what's the point of owning a tracker if it's not accurate
Nothing is guaranteed to be accurate, it's all estimates, as has been said. My tracker underestimates my daily calorie requirements by around 30%.
Why is it useful? From experience, I know it estimates by around 30%. Tracker estimated calories x 1.3 = approximate real calories needed. (Since I know my actual maintenance calories, I don't need to use it that way . . . but I totally could.)
It's all just estimates and arithmetic.
quiksylver296 wrote: »
I DON'T! :mad: Freakin' @TackleWasher.
I think you should keep it, 'cos delicious, delicious irony. JMO.5
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