Weight gain at 1400 a day
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quiksylver296 wrote: »estherdragonbat wrote: »
A pound of fat burns 2 calories per day. A pound of muscle burns 6 calories per day. There would have to be a huge difference to make that significant. And if almost none of your weight was muscle, you’d be bedridden. It takes muscle just to carry your body weight around on a daily basis.If a man your size isn’t losing weight eating 1200 calories, the answer is very simple: you’re not eating 1200 calories.
I started off at 270 pounds and lost easily eating 2200 calories/day. I lost 75 pounds and my calorie goal was never below 2200.
Almost none of my weight is muscle
Your internal organs are responsible for the vast majority of your BMR calorie expenditure, the two biggest being your brain and your liver. You have a brain and a liver just like everybody else.
To be completely honest, it sounds like you’re more interested in making excuses than focusing on what you need to do to succeed at this. Unfortunately, your body won’t accept excuses.felixg1109 wrote: »Almost none of my weight is muscle
Well thats.... *censored*. As someone who was waaaay over your weight i can tell you: you have a ton of muscles. Else your body would not be able to stand, sit or do even one step.
As it seems for me you just want to hear "oooh if you dont loose at 1400kCal it's not possible to loose weight. Just keep it that way". But you won't hear that from us ;-)
That’s not at all what I’m looking for. I want a mathematical logical reason I’m haveing issues loosing weight which others have given so you can kindly *kitten* off with your talk of excuses
The math logic is simple: calories in calories out (CICO) - which, simply stated means that eating less calories than are needed to breathe, move, eat, go to the bathroom, brush teeth, read the paper , plus any other activities done.
The associated piece of reasoning that goes with the above is: if the body doesn't get enough to fuel its minimum needs, it will hoard fat stores in the body because the balance in what is being eaten doesn't line up with what is needed.
A number of posters here have pointed out the appearance of inconsistent data and logging efforts evident in your diary. I"m a big believer in trying NEW tricks to stay on track. If you just keep trying variations on the same old same old, your lack of success may continue. TO the logging point, which I personally find hugely helpful, you might find some answers , in a round about way, by reading the posts in this thread that I started up the other day. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10707806/can-i-calibrate-my-eyes-to-portion-correctly#latest
good luck to you
Your body won't hoard fat if it's not getting enough fuel. Did you mean to say that it will start burning its fat hoards?
I said what I believed to be accurate, and, am always looking to be better informed if I learn that my beliefs are not based on facts.
I took a fresh trip out to Google today, keywords "when does the body burn stored fat" and found a number of links to dr thisone or certified thatone , and , mywayisthebest over here. I would like a science, research based link, not a link to someone who is commercially interested in my interest.
https://www.wikihow.com/Burn-Fat -: wiki isn't my favorite source, but, it's often a step up from Dr Know it all, . It does offer a bunch of different ideas towards answering the question of how the body works with fat stores.
There does seem to be a fair amount of supporting evidence, some of it from the OP experience as written here, that there is more to the fat burning idea than just low calories.
One thing I read said that the body will access carbs first for energy, and that fat stores don't get accessed at all if the dominant macro in a diet is carbs; no matter how low calorie the diet is. I think that's the premise from which my "body will hoard fat" remark comes from.
I'll welcome any useful links on the topic for my further review. thanks!
This might need split into a separate thread, as it's derailed the OP's original question. Maybe a mod would be willing to help us out? @Nova, @4legsRbetterthan2 @justsomeem
I have no objection to this being a separate stand-alone post, however, I think it very well addresses the OP point which was - why he wasn't losing weight on a 1200 or 1400 calorie diet, and, the subsequent posts about the diary observations maybe not being accurate or consistent and thus giving bad information from the limited data.
Good discussion all along, in any case,
If OP were really consistently eating 1200 or 1400 calories without binges that might wipe out the deficit, then he would be losing weight, regardless of the food he chooses. I have not looked at his diary, I understand that there might well be improvements for health, satiety, and ease of logging that he could make, but I also have known some people with lots to lose who did better not thinking they had to give up the foods they loved and change their diet initially and then gradually decided they wanted to do so as they lost, so if OP is feeling overwhelmed I think getting the logging straight and getting some positive feedback from weight loss might be a good thing to focus on first. If he wants to improve his diet, I certainly think that's a good idea and might make hitting his calorie goals easier, but for some people one thing at a time works best, especially if he is feeling depressed.
Setting a simple concrete goal that you can consistently hit can be very helpful. For me, things like eating vegetables or sufficient protein or getting in a walk or workout would be important components of this, but if OP wants to start with calories and just focus on that for a while that wouldn't be bad.
On why you can lose even on a high carb diet (why carbs vs. fat has 0 to do with weight loss except as it relates to personal satiety), I do think that should be a separate thread.12 -
You need to increase your activity levels. Lift heavy toward repairing metabolic function (This will take time and requires guidance) and increase heart rate to maintain inner health for the moment. Exercise 2 hours per day either at once or split into sessions. If your body is unable to reduce or use fat (and it’s not a clear medical reason) then your body it’s not put into the position it requires fat as an energy source. Just my suggestion as a fellow Fitness enthusiast
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cpollard26 wrote: »You need to increase your activity levels. Lift heavy toward repairing metabolic function (This will take time and requires guidance) and increase heart rate to maintain inner health for the moment. Exercise 2 hours per day either at once or split into sessions. If your body is unable to reduce or use fat (and it’s not a clear medical reason) then your body it’s not put into the position it requires fat as an energy source. Just my suggestion as a fellow Fitness enthusiast
OP is 5'7, 340 pounds. Not smart to jump into 2 hours of exercise per day from a completely sedentary lifestyle. That's a recipe for disaster and injury.27 -
janejellyroll wrote: »estherdragonbat wrote: »
A pound of fat burns 2 calories per day. A pound of muscle burns 6 calories per day. There would have to be a huge difference to make that significant. And if almost none of your weight was muscle, you’d be bedridden. It takes muscle just to carry your body weight around on a daily basis.If a man your size isn’t losing weight eating 1200 calories, the answer is very simple: you’re not eating 1200 calories.
I started off at 270 pounds and lost easily eating 2200 calories/day. I lost 75 pounds and my calorie goal was never below 2200.
Almost none of my weight is muscle
Your internal organs are responsible for the vast majority of your BMR calorie expenditure, the two biggest being your brain and your liver. You have a brain and a liver just like everybody else.
To be completely honest, it sounds like you’re more interested in making excuses than focusing on what you need to do to succeed at this. Unfortunately, your body won’t accept excuses.felixg1109 wrote: »Almost none of my weight is muscle
Well thats.... *censored*. As someone who was waaaay over your weight i can tell you: you have a ton of muscles. Else your body would not be able to stand, sit or do even one step.
As it seems for me you just want to hear "oooh if you dont loose at 1400kCal it's not possible to loose weight. Just keep it that way". But you won't hear that from us ;-)
That’s not at all what I’m looking for. I want a mathematical logical reason I’m haveing issues loosing weight which others have given so you can kindly *kitten* off with your talk of excuses
The math logic is simple: calories in calories out (CICO) - which, simply stated means that eating less calories than are needed to breathe, move, eat, go to the bathroom, brush teeth, read the paper , plus any other activities done.
The associated piece of reasoning that goes with the above is: if the body doesn't get enough to fuel its minimum needs, it will hoard fat stores in the body because the balance in what is being eaten doesn't line up with what is needed.
A number of posters here have pointed out the appearance of inconsistent data and logging efforts evident in your diary. I"m a big believer in trying NEW tricks to stay on track. If you just keep trying variations on the same old same old, your lack of success may continue. TO the logging point, which I personally find hugely helpful, you might find some answers , in a round about way, by reading the posts in this thread that I started up the other day. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10707806/can-i-calibrate-my-eyes-to-portion-correctly#latest
good luck to you
Your body won't hoard fat if it's not getting enough fuel. Did you mean to say that it will start burning its fat hoards?
I said what I believed to be accurate, and, am always looking to be better informed if I learn that my beliefs are not based on facts.
I took a fresh trip out to Google today, keywords "when does the body burn stored fat" and found a number of links to dr thisone or certified thatone , and , mywayisthebest over here. I would like a science, research based link, not a link to someone who is commercially interested in my interest.
https://www.wikihow.com/Burn-Fat -: wiki isn't my favorite source, but, it's often a step up from Dr Know it all, . It does offer a bunch of different ideas towards answering the question of how the body works with fat stores.
There does seem to be a fair amount of supporting evidence, some of it from the OP experience as written here, that there is more to the fat burning idea than just low calories.
One thing I read said that the body will access carbs first for energy, and that fat stores don't get accessed at all if the dominant macro in a diet is carbs; no matter how low calorie the diet is. I think that's the premise from which my "body will hoard fat" remark comes from.
I'll welcome any useful links on the topic for my further review. thanks!
I'm not sure where you read that, but there are plenty of successful users who have carbohydrates as the most dominant macronutrient in their diet, including (but not not exclusive to) many vegans, like myself, who often have more carbohydrates in their diet. During the period I was losing weight, my calories were about 60-65% from carbohydrates.
I'm not aware of *any* supporting evidence that the body will not use fat stores for energy if the dominant macronutrient in the diet is carbohydrates. Since this is an extraordinary claim, I think it would benefit the conversation if you shared where you read it and what sources were used to support that claim.
I bolded the link i posted, above, and note that I am quite clear about my interest in better links to better data than what I was able to find.
As to my "extraordinary claims", I guess I don't know how to better express myself such that my words can be understood as 'open to revision with new facts". I think I was careful to say that I think ___ based on this _____ but am open to learning new things.
Hope that helps clarify my previous position.5 -
OP: I don't know if you enjoy books but I just finished "The Obesity Code" by Dr. Jason Fung. There are many here that don't appreciate his work however I thoroughly enjoyed it. It goes into great detail how there is an implied blame cast on obese people. I won't try to paraphrase the entire book here. Just a thought I wanted to pass along and wish you well on your journey.35
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DebCountsAll wrote: »I just quickly scrolled through this thread, and the further I got, the more upset I felt. Now I have tears in my eyes.
I am you, thirty years from now but female. So, kinda Mom-ish.
The depression is really coloring how you read these posts. No one here started out judging you, or being mean. That's your own feelings about yourself that you are using as a filter as you read.
I'm going to be kind. I am kind. I also started out with over 100 pounds to lose last January. Please use my filter when you read my comment.
Here's the one thing you can do to kick start faster weight loss: Make your own food.
Who has time for that???
Well, you do have time for that. You just need to allocate it, either daily and refrigerate, or weekly and freeze.
This is what I do: Once about every week and a half, I make two types of entree. One is a lunch type thing, the other is a dinner type thing. I put the recipes here, in My Fitness Pal, accounting for every single ingredient, weighed on a scale before cooking. I bake/stir-fry/crock pot the food, and I bought two compartment freezer containers off Amazon and I portion it out. Most recipes make six to eight helpings. I use the number of helpings in the MFP recipe calculator, and I get my calorie count.
Do I eat this same food every day? No. Life doesn't work that way. This is what I eat on the vast majority of days, though. Going into the holiday season is a difficult time to lose weight if you listen to cultural and familial expectations. In reality? We are talking about two days, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Eat whatever those two days, and eat your prepared food the rest of the time.
I will tell you that going off the rails and eating all the things takes about a week to get back to where you were before. I will also tell you that most of it is easily lost water weight.
This is a long term thing. You can't get to your goal by doing the same things you've always done, or even a modified version of the things you've always done. I know when I get to maintenance I will STILL have to prepare my food in advance for the majority of the time. It isn't like we lose the weight and then can just go back to eating all the things I imagine maintenance Deb will drink more wine, though.
This is great advice.8 -
Running your stats through this calorie calculator, which many people find accurate, your BMR is approximately 2489 calories per day and your TDEE/maintenance calories (even at sedentary) is approximately 2987 calories per day.
If you were truly eating 1200 calories per day, you'd be in a deficit of 1787 calories per day - which mathematically would result in losing about a pound every two days, or 3.5 pounds per week. So it's obvious that the math doesn't match up with the reality you're experiencing. Since the variance in BMR is 10% or less, that means that even if you do have some kind of magically slow metabolism, you should still be losing around 3 pounds per week. Since none of that is happening, it's obvious that you're not truly eating 1200 calories per day.
Again, your responses are very rude and defensive. The information is right there, staring you in the face. What you do with it is your decision.
A pound of fat burns 2 calories per day. A pound of muscle burns 6 calories per day. There would have to be a huge difference to make that significant. And if almost none of your weight was muscle, you’d be bedridden. It takes muscle just to carry your body weight around on a daily basis.If a man your size isn’t losing weight eating 1200 calories, the answer is very simple: you’re not eating 1200 calories.
I started off at 270 pounds and lost easily eating 2200 calories/day. I lost 75 pounds and my calorie goal was never below 2200.
Almost none of my weight is muscle
Your internal organs are responsible for the vast majority of your BMR calorie expenditure, the two biggest being your brain and your liver. You have a brain and a liver just like everybody else.
To be completely honest, it sounds like you’re more interested in making excuses than focusing on what you need to do to succeed at this. Unfortunately, your body won’t accept excuses.felixg1109 wrote: »Almost none of my weight is muscle
Well thats.... *censored*. As someone who was waaaay over your weight i can tell you: you have a ton of muscles. Else your body would not be able to stand, sit or do even one step.
As it seems for me you just want to hear "oooh if you dont loose at 1400kCal it's not possible to loose weight. Just keep it that way". But you won't hear that from us ;-)
That’s not at all what I’m looking for. I want a mathematical logical reason I’m haveing issues loosing weight which others have given so you can kindly *kitten* off with your talk of excuses
Despite your rude and ungrateful response, I'll offer this as help - every possible reason why you're not losing weight, and what to do about it: https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/
The mathematical logical reason you're having issues losing weight is that you're not eating as few calories as you think you are. It's really as simple as that.
Don’t ever tell someone who is looking for help that they are just makeing excuses. It took a lot for me to overcome my anxiety to even make this post. Your post about making excuses is the kind of thing that pushes people into depression and causes them to just give up. You should be ashamed of yourself
I know the math doesn’t add up that’s why I’m here to figure out why and to receive encouragement. I do not need people being condescending. Even if the math doesn’t add up with a bar that high even if I was eating 600 calories over, essentially a whole meal I should still lose weight.
How has anyone been condescending to you? The reality is you're unfortunately eating way more than you think you're. It's not hard to overestimate calories burned (gym machines vastly inflate calories burned since it can't differentiate between users) & then to underestimate calories eaten. A man your size would very easily lose weight eating 1,200-1,400 calories per day. Would it be healthy? No way. Also someone mentioned earlier in the thread that you seemed to have some incorrect entries be it either calorie wise or missing meals. Sometimes that won't hinder one's progress that much if it's something tiny, but you have to remember that ultimately missing a lot of foods ate/drinks can add up to hundreds if not thousands of calories a week/month/year & that will lead to gaining weight maybe not overnight, but over time.
One of my favorite weight loss tools the first time I lost weight (300-150 pounds) & now my second time (struggled the first time in maintenance) has been my food scale. Without it I would never have known a how small a serving size of cereal really is. It was sad the first time I saw how tiny it was in the big bowl I was using. Ice cream, peanut butter, condiments/dressings, & many other calorie dense items are very easy to dole out/pour on items without realizing how much those calories pile on to your overall total. Many frozen meals & pizzas can also wildly be over what the serving size is. I also don't drink my calories since I would rather eat more food be it healthy or calorie dense. Typically I'll have a few diet sodas a day (very rarely a regular calorie soda), a Powerade Zero in the summer if I'm sweating a lot at work, & water enhancers.
I've found I was binging a lot from eating too early in the morning & pushed my first meal/snack of the day back from anywhere to 10-1:00 PM. My main meal of the day I try to eat anywhere from 2-4:00 PM & maybe a later snack. If you find you don't like to eat breakfast then skip it since meal timing is irrelevant & find something that suits your needs better.
Many users here want people to succeed in their weight loss ambitions & want to help squash false information regarding what many consider woo & help to pinpoint why someone has hit a plateau or struggling to lose weight at all.6 -
I have a a feeling OP wont be back.hope that isnt the issue and he figures this out.2
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janejellyroll wrote: »estherdragonbat wrote: »
A pound of fat burns 2 calories per day. A pound of muscle burns 6 calories per day. There would have to be a huge difference to make that significant. And if almost none of your weight was muscle, you’d be bedridden. It takes muscle just to carry your body weight around on a daily basis.If a man your size isn’t losing weight eating 1200 calories, the answer is very simple: you’re not eating 1200 calories.
I started off at 270 pounds and lost easily eating 2200 calories/day. I lost 75 pounds and my calorie goal was never below 2200.
Almost none of my weight is muscle
Your internal organs are responsible for the vast majority of your BMR calorie expenditure, the two biggest being your brain and your liver. You have a brain and a liver just like everybody else.
To be completely honest, it sounds like you’re more interested in making excuses than focusing on what you need to do to succeed at this. Unfortunately, your body won’t accept excuses.felixg1109 wrote: »Almost none of my weight is muscle
Well thats.... *censored*. As someone who was waaaay over your weight i can tell you: you have a ton of muscles. Else your body would not be able to stand, sit or do even one step.
As it seems for me you just want to hear "oooh if you dont loose at 1400kCal it's not possible to loose weight. Just keep it that way". But you won't hear that from us ;-)
That’s not at all what I’m looking for. I want a mathematical logical reason I’m haveing issues loosing weight which others have given so you can kindly *kitten* off with your talk of excuses
The math logic is simple: calories in calories out (CICO) - which, simply stated means that eating less calories than are needed to breathe, move, eat, go to the bathroom, brush teeth, read the paper , plus any other activities done.
The associated piece of reasoning that goes with the above is: if the body doesn't get enough to fuel its minimum needs, it will hoard fat stores in the body because the balance in what is being eaten doesn't line up with what is needed.
A number of posters here have pointed out the appearance of inconsistent data and logging efforts evident in your diary. I"m a big believer in trying NEW tricks to stay on track. If you just keep trying variations on the same old same old, your lack of success may continue. TO the logging point, which I personally find hugely helpful, you might find some answers , in a round about way, by reading the posts in this thread that I started up the other day. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10707806/can-i-calibrate-my-eyes-to-portion-correctly#latest
good luck to you
Your body won't hoard fat if it's not getting enough fuel. Did you mean to say that it will start burning its fat hoards?
I said what I believed to be accurate, and, am always looking to be better informed if I learn that my beliefs are not based on facts.
I took a fresh trip out to Google today, keywords "when does the body burn stored fat" and found a number of links to dr thisone or certified thatone , and , mywayisthebest over here. I would like a science, research based link, not a link to someone who is commercially interested in my interest.
https://www.wikihow.com/Burn-Fat -: wiki isn't my favorite source, but, it's often a step up from Dr Know it all, . It does offer a bunch of different ideas towards answering the question of how the body works with fat stores.
There does seem to be a fair amount of supporting evidence, some of it from the OP experience as written here, that there is more to the fat burning idea than just low calories.
One thing I read said that the body will access carbs first for energy, and that fat stores don't get accessed at all if the dominant macro in a diet is carbs; no matter how low calorie the diet is. I think that's the premise from which my "body will hoard fat" remark comes from.
I'll welcome any useful links on the topic for my further review. thanks!
I'm not sure where you read that, but there are plenty of successful users who have carbohydrates as the most dominant macronutrient in their diet, including (but not not exclusive to) many vegans, like myself, who often have more carbohydrates in their diet. During the period I was losing weight, my calories were about 60-65% from carbohydrates.
I'm not aware of *any* supporting evidence that the body will not use fat stores for energy if the dominant macronutrient in the diet is carbohydrates. Since this is an extraordinary claim, I think it would benefit the conversation if you shared where you read it and what sources were used to support that claim.
I bolded the link i posted, above, and note that I am quite clear about my interest in better links to better data than what I was able to find.
As to my "extraordinary claims", I guess I don't know how to better express myself such that my words can be understood as 'open to revision with new facts". I think I was careful to say that I think ___ based on this _____ but am open to learning new things.
Hope that helps clarify my previous position.
Sorry, I didn't realize WikiHow was the source you were citing for this claim, my mistake. There are several discredited ideas in this list, like the claim that your metabolism "snoozes" when you're asleep, drinking water will make your metabolism faster, "white things" are bad sources of calories, and that certain foods have fat burning properties. I would be cautious about using this as a source for weight loss information.
You may want to check out the specific link they give for their claim that you cannot lose weight if you're eating carbohydrates as a dominant source of calories: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/dietary-fat-vs-carbohydrate-reducing-body-fat
It doesn't say what they represent it does, it's actually a link to a small study showing that cutting fat was more effective weight loss method than cutting carbohydrates. A technique I sometimes use when I'm checking out a new source of health or nutrition information is to look at the actual sources for their claims. If they don't match the claims being made, it's a sign that they're either careless or deliberately deceptive and that's a good thing to know about a website.20 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »I have a a feeling OP wont be back.hope that isnt the issue and he figures this out.
In a way, I hope that he got his answers and doesn't come back. This has turned into a bunch of unhelpful/unsubstantiated/unnecessary stuff being posted that will likely overwhelm him, and lead him to give up.
OP, if you have come back and get to this point... I stand by the recommendation to just start with logging everything accurately. After that, then focus on the next step. You don't need to reduce carbs, you don't need to exercise for 2 hours per day, and for the love of all things holy, ignore anything by Fung.23 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »I have a a feeling OP wont be back.hope that isnt the issue and he figures this out.
In a way, I hope that he got his answers and doesn't come back. This has turned into a bunch of unhelpful/unsubstantiated/unnecessary stuff being posted that will likely overwhelm him, and lead him to give up.
OP, if you have come back and get to this point... I stand by the recommendation to just start with logging everything accurately. After that, then focus on the next step. You don't need to reduce carbs, you don't need to exercise for 2 hours per day, and for the love of all things holy, ignore anything by Fung.
Nope still here. Had to sleep at some point today. Dig out my food scale this morning and I’m off to play a few rounds of disc golf. And as far as working out for a couple months I was lifting weights and swimming an hour or two a day I just got burnt out on it and am trying to dig up some motivation to get back to it.34 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »I have a a feeling OP wont be back.hope that isnt the issue and he figures this out.
In a way, I hope that he got his answers and doesn't come back. This has turned into a bunch of unhelpful/unsubstantiated/unnecessary stuff being posted that will likely overwhelm him, and lead him to give up.
OP, if you have come back and get to this point... I stand by the recommendation to just start with logging everything accurately. After that, then focus on the next step. You don't need to reduce carbs, you don't need to exercise for 2 hours per day, and for the love of all things holy, ignore anything by Fung.
Nope still here. Had to sleep at some point today. Dig out my food scale this morning and I’m off to play a few rounds of disc golf. And as far as working out for a couple months I was lifting weights and swimming an hour or two a day I just got burnt out on it and am trying to dig up some motivation to get back to it.
Awesome! As for exercise, don't go with an all or nothing approach. It's a recipe for injury and/or burn out. Take at least 2 days off.9 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »I have a a feeling OP wont be back.hope that isnt the issue and he figures this out.
In a way, I hope that he got his answers and doesn't come back. This has turned into a bunch of unhelpful/unsubstantiated/unnecessary stuff being posted that will likely overwhelm him, and lead him to give up.
OP, if you have come back and get to this point... I stand by the recommendation to just start with logging everything accurately. After that, then focus on the next step. You don't need to reduce carbs, you don't need to exercise for 2 hours per day, and for the love of all things holy, ignore anything by Fung.
Nope still here. Had to sleep at some point today. Dig out my food scale this morning and I’m off to play a few rounds of disc golf. And as far as working out for a couple months I was lifting weights and swimming an hour or two a day I just got burnt out on it and am trying to dig up some motivation to get back to it.
Keep in mind - you HAVE lost 30 pounds in the last year... maybe not as much as you had hoped but that's not an insignificant amount. Keep working at getting your diet dialed in and finding sustainable ways to get in some activity. The fact that you have kept at it for this long and the amount you have lost puts you way ahead of most people who attempt this journey.22 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »I have a a feeling OP wont be back.hope that isnt the issue and he figures this out.
In a way, I hope that he got his answers and doesn't come back. This has turned into a bunch of unhelpful/unsubstantiated/unnecessary stuff being posted that will likely overwhelm him, and lead him to give up.
OP, if you have come back and get to this point... I stand by the recommendation to just start with logging everything accurately. After that, then focus on the next step. You don't need to reduce carbs, you don't need to exercise for 2 hours per day, and for the love of all things holy, ignore anything by Fung.
Nope still here. Had to sleep at some point today. Dig out my food scale this morning and I’m off to play a few rounds of disc golf. And as far as working out for a couple months I was lifting weights and swimming an hour or two a day I just got burnt out on it and am trying to dig up some motivation to get back to it.
have you had your thyoid panels done? I will say just start out slow and as for the scale I will tell you about my experience with and without it. when I first started losing weight,I didnt use a scale I used cups and spoons and try to go by what was a portion(size of fist,palm of hand,etc) I lost weight at first and kept it off for about 3-4 months. Then I started gaining the weight back, I could not understand why. I even started working out twice a day because I thought more exercise was the answer. It wasnt.
so I came here and was told to get a food scale(digital one is best) and weigh EVERYTHING solid and semi solid in grams. I did this for a short time(a few weeks or so) and I started to lose the weight again. I lost what I gained back and then some.I was eating more than I though and didnt realize. I thought the serving sizes on packaging was correct. no,its not it can be off by up to 20% PER serving. I was shocked to see what a serving really was on many things. It will surprise you.
now I do have a metabolic disorder and its hard for me to lose weight. I was 5'6 1/2 age 38 and 209 lbs. 70 lbs overweight.for me that made me obese. my BMR(or RMR) is 1272, I was eating 2000 calories to lose and I was more sedentary(I had stopped the 2 workouts a day before I came here). I maybe worked out twice a week .as for me having asthma and being obese made it hard to do much,even walking I got out of breath.. I gained weight eating too many fruits and veggies believe it or not because I was eating more than my body burned.I didnt think that was even possible because they were fruits and veggies and was told they dont lead to weight gain. I was misinformed. fast forward to now and its 5 years later.
I still have a hard time losing weight I lose at a rate of a half a lb a month if that even if I were to eat 1200 calories(which leaves me starving and I want to eat everything). its just how my body is for some reason. so I gave up trying to lose for now(I did lose 45lbs out of the 70 but it took me 2.5-3 years to do so). I didnt lose the rest but I am maintaining my weight right now and doing a recomp which many will say I should have lost the weight first. I tried and even went down to 1300 calories. for months I lost nothing. I did take diet breaks often over the last 5 years,for me it didnt accomplish much,
I tried more exercise and changing my diet up and so on. still slower than molasses so I decided to go with maintenance for the winter months and lift weights and go from there. for me I have lost fat(no weight),and my clothes all still fit the same even though I gained a little bit of weight. But for me 1900-2200 calories is my maintenance right now and Im lightly active. Im 44 now almost 45. many would have probably given up by now but Im still putting along.I feel better than I did and Im starting to look better body wise. Im stronger and my healt has improved in the last few years. anything worth doing takes time and its a slow process for some of us.
My point is I struggle too and for me it also seemed that the numbers dont work out right, I have blood work every 3 months for my health issues and while there shows no reason why my weight loss is so slow ,its slower than it should be but it is what it is. Ive tried many different ways of eating and none of them made weight loss any faster for me. I now eat what I want but I make it fit into my calories. I dont deprive myself od anything. I eat a low fat.low cholesterol high fiber diet due to a health issue so I eat a lot of carbs(still lost weight when I was losing).Im also a natural intermittent faster. I have been that way ever since I can remember(more than 3 decades) and I too gained weight while fasting, I have lost and maintained as well. it just works for me because I dont eat breakfast.
whatever way of eating you decide is up to you. but the scale and the serving sizes of a lot of foods will shock ya. find something you like to do and do that for exercise. any exercise is better than none and when its something you like to do then chances are you will want to do it more and not see it as exercise. as for weight lifting thats up to you but it does help you to retain the lean mass you do have and it will change how your body looks. I am a smaller size in clothing now than I was 40 lbs lighter. my body looks better too. also for me losing it slower was better (it helps prevent sagging skin and that skinny fat look)1 -
OP: I don't know if you enjoy books but I just finished "The Obesity Code" by Dr. Jason Fung. There are many here that don't appreciate his work however I thoroughly enjoyed it. It goes into great detail how there is an implied blame cast on obese people. I won't try to paraphrase the entire book here. Just a thought I wanted to pass along and wish you well on your journey.
OP doesn’t need Fung’s disingenuous, pseudoscientific fairy tales to lead him further into the weeds. He needs to log accurately and establish a consistent, reasonable calorie deficit.36 -
cpollard26 wrote: »You need to increase your activity levels. Lift heavy toward repairing metabolic function (This will take time and requires guidance) and increase heart rate to maintain inner health for the moment. Exercise 2 hours per day either at once or split into sessions. If your body is unable to reduce or use fat (and it’s not a clear medical reason) then your body it’s not put into the position it requires fat as an energy source. Just my suggestion as a fellow Fitness enthusiast
Exercising two hours a day is not really necessary unless you're a professional/collegiate athlete, Olympian hopeful, or perhaps someone preparing for a triathlon/huge marathon, or you enjoy exercising that long (people who take long hikes/ride a bike for a lot of miles).
For someone just starting out who hasn't exercised much if at all or someone at a higher weight/could have possible health conditions that would be a recipe for disaster.
I know for myself at least I burn enough calories at work (work in retail) that when I get home I just don't feel motivated to exercise.9 -
Great advice from a lot of very knowledgeable people.
I would only add that if you like math and statistics you might find a trending app useful in tracking daily fluctuations and your overall weight trend.
I use Libra (android) and have found it very useful. It evens out the ups and downs and stops me from freaking out when my weight goes up a pound or two.4 -
Barring any medical issues, There is no possible way you are not losing if you are indeed eating 1400 cals a day. Top things I’d check are oils used in cooking and your portion sizes.4
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kellyjellybellyjelly wrote: »cpollard26 wrote: »You need to increase your activity levels. Lift heavy toward repairing metabolic function (This will take time and requires guidance) and increase heart rate to maintain inner health for the moment. Exercise 2 hours per day either at once or split into sessions. If your body is unable to reduce or use fat (and it’s not a clear medical reason) then your body it’s not put into the position it requires fat as an energy source. Just my suggestion as a fellow Fitness enthusiast
Exercising two hours a day is not really necessary unless you're a professional/collegiate athlete, Olympian hopeful, or perhaps someone preparing for a triathlon/huge marathon, or you enjoy exercising that long (people who take long hikes/ride a bike for a lot of miles).
For someone just starting out who hasn't exercised much if at all or someone at a higher weight/could have possible health conditions that would be a recipe for disaster.
I know for myself at least I burn enough calories at work (work in retail) that when I get home I just don't feel motivated to exercise.
Seriously, this. I exercise six days a week. I run and do strength training and yoga, and on most weekends I hike. The only days when I get two hours of exercise are when I do my strength routine, yoga, and take a walk all on the same day; when I go on a long hike; or when I have a double digit run. The first two options are not high intensity exercise for my fitness level, plus this level of exercise took me several years to work up to.
I would actually recommend only exercising every other day for newbies, and then only short sessions--"short" being relative to what you're doing and your needs. It's better to start slow and work up rather than to risk doing too much at once.
All you need to do to burn fat is to consistently eat fewer calories than your body burns. You do not need to do a specific type or amount of exercise, or any exercise at all.11 -
Barring any medical issues, There is no possible way you are not losing if you are indeed eating 1400 cals a day. Top things I’d check are oils used in cooking and your portion sizes.
I know at one point I wasnt losing anything eating 1400(and less) and I have been weighing(my food) for the last 3+ years.they cant find any reason why I should not be losing weight. thyroid is fine, hormone levels fine,no deficiencies,. nada. one summer I helped hubby tear down a house and we were active pretty much all day. I weighed and counted all my food and was in a deficit of more than 1000 calories. we did that for a few weeks(its time consuming if you want to do it the right way) not to mention the big hill we had to walk up and down). I lost NO weight what so ever. even if I were to eat in a 1000 calorie deficit now I still would lose about a half lb a month if that. no joking.
I dont binge,when I do have a day of going over I still should be in a deficit. I stopped eating in a deficit and am losing fat. havent lost weight but have gained a little yet my clothes still fit the same.one pair of my jeans are falling down as I have to keep pulling them up.I dont understand it at all but whatever it is is finally working for me. when I was in a deficit(250 calories) I was still hungry and had no energy.I took diet breaks too.so Im going to just keep doing what Im doing and go from there.its like my body doesnt like deficits.weird I know.6
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