What am I missing?
hila_13
Posts: 44 Member
I’m a little embarrassed to write this because I’m a big believer in calories in, calories out and weight loss being a math equation. But, I’m struggling to see sufficient progress and perhaps someone can offer a nugget advice that will be helpful.
Over the last ten weeks I’ve counted calories carefully. Ensuring I’m eating at a 1000 calorie deficit minimum (according to fit bit) and typically sticking close to 1200 calories though going a little up or down within the week. I’ve also been hitting the gym frequently (weights and cardio 5 days a week). And while I’m no bodybuilder, I lift as heavy as I can.
After ten weeks I’ve lost only 7 lbs and am becoming increasingly frustrated. I’ve successfully counted calories and lost weight before (I actually ate relatively poorly but stayed within my daily allocation).
I’m 5’2, 152 lbs. I have weight to loose.
What am I missing?
Over the last ten weeks I’ve counted calories carefully. Ensuring I’m eating at a 1000 calorie deficit minimum (according to fit bit) and typically sticking close to 1200 calories though going a little up or down within the week. I’ve also been hitting the gym frequently (weights and cardio 5 days a week). And while I’m no bodybuilder, I lift as heavy as I can.
After ten weeks I’ve lost only 7 lbs and am becoming increasingly frustrated. I’ve successfully counted calories and lost weight before (I actually ate relatively poorly but stayed within my daily allocation).
I’m 5’2, 152 lbs. I have weight to loose.
What am I missing?
1
Replies
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Well you've lost weight, so you've obviously been able to maintain some sort of deficit. 1000cal depending on how much you have to get to your goal weight is likely too much, you may not have enough to try and lose at 2lbs/week. I don't know if you're weighing your food, but if you're not now's the time to start. And maintain a 500cal/day deficit.4
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Are you sure your FitBit is tracking correctly? Do you eat back all the calories it gives you? Are you weighing absolutely everything that you eat and drink?5
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Do you measure yourself with a tape measure? How do your clothes feel? How do you look?
Scale weight is influenced by a very broad range of things, and is not a good indicator of what you actually want, which is fat loss. Especially since those scale numbers slow their drop the closer you get to your goal.
ETA: Fitbits (and the like) have been verified to overestimate numbers by up to 20%. I wouldn't rely on it.2 -
+1 on @MichelleSilverleaf and @Terytha. I'd +1 on @sefajane1 but you're losing weight so I wouldn't go that far yet.
Also, weight loss isn't linear, etc.
3 -
While trackers are great, they aren't perfect and it may be giving you a few too many calories.
You don't have enough weight to lose to expect 2 lbs per week, you would need to eat less than 1200 calories, and MFP won't give you that low a goal.
If you are willing to make your diary public, we might be able to spot some common errors lots of people make. Otherwise - are you using a food scale? Are you double checking each entry you use in the database to ensure the calories listed are correct?
Add in water weight fluctuations up and down throwing off your scale reading from week to week, and you are losing close to 1 lb per week, which honestly is kind of perfect So if you don't want to change anything else, just realizing that 2 lbs per week is way too aggressive and that your exercise cals might be slightly off is probably all you need. Hang in there! 10 -
Thanks. I do weigh my food. I don’t eat back any exercise calories but I make sure the arch is saying I’ve burned at least 2200 (and I aim for 2500 or more on all gym days). Maybe I’m just expecting too much.1
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Are you sure your FitBit is tracking correctly? Do you eat back all the calories it gives you? Are you weighing absolutely everything that you eat and drink?
This. Stop using the fitbit for a while. If it has a HR monitor, sure use that if you're trying to hit target heart rates, but otherwise stop letting it tell you your calorie burn. MFP has a decent database which you can use to estimate calories burned for exercise, try manually entering it for a while. See what happens over the next 6-8 weeks. If no change, then something else is off. Assuming you're using a scale to accurately log food? If not, consider it.5 -
Thanks. I do weigh my food. I don’t eat back any exercise calories but I make sure the arch is saying I’ve burned at least 2200 (and I aim for 2500 or more on all gym days). Maybe I’m just expecting too much.
What kind of exercise are you doing and for how long? Not that 2500 cals is unheard of for someone with your height and weight, but it's definitely on the very high side. I have to put in activity level of "athlete" in a TDEE calculator with your stats to get a TDEE of 2500.5 -
Thanks. I do weigh my food. I don’t eat back any exercise calories but I make sure the arch is saying I’ve burned at least 2200 (and I aim for 2500 or more on all gym days). Maybe I’m just expecting too much.
Wait, are you saying you burn 2,200 calories on a gym day? That seems like an overestimate. Nvm, I read that wrong, that's your TDEE. Still potentially high, but not aggressively so.
Also, for us shorties, 1000 calorie deficit is just not really possible unless you're very overweight, and you're not very overweight. 1,200 calories + exercise calories isn't a 1000 calorie deficit. If you're using MFP for your calculations, it bottoms out at 1,200 for women no matter what you set for your deficit.6 -
Is your shape changing ? are you actually eating enough calories? I am no expert but can share what i do for comparison, I fast 6 days a week and eat approx 1800 daily , losing approx 1lb weekly sometimes more sometimes none BUT my shape is changing. since 1 Dec 2018 I've lost 23lbs ( obvs first weeks i lost more water weight )and down nearly 2 dress sizes , i sleep better too . 0
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I’m a little embarrassed to write this because I’m a big believer in calories in, calories out and weight loss being a math equation. But, I’m struggling to see sufficient progress and perhaps someone can offer a nugget advice that will be helpful.
Over the last ten weeks I’ve counted calories carefully. Ensuring I’m eating at a 1000 calorie deficit minimum (according to fit bit) and typically sticking close to 1200 calories though going a little up or down within the week. I’ve also been hitting the gym frequently (weights and cardio 5 days a week). And while I’m no bodybuilder, I lift as heavy as I can.
After ten weeks I’ve lost only 7 lbs and am becoming increasingly frustrated. I’ve successfully counted calories and lost weight before (I actually ate relatively poorly but stayed within my daily allocation).
I’m 5’2, 152 lbs. I have weight to loose.
What am I missing?
If you are doing CICO and you are correctly measuring your meals, then the last variable needs to be increased.
Increase your cardio, by 100 calories ( should =10min) until you see the scale moving.
3 -
Commander_Keen wrote: »I’m a little embarrassed to write this because I’m a big believer in calories in, calories out and weight loss being a math equation. But, I’m struggling to see sufficient progress and perhaps someone can offer a nugget advice that will be helpful.
Over the last ten weeks I’ve counted calories carefully. Ensuring I’m eating at a 1000 calorie deficit minimum (according to fit bit) and typically sticking close to 1200 calories though going a little up or down within the week. I’ve also been hitting the gym frequently (weights and cardio 5 days a week). And while I’m no bodybuilder, I lift as heavy as I can.
After ten weeks I’ve lost only 7 lbs and am becoming increasingly frustrated. I’ve successfully counted calories and lost weight before (I actually ate relatively poorly but stayed within my daily allocation).
I’m 5’2, 152 lbs. I have weight to loose.
What am I missing?
If you are doing CICO and you are correctly measuring your meals, then the last variable needs to be increased.
Increase your cardio, by 100 calories ( should =10min) until you see the scale moving.
Considering OP already is accounting for several hundred calories of exercise, it's doubtful "more exercise" is the answer. With her stats, her expectations may just be too high.10 -
Very helpful. I’m quite confident I’m counting calories right (I weigh everything) so it’s probably the gym. I spend most of my cardio time on the elliptical but have been throwing in some HIIT and stair climber (I just can’t keep them up more than 20 minutes). Any thoughts on which cardio is most effective?1
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Thanks. I do weigh my food. I don’t eat back any exercise calories but I make sure the arch is saying I’ve burned at least 2200 (and I aim for 2500 or more on all gym days). Maybe I’m just expecting too much.
How are you burning this many calories, that's an awful lot. By comparison, I burn ~452 calories on a six mile run and roughly 150 calories in a lifting session.0 -
For me, the only cardio I can sustain for an hour is running or something fun like kickboxing or aerobics with interesting choreography and music. Whatever is interesting and sustainable for you is what will work best. It's also difficult to create a 1000 calorie deficit when we're small. I'd have to run for almost two hours to get 1000 calories.0
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if you aren't losing you are consuming as much or more than you are burning. something is off. Do your clothes fit differently? are you adding muscle and losing some fat..which is extremely hard on a deficit diet.
2 -
Just FWIW... 2200-2500 daily burn does seem fairly high and would certainly require a more active lifestyle in general as well as the cardio work.
E.g. yesterday I went to work (desk job) as usual and then had to do a 2hr / 30mile bike ride just to reach 2,225 calories burn on my fitibit charge with HR.
I’m a little taller than you at 5’5” but a little lighter - 120lb.
(Also FWIW I have a Garmin too which also does wrist based optical HR readings. I have noticed both devices can vary a lot and are affected by how you wear them, daylight, if you have sleeves covering them or not, they are definitely not THAT accurate all the time)1 -
I lift for about 40 minutes most days (10x3) for 8-10 different exercises. Then I do HIIT or the stair climber for 20 minutes before switching over to the elliptical for another 40. Most days I also walk another hour or 2 (I don’t always have time but I’ve made this a priority).0
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And I do think I’ve built a little muscle. I don’t look any better but I can lift a bit heavier.2
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Commander_Keen wrote: »I’m a little embarrassed to write this because I’m a big believer in calories in, calories out and weight loss being a math equation. But, I’m struggling to see sufficient progress and perhaps someone can offer a nugget advice that will be helpful.
Over the last ten weeks I’ve counted calories carefully. Ensuring I’m eating at a 1000 calorie deficit minimum (according to fit bit) and typically sticking close to 1200 calories though going a little up or down within the week. I’ve also been hitting the gym frequently (weights and cardio 5 days a week). And while I’m no bodybuilder, I lift as heavy as I can.
After ten weeks I’ve lost only 7 lbs and am becoming increasingly frustrated. I’ve successfully counted calories and lost weight before (I actually ate relatively poorly but stayed within my daily allocation).
I’m 5’2, 152 lbs. I have weight to loose.
What am I missing?
If you are doing CICO and you are correctly measuring your meals, then the last variable needs to be increased.
Increase your cardio, by 100 calories ( should =10min) until you see the scale moving.
Considering OP already is accounting for several hundred calories of exercise, it's doubtful "more exercise" is the answer. With her stats, her expectations may just be too high.
What if her Fit bit was off?0 -
I lift for about 40 minutes most days (10x3) for 8-10 different exercises. Then I do HIIT or the stair climber for 20 minutes before switching over to the elliptical for another 40. Most days I also walk another hour or 2 (I don’t always have time but I’ve made this a priority).
This is how I calculate calories burned:
For running the formula is body weight in pounds X .63 X miles.
For walking the formula is body weight in pounds X .33 X miles.
I don't bother counting lifting because there is no really good way to estimate calories burned.3 -
I lift for about 40 minutes most days (10x3) for 8-10 different exercises. Then I do HIIT or the stair climber for 20 minutes before switching over to the elliptical for another 40. Most days I also walk another hour or 2 (I don’t always have time but I’ve made this a priority).
Is it possible for you to do some cardio in the morning?
Is it possible instead of walking to run?
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@VioletRojo , that’s very helpful. Even if I can be more realistic about calories burned it makes the slow progress a little easier to take.1
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VioletRojo wrote: »This is how I calculate calories burned:
For running the formula is body weight in pounds X .63 X miles.
For walking the formula is body weight in pounds X .33 X miles.
I don't bother counting lifting because there is no really good way to estimate calories burned.
I used to not count lifting because I'd rest between sets, and honestly it doesn't burn that much. However a couple years ago I turned it into circuit training by switching muscle groups, or doing other exercises between sets rather than resting. I now calculate it somewhere between walking and running as far as calorie burns. Or I'll just use MFP's calculation for circuit training depending on how hard I work at it. On a good day if I go non-stop for an hour, no rest except from once muscle group to another, and the heart rate stays above 120ish I'll just use MFP's calculation for it. Otherwise I'll just log it the same as walking around 3mph or 3.5mph for the same amount of time. Seems to work out. When in doubt I adjust it down to 250 calories for an hour.2 -
Very helpful. I’m quite confident I’m counting calories right (I weigh everything) so it’s probably the gym. I spend most of my cardio time on the elliptical but have been throwing in some HIIT and stair climber (I just can’t keep them up more than 20 minutes). Any thoughts on which cardio is most effective?
The most effective cardio is one that you enjoy and see yourself doing regularly. I can't stand machines or HITT so I walk around my neighborhood instead.2 -
@VioletRojo , that’s very helpful. Even if I can be more realistic about calories burned it makes the slow progress a little easier to take.
I found that calculating calories in was much easier than calculating calories out, but I was really relying on calories out for a good part of my deficit, so accuracy was critical. Especially since I didn't really have much weight to lose.0 -
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What about running?
1 -
VioletRojo wrote: »I lift for about 40 minutes most days (10x3) for 8-10 different exercises. Then I do HIIT or the stair climber for 20 minutes before switching over to the elliptical for another 40. Most days I also walk another hour or 2 (I don’t always have time but I’ve made this a priority).
This is how I calculate calories burned:
For running the formula is body weight in pounds X .63 X miles.
For walking the formula is body weight in pounds X .33 X miles.
I don't bother counting lifting because there is no really good way to estimate calories burned.
How did you come across that calculation please?0 -
VioletRojo wrote: »I lift for about 40 minutes most days (10x3) for 8-10 different exercises. Then I do HIIT or the stair climber for 20 minutes before switching over to the elliptical for another 40. Most days I also walk another hour or 2 (I don’t always have time but I’ve made this a priority).
This is how I calculate calories burned:
For running the formula is body weight in pounds X .63 X miles.
For walking the formula is body weight in pounds X .33 X miles.
I don't bother counting lifting because there is no really good way to estimate calories burned.
How did you come across that calculation please?
These formulas were published in a running magazine (maybe Runner's World) years ago. I wish I could remember with certainty, but it was a long time ago and I've just used those formulas since.0
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