Scale not budging? Help/advice needed.

naz007xx

Hi Guys,

I need some help in order to understand if I am doing anything wrong in my fat loss journey.

Age 34
Height 5.10
weight 98KG
10,000 steps completed 5 times a week.

I wish to lose 15/20kg within 6 months I have been training just under a month now and have not lost anything. I log everything I eat I measure my portions and I am training 5 days a week. At the gym I first do 1 hr 30 mins weights followed by 30/40 minutes cardio. My workout is intense and my whole T-shirt is soaked after I’m done. I would say I know how to train and not a novice but can’t seem to figure out where I am going wrong. I am consuming between 1850 to 2100 calories per day 150 grams of carbs and 150 grams of protein give or take, and under 75 grams of fat. On training days I am burning in total just under 4000 calories according to Fitbit not sure if that is accurate. Diet is full of vegetables salads lean meats whole foods all the good stuff to be frank. My BMR is 2092 calories so according to my research my caloric intake is sufficient to maintain a deficit and lose fat. My starting weight was 98kg and I am still the same after almost a month that cannot be right? I have measured myself also using a tape measure and have not lost any inches on my waist neck or chest.

Sorry for the long essay lol hope I have covered everything any further info needed please ask.

Thanks in advance people and good luck to everyone in their goals and aspirations.

Goingagain

I just lost 4lb today after 4-5 weeks of nothing.
New gym routine and water retention/ doms were the main reasons I think. I was sticking to cals/weighing portions.

Keep at it, I know it's disheartening but it will catch up!

LyndaBSS

Have you been weighing everything you eat? That's typically where people have mistakes in logging.

Thagod08

@naz007xx this is the trick stop eating 6 meals per day try to calculate how much calories u burn during ur workouts then eat just under those calories so try 3 meals a day two with food one with a protein shake but u have to take in less calories then u burn Inorder to lose weight

lgfrie

At 216 lbs and training hard as you are, the pounds should be falling off you. Though weight loss is notoriously non-linear, I don't think a full month of diet and exercise is a reasonable amount of time to have to wait for that very first pound of loss. Something ain't right.

There are three possibilities; at least one must be true, but perhaps more than one is true:

1) You are not eating at a calorie deficit, when everything - calories in and calories out - is added up.

2) You are eating more calories than you think you're eating. It sounds like you've got a good handle on food measurement, but is that volume based or weight based? Volume based measurement tends toward undercounting the calories.

3) Your scale is malfunctioning and you need a new one.

So, since those are the three possibilities, and any of them could be true, how about this:

1) Try a week at a lower calorie level like 1600-1700 and see if it breaks the weight logjam.

2) If you're not already using a food scale that's accurate to 1 gram, get one of those and really drill down on the portions of each ingredient by weight to be sure you're eating the quantities you think you're eating.

3) Maybe get a new scale.

Good luck.

LKArgh

naz007xx wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I need some help in order to understand if I am doing anything wrong in my fat loss journey.

Age 34
Height 5.10
weight 98KG
10,000 steps completed 5 times a week.

I wish to lose 15/20kg within 6 months I have been training just under a month now and have not lost anything. I log everything I eat I measure my portions and I am training 5 days a week. At the gym I first do 1 hr 30 mins weights followed by 30/40 minutes cardio. My workout is intense and my whole T-shirt is soaked after I’m done. I would say I know how to train and not a novice but can’t seem to figure out where I am going wrong. I am consuming between 1850 to 2100 calories per day 150 grams of carbs and 150 grams of protein give or take, and under 75 grams of fat. On training days I am burning in total just under 4000 calories according to Fitbit not sure if that is accurate. Diet is full of vegetables salads lean meats whole foods all the good stuff to be frank. My BMR is 2092 calories so according to my research my caloric intake is sufficient to maintain a deficit and lose fat. My starting weight was 98kg and I am still the same after almost a month that cannot be right? I have measured myself also using a tape measure and have not lost any inches on my waist neck or chest.

Sorry for the long essay lol hope I have covered everything any further info needed please ask.

Thanks in advance people and good luck to everyone in their goals and aspirations.

How are you measuring calories? Chances are you are underestimating what you eat. Either fix the logging by using a scale for all ingredients, or limit blindly the calories by e.g. 300 to compensate for the error in logging.

Gamliela

I live in France, people eat an amazing amount of full fat, fatty foods. Longevity is very high here! I don't advocate high fat eating, but I disagree with @nighthawk584 that a high fat way of eating is "horrible"!

Maxxitt

Good job with the workouts - I think that @lgfrie is spot on.

steveko89

lgfrie wrote: »

At 216 lbs and training hard as you are, the pounds should be falling off you. Though weight loss is notoriously non-linear, I don't think a full month of diet and exercise is a reasonable amount of time to have to wait for that very first pound of loss. Something ain't right.

There are three possibilities; at least one must be true, but perhaps more than one is true:

1) You are not eating at a calorie deficit, when everything - calories in and calories out - is added up.

2) You are eating more calories than you think you're eating. It sounds like you've got a good handle on food measurement, but is that volume based or weight based? Volume based measurement tends toward undercounting the calories.

3) Your scale is malfunctioning and you need a new one.

So, since those are the three possibilities, and any of them could be true, how about this:

1) Try a week at a lower calorie level like 1600-1700 and see if it breaks the weight logjam.

2) If you're not already using a food scale that's accurate to 1 gram, get one of those and really drill down on the portions of each ingredient by weight to be sure you're eating the quantities you think you're eating.

3) Maybe get a new scale.

Good luck.

Quoted for TRUTH.

Addtionally, 4000 calories/day seems way too high; I personally would not trust that number and have had similarly poor experiences with HR monitors poorly tracking exercise calorie expenditure. Based on what you described and my personal experience with observed TDEE (total calorie expenditure, with exercise calories) I'd put your average in the 2650-2950 range, or ~2300 on rest days and ~500 additional on workout days. I get no more than 500 calories from a hour lifting session, despite a chest strap HR monitor suggesting 750-900+ so definitely YMMV.

IMO the first step is to ensure your logging/tracking is absolutely on lock down. Once your ensure you have good calorie data you can observe and adjust accordingly based on what the scale does.

Pipsqueak1965

Isn't it the case that when you start training hard, your muscles hang onto water for a while? Keep going!

CharlieCharlie007

This never gets old. Scales are *kitten*! Tape measure is a trues indicator of success. Scales do not take into accout, mater, muscle mass vs fat mass, waste. I see a registered dietitian every six weeks, and we never use the scale. My cats last gift to me was to urinate on my digital scale and kill it.

SnifterPug

I agree with the comment about checking measurements rather than just relying on the scale. Have you measured hips, legs and arms too? Otherwise I would say that I think your estimated calorie output on training days seems on the high side. I use a Myzone chest strap monitor and the most I can burn in an hour is around 600 calories - and that is an intense boxing session. A weights session would typically burn 400. I am the same height as you, weigh 82kg and am female. If I were able to keep up that level of effort for 2 hours (I doubt it) that's still only 1200 cals max.

Certainly on the face of it you have got your calories about right for weight loss regardless of the exercise, so you need to investigate further. I agree with the suggestion to ensure your logging is A OK and then go from there.

Good luck.

naz007xx

@Goingagain Thanks dude. I have not lost anything not sure what’s going on. I will not stop training and eating clean though. Patience is the key here. Good luck with your goals.

naz007xx

Hi @LyndaBSS,

Thanks for the reply. I log everything and measure my food. I am very careful so I’d say that’s covered. Cheers for the input.

naz007xx

@Thagod08 Thanks for the reply. I eat 3 meals per day and I wear a Fitbit all day and to ten gym. I log and measure everything I eat to the drop. I believe I am in a caloric deficit but not losing any fat.

naz007xx

@lgfrie Hey thanks for the reply. I measure everything I eat with a scale measuring in grams unless it’s packaged food with nutritional information printed. I have two digital scales both read the same thing. I believe I am 100% in a deficit but something is definitely wrong. I will try what you have said and reduce my caloric intake to 1600 and see if that helps. Once again I appreciate your reply. Thanks

naz007xx

@LKArgh hey thanks for the reply. I have taken all the kind advice received. I will reduce my calories by 250/300 further for a couple weeks and see the outcome. Thanks for your kind reply.

naz007xx

@steveko89 hey pal cheers for the reply. I already know that the estimated burning is exaggerated. For example if my Fitbit watch states I’ve burned 500 calories from weights I take that as 250 give or take. I never eat back that calories I’ve burnt and I log and measure everything so pretty pissed with no results. Anyway i will further reduce my calories to test this nasty stubborn fat. Thanks for your input appreciate it!

naz007xx

@CharlieCharlie007 Hey Charlie, appreciate the reply. As mentioned in my original post I also used a tape measure as well as the scale with no results sadly. Hopefully this changes soon will further knock back the calories. Thanks for your kind reply. L

naz007xx

@SnifterPug hey thanks for the reply. I know that my Fitbit overestimates what I burn so I always half it anyway. For example after weights if my watch tells me I have burnt 500 calories I take that as 250 burnt to be on the safe side. A 2 hour work out in the gym let’s say I burnt a minimum of 400 calories even though I know I am burning more I should still be losing weight and I am not. I also have measured myself using a tape measure and nothing lost. I measure and log everything I eat so I’m not sure what’s up. I cannot have hit a plateau as I’ve been working out a month now. Anyway I’m knocking back my calories further as that is the only thing I can think of to try and see if it helps. Thanks for your input!

kshama2001

There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

kshama2001

chrisduncan6679 wrote: »

You are consuming too many carbs. If you really want to burn the fat you need to switch to a high fat, low carb diet. With your workout you could lose a lb a day! Ditch the chicken breast and start eating bacon, steak, pork, etc. Try to limit yourself to 20-30g of carbs a day. I am generally in the same boat as you as far as weight, height and age - I'm doing limited exercise (30 min bike ride a day to work and back) and have lost 15lbs in 6 weeks - without a lot of exercise on a low carb diet.

Nonsense. When I was in Costa Rica, I dropped over a size without even trying. I ate mangoes all day long, plus lots of other tropical fruit, and lots of rice and beans, so tons of carbs.

However, overall I had a calorie deficit, and that is why I lost weight.

I also know plenty of healthy and fit vegans who eat high carb.