4 weeks using MFP and FitBit, no weight lost

Leooa

Hi All,

I've been following the advice on this site, and using the tools here to enter my calories. I calculate my calories by weighing my food on a food scale or the nutrition info on the package. I've only used Fitbit to calculate the deficit because I mostly walk or jog for exercise. Because have minor insulin resistance, I don't eat as many carbs as suggested by the site. I make up for those calories in fat. Can you look into my food and exercise diary and let me know what I'm doing wrong?

RichardFL

Your diary is not open for people to view.

Since you have insulin resistance, I can only say to learn about the glycemic index and how to properly use that in deciding what foods to eat. It's pretty important to see what someone is actually eating before giving more specific advice when dealing with something like insulin resistance.

For weight, did you gain weight the first week or two and lose it in weeks three and four? You'll often see a couple weeks of weight gain when you first start, and that's just the body storing more water and glycogen to deal with the increased activity level. If you saw that initial gain and then lost that weight, you're actually on track to continue losing weight if you just stick with it.

Leooa

Sorry, I thought I had it open to the public. I've fixed this now. Can you look at my good and exercise diary and let me know of any suggestions.

bethannien

Out of curiosity, what's your exercise regimen? It looks like you burn a lot

jadedone

I personally found that I can't eat back all of the calories MFP thinks I burned. I eat about 50% of them back.

I am worried about the amount of produce and fiber you are eating. It doesn't look like much. You should eat more veggies, for health reasons. You could triple the amount.

Francl27

Make sure you don't overestimate your burned calories, and that you weigh everything, never use measuring spoons and cups.

RichardFL

It seems like you're genuinely putting effort into your dietary choices, but you might not understand what foods you need to increase for insulin resistance. Try to eat less sugars, but more fiber and complex carbohydrates. Under carbohydrates on the nutritional facts, you'll see the sugars and dietary fiber listed. You could also use the glycemic index values, but that might take more effort.

You can also use the Internet to find foods that increase insulin sensitivity (cinnamon is a nice example), since those are very good for someone with insulin resistance. And since I can't tell from MFP how often you eat, keep in mind you should eat something every 4 hours or so to help keep your insulin levels more stable. And try not to eat sugary snacks alone, even if it means adding a handful of nuts or a couple slices of deli meat to the snack.

You can try jadedone's advice about eating half your exercise calories back, but just make sure you're not getting hungry from eating too few calories. You can also eat less fat to help ensure you're burning existing fat. Switching your existing simple carbohydrates to complex carbohydrates should also provide you with more stamina, so you may also find the energy to increase the length of your workouts.

llbennett74

It looks like you enjoy your treats on the weekend like I do and I realized that was my downfall. Try cutting down on that for sure. And definitely add some more veggies in.

sevsmom

Not being insulin resistant, I hesitate to give any dietary advice. I will say that I was working the calorie/excerise logging thing for WELL over a month before the scale started to play nice! Hang in there!!

BadassCrossfitMama

I dont see you noting that you're drinking any water, are you?

Water has a HUGE part in weight loss!!

kathyrbl

I agree with others who have already posted regarding adding additional fiber rich fruits and vegetables in your diet. Your diet is consistently high in fat -- you are eating very good fats but the proportions in your diet seem a little high. I found this link to low glycemic index foods that might be helpful in adding more variety to your diet.

http://childrenshospital.org/clinicalservices/Site3080/Documents/LowGlycemicShoppingList.pdf

ecw3780

Are you entering in exercise or just letting your fitbit sync? If you let your fitbit sync, and then eat back your exercise calories, you should be right on target calorie wise. The only exercise you should need to manually enter is water activities where you can't wear the fitbit. I am also curious what you do for exercise, because it looks like you have a huge burn.

You also might want to look at the quality of foods you eat. I just glanced at a few days, but I saw a lot of fatty foods. Yes, technically you just need to stay within your calories, but you will lose faster if you eat better.

ecw3780

I personally found that I can't eat back all of the calories MFP thinks I burned. I eat about 50% of them back.

I am worried about the amount of produce and fiber you are eating. It doesn't look like much. You should eat more veggies, for health reasons. You could triple the amount.

I think this depends on whether or not you manually enter them from the database and whether or not you just let the fibit sync. If you are letting the fitbit sync, I would shoot for closer to 80%.

RockinTerri

I have a two-part question for you that has nothing to do with food - Are your clothes feeling loser? And are you measuring yourself?

I found that it took me about 2 months to lose any weight, but in that time I had lost several inches off of my frame.

I don't want to offer any dietary advice as I know nothing about insulin resistance.

Leooa

I drink LOTS of water. Over 1/2 gallon a day. So I didn't bother to enter it into MFP, but I'll look into it now. I also work and live in NYC and walk the Brooklyn bridge at a fast pace. I also frequent the Hufson River walk from World Trade Center to 23rd or 34th street. My walks can go up to 3 miles.

Leooa

I only use FitBit to make the adjustment to my calories.

MakinLoveFaces

As a lot of people said, MFP's calculations for exercise calories burned aren't 100% accurate. My first recommendation would be to only eat back about half the calories it says you've burned.

Also, how active are you on a daily basis? I exercise 6 days a week, but other than that I don't get a lot of movement in. I went 2 weeks of watching how I ate VERY closely and didn't lose anything, so I started playing with the amount of calories I ate until I found what worked, and I was eating too many calories since I'm not on my feet a lot on a daily basis. I lost 3 lbs in 3 days after I cut back.

I suggest you play with the amount of calories you're eating and see what works best for you.

I'm also insulin resistant, so make sure you're eating whole grain pasta and bread and cut back as much as you can on it (It's much easier said than done, I know!) Try to get most of your carbs from veggies.

Good luck !

MyaPapaya75

I think you need to watch your calories ..and make sure your not over estimating your burn. Some days you seem to have a large intake of calories icecream , chocolate and so on...and to be honest if you are thinking you burned that so you can eat that your numbers could be way off thus the reason for no weight loss.

kender54

I use my fitbit daily and my main form of exercise is walking/hiking. I also have PCOS with insulin resistance. I find that to lose any weight, I cannot eat all of the extra fitbit calories back. Whether that is because of the insulin resistance or from an overcalculation of fitbit calories burned, I do not know.

My calorie goal is 1450/day. I will eat a maximum of 50% of my fitbit activity calories back. If I don't feel exceptionally hungry, I will eat closer to 20-25% of my fitibit calories back.

shayemimi

Yes, just took a peek, and I'd cut back on the higher sugar calories...

I don't know the science or anything, but I found for me, a calorie isn't just a calorie...It matters where it comes from. Try to eat more veggies and other foods that add volume with out tons of calories and your body seems to burn the fat faster. At least it did for me.

I have a fitbit, and it's a great tool to get you moving more, but you still gotta watch your calorie intake, and where the calories are coming from. I also don't eat all my exercise calories back. Depends on how much I burn, and how hungry I am...especially when I was actively trying to lose. Burn more than you eat

Leooa

Typically I walk about 2.5 miles a day, and on the weekend I go for longer walks and a 1.5 mile run.

godblessourhome

when you sent up your fitbit, did you mark that you wanted to lose weight, gain weight or stay the same? personally, i think your calorie adjustments look like maintenance numbers. i've run half-marathons and still haven't gotten to eat 3000 calories because of my projected deficit.

Phildog47

it takes longer than just a few weeks. This is a lifestyle change

tworthen79

You may be over calculating your burn calories? Are you weighing your food? And you consume a lot of sodium, which makes you retain fluid.

tworthen79

One day it says you burned over 2000 calories. What exercises are you doing?

Leooa

The reason why my calories are around 3000 a day on the weekends is because I go for 2 or more fast pace long walks in that day and also do my weekly shopping. I've also set my weight lost to "kinda hard' on Fitbit. So no, I'm not doing maintenance or gain.

ze_hombre

Typically I walk about 2.5 miles a day, and on the weekend I go for longer walks and a 1.5 mile run.

I am not seeing the numbers for exercise calories burned other than cumulative totals but they seem really high to me. To give context, if I run 5k I burn 300-400 calories. If I run 5 miles thats 700-800 calories. If I run 10 miles that is 1400-1500 calories. And that is running with a HRM. Now don't expect those numbers to translate 1 to 1 for you, but you can see that 800-900 calories burned from a few miles walking and a 1.5 mile run is unrealistic. Of course you do not say what your longer walks are, but unless they are in the 4 mile range or so I think Fitbit is overestimating your calorie burn. I would look into the settings for your Fitbit, maybe adjust your stride length and review your personal settings.

Leooa

Sometimes I do 13 miles on the weekends, according to Fitbit.

ze_hombre

Sometimes I do 13 miles on the weekends, according to Fitbit.

Yeah, I figured. I do the same with mine (I have a Flex). I was looking at your weekdays although maybe I didn't go back far enough. They still seem high to me though.

To be brutally honest, I rarely count the calorie burn from Fitbit and if I do I take it with a big grain of salt (meaning I count about half). I have compared numbers with what my HRM says and Fitbit is usually off by a significant factor. I really just use it to see how many steps I have in a day and determine if I want to go for a walk or something to get some extra exercise in.

godblessourhome

so you are saying that your daily burn on weekends is 4000 calories, and you are at a 1000 calorie deficit to eat 3000? i walk an average of 7 miles daily, up to 16-17 mile runs, and have never reached that. i am not sure how the fitbit/mfp sync works since i don't use it, but i think you might want to check your settings again. i really think you are eating at maintenance.

TheBaileyHunter

I was working hard, following my calories, logging everything and didn't lose for 5 weeks straight. Now my body is used to the routines and the weight is coming off. Don't give up. Sometimes it just takes a little time for things to happen.