not losing weight despite a daily deficit

damatillo
damatillo Posts: 11 Member
edited May 2022 in Health and Weight Loss
hello
im not losing weight at 2170 calories even tho i get 20-30k daily steps which should burn 800-1100 calories and put me in a deficit and i’m even gaining weight somedays for context i need between 2850-3150 calories daily according to calculator.net which is exactly 700-1000 daily deficit which means i should lose 100g daily
i started weight training 20 days ago and since then i stopped losing weight but i used to do calisthenics at home maybe not pushing myself as hard as the gym but still i should be 2 kg down which means i need to lose 1.6kg more to reach my goal but im gaining weight instead of losing it
what can i do to lose those last 4.6-5kg
even if its just “water weight” which i don’t think it is since 2 kg is a lot of water to hold what can i do to check i thats the case and my deficit is working or how to know that i’m not in a deficit
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Replies

  • gpanda103
    gpanda103 Posts: 189 Member
    Weight training = water retention

    Water is also quite dense, and we are mostly water. 1 plastic water bottle is 16.9oz which.. is a bit over a pound.

    If the scale bothers you that much, don’t use it
  • damatillo
    damatillo Posts: 11 Member
    gpanda103 wrote: »
    Weight training = water retention

    Water is also quite dense, and we are mostly water. 1 plastic water bottle is 16.9oz which.. is a bit over a pound.

    If the scale bothers you that much, don’t use it
    how long till i lose the water tho its been 20 days since i started lifting and i think 20 days since i started gaining weight

  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    damatillo wrote: »
    gpanda103 wrote: »
    Weight training = water retention

    Water is also quite dense, and we are mostly water. 1 plastic water bottle is 16.9oz which.. is a bit over a pound.

    If the scale bothers you that much, don’t use it
    how long till i lose the water tho its been 20 days since i started lifting and i think 20 days since i started gaining weight

    It took me 4 weeks to see the scale move again once I added weight lifting. Then my weight would drop in stalls and wooshes. It would stall for a week or two, then suddenly drop overnight. Give it a little more time, particularly if this has been working for you until you added lifting. I know it's frustrating to not see the scale change. I had to start doing regular measurements for confirmation that I was still doing well. If it's still not moving, then you might need to look at a few other possibilities to troubleshoot.
  • damatillo
    damatillo Posts: 11 Member
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    damatillo wrote: »
    gpanda103 wrote: »
    Weight training = water retention

    Water is also quite dense, and we are mostly water. 1 plastic water bottle is 16.9oz which.. is a bit over a pound.

    If the scale bothers you that much, don’t use it
    how long till i lose the water tho its been 20 days since i started lifting and i think 20 days since i started gaining weight

    It took me 4 weeks to see the scale move again once I added weight lifting. Then my weight would drop in stalls and wooshes. It would stall for a week or two, then suddenly drop overnight. Give it a little more time, particularly if this has been working for you until you added lifting. I know it's frustrating to not see the scale change. I had to start doing regular measurements for confirmation that I was still doing well. If it's still not moving, then you might need to look at a few other possibilities to troubleshoot.

    alr thx i was about to give up since i lost 2.2kg and then i gained .7 kg and im not losing / im gaining
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,036 Member
    2kg of water retention from weight training isn't a lot, really. And your 20-30k steps a day could also be a factor, if that amount of steps is new. Just give it more time, the fact that your stall started at precisely the moment you started weight training says it all, really.

    Perhaps take measurements and progress pictures on top of weighing yourself, to judge progress?
  • damatillo
    damatillo Posts: 11 Member
    Lietchi wrote: »
    2kg of water retention from weight training isn't a lot, really. And your 20-30k steps a day could also be a factor, if that amount of steps is new. Just give it more time, the fact that your stall started at precisely the moment you started weight training says it all, really.

    Perhaps take measurements and progress pictures on top of weighing yourself, to judge progress?
    i started doing the 20-30k daily steps like 6 months + ago so thats not the culprit and ill try to take progress pics thx!
  • pcrozier99
    pcrozier99 Posts: 35 Member
    I think you may be overestimating the calories you are burning through walking. I burn off an additional (over an above BMR) just over 100 calories per 6000 (or one hour) steps walked. So 30k for me will burn an additional 500-600 calories over and above BMR. It will vary for people of course, but likely not by double.
  • jrmorris93
    jrmorris93 Posts: 6 Member
    Drop to 1500 cal for a week chicken califlower rice protein shakes and eggs
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    jrmorris93 wrote: »
    Drop to 1500 cal for a week chicken califlower rice protein shakes and eggs

    Another no. That's the gym-bro diet, and it's 100% not necessary for either weight loss or nutrition (including nutrition for muscle gain). In fact, limiting foods is likely to result in poorer nutrition (in micronutrient terms).

    I don't demonize processed foods, but it always amuses me when people think of that kind of diet as "eating clean" or some other form of virtue, when protein powder is kind of an ultimate highly processed food.

    There's no need to eat some limited, tedious combination of foods in order to lose weight. Sure, some people find being bored with their food makes it easier to limit calories (!), but personally I think life's too short for that kind of nonsense. Losing weight is about the calories, good nutrition is about - suprise! - getting the necessary nutrients. Which foods a person eats to do that is of secondary importance, at most.

    I haven't eaten chicken since 1974 (at least not intentionally!), never drink protein shakes, don't particularly care for rice so only eat it in Asian restaurants. Somehow, I managed to lose from obese to a healthy weight anyway (in less than a year), stay there for several years since, while achieving good nutrition, without increasing exercise, and while hypothroid, menopausal, old. It's almost like calories matter, eh?

    OP, the more probable issues are water retention weirdness, oversights in logging food (not a dig, it's a learning process for all of us), over-estimating exercise or base calories (even trackers are estimating, not measuring), or not resetting your calorie goal as you've gotten lighter. With your details, I'd put my money on water weight, if I had to pick one and only one.

    Yes, 2kg of water weight is very possible. I've lost or gained that much water literally overnight a few times even as a 5'5" 120s-pounds woman who no longer has obvious hormonal cycles. I think my overnight record was close to 3kg, though it's usually more like 1kg or so. Since you're male, I'm betting you're bigger than I am, so swings could be proportionately larger.
  • damatillo
    damatillo Posts: 11 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    jrmorris93 wrote: »
    Drop to 1500 cal for a week chicken califlower rice protein shakes and eggs

    Another no. That's the gym-bro diet, and it's 100% not necessary for either weight loss or nutrition (including nutrition for muscle gain). In fact, limiting foods is likely to result in poorer nutrition (in micronutrient terms).

    I don't demonize processed foods, but it always amuses me when people think of that kind of diet as "eating clean" or some other form of virtue, when protein powder is kind of an ultimate highly processed food.

    There's no need to eat some limited, tedious combination of foods in order to lose weight. Sure, some people find being bored with their food makes it easier to limit calories (!), but personally I think life's too short for that kind of nonsense. Losing weight is about the calories, good nutrition is about - suprise! - getting the necessary nutrients. Which foods a person eats to do that is of secondary importance, at most.

    I haven't eaten chicken since 1974 (at least not intentionally!), never drink protein shakes, don't particularly care for rice so only eat it in Asian restaurants. Somehow, I managed to lose from obese to a healthy weight anyway (in less than a year), stay there for several years since, while achieving good nutrition, without increasing exercise, and while hypothroid, menopausal, old. It's almost like calories matter, eh?

    OP, the more probable issues are water retention weirdness, oversights in logging food (not a dig, it's a learning process for all of us), over-estimating exercise or base calories (even trackers are estimating, not measuring), or not resetting your calorie goal as you've gotten lighter. With your details, I'd put my money on water weight, if I had to pick one and only one.

    Yes, 2kg of water weight is very possible. I've lost or gained that much water literally overnight a few times even as a 5'5" 120s-pounds woman who no longer has obvious hormonal cycles. I think my overnight record was close to 3kg, though it's usually more like 1kg or so. Since you're male, I'm betting you're bigger than I am, so swings could be proportionately larger.

    i log everything even lettuce and have a scale so its not an oversight and im a male and my sedentary calories should be between 1950-2050 i think im only eating 120 calories on top of it which i burn from walking
  • damatillo
    damatillo Posts: 11 Member
    pcrozier99 wrote: »
    I think you may be overestimating the calories you are burning through walking. I burn off an additional (over an above BMR) just over 100 calories per 6000 (or one hour) steps walked. So 30k for me will burn an additional 500-600 calories over and above BMR. It will vary for people of course, but likely not by double.

    according to an online calculator that i just used i shld burn between 690-1035 kcal if i walk an avg speed or 822-1233 kcal if i walk slowly and since i get around 17k steps from 4 am to 730 am i think i fall closer to walking slowly but still lets say 690 if i do 20k 690-200 (200 are to get me from 1950-2050 sedentary calories to 2170) is 590 calories daily which should put me in a deficit still
  • damatillo
    damatillo Posts: 11 Member
    jrmorris93 wrote: »
    Drop to 1500 cal for a week chicken califlower rice protein shakes and eggs

    NO.

    yes, perhaps check that your calorie calculation is correct- 2170 seems high for weight loss to me but it depends on your current, height, weight, gender, age.
    Could you share those stats so we can get an idea if your calorie allowance is in the right ball park?

    But no point just randomly dropping to 1500 and no reason to eat those particular foods jmorrismentioned.
    Eat the foods you like as long as your overall diet is basically nutritious and balanced.
    .
    im a male age 19 174.5 cm and weight 67kg i know im not overweight/obese but i gained some weight from the holidays and want to prove to myself that i can lose the weight back
    as for the crash diet i dont mind it tbh i barely eat 550 calories for breakfast and around 500 for lunch which leaves me with 1120 calories at night which i find hard to hit sometimes so 1500 would be easier for me to manage but my parents still wont let me buy protein powder snd i cant hit my protein goal on 1500
  • SuzanneC1l9zz
    SuzanneC1l9zz Posts: 451 Member
    Sorry, it says you should burn more calories at a slower pace? I think you need to look at a different calculator!
  • damatillo
    damatillo Posts: 11 Member
    jrmorris93 wrote: »
    Drop to 1500 cal for a week chicken califlower rice protein shakes and eggs
    i dont see a reason for that 2000 (my sedentary daily kcal reqs)+ 700 (the min amt i burn from walking) = 2700 i eat 2170
    so i burn 530 kcal min which almost daily i burn more since i get 22k steps on my phone and 4-5k steps from walking at uni without my phone w friend (i calculated it before) so thats at least 630-700 kcal deficit weekdays and on weekends i hit 30k steps easily and sometimes even more and i weight everything (even lettuce leaves) so im surely in a deficit
  • damatillo
    damatillo Posts: 11 Member
    Sorry, it says you should burn more calories at a slower pace? I think you need to look at a different calculator!
    its just a random calculator i found online i use google fit to calculate my steps which says i burn between 753-885 kcal weekdays and 1150 on weekends
  • damatillo
    damatillo Posts: 11 Member
    O.O i think its starting to come off i lost 300g tdy