Intake advice please help.
Koldnomore
Posts: 1,613 Member
Hi guys,
I am posting this here and asking for your help because based on my evidence/tracking I "SHOULD" be losing somewhere between .5-1lb week but I have been hovering around the same weight for at least 8 weeks. I have been fluctuating a little bit and normally I will take the lowest weight of the week as my 'weekly weigh in' but my 'average' weight has not moved by more than a few ounces in the period that I have been tracking. It almost seems to me that I am eating at maintenance as opposed to being at a deficit. I am hoping you guys can give me some advice to get me going again instead of just spinning my wheels.
Provide your stats (height/weight/age/bodyfat% if you know it/etc)
Height 5'6
Weight: 160.2 (average over 8 weeks)
Age: 40
Body Fat% : I have never had this done though I have estimated based on several methods. The average is around 34%. If I compare to the body fat pictures it looks closer to 40 but I have quite a bit more muscle definition than the picture shows. I have done physical labor for a lot of my life and was lifting weights regularly 3 years ago (though nothing recent).
What's your current gross intake of calories, on average?
2157 over the past month.
What's your current average intake of protein, carbs, and fats, in grams? (GRAMS, not percent!)
Protein: 111
Carb: 258
Fat: 71
Do you use a food scale and measure everything? Yes, including spices. With the exception of when I eat out (normally at least once/ week)however I will always make an attempt to determine the weight / amount of everything. I have been tracking for over 1 year and normally I can eyeball things quite accurately. I will always OVER estimate when I have to.
Do you track all of your intake, daily? (Everything?)Yes. Except as mentioned above.
Do you take cheat days or days off? No, though I will go over at least 1 day of the weekend because I don't have the same amount of activity BUT I still average at least a 2000 calorie deficit for the week according to my spreadsheet.
How much weight have you lost so far and over what time period? I started in July 2012 and since then I have lost @ 60 lbs.
Describe your activity (exercise and non exercise) and did you change that activity withing the last couple of months? I have had a FitBit for almost 6 months and have been basing my intake off of the TDEE that it is reporting. This has been working perfectly until just recently. I took a diet break for 3 weeks last month to try and 'reset' my metabolism ( I gained 5-8 lbs during that time) I walk a lot and have averaged 16,844 steps daily over the past month - I can calculate further back if you need. I am currently netting about 1500 calories and eating back the exercise reported by the FitBit. I have been doing the same thing for many months - nothing has changed. My week day consists of walking about 45 minutes to work from my bus stop in the morning, another walk for about 30 minutes on most days at lunch time then walking to another bus stop for about 15 minutes to go home. Likely as it gets colder I will not be able to continue this much walking. My work is not very active. I have 2 clients per day whom I visit at their desks about 6 times in total, maybe 3000 steps for the whole day depending where the clients are located in the complex. On Tuesday night I have been trying to get back into lifting but it only takes about half an hour and right now I am not doing very much weight. On Thursday evenings I go for a walk with a friend of mine - we usually around 1 hour (4 - 5 km distance). Randomly on other nights I will also go for a walk with my boyfriend for an hour or more. Weekends we usually try to get out but it's really random what we do and will depend on if we have his son that weekend.
How long have you been stalled and if it is not a complete stall please be very specific as to how much you have lost over the stalled period.
I have been sitting at this weight on average since June. I have just been fluctuating 1-3 lbs for the past 8 weeks. I can't consider it a loss because my weight always seems to end up back around 160.. Over the past while:
31/08/2013 160
01/09/2013 164.4
02/09/2013 162.2
03/09/2013 161.6
04/09/2013 160.6
05/09/2013 159.6
06/09/2013 159.2
07/09/2013 158.2
08/09/2013 159.6
09/09/2013 160.6
10/09/2013 158.6
11/09/2013 158.6
12/09/2013 158
13/09/2013 158.6
14/09/2013 159.2
15/09/2013 160.8
Are you breastfeeding? no
Do you have thyroid issues/risks or PCOS? no
Please let me know if you need anything else.
Thanks you guys!
I am posting this here and asking for your help because based on my evidence/tracking I "SHOULD" be losing somewhere between .5-1lb week but I have been hovering around the same weight for at least 8 weeks. I have been fluctuating a little bit and normally I will take the lowest weight of the week as my 'weekly weigh in' but my 'average' weight has not moved by more than a few ounces in the period that I have been tracking. It almost seems to me that I am eating at maintenance as opposed to being at a deficit. I am hoping you guys can give me some advice to get me going again instead of just spinning my wheels.
Provide your stats (height/weight/age/bodyfat% if you know it/etc)
Height 5'6
Weight: 160.2 (average over 8 weeks)
Age: 40
Body Fat% : I have never had this done though I have estimated based on several methods. The average is around 34%. If I compare to the body fat pictures it looks closer to 40 but I have quite a bit more muscle definition than the picture shows. I have done physical labor for a lot of my life and was lifting weights regularly 3 years ago (though nothing recent).
What's your current gross intake of calories, on average?
2157 over the past month.
What's your current average intake of protein, carbs, and fats, in grams? (GRAMS, not percent!)
Protein: 111
Carb: 258
Fat: 71
Do you use a food scale and measure everything? Yes, including spices. With the exception of when I eat out (normally at least once/ week)however I will always make an attempt to determine the weight / amount of everything. I have been tracking for over 1 year and normally I can eyeball things quite accurately. I will always OVER estimate when I have to.
Do you track all of your intake, daily? (Everything?)Yes. Except as mentioned above.
Do you take cheat days or days off? No, though I will go over at least 1 day of the weekend because I don't have the same amount of activity BUT I still average at least a 2000 calorie deficit for the week according to my spreadsheet.
How much weight have you lost so far and over what time period? I started in July 2012 and since then I have lost @ 60 lbs.
Describe your activity (exercise and non exercise) and did you change that activity withing the last couple of months? I have had a FitBit for almost 6 months and have been basing my intake off of the TDEE that it is reporting. This has been working perfectly until just recently. I took a diet break for 3 weeks last month to try and 'reset' my metabolism ( I gained 5-8 lbs during that time) I walk a lot and have averaged 16,844 steps daily over the past month - I can calculate further back if you need. I am currently netting about 1500 calories and eating back the exercise reported by the FitBit. I have been doing the same thing for many months - nothing has changed. My week day consists of walking about 45 minutes to work from my bus stop in the morning, another walk for about 30 minutes on most days at lunch time then walking to another bus stop for about 15 minutes to go home. Likely as it gets colder I will not be able to continue this much walking. My work is not very active. I have 2 clients per day whom I visit at their desks about 6 times in total, maybe 3000 steps for the whole day depending where the clients are located in the complex. On Tuesday night I have been trying to get back into lifting but it only takes about half an hour and right now I am not doing very much weight. On Thursday evenings I go for a walk with a friend of mine - we usually around 1 hour (4 - 5 km distance). Randomly on other nights I will also go for a walk with my boyfriend for an hour or more. Weekends we usually try to get out but it's really random what we do and will depend on if we have his son that weekend.
How long have you been stalled and if it is not a complete stall please be very specific as to how much you have lost over the stalled period.
I have been sitting at this weight on average since June. I have just been fluctuating 1-3 lbs for the past 8 weeks. I can't consider it a loss because my weight always seems to end up back around 160.. Over the past while:
31/08/2013 160
01/09/2013 164.4
02/09/2013 162.2
03/09/2013 161.6
04/09/2013 160.6
05/09/2013 159.6
06/09/2013 159.2
07/09/2013 158.2
08/09/2013 159.6
09/09/2013 160.6
10/09/2013 158.6
11/09/2013 158.6
12/09/2013 158
13/09/2013 158.6
14/09/2013 159.2
15/09/2013 160.8
Are you breastfeeding? no
Do you have thyroid issues/risks or PCOS? no
Please let me know if you need anything else.
Thanks you guys!
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Hey there,
We would like you to set your intake to the following. Please keep in mind this is gross intake. In other words, eat this amount daily.
1800kcal
200c
60f
110p
We would also suggest that you look into getting on a formal training program that involves resistance training, whether it's weight training, bodyweight training, etc. This will help a great deal in maintaining lean mass, improving bone density, improving nutrient partitioning, and basically increasing your overall awesomeness levels.
The intake recommendations above are a "first step" in that we may adjust this further based on results. Please report back to us in 1 week with an update should you choose to take our advice.
Let us know if you have questions.0 -
I have a question please. 1800 gross means that I will not be eating back exercise which would have me netting under 1200 cal (and my BMR) on most days or less. This is what you want me to do?
I have no doubt that I will lose weight doing this but with respect I am concerned as to why such a drastic step?0 -
I have a question please. 1800 gross means that I will not be eating back exercise which would have me netting under 1200 cal (and my BMR) on most days or less. This is what you want me to do?
Yes.
The answer, in our opinion, is that you are eating at or very close to maintenance. This is due to a combination of factors (estimation errors in both intake and output, downregulation of overall energy output from losing weight, etc).I have no doubt that I will lose weight doing this but with respect I am concerned as to why such a drastic step?
We reduced your intake by about 10% based on what we used for averages in September. That's not a drastic step if you are at maintenance and your goal is to lose weight.
Additionally, given your stats and your level of activity AND your stall at the current intake in the current time-frame, there's nothing unreasonable about the intake level we've suggested. I don't have any concerns about nutrient sufficiency or "too big of a deficit" given the information I'm considering. Far from it, in fact.
Finally, one alternative you can consider would be to increase your energy output and leave your intake the same. You would benefit from adding resistance training to your program, preferably a structured training program 3/week in addition to your current activity. If you do this, you will likely increase energy expenditure although you will also have some fluid retention for the first few weeks of this program so that's going to play some tricks on you as far as the scale goes. Either way, it's a good idea to add this into your program.
But in closing, the way Sara and I both see this scenario is that you easily have room to increase activity and you easily have room to safely decrease calorie intake, and the suggestion we made for intake is not drastic or unreasonable.
Here's something we would recommend reading:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1058378-oh-noes-i-am-eating-below-my-bmr0 -
I will try it for a while. It just sucks.
I have always been careful to eat as much as possible so I don't somehow mess up my metabolism with some starvation diet and now for some reason it happened anyway. I don't understand how or why and that's the part I am struggling with.0 -
Hi! I am not sure why you think 1,800 calories is a 'starvation diet'. The average female's maintenance is about 2,000 calories and, per the TDEE calculators, which often over-states TDEE, yours would be about 2,100. Your actual results are in line with that. So, 1,800 is only about a 300 deficit which is not at all drastic and will not mess up your metabolism.
Also, not that it actually changes anything, but where are you getting that you burn 600 calories a day exercising?
To put it into perspective, I lift weights about 4 x a week and walk to and from work, similar to you, and cut on 1,700 calories for a 1lb a week weight loss on average. I do no cardio. If I want to eat more, then I would either have a slower loss or I would have to be more active.0 -
Also, not that it actually changes anything, but where are you getting that you burn 600 calories a day exercising?
That's all FitBit. It's what I have been using for the past 6 months for my TDEE which comes up via fitbit at @2550. My 'burn' is based on 1.5 to 2 hours of walking per day (45 to work up a big hill, 30 + at lunchtime, 15-20 back to the bus, long walks at least 1-2 times / week) I average 16,000 + steps a day and walk close to 5km / hr speed. My 'fitbit calorie adjustment' was normally 500 - 800 every day (those were what I was counting as exercise calories).
Regardless, as we expected, the scale has dropped about 4 lbs so far. I'll keep updating.
Sorry if my post came off as rude - that was not my intent. I am genuinely curious and trying to figure out what is going on. I am happy to have your help(s).0 -
No worries - the internetz is hard to get 'tone' across sometimes.
If you have a read of the link SideSteel provided, it discusses fitbit and other similar devices and their limitations which may help clarify why the math doesn't quite work.0 -
Thanks Sara,
I did read the thread right away
I find that I am struggling with the TDEE concept. I wonder do you think it would be the same if I set my MFP goal to sedentary and NET 1200? then just eat back my exercise? I figure 1200 should be low enough to account for the over estimated fitbit burn? Do you think? I really enjoyed being able to work a little harder to gain a few more calories for special events. My boyfriend's birthday is coming up and a he wants Red Lobster. I need more than 1800 if I want to eat anything else that day
How can I earn more calories for the 'special events'?
I am doing well with my starting weights, I am doing it 1 day / week. I know it's not a lot but I have to start somewhere and it's the only day where I have found some time. I am going to try to add another day soon.0 -
Hi Guys,
Just wanted to give an update as It's been enough time for me to see a trend now. I have lost 2.2 lbs since cutting down to 1800 as you guys recommended and am getting more used to the food allotment. Also I have started going to my work gym M-W-F to lift weights and right now trying to figure out a good routine that I can do with only about 30-45 min.
I am watching the numbers now to see if missing my morning walks 3 days of the week are going to affect the loss rate or if the weights are going to be enough to compensate for the missing walk calories. I'll watch it for a few more weeks and adjust from there.
Thanks for the tough love 0 -
Hi Guys,
Just wanted to give an update as It's been enough time for me to see a trend now. I have lost 2.2 lbs since cutting down to 1800 as you guys recommended and am getting more used to the food allotment. Also I have started going to my work gym M-W-F to lift weights and right now trying to figure out a good routine that I can do with only about 30-45 min.
I am watching the numbers now to see if missing my morning walks 3 days of the week are going to affect the loss rate or if the weights are going to be enough to compensate for the missing walk calories. I'll watch it for a few more weeks and adjust from there.
Thanks for the tough love
Glad it's working! I didn't review all the info in this thread but as a quick note, if you recently started lifting and you weren't lifting previously, expect a slowdown or a stall in weight loss due to fluid retention.0
