So I said I'd come back after 4 weeks of logging properly!

EvgeniZyntx

- you are at a deficit, since you are losing (albeit slowly), saying you are not jsut doesn't serve the evidence

Now I'm confused--did I do the math wrong? It looked like OP said she lost .5 lbs over the course of the month. The last week she has eaten at a for sure deficit due to her surgery, but that was an anomaly to the rest. .5 lbs could be just water fluctuation.

If she lost, she lost.
Water flucuation can also be the reason why her loss isn't visible.

The loss is small but it is still there and water flucuation (over a month) could affect things either way.

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

First off, I think it's super admirable that you are following up on your original thread with this one. It seems like you are committed to this

Unfortunately, IMO, you are simply eating too much. Weight loss is calories in vs calories out and somewhere along the way your overall burn is being overestimated. It seems like you do stay relatively active, albeit "lightly" active at most. Unless you are able to increase your activity your only option is really to lower your calories. You are simply eating too much for your activity level. It is also advisable to ensure that you are weighing and measuring everything and that you are being honest about what you are putting in your mouth.

Often we get caught up in what all of the online calculators *say* should be our TDEE and so on and so forth, but ultimately those are are just estimations. I got caught up in that for a very long time. I also overestimated my activity level for a long time even while doing the StrongLifts program and cardio. This process really is trial and error, but once you find your sweet spot, you're golden! Good luck!

EvgeniZyntx

Cutting calories often results in crash and burn adherence issues.

So for every "you are eating too much" post please, please consider keeping your current, slight deficit and driving the deficit by increasing your activity level. The fitness value of that is greater than "just cut calories".

smc864

I had no idea that you could change the carb/protein/fat ratios for the daily log... I too prefer a higher protein goal for the day so I made the change to my settings. Thanks for the tip!

FlaxMilk

If she lost, she lost.
Water flucuation can also be the reason why her loss isn't visible.

The loss is small but it is still there and water flucuation (over a month) could affect things either way.

I guess we disagree on that. It sounds like maintenance. But I am interested to know if OP was weighing every day or weekly, because it's actually possible she gained weight in the first three weeks and then lost it in the last week of being on a deficit.

I will agree that if OP can adjust her output, she doesn't need to cut calories, but I think crash and burn adherence issues can apply there too.

nicoleisme

BTW -- some errors from the previous posters.
- metabolism isn't "naturally slowing down at 30" - this is incorrect none of the metabolic studies show this.

I've read a few studies that say your metabolism slows down with age.

"Metabolism’s Role in Age-Related Weight Gain

It turns out that for most people, age-related weight gain is due in large part to a dramatic decrease in calories burned. While lower levels of physical activity play a large role in the decreased energy expenditure, an age-related decline in metabolic rate is also to blame.

A study evaluating total energy expenditure (TEE) – the sum of calories burned from the basal metabolic rate (metabolism), the energy required to digest and absorb food, and physical activity – confirmed what most people already know: energy expenditure decreases with age.

Basal metabolic rate, which accounts for about 50 to 70 percent of TEE, is thought to decrease about one to two percent per decade. That is, after a person reaches 20 years old, daily energy expenditure decreases about 150 calories per decade. The decline is probably due to decreased muscle mass (which is highly metabolically-active) and increased fat mass (which is relatively metabolically-inactive).

Some studies have also found that, even when controlling for fat-free mass, basal metabolic rate is five percent lower in older compared with younger adults. It is not clear why, but some researchers speculate that it may be due to an unavoidable loss of very metabolically-active organ tissue, or a decreased metabolic rate within muscle tissues. Decline seems to be most rapid after 40 years old in men and 50 years old in women.

In sum, the number of calories burned per day decreases with age. This reality is widely accepted and is even built in to formulas that estimate resting energy expenditure. The age-related decline in energy expenditure is largely due to decreased metabolic rate — which results from decreased lean mass and increased fat mass — and decreased levels of physical activity.

While a small decrease in daily energy expenditure is probably inevitable, with a committed fitness program, "aging" adults (anyone over 20 years old) can avoid sizeable decreases in metabolic rate."

Not that you couldn't counter balance it with a good workout regimen but I still think it's a real thing.

upscalelifedownscalebutt

You eat Cadbury Bubblies very frequently, and similar low nutrient, high calorie foods. That may be an easy calorie cut, or replace half those calories with fruit and veg.

lilacinfinity

Are you including the low days with your dental surgery in your average? Did you by any chance weigh prior to your surgery? Looking through your diary, I would say the days where you are way over your targets are offsetting the other days.

Unfortunately, because I have reduced my goal on people's suggestion, it has kinda screwed my diary for anything prior to the beginning of this week

lilacinfinity

I'm not very good at getting in my vegetables, either. May I ask what sort of vegies you are eating? Is it mostly salad?

No, I really like salad though! We're only coming into summer vegetable season here so lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber etc has really been too expensive until recently. I balk at $4 for a head of lettuce about the size of my fist, so just do without unless I want it for a specific purpose like a burger.
I usually buy broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas, kumara (sweet potato), regular potato, pumpkin (squash?), sometimes some sweetcorn but I'm not so keen on it, sometimes beans if they're not too expensive, onions, beets, cabbage...
Now we're coming into summer all the yummy ones are getting in season. Over summer I usually have lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers on hand as well.

lilacinfinity

A few people have asked about weighing:

I weighed most days. I don't usually do this, I'm usually every week or two weeks, but I wanted to keep an eye on it.
There was a 1.4kg drop the day after my surgery which came back the next day when I was re-hydrated again, and kept steady for the next. I didn't think to drink up big beforehand, and afterwards was too numb and my jaw was too stiff to manage more than a few sips. I couldn't use a straw because it was a lower jaw extraction (it increases the risk of dry socket)
I started the 4 weeks at 83.25kg, it held pretty consistently until the day following the surgery when it went to 81.85 then went back up to 83.1 and held there until I posted


I went and got new scales yesterday though, and I'm at 83.6 on those this morning, so will go from that figure to see if there's any loss over the coming weeks.

RetiredAndLovingIt

bump

lilacinfinity

Right attitude.^^

I'm going to suggest something a little different since you mentioned that lowering your calories was difficult.
So, currently you seem to be close to maintenance and are not losing at the rate you want (but you are slowly losing)

so 4 options
a) stay at current loss rate and work with your exercise regimen (YAYOG) until weight loss occurs - this is called spinning your wheels, not very satisfactory.
b) lower calories, get hungry, will result in greater loss but hunger, morale might result in quitting.
c) increase activity with all else the same - take YAYOG to the next level as soon as possible. Push yourself to that, add a day. Whatever you need to increase your activity level. No need to cut further, activity can make the surplus sufficient to lose 1/2 lb a week. (Note initial increases in activity will not result in weight loss as swelling will mask it - expect 3-4 weeks before changes really appear)
d) Add a new activity to the YAYOG - a one time a week increase in activity will make a difference at this cusp point. (see c) )

BTW -- some errors from the previous posters.
- metabolism isn't "naturally slowing down at 30" - this is incorrect none of the metabolic studies show this.
- you are at a deficit, since you are losing (albeit slowly), saying you are not jsut doesn't serve the evidence
- you don't need to forget the fitbit if you don't want to (looking at your diary, the adjustments it is providing are minimal) but can go to a fixed TDEE if that idea is something you want to try. A fixed TDEE just happens to include an exercise component. precalculated.

Thanks : ) Can you explain the bolded bit a little more for me?

Healthy_4_Life2

I didn't go back and read every post but the simple fact is if you are not losing weight you are not in a deficit. I did read some of the earlier posts and you said you have no medical issues so something is off in your logging. Either you are consuming more than you think or you are not burning as much as you think. One way or the other if you are not losing weight you have to take a step back and figure out why you are not in a deficit. That must be correct before anything else will matter. Good luck!

^^^^^^I agree with this, even though they may be few exceptions!!

Docpremie

As an aside, I found my Fitbit UNDER ESTIMATED my caloric burn, not OVER ESTIMATED it!

Kymwho

*Bump*

sweetkat75

my advice: don't take others advice.
i did the tdee thing: gained weight.
I did the whole restarting my metabolism: gained weight.
i have my fitbit and love it..but while I enjoy my achieving 10000 steps a day, I focus more on the active minutes.
After months of gaining weight on others advice, and getting shabby medical opinions... i got angry and did something.
First, everyone is different. That is why advice should always be given with a grain of salt...what may work for most people may not work for you and me.
I got pissed off, i felt i was on my last straw. I felt like giving up but i didn't want to give up. So I adjusted my calories radically to give myself a 1000 calorie deficit. I felt that maybe my metabolism was slower than others and so i couldn't use what eveyrone else was using.
Then I gave myself a goal of 30 minutes high activity a day. I am a esl teacher so fairly active during the day anyways. I split up my minutes..instead of doing it all at once. Within a few weeks, i got up to sixty minutes a day in the morning and when i have free time at school i go for walks instead of sitting around (sometimes not all the time). Some days now i get over 20,000 steps or 110 very active minutes.
Now I know it says on here i only lost 3 or 4 lbs. That's because when i did the tdee and the restarting metabolism it made me gain weight over the weight i originally started with. I have lost 12 lbs since july 17th.
The other thing that works is more protein. I eat quest bars and they are filling along with vegetables and fruit and lean meats. I don't snack any more or crave chocolate like i used to.
I started to track my period with a period tracker. This is how I learned more about my body. I started to compare weight gains and losses to times in my cycle. What i learned was...there are only about two weeks where I lose weight...and its consistent over the last three months, the other two i gain or stay the same. Doing this and being able to look at the charts on here helps me remain calm when the scale suddenly goes up for no reason. Unlike most women, i gain weight at the end of my period and hold on to it for about ten days. On the tenth day, suddenly my weight drops 2 lbs. Again, this has happened to me all three months.

That is why i stress what works for some people may not work for you. Feel free to try what I did...but i do hope you find something that will help you in your journey that is sustainable and right for you.