Not losing because of eating too much

grandpoobah12

Eat More to Weigh less people, I guess I am a little too naive, I actually need to eat less. Using a fit bit type device I burn about 3000 cal per day, running around and doing about 30 to 15 min of dedicated exercise. And yet I did not lose weight eating 2500 cal. I gained.

Really, I followed the directions gave it enough time and tried to be cool about it. I`ve finally been on a cut for 2 weeks after metabolism reset and haven`t lost an ounce. But hey I`m a fine piece of cheese and I take time to ripen.

Maybe my exercise wasn`t enough, and the lifting I was doing has my arms and chest and thighs looking like a dude. I think some of us do get bulky, even as a woman. (aside I always looked strong to begin with)

I`m adding in the cardio, walking briskly, and lowering the calories to about 2000 per day. I am not pleased with my foray into eat more to weigh less. I got more confused and am stuck at 4 kg above my starting weight.

I still feel as if I am only running on hope. I can still say, 3 years on MFP and only weight gained. Is that an NSV?

decblessings

I understand where you're coming from, although I don't have anything helpful to add except understanding...

I have weighed more for the last week than I have since I originally lost 70 pounds on VLCD after having my now almost 6 year old. Ok... well there was another pregnancy in the mix, but I now weigh 7 pounds more than when I came home from the hospital with her. Granted, I'm still wearing the same clothes and they aren't any tighter than they were - except in my butt and my thighs a bit, but I blame squats for that. Not complaining about the butt part. I needed one of those.

My arms feel very big as well, but I know I'm getting stronger. Also, my boobs have grown since I've been eating adequate calories - which was also needed! Still, it's hard seeing the scale up (need to smash that thing!), and it's hard feeling like my arms are huge. I've been trying to cut, but I've actually seen the scale go up since I've started making a small cut... frustrating.

I'm trying to ignore the arm thing and I'm hoping that once the fat starts to go, they'll look like feminine yet strong arms! I added cardio in too, not sure if I'm just holding onto more water or what. I just feel your pain, that's all.

athenalove46

Are you taking pictures and measurements as well??? I think we are about the same timetable, and I gained 15 lbs through my reset (well, 10 on reset and 5 on "cut") and have yet to lose a single pound. But, with looking at pictures and now measurements I'm getting smaller. How long before did you eat low calories? How long was your body abused? I think it took me a bit longer to see any results because I had eaten a VLCD for close to 3 years before I started nourishing my body...so that could play a factor in it as well.

heybales

If you truly came in from the high side, and any weight gain after an increase was slow and steady and not fast water weight gain, then indeed you must lower.

You may have what studies have shown is a potential 20% decrease in metabolism, RMR, compared to not dieting to that weight, and that can take up to a year to recovery from - too long if you got joints and heart that need some relief.

Suggest you take best BMR estimate and take 10% off.
Then get your TDEE estimate.
Then take off your same 15% deficit.

If you maintain your workouts, and consistent on logging food, and you lose weight for just a few weeks, then that likely wasn't the right direction and you just suppressed it more. Sadly there's only so much room for movement in that direction.

norcal_yogi

i totally know where you are coming from! i had a BMF and followed my average burns which were around 2700-3000 cals a day.... cut about 500 from that...and gained 5 pounds. all i did was gain on MFP...either by following the eat back your exercise cals or using BMF. it wasn't until i actually started eating *less* that i finally lose the 5 lb gain and then most of the 8 pounds i set out to lose originally (almost 3 years ago!). ugh... it's been a long, frustrating process for me.

so to me, EMTWL may work for some, but it did not work for me. i *can* eat more veggies/fruit and clean food and feel full...so in that regard it works, but to eat more calories and lose, No...did not work.

good luck figuring out your correct TDEE and with your journey.

Jennacita

I feel your pain. I have been on MFP for 2 years now and I have lost and kept off 2 pounds. It is frustrating. I feel like a hamster on a wheel. I lift, I eat, I do my cardio. I did not come from a vlcd. I love the concept and support of em2wl but I often question if it's right for me. But I do keep trucking a long. Good luck in finding what works for you. I'm still trying to find what works for me.

grandpoobah12

Thanks for all the support! I was surprised. I didn`t think I`d get much of it. I believe I was more of a yo yo er. I had one VlCd over 3 years ago. Since then I just gained weight. I stayed active throughout. Just ate a little too much. I noticed my weight gain was 3 kg up one week, 2 kg up the next then stable then up 1 kg. That is how I gained after the VLCD some weeks stable some weeks up a kg or so. It`s just that those Kg do not go away.

Let`s not look at the science of it. Hey Bales, you said it yourself. A reset does not take more than 6 weeks in any clinical setting.
Let`s not log food anymore, since that hasn`t seemed to work in 3 years. I`ve got a good idea how much I am eating. 3 years of counting calories! Bah!

For me the next step is to keep up with my workout schedule and get that done, eat in healthy portions and not worry about the rest.

Even 2000 or 1800 is still within the EMTWL realm. I was just eating too much I suppose. Maybe my fit bit counts everything higher than it should. Since I didn`t lose with it, it`s time to kick that to the curb too.

The only thing I have left to do is to cut calories lower and lower until I lose.

Hey bales, since I took a 20% deficit that should have me around the number you`ve suggested. I may have to go even lower than that.

CanGirl40

I hear you. I am of the EM2WL philosophy but my TDEE seems to be much lower than others! I am not 'muscular' by nature and it takes a lot of time and effort for me to gain any muscle... I ate at TDEE + last spring, gained about 5 pounds. Then tried the small cut and the scale hasn't seen the 120's since. I know the *number* isn't everything but I definitely notice the extra weight in my mid-section based on how my clothes fit. Fitbit says I burn on average 2,000 cals/day. I'm currently eating about 1700. We shall see if it makes a difference...FYI I almost get in 10,000 steps and I lift and do HIIT 3x/week faithfully. I am 41 years old.

heybales

I feel your pain. I have been on MFP for 2 years now and I have lost and kept off 2 pounds. It is frustrating. I feel like a hamster on a wheel. I lift, I eat, I do my cardio. I did not come from a vlcd. I love the concept and support of em2wl but I often question if it's right for me. But I do keep trucking a long. Good luck in finding what works for you. I'm still trying to find what works for me.

If you are sure you came in from the high side of the estimate, then you have a lower TDEE.

Perhaps you used worst estimate of BMR, selected higher TDEE than reality, ect.

You gotta lower your calories if you want to lose weight.

You can eat at maintenance and lift heavy, eventually, after years, you'll perhaps have enough extra muscle mass that your TDEE has increased without weight increase, and now there is a real deficit to lose fat/weight.

heybales

Thanks for all the support! I was surprised. I didn`t think I`d get much of it. I believe I was more of a yo yo er. I had one VlCd over 3 years ago. Since then I just gained weight. I stayed active throughout. Just ate a little too much. I noticed my weight gain was 3 kg up one week, 2 kg up the next then stable then up 1 kg. That is how I gained after the VLCD some weeks stable some weeks up a kg or so. It`s just that those Kg do not go away.

Let`s not look at the science of it. Hey Bales, you said it yourself. A reset does not take more than 6 weeks in any clinical setting.
Let`s not log food anymore, since that hasn`t seemed to work in 3 years. I`ve got a good idea how much I am eating. 3 years of counting calories! Bah!

For me the next step is to keep up with my workout schedule and get that done, eat in healthy portions and not worry about the rest.

Even 2000 or 1800 is still within the EMTWL realm. I was just eating too much I suppose. Maybe my fit bit counts everything higher than it should. Since I didn`t lose with it, it`s time to kick that to the curb too.

The only thing I have left to do is to cut calories lower and lower until I lose.

Hey bales, since I took a 20% deficit that should have me around the number you`ve suggested. I may have to go even lower than that.

If you do, weigh every valid day weekly, and confirm the loss amount matches the deficit it appears you have on weekly basis.

If your loss amount slows down more than it should, like you lose 4 lbs over 4 weeks, and the next 1 lb loss takes 2 weeks - your TDEE wouldn't have dropped by 250 calories by mere 4 lbs loss to cause that.
Try not to count initial water weight in there, which will happen.
You have something else going on.
And then if loss stops eventually, you guessed the wrong direction or your body is stressed out for some other reason, and the deficit is just the straw breaking your body's camel back. Huh, well, analogy works.

Body can only take so much stress, add them all up, go over your own distress level, and success will be a fight.
Lower what you can, improve what you can, deal with the rest.
Food sensitivities, excess exercise, big deficit, lack of sleep, vitamin/mineral deficiency,disease, sickness, ect, all are stresses.

Actually, some of the studies on a suppressed metabolism, like when people reached goal weight, took a year or more for some to eat at what their LBM would indicate should be possible.
But they did reach goal weight with suppressed metabolism. Extreme cases showed 20% suppressed.

grandpoobah12

on average I may lose like .1 lb a week. I have never seen a real loss of 1 lb a week. Valid weigh ins only.

Time to lower those calories.