How long until I start losing weight?

heybales

I've determined that if you mostly eat fruits/veggies/nuts/seeds/tofu/fish and you exercise 3-5days per week 1-4 hours each time, and you are a healthy weight but just want to drop some weight, it is really hard. And not because I can't do a giant deficit. But because your nutritional needs become very specific.

So I can't go out and eat 1200 calories of twinkies and expect to lose weight just because its a deficit. And my reasoning for saying this is because eating all sugar and no real food (all "empty" calories) I'm requiring insulin and its a fat storage hormone, so I think what I've found out is that I'm eating too much sugar and therefore my body isn't getting the calories of protein and fat it needs, its mostly getting sugar, which is triggering insulin (since I'm healthy) and that insulin is saying to my body to store all the extra sugar as fat. THUS leading to me not being able to lose weight even though I'm eating at a deficit.

Edit: I don't think you can lose weight without a deficit, but I think you can have a deficit and not lose weight.

Now, before everyone jumps down my throat about how a calorie is a calorie and a deficit is weight loss, I would like to say that I've read plenty of posts in other spots and I don't believe you that it is always that simple. BUT I am always up for links to scientific papers (I'm a biologist, so pub med is basically my BFF)

It is true that when you lay a big stress of lots of exercise on your body, and you have very little to lose - you must have a lot of things lined up correctly to see good results.

If you have a lot to lose, you can do bad diet, any exercise is going to cause improvement, ect.
But as you get closer to healthy weight, a whole lot less margin for error.

Just like when you start exercising - big improvement. But as you become fit, you must do more right to keep eeking out small gains.

Insulin may be an anabolic hormone, but only EXCESS sugar is going to get stored as fat. How do you know you have excess.
How much do you burn in your workouts? I'd imagine easily 80-100% of your calorie burn during the workout is carbs. And then 20% of rest of your day. 5% while sleeping.
After you eat, first your liver glycogen stores are topped off, you'll use glucose for immediate energy needs since fat burning is indeed turned off, and muscle glycogen stores are topped off too.
Carbs are sent to fat stores first - that is last resort after everything else is topped off first.
If all of that is done after 3-4 hrs depending on how fast your insulin drops back down because your blood sugar has gotten low, if there is still excess unused, then yes, it'll be stored as fat. But not in a deficit hardly. Perhaps you eat a huge meal with tons of carbs right before bed. That is possible. But if in a deficit, rest of the day was burning off that fat from prior night you might say because it was needed.
In a deficit you have unfilled muscle glucose stores. Amount varies by your deficit and types of workout.
And since that glucose stores with water, and your workouts are carb-burning heavy, sure your body wants to store more to endure longer. More stored is more needed water weight.

But yes, if you eat too much sugar - realizing of course all carbs end up as blood sugar, to the exclusion of protein and fat, yes, that's not good. But don't imagine the carbs in one is different than carbs in other. Nutrients yes, carbs no.

But you are still messed up with the math - if you are eating at a deficit, if you are eating less than you burn daily, you will lose weight, no matter what. No way around that.
Medical problems or not, you eat less than you burn, you will lose weight. Way too big a deficit, muscle mass is at risk unless you do a lot right.

You likely have very little if any extra sugar available 3-4 hrs after a meal. Not enough fat though and hormones can be screwed up.
Undereat too much and your body can adapt and burn less than otherwise.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales?month=201401

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1077746-starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss
Last few pages of that topic has additional links, like to HBO documentary on Health of the Nation, and another study examined.

heybales

I was worried about this so my plan is: tell the TDEE calculator I'm "lightly active/desk job" and then eat back 50% of my exercise calories. I'm certain that MFP is overestimating them, but I'm too poor (grad student here) to afford a $50 heart rate monitor.

So on days that I exercise I'll eat more like 1600 and I've upped my rest day to 1350 so that I dont eat less than my BMR

HRM wouldn't have decent estimate of calorie burn on your workouts anyway - don't waste the money for that purpose.

Steady-state aerobic with same HR for 2-4 min is the only valid mode for the formula's to even estimate close, your workouts are highly anaerobic and very non-steady state.

So your exercise only burns 250 calories? You aren't pushing hard enough.

krawhitham

I'd have to agree with everyone who says "food scale" I don't yet have one because I have so much fat to lose that even a tiny reduction in my normal eating is throwing my body into fat-loss-mode. But, once I do reach the last 20 or so lbs as you have, I plan on getting myself a food scale and measuring every thing I put in my mouth, never eating out etc... It's the only way to get super lean & sexy.

editorgrrl

I'd have to agree with everyone who says "food scale" I don't yet have one because I have so much fat to lose that even a tiny reduction in my normal eating is throwing my body into fat-loss-mode. But, once I do reach the last 20 or so lbs as you have, I plan on getting myself a food scale and measuring every thing I put in my mouth, never eating out etc... It's the only way to get super lean & sexy.

Yes to weighing all your food. No to never eating out ever again. You need to create a lifestyle you can live w/ for the rest of your life. Not go on a restrictive diet, b/c when you go off that diet you will gain weight.

Eat "good" or "clean" or "healthy" (whatever those words mean to you) 80% of the time. Fit yummy, portion-controlled treats into your calorie goal. Deprivation can lead to binges.

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants

doglover1984

What I meant by the bolded part was that crossfit didn't actually make me lose any fat, just gain muscle.


What if you tried a different type of workout that's main focus is on thighs and butt? Check some out one youtube and see if there is one that looks like it would keep you interested. It doesn't hurt to switch things up. Hope this helps good luck.

editorgrrl

I started using MFP 14 days ago an I still weigh the same.

I'm 5'6" 140lbs and I'm pretty athletic. I'm eating between 1200-1300 calories and exercising every night (CrossFit, rock climbing, cycling). However, aside from initially losing 2 lbs which I've gained back, I've lost no weight and I'm getting impatient. My goal is low 120s high 110s and to drop down to my pre-grad school weight and dess size.

Help!

With only 18 lb. to lose, Set your goal to .5 lb. per week. Log everything you eat accurately & honestly. Find reliable database entries. (There's a lot of incorrect data in there.) Weigh your food. Log your exercise, and eat back your exercise calories for two weeks. If you're still not losing, eat back half your exercise calories.

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

LTKeegan

I started using MFP 14 days ago an I still weigh the same.

I'm 5'6" 140lbs and I'm pretty athletic. I'm eating between 1200-1300 calories and exercising every night (CrossFit, rock climbing, cycling). However, aside from initially losing 2 lbs which I've gained back, I've lost no weight and I'm getting impatient. My goal is low 120s high 110s and to drop down to my pre-grad school weight and dess size.

Help!

With only 18 lb. to lose, Set your goal to .5 lb. per week. Log everything you eat accurately & honestly. Find reliable database entries. (There's a lot of incorrect data in there.) Weigh your food. Log your exercise, and eat back your exercise calories for two weeks. If you're still not losing, eat back half your exercise calories.

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

I've already done this, honestly!

LTKeegan

What I meant by the bolded part was that crossfit didn't actually make me lose any fat, just gain muscle.


What if you tried a different type of workout that's main focus is on thighs and butt? Check some out one youtube and see if there is one that looks like it would keep you interested. It doesn't hurt to switch things up. Hope this helps good luck.

I have really strong hips and butt, the issue is that there is a lot of fat over it, so I know once I lose the fat I'll be toned, I won't be "skinny fat". But maybe I do need to change things up.

LTKeegan

I was worried about this so my plan is: tell the TDEE calculator I'm "lightly active/desk job" and then eat back 50% of my exercise calories. I'm certain that MFP is overestimating them, but I'm too poor (grad student here) to afford a $50 heart rate monitor.

So on days that I exercise I'll eat more like 1600 and I've upped my rest day to 1350 so that I dont eat less than my BMR

HRM wouldn't have decent estimate of calorie burn on your workouts anyway - don't waste the money for that purpose.

Steady-state aerobic with same HR for 2-4 min is the only valid mode for the formula's to even estimate close, your workouts are highly anaerobic and very non-steady state.

So your exercise only burns 250 calories? You aren't pushing hard enough.

1600 -1350 = 250*2 (since I'm only eating back 50%) = 500 calories. Should I be trying to burn thousands of calories per day? I thought 500 calories 4-5 days a week should be enough. If not, I can certainly do 2 crossfit classes per visit, so that would be 1000 calories twice a week. Is that necessary?

heybales

I was worried about this so my plan is: tell the TDEE calculator I'm "lightly active/desk job" and then eat back 50% of my exercise calories. I'm certain that MFP is overestimating them, but I'm too poor (grad student here) to afford a $50 heart rate monitor.

So on days that I exercise I'll eat more like 1600 and I've upped my rest day to 1350 so that I dont eat less than my BMR

HRM wouldn't have decent estimate of calorie burn on your workouts anyway - don't waste the money for that purpose.

Steady-state aerobic with same HR for 2-4 min is the only valid mode for the formula's to even estimate close, your workouts are highly anaerobic and very non-steady state.

So your exercise only burns 250 calories? You aren't pushing hard enough.

1600 -1350 = 250*2 (since I'm only eating back 50%) = 500 calories. Should I be trying to burn thousands of calories per day? I thought 500 calories 4-5 days a week should be enough. If not, I can certainly do 2 crossfit classes per visit, so that would be 1000 calories twice a week. Is that necessary?

I was noting that you are thinking the exercise only burns 250 calories by your plan of what you'll do. It burns more than that.
As you clarify now with comment of only taking half the calories.

And no, during a diet is absolutely *kitten*-backwards to make things more intense. Recovery is already impaired, stress level on body already goes up, no need to increase it and make the loss harder.