Please help TDEE-20% getting discouraged.

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cnewman12
cnewman12 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,

I'm 5'5 and currently weigh 186. I put that I'm sedetary as my job involves a lot of desk work. For the past week I've been really good about eating within my calorie range and even bought a food scale and measure everything! I calculated my TDEE - 20% for a total of 1488 calories. I've felt better and really proud and excited that I managed to stay within this range every day except this past Sunday (which I didn't track but probably wasn't too far off). I started at 186.2 last Thursday and then Sunday was at 183.8 now this morning I'm at 187.4. What am I doing wrong? Should I make some changes, give it more time or switch my strategy? In the past I've only really had success (short term) with Atkins but I can never stick to it for very long. I would appreciate any suggestions.

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  • RaggedyPond
    RaggedyPond Posts: 1,487 Member
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    Weight fluctuations are normal.
  • knitapeace
    knitapeace Posts: 1,013 Member
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    I suggest giving your new calorie level a month or two to equalize before you judge yourself too harshly. When you switch things up your body needs time to adjust. Be patient, be consistent, and be kind to yourself! You're doing good things for your body no matter what the scale says.
  • spara0038
    spara0038 Posts: 226 Member
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    - I reiterate: Weight fluctuations are normal. The only cause for concern is if you didn't consume excess calories. If you went up 3.6 lbs in a week, did you eat an extra 12,600 calories? No? Then it's probably water weight. Don't worry about it- give it time.

    - Weight loss is an average. I've lost 18 lbs in 13 weeks. Let me reiterate: 13 WEEKS. Some of those weeks, I lost 4 lbs in a week, others I didn't lose any, and some I even gained. And for perspective, I had almost 2 feet of snow on my lawn when I decided to start my journey. Now there are few days it's warm enough to wear shorts. It's a long time and it really doesn't happen overnight. If you don't notice any changes in 6 weeks (read: 1.5 MONTHS), then there would be a cause for concern.

    - I looked at your diary, and I noticed 2 things: your sodium intake is very high, which will cause water retention, and it doesn't appear as though there's much of what I'd call "real" food- fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins... That kind of diet will also cause your body to retain water, which will skew the number on the scales

    - I understand that you said you have a sedentary job (so do I). I didn't see any exercise logged... Are you doing any exercise? I'm not talking going to the gym, but even a leisurely walk for half an hour after dinner or on your lunch break will help things speed up. :-)
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
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    Hi, don't freak out about your weight going up and down. Weight fluctuations are normal. I've seen mine go up as much as 5 lbs in a day or 2. It depends on what you eat (salty foods can make you retain water), your stress, and how your exercise is going. With this in mind, it's good to only weigh in ~1 time/week. If you watch the scale everyday, it'll drive you nuts. 1400-1500 cal/day sounds like a good place to start. However, calculators' suggestions should be taken with a grain of salt. They make certain assumptions about you, so they may not be accurate. You'll just have to see if that calorie level works for you. If after a week of hitting your calorie goal everyday (logging ALL of your food), hitting your macros, and getting in all of your exercises, you don't lose 1-2 lbs, you may need to drop your calories a bit and retry.

    It takes some time to get the nutrition locked in. It is the toughest part. You can do it though. It just takes time and consistency.

    Also, what are your macro goals? How are you exercising?

    Allan
  • cnewman12
    cnewman12 Posts: 3 Member
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    Thank you all so much for your input. Right now I don't have a specific exercise plan but I do have a 10 month old and a 4 year old who keep me pretty busy when I'm not at work. We go for regular walks around the neighborhood so there's that. I have an eliptical it's just hard to find the time to get on it with a baby that doesn't stop moving. I'm going to set some goals for regular exercise and get on my eliptical before everyone gets up so maybe that will kickstart some results.

    And you're right, I need to do better about eating fruits, I don't do vegetables (I literally gag) but I have found a tollerance for spinach (of all things) so I will be incorporating that and grilled chicken for lunch (just haven't had time to make it ahead for this weeks lunches).

    Oh and I have my macros set at 30c, 50p and 20f. Trying to get a grasp on the calorie deal first before I get too concerned about meeting these. I've heard protein is the most important so I will work to achieve this first and foremost.

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