Weight loss mystery

xleannex19
xleannex19 Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone,

Bit of a mystery here!

Have only been using MFP for around a month and after losing nothing the first couple of weeks on 1200 per day, I decided to up my total to 1370.

I've just done my weekly weigh in and it seems I have lost 1.2lbs this week even though I have been over my calorie allowance nearly every day and havent had the healthiest week.

Could it be that I need to up my calorie allowance again to keep seeing these results?

I have a desk job but cycle around 10 hours per week and weight train for 1 hour.

Any advice would be great, thanks.

Replies

  • the_great_beyond_
    the_great_beyond_ Posts: 157 Member
    1. Weight is a bad metric for body transformation. Stop using it to measure progress. Find a way to track body fat %age.
    2. Results are not linear and they are not immediate. You will see results in spurts followed by plateaus... and often after a lag of time from when you established a habit or made a change
    3. When you eat too few calories, your metabolism slows down and your body starts saving calories rather than burning them (i.e. your BMR goes down a lot).
    4. Stop looking at time spent as a way to measure calories burned... 10 hrs a week of slow cycling isn't burning many calories... perhaps even less than 15 minutes of intense cardio.

    Hope this helps.
  • xleannex19
    xleannex19 Posts: 11
    Hi thegreatbey

    Thanks for your reply.

    I use a heart rate monitor to track my calories burned through cycling and usually burn around 3000 a week on average and my cycles vary from recovery, intervals and long distance.

    I do agree with what you are saying about weight being a bad way to measure body transformation. I also take measurements and have seen a difference phsycialy in my body this last week ot dp and feel more toned and less bloated.

    I'll wait a few more weeks to see if any patterns emerge before making any changes.

    Thanks
  • the_great_beyond_
    the_great_beyond_ Posts: 157 Member
    HRM are quite deceptive and inaccurate re: calories burned... don't try to "optimize" your calories based on them. You'll end up over/under eating.

    It might just be that you were getting too few calories.

    Post your height, weight, and body fat % if you have that info.
  • xleannex19
    xleannex19 Posts: 11
    Sorry, just to clarify!

    When I say i have been over my daily allowance, i mean over my already increased 1370 allowance!
  • xleannex19
    xleannex19 Posts: 11
    I'm 5 ft 3" 129lbs and body fat around 25%

    I'm aiming to lose around 7lbs
  • the_great_beyond_
    the_great_beyond_ Posts: 157 Member
    Sorry, just to clarify!

    When I say i have been over my daily allowance, i mean over my already increased 1370 allowance!

    Assuming youre working out at least 3x a week, you're still 200+ calories short.
  • xleannex19
    xleannex19 Posts: 11
    Is that 200 calories per day?

    If so then that works out about right as i have been over my allowance by 100-200 nearly every day last week and i seem to be seeing better results.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Weight loss is not linear. Especially being female, water retention from your cycle or even a bit of water retention that happens in the muscles when you first start working out can mask small, reasonable losses. You probably didn't need to up your calories, but it's generally not a bad idea to eat more food if you can, while still losing weight (try to avoid white knuckling it)

    Read these:

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

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1296011-calorie-counting-101

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