Frustrated and Need Advice

lemurwaffle

Hi

I was annoyed to find out this morning I have put on 2lb even though all of last week I worked my backside off doing exercise and eating healthily (2 exercise DVDs a day plus 1 dog walk of 40 minutes). I have also started C25K.

Some stats:
Height: 5'9
Female age: 34
Current weight: 235lb

I weigh my food and log correctly. MFP set me at 1530 calories to lose 1.5lbs per week. I eat 1/2 of my exercise calories.

Should I re-jig my numbers and look at TDEE -20% which would mean I would be eating 2220 calories a day? Or should I set my own goal as my BMR which is 1830 a day and eat 1/2 my exercise calories back?

I'm so annoyed!

rayfu75

Are you down overall from when you started? Weight can go up or down daily. I can understand the frustration but perhaps the overall picture is you're still making progress. Do you feel your clothes are fitting better? Lots of different factors to consider.

lemurwaffle

I only started a few weeks ago and lost 3lbs in first week then 1lb the following week. Can't really notice a difference with my clothes yet but overall I feel a bit better than I did before I started.

xixshaiyaxix

I find I fluctuate 1-2 pounds daily, its so weird and annoying. Sometimes even after going to the bathroom weight can change. Don't stress it too much, as long as you are having overall progress. If this pattern of gaining even though you are doing everything right continues, it may be something medically wrong like hypothyroidism which makes weight loss difficult- everything you lose you gain back.

OllyJ_79

Could you give an example of your usual exercise activities, and how many calories you are logging for them? For the last week for example. You could open your diary for some pointers.

lemurwaffle

I have been doing a kettlebell DVD and a Davina McCall boxing DVD for 4 days last week. I log these as Circuit Training General and 45 minutes of this comes in as 634 calories. I only eat 1/2 back though as I know MFP's calorie burns can be over-inflated. I also walk my dogs for 40 minutes each day at a brisk pace and this says 232 calories for a 40 minute walk.

I have also started the C25K, have just finished week 2 of this.

markiend

Did you take other measurements, these imho are essential

when I started extra exercise , the body took a while to get used to it and took on extra water to repair the muscles that hadn't been used for a while

stick with it but it seems that any time you change up a routine, the body seems to play a few tricks on us

measurements, not just photos and the scales...

stick with it .... you're doing the right things

lemurwaffle

I've not taken measurements, no. Think I will from now on though! Going to look at getting a HRM too

OllyJ_79

One thing to be careful of when logging exercise is to log the Net burn, that is only the calories burnt by the activity, not including your BMR burn, beings you have already accounted for that in you daily calorie total.

http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/articles/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn.aspx

For walking the calculation is below.
(0.35 x weight lb's) x distance miles

I would recommend the TDEE method having tried both, as it removes inaccurate and enables you to eat at a set rate per day. I certainly found it more effective.

lemurwaffle

Thanks. The TDEE -20% is about 2220 calories which seems like an awful lot, now I am eating healthier it already feels like I am eating all of the time!

JoanneKendrick

I'm having the same problem as weight either staying the same or going up a pound then down a pound. Very annoying. I started to track my measurements and I have lost inches in my thighs, tummy and hips. So loosing in all the right places. Keep doing what your are doing and start to take measurements. I may not have lost weight but I'm feeling much healthier :-)

jjeanmneis

1 pound of fat = 1 pound of muscle (but it's leaner)
You might be burning off fat, but building your muscle. That would make your scale stay the same or even get higher at first ( if your building more muscle pounds then burning fat pounds.) Since the muscle mass is leaner then fat you could see more results with the measuring tape then the scale.

lemurwaffle

Today's purchase is a tape measure then!

OllyJ_79

Looking at this site, a TDEE of 2664 would equate to this:

http://calorieline.com/tools/tdee

Work: Sedentary
Exercise: vigorous workout (e.g. running 6 mph, vigourous gym workout) one hour, 3 times per week.

For your height and weight, I don't think it sounds like a huge number, I'm 6ft, 180lb and I've still not quite found my maintenance up at 2650, still dropping weight when I'm trying to maintain.