Cannot lose weight for the life of me

joelschneider45066

When a couple of you have said "if you are using a TDEE method, you don't eat back calories." Not sure I completely understand this ... so for example, if my TDEE is say 2800 and I don't work out at all, if I only consumed 1800 per day I would have a 1000 per day calorie deficit, right ? If however my TDEE was 2800 and then I worked out and burned another 500 calories, wouldn't that mean I could consume 2300 calories per day and still achieve my 1000 calorie deficit ?

Francl27

If you eat 1650, you should definitely be losing. I'd go see a doctor and check your thyroid.

FlamingJune67

Currently I am weighing in at 158 and I am 5'4. I checked out my TDEE and BMR and I should be consuming between 1500-2000 calories per day. BMR is 1450 and TDEE is 2000. I set my calorie goal for 1650. I workout 4-5 times per week doing various things such as: jogging, HIIT workouts, strength training, treadmill, etc. I have a hear rate monitor and I burn anywhere between 300-750 calories per workout, which averages anywhere between 30min- 1 1/2 hrs.

So what gives? I am wondering if this could be a medical issue? I cannot figure out what the issue is?

Any suggestions or similar stories would be greatly appreciated!

I am 5"8" and 146 lbs. I started out (this time around) at 160 lbs. I exercise aprox. 7-10 hours per week, and I cannot lose weight at 1650 calories. I average around 1400. Also, I do not trust any "workout calories burned" reports. They are all inflated.
Also, I had to cut back on my exercise so that I could lose weight. I was running 25-30 miles per week, but that made me starving all the time - no matter how many calories I ate. So, try cutting back both calories and exercise and see if that works.

Also, I've found in the past that switching up your exercise (doing something different) or your diet (such as using intermittent fasting or calorie cycling) can really help get me over a plateau. hth

StaciMarie1974

TDEE includes your exercise calories and calculates based on a weekly average.

Example using rough #s for me:

BMR is 1350 x 7 = 9450
Activity is 405 x 7 = 2835
Exercise is 300 x 5 = 1500

Total for week: 13785
Divide by 7: 1969 TDEE

TDEE if done correctly knows you exercise some days but not all. If I'm aiming for 500 deficit a day, I'd eat about 1469 everyday. Days with exercise I burn ~2055, and days without 1755.

If you are thinking of daily calorie burn based on whether or not you've exercised, that is not what TDEE means.

When a couple of you have said "if you are using a TDEE method, you don't eat back calories." Not sure I completely understand this ... so for example, if my TDEE is say 2800 and I don't work out at all, if I only consumed 1800 per day I would have a 1000 per day calorie deficit, right ? If however my TDEE was 2800 and then I worked out and burned another 500 calories, wouldn't that mean I could consume 2300 calories per day and still achieve my 1000 calorie deficit ?

joelschneider45066

Ok - but that assumes that when you do your TDEE calculation you don't select "Sedentary" - correct? That's what I do when I use a TDEE calculator even though I work out for a minimum of 30-40 minutes per day, 6 times per week. Then I eat back my 'burn'....

Kevalicious99

Too many double doubles ... :flowerforyou:

Tanie98

get your thyroid levels checked if that's the case.They shouldnt be any reason why you can't lose weight if you are in calorie deficit. Good luck

_lyndseybrooke_

Ok - but that assumes that when you do your TDEE calculation you don't select "Sedentary" - correct? That's what I do when I use a TDEE calculator even though I work out for a minimum of 30-40 minutes per day, 6 times per week. Then I eat back my 'burn'....

That's not how TDEE is meant to be used. If it works for you, that's fine, but people with a set exercise schedule should put accurate information into the TDEE calculator and not eat back exercise calories. If you work out for 3 hours per week and put that you get little to no exercise, you're not going to get an accurate number.

It also depends on how you're calculating your burned calories. HRMs are only accurate for steady-rate cardio and do not work for strength training or interval training. If you're estimating burns by using MFP entries, you're probably overestimating.

dpwellman

Activity. Body adapts to activity to perform it a efficiently as possible. Employ the Overload Principle.That means that you have increase intensity every so often:
Go Longer or
Go Faster or
Go More Frequently

EXAMPLE: For me, cycling 125-150 miles a week and running 20 is barely enough for maintenance at this point. If I add 5 -8 miles of running, I'll start losing.

joelschneider45066

I agree Lyndsey, I don't use the TDEE, I use the calculations on MFP to get to my goal ..and yes, I use a HRM monitor to determine calories burned, that seems to be the most accurate ...

jasonmh630

I do weigh my foods with a scale. I guess I didn't mention that. So I really don't think I'm over eating. Grrrrrr.... I'm so confused! I don't know how many calories to eat or to burn.

Then, I'd suggest seeing a doctor to make sure you don't have any medical problems that might cause you trouble losing weight.

Amerielle

I'm confused. If I burn over 2000 calories per day and I only eat 1650, how is that not a deficit?

The problem is that these numbers are estimates. Your body is the ultimate source of truth. If you haven't lost weight in 8 months you have found your maintenance. By all means, see your Dr. if you have fears of a medical issue...but when all is said and done you haven't been eating at a deficit.