one month = no weight loss

sdreamer84

So about a month ago I changed my settings to reflect a .5 weight loss. I am 5' 5" and weigh currently 142/143. My goal is to be at 135. Maybe even 130 eventually. Anyways - I wasn't seeing any results and I was starving with my 1200 calories a day only. I did eat most of my exercise calories back but still wasn't all that satisfied.

Since I put in the .5 weight loss change - MFP calculated to have me eat about 1480 calories on non work out days (as opposed to 1200) which was great - I wasn't hungry anymore. BUT I have not lost one pound... I seem to be losing/gaining the same one back every other week. I have been adding more strength training so maybe its muscle or water retention. I work out about 6 days a week and burn atleast 500 calories each workout. each of the 6 days I do cardio and then 2/3 of those days I also incorparate weight training (via free weights or total body conditioning class. On those weight days I am also doing cardio... I don't know what my body wants? Does anyone have tips or have a similar experience and what they did to break this plateau. So frustrated.. Don't know if i should decrease my workouts or decrease my food intake -- given I am eating most or all workout calories (not sure if I should not include weight training days)...

Help!

ANewLucia

I suggest reading the article on tdee and following the suggestion of eating 15% less than tdee everyday. If you have a high cardio burn then make sure to net bmr. Also read what to expect when upping.

DecemberNick

Honestly, it feels like you should be eating more given you're working out with an athlete's schedule but not feeding your body like you spend 6 days a week breaking rocks :-P Like ANL said, there are a handful of items that are pinned on this forum that may shed some light on your situation. Get an estimate on what your TDEE is.

You should be eating back all of your workout calories. You're already on a deficit so you have factored that in. Eating less than that just puts you back into the calorie deficit category you wanted to get out of. Strength training requires eating back calories too but it can be hard to track how many calories that is. I usually guesstimate 100-125 calories per hour for me.

Out of curiosity, what is your goal? To lose weight or to look better?

BTW, I work downtown. Boston is a fun city and the weather just turned mega awesome.

sdreamer84

Honestly, it feels like you should be eating more given you're working out with an athlete's schedule but not feeding your body like you spend 6 days a week breaking rocks :-P Like ANL said, there are a handful of items that are pinned on this forum that may shed some light on your situation. Get an estimate on what your TDEE is.

You should be eating back all of your workout calories. You're already on a deficit so you have factored that in. Eating less than that just puts you back into the calorie deficit category you wanted to get out of. Strength training requires eating back calories too but it can be hard to track how many calories that is. I usually guesstimate 100-125 calories per hour for me.

Out of curiosity, what is your goal? To lose weight or to look better?

BTW, I work downtown. Boston is a fun city and the weather just turned mega awesome.

I have a HRM so it logs my strength training calories. Sometimes it logs me at 100 for about a half hour? does that seem totally off? Also - I want to slim down and then maybe tone up more so I am thinking that I should maybe back off the intense workouts and maybe burn 300-400 and eat them back ... I am so confused about what to do at this point considering I gave it a month and no weight has been dropped and my first goal is to drop about 7 and then get some muscle.. thought I could do both at the same time?

Boston is amazing right now I agree. Love running along the water and this winter has lended itself nicely to be able to do it every weekend.

sdreamer84

I suggest reading the article on tdee and following the suggestion of eating 15% less than tdee everyday. If you have a high cardio burn then make sure to net bmr. Also read what to expect when upping.

do you have a specific article you recommend I read or just google?

gemiwing

I suggest reading the article on tdee and following the suggestion of eating 15% less than tdee everyday. If you have a high cardio burn then make sure to net bmr. Also read what to expect when upping.

do you have a specific article you recommend I read or just google?

They should be stickied at the top of the discussion board for the group.

JadeRabbit08

Honestly, it feels like you should be eating more given you're working out with an athlete's schedule but not feeding your body like you spend 6 days a week breaking rocks :-P Like ANL said, there are a handful of items that are pinned on this forum that may shed some light on your situation. Get an estimate on what your TDEE is.

You should be eating back all of your workout calories. You're already on a deficit so you have factored that in. Eating less than that just puts you back into the calorie deficit category you wanted to get out of. Strength training requires eating back calories too but it can be hard to track how many calories that is. I usually guesstimate 100-125 calories per hour for me.

Out of curiosity, what is your goal? To lose weight or to look better?

BTW, I work downtown. Boston is a fun city and the weather just turned mega awesome.

I have a HRM so it logs my strength training calories. Sometimes it logs me at 100 for about a half hour? does that seem totally off? Also - I want to slim down and then maybe tone up more so I am thinking that I should maybe back off the intense workouts and maybe burn 300-400 and eat them back ... I am so confused about what to do at this point considering I gave it a month and no weight has been dropped and my first goal is to drop about 7 and then get some muscle.. thought I could do both at the same time?

Boston is amazing right now I agree. Love running along the water and this winter has lended itself nicely to be able to do it every weekend.

from what I hear HRM aren't that accurate for strength training. Anyone know what the story is there?

JadeRabbit08

Get informed about what your body needs currently so you can make informed choices.

Read this -
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr

Calculate your MBR and your TDEE.
The recomendation is to eat more than your BMR but keep your TDEE at a deficit to lose weight.

I started at 1200 and lost weight but had gallbladder problems so I had to up my calorie intake. (Low calorie diets can aggravate gallbladder symptons)
I went to 1400 and the gallbladdder problem disappeared BUT I stopped losing weight. So now I was stuck I couldn't eat less but I was gaining and losing the same kilo over and over on 1400.

So I went up to 1600 still nothing.
Went up to 1800 which is just above my BMR 1755. That week I lost 3.3 pounds.

I am still working out the best calorie intake so I am currently on 2100 and while I am not gaining as yet (My TDEE is around 2400-2600 depending which calculations I use.) I am unfortunately not losing...yet..with only a week in I need to go longer and let my body adjust to eating at 15% less than my TDEE. If after 4 weeks I see no change downwards I can reassess then.

I could just drop back down to 1800 which I know I can lose weight on but I want to minimize the amount of lean muscle lost. I am planning to do this once successfully and not gain this weight back on. I think its worth taking the time to work out what is going to be the most effective in the long term.

31prvrbs

my first goal is to drop about 7 and then get some muscle.. thought I could do both at the same time?

***When trying to lose fat and gain muscle, the scale does NOT move***

This is typical, so you should not monitor progress based on the scale. The scale has no bearing on how good you look. so even though, yes, it's nice to see that low number, it's not worth it if you don't have the "look" that you want. Being toned requires having muscle to tone. Putting on muscle requires more factors than scale weight. For instance, at 10-15lbs higher than my "goal" weight, I found that I could fit clothes that were much smaller than I imagined wearing when I got to goal. Point blank, I looked good. It no longer mattered what the scale said.

Also, Jade is right. HRMs are not accurate when strength training. In addition there is also the after-burn factor, which is very real. With cardio, what you see is what you get as far as the burn. But w/weights, you are burning cals all day long. Your HRM is not going to pick that up. But weight training will do much more for your body composition than running, so continue to incorporate them both.

muscle is not bound by scale boundaries.

muscle is not bound by HRM boundaries

DecemberNick

Despite the fact that you used an HRM, it actually sounds like a pretty realistic number. I'd just go with it.

I'd try keeping a strength training schedule along side some cardio days. It promotes retention of lean muscle mass in the weight loss process. Muscle is inevitably lost when you lose weight but you want to mitigate that. Muscle gives your body shape and tone. You do not want to lose that (you end up looking like the dude on the left).



My advice to you:

- Read this page and calculate your BMR and TDEE:
http://www.superskinnyme.com/calculate-tdee.html

- subtract 250 calories from your TDEE. This becomes your 1/2 lbs. a week weight loss and your new calorie goal.

- Change your percent allocation of carb/fat/protein and try to hit those goals every day. Since you lean more towards cardio, I might recommend 50% carbs, 20% fat, 30% protein. It'll help keep you fueled for the cardio but back up your strength training with the protein.

- Get a tape measure and measure everything you can (see the following link). Do this once a month. You can't rely on just a scale to tell you you're leaning up. Your scale may show you the same weight but the tape measure can show you've lost inches. As a bonus, you can use these measurements to calculate body fat % (you can find a bunch of calculators online).

http://www.gain-weight-muscle-fast.com/body-tape-measurements.html

Since you're looking for some direction, I hope that helps.

sdreamer84

I actually adjusted my goals for a 1500 calorie a day intake and to limit a 400 calorie burn on work out days which brings me 1900 which is what a 15% deficit of my calculated TDEE is. I set my carb, fat, protein at those levels. I just started to take pics and take measurements. I also purchased a scale to measure water weight, muscle percentage and fat percentage. Crossing my fingers!! thanks for all the tips!!

sweetebonyprincess

bump

raevynn

Okay, that calculator made more sense to me (http://www.superskinnyme.com/calculate-tdee.html )

Yes, I think that 2100 is where I'm supposed to be at, calorie wise.

At least I'm going to give it until May, okay? Yeah, that's what I'll do... until May.

70davis

bump

ANewLucia

Okay, that calculator made more sense to me (http://www.superskinnyme.com/calculate-tdee.html )

Yes, I think that 2100 is where I'm supposed to be at, calorie wise.

At least I'm going to give it until May, okay? Yeah, that's what I'll do... until May.

When did you start upping? Please make sure to give it no less than 6 wks. Also watch your weigh in days, make sure you haven't had high sodium two days prior to, no lifting 2 days prior to and TOM no where near by:-)