Need some advice, encouragement, support...Anything!!

WeCallThemDayWalkers

Need some advice -
I haven't had any success losing weight in the past year. I've lost a few lbs here and there, but they always come back as soon as I travel, take a week off, etc. Even though when I am traveling, I'm not going overboard, still getting lots of exercise, etc. It just ALWAYS happens. Usually gain 5lbs in a 1-week travel. It doesn't come off, either. The scale will start to creep down after about 2 weeks, and after about a month it will be back to "pre-trip" weight. Just in time for another business trip to come F it all up again.

So, very hard work is "ruined" by only 1 week of "messing up". I've been eating about 1800 calories per day (regardless of exercise) and I work out about 4 days per week either jogging/spinning or circuit training. On weekends I'm really active running errands, farmer's market, short hikes, etc. I'm just not sure what to do next.

Eating this number of calories isn't really working and I don't know if I should just cut back to 1600 (w/o logging exercise) or if I should bump it UP. Everything in my head is screaming at me that I'm not losing weight because I'm eating too much. I've lost weight in the past on 1400 cal/day diet but I always felt fairly deprived. I'm already to the stage where I've increased my veggie/fruit servings to the appropriate number, I drink a ton of water (and no other caloric beverages besides some soy milk in my coffee), I don't make salty soups/packaged meals anymore, almost entirely removed cheese from my daily diet...the list goes on. So many healthy changes, but they don't seem to be making a difference. Or maybe they are...I shudder to think what I might be going through if I *didn't* make those rules for myself by now.

I'm 5'3 and this morning I weighed 176. Two years ago I was 20lbs lighter. That's a LOT of weight to gain in 2 years, particularly given that I am a regular exerciser, cook my meals, count calories, and am generally involved in my own health...

I just don't know what to do

In case anyone has any suggestions for me, here is my info, according to Fat2Fit

BMR - 1519
Calories if "lightly active" - 1988

Usually I go trail running in a hilly park 1-2 days per week for about 30-40 mins or do a spinning class and then 2-3 days per week I'd do circuits with pushups, situps, lat pulls, squats etc. and weekends I usually do hikes or just generally run around all day doing errands, etc. Usually I get 4 "real" workouts in a week.

Am I just not doing enough?? [I've had my thyroid checked and I don't think I have metabolic syndrome. Just regular fatness.]
Should i lower my daily calorie intake in "preparation" for my intermittent travels that make me balloon?

Any feedback would be much appreciated. I've been at the end of my rope for a long time now and I think I might totally unhinge soon.

Emily

BluthLover

Well this isn't helpful but that's crazy!! There is no way that you should be gaining at those calories! I'm sorry you are struggling with this. I'm 5'3 also and am struggling. I also eat 1800 calories a day. Feel free to add me for support. I'm honestly stumped. I would say try running your numbers again... but I'm sure you have. What happens on your trips? Do you eat differently?

IDK if this helps... But I've been trying to be very strict about 1800. I have two kids and too many times take a bite here or there of their food. So I am trying to be more honest about that and just not graze at all. I'm not saying you are doing that... but it's just a suggestion.

holleysings

Need some advice -
I haven't had any success losing weight in the past year. I've lost a few lbs here and there, but they always come back as soon as I travel, take a week off, etc. Even though when I am traveling, I'm not going overboard, still getting lots of exercise, etc. It just ALWAYS happens. Usually gain 5lbs in a 1-week travel. It doesn't come off, either. The scale will start to creep down after about 2 weeks, and after about a month it will be back to "pre-trip" weight. Just in time for another business trip to come F it all up again.

So, very hard work is "ruined" by only 1 week of "messing up". I've been eating about 1800 calories per day (regardless of exercise) and I work out about 4 days per week either jogging/spinning or circuit training. On weekends I'm really active running errands, farmer's market, short hikes, etc. I'm just not sure what to do next.

Eating this number of calories isn't really working and I don't know if I should just cut back to 1600 (w/o logging exercise) or if I should bump it UP. Everything in my head is screaming at me that I'm not losing weight because I'm eating too much. I've lost weight in the past on 1400 cal/day diet but I always felt fairly deprived. I'm already to the stage where I've increased my veggie/fruit servings to the appropriate number, I drink a ton of water (and no other caloric beverages besides some soy milk in my coffee), I don't make salty soups/packaged meals anymore, almost entirely removed cheese from my daily diet...the list goes on. So many healthy changes, but they don't seem to be making a difference. Or maybe they are...I shudder to think what I might be going through if I *didn't* make those rules for myself by now.

I'm 5'3 and this morning I weighed 176. Two years ago I was 20lbs lighter. That's a LOT of weight to gain in 2 years, particularly given that I am a regular exerciser, cook my meals, count calories, and am generally involved in my own health...

I just don't know what to do

In case anyone has any suggestions for me, here is my info, according to Fat2Fit

BMR - 1519
Calories if "lightly active" - 1988

Usually I go trail running in a hilly park 1-2 days per week for about 30-40 mins or do a spinning class and then 2-3 days per week I'd do circuits with pushups, situps, lat pulls, squats etc. and weekends I usually do hikes or just generally run around all day doing errands, etc. Usually I get 4 "real" workouts in a week.

Am I just not doing enough?? [I've had my thyroid checked and I don't think I have metabolic syndrome. Just regular fatness.]
Should i lower my daily calorie intake in "preparation" for my intermittent travels that make me balloon?

Any feedback would be much appreciated. I've been at the end of my rope for a long time now and I think I might totally unhinge soon.

Emily

Do you track regularly? I checked your diary, but don't see anything for the past week. And the week before that it looks like you only ate near 1800 once...

WeCallThemDayWalkers

Yeah...I don't think I should be gaining either. It's really frustrating. I've run the numbers in a lot of places and they come out anywhere from 1750-1950 for "lightly active". Funny thing is, I tried eating 2000 calories per day for a while and I wasn't gaining weight. But not losing either. I don't log my exercise calories because I have a hard time with "eating back" moderation.

The grazing thing...pretty careful about that too. I just take only my lunch and snacks to work and those are pre-planned of course. Dinner might be where it's all coming undone. I have a lot harder time planning that part of my day. I don't even have kids. I'll probably just turn into Jabba the Hutt when I've got other people's needs to meet!!

Travel is hard- usually it involves a lot of "different" exercise like long walking (field work) or long days on my feet that are not normal (I have a desk job). Almost always involves eating out so high sodium, even when I'm careful about portions. It just really affects me a lot more than I feel it should and I've yet to find a solution.

On a separate note...Anyone know how resting heart rate correlates with weight-loss? mine is between 40-50 bpm and I'm wondering if that's indicative of a slower metabolic rate??

WeCallThemDayWalkers

This week I spent Monday through Wednesday trucking 30 miles through the Mojave desert looking for tortoises (for work). Literally walked for 8 hrs straight every day. Drank a lot of water and gatorade, but didn't log anything (because I was in the middle of the desert, but also because I had NO clue how to log that). I'm not acclimatized to the heat either, so I have no clue what my body was actually doing!

WeCallThemDayWalkers

Do you track regularly? I checked your diary, but don't see anything for the past week. And the week before that it looks like you only ate near 1800 once...

Yeah, you're right...last week I had one really high day and a bunch of 1600-1700 days. Shouldn't that all "shake out" though? I always think if you have a bad day you should compensate to help fix it. I'm not very good at logging on the weekends either
This is probably all my own fault. Just feels like I already work hard enough. Blargh.

holleysings

Do you track regularly? I checked your diary, but don't see anything for the past week. And the week before that it looks like you only ate near 1800 once...

Yeah, you're right...last week I had one really high day and a bunch of 1600-1700 days. Shouldn't that all "shake out" though? I always think if you have a bad day you should compensate to help fix it. I'm not very good at logging on the weekends either
This is probably all my own fault. Just feels like I already work hard enough. Blargh.

Haha...I can understand not logging in the middle of the desert! I wouldn't either. Personally, I think that it does "shake out," but I keep a larger spreadsheet so I can make sure that it actually does on a weekly basis. I keep track of the calories in and out and macros for each day. Then I take the weekly average to make sure that it's where it should be. It helped me figure out that I was actually cutting a bit too much on some days. But I also have a fitbit to help me with this.

It sounds to me like you're pretty active when you're out of town. Maybe the problem is that you aren't eating enough while you're out of town...and then your body clings on to every calorie when you get back in town.

ANewLucia

Hi there,

I think the issue is the activity level you chose. You sound more like moderate to me. If you eat higher calories and you don't gain and haven't lost you probably need to eat more. I would suggest recalculating the numbers using Moderate activity and take a 10% cut from that number and see what happens. I think you would benefit from a good 8-12wk reset so your body trusts that you will consistently feed it and then cut back 10% when your done. BUT if you are not ready to do that, then try the first option.

Whenever I was eating a certain cut value and I plateaued I would bump up by 100 calories...never down. Eating less didn't work, so it still isn't going to work when I have been eating more.

Funny, I was able to lose when I ate 1900, but since then my bf percentage is down a bit, lean mass up a bit...now I GAIN at 1900-2000. I am currently eating 2222 calories and FINALLY I am starting to trend down again.

WeCallThemDayWalkers

Hi there,

I think the issue is the activity level you chose. You sound more like moderate to me. If you eat higher calories and you don't gain and haven't lost you probably need to eat more. I would suggest recalculating the numbers using Moderate activity and take a 10% cut from that number and see what happens. I think you would benefit from a good 8-12wk reset so your body trusts that you will consistently feed it and then cut back 10% when your done. BUT if you are not ready to do that, then try the first option.

Whenever I was eating a certain cut value and I plateaued I would bump up by 100 calories...never down. Eating less didn't work, so it still isn't going to work when I have been eating more.

Funny, I was able to lose when I ate 1900, but since then my bf percentage is down a bit, lean mass up a bit...now I GAIN at 1900-2000. I am currently eating 2222 calories and FINALLY I am starting to trend down again.

Wow...that's pretty cool actually. I would like to weight train a bit more and do a "rest" type of diet, but I'm so afraid. Of gaining. Which seems to happen very easily. I'll look more into what a reset entails and see if that might be an option though. It feels very much like everything I do it a mis-step. I've gotten really paranoid :embarassed:

heybales

On a separate note...Anyone know how resting heart rate correlates with weight-loss? mine is between 40-50 bpm and I'm wondering if that's indicative of a slower metabolic rate??

Yes, it is. Fitness level is very high aerobically, which means since your body can supply and use the oxygen it needs with fewer heart beats, it's more efficient.

Now during exercise, that lower HR doesn't mean the same thing. Because the amount of work done, or energy expended, is the same whether high or low HR, low means you have higher VO2max and supply required oxygen at low HR, high means not so much so need higher HR.

Mine tested about 200 lower than RMR estimate based on LBM would indicate, so I had been eating enough, so not an effect of eating too little.

heybales

Hi there,

I think the issue is the activity level you chose. You sound more like moderate to me. If you eat higher calories and you don't gain and haven't lost you probably need to eat more. I would suggest recalculating the numbers using Moderate activity and take a 10% cut from that number and see what happens. I think you would benefit from a good 8-12wk reset so your body trusts that you will consistently feed it and then cut back 10% when your done. BUT if you are not ready to do that, then try the first option.

Whenever I was eating a certain cut value and I plateaued I would bump up by 100 calories...never down. Eating less didn't work, so it still isn't going to work when I have been eating more.

Funny, I was able to lose when I ate 1900, but since then my bf percentage is down a bit, lean mass up a bit...now I GAIN at 1900-2000. I am currently eating 2222 calories and FINALLY I am starting to trend down again.

Wow...that's pretty cool actually. I would like to weight train a bit more and do a "rest" type of diet, but I'm so afraid. Of gaining. Which seems to happen very easily. I'll look more into what a reset entails and see if that might be an option though. It feels very much like everything I do it a mis-step. I've gotten really paranoid :embarassed:

Don't use fat2fit, they base their activity level daily goal on Harris BMR, not the Katch BMR they calculated, and that could be a spread of 100-250 calories easily just on the BMR, higher on TDEE, still high on deficit.

Use the spreadsheet or Scooby and bodyfat% estimate.

WeCallThemDayWalkers

Don't use fat2fit, they base their activity level daily goal on Harris BMR, not the Katch BMR they calculated, and that could be a spread of 100-250 calories easily just on the BMR, higher on TDEE, still high on deficit.

Use the spreadsheet or Scooby and bodyfat% estimate.

Using heybales spreadsheet I get TDEE 2205 but the calories to consume ranges from 1596 (if lifting heavy weights, which I'm not) up to 1965 (if very obese, which I feel like I am, but not sure). The 20% cut from that TDEE would be 1764...which is pretty much in the neighborhood that I've been aiming for for since about April with no success. So...do I go up then for sure?

heybales

Using heybales spreadsheet I get TDEE 2205 but the calories to consume ranges from 1596 (if lifting heavy weights, which I'm not) up to 1965 (if very obese, which I feel like I am, but not sure). The 20% cut from that TDEE would be 1764...which is pretty much in the neighborhood that I've been aiming for for since about April with no success. So...do I go up then for sure?

Aren't your workouts like mine, varied and different depending on the week, hard to nail most of the specifically except for a few?

That's why the TDEE calc 1A is there, really just 3 main levels, and if the workout types at least fall in those ranges, you've got a better idea.
But I thought your work varied too as far as amount of walking and such, and past a little lunchtime walk, that starts counting as extra calories.
Can you even estimate on regular basis the standing/walking beyond a desk job?

Trying to recall if you got that FitBit?
If you did, what does the spreadsheet say is the difference in BMR between Katch and Harris?
Guess which one FitBit uses?

WeCallThemDayWalkers

My routine does vary a ton...which might be part of my malfunction. Probably should get myself on a better regimen. I don't have a fitbit but I've been wondering if I should. Or it might be good to get my RMR calculated and then maybe my VO2max as well. Could be helpful?

It is hard for me to estimate how much moving I do actually. It varies a lot day-to-day and week-to-week.
Probably true for most people huh!

heybales

My routine does vary a ton...which might be part of my malfunction. Probably should get myself on a better regimen. I don't have a fitbit but I've been wondering if I should. Or it might be good to get my RMR calculated and then maybe my VO2max as well. Could be helpful?

It is hard for me to estimate how much moving I do actually. It varies a lot day-to-day and week-to-week.
Probably true for most people huh!

You should feel pity on rest of us, probably not much variety for the majority. My variety is only in the type of workout, majority of the weekly routine doesn't change much except for seasonal. And there wasn't much lawn mowing this year.

RMR might be useful, but would it be confirming that it is lower than expected because of suppressed metabolism, or that you really are more efficient?
If you have been clearly eating above calculated estimates, then it would be useful.
If below, then it might just confirm what you think has happened, but the question would remain, because of genetics, or environment?
I think Bodpod would probably be most useful. Because then you can get great estimate on expected RMR from that. And the accuracy of RMR based on LBM is really good in the studies. And that would tell you would it would be good to aim for in the calculations.
VO2max more for performance, though it would include RMR at the beginning if you could get the data post-test. But usually much more expensive than $35 Bodpod or $50 RMR test.

I'm beginning to think the variety is really it though, and making it end up eating well below what you probably should be at.
You may be best to take an approach of what is lower limit based on estimated bodyfat% (until measured), at avg work level, and learn to eat more depending on workouts or work level increasing.
Like if you had definite workout days, even just the weekend, and everything else was iffy, you could estimate those out. If after several months review, the work schedule always seemed to include on avg some many walking hrs weekly to sitting hrs, that could be estimated out. Or better, just know how the daily must change for that week.

FitBit could be useful, especially paired with an RMR or BodPod estimated RMR value to improve accuracy.