fear of 213.8 lbs and all muscle
Snikkee
Posts: 295 Member
I am 5'4, 213.8 lbs. ( used to be 135 lbs 6 years ago ) I work out 3 hours a day, one hour running, one hour walking, one hour strength training. It has been 12 days since I started, and I eat clean, rarely have junk. I burn about 3000 calories a day, and eat about 2100. My BMR is 1700. I have not lost any weight yet. I am a bit nervous since it has been almost 2 weeks.. I know muscle weighs more then fat, and so on and so forth, but I have like 90 lbs to lose! mathematically I should be losing weight.. but I am not! How is this possible? I also drink a **** ton of water everyday, no less then 15 cups. I am doing everything right... so what am I doing wrong?
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Replies
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How do you know how much you're burning? Do you use a HRM? Are you carefully weighing/measuring everything?0
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I measure and weigh everything I eat. I use the bodybugg to calculate how many calories I burn in a day.0
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A bit more help please.... anybody?????0
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Just stick to the PLAN. If you are doing everything right then it WILL happen.0
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Also look at what your calories are made out of. NOT ALL CALORIES ARE CREATED EQUAL!!!!!!!!! You should try 1700cal a day with 50% protein, 30% carbs and 20% fat. I have had great success with this.0
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Have you been taking your measurements? How are your clothes fitting?0
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Eventually the scale will start moving. I am definitely losing weight more slowly this time around with exercise added. Even though I'm eating at a deficit I haven't really lost all that much when you consider my size.
What's happening is that you aren't losing as much of the lean body mass that you usually lose with just diet. Eventually the scale has to start moving, it's just going to take some patience. If it hasn't moved at all in another couple weeks, you may want to look at restricting calories just a bit more.0 -
3 hour long workouts are insane! You do this 7 days a week?? Have a read up on Cortisol and what it does to your body. It may or may not be the reason you're not seeing weight loss...
Aim for a health Macro (Proteins, Carbs, Fats) Split, adjust your calories down each week or fortnight you don't see your weight going down generally taken from carbs is how I've done it in the past.
I will warn you thought, setting yourself up with such high volume at the beggining of losing weight is a receipe for failure. You don't leave yourself room to reduce calories/increase exercise as you get leaner.
Good luck :-)0 -
Have you been to the doctor and had blood work done recently? Could you have hypothyroid or even kidney issues? I have heard people w/ kidney issues can gain lot of weight because of retaining water. With your calorie deficit you should be losing around a 4 or 5 pounds per week. Also, what is your body fat percentage? Another possiblity is you could be overtraining and your body needs a rest perhaps.0
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I'm thinking you've been to the doctor and had all your blood work done? Hypothyroid can keep you from losing weight.0
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ur cal intake is to high.0
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There are a lot of reasons for not dropping weight. As much as you are working out, I would imagine that you are sore. Sore muscles = inflammation = retained water. When the muscles heal, they will release the water.
There could be other factors too - sluggish digestion, body not having adjusted at the cellular level yet, etc. It's hard to speculate.0 -
Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat, you didn't build significant muscle in a couple weeks, drop about 2 hours a day of exercise and lower your food intake. Quit eating exercise calories back.0
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12 days is not very long. If you've made these radical changes your body may still be trying to adjust.0
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I would suggest cutting down on your carb intake. I've had success with this in the past, but am stuck on a plateau myself right now, so take it for what it's worth!
Best of luck0 -
I am 5'4, 213.8 lbs. ( used to be 135 lbs 6 years ago ) I work out 3 hours a day, one hour running, one hour walking, one hour strength training. It has been 12 days since I started, and I eat clean, rarely have junk. I burn about 3000 calories a day, and eat about 2100. My BMR is 1700. I have not lost any weight yet. I am a bit nervous since it has been almost 2 weeks.. I know muscle weighs more then fat, and so on and so forth, but I have like 90 lbs to lose! mathematically I should be losing weight.. but I am not! How is this possible? I also drink a **** ton of water everyday, no less then 15 cups. I am doing everything right... so what am I doing wrong?
By the way, how long do you think you can keep this up? Weight loss is a long-term project, plus there is maintenance to think about. From reading this, I get the idea that you want this to go as fast as possible, but you're really stressing yourself.0 -
Thank you all for the ideas, and suggestions. the first one I would like to address is the statement made from someone saying they cannot see a 5'4 women eating 2000 calories a day and losing weight. for one, my personal trainer is 5'3, and 110 lbs, and eats 2100 calories a day or more. BECAUSE she burns so many calories in a day. SECOND my calculations are correct, I truly do burn upwards of 2800-3000 calories a day, NOT JOKING. also my BMR calculation is correct. I am OCD about my work outs, I love to work out and I will not be cutting out anything that I already do. I def cannot eat less with the amount of working out I do.0
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OH the one thing I have not done is gone to the doctor for blood work, etc. I know I do not have any such thyroid condition. I have gained and lost weight before. 40 lbs here, 50 lbs there. I have yo-yoed for 6 years. I lost weight before by starving myself, and I refuse to eat the least amount of calories possible, it is not healthy.0
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I plan on keeping this up for the rest of my life. I have no issues with working out, it is something I love to do. I can fit 3 hours in, any day, on any schedule. I dont plan on losing 5 lbs a week. 1-3 at the most. as I stated mathematically I should have lost at least 2 by now. I am not in this to lose the most, the fastest.0
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ur cal intake is to high.
Must you keep posting this type of thing? You seem to have a basic misunderstanding of how weight loss works.0 -
I am 5'4, 213.8 lbs. ( used to be 135 lbs 6 years ago ) I work out 3 hours a day, one hour running, one hour walking, one hour strength training. It has been 12 days since I started, and I eat clean, rarely have junk. I burn about 3000 calories a day, and eat about 2100. My BMR is 1700. I have not lost any weight yet. I am a bit nervous since it has been almost 2 weeks.. I know muscle weighs more then fat, and so on and so forth, but I have like 90 lbs to lose! mathematically I should be losing weight.. but I am not! How is this possible? I also drink a **** ton of water everyday, no less then 15 cups. I am doing everything right... so what am I doing wrong?
That sound like me for the last 15 years. I ran marathon after marathon and ultra marathon and worked my butt off at the gym and still gained weight. It was because I'm small (smaller than you, I'm only 5'1"). You can't out exercise too many calories. The calorie burns are not what they say they are. Most people have a smaller RMR than they think they do or the online calculators say. The only way to know for sure is to go to a lab to have it tested. But you don't have to do that. You can notch your calories down by 100 until you find what is right for you. Always check with your doctor. No one here can tell you how many calories to eat, not even MFP which is why they have the warnings they have (erroring on the side of caution).
There is no mystery to weight loss, everyone thinks something is wrong, their metabolism is broken, they have low thyroid, they have menopause or whatever issue, they are as unique as a snowflake, whatever. I thought a lot of these things once too but once the doctor helped resolve the health issues for me I learned there is still no magic pill. Most people eat more than they need to and are not at good at estimating calories as they think they are. Most people have a lower BMR than they think they do. The only way to know for sure is to go to a lab and have it tested. It doesn't seem fair to have to eat less and feel a little hunger. It's hard to face the truth of it, very hard. It's not fun. It's drudgery at times. But if you learn to enjoy your smaller amounts of food (necessary to lose weight, since the reason we got fat in the first place was eating too much whether we knew it or not), and rejoice in your victories it can be done.
All I can do is share what worked for me. I achieved my goal at age 50 after beating my head against the wall for 15 years. Yeah anyone can do it, but I can tell you that you are up against a lot when you are older and I believe females have some unique issue to face with hormones and such. The sooner you can get a handle on it the better. DO NOT GIVE UP. As I got older and the weight piled on (and I didn't feel I was eating too much!) everyone kept telling me to give up, this is what happens when you get older. I'm small, and I didn't realize how small I was until I lost the weight. Everyone said I had big bones. I looked hefty because I worked out. Once I lost the weight I realized how small I really was and that small people don't need to eat as much as big people. HINT: If you are short you are probably small.
Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.
Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.
The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.
To say eat more is wrong.
To say eat less is wrong.
To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.
All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.
Also people play mental accounting games with calories just like with finances. Make steps to make sure you are making accurate measurements. Packaged foods can have MORE than they say but not less (they get in trouble if less so they would rather error with MORE).
If you typically intake sodium at a certain rate your body adjusts, but if you make a sudden change then you will see a spike.
Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.
It really is about calories. I tell people this all the time and they say "Well if calories are all that matter why do you eat so clean???!!" Well, because it makes me feel better, sleep better, and perform better at my sports.
Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.What is the exact number of calories for you?
We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.
In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.
This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.
-John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)
The good thing is you don't have to worry about the starvation mode myth if you are fat. Only skinny people have to worry about starvation mode. It does not mean you have the capability to eat at a large calorie deficit if you have emotional eating disorders or other issues going on, but at least you don't have to be afraid of it anymore.
The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.
At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].
-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)
Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.
Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.
Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, and you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.
If you are female you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.
My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulky and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.
Best of luck to you sweetheart!
Bobbie0 -
I have not taken measurements, yes it is something I should do! and I plan on giving my way some more time. I am sure my body needs to adjust, I am assuming. IF nothing changes on the weight side of things, I will look into changing my diet.0
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I haven't really delved into strength training so I dont know how many calories that burns, but for an hour walk (3ish miles) my HRM says I burn about 250-300 calories and I am 225, 5,6 and for about 50 mins of cardio I can get about 350 calories. Is it possible you are over-estimating your burn?0
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I plan on keeping this up for the rest of my life. I have no issues with working out, it is something I love to do. I can fit 3 hours in, any day, on any schedule. I dont plan on losing 5 lbs a week. 1-3 at the most. as I stated mathematically I should have lost at least 2 by now. I am not in this to lose the most, the fastest.
Weight loss is not linear - it is 'overshadowed' by water weight, which women are particularly susceptible to (annoying but true unfortunately). You need to look at your weight loss over at least a 4 week period.
ETA: I would cut down the volume of exercise - you are over-doing it imo.0 -
I would take another look at calories burned. You're estimates seem to be over by quite a bit. I can see the approx 700 burned from walking and circuit (although maybe a stretch) but where are the extra 1300 or so coming from? It just says "Bodybugg"0
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Have you considered you maybe over doing it?
If you burn lots,
Eat little,
you are starving yourself.
Lack of rest is not healthy either. If you do this same activity everyday, when do you rest?0 -
Holy hell!!!!!
Stop this insanity. Eat at a moderate deficite (500 cals a day in your case)
Exercise 45 minutes 4-5 times a week (mix cardio with weight)
Rest0 -
Cut back on the exercise. It isn't just that you are burning tons, it's that you are screwing with hormones like Cortisol. You may not think you are overdoing it, but your body might be saying something different. Even my friends who are figure competitors do a max of two hours a day and only a month or two right before the competition.0
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THANK YOU CALIFORNIAGIR!!!! 0
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I am 5'4, 213.8 lbs. ( used to be 135 lbs 6 years ago ) I work out 3 hours a day, one hour running, one hour walking, one hour strength training. It has been 12 days since I started, and I eat clean, rarely have junk. I burn about 3000 calories a day, and eat about 2100. My BMR is 1700. I have not lost any weight yet. I am a bit nervous since it has been almost 2 weeks.. I know muscle weighs more then fat, and so on and so forth, but I have like 90 lbs to lose! mathematically I should be losing weight.. but I am not! How is this possible? I also drink a **** ton of water everyday, no less then 15 cups. I am doing everything right... so what am I doing wrong?
I'll tell you how it' posible you're not losing weight, you're estimations of how much you burn, your BMR, and how much you eat are off. I can't imagine a 5'4" women eating 2,000 calories to lose weight.
Are you serious? Because i know 5' women losing at 2000+.. in fact many of them are on this board.0
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