When will I start losing weight? (sorry if repetitive)

beckyjo1987

Hello all,

I started following the EM2WL philosophy in early May (though shyly at first), and while I still hold to the belief that BMR and TDEE are the best numbers to know when trying to lose weight, I haven’t seen any progress whatsoever – measurements, scale, or the way my clothes fit. In fact, I’ve gotten quite a bit fluffier around the middle (more even than the measurements posted below).

Super Quick History:
25 years old, 5’1”
Weight Watchers from September 2011 to May 2012
SW: 150
EW: 137 (was 135 by March, then gained)
Joined MFP & EM2WL May 2012
SW: 137
GW: 125
CW: 146
Measurements (as of mid-October):
Bust: 34
Waist: 30
Hips: 36
Wrist: 6
Forearm: 9.5
Thigh: 23.5
Calf: 14

Looking back at the spreadsheet I’ve kept since June, I’ve been eating an average of about 1850 a day and burning an average of 250, giving me an average net of around 1600 (mind you, some days I ate much more, and some less, and exercise days were anywhere from 2-5 days a week). When I started out, I calculated my BMR to be 1371, but with weight changes and using different calculations, I soon realized it was closer to 1445 (Scooby). My BF% is around the 28% mark. I changed my activity level a couple of times, based on if I was actually getting exercise in or not. Exercise consisted of either 45 minutes at the apartment gym, 30 minutes of walking/jogging, or 25 minutes of 30 Day Shred, about 3 times a week.

I joined a gym in October after settling into a new town and getting used to commuting, etc., and made a promise to myself that I would go every weekday after work (desk job) for the month (which I did ), just to get into the habit of going, so I changed my activity level to moderate and upped my calories to 1923. On October 1 I weighed 141. I have gained 5 pounds in the 8 weeks since then. I hoped it was water weight, what with building new muscle and all that (but I was not inactive before the gym), but I would think that would have dropped by now.

Although my macros are set to 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat, I’m closer to 50% carbs, 25% protein, 25% fat.

It would devastate me to hear someone suggest that I increase calories. I love the science behind all this, and cutting from TDEE makes so much sense, but I can’t help but feel like it’s not working. It seems like there have been quite a few people asking questions like this lately, people who started around the same time as me. There are also people who have seen some major success.

I apologize if you’re sick of seeing these posts, and I hope you will take the time to either empathize with me or give me some hints as to what I can do differently. I stalk the discussion boards at work quite a bit, so it would be so lovely to get some personalized advice from someone who can help.


Becky

Raynn1

You cannot compare yourself to other people on the same journey. You have no idea their background. Some that have success right off the bat, are usually the ones who never went on a low cal diet. You did. Even at 9 months on WW, you can and likely have done some "damage" to your metabolism and your body may not be forgiving you yet. I know its frustrating and a PITA to not know exactly what is happening, but you have to keep in mind that this is NOT a diet. You cannot expect the weight to just start melting off like it did on VLCD...

I changed my activity level a couple of times, based on if I was actually getting exercise in or not.

This stuck out at me.. this tells me you havent been consistent in your calorie intake, so your body is not sure what you are doing to it.
Have you considered a metabolism reset, and eat at TDEE for a period for 4-8 weeks?
Your macros are set right, but they dont do any good unless you actually hit them. With your carbs being in the 50% range, that can very well hinder losses on the scale. I cant see your diary, so I have no idea what your food intake is like, but Making some different choices in your eating can also help you out. Concentrate on higher protein choices, lower carb options. This is something I am working on myself. Sodium is a huge player when it comes to the scale. high sodium for a few days can cause major retention and hang on to it. Make sure your limiting your salt intake, processed foods, eating out, etc.. Drink your water..

Have you taken a rest week? That means no exercise for a week. Give your body a chance to heal and recoup from the 5+ days at the gym. Your body does in fact need rest! This can also give you a better idea of what your scale weight is and your measurements since you shouldnt be holding water retention from the workouts. Make sure this is also done around a time where TOM is not present.
If you arent ready to take a metabolism reset, then I would suggest committing to a Diet break, which is eating at TDEE for one week. Give your body the fuel it needs and see what happens. Usually a good rule of thumb here is to go up in cals first, then drop down from there. Sometimes its just enough of a shake up to get your body back on track again..

I hope this helps.. The other thing I can tell you is to take pictures. The pictures will show things that the scale and tape measure cant. I have barely lost the few pounds I gained on rest, and my measurements are still basically the same as they were month ago, but the pictures show changes happening that cant be measured. My waist area is smaller, my arms are more defined.. my butt is smaller.. its amazing what is happening even though the tape measure tells me otherwise.. SO take pics and have someone else look at them. Others are usually able to see the changes we cannot.

Have faith. You are doing this for life.. not for the next summer season. So please give your body the change to heal, fuel itself and get healthy. You are doing this so you never have to "Diet" again.
HTH

beckyjo1987

Thank you for your input!

You are correct, I was not 100% consistent with calorie intake or exercise for the first few months.

I have taken probably 2 TDEE weeks, and a full month in the July/August time frame as I was on vacation, etc, and last week was a rest week from the gym.

My weight has always crept up before TOM, but in the past it has always gone back down without doing anything different.

Sodium is under 2500 95% of the time.

I was taking weekly pictures, but I was getting noticably bigger, so I figured what's the point. There's no progress there. My husband says he can feel more of my ribs, but that's about the only difference.

I eat out maybe twice a month, and when I do, I don't go overboard. I do my best not to sabatoge myself.

The funny thing about all of this is that I never EVER had a "weight problem" until I started trying to lose weight. Three and half years ago I was 128 and decided I wanted to lose a few pounds, and I was successful without counting calories. But I guess three and a half years of a desk job is enough to make anyone gain 18 pounds (and those pounds are extremely noticable).

I was reading the In Place of a Road Map forum, and found the link to iifym.com to calculate TDEE based on actual minutes in the day doing different levels of activity, and it gave me a TDEE of 2132, less than Scooby's 2239. It just seems that 6 plus months of eating less than that should have done something, but maybe WW kind of suppressed my metabolism, or something. The thing is, when I joined WW, the foods I was supposed to and allowed to eat/cook were foods I was already eating/cooking, the difference was that I added in a lot of fruits and veggies (which I am still very consistent with), and had smaller desserts.

Time will tell, I guess. I'll keep eating at a deficit and increase strength training.

MariaChele85

I don't know if my personal experience will help you any. I am about twice your size. Do you lift weights? When I started TDEE- 20% and picked up heavy lifting I gained 10lbs in about 4 weeks. After the fifth week my body adjusted and slowly started to let go of the inches. I am 20 lbs heavier than my loswest weight when all I did was cardio cardio cardio, but my body is smaller. Also try 40% protein. I'm not going to tell you to eat more because it seems like you already eat enough. Pick up the weights and go heavy!

Raynn1

Im 8 months into eating more, and my weight is just now, very slowly creeping back down. I am still not back to where I was prior to my reset in the early summer.
I also came from a WW background. Lost 100 pound before having kids, and then gained a lot back after kids. I know exactly what you are going through and it sucks. Big time...SO yes, it can take a lot longer than we had originally planned on, or hoped for.

Sometimes its just a matter of finding out exactly what our number is.
And some people work better on a smaller cut value.. are you cutting at 15% or 20%?? You might want to try 10%... You may also want to invest in having your BMR tested to give you a better, more accurate idea of what your BMR /TDEE is.

I wish I had better answers for you, You are doing good. it might be as simple as increasing your cals more, increasing your strength training and lifting heavy. Its a balancing act sometimes...