Is this why I'm not getting results?

fittiephd

Agreed with MUSTGETMUSCLE.

Try and change your eating habits. For example, with oatmeal for breakfast add some eggs. For lunch skip the soup and add protein with salad and I know it's hard with dinner because you're eating whatever your parents bring in the kitchen - but maybe talke to them and suggest to include more protein for dinner as well?

IMO you're not eating enough. If your TDEE is 2600 (which you shouldn't be adding exercise on top of btw - TDEE includes exercise), you should be in a deficit of around 250-300 calories.

when i calculate my TDEE i dont add my exercise so its actually 2300 and then I add 300 to that from what i burn at the gym that day.

and thanks for the tips!

If your TDEE is 2300, then you do not add any additional burns, your TDEE is your total burns, including workouts.

Eat 2000 calories to lose .5 pounds per week. (since you only need to lose 10 pounds, that would be the appropriate expectation for weight loss) Don't eat anything additional for workouts, it is included already.

With the more info about your TDEE I agree with this recommendation. If you want to lose just fat and not muscle aim for 2000 cals.

mockchoc

If you didn't already use this then please do to find out your TDEE..

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

mustgetmuscles1

TDEE stands for TOTAL Daily Energy Expenditure

Eating snacks and eating more often should make it easier for you to increase your intake so that you are at a healthy deficit.

Being impatient and trying to lose weight quickly is always counter productive. Always.

^yep. Try to get at least 80 grams of protein a little more would be better. Try to get around 50 grams of fat. The rest of your cals can be whatever you feel is healthy for you. Eat some peanut butter or something. Easy way to get a lot of cals. Not sure if you are double counting your exercise or not but you should try to NET around 1400. So that would be eat 1400+workouts. That still might not be enough but at least it will get you to a somewhat healthier level. 1800-2000 might be where you need to end up but I dont know if jumping straight to that is the right thing either.

KateSmith7590

I have recently battled with anorexia and have put all the weight back on plus more... Just a handy hint I learnt from all of my time with a dietitian: Eating 5 small meals a day actually increased your BMR, therefore stimulating the burning of fat. How much you eat (calorie intake) depends on your metabolic rate.

hope this helps

MoreBean13

I have recently battled with anorexia and have put all the weight back on plus more... Just a handy hint I learnt from all of my time with a dietitian: Eating 5 small meals a day actually increased your BMR, therefore stimulating the burning of fat. How much you eat (calorie intake) depends on your metabolic rate.

hope this helps

That's not really true. In your case, eating more food helped you raise your BMR. Meal timing has little to no significance on your metabolism- but it has a great impact on satiation. If you feel better eating 5 meals, then that's the right choice. If you feel better eating 2 meals, then that's the right choice. The energy expenditure associated with eating food is proportional to how much you eat, and affected by also what you eat (higher TEF foods take more energy to digest), but not how often you eat.

AmyBecky74

I am by no means an expert but from what I read you need the muscle to burn fat, so while your building some muscle that is added weight until it's enough muscle to start burning the fat. So you might be loseing some weight but you have to account for the weight you gained in muscle. I have a very bad diet ( i tend to eat like a 6 year old because i'm so picky) but it seems as long as I'm under on my calories, carbs and fat the weight slowly came off. give it alittle longer and you'll notice what intake your body reacts to. Keep a good record on when the weight comes off to how much you were under in that time period ( if you don't lose notice your numbers to) and you'll see a pattern on where you need to be. I hope this makes some sense ( I tend to ramble on ) Good luck and don't give up. Remember even if you lose 1/2 lb a week by this time next year you will be 26 lbs lighter.

so the fat WILL come off as long as I'm burning more then I eat

I believe it will.

SweetCheekszx0

Everyone loses weight differently. Be strict with counting your calories and what you are ACTUALLY taking in. I do think a calorie is just a calorie. But I also believe in making healthier choices, if you can't control what's cooked develop easier habits you can control like celery and peanut butter or yogurt or any fresh veggie or fruit for that matter, I always have granola bars handy along with already chopped cantaloupe. I am not about to judge your intake.. But do realize the scale may not budge for 3 wks and the 4th you may suddenly drop 5 lbs... Steady track of my own weight loss was crazy I'd lose a pound gan two then drop 5 lol. Yea go figure, weight-loss isn't black and white. If your not big on water first try diff brands.. I'm sorry but water does have a taste to ((me)) and I prefer voss or Fuji as a back up. SOBE life waters are seriously delicious and have zero calories and no artificial sweeteners -good luck

heybales

when i calculate my TDEE i dont add my exercise so its actually 2300 and then I add 300 to that from what i burn at the gym that day.

How exactly are you deciding you burn 300 at the gym, and what level of activity in the TDEE table are you picking for your non-exercise assumption?
And what is the activity type and time at the gym burning that 300?

That is a very valid way of doing it if correctly decent.

But 1000 off or more is too much with so little to lose. Make it 10% at this point. Maybe 15% depending on how you are getting that 300 figure.

I'll mention the vast majority of FitBit and BodyMediaFit wearers that have commented on their non-exercise day TDEE's, discovery they are actually at MFP's Lightly Active level, not the Sedentary they assumed because they had a desk job. Now, they comment they aren't walking more because of wearing the device, this is like during test week time with it.
But still.

helenass

Hey! I have about the same amount of weight to lose, and I´ve been at it for a while... it is really much harder to do it when the percentage of body weight you have to lose is low (say 5%). I started seeing a nutritionist and from what I learned you´re doing a couple of things wrong:
- You have to eat snacks througout the day, in order to speed up your metabolism. The ideal would be one snack in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, mainly fruits and yogurt (the less processed the better)
- You might be eating too little, which also slows down your metabolism and gets your body into "starvation mode", which is when your body "thinks" you´re literally starving yourself and hangs on to every fat deposit you might have to prevent you from dying. It´s a survival mechanism, thanks to our cavemen ancestors, who spent days hunting, without food, and had to eat a whole zebra at once when they managed to hunt it.
- Depending on what nutrients you´re eating (red meat vs. white meat, veggies, fruits, processed foods, etc... ) you might be retaining more water because they contain more sodium.
All calories are the same, but food is much more than just calories... you have all sorts of nutrients to derive from your food that will make you feel fuller, have better skin, help lose water weight and help speed up your metabolism... it´s all about choice. The fresher and more natural the better... always!

SideSteel

Hey! I have about the same amount of weight to lose, and I´ve been at it for a while... it is really much harder to do it when the percentage of body weight you have to lose is low (say 5%). I started seeing a nutritionist and from what I learned you´re doing a couple of things wrong:
- You have to eat snacks througout the day, in order to speed up your metabolism. The ideal would be one snack in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, mainly fruits and yogurt (the less processed the better)
- You might be eating too little, which also slows down your metabolism and gets your body into "starvation mode", which is when your body "thinks" you´re literally starving yourself and hangs on to every fat deposit you might have to prevent you from dying. It´s a survival mechanism, thanks to our cavemen ancestors, who spent days hunting, without food, and had to eat a whole zebra at once when they managed to hunt it.
- Depending on what nutrients you´re eating (red meat vs. white meat, veggies, fruits, processed foods, etc... ) you might be retaining more water because they contain more sodium.
All calories are the same, but food is much more than just calories... you have all sorts of nutrients to derive from your food that will make you feel fuller, have better skin, help lose water weight and help speed up your metabolism... it´s all about choice. The fresher and more natural the better... always!

Meal frequency does not boost metabolic rate:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494

IronSmasher

Handy when a study applies to more than one thread, huh?

erickirb

So I guess losing weight and losing fat are total different things when I thought they were the same. I mean when someone says they want to lose weight you dont think ''oh they wanna lose muscle'' no thats silly.

Also I was told I could lose weight as long as I burn more then I intake which I do, but my diet isnt the best. No I don't eat fast food or bags of chips everyday. But I dont and cant eat salads everyday either. Since I still live with parents sometimes just have to eat what they bring home. Which is mostly frozen foods.

So I thought a calorie is still a calorie no matter where I intake it from either from unhealthy foods or healthy foods. As long as I still burn more then I ate at the end of the day.

But after 3 weeks now only muscle gain and no weight(fat) loss. So how do you lose fat? I don't want to just lose weight I couldn't care less about what the scale says, I just want to get thin and lose my fat. I'm afraid my diet is holding me back when I still have a calorie deficit of 800-1200 almost everyday. Am I doing this right? Very confused! Thank you!

I burn about 2610 total including my TDEE and eat at 1350-1400
Is this enough to lose fat?

With a deficit that large a large % of your loss will be muscle. the smaller your deficit the higher the % of fat loss vs. muscle loss. On top of a small deficit, you need to ensure you are getting adequate protein (more than MFP recommends) and you should be taking part in a heavy lifting strength training routine to help preserve muscle during weight loss.

xFitnessFlirt

I am not sure what led you to believe you were burning 2600 calories per day, but only really serious athletes who are training intensely every single day for 3-5 hours would burn that much. Your average about-twenty year old female is going to burn around 1400 calories per day simply by existing. That means if your calorie consumption is 1400, you would maintain your current weight. If you ate more than 1400 each day, you would gain, and if you ate less than 1400, you would lose. Females can safely lower their calorie intake to about 1200 calories per day, meaning you have to add exercise to increase your calorie deficit. Maintaining a calorie deficit daily will lead to weight loss.

1 pound of body fat = 3500 calories.

If you wanted to lose 1 pound per week, you need a calorie deficit of 500 calories each day for 7 days. (Example: eat 1200 calories daily, burn 300 in exercise in addition).

Hope this helps.

I disagree, the reason that the daily recommendations for calorie intake are 1800-2000 calories per day is because that's what the average person burns in daily life. Her body in a coma might burn 12-1400 per day, but even sitting at the computer burns 75 cals / hour, so any sort of walking, cooking, cleaning, working will burn more calories during the day. If she has to walk to work or school or she has a job like childcare or waitressing where she is up and about, she could burn 2600 calories easy. Serious athletes burn well over 3000.

If you are eating less than you are burning then you will NEVER gain muscle. Having a deficit from 2600 down to 1400 is WAY too much. If you are really burning 2600 a day, then I recommend around 2000 or 2100 calories per day to lose weight healthily without losing muscle. You still will not gain muscle.

i see, thanks, then I should raise my calorie intakes, and I burn a lot because I do walk to and from school which is about a mile and at school i got to go to classes and run up and down stairs lol.

xFitnessFlirt

Everyone loses weight differently. Be strict with counting your calories and what you are ACTUALLY taking in. I do think a calorie is just a calorie. But I also believe in making healthier choices, if you can't control what's cooked develop easier habits you can control like celery and peanut butter or yogurt or any fresh veggie or fruit for that matter, I always have granola bars handy along with already chopped cantaloupe. I am not about to judge your intake.. But do realize the scale may not budge for 3 wks and the 4th you may suddenly drop 5 lbs... Steady track of my own weight loss was crazy I'd lose a pound gan two then drop 5 lol. Yea go figure, weight-loss isn't black and white. If your not big on water first try diff brands.. I'm sorry but water does have a taste to ((me)) and I prefer voss or Fuji as a back up. SOBE life waters are seriously delicious and have zero calories and no artificial sweeteners -good luck

well then I hope the 4th week I drop 5lbs lool, and yes those sobe life waters are delicious!

xFitnessFlirt

I burn about 2610 total including my TDEE and eat at 1350-1400

are you secretly lance armstrong??

what kind of work out do you do that burns over 2500 calories on a daily basis?

LOL i walk to and from school, I do a lot walkin and moving while at school too, I also have to climb up and down stairs to get to class. Then sometimes when I come home I have to clean or I go to the gym for 30-40 mins

xFitnessFlirt

So I guess losing weight and losing fat are total different things when I thought they were the same. I mean when someone says they want to lose weight you dont think ''oh they wanna lose muscle'' no thats silly.

Also I was told I could lose weight as long as I burn more then I intake which I do, but my diet isnt the best. No I don't eat fast food or bags of chips everyday. But I dont and cant eat salads everyday either. Since I still live with parents sometimes just have to eat what they bring home. Which is mostly frozen foods.

So I thought a calorie is still a calorie no matter where I intake it from either from unhealthy foods or healthy foods. As long as I still burn more then I ate at the end of the day.

But after 3 weeks now only muscle gain and no weight(fat) loss. So how do you lose fat? I don't want to just lose weight I couldn't care less about what the scale says, I just want to get thin and lose my fat. I'm afraid my diet is holding me back when I still have a calorie deficit of 800-1200 almost everyday. Am I doing this right? Very confused! Thank you!

I burn about 2610 total including my TDEE and eat at 1350-1400
Is this enough to lose fat?

With a deficit that large a large % of your loss will be muscle. the smaller your deficit the higher the % of fat loss vs. muscle loss. On top of a small deficit, you need to ensure you are getting adequate protein (more than MFP recommends) and you should be taking part in a heavy lifting strength training routine to help preserve muscle during weight loss.

so its better to have a calorie deficit of 700-800 then 1000+?

awilmeri

I burn about 2610 total including my TDEE and eat at 1350-1400

are you secretly lance armstrong??

what kind of work out do you do that burns over 2500 calories on a daily basis?

She isn't saying she burns that much at the gym, that's her Total Daily Energy Expenditure...so that is what she burns all day long...your bmr plus what it take to live and move, it should include exercise. I'm a woman and 5'9", I have 10-15 pounds to lose and my tdee is about 2300-2500. So it's not that crazy, especially with an active job or if she works out a lot consistently.

awilmeri

So I guess losing weight and losing fat are total different things when I thought they were the same. I mean when someone says they want to lose weight you dont think ''oh they wanna lose muscle'' no thats silly.

Also I was told I could lose weight as long as I burn more then I intake which I do, but my diet isnt the best. No I don't eat fast food or bags of chips everyday. But I dont and cant eat salads everyday either. Since I still live with parents sometimes just have to eat what they bring home. Which is mostly frozen foods.

So I thought a calorie is still a calorie no matter where I intake it from either from unhealthy foods or healthy foods. As long as I still burn more then I ate at the end of the day.

But after 3 weeks now only muscle gain and no weight(fat) loss. So how do you lose fat? I don't want to just lose weight I couldn't care less about what the scale says, I just want to get thin and lose my fat. I'm afraid my diet is holding me back when I still have a calorie deficit of 800-1200 almost everyday. Am I doing this right? Very confused! Thank you!

I burn about 2610 total including my TDEE and eat at 1350-1400
Is this enough to lose fat?

With a deficit that large a large % of your loss will be muscle. the smaller your deficit the higher the % of fat loss vs. muscle loss. On top of a small deficit, you need to ensure you are getting adequate protein (more than MFP recommends) and you should be taking part in a heavy lifting strength training routine to help preserve muscle during weight loss.

so its better to have a calorie deficit of 700-800 then 1000+?

Well yes but it would be even better to make that 250-500. Is you BMI already in the healthy range? If so and these are just "vanity" pounds then you need to work on losing a half to at the most one per week. A pound is roughly 3500 calories so to lose one pound a week it would be a 500 calorie deficit a day, 250 for a half pound. One reason you want to lose slower is that you will lose less muscle mass and it will be the fat leaving your body. The muscle is ood, it helps you burn more and look leaner. Worry more about you body fat percentage and less about the number on the scale. Be patient, you will get there.

jonasmluster

Also the only way to gain muscle is to do weight training/strength training. There is no such thing as certain foods that "make you gain muscle." Your body can only build it through strength training.

That's not necessarily the whole truth. Not all foods support lean muscle gain the same way, and eating right will lead to more gain at a lower pain (or effort as the case may be). That means that a completely unexercised muscle will, of course, not grow and often atrophy, but in general eating right can help to support modest muscle gain from everyday activities.

tnloser1970

Also I was told I could lose weight as long as I burn more then I intake which I do

I know some will disagree with me. But, this doesn't work for me either. A friend of mine gave me a tip and it is what has caused me to start losing the weight. Even though it is recommended that 40% of your diet calories comes from carbohydrates, that isn't for everyone including me. I was averaging 9% of calories coming from carbs and could not lose weight at all. I kept losing and gaining the same 5 pounds. once I reduced the carbs, I was able to lose weight.

Am I saying this will work for you? Not at all. But, it is something to look into maybe. Also, if your parents are bringing a lot of frozen food into the house, it could be loaded with sodium. Make sure you are watching your sodium intake,