Should I go up or down?

fausonk

I've been gaining and losing the same 4 pounds for a month now. I'm wondering if I need to change my food intake. I currently eat 1700-1800 calories a day.

My workout is as follows:
Monday - personal trainer (1 hour), weights (30 min), abs class (15 min)
Tuesday- swimming (1 hour), water aerobics (45 min)
Wednesday- weights (30 min), spinning (30 min), elliptical (30 min), abs class (15 min)
Thursday - swimming (1 hour), water aerobics (45)
Friday - weights (30 min), elliptical/spin (30 min), abs class (15 min)
Saturday and Sunday, walk the dog, short run, maybe back to the gym, swimming with the kids, other stuff.

I'm 63" tall, 183 lbs. female. My bmr comes out to 1451 and my tdee is about 2400. I'd think that with eating 1700-1800 a day, I should be losing, but I'm not. Should I increase or decrease my calories to try to get the scale moving?

boogiewoogiekar

If you do your TDEE-20% it comes to about 1900 calories. Try that for a week and see if that's it.

fausonk

Now that it's Monday, maybe more people might have some thoughts and weigh in? I sure would appreciate it!

fausonk

Please? Only thing I can think of is maybe I'm miscalculating my TDEE? Is that possible?

fausonk

Guess I just stump everyone. Damn.

pcfreeland

what is your water intake.....i have found foods are really high in sodium so i really increase if i happen to eat things high in sodium....water intake should be 1/2 your weight in ounces per day.....seems like a lot but it flushes and is key to weight loss.

Are you losing inches.....cause building muscle is gonna add the weight since it is more dense of course....that may be part of it.....

Also....eat every 2-3 hours and stay in your calorie count and that will keep your metabolism up up up.....especially after a good workout, eat a high protein snack to increase the metabolism too to burn burn burn those calories and build lean muscle

kelly_e_montana

I'm interested to hear this answer, too. Kind of in same boat, just not as tall. Similar weight, cals, and workouts. Was stuck between 181-186 for 2 months at net 1600 (However, my BMR came in around 1550?). I just quit counting after 2 months and I am holding steady in same spot.

I don't really buy the sodium thing because eventually at a deficit the loss would overcome the sodium or you would eventually be retaining like 50 pounds in water weight and that's not realistic.

AllTehBeers

I like to go down.

Oh wait. Wrong thread. *backs out quickly*

Wrong thread? Where the hell am I??

970Mikaela1

I like to go down.

Oh wait. Wrong thread. *backs out quickly*

yes always.
You are accurate in your food weighing and such, right?

fausonk

I usually do okay on water. I just can't bring myself to log it. But I don't think that's it, and my sodium levels are not out of control (I cook most everything myself, and so am not at the mercy of restaurants and their high salt as a general rule).

I initially lost some inches, but even that seems to have slowed. I started at 191, and lost 4 pounds the first week. So in the last 7 weeks I've only lost 4 pounds. How can that possibly be?

jessiethera

Go for less calories for a week (like 1650), and see if you can maintain the same energy level. Because I changed the way I stacked my calories during the day, I actually feel like I have more energy even though I am generally eating much less (~1200 cal). I eat one serving of oatmeal or granola for breakfast, a light lunch (~400 cal) and then after I finish work and go work out, I make dinner and typically try to get about 600-700 calories there (if not, then I get some sugarfree ice cream or fro yo ). I think one of my major issues with losing weight at the beginning was eating too much food at one time--causing a dramatic spike in insulin and then once that food was nearly digested, I'd feel "starving" all over again and eat a lot.

Basically, I think your exercise routine is fab. I would just recommend playing around with your diet and trying to get out of routines--those habits can keep you from progressing.

fausonk

Go for less calories for a week (like 1650), and see if you can maintain the same energy level. Because I changed the way I stacked my calories during the day, I actually feel like I have more energy even though I am generally eating much less (~1200 cal). I eat one serving of oatmeal or granola for breakfast, a light lunch (~400 cal) and then after I finish work and go work out, I make dinner and typically try to get about 600-700 calories there (if not, then I get some sugarfree ice cream or fro yo ). I think one of my major issues with losing weight at the beginning was eating too much food at one time--causing a dramatic spike in insulin and then once that food was nearly digested, I'd feel "starving" all over again and eat a lot.

Basically, I think your exercise routine is fab. I would just recommend playing around with your diet and trying to get out of routines--those habits can keep you from progressing.

Is that net or gross 1650? I've been eating (gross) 1700-1800/day, so i'm guessing you're suggesting gros 1650. Just want to be clear.

jessiethera

Yes, I am saying gross 1650. Also, this post may be some tough love, but it is very helpful when you hit this kind of wall--believe me, I know how frustrating it is to work out for weeks and not see any results (why I got up to 272 lbs in the first place--never again!):
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

3dogsrunning

When I see this question, my first thought is logging accurately. I would prefer to make sure of that before we go ahead and cut calories.
So to cover off -
How are you measuring your food?
Are you logging your own recipes (I see a few that might be your own, just checking)?
I see a few quick add calories also. I would keep them to a bare minimum.
What, if anything, are you drinking besides water and wine (totally not judging the wine, I love wine)?
Are you logging everything?

I don't really see any glaring problems in your diary. Sodium may cause you to retain water which can mask some smaller losses, but won't prevent loss indefinitely.

My other thought is - when did you start working out? Often when we start working out or increasing intensity, our muscles retain water while repairing and storing extra glycogen. I know when I started, I went up a couple of pounds and held them for over a month. You could visibly see changes (I took pics) but it wasn't showing one the scale. If you just started working out that could be part of the issue too.

My honest advice - double check your logging. If that is right, give it another week or two and then consider lowering. Then again, I am firmly in the eat to fuel your body camp.

healthygreek

I noticed that you eat very little veggie so maybe if you increase your veggie intake substantially and decrease the stuff like white breads, sugars and other processed carbs, you may see a change. I eat the same calories as you but I eat very differently. I eat lots and lots of many different veggies-steamed or roasted with a bit of added olive oil and spices. Also some protein along with it. Those are my main foods and the weight is coming off.

fausonk

No, I totally understand. I am accurate in my logging. I have a scale, and weigh things. I make a lot of food from scratch, and I plug in everything into the recipe calculator and get the calories from that. If I weren't sure I was being accurate, I wouldn't be asking what's wrong. I started exercising just after Christmas, and started logging and on MFP 8 weeks ago, so I don't think it's that my muscles are still repairing. Nothing here is that new.

I drink water and wine. That's it. No juice, no tea, no coffee. If it's something other than water, I'll log it. But that would be exceedingly rare.

(I know my food log doesn't look very good today. Was just super busy, plus feeling down, so was like 'eh, what the [heck], I'm going to eat cookies and my kids's leftover scraps of mac and cheese for dinner).

rileamoyer

Averaging a lb a week is a good rate for loss. If you reach a plateau, try zigzaging, it usually worked for me. Go way over a couple days then drop back.

3dogsrunning

No, I totally understand. I am accurate in my logging. I have a scale, and weigh things. I make a lot of food from scratch, and I plug in everything into the recipe calculator and get the calories from that. If I weren't sure I was being accurate, I wouldn't be asking what's wrong. I started exercising just after Christmas, and started logging and on MFP 8 weeks ago, so I don't think it's that my muscles are still repairing. Nothing here is that new.

I drink water and wine. That's it. No juice, no tea, no coffee. If it's something other than water, I'll log it. But that would be exceedingly rare.

(I know my food log doesn't look very good today. Was just super busy, plus feeling down, so was like 'eh, what the [heck], I'm going to eat cookies and my kids's leftover scraps of mac and cheese for dinner).

Ok, its just the basic I mention. Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who don't log accurately and complain they don't lose weight. Some even open their diaries and you can see the inconsistent logging or going over, etc. Like I said, nothing jumped out at me in for diary, just throwing ideas. To me, there is no point telling people to eat more/eat less, unless you are sure they are eating what they think they are. Does that make sense, its been a long day
(and pretty much all I drink is water and wine, I like water. I love wine )

I still say stick with it a little longer, especially if you just started working out or increased. But its up to you.

KathrynEMClement

The sodium argument would be a buffer at worse, you'll fluctuate a few pounds based on sodium, but still in the same general upward or downward trend over time.

It sounds like your doing an awful lot of cardio.

My recommendation, is to cut some cardio, increase the lifting, and maybe making your cardio shorter and more intense...lots of cardio can initiate self preservation mechanisms in the body, and slow metabolism down. Believe it or not our bodies have bells and whistles that it does not need to do in times of starvation... For instance, sex drive is often one of the first things to go with intense training or dieting.

Athena98501

I've been gaining and losing the same 4 pounds for a month now. I'm wondering if I need to change my food intake. I currently eat 1700-1800 calories a day.

My workout is as follows:
Monday - personal trainer (1 hour), weights (30 min), abs class (15 min)
Tuesday- swimming (1 hour), water aerobics (45 min)
Wednesday- weights (30 min), spinning (30 min), elliptical (30 min), abs class (15 min)
Thursday - swimming (1 hour), water aerobics (45)
Friday - weights (30 min), elliptical/spin (30 min), abs class (15 min)
Saturday and Sunday, walk the dog, short run, maybe back to the gym, swimming with the kids, other stuff.

I'm 63" tall, 183 lbs. female. My bmr comes out to 1451 and my tdee is about 2400. I'd think that with eating 1700-1800 a day, I should be losing, but I'm not. Should I increase or decrease my calories to try to get the scale moving?

I do think you've underestimated your TDEE. My BMR is barely more than yours, and my TDEE exceeds 2400 most days with no actual exercise. I use a BodyMedia FIT Link, so I know my actual TDEE range, not an estimate. If I were you, I'd try the TDEE minus 20% method for a month and see what happens. I really think you've shortchanged yourself on your activity level in figuring it previously, though.

DebbieLyn63

I've been gaining and losing the same 4 pounds for a month now. I'm wondering if I need to change my food intake. I currently eat 1700-1800 calories a day.

My workout is as follows:
Monday - personal trainer (1 hour), weights (30 min), abs class (15 min)
Tuesday- swimming (1 hour), water aerobics (45 min)
Wednesday- weights (30 min), spinning (30 min), elliptical (30 min), abs class (15 min)
Thursday - swimming (1 hour), water aerobics (45)
Friday - weights (30 min), elliptical/spin (30 min), abs class (15 min)
Saturday and Sunday, walk the dog, short run, maybe back to the gym, swimming with the kids, other stuff.

I'm 63" tall, 183 lbs. female. My bmr comes out to 1451 and my tdee is about 2400. I'd think that with eating 1700-1800 a day, I should be losing, but I'm not. Should I increase or decrease my calories to try to get the scale moving?

Well, you are short, over 40, and have a fairly high body fat %, so your BMR/TDEE might not be as high as you think it is. Bottom line, if you aren't losing weight over time, then you aren't creating a calorie deficit. For this reason, I would suggest dropping your cals 100 cals, do this consistently for a couple of weeks and see what happens. Be sure you take the cals from simple carbs, not from protein, tho. Make sure you are logging everything accurately, EVERY day. No day offs, no cheat meals that you don't log. Consistently staying under your maintenance calories will result in overall weight loss.