why am I losing so slow?

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124

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  • Debbie_Ferr
    Debbie_Ferr Posts: 582 Member
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    "when i get a deficit of 2000 its on the days that i exercise hard and dont eat the calories back."

    Perhaps MFP is over stating the calories burned while exercising.
    Can you give us an example of one of your days with a -2000 deficit ?

    i.e.
    ______ Calories consumed
    - ______ Calories burned. _____ minutes. _______ Activity
    = ( 2,000) Calorie deficit
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
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    First of all, What are your macros? How many carbs, protein and fat are you getting?

    A calorie from fat is not the same as it is from protein or carbs. Your body will handle these in different ways.
    You need to eat more calories especially if you are doing a lot of exercise. But you need to get these calories from the right sources.
    I suggest a high fat, medium protein and very low carb approach. Carbs especially grains, sugars or anything processed will cause your blood sugars to rise to high and can easily cause insulin spikes leading to fat storage even if you have a defecit.
    Obtain your carbs only from non starchy vegetables and aim for 50-80g a day.
    You should have about 130g protein especially if your looking to replace fat with lean muscle. And you should source all energy from fat. No trans fats, no hydrogenated fats.
    I recommend butter, grass fed or organic animal meats, avacados, nuts/seeds, eggs, coconuts and olive oil/coconut oil.
    Don't eat anything processed. Whatsoever. None of these protein bars or granolas.

    ^^ignore this. You will not store fat in an energy deficit. There is nothing inherently wrong with processed foods, as long as you get a balanced diet otherwise. Re fats - just avoid trans fats and get your fats from a variety of sources.

    Your other advice was good. You're pretty wrong about this, though.
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Because I strongly believe that anyone who suddnenly starts hitting the gym "everyday", even with bad form and low calorie intake would gain muscle. I am well under my "recommended" calories as a male, yet I am seeing considerable muscle gains. The science of low calorie diets preventing muscle gain really does not match reality, just like this starvation mode malarchy everyone is throwing around on these forums.

    Your credentials for stating that it is "malarchy" are...? Since it's apparently false, can you tell me how fast I will be losing weight netting 500 calories per day? Can I retain my muscle mass? Will I add to my muscle mass? Will I have any extra skin if I lose that fast?

    You've been here just over a month. Do your research before you call people that have actually done theirs out.

    P.S. You can have an opinion on gaining muscle. You are entitled to that. That doesn't mean you're right, though.
  • master_chief88
    master_chief88 Posts: 11
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    the bottom line is this: having a massive calorie deficit will slow your metabolism down, which will make your body hang on to whatever it gets, bear in mind 1g of fat is 9kcal, so 1 kg of fat is 9000kcal, which should be your weekly calorie deficit to lose weight healthily. depending on what exercise you're doing, you should aim for 1.1-2g of protein per kg of body weight and work out what percentage of carbs and fats, which is a lot trickier to get right, personally 40% carbs,35% protein, 25% fat is what I ingest
  • Nomes0
    Nomes0 Posts: 6
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    Not sure if this has been mentioned... (sorry don't have time to read all of the replies) but when I am losing slowly I try not to think of it in terms of body weight lost. In order to try and stay positive and keep on keeping on, I try to think of the weight lost as blocks of butter, bags of sugar, bags of potatoes lost or coming off my body Funny, I know, but lift one of them up next time you go to the supermarket and you will be amazed that is the total amount coming off your body over time!
    Also remember, we don't put on excess weight overnight, just like we can't lose it overnight. It takes time and commitment, which obviously you have! Keep on keeping on... it will happen. :-)
  • Lexandrea
    Lexandrea Posts: 56 Member
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    I've never had a problem with my body 'hanging' onto fat.

    well well...lucky you....
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    First of all, What are your macros? How many carbs, protein and fat are you getting?

    A calorie from fat is not the same as it is from protein or carbs. Your body will handle these in different ways.
    You need to eat more calories especially if you are doing a lot of exercise. But you need to get these calories from the right sources.
    I suggest a high fat, medium protein and very low carb approach. Carbs especially grains, sugars or anything processed will cause your blood sugars to rise to high and can easily cause insulin spikes leading to fat storage even if you have a defecit.
    Obtain your carbs only from non starchy vegetables and aim for 50-80g a day.
    You should have about 130g protein especially if your looking to replace fat with lean muscle. And you should source all energy from fat. No trans fats, no hydrogenated fats.
    I recommend butter, grass fed or organic animal meats, avacados, nuts/seeds, eggs, coconuts and olive oil/coconut oil.
    Don't eat anything processed. Whatsoever. None of these protein bars or granolas.

    ^^ignore this. You will not store fat in an energy deficit. There is nothing inherently wrong with processed foods, as long as you get a balanced diet otherwise. Re fats - just avoid trans fats and get your fats from a variety of sources.

    Your other advice was good. You're pretty wrong about this, though.

    Care to say how?
  • zeke1964
    zeke1964 Posts: 18 Member
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    We dont get fat in a week and we dont get thin in a week..............patience Grasshopper!
  • zeke1964
    zeke1964 Posts: 18 Member
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    then go away!
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
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    Slow and steady wins the race sometimes.
  • tdgobux
    tdgobux Posts: 1
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    need to have a cheat day to offset the few calories - so that your body recognizes that it's not in starvation mode which is what's been happening:smile:
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    Here's a better question: Why are you trying to lose so fast?

    Photo shoot? Runway? Competing in a show?

    If you're not getting paid for your physique why try to lose as much as possible as fast as possible and risk hating the whole process? Reassess your goals and why you're doing this in the first place.

    hey, hey, hey now....just hold on a second with all that trying to make sense stuff...lets not inject logic into these threads...
  • nikbolok
    nikbolok Posts: 107 Member
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    As noted above, it's not a sprint to the finish..... I feel the longer it takes me to lose the weight the right way, the longer I will keep it off. I used to do 1200, failed me miserably and had me looking like a skinnier marshmallow. Yuk.... so I figured out my TDEE and minused 20% and that's how much I eat a day (1933 as of right now). I'm much happier, noticing more long-term results, and I continue to do my thing slowly :) Be patient, nothing comes in a day. There is some wonderful advice on here, BTW, look at it all and pick what's best for you!!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    Make sure that your are not getting dehydrated from all that gym workout, if you are then you will be holding alot of water weight right now. I also suspect that with so much time being put into the gym you are making some real muscle gains. My advice is to keep going and ignore the people who keep waffling on about "starvation mode" and "crashed metabolism".. they really dont understand what they are talking about to be honest...

    I highly recommend you switch from normal cardio to HIIT training and review your weight lifting program, as I see so many people, women especially, using the cardio machines wrong. For example 90% of people using the cross trainers bounce on their toes and that is completely wrong and inefficient. So looking into those kinds of things is my best advice.

    Ummm I don't see how someone could be having 'muscle gains' when they are only netting 500 cals a day....care to explain?
  • tootchute
    tootchute Posts: 392 Member
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    It would seem in order to hit my net calories I would go over some of my other stat's. Say I eat 1960 which is my Net, but go over sodium and etc is that a big deal.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    It would seem in order to hit my net calories I would go over some of my other stat's. Say I eat 1960 which is my Net, but go over sodium and etc is that a big deal.
    Not really, no. You'll store more water so you might see a little rise temporarily in scale weight, but it's nothing to worry about. A couple of days eating less sodium and it will flush out.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    I've never had a problem with my body 'hanging' onto fat.

    It doesn't mean you won't in the future though. At some point eating at that kind of deficit your fat loss will probably slow to a halt. Plus you are very likely to start eating into your muscle if you carry on doing what you are doing. This is not good. It will only get you into the pattern of yo yo weight gain/loss and eating VLCD for the rest of your life.

    I don't want to be muscley, I've never yo yo'ed. I stopped dieting (by dieting I mean stopped watching what I ate) after doing a LCD and I gradually put on about 10lbs over 3 years. Hardly something to be concerned about. I ate a normal amount after being on a LCD for about 9 months so I'm not particularly worried.

    And I didn't get any muscle loss.

    I dont think muscley is a word....
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
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    i havent been eating exercise cals back, It wouldnt hurt to try to eat before 6.

    It can't hurt, but it won't hurt to eat after 6, either. The problem most people that don't eat breakfast have is that they get hungry, stay hungry, and binge eat before bed. Sometimes people deny or don't realize how many calories they have when they binge, but you gain weight by eating too many calories, not because you ate after six. :) ETA: if you find you're prone to binging at night, though, setting a time to be out of the kitchen by can help.

    Also, I appreciate that you actually seem to be absorbing peoples' advice here, not just asking for it and saying they're wrong like a lot of people do. It's refreshing. :flowerforyou:
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    need to have a cheat day to offset the few calories - so that your body recognizes that it's not in starvation mode which is what's been happening:smile:

    wrong again - can't be in starvation mode if you are netting calories every day....starvation mode occurs when you eat nothing, zilch, nada, absolutely nothing, for three days ...do we understand now?
  • mieksgirl
    mieksgirl Posts: 11 Member
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    took 2.5 years to drop my weight. slow and steady. you can do this. good luck!!

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