Tough deal

crosstitcher0563
crosstitcher0563 Posts: 110
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi! :flowerforyou:

I'm bicycling quite a bit~ about 1 to 2 hours a day for about 20 to 30 miles at an average of 15 mph. I get really sore too! I'm working on getting up to 50 to 100 miles a day for a big ride for my birthday next year.

My problem is this: the weight is hanging on. I'm eating between 1300 and 1600 calories a day. I shoot for 1300, but I have days that I get into the donut holes or something similar (ugh :sad: )

Why isn't the weight falling off me?

I know that I'm building muscle which is heavier than fat, but doesn't that burn calories when at rest?

I have noticed that the inches in some areas are less. My clothes fit better, but why aren't I losing sizes?

It has been over 2 months since I started this bicycling thing, and I have only lost 6.5 pounds in that 2 months. I wanted to lose 8 to 16 pounds. 6.5 is better than nothing, but I'm disappointed and frustrated.

Why isn't the scale going down? How long does it take? Is it going to be a tough battle the whole way? :explode:

Replies

  • peuglow
    peuglow Posts: 684 Member
    I'm going to state the obvious. How closely are you tracking your calories? Do you weigh your food?

    Also, muscle is more DENSE than fat, it doesn't weigh more.
  • alvalaurie
    alvalaurie Posts: 369 Member
    I have the same issue, this time, as well as in the past. I tend to lose inches before I lose pounds. Don't get discouraged, eventually the weight will start falling off but you may want to try switching things up a bit every now & then on your exercise plan. The body will get used to what your doing, so you have to sort of "shock it" by throwing something different in there.

    Hang in there - as long as you're seeing improvement, it's working. Slow weight loss is better for you anyway! Good luck!
  • julesan902
    julesan902 Posts: 79 Member
    How much protein are you including in your diet? If you'd like to keep muscle, and burn fat it's important to aim for 1 lb of protein per lb of lean body mass. High protein consumption will not only preserve your muscle, but fat will we burned instead of muscle, as muscle is easier for the body to get energy from.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    6.5lbs in 2 months is pretty good! That's 3.25lbs a month, and a lot of people would love that rate of loss.

    You are doing a lot of exercise. Are you sure that you are eating enough? I would suggest calculating your BMR & TDEE and figuring out your goal from there.

    Read this for instructions on how to do that:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    if you dont eat your exercise calories then you probably arent eating enough. plus make sure you do a varied workout so your body doesnt get used to the cycling.
  • crosstitcher0563
    crosstitcher0563 Posts: 110
    Read this for instructions on how to do that:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Hi again! :flowerforyou:

    This post was very helpful. Perhaps, I should eat about 2,000 calories a day and keep exercising. My body might be holding on to the fat because I'm not eating enough.

    I did my Body fat % with measurements, and I got 52.41%. I got to lose about 22% or so. This is a better goal than weight loss because I got a lot of muscle from bicycling and working out when I was younger.

    Thanks! :happy:
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Have you calculated your TDEE?
  • tejasmh87
    tejasmh87 Posts: 91 Member
    Read this for instructions on how to do that:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Hi again! :flowerforyou:

    This post was very helpful. Perhaps, I should eat about 2,000 calories a day and keep exercising. My body might be holding on to the fat because I'm not eating enough.

    I did my Body fat % with measurements, and I got 52.41%. I got to lose about 22% or so. This is a better goal than weight loss because I got a lot of muscle from bicycling and working out when I was younger.

    Thanks! :happy:

    I was in the same boat for a while when I set my goals on MFP to "lose 1&1/2 pound /week" (1800 calories). I started losing only .4 or .6 lbs a week even when I was under eating that calorie goal. I finally did the same thing as others are suggesting- Calulate your BMR and TDEE and it made a BIG difference! I changed the auto goal to "lose 1lb /week" and my Calorie intake was better inline with my BMR needs.

    Now I am back to my normal loss per week, though as I train for my 5k in January I know I will be tweaking my calorie needs slightly.

    My suggestion is get your numbers ironed out and see how much you take in with what you exercise out (use a HRM etc). If you aren't replinishing those burnt calories and only netting a small fraction (might be under your BMR #) Your body is probably on starvation mode and holding onto everything it can. That's just based upon what happened with me.

    Keep with your new goal of 2000-ish calories and do that for about 2 weeks and see what happens with the scale. :flowerforyou: I bet you'll see a difference. Keep at it!:glasses:
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