Someone PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS FOR ME!!

Since getting my body media I have gained 5lbs despite my average stats for a month being as follows
calories burned: 2128
Calories Consumed: 1632
Calorie Balance: 496 deficit
Average Daily Activity 2:02
Average Number of Steps 7615
Average Sleep: 7:54
I wear the bodymedia 22.2 hours a day

My food calories I eat are accurate I have logged with myfitness pal for 3 years and I keep a very accurate Log. I did take a break from logging the last month or so because everything is making me crazy but my habits didn't change. Also my measurements have gone up so I haven't gained muscle.

I don't understand how having a 496 daily deficit average I can be gaining weight.

Your body is the end game, not the online calorie tools which are just estimates to start with. Your BMR could be lower than you think. You could go to a lab and have this tested. It's the only way to know for sure. Most people have a BMR lower than they think.

For any of us to tell you to eat more is wrong.

For any of us to tell you to eat less is wrong.

If in doubt check with your doctor. We can't tell you.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.

Also people play mental accounting games with calories just like with finances. Make steps to make sure you are making accurate measurements. Packaged foods can have MORE than they say but not less (they get in trouble if less so they would rather error with MORE).

If you typically intake sodium at a certain rate your body adjusts, but if you make a sudden change then you will see a spike.

Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.


Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

What is the exact number of calories for you?

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

The good thing is you don't have to worry about the starvation mode myth if you are fat. Only skinny people have to worry about starvation mode. It does not mean you have the capability to eat at a large calorie deficit if you have emotional eating disorders or other issues going on, but at least you don't have to be afraid of it anymore.

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

yo i spilled bong water in my car how the **** am i getting this stank out

I have gained 5lbs despite my average stats for a month being as follows

I did take a break from logging the last month or so

I see a huge possible correlation here. You stopped logging for a month, you gained weight in a month. I know you think your habits haven't changed but you really may not know how much your'e consuming without logging. The same thing happened to me. I stopped logging for a little while and started gaining, even though I kept track of calories in my head and could've sworn I was eating the same way I did when I logged. Then I started logging again and started losing weight again. I feel that you may be consuming more than you think.

No I haven't gained just while not logging. .. When I don't log I actually have stayed the same. I have been gaining for the last year or stalled weather I log or not. Lost 25lbs with mfp, got the bodymedia to lose the last 10 lbs and have continued to gain. I lift heavy 3 times a week run 15 kms a week and do yoga. People can assume I'm lying to myself about the number of calories I consume or burn but I don't believe that is helpful to my weight loss. That is why I got the body media to get the most accurate picture of what is going on.

No I haven't gained just while not logging. .. When I don't log I actually have stayed the same. I have been gaining for the last year or stalled weather I log or not. Lost 25lbs with mfp, got the bodymedia to lose the last 10 lbs and have continued to gain. I lift heavy 3 times a week run 15 kms a week and do yoga. People can assume I'm lying to myself about the number of calories I consume or burn but I don't believe that is helpful to my weight loss. That is why I got the body media to get the most accurate picture of what is going on.