Help please

Quit eating back your exercise calories. It really isn't necessary if you have your budget set correctly. A FitBit is a pedometer not a way to measure calorie burn.

Doctor & thyroid checked?

How many calories were you eating when you lost the first 50 pounds?

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

Quit eating back your exercise calories. It really isn't necessary if you have your budget set correctly. A FitBit is a pedometer not a way to measure calorie burn.

Sorry, have to disagree with you there. The Fitbit is surprisingly accurate at calculating calorie burn -- I have several friends who have the BodyMedia Fit as well as a Fitbit, and the calorie burn estimates are nearly identical. I credit *my* Fitbit with helping me lose the last ten pounds to reach (then surpassed) my goal, and it keeps me motivated. I set my activity level here to "Sedentary," then use a HRM to calculate cardio and let the Fitbit adjust the rest.

I *also* eat back my exercise calories, but only if I'm hungry. I don't force myself to eat just because "hey look -- I have 500 more calories I can eat!" It's just nice to have them there if I want a treat.

What may help is trying to switch up your routine a little. Try a different exercise, or change the time of day that you do your workouts. I got a HUGE boost my moving my workouts to early morning before going to work... not only did it push me past a "slump," but I find I have more energy throughout the day. Not to mention that it's nice to not have to worry about fitting in a workout after a rough day in the office.

Also - is your daily goal set at 900????

She explained that in her post. She doesn't eat 900 per day, she eats around 1600

She is only 5'1"

Her BMR should be around 1250.

I know this might not seem very fair of me, but i know of a way but i cant post it here cause it might come off as an advertisement. But I can tell you that i have lost just this week alone, 7 lbs. I have not exercised one bit and I do not starve myself. And believe it or not I do indulge in my favorite ice cream for the holiday season. Peppermint! Just cant be without it.. You tell me how I can give you what you need to know .:happy:

I know this sounds a little crazy, but sometimes the best thing to do is take a break from what you're doing. Our physiology is designed to adapt to and maintain the state we put our bodies in. Maybe change it up totally and ignore the scale for a little while. Get in the pool instead of the weight room, try some yoga and meditation, try some outdoors exercise. But most important, love yourself. Feel good about what you eat, feel good about exercising your miracle of a body and feel good about the world. State of mind and state of health cannot be separated. For you to be commited enough to blog means you care a lot about yourself. You're doing great, the scale will catch up.

Then why not just provide your advice??

How long have you been eating around 1600, and exactly how many pounds have you lost in that time? If you have been eating at that level for several weeks and have not lost ANY weight at all, then the scientifically based answer would be that you are not eating at a calorie deficit. Simply eating MORE, without adding extra exercise, will NOT magically make you start losing weight. Please don't get caught up in the mentality that you can do that. There is a lot more to the Eat More plan than simply adding calories.

What most likely has happened, is when you lost 50 pounds, your BMR naturally lowered. It takes fewer calories to sustain 220 pounds than it does to sustain 170 pounds. This is normal.

I would suggest recalculating your BMR.
First, find your BF%. The online BF% can vary, but I have found that for women, the Army calculator that uses your neck, waist, and hip measurements is the most accurate. The average 5'1" woman has a lean body mass of around 90 pounds. (everything except fat). If you are currently 180, then that would put your BF% around 50%. That is how I estimated your BF%. You can get a more accurate number by entering your measurements into the Army BF% calculator.

That sounds high, but in contrast, a healthy 25% BF would be around 115 for the average female at your height. If you have extra muscle mass, you can weigh higher than that.

Once you have your BF%, then use the Katch-Mcardle BMR calculator to figure your BMR. The calculator that MFP uses, only goes by your height and weight, and doesn't take into account your body composition. It assumes as average BF% of around 30% for women. For someone who is higher or lower than that, the BMR number can be quite a bit off. Having a lower BF% raises your BMR, while having a higher one lowers it.

When you have an accurate BMR, then you can figure your TDEE by either using the activity level percentages, or you can choose sedentary and eat back your calories burned.

What type of HRM do you use to figure your burns? Hands down, the most accurate HRMs are ones that use a chest strap, and of those, the Polar brand have been the most recommended one for use by women.

Burning calories with exercise is harder than most people realize. I have to have a fairly high HR (ave 130+) and consistent moderate to high effort to burn 400 calories in an hour. MFP calculator gives me twice that number, as does the computer on my stationary bike. I don't know why there is such a great discrepancy with the numbers, but for the light to moderate exercisers on here, most of them have discovered the same.

Once you get an accurate idea of how many calories you are actually burning in a day, then you can decide how much of a calorie deficit you need to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

If you have kept an accurate food log for a while, you can figure out your average daily calories eaten for that time, compare it with pounds lost, and see pretty easily what your calorie deficit is. If you have indeed lost zero calories in that time, then you might be eating around maintenance level. Water fluctuations can throw that off a bit, but not a whole lot over several weeks time.

If you HAVE lost weight, but just not as quickly as you would like to, or not as quickly as you did the first time, then you might just need to lower your expectations a bit. The more you have to lose, the faster and easier it can come off. The closer you get to goal weight, the slower your loss rate will be.

Hang in there and don't get discouraged. You can figure out what works for you. It just takes a little patience and trial and error.

stop listening to the fitbit.
That thing is a waste of money, i sent mine back, you would probably be better off just eating back pure cardio calories instead of logging every little thing and trying to dance around that number with food.

So your advice is to actually eat more? Because if I do it that way (using my HRM to find out my calorie burn), I would be eating around 1800-2000 calories. If I set my calorie goal at 1200 and then ate back half of the calories from my workout, I'd be at 1600 (about what I've been doing now) but if I ate back all of them, I'd be at 2000. Or do you suggest not eating back any calories?

You have two devices and they both are telling you to eat more. You used to lose weight eating more.


What's the question? You have the answer right in front of you.