Intense cardio + calorie counting and no change!!

Sktaylor_ · July 2013

Hi all,

I've been logging religiously (except for 2 or 3 "bad days") since the end of May. I've picked up exercising, too, 3x a week on decent weeks, and 5x a week on good weeks, and sometimes multiple times per day. My absolute favorite thing to do is intense spin classes (went 4 times in the past 3 days if that gives you some background!), but I also rollerblade for at least an hour sometimes as well. I'm 20, and have gone through 2 years of college eating pretty poorly. Whenever I'm home for breaks I eat really well - always making sure I get enough nutrients and eating pretty clean. I've had fast food maybe 1-2x this entire summer break. I rarely cheat on my diets, and I think I've only gone over my 1460 calorie day a few times at most. I've been making huge changes in my diet + exercise lifestyle and have been super motivated to drop 15 lbs, but my scale hasn't budged! To be honest, I'm pretty scared of the #s so I've only weighed a couple times, probably once a month (I like to go by how I look in pictures and in the mirror instead). But to my dismay, when I finally got around to weighing, I was so disappointed and heartbroken to see only a .2 difference!! I was thinking, "what if something's wrong with me?" I will say, I had about 0 muscle tone when I first started exercising in May. In school, I hardly ever went to the rec, hated working out. So I think part of it could be I've converted fat to muscle. But still!! Anyone else struggling? It's hard to keep going and basically turning all the foods I eat into numbers and seeing absolutely no progress.

Thank you!!

PS - food diary is public if anyone wants to take a look.

rwhyte12 · July 2013

I think you can lose it anyway you want but I find that exercise that doesn't build muscle at the same time is a bit like being a hamster on the wheel.

Do you enjoy biking? That would both do cardio and muscle tone.

Do you enjoy swimming? Check out those die hard swimmers. They look good.

Do you enjoy dancing? Check out those dancers.

There's a few other kinds of exercise that build muscle at the same time as cardio.

I keep a barbell on my office table to mess around with when I want but mostly, I just swim a lot. I tried heavy cardio at the gym but it didn't do anything. I think weight lifting does something for me but it's so boring, it has to be put with swimming.

I've now lost 5 inches off my hips with watching calories and just truly enjoying what I do which is swim a lot in the lake or at the swimming pool. I've lost 3 off my waist.

I agree with you that the number on the scale can be awful. Just find a way to keep track. Some people hang up a thinner piece of clothing and wait until they can fit into it. Others, like me, just measure and measure some more.

ladynocturne · July 2013

So I took a peek and it looks like you're not eating your exercise calories most days, your net is suppose to say 1460. Sometimes you're under by as much as 600. Make sure you eat those. Also I noticed a lot of quick added calories, it's really hard to tell specifically if that is accurate. There were also some days that seemed not filled out or partially filled out.

It's a common misconception that fat turns into muscle, and while eating at a deficit, it's nearly impossible to gain muscle. So that isn't what is happening here.

When exercising, especially when adding new stuff or more intensity to see no loss or even a gain due to muscles that we already have retaining water during repair.

paxbfl · July 2013

I'm curious how you know that you need to lose 15 pounds. What is your height and weight? Based on your comment about caring how you look more than what the scale says, I'm wondering if what you really need is muscle gain so you look firm, toned and sexy. That's a whole different workout - more lifting, less cardio - and a whole different eating plan (eating more, especially protein).

Just a thought... something to rule out before we start hunting down reasons why you can't lose weight.

IronKitty · July 2013

Quick question - It looks like you want to lose 15 lbs. Are you overweight (medically) or just wanting to weigh less (I know that its somewhat subjective)? But if you are trying to get from a size 8 to a size 6 that weight is essentially vanity weight that your body doesn't need to lose and its going to be A LOT tougher and take a lot longer to lose it. So just be prepared for it to take longer, but you'll get there. Make sure to eat enough and drink crazy amounts of water!

Second, are you weighing yourself at the same time - usually first thing in the morning before you eat anything, naked and having used the bathroom? The time of day you weigh can make a HUGE difference!

maxamus04412 · July 2013

Try not letting expectatiins get in the way. While I know how nice it would be to see the number on my own scale go down(and not bounce back up). Remember how well you feel when you're workout is done. how yummy the healthy food choices make you feel. Cravings for crap have disappeared. You have more energy. Better moods. Do it cause it feels good.

Sktaylor_ · July 2013

I'm 5'6 and 145.8 at my last weigh in (started at 146 in May so that's a little depressing). I'm a huge meat eater, and most days I think I generally go over my protein intake! I have noticed I've felt a TON better, and working 8:30-5 every day I've noticed I'm not really tired throughout the day just because I've been eating better and actually doing exercise a lot. I guess it's more of losing weight because my friends back at school are rails, so it's hard to keep up/very frustrating.

herblackwings39 · July 2013

I'm 5'6 and 145.8 at my last weigh in (started at 146 in May so that's a little depressing). I'm a huge meat eater, and most days I think I generally go over my protein intake!

At 5'6" 146 lbs is in the healthy weight range. The weight is not going to come off fast. It would probably be best to set your goal to .5lb a week and be patient if you really think you need to lose more.

sbrownallison · July 2013

Good suggestions here, but no one has mentioned the importance of weighing/measuring food. Do you have (and use) a food scale? It is so doggone easy to underestimate calories, if we don't measure and weigh almost every bite. I am talking from experience, since I used to estimate my peanut butter serving and found, once I got a food scale, I was eating two servings and counting only one. Also on fruit: the apple I was eating at lunch was really big, so I discovered that I had to count it as two. This kind of thing adds up. Anyway, good luck on losing those last few pounds -- they are always the toughest!

DancingMoosie · July 2013

The majority of your exercise is spinning. That's great if you love it. The problem is that your body is getting very efficient at spinning and probably not burning as many calories doing the same exercise any more. You need to change up your routine. Add in some strength training. You can either lift weights or do body weight exercises. I saw the best losses when I did both cardio and strength.

csheltra26 · July 2013

So I took a peek and it looks like you're not eating your exercise calories most days, your net is suppose to say 1460. Sometimes you're under by as much as 600. Make sure you eat those. Also I noticed a lot of quick added calories, it's really hard to tell specifically if that is accurate. There were also some days that seemed not filled out or partially filled out.

It's a common misconception that fat turns into muscle, and while eating at a deficit, it's nearly impossible to gain muscle. So that isn't what is happening here.

This.
And agree with others about you being in a healthy weight range. Maybe you want to work on your body comp more than weight? and like the other poster said, that is a different game plan altogether.

Sktaylor_ · July 2013

Good suggestions here, but no one has mentioned the importance of weighing/measuring food. Do you have (and use) a food scale? It is so doggone easy to underestimate calories, if we don't measure and weigh almost every bite. I am talking from experience, since I used to estimate my peanut butter serving and found, once I got a food scale, I was eating two servings and counting only one. Also on fruit: the apple I was eating at lunch was really big, so I discovered that I had to count it as two. This kind of thing adds up. Anyway, good luck on losing those last few pounds -- they are always the toughest!

Yes! I have a food scale and use it all the time, every meal (unless using measuring cups, tablespoons, etc). I have found that prior to the scale, my "eyeballing" was WAY off.

goldengirl111 · July 2013

Maybe you built muscle. . .have you checked your body fat before and after?

Sktaylor_ · July 2013

So I took a peek and it looks like you're not eating your exercise calories most days, your net is suppose to say 1460. Sometimes you're under by as much as 600. Make sure you eat those. Also I noticed a lot of quick added calories, it's really hard to tell specifically if that is accurate. There were also some days that seemed not filled out or partially filled out.

It's a common misconception that fat turns into muscle, and while eating at a deficit, it's nearly impossible to gain muscle. So that isn't what is happening here.

This.
And agree with others about you being in a healthy weight range. Maybe you want to work on your body comp more than weight? and like the other poster said, that is a different game plan altogether.

I guess I'm just confused. So what y'all are saying is, no matter how many calories I burn in exercise, I should always be consuming my 1460 target? I always thought that 3,500 cals is 1 lb, and to have a weekly deficit of that would mean I'd lose a pound a week (hopefully). Would you mind explaining to me how eating back all my calories works? Sorry, I'm newer to this than I thought.

EmilyTwist1 · July 2013

So I took a peek and it looks like you're not eating your exercise calories most days, your net is suppose to say 1460. Sometimes you're under by as much as 600. Make sure you eat those. Also I noticed a lot of quick added calories, it's really hard to tell specifically if that is accurate. There were also some days that seemed not filled out or partially filled out.

It's a common misconception that fat turns into muscle, and while eating at a deficit, it's nearly impossible to gain muscle. So that isn't what is happening here.

This.
And agree with others about you being in a healthy weight range. Maybe you want to work on your body comp more than weight? and like the other poster said, that is a different game plan altogether.

I guess I'm just confused. So what y'all are saying is, no matter how many calories I burn in exercise, I should always be consuming my 1460 target? I always thought that 3,500 cals is 1 lb, and to have a weekly deficit of that would mean I'd lose a pound a week (hopefully). Would you mind explaining to me how eating back all my calories works? Sorry, I'm newer to this than I thought.

MFP calculates a deficit for you when you tell it you want to lose X pounds per week. That means that you can eat the amount MFP tells you, not do any exercise, and you should still lose weight. If you do exercise on top of that, it will increase your calorie deficit, but a deficit that's too large will wreck your metabolism and health, which is why it's recommended to eat back at least some of your exercise calories.

bajoyba · July 2013

So I took a peek and it looks like you're not eating your exercise calories most days, your net is suppose to say 1460. Sometimes you're under by as much as 600. Make sure you eat those. Also I noticed a lot of quick added calories, it's really hard to tell specifically if that is accurate. There were also some days that seemed not filled out or partially filled out.

It's a common misconception that fat turns into muscle, and while eating at a deficit, it's nearly impossible to gain muscle. So that isn't what is happening here.

This.
And agree with others about you being in a healthy weight range. Maybe you want to work on your body comp more than weight? and like the other poster said, that is a different game plan altogether.

MFP calculates a deficit for you when you tell it you want to lose X pounds per week. That means that you can eat the amount MFP tells you, not do any exercise, and you should still lose weight. If you do exercise on top of that, it will increase your calorie deficit, but a deficit that's too large will wreck your metabolism and health, which is why it's recommended to eat back at least some of your exercise calories.

All that.

Intense cardio + calorie counting and no change!!

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