Weight loss not as consistent as I would like

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bigonroad
bigonroad Posts: 16 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm aiming to get to around 70kg. I cycle around 20 miles a day, and eat back exercise calories.

I'm wondering how best to calculate calories for cycling. I use a very efficient road bike, in a very flat area, so 20 miles is not actually hard - takes me about an hour and 10 minutes, and I'm not out of breath. All the calculators tell me I'm burning about 1200 calories doing this, but I don't believe them, so drop it to 400.

I also fail and splurge around once a week. Have also had a 4 day fast, and a 1 week holiday where I ate more.

C

Replies

  • JuliMagenta
    JuliMagenta Posts: 79 Member
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    If I can believe your ticker, you're only 5kg away from your goal weight. So first of all, relax. The last Kilos are always the hardest.
    20miles with the bike is a lot, my roomie has the same routine and he is really muscular (and so actually pretty heavy, but still skinny).

    I think 400calories for your 1h 10min exercise is a little low. I would count something around 600.

    And otherwise - be patient, Your dropped more than 10kg, so you will lose the last ones!
  • p4ulmiller
    p4ulmiller Posts: 588 Member
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    You absolutely need to get a heart rate monitor to work your calories accurately. If effort is low, then calorific expenditure will also be low.

    You can pick them up pretty cheap if necessary, and sync them to an app like Endomondo - whic h will also track your route, altitude, HRM and other useful stuff. Check EBay for second hand ones.

    I've got a Polar H7, and although this was a bit pricey, it is excellent.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I think this is a classic case of undereating.

    You've lost a good amount of weight, your close to your end goal: both of these make weight loss more difficult, as is.

    On top of that, I DO think you're undercounting your calories biking--"being out of breath" isn't always the best indication. Try talking when you're doing an activity--I'm rarely "panting" after an activity, but very often during an activity, I find it difficult to talk to someone if they say something to me. It might be wise to invest in a HRM--they're not perfect, either, but a good with a chest strap can be a good way to weigh against MFP numbers.

    And then just flat out your food calories: your goal is 1200?! You're a 27 year old male who's close to goal; that + all the cardio you're doing is probably wasting LBM (lean body mass) away, which is probably not something you want for health, appearance, AND weight loss (it takes calories to maintain that LBM).

    Your occasional "failures" are probably more like maintenance days to you--2200 for a 27 year old very active male? Those days are probably still deficits.

    Based on how long you've been on MFP, and probably how long you've been at this, you're probably not losing as consistently because you're nearly starving yourself.

    I'd recommend investing in a HRM, gradually upping your calories, and adding in more strength training to salvage some muscle.
  • bigonroad
    bigonroad Posts: 16 Member
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    Interesting. I'm generally averaging around 1700-2000 a day net - excluding the 5 day fast I did - this week for example, I've had 2200 every day, before exercise is taken into account.

    It seems like the general consensus is that my cycling should definitely be counting for more calories than I'm allowing. I would be incredibly happy to eat more!

    The problem for me is that I have practically no hunger: my body gives me no useful sign of when I *need* to eat, or when to stop. So I've historically relied on what I want to eat, which is why I've always been fat, cos I've always eaten more than I need. That doesn't mean not eating is easy for me - I love to eat - I just don't get much biological feedback about what is the right amount.

    So: how much do people think I should be eating a day? And what HR should I be aiming for in exercise?
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
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    If during your bike ride you don't even break a sweat I would count it as walking and not even cycling.. and that would be a light walk but since its for an hour I mean your probably between 200-400 calories give or take.

    Plus with the hunger thing, your body telling you its hungry is no indication of anything except your body expecting food at that time.. that can be manipulated and even disappear but that is by no means indication of not enough nutrients.

    What are you currently losing a week right now? If your around 1 lb or so, just keep doing what your doing... if not maybe cut back on the splurge day to get an accurate count.. if more than 1 lb eat more.
  • Factory_Reset
    Factory_Reset Posts: 1,651 Member
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    *passes a tissue*
  • bigonroad
    bigonroad Posts: 16 Member
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    Probably not quite true, I do sweat a bit, and I know I've been for a ride aftwerwards, but I'm doing up to 30 a day, and then not needing to sleep more, or feeling tired in the evenings or anything, so I know I can't be burning gallons...
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Interesting. I'm generally averaging around 1700-2000 a day net - excluding the 5 day fast I did - this week for example, I've had 2200 every day, before exercise is taken into account.

    It seems like the general consensus is that my cycling should definitely be counting for more calories than I'm allowing. I would be incredibly happy to eat more!

    The problem for me is that I have practically no hunger: my body gives me no useful sign of when I *need* to eat, or when to stop. So I've historically relied on what I want to eat, which is why I've always been fat, cos I've always eaten more than I need. That doesn't mean not eating is easy for me - I love to eat - I just don't get much biological feedback about what is the right amount.

    So: how much do people think I should be eating a day? And what HR should I be aiming for in exercise?

    The last week or two is what I looked at, and I definitely saw days way lower than 2200 (particularly for your underestimations on calories burned). Did your fast involve eating at all somehow? Maybe that's why I'm confused at your diary.

    ...However, looking FURTHER back in your diary does reveal several days of 3000+; your calories seem sort of all over the place, which can work for lots of people (cycling), but you might actually not be in a deficit. Do you have the app on your phone? That can show a weekly average, which tends to be a good estimation of calories in and projected weight loss.

    So, upon further inspection... you might not be losing much, because you've lose enough weigh that "3000" calories isn't enough for you to lose on. I'd be wary OF setting your goal to 1200 and having days that hit near that--that might be the root cause of these large days. You can get away with more days like that if you incorporate strength training.

    As for the "hunger threshold," I definitely understand that; after years of anorexia, I very rarely feel hungry. If you had the opposite problem of overeating because of not feeling full, you might have to be very dependent on your calorie goal... in which case, you have less room to veer off your goals.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    Weight loss is not linear.


    If you want to try and get the most predictable results, diet adherence & consistency will go a long way.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    Weight loss is not linear.


    If you want to try and get the most predictable results, diet adherence & consistency will go a long way.

    ^This. You can rarely expect weight loss to be constant but you can NEVER expect inconsistent methods to net consistent results.
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
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    To 'splurge' is not to fail. It's merely to 'splurge'. Build in a day's 'splurge' to your weekly calorie allowance - then you've planned for it and earned it.

    All the best and keep on! x

    PS splurge seems like a REALLY weird word after a little while... :ohwell:
  • bigonroad
    bigonroad Posts: 16 Member
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    My weekly averages are generally 1700-2000.

    My splurge days are rarely due to a 1400 day the day before - its just a failure of self control not starvation. I'm actually aiming for around 1500 a day - I have the target set lower as psychologically I tend to find it easier having a soft limit that I can go a few 100 over than a fixed one.

    Overall, in 3 months of dieting, I've managed roughly a 0.6 kg per week loss, so actually I'm probably hitting my goals even if I'm doing it in a bit of a fits and starts way.
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
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    My weekly averages are generally 1700-2000.

    My splurge days are rarely due to a 1400 day the day before - its just a failure of self control not starvation. I'm actually aiming for around 1500 a day - I have the target set lower as psychologically I tend to find it easier having a soft limit that I can go a few 100 over than a fixed one.

    Overall, in 3 months of dieting, I've managed roughly a 0.6 kg per week loss, so actually I'm probably hitting my goals even if I'm doing it in a bit of a fits and starts way.
    Did you see this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1098806-newbie-loss-plateaus-and-weight-loss-math-with-graphs
    It is a real eye opener. It shows that what looks like fits and starts is often more linear than it appears. Maybe you are being more consistent than you are realizing.

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