Almost 3 months and very little success.....

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looberella
looberella Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone,

This might be a stupid and obvious question but I have been entering my exercise and most days using up all the calories. Should I stop doing this and only enter food? I wonder if it's cancelling out the benefits of the exercise?

I have been sticking to my recommended daily calorie intake each day (1300 cals based on my stats), exercising 5-6 days per week doing a mix of running, swimming, aerobics and strength and I am yet to see any real results. I've lost about 3cm but that's about it. I'm starting to get really disheartened but I am determined to do this. I have 25kg to lose.

Help! Any ideas?
«1

Replies

  • alyhuggan
    alyhuggan Posts: 717 Member
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    Open your diary.
  • juleszephyr
    juleszephyr Posts: 442 Member
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    Yes firstly open your diary so people can see what you are eating,

    Secondly MFP tends to over estimate cal burns on exercise so I rarely eat back more than 50% of the stated cals burned. Maybe you are eating more than you have burned and therefore reducing your calorie deficit.

    Make sure you weigh and measure all your food and log accurately. Take measurements and have weekly weighs and give it another couple of months at least.

    Good Luck
    Jules x
  • MaggiMoonwytch
    MaggiMoonwytch Posts: 12 Member
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    Personally I don't see the point of burning up all those calories and then eating them back. It's different once you're on maintenance. Give yourself a couple of weeks just on your calorie allowance and see how you do then. Don't forget as well, if you are doing a lot of excercise you'll be building muscle. It weighs more than fat.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
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    Personally I don't see the point of burning up all those calories and then eating them back. It's different once you're on maintenance. Give yourself a couple of weeks just on your calorie allowance and see how you do then. Don't forget as well, if you are doing a lot of excercise you'll be building muscle. It weighs more than fat.
    No and no.
  • Miminem
    Miminem Posts: 5 Member
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    In100 days of logging I have lost 5 pounds by limiting calories to 1500 and exercising 5-6 days a week. I underestimate the burn fromMFP and try to log accurately or over estimate portions and calories. I rarely if ever hit the 1500 mark, am below and often have to work to get the calories in. It is a sloooooowwwwww process but I am so much more fit, and am now way more comfortable about eating in general,. In it for the long haul. Slow and steady is not a bad way to get it done.
  • sirvivor007
    sirvivor007 Posts: 45 Member
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    Since you are active you should shoot for about a 500 cal deficit each day from your TDEE. You can eat 250 calories less and burn 250 calories or you can eat all your calories and burn 500 thru exercise. 500 a day X 7 days = 3500 a week and that is roughly 1 pound a week loss.

    Fat and muscle weigh the same. A pound is a pound is a pound, however muscle is more dense and takes up about 1/3 less volume for the same pound vs fat.
  • lindsayvernon
    lindsayvernon Posts: 56 Member
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    I wouldn't say you've had little success, you should count the fact that you're exercising and logging your food as a huge success. It can take some people a lot longer to lose weight and you don't want to measure your efforts against someone elses. I know for me it takes a while before I start seeing the results (took me a year to lose 20lbs but I managed to keep that off for quite a few years and I equate that to learning how to manage my food better). If you haven't already, open your diary. Weigh ALL your food, as portions can be hard to eyeball. Get a HRM to get a slightly more accurate read on your calorie burn from your workouts. But mostly, keep going. Don't give up because your results aren't as fast as you'd like them to be.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Personally I don't see the point of burning up all those calories and then eating them back. It's different once you're on maintenance. Give yourself a couple of weeks just on your calorie allowance and see how you do then. Don't forget as well, if you are doing a lot of excercise you'll be building muscle. It weighs more than fat.
    No and no.
    +1

    You can't build muscle while eating at a deficet.

    You need to open your diary.

    typically when you think you are doing everything right and not losing weight one of two things or a combination of the two is happening.

    Over esitmating burns and/or under estimating intake (which happens when you don't weigh your food on a kitchen scale)
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    Personally I don't see the point of burning up all those calories and then eating them back. It's different once you're on maintenance. Give yourself a couple of weeks just on your calorie allowance and see how you do then. Don't forget as well, if you are doing a lot of excercise you'll be building muscle. It weighs more than fat.
    No and no.
    +1

    You can't build muscle while eating at a deficet.

    You need to open your diary.

    typically when you think you are doing everything right and not losing weight one of two things or a combination of the two is happening.

    Over esitmating burns and/or under estimating intake (which happens when you don't weigh your food on a kitchen scale)

    I disagree, people new to exercise CAN add weight from their muscles, though some of it is water, it can be significant and offset fat losses.

    I wouldn't open your diary, either, or you'll get all kinds of comments about things that don't matter to weight loss-- water intake, sugar, protein, processed foods, meal skipping, etc.

    I would forget 'eating back' and just shoot for eating around 1500/day. Good luck!
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
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    Personally I don't see the point of burning up all those calories and then eating them back. It's different once you're on maintenance. Give yourself a couple of weeks just on your calorie allowance and see how you do then. Don't forget as well, if you are doing a lot of excercise you'll be building muscle. It weighs more than fat.
    No and no.
    +1

    You can't build muscle while eating at a deficet.

    You need to open your diary.

    typically when you think you are doing everything right and not losing weight one of two things or a combination of the two is happening.

    Over esitmating burns and/or under estimating intake (which happens when you don't weigh your food on a kitchen scale)

    I disagree, people new to exercise CAN add weight from their muscles, though some of it is water, it can be significant and offset fat losses.

    I wouldn't open your diary, either, or you'll get all kinds of comments about things that don't matter to weight loss-- water intake, sugar, protein, processed foods, meal skipping, etc.

    I would forget 'eating back' and just shoot for eating around 1500/day. Good luck!

    Still no. It's been said before and I'll say it again; you can't gain muscle while eating at a deficit.

    OP, you need to open your diary, it's the only way you can get any specific advice.

    You don't know how many calories you are burning so don't just shoot for a random number. Either buy a heart rate monitor for accurate calorie burns, or many people if using MFP calculations only eat back 50 - 75% of them.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    Personally I don't see the point of burning up all those calories and then eating them back. It's different once you're on maintenance. Give yourself a couple of weeks just on your calorie allowance and see how you do then. Don't forget as well, if you are doing a lot of excercise you'll be building muscle. It weighs more than fat.
    No and no.
    +1

    You can't build muscle while eating at a deficet.

    You need to open your diary.

    typically when you think you are doing everything right and not losing weight one of two things or a combination of the two is happening.

    Over esitmating burns and/or under estimating intake (which happens when you don't weigh your food on a kitchen scale)

    I disagree, people new to exercise CAN add weight from their muscles, though some of it is water, it can be significant and offset fat losses.

    I wouldn't open your diary, either, or you'll get all kinds of comments about things that don't matter to weight loss-- water intake, sugar, protein, processed foods, meal skipping, etc.

    I would forget 'eating back' and just shoot for eating around 1500/day. Good luck!

    The first area I bolded above is probably the case.

    As for the second area I bolded, that is false. Newbie gain, especially in a woman, are not significant. A pound or 2 at most if strength training. More info here on this http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html

    Looks like some people need a lesson in basic biology and physiology.
  • LuvonLuv
    LuvonLuv Posts: 68
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    This discussion has been helpful. I have been on only from Nov. 12th but have seen weight gain due to eating back calories burned due to exercise. I think it will be best to not to do that if I want to lose weight. Currently 152.6lbs and aiming for 140lbs. Thanks All!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    This discussion has been helpful. I have been on only from Nov. 12th but have seen weight gain due to eating back calories burned due to exercise. I think it will be best to not to do that if I want to lose weight. Currently 152.6lbs and aiming for 140lbs. Thanks All!

    You are likely overestimating intake and/ or burn calories. Also, you will gain some water/ glycogen weight if you started an exercise program. This is not fat.
  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
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    The answer is here http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    Surely if you're working your muscles and eating a good amount of protein you will build muscle?

    You are correct. You are no expert. Did you read the bodycomposition.com link above?
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    As others have said all these calculations are estimates and not exact. You need to find what works for you. Personally I only eat back about 1/2 the calories I get from exercise because I find the estimates to be a bit high. You can do it. Exercise for me is primarily for reshaping and strength.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,412 MFP Moderator
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    OP, are you weighing your food with a scale? And what are your stats (height and weight)? What is your specific workout, how often do you weight train vs cardio?
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Options
    Personally I don't see the point of burning up all those calories and then eating them back. It's different once you're on maintenance. Give yourself a couple of weeks just on your calorie allowance and see how you do then. Don't forget as well, if you are doing a lot of excercise you'll be building muscle. It weighs more than fat.
    No and no.
    +1

    You can't build muscle while eating at a deficet.

    You need to open your diary.

    typically when you think you are doing everything right and not losing weight one of two things or a combination of the two is happening.

    Over esitmating burns and/or under estimating intake (which happens when you don't weigh your food on a kitchen scale)

    I disagree, people new to exercise CAN add weight from their muscles, though some of it is water, it can be significant and offset fat losses.

    I wouldn't open your diary, either, or you'll get all kinds of comments about things that don't matter to weight loss-- water intake, sugar, protein, processed foods, meal skipping, etc.

    I would forget 'eating back' and just shoot for eating around 1500/day. Good luck!

    The first area I bolded above is probably the case.

    As for the second area I bolded, that is false. Newbie gain, especially in a woman, are not significant. A pound or 2 at most if strength training. More info here on this http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html

    Looks like some people need a lesson in basic biology and physiology.

    Nice manners. This is from your own link:

    "There are a handful of situations where the combination of muscle gain and fat loss occur relatively readily. The first of those is in overfat beginners. I want to really stress the term overfat in the above sentence. This phenomenon doesn’t happen in lean beginners for reasons I’m going to explain in a second.
    A second situation where this phenomenon occurs readily is folks returning from a layoff. "

    I'm not saying she built 10 lbs. of muscles out of thin air. I'm saying water and some slight muscle changes could be at play.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,412 MFP Moderator
    Options
    Personally I don't see the point of burning up all those calories and then eating them back. It's different once you're on maintenance. Give yourself a couple of weeks just on your calorie allowance and see how you do then. Don't forget as well, if you are doing a lot of excercise you'll be building muscle. It weighs more than fat.
    No and no.
    +1

    You can't build muscle while eating at a deficet.

    You need to open your diary.

    typically when you think you are doing everything right and not losing weight one of two things or a combination of the two is happening.

    Over esitmating burns and/or under estimating intake (which happens when you don't weigh your food on a kitchen scale)

    I disagree, people new to exercise CAN add weight from their muscles, though some of it is water, it can be significant and offset fat losses.

    I wouldn't open your diary, either, or you'll get all kinds of comments about things that don't matter to weight loss-- water intake, sugar, protein, processed foods, meal skipping, etc.

    I would forget 'eating back' and just shoot for eating around 1500/day. Good luck!

    The first area I bolded above is probably the case.

    As for the second area I bolded, that is false. Newbie gain, especially in a woman, are not significant. A pound or 2 at most if strength training. More info here on this http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html

    Looks like some people need a lesson in basic biology and physiology.

    Nice manners. This is from your own link:

    "There are a handful of situations where the combination of muscle gain and fat loss occur relatively readily. The first of those is in overfat beginners. I want to really stress the term overfat in the above sentence. This phenomenon doesn’t happen in lean beginners for reasons I’m going to explain in a second.
    A second situation where this phenomenon occurs readily is folks returning from a layoff. "

    I'm not saying she built 10 lbs. of muscles out of thin air. I'm saying water and some slight muscle changes could be at play.
    In all honesty, it doesn't even matter. Water retention and slight muscle gains wouldn't result in a 3 month plateau... a few weeks, maybe, but not months.

    The more likely culprit is under estimating calories in vs out.
  • alyhuggan
    alyhuggan Posts: 717 Member
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    Surely if you're working your muscles and eating a good amount of protein you will build muscle?

    What the **** did I just read

    You may as well have just said "Surely if I run for 30 minutes I will lose fat"

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