More than a month only lost one pound

nikiml · February 2014

Hello,

I have a question that hopefully people more knowledgeable about nutrition and fitness can help me with. Here is a little background.

I am 35 years old, 140 lbs and here are my current measurements:

Chest: 35.5
Arms: 11.5
Thighs: 22.5
Waist: 29
Hips: 36

Unfortunately I didn't weigh myself right before I started my current fitness regimen but I do have some measurements from May of last year. I don't know how close they are to my starting measurements in January. I weighed myself in December however and it was 146 lbs.

Chest: 36.5
Arms: 12
Thighs: 23.5
Waist: 32
Hips: 39

I am small framed and short at 5'3". In high school I stayed between 105-108 lbs and no one ever said I was too skinny or looked unhealthy. I was on a dance team and fairly toned but had a horrible diet.

I have been steadily climbing in weight for the past 13 years, through having two children. My max was 156 a few years ago. I managed to loose 30 lbs of that only to gain 20 of it back. I have lost about 6 of it again but have stalled out and have only lost 1 pound in the past month. I understand that I may be building muscle so that may account for some of the little to no weight loss but with my diet and the exercise I am doing I would think there would be a little more. My clothes aren't fitting any different and I don't see a difference in the mirror.

I am doing some form of exercise 6 days a week. 3 days a week I do booty barre classes and log them as dance/ballet. The other 3 days a week I do heated power vinyasa yoga but I just log it as yoga. My barre instructor says the class burns 600 calories but I think that is probably a stretch so I log it around 300. There is cardio involved, my heart rate definitely goes up. I am not a gym person, I hate weight lifting, treadmills, stuff like that so the classes I am doing are perfect for me. I know I should add in running but there has been so much snow I have not had the motivation. Is that what I am missing to kick in my weight loss, more cardio? I am noticing muscles building in my arms and legs but I don't seem to be loosing the fat around them.

I am eating pretty well I think and logging everything except my water, which I do drink, I just forget to log it. MFP has given me a 1200 calorie a day diet and I stick to that. The only thing I can say I am probably doing wrong is I am not eating back my exercise calories. But I wonder if there is something else I need to do to tweak my diet. My diary is open for those who what to look.

Sorry this post is so long, it is just so frustrating not to see any changes when I feel like I am doing what I should be doing. I just need someone objective to look at my diary and tell me what I am doing wrong. I will be going out of town for a week so I am hoping to get some suggestions and get back to working hard and eating even better when I get back. I should add that my husband is deployed and due back in May so I really would like to see at least some results by then.

SLLRunner · February 2014

Niki,

It seems to me you might be eating more than you think you are via miscalculating calories consumed and exercise calories. If you were really eating as few calories as your diary reflects, you would be losing weight.

I notice you measure by "serving" or possibly measuring cups. I recommend getting a food scale if you don't have one and weight all your food. Believe me, measurements and weight of food do not often match up (in other words, 1/4 cup of almonds is more than one ounce).

Where are you getting your exercise burns from? I notice you burn 307 calories every single time for dancing. If you get your calories burned from MFP, they are probably overestimated by about 100 calories. You certainly need to eat back some of your exercise calories, but I would not eat them all back if you are not 100 percent certain that they are close to accurate.

What are your activity settings? If you sit at a desk job all day but set your activity at very active, that will give you more calories than you need. By the same token, sedentary might be too low for you.

As for gaining muscle, I'm sorry but that's probably not the case. It takes a long time to build muscle, but it often does not happen while eating at a calorie deficit.

mulecanter · February 2014

Niki,

It seems to me you might be eating more than you think you are via miscalculating calories consumed and exercise calories. If you were really eating as few calories as your diary reflects, you would be losing weight.

I notice you measure by "serving" or possibly measuring cups. I recommend getting a food scale if you don't have one and weight all your food. Believe me, measurements and weight of food do not often match up (in other words, 1/4 cup of almonds is more than one ounce).

Where are you getting your exercise burns from? I notice you burn 307 calories every single time for dancing. If you get your calories burned from MFP, they are probably overestimated by about 100 calories. You certainly need to eat back some of your exercise calories, but I would not eat them all back if you are not 100 percent certain that they are close to accurate.

What are your activity settings? If you sit at a desk job all day but set your activity at very active, that will give you more calories than you need. By the same token, sedentary might be too low for you.

As for gaining muscle, I'm sorry but that's probably not the case. It takes a long time to build muscle, but it often does not happen while eating at a calorie deficit.

This

nikiml · February 2014

I see what you mean about measuring although most of what I eat I measure and put into the recipe tool to calculate calories. The one place it may be off is the calories of maybe the chicken breast since I don't weigh them individually. Every thing else tends to be measured.

As far as exercise, I just find what is closest to what I do. Since I do 1 hour of booty barre 3 times a week I just log it as an hour of dancing, which is why it always says 307. Like I said, my instructor says the class usually burns 600 calories but I think that is probably an over estimation so I feel safe at saying its 300 calories. The yoga I do is more strenuous than regular slow yoga, it is power yoga, so again, I feel comfortable just logging it as regular yoga and it not over estimating. Most of the time I don't eat back the exercise calories I log anyway so that shouldn't make a difference. I try and eat 1200 regardless of if I exercise or not.

My activity setting is set at Active since I do some sort of exercise 6 days a week. Should I change it to lightly active? I don't have a desk job, I am a stay at home mom. MFP gave me 1200 as my daily goal, it can't go any lower, that is why I wonder if I should be eating more.

nikiml · February 2014

When I say measure, I mean measure for recipes, not weigh. I don't have a scale so I don't weigh things. I will do that and see if it helps but I am not sure that is the whole problem. I can't be going over 1200 a day by that much just because I don't weigh my meat. I have gone over in carbs quite a few days so I am trying to watch that better from now on.

SugaryLynx · February 2014

What about all your missing days? Feb. 1st and 9th were two days you logged nothing. You could be overestimating burns, weighing everything you can, can help if you're stuck not only meats but calorie dense foods like peanut butter, bananas, I even weigh my chips. Things add up. Serving sizes often times are wrong a bag that is two servings can be stretched for more than that so there's like 25% extra unaccounted. Ultimately, your consistency is what it comes down to. Carbs aren't going to stop you from losing weight. Eating too much will.

nikiml · February 2014

The missing days I just wasn't able to log for one reason or another but I haven't had a day where I have had a splurge since I started I don't think, at least nothing major.

I don't eat chips but there were days when I had pretzel thins that I guess I could have weighed. I probably should weigh the fruit I eat as well, but it isn't a crazy amount.

I just don't see how I could be going over a lot by not weighing every little thing, maybe a 200-300 calories over at the most, but like I said, I exercise and never eat back the calories. But I will try weighing and see if it helps, I'll try anything at this point. I mean I have been measuring with measuring cups, just not weighing.

diannethegeek · February 2014

There can actually be some very big differences between measuring cups and scale weight, as well as prepacked food estimates.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1186508-weighing-food-vs-measuring-wow

nikiml · February 2014

I will get a scale and start doing weighing. It is very frustrating because when I lost 30 lbs in about 6 months it was from just running 3 days a week and eating lean cuisine every day pretty much every meal. That was only a few years ago. I am trying to do it better this time by eating less pre packaged and processed food and varying my exercises so it not doing anything is so annoying. I guess I figured that even if I was going over a little with my calories I should loose something. I mean before I started this I was eating junk, huge portions, not exercising at all. Shouldn't I at least see some difference even if I am going over by some?

glassgallm · February 2014

Some kind of heart rate monitor would let you know your actual calorie burn.

nikiml · February 2014

I just purchased a scale, it will be at my house on Wednesday.

Can anyone give me any other pointers? Other than maybe my portion sizes being off because I was not weighing does what I am eating look ok? Should I be eating more or less assuming my diary has the correct calorie count? Are my ratios of carbs/protien/fat okay?

I really want to learn how to eat properly not only to loose the weight I want to loose, but also so I can maintain the weight once it is lost.

Should I add cardio into my exercise routine of 4.5 hours per week of heated power yoga and 3 hours a week of booty barre?

starsandowls · February 2014

I think getting a scale and a heartrate monitor might help, but you might want to see if you can get a test for your metabolic rate, too. I disagree with previous posters regarding the average exercise burn; the classes you're talking about are not a walk in the park. I can believe that the barre class burns 600 calories. Vinyasa yoga can burn over 900 calories in a single class. The thing is, the amount that you burn is going to depend on your metabolic rate, and at this point, it might be more helpful to you to find out what's going on with your personal metabolism than listen to people on the internet guess about how you do vinyasa yoga.

SugaryLynx · February 2014

I highly recommend reading this and all the links provided within. This information was really the beginning for me to sustaining my loss and understanding my goals.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

blanphere · February 2014

I had the same problem at the end of last year. My solution ended up being eating more! I was only eating 1200 calories, but spinning 2-3 times a week, and doing strength training. I needed to be eating more to sustain the activity. While it is true that in order to lose, you need to be at a deficit in calories... but different people need different levels of deficit to lose. It's not a one size fits all thing, losing weight. What works for some won't work for others. I eat closer to 1500 a day now, and up'd my protein and healthy fat. I eat back most if not all of my exercise calories, just shy of 200. I have determined that is the deficits that works for me. It took a good 6-7 weeks to get the balance right, but this past week has been my most successful, with at least a .2 lb loss daily.

Good luck!

MissJay75 · February 2014

I am going to suggest another possibility. If you are eating 1200 calories and not eating back your exercise calories (did I read that right?) You could be netting only 600 calories a day, which (against intuition) can stall weight loss.

The great thing is the suggestions already made about getting a scale and a heart rate monitor to help you log accurately will let you know if you are not eating enough, or if you are eating too much.

Also I know 1 lb in 4 weeks seems wrong if you are doing all the right things, but some people lose weight very consistently (1 pound per week) and some (like me) lose it what seems randomly. I might lose 1 pound in 3 or 4 weeks, then lose 4 in the next 2 weeks, then not lose any for another 2-3 weeks. Just know if you are eating at a deficit, you will eventually lose!

Cheers!

SLLRunner · February 2014

Some kind of heart rate monitor would let you know your actual calorie burn.

Heart rate monitors work best for steady state cardio, not ballet or weight lifting or anything else that is not steady cardio.

SLLRunner · February 2014

I just purchased a scale, it will be at my house on Wednesday.

Can anyone give me any other pointers? Other than maybe my portion sizes being off because I was not weighing does what I am eating look ok? Should I be eating more or less assuming my diary has the correct calorie count? Are my ratios of carbs/protien/fat okay?

I really want to learn how to eat properly not only to loose the weight I want to loose, but also so I can maintain the weight once it is lost.

Should I add cardio into my exercise routine of 4.5 hours per week of heated power yoga and 3 hours a week of booty barre?

You can eat anything you want as long as you stay within your calorie goal. For me, it works to eat foods that I know will keep me full longer, so I don't eat a whole lot of sweet stuff. However, this is just me and might not work for other people.

nikiml · February 2014

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

I read the above post and most of the links within it and have adjusted my goals based on what it says. I had my calorie goal at 1200 but I have upped it to 1305. Actually 1377 would be a 30% deficit from my TDEE, so I have left myself a cushion.

I am going to also start eating back my exercise calories even though that will be very hard for me. I am so used to being told that to loose weight you should not eat them back so I am going to have to get over that. It's this weird psychological thing that says it would be a waste of my exercise to eat back the calories I just burned off, I just have to get over it.

I am hoping by weighing my food and the above adjustments I will see some loss. I also adjusted to 1 lb a week instead of 2 lbs a week based on the link above since I only have 30 lbs to loose.

samrockrocks · February 2014

Have you calculated your BMR? My guess is that it is higher than 1200 and you actually need to eat more to lose the weight!

Edit: Oops, just saw your last post!

nikiml · February 2014

No problem Sam. Like you saw, I just adjusted it, hopefully that helps. It seems counterproductive to eat more to loose more but I understand the reasoning behind it so I will try it. Although I think if I have been going over because of not weighing I may have been eating close to what I should have been anyway except I wasn't eating back the exercise as I said before.

SLLRunner · February 2014

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

I read the above post and most of the links within it and have adjusted my goals based on what it says. I had my calorie goal at 1200 but I have upped it to 1305. Actually 1377 would be a 30% deficit from my TDEE, so I have left myself a cushion.

I am going to also start eating back my exercise calories even though that will be very hard for me. I am so used to being told that to loose weight you should not eat them back so I am going to have to get over that. It's this weird psychological thing that says it would be a waste of my exercise to eat back the calories I just burned off, I just have to get over it.

I am hoping by weighing my food and the above adjustments I will see some loss. I also adjusted to 1 lb a week instead of 2 lbs a week based on the link above since I only have 30 lbs to loose.

Awesome. Trust the process, it works.

More than a month only lost one pound

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