I still don't get how to up calories without gaining weight

ScarletNickel
ScarletNickel Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello! I'm very new to MFP and I have a basic dilemma. I've seen it addressed but I guess I'm looking for more specific advice. I ate far too few calories for over a decade while having a very active job. By 30 my metabolism was shot. I have tried to lose weight for years since then without success. In 2006 I had a trainer who upped me to 1400 calories a day. I worked out with her 3 days a week and alone 2x a week. After 3 months I lost .02 pounds (aka nothing). I then went to a bariatric doctor who told me that because of my short stature (I'm 5 feet even) that if I want to lose weight I shouldn't eat over 600 calories a day despite the metabolism 'rules'. So I exercised 3 to 4 days a week, lost 8 pounds the first month (!), 1 pound a month for a few months after that, then plateaued for a year and gave up. I then went to an endocrinologist who said I had metabolic syndrome and that I needed to up both my food and exercise.

So now I have been exercising 5-7 days a week since Christmas on a higher calorie diet (unchecked but probably around 1600 cal per day on average) but haven't lost a pound. This lead me to join MFP to try to figure out the problem.

At this point I have an extremely sedentary job but I work out 5+ days a week. Usually 45 minutes cardio and about 30 minutes weight training. I always stay either at cardio heart rate or between cardio and fat burning rate. Sometimes I now substitute for a home-based routine. I've noticed that the gym machines give me far lower calorie burn counts than the MFP calculator or any other web-based calculator. My 45 minutes of cardio usually yields me between 250-300 calories (I do 20 min on the stair climber and 25 on bike. And the climber kicks my butt putting me above my cardio zone the entire time but only claims to have burned about 85 calories after 20 minutes.)

My basic caloric burn is listed at 1200 before exercise. This means that in order to lose weight I have to exercise more in order to increase the gap. If I'm burning around 250-300 an hour with cardio, this means that I actually should be doing 1 3/4 to 2 hours of cardio a day every day to burn a pound a week. That seems incredibly unrealistic. If that's what I need to do, I'll do it, but I've honestly never heard anyone else needing to exercise for so long.

I'm now cutting my carbs more significantly (though carb cutting diets never did much for me honestly); however, after a decade of trying every diet possible, I really don't think there's a magic fix within the foods I eat.

Any ideas on how to break this cycle? Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    So now I have been exercising 5-7 days a week since Christmas on a higher calorie diet (unchecked but probably around 1600 cal per day on average) but haven't lost a pound. This lead me to join MFP to try to figure out the problem.
    Log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Weigh your food. Do not estimate anything.

    Set your activity level to sedentary and choose a goal. With only 50 lb. to go, 2 lb. per week would be unhealthy & unrealistic. I recommend 1 lb. per week.

    Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. Get your logging under control, and eat back your exercise calories for two weeks. If you aren't losing, eat back half your exercise calories.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • ScarletNickel
    ScarletNickel Posts: 4
    Thanks for responding! I do log everything meticulously. My goal isn't really 2 pounds a week. I just put the settings at their highest to see what the calculators would churn out. I also don't realistically think I'll ever get to 50 lbs either. (It's the weight I was at at 23 and I'm now 43.) I've fluctuated around 170-173 and have for about 8 years now. I'd really be extremely happy at 1lb a week dropping to 155-160 by early summer, 150 by late summer and then getting down to and staying at 135 by 2015. Anything below that would be an organic cherry on the low carb, low fat sundae.
  • ScarletNickel
    ScarletNickel Posts: 4
    Also, just read that link. It's very good!
  • Summerfun23
    Summerfun23 Posts: 1
    Do you sit at work or home all day? Read this article. It is awesome!!! I do not sit at work anymore and I have lost inches on my legs mostly. I do not use a scale, I use my clothes to tell if I have lost because I use to weigh my self everyday. Standing is a huge benefit and it is a work out in itself at the beginning. When I was younger I stood at my job in the evening on top of playing soccer at school. I have done carbnite and lost 20lbs on that and now I do 1200 cal a day with one cheat day a week to reset. You can do it!!!

    http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24532996
  • ScarletNickel
    ScarletNickel Posts: 4
    I'm a college professor. When I'm at work teaching I actually get quite a bit of exercise being on my feet and walking across a very hilly campus. This year I'm working online classes and finishing a book. Unfortunately many days I am tied to an enormous pile of books and notes (12 hours a day). I don't think I can write a book standing. What I do instead is take 15 minute breaks every two hours to play Fruit Ninja, then I go to the gym for about 1 1/2 hours.

    I'm probably burning more calories than I'm logging because I really underlog my exercise and I calculate every bit of food that goes in my mouth.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    You do seem to log some very small portions of food. Have you had a period without any exercise beyond daily living ? Considered a metabolic rate measurement at a clinic to double check what you're burning ?

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