Advice desperatly needed

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pangy1958
pangy1958 Posts: 151 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello
For the last 6 weeks I have been 219.5lbs to 219lbs, I track my food everyday and have rarley been over my daily calories. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week and do cardio and weights, but I just can't get the weight to go down. My daily calorie allowance according to MFP should be 1480 before exercise, and I try to eat my exercise calories to.

When I started this over a year ago my body fat was 52% and the other week it is now down to 48%, my gym instructor says that although my weight isn't changing, my body shape is and the fat is being replaced by lean muscle. I have noticed the inches going down, but I wouls love to get the weight off too. Has anybody got any ideas I would be grateful. Thank you

Replies

  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    It's hard to say without seeing your diary.... but.... are you weighing your food portions? If not, you could be eating more than you think. Invest in a food scale and weigh your food, then log it as accurately as possible.

    As for exercise, how are you calculating your calorie burns? Are you using a HRM or are you using MFP's database? If you're using MFP, try eating back only 50% of those calories, as MFP is notorious for overestimating calorie burns.
  • fortheloveofjas
    fortheloveofjas Posts: 2 Member
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    Be sure to drink as much of the 8 cups of water as you can! I learned 25 years ago when I went to Weight Watchers that it REALLY makes a big difference in weight loss.

    Good luck!
  • jakejacobsen
    jakejacobsen Posts: 595 Member
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    When I started this over a year ago my body fat was 52% and the other week it is now down to 48%, my gym instructor says that although my weight isn't changing, my body shape is and the fat is being replaced by lean muscle. I have noticed the inches going down, but I wouls love to get the weight off too. Has anybody got any ideas I would be grateful. Thank you

    Be patient. Your body fat is dropping, your measurements are dropping, Your weight will follow.
  • kk_140
    kk_140 Posts: 518 Member
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    You're probably over estimating the calories burned during exercise. Try eating back half the exercise calories. Most websites grossly over estimate calories burned!
  • jdad1
    jdad1 Posts: 1,899 Member
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    You're probably over estimating the calories burned during exercise. Try eating back half the exercise calories. Most websites grossly over estimate calories burned!


    i second this
  • Amanda_Gx6
    Amanda_Gx6 Posts: 320 Member
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    my gym instructor says that although my weight isn't changing, my body shape is and the fat is being replaced by lean muscle.

    First clue your instructor is an idiot, muscle doesn't just replace fat. You need to first burn fat and then build the muscle as the cells are totally different and cannot through diet, exercise nor divine intervention morph into the other.

    Moving on, how much water are you drinking? Have you played with your macros? Are you eating well balanced meals? Whenever I hit a plateau its usually because I've been slacking on the hydration factor. Again, last time I hit a plateau I asked a few community members and they suggested playing with my macros because although mfp comes up with this plan for you sometimes your carbs, protein, and fat need some tweaking.

    Do you measure your food? Sometimes when we eyeball a 1/2 cup it tends to be more like 3/4. Best bet is to start actually measuring the food you are eating that way there is no guess on whether you had 1/3 of a cup or 1/4.

    Lastly, sorry this is longer than I had expected, I personally would rather lose inched than pounds. The scale is not the almighty know all "if i do not show change you aren't making progress" lord of the getting fit realm. Don't get discouraged, just make the small changes you can and keep up the good work.
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
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    This was my problem a while back. I was overestimating calorie burns and not weighing my food portions. Once I started using a heart rate monitor and a food scale, the weight came off easily.
  • jdad1
    jdad1 Posts: 1,899 Member
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  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,775 Member
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    Hi!

    My situation is very similar to yours. I'm 51yo, started MFP in Dec 2012 weighing 232, but started daily food logging in March 2013 and have since lost 42lbs. I started with the MFP default setting of 1200 calories, but really felt like I was "dieting" instead of learning and adopting a healthier/fitter lifestyle. I started reading the forums and ran across the idea of TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) - lots of successful MFPer's swore by it, so I gave it a try - and it worked.

    See

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet
    and
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13
    for a "user's guide" to TDEE

    also see

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
    for good, uncomplicated guide to successful weight loss

    Another key to my weight loss was exercise. I started walking, just a slow mile to start with, but I slowly started adding more distance and speed. Then I started morning and evening walks. All that exercise gave me more calories to eat (but still at a 500cal/day deficit), I had greater food choices (no longer stuck to 1200-1400 daily calories - I was eating around 1700-1800/day so I could eat those calorie dense foods containing the protein and healthy fats). Then I added strength training.

    I weigh my food with a digital scale ($12.98 at Walmart) and drink from 90-150oz (3-5 liters) of water daily. Don't eat "clean", I just apply the 80/20 principle - make good eating choices 80% of the time, the other 20% is just life.

    My food and exercise diary is open - take a look what my last 438 days, the good, bad and ugly, and the awesome.

    Oh, my starting BF% was 56.2, now down to 43.7%. Starting BMI was 38, now 32.6. My intermediate goal is BF% = 35%, BMI = 28, weight of 165. My ultimate goal is BF% = 28%, BMI = 25 and weight of 146.

    Good luck
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
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    Since losing fat is your goal, and you clearly are, I'd vote to keep doing what you're doing. In a few months you're going to be thrilled with your results.
  • pangy1958
    pangy1958 Posts: 151 Member
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    Thank you all for your advice.

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