Quick way to get the weight going down!!

You need more than just a calorie deficit, otherwise I would weigh about 10 grams by now.

WHAT you eat is more important. I actually found that I stalled when cutting calories too much, then lost again when I upped my calories to a smaller deficit.

Cut out carbs, especially over processed crap, watch your protein and don't have too much of it based on your activity level and eat plenty of good fats (from meat and dairy mainly) to see your weight come off.

You could also be retaining water due to dehydration so drink plenty of water!

It may work for you, because you are in a deficit but carbs do not need to be dropped to very low levels to lose weight. Processed food does not need to be eliminated. I have absolutely no problem eating a bagel every morning and ice cream every night along with plenty of other types of carbs daily and dropping weight just like plenty of other people do. If you want to cut carbs to lower levels then fine but it's not necessary. Caloric deficit is necessary.

And once again someone states calories in calories out is what it's about and then people come in crying about thyroid and diabetes issues. People constantly keep saying if you have no medical conditions that need to be addressed first that calories in calories out is what is important and the rebuttal is "well its fine if it works for you but if someone has diabetes, hypothyroidism it's different". People keep saying people with medical conditions have other obstacles and the other side says, yea but what about the people with medical conditions. This argument is getting old already. Arguing in circles for no damn reason.

Look if you have medical conditions, get them addressed then start eating at a deficit. Till then stop complaining about how you are different because of your medical condition. Go get it addressed and cut out the pity party.

To the person that said that if she eats below tdee and it's not clean and gains weight but has to eat clean and under 1000 to lose weight. Please work at it harder because your statements make no sense. Just full of excuses.

If you don't like what I said that's fine. I'm not here to be your friend or hold your hand. Keep looking for people in life to show you pity and tell you you're special if that's what you need. But in the end, eat less food.

It's so sad that people can't understand the difference between pity, compassion and logic.

The medical condition argument isn't about pity. It's about information and understanding how the body works. People that already know they have a medical condition aren't the people that the advice is aimed at. It's the people that have a medical condition but don't know it yet -- the UNDIAGNOSED people.

Because there are reasons that a deficit doesn't work well, or at all, for some people. And telling those people, "hey, there may be a reason for it, go talk to your doctor" is helpful advice. Telling them that they're just looking for pity and or to be coddled is not. And it's also WRONG.

That's the issue a lot of people have with this malarky you and others on this site push with your black-and-white approach.

What you are advocating is for everyone who can't lose weight to do is run out and have all sorts of medical test done to rule out health problems. But if these people how many actually put in the real effort to lose weight? Actually record everything? Don't talk free weekend or days and blow deficits? Actually eat below tdee? Maybe someone should encourage these people to try that first then see about medical conditions instead of the other way around. Yes let's all get tests done and abuse our health care system that is already being abused by so many people out there. And who pays the bill? People like me, people who work hard or have 2 jobs like me and pay high taxes.

You're worried about all the undiagnosed. I'm worried about all the lazy people who give half effort through life then complain why they can't succeed. You may think me saying people want to be coddled is wrong, I disagree. People need to stop feeling sorry for themselves.

The only arguments you ever have on here are on this topic and it gets old. You could maybe share your experiences with others on how you hit your weight goal after being on this site for 4 years and dealing with medical issues instead of just arguing with the masses about calories in calories out.

No, I'm not. In fact, I've never advocated that. I've been a big proponent of using a food scale and careful calorie tracking. I think that's essential and if someone isn't doing it, then they need to do that first to be sure of their calories. I'm also a big advocate of tracking exercise calories or those armbands that help with that, though I realize the CO part of the equation is much harder to determine.

What I'm opposed to is this bs circular reasoning that if you're not losing then you're not in a deficit. Because that's what some people like you say directly to people, even after they've given considerable detail on how precise and accurate they're attempting to be with their measurements. And the comments quickly devolve into some incredibly disrespectful, sometimes downright nasty comments about how they're lazy, they're delusional, they want pity, etc. And, that's just not true. There are legitimate reasons why they're not losing as expected and it's not all that rare.

So, to sum up, since you have difficulty deducing this on your own, I'm advocating for:
(1) Careful calorie tracking (food scale!)
(2) Careful calorie expenditure calculations (to the extent possible)
(3) If results aren't coming with 1 and 2, then go talk to doctor or investigate other reasons (i.e. do NOT start calling such people lazy, looking for pity, wanting to be coddled, liars, crazy, delusional, etc.)

Not that hard, right?

The comical part I see here is I may criticize someone's work ethic or motivation but you constantly try to discredit people by saying they aren't intelligent, how they can't read or comprehend this or that. You also like to mention what your level of education is, like that's supposed to give you more credibility. It doesn't. Don't assume that just because I have a shirtless picture up or that I don't have the same characteristic that you have, that I'm not intelligence or I'm some "meathead". I'd be more than happy to actually debate all this health and fitness stuff with anyone, all day, but what I won't do is argue with someone making the same argument over and over and trying to resort to insults due to not being able to control their emotions.

Now, like I said before, which you ignored, you've been here since 2009 and obviously have the knowledge to dealing with weight loss while having a medical condition in the way so tell everyone how you did it.
Tell everyone how you went got diagnosed and then how you ate and what kind of exercises you did to achieve your goal.
Tell everyone how long it took you to reach your goal and at what rate the weight came off.
Share with us all what you calculated your TDEE was and what your daily caloric intake was.
Share with everyone all the things that made "you" succeed that they can apply to themselves.

I ask you because you have that medical factor you preach about so often so people should learn from your experience. In turn I would be more than happy to write pages and pages of stuff that has helped me to address those that don't deal with your issues.

Also, not true. I judge people's intelligence based upon the content of their posts, arguments and demeanor. Smart guys can have 8-pack abs and beautiful women can be nuclear physicists.

When you say stupid things, can't follow basic arguments and then make irrelevant assertions, I think either (1) you're intentionally trolling or (2) you're not that bright.

It's very impressive that you noticed that I signed up in 2009. Perhaps if you'd followed more of my other posts, you'd also know that I didn't do much at all back then and only became active on the site a few months ago -- probably Jan, but I'd have to check to be sure.

I share my experience as it's relevant. And, part of my experience was being told by people exactly like you how I was wrong about my deficit/calculations, that I must be crazy, delusional, ,etc., and so instead of pushing ahead down the medical path, I just kept trying harder -- restricted more calories and exercised more. Still, very little results. Sadly, I'd resigned myself to that was just how it was going to be for a while. I'd seen a couple docs in preceding years as I suspected thyroid issues in particular, but had no real luck in speaking with someone with true expertise. And I didn't push more probably, in part, because I didn't want to think something was wrong with me or beyond my control and will power. That was very foolish.

Then, I trained for and ran a half marathon -- and still didn't lose weight -- while eating quite well. It was my fiance that pushed me to check things out more because something obviously wasn't right. As he said, "unless you're eating a whole box of oreos in the closet in secret, this makes no sense." Then, I started educating myself more -- read about how common thyroid issues were and sought out a specialist. 2 endos later and I finally had someone that put the pieces together and did the right tests (5th doctor overall). I also found out I had insulin resistance -- I didn't even suspect that at the time. And I came to find how incredibly not uncommon both those disorders were -- they both are far more prevalent than 1%. Shoot, I was shocked to find out how many had diabetes or prediabetes. I got the proper treatment and adjusted my macros, and the weight came off like a totally "normal" person -- per the deficit equation.

So, that's where my medical condition rant versus the deficit comes from. Because it was the path I walked. And had I continued to listen to people like you and ndj tell me that I was simply wrong/crazy/delusional/lazy/etc. and had to eat less and move more, I probably would have made things considerably worse as I was already eating/exercising at over 700 cal daily deficit.

When I found out how incredibly not uncommon these issues were, I started speaking out on it pretty darn vocally. I just don't know why people like you and ndj are so threatened by it. It doesn't negate your general premise of the caloric deficit. It just puts a significant caveat into it. What's the problem with that?

Also, I mentioned my education ONCE in one thread in response to a very specific attack. Then, others kept the conversation going, mostly in ridicule or mockery, but those that had respectful questions or comments, I responded to. People like you and ndj keep bringing it up -- not me.

What I'm opposed to is this bs circular reasoning that if you're not losing then you're not in a deficit. Because that's what some people like you say directly to people, even after they've given considerable detail on how precise and accurate they're attempting to be with their measurements.

But... it's an irrefutable scientific fact that if you're not losing then you're not in a deficit. You could be accurate as possible in your logging and precise to a degree that would seem obsessive to the most detail-oriented scientist, but that doesn't change the fact that the calories-out side of the equation and the outcome on the scale are telling you you're not in a deficit.

I'm a pretty big chick, and I train most days of the week. My TDEE "should be" higher than it is. But I have clinical depression, so my TDEE is not higher than it is... It's a sad fact, but if I want to lose weight, I have to drop my calories lower than what every calculator says I "should be" eating. And that is a true fact whether I eyeball my portions or whether I whip out my pocket food scale everywhere I go and pick my food apart ingredient by ingredient to log it (which I have done).

It doesn't mean CICO is wrong. It just means that, given the CI and the results on the scale, the CO term is lower than expected. That doesn't negate the fundamental underlying scientific truth.

I don't agree that it's irrefutable. For the equation to work, certain assumptions must be true -- like a certain efficiency in glucose metabolism. You'll find people with insulin resistance will not lose weight on a modest deficit (sometimes considerable deficit) if a large part of their calories comes from carbs, especially high glycemic carbs -- because it causes an exaggerated insulin response that ultimately leads to greater fat storage than you'd see in a normal person. So, to lose, they need to BOTH restrict overall calories as well as carbs to keep their insulin levels in check. Depending on the severity of insulin resistance, those numbers will shift as to what needs to be what -- but the macros of what they eat is really important, and possibly just as if not more than overall caloric value.

They've done studies showing just this -- I discussed one previously. Where 4 groups of women were put on calorically equivalent diets (i.e. same calculated deficit). 2 groups were insulin sensitive and 2 were insulin resistant. With the insulin sensitive women, one group lost nearly twice as much weight with carbs at 60%, fats 20% and protein 20%. With the insulin resistant women, it was the exact opposite. The group that lost nearly twice as much had 40% carbs, 40% fat, 20% protein. But all four groups had calorically equal diets. If it was all about just pure caloric deficit, then the results should have been similar across all groups. But, they weren't. That says to me that there is something else going on with weight loss than mere caloric value (though all diets were in a deficit -- so it doesn't dispute the whole deficit is necessary thing, which I agree with as a general rule -- just how that deficit is achieved can have drastically different weight loss results).

Or a less fun example is cancer cells. They attack the body in a different way than normal somatic cells. The metabolism is not greatly shifted, but weight loss can happen at rapid rates in certain stages of metastasis. They don't understand the mechanism fully, but there has been some research into it as a potential path for fighting cancer (if they can figure out how to starve the cancer cells).

That's why when there are medical conditions present, the usual rules go out the window until you can bring the person back into "normal" parameters -- whether it's insulin resistance, thyroid, adrenal issues, etc. So, if someone isn't losing like a "normal" person and doing all the hard work (i.e. counting calories correctly, exercising, etc.), then is seems much more logical that something may be medically off with them that's throwing off the equation and results.

I have hypothyroidism and it sucks horribly. I was on medication but it was causing me to gain even more so I stopped taking it because the doc refused to work with me and meds. So I started eating 1400 calories a day about a month ago, and trying to drink water(which i am having a rough time doing)I don't drink much of anything. I go to the gym twice a day for a total of 3 hours. I have only lost eight pounds and now I am at a stand still. So I do believe I will be finding me a new doc that can work with the dosage I need now that I have a healthy routine. Good luck!

MFP has a Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/770-hypothyroidism-and-hyperthyroidism

People really need to stop telling everyone it's a simple deficit. Yes, for a lot of people, this works; however, there is no need to make people feel stupid or like they must be doing something wrong just because a deficit isn't working for them. It IS more complicated for some people than it is for others. I would weigh a LOT less if a deficit worked for me, but when I eat at TDEE - 15/20%, I get nowhere.

Are you weighing your food? If you're decently healthy and have no conditions (Diabetes, PCOS, Insulin Resistance, etc.) that would restrict your weight loss, you may be eating more than you think you are. I personally used to eat less than I thought I was, and then wonder why I was constantly hungry and binging at night. I once passed out thinking I'd eaten around 9 oz of chicken all day, when really I'd only had around 2-3. A LOT of people are the opposite, though, so make sure you're counting your calories correctly.

As for the deficit, if it's not working for you, you're not alone. Certain conditions may prevent a deficit from being the only diet-change necessary. I personally have PCOS and have to net significantly under my calorie goal in order to lose weight. I also try to stick to a high-fat, mod-protein, low-carb (and by low, I mean around 30g per meal, not 30g per day) diet. Sometimes, when there are conditions such as these, Macros matter A LOT. PCOS comes with insulin resistance, so carbs and sugars are not my friends.

Good luck losing! Just remember that everyone's body is different, and it's a process figuring out what works for you. Not everyone responds so quickly to a caloric deficit.

Yes! Spot on.

how can you possibly not lose weight if you are in a deficit? Isn't that, by definition, impossible? Where is your body getting the fuel to feed it's processes if not from what you eat and not from it's own mass? How is that even possible?

Now I can see how medical conditions can mean that TDEE, BMR, etc are WAY lower than to be expected. And I can see how chemically some people may have a more efficient processing of turning food into energy (or however is the proper way to say that) but wouldn't that just mean that that person would need to eat LESS to achieve a deficit, not that a deficit wouldn't work for them?

Isn't the only way you ever know where your personal deficit is achieved is by seeing when you lose weight or you have your expenditure tested? How do people who don't lose know for sure they are allegedly maintaining/gaining while eating at a deficit? Aren't they just guessing at what their CO is?

Not going to quibble with the argument that we shouldn't generalize too much, but unless there is a medical condition that makes you magically generate energy to create mass and/or fuel body processes out of thin air then CICO has to be correct for 100% of people?

Or is there some thing that your body uses to create energy that isn't measured in calories?

ETA- It also stands to reason to me that some deficits are small enough that the loss would be imperceptible but that doesn't mean it isn't happening.

This isn't quick and I know I will get a lot of flack about this and maybe even lose friends over it. I tried the TDEE method and the MFP method and was unable to lose the body fat I had accumulated. Then one day it hit me. If I am working out 3 days a week with weights and my cardio, coming from remodeling the house, isn't causing me to lose. Then my body must believe I am eating at maintenance. Eating at TDEE minus 10, 15, or even 20%, or even adding back calories to eat, I was still eating above my BMR. My body wasn't really having to pull from my fats stores. For several months it acted as if I were eating at maintenance. Since I had 30%+ body fat I figured I had stores to burn. So I began eating right at my BMR. Allowing a hundred or so over on workout days or days I was famished from remodeling the house. Within two weeks I had broke past the 180lb mark and started losing again and the body fat is now at 20% after a few months. It is staying there and my weight is at 170lbs. However, I can see more definition, I carry myself better, all my blood work and blood pressure is perfect. I have continued Stronglifts 5x5 hitting limits quickly because of the deficit. I deload and keep railing against the wall until it falls. I have started adding in more volume with 4x8,10, or even 20 of complimentary barbell work when I have the time. Sure it isn't a defined workout plan following someone else but I feel better if I have let the iron exhaust me. I feel like I have accomplished something with the bonus of deeper more refreshing sleep. The house and myself are both being remodeled. Both are good changes that should have taken place long ago. I am so much happier for it.

Yes I still go out for Japanese and gorge on Sushi and Hibachi almost once a week. Some days I eat less than 1000. It really isn't any different than calorie cycling or fasting. I just used my BMR as my baseline and allowed the workouts to be my deficit. Requesting my body to use the stores I had as fuel. It has worked and continues to work for me. It may not work for you and I know someone or a lot of people will reem me for even mentioning it. I worked plain and simple. Granted as you lose bf% you may start to stall until you add in more food because your stores are getting more and more limited. The lower your bf% the closer to maintenance you seem to need to eat. I know when I want to try and bulk after summer I will have to eat more. A lot more. However having the stores I did and still do eating at BMR as a baseline has been fine for me. Don't starve yourself or try to force food down. Just keep at it. Find what works for you. Something you can be consistant and content with and do that. Not everyone will agree and you will never make everyone on your friends list happy with your choices. But they are YOUR choices. No one else has to approve of them. The only person you have to make happy is you. If you aren't? Well. . . only you can change that.

The only thing you can know with any reasonable certainty is what your average TDEE over a period of time was based on an accurately and precisely recorded intake and an accurate and precise weight measurement (which is difficult to control for things like water fluctuations, GI tract contents, hormonal fluctuations, etc.). It's really just an estimate. That's why patience is SO necessary, and "Quick way to get the weight going down" are not the best course in the long term.

^^^This. QFT.

If you're not weighing your food, you're underestimating your calories.

Your weight will fluctuate. All that matters is a downward trend. Be sure to take photos & measurements, too.

Be patient!

May have missed the part about several months. BMR was based on calculator estimates. I did not mention RMR which has to be measured b individual. I weigh my food if it is something I prepare. I take into account whether I am eating out with friends or drinking that night. I cannot accurately measure that only a close guesstimation and account for it by eating below on the next day. I wore an FT7 heartrate monitor when I did P90X and Insanity. I used what info I could find and spoke with quite a few doctors especially since I have extremely low T production.(Less than an 80yo male), have heart disease, and I am diabetic. The realization I came to after speaking with them is that BMR is the baseline to keep you where you are without any outside stimulus. Thus, as you say in a coma. So if you are overweight and in a coma it accomplishes the goal of sustaining your overweight self. So I decided to deficit the number calculated from defining my overweight self. Combined with normal daily activity which includes remodeling the home and weight training. I broke my 26% bf plateau. I had begun losing again, finally. It can be argued all day. The point is I lost and am losing body fat. My weight isn't decreasing from 170lbs and hasn't in over a month. I am not concerned with that number. It is not the 213lbs I was last January. I look better, feel better, sleep better, and have more endurance. I continue to weigh what I eat. I am in no rush. I know it takes time. I mentioned in the previous post this was NOT and is NOT quick. It has been over a years time now. However it is doable and I haven't had any negative impact from doing so. This is not something I will do forever. Just until I hit 15% bf or so. So that I can finally say I accomplished what I set out to do and begin the process of gaining muscle and cutting back on a regular basis.

The only point I'm quibbling over is the BMR being based on calculator estimates. Particularly if you have low T, I just think *your* BMR is going to be different from what calculator estimates will give. I just don't want people reading this and thinking they can somehow pin down some magic exact number, because you can't. It works just like you say. You lower your caloric intake, and the weight slowly comes off. There's no magic.

People really need to stop telling everyone it's a simple deficit. Yes, for a lot of people, this works; however, there is no need to make people feel stupid or like they must be doing something wrong just because a deficit isn't working for them. It IS more complicated for some people than it is for others. I would weigh a LOT less if a deficit worked for me, but when I eat at TDEE - 15/20%, I get nowhere.

Are you weighing your food? If you're decently healthy and have no conditions (Diabetes, PCOS, Insulin Resistance, etc.) that would restrict your weight loss, you may be eating more than you think you are. I personally used to eat less than I thought I was, and then wonder why I was constantly hungry and binging at night. I once passed out thinking I'd eaten around 9 oz of chicken all day, when really I'd only had around 2-3. A LOT of people are the opposite, though, so make sure you're counting your calories correctly.

As for the deficit, if it's not working for you, you're not alone. Certain conditions may prevent a deficit from being the only diet-change necessary. I personally have PCOS and have to net significantly under my calorie goal in order to lose weight. I also try to stick to a high-fat, mod-protein, low-carb (and by low, I mean around 30g per meal, not 30g per day) diet. Sometimes, when there are conditions such as these, Macros matter A LOT. PCOS comes with insulin resistance, so carbs and sugars are not my friends.

Good luck losing! Just remember that everyone's body is different, and it's a process figuring out what works for you. Not everyone responds so quickly to a caloric deficit.

Eating at a deficit is the one truth about losing weight. Granted that medical problems can impede weight loss, it's pretty darned rare. Your deficit may need to be adjusted but, still, all it takes to lose weight is to eat less calories than you burn.

The type of food you eat has nothing to do with losing weight. You can eat twinkies all day while staying at a deficit and you will lose weight. You might not feel very well, but you'd still lose.

Look at my ticker. I've lost 42 pounds the foods I like, and this includes foods that I'd cut out in earlier diets because I had labeled them as "fattening". I have been successfully maintaining.

This may be true for you, and if it is, congratulations. I gain weight using a "simple" deficit, so I'm happy it's so much easier for you. I also use a HRM to calculate my burns, and don't eat back exercise calories, so it's not an error in calorie calculations. For some, macros DO matter. It's not incredibly rare. In fact, it's estimated by researchers who work with insulin resistance that IR affects around one in four Americans. I'd say 25% is decently common, even if it's not the majority. Congratulations on being in the majority. For me, the lower deficit RESULTS in lower carb/sugar intake, which is what ultimately helps me lose weight. The deficit alone doesn't do it for me, or for quite a few others with insulin resistance problems (ie, if I ate 1200 calories in twinkies all day, chances are, I probably wouldn't lose weight).

How to lose weight is the same for everyone in that if you eat less than you burn then you will lose weight. Macros do not count as far as calories in/calories out, but they sure do count as far as energy and satiation. Calorie are calories in regards to weight loss, BUT they are not in regards to how our body feels when eating certain food.

For example, I am processed sugar sensitive, therefore, I eat sweets in moderation. It will never be the sweets that make me gain weight, but eating too many calories in a day that included those sweets. Believe me, if I allow it, sweets can send me way over my calorie goal.

You say you use a heart rate monitor, and I get the impression that have a difficult time losing weight (please correct me if I misunderstood). If this is true, do you weigh all your solid food and measure all your liquids? Do you log everything you eat?