Old and Confused ?

Ronij59 · May 2014

:frown: I started MFP October 2012 the first time. I did really good for about 9 months with consistant losses. Started MFP at 273 and got down to 213. YAY! Then all of the sudden, end of October I hit a brick wall BAM! Started feeling sick all the time, belly bloated and hard as a rock, gained 35 pounds for no real apparent reason, felt so cruddy I stopped even logging in to MFP. Then found out in March 2014 I have Celiac. No more gluten in my diet. That has been a challenge to say the least. I focus on what I can eat and not so much what I cannot eat. It makes it easier.

Now here is the old and confused part. I just turned 55. I work a full time job as an insurance agent, I speed walk in the morning on my tread mill for 30 minutes, every hour at work I get up and move, I take a short 10 minute walk or I lift my 3 pound weights for 5 minutes at a time for toning my arms, then in the evening I walk leisurely on my tread mill for 20 minutes or I work in the garden (weather permitting) for 20-30 minutes or more or go on a bike ride for 30-40 minutes. I have logged in for 45 days now and I have lost 9 pounds. What confuses me is pecisely this...If I have a callorie goal of 1370 and I am working off 500-700 calories a day and not eating back these calories, my deficit is then around 600-800 consumed calories, why am I not losing more weight?:grumble:

I have two forms of autoimmune disease. Hipothyroidism/Graves and Celiac. I had full knee replacement surgery 04/2012 and have chronic vertigo. None of this stops me from living, but I am concerned that it is because.....here goes.....IM OLD!:sad:

Your comments are more than welcome, I am really looking for some good advise and posted here because I figure I am just getting started again.

Anniebotnen · May 2014

First of all, 9 pounds in 45 days is good, so congratulations on that! And you are not old at 55! I'm 68, so if you're old, I must be ancient! I don't have any autoimmune or vertigo problems, but I had both of my hips replaced in 2011. So we both have some issues, and you should be proud of yourself for not letting yours stop you from living a full life.

You do not provide any of your stats (other than age) in your post, which makes it a little difficult to figure out what the problem may be, if there is one. But I do think you may be overestimating your exercise calorie burn. I'm 5'7" and weigh 157 lbs. I doubt I would burn as many as 500-700 calories a day with the amount of exercise you describe.

In regards to the 3# dumbbell, such a light weight is not going to have much effect on your muscle tone or burn many calories. Unless you cannot for medical reasons, I strongly suggest you start including some weight training with heavy weights into your exercise program. This will help burn calories and strengthen and preserve your muscles.

bwogilvie · May 2014

Good job starting up again!

I have a question about your earlier success: how long did it actually take? You joined MFP in October 2012, you said you did really well for 9 months, going from 273 to 213. But then, you write "end of October I hit a brick wall." Does that mean that your progress didn't actually start until February 2013?

The reason I ask is this: You lost 80 lb., which equals a calorie deficit of about 280,000. If it took you a year to lose that weight, that equals an average daily calorie deficit of 757. If it took you 9 months, the average deficit is 1023 calories/day.

How do either of those numbers compare with your calorie goal and logging during the period that you were losing weight? If there's a discrepancy, it might be that you are eating more than you think:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

It's fairly common. During my first several months on MFP I was logging as accurately as I could, and meeting my goal calories, but I was losing 0.4 lb./week less than my goal. That means that I was missing about 200 calories a day. And that's actually pretty good. One study showed that even registered dietitians underestimated energy intake by over 200 calories, while non-dietitians were off by over 400.

Unfledgedkitty · May 2014

45 days to lose 9lbs
... That's good

3,500 calories per 1lb.

So 9 lbs of fat = 31,500. / by 800 deficit of calories = 39 days

so your doing fine

bwogilvie · May 2014

Oops, forgot the reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160

katmix · May 2014

First of all, 9 pounds in 45 days is good, so congratulations on that! And you are not old at 55! I'm 68, so if you're old, I must be ancient! I don't have any autoimmune or vertigo problems, but I had both of my hips replaced in 2011. So we both have some issues, and you should be proud of yourself for not letting yours stop you from living a full life.

You do not provide any of your stats (other than age) in your post, which makes it a little difficult to figure out what the problem may be, if there is one. But I do think you may be overestimating your exercise calorie burn. I'm 5'7" and weigh 157 lbs. I doubt I would burn as many as 500-700 calories a day with the amount of exercise you describe.

In regards to the 3# dumbbell, such a light weight is not going to have much effect on your muscle tone or burn many calories. Unless you cannot for medical reasons, I strongly suggest you start including some weight training with heavy weights into your exercise program. This will help burn calories and strengthen and preserve your muscles.

This. /\

I'm only a little younger than you, exercise hard (for me) using the Leslie Sansone Walk at Home dvds, and still don't even burn off enough calories for an extra coffee/mocha per day! (I average a burn off of about 150-175 calories daily) And that is with really moving my bum!

MFP is a great tool. I'm sure I couldn't have had the success I've had over the past several years without this accountability. However, some of the exercise numbers seem a bit high, and some of the calorie counts seem a bit low. Don't be afraid to investigate for more accurate numbers...

Weigh or measure everything! I use measuring cups as I don't have a food scale (yes, I know some MFPers have thoughts about that!) but it has worked successfully for me.

Lastly, a 9lb loss in 6 weeks is amazing! Remind me again why you don't think that?! :flowerforyou:

Zx14chick · May 2014

If I'm reading your OP correctly, you are netting only 700-some calories a day. If that is the case, you aren't eating enough to fuel your body.

sianquin · May 2014

I think your over estimating your exercise, i could do a 45min intense spin class and half an hr or interval training on a treadmill and only just reach 700calories. However you are having a really good lose and are heading in the right direction so just like how you feel with your food think about it more positively and focus on what your are losing and not what your not.

Ronij59 · May 2014

Thank you so far for all this information. Let me be a bit more precise on the stats here:

I started to lose weight a few months before joining MFP (20 pounds)

SW: 293
5'5"
MFP SW: 273
Weight in June 2013: 213
Gradual weight gain to October to: 244.4 and stayed there give or take 1 pound from October 2013 to April 2014 when I started back on MFP
CW: 234

I never took my BMI so I have no idea where it was or where it is at. I do have a scale and I do weigh and measure everything. I faithfully drink 100 ouces of water a day.
I understand that not everything on here is acurate regarding the food calories and the exercise count. I do not have the "Apps" or fit bits that others have.
I so appreciate all the positive thougths and statements and I was and am only joking about being old! I feel so much better at 55 than I did at 45 and weigh so much less than I did then too. I am simply looking for some advise and suggestions to get things ramped up. What you all have written has been wonderful and thank you.

LivingtheLeanDream · May 2014

Have you ever worked out your BMR (base metabolic rate), that's what you would burn if you were comatose. then you work out your TDEE ( total daily energy expenditure) ie your BMR plus all the calories you burn. These are the most useful stats to have. There are loads of online calculators to work those out.

when you have those facts then to see what you should be eating at you would deduct 20% off your TDEE to lose. (the % is lower for anyone nearer goal weight)

Hope this helps. I could go into more details but on my phone and adding text is slow.

The best advice is to keep on going though and never lose sight of your goal :-)

5feline5 · May 2014

I apologize for responding without reading the other responses, but, FWIW:

1. The generic calculation isn't 100% accurate for everyone. Don't let that discourage you, just use it as a rule of thumb.
2. You are doing great! Don't get discouraged.
3. You might consider adding a little resistance training (weights, or bands, or similar, whatever works for you) to help build muscle mass. It'll boost your resting calorie burn as well as making you stronger.
4. DON'T GET DISCOURAGED! You're really doing a great job!

Old and Confused ?

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