If I am at a deficit, why am I not losing weight?
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OMW!! What the heck is going on here with all the terrible advise!
HIIT to boost metabolism/Meal Timing/STARVATION MODE!If you aren't losing weight, you aren't in a deficit. Simple as that.
Reasons why you aren't in a deficit:
1) You are underestimating how much you eat. Solution: Weigh all solids, measure all liquids. OR
2) You just have your calorie goal set too high in general for how active you are. Solution: Knock 100-200 cals off your daily goal for a week or two and see what happens with the scale.
3) Both option 1) and 2)
This I agree with.
And there is no 100% accurate formula to calculate what you should be eating. So again all this above
And this I want to leave here for you. Accurate logging is so so important to really get a picture of what you are doing.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide0 -
Some good advice here. I agree that you must not be at a deficit. Take an objective look at your own diary and your own habits. There is always room for improvement. If you are over your (reasonable) goal, then your deficit gets smaller and smaller. Absolutely keep a close eye on those cheat days and log EVERYTHING. That could be throwing your averages off.0
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Advice: get a food scale and start weighing everything you eat.0
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Try giving up fast food for the next few weeks and start eating real food. I am very sensitive to sodium myself, so I have found I need to be under sodium as well as calories to see the scale move. I think you will find you feel better when/if you decide to give up fast food. You can still have it in moderation, but it doesn't seem like you have a healthy relationship with it at this point, so it may be best to give it up for a bit. Good luck on your journey!0
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Erm has anybody checked her diary, I wouldn't even say you're in a deficit! It's all over the shop and often is over your target!
Since last Monday you've had a Dominos, Kfc and 2x McDonalds. Lol. I highly doubt you log accurately.0 -
If your food log is correct, it appears you are skipping meals and going over on your calories often by eating fast food meals. If you can cut back on fast food that will reduce your calories a lot. Fast food is convenient but generally terrible for you. You can buy premade meals at the store such as sandwiches and salads or even microwave foods that will probably be half the calories compared to fast food. Once you get used to not eating out so much you could try more fresh foods and cooking some meals at home. Change is hard but if you make the changes over time it won't be as bad. Good luck.0
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You can eat what you like as long as you stay in a deficit, you will lose, whether you live on Mars bars or lettuce, a deficit is a deficit but I'm afraid you are not in a deficit at all.0
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I'm not trying to say it is impossible for me to lose weight at all, or that I'm perfect and not doing anything wrong etc.
I have had my cheat days, but even if I do I try to keep my week at the correct total, i.e I would eat less the next day or exercise it off, etc.
I try my best to weigh everything correctly, or scan things I can't, and I try avoid eating anything I can't properly track to make sure I am not eating more than I am supposed to.
I can guarantee, even if my entries are just estimates (scanning or picking from a list instead of weighing) I am never eating at any less than a 100 deficit on any given day, my goal is at about a 400-500 deficit.
I also exercise for at leats an hour 3 times a week besides the last 2 weeks just gone as I was sick, so I think I only went one or twice a week.
I haven't been to the doctor yet about whether it is a thyroid problem, he says I look fit so I shouldn't worry anyway, but that isn't the point. I want to lose weight for me.
Does anyone have any tips or opinions on what I may be doing wrong?
I don't care about criticism, I just want to get on the right track, so any help at all is greatly appreciated. I am getting very demotivated, and I don't want to give up, but I don't know why I am not losing anything.
With a quick look at your diary it seems your cal. intake is all over the place.
My advise is, weight your food and log everything. And I mean EVERYTHING!
Drink more water! I drink 1 gallon everyday, sometimes 2.
And last but not least, your 19 years old. Stop stressing about the little stuff and enjoy your youth.
p.s. Don`t go to McDonalds anymore. Or that other burger place you ate today. But out of curiosity, how did you even eat all of this in one sitting?
Mcdonald's (Australia) - Big Mac, 1 burger 492 35 27 25 859 6
Mac Donalds - Medium Fries, 1 medium fries 340 41 17 4 800 0
Mac Donalds - Quarter Pounder With Cheese, 202 g 490 37 25 30 1,180 10
Mac Donalds - Small French Fries, 70 g 230 29 11 3 160 0
Mac - Nuggets , 0.5 box (6 pices) 162 11 10 7 256 0
Cocacola - Coke, 83.33 ml 36 9 0 0 8 90 -
Even if you do continue eating fast food, figure out how to fit it into your calorie goal. It's okay to eat a hamburger and fries every so often but when you eat over your TDEE, no matter what the food is, you are not eating at a deficit.
So if you have 400 calories for dinner and you really want fast food, then have it, but eat something that's 400 calories or less. Or, if that doesn't fill you up, make homemade fries or chips in the oven and chicken breast with a side of veggies, that way you can eat more food that's less calories.
Fast food I sometimes eat:
Fruit and yogurt parfait with granola from Mcds- 150 cals
4 piece chicken nuggets from Mcds- 190 cals plus sweet and sour sauce packet- 50 cals
English muffin with butter- 140-190 cals depending on restaurant and how much butter they use
Side salad- 20 cals (I use my own low cal ranch dressing because Mcd's ranch packet is 170 cals)
I have also had burgers with no bun in the past. No bun saves calories and the bun isn't really my favorite part anyway so I can do without it. I load mine up with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, red onions, and pickles. It's like a meat salad lol. It tastes really good. Eat it with a fork.
That way you can still have your fast food and not go way over in calories. I was actually thinking of making my own fries at home in my oven tonight...baked saves calories because even though you still use oil, the fries aren't being dipped in oil for 3 minutes and then salted after. (You can still salt yours at home if you'd like, I don't because I don't like salt.)0 -
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Add strength training to your cardio workout.0
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Ummm for real? Your diary is open, so I had a quick look and you ate at McDonalds, Dominos or KFC 8/10 days I looked at for dinner and two of those meals had 1500+ calories consumed.
I am not perfect, and I am still working towards my goals but eating 3500 mg of Sodium at one sitting and this amount is food is seriously going to hinder your results. It's about quality of food almost as much as it's about quantity.
You cannot, cannot, cannot out exercise a bad diet. And by diet, I mean what you consume in a day. You may be exercising - and that's fantastic - but eating like this won't give you the results I think you're ultimately looking for.
Also, I noticed when you're at McDonalds, it's a Big Mac, a Quarter Pounder, Fries and a 6 pack of Chicken Nuggets . . . and KFC is nuggets, chips, potatoes and gravy and a fillet burger. I have cheat days - but because I control them I have to really think about and pick out what I want to eat - that's what makes them cheat days: you don't have that kind of food very often and really enjoy it (or not, maybe feel like crap after eating it) because you aren't eating it 8 out of 10 days.0 -
Also, you said you're doing at least an hour of exercise 3 times/week. What kind of exercise is it - cardio, weights, HIIT? etc
The reason I ask is because sometimes you have 700+ calories earned by exercise and the only time I do that is when I spin because spinning is pretty intense, and even then I am just at 700 (plus MFP may over estimate how much I actually burn). So maybe you aren't burning as much as you think you are from this exercise?0 -
If you aren't losing weight, you aren't in a deficit. Simple as that.
Reasons why you aren't in a deficit:
1) You are underestimating how much you eat. Solution: Weigh all solids, measure all liquids. OR
2) You just have your calorie goal set too high in general for how active you are. Solution: Knock 100-200 cals off your daily goal for a week or two and see what happens with the scale.
3) Both option 1) and 2)
Yup!0 -
Also, you said you're doing at least an hour of exercise 3 times/week. What kind of exercise is it - cardio, weights, HIIT? etc
The reason I ask is because sometimes you have 700+ calories earned by exercise and the only time I do that is when I spin because spinning is pretty intense, and even then I am just at 700 (plus MFP may over estimate how much I actually burn). So maybe you aren't burning as much as you think you are from this exercise?
I'd like to second 43mmmgoody21's suggestion. I can burn 14 calories a minute (840/hour) when running at an 8:00 pace (7.5 miles per hour), but most other exercise except fast cross-country skiing burns less. I'm lucky to burn 10 calories a minute (600/hour) when cycling, and that is going 18-20 mph on the flats or going up serious hills. I'm a 46-year-old, 160 lb. (72 kg) guy.
Those figures come from my Garmin Edge 800 and ForeRunner 620 HRM/GPS computers, which use Firstbeat's advanced technology for measuring calorie expenditure. They are substantially lower than my old Sigma and Timex HRMs. Studies of HRMs suggest that they often overestimate energy expenditure. One study of the Polar F6 showed that, even calibrated with subjects' actual VO2max and HRmax, it overestimated energy expenditure by 27% (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21178923). An earlier study showed that the Polar S410 overestimated energy expenditure in women by 12% (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15292754). Another study found that the Polar S810i overestimated expenditure when exercising lightly but not moderately (http://www.jssm.org/vol9/n3/21/v9n3-21abst.php).0 -
You can eat what you like as long as you stay in a deficit, you will lose, whether you live on Mars bars or lettuce, a deficit is a deficit but I'm afraid you are not in a deficit at all.
Yup it's this simple
Today you are 800+ over goal atm
Shepards pie not weighed (unless you made it I suspect it's wrong in caloric content)
Homemade mini quiche...unless you made I suspect it's wrong...
Homemade shake see above
Rice 1/2cup
1 medium carrot
Homemade meatballs etc..
quick add calories (last time I thought about using quick adds I though eh let me confirm I was off by over 800)
to be frank your logging is awful...there is blunt for you.
Never mind what you eat...at least with fast food you can go to the nutrional site and know...along with the fact you are over goal by 2466 net calories in the last 9 days...0 -
You aren't losing weight because you are going over your calories regularly. When you are really committed to this, you might consider giving up fast food. Not everyone needs to do this, but I did because I couldn't meet my nutritional needs, stay at my calorie goal and eat fast food at all.
Cook some real food and stay at your calorie goal EVERY DAY. Isn't that what "lifestyle change" means?0 -
MFP wisdom says ALWAYS eat above your BMR. Eating below it is dangerous to you health. You disagree?
That's not "MFP Wisdom", that's "some people on MFP have convinced themselves that-dom".
(PS It's not correct, there is nothing inherently wrong with eating below BMR.)0 -
MFP wisdom says ALWAYS eat above your BMR. Eating below it is dangerous to you health. You disagree?
That's not "MFP Wisdom", that's "some people on MFP have convinced themselves that-dom".
(PS It's not correct, there is nothing inherently wrong with eating below BMR.)
x2
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1058378-oh-noes-i-am-eating-below-my-bmr0 -
because you aren't at a deficit.
End scene.0 -
Wow...looked at your diary for the past week...*shaking my head*...definitely not eating at a deficit.0
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According to your logs it appears that you are binging at the end of the day with convenience foods. Try to eat regularly scheduled (healthful) meals to spread out your calorie intake the day. I used to be stuck in a pattern of eating a very large dinner, going to directly to sleep, waking up - not hungry, skipping lunch due to my schedule and going right back into a large dinner which I "deserved because I barely ate anything all day." That cycle is easy to fall into and is counter productive. Best of luck with your goals,0
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MFP wisdom says ALWAYS eat above your BMR. Eating below it is dangerous to you health. You disagree? Sorry, I did not read all your quoted sources before asking the question. Which one of these, if any, pertains to eating at or below you BMR?
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Oh my word!! I love junk food & I do go to McDonalds occasionally. I've been at this for 30 days & I've already learned that I really have to watch my sodium or the scale will go up between .5 - 1 lb. depending on what I ate. I keep an apple or banana in my purse most of the time. When I forget my snack, I stop at the convenience store for a protein bar & bottled water. It keeps me full until I can make a better decision. I went to McDonalds with my son on Saturday as a treat, not a regular meal.0
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If you aren't losing weight, you aren't in a deficit. Simple as that.
Reasons why you aren't in a deficit:
1) You are underestimating how much you eat. Solution: Weigh all solids, measure all liquids. OR
2) You just have your calorie goal set too high in general for how active you are. Solution: Knock 100-200 cals off your daily goal for a week or two and see what happens with the scale.
3) Both option 1) and 2)
this.0 -
In my VERY humble opinion, just being at a deficit on calories isn't all you need to do. You need to ensure the quality of calories you are getting is good - eliminate, or at the very least reduce the amount of sugar/sodium and simple carbs in your diet. Things like crumpets, and fries, fast food stuff.
Other things that affect weight loss, in my experience: lack of good sleep, too much sodium, not enough exercise, overestimating calorie burn, and thus, eating too many calories, not drinking enough water. Maybe try tweaking a few things until you find what works for you.0 -
MFP wisdom says ALWAYS eat above your BMR. Eating below it is dangerous to you health. You disagree? Sorry, I did not read all your quoted sources before asking the question. Which one of these, if any, pertains to eating at or below you BMR?
There's not a single study that has established danger to eating at or below your BMR I have ever seen. The only thing that can become dangerous about reducing total intake is reducing total nutrient intake; however, it's possible to eat more nutrition at or below your BMR than the average American gets in 3,000+ calories.
The way that TDEE is estimated and how BMR fluctuates sometimes makes this a necessity for weight loss. So first off studies on BMR show that about 26% of all individual variance is unknown[1]. That's right folks unknown. They have measured multiple people with similar body composition that have had double the other's BMR. No explanation. It boggles me though this "unknown" isn't readily chalked up to diet because it's been observed over and over again BMR reactions to diet that aren't proportional to body composition changes [2]. The other thing you have to think about is that several BMR equations vary by several hundred calories and who's to say which one is more reflective of you? There's a long answer to how to pick which one you should use, but the short answer to it is you have to pick the one where the sample population to determine the equation was closest to your body composition. Unfortunately this also means that really lean and really obese people will tend to have the most erroneous results because they're furthest from the statistical mean.
Eating below BMR is covered indirectly in the myths in [3] but I'm purposely not including many studies that support this via VLED due to MFP policy. Although as a note eating at or slightly below BMR is usually much higher than a VLED.
New References:
1. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/5/941.full#F1
2. http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/7/1/68
3. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1208051
I like your style.0 -
In my VERY humble opinion, just being at a deficit on calories isn't all you need to do. You need to ensure the quality of calories you are getting is good - eliminate, or at the very least reduce the amount of sugar/sodium and simple carbs in your diet. Things like crumpets, and fries, fast food stuff.
Other things that affect weight loss, in my experience: lack of good sleep, too much sodium, not enough exercise, overestimating calorie burn, and thus, eating too many calories, not drinking enough water. Maybe try tweaking a few things until you find what works for you.
Nah, not really. See the twinkie diet experiment. I think I'd be miserable doing that, but you'd still lose weight.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html
Also anecdotally, the super size me movie by Spurlock. He interviewed lots of guys, some fat, some downright obese. And one skinny dude that ate one big mac every day. Key word being "one". Another teacher did something similar eating nothing but McD, but eating low-calorie foods most of the time like their salads, egg whites, etc. Only dinner was a burger.0 -
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There has been a lot of replies so I will try reply to everything.
Basically, the last week I had a miscarriage, so I kinda didn't really care what I ate. I am also severely stressed constantly which I think could affect weight as well from what I have read.
If you check the weeks previously, I am usually pretty good, and I log EVERYTHING. Like anything I put in my mouth, I log. Even last week when I had a pretty bad week, that is still everything I ate, I left nothing out.
Cheat days are also logged, as you can see from last week when I had like 4 of them. I was feeling pretty lousy and I really didn't care about anything other than not feeling so sad all the time due to what happened.
Also, I almost never have coke, or anything other than water or fresh juice from boost. I think in the last 2 months, if you checked , there has been 5 times or so, including once last week. Its not even hard for me since I don't like soft drinks, the fizz is too much for me.
I forget to log water, but usually it is around a litre day, sometimes 2 if I really try.
I think I may be over estimating when I don't have accurate measurement tools, but I do try pick the highest calorie option out of the list.
I also feel getting nutrition right is better than exercising it off, and I do my best not to eat back any burned calories, or go over my calories for the day just because I will be working out that night.
I have been logging for over 2 months, and I weighed myself yesterday and it turns out I had lost weight, which is great.
Also my exercise routine used to consist of weights and cardio, mostly weights, not it seems I get really worn out so I try stick to cardio mostly and a bit of weights, need to start lifting again. I don't ever plan my routine, so it actually usually is broken up and not a routine as such since I do whatever I feel like one the day, and some days are harder than others.
I also underestimate all the calories I burn.
I suppose it isn't so much I am not losing, as I am not losing as much as I would like? especially after over 2 months.
Also I should add, with my work load, I have almost no time for breakfast and lunch besides the weekends, which is why most days there is only dinner. This "dinner" is usually spread out over 3 hours or so, so even if I have had a lot calorie wise, I didn't eat it all at once.
I am not trying to skip meals, but I don't feel hungry, and I am too busy, therefore I don't eat. I also have researched it, and the frequency of eating doesn't affect much else besides how hungry you are later. I could fast all day and still be fine for dinner.
With my bmr at around 1500, and a tdee of around 2000, I think 1400 should be a good goal for me, that I usually am able to stick to as well. I got these figures from a few different sources, not just MFP.
I suppose with all the crash diets, I am not sure what an accurate, healthy weight loss time line looks like. I feel like 2 kg in 2 months isn't enough.
Also, regardless of what kind of food I eat, if I am at a deficit, I will lose weight. I could eat twinkies, as mentioned above.
I also try to keep my cheat days below about 2000, so at leats I am not exceeding my tdee.
I am not gaining any, and I have lost weight, but my question was kind of why I wasn't losing as much as is estimated for me by mfp and anything else I have looked up.
I am glad so many of you have taken the time to answer and it is really helpful.
I know I need to be stricter, and that will probably help me lose more weight, but I guess when it doesn't come off fast enough I feel like I cant be bothered anymore.
Also I am 5'7(170cm) and I weigh 74.4 (about 163 pounds?) and I look pretty fit, so I am what you would call skinny fat I guess?
I really want to tone up and get my body to a place I am happy with it.
I think I have unrealistic goals of how soon the weight should come off, and that is what discourages me and makes me want to give up when it doesn't happen as soon as it should have.
I was also pregnant without knowing it for a month, so that probably added to why I wasn't "losing" any.0
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