Going backwards ???

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Replies

  • sweetnlow30
    sweetnlow30 Posts: 497 Member
    The last bit of weight is frustrating because you have a smaller margin of error since your deficit is smaller. I agree with eating back 50% of your exercise calories. That gives you some room if you are not 100% accurate on your logging. At 1200 calories you should be eating at least some back or your deficit will be too low and easing into maintenance might be more difficult.
  • Thunderfan66
    Thunderfan66 Posts: 105 Member
    Sooo..I've been doing MFP for almost 3 years now, I LOVE exercising, I run (7-9km), do weights and cardio at the gym, I have a cross-trainer at home plus I go on big walks with our german shepherd. I originally got down from 68kg to 61.5kg in the first year (took 6 weeks for the weight loss to START, and I had just about given up when all of a sudden it happened!).

    I put heaps of friends onto it as it was just so EASY and some days I would go over, some days under, but in the end it all balanced out and was working FANTASTICALLY !!!!!

    I did go up and down a bit, I looked a bit too lean at 61.5kg so was happy at 62.5, went up to around 64kg, then all of a sudden I'm up to 66.8kg and NOTHING I do is helping !!! :(

    ...........

    I'm 37 in August, I do feel that since I turned 35 it has gotten a lot harder - does anyone else have the same problem ??? It's frustrating as I can't fit any of my jeans from last year !!! waaaaaaaaa LOL.....


    This is almost me exactly! I've never done the body building thing, but about 3 years ago I got down to 61.5kg, which is my lowest weight ever. It seemed quite easy and when I look back at the food diary I kept then, I was eating HEAPS (probably more than now). I too looked a bit too skinny at 61.5kg - I'd be happy at 63-64kg. But now got up to 67.5kg and nothing I do gets it off! I exercise everyday, do cardio, weights, dance, running,yoga - so heaps of variety. I'm turning 37 this year too and it is so hard now, nothing I do will get this pesky 3-4 kg off!!!!
  • raj2208
    raj2208 Posts: 26
    I just peeped your profile. What?! You're an expert at this. You should be giving advice, not asking for it. ;) If you got down to 10% BF before, then you know how to lose.


    yeah..that was 10yrs ago! I was 25yrs old, in a bad relationship so being so controlled with my diet was OK as it gave me some control in my life ...living on protein powder/shakes/tuna/rolled oats/steamed fish/chicken and steamed veges for 8 months....I just can't do that now - can't afford all the protein shakes/bars (plus I'd rather get my protein from proper food), plus I was on pseudoephedrine or whatever it's called, major fat burning pills, .....things are very different now and I don't want to do that sort of eating again as I LOVE food and got no enjoyment out of that bland food...just feeling frustrated as I did it before and got down past my goal weight, I look back at my food diary and was eating a lot more than I do now !! Don't know why my body won't drop fat ?! - 5 weeks back on it and NOTHING - am confused!
  • raj2208
    raj2208 Posts: 26
    Sooo..I've been doing MFP for almost 3 years now, I LOVE exercising, I run (7-9km), do weights and cardio at the gym, I have a cross-trainer at home plus I go on big walks with our german shepherd. I originally got down from 68kg to 61.5kg in the first year (took 6 weeks for the weight loss to START, and I had just about given up when all of a sudden it happened!).

    I put heaps of friends onto it as it was just so EASY and some days I would go over, some days under, but in the end it all balanced out and was working FANTASTICALLY !!!!!

    I did go up and down a bit, I looked a bit too lean at 61.5kg so was happy at 62.5, went up to around 64kg, then all of a sudden I'm up to 66.8kg and NOTHING I do is helping !!! :(

    ...........

    I'm 37 in August, I do feel that since I turned 35 it has gotten a lot harder - does anyone else have the same problem ??? It's frustrating as I can't fit any of my jeans from last year !!! waaaaaaaaa LOL.....


    This is almost me exactly! I've never done the body building thing, but about 3 years ago I got down to 61.5kg, which is my lowest weight ever. It seemed quite easy and when I look back at the food diary I kept then, I was eating HEAPS (probably more than now). I too looked a bit too skinny at 61.5kg - I'd be happy at 63-64kg. But now got up to 67.5kg and nothing I do gets it off! I exercise everyday, do cardio, weights, dance, running,yoga - so heaps of variety. I'm turning 37 this year too and it is so hard now, nothing I do will get this pesky 3-4 kg off!!!!


    Yeah that does sound exactly like me!! I also looked back on my food diary when I was down at 61-62kg and was eating way more !! chocolate every day !! around 1500-1600 cal !! (eating back exercise cals), I also prefer being around the 62.5-64kg mark but for some reason NOTHING is happening now ??? It's like my body is fighting the fat loss ? A few days ago after my first day of no sugar (treats - biscuits/chocolate etc) and sticking to 1200 cal (not eating exercise cals) I dropped 700gm, then after 2/3 more days of being really damned good, that 700g has gone back on again !!?? WTF ?!?!??! :sad:

    A friend is reading books by this Dr who says how your hormone levels/thyroid function etc is all related to how your body loses weight etc, but I mean if we did it not long ago why suddenly is it not working now ?? I just don't get it eh - we're both very physical obviously - I am rather short at 5ft 4 so every kg shows !! :blushing:
  • Dr__Girlfriend
    Dr__Girlfriend Posts: 100 Member
    I don't think you're eating enough. 1050 calories a day? With exercise? If you've been doing that for 8 months it's very likely your metabolism has adapted trying to keep you alive - Adaptive thermogenesis. Speaking from experience, undereating made my resting metabolic rate drop to 400 calories per day. It took a long time to fix the damage I did to my metabolism. Don't be like me.

    Here's why exercising more and eating less is a bad combination for stubborn body fat;
    http://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/how-to-burn-stubborn-body-fat

    Re-calculate your macros here -
    (it automatically takes your fitness/workout amounts into consideration)

    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    You want to cut at 10-20% of your TDEE. It will calculate these numbers for you.
  • raj2208
    raj2208 Posts: 26
    I don't think you're eating enough. 1050 calories a day? With exercise? If you've been doing that for 8 months it's very likely your metabolism has adapted trying to keep you alive - Adaptive thermogenesis. Speaking from experience, undereating made my resting metabolic rate drop to 400 calories per day. It took a long time to fix the damage I did to my metabolism. Don't be like me.

    Here's why exercising more and eating less is a bad combination for stubborn body fat;
    http://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/how-to-burn-stubborn-body-fat

    Re-calculate your macros here -
    (it automatically takes your fitness/workout amounts into consideration)

    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    You want to cut at 10-20% of your TDEE. It will calculate these numbers for you.



    hey there :) I will check those links out - thanks!
    I haven't been doing that for 8 months...I have been previously eating all my exercise calories, so around 1500-1600 cal per day, I went off MFP for 2 months as had been logging every single day for 3-4 years and just thought I'd be OK without logging as I thought I knew by then what the daily intake was - but when I weighed myself when I stopped fitting my clothes LOL I was up by 3kg...I've only dropped to 1200 cal per day and not eating exercise calories for the past few days, to see if it would make any difference, as I've been sticking to it for 5 weeks (eating exercise calories) and not shifting anything :sad:
  • Dr__Girlfriend
    Dr__Girlfriend Posts: 100 Member

    hey there :) I will check those links out - thanks!
    I haven't been doing that for 8 months...I have been previously eating all my exercise calories, so around 1500-1600 cal per day, I went off MFP for 2 months as had been logging every single day for 3-4 years and just thought I'd be OK without logging as I thought I knew by then what the daily intake was - but when I weighed myself when I stopped fitting my clothes LOL I was up by 3kg...I've only dropped to 1200 cal per day and not eating exercise calories for the past few days, to see if it would make any difference, as I've been sticking to it for 5 weeks (eating exercise calories) and not shifting anything :sad:

    Gotcha. Yeah, definitely check out those links! I know how frustrating it can be to plateau, you might just be due for a "whoosh" of weight loss. Hang in there, and try not to cut too low in kcal:) You'll thank yourself in the long run!

    Also, I've found that, esp if you're working out, the scale can be extremely deceiving. I once gained 10 lbs much to my frustration, but I realized I had LOST a dress size. I really advocate for measuring progress through a measuring tape or how your clothes fit, or by taking picture in a mirror. If you end up putting on muscle during your cut due to noob gains, or because you're eating closer to maint, your weight may not go down, but your clothes will start falling off:) Plus weight fluctuates so much due to hormones, food intake volume, etc.. Just something to keep in mind:) I was a lot happier when I started measuring my progress through pictures. I could see my butt getting perkier and my stomach getting flatter etc, and I wasn't fixated on an arbitrary number.
  • raj2208
    raj2208 Posts: 26
    [/quote]

    Do you use the phone app? Since I'm with my phone all the time, it takes very little time definitely less than ten or even five minutes a day to log. Even when I'm super tired I can do it while laying in bed. You can scan foods in easily, copy them from one day to the next if you really do eat the same things all the time, use the recipe function etc etc. It just seems like conflicting info I mean are you logging or not
    [/quote]

    No, don't use phone app...I just have a cheap and nasty phone - only use it for texting/ringing - no internet function on it. I do log everything I eat - all my recipes are entered correctly - I just don't measure say the milk I put in coffee/cereal, I hazard a guess as have a fair idea of how much I'm eating - say I have smoked salmon out of a 200g pack I have about a quarter of it so I"ll say 50g, but don't actually weigh it - etc.