Destined to be overweight forever???
Options
Replies
-
You will not gain muscle in a calorie deficit. Ever. If you seem more muscular, it may be due to fat loss, which reveals existing muscle underneath. Do you change up your routine a lot? That can cause water retention. Do you eat a lot of salt and not drink so much water? Do you have cheat days? Maybe it's all just water weight. If not, then you're not in a calorie deficit. It's hard to hear the same thing over and over, but unless you have a medical issue which causes problems losing weight, calories in vs out is science and there's no way around it.0
-
I think you are doing something wrong here. My guess is you are not counting all of your calories correctly. For my first month I only ate food I could accurately calculate. I would go to McDonalds for a plain McDouble before going to the local bar for a burger just because I could get a pretty accurate calorie count. I also weighed myself everyday so when I started eating at other places and had to estimate calories I could see what places screwed up my progress.
How often do you walk? How long do you walk for? I started walking 3 miles per day for like the first month and now I do between 6-8 miles a day. 8.16 miles last night in under 2 hours.
I used ot mix in running but it kept screwing up my feet, blisters, achilles tendinitis, etc and it wasn't producing any better results for me than walking.
If you seriously want to lose weight, dedicate yourself for 1 month of being strict. Follow your MyFitnessPal calorie recommendations and stay at your suggested caloric in-take. Exercise at least 5 days a week. If you walk do it for at least 1 hour a night or in the evening after having a small dinner. When you get home, have a glass of water, shower, watch a little TV and go to bed.
Weigh yourself in the morning and you will have lost weight. I have been doing this for 4 months and 1 week and have lost 70 lbs. Obviously everyone is different so find what works for you through trial and error.
I can honestly tell you that I feel better and better everyday.
You can do it.... Good luck!
Mark
I have been walking about 6k in 58 minutes
I run 2k in 15 minutes (brand new to running and really finding it difficult with shin pain)
The classes I do are 45 mins and are mixed with sprints, burpees, squat thrusts chest press, lunges, squats, shoulder raise, lat raise, tricep dips, lots of ab work. basically HIIT for 45 mins
Well done with your progress! You are doing amazingly well!0 -
I used to think the same thing, I was stuck in the "Obese" BMI category for 7 years, struggled the same as you, never seeing results.
I re-evaluated my plan after the birth of my daughter in January, cut out things that seemed "healthy" that really aren't that healthy (like lean cuisine meals, clif bars) i used to also take a "cheat meal" once per week. i simplified my recipes/meals to fewer simple ingredients- like chicken breast, brown rice and asparagus. i cut out added salt/condiments, cut back milk and switched it for almond milk, cut back carbs, upped my protein and water.... and cut out the cheat meal. I also watched my portion sizes and bought a food scale-best purchase ever!
I've only made changes that have been recommended since the dawn of time, but i realized that when I thought i was already eating healthy, i really wasn't eating the best I could have.
It's paid off tremendously, 73lbs gone since January.
I noticed that you are doing a lot of working out, some times it can take longer for inches to be gone before pounds. I am now 135lbs -but- I am not in very good shape. I'm sure that you are making progress, maybe you can go through and check what you are eating like I did, make sure you are 100% happy with it, make sure you are drinking lots of water so you don't hold onto water with all of the exercising you are doing.
Good luck to you! Your results will sneak up on you and surprise you when you least expect it, stay strong and keep pushing through!
Thank you for this.
Will definitely take on this advice and double check everything that I am logging0 -
How long have you been doing this for?
If you want I can look at your daily intake- I'm a new member on the site but II'm experienced with regards to diet and fitness.
You'll need to add me as a friend I believe.
I tend to work in 2-3 month blocks- if you are sure you're doing the right thing and don't see any improvement in 2-3 months then make changes.
Changing things every week or so because you don't think they are working doesn't necessarily work.
Sometimes you just have to grind it out.0 -
Bex - What MrM is responding to is that one does not gain 'significant' amount of muscle at a deficit. Especially if the deficit is large. Especially if protein amounts are relatively low. Larger muscle gains are done at calorie surplus.
His comment is correct - if you are only eating 1200 and training very hard - your net calories are so low as to preclude any significant LBM growth.
Did you look at the links posted?0 -
I think you are doing something wrong here. My guess is you are not counting all of your calories correctly. For my first month I only ate food I could accurately calculate. I would go to McDonalds for a plain McDouble before going to the local bar for a burger just because I could get a pretty accurate calorie count. I also weighed myself everyday so when I started eating at other places and had to estimate calories I could see what places screwed up my progress.
How often do you walk? How long do you walk for? I started walking 3 miles per day for like the first month and now I do between 6-8 miles a day. 8.16 miles last night in under 2 hours.
I used ot mix in running but it kept screwing up my feet, blisters, achilles tendinitis, etc and it wasn't producing any better results for me than walking.
If you seriously want to lose weight, dedicate yourself for 1 month of being strict. Follow your MyFitnessPal calorie recommendations and stay at your suggested caloric in-take. Exercise at least 5 days a week. If you walk do it for at least 1 hour a night or in the evening after having a small dinner. When you get home, have a glass of water, shower, watch a little TV and go to bed.
Weigh yourself in the morning and you will have lost weight. I have been doing this for 4 months and 1 week and have lost 70 lbs. Obviously everyone is different so find what works for you through trial and error.
I can honestly tell you that I feel better and better everyday.
You can do it.... Good luck!
Mark
I have been walking about 6k in 58 minutes
I run 2k in 15 minutes (brand new to running and really finding it difficult with shin pain)
The classes I do are 45 mins and are mixed with sprints, burpees, squat thrusts chest press, lunges, squats, shoulder raise, lat raise, tricep dips, lots of ab work. basically HIIT for 45 mins
Well done with your progress! You are doing amazingly well!
That's great training but if it's not HIIT - High Intensity Intervals are intervals done at high intensity - intended for maximal cardio for short bursts, not 45 minutes.
Also if you are doing this type of cross training - it really isn't progressive loading focused on muscle development.
It's a good work out - is it aligned with your goals? If you want to develop muscle mass - sprints, 'lots of ab work', at a deficit isn't ideal.0 -
Thank you. After reading more and more of the thread and your replies I think your body may be in starvation mode. Basically if you eat too few calories and exercise a lot your body will begin to hold on to everything you eat. This may sound a little crazy but try eating more for a few days to kick start your metabolism.
Continue to exercise though.
Question : What is your goal? To get cut up? to be muscular? Toned?
Mark 0 -
I peeked at your diary, and weighing out your portions would help a lot with your accuracy. You have things like a small banana, you log the same 90 calories for each banana, bananas will vary in size so they aren't all 90 calories, most of mine are 105 +. That's a small difference but when you have multiple small errors they do add up.
Stef wrote a great thread on how to improve logging:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=logging+step+guide
The nutella just using a tablespoon measurement will never be accurate and can be off by lots. I love eating tablespoons of peanut butter and if I don't weigh it, I can easily fit 32 g of peanut butter on 1 tablespoon (but the serving size will say 2 tablespoons) so if I didn't go by the weight, I would be eating double what I was logging.
Yes I know it could be better...the banana thing is a pain as I just grab one as I run out the door (they are the mini version ones for kids lunchboxes?) and I never eat a full one.
I haven't bought any nutella this week as I need to cut that crap out...lets see if it makes a difference!
Basically this...
I took a peek as well and I see a lot of stuff not weighed...ham, cookies...etc
Even prepacakged items need to be weighed as the manufacturer is allowed a 20% variance on the actual weight per the lable.
Now I am looking back through and I see on July 18th you logged just over 800 calories??? that is either way too little or you forgot to log stuff...and there are a lot of days back in june where nothing is logged
Entries that start with homemade...unless they are yours shouldn't be used..
Basically you are eating more than you think...in June your logging was sporatic at best...using homemade entries and not weighing.
In July you appear to be logging better but you still have the other issues.
If you find you are in a hurry in the morning, prep at night. Prelog your entire day(s) it does make planning a lot easier.0 -
Thank you. After reading more and more of the thread and your replies I think your body may be in starvation mode. Basically if you eat too few calories and exercise a lot your body will begin to hold on to everything you eat. This may sound a little crazy but try eating more for a few days to kick start your metabolism.
Continue to exercise though.
Question : What is your goal? To get cut up? to be muscular? Toned?
Mark
Perfect. I was waiting for someone to bring up "starvation mode." Don't spread that rubbish around and make readers believe that eating at a reasonable deficit will cause their body to hold on to fat. Metabolic slowdown comes from prolonged amounts of time at a severe deficit, and even then it will not result in a complete halt in fat loss. OP is eating 1200 calories (allegedly; I still believe it to be more), which may be low for some, but not enough to starve.0 -
I'm in exactly the same boat - I feel like I'm being super good with my diet, exercising regularly, weighing my food, trying to drink lots of water and get rest etc etc etc. But at the moment the scales are at a stand still with me! I posted my dilemma to a fitness/nurtition group I'm part of and have been advised by every person that responded to increase my calories (I'm also at 1200) and to track my macros. I had previously been given a full plan based on 1700 calories a day (150g protein, 120g carbs, 60g fat) and 4 workouts a week and it really did work, it was just a case of carefully choosing food to reach my macronutrient targets. So maybe this is something to keep an eye on? I'll be going back to this after this weekend to see if it helps kick start things againl, I tried out the 1200 cals a day hoping it would get me to my target weight sooner but it hasn't
Not sure if that's helpful information, but good luck and don't give up Standing still is better than going backwards! 0 -
Hold on a second. Maybe I went too far with saying starvation mode. What I meant to say was her metabolism may be slowing. We have already established that she is eating more than she is logging and her exercise is way up. It could just be a dip in metabolism that could be the reason she isn't losing consistently. OR she isn't working out as much as she thinks.
What I do know from experience is that when I am super strict on my caloric in take and go consistently lower than 1400 cals I lose less.
In any event, everything I have said is based on my own experiences over the last 4 months and 1 week. Hopefully that experience can help. Obviously my body and physiological makeup are different from yours. You have to find out what makes your body burn the best.
Mark 0 -
Thank you. After reading more and more of the thread and your replies I think your body may be in starvation mode. Basically if you eat too few calories and exercise a lot your body will begin to hold on to everything you eat. This may sound a little crazy but try eating more for a few days to kick start your metabolism.
Continue to exercise though.
Question : What is your goal? To get cut up? to be muscular? Toned?
Mark
My main goal is to lose body fat. I don't want the wobble any more. To also increase my fitness level as I have a v.energetic boy!0 -
Thank you. After reading more and more of the thread and your replies I think your body may be in starvation mode. Basically if you eat too few calories and exercise a lot your body will begin to hold on to everything you eat. This may sound a little crazy but try eating more for a few days to kick start your metabolism.
You can ignore this completely.
(And Mark, if you want your ticker at the bottom of each of your posts go here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/settings don't copy and paste into each post.)0 -
I peeked at your diary, and weighing out your portions would help a lot with your accuracy. You have things like a small banana, you log the same 90 calories for each banana, bananas will vary in size so they aren't all 90 calories, most of mine are 105 +. That's a small difference but when you have multiple small errors they do add up.
Stef wrote a great thread on how to improve logging:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=logging+step+guide
The nutella just using a tablespoon measurement will never be accurate and can be off by lots. I love eating tablespoons of peanut butter and if I don't weigh it, I can easily fit 32 g of peanut butter on 1 tablespoon (but the serving size will say 2 tablespoons) so if I didn't go by the weight, I would be eating double what I was logging.
Yes I know it could be better...the banana thing is a pain as I just grab one as I run out the door (they are the mini version ones for kids lunchboxes?) and I never eat a full one.
I haven't bought any nutella this week as I need to cut that crap out...lets see if it makes a difference!
Basically this...
I took a peek as well and I see a lot of stuff not weighed...ham, cookies...etc
Even prepacakged items need to be weighed as the manufacturer is allowed a 20% variance on the actual weight per the lable.
Now I am looking back through and I see on July 18th you logged just over 800 calories??? that is either way too little or you forgot to log stuff...and there are a lot of days back in june where nothing is logged
Entries that start with homemade...unless they are yours shouldn't be used..
Basically you are eating more than you think...in June your logging was sporatic at best...using homemade entries and not weighing.
In July you appear to be logging better but you still have the other issues.
If you find you are in a hurry in the morning, prep at night. Prelog your entire day(s) it does make planning a lot easier.
Thanks Stef. I will tighten up on my measuring. I just figured If I used the scanner on my phone it would be accurate. I will definitely take that on board as its probably where I am going wrong.
June was not good logging I will hold my hands up. I have since read your post on logging and realised the differences in selecting the correct item.
July 18th...yes, that was all I ate although the measurements were probably off due to the above comment about phone scanner. Not good I know. I have had eating issues in the past and some days I can go all day and not realise I haven't eaten.
I am so focused on doing this thanks to everyone on here!0 -
I'm in exactly the same boat - I feel like I'm being super good with my diet, exercising regularly, weighing my food, trying to drink lots of water and get rest etc etc etc. But at the moment the scales are at a stand still with me! I posted my dilemma to a fitness/nurtition group I'm part of and have been advised by every person that responded to increase my calories (I'm also at 1200) and to track my macros. I had previously been given a full plan based on 1700 calories a day (150g protein, 120g carbs, 60g fat) and 4 workouts a week and it really did work, it was just a case of carefully choosing food to reach my macronutrient targets. So maybe this is something to keep an eye on? I'll be going back to this after this weekend to see if it helps kick start things againl, I tried out the 1200 cals a day hoping it would get me to my target weight sooner but it hasn't
Not sure if that's helpful information, but good luck and don't give up Standing still is better than going backwards!
Thank you for that..I had no idea about Macros...I am now reading up on different nutritional values etc and hoping that I can get my head around it all.0 -
Hold on a second. Maybe I went too far with saying starvation mode. What I meant to say was her metabolism may be slowing. We have already established that she is eating more than she is logging and her exercise is way up. It could just be a dip in metabolism that could be the reason she isn't losing consistently. OR she isn't working out as much as she thinks.
What I do know from experience is that when I am super strict on my caloric in take and go consistently lower than 1400 cals I lose less.
In any event, everything I have said is based on my own experiences over the last 4 months and 1 week. Hopefully that experience can help. Obviously my body and physiological makeup are different from yours. You have to find out what makes your body burn the best.
Mark
A reduction in metabolism would correspond to about 10-15% maximum change in metabolism. It's called Adaptive Thermogenesis and while it might be a factor in some weight loss - it isn't the thing to look for until one has truly locked in the other issues related to logging, weighing calories consumed.
Here is the thread on that...
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1077746-starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss
Edit: if the OP is still just getting the basics of macros then she's not yet tracking properly.0 -
No, no, no.Thank you. After reading more and more of the thread and your replies I think your body may be in starvation mode. Basically if you eat too few calories and exercise a lot your body will begin to hold on to everything you eat. This may sound a little crazy but try eating more for a few days to kick start your metabolism.
Continue to exercise though.
Question : What is your goal? To get cut up? to be muscular? Toned?
Mark
Let me ask you this extreme hypothetical:
I take you into a dungeon and lock you in. You are currently 100 lbs overweight. I lock you in there for 1 month. I give you plenty of water daily along with let's say 400 calories of food consisting of 1 piece of bread and a small piece of chicken.
After the one month passes do you think you will still be 100 lbs overweight? Would you have gained weight or would you have lost weight? Seriously think about it and think about what you consider "starvation mode" theory..
I am glad someone has bought this up as I was confused by the term. My sister keeps saying I am probably in starvation mode (a phrase I have heard so often over the years) but my question has always been well if you don't feed someone then they lose weight so how is that theory correct.
I understand where Mark is coming from on the lowering metabolism etc I am just unsure of how it all works. There seems to be so much conflicting advice around.0 -
I've come to accept the fact that I pretty much cannot reach my goal... forever bulk then0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 399 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 978 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions