what am i doing wrong?

Lola2248
Lola2248 Posts: 126 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I have put on 2 lbs. I know its only 2 lbs but i've been really trying this week

This is my basics:
Thursday: 1144 calories in, 2993 burned
Fridayu 1353 calories in, 2793 burned
Saturday 1338 in 3051 out
Sunday 1350 in 2674 out
Monday 1287 in 2980 out

I thought I had to make a 100 calorie deficit - 500 cal burned through exercise and 500 cal diet deficit.
I am supposed to eat 2184 calories a day to maintain weight.

My exercise has been a mix of 10000 steps a day plus half hour/hour session in gym - weights/cardio etc.

What am I doing wrong? I'm scared as I am dangerously close to passing the 15 stone mark again and to me thats my borderline.

any advice or help is much appreciated xx

Replies

  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    First weight fluctuates all the time 2 lbs is well within a normal fluctuation.

    Now how are you calculating your calories burned? Can you open your diary
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    15 stone ! Gosh.

    *What* are you eating - closed diary. Are you in the clear medically - diabetes / PCOS / insulin resistance / thyroid etc

    At 1300 of real food intake (no estimates) you should lose weight, unless you're very short. Height ?
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,371 Member
    What exercise are you doing for those calorie burns?
  • Lola2248
    Lola2248 Posts: 126 Member
    I Know!! Its so frustrating!

    Calculating calories by making recipes. I use a Fitbit and create meals on that. I don't buy ready meals or anything like that.
    Last night it was fish, oven baked, with a little coconut oil, salt and pepper, steamed rice and salad.

    I am 5'6" and 34. I have just lost my job, so am at home. So I am going to the gym every morning, walking - 1.3 miles. Once i am in there I am varying the cardio, eliptical, rower, bike, treadmill, until I have done about 45 minutes cardio. Then doing some toning stuff - switching arms and legs every other day. Then walking back home.

    I hade a diabetes test years ago and given the all clear. As for PCOS, thyroid etc I don't know.

    Its making me miserable and frustrated.
  • OllyJ_79
    OllyJ_79 Posts: 126 Member
    Are you eating back the exercise calories? I'm guessing the numbers you have put for out are total calories per day, not just exercise on their own? It still looks quite high, I would put your TDEE around 2400, which would include your walking and working out.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Ok so I have put on 2 lbs. I know its only 2 lbs but i've been really trying this week

    This is my basics:
    Thursday: 1144 calories in, 2993 burned
    Fridayu 1353 calories in, 2793 burned
    Saturday 1338 in 3051 out
    Sunday 1350 in 2674 out
    Monday 1287 in 2980 out

    I thought I had to make a 100 calorie deficit - 500 cal burned through exercise and 500 cal diet deficit.
    I am supposed to eat 2184 calories a day to maintain weight.

    My exercise has been a mix of 10000 steps a day plus half hour/hour session in gym - weights/cardio etc.

    What am I doing wrong? I'm scared as I am dangerously close to passing the 15 stone mark again and to me thats my borderline.

    any advice or help is much appreciated xx
    I'd have to run 25 miles to burn 3000 calories I think your calculating your calories a wee bit wrong.
  • Lola2248
    Lola2248 Posts: 126 Member
    Ok so I have put on 2 lbs. I know its only 2 lbs but i've been really trying this week

    This is my basics:
    Thursday: 1144 calories in, 2993 burned
    Fridayu 1353 calories in, 2793 burned
    Saturday 1338 in 3051 out
    Sunday 1350 in 2674 out
    Monday 1287 in 2980 out

    I thought I had to make a 100 calorie deficit - 500 cal burned through exercise and 500 cal diet deficit.
    I am supposed to eat 2184 calories a day to maintain weight.

    My exercise has been a mix of 10000 steps a day plus half hour/hour session in gym - weights/cardio etc.

    What am I doing wrong? I'm scared as I am dangerously close to passing the 15 stone mark again and to me thats my borderline.

    any advice or help is much appreciated xx
    I'd have to run 25 miles to burn 3000 calories I think your calculating your calories a wee bit wrong.

    Thats calries burned in a day, including exercise. Just not for exercise alone. And it is calculated by my FitBit, not me.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Are you getting 50 - 80g of protein daily and plenty of fat in your diet ?
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    (1) Are you weighing your food on a digital scale to ensure you're logging accurately?
    (2) Are you certain you're not "double dipping" where your exercise is being counted twice?
    (3) Which FitBit do you have? Do you just let it do it's thing? Or do you manually add exercises?
    (4) How long have you been at 1000+ deficit? (and were you eating at a surplus before 7 days ago?) If it's just been this week, I'd give it at least another week before I assume something is wrong. And if you'd been eating at a surplus before, well, the body can take some time to change direction and momentum of fat storage vs. fat loss.
    (5) How much water are you drinking?
  • Jerrypeoples
    Jerrypeoples Posts: 1,541 Member
    I'd have to run 25 miles to burn 3000 calories I think your calculating your calories a wee bit wrong.

    a little bit of an exaggeration isnt that? last month alone i burned an average of 3182 per day with an average of probably 5 miles per day according to fitbit
  • joanna_82
    joanna_82 Posts: 151 Member
    I have a Garmin Vivofit and started syncing it with MFP but then it got really confusing with the daily total calorie burn vs the burn of exercise with knowing what I could and couldn't eat.

    So I have stopped syncing my vivofit with MFP and just log any formal exercise separately and eat at my calorie allowance, plus some of my exercise calories.

    So i eat my 1650 calories, log my excersise, and just use my vivofit to see how many steps I take and how active I am. Its much easier that way.
  • OllyJ_79
    OllyJ_79 Posts: 126 Member
    That's quite accurate, for Net calorie burn whilst running, the basic formula has been established in lab tests as:

    0.63 x your weight in lb's x distance in miles

    The "Net Calorie Burn" measures calories burned, minus basal metabolism. Scientists consider this the best way to evaluate the actual calorie-burn of any exercise.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-are-you-really-burning?page=single
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Since you don't log here we can't check for accuracy.

    But I'm 5'6 lift 3 times a week, ride my bike 70+ miles a week and throw in an occasional run and I don't burn 3000 calories a day. My maintenance is around 2200.

    When you log your exercise into fitbit are you also counting the steps it registered while doing that workout?

    Here's some information that might help

    Log your food accurately and honestly. Go for 80% good choices the other 20% don't worry so much about. I eat lots of delicious food and have consistently lost. Keep it simple find a REASONABLE deficit:

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=logging+step+guide

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • em435
    em435 Posts: 210 Member
    (1) Are you weighing your food on a digital scale to ensure you're logging accurately?
    (2) Are you certain you're not "double dipping" where your exercise is being counted twice?
    (3) Which FitBit do you have? Do you just let it do it's thing? Or do you manually add exercises?
    (4) How long have you been at 1000+ deficit? (and were you eating at a surplus before 7 days ago?) If it's just been this week, I'd give it at least another week before I assume something is wrong. And if you'd been eating at a surplus before, well, the body can take some time to change direction and momentum of fat storage vs. fat loss.
    (5) How much water are you drinking?

    ^All of the above.

    On one hand 2lbs is just a good poop or water weight. (I've seen my weight fluctuate +/- 6lbs in just 2days)

    On the other... something's off here. If you're averaging 2800-2900 cals burned per day and 2184 is your maintenance, you already have a decent deficit (600+cals). Why are you eating even less? Your daily deficit is somewhere between 1300-1800calories per day and, I know I'm no expert but that's a huge! Even if your BMI is through the roof, your deficit shouldn't be much more than 1000cals per day (2lbs loss per week).

    I would focus on getting your deficit to something sustainable and suitable for you first (jwhited's post), then worry about the 2lbs gain (which I doubt it is. Just your body wondering wtf is going on).

    Anyway, hope you start to see progress soon.
    Feel free to drop me a line
    x
  • lowerhogan
    lowerhogan Posts: 47 Member
    Just as an aside, do you think the 2lb (which isn't all that much with fluctuation etc.) could be down to you actually toning up and creating a bit more muscle mass that will weigh that bit more? I just notice you are lifting weights and that might be your body toning up, losing inches which is another measure of weight loss etc

    Best of luck
  • Lola2248
    Lola2248 Posts: 126 Member
    I am not recording anything other than my food. I am letting my fitbit calculate the calories burned. I am not entering any exercise on my fitbit. Therefore, I don't think I am double dipping my exercise. Am I right?

    I drink maybe a litre to two of water a day.

    No, i'm not weighing my food. I use my hands as a gauge for a portion.

    I don't know what to do about my diet. I try and stick to the 1200 calories approx a day. I walk 10000 minimum steps a day, and have been going to the gym every day for the last 3 weeks. I lost 5lbs in the first two weeks, then have gained two back.
    THats why I'm panicking I am doing something wrong. I don't want to be going up the scale. I want to be going down.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member

    No, i'm not weighing my food. I use my hands as a gauge for a portion.

    That's your problem right there. You are likely vastly underestimating calories consumed.
  • smn76237
    smn76237 Posts: 318 Member
    I'm not sure where you are tracking your food, but between July 1 and today, there are only 4 diary entries on MFP, all of which are incomplete.

    Step 1) Set reasonable calorie goal
    Step 2) Buy food scale
    Step 3) Log EVERYTHING that goes into your mouth, using said food scale. Yes, even weigh your fruits and vegetables. Yes, log everything including weekends, alcoholic drinks, "cheat meals" just that one bite of of something that "doesn't count," etc.
    Step 4) Do the above steps for a few weeks. See what happens.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    If you started less than a week ago, majorly increasing your activity: give it more time.

    Give it 4-6 weeks of weighing/measuring your food & your new activity level for results. Drink plenty of water, get plenty of protein. And if you feel lethargic/low energy or any other potential issues then eat more. I love my Fitbit, but know it can be 'off' by 10-20%. Even so sounds like you're surely eating at a deficit so just need to be patient and keep at it.

    edited: just saw you're not weighing or even measuring your food. So you don't know how many calories you're consuming. You're guessing at what you're consuming and assuming its a deficit. Get a scale.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    Just as an aside, do you think the 2lb (which isn't all that much with fluctuation etc.) could be down to you actually toning up and creating a bit more muscle mass that will weigh that bit more?

    Best of luck

    NOOOO she has not gained 2lb of muscle doing mainly cardio and eating so low.

    IF you are eating that low, using your hands to gauge what you're eating...really?

    If you track your food properly and are eating at a deficit you will lose weight.
  • Jerrypeoples
    Jerrypeoples Posts: 1,541 Member

    No, i'm not weighing my food. I use my hands as a gauge for a portion.

    That's your problem right there. You are likely vastly underestimating calories consumed.

    she could have manhands

    man_hands.jpg
  • gkaffen338
    gkaffen338 Posts: 7
    Don't get discouraged. Its only week 3. I would wait and see what next week brings. You have made some amazing changes to your lifestyle that can only have a positive impact. Analyzing and adjusting is part of the fun but I would wait a week or two longer.

    Congrats on the the 3 pounds though. Remember the days when you used to GAIN weight. Those days are over.

    Greg
  • mefjenk
    mefjenk Posts: 3 Member
    Plateaus are very frustrating. Last week I ate right, worked out, came in at 1500 calories for the day, and a gained 1.5 pounds. I would add is that all calories aren't created equal. If your doing more carbs (especially fast food carbs) and less fat and protein, it doesn't come off as easy. I'm currently having good luck by adding a monounsaturated fat to every meal, be it olive oil, avocados, almonds, cashews, italian dressing or whatever. That seems to have helped me. Also, are you getting enough sleep? I've found that when I sleep 7-8 hours I'm more likely to wake up with a loss than when I sleep 4-6. And if you're having some stress over not working that can also derail you. The combination could be hitting you hard. Good luck!

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