Deficit too large? Not losing weight anymore?

Options
Madison8742
Madison8742 Posts: 15
in Health and Weight Loss
Hiya there all.. Not quite new to the program but still a little shaky. I've lost 10lbs so far. Currently I'm 5'6" and weigh 164lbs, 18yr old female. I have a daily caloric intake of about 1500 calories (I just dropped from 1700 about 3 days ago). I just want to make sure this isn't too much of a deficit based on what I usually burn in a day. As far as activity go I work at Walgreens two days a week and average about 8500-10000 steps per shift. The other three days I'm a college student. I don't have time for the gym right now, either. So, in short I'm not quite sure what I'm burning in a day, and if I'm not consuming enough to still keep losing weight. I'm not hungry or anything with the 1500 though. Could anyone with more experience do some research or help me out? Also now the step trekker isn't working in the app so I'm adding it manually. Tried all suggestions on the website already.


Thank you!

Madison

Replies

  • brdnw
    brdnw Posts: 565 Member
    Options
    trust me, you have time for the gym. i work 45 hours a week and go to the gym every single day. when i was a studnet i still worked 35 hours and went to the gym.

    you should do excercise, walking at work doesn't count as excercise. or else you'll be losing like 2lbs a month.
  • happyfeetrebel1
    happyfeetrebel1 Posts: 1,005 Member
    Options
    I walk between12k and14k at my job, which includes lifting and constant moving.

    My Dr. told me that since it's my JOB, my body considers this activity 'normal' and it doesn't count towards exercise. Our bodies over time become more efficient, and mine is super great at what I do. Therefore I head religiously to my gym each day to move my backside and get some REAL exercise :)

    Boy, I was MAD at my Dr. when he told me, I was all like 'but I move all day, I don't WANT to go!! He was like 'do it or stay fat'

    Good luck at that gym
  • VincentRParker
    VincentRParker Posts: 4 Member
    Options
    A gym might be nice but you don't really *need* it. I agree with brdnw in that you do have time to exercise. However, there are plenty of bodyweight exercises you can do, and plenty of inexpensive pieces of equipment you can buy and use at home. An example would be jumpropes (just get a good one of those and read up / watch videos on using them correctly). One of the best pieces of equipment I have ever bought (one of them) and it only cost around 10 bucks. Walking is by far not enough if you really want to lose more fat and tone up. Check out bodybuilder dot com, go to workouts, exercises and look at various body parts and what exercises you can do for them. You do need to lift heavy things. Even if that heavy thing is only your own body.

    All out 30 minutes a day will get you results.

    As far as food, ask Mr. Google what your TDEE is, subtract 5-20% of the calories and be patient. The ones that win are the ones that keep pushing. The ones that lose look for easy ways out, make excuses and aren't completely truthful about what they eat, drink and how active they are. Push it!

    Hope this helped a bit. :)
  • shanonleith
    shanonleith Posts: 3
    Options
    I agree, no matter what you have time either for the gym OR alternatives (such as running, cycling and doing body weight exercises at home) if you are active, you will have more energy and you will find more hours in the day, remember that fitness is a lifestyle, I currently work 55 hours per week (minimum), spend about 6-8 hrs per week at the gym, and have a family and very active social life, I can credit my energy to do these things to the fact that I ALWAYS make time to work out, no excuses, that is where you will see results.
  • Madison8742
    Madison8742 Posts: 15
    Options
    Uhhhh thanks guys. But none of that answered my question. All I wanted to know was about my deficit and caloric intake. Not so much the speculation on my free time and lack of exercise. It's just a matter of finding a strength training class to fit my needs. Than for the "advice" though. Any other takers on CALORIC INTAKE AND DEFICITS?
  • shanonleith
    shanonleith Posts: 3
    Options
    I agree, no matter what you have time either for the gym OR alternatives (such as running, cycling and doing body weight exercises at home) if you are active, you will have more energy and you will find more hours in the day, remember that fitness is a lifestyle, I currently work 55 hours per week (minimum), spend about 6-8 hrs per week at the gym, and have a family and very active social life, I can credit my energy to do these things to the fact that I ALWAYS make time to work out, no excuses, that is where you will see results.
  • shanonleith
    shanonleith Posts: 3
    Options
    You are not at too much caloric deficit right now, but you will get there very soon, I think everyone is focusing on the exercise because that is the best way to increase your body's ability to burn calories, just be careful with your calorie reduction, if you go to low your body will go into starvation mode and you can negatively impact your metabolism
  • newdaydawning79
    newdaydawning79 Posts: 1,503 Member
    Options
    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    Your BMR is 1542 approximately. So a daily intake of around 1500 is a little low but not dangerously so.
  • VincentRParker
    VincentRParker Posts: 4 Member
    Options
    That's why I referenced asking Mr. Google what your TDEE is and subtracting 5-20%. Any more than that can be detrimental to your goals.
  • cassique
    cassique Posts: 164 Member
    Options
    You should definitely be losing at 1500 calories. Even at 1700 calories. It might be time to tighten up on the logging accuracy. Your diary isn't opened so that is probably why you aren't getting too many responses about the deficit.

    So, my first piece of advice is to spend a week or so logging as accurately as possible (weighing and measuring) and see if you are really hitting your calorie goals. If you are and you still aren't seeing any loss, then try mixing up your calories a bit, having some lower days and some higher days to end up with an average in the 1500-1700 range.

    Also I don't think you mentioned how long it has been since you saw a change in the scale. Sometimes there is a stall, but that will pass. Also, how often do you weigh yourself, and are you consistent with it? I weigh myself constantly, but I only record my first weigh-in on Sunday mornings. However, I know that Monday morning I am always at my highest weight, and Thursdays I am always at my lowest. So If I compared those two weights I know I won't get an accurate assessment of my progress.

    ETA According to http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ your TDEE is about 2120 (with a slightly active lifestyle) so a 20% deficit is 1696--so 1700 sounds like a better goal for you.
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    Options
    There is no such thing as 'not consuming enough to keep losing weight'. I mean, make sure you are eating enough to fuel your body, but if you are really not losing weight in a deficit (and I mean a stall that lasts longer than a few weeks, as daily weight fluctuations due to a variety of factors can mask weight loss), then most likely you are not really in a deficit and need to tighten up your logging.

    Personally, I think that if you are happy eating 1500 calories (and it is actually 1500), don't feel hungry and are losing weight then have at it :)
  • Madison8742
    Madison8742 Posts: 15
    Options
    Using the TDEE (still not quite sure what that is) calculator and previous poster's advice I got what I should be consuming to 1492 calories- so 1500 seems reasonable. Yeah- weighing my self isn't as consistent as it should be (duh! probably should have considered that) Once a week? Every morning? Tips? I've just been at a stall/fluctuating 3 or 4 lbs now for several weeks. From 161 to about 165, no big changes.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    Options
    To probably over-simplify, TDEE is the amount of calories you would need every day to maintain your current weight. So if you eat less you will lose weight, if you eat more you will gain weight.

    How often you weigh is personal preference. If you think you will obsess over day-to-day fluctuations, then weigh once a week, same day same time of day.

    I think 1492 is actually your BMR, not your TDEE. Your BMR is the amount of calories your body would need if you didn't get out of bed all day, so you should eat more than that, if I understand correctly. Basically, you want to eat in between your BMR and your TDEE.

    It can get a little confusing, but once you figure it out, it's like riding a bike!
  • VincentRParker
    VincentRParker Posts: 4 Member
    Options
    TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure. So it's your BMR (what you burn for basic functions like breathing, heartbeat and so on) + what you do on a daily basis (like exercise, housework and so on). Plugging in no exercise using your height, weight, age and so forth puts out roughly 1850. Then subtracting 20% it's roughly 1480. So, 1500 is at the low end but definitely reasonable.

    Every person is different so results really do need to be consistently tracked to really find out what is going to work best for you. Make small changes and watch for at least 2 weeks to a month to see what happens to you. And just weight does not tell a story complete enough. Use that in conjunction with measuring yourself and you can work out if fat is going down which is what you really want.

    It doesn't matter if you weigh once a week or every day. As long as it's in the morning, before drinking anything and after using the bathroom. I know, TMI but if you want it consistent and true, that's the best time. Also, be warned that weighing every day can be weird. One day I woke up to find I gained 8 lbs and the next day it was gone. Totally freaked out but learned it was normal and it was water weight (I ate a lot of salt the day before).

    Stalls are frustrating. Without a doubt. What got me out of the fat loss stall was eating closer to my TDEE (only 5% deficit), eating less carbs and eating the bulk of my carbs in the morning. Made a huge difference. But I'm definitely no health guru. Just what works for me. :)

    Hope these things help.

Categories