5'5" @ 163 lbs, been logging for 37 days, only 1.5 lbs lost!!! WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

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  • DaniWhis
    DaniWhis Posts: 27 Member
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    Btw! I am also 5'5" and am currently somewhere in the 160s. Still sticking to it, slowly but surely! Feel free to add me, or any of you guys looking for more friends! :) More the merrier!
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Runyan2002 wrote: »
    FredDoyle wrote: »
    Runyan2002 wrote: »
    Oh and I DEFINITELY yo-yo'ed that first month. This past week has been more straight loss, but the first four weeks have been from 1-4 lbs weight loss back and forth! It drives me insane! Hopefully my body keeps up the losing streak. LOL!
    Which is probably because you aren't weighing your food so you don't really know what you are eating. Politeness doesn't ensure correctness.

    Nope, I actually do weigh most of my food to a point (I have a food scale and weigh my food when I can, unless it isn't around). It's because of my water, sodium (I acknowledge and know I consume a lot), but mostly my exercise routine why I yo-yo'ed. I have been building muscle and my body is adjusting. While my weight has yo-yo'ed my body is not (measurement wise). I haven't changed anything this week and have now lost. I am surprised a fitness forum wouldn't agree on this....most people involved in fitness say not losing a drastic amount the first month or so is VERY normal and a good thing (if you are working out / building muscle). My trainer hasn't even batted an eye and said my strength and abilities are going up, I am losing inches, and he isn't worried at all. Neither am I. It can be frustrating for sure but happy to know it's normal.

    Heck he even said I could expect it before I started. I also have a fitbit to track steps / exercise so I'm pretty happy with my accuracy. Of course I am not purely doing exercise to burn calories either, I am doing a lot of strength training / yoga as well and alternating with running, etc. so maybe that is why it's different for some. I'm sure if you ONLY eat right and don't exercise you will see your weight drop suddenly, since you aren't building muscle as well.

    You won't build muscle in a calorie deficit. You will lose both fat and muscle in a true deficit. If you are working neglected muscles, they may retain water to repair thereby masking weight loss but you aren't likely creating new muscle.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Fitbit is great as a way to monitor your movement & activity level - but assume 5-10% error at least in your burn rate. So if you want a 500/day deficit and Fitbit says you've burned 2200: 2200 x .9 (10% error) = 1980, less 500 and you're right around the 1400 mark you are aiming for.

    For accurate logging, weigh all solids. Log everything.

    But with that said, weight loss is not a perfect science. And you're not always going to see big #s. If you are consistently lower today than you were 30 days ago, you're moving in the right direction.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    For my success, I used a Fitbit started 12-25-13. Starting weight 178.5, 5'5.5" and was 39 years old. I hit my goal of being under 130 on 10-11-14 just before my 40th birthday. Have been fluctuating 127-129 since.

    From Jan-Jul: 1400-1600 calories aiming for 500/day deficit plus a little to spare. Fitbit had me burning ~2100-2200.
    From Aug-Sept: 1600-1800 calories aiming for 250/day deficit. Fitbit burned 2000-2100 per day.

    Now 1900-2000, Fitbit says I burn 2000-2100 and am maintaining.
  • bradntx
    bradntx Posts: 5 Member
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    I have dropped over 120 lbs and I still yo yo if I weigh myself daily, it's all about water intake and retention. Don't let it get you down, you want to look at the trend over time and 5 weeks is a pretty short period of time. Here is a typical week for me sunday morning is the day I'm usually down, no idea why. Monday up a pound, tuesday up another pound, wed & thursday flat, friday flat or down a pound, saturday maybe flat or down less than a pound, sunday suddenly down several pounds and maybe a pound or 2 below where I was last sunday. Next week start all over again.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    My guess would be: Eating too much.

    CICO, OP.
  • Runyan2002
    Runyan2002 Posts: 6 Member
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    FredDoyle wrote: »
    You won't build muscle in a calorie deficit. You will lose both fat and muscle in a true deficit. If you are working neglected muscles, they may retain water to repair thereby masking weight loss but you aren't likely creating new muscle.

    *Sigh* Okay Fred. I understand that you believe it is so.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Runyan2002 wrote: »
    FredDoyle wrote: »
    You won't build muscle in a calorie deficit. You will lose both fat and muscle in a true deficit. If you are working neglected muscles, they may retain water to repair thereby masking weight loss but you aren't likely creating new muscle.

    *Sigh* Okay Fred. I understand that you believe it is so.

    It's been well discussed in this forum and generally agreed upon that exercise in a calorie restricted diet will help preserve lean body mass over calorie restriction alone, but barring some "newbie" gains, a calorie surplus is required to add lean body mass.

    Here is a paper that discusses it:

    http://jap.physiology.org/content/81/6/2445
  • CMcD1445
    CMcD1445 Posts: 48 Member
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    FredDoyle wrote: »
    Runyan2002 wrote: »
    FredDoyle wrote: »
    You won't build muscle in a calorie deficit. You will lose both fat and muscle in a true deficit. If you are working neglected muscles, they may retain water to repair thereby masking weight loss but you aren't likely creating new muscle.

    *Sigh* Okay Fred. I understand that you believe it is so.

    It's been well discussed in this forum and generally agreed upon that exercise in a calorie restricted diet will help preserve lean body mass over calorie restriction alone, but barring some "newbie" gains, a calorie surplus is required to add lean body mass.

    Here is a paper that discusses it:

    http://jap.physiology.org/content/81/6/2445


    I agree. Nutrition is 80% of the game. I believe you can't count calories alone, you need to consider all your macronutrients. For example if you're mostly (80%) carbs and the majority of those are sugar....Houston we have a problem!

  • kyta32
    kyta32 Posts: 670 Member
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    FredDoyle wrote: »
    Runyan2002 wrote: »
    FredDoyle wrote: »
    You won't build muscle in a calorie deficit. You will lose both fat and muscle in a true deficit. If you are working neglected muscles, they may retain water to repair thereby masking weight loss but you aren't likely creating new muscle.

    *Sigh* Okay Fred. I understand that you believe it is so.

    It's been well discussed in this forum and generally agreed upon that exercise in a calorie restricted diet will help preserve lean body mass over calorie restriction alone, but barring some "newbie" gains, a calorie surplus is required to add lean body mass.

    Here is a paper that discusses it:

    http://jap.physiology.org/content/81/6/2445

    Hi...Do you notice that, in the paper you referenced, the diet and exercise, as well as the diet and resistance exercise groups both gained lean mass (skeletal muscle), thus proving that you can increase lean body mass in a calorie deficit? Thank you for disproving your own point.
  • georgiaTRIs
    georgiaTRIs Posts: 231 Member
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    Are you eating your exercise calories back? Did you measure yourself before starting? do that because you may be losing inches and shifting rather than weight loss. Keep going and watch the sugar and salt intake closely. It will work -- stay with it
  • MegansMom2011
    MegansMom2011 Posts: 355 Member
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    I returned to MFP and started using it regularly almost a year ago. When I first started my change, I was stuck at my weight as well for almost a month. I was frustrated and felt defeated, but I realized that I have to keep going for my health, not just for what the scale says. Once I started logging what I ate more regularly, and did not eat the calories that I burned from working out, the scale started moving. Remember that this journey is more than just what the scale says and it's about overall health. I do believe that it takes a while for your body to figure out what you're doing. I had this image in my head of a ship going full steams ahead and then trying to reverse. This is like our bodies. When your body is going full steams ahead with gaining weight it can't just immediately reverse - it first must slow down, stop and then reverse. You're in the slowing down to stopping phase first, you'll soon be in the reverse phase! Keep doing what you're doing and following your MFP recommendations for what your goals are and it will work. I'm down 41 lbs so far and I know you'll make it, too!

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