BMR, Fitbit, MFP, Hunger, Plateaus, and FRUSTRATION!

OK, I'm just throwing this out there, and I would welcome any suggestions that anyone might have. I'm kinda losing my mind, and with the holidays coming up, I'm worried I could really blow it.

First, a brief history of me: I've been overweight/obese most of my life. I quit smoking about ten years ago and really packed on some weight. Around the same time, I also had surgery to repair a ten-year-old hernia, and started having some serious back problems due to a couple of bad disks. About five years ago, I got really serious about losing some weight.

To start, I tried to do it on my own: eat a little better, get a little more exercise. Lost a few pounds but wasn't disciplined enough to keep it consistent. I joined Weight Watchers, and had decent success for a while. Then I plateaued for a while. I got more and more aggressive, cutting back more and more points, but still couldn't lose any more weight.

[Overall, my weight loss has been pretty consistent: Lose about 6 pounds, then plateau for about 3 months. Repeat. I'm averaging about 1/4 pound a week of weight loss over 5 years.]

So, I switched to MFP. I tried to let MFP calculate my calories for me (currently 1340 to lose 2 pounds a week). Way too much, I was gaining weight again. So, I cut back and I cut back. I added a Fitbit to try to get a more accurate sense of how many calories I "earned" back each day. Now, I'm at 800 calories/day plus whatever I earn from Fitbit. I try really hard to leave at least a handful of calories left at the end of the day. I don't log any additional exercise or activity outside of what the Fitbit registers.

Now, that's still not low enough. My weight is starting to creep up again. Yes, I've had a couple days here and there where I've gone over my calories. But, here's the thing:

I'm going over my calories estimates based on losing two pounds a week. I should be able to go over that estimate by about 1000 calories a day and hold even. Instead, I'm gaining weight.

I'm so frustrated I can't stand it. I'm hungry. My stomach hurts, because I'm hungry. I have trouble sleeping at night, because I'm hungry. I'm trying to get more exercise, but it's really hard because I'm hungry and I'm tired. (Not to mention the bad back, arthritic knees, and bursitis.)

My diet is pretty healthy, overall. I eat a lot of vegetables and legumes. I eat very little meat. I try to keep the carbs under control. I've almost completely cut out dairy, as I find I gain the most weight when I eat cheese.

I really don't know what to do. I'm a 43-year-old male, 6' 1", 204 pounds. I'm at 800 calories a day, plus another 700–900 from my Fitbit. I honestly don't think I can cut my calories any lower without having serious side effects.

Every doctor I've seen (and that's quite a few doctors!) just tells me to eat less, exercise more, try harder.

From what I can read, and what I've gotten from talking to others, I'm probably eating too few calories. At my last check-up, my doctor ran a couple of tests to see if I was "technically" starving, which I was not. I'm terrified to experiment with more calories, because if it doesn't go well, I could easily set myself back 6 months.

So, yeah, this got kind of long. Sorry about that. Just needed to get it out there. I'd really love to hear any suggestions, especially from anyone who may have gone through something similar. Thanks for listening.
«1

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Your diet is high in carbs and low in fat. I can see you would be hungry on that. Try heavy whipping cream with peppermint essence in your breakfast coffee rather than the coffeemate sweetened margarine.

    Why have you cut down on meat ? Protein is usually beneficial for weight loss, within reason.
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    NO NO NO NO... OP you are making yourself suffer unnecessarily!! You're doing the opposite of what you need to do. Stop trying to cut anymore calories. You're not losing weight because your body is holding on to the little nutrition you're giving it and it will not let it go. Please read the info on this page, it'll show you how you don't need to starve yourself to lose weight.

    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3817-eat-more-2-weigh-less
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    Ditto--I would include more protein and healthy fat. They help keep you fuller longer and the protein provides important nutrients to sustain muscle tear down/build up from exercise.

    Protein doesn't have to be red meat. Could be chicken, seafood or soy. Or protein powder.
  • melduf
    melduf Posts: 468 Member
    NO NO NO NO... OP you are making yourself suffer unnecessarily!! You're doing the opposite of what you need to do. Stop trying to cut anymore calories. You're not losing weight because your body is holding on to the little nutrition you're giving it and it will not let it go. Please read the info on this page, it'll show you how you don't need to starve yourself to lose weight.

    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3817-eat-more-2-weigh-less
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    Ditto--I would include more protein and healthy fat. They help keep you fuller longer and the protein provides important nutrients to sustain muscle tear down/build up from exercise.

    Protein doesn't have to be red meat. Could be chicken, seafood or soy. Or protein powder.

    I agree with those two above!! The default setting of MFP is 50% carbs, 30% fat and 20% protein. Try 50% protein, 30% carbs and 20% fat for a few weeks and see how that goes. Then, you can adjust to what seems to be working best for you (because let's be honest, 50% protein is not always easy!!!)
  • Are you doing Weight Watchers in person or online? I used it online and lost 45 lbs.. but that was 7 years ago and earlier this year I started to gain it back. From what I have heard going in person offers more advice than Weight Watchers online. Since the doctors you have talked to did not help, maybe it is time to go to a registered dietitian/nutritionist. The title may vary depending upon where you live but this is sort of their specialty. Also, I got started on MyFitnessPal by going to free personal training sessions offered when I signed up at my local fitness center (Aspen in upstate NY). One last thing, I have heard commercials on TV and radio in my area for weight loss support groups at a local hospital.
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
    On top of what everyone else has said, without sufficient protein, you could be losing the muscle you had because not enough protein to upkeep it. So rapid lean muscle loss, your resting caloric burn becomes less. You cut out meats, and don't get enough protein, you begin your downward cycle again with lean muscle mass.

    Try drinking lots of water and eat at least 0.5g per lb of lean muscle mass you have (probably you'll want more at this point up to 1g per 1lb). Start strength training as well as cardio in working out (or just strength training for now). You'll start feeling fuller sooner with the protein than carbs. Your blood sugar plays havoc on your hunger signals to the brain.
  • Redheadllena
    Redheadllena Posts: 353 Member
    I agree and second the others. Also be sure to be tracking your measurements because sometimes weight increase is muscle and not just fat. The scale shouldn't be your end all be all in terms of whether you're on track or not. I know that's a hard one to accept. Don't give up, keep fighting!!
  • andymcclure
    andymcclure Posts: 40 Member
    Thanks so much for the input, everyone.

    The flavored creamers are a known evil. That's a bad habit I picked up while experimenting with cutting dairy. They need to go away, and they will. For carbs in general, I like to think that the carbs from say, carrots, are less of an issue than carbs from a loaf of white bread. Maybe I'm deluding myself, but I can't shake the feeling that vegetables are still healthy, even if they bump up my carb count.

    Cutting the meat has been sort of a two-pronged effort for me. One, it's a health issue, as generally meat is not considered a terribly healthy option. Two, it's a practical function of counting calories. A little bit of beef or pork can burn a lot of my calories for the day. I do like turkey a lot, which tends to have a pretty good protein/calorie ratio.

    Lasmartchika, thank you for that info. I've read similar info before, but I'd like to dig deeper, as I definitely believe that's part of my problem.
  • andymcclure
    andymcclure Posts: 40 Member
    Also, it's funny... I have very little confidence in most of the doctors I've seen, yet I can't stop assuming that they must know SOMETHING. I've had so many doctors simply tell me eat less eat less eat less, I just can't shake that thought process.
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    edited November 2014
    Just my opinion but I think you should make a range for cals instead of a set number and use the range on days when your hungry...something along the lines of 1500-2000 keep working out as you do decrease the carbs ..increase the protein and veggies ..I will probably be bashed for this but with using the range I would ditch eating back the workout cals but that's just me. What could it hurt to try it for 3-4 weeks and see how it goes? The good thing about MFP is you can customize it somewhat to work for you..Good luck.
  • andymcclure
    andymcclure Posts: 40 Member
    aprilang3l wrote: »
    Are you doing Weight Watchers in person or online?
    I went to a couple of meetings with a free trial, but I ended up joining the online program. (Going to meetings with any regularity just doesn't fit my lifestyle.) I am not currently a member; I left a few months ago. It's too expensive for me to see so little results.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited November 2014
    ONow, I'm at 800 calories/day plus whatever I earn from Fitbit.

    That would literally be a concentration-camp level of intake. Either your logging is completely broken or you are getting hallucinatory numbers from your FitBit - probably both.
  • Chels_C17
    Chels_C17 Posts: 4 Member
    There is no way in hell you should be eating only 800 calories a day, this is less than a toddler eats per day. I calculated your BMR using an IIFYM calculator and it is 1876 kcals not including exercise. Eat more a lot more, including meat which is healthy contrary to popular belief! You will find that you feel better and are able to exercise more intensely. IF you are interested in coaching check out Precision Nutrition, Eat The Food, or many of the other resources online. Good luck and please feed yourself, it is critical to your overall health and well being!
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Chels_C17 wrote: »
    There is no way in hell you should be eating only 800 calories a day...

    The OP is clearly eating a lot more than 800 calories/day.
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    Chels_C17 wrote: »
    There is no way in hell you should be eating only 800 calories a day, this is less than a toddler eats per day. I calculated your BMR using an IIFYM calculator and it is 1876 kcals not including exercise. Eat more a lot more, including meat which is healthy contrary to popular belief! You will find that you feel better and are able to exercise more intensely. IF you are interested in coaching check out Precision Nutrition, Eat The Food, or many of the other resources online. Good luck and please feed yourself, it is critical to your overall health and well being!

    He needs to trust the process, which he's not there yet... He'd rather be eating 800 calories in the meantime he finds more info about that. And listening to the doctors who don't know nothing apparently. OP, PLEASE EAT!! The process works. If you've read MORE info about it already, it means it works. If there was scarce information about it, then yes, I'd give you the benefit of the doubt of why you want to keep researching. You already said others have told you that you're not eating enough. Those people have gone through the process and have proved it works. Do not be scared of food. I've lost weight by eating more, not by cutting calories. And I'm still going through the process, I'm not at goal yet... but I've seen it work with me.
  • andymcclure
    andymcclure Posts: 40 Member
    Just to clarify, 800 is my starting point each day. I'm getting another 700–900 each day "earned" from activity, for a total 0f 1500–1700.

    Also, just for the record, I'm pretty good about logging things. I use measuring cups, spoons, and a scale to monitor portion sizes. Obviously, there are times I need to estimate, so the numbers aren't perfect, but they should be pretty accurate.
  • ponyfan81
    ponyfan81 Posts: 24 Member
    edited November 2014
    Have you gone in for metabolic testing? If you are logging accurately it isn't the carbs, flavored creamers, or anything else...chances are that your very low daily intake has slowed your metabolism down quite a bit.

    Eating carrots instead of bread isn't your problem - it's that you aren't eating enough. If you don't want to do testing or can't, just eat at maintenance for a couple of weeks and start over. You'll gain a few pounds to start but it will put you back in the right direction....

    I'm about the same size as you and 33 years old, and I eat about 2800 a day at maintenance (lift heavy 3x week, basketball 1 day a week, other active about 30-45 min/week). You are starving yourself....forget everything else.
  • ponyfan81
    ponyfan81 Posts: 24 Member
    edited November 2014
    And just for the record, I lost about 80 lbs in 2012 on a very low calorie diet (about 1500-1800, just like you), got down to 180 of pure flab, and I'm now at 200 with a mix of flab and muscle. I have the weight pretty close to the right spot but I don't look good ("skinny-fat") due to my lack of weight training and over-restriction of calories on the way down.

    I've been stuck in neutral for about a year, getting stronger, but struggling to get rid of the fat as a result....it's a slow process of digging out. Do yourself a favor and reconsider your approach or even when you get to the weight you want you are not going to be happy with how you look.
  • xapyk
    xapyk Posts: 16 Member
    Chels_C17 wrote: »
    There is no way in hell you should be eating only 800 calories a day, this is less than a toddler eats per day. I calculated your BMR using an IIFYM calculator and it is 1876 kcals not including exercise. Eat more a lot more, including meat which is healthy contrary to popular belief! You will find that you feel better and are able to exercise more intensely. IF you are interested in coaching check out Precision Nutrition, Eat The Food, or many of the other resources online. Good luck and please feed yourself, it is critical to your overall health and well being!

    Totally agree! It is absolutely unacceptable to eat less than BMR, even one has no exercises in a particular day.
    If your BMR is ~1850, your daily calories expenditure at least 1850*1.2=2220 kcal. That amount of calories your body burn every single day even if you do nothing except usual office work. Assuming your Fitbit gives you correct calories (but i doubt), you should eat ~3000 kcal every day to maintain your weight.

    However you want to loose weight, then you your mats the following:
    You need to have 15% daily deficit (2 pounds a week to loose way too much), so you should eat 2220*0.85 ~ 1850-1900 kcal a day if you don't do any exercises and 2550-2600 kcal a day if you spend extra 700 kcal a day for extra activities.

    I know these numbers look for you crazy but it works. I eat 3500 kcal a day and spend approx extra 1500-1800 kcal a day (i commute 20 km one way by bicycle) and burn my fat.

    And yes, you need to eat more protein and carbs. Protein is a bricks for muscles and carbs are fuel for them.
    Also, just for the record, I'm pretty good about logging things. I use measuring cups, spoons, and a scale to monitor portion sizes. Obviously, there are times I need to estimate, so the numbers aren't perfect, but they should be pretty accurate.

    And measuring food by spoons and cups doesn't give you good accuracy. Only kitchen scales could give you proper accuracy.
  • andymcclure
    andymcclure Posts: 40 Member
    Personally, I find measuring spoons/cups to be fine for some things (mostly liquids). The scale is, of course, preferred in most situations.