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Daily Exercise + Under Daily Calories = No Weight Loss!
DanielNotDan
Posts: 30 Member
Hi, folks.
ok. I'm completely flummoxed and frustrated. I don't know WHAT to do.
I'm 53, athletic, 6', 229. I'm trying to be a 8%BF lean & muscular 188.
For the last 8+ months I've been doing P90x3 or Stronger DAILY and/or weight training (not crazy body building) 2-3x/week.
Let me be very clear: I don't "sneak" food nor do I "forget" to log what I eat. I'm eating far fewer calories than even my BMR (2100). I eat at or under my target cals of 1800 (often 1500). Despite all of this, I haven't dropped ANY weight for months. MONTHS!!
I'm feeling SO demoralized!
I've never worked so hard but realized so little progress on the scale. And I can't figure this out!!
I eat "clean" and wholesome foods, almost exclusively paleo and virtually NO junk.
I'm thinking it MUST be my C:F:P (carbs/fat/protein) ratios...right?
It ISN'T Calorie Deficit only, since 1000 calories of Doritos doesn't equal 1000 calories of Chicken/broccoli/quinoa...but I don't know WHAT ratios are right for weight loss nor how to achieve them.
I'd wager I could find as many sources AGAINST any C:F:R ratio I've seen suggested in books (like "The Zone," "Abs Diet," "South Beach," etc) as FOR it...yet I feel there MUST be a simple solution. I'm going batty over this.
If my BMR IS 2100, I exercise 300 calories/day and eat under 1800 calories/day SHOULDN'T I BE LOSING WEIGHT?? At least a little?
Can anyone help me understand what the hell is going on?
Thanks!
ok. I'm completely flummoxed and frustrated. I don't know WHAT to do.
I'm 53, athletic, 6', 229. I'm trying to be a 8%BF lean & muscular 188.
For the last 8+ months I've been doing P90x3 or Stronger DAILY and/or weight training (not crazy body building) 2-3x/week.
Let me be very clear: I don't "sneak" food nor do I "forget" to log what I eat. I'm eating far fewer calories than even my BMR (2100). I eat at or under my target cals of 1800 (often 1500). Despite all of this, I haven't dropped ANY weight for months. MONTHS!!
I'm feeling SO demoralized!
I've never worked so hard but realized so little progress on the scale. And I can't figure this out!!
I eat "clean" and wholesome foods, almost exclusively paleo and virtually NO junk.
I'm thinking it MUST be my C:F:P (carbs/fat/protein) ratios...right?
It ISN'T Calorie Deficit only, since 1000 calories of Doritos doesn't equal 1000 calories of Chicken/broccoli/quinoa...but I don't know WHAT ratios are right for weight loss nor how to achieve them.
I'd wager I could find as many sources AGAINST any C:F:R ratio I've seen suggested in books (like "The Zone," "Abs Diet," "South Beach," etc) as FOR it...yet I feel there MUST be a simple solution. I'm going batty over this.
If my BMR IS 2100, I exercise 300 calories/day and eat under 1800 calories/day SHOULDN'T I BE LOSING WEIGHT?? At least a little?
Can anyone help me understand what the hell is going on?
Thanks!
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Replies
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Thanks for the quick reply, Robback! I suspected MFP was lying or off... I'm definitely doing the physical aspect of a healthy lifestyle. You'd think I would know how to freakin' EAT by now.
You and I MIGHT have the same macros, but react completely differently, right?
Are the fat/carb/protein breakdowns in MFP accurate in your view? If I log food in MFP and it gives me a 40:20:40 ratio, can I trust that?
What do you use to track (or do you?)
Is there any such thing as an app where you select the foods you like, a target daily calorie or C:F:P ratio and it spits out meal plans, etc.? I'd pay for (or pay to develop) THAT, if so.
Great physique, btw. Much like what I'm after for myself.
Im just feeling very irritated, annoyed, and resentful...at my wit's end. Thx for your insights.0 -
Try eating 2,100 calories/day and see if that helps. I hit a stall whenever I ate below my BMR.0
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Can you open up your diary? Are you using a food scale/measuring cups?
Also, when it comes to weight loss, 1000 calories of Doritos WOULD do the same as 1000 calories of more nutrient-rich food. As long as you're in a deficit, it doesn't matter what you eat.0 -
I'm guessing you are eating more than you believe, and probably also retaining water from all the exercise.0
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Have you measured your self lately ?
I had a similar problem a few months back. Ate under my calories, exercised ect.. But no weight loss for weeks. Every 4 weeks I do my measurements. It ended up that my measurements were smaller by 1/2 a 1 inch in places. So I was loosing weight, but the scale wasn't reflecting it because I was putting on muscle.0 -
mandimahoney5 wrote: »Have you measured your self lately ?
I had a similar problem a few months back. Ate under my calories, exercised ect.. But no weight loss for weeks. Every 4 weeks I do my measurements. It ended up that my measurements were smaller by 1/2 a 1 inch in places. So I was loosing weight, but the scale wasn't reflecting it because I was putting on muscle.
Not putting on muscle unless you are somehow experiencing newbie gains, but yeah. You can definitely lose inches without really losing scale weight. Especially since you have to consider normal fluctuations. I haven't lost all that much weight but I have been losing a bit of size.
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Can you open up your diary? Are you using a food scale/measuring cups?
Also, when it comes to weight loss, 1000 calories of Doritos WOULD do the same as 1000 calories of more nutrient-rich food. As long as you're in a deficit, it doesn't matter what you eat.
Thanks for your input on my ongoing saga. I'll share my diary to see if others can make sense of it. I'm exercising enough; it HAS to be my food/intake.
I rarely "need" to measure as i usually have, say, "2 eggs," "1 tomato," "1/2 avocado," etc. Some foods I never measure, like lettuce or cucumbers — you couldn't eat enough of those to gain weight if you HAD to.
I'll measure my "handful of nuts" to see how big my hand actually is
RE: calorie deficit: I disagree. If 1000 calories of Doritos/Oreos were equal to 1000 calories of chicken/broccoli we'd see nutritionists, body builders, and "fitness" gurus touting the "Doritos and Oreos Diet" — I mean, a calorie is a calorie, right? Instead, we scientifically know that these foods affect our bodies differently. Otherwise, we could consume our daily calorie quota of Coca-Cola and eat french fries and lose weight. Is that what you're saying would happen? I don't think so, but I would be happy to review credible research that indicates otherwise.
Thanks, again, for your input!0 -
OP, do you use a food scale? And can you open you food diary?
I have found that logging inaccuracies are a greater issue then the formulas being wrong. Also, how long have you been doing this?0 -
Nuts are very calorie dense, and may fill a measuring cup differently based on how broken up they are. Use a scale to ensure you are logging the right amounts. Not all of MFPs entries are accurate. Try to use the ones without asterixes (*), the asterixed ones have been entered by users, and some are significantly off.0
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DanielNotDan wrote: »I'm 53, athletic, 6', 229. I'm trying to be a 8%BF lean & muscular 188.
...
If my BMR IS 2100, I exercise 300 calories/day and eat under 1800 calories/day SHOULDN'T I BE LOSING WEIGHT?? At least a little?
Your BMR number is high. I get ~1825ish. I'm guessing you used a generic online calculator that didn't account for relatively high BF%, which happens a lot here @MFP.
Also, nobody is going to believe you're a great logger unless you open your diary.
Good luck! :drinker:
PS Pretty much any macro ratio will work for weight loss.0 -
If you aren't measuring and weighing your food accurately than all assumptions are off. Nail that down first and than worry about macro ratios.0
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DanielNotDan wrote: »Thanks for your input on my ongoing saga. I'll share my diary to see if others can make sense of it. I'm exercising enough; it HAS to be my food/intake.
I rarely "need" to measure as i usually have, say, "2 eggs," "1 tomato," "1/2 avocado," etc. Some foods I never measure, like lettuce or cucumbers — you couldn't eat enough of those to gain weight if you HAD to.
I'll measure my "handful of nuts" to see how big my hand actually is
RE: calorie deficit: I disagree. If 1000 calories of Doritos/Oreos were equal to 1000 calories of chicken/broccoli we'd see nutritionists, body builders, and "fitness" gurus touting the "Doritos and Oreos Diet" — I mean, a calorie is a calorie, right? Instead, we scientifically know that these foods affect our bodies differently. Otherwise, we could consume our daily calorie quota of Coca-Cola and eat french fries and lose weight. Is that what you're saying would happen? I don't think so, but I would be happy to review credible research that indicates otherwise.
Thanks, again, for your input!
Without even looking at your diary yet, you've already exposed your inaccurate logging. If I eat 2-3 small cucumbers, that's still 40-50 calories. same with lettuce, it all adds up.
Eating 1000 calories of ANY food will yield weight loss for everyone. The only difference macros and micros make in dieting/food intake are a) improving satiety, b) benefiting your specific body composition or endurance goals, c) ensuring proper nutrition, d) accommodating your specific medical issues (e.g. diabetes). I've lost over 25lbs eating junk food while tracking my macros for proper fat and protein intake and lifting weights.
Yes, you can eat only fries and pop and lose weight, if this means being at a caloric deficit. You can eat "healthy" foods only and NOT lose weight because you aren't at a caloric deficit. Exercise doesn't make you lose weight, it helps with health and enables your TDEE/energy needs to be higher so you can eat more food.
CICO.0 -
DanielNotDan wrote: »Otherwise, we could consume our daily calorie quota of Coca-Cola and eat french fries and lose weight. Is that what you're saying would happen?
Yep. That's exactly what would happen. And has happened, as people have gone and done just that, for the lulz.
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Other issues with your logging:
1) you are not logging daily. So you really have no idea if you are at a deficit every day.
2) As mentioned, you aren't weighing your food. Your pork chops are not always 4oz cooked, sorry to burst your bubble.
3) Of the very few days you are logging, you dont' always log to your goal. This combined with lack of daily logging means you can't properly notice trends to determine if your goal is high or low enough. If you want to only eat back 50% of your exercise calories (I had to eat back 100% and still lost too quickly, but YMMV - I do better on TDEE method anyways), then only log half the time you worked out so you can eat your full goal and then eat back all of those logged calories.
4) Some of your entries are likely off. I noted you used a "fried egg" entry. Why? Just log the oil you used and the number of eggs you used. 2 large eggs should only be ~145 calories - so are you sure you only used about 40 calories worth of oil/butter for your fried eggs? Generic bread entry, seriously just log the brand that you actually ate because no two brands will be identical.
5) I'm guessing some of your recipes are from the database. How do you eat 0.35 of a pie, or is this based on you weighing the entire pie and then weighing your individual slice and figuring out the decimal serving size (which i doubt since you don't weigh anything else)? What about your bowl of mixed fruit, how do you know that's even close to being accurate (Fruit - Mixed Fruit, 30 g (half a cup) ) to the fruit and amount of fruit you actually used?0 -
mandimahoney5 wrote: »Have you measured your self lately ?
I had a similar problem a few months back. Ate under my calories, exercised ect.. But no weight loss for weeks. Every 4 weeks I do my measurements. It ended up that my measurements were smaller by 1/2 a 1 inch in places. So I was loosing weight, but the scale wasn't reflecting it because I was putting on muscle.
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I think you're overestimating your BMR, but that doesn't really matter, since 1800-300 should be less than your TDEE by a significant amount anyway. So, my best guess is that you're underestimating the calories in the food you're eating.0
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invest in a food scale. A tomato can be very different from another, some of the tomatoes I eat are the same weight as 3 of the Roma tomatoes. If you weigh it,and see it in grams / ounces, there's no inaccuracy.
There is food that I would guess to be 150 calories, because it's mostly vegetables (such as a salad), but after weighing and logging, it will show as 350. You'll be surprised when you weigh your food.
I bought a digital scale, super small, but big enough for $19. I can even put my plate on it, 0 it out, put the food on and I see the exact weight. No need to put the food on the scale, then on the plate.0 -
If you're really trying to do the "calorie math" then:
1. Get a BMR test done. This is usually pretty cheap. (I have had mine done multiple times, about $50 each time. The guy also does body fat testing if that helps.)
2. Weigh, log, yada yada.
3. I don't know how you count exercise cals, but be careful. Heart rate monitors can be VERY inaccurate for calorie burn. Almost as bad as the readout on the machine itself.0 -
I had this experience for awhile too, it was frustrating. I think when you exercise a lot it causes inflammation and water weight gain (something to do with your fat cells retaining water). Try weighing yourself after an extended rest period, provided your caloric intake remains the same. Another possibility is that a couple of days of slightly increased calories or more carbohydrates might rejigger your hormones and metabolism. With women, actual weight loss can be temporarily masked by hormonal shifts and fluctuations so just try to have patience and faith in the process.0
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