30 Days In, Less Than 1 lb Loss?

hgillesp · February 2015

Hey folks. Trying not to get discouraged. My weight has fluctuated by nearly 6 lbs over the last 30 days but as of today I am showing a .2 lb loss (that's point 2 not 2). Instead of getting upset I sat down and created a spreadsheet to track my eating and exercise. Here's what I came up with for averages over the last month.

Avg Calories/day= 1700
Avg Net Calories/day = 1174
Avg Exercise/day = 526
Avg Carbs/day = 220
Avg Protein/day = 72
Avg Calories burned per day according to Fitbit = 2589

I am 50 years old, 164 lbs and 5' 9". I have run the TDEE with a 20% deficit and I believe I am eating within those guidelines. My net is below 1200 but barely, so I believe I am fueling my body enough. The one part of this that doesn't show up is that I stand at my desk for a big chunk of the day but I don't think that impacts anything to any great degree. My goal is to get to 150. I have been there, I am happy there, and have gained this weight over the past three years thanks to some stressful times.

Is there anything here that sticks out as being a problem or might need adjusting? My lowest weight during this timeframe was 158.6 for one day and then the weight quickly climbed once again. I don't need to lose quickly, but I really want to see something and I am feeling disappointed by my overall inability to lose weight. I am a vegetarian but eat fish and eggs (from my chickens!) and am overall very healthy.

Thanks for taking a look or making suggestions. I hope your weight losses journeys are good ones.

hg

Liftng4Lis · February 2015

You are overestimating your calories burned. You have running PLUS what fitbit gives you. Walk/run exercises are already being accounted for, so essentially, you're double dipping. If you want to record exercises on top of what fitbit is counting, count them as 1 calorie.
Are you using a food scale?

hgillesp · February 2015

Thanks, but I don't include fitbit in my exercise totals nor do I really follow the fitbit numbers as I don't really understand them. I track exercise separately and base it on weight and time.

hgillesp · February 2015

Oh yes, I do use a food scale.

Unknown · February 2015

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abida22 · February 2015

Could it be hormonal perhaps? Menopause and general hormones can really wreck havoc with weightloss! I have no words of wisdom for you but hope you figure something out and get to your goal soon! Also are you doing weight training?

jkal1979 · February 2015

hgillesp wrote: »

Thanks, but I don't include fitbit in my exercise totals nor do I really follow the fitbit numbers as I don't really understand them. I track exercise separately and base it on weight and time.

If you don't want to include your Fitbit into your exercise it might be a good idea to disconnect it from MFP. It looks like you are double dipping like Liftng4Lis mentioned.

If you want to understand how it works with MFP, there is a Fitbit group that has a lot of good info.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

Liftng4Lis · February 2015

hgillesp wrote: »

Thanks, but I don't include fitbit in my exercise totals nor do I really follow the fitbit numbers as I don't really understand them. I track exercise separately and base it on weight and time.

If your base calories are 1260 and you earn 331 from exercise (without counting fitbit), thats 1561 for the day. You ate 1717.

hgillesp · February 2015

Thanks. I only have been using fitbit for about two weeks. My spreadsheet didn't include the fitbit exercise since I don't trust those numbers. Disconnecting might be a good idea so the waters aren't further muddied! Thanks for the link.

havingfunnow · February 2015

Hi; I too have been loosing at a snail's pace. I reviewed the "reports" sheets and found I was over on some macronutrients.
Out of about 2 months, though slightly over each day-(so it didn't look bad) here was what I found out about myself.
I was over on carbohydrates 56.6% and protein, over 51.6%. I regrouped and made sure my food diary stayed within my macronutrients and lost 1.4 pounds in a week...big deal for me. You may want to review your reports...it was eye opening for me. Good luck!

GiveMeCoffee · February 2015

hgillesp wrote: »

Oh yes, I do use a food scale.

Weight fluctuates as you have seen. You are only looking to lose 14 lbs, it took you 3 years to gain that, it doesn't go away overnight. Track the trends, they are heading in the right direction. Don't weigh so often if it is going to stress you out.

If you are using a scale why are things measured in cups? 1/4 cup cheese? 1.5 cups soup? etc. Also looks like your exercise calories are inflated.

coralraelamb · February 2015

@hgillesp‌ are you drinking a lot of water? And taking a multivitamin is a good idea. I would also decrease carbs some and increase protein as it is more metabolically active. Keep doing what you are doing.

WishesOnTheStar · February 2015

As others have said, you are maintaining. either your TDEE is incorrect or there is something you are not tracking

Stop including exercise in your MFP. exercise should be in addition to your TDEE, not a component of it, otherwise you are just exercising more to eat more which defeats the purpose.

At 50 you should have your hormones checked and thyroid function too, if there is a deficiency, you can be doing everything right and not make progress. This is very common for men and women 30+ and should be one of the first things you check if your diet and exercise routine is not producing the expected results.

havingfunnow · February 2015

Hi again; I didn't realize we could see your diary...till an above comment.
In quick review, I see you have red wine.
I also had to give up any alcohol in order to lose any weight.
I plan to slowly introducing it once I am at goal weight.
I do suggest giving this a try. Again, good luck.

_Terrapin_ · February 2015

WishesOnTheStar wrote: »

As others have said, you are maintaining. either your TDEE is incorrect or there is something you are not tracking

Stop including exercise in your MFP. exercise should be in addition to your TDEE, not a component of it, otherwise you are just exercising more to eat more which defeats the purpose.

At 50 you should have your hormones checked and thyroid function too, if there is a deficiency, you can be doing everything right and not make progress. This is very common for men and women 30+ and should be one of the first things you check if your diet and exercise routine is not producing the expected results.

Interesting post. But TDEE = BMR + NEAT + EAT + TEF.....if you do not understand the acronyms please look them up. So TDEE includes E(exercise) of EAT. Make sense?

Liftng4Lis · February 2015

havingfunnow wrote: »

Hi again; I didn't realize we could see your diary...till an above comment.
In quick review, I see you have red wine.
I also had to give up any alcohol in order to lose any weight.
I plan to slowly introducing it once I am at goal weight.
I do suggest giving this a try. Again, good luck.

NO
she doesn't need to give up anything.

MinnesotaNice507 · February 2015

My first month was the same. Lose a pound, gain a couple pounds, lose a couple, gain, etc. in the past couple weeks it has started to just go down and not up.

Liftng4Lis · February 2015

WishesOnTheStar wrote: »

As others have said, you are maintaining. either your TDEE is incorrect or there is something you are not tracking

Stop including exercise in your MFP. exercise should be in addition to your TDEE, not a component of it, otherwise you are just exercising more to eat more which defeats the purpose.

At 50 you should have your hormones checked and thyroid function too, if there is a deficiency, you can be doing everything right and not make progress. This is very common for men and women 30+ and should be one of the first things you check if your diet and exercise routine is not producing the expected results.

TDEE includes exercise already. MFP does not use TDEE, therefore does not include exercise.

_Terrapin_ · February 2015

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

WishesOnTheStar wrote: »

As others have said, you are maintaining. either your TDEE is incorrect or there is something you are not tracking

Stop including exercise in your MFP. exercise should be in addition to your TDEE, not a component of it, otherwise you are just exercising more to eat more which defeats the purpose.

At 50 you should have your hormones checked and thyroid function too, if there is a deficiency, you can be doing everything right and not make progress. This is very common for men and women 30+ and should be one of the first things you check if your diet and exercise routine is not producing the expected results.

TDEE includes exercise already. MFP does not use TDEE, therefore does not include exercise.

Oh I like you

hgillesp · February 2015

Wow! Lots of great info. I will have to digest. I am hypothyroid but have been been treated for it for nearly 10 years and maintain good numbers. No point in checking other hormones as I had an embolism a few years ago and can't take hormone replacements. Some of my measures are in cups because the oz equivalent is hard to find but if my diary says cup it's because a quarter cup of something has the same cals as 1 oz (i.e. nuts).

I will unlink my Fitbit at the end of the day. Wondering since everyone says mfp cals are overinflated where can I get accurate calorie information? Or just stick to TDEE method?

Thanks! Thanks!

Liftng4Lis · February 2015

hgillesp wrote: »

Wow! Lots of great info. I will have to digest. I am hypothyroid but have been been treated for it for nearly 10 years and maintain good numbers. No point in checking other hormones as I had an embolism a few years ago and can't take hormone replacements. Some of my measures are in cups because the oz equivalent is hard to find but if my diary says cup it's because a quarter cup of something has the same cals as 1 oz (i.e. nuts).

I will unlink my Fitbit at the end of the day. Wondering since everyone says mfp cals are overinflated where can I get accurate calorie information? Or just stick to TDEE method?

Thanks! Thanks!

I would stick with TDEE as it simplifies things. You've got this!

hgillesp · February 2015

So, if I do this strictly by TDEE I should calculate for slightly or moderately active? Then not plug in cals burned in mfp? I exercise nearly every day, 45 minutes of cardio (running, stairmill, elliptical or bike), 1 good strength day, plus one day w yoga or resistance training per week. Also have a standup desk at work. Cant get crazy w strength training right now due to some sacroiliac issues.

DsAdvocate · February 2015

Since when have vegetarians eaten the flesh of dead animals?

You're a pescetarian.

hgillesp · February 2015

Not everyone knows what that is. For the sake of simplicity I used the language I chose.

nicolejo143 · February 2015

Its been almost 3 weeks and I haven't lost any more weight. But I have lost inches and gained some visible muscle definition. I feel thinner. I measured myself and I lost half an inch off of my chest, waist and thigh (one thigh!). If I only weighed myself and I didn't take photos or measurements I would probably not know that I made progress.

30 Days In, Less Than 1 lb Loss?

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