Eating at BMR and not losing

StaciMarie1974 · February 2015

So based on this, at a best case scenario you should be losing about 1 pound per week. 2000 TDEE - 1500 intake = 500/day or average 1 pound a week. Estimation errors of 250/day: not unlikely.

Though I personally don't assume a tracker is 100% accurate on burn rate. Even the best ones. So it could be off 5-10% on your burn total.

Make efforts to move more - fit in additional activity here & there. And be more careful of your intake. Or be satisfied that you are losing, and keep going as you are.

fausonk wrote: »

I use a Fitbit Charge HR. But I really don't pay much attention to my "calories out" numbers. I figure I should be losing if I'm even somewhat close to eating at my BMR. My BMR is 1500. My TDEE (counting exercise 3x per week) is just over 2000.

DawnieB1977 · February 2015

You are losing, and that's what matters. I'd agree with taking measurements as well. I lose weight slowly, but my measurements go down a lot faster.

I'm losing weight after my third baby now, who's 9 months, and it's a slow process. I exercise pretty much every day, and get at least 10,000 steps on my Fitbit, and eat at a big deficit, and don't eat back exercise calories. I weigh pretty much everything these days and am losing no faster than after my 2nd baby when I didn't weigh everything. In fact I'm losing at the same rate.

I'm still 31lbs over pre-pregnancy weight, but my waist is only 3 inches bigger and my hips 4 inches. If I get back to pre-pregnancy size but not weight, I don't mind so much what the scale says.

CM9178 · February 2015

Ignoring whatever you think your BMR is, if your fitbit is saying you burn around 2000 calories in a day and you think you are eating 1500 per day, that is a 500 calorie deficit per day which SHOULD equal 1 pound per week weight loss. You've only lost half of that which could be caused by either a) You aren't burning as many calories as the fitbit says - which is probably less likely because it is a HRM as well and SHOULD be pretty accurate. Which leaves us with b) you aren't logging accurately. For example, if you are underestimating/logging foods by 250 calories per day (which is VERY easy to do), then you are really only eating at a 250 calorie deficit per day, which equals 0.5 lbs per week, which is exactly what you've lost.
- I've been struggling with the same thing, eating at what I think is a 500 calorie deficit but not losing nearly close to that. And I honestly think it is because I have not been logging as accurately as possible. I was measuring foods rather than weighing them on my food scale. I was underestimating portion sizes. I was eating little nibbles of things here and there and not logging them. All of that can EASILY add up to an extra 250 calories per day that I wasn't logging.
- Also, weight loss isn't linear. You may only lose 0.5 lbs one week, not lose for two weeks and then suddenly lose 3 lbs the next. It isn't going to come off exactly the same every week but after a few months you should see an average weight loss that works out to whatever deficit you are eating at.. IF you are logging accurately.

amy8400 · February 2015

fausonk wrote: »

ok, thanks everyone. I'm not feeling like there's any one answer, but just to keep plugging along. I do drink water (probably not enough, but I'm working on it), I just can't bear to log it. Logging food is bad enough. And the "I weigh most things" is true, but how do you weigh that finger-full of dip or those 2 french fries from your son's plate? Those are the things where I just have to guess, but I do log them. Sodium I think really only gets up there when I eat something processed or a meal out. But that's life, and you just drink your water and roll with it.

Either you commit to this or you don't. You weight it all. You log it all. If you do anything less, you are cheating yourself from the results you desire. A couple french fries here and there and 'finger-full' of dip DO count and either you log them or wean yourself away from those behaviors.

I'm 53, lost 34 pounds in 10 months last year and have another 13 to go. It felt painfully slow some months but being locked into a very sedentary job and battling hypothyroidism, my reality is what it is...like each of us here.

The deeper question is, how bad do you want it? If you want results, you have to earn them and do the hard work. You're halfway there by partial logging/weighing and working out 4 times a week. Congratulations on the good start! I lost only 2 pounds my first month and wondered the same as you...it doesn't always come off quickly at first.

If you are ready to shed those 58 other pounds, step up your game with a fresh attitude. Logging is your roadmap, not a PITA. Water is your friend--find ways to up your ounces little by little. Weighing your foods is not a ball and chain--accuracy is the secret to success.

Good luck!

fausonk · February 2015

I suppose if my difference between sort of maintaining and losing could be in 250 calorie errors, that is entirely possible. I can enter the recipes I make in the recipe builder, but sometimes it's hard to know how many meals actually come out of a recipe, so that is likely one of the errors that could be made. (And for what it's worth, someone else made the "finger full of dip, 2 of my son's french fries" comment. I was responding to that, not saying that I did that).

eblaschke · February 2015

I went out an purchase a Weight Watchers scale from Bed Bath & Beyond. There are about $18-$20. It was a great investment for me. I love this scale because it's easy to read and it will tell you in grams or ounces. And if you place a dish or a plate on it before you turn it on it will calibrate at zero so you can weigh liquids like egg whites, etc. You would be surprised at the difference it made....I was amazed at how much I was eating compared to what the scale showed me. I then saw the truth and have adjusted my eating habits accordingly.

verymissk · February 2015

A half pound loss a week is not a bad thing.

erickirb · February 2015

fausonk wrote: »

I suppose if my difference between sort of maintaining and losing could be in 250 calorie errors, that is entirely possible. I can enter the recipes I make in the recipe builder, but sometimes it's hard to know how many meals actually come out of a recipe, so that is likely one of the errors that could be made. (And for what it's worth, someone else made the "finger full of dip, 2 of my son's french fries" comment. I was responding to that, not saying that I did that).

If you know what goes in, weigh the total contents at the end that would be 100% of the finished product, then weigh your portion compared to that total.

Lissa_Kaye · February 2015

For big recipes one of the things I found is I will weigh up the entire thing, and then divide it into nice round serving size amounts. For instance if I make a big pot of quinoa, After its done cooking I weigh the whole thing which comes to 520 grams. Then I divide by 4 and get 130 gram servings. And put that into the recipe title so I know how big the serving size is. Always religiously weigh high calorically dense foods like oils, pb, butter and stuff.

triciab79 · February 2015

Overestimate what you eat and underestimate what you do and stick to your numbers and you will see results. Studies have shown that people who are overweight severely underestimate the amounts they are eating and severely overestimate the amount they are burning. If you do not weigh everything then you need to double the calories of the things you estimate. The science is really very simple: if you eat less than you burn you lose weight. 3500 calories = 1lb of weight loss. Exercise calories do not equal weight loss though so if you add them back in and don't have a deficit you will gain weight because you will gain muscle.

BMR =2000 You Exercise 500 You eat 2000 You will not lose a pound a week. You will remain flat on the scale and trade fat for muscle. Your size may go down but your weight will not.

hill8570 · February 2015

Congrats on the loss so far!

How many knobs did you turn as of four weeks ago? The calorie deficit? A difference in types of foods eaten? Exercise levels?

If you went from couch potato to gym rat, you're going to have a lot of up-front water retention (soreness) and some muscle addition going on. With a month down, that should be stabilizing.

gmax69 · February 2015

AmyRhubarb wrote: »

Hard to say - it looks like your exercise cals are only your Fitbit cal adjustments? Also curious why you're sticking with BMR calories - for me, that's my absolute LOWEST intake, and generally only on a low or no-exercise day, or if I'm not feeling well. Even with 60 lbs to lose I feel like you should be eating more.

How about water intake? I didn't see any water tracked in your diary - are you hydrating well?

Four weeks may seem like a long time, but if your way of eating and the exercise are new things and you're only a month in, it really can take the body a bit of time to adjust to all the new things and really start showing progress.

How about measurements? Clothes fitting any differently? If you're not taking measurements, start. Often you will see progress there while the scale is busy bouncing around, showing every little fluctuation.

I agree with amyrhubarb, I got tested to see what my bmr was and it's 1622 but it was recommended I eat around 2000 to 2100 to lose weight and drinking water helps to flush things out.

oneloopygirl · February 2015

I'm also curious on how the BMR came about. I'm a short female in pretty decent shape... not quite 5'3" and my BMR isn't that high and I've calculated it a variety of places and not come to 1500. Granted, you do have a lot of weight to lose compared to me and that could be the entire difference at this point.

I would say a few key things I took away from your post:

1. You're not weighing/measuring all food. This is Crucial. You could be sabatoging yourself and not realizing it.
2. A quick peak at your diary makes me think you eat a lot of sodium.
3. Do you keep hydrated?
4. Half a pound a week is not unrealistic, but you could safely lose more given the weight you have to go.
5. Patience is key. The journey can be slow. Look at it as a lifestyle change, not a diet.

lthames0810 · February 2015

Lissa_Kaye wrote: »

For big recipes one of the things I found is I will weigh up the entire thing, and then divide it into nice round serving size amounts. For instance if I make a big pot of quinoa, After its done cooking I weigh the whole thing which comes to 520 grams. Then I divide by 4 and get 130 gram servings. And put that into the recipe title so I know how big the serving size is. Always religiously weigh high calorically dense foods like oils, pb, butter and stuff.

I do a version of this.

I weigh up the whole finished dish. Say it comes out to 850 grams. I call it 850 servings when I enter the recipe into MFP. Later I weigh my portion in grams and put that number of servings into my diary. No remembering the weight of a serving.

hill8570 · February 2015

lthames0810 wrote: »

I weigh up the whole finished dish. Say it comes out to 850 grams. I call it 850 servings when I enter the recipe into MFP. Later I weigh my portion in grams and put that number of servings into my diary. No remembering the weight of a serving.

Now that is a cool approach. Thanks for posting it!

BWBTrish · February 2015

I think you eat ( a lot) more calories than you think
i see entrees like 1 tbsp of peanut butter. Peanutbutter is very dense food and when you dont weigh it you can be off like 50 calories at a time.
There are other entrees that i see you measure instead of weighing. And every day.
So you can easily be off by a couple of hundred calories a day when you dont watch it.

I dont say you do, but you can be off.

Look at this video and see the difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

If i where you i would weigh every solid food and measure every liquid that you consume.
Try that for some weeks and see if you still "only" lose 2 pounds in a month

which is btw still very good. Your losing weight

fausonk · February 2015

I dont say you do, but you can be off.

Look at this video and see the difference.

Wow. That was an interesting video. I don't usually fill things over the rim like that, but I don't go way under, either. Thanks for posting.

nicsflyingcircus · February 2015

lthames0810 wrote: »

Lissa_Kaye wrote: »

For big recipes one of the things I found is I will weigh up the entire thing, and then divide it into nice round serving size amounts. For instance if I make a big pot of quinoa, After its done cooking I weigh the whole thing which comes to 520 grams. Then I divide by 4 and get 130 gram servings. And put that into the recipe title so I know how big the serving size is. Always religiously weigh high calorically dense foods like oils, pb, butter and stuff.

Lissa_Kaye wrote: »

For big recipes one of the things I found is I will weigh up the entire thing, and then divide it into nice round serving size amounts. For instance if I make a big pot of quinoa, After its done cooking I weigh the whole thing which comes to 520 grams. Then I divide by 4 and get 130 gram servings. And put that into the recipe title so I know how big the serving size is. Always religiously weigh high calorically dense foods like oils, pb, butter and stuff.

I do a version of this.

I weigh up the whole finished dish. Say it comes out to 850 grams. I call it 850 servings when I enter the recipe into MFP. Later I weigh my portion in grams and put that number of servings into my diary. No remembering the weight of a serving.

This is what I do. That way it is easy to log without having to calculate percentages of portion sizes.

If my chili weighed in at 1172 grams, that is how many servings it is, then when I eat it, I can just put whatever it weighed, say 172g, as 172 servings.

BWBTrish · February 2015

fausonk wrote: »

I dont say you do, but you can be off.

Look at this video and see the difference.

Wow. That was an interesting video. I don't usually fill things over the rim like that, but I don't go way under, either. Thanks for posting.

your very welcome

btw for your recipes.

when i make a dish i just edit sometimes the recipe to a lower or higher amount of servings.
Sometimes i make a bit more than i thought So i started out with a dish for 4 persons and end up with more. I edit the serving size to 5 then.
Or vice verse.

Cazzy34 · February 2015

Give it time. If you, like me are on the shorter side (i'm 5'2") then 0.5lb weight loss per week is not bad. I found that i hardly lost anything in the first 4 weeks, then all of a sudden I dropped 3lbs in a week and had done nothing differently. Keep going it will come off eventually as long as you are logging correctly.

Eating at BMR and not losing

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