Not losing while exersising my *kitten* of (I whish)!

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tryanother
tryanother Posts: 36 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know this question has been asked 6 million times, but I still don't get it. I lost 73 pounds in 2014 while doing basically no exercise at all. I took a bit of a stupid break from counting calories in December/January and then started up again in the beginning of Feb 2015. I have 66 pounds left to lose. I am doing circuit training 3 times a week and try to move as much as I can the rest of the week. The whole of Feb I logged my training and ate back my calories - or some of them - but did not lose any weight. This week I decided NOT to eat back calories to see what happens.
My question (s) is this... Is it because of muscle build up that I am not losing - some forums say you cannot build muscle and lose weight at the same time. I realise that some water gets stuck in the muscles after vigorous training, but this should go down within a day or 2?
Is it because of gross miscalculation on calories burned that I actually ate at maintenance? I am so confused. Can anyone PLEASE tell me how this whole deficit/exercise thing works. I know there are different opinions out there, but eating back etc. is just not working for me.
PS: I lowered my calories on MFP to see if that works, but nothing.
Thanks.

Replies

  • gemm30
    gemm30 Posts: 110 Member
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    This is the story of my weight loss I exercise my a**e of and wasn't seeing any loss, I lowered my calories and only eat back exercise calories very occasionally, and this seems to be working.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Are you logging your food intake accurately still?

    Start by eating back half of calories burned through exercise (if following MFP)

    Allow for water weight retention from change-up in exercise

    Assess in a few weeks
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Your diary has a lot of blank days and days that aren't completely filled in. I'd start with accurate logging.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    Also water retention from exercise can last awhile. When I started lifting (and again any time I've changed programs) I saw an increase of a couple of pounds of water weight for about a month.
  • tryanother
    tryanother Posts: 36 Member
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    Thanks for the input. Our internet connections are horrible some days, thus my lack of logging. I will however try to find Wi-Fi on these to make sure I log accurately. I agree that this might be a good starting point. Going to leave exercise calories alone for a few weeks and then maybe add 100 a week to see...
  • matagi2
    matagi2 Posts: 2 Member
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    tryanother - do you have the phone app? That might be a way to log without worrying about internet connections.
  • Btbeam
    Btbeam Posts: 252 Member
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    I see you are eating 1200 calories per day. That may be to little. I might suggest adding calories. I know that doesn't make any sense. But if your working out hard and only eating 1200 your at a very large calorie deficit. Sometimes our bodies think there starving and shut your metabolism down. I might suggest upping to 1400 and continue working out. You will need to be patient as it may take a few weeks for your body to adjust. Anyone can feel free to add me for additional support. Good Luck
  • runmama411
    runmama411 Posts: 162 Member
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    Btbeam wrote: »
    I see you are eating 1200 calories per day. That may be to little. I might suggest adding calories. I know that doesn't make any sense. But if your working out hard and only eating 1200 your at a very large calorie deficit. Sometimes our bodies think there starving and shut your metabolism down. I might suggest upping to 1400 and continue working out. You will need to be patient as it may take a few weeks for your body to adjust. Anyone can feel free to add me for additional support. Good Luck

    Great advice!
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Whilst eating more to fuel your workouts is good advice .. starvation mode does not exist like that and does not shut your metabolism down
  • tryanother
    tryanother Posts: 36 Member
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    matagi2 wrote: »
    tryanother - do you have the phone app? That might be a way to log without worrying about internet connections.

    I log both on the computer at work and the phone app. When our internet is down, nothing syncs and I just give up...

    I bumped my calories back up to what MFP suggests. Fingers crossed this works.
  • Ambrosiewicz
    Ambrosiewicz Posts: 2 Member
    edited March 2015
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    After reviewing your diary I noticed a few things that I thought I'd point out...

    1. EAT 3 FULL MEALS A Day
    +HEALTHY SNACKS ONLY!
    2. ELIMINATE ALL SUGARS
    (CORN SYRUP, CITRIC ACID, ARTIFICAL SWEETENER...)
    3. NO POP, NO CAKE, NO COOKIES, NO BROWNIES, NO MUFFINS, NO CANDY, NO FAST FOOD, NO DONUTS...
    4. EAT LEAN
    5. DON'T CHEAT YOURSELF
    (IN EXCERCISE OR YOUR DIET)
    6. LOG. LOG. LOG IT ALL.
    7. BE SURE YOU'RE REACHING OPTIMAL HEART RATE FOR YOUR BODY WEIGHT
    8. BUILDING MUSCLE DESTROYS CALS.
    9. NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST
    10. STAY HYDRATED!
    11. WARMUP, STRETCH, LIFT WEIGHTS, THEN CARDIO = BURN MORE CALS
    & STRETCH AGAIN WHEN FINISHED
    12. EXERCISE IN HEAVY CLOTHING
    = BURN EVEN MORE CALS.
    13. LOG WEIGHT 1X A WEEK ON THE SAME DAY AROUND THE SAME TIME WITH THE SAME SCALE!
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Ambrosiewicz wrote: »
    After reviewing your diary I noticed a few things that I thought I'd point out...

    1. EAT 3 FULL MEALS A Day
    +HEALTHY SNACKS ONLY!
    2. ELIMINATE ALL SUGARS
    (CORN SYRUP, CITRIC ACID, ARTIFICAL SWEETENER...)
    3. NO POP, NO CAKE, NO COOKIES, NO BROWNIES, NO MUFFINS, NO CANDY, NO FAST FOOD, NO DONUTS...
    4. EAT LEAN
    5. DON'T CHEAT YOURSELF
    (IN EXCERCISE OR YOUR DIET)
    6. LOG. LOG. LOG IT ALL.
    7. BE SURE YOU'RE REACHING OPTIMAL HEART RATE FOR YOUR BODY WEIGHT
    8. BUILDING MUSCLE DESTROYS CALS.
    9. NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST
    10. STAY HYDRATED!
    11. WARMUP, STRETCH, LIFT WEIGHTS, THEN CARDIO = BURN MORE CALS
    & STRETCH AGAIN WHEN FINISHED
    12. EXERCISE IN HEAVY CLOTHING
    = BURN EVEN MORE CALS.
    13. LOG WEIGHT 1X A WEEK ON THE SAME DAY AROUND THE SAME TIME WITH THE SAME SCALE!

    This is not good advice. Almost everything on this list is unnecessary.

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