About to lose my mind! Need experienced dieter! I'm just not losing!!?

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  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Quasita wrote: »
    I put on and lose 15-20lbs a month from hormone changes alone. First two weeks I'm down, then the last two weeks I'll weigh up to 30lbs more than I started the month at.

    Averaging 2lbs/week with less than 50lbs to lose to start with is almost too quick of a loss, and for someone close to menopause (while not there, if your age is in that age range), an age where the metabolism typically slows down, I'd say that you have to be a bit more reasonable.

    Me, I don't lose anything at all if I increase my exercise to a level that drops my NET calories to less than half my daily function need. That is, if your body needs, say, 1800 calories to function, you are eating 1400 calories because you want to lose weight, but then also exercising to a level where you burn 400-600 calories a day, you are effectively giving your body only 800-1000 calories a day to function. This is the average intake level for the anorexia nervosa and bulimia patient. Me, I actually had days where my NET calories were *negative* which means I was actually purging via exercise.

    The reality is, you have increased your activity, but you have not stated that you have increased your intake to properly fuel that activity. Exercise is not what generates the majority of your weight loss... body efficiency and calorie deficits do. However, one of the biggest mistakes people make is believing that to lose weight quickly, they simply need to increase that deficit. At a certain point, the body goes into adaptive measures, some studies suggesting that these adaptive tendencies can form in about 48 hours.

    If I were you, I'd just chill out and stop fretting about the numbers, and focus on eating right and being active. Ultimately, it's the internal numbers that count... The BP, the cholesterol, the vitamins and minerals... The indicators of heart attack and stroke. That's how I measure my success. If I went by weight and BMI, I'd be perpetually depressed.

    Just read your profile. You are heavy enough to gain or lose 15 to 20 pounds a month, OP is not.
  • JuliaHaleFitness
    JuliaHaleFitness Posts: 56 Member
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    First thing to do is to start to weight train! Strength training will build muscle which BURNS fat and calories! Steady state cardio is wonderful for general health but not necessarily for weight loss. If you want to drop pounds, it sounds like you already have a great cardio base. Add in the strength training. Lifting weights will help you drop fat, boost your metabolism so that you will burn more calories even at rest, and tone you up so that you start to get some lift and definition to your body!

    Don't be nervous about eating 1500 calories. I'm just under 5'4" and eat that daily and with added exercise I still think it's too little! If you are exercising like crazy, your body actually needs those calories!!

    Focus on protein and greens. Don't eliminate carbs as carbs are your body's fuel source. If you feel that you'd like to try low carbs some times, I recommended doing it in waves. I.e. pick 2 days out of the week, say your days off from the gym, and go low carb (not below 100g). On the other days, eat normally but try to eat less carbs at night. See how you feel!
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    juliah1234 wrote: »
    First thing to do is to start to weight train! Strength training will build muscle which BURNS fat and calories! Steady state cardio is wonderful for general health but not necessarily for weight loss. If you want to drop pounds, it sounds like you already have a great cardio base. Add in the strength training. Lifting weights will help you drop fat, boost your metabolism so that you will burn more calories even at rest, and tone you up so that you start to get some lift and definition to your body!

    Don't be nervous about eating 1500 calories. I'm just under 5'4" and eat that daily and with added exercise I still think it's too little! If you are exercising like crazy, your body actually needs those calories!!

    Focus on protein and greens. Don't eliminate carbs as carbs are your body's fuel source. If you feel that you'd like to try low carbs some times, I recommended doing it in waves. I.e. pick 2 days out of the week, say your days off from the gym, and go low carb (not below 100g). On the other days, eat normally but try to eat less carbs at night. See how you feel!

    Agreed!
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
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    You've lost 16 lbs in 12 weeks?

    I'd say the only thing you need to adjust is your expectations.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,721 Member
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    Hi OP:

    First of all great job on the weight loss so far. I know you are concerned you haven't seen a loss for several days; but, in a way this is a good thing, because it may be helping bring your weight loss close to the healthy weight loss range of losing between 0.5% and 1% of your total bodyweight a week!

    If you have not changed your eating habits significantly, and have changed your exercise habits drastically, chances are extremely high you are retaining water because of your exercise. There is also a very low probability that the extra exercise is resulting in a decrease in your non-exercise activities such that there is a net reduction to your deficit. This is more common with weekend warriors as opposed to daily exercisers.

    I would recommend that you also use www.weightgrapher.com and/or www.trendweight.com and enter your daily weigh ins there too. This will help smooth out the occasional blip or stall related to temporary water retention.

    In closing sodium, sudden increase in exercise, and hormonal issues can all result in water retention that masks your weight changes for several weeks at a time.

    Much more importantly I do not understand neither your desire to accelerate your already rapid weight loss, nor the intense cardio kick you seem to have gone on!

    While cardio and exercise are great for your health, they are not necessary for weight loss unless the extra calories you earn and eat back are necessary for you to be able to eat enough nutrients (in the case of shorter/older/lighter individuals than yourself), or are necessary for you to be able to eat enough to be satisfied so that you can stick with the plan.

    Exercise for health. Eat for weight loss.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,721 Member
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    Are you serious? The OP has left the room. Her username is apparently invalid!
  • kern11
    kern11 Posts: 37 Member
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    and you're not happy with 16 lbs lost since January why?
  • Thistooshallpass710
    Thistooshallpass710 Posts: 16 Member
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    I haven't left guys, I just realized that I got a random username suggested by MFP. I just now figured out how to change my username. I'm still here , I'm a real person lol and I'm making this commitment.
    I do need weight training! It's my nemesis I swear!!! Lol hate it with a passion.
    I guess I need to accept that I'm older and weightloss will be slower. I could easily lose 8-10 lbs a month a few yrs ago.
    I mentioned to my sis that I lost 16 lbs since February and she thought that was a bit low considering all the work I've been doing. Basically 5 lbs-ish a month.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Thistooshallpass710 wrote: »
    I haven't left guys, I just realized that I got a random username suggested by MFP. I just now figured out how to change my username. I'm still here , I'm a real person lol and I'm making this commitment.
    I do need weight training! It's my nemesis I swear!!! Lol hate it with a passion.
    I guess I need to accept that I'm older and weightloss will be slower. I could easily lose 8-10 lbs a month a few yrs ago.
    I mentioned to my sis that I lost 16 lbs since February and she thought that was a bit low considering all the work I've been doing. Basically 5 lbs-ish a month.

    There is nothing slow about five pounds a month. Your expectations don't seem realistic.
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
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    booksandchocolate12 wrote: »
    You've lost 16 lbs in 12 weeks?

    I'd say the only thing you need to adjust is your expectations.

    This^
  • Thistooshallpass710
    Thistooshallpass710 Posts: 16 Member
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    Seems like I've been listening to the wrong suggestions until I got here !
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    im 29 and average 5lbs a month. i thought i was doing good ......... actually who am i kidding i know i am! yup change your mindset.
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
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    Thistooshallpass710 wrote: »
    I haven't left guys, I just realized that I got a random username suggested by MFP. I just now figured out how to change my username. I'm still here , I'm a real person lol and I'm making this commitment.
    I do need weight training! It's my nemesis I swear!!! Lol hate it with a passion.
    I guess I need to accept that I'm older and weightloss will be slower. I could easily lose 8-10 lbs a month a few yrs ago.
    I mentioned to my sis that I lost 16 lbs since February and she thought that was a bit low considering all the work I've been doing. Basically 5 lbs-ish a month.


    Weight training = lift heavy (sorry, the way I read your response seems that you got the wrong message from it).

    You are dead-on, you are mid-40's, so weight loss will slow down. Eat for weight loss. Exercise for overall health.

    How about using other methods of measurement too, clothing, mirror, photos, measuring tape... anything but your sister ;)

    Great job on the first 16lbs. Keep plugging and you can lose another 16.. and another!
  • mls100771
    mls100771 Posts: 125 Member
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    Yeah, I was gonna say you might want to avoid the scale. It's really not an accurate indicator of your progress, especially if you are exercising at the same time you are dieting. You might be dropping bodyfat at the same time you are putting on muscle. Stick with BMI measurement and the tape measure as a true indicator of your progress.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,721 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Your previous apparent disappearance made me "refine" my previous post and turn it into a blog article : - )
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/PAV8888/view/i-log-accurately-exercise-a-lot-and-haven-t-lost-any-weight-742013

    MFP already includes the caloric deficit you need in order to lose the weight you said you want to lose in your eating recommendation. You are losing weight significantly faster by not fueling your work-outs and leaving a lot (as a percentage of what you eat) of delicious calories on the table! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/PAV8888/view/eat-back-your-exercise-calories-741835

    Without any help from you, your body will both become more efficient when it comes to exercise (and learn how to burn less calories for a given exercise*) and, in the presence of a large (or long term) caloric deficit, adapt into using less fuel to get by with.

    If you are trying to lose weight, I don't see that you need to help your body become more efficient faster!
    If you are trying to save on groceries, or gnawing on food annoys you too much... different story!

    *Progressively lifting heavier weights gets around this for quite a while. If only I could convince myself to start lifting some :blush:
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    booksandchocolate12 wrote: »
    You've lost 16 lbs in 12 weeks?

    I'd say the only thing you need to adjust is your expectations.

    This +1 and your exercise really isnt that much.
  • Thistooshallpass710
    Thistooshallpass710 Posts: 16 Member
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    400 calories burned is not a lot for a 30 min cardio ?? I'm getting conflicting suggestions saying if I'm already eating 1,400 cal a day that I really don't need much cardio to lose. Then I hear im not doing enough cardio?
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,721 Member
    edited April 2015
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    How you can double check exercise Calories given by an app: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/PAV8888/view/how-do-i-double-check-exercise-calories-741824

    How to eat back exercise Calories using MFP: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/PAV8888/view/eat-back-your-exercise-calories-741835

    World Health Organization recommendations for exercise:
    http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241599979_eng.pdf?ua=1
    1. Adults aged 18–64 should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity.
    2. Aerobic activity should be performed in bouts of at least 10 minutes duration.
    3. For additional health benefits, adults should increase their moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity to 300 minutes per week, or engage in 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity.
    4. Muscle-strengthening activities should be done involving major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week.

    Achieving moderate (MET 3+) goals and Vigorous (MET 6+) recommendations through walking
    [/i]3000 steps in 30 minutes is considered moderate exercise: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19362695
    For 22yo healthy Chinese Adults, 3150 steps or 2km at a rate of 105 steps a minute is moderate exercise. @130 steps a minute it is vigorous. http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/3/1/e001801.full.pdf
    (It is actually quite hard, though do-able, to hit MET 6+ by walking. An incline or very fast legs are pretty much necessary!)

    The US recommendations for walking to meet exercise goals is 10,000 steps a day. And over 12,000 steps a day for weight loss. This would be equivalent to an ACTIVE setting in MFP.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Thistooshallpass710 wrote: »
    400 calories burned is not a lot for a 30 min cardio ?? I'm getting conflicting suggestions saying if I'm already eating 1,400 cal a day that I really don't need much cardio to lose. Then I hear im not doing enough cardio?

    400 calories is a lot for 30 minutes of cardio.

    If you are eating at a deficit, you don't NEED cardio to lose weight. Cardio will help your fitness and it can also either increase your deficit or allow you to eat more.
  • alexandrazzzz
    alexandrazzzz Posts: 49 Member
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    Everyone will have different tips and tricks. My advice: read the book Why We Get Fat: AND What To Do About It by Gary Taubes. There is WAY more to it than calories in and out! Its hormones, types of food etc ALL at play here.

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