Was really fat. Now less fat. Stuck being less fat. So why?
Replies
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Lost to 230 not even counting calories accurately (estimates). Went off my low carb plan. Gained to 250. Counted calories down to 230. Stuck again. Cut calories down to a bonkers starving 1800. Lost some. Then boom, back up over one week.
I'm approaching this as someone fairly new who doesn't know your history and has no bias. One big problem leaps out at me here -- one I see over and over on these "why am I not losing" threads.
You're not changing your life: you're dieting. Stop Dieting.
You try something for a while and it works. Then you stop and the weight comes back. Well derp, of course it does. Albert Einstein defined insanity as "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." So stop with the unsustainable gimmicks, like starvation calories, no-carb, all-jello-all-the-time, or whatever the fad diet du jour is. Log accurately, eat sensibly and don't stop. This is it, this is your life. Not your diet.
I get the thinking but for me life starts at 200 when I'm not obese by definition anymore. Even then it will still probably all be some endless "program" or cycle of changing things up in one way or another.
Life starts when you reach a random number on a box. That's sad.0 -
megantischner wrote: »A one week "plateau" is nothing. It could be water weight, it could be your body's natural day-to-day fluctuations in weight, it could be you're eating a little more than you think you are. Give it another week or two.
I've been 230 since last December. I went from 250 to 230 eating 2300 calories LOL. That's the silly thing. It just stopped working.
your cut level at 230 pounds is not going to be the same as it was at 250 pounds.
I would say consistently eat 2000 accuratecalories a day for a month.
OR
do the diet break that I have suggested five thousand times.0 -
But I'm not close to my goal? I'm 30lbs from it. That's super far from my goal. That's 30 weeks at a pound a week. 60 by your plan. Without stalls or breaks. Which would put it at 2 years or more. So why? Why are my 30lbs going to supposedly take 2 years but someone else just loses them and gets ripped in 6 months? That's the answer I'm looking for. What can I do to make my loss take 6 months like that guys.Ironmaiden4life wrote: »As you get closer to your goal the grind becomes HARD!!! Your loss may slow to 0.5lbs a week or the scale may stay static and measurements may be the only thing changing, some weeks there may be no change at all. You just have to keep grinding that last little bit off and starving to death isn't the way to do it. There are plenty of tools at your disposal to help you, changes to your work outs, utilizing different cardio training variables, diet breaks eating back to your maintenance calories, carb cycling and on it goes.
You rebounded because you went on vacation and did vacation things there's not much mystery there.
Keep grinding it out and you'll get there..... in other words 'suck it up buttercup'
If you continue to eat at 2300 calories a day, that's going to take a long time to get to your goal weight. Without exercise, 2300 calories is about maintenance for a 205 pound person. The reason I know that is because my non-exercise calorie goal is 1600 and I'm looking at 2300 when I switch to maintenance. I don't normally eat 2300 calories even on days when I exercise. If you want to lose weight, cut your calorie intake. Or if you like, you can just keep posting things here about why it is so terrible that you aren't losing weight while eating at maintenance.0 -
Since I think all the obvious, probable answers have been given, I'll offer a couple of exotic suggestions that might or might not help.
First, you could try getting tested for food allergies and sensitivities. The inflammation response from eating something you have a mild intolerance to can keep you full of water weight that's very difficult to shed. It's probably not this, but if you've tried everything else, may be worth a check.
Secondly, you could try a very different WOE and/or very different exercise plan. Scientifically, CICO is all created equal, but some people have had luck breaking a stubborn plateau by really shaking things up. I'm not convinced that this is anything more than a placebo effect, but there's no harm in trying as long as you stay under your calorie goal, right?
Sorry I can't do more to help, I'm not close to my goal either, nor an expert in these things.0 -
Let's put it this way...if you stop now out of frustration in a year from now you will have gained 50+ pounds. You seem to think this is a sort term diet. We'll if you haven't gotten the memo there's no going back to the way you use to live and eat. Your definition of what "normal people eat" is probably what got you into this mess in the first place. You're worried about it taking two years...LOL. Dude this if for the rest of your life. Get use to smaller portions or you are going to be a yoyo dieter. You're attitude is what will keep you from your goal and will also be the reason you gain the weight back.0
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Well how long and how long will the 30lbs take. Everyone else gets there goal pretty quickly. It's a little BS to have to wait 2 years for something someone else gets in 6 months.
You do realize everyone loses at different rates. I've been at this for just over a year and a half, and have only lost 15 pounds since July of last year. Part of that is because I have chosen to take a break here or there, and part of it was because I wasn't being honest about what/how much I was eating. Prior to that 15 pounds, I had already lost 75 pounds between Halloween 2013 and July 2014. I still have 20 pounds to go. And who knows, maybe I will decide to lose a little bit more once I finally get there. It might take me 6 months, or it might take me another year. That doesn't really matter to me, as long as I am seeing progress in the right direction.
You need to stop worrying about how quickly everyone else is losing, and focus on yourself. Your circumstances are unique, so you will never be able to do things "just like" someone else or have identical results. If you are 100% sure you are doing everything you should, then, like previously mentioned, you need to meet with your doctor. If not, you need to be honest with yourself and just admit you aren't doing things quite as accurately as you know you should. In the end, it doesn't matter to any of us if you are being honest about everything - you're only cheating yourself.0 -
Don't have time to dig them up, but some studies have shown that formerly obese people have to eat less (I think it was ~10% on average?) than never-obese people to stay at the same weight, due to obesity-related changes in metabolism. Can't remember how long those studies lasted, though, might be people recover over time.
I was just reading about that! And it depressed me thoroughly. Here's the link I just read about it:
http://www.science20.com/deconstructing_obesity/blog/metabolic_adaptations_to_weight_loss-156281#ixzz3du4WjNUJ
For what it's worth, I don't blame you for feeling this way. Lots of people believe that the science of weight loss is a settled matter, but I think that is hardly the case. Even everyone's favorite four-letter word - CICO! - doesn't align with the latest reports on how bacteria in our guts influence every process in our bodies, let alone the fact that some foods are more bioavailable than others (see the researchers who were able to lower the calories of rice by adding cococut oil and refrigerating overnight, or the re-estimation of the true, bio-available calorie content of almonds). So I'm with you - I think there are some mysteries in this process, much like epileptics probably didn't believe that getting their blood sucked by leeches in the middle ages was really all that helpful. That was the CICO of its day.
Central to your questions is the fact that your "body" is not one thing. It's a mega-metropolis of bacteria, hungry mitochondria, hormones and diabolical, unkillable, hormone-spewing fat cells. You want the mega-metropolis to weigh a certain amount and have a certain waist size and inseam, but unfortunatley, the denizens of your body disagree. There is no relationship between our highly socialized aspirational goals for ourselves and the ground truth inside our bodies.
My suggestion is to be your own scientist, and conduct your own experiments. Change your calorie intake, increase and change your weight training or cardio, cut certain foods that seem like they're sticking to you more than others, etc. Do each thing for two weeks (I do this to myself and I think two weeks has been the magic number - one isn't enough to trick your body into thinking this is how it's going to be from now on) and keep what works and ditch what doesn't. All my best successes came from doing that - never from reading studies or following conventional wisdom on weight loss.0 -
ok so in may when you gained that 8lbs over the course of 2 weeks.. what did you do differently? I find it hard to believe you ate an extra 28,000 calories.
I find pretty much every one of my plateus is actually water weight fluctuations. Back in march I went a full month with only losing a lb.. Then I lost 7lbs within 3 days. No clue why it happens, but it happens sometimes.
Just make sure you are being honest with your logging. Do you go get an apple or some other fruit or veg before bed thinking "I am not going to log it... it is healthy anyways and low cal" Well dont think that.
I started 350lbs last september and 260lbs today.
I eat 1800-2000 cal per day. I eat out twice a week (so no clue how accurate I am on those days). I jog three times a week (I sometimes eat back some calories, but usually only 100-200).
Just log accurately, keep eating the 1800 calories, but try adding in cardio if you havent yet.0 -
Go on the show Naked and Afraid. I'll bet you lose weight.0
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Weakness my friend. You really need to get into a serious lifting routine and build up some more lean body mass, with a better engine you will quickly make waste to any extra fat. I looked at your food diary and it doesn't look that great you might also want to think about a better diet.
Going off the body fat I was measured at when I did my bodpod my lean mass was 164lbs (28% body fat). If I was 185lbs and 15% body fat my lean mass would only be 157lbs. Any specifics on the diet? I'm hitting the macros fairly well. Isn't that what's important?
Your hitting macros and going over on calories limit sometimes. Am I reading that correctly?0 -
lolwut0
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Lost to 230 not even counting calories accurately (estimates). Went off my low carb plan. Gained to 250. Counted calories down to 230. Stuck again. Cut calories down to a bonkers starving 1800. Lost some. Then boom, back up over one week.
I'm approaching this as someone fairly new who doesn't know your history and has no bias. One big problem leaps out at me here -- one I see over and over on these "why am I not losing" threads.
You're not changing your life: you're dieting. Stop Dieting.
You try something for a while and it works. Then you stop and the weight comes back. Well derp, of course it does. Albert Einstein defined insanity as "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." So stop with the unsustainable gimmicks, like starvation calories, no-carb, all-jello-all-the-time, or whatever the fad diet du jour is. Log accurately, eat sensibly and don't stop. This is it, this is your life. Not your diet.
I get the thinking but for me life starts at 200 when I'm not obese by definition anymore. Even then it will still probably all be some endless "program" or cycle of changing things up in one way or another.
Life starts when you reach a random number on a box. That's sad.
That sounds more intense than it needs to. I just mean until I get to a number I'm read to maintain at I'm just chasing a goal. Everything revolves around weight. Appearance, clothing, even fitness. I can only do a couple-few chin ups. I can't even do one of the most basic strength building exercises that almost every single program recommends.
No it does not. Where did you read that?
You sounds very childish sir. Everything does not revolve around looks.0 -
I am a newbie and I haven't read all the responses here so forgive if am re-suggesting a possible solution to your stall. I looked at your profile and I noticed that your body fat percentage is high. Perhaps if your concentrated on changing that rather than your weight for now, you would enjoy an increasing burn rate resulting in the additional loss you desire eventually.0
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ImitatetheSun wrote: »Don't have time to dig them up, but some studies have shown that formerly obese people have to eat less (I think it was ~10% on average?) than never-obese people to stay at the same weight, due to obesity-related changes in metabolism. Can't remember how long those studies lasted, though, might be people recover over time.
I was just reading about that! And it depressed me thoroughly. Here's the link I just read about it:
http://www.science20.com/deconstructing_obesity/blog/metabolic_adaptations_to_weight_loss-156281#ixzz3du4WjNUJ
For what it's worth, I don't blame you for feeling this way. Lots of people believe that the science of weight loss is a settled matter, but I think that is hardly the case. Even everyone's favorite four-letter word - CICO! - doesn't align with the latest reports on how bacteria in our guts influence every process in our bodies, let alone the fact that some foods are more bioavailable than others (see the researchers who were able to lower the calories of rice by adding cococut oil and refrigerating overnight, or the re-estimation of the true, bio-available calorie content of almonds). So I'm with you - I think there are some mysteries in this process, much like epileptics probably didn't believe that getting their blood sucked by leeches in the middle ages was really all that helpful. That was the CICO of its day.
Central to your questions is the fact that your "body" is not one thing. It's a mega-metropolis of bacteria, hungry mitochondria, hormones and diabolical, unkillable, hormone-spewing fat cells. You want the mega-metropolis to weigh a certain amount and have a certain waist size and inseam, but unfortunatley, the denizens of your body disagree. There is no relationship between our highly socialized aspirational goals for ourselves and the ground truth inside our bodies.
My suggestion is to be your own scientist, and conduct your own experiments. Change your calorie intake, increase and change your weight training or cardio, cut certain foods that seem like they're sticking to you more than others, etc. Do each thing for two weeks (I do this to myself and I think two weeks has been the magic number - one isn't enough to trick your body into thinking this is how it's going to be from now on) and keep what works and ditch what doesn't. All my best successes came from doing that - never from reading studies or following conventional wisdom on weight loss.
if you don't believe in CICO why don't you eat 500 calories over your maintenance level and see what happens and report back the results in two months...
for some reason no one ever takes up this challenge...0 -
But I'm not close to my goal? I'm 30lbs from it. That's super far from my goal. That's 30 weeks at a pound a week. 60 by your plan. Without stalls or breaks. Which would put it at 2 years or more. So why? Why are my 30lbs going to supposedly take 2 years but someone else just loses them and gets ripped in 6 months? That's the answer I'm looking for. What can I do to make my loss take 6 months like that guys.
Didn't you say you'd lost 130 or so already? I think that puts you in a different starting place than someone who has been 230 for a while and wants to go to 200. Dieting can affect maintenance calories, perhaps especially if you were doing extremely low cal while doing low carb, although I wouldn't think it would make such a difference when you have plenty of fat still.
I can't seem to get myself to lose my last 5 lbs (I didn't realize this meant the forum was lining up to help me, oh wow!). I don't think I'm in precisely the same position as someone who has been 125 for ages and decides to go to 120 (which at my height shouldn't be that tough). Instead, I'm in the position of someone who has lost 95 lbs and is fatigued of weight loss somewhat.
Anyway, if I were you I'd figure out my TDEE and go to a doctor and probably have a DEXA/RMR test if I could get a referral or was willing to pay the money. Then I'd know if there was a metabolism issue and how off my numbers were from what one would expect, could start investigating possible medical causes, and could decide if I am willing to eat low enough to lose if the TDEE is unusually low or if it instead seems to be an issue with logging.
I'd also focus on increasing TDEE in the ways I can--I know my own weight loss slowed way down in the winter (other than January when I was really good about eating lower calories) because I wasn't doing as much non exercise activity, like walking and casually biking to commute/for errands as before. In running the calculations, it makes a huge difference in TDEE without making me feel like I need more calories.0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »Lost to 230 not even counting calories accurately (estimates). Went off my low carb plan. Gained to 250. Counted calories down to 230. Stuck again. Cut calories down to a bonkers starving 1800. Lost some. Then boom, back up over one week.
I'm approaching this as someone fairly new who doesn't know your history and has no bias. One big problem leaps out at me here -- one I see over and over on these "why am I not losing" threads.
You're not changing your life: you're dieting. Stop Dieting.
You try something for a while and it works. Then you stop and the weight comes back. Well derp, of course it does. Albert Einstein defined insanity as "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." So stop with the unsustainable gimmicks, like starvation calories, no-carb, all-jello-all-the-time, or whatever the fad diet du jour is. Log accurately, eat sensibly and don't stop. This is it, this is your life. Not your diet.
I get the thinking but for me life starts at 200 when I'm not obese by definition anymore. Even then it will still probably all be some endless "program" or cycle of changing things up in one way or another.
Life starts when you reach a random number on a box. That's sad.
That sounds more intense than it needs to. I just mean until I get to a number I'm read to maintain at I'm just chasing a goal. Everything revolves around weight. Appearance, clothing, even fitness. I can only do a couple-few chin ups. I can't even do one of the most basic strength building exercises that almost every single program recommends.
No it does not. Where did you read that?
You sounds very childish sir. Everything does not revolve around looks.
Yeah, that's why everyone has headless pictures of their abs. And I said weight, not looks. Weight affects how you look, the clothes you can buy/fit in, and even the exercises you can do. Running at 200lbs is easier than 230. Biking. Pull-ups. Stamina. Even down to the amount of muscle you can build. Why is everyone trying to be 10% body fat? So they can bulk.
LOL
Not too sure if that is everyone goal but my goal actually is to get smaller than 10% body fat. Then bulk.
You said
which is what not looks? What is that quote then?Everything revolves around weight. Appearance, clothing, even fitness0 -
Lost to 230 not even counting calories accurately (estimates). Went off my low carb plan. Gained to 250. Counted calories down to 230. Stuck again. Cut calories down to a bonkers starving 1800. Lost some. Then boom, back up over one week.
I'm approaching this as someone fairly new who doesn't know your history and has no bias. One big problem leaps out at me here -- one I see over and over on these "why am I not losing" threads.
You're not changing your life: you're dieting. Stop Dieting.
You try something for a while and it works. Then you stop and the weight comes back. Well derp, of course it does. Albert Einstein defined insanity as "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." So stop with the unsustainable gimmicks, like starvation calories, no-carb, all-jello-all-the-time, or whatever the fad diet du jour is. Log accurately, eat sensibly and don't stop. This is it, this is your life. Not your diet.
I get the thinking but for me life starts at 200 when I'm not obese by definition anymore. Even then it will still probably all be some endless "program" or cycle of changing things up in one way or another.
Life starts when you reach a random number on a box. That's sad.
That sounds more intense than it needs to. I just mean until I get to a number I'm read to maintain at I'm just chasing a goal. Everything revolves around weight. Appearance, clothing, even fitness. I can only do a couple-few chin ups. I can't even do one of the most basic strength building exercises that almost every single program recommends.
? So if you keep doing chin-ups, you will be able do more (barring some kind of injury).
Not saying there isn't a bias against obese people, but not everything revolves around weight. Overweight people have relationships, extra pounds on a scale don't stop them. How do you explain that?
I think you might benefit from some therapy, honestly. You're very fixated on what you can't do, and limitations, and that's a self-fulfilling prophecy.0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »Don't have time to dig them up, but some studies have shown that formerly obese people have to eat less (I think it was ~10% on average?) than never-obese people to stay at the same weight, due to obesity-related changes in metabolism. Can't remember how long those studies lasted, though, might be people recover over time.
I think that might make sense due to the fact its hard to maintain LBM when you lose weight.
Lean mass loss, hormonal responses and suppressed cellular metabolic activity.
Well how long and how long will the 30lbs take. Everyone else gets there goal pretty quickly. It's a little BS to have to wait 2 years for something someone else gets in 6 months.
"Everyone else... Everyone else..."
If that's not your head messing you up, I don't know what is.
Look, I'm not making fun of this statement. I just think you need to reflect on it.
No matter how hard you feel like you are working, there is always someone else that is willing to work harder. Once a "woe is me" feeling creeps into your head, it's easy to feel like it's not possible to have what others have. Think about that. It's true for many things in life.
- Someone else gets the promotion you wanted. You tell yourself they are overrated and don't work as hard as you.
- Someone else has a great career with a high paying job because they have either the required higher education or extensive experience.
- Someone else has a neater, cleaner home than you. But homes don't clean or mess up themselves.
The bottom line is that no matter what it looks like from one persons limited perspective, in order to make great achievements, it takes great effort. If you don't want to put in great effort, but are willing to put forth a decent effort, you can still make the achievement, it will just take you longer. That is a personal choice.
There are lots of people here that use calorie deficit AND exercise to achieve their goal, and there are just as many people here that use only calorie deficit to achieve their goals.
Some people are focused on fat loss and muscle retention (future gain) while others are looking only at fat loss and even still others who are only looking for weight loss in general and aren't looking into it further.
Lots of people find low fat eating their method for success and others swear by low carb with high fat, and there are lots that are more focused on protein. The reason there are so many possible ways to "diet" is because different people find success in their own way of eating. The important part is staying in a caloric deficit. It's up to you to figure out how you can do that successfully.
The ultimate goal has to be long term. You have to be thinking ahead about how you plan to maintain once you do get there. The "diet" you choose will serve you best if it's something that you can make your new way of eating. If you can't turn down a dessert or high calorie "treat" without feeling like your life sucks, then that's an emotional issue that needs addressed as it will set you up for misery and feeling bad for yourself.
Quit thinking about the achievements you see others getting and focus on your own achievements, because let me tell you that there are people reading your words thinking "why can he lose all that weight and only have 30lbs left and I can't". The answer is that they haven't put forth the same consistent effort that you have. And possibly because they are too busy feeling like it just must not be possible for them like it was for you. So they go back to not trying since "it's not working anyway and it takes too long".
You gotta get your head straight.0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »Lost to 230 not even counting calories accurately (estimates). Went off my low carb plan. Gained to 250. Counted calories down to 230. Stuck again. Cut calories down to a bonkers starving 1800. Lost some. Then boom, back up over one week.
I'm approaching this as someone fairly new who doesn't know your history and has no bias. One big problem leaps out at me here -- one I see over and over on these "why am I not losing" threads.
You're not changing your life: you're dieting. Stop Dieting.
You try something for a while and it works. Then you stop and the weight comes back. Well derp, of course it does. Albert Einstein defined insanity as "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." So stop with the unsustainable gimmicks, like starvation calories, no-carb, all-jello-all-the-time, or whatever the fad diet du jour is. Log accurately, eat sensibly and don't stop. This is it, this is your life. Not your diet.
I get the thinking but for me life starts at 200 when I'm not obese by definition anymore. Even then it will still probably all be some endless "program" or cycle of changing things up in one way or another.
Life starts when you reach a random number on a box. That's sad.
That sounds more intense than it needs to. I just mean until I get to a number I'm read to maintain at I'm just chasing a goal. Everything revolves around weight. Appearance, clothing, even fitness. I can only do a couple-few chin ups. I can't even do one of the most basic strength building exercises that almost every single program recommends.
No it does not. Where did you read that?
You sounds very childish sir. Everything does not revolve around looks.
Yeah, that's why everyone has headless pictures of their abs. And I said weight, not looks. Weight affects how you look, the clothes you can buy/fit in, and even the exercises you can do. Running at 200lbs is easier than 230. Biking. Pull-ups. Stamina. Even down to the amount of muscle you can build. Why is everyone trying to be 10% body fat? So they can bulk.
actually, you can bulk at 15%. And really, everyone wants to be 10% so they can bulk???
come on man...
now you are just lashing out because others have the physique that you want, and can't seem to get to.
It is going to take the following:
dedication
hard work
micro/macro adherence
accurate logging
some kind of structured lifting/exercise program
patience
0
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