Weight loss stall by exercise

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I have been stalling on weight loss despite low cal low carb (45/40/15 macros) and thinking it's causing too much inflammation and my body can't deal with losing fat...so yesterday I took smooth move tea, to deal with some tummy cramps I been having. I also stopped doing heavy aerobic exercise and just let my body recover for 4 days- just walk the dogs. In addition, I took CLA. Today my weight dropped finally! Despite going over cals yesterday by 500.

So I wonder, am I eating too little? I'm very active- reach 10000 steps most days. Or was it just the tea? Or was it the CLA?
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  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    You drank a laxative, of course you would drop. Eating more does not cause weight loss.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    If you are geuinely stalling on weight loss its becayse you are eating more than you burn and nothing to do with exercise. Its basic cico. Exercise burns calories and doesnt create them, then only thing it might do is temporarily have you retaining water.

    the fact that your weight dropped probably has to do with losing water weight or just the fact that weight loss is not linear. 500 calories = 1/7 of a lb. Upi can fluctuate 1-5lbs in a day quite naturally.

    You dont tell us how much you are eating, so how could we know? Your height age and weight would be handy. If you wnat people to answer then open your diary so they cna assess you are eating with the right levels.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    most people tend to over estimate how active they are, and underestimate how much they eat.

    i'm sure it's just that you are eating more than you think.
  • Rinkey78
    Rinkey78 Posts: 20 Member
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    Listen, eating more will not help you lose weight. I went through something very similar recently and I had to get down to the nitty gritty and I ate food in which I knew that exact calorie amounts. I gave my body rest as I am lifting as well as doing cardio. After a few days I dropped 2 pounds. Calories in vs calories out is what helps drop the weight. Also, be very very careful if you are eating excursus calories back. You need those extra calories to fuel the workout you just did, but many times heart rate monitors or workout machines over estimate how much we really burn. So I personally try to leave a deficit of excersise calories as well.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,370 Member
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    Water weight loss is irrelevant to your weight loss goals. If you are eating back your exercise calories at a reasonable estimation you should lose the amount you've set your deficit at assuming you've set your activity level accurately.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,370 Member
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    Look at loss across a month rather than week to week and you'll find more comfort. My weight shoots up once a month but I know why and don't let it phase me. Could be you've hit that time too?
  • kk_inprogress
    kk_inprogress Posts: 3,077 Member
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    shell1005 wrote: »
    Eating more does not cause you to lose more weight. I also find it very unlikely that your body "can't handle losing fat."

    What could have been going on is that you had a little water retention in your muscles for increased workouts. It's temporary. I do find the immediate move to a laxative tea and CLA to be concerning. It seems like you are trying to trick the process. It doesn't work Calories in vs calories out works. Trust it. Give it time.

    +1
  • amazingmomager
    amazingmomager Posts: 8 Member
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    So I must be burning at below average rates...doesn't my fitbit calculate my burn or is it just an average rate. Mfp says if I keep eating this way I should be losing about 3-4 lbs per week. I'm doing the pound a day diet (Rocco dispirito). Last summer the weight flew off me following this and this past month only lost 5 lbs. the diff being I am exercising daily with 3 days of intense cardio and 1 day of weights per week. If it's all about math I should be losing a lot more
  • nuttynanners
    nuttynanners Posts: 249 Member
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    I'd say you're seeing water weight loss. I experience the same thing when I stop exercising for a few days. The scale always goes down 1-3 lbs, but it seems to go back up after getting back into exercise. I think it has to do something with the muscles retaining water in order to repair themselves, but don't quote me on that. I'm sure someone has a much more scientific explanation than myself, haha.

    As far as the tummy aches go, do you take a probiotic? It might help you considering your macros. I take PB8 and it's helped my tummy troubles quite a bit, although I was REALLY gassy for the first week while my gut bacteria changed...so that was a drawback, lol.
  • nuttynanners
    nuttynanners Posts: 249 Member
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    So I must be burning at below average rates...doesn't my fitbit calculate my burn or is it just an average rate. Mfp says if I keep eating this way I should be losing about 3-4 lbs per week. I'm doing the pound a day diet (Rocco dispirito). Last summer the weight flew off me following this and this past month only lost 5 lbs. the diff being I am exercising daily with 3 days of intense cardio and 1 day of weights per week. If it's all about math I should be losing a lot more

    5 lbs in a month is good. It may seem slow, but it is still very good. That means you averaged over a 1 lb loss per week. If you lose the weight at that speed, you'll find it easier to keep the weight off long term.

    I can't comment on the fitbit calculations since I don't have one. Wish I knew the answer there. What is your MFP activity level set to?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    So I must be burning at below average rates...doesn't my fitbit calculate my burn or is it just an average rate. Mfp says if I keep eating this way I should be losing about 3-4 lbs per week. I'm doing the pound a day diet (Rocco dispirito). Last summer the weight flew off me following this and this past month only lost 5 lbs. the diff being I am exercising daily with 3 days of intense cardio and 1 day of weights per week. If it's all about math I should be losing a lot more

    It sounds like your expectations aren't very realistic. 5 pounds a month is a fantastic rate of weight loss. 3-4 pounds a week is really high -- what is your weight right now?
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    So I must be burning at below average rates...doesn't my fitbit calculate my burn or is it just an average rate. Mfp says if I keep eating this way I should be losing about 3-4 lbs per week. I'm doing the pound a day diet (Rocco dispirito). Last summer the weight flew off me following this and this past month only lost 5 lbs. the diff being I am exercising daily with 3 days of intense cardio and 1 day of weights per week. If it's all about math I should be losing a lot more

    You ONLY lost five pounds in a month?
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    Doesn't my fitbit calculate my burn or is it just an average rate.

    MFP says if I keep eating this way I should be losing about 3-4 lbs per week.

    The smaller you are, the more slowly you lose weight. That's just the way the human body works. A healthy, sustainable loss is .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight. Undereating will not get you to goal any more quickly.

    Your Fitbit burn is TDEE. Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

    Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

    Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal and follow MFP's, eating back your adjustments. No need to log any step-based activity—your Fitbit is tracking it for you. Log non-step exercise (like swimming or biking) either in Fitbit or in MFP—never both.

    You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
  • scamp07
    scamp07 Posts: 17 Member
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    So I must be burning at below average rates...doesn't my fitbit calculate my burn or is it just an average rate. Mfp says if I keep eating this way I should be losing about 3-4 lbs per week. I'm doing the pound a day diet (Rocco dispirito). Last summer the weight flew off me following this and this past month only lost 5 lbs. the diff being I am exercising daily with 3 days of intense cardio and 1 day of weights per week. If it's all about math I should be losing a lot more

    If you are at a high deficit and doing intentse cardio you're body will not react well. You are correct that it's probably overly stressed. When that happens it goes into "survival" mode and tries to hold on to every calorie. There are other things going on inside your body that makes the "calorie deficit weight loss calculation" inaccurate. You're body needs to recover from intense exercise and needs calories to recover.

  • LeanButNotMean44
    LeanButNotMean44 Posts: 852 Member
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    scamp07 wrote: »
    So I must be burning at below average rates...doesn't my fitbit calculate my burn or is it just an average rate. Mfp says if I keep eating this way I should be losing about 3-4 lbs per week. I'm doing the pound a day diet (Rocco dispirito). Last summer the weight flew off me following this and this past month only lost 5 lbs. the diff being I am exercising daily with 3 days of intense cardio and 1 day of weights per week. If it's all about math I should be losing a lot more

    If you are at a high deficit and doing intentse cardio you're body will not react well. You are correct that it's probably overly stressed. When that happens it goes into "survival" mode and tries to hold on to every calorie. There are other things going on inside your body that makes the "calorie deficit weight loss calculation" inaccurate. You're body needs to recover from intense exercise and needs calories to recover.

    The bolded part: NO.


  • DvlDwnInGA
    DvlDwnInGA Posts: 368 Member
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    How long have you been stalled?
  • amazingmomager
    amazingmomager Posts: 8 Member
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    I have hashimotos so that's what I'm referring to when I say I'm possibly burning way below average...but thought more exercise would help rather than hinder weight loss....not giving up but what's behind plateaus? Does anyone know?