Not losing weight... thoughts?

Options
lfw57
lfw57 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 51, 5'8 with a large body frame and weigh 273 lbs. I'm a size 18.

I lost over 40 lbs 2 years ago doing an ultra low calorie, ketogenic, meal replacement program but (surprise!) gained all the weight back and more. Prior to that I haven't done any yo-yo dieting. In mid-June at 280 lbs I started doing Cross Fit (modified to low impact) 3x per week. I work in IT and sit most of the day. Given my body frame size, I'm estimating my ideal weight is about 180 lbs - that's a 90 lb weight loss. I'm estimating my body fat is at about 50%.

Most of the nutrition calculators suggest that I eat at 2200 and I'm eating almost that - probably about 1800. I'm pretty diligent about my food intake and stick to 3 meals a day + a mid-afternoon snack. I don't binge eat, and eat a whole foods diet. I've looked into Eat to Perform (says I should be at 3000 cals/day!!) and Eat More to Weigh Less (is about where my CF coach suggests) since I don't think a huge calorie deficit is healthy and not sustainable. My sleep is generally good - about 7 hours per night although I have had problems with interrupted sleep here and there if work gets stressful.

Twelve weeks later I'm down 7 lbs and not losing much in inches - a few here and there. My waste measurements have actually gone up and then back down to a .5" loss. Given how much extra weight I'm storing, I would think I would be losing much more by now.

I feel much more fit since I started working out. I understand the concept of "it's not about the scale", but at 270 lbs it really IS...that much extra weight is killing my knees and limiting what I can do in the gym.

I'm beyond frustrated because it feels like my body is fighting to keep on weight. After 3 months I thought I'd be down 15 - 20 lbs which is less than 2 lbs per week.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Options
    How accurate is your logging? Do you use a food scale? How do you calculate your calorie burns? Your diary is closed so it is hard to give advice.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    Options
    Well, the good news is that you have lost some. At least you're not gaining :wink:

    Chances are, you're eating more than you think. It doesn't really matter if it's whole foods and 3 meals a day, or a mix of packaged stuff in 6 small meals a day, the number of calories is what matters. Are you properly weighing all of your solids (on a food scale)? That's generally the best place to start. It is easy to underestimate how much you are serving yourself - even registered dieticians do! Also be careful in how you are logging exercise calories if you eat those back, many estimates, including the database here, tend to give too high of numbers.

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    edited September 2015
    Options
    You can not be diligently logging and eating "probably" about 1800 calories. How many calories are you eating? Every bite, condiment, oil, needs to be logged.

    Are you using a food scale? If not, you can be eating much more than you think.
  • lfw57
    lfw57 Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    Thanks all -

    I just opened up my profile. In short, I don't weight & measure my food. I have in the past and found I became obsessive. I'm really trying to dial into a healthy combination of listening to my hunger, don't add oils, butter, etc.

    I joined MFP in July and have been tracking but inconsistently.

    I don't log my workouts here - MFP doesn't log Cross Fit accurately I'm told. The workouts are intense, and with my extra weight even weight training has my heart rate going. Do any of you do CF, and if so how are you logging it here?

    I do hear you, though about dialing into the details... and I will work on that. I do know that you can become unaware quickly, so thank you for reminding me of that.

    Being more consistent with logging will be a good start.

    Thanks much


  • arb037
    arb037 Posts: 203 Member
    Options
    In the end it really is just about calories in less than calories out CICO. And if your not accurately tracking everything, you have no way of truely knowing how much your consuming on a daily basis. Estimations dont usually work for the majority. If it did, then 60% of the population would not be obese.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Options
    arb037 wrote: »
    In the end it really is just about calories in less than calories out CICO. And if your not accurately tracking everything, you have no way of truely knowing how much your consuming on a daily basis. Estimations dont usually work for the majority. If it did, then 60% of the population would not be obese.

    This^^ You gotta get accurate with calorie intake, otherwise, it is just guessing and all you will be doing is spinning your wheels.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    Options
    If you have issues with disordered eating and can't weigh your food, then you are just going to have to try to eat a bit less. If you can handle weighing your foods, then you really should. Starting, restarting, basics
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Options
    You're eating too much. If you don't want to weigh your food, decrease your calorie goal by 200 - at least. Then see from there.

    For the measurements, honestly it could just be user error (I know that I'm probably very inaccurate when I take mine, not always exactly the same spot, not always the same amount of tightness etc).
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Options
    As for your measurements, 7 pounds is great, but with your starting/current weight it's just going to take a bit more for the measurements to really start seeing a change.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
    Options
    Can you open your diary?
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    Options
    I started at 376, lost about 115, and then gained back, and now at am 58.8 pounds lost from my "all time high". So I know what you're talking about. It's been really hard to "get my groove back on".

    Really need to become a food journal nazi and log EVERY-THING. and if you're being really cautious, you'll "edge up" - meaning if you "think" you had 2 servings, but KNOW you had 1 - put it down for 2 servings. All I mean is, be real about what you're eating, and Log everything down to the condiments.

    Realize that the better quality of food you have, the more of it you can have. We all know grilled chicken is better than fried chicken - baked potatoes are better than french fries, yadda yadda yadda. Make sure you're making those wise choices.

    Make sure you get in enough fiber.

    While exercise helps, it doesn't mean you can eat whatever you want. It won't allow the leeway to be able to eat those 2 big pieces of cake or have that regular sized blizzard. Unless your an olympic medalist, chances are you may not be burning the amount of calories you think when you're exercising. I know my husband did P90X, and was burning more than he realized - which meant he could allow himself an extra bit of a snack. Usually he went with a protein bar.

    Lastly, when you do decide you're still hungry, have something healthy. Don't just grab the cookies or chips. I've actually had weeks that I've gone over the allotted calories and lost weight because I had better quality food.

    Just some things to consider......for what it's worth...

  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    Options
    Can you open your diary?

Categories