Scale number will move only when good & ready

189111314

Replies

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    @skinny_4me‌2be sounds like you've found what works for you :smiley: excellent to hear that eating more is working. ..what's not to love! ! Keep up the great work :smile:
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    edited September 2015
    Hi @skinny_4me , Hi @RunRutheeRun :smile:

    I found this interesting article which we all know already but it's nice to reinforce it!

    http://www.coachcalorie.com/not-eating-enough-calories-to-lose-weight/

    I particularly like this bit!

    "Your goal should be to eat as many calories as possible and still lose weight. You always want to start high and then come down with your calorie intake. It’s much easier to do this than come up in calories after your weight loss has stalled and you’ve lost all your motivation."


    I'm eating at 2000 calories, which is about a 10 % defecit. At present the scale is slow but that's just because of the 2 heavy leg sessions I did. I haven't done any weights for a few months and then belt the crap outa them and of course it's going to effect the scale lol. I have been extremely sore!

    I'll be happy with a 1 - 1 & 1/2 kg monthly loss at this defecit. I'm down from 65.8 kg to 64.7 kg since Sep 5.

    How's things going with you @skinny_4me ? Did you put much weight on when you did your metabolic reset? Glad to see things are going well for you.

    @RunRutheeRun I wanna grow up and be just like you haha. :wink: You do a wonderful job at maintaining! Ive decided never to maintain ever again! I vow to always be at a defecit & when I do get to 57 kg I'll reduce to a 5 % deficit and continue to recomp!!
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    edited September 2015
    @RunRutheeRun have you been following this thread in maintenance ?

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p10

    I just found it and I have read up to page 8, there are 31 pages. I'll have to share my story there. At times when I felt like a rest when losing I would eat at around 0-5 % defecit, I wouldn't lose anything on the scale but I'd lose fat, and getting visibly slimmer.

    I read an old topic of mine, back in August 2012 I got down to 57 kg but then the scale got stuck between 57-60 kg from August 2012 to March of 2013. Even though the scale stopped moving I still kept getting smaller! :smile:
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    @Kim55555 thanks for this...iI actually am following that recomp thread..great info on there.

    That's the thing about this journey we need to concentrate on stats and our clothes rather than numbers on scale.

    Right now I can visibly see myself getting smaller while the scale stays the same...this is from two weeks of consistent lifting and also yoga. My cardio is much reduced although I still do around 45 mins worth a day. Once upon a time it was cardio only for 90+ mins!
    Maintenance for me is about eating as much as possible as you've mentioned already but I always keep a slight deficit, apart from Saturday when I eat slightly above TDEE.

    We're figuring it out bit by bit :smile:

    Thanks for keeping this thread alive x
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    That's great, Yep concentrate on the weights!! Your on the right track spending less time on cardio. Also what I've found that has helped me is on the days I do weights I ensure I only do weights that day so I can put in all my energies into it. If I did want to do some cardio that day it would be nothing more than a short walk! To and from my car.

    It's the weights that will change your body not the cardio. Don't forget that even though weights don't burn many calories whilst doing it is the raising of the metabolism 24/48 hours afterwards that impacts!! Especially if lifting heavy. I notice my best sessions are straight afte dinner as I have heaps of energy for the weights. Yep good idea for you to recomp at -5% defecit! You might find you don't need to get to that magical 130 lb mark, you might stay the same scale weight but lose fat and gain some muscle & look thinner. I recommend taking some side on shots, frontal, even back shots every 2 months and you will see the transformation unfold!

    You would also benefit from doing sprints. Last time I lost the weight I did 3 sprint sessions per week and 2 weights plus 1 moderate cardio a week. The sprints gave me that shredded look. Sprints changes your body, you just have to look at the Olympic sprinters and see the muscle definition compared to say the medium - long distance runners who have very little muscle and little fat.
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    edited September 2015
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    I'll be happy with a 1 - 1 & 1/2 kg monthly loss at this defecit. I'm down from 65.8 kg to 64.7 kg since Sep 5.

    Yey, I AM able to lose eating at 2000 calories!! Wooohooo!!!!!! Today I got to a new low of 64.4. I'm glad I was patient and kept persisting with that number!

    So far this week (6 days) I averaged 2047 calories. So it will be interesting to see what the scale does in the next 7-10 days as I usually do all my losing in the space of 1 - 1 & 1/2 weeks.

    Also Im really quite happy to lose at this slower pace if it means I can eat more! I actually don't care if it takes me 9 months to get there. I'll aim to do it in 7 though so I can keep pushing myself :smiley:
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited September 2015
    @Kim55555 thanks for the advice :smile:
    I'll take all of that on board ...

    Well done on your loss, excellent news especially when eating just over 2000 cals :smiley:

    Who cares about slow loss, we're in this for the long haul :smiley:
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    Your welcome :smile: yep the long haul, and that's the way I need to look at it... To keep on working at making improvements whether that is aesthetics or fitness. Last time I got burnt out at times & wanted to quit and go back to eating at TDEE because i just pushed way too hard got so strict, this time I'll be a bit more relaxed and realise there is no hurry, no end date to get to 57. Its a lifetyle change that ill just keep going with. So eating at a more manageable defecit of 10 % is the way to go.

    My stats for the previous week were 2059. I'll try for 2000 next week. A little bit of tweaking in my diet and more water. I'm thinking my tdee has been a weekly average of about 2300 but who knows!
  • skinny4me2be
    skinny4me2be Posts: 358 Member
    Hi Ladies
    @Kim55555, yes, I put on 6lbs while doing my reset. It was quite disheartening. Loved that article you posted above. So true. I'm now eating between 2150-2200 calories--my body seemed to settle at 2400 calories. I'm now doing strength training 3x a week, and on my off days I'm "Attempting" to get 10K steps in. Last week was my first week of cut and lost 1.6 lbs. Some of it was probably water weight, and I can't expect to see this all the time, but it sure was fun! I'm learning a lot about macro's lately too, experimenting with keeping my protein high, but when I do, it tends to throw my sodium off, then I'm thirsty so I'm downing the water...so good/bad. :-)

    Great Loss Kim!
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    That's great news! wow that's awesome being able to lose on 2150-2200!

    How many more pounds did you want to lose & over what sort of timeframe?

    It will be interesting to see how you go if you consistently eat that amount.
  • mfm143
    mfm143 Posts: 131 Member
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    Got a huge shock this morning when I weighed myself. I'm into the 50's range, weighing 59.2 kgs now. I cant believe it. The lastest kilo that I lost took 6 months to lose.

    In the past 6 months I've lost a lot in centimetres and have had to keep buying smaller clothes sizes. People can see how thin I have been getting and assuming i've lost heaps of weight. I have been fluctuating between 60 - 62 kgs for the past 6 months. Scale just would not budge.

    The moral to this story is... If you exercise intensely, do weights and have a small defecit its going to take the scale a while to catch up to the hard work you have put in. For the past year I have been eating between 1800 - 2200 (as a 5 foot 2 female) My body has changed so much yet the scale was stuck. You need to have patience and not worry about what the scale says. Its how you look in your clothes, and more importantly how you naked!

    So keep focused, work hard and you will be successful. It takes time for your body to change. I hope this encourages others. You might not even lose any more scale weight or even put on weight and look better than before when you weighed less. Dont let the scale rule your life. What I have been doing to keep motivating myself is to buy clothes and work hard so I can fit into them 6 - 8 weeks later. Its been working nicely.

    I have now lost 32 kg and I started April 2010. So its been over 2 years now.

    This is what I am starting to experience - my stats ( think I need some help- I've checked so many calculators and am a bit lost now)
    Cw 188.2 sw 197 gw 135-40 . Daily calories (not eating exercise cals )- 1800 - 135 p 128c 66 fat
    I do 5x5 3x/wk and HIIT 2x wk. also weight everything religiously via food scale - haven't lost weight in 6wks just inches??? Not sure what I'm doing wrong ??
  • skinny4me2be
    skinny4me2be Posts: 358 Member
    mfm143 wrote: »
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    Got a huge shock this morning when I weighed myself. I'm into the 50's range, weighing 59.2 kgs now. I cant believe it. The lastest kilo that I lost took 6 months to lose.

    In the past 6 months I've lost a lot in centimetres and have had to keep buying smaller clothes sizes. People can see how thin I have been getting and assuming i've lost heaps of weight. I have been fluctuating between 60 - 62 kgs for the past 6 months. Scale just would not budge.

    The moral to this story is... If you exercise intensely, do weights and have a small defecit its going to take the scale a while to catch up to the hard work you have put in. For the past year I have been eating between 1800 - 2200 (as a 5 foot 2 female) My body has changed so much yet the scale was stuck. You need to have patience and not worry about what the scale says. Its how you look in your clothes, and more importantly how you naked!

    So keep focused, work hard and you will be successful. It takes time for your body to change. I hope this encourages others. You might not even lose any more scale weight or even put on weight and look better than before when you weighed less. Dont let the scale rule your life. What I have been doing to keep motivating myself is to buy clothes and work hard so I can fit into them 6 - 8 weeks later. Its been working nicely.

    I have now lost 32 kg and I started April 2010. So its been over 2 years now.

    This is what I am starting to experience - my stats ( think I need some help- I've checked so many calculators and am a bit lost now)
    Cw 188.2 sw 197 gw 135-40 . Daily calories (not eating exercise cals )- 1800 - 135 p 128c 66 fat
    I do 5x5 3x/wk and HIIT 2x wk. also weight everything religiously via food scale - haven't lost weight in 6wks just inches??? Not sure what I'm doing wrong ??


    Have you input your new numbers since your weightloss? What activity level did you select? Maybe you need to adjust your macros or take a diet/exercise break and eat at maintenance for a week or two???!

  • skinny4me2be
    skinny4me2be Posts: 358 Member
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    That's great news! wow that's awesome being able to lose on 2150-2200!

    How many more pounds did you want to lose & over what sort of timeframe?

    It will be interesting to see how you go if you consistently eat that amount.

    I still have 25lbs to lose and I don't have a time frame... The slower the better.....I plan to eat at cut for about four weeks then at maintenance for a week or two then cut again....
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    That's great news! wow that's awesome being able to lose on 2150-2200!

    How many more pounds did you want to lose & over what sort of timeframe?

    It will be interesting to see how you go if you consistently eat that amount.

    I still have 25lbs to lose and I don't have a time frame... The slower the better.....I plan to eat at cut for about four weeks then at maintenance for a week or two then cut again....

    You're doing great @skinny4me2be you have a great attitude :smile:
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    mfm143 wrote: »
    Kim55555 wrote: »

    This is what I am starting to experience - my stats ( think I need some help- I've checked so many calculators and am a bit lost now)
    Cw 188.2 sw 197 gw 135-40 . Daily calories (not eating exercise cals )- 1800 - 135 p 128c 66 fat
    I do 5x5 3x/wk and HIIT 2x wk. also weight everything religiously via food scale - haven't lost weight in 6wks just inches??? Not sure what I'm doing wrong ??

    Hi.

    There are a couple of things that could be happening!

    One explanation could be you are eating at a small defecit (kinda like recomping) to be losing inches and not scale weight. You are not doing anything wrong! Your having success as you are losing fat as evidenced by inches los, you just not seeing the scale move in the last 6 weeks.

    Did you start a new exercise regime or increase exercise??



  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    That's great news! wow that's awesome being able to lose on 2150-2200!

    How many more pounds did you want to lose & over what sort of timeframe?

    It will be interesting to see how you go if you consistently eat that amount.

    I still have 25lbs to lose and I don't have a time frame... The slower the better.....I plan to eat at cut for about four weeks then at maintenance for a week or two then cut again....

    Ah cool, sounds like a plan! I like how you say you don't have a timeframe! Way to go :smile:
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    edited September 2015
    Well my scale seems to be stuck, but something happened today that made me smile. I was walking back with some shopping at lunch time & my size 12 trousers were literally falling down!! So funny... So a clue that what i am doing is working! Was good encouragement for me.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    Well my scale seems to be stuck, but something happened today that made me smile. I was walking back with some shopping at lunch time & my size 12 trousers were literally falling down!! So funny... So a clue that what i am doing is working! Was good encouragement for me.

    Great NSV :smile:
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    :smile: haha, yeah! They were a little loose to begin with and now even looser lol.

    I'll take note of how my clothes fit and look as my main feedback.

    In around a months time I'll try one of my skirts on and then once a month try it on again to see the improvement :smiley:
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    :smile: haha, yeah! They were a little loose to begin with and now even looser lol.

    I'll take note of how my clothes fit and look as my main feedback.

    In around a months time I'll try one of my skirts on and then once a month try it on again to see the improvement :smiley:

    great idea :smile:
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    I'm 64.0 kg now, down 0.4 kg since September 27. So that's a total loss of 1.8 since Sep 5.

    I had a feeling the scale would move today as I had a complete rest day yesterday and also got taken into and picked up from work as my car was getting fixed and couldn't walk. I'll have to get a bit more strict with the calories though as this week three times I ate in the 2200's. Today is AFL grand final day and hopefully I won't eat too much. My team are in it.

    Last week I averaged 2059, this week 2155. Loss of 400 grams in 1 week. Im also listening to my body and won't let myself get too hungry. I do find though that after dinner and my calories are gone I can still be hungry and I don't like that feeling, but I guess I need to get used to it.
  • Erinsmiles2015
    Erinsmiles2015 Posts: 37 Member
    How do you compare/measure inches? Should I invest in a measuring tape?
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    How do you compare/measure inches? Should I invest in a measuring tape?

    Definitely get yourself a measuring tape, they cost pence :smile:
    Although you'll know by your clothes, they'll get looser/ fit better.
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    This time around I'm just going by clothes fit and taking 2 monthly photos. I know what needs to be done and can tell if I'm being successful.


    Measuring tape is good too but won't always show a result. You might lose fat in a different spot.

    Use all the tools, measuring tape, photos, clothes fit, scale, take note of people's positive comments they can tell you are losing weight. If you can afford to have dexa scans.
  • CJsf1t
    CJsf1t Posts: 414 Member
    Kim55555 wrote: »
    This time around I'm just going by clothes fit and taking 2 monthly photos. I know what needs to be done and can tell if I'm being successful.


    Measuring tape is good too but won't always show a result. You might lose fat in a different spot.

    Use all the tools, measuring tape, photos, clothes fit, scale, take note of people's positive comments they can tell you are losing weight. If you can afford to have dexa scans.

    ^This! So true some weeks the scale is notnot moving and neither there is an inch loss, but I feel I am thinner and clothes feel looser. It's so weird!
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    Yep! That's why it's so handy having all those tools at your disposal so if one method like the tape isn't showing improvement then something else will. It helps to keep you motivated and encouraged. Also if you haven't seen a friend in a 2-3 months it's a great boost as they will notice the changes.

    I tried on my fitted team singlet on the weekend and its getting looser, fitting better now. I'll start wearing it again in a months time, I'm not quite as comfy as I'd like as when I relax my tummy I can see it sticking out a bit too far. So I'll try it on in a month and reassess. I stopped wearing it in July as it was too tight. :smile:
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    edited October 2015
    This past week I think I ate at about a 5 % defecit. I averaged 2188 :neutral: Hopefully I lost some fat.

    I'll have to try harder to eat closer to 2000 this week! It was tough this last week as I've felt hungry. Maybe I need to embrace a bit of hunger and not be frightened of it/not give in to it and then I'll get used to eating less and being a little hungry at the end of the day. I need to remind myself that it's good to be a little hungry, it means it's working!

    I'll have to try to tweak things a bit so I can get my calories down a bit as well.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    @kim55555 you know what, I think it does us a bit of good to hunger ourselves sometimes, alot of the time its just a notion that we want to eat. I would drink a large glass of water when that happens and 9 times out of 10 I was just thirsty.
  • Kim55555
    Kim55555 Posts: 987 Member
    Yeah sometimes it's the water we want. I've had 1900 calories hopefully that's it for me tonight.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    @kim55555 you're doing great, have a cuppa if necessary and go to bed knowing you've had a good day :smile:
This discussion has been closed.
Do you Love MyFitnessPal? Have you crushed a goal or improved your life through better nutrition using MyFitnessPal?
Share your success and inspire others. Leave us a review on Apple Or Google Play stores!