What am I doing wrong?

martinvares
martinvares Posts: 9 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi,
I'm 23 year old guy from Estonia whose main job is mechanical engineering and hobbies include motorcycles and cars and bicycles and boxing for the past two months now.

So a while ago life happened and i gained some weight. From about 82 to 107,8 to be precise. Now I'm trying to get it back down and busting my *kitten*. Back at 89-90 now. I exercise 5-6 times a week. Mostly boxing related workouts and training.

Main goal is to get under 81kg. And take it from there, maybe 76. I have been doing intense training alot in the past, so I know how to not harm myself on that front. What I am wondering is, that i have been eating 20000kcal under maintenance total in two weeks and lost only 1-1,5 kg. You can see my diary if you'd like. Ithas been hectic in the past, but that shouldn't matter. Eating has been roughly the same for past 2 months.

So if anyone has any pointers or ideas why I'm not losing as much as simple calculations suggest, I'd be really grateful

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Weight loss is not linear. How accurate is your logging? Do you use a food scale to weigh everything except liquids and pick the right entries from the database on MFP? read this

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/113609/relatively-light-people-trying-to-get-leaner/p1
  • martinvares
    martinvares Posts: 9 Member
    Yeah, sorry forgot to add. I measure every bite exactly with a scale, or use data on packages. I also usually log a bit extra to avoid mistakes. Because I don't log almost zero calorie vegetables like plain salads. I should probably also add that I drink 3 cups of black coffee a day and about 3-5 liters of water. Take vitamin C and D and Beta Alanine supplements.

    Workout calories are measured by high end Polar watch and then reduced by 20% again to avoid mistakes.

    Another thing I forgot to add is that I suffer from chronic constipation. I have bowel movements once every 8-10 days. I'm finally seeing a doctor about this tomorrow.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Your bananas weigh the same every day, this leads to believe that you do not weigh everything. A lot of your entries are in very round numbers. watch this.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    edited December 2015
    The doctor visit will be beneficial as you know. Are you weighing the peanuts? It might be easier if you eat more vegetables, esp green leafy veggies.
  • martinvares
    martinvares Posts: 9 Member
    Thanks for the replys!

    As I said I but bigger amounts to most foods. But high calorie foods like peanuts, cheese, salami, pasta etc are weighed precisely. Mostly I log on a "worst case scenario" basis. To save time (bananas) and to be sure I'm not underestimating the intake.
  • Paleodiet4beginnersdotcom
    Paleodiet4beginnersdotcom Posts: 31 Member
    You gotta try the Paleo diet.

    Worked awesome for me.

    Is share my experiences on my blog.

    Drop me a line. I am happy to help.

    Alfie
  • martinvares
    martinvares Posts: 9 Member
    to queenliz99: I have watched the video before and it's one of the reasons I always log a little more than I actually eat. That's why the round numbers also.

    to paleodiet4beginners: I actually have tried the paleo diet and it didn't really make a difference. I have tried alot of things in the past as well and I'm quite a firm believer of the calories in-calories out theory. What I don't agree on is that the amount of calories for amount of weight lost is same for everyone. It is mostly stated that 3500kcal is 0,5kg of fat.

    Another question: Could it be that since I work out quite alot that I'm replacing half of the weight lost from fat with muscle? How likely is a 1-1,5kg muscle gain in 2 weeks?
  • xveer22
    xveer22 Posts: 93 Member
    It is deffinately possible that you gain some weight in muscle as well, especially because you are a man. I think it also depends on what kind of sports you doing. Are you doing strenght training?
    I just looked it up on the internet, but muscle gain with much strength training is only about 12 kg a year, so it is probably not only muscle which you gained.

    I can't see your food diary, but it sounds very strange to me... Maybe you're even undereating and your body is saving up everything?
  • martinvares
    martinvares Posts: 9 Member
    I think my diary should be public.

    But yeah, that's what I have read about max muscle gain. My workouts are mostly high intensity functional fitness workouts and boxing from bags to sparring. But the boxing part is also very intense and working the whole body. for the first 3 weeks I had muscle fatigue in places I didn't even know there is a muscle :D

    I don't think I'm really undereating, I eat close or over maintanance once a week and my eating pattern is designed so I wouldn't feel hunger so I eat every couple of hours.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Your issues could be quite likely due to the constipation issues. Weight loss is not linear, and water and waste definitely contribute to the final result on the scale. Definitely get that sorted. That said, I'm surprised fiber is not one of your nutrients tracked. 38g per day is recommended for men, and on days when you're eating 1,100 cals, it could be fairly tough to reach that level. Also make sure you're keeping your water intake high, especially due to the losses from exercise. These are basic things you could be doing to reduce the likelihood of your issues.

    If you want to track fiber, read this article: https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/403927-how-can-i-change-the-nutrients-that-are-tracked-in-my-diary-

    I don't know - your blowout days are a bit questionable to me for a couple reasons. First, the 1000 calories for five slices of pizza. Were these thin crust with minimal toppings, or the tiniest pizzas ever? Those calories seem a bit low to me. Secondly, at least one of the days appeared to be drinking. I've got nothing against it to be honest, but just make sure you're remembering and accurately logging everything you ate and drank

    Exercise routines can cause temporary water retention, so if your calories are in line the way you think, you may be expecting a big drop soon
  • martinvares
    martinvares Posts: 9 Member
    Thank you very much for a in-depth reply JaneiR36.
    Fiber might be one issue yes and I am trying to get into this after the doctors visit.
    About the pizza. It was one whole thin crust pizza. The local pizza place lists calorie amount for all their pizzas and this one was actually 936kcal. It was just easier for me to add a round number again.
    About the drinking. I logged most of it during the night and it was scattered between about 8 hours. Plus us northern europeans tend to hold our liquor well :D
    All in all, you can trust me that every bite is accounted for. Even if I have made a mistake in a few places I have definitely made up for it with the extra amounts as I have said before.
    I make sure I drink atelast 3 0,5l glasses of water during work+ 2x0,75l bottles during workout+0,5l in the evening. Some days ofcourse i drink more if I'm thirsty + tea (no sweeteners) for example, but never less.

    Thank you again for taking the time :)
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  • martinvares
    martinvares Posts: 9 Member
    Just to follow up, if someone happens to have simmilar conserns in the future and happens to read this.

    Like Jane said "you may be expecting a big drop soon". She was right. My weight has dropped 1,4 kg in 5 days. Guess it was a temporary adjustment in the body so it was unclear what was happening due to big changes in diet and excercise. Hopefully I can remember this in the future myself, that WEIGHT LOSS IS NOT LINEAR! :)
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    martinvares wrote: »
    Just to follow up, if someone happens to have simmilar conserns in the future and happens to read this.

    Like Jane said "you may be expecting a big drop soon". She was right. My weight has dropped 1,4 kg in 5 days. Guess it was a temporary adjustment in the body so it was unclear what was happening due to big changes in diet and excercise. Hopefully I can remember this in the future myself, that WEIGHT LOSS IS NOT LINEAR! :)

    Bingo!! Thanks for the update :)

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