2 months at a deficit and very slow weight loss?

gettingto65
gettingto65 Posts: 78 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,
So I've been eating at a deficit for at least two
months now and have only lost 2kg. I have a lot to lose so that isn't the issue. My TDEE is 2140 and I eat between 1300-1700 a day, usually around 1600. I go to the gym 3 times a week too.

I know it's not a race but I'd like a bit more coming off? My aim is around 1kg a week though I know weight loss is not linear. But you would think the first month or so I would lose a fair bit as I have quite a bit to lose?

If I cut the calories down more to say 1400 a day, could I sustain that until I reach my ideal weight (25-30kg weight loss) and then up it to my TDEE at the new weight (will be around 1700) or does it not work like that? I'm reading conflicting views and am not sure what to think.

Any help or advice is massively appreciated.

Thank you

Replies

  • katej37
    katej37 Posts: 56 Member
    Are you weighing your food? If not try doing just that for a week or 2 and see if that helps.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    Have you seen this?
    bqssqkoq44gb.jpg


  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Revisit your logging accuracy.
    Open your diary if you are comfortable doing that and want more specific advice.

    Giving your stats would help too.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    4lb in 4 weeks isn't necessarily "slow". It might feel slow to your impatient mind but unless you're morbidly obese it might actually be an appropriate pace for your weight. You say you have "a lot" to lose but if your TDEE is around 2100 then it can't be that bad...
  • gettingto65
    gettingto65 Posts: 78 Member
    Thanks everyone - I will start measuring every single thing I eat and see if that helps. I don't eat large portions but they might be larger than they need to be.

    What is your view on eating fewer calories (eg around 1400) until the goal weight is reached and then upping to closer to your TDEE though? I'm really curious as to how that works? If you ate more at maintenance would you then gain weight or does it not work like that?

    Thanks again
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    Without knowing what your current weight is and what your goal weight is, I doubt that anyone can give you much of a meaningful reply.
  • gettingto65
    gettingto65 Posts: 78 Member
    Oh sorry! Current weight is 99kg, height is 5'7 and goal weight is around 65kg (could be more, I'll stop when I'm happy but 65 is around about)

    TDEE is 2140, BMR is 1700ish and I have an office job where I sit down all day (this is when I put the weight on) and go to the gym 3 days a week, aim for four but realistically its 3 at the moment. I do 30 mins cardio (HIIT and endurance depending on the day) and 20 minute weight circuit.
    I am taking measurements and photos as well as the scales but no real changes there either.

    Thank you!
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    edited March 2016
    So in old money that's 218lb to 143lb? In that case at your activity level you should be losing at 1600. If you're not, and you're not currently weighing your food, my first step would be to tighten up on my logging. "Eyeballing" portion sizes can make a huge difference. Also not "forgetting" about things like the oils you use in cooking etc.
  • Buff_Man
    Buff_Man Posts: 623 Member
    I have the same BMR and I've been on 1500 calories a day. Only just logged weight loss after almost 2 months! It does take time but you have to count everything in order to determine if you're hitting your deficit. Got to be consistent too.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    And use a scale and not measuring cups.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpHykP6e_Uk
  • Becca_250
    Becca_250 Posts: 188 Member
    madeleinestella wrote: »
    Thanks everyone - I will start measuring every single thing I eat and see if that helps. I don't eat large portions but they might be larger than they need to be.

    What is your view on eating fewer calories (eg around 1400) until the goal weight is reached and then upping to closer to your TDEE though? I'm really curious as to how that works? If you ate more at maintenance would you then gain weight or does it not work like that?

    Thanks again

    I wouldn't be dropping any more calories until you start weighing everything as it's possible you are eating more calories than you think. Do you eat back exercise calories?
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    And a great video on why not to "guesstimate"...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU
  • gettingto65
    gettingto65 Posts: 78 Member
    Oh that's all really helpful thank you. I will be super strict on weighing and tracking every little thing for a month and see how that goes. I think you're right and I do forget about little things like cooking oil or a tiny bit of something and think oh that won't matter but it evidently must.

    Thank you!
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    madeleinestella wrote: »

    What is your view on eating fewer calories (eg around 1400) until the goal weight is reached and then upping to closer to your TDEE though? I'm really curious as to how that works? If you ate more at maintenance would you then gain weight or does it not work like that?

    Thanks again

    I'm not a fan of low calories / fast weight loss.
    Partly the deprivation makes people give up, partly you stand a higher chance of losing more lean mass than necessary but mostly because you don't learn how to maintain. The few months of weight loss are far less significant than the lifetime maintaining after all.

    One approach (which I wish I knew about before I lost my weight) is to calculate your goal weight maintenance calories and just simply eat at that level.
    It gives you a rate of loss that tapers off the lighter you get and no transition to maintenance required.

    "If you ate more at maintenance would you gain weight" doesn't make sense I'm afraid - maintenance is maintenance. Not a calculation, actual maintenance calories that result in stable ('ish) weight.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
    We have roughly the same stats (I'm 170cm and at 97kg as of this week :smile: , goal weight is 70kg or as low as I can mange/feel comfortable doing, starting weight was 110kg+ when I started the first time in 2014 and 104kg in January). To lose 0.5kg a week, I need to eat at around 1600cals.

    I realized that every time my weight loss is stating to stall I was guesstimating my portion sizes and that means eating ways more calories than necessary for me. Currently I'm losing the same 0.5kg every week (which sucks) but looking back over my logging I realized that I'm ways too lax. So I either have to accept that I won't be losing weight for a few weeks while I work through some issues (stress at work does not help) or I tighten my logging again. Once I tighten my logging again, I know I'll be losing weight again. :smile:
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    edited March 2016
    Sometimes you look at people's diaries and there seems to be never any butter on a sandwich, never any cooking oils used etc. That can be hundreds of calories alone in a week. Then when people log their exercise, many don't think that gym machines or the database here overestimates workouts, especially things like ellipticals. Then people forget to deduct their usual "living" calories off as you burn calories even if you laid in bed all day. So let's say I go for a half hour run and burn 350 calories (gross), and MFP tells me to eat them all back, but realistically I only burned around 310 calories (net) because the other 40 are already accounted for, so that's 40 over. It all adds up and contributed to people consuming more than they think and burn less than they are.

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn-conversion-calculator.shtml

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/articles/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn.shtml
  • whoseintroubleagain
    whoseintroubleagain Posts: 8 Member
    As others have said log everything, I also work in an office I no longer drink coffee during the day I have one in the morning with my breakfast and all I drink otherwise is water (3-4 liters), it is not much in calories but 4 a day with on sugar and milk is 100cal, a banana for my morning tea is another 110cal.

    So for one day of four coffees and a banana you already have 210 calories, this is why I put every single thing into the diary, I started at 103.3kg and are now at 98.1kg just over two weeks in so I am at the other end of the problem I am losing a bit to quick but each person is different.

    My wife does not log anything and I cook dinner so I know portion size and calorie count. I also walk a lot between 6km to 10km a day every day, whereas she walk only about 3kg and drinks white wine at night now she has only lost 400grams for the week.

    Long story short Log everything.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,944 Member
    madeleinestella wrote: »
    Oh that's all really helpful thank you. I will be super strict on weighing and tracking every little thing for a month and see how that goes. I think you're right and I do forget about little things like cooking oil or a tiny bit of something and think oh that won't matter but it evidently must.

    Thank you!

    Especially those things like cooking oil, nuts, coffee cream and the likes add up. One table spoon of cooking oil might easily be 130kcal for around 15ml, and most people cook with more.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You need to eat less or move more.

    Sitting all day and exercising 50 minutes 3x a week is probably somewhere between sedentary and lightly active with TDEE calculators. I think you're overestimating your TDEE too.
  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
    madeleinestella wrote: »
    Thanks everyone - I will start measuring every single thing I eat and see if that helps. I don't eat large portions but they might be larger than they need to be.

    What is your view on eating fewer calories (eg around 1400) until the goal weight is reached and then upping to closer to your TDEE though? I'm really curious as to how that works? If you ate more at maintenance would you then gain weight or does it not work like that?

    Thanks again

    You've gotten a lot of good advice and tightening up your logging is key.

    So, I'm just answering your question. Not a recommendation because I'm not a One True Way kind of person.

    The way MFP is designed it is very possible that you start out eating a higher number of calories per day, then as you lose weight and your BMR decreases you need to reduce you calorie intake (or increase activity) to keep your weight loss going.

    The other road (much less popular or recommended here) is to eat at a steeper deficit earlier in your weight loss when you have the fat mass to support it as your body can pull X number of calories a day from your fat. Then as your fat mass/available calories from fat decrease you increase calories to avoid losing lean mass. Watch the protein too.

    I'm guessing that due to decreasing BMR with decreasing body weight I can hold my calories around where they are now all the way through, then bump up to maintenance at goal. I'm using the Navy tape method to check in on lean body mass now and again (not perfect, but good enough to see a trend) and if I see a decrease in lean body mass then I might need to bump my calories up.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited March 2016
    If your TDEE is 2140 and you're eating 1600 on average, then that is about 1 pound a week (540 deficit) which I believe is roughly .5 kg per week. So in theory you should have lost 4kg in 2 months and have only lost 2. This means:
    • You are eating more than you think
    • You are burning less than you think
    • Some combination of the two

    Then there is also the possibility that you are on medication or have a medical condition that influences your metabolism/aka rate of burning calories. If you improve your food logging accuracy, and continue to see slow results, then consider a checkup.


    madeleinestella wrote: »
    Hi,
    So I've been eating at a deficit for at least two
    months now and have only lost 2kg. I have a lot to lose so that isn't the issue. My TDEE is 2140 and I eat between 1300-1700 a day, usually around 1600. I go to the gym 3 times a week too.

    I know it's not a race but I'd like a bit more coming off? My aim is around 1kg a week though I know weight loss is not linear. But you would think the first month or so I would lose a fair bit as I have quite a bit to lose?

    If I cut the calories down more to say 1400 a day, could I sustain that until I reach my ideal weight (25-30kg weight loss) and then up it to my TDEE at the new weight (will be around 1700) or does it not work like that? I'm reading conflicting views and am not sure what to think.

    Any help or advice is massively appreciated.

    Thank you

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