Scale is not my friend - please help

cushygal48
cushygal48 Posts: 13 Member
edited December 2 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all - I went on vacation April 15 - 23, when I left for vacation I weighed 155 - I got back from vacation I weighed 157.8, so not bad. Today I weigh in at 155 - I cannot break this.

Since then I have kicked up my exercise - I do cardio 6-7 days a week for an hour. This is 3 days of running, and 3-4 days of brisk walking. 3 days a week I weight train for 45 minutes.

I wear a FitBit so I know my daily burn is typically 2100-2500 hundred calories and my consumption of calories varies from 1400-1750 a day. I weigh and measure EVERYTHING.

My breakfast every day is a meal replacement shake - GNC Lean 25, 1 scoop with unsweetened almond milk, PB2 and water.

Morning snack is a piece of fruit with string cheese, or nuts. Or plain greek yogurt with frozen friut.

Lunch is 1/3 cup of egg whites, 1 piece of toast, 1/2 avocado, 2 strips of turkey back and 1/4 cup of shredded cheese.

Afternoon snack is a piece of fruit

Supper is whatever.

1 have one cheat day, but still exercise and still have the replacement meal shake for breakfast.

I WANT to break out of the 150's but can't seem to get there - any advice would be greatly appreciated.

BTW I am 48 and only 5 feet tall, in case that matters.

Thanks
Claudette

Replies

  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
    I think if you've been stuck there for at least a month, you're eating at maintenance. You will need to lower your calorie intake. You're only 5' tall and you're eating up to 1750 calories. I'm 5'3" and my maintenance calories will be around 1600-1700. I think you need to re-evaluate. Sorry, probably not what you wanted to hear.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    How many calories does MFP have you at daily? If you are weighing your food, it does sound like you're eating at maintenance.

    So it could be a few things. Are you eating exercise calories back? If so, how many do you earn and how much do you eat back? Also, have you updated your calorie goals since any previous loss? MFP supposedly is automatic on that, but I've had to go in and manually do it in the past.
  • cushygal48
    cushygal48 Posts: 13 Member
    Sorry, just reviewed diary and I am eating between 1350-1550. MFP has me set at 1200, which is low in my opinion seeing I work out so much. So based on that, I typically burn an average of 450-600 calories from exercise - then typically eat back up to a total of 1550 calories per day.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    First of all, your fitbit is likely wrong. I do cardio 6 days a week on one of the toughest machines made and on its highest settings for 30 minutes. The burn is around 450-500 calories. I then, while my HR is still high from that, transition into cross-fit/body weight training with little or no rest in-between muscle groups for another 30+ minutes. In that hour I burn around 850ish real calories. I also figure that estimate to be about 15% over inflated. So if your fitbit is telling you that you're burning over 2k calories a day it can't be accurate. That's why we got rid of my wife's she could not lose any weight, it was over-inflating her calorie burns. She's also about 5' tall. Right now she's at around 1500 calories a day with little or no exercise and she's maintaining her weight, so she will likely have to either add exercise or drop the calories further to see any loss.

    My suggestion is get a Polar H7 strap (or any other brand of HR strap - chest straps and apps that use your HR as a calculation for calories burned are the most accurate) wear it and pair it with your phone and an app. Then see what your calorie burn looks like and compare it to the fitbit's estimates. If you're weighing and measuring everything you're already doing it right. So if you stay at the same weight for more than a month, it's likely you're simply eating at maintenance level. You'll probably need to adjust. But keep in mind sodium levels can make you retain water, and so can a tough workout. Always give yourself a day off each week.

    Bottom line is everyone is different. If you do make adjustments in your calories, make small adjustments and wait at least 2-3 weeks before you make any more. But I would suggest comparing your calorie burn estimates with other devices/apps calculators to see if it may be off. Don't give up hope though the weight will start dropping again eventually. My longest stall in the last 1.5 years was six weeks long. Sometimes your body just revolts and refuses to lose more weight for a while lol.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    Are you weighing all of your foods with a food scale? Your diary isn't open, so we can't tell, but that may be the issue.
  • cushygal48
    cushygal48 Posts: 13 Member
    I have the FitBit surge, so it has a HR monitor on it. The calories it shows I burn for a total day. Aside from my exercise I also walk my dogs 3 times a day. Monday - Friday I work in my home gym on weekends I run outside for a min of an hour, so I think my calorie burn of 450-600 a day from exercise would be fairly accurate - but I do account for the inflation.

    Yes, I do weigh my food with a food scale.

    Thanks
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    cushygal48 wrote: »
    I have the FitBit surge, so it has a HR monitor on it. The calories it shows I burn for a total day. Aside from my exercise I also walk my dogs 3 times a day. Monday - Friday I work in my home gym on weekends I run outside for a min of an hour, so I think my calorie burn of 450-600 a day from exercise would be fairly accurate

    In that case it may be even under-estimated. So your body is probably just fighting you. I'd keep up the exercise, watch things like too much sugar or carbs, and simply keep up with what you're doing. You sound like a really active person. A vacation gain can easily set you back a couple weeks (usually does me), so I wouldn't do anything drastic until the weight stays the same for over a month. Honestly an hour run probably burns easily 400+ calories.

  • cushygal48
    cushygal48 Posts: 13 Member
    Spliner1969 wrote: »
    cushygal48 wrote: »
    I have the FitBit surge, so it has a HR monitor on it. The calories it shows I burn for a total day. Aside from my exercise I also walk my dogs 3 times a day. Monday - Friday I work in my home gym on weekends I run outside for a min of an hour, so I think my calorie burn of 450-600 a day from exercise would be fairly accurate

    In that case it may be even under-estimated. So your body is probably just fighting you. I'd keep up the exercise, watch things like too much sugar or carbs, and simply keep up with what you're doing. You sound like a really active person. A vacation gain can easily set you back a couple weeks (usually does me), so I wouldn't do anything drastic until the weight stays the same for over a month. Honestly an hour run probably burns easily 400+ calories.

    Thanks all - I'll just keep plugging away. As they say slow and steady wins the race :)
  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
    That cheat day you mentioned is a likely problem, it is very easy to undo a deficit with a day where you overeat.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    cushygal48 wrote: »
    Spliner1969 wrote: »
    cushygal48 wrote: »
    I have the FitBit surge, so it has a HR monitor on it. The calories it shows I burn for a total day. Aside from my exercise I also walk my dogs 3 times a day. Monday - Friday I work in my home gym on weekends I run outside for a min of an hour, so I think my calorie burn of 450-600 a day from exercise would be fairly accurate

    In that case it may be even under-estimated. So your body is probably just fighting you. I'd keep up the exercise, watch things like too much sugar or carbs, and simply keep up with what you're doing. You sound like a really active person. A vacation gain can easily set you back a couple weeks (usually does me), so I wouldn't do anything drastic until the weight stays the same for over a month. Honestly an hour run probably burns easily 400+ calories.

    Thanks all - I'll just keep plugging away. As they say slow and steady wins the race :)

    Just based on the information, it seems like you are doing everything correctly. But just to prod a bit more, when you weigh foods, do you make sure to weigh things like oils and such? How often do you eat take-out/restaurants? I know it might seem redundant, but some folks do everything religiously aside few one small thing, which can add up. Especially when you are on the shorter side and don't have much wiggle room.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    Depends on what you call a cheat day. If it's a day where you go back to eating the way you used to before this, then yea, it's no good long term. If it's a day where you simply allow yourself to eat back your exercise calories and practice moderation a little less then it's not such a big deal. You just have to either prepare for it with extra burns beforehand or pay for it afterward with extra burns/deficit. But you're better off working toward an all-around level diet rather than one that goes up and down in calories constantly. Cheat days can create cravings and bad habits.

    Hell If I were to have a real cheat day, I'd do what I did before which was eat things like cinnamon rolls and doughnuts for breakfast, fast food for lunch, then a crap ton of fatty food for dinner with oreos or chips for snacks before bed. One night of that would take me a week to repair. I'll pass on that! Instead I'll simply indulge in healthier snacks, no-sugar added ice cream, or high protein snacks to round out my macros. ;)
  • cushygal48
    cushygal48 Posts: 13 Member
    vespiquenn wrote: »
    cushygal48 wrote: »
    Spliner1969 wrote: »
    cushygal48 wrote: »
    I have the FitBit surge, so it has a HR monitor on it. The calories it shows I burn for a total day. Aside from my exercise I also walk my dogs 3 times a day. Monday - Friday I work in my home gym on weekends I run outside for a min of an hour, so I think my calorie burn of 450-600 a day from exercise would be fairly accurate

    In that case it may be even under-estimated. So your body is probably just fighting you. I'd keep up the exercise, watch things like too much sugar or carbs, and simply keep up with what you're doing. You sound like a really active person. A vacation gain can easily set you back a couple weeks (usually does me), so I wouldn't do anything drastic until the weight stays the same for over a month. Honestly an hour run probably burns easily 400+ calories.

    Thanks all - I'll just keep plugging away. As they say slow and steady wins the race :)

    Just based on the information, it seems like you are doing everything correctly. But just to prod a bit more, when you weigh foods, do you make sure to weigh things like oils and such? How often do you eat take-out/restaurants? I know it might seem redundant, but some folks do everything religiously aside few one small thing, which can add up. Especially when you are on the shorter side and don't have much wiggle room.

    Hi,

    Yes, I weigh and measure everything. We eat out maybe twice a month, but when we do I make sure to be light on breakfast and lunch and then eat dinner out. This never includes an app or dessert, its the meal and a few drinks.

    I will say that I used to weigh 196.5 just 5 years ago and got down to 138 - then STOPPED running all together and ballooned back to 181, so now down to 155, but it did take 18 months to lose that 26 pounds. So I'll just take it slow.

    Thanks
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