Unreasonably difficult to lose weight.
pennys_plagiarized_passions
Posts: 12 Member
Hi everybody.
I am an athlete, and have been incredibly active (4-8hrs of exercise per day is not uncommon for me) for the majority of my adult life (I am 24).
Weight loss seems pretty simple... burn more calories than you consume... but for some reason it has not been that easy for me.
I am wondering if anyone has any ideas.
For the record, I feel fantastic. I can workout, literally fighting people (my fellow martial artists) for four hours and still (semi jokingly, you know, in a friendly way...) bully them into staying an extra round to fight me.
Fruits, vegetables, protein... almost never do I have fried/fast/junk foods. Sometimes I have coffee, but I try to stick to tea.
So I do not feel like I am unhealthy in any way... I just pack on some extra pounds.
There are days when I am 600-900 calories below my goal by the time I go to bed.
I will tell you though, my rest days, the days where I don't work out as much, are the days that are the hardest for me to count my calories. I am hungry and irritable.
However, I did not lose ANY WEIGHT AT ALL without counting my calories and "starving" just a little bit.
So... how on Earth do I manage to burn 2,000 calories in a day, consume maybe 1,300 (this is not the norm for me right now, so don't worry, but I had a problem where I had lost my appetite for a while), and not lose weight? ...Really I don't even understand how I remained standing on those days. O.o
Could there be something wrong with my health?
I certainly don't FEEL like there is, but it is sad that I have struggled to lose weight...
I am an athlete, and have been incredibly active (4-8hrs of exercise per day is not uncommon for me) for the majority of my adult life (I am 24).
Weight loss seems pretty simple... burn more calories than you consume... but for some reason it has not been that easy for me.
I am wondering if anyone has any ideas.
For the record, I feel fantastic. I can workout, literally fighting people (my fellow martial artists) for four hours and still (semi jokingly, you know, in a friendly way...) bully them into staying an extra round to fight me.
Fruits, vegetables, protein... almost never do I have fried/fast/junk foods. Sometimes I have coffee, but I try to stick to tea.
So I do not feel like I am unhealthy in any way... I just pack on some extra pounds.
There are days when I am 600-900 calories below my goal by the time I go to bed.
I will tell you though, my rest days, the days where I don't work out as much, are the days that are the hardest for me to count my calories. I am hungry and irritable.
However, I did not lose ANY WEIGHT AT ALL without counting my calories and "starving" just a little bit.
So... how on Earth do I manage to burn 2,000 calories in a day, consume maybe 1,300 (this is not the norm for me right now, so don't worry, but I had a problem where I had lost my appetite for a while), and not lose weight? ...Really I don't even understand how I remained standing on those days. O.o
Could there be something wrong with my health?
I certainly don't FEEL like there is, but it is sad that I have struggled to lose weight...
0
Replies
-
A couple of questions that will help us provide you with some answers and/or clarity:
1. What are your stats?
2. How much weight are you trying to lose?
3. How long have you been eating at a deficit?
3. How many lbs/week did you tell MFP you wanted to lose when you went through the app's guided setup?
4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?
5. What's the daily calorie goal MFP provided for you?6 -
CafeRacer808 wrote: »4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?
^ Most important question of all right there.11 -
Do the Ketogenic Diet! Trust me you'll lose the weight quick!:)
You're welcome0 -
omfgitsray wrote: »Do the Ketogenic Diet! Trust me you'll lose the weight quick!:)
You're welcome
^ Ignore this. It has been scientifically proven that there is no metabolic advantage to a ketogenic diet.
It may be helpful to some in terms of satiety/adherence, and it causes an above normal water weight loss in the initial stages, but losing weight still comes down to CI<CO. There's nothing magical about a keto diet.37 -
Can you open your diary? That will allow people to give you more specific advice.4
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Also how are you measuring your burns do you have a HRM?
"I will tell you though, my rest days, the days where I don't work out as much, are the days that are the hardest for me to count my calories. I am hungry and irritable."
I'd start trying to accurately measure your cal intake here you may be eating your deficit back. Once you log your cals accurately every day with scales you can start looking at more obscure culprits like medical conditions with your doctor but I'd try to log accurately for a few weeks first to rule out CICO being an issue.1 -
It isn't possible to burn 2000 and consume 1300 for several days and not lose weight. But it is possible to eat more than you realize and burn less than you think.16
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Ignore the people that tell you to do what you're doing and not having success. Don't weigh your food and count your calories. Eat until you are full and satisfied.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight
Good Luck!1 -
omfgitsray wrote: »Do the Ketogenic Diet! Trust me you'll lose the weight quick!:)
You're welcomeIgnore the people that tell you to do what you're doing and not having success. Don't weigh your food and count your calories. Eat until you are full and satisfied.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight
Good Luck!
Not everything has to be about a Ketogenic Diet guys. The OP can choose whatever diet works to her advantage...that might even be just eating the same foods that she always has but just eating less of them.
For me personally...I do eat fewer carbs than I used to...it works for me for various reasons...some of them health related. I don't however think that it is the answer for everyone...nor do I believe that everyone has to eat the same way that I do.
Let's give it a break...have a discussion that doesn't center around the "CARB".13 -
CafeRacer808 wrote: »4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?
^ Most important question of all right there.
I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.4 -
rainbowbow wrote: »CafeRacer808 wrote: »4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?
^ Most important question of all right there.
I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.
Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.
4 -
From an athlete to another. Do you "taper" in your sport before a competition? Have you ever noticed how you'd actually lose some weight during a taper? That assuming you do tapers, us in triathlon do.
It's cortisol usually anyway, the long hours training raise it, then leptin goes down and you know the effect is that...you're eating nothing but still you aren't losing. The only fix I have found was reducing the training load, to be honest it was the best deal ever even if I wasn't convinced about it at all but my coach pushed it and I tought to give him the benefit of doubt.
Reducing hours of training (essentially we made a harder single daily session rather than two hald hearted ones) has had me shed 7kg (which coupled up with a 3kg lighter bike makes for way better climbs!) and I have had time to devore to stretching and foam rolling. As for performance, it went up esponentially so I would definitely recommend it but then it depends on what you can and cannot do in your sport/what your coach would do/etc...2 -
omfgitsray wrote: »Do the Ketogenic Diet! Trust me you'll lose the weight quick!:)
You're welcomeIgnore the people that tell you to do what you're doing and not having success. Don't weigh your food and count your calories. Eat until you are full and satisfied.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight
Good Luck!
Not everything has to be about a Ketogenic Diet guys. The OP can choose whatever diet works to her advantage...that might even be just eating the same foods that she always has but just eating less of them.
For me personally...I do eat fewer carbs than I used to...it works for me for various reasons...some of them health related. I don't however think that it is the answer for everyone...nor do I believe that everyone has to eat the same way that I do.
Let's give it a break...have a discussion that doesn't center around the "CARB".
Yea, let's give stuff that doesn't work for everyone a break too. "Ignore this?" Really. I'm not getting into it with people on the Internet. The first response on here is to eat less and weigh your food. Give me a break. This is old and tired. If you are someone who has lost weight and gained it back many times, eat less and weigh your food is torture and horribly slow.
I offered the diet doctor page to provide something many people are not familiar with. I wasn't.
0 -
3rdof7sisters wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »CafeRacer808 wrote: »4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?
^ Most important question of all right there.
I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.
Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.
Well, obviously not or she'd be losing weight.
My point is that:
1.) she is overestimating how active she is and how many calories she takes to maintain her weight
2.) I think it's pretty obvious she is eating more than she thinks
Finding the right calorie goal based on her correct TDEE and then actually eating that number of calories is going to be imperative in her success.
I think it's super important to mention because a lot of people who consider themselves athletes or who exercise a lot experience something called "lash back" hunger where they overeat total calories to compensate for calories burned during exercise. This is especially the case for individuals who perform high-intensity cardio-respiratory exercise and part of the reason I personally don't do well with cardio. My hunger ramps up leaps and bounds beyond the number of calories i've actually burned with activity.4 -
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/09/02/4077371.htm
This. Calories in/calories out
The diet doctor is NOT a qualified dietician. It's a mass money producing site which offers a "quick fix" rather than sustainable, life long habits and realistic expectations.9 -
omfgitsray wrote: »Do the Ketogenic Diet! Trust me you'll lose the weight quick!:)
You're welcomeIgnore the people that tell you to do what you're doing and not having success. Don't weigh your food and count your calories. Eat until you are full and satisfied.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight
Good Luck!
Not everything has to be about a Ketogenic Diet guys. The OP can choose whatever diet works to her advantage...that might even be just eating the same foods that she always has but just eating less of them.
For me personally...I do eat fewer carbs than I used to...it works for me for various reasons...some of them health related. I don't however think that it is the answer for everyone...nor do I believe that everyone has to eat the same way that I do.
Let's give it a break...have a discussion that doesn't center around the "CARB".
Yea, let's give stuff that doesn't work for everyone a break too. "Ignore this?" Really. I'm not getting into it with people on the Internet. The first response on here is to eat less and weigh your food. Give me a break. This is old and tired. If you are someone who has lost weight and gained it back many times, eat less and weigh your food is torture and horribly slow.
I offered the diet doctor page to provide something many people are not familiar with. I wasn't.
It's old because it works. It's tired because you've never managed to develop the habits and skills you need to maintain your weight long term.
Sorry guys, but fad diets don't last long-term.23 -
rainbowbow wrote: »3rdof7sisters wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »CafeRacer808 wrote: »4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?
^ Most important question of all right there.
I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.
Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.
Well, obviously not or she'd be losing weight.
My point is that:
1.) she is overestimating how active she is and how many calories she takes to maintain her weight
2.) I think it's pretty obvious she is eating more than she thinks
Finding the right calorie goal based on her correct TDEE and then actually eating that number of calories is going to be imperative in her success.
I think it's super important to mention because a lot of people who consider themselves athletes or who exercise a lot experience something called "lash back" hunger where they overeat total calories to compensate for calories burned during exercise. This is especially the case for individuals who perform high-intensity cardio-respiratory exercise and part of the reason I personally don't do well with cardio. My hunger ramps up leaps and bounds beyond the number of calories i've actually burned with activity.
Just saying, the average sedentary woman burns 1800 calories per day just living, burning 2000 is not being overly aggressive for someone that exercises 4-8 hours per day. To me, that is underestimating calorie burn for 4-8 hours of exercise that the OP says is not unusual for her.
It doesn't take an expert to conclude that her calorie intake is way more than she is claiming, or she really does need to discuss this with her doctor to eliminate any medical reason.
2 -
3rdof7sisters wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »3rdof7sisters wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »CafeRacer808 wrote: »4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?
^ Most important question of all right there.
I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.
Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.
Well, obviously not or she'd be losing weight.
My point is that:
1.) she is overestimating how active she is and how many calories she takes to maintain her weight
2.) I think it's pretty obvious she is eating more than she thinks
Finding the right calorie goal based on her correct TDEE and then actually eating that number of calories is going to be imperative in her success.
I think it's super important to mention because a lot of people who consider themselves athletes or who exercise a lot experience something called "lash back" hunger where they overeat total calories to compensate for calories burned during exercise. This is especially the case for individuals who perform high-intensity cardio-respiratory exercise and part of the reason I personally don't do well with cardio. My hunger ramps up leaps and bounds beyond the number of calories i've actually burned with activity.
Just saying, the average sedentary woman burns 1800 calories per day just living, burning 2000 is not being overly aggressive for someone that exercises 4-8 hours per day. To me, that is underestimating calorie burn for 4-8 hours of exercise that the OP says is not unusual for her.
It doesn't take an expert to conclude that her calorie intake is way more than she is claiming, or she really does need to discuss this with her doctor to eliminate any medical reason.
eh. I'm a personal trainer and consider myself active. I maintain on 1,800 on non-workout days and 2,200 on workout days (where i'm teaching group classes for example).
Regardless, My point is that she needs to get a grasp of what her actual TDEE is so that she can set her goal properly the first time; not that 2,000 calories a day is not her maintenance. Heck, she might maintain on more than that; I don't know.
My comment about assuming she's burning more calories was moreso based on physiological hunger cues she's experiencing, not the number 2000 she states in her post.4 -
This content has been removed.
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There are days when I am 600-900 calories below my goal by the time I go to bed.
Are there any days where you didn't log everything you ate?
One meal, sometimes one slice of cheesecake can pretty much wipe out a whole week of deficit.7 -
Ignore the people that tell you to do what you're doing and not having success. Don't weigh your food and count your calories. Eat until you are full and satisfied.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight
Good Luck!
She's an athlete. She's an athlete participating in a sport that needs quick bursts of movement. The ketogenic diet would be very bad for her performance. Don't throw around the ketogenic diet as a solution for everyone regardless of their needs just because it worked for you.15 -
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/09/02/4077371.htm
This. Calories in/calories out
The diet doctor is NOT a qualified dietician. It's a mass money producing site which offers a "quick fix" rather than sustainable, life-long habits and realistic expectations.
This is useless. The site is free unless you choose to join. Everything you need is free. It's not a quick fix. It's a lifelong change. Which restricting your calories is not. The young people on here advocating weighing your food and counting your calories, which I did many times, let's chat again in 30 years when you're old and fat. ha ha
https://www.dietdoctor.com/authors/dr-andreas-eenfeldt
OP - I hope you find something that works and is enjoyable. Good Luck!2 -
rainbowbow wrote: »3rdof7sisters wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »CafeRacer808 wrote: »4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?
^ Most important question of all right there.
I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.
Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.
Well, obviously not or she'd be losing weight.
My point is that:
1.) she is overestimating how active she is and how many calories she takes to maintain her weight
2.) I think it's pretty obvious she is eating more than she thinks
Finding the right calorie goal based on her correct TDEE and then actually eating that number of calories is going to be imperative in her success.
I think it's super important to mention because a lot of people who consider themselves athletes or who exercise a lot experience something called "lash back" hunger where they overeat total calories to compensate for calories burned during exercise. This is especially the case for individuals who perform high-intensity cardio-respiratory exercise and part of the reason I personally don't do well with cardio. My hunger ramps up leaps and bounds beyond the number of calories i've actually burned with activity.
Nothing is obvious until it is.
She could have developed a medical condition that she is unaware of2 -
rainbowbow wrote: »3rdof7sisters wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »CafeRacer808 wrote: »4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?
^ Most important question of all right there.
I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.
Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.
Well, obviously not or she'd be losing weight.
My point is that:
1.) she is overestimating how active she is and how many calories she takes to maintain her weight
2.) I think it's pretty obvious she is eating more than she thinks
Finding the right calorie goal based on her correct TDEE and then actually eating that number of calories is going to be imperative in her success.
I think it's super important to mention because a lot of people who consider themselves athletes or who exercise a lot experience something called "lash back" hunger where they overeat total calories to compensate for calories burned during exercise. This is especially the case for individuals who perform high-intensity cardio-respiratory exercise and part of the reason I personally don't do well with cardio. My hunger ramps up leaps and bounds beyond the number of calories i've actually burned with activity.
Nothing is obvious until it is.
She could have developed a medical condition that she is unaware of
CICO doesn't just stop working. As someone who has had a plethora of medical conditions known to affect weight; this is just a strawman.
If she were eating less calories than she was burning... she'd be losing weight. That's how biology works.8 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »Ignore the people that tell you to do what you're doing and not having success. Don't weigh your food and count your calories. Eat until you are full and satisfied.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight
Good Luck!
She's an athlete. She's an athlete participating in a sport that needs quick bursts of movement. The ketogenic diet would be very bad for her performance. Don't throw around the ketogenic diet as a solution for everyone regardless of their needs just because it worked for you.
This is phony too. There are many world class athletes that follow this and do BETTER than they did on high protein or high carb. No, it's not for everyone. But this reason is bogus.
0 -
rainbowbow wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »3rdof7sisters wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »CafeRacer808 wrote: »4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?
^ Most important question of all right there.
I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.
Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.
Well, obviously not or she'd be losing weight.
My point is that:
1.) she is overestimating how active she is and how many calories she takes to maintain her weight
2.) I think it's pretty obvious she is eating more than she thinks
Finding the right calorie goal based on her correct TDEE and then actually eating that number of calories is going to be imperative in her success.
I think it's super important to mention because a lot of people who consider themselves athletes or who exercise a lot experience something called "lash back" hunger where they overeat total calories to compensate for calories burned during exercise. This is especially the case for individuals who perform high-intensity cardio-respiratory exercise and part of the reason I personally don't do well with cardio. My hunger ramps up leaps and bounds beyond the number of calories i've actually burned with activity.
Nothing is obvious until it is.
She could have developed a medical condition that she is unaware of
CICO doesn't just stop working. As someone who has had a plethora of medical conditions known to affect weight; this is just a strawman.
If she were eating less calories than she was burning... she'd be losing weight. That's how biology works.
Unless she has a condition that is undiagnosed, which no one can determine on an internet forum. In which case she should be consulting with a medical professional.
3 -
3rdof7sisters wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »3rdof7sisters wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »CafeRacer808 wrote: »4. How are you measuring your food intake? Food scale? Measuring cups? Estimating?
^ Most important question of all right there.
I would argue that while this is super important i'm getting a feeling that OP is severely overestimating her calories burned through activity.
Would that really matter that much? She is burning more than she is eating just by being alive with no activity.She is only eating 1300 calories, she should definitely be losing weight.
I think it is more like eating more than she thinks. Not weighing and or measuring her food accurately.
Well, obviously not or she'd be losing weight.
My point is that:
1.) she is overestimating how active she is and how many calories she takes to maintain her weight
2.) I think it's pretty obvious she is eating more than she thinks
Finding the right calorie goal based on her correct TDEE and then actually eating that number of calories is going to be imperative in her success.
I think it's super important to mention because a lot of people who consider themselves athletes or who exercise a lot experience something called "lash back" hunger where they overeat total calories to compensate for calories burned during exercise. This is especially the case for individuals who perform high-intensity cardio-respiratory exercise and part of the reason I personally don't do well with cardio. My hunger ramps up leaps and bounds beyond the number of calories i've actually burned with activity.
Nothing is obvious until it is.
She could have developed a medical condition that she is unaware of
CICO doesn't just stop working. As someone who has had a plethora of medical conditions known to affect weight; this is just a strawman.
If she were eating less calories than she was burning... she'd be losing weight. That's how biology works.
Unless she has a condition that is undiagnosed, which no one can determine on an internet forum. In which case she should be consulting with a medical professional.
Wow.
5 -
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/09/02/4077371.htm
This. Calories in/calories out
The diet doctor is NOT a qualified dietician. It's a mass money producing site which offers a "quick fix" rather than sustainable, life-long habits and realistic expectations.
This is useless. The site is free unless you choose to join. Everything you need is free. It's not a quick fix. It's a lifelong change. Which restricting your calories is not. The young people on here advocating weighing your food and counting your calories, which I did many times, let's chat again in 30 years when you're old and fat. ha ha
https://www.dietdoctor.com/authors/dr-andreas-eenfeldt
OP - I hope you find something that works and is enjoyable. Good Luck!
I hate to break it you but regardless of your chosen way of eating, the only way to lose weight is to restrict calories, the only way to maintain weight is to restrict calories to your maintenance level. Physics. Thermodynamics.
Some people can achieve that by not monitoring calories, others can't.
Debating the merits of one way of eating over another is moot at this point as we don't have enough info from the OP to figure out what might be happening. Sounds to me like they may be wiping out any deficit on their rest days when they don't log.13 -
Story of my life!TimothyFish wrote: »It isn't possible to burn 2000 and consume 1300 for several days and not lose weight. But it is possible to eat more than you realize and burn less than you think.
0 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »Ignore the people that tell you to do what you're doing and not having success. Don't weigh your food and count your calories. Eat until you are full and satisfied.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight
Good Luck!
She's an athlete. She's an athlete participating in a sport that needs quick bursts of movement. The ketogenic diet would be very bad for her performance. Don't throw around the ketogenic diet as a solution for everyone regardless of their needs just because it worked for you.
This is phony too. There are many world class athletes that follow this and do BETTER than they did on high protein or high carb. No, it's not for everyone. But this reason is bogus.
Show me one world class athlete in a high intensity burst sport on a ketogenic diet who says they perform better and I will show you a liar or a genetic monstrosity.14
This discussion has been closed.
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