Not losing on 1600 calories/day
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Do you have days where you don't log your food or frequent binges?1
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HI.. I am having the same issue as you.
One of the things that I would suggest is to exercise more.
I get that you are eating at 1600 but what about burning at 1600kcal, or 1700 or 1800?
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kshama2001 wrote: »MaineMom76 wrote: »ruthordare wrote: »Working out 7 days a week seems like a red flag to me, especially with exercise as intense as yours seems to be- especially if you've just started this up in the last month (although I think it's worrying regardless of how long you've been exercising). Maybe this is causing your body extra stress, so it's not letting go of the weight? Releasing extra cortisol? I'm not a health professional, but I've read some articles about it- might be worth researching. I would recommend having AT LEAST one rest day per week, or trying yoga or a gentle walk one day a week in lieu of intense workouts if you can't convince yourself to take a full rest day. Your body needs time to recover in order for you to see results. Your muscles won't grow if they're constantly working!
I normally do try to have a rest day, but I'm going to Punta Cana in 39 days and I was trying to push for some more progress! I have been active my whole life so my body is used to doing something 7 days/week, but you might be right that I may be pushing it too far right now. Thank you for your input!
I'm 1.5" shorter than you and when I was your weight I lost a pound a week with a lot less exercise and eating back exercise calories, which makes me wonder if you have the cortisol thing going on:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dietary-restraint-and-cortisol-levels-research-review.html/
...a group of women who scored higher on dietary restraint scores showed elevated baseline cortisol levels. By itself this might not be problematic, but as often as not, these types of dieters are drawn to extreme approaches to dieting.
They throw in a lot of intense exercise, try to cut calories very hard (and this often backfires if disinhibition is high; when these folks break they break) and cortisol levels go through the roof. That often causes cortisol mediated water retention (there are other mechanisms for this, mind you, leptin actually inhibits cortisol release and as it drops on a diet, cortisol levels go up further). Weight and fat loss appear to have stopped or at least slowed significantly. This is compounded even further in female dieters due to the vagaries of their menstrual cycle where water balance is changing enormously week to week anyhow.
And invariably, this type of psychology responds to the stall by going even harder. They attempt to cut calories harder, they start doing more activity. The cycle continues and gets worse. Harder dieting means more cortisol means more water retention means more dieting. Which backfires (other problems come in the long-term with this approach but you’ll have to wait for the book to read about that).
When what they should do is take a day or two off (even one day off from training, at least in men, let’s cortisol drop significantly). Raise calories, especially from carbohydrates. This helps cortisol to drop. More than that they need to find a way to freaking chill out. Meditation, yoga, get a massage... Get in the bath, candles, a little Enya, a glass of wine, have some you-time but please just chill.
I'm loving the "You'll lose more weight if you chill the hell out!" vibe of this research.4 -
Day 978 here...
With 80 lbs. to go, 1600 will definitely make you lose fat. You started 4 weeks ago and have a physically demanding exercise plan. This makes me think that you have some muscle inflammation (water weight gains) offsetting your fat losses. This kind of water weight gain is part of muscle healing/building and does not harm your fat loss, but it does hide it temporarily from the scale. In fact, 3-5 weeks is usually the window that it has this off-setting effect.
I would keep going at 1600 -- don't change anything. Give it a couple more weeks and I think you'll start seeing your continued fat loss will start showing up as your muscles calm down a bit, now that they're getting used to your workouts.
Congrats on four weeks -- keep going!!3 -
Here are some of the websites that I like that help with conversations with doctors about thyroid issues:
- https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/mistakes-patients-make/
- https://www.yourhormones.com/thyroid-health/
Sometimes excessive exercise has the opposite effect -- if your adrenals are overworked (and many hypothyroid patients have adrenal fatigue):
If your adrenals are totally pooped out, and you are at stage 3 adrenal fatigue, adaptogenic herbs won't help. Some doctors will provide low dose cortef (hydrocortisone.) Other doctors poo poo the whole theory. Desiccated adrenal cortex and whole adrenal can help.
If you decide that you need to go that route, please discuss with your doctor and go low and slow. (There are several brands available, look for capsules without fillers like excessive cellulose, or any magnesium stearate and titanium dioxide.) I like Pure Encapsulations and nutri-meds.
Also, have you thought about decreasing your calories to between 1400 and 1500?
I have restricted my calories as well as started supplementing with 7-keto DHEA as well as desiccated adrenal cortex and whole adrenal and without exercise (due to my adrenal fatigue / fibromyalgia) I am losing 2 lbs a week.
Good luck!2 -
donovanwoodworking wrote: »Checking your urine for ketones is a simple test that can show if you are burning fat. You should be able to get urine test strips at the drugstore or from Amazon. Here is an article from a diabetic web site. Read it from the point of view of learning about fat metabolism and why the body manufactures ketones. Good Luck.. https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/managing-diabetes/blood-glucose-management/getting-to-know-ketones/
I'll take a look, thanks!you may want to adjust your macros with the same calories. but before you do that remove any sweeteners from your diet , splenda , truvia , soda , sweetened waters. I lose better on a lower carb diet 25% carbs 40% protein 35%fats.
I have NONE of that in my diet. I'll take a look at those macros, I love protein, so that might help.Do you have days where you don't log your food or frequent binges?
I have in the past, but since I started up again, no.Commander_Keen wrote: »HI.. I am having the same issue as you.
One of the things that I would suggest is to exercise more.
I get that you are eating at 1600 but what about burning at 1600kcal, or 1700 or 1800?
I'm not sure I can exercise more than I already am, LOL.kshama2001 wrote: »MaineMom76 wrote: »ruthordare wrote: »Working out 7 days a week seems like a red flag to me, especially with exercise as intense as yours seems to be- especially if you've just started this up in the last month (although I think it's worrying regardless of how long you've been exercising). Maybe this is causing your body extra stress, so it's not letting go of the weight? Releasing extra cortisol? I'm not a health professional, but I've read some articles about it- might be worth researching. I would recommend having AT LEAST one rest day per week, or trying yoga or a gentle walk one day a week in lieu of intense workouts if you can't convince yourself to take a full rest day. Your body needs time to recover in order for you to see results. Your muscles won't grow if they're constantly working!
I normally do try to have a rest day, but I'm going to Punta Cana in 39 days and I was trying to push for some more progress! I have been active my whole life so my body is used to doing something 7 days/week, but you might be right that I may be pushing it too far right now. Thank you for your input!
I'm 1.5" shorter than you and when I was your weight I lost a pound a week with a lot less exercise and eating back exercise calories, which makes me wonder if you have the cortisol thing going on:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dietary-restraint-and-cortisol-levels-research-review.html/
...a group of women who scored higher on dietary restraint scores showed elevated baseline cortisol levels. By itself this might not be problematic, but as often as not, these types of dieters are drawn to extreme approaches to dieting.
They throw in a lot of intense exercise, try to cut calories very hard (and this often backfires if disinhibition is high; when these folks break they break) and cortisol levels go through the roof. That often causes cortisol mediated water retention (there are other mechanisms for this, mind you, leptin actually inhibits cortisol release and as it drops on a diet, cortisol levels go up further). Weight and fat loss appear to have stopped or at least slowed significantly. This is compounded even further in female dieters due to the vagaries of their menstrual cycle where water balance is changing enormously week to week anyhow.
And invariably, this type of psychology responds to the stall by going even harder. They attempt to cut calories harder, they start doing more activity. The cycle continues and gets worse. Harder dieting means more cortisol means more water retention means more dieting. Which backfires (other problems come in the long-term with this approach but you’ll have to wait for the book to read about that).
When what they should do is take a day or two off (even one day off from training, at least in men, let’s cortisol drop significantly). Raise calories, especially from carbohydrates. This helps cortisol to drop. More than that they need to find a way to freaking chill out. Meditation, yoga, get a massage... Get in the bath, candles, a little Enya, a glass of wine, have some you-time but please just chill.
I'll definitely take a look at this. I can't imagine raising my carbs though!!1 -
MaineMom76 wrote: »donovanwoodworking wrote: »Checking your urine for ketones is a simple test that can show if you are burning fat. You should be able to get urine test strips at the drugstore or from Amazon. Here is an article from a diabetic web site. Read it from the point of view of learning about fat metabolism and why the body manufactures ketones. Good Luck.. https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/managing-diabetes/blood-glucose-management/getting-to-know-ketones/
I'll take a look, thanks!you may want to adjust your macros with the same calories. but before you do that remove any sweeteners from your diet , splenda , truvia , soda , sweetened waters. I lose better on a lower carb diet 25% carbs 40% protein 35%fats.
I have NONE of that in my diet. I'll take a look at those macros, I love protein, so that might help.Do you have days where you don't log your food or frequent binges?
I have in the past, but since I started up again, no.Commander_Keen wrote: »HI.. I am having the same issue as you.
One of the things that I would suggest is to exercise more.
I get that you are eating at 1600 but what about burning at 1600kcal, or 1700 or 1800?
I'm not sure I can exercise more than I already am, LOL.kshama2001 wrote: »MaineMom76 wrote: »ruthordare wrote: »Working out 7 days a week seems like a red flag to me, especially with exercise as intense as yours seems to be- especially if you've just started this up in the last month (although I think it's worrying regardless of how long you've been exercising). Maybe this is causing your body extra stress, so it's not letting go of the weight? Releasing extra cortisol? I'm not a health professional, but I've read some articles about it- might be worth researching. I would recommend having AT LEAST one rest day per week, or trying yoga or a gentle walk one day a week in lieu of intense workouts if you can't convince yourself to take a full rest day. Your body needs time to recover in order for you to see results. Your muscles won't grow if they're constantly working!
I normally do try to have a rest day, but I'm going to Punta Cana in 39 days and I was trying to push for some more progress! I have been active my whole life so my body is used to doing something 7 days/week, but you might be right that I may be pushing it too far right now. Thank you for your input!
I'm 1.5" shorter than you and when I was your weight I lost a pound a week with a lot less exercise and eating back exercise calories, which makes me wonder if you have the cortisol thing going on:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dietary-restraint-and-cortisol-levels-research-review.html/
...a group of women who scored higher on dietary restraint scores showed elevated baseline cortisol levels. By itself this might not be problematic, but as often as not, these types of dieters are drawn to extreme approaches to dieting.
They throw in a lot of intense exercise, try to cut calories very hard (and this often backfires if disinhibition is high; when these folks break they break) and cortisol levels go through the roof. That often causes cortisol mediated water retention (there are other mechanisms for this, mind you, leptin actually inhibits cortisol release and as it drops on a diet, cortisol levels go up further). Weight and fat loss appear to have stopped or at least slowed significantly. This is compounded even further in female dieters due to the vagaries of their menstrual cycle where water balance is changing enormously week to week anyhow.
And invariably, this type of psychology responds to the stall by going even harder. They attempt to cut calories harder, they start doing more activity. The cycle continues and gets worse. Harder dieting means more cortisol means more water retention means more dieting. Which backfires (other problems come in the long-term with this approach but you’ll have to wait for the book to read about that).
When what they should do is take a day or two off (even one day off from training, at least in men, let’s cortisol drop significantly). Raise calories, especially from carbohydrates. This helps cortisol to drop. More than that they need to find a way to freaking chill out. Meditation, yoga, get a massage... Get in the bath, candles, a little Enya, a glass of wine, have some you-time but please just chill.
I'll definitely take a look at this. I can't imagine raising my carbs though!!
for a reference point - I've lost 11lbs in 4months eating just below maintenance (using TDEE calculated by an RD) and I take in between 230 and 300g of carbs a day (on a l, m, h cycle)1 -
I couldn't say what is causing you to stall in your weight loss journey. It's only been a few weeks and weight loss goals >15lb (and keep it off) require a long term commitment to lifestyle change.
All I can tell you is that during my last weigh in I was at my lowest since I rejoined MFP in January and then 3 days later I was 6lb heavier! I know that 6lb was not fat gain so I didn't sweat it. High sodium intake, hormones, bloating caused by dairy consumption, stress or a combination of factors could have caused it. This morning I'm only 4oz above my last weigh in so I know I'm getting back to where I need to be.
I don't believe it requires extreme workouts and low (almost energy debilitating) calorie deficits to lose weight. Just a sensible calorie deficit and moderate amount of activity and exercise over a long period of time and patience (did I mention patience). It took over a year and a half to reach my goal weight and only 3 months to gain 20lbs of it back. Consistency is the key to success. Try not to stress over the scale. Practice patience and lots of self care and try not to burn yourself out or become self-defeating by stressing over the scale.
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Day 978 here...
With 80 lbs. to go, 1600 will definitely make you lose fat. You started 4 weeks ago and have a physically demanding exercise plan. This makes me think that you have some muscle inflammation (water weight gains) offsetting your fat losses. This kind of water weight gain is part of muscle healing/building and does not harm your fat loss, but it does hide it temporarily from the scale. In fact, 3-5 weeks is usually the window that it has this off-setting effect.
I would keep going at 1600 -- don't change anything. Give it a couple more weeks and I think you'll start seeing your continued fat loss will start showing up as your muscles calm down a bit, now that they're getting used to your workouts.
Congrats on four weeks -- keep going!!
Thank you! It's been a little over 4 weeks, but also my measurements are not budging. So I don't think that it's water retention - that had occurred to me at the beginning.Here are some of the websites that I like that help with conversations with doctors about thyroid issues:- https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/mistakes-patients-make/
- https://www.yourhormones.com/thyroid-health/
Sometimes excessive exercise has the opposite effect -- if your adrenals are overworked (and many hypothyroid patients have adrenal fatigue):
If your adrenals are totally pooped out, and you are at stage 3 adrenal fatigue, adaptogenic herbs won't help. Some doctors will provide low dose cortef (hydrocortisone.) Other doctors poo poo the whole theory. Desiccated adrenal cortex and whole adrenal can help.
If you decide that you need to go that route, please discuss with your doctor and go low and slow. (There are several brands available, look for capsules without fillers like excessive cellulose, or any magnesium stearate and titanium dioxide.) I like Pure Encapsulations and nutri-meds.
Also, have you thought about decreasing your calories to between 1400 and 1500?
I have restricted my calories as well as started supplementing with 7-keto DHEA as well as desiccated adrenal cortex and whole adrenal and without exercise (due to my adrenal fatigue / fibromyalgia) I am losing 2 lbs a week.
Good luck!
I mentioned something like this to my OBGYN and she looked at me like I had 2 heads, LOL. It is interesting to me, though, I'll have to look more into it.
I have thought about decreasing my calories to 1400 but I'm concerned that my workouts will suffer at that intake.1 -
if you aren't eating back workout calories - then yes it is likely that your workouts will suffer if you drop calories lower0
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I couldn't discern from your comments if the full-schedule workout routine also started in the last month - or merely just the logging.
If the exercise started too - weight loss is NOT a side effect, weight gain is.
Many reasons for body to increase water weight - more blood volume, more stored carbs with attached water in muscles (though in a diet lower than potential), more water in general.
And the cortisol thing has got to be huge for you right now.
It appears you haven't learned the life lesson - eat appropriately for your level of activity.
You do more - eat more.
You do less - eat less.
In a diet eat a reasonable amount less.
You are eating it sounds like a whole lot less than you were when not exercising (forget years ago compare).
Eat the same and just exercise.
You are creating an unreasonable deficit - the body will adapt.
I'll bet your workouts suck compared to what they could be.
Your daily energy level is probably well below what it could be.
Both of those are despite how they "feel".
Both result in less calorie burn than you are basing numbers on, even though you only use Sedentary TDEE estimate despite the fact you aren't. Haven't even seen daily life mentioned outside exercise, probably aren't Sedentary level anyway.
Considering reports show upwards of 20 lbs water weight gain from cortisol, you could have many many weeks of no weight loss.
And with a body that stressed out - workouts and recovery usually terrible.
And your own stress of not losing weight, add to that as the weeks go on.
Need to follow the advice from link someone gave above - chill out, come out of diet, or don't make it so extreme at least.6 -
Punta Cana in the DR? It's beautiful and hot! Enjoy your trip.0
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leanjogreen18 wrote: »Punta Cana in the DR? It's beautiful and hot! Enjoy your trip.
Thank you!!! I'm so excited!!! My first all-inclusive resort vacation!
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Wanted to point out one thing in my own experience. I am always at or under my calorie goal with an exception of one or two days a week, however it equals out over the week as a whole...
I have noticed that I only drop weight every 11-12 days. Like my body hangs on to it and then BAM, I lose 2-3 pounds. I weigh every single morning which is why I have noticed this. Not saying daily weighing is right for everyone, but it works for me. My point is that your body may have a rhythm to its own weight loss.3 -
@MaineMom76 can you please open your food journal? I check it a little while ago and it appears to be closed.2
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@MaineMom76 can you please open your food journal? I check it a little while ago and it appears to be closed.
I think if she wanted commentary on her food choices, it would be open. 0 -
@MaineMom76 can you please open your food journal? I check it a little while ago and it appears to be closed.
Agreed. You did say you weighed and measured food, but the food database itself is full of erranous entries.
By the way, OP, I see mention of cutting out carbs/lowering carbs and eliminating artificial sweeteners a few posts above. Not necessary. I've lost a lot of weight doing moderate to high carb as have many here. Regarding artificial sweeteners, they are mostly 0 calorie and have no bearing on weight. I find that they help if I have 0 calories left and would like something sweet.1 -
@MaineMom76 can you please open your food journal? I check it a little while ago and it appears to be closed.
I tend to keep it closed because last time I had it open everyone had an opinion and it got pretty nasty.0 -
https://youtu.be/G1Z8BEyLK2k
(you can mute it - I put music to it so you don't hear me grunting, LOL)
I just wanted to show you the kind of workout I'm doing. This was the first time through this one, so I was struggling. But I'm not horribly out of shape, even at the weight I'm at.
I also wanted to show kind of what I look like, etc., my body composition. Sometimes I think that's easier than just seeing numbers on a page.
I do also have absolutely NO ACL in my left knee and am due for surgery this year to get a graft. This will be my 4th knee surgery so I have to modify some of the moves.0 -
MaineMom76 wrote: »ruthordare wrote: »Working out 7 days a week seems like a red flag to me
I normally do try to have a rest day, but I'm going to Punta Cana in 39 days and I was trying to push for some more progress! I have been active my whole life so my body is used to doing something 7 days/week, but you might be right that I may be pushing it too far right now. Thank you for your input!
I was gonna sugget the same thing. I have no scientific basis, just personal expirence that when my activity level gets to high, my weightloss stalls. My last weightloss journey, I was doing great. Managed to lose 35lbs in about 5 months when I decided to train for a marathon. My workout schedule was tough, but I kept diet the same for the first 3 months. Didn't lose a single pound.
And rest day doesn't have to mean sitting on your butt, but switch one day to a yoga workout or a leisurely stroll to give your body a chance to recovery. Best if done after you 2 x T25 days.
As far as diet goes. I'm 5' 6", 43 yo, started at 230lbs. My workout schedule is 3 days lap swim (.9 miles), 2 days zumba, 1 day walking (3 20 min sessions at a mod pace) and one day yoga/house work. I eat at anywhere from 1800-2000 calories a day (I eat back at least half my workout calories). I've been losing a pretty steady 1lb a week loss since starting in January
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