why am I still gaining?
meomai2
Posts: 21 Member
Just wanted to ask the question!, I asked the same question a few months back and got a lot of answers- one extreme to another!, presently I go spinning 2x weekly, Yoga 1 day and the gym, I have increased my calorie intake (as advised by some on here) so only to loose 1lb weekly with MFP... well it's not coming off....in fact its going on! I've worked out calories in and calories out, but just seem to keeping piling the weight on?
I'm honest and don't follow MFP 7/7 I do have at least 1-2 days a week off, but do not over indulge on these days, surely 5/7 and exercise should help me loose-or just maintain, but not put weight on??
Anyone who can please guide and advise me where I might be going wrong :-)
I'm honest and don't follow MFP 7/7 I do have at least 1-2 days a week off, but do not over indulge on these days, surely 5/7 and exercise should help me loose-or just maintain, but not put weight on??
Anyone who can please guide and advise me where I might be going wrong :-)
1
Replies
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Ok here is the thing. If you are gaining weight you are eating too much, period. Don't listen to people when they say that you need to ''eat more'' to lose weight. As you can see that isn't how it works. Unfortunately you need to be in a caloric deficit every day in order to lose weight. And yes 1 - 2 days off a week can certainly stop this. It depends on how much you are eating. Your weekends are your biggest issue. Get them on track, stay in a calorie deficit and you will lose weight.
As far as MFP goes don't put your exercise in either as it will adjust calories.13 -
First question you're going to get is how are you determining how much you're eating. If you're not weighing solids and semi-solids, and measuring liquids, it's quite possible you're overestimating how much you're actually eating. Somewhere, somehow you are eating more than your body is burning, unless it's constant water weight.1
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The problem's that you're consuming, too many calories! It's obvious that you're unable to achieve, the results that you desire unless you get strict; concerning accurately logging with a food scale & MFP, everything that has calories; that you put within your mouth! Exercising's mainly for health because most people, such as yourself're unable to outrun; their forks! You clearly aren't burning enough calories, when you exercise to be able to afford; to've your cheat days!5
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Try tracking just how much you eat on those days off. It's pretty easy to wipe out your deficit and then some.8
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At the moment you simply have no reliable data to go on.
If logging 5 days out of 7 isn't working (it isn't!) then commit to logging accurately and completely 7 days out of 7 for at least a month.
If you really want to lose weight then that's not exactly an outrageous or difficult commitment.
By the way your food diary has a lot of very round numbers. It's not necessary for everyone to be super strict about weighing everything to be successful (I didn't) but when it's not working it's an obvious thing to fix and very educational even if you just do it for a while.
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I am in the same boat as the original poster I think, in that 5 days a week I am relatively strict but I let it go maybe a bit too much at weekends. My food diary backs that up!!
I find myself torn between really wanting to lose the bit of belly fat that I have but also enjoying a few beers and the odd treat meal. Both sides of me win at different times!! I guess you've just got to be happy with yourself really and find the right balance for you.2 -
^^What he said.
Also just looked at your diary. Going back over a number of weeks, you have several only partially logged days, and it looks like your '1 to 2 days a week' off actually starts after lunch time Friday and runs through until breakfast on Monday. Tighten up your logging, log everything, even if you're going over cals. You are very obviously going further over on the weekends than you think. The only way for you to see that is if you actually log it. That will also help you learn what are appropriate portion sizes of whatever you're eating/drinking on the weekends. Once you have that down, be it staying at a deficit those days, or eating at maintenance and accepting slower weight loss (or eating a bit less week days to make up the difference), you can loosen up on logging those days if you wish and see how you go.8 -
nickgolledge wrote: »I am in the same boat as the original poster I think, in that 5 days a week I am relatively strict but I let it go maybe a bit too much at weekends. My food diary backs that up!!
I find myself torn between really wanting to lose the bit of belly fat that I have but also enjoying a few beers and the odd treat meal. Both sides of me win at different times!! I guess you've just got to be happy with yourself really and find the right balance for you.
Since you know you do this, can you regig your calories to cut a bit more off on week days, thus allowing some extras on weekends? Many people do this, treating their calorie goal as a weekly thing rather than a daily one. eg, eat 100 cals less each day on weekdays, which saves an extra 500 for the weekend.2 -
Hi Nony! thanks for your reply.
I think I do this and MFP shows that over the course of a week I am in deficit but that last stubborn bit of belly fat is still there and my weight seems at stay pretty constant at 86 kgs. But I have to accept that I am not as meticulous in recording calories in as I need to be which is why the original post, and the good replies made, struck a chord with me.
I didn't quite understand the comment from Carl "As far as MFP goes don't put your exercise in either as it will adjust calories". I enter my exercise each day and it allows me more calories which I thought was okay until I read that comment.1 -
Ok, thanks to all, now I've worked out my daily deficit which is 1368 to loose weight I have said I am lightly active, here goes my two weeks complete workouts & daily calories, just to say also, I have tried 1200cals per day without success so went back up to 1410 so lets see what an in between calorie intake can do for me :-) but this number goes against MFP recommendations1
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Also, make sure the nutritional information is correct when you log it. Sometimes I've looked up an item on the database and the calories are way off! If that happens to 10 items in a day, you could be 100's over.1
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nickgolledge wrote: »Hi Nony! thanks for your reply.
I think I do this and MFP shows that over the course of a week I am in deficit but that last stubborn bit of belly fat is still there and my weight seems at stay pretty constant at 86 kgs. But I have to accept that I am not as meticulous in recording calories in as I need to be which is why the original post, and the good replies made, struck a chord with me.
I didn't quite understand the comment from Carl "As far as MFP goes don't put your exercise in either as it will adjust calories". I enter my exercise each day and it allows me more calories which I thought was okay until I read that comment.
Exercise can be adjusted in 3 ways.
1. Making it a part of activity level in settings
2. Keeping activity level low in settings and logging intentional exercise manually.
3. Syncing fitbit to mfp in which case the adjustments are automatic based on your activity level settings.
The main point is to ensure that exercise is counted only once.3 -
nickgolledge wrote: »Hi Nony! thanks for your reply.
I think I do this and MFP shows that over the course of a week I am in deficit but that last stubborn bit of belly fat is still there and my weight seems at stay pretty constant at 86 kgs. But I have to accept that I am not as meticulous in recording calories in as I need to be which is why the original post, and the good replies made, struck a chord with me.
I didn't quite understand the comment from Carl "As far as MFP goes don't put your exercise in either as it will adjust calories". I enter my exercise each day and it allows me more calories which I thought was okay until I read that comment.
@nickgolledge ignore Carl, he clearly doesn't understand how MFP works. You are indeed meant to eat the calories earned from exercise.
Those last few kg can be hard, there's not a lot of leeway, so meticulous logging is often required to ensure you're at a deficit. If you're pretty close to goal, you may want to consider switching to a recomp. This is where you eat at maintenance, and do some sort of progressive strength training programme. The idea is that you will lose fat while gaining muscle, so essentially your weight stays the same, but because muscle is denser than fat, you look slimmer. Here's a nifty thread all about that: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat#latest4 -
Nickgolledge, in my experience, and based on many google searches on the subject :-) , MFP really overestimates the calories burned while doing exercise. So if you eat those calories back, you are eating too many calories, and will likely not lose the weight. I spent a couple of frustrating months on MFP, with v. little weight loss because of this. And I only ate part of the exercise calories back, not all.
Also, some people log everything as exercise (went for 15 minute walk, light cleaning, brushing hair etc), and then eat the calories back. I think that is a mistake, leading to a lot of unnecessary frustration with their lack of weight loss. I mean, even a sedentary calorie base line contains some movement.
Last but not least, measuring and entering ALL food is critical! It's so easy to sneak in an extra 100-200 calories by eye-balling portions.
Just my opinion/experience, of course. Everybody has to find their own way.0 -
nickgolledge wrote: »Hi Nony! thanks for your reply.
I think I do this and MFP shows that over the course of a week I am in deficit but that last stubborn bit of belly fat is still there and my weight seems at stay pretty constant at 86 kgs. But I have to accept that I am not as meticulous in recording calories in as I need to be which is why the original post, and the good replies made, struck a chord with me.
I didn't quite understand the comment from Carl "As far as MFP goes don't put your exercise in either as it will adjust calories". I enter my exercise each day and it allows me more calories which I thought was okay until I read that comment.
Also make sure you're mindful about what sorts of foods you're putting into your body. Beers won't be doing your belly (or liver) any good. I personally do put my exercise in, but I don't pay attention to what MFP says my remaining calories are. I just like seeing how much work I've done, but I still stay at my target calorie count daily.4 -
Ok, thanks to all, now I've worked out my daily deficit which is 1368 to loose weight I have said I am lightly active, here goes my two weeks complete workouts & daily calories, just to say also, I have tried 1200cals per day without success so went back up to 1410 so lets see what an in between calorie intake can do for me :-) but this number goes against MFP recommendations
But you don't know that you need to lower your calories, because you don't actually know what your weekly calorie intake is. I would stick to the 1410 and do it properly. For a month, not two weeks.
What are you basing lightly active on? You may be, but then again you may not be. Activity level with MFP is your non exercise activity. Exercise is logged on top of that, which will increase your calories. Since you indulge more at weekends, you might like to 'save' those calories for the weekend. You should also be cautious with exercise calories to begin with, only eating 50-75% back for the first month, then reassessing based on your weight loss (losing more than expected, increase calories, losing less, decrease). But you have to log. Everything.4 -
nickgolledge wrote: »Hi Nony! thanks for your reply.
I think I do this and MFP shows that over the course of a week I am in deficit but that last stubborn bit of belly fat is still there and my weight seems at stay pretty constant at 86 kgs. But I have to accept that I am not as meticulous in recording calories in as I need to be which is why the original post, and the good replies made, struck a chord with me.
I didn't quite understand the comment from Carl "As far as MFP goes don't put your exercise in either as it will adjust calories". I enter my exercise each day and it allows me more calories which I thought was okay until I read that comment.
Also make sure you're mindful about what sorts of foods you're putting into your body. Beers won't be doing your belly (or liver) any good. I personally do put my exercise in, but I don't pay attention to what MFP says my remaining calories are. I just like seeing how much work I've done, but I still stay at my target calorie count daily.
From a weight loss perspective, his body doesn't care that the calories come from beer, so long as he's at a deficit. Food choices matter for nutrition, not weight loss. The beer belly, in terms of body composition, is a myth.
And you should be eating your exercise calories. That's the way MFP is set up.7 -
It was six weeks ago, and the answers you got were very consistent - tighten up your logging. Nobody adviced you to increase your calorie intake - that decision was entirely yours.Just wanted to ask the question!, I asked the same question a few months back and got a lot of answers- one extreme to another!, presently I go spinning 2x weekly, Yoga 1 day and the gym, I have increased my calorie intake (as advised by some on here) so only to loose 1lb weekly with MFP... well it's not coming off....in fact its going on! I've worked out calories in and calories out, but just seem to keeping piling the weight on?
I'm honest and don't follow MFP 7/7 I do have at least 1-2 days a week off, but do not over indulge on these days, surely 5/7 and exercise should help me loose-or just maintain, but not put weight on??
Anyone who can please guide and advise me where I might be going wrong :-)
You can't have "off" days when your goal is to lose weight. A food intake that looks normal to someone who is overweight, is most likely - exactly like you said - overindulgence.
Exercise doesn't burn that many calories. Correct and consistent food tracking and hitting calorie goal will make you lose weight.
Your deficit isn't 1368, that's your goal. MFP's recommendations are based on what you put in, and you can and should adjust goal to a better fit if needed. The difference between 1410 and 1368 is 42 caloriesOk, thanks to all, now I've worked out my daily deficit which is 1368 to loose weight I have said I am lightly active, here goes my two weeks complete workouts & daily calories, just to say also, I have tried 1200cals per day without success so went back up to 1410 so lets see what an in between calorie intake can do for me :-) but this number goes against MFP recommendations 8 -
thanks to all again, I've sat with a friend and gone through every thing together, I think now I have it in my head what's to be done, also I was told by my previous PT not to add my workouts so I will loose more as active on these days, (when I did enter the workouts, I couldn't eat all the calories anyway)
thank you to all for your input, it was very helpful
all I can say is watch this space for a more positive me
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thanks to all again, I've sat with a friend and gone through every thing together, I think now I have it in my head what's to be done, also I was told by my previous PT not to add my workouts so I will loose more as active on these days, (when I did enter the workouts, I couldn't eat all the calories anyway)
thank you to all for your input, it was very helpful
all I can say is watch this space for a more positive me
Not including the exercise calories, means you'll be under eating; which's unhealthy! However exercise calorie burns're typically unrealistically high, so it's advisable to consume; 50 ~ 75% of them!
How do you know that you were unable to consume, all of those exercise calories when you weren't even weighing & logging everything; you previously consumed? You don't! So plausibly you'd be able to easily consume, most of them; once you know for certain! In fact since you weren't achieving your weight riddance goals, it means that not only were you consuming; all of your exercise calories but over them as well!3 -
Good luck meomai!! Thanks to all who responded to my post I am much clearer about exercise calories now. I guess the beer v belly battle will rage on but I guess I am not alone in this. I will look at the recomp thread thanks nony!2
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Ok here is the thing. If you are gaining weight you are eating too much, period. Don't listen to people when they say that you need to ''eat more'' to lose weight. As you can see that isn't how it works. Unfortunately you need to be in a caloric deficit every day in order to lose weight. And yes 1 - 2 days off a week can certainly stop this. It depends on how much you are eating. Your weekends are your biggest issue. Get them on track, stay in a calorie deficit and you will lose weight.
As far as MFP goes don't put your exercise in either as it will adjust calories.
Since I don't think anyone addressed this part, I'd just like to note that you do not actually need to be in a calorie deficit every day in order to lose weight. You certainly can have days that you eat at or above maintenance, so long as your overall average is in a deficit. Weight loss isn't linear, so you really want to be watching the larger trend and not the day-to-day. Going over maintenance one or two days a week will certainly slow your weight loss, but you will still lose so long as the extra calories don't wipe out your deficit on the other days, which I suspect is happening here.8 -
Thanks Moose. If I look at the reports for total calories it's fair to say the "gains" at the weekend probably counter the good work during the week. I guess the problem is which one wins!! What you said makes lots of sense and I am planning to have a strict month in October and see where it takes me.1
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A shot of whiskey around 150 calories in a beer, 350 in a slice of pizza.... you can shoot a weeks deficit easy with two days of eating without thinking. My favorite chimichanga from robertos is 1100 calories not to mention the beans and rice it comes with.6
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It isn't just about the scale. Muscle does weigh more than fat, so your measurements are the best way to track progress. Use measurements like L and R upper thigh, waist, hip (around the butt if you want) and L and R arms. The last time I was serious about the gym, my measurements went down 1 1/2 inches all around, and that took roughly two months. The scale however showed a 4 pound increase. Keep up with logging and the gym and don't let yourself get discouraged! You aren't alone on this path.3
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nickgolledge wrote: »I didn't quite understand the comment from Carl "As far as MFP goes don't put your exercise in either as it will adjust calories". I enter my exercise each day and it allows me more calories which I thought was okay until I read that comment.
As others have pointed out, eating exercise calories is fine if you accurately estimate exercise calories. A lot of databases, including MFP's, exaggerate the calorie burn of an activity. To burn 500 calories in an hour, for instance, I have to bicycle at 17-18 mph (on flat terrain; slower in the hills), or run 5 miles.
HRMs aren't necessarily much better. My old HRM/cycle computer from Sigma overestimated exercise calories by 50%!0 -
nickgolledge wrote: »Thanks Moose. If I look at the reports for total calories it's fair to say the "gains" at the weekend probably counter the good work during the week. I guess the problem is which one wins!! What you said makes lots of sense and I am planning to have a strict month in October and see where it takes me.
@nickgolledge I suggest you use a tracking app (Trendweight, Happy Scale, Libra...) and look at your weight loss over a number of weeks, rather than one week. It's really easy to take two numbers, one higher than the previous, and go 'oh, I've gained weight
', but weight loss is not linear, even when you are sticking to your deficit religiously (yes, extra 1/2 kg of water weight, I am looking at you!). A trend app will allow you to look at things long term, instead of day to day. Of course you need to be able to handle seeing the fluctuations in scale weight that come with daily weighing, but just remember it's the trend line that's important 
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Just wanted to ask the question!, I asked the same question a few months back and got a lot of answers- one extreme to another!, presently I go spinning 2x weekly, Yoga 1 day and the gym, I have increased my calorie intake (as advised by some on here) so only to loose 1lb weekly with MFP... well it's not coming off....in fact its going on! I've worked out calories in and calories out, but just seem to keeping piling the weight on?
I'm honest and don't follow MFP 7/7 I do have at least 1-2 days a week off, but do not over indulge on these days, surely 5/7 and exercise should help me loose-or just maintain, but not put weight on??
Anyone who can please guide and advise me where I might be going wrong :-)
Firstly how are you tracking calories? if you are using the database at MFP that could be the problem. This database is so far off you could easily be consuming 500 plus calories a day and not even realize it.
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »nickgolledge wrote: »Thanks Moose. If I look at the reports for total calories it's fair to say the "gains" at the weekend probably counter the good work during the week. I guess the problem is which one wins!! What you said makes lots of sense and I am planning to have a strict month in October and see where it takes me.
@nickgolledge I suggest you use a tracking app (Trendweight, Happy Scale, Libra...) and look at your weight loss over a number of weeks, rather than one week. It's really easy to take two numbers, one higher than the previous, and go 'oh, I've gained weight', but weight loss is not linear, even when you are sticking to your deficit religiously (yes, extra 1/2 kg of water weight, I am looking at you!). A trend app will allow you to look at things long term, instead of day to day. Of course you need to be able to handle seeing the fluctuations in scale weight that come with daily weighing, but just remember it's the trend line that's important
What you say sounds good on paper but if he doesnt have a clue what the total calorie intake is it's useless. Using MFP's database is a bad idea. It isn't close and too many bad entries have been made with bogus calories and macros.
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nickgolledge wrote: »I didn't quite understand the comment from Carl "As far as MFP goes don't put your exercise in either as it will adjust calories". I enter my exercise each day and it allows me more calories which I thought was okay until I read that comment.
As others have pointed out, eating exercise calories is fine if you accurately estimate exercise calories. A lot of databases, including MFP's, exaggerate the calorie burn of an activity. To burn 500 calories in an hour, for instance, I have to bicycle at 17-18 mph (on flat terrain; slower in the hills), or run 5 miles.
HRMs aren't necessarily much better. My old HRM/cycle computer from Sigma overestimated exercise calories by 50%!
Eating back exercise cals will NEVER work! It should never be done.....period.14
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