Weight loss math doesn't work, so confused!
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just looked at your food diary - it is full of stuff like cups/tablespoons/"1 serving"/10 biscuits/etc. - none of those are weight measurements - you need to weigh all your food to be accurate.11
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Thanks for the insights.0
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How many lbs. Do you want to lose? If your Tdee is 2400 the minimum you should be eating is 1400, which is still very aggressive. That is 1000 lb. Deficit. Something is not right if 1100 is a LOT of food. It's not for an adult and is less than your BMR.6
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I've dieted, it seems by entire adult life. The weight loss was always primary but now for me, its not. I moved to a plant based diet, no diary, no meat, but still fish. I did it to just feel better. I stand on my scale everyday just for the trend line data. I started in August 2017 and have lost 24lbs. I don't care if my ave loss is 0.2lbs in a week, as long as I can still see that downward trend line. My joints feel amazing and I"ve seen huge changes in my resting heart rate! One word about fitness trackers, as I've had several. I"m a fitbit believer now. I use it for about everything but still log my food on MFP and link that to my fitbit account. Others are right that they probably aren't exactly accurate in calorie burn, or HR, etc... However its a number that's relative to me. I have a 2500 cal daily goal that MFP set and I maybe intake 2300.. On weekends it could be 2800 but over 6 months since I started, 24lbs is just under a pound a week over 26 weeks. To some degree, weight loss is a calories in calories out game. But I will never again change my eating habits for the sole purpose to lose weight. Eat differently, and all I really do for exercise is walk and the weight will trend downward. I also used to thing vegetarians and vegans were nuts!! Not so much anymore..15
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Agree with others that your expectations may not be realistic. How much weight are you trying to lose? If less than 50 lbs, then a goal of 2 lbs/week is too aggressive.1
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MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »MHarper522 wrote: »
TL; DR You're not eating enough, your body is trying to save you from yourself.
Nope, doesn't work that way. Odds are better that there's a logging error, or a numbers error. If you're referring to 'starvation mode', that's not a thing.
Weird how science says that it is actually a "thing" and can persist fro a considerable period of time https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27136388
I'm sure you don't "believe" that, but you know facts are not dependent on belief.35 -
The human body contains all sorts of complex processes and the mechanistic approach of "calories burned = weight loss" is only true over time. The key here is to focus on your process, your daily/weekly consumption, the quality of those calories and on your daily activity. That's what you can control, not the number on the floor, stick with it, look at total progress and if necessary drop to a weekly weigh in if you're getting obsessed.2
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BitofaState wrote: »MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »MHarper522 wrote: »
TL; DR You're not eating enough, your body is trying to save you from yourself.
Nope, doesn't work that way. Odds are better that there's a logging error, or a numbers error. If you're referring to 'starvation mode', that's not a thing.
Weird how science says that it is actually a "thing" and can persist fro a considerable period of time https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27136388
I'm sure you don't "believe" that, but you know facts are not dependent on belief.
Metabolic adaptation is not the same as the "Starvation Mode" that is touted regularly on the boards as the reason someone is not losing weight from eating low calorie for less than 2 weeks. It also only slows rate of loss, doesn't stop you losing weight or cause weight gain.20 -
BitofaState wrote: »MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »MHarper522 wrote: »
TL; DR You're not eating enough, your body is trying to save you from yourself.
Nope, doesn't work that way. Odds are better that there's a logging error, or a numbers error. If you're referring to 'starvation mode', that's not a thing.
Weird how science says that it is actually a "thing" and can persist fro a considerable period of time https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27136388
I'm sure you don't "believe" that, but you know facts are not dependent on belief.
What most people think starvation mode is: I've only been eating 1000 calories for 3 weeks and I haven't lost anything, my body must be holding onto my 100+ extra fat stores.
What science says it really is: It involves the body responding to reduced calorie intake by reducing calorie expenditure in an attempt to maintain energy balance and prevent starvation.
If a deficit is present your body will lose weight, it cannot and will not hold onto excess fat stores when it needs them to keep you alive. If the reverse were true people would never starve to death.21 -
My weight loss is nearly linear except for during periods. But for most people weight loss is not linear so look at 2 then 3 weeks for a change. If not then check ur calories again.2
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musicfan68 wrote: »It's only been a week and a half and you are freaking out? You need to be patient. You aren't going to lose 2 lbs a week every week. Some weeks you won't lose anything. Just how it goes.
^^ this0 -
OP, I read an interesting article the other day comparing metabolisms between those with PCOS, those without PCOS, and those with PCOS and insulin resistance.
The average metabolism of someone without PCOS: 1,868 +/- 41 kcal/day
The average metabolism in someone with PCOS: 1,590 +/- 130 kcal/day
The average metabolism in someone with PCOS and insulin resistance: 1,116 +/- 106 kcal/day
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18678372
This means that if you have PCOS and insulin resistance, your metabolism will be less then 1,200 a day. It will be extremely difficult to create a calorie deficit with such small numbers.
I would encourage you to visit your doctor and ask for blood work to determine if you are insulin resistant. There are medications available. Exercise, such as walking and weight lifting, may help improve insulin sensitivity too.
While calories a key to weight loss, a plant based diet has been shown to improve blood sugars in diabetics, so it may help with insulin resistance. Here are some tips for looking into a plant based diet: https://issuu.com/enrichcreative/docs/tpp-quickstart-guide-fnl
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odonrom1946 wrote: »Perhaps I was hoping for a more linear decline in my weight. It's been stuck for 1.5 weeks and not moved regardless of my diet and exercise
What weight loss looks like...
Also, in the early stages of a diet bigger drops in weight are pretty normal as you release water and have inherently less waste in your system. After that it slows to a more realistic rate and you will have weeks with bigger losses, smaller losses, no losses, and gains...you have to look at trends over weeks an months.12 -
Macros are very important here, especially when busting through a stand still in progress. Your body will keep trying to find a new set point for your weight which is why you stop losing weigh. This is called homeostasis. Cutting carbs and increasing protein may be the way to go. You might even try intermittent fasting. Be warned though that cutting calories too low will cause your body to go into survival mode; meaning it will slow your metabolism because food is scarce. I hope this helps.55
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special_ed1977 wrote: »Macros are very important here, especially when busting through a stand still in progress. Your body will keep trying to find a new set point for your weight which is why you stop losing weigh. This is called homeostasis. Cutting carbs and increasing protein may be the way to go. You might even try intermittent fasting. Be warned though that cutting calories too low will cause your body to go into survival mode; meaning it will slow your metabolism because food is scarce. I hope this helps.
The what now?16 -
special_ed1977 wrote: »Macros are very important here, especially when busting through a stand still in progress. Your body will keep trying to find a new set point for your weight which is why you stop losing weigh. This is called homeostasis. Cutting carbs and increasing protein may be the way to go. You might even try intermittent fasting. Be warned though that cutting calories too low will cause your body to go into survival mode; meaning it will slow your metabolism because food is scarce. I hope this helps.
No. No it doesn't help. It's a confusing stew of woo and mis-applied buzz words.21 -
Your diary has a lot of entries that look like someone else created them -- 1 serving of beef stew, 1 serving of spinach lasagna, 1/2 a tuna salad sandwich, etc. Are you creating those recipes using the recipe builder? If not, I'll guarantee that they don't accurately reflect what you're eating. It's certainly possible that you are making cauliflower soup for 53 calories a serving and a half tuna salad sandwich for 134 calories, but it doesn't seem likely that those calorie counts are really accurate.
Also, any time you have an entry for an item where you're combining two things -- like a fried egg -- it's more accurate to add the separate components rather than search for an entry that includes both. So, you'd want to add the eggs and the oil/butter to your diary separately.17 -
special_ed1977 wrote: »Macros are very important here, especially when busting through a stand still in progress. Your body will keep trying to find a new set point for your weight which is why you stop losing weigh. This is called homeostasis. Cutting carbs and increasing protein may be the way to go. You might even try intermittent fasting. Be warned though that cutting calories too low will cause your body to go into survival mode; meaning it will slow your metabolism because food is scarce. I hope this helps.
wow, winner for so much woo in one post!?15 -
MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »MHarper522 wrote: »
TL; DR You're not eating enough, your body is trying to save you from yourself.
Nope, doesn't work that way. Odds are better that there's a logging error, or a numbers error. If you're referring to 'starvation mode', that's not a thing.
Not that either. OP's results over one month are actually quite close to stated TDEE and stated calorie intake. It's an expectations error.2 -
special_ed1977 wrote: »Macros are very important here, especially when busting through a stand still in progress. Your body will keep trying to find a new set point for your weight which is why you stop losing weigh. This is called homeostasis. Cutting carbs and increasing protein may be the way to go. You might even try intermittent fasting. Be warned though that cutting calories too low will cause your body to go into survival mode; meaning it will slow your metabolism because food is scarce. I hope this helps.
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