Scale not moving
marshjon74
Posts: 7 Member
I log everything. Meet my calorie goals. Workout 5 days a week burning about 1000 to 1300 calories per workout. Scale hasn't moved in 4 months. Suggetions?
2
Replies
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What are your stats? How long have you been at this? How are you measuring your intake and exercise calories?1
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43 year old male..been working out for about a year. Lost 35 pounds quick when I started. Tracking food with MFP and tracking calories burned with a myzone belt.0
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Ok, let's drag it out of you! What's your height and weight, and do you use a food scale?6
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howre you burning 1000 calories per workout. This would be my guess as to where you are way overestimating and why you are not losing weight.5
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marshjon74 wrote: »I log everything. Meet my calorie goals. Workout 5 days a week burning about 1000 to 1300 calories per workout. Scale hasn't moved in 4 months. Suggetions?
You're eating more than you think8 -
marshjon74 wrote: »I log everything. Meet my calorie goals. Workout 5 days a week burning about 1000 to 1300 calories per workout. Scale hasn't moved in 4 months. Suggetions?
How are you working out what you are burning during workouts?
If you are sure your logging is 100% accurate and it has been four months, I'd be thinking that the inaccuracy is probably in what you think you are burning.2 -
Assuming that you are logging accurately, why not decrease your calories by 500 for four weeks and see what happens? If nothing has changed in 4 months then my guess is that you are eating at maintenance - reduce calories and create a deficit.
Calories at 1,200 per workout is very high unless you train like an athlete. I train hard and likely burn closer to 600 in 1.2 hours.1 -
Height is 6'2" weight is 310. I weight my food. The my zone belt is what I go by for calorie burn. I always thought that was high. I strength train and cardio. I work out for about 2 hours. My calorie intake is 3200. I did cut down to 25 for 3 weeks and had the same result.0
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TavistockToad wrote: »marshjon74 wrote: »I log everything. Meet my calorie goals. Workout 5 days a week burning about 1000 to 1300 calories per workout. Scale hasn't moved in 4 months. Suggetions?
You're eating more than you think
And also not burning as much as you think.5 -
I use a myzone belt as well. However, I only use it on cardio, as that is where it is most accurate. Any HR monitor has a greater potential to over estimate calories burned on strength training. Also, if you have two different calorie burn figures (one on the app and one on the screen at the gym) it is the app that will be correct.0
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Based on a loose calculation, you're eating at maintenance. Have you updated your goal settings in MFP after the 35 pounds lost? Your caloric requirements will change as you lose weight.4
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without seeing your diary, all any of us can is is that ' you are likely eating more than you think you are'. especially if you are eating back all those 'burned' calories.
if you want more useful advice, youll need to open your diary.1 -
Remember that your TDEE or NEAT, as well as your calorie burns are all estimates. They are based on the averages (probably the middle 2/3 of a bell curve of the population).
What that means to you is that once you start, you have to make adjustments, based on what you see happening. You can affect intake and burn, but I promise you, the biggest effect you can have is controlling your intake. Controlling your intake, however, really only happens when everything is logged, measured, and entered correctly (i.e. using reliable database entries, weighing your food by the gram, and including every bit of sauce, cooking oils, etc.).
Secondly, you have to be careful of how you estimate burn. I ran a rough estimate at a site I use frequently, called shapesense (http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn-conversion-calculator.shtml) where I ran a rough calculation for you. If you ran at 5mph for one hour on a level surface, you would burn a "net" of 760 calories. Net is your gross burn less the amount your body would burn anyway if you were not doing the activity. Again, this is an estimate. I use this site to cross check my fitbit data. If I trusted my intake, I would eat probably 2/3 of those calories back. If, after 4 weeks, I don't see anything, I'd adjust that number down. I (and you) need at least 3-4 weeks to recognize the affect of any adjustment.
Lastly, doing a lot of cardio does a couple of things to your body:
1. It adds stress, which causes your body to adapt, and release a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol can slow your metabolism. It's not starvation mode, and it's not the huge factor that some make it out to be, but it is one, nonetheless.
2. As you get better at cardio (as with anything else you practice), your body becomes more efficient with the movements. When your body becomes more efficient, it takes less energy to do the same thing. So your calorie burns will be incrementally less as you become better at it.
What I'm guessing, and this is just a guess by a non-expert, is that you probably are estimating incorrectly on both sides.
I started this almost a year ago, for your reference. I am 54, 5'11" and started at 240 pounds. I averaged about 2400 calories a day and did some cardio, but mostly a lot of walking. I ate 3000 plus on the days that I would run (about 1-2 times per week at about 5.5 mph for an hour). I shed about 45-50 pounds over a 6 month stretch. You are younger, bigger and should be losing easily at 2500. Just looking at this roughly makes me think it's a logging issue.
You just need to dig a little deeper to find out where the inconsistencies are. The laws of thermodynamics do work for you too.2 -
Sounds like logging inaccuracies and over estimation of exercise calorie burns.. 4 months at the same weight means you are eating maintenance calories rather than being in deficit.0
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This week I cut calorie intake back to 2800. I feel less bloated and still not hungry. I though my logging was good but after reading comments...maybe not. I will report back and let you all know. Thanks all!!7
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Yes, keep us posted. All the best.0
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Hey guys..checking in... the scale started moving when I dropped calories from 3200 to 2800. Still working out now down 42 pounds overall....coming up on my 1 year working out anniversary24
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Amazing will power! really inspiring0
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Good!!!0
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Excellent news. Ive been working out and logging for 11 weeks. Weight has plateued for 2. Read a blog about changing gym routine every 4 to 6 weeks. After changing it lost a pound straight away! Every 4 weeks i see a PT to put together a new programme. I gym 3 times a week. Feel free to add me.1
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