Why aren’t i losing weight!?
Li5a87MFP
Posts: 63 Member
hi
hoping someone can give me a light bulb moment,
six months ago i went from an office job to working part time with horses, i wear a fitbit and average 8 miles a day, it’s a very active day which as well as being on my feel involved lifting, bending carrying etc.
i log what i eat on my fitness pal and stay within the same calorie limit as i did before all the exercise probably 4 or 5 out of 7 days. the other days i may go a little over or have a take away, however whilst counting i don’t take off any exercise calories.
so if i’m not taking off calories and being this active why am i not losing weight?
i eat healthy, drink lots of water.
i’m 5ft 8 and weigh 17 stone 11, with my build i look about 14/15 stone, it’s becoming upsetting because i want to lose weight to get back in to riding.
in the past iv lost over two stone by counting calories, slimming world, clean eating so i know how to lose weight but at the moment something isn’t happening and it’s harder than ever even though i expected with being so active it would get a lot easier,
help!!!!! Xxxx
hoping someone can give me a light bulb moment,
six months ago i went from an office job to working part time with horses, i wear a fitbit and average 8 miles a day, it’s a very active day which as well as being on my feel involved lifting, bending carrying etc.
i log what i eat on my fitness pal and stay within the same calorie limit as i did before all the exercise probably 4 or 5 out of 7 days. the other days i may go a little over or have a take away, however whilst counting i don’t take off any exercise calories.
so if i’m not taking off calories and being this active why am i not losing weight?
i eat healthy, drink lots of water.
i’m 5ft 8 and weigh 17 stone 11, with my build i look about 14/15 stone, it’s becoming upsetting because i want to lose weight to get back in to riding.
in the past iv lost over two stone by counting calories, slimming world, clean eating so i know how to lose weight but at the moment something isn’t happening and it’s harder than ever even though i expected with being so active it would get a lot easier,
help!!!!! Xxxx
1
Replies
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It is quite simple at the end of the day. You need to look at your total calorie intake, as well as your macros. Give me a weeks worth of those figures and I will tell you where you are going wrong.3
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When I went horseback riding last month, I logged twice as many steps as I do on an average day.
Make sure you're not counting mistakenly tracked steps while you are riding!11 -
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these are typical weeks, a few days a week i go over, mostly i stay under so average for the week isn’t that much over goal, but this does not take off any calories i’m burning at work x1
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valeriemachado81 wrote: »When I went horseback riding last month, I logged twice as many steps as I do on an average day.
Make sure you're not counting mistakenly tracked steps while you are riding!
i’m not riding until iv lost more weight, the steps are just steps, i’m on my feet walking for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week xx
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Are you weighing everything you eat?3
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bulldozer1984 wrote: »It is quite simple at the end of the day. You need to look at your total calorie intake, as well as your macros. Give me a weeks worth of those figures and I will tell you where you are going wrong.
see above, thank you x
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You're going over your net goal by quite a lot. Tighten up your overeating first.18
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bulldozer1984 wrote: »It is quite simple at the end of the day. You need to look at your total calorie intake, as well as your macros. Give me a weeks worth of those figures and I will tell you where you are going wrong.
see above, thank you x
we can look all day but we dont know how accurate any of your info is. We do however know the basic mathematical principle of CICO. If your not losing and you think your undereating, Your wrong. Its VERY easy to eat more then you think and burn less then you think. Especially since your admitting you dont eat your calorie deficit limit multiple days a week
edit: horse riding 100% adds alot of steps to fitbits, Even my truck at work adds thousands easily6 -
Would you be willing to temporarily make your diary public? Maybe fresh eyes will spot something.
Are you using a food scale? Have you verified the entries you are using in the database are accurate?1 -
but if i’m going over my net calories a few hundred a week but not taking off five hours of exercise, 5 days a week surely something’s wrong?
iv lost weight before so i know how calorie deficits work i’m just wondering am i affecting weight loss or water retention or something by eating more calories at weekends or something like that?3 -
bulldozer1984 wrote: »It is quite simple at the end of the day. You need to look at your total calorie intake, as well as your macros. Give me a weeks worth of those figures and I will tell you where you are going wrong.
my macros are 20% protein, 30 % fat and 50 % carbs most days.1 -
You still haven't answered how you're measuring your food intake.9
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JaydedMiss wrote: »bulldozer1984 wrote: »It is quite simple at the end of the day. You need to look at your total calorie intake, as well as your macros. Give me a weeks worth of those figures and I will tell you where you are going wrong.
see above, thank you x
we can look all day but we dont know how accurate any of your info is. We do however know the basic mathematical principle of CICO. If your not losing and you think your undereating, Your wrong. Its VERY easy to eat more then you think and burn less then you think. Especially since your admitting you dont eat your calorie deficit limit multiple days a week
edit: horse riding 100% adds alot of steps to fitbits, Even my truck at work adds thousands easily
i go over my deficit 2/3 days a week but stay well under it the other days so only ever go around 200-400 over my weekly average and that isn’t taking off five hours of exercise. i don’t ride so the steps are just steps x
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Do you use a food scale?1
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but if i’m going over my net calories a few hundred a week but not taking off five hours of exercise, 5 days a week surely something’s wrong?
iv lost weight before so i know how calorie deficits work i’m just wondering am i affecting weight loss or water retention or something by eating more calories at weekends or something like that?
What is your exercise and about how much is the calorie burn? What is your activity level in MFP?
There is something in the numbers that are effecting this, we just need to find if its in your activity level, your calories logged or exercise or a combination.2 -
dairy is now public everyone thanks.
i weight things like oats and ingredients or i can on the food labels x3 -
but if i’m going over my net calories a few hundred a week but not taking off five hours of exercise, 5 days a week surely something’s wrong?
iv lost weight before so i know how calorie deficits work i’m just wondering am i affecting weight loss or water retention or something by eating more calories at weekends or something like that?
What is your exercise and about how much is the calorie burn? What is your activity level in MFP?
There is something in the numbers that are effecting this, we just need to find if its in your activity level, your calories logged or exercise or a combination.
activity level in MFP is set to active.
i work with horses and do a school
run before and after so i’m on my feet for five hours a day five days a week, i average 13,000 steps and also a lot of lifting, bending, carrying etc, i don’t ride. i don’t take any exercise off my calories on my fitness pal as was scared i was over estimating exercise calories but still hasn’t made any difference.
some weeks i can drop 4/6 lbs but next week it will always be back on i seem to fluctuate a lot but never go down much.
2 -
but if i’m going over my net calories a few hundred a week but not taking off five hours of exercise, 5 days a week surely something’s wrong?
iv lost weight before so i know how calorie deficits work i’m just wondering am i affecting weight loss or water retention or something by eating more calories at weekends or something like that?
What is your exercise and about how much is the calorie burn? What is your activity level in MFP?
There is something in the numbers that are effecting this, we just need to find if its in your activity level, your calories logged or exercise or a combination.
activity level in MFP is set to active.
i work with horses and do a school
run before and after so i’m on my feet for five hours a day five days a week, i average 13,000 steps and also a lot of lifting, bending, carrying etc, i don’t ride. i don’t take any exercise off my calories on my fitness pal as was scared i was over estimating exercise calories but still hasn’t made any difference.
some weeks i can drop 4/6 lbs but next week it will always be back on i seem to fluctuate a lot but never go down much.
I see things in grams on your diary but I can't tell if you actually weighed all the food on your diary or not. In addition to that, I see half cups, half portion, etc. Is everything weighed using a scale?
You run in the a.m. and after (so twice a day)? How many miles are you running ?
1 -
but if i’m going over my net calories a few hundred a week but not taking off five hours of exercise, 5 days a week surely something’s wrong?
iv lost weight before so i know how calorie deficits work i’m just wondering am i affecting weight loss or water retention or something by eating more calories at weekends or something like that?
What is your exercise and about how much is the calorie burn? What is your activity level in MFP?
There is something in the numbers that are effecting this, we just need to find if its in your activity level, your calories logged or exercise or a combination.
activity level in MFP is set to active.
i work with horses and do a school
run before and after so i’m on my feet for five hours a day five days a week, i average 13,000 steps and also a lot of lifting, bending, carrying etc, i don’t ride. i don’t take any exercise off my calories on my fitness pal as was scared i was over estimating exercise calories but still hasn’t made any difference.
some weeks i can drop 4/6 lbs but next week it will always be back on i seem to fluctuate a lot but never go down much.
I see things in grams on your diary but I can't tell if you actually weighed all the food on your diary or not. In addition to that, I see half cups, half portion, etc. Is everything weighed using a scale?
You run in the a.m. and after (so twice a day)? How many miles are you running ?
Generally they go off the barcodes otherwise if it’s something iv cooked myself i will calculate the measurements of the whole thing and then divide it into potions. i walk sorry not run as in the school run walk, on average i walk about 6/7 miles a day. x
4 -
but if i’m going over my net calories a few hundred a week but not taking off five hours of exercise, 5 days a week surely something’s wrong?
iv lost weight before so i know how calorie deficits work i’m just wondering am i affecting weight loss or water retention or something by eating more calories at weekends or something like that?
What is your exercise and about how much is the calorie burn? What is your activity level in MFP?
There is something in the numbers that are effecting this, we just need to find if its in your activity level, your calories logged or exercise or a combination.
activity level in MFP is set to active.
i work with horses and do a school
run before and after so i’m on my feet for five hours a day five days a week, i average 13,000 steps and also a lot of lifting, bending, carrying etc, i don’t ride. i don’t take any exercise off my calories on my fitness pal as was scared i was over estimating exercise calories but still hasn’t made any difference.
some weeks i can drop 4/6 lbs but next week it will always be back on i seem to fluctuate a lot but never go down much.
I see things in grams on your diary but I can't tell if you actually weighed all the food on your diary or not. In addition to that, I see half cups, half portion, etc. Is everything weighed using a scale?
You run in the a.m. and after (so twice a day)? How many miles are you running ?
Generally they go off the barcodes otherwise if it’s something iv cooked myself i will calculate the measurements of the whole thing and then divide it into potions. i walk sorry not run as in the school run walk, on average i walk about 6/7 miles a day. x
Are you using a food scale to weigh all of your food though?
So your steps include walking to school, running later in the p.m. and your work walking around? If you do a fairly light run I cannot see this as a big deal as it relates to not adding these/eating these back.
I would get very consistent with weighing and logging for 4 weeks, the calorie overages are certainly making a big deal in your losses, so I would be consistent with 1500 calories, no over eating days or if you do bank calories from the week to indulge but stay within your calorie goal to adhere to a 'weekly deficit'. Trend what your weight does over 4 weeks.8 -
Do you use a food scale to track your intake??1
-
but if i’m going over my net calories a few hundred a week but not taking off five hours of exercise, 5 days a week surely something’s wrong?
iv lost weight before so i know how calorie deficits work i’m just wondering am i affecting weight loss or water retention or something by eating more calories at weekends or something like that?
What is your exercise and about how much is the calorie burn? What is your activity level in MFP?
There is something in the numbers that are effecting this, we just need to find if its in your activity level, your calories logged or exercise or a combination.
activity level in MFP is set to active.
i work with horses and do a school
run before and after so i’m on my feet for five hours a day five days a week, i average 13,000 steps and also a lot of lifting, bending, carrying etc, i don’t ride. i don’t take any exercise off my calories on my fitness pal as was scared i was over estimating exercise calories but still hasn’t made any difference.
some weeks i can drop 4/6 lbs but next week it will always be back on i seem to fluctuate a lot but never go down much.
I see things in grams on your diary but I can't tell if you actually weighed all the food on your diary or not. In addition to that, I see half cups, half portion, etc. Is everything weighed using a scale?
You run in the a.m. and after (so twice a day)? How many miles are you running ?
Generally they go off the barcodes otherwise if it’s something iv cooked myself i will calculate the measurements of the whole thing and then divide it into potions. i walk sorry not run as in the school run walk, on average i walk about 6/7 miles a day. x
Are you using a food scale to weigh all of your food though?
So your steps include walking to school, running later in the p.m. and your work walking around? If you do a fairly light run I cannot see this as a big deal as it relates to not adding these/eating these back.
I would get very consistent with weighing and logging for 4 weeks, the calorie overages are certainly making a big deal in your losses, so I would be consistent with 1500 calories, no over eating days or if you do bank calories from the week to indulge but stay within your calorie goal to adhere to a 'weekly deficit'. Trend what your weight does over 4 weeks.
i don’t weigh all my food for example if a loaf of bread says 90 calories a slice i will take it as 90 calories a slice, if it’s something like cheese in a sandwich or oats i will weigh it out with scales, i don’t weigh fruit and veg i just guess.
i tend to average around 1,700 calories a week before exercise which is over my 1,400 goal but that is a goal i set to be much lower than the my fitness pal
goal. unless iv set it too low and setting myself up to fail i.e over eating days?
i think i’m struggling with consistency because of the high losses and high gains. i’m struggling to balance out what i need and don’t need to eat with lots more exercise i think as before when iv lost weight i could keep calories around 1,200 as wasn’t doing much.
x
6 -
3
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but if i’m going over my net calories a few hundred a week but not taking off five hours of exercise, 5 days a week surely something’s wrong?
iv lost weight before so i know how calorie deficits work i’m just wondering am i affecting weight loss or water retention or something by eating more calories at weekends or something like that?
What is your exercise and about how much is the calorie burn? What is your activity level in MFP?
There is something in the numbers that are effecting this, we just need to find if its in your activity level, your calories logged or exercise or a combination.
activity level in MFP is set to active.
i work with horses and do a school
run before and after so i’m on my feet for five hours a day five days a week, i average 13,000 steps and also a lot of lifting, bending, carrying etc, i don’t ride. i don’t take any exercise off my calories on my fitness pal as was scared i was over estimating exercise calories but still hasn’t made any difference.
some weeks i can drop 4/6 lbs but next week it will always be back on i seem to fluctuate a lot but never go down much.
I see things in grams on your diary but I can't tell if you actually weighed all the food on your diary or not. In addition to that, I see half cups, half portion, etc. Is everything weighed using a scale?
You run in the a.m. and after (so twice a day)? How many miles are you running ?
Generally they go off the barcodes otherwise if it’s something iv cooked myself i will calculate the measurements of the whole thing and then divide it into potions. i walk sorry not run as in the school run walk, on average i walk about 6/7 miles a day. x
Are you using a food scale to weigh all of your food though?
So your steps include walking to school, running later in the p.m. and your work walking around? If you do a fairly light run I cannot see this as a big deal as it relates to not adding these/eating these back.
I would get very consistent with weighing and logging for 4 weeks, the calorie overages are certainly making a big deal in your losses, so I would be consistent with 1500 calories, no over eating days or if you do bank calories from the week to indulge but stay within your calorie goal to adhere to a 'weekly deficit'. Trend what your weight does over 4 weeks.
Seconding this. Commit to the food scale for everything, even if it seems silly, and trying to consistently hit your calorie goal for at least 4 weeks and see if it shakes something lose. Not being so precise might have worked previously, but we all change over the years in subtle ways we don't realize. Maybe your activity level isn't as different as it seems, maybe you're appetite is subtly different. Many of us started out thinking we're eating the same amount we always have and then the food scale told us differently! Laying down 4-6 weeks of accurate data will shine a light on that one way or the other. Good luck!6 -
but if i’m going over my net calories a few hundred a week but not taking off five hours of exercise, 5 days a week surely something’s wrong?
iv lost weight before so i know how calorie deficits work i’m just wondering am i affecting weight loss or water retention or something by eating more calories at weekends or something like that?
What is your exercise and about how much is the calorie burn? What is your activity level in MFP?
There is something in the numbers that are effecting this, we just need to find if its in your activity level, your calories logged or exercise or a combination.
activity level in MFP is set to active.
i work with horses and do a school
run before and after so i’m on my feet for five hours a day five days a week, i average 13,000 steps and also a lot of lifting, bending, carrying etc, i don’t ride. i don’t take any exercise off my calories on my fitness pal as was scared i was over estimating exercise calories but still hasn’t made any difference.
some weeks i can drop 4/6 lbs but next week it will always be back on i seem to fluctuate a lot but never go down much.
I see things in grams on your diary but I can't tell if you actually weighed all the food on your diary or not. In addition to that, I see half cups, half portion, etc. Is everything weighed using a scale?
You run in the a.m. and after (so twice a day)? How many miles are you running ?
Generally they go off the barcodes otherwise if it’s something iv cooked myself i will calculate the measurements of the whole thing and then divide it into potions. i walk sorry not run as in the school run walk, on average i walk about 6/7 miles a day. x
Are you using a food scale to weigh all of your food though?
So your steps include walking to school, running later in the p.m. and your work walking around? If you do a fairly light run I cannot see this as a big deal as it relates to not adding these/eating these back.
I would get very consistent with weighing and logging for 4 weeks, the calorie overages are certainly making a big deal in your losses, so I would be consistent with 1500 calories, no over eating days or if you do bank calories from the week to indulge but stay within your calorie goal to adhere to a 'weekly deficit'. Trend what your weight does over 4 weeks.
i don’t weigh all my food for example if a loaf of bread says 90 calories a slice i will take it as 90 calories a slice, if it’s something like cheese in a sandwich or oats i will weigh it out with scales, i don’t weigh fruit and veg i just guess.
i tend to average around 1,700 calories a week before exercise which is over my 1,400 goal but that is a goal i set to be much lower than the my fitness pal
goal. unless iv set it too low and setting myself up to fail i.e over eating days?
i think i’m struggling with consistency because of the high losses and high gains. i’m struggling to balance out what i need and don’t need to eat with lots more exercise i think as before when iv lost weight i could keep calories around 1,200 as wasn’t doing much.
x
Weigh everything you consume that has calories and do this for 4 weeks. You would be losing weight if you are creating a deficit. Consistency will be key for the next 4 weeks, use this opportunity to work on balance, there isn't any food off limits, just need to be able to accurately log them as your work through these next weeks ahead.
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