Getting discouraged....

spower000
spower000 Posts: 1 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All, I am 59, 5'9" I weigh 138.6, I want to get to 130....I was way under eating for a while...I have now started using MyFitnessPal and following it the best I can. I record everything, I weigh my meals. I am 2 weeks + in... I ride a stationary bike everyday vigorously for 1 hour, I burn about 400 - 500 calories. I eat very healthy, eggs, chicken, veggies, etc. no sugar. Eating low carb. It says I need to eat 1400+ calories to get to my goal. I get close to that then do my workout and burn 400-500 calories off (supposedly) I can't seem to eat 1400 calories!! So I am eating less than I need but way more than I was eating before, and I'm not hungry. In 2 weeks I have lost .4 lbs in the middle of the week, all the other days I have gained .2 - .4 lbs a day than maybe lose .2 than back up again. This isn't encouraging, not sure if I am doing something wrong?
Thanks!!

Replies

  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    You're so close to goal, it's going to be harder and slower to reach it.
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    You shouldn't draw any conclusions or enter into self-doubt after two weeks. There's a lot of water rebalancing that takes place in the first 2-4 weeks of changing up your calories, macros, eating schedule and/or exercise regimen -- all of those things have a big impact on how much water you're retaining, and throw off the scale readings. Eventually, things will even out and you'll get a truer picture of actual fat loss on the scale.

    If you eat the amount of calories MFP tells you to eat, based on your weight loss goal (pounds per week to lose), you will lose that weight, plus or minus 10-20 %. You just have to be a little patient with it.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,091 Member
    Agree with the others. With less than 10 pounds to go, 1/2 a pound/week is plenty for a goal, and even that may be a bit optimistic.

    If you have been doing the bicycle thing for awhile, there's also a chance your calorie count is pretty off for that. If you're new to it, then your body is going to be retaining water in various amounts.

    I'm a little shorter than you, and it's not uncommon for my weight to fluctuate by 2+pounds/day, and that's all water weight. To help prevent the insanity that causes, I track my daily weights and then look at weekly averages and look to see if my average is going down (trend apps do a similar thing, but I find them a bit fickle).
  • TheRealSlim_Shelly
    TheRealSlim_Shelly Posts: 66 Member
    I would eat only half of exercise calories back from a stationary bike. Calories burned on a stationary bike are often not as accurate. I’ve read articles stating treadmills were “most” accurate cardio equipment at calculating calories burned, and even then can still be inaccurate. Try to switch it up anyway.

    There are plenty of calorically dense foods you can work into your diet to reach your goal. Meaning a small amount will pack a lot of calories; ie nut butters, nuts, olive oil, cheese. You can easily work in a peanut butter sandwich at almost 400 calories between 100 calories per slice for heartier multigrain breads and 190 calories for 2 tbs of PB. Or throw some avocado and cheese on your sandwich. The possibilities are endless.

    At your height and weight I would not have high expectations for a big loss every week... study your trend over the course of two or three weeks instead of one. Stop weighing daily if it’s discouraging you.
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