Am I doing something Wrong? 25 pounds down!
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kimbelle_vie
Posts: 174 Member
Hi all, I could really use some insight!
I begin in November 2019 and have lost 25 lbs since then. Here is what I did to do so, I logged my calories with myfitnesspal, I mostly ate the same things everyday. My focus was mainly staying under my calories. I also used intermittent fasting 16:8. I drank 40 - 90 oz of water a day. I attempted to workout 3 days a week, this was so so in the beginning because of my job as a teacher, most days I would come home exhausted. I was averaging about 3-4 lbs a month.
Fast forward to today, I am still doing the same things. I now workout 30 minutes 4 days a week on an elliptical. It's summer, and covid so I haven't worked since the end of March, I am not on my feet and moving around like before. My weight loss is moving like a snail, literally! I am barely clearing half a pound a week, and my totals have been 1-2 lbs a month for the past two months. I am at a lost as to what's the issue, my guesses are my body is getting used to intermittent fasting and I should switch to eating every 2-3 hours, my macros are to high (i'm overeating in this category), I'm losing inches, or I need a new workout regimen.
I am trying not to get frustrated, but I have 37 more lbs to lose. Different parts of my body has toned up significantly (stomach, arms, thighs) so maybe its just inches being lost. I know it can't be health related as I had lab work a year ago and was clear. Could really use some advice!
STATS:
Age: 26
SW:201.6
Goal:140
Food diary should be open.
I begin in November 2019 and have lost 25 lbs since then. Here is what I did to do so, I logged my calories with myfitnesspal, I mostly ate the same things everyday. My focus was mainly staying under my calories. I also used intermittent fasting 16:8. I drank 40 - 90 oz of water a day. I attempted to workout 3 days a week, this was so so in the beginning because of my job as a teacher, most days I would come home exhausted. I was averaging about 3-4 lbs a month.
Fast forward to today, I am still doing the same things. I now workout 30 minutes 4 days a week on an elliptical. It's summer, and covid so I haven't worked since the end of March, I am not on my feet and moving around like before. My weight loss is moving like a snail, literally! I am barely clearing half a pound a week, and my totals have been 1-2 lbs a month for the past two months. I am at a lost as to what's the issue, my guesses are my body is getting used to intermittent fasting and I should switch to eating every 2-3 hours, my macros are to high (i'm overeating in this category), I'm losing inches, or I need a new workout regimen.
I am trying not to get frustrated, but I have 37 more lbs to lose. Different parts of my body has toned up significantly (stomach, arms, thighs) so maybe its just inches being lost. I know it can't be health related as I had lab work a year ago and was clear. Could really use some advice!
STATS:
Age: 26
SW:201.6
Goal:140
Food diary should be open.
1
Replies
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First of all, it sounds like you're doing great!
Have you adjusted your calorie goal at all since you've lost weight? How about when you reduced your activity level? What you're experiencing sounds pretty normal since your activity level has gone down -- you're using fewer calories per day so your rate of loss would naturally slow down. Losing half a pound a week *is* good progress, although I understand it doesn't feel like it.
Something else I notice from your diary is that it doesn't appear you're using a food scale. Many people find this to be a really useful tool to ensure their estimates of calories in are accurate. Before I began weighing food, I was eating more than I thought I was and this made my weight loss more unpredictable. When I adjusted that, things got much easier.7 -
janejellyroll wrote: »First of all, it sounds like you're doing great!
Have you adjusted your calorie goal at all since you've lost weight? How about when you reduced your activity level? What you're experiencing sounds pretty normal since your activity level has gone down -- you're using fewer calories per day so your rate of loss would naturally slow down. Losing half a pound a week *is* good progress, although I understand it doesn't feel like it.
Something else I notice from your diary is that it doesn't appear you're using a food scale. Many people find this to be a really useful tool to ensure their estimates of calories in are accurate. Before I began weighing food, I was eating more than I thought I was and this made my weight loss more unpredictable. When I adjusted that, things got much easier.
Thank you for commenting, I went and changed my activity level to sedentary, which did give me some new numbers. I do have a food scale and I will start utilizing it more!4 -
First of all, congrats on the weight loss so far. You are still losing weight, so I would say that you are doing something right!
The slow-down probably has to do with your daily activity level being lower since you are not working. I'm sure you were burning more calories on your feet all day than what you burn in 30 minutes on the elliptical. Can you take some walks during the day to increase your movement?
Meal timing and macros do not matter in terms of weight loss, only the total amount of calories matter, so switching up your meal times would not solve the problem.
Look, you are still moving in the right direction, so don't get frustrated. There's nothing wrong with a slow and steady weight loss. Maybe just think about how you can get more activity or tighten up your food logging (such as weighing your food if you are not). Good luck!3 -
I agree with the other suggestions and just wanted to add that with successful weight loss comes a slower rate of weight loss, to the tune of 5 - 5.5 calories per pound. So, you, having lost 25 pounds, are now burning around 130 calories per day less than when you started. It may not sound like much, but that's 3900 calories per month, or around 1.1 pounds !! Not so trivial. Add to that the difference in your daily activity, and I think you have all the ingredients laid out for a slower rate of weight loss.
Unfortunately, that's the gift we get for losing weight lol I burn 400 calories less per day than when I started dieting, which seems very unfair! But it is just the way it is.
You can either: (a) cut your calories to try to keep the weight loss rate up, or (b) accept a slower rate of loss so you can continue eating a caloric level that's been working for you. Having tried it both ways, I recommend (b) - i.e. just keep eating what you're eating, and try to accept the slower rate of fat loss. Dieting and keeping the motivation level up is hard enough without depriving yourself of more food than you've already been doing to lose those 35 pounds.
You're 40 % of the way toward your goal and still plugging away at it, so you are definitely having a success and I recommend trying to view it positively, even if things have slowed down recently.
4 -
I would suggest also switching up some of the food you eat if you haven't already. I snack on raw pumpkin seeds a lot they are lower in calories than walnuts for instance. Raw is better than roasted as more calories pass through you, more fiber is better because when it hits your colon it tells your body that you're full and also helps more calories pass through your body rather than being absorbed.2
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BuddhaBunnyFTW wrote: »I would suggest also switching up some of the food you eat if you haven't already. I snack on raw pumpkin seeds a lot they are lower in calories than walnuts for instance. Raw is better than roasted as more calories pass through you, more fiber is better because when it hits your colon it tells your body that you're full and also helps more calories pass through your body rather than being absorbed.
I feel like focusing on relatively small matters like absorption rates of raw versus cooked food is less impactful than switching to a more accurate way of measuring the quantity of food that one consumes.7 -
Considering the change to your activity level and the fact that you're not weighing your food, I'd say you can feel impressed that you've still been losing 1-2lb a month.
Just one point for when you do tighten up your logging with weighed entries - you should be aiming to eat the calories allocated, not focusing on "staying under". The deficit, to lose at your selected rate, is built in to your allowed calories.
Also, as you've set yourself to Sedentary, are you eating at least a fair portion of your exercise calories? If not, you should. Right now it's not an issue, as you're losing at a slow steady rate, but as you lose more weight / when you start weighing food, it'll become more important otherwise you'll have too big a deficit to fuel your body.1 -
Thank you guys so much for all the helpful information!
I currently do not eat back exercising calories. I was always under the impression that you shouldn’t because it’s defeating the purpose , but should I start doing so now?
I will continue on my journey as is but with a few changes. I will begin measuring my food with a scale. I want to change my workout routine a bit. I have a ton of Jillian Michaels workout DVDs and I know they give great results, but have shy’d away from them because I felt like I would “gain”/ stop losing weight and start losing inches more. So to embrace this part of my weight loss journey, I would like to lose inches and see and feel my body become stronger. In addition I want to start completing 2 mile walks in the mornings (for the summer). This will also help me get out of bed in the early mornings. Increasing my workout days to 5 days.
2 -
kimbelle_vie wrote: »Thank you guys so much for all the helpful information!
I currently do not eat back exercising calories. I was always under the impression that you shouldn’t because it’s defeating the purpose , but should I start doing so now?
I will continue on my journey as is but with a few changes. I will begin measuring my food with a scale. I want to change my workout routine a bit. I have a ton of Jillian Michaels workout DVDs and I know they give great results, but have shy’d away from them because I felt like I would “gain”/ stop losing weight and start losing inches more. So to embrace this part of my weight loss journey, I would like to lose inches and see and feel my body become stronger. In addition I want to start completing 2 mile walks in the mornings (for the summer). This will also help me get out of bed in the early mornings. Increasing my workout days to 5 days.
Mfp is designed for you to eat back your exercise calories. If you are worried you might be over estimating calories burned, you can start by eating back half and adjust.3
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