Hi there,
I've been on a journey of creating a sustainable diet (committing to low and moderate calorie density foods, fresh and natural foods), watching my calorie intake since last December. I also signed up for a 6-week high-intensity Zoom aerobic both camp 3x a week. In addition to that, I fast walk a total of 4 miles (uphill-downhill) every day!! I eat 1200-1500kcal a day from good food choices. I had two pounds of weight loss, then it went back up where I started. I enjoy my exercises and not craving snacks and fatty, sugary foods anymore. But I feel very frustrated that I can't lose weight! I can't and don't want to reduce my calorie intake anymore, because that wouldn't be possible with all the energy I'm burning. Any helpful advice? Thank you!
chikadeedoo
Member Posts: 8 Member
Member Posts: 8 Member
Replies
- how accurate is your logging? Weighing everything on a scale and checking that you are choosing correct database entries?
- A new exercise routine can cause water retention. If that's what's happening to you, it's just a matter of being patient. Are your clothes fitting better? Are you measuring yourself? It can help you to see progress even when the scale isn't budging.
The combined is hopefully a decent deficit.
Would you say these changes were just a little, or did you start doing a whole lot more in exercise at the same time as eating a whole lot less in food?
Does that sound like a good combo?
Increased cortisol from increased stress (like making an extreme diet, or not recovering from workouts before doing the next) can increase water weight up to 20 lbs slowly.
How much fat loss on the scale could that hide from you for how many weeks?
Not a great state for the body to be in.
Beyond that - dittos to food logging accuracy, and exercise logging.
Now some log their exercise but don't correctly eat more when they do more - making the deficit bigger.
And dittos to effect from exercise is usually water weight gain for many reasons.
Usually when people are asked if they weigh their food for accurate logging, and they do not respond with exactly that they do - it means they do not.
Since you didn't reference weighing food - what does "pretty accurately" mean - you miss logging some foods entirely, you weigh almost everything but a few low calorie items, you weigh everything but don't confirm the database entry is correct, you weigh very little?
Also noticed that despite the comment increased cortisol from stress can be the result of extreme diet or lack of recovery (which actually is the result of extreme diet too) - you only commented on muscle recovery, not the diet part.
From experience that usually means someone wants their extreme diet to lose the weight fast, part of the reason for jumping in full force to the workouts in the first place.
Just be aware extreme means how much deficit you are taking for the amount to lose.
A 2 lbs weekly rate would be appropriate for someone otherwise healthy with 80 lbs to lose, but very unreasonable for someone with many health issues already stressing body and only 15 lbs to lose.