Weight loss stoped after starting weightlifting
SarahMorganP
Posts: 922 Member
Hello. I’m 41 years old, 5’2.5” and weigh 198lbs. I was 244 at my highest. It’s hard for w to lose weight due to my health issues. I take prednisone daily, multiple times a day and will for life.
Anyway, I was losing weight slowly (because I refuse to drop my calories down really low and be miserable) but usually 4-6lbs a month. That was white eating 1500-1800 calories a day and taking 3 walks a day.
2 months ago I added weight lifting 5 days a week and still continue my walking. So everyday I get 10-13k steps and then 5 days a week I also do 1-1.5 hours of heavy lifting. Since starting weight lifting I have only lost 2lbs in that 2 months time.
Any idea why I would pretty much stop losing when I still have SO much to lose? It’s not like I’m close to my healthy weight and things are just slowing down. And I have only lost 2” on my belly, but haven’t lost anywhere else so it’s not a matter of getting smaller so ignore the scale.
I am getting stronger, I have gone up on all of my weights so that makes me happy! But I really would like to lose weight and I’m starting to get very frustrated.
I eat around 1700-1800 calories a day, (I weigh and measure everything) my Fitbit most days says I have burned between 700-1000 from exercise. I don’t eat any exercise calories back because I’m just not sure I believe the Fitbit.
Do you think I need to eat less? Eat more? Any ideas? Thanks!
Anyway, I was losing weight slowly (because I refuse to drop my calories down really low and be miserable) but usually 4-6lbs a month. That was white eating 1500-1800 calories a day and taking 3 walks a day.
2 months ago I added weight lifting 5 days a week and still continue my walking. So everyday I get 10-13k steps and then 5 days a week I also do 1-1.5 hours of heavy lifting. Since starting weight lifting I have only lost 2lbs in that 2 months time.
Any idea why I would pretty much stop losing when I still have SO much to lose? It’s not like I’m close to my healthy weight and things are just slowing down. And I have only lost 2” on my belly, but haven’t lost anywhere else so it’s not a matter of getting smaller so ignore the scale.
I am getting stronger, I have gone up on all of my weights so that makes me happy! But I really would like to lose weight and I’m starting to get very frustrated.
I eat around 1700-1800 calories a day, (I weigh and measure everything) my Fitbit most days says I have burned between 700-1000 from exercise. I don’t eat any exercise calories back because I’m just not sure I believe the Fitbit.
Do you think I need to eat less? Eat more? Any ideas? Thanks!
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Replies
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I think you might need to give it more time. Strength training notoriously causes water retention in the muscles, which will mask fat loss on the scale.9
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Sorry to hear about the pred. That is definitely a complication.
Losing a pound a week is a very reasonable goal. Your calorie goal seems totally reasonable. I think the weight lifting could cause a short effect (as @Lietchi says), but it will go away. It's very good for you, overall.
Remember that daily variations can be as large as a few pounds. You need to weigh daily in the morning after the toilet and watch the trend over several days to resolve it to within a pound.
Stick to your plan and you will go back to losing!
Best of luck!4 -
That Fitbit adjustment is not just exercise - it's the total difference between the activity level you selected on MFP (right or wrong), and what Fitbit estimates you burned in total.
Could be no exercise for that matter. And if you had selected exactly the right MFP level - there would be no adjustment.
I will say this for the Fitbit estimate.
You should manually log the Weights as a Workout Record. You can start and stop it as an Activity Record just to see the stats during that chunk of time (HR probably only interesting one) - but manually log the same Start & Duration time as a workout and let Fitbit estimate the calorie burn - which will be less.
There won't be double-counting, Fitbit is replace-only system, the last entered is the current info, so you can leave both records.
With the walking, if starting a workout on that, HR-based calorie burn would be used, and walking level of HR will cause inflated estimate in those calculations.
If your increased daily activity is not logged as workout, and merely lots of daily movement then no issue, it's using distance-based calorie burn which is very accurate if distance is right.
So you may be showing a bigger calorie burn than true.
It doesn't mean exercise calories don't count.
You appear to have had an average 467-700 calorie deficit in place based on your weight loss amount.
Good job going slow, likely just fat.
With your eating records of 1500-1800, did Fitbit really show you burning around 2200-2300 on average?
Because lifting is more stressful on body, and if you accidentally increased the deficit same time you increased the stress on your body - exactly backwards. Because you increased activity a lot, but not eating level, so deficit increased.
Stress induced water weight increase, along with what you get for lifting anyway, plus the high glycogen usage just asking body to store more with it's attached water - yep water weight increase expected.1 -
That Fitbit adjustment is not just exercise - it's the total difference between the activity level you selected on MFP (right or wrong), and what Fitbit estimates you burned in total.
Could be no exercise for that matter. And if you had selected exactly the right MFP level - there would be no adjustment.
I will say this for the Fitbit estimate.
You should manually log the Weights as a Workout Record. You can start and stop it as an Activity Record just to see the stats during that chunk of time (HR probably only interesting one) - but manually log the same Start & Duration time as a workout and let Fitbit estimate the calorie burn - which will be less.
There won't be double-counting, Fitbit is replace-only system, the last entered is the current info, so you can leave both records.
With the walking, if starting a workout on that, HR-based calorie burn would be used, and walking level of HR will cause inflated estimate in those calculations.
If your increased daily activity is not logged as workout, and merely lots of daily movement then no issue, it's using distance-based calorie burn which is very accurate if distance is right.
So you may be showing a bigger calorie burn than true.
It doesn't mean exercise calories don't count.
You appear to have had an average 467-700 calorie deficit in place based on your weight loss amount.
Good job going slow, likely just fat.
With your eating records of 1500-1800, did Fitbit really show you burning around 2200-2300 on average?
Because lifting is more stressful on body, and if you accidentally increased the deficit same time you increased the stress on your body - exactly backwards. Because you increased activity a lot, but not eating level, so deficit increased.
Stress induced water weight increase, along with what you get for lifting anyway, plus the high glycogen usage just asking body to store more with it's attached water - yep water weight increase expected.
Thank you for responding.
Sorry, I have a brain tumor and have a lot of trouble understanding things sometimes so I might have some of your post wrong.
I don’t have my Fitbit and MyFitnessPal connected. I don’t know how to do that, I’m very technologically challenged. I think my calories burned on my Fitbit is just based on my heartbeat as that’s what I click on to see the calories I’ve burned for the day.
And I don’t log any exercise into MyFitnessPal or my Fitbit since I don’t plan to eat any extra for the calories I just don’t see the point.
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Sorry to hear about the pred. That is definitely a complication.
Losing a pound a week is a very reasonable goal. Your calorie goal seems totally reasonable. I think the weight lifting could cause a short effect (as @Lietchi says), but it will go away. It's very good for you, overall.
Remember that daily variations can be as large as a few pounds. You need to weigh daily in the morning after the toilet and watch the trend over several days to resolve it to within a pound.
Stick to your plan and you will go back to losing!
Best of luck!
Thank you. I thought that once I started testosterone (another part of my health issues is all kinds of hormone deficiencies and testosterone was undetectable) I might start losing weight more easily, especially my belly fat, but no such luck. Thankfully it has allowed me to actually lift weights again, before starting it I was unable to for years.
I do weigh myself every morning. I keep gaining and losing the same 2-3lbs every day.
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SarahMorganP wrote: »That Fitbit adjustment is not just exercise - it's the total difference between the activity level you selected on MFP (right or wrong), and what Fitbit estimates you burned in total.
Could be no exercise for that matter. And if you had selected exactly the right MFP level - there would be no adjustment.
I will say this for the Fitbit estimate.
You should manually log the Weights as a Workout Record. You can start and stop it as an Activity Record just to see the stats during that chunk of time (HR probably only interesting one) - but manually log the same Start & Duration time as a workout and let Fitbit estimate the calorie burn - which will be less.
There won't be double-counting, Fitbit is replace-only system, the last entered is the current info, so you can leave both records.
With the walking, if starting a workout on that, HR-based calorie burn would be used, and walking level of HR will cause inflated estimate in those calculations.
If your increased daily activity is not logged as workout, and merely lots of daily movement then no issue, it's using distance-based calorie burn which is very accurate if distance is right.
So you may be showing a bigger calorie burn than true.
It doesn't mean exercise calories don't count.
You appear to have had an average 467-700 calorie deficit in place based on your weight loss amount.
Good job going slow, likely just fat.
With your eating records of 1500-1800, did Fitbit really show you burning around 2200-2300 on average?
Because lifting is more stressful on body, and if you accidentally increased the deficit same time you increased the stress on your body - exactly backwards. Because you increased activity a lot, but not eating level, so deficit increased.
Stress induced water weight increase, along with what you get for lifting anyway, plus the high glycogen usage just asking body to store more with it's attached water - yep water weight increase expected.
Thank you for responding.
Sorry, I have a brain tumor and have a lot of trouble understanding things sometimes so I might have some of your post wrong.
I don’t have my Fitbit and MyFitnessPal connected. I don’t know how to do that, I’m very technologically challenged. I think my calories burned on my Fitbit is just based on my heartbeat as that’s what I click on to see the calories I’ve burned for the day.
And I don’t log any exercise into MyFitnessPal or my Fitbit since I don’t plan to eat any extra for the calories I just don’t see the point.
So you have no exercise calories to eat back actually, because you don't log anything on MFP, and you don't have accounts linked.
You don't log exercise - then how do you know you burn 700-1000 in exercise you stated?
No your calories estimated by Fitbit are not just by heartbeat.
Exercise is if you start a workout.
Daily activity is not, it's by your calculated BMR, and the distance you move in your activity.
Former could be iffy as I explained, the latter can be pretty good estimate.
So you have a misconception about diet.
You eat less than you burn in TOTAL. Does exercise and increased activity burn more calories than lying around all day?
So you have a workout, it's uses up a bunch of calories merely to power you for that exercise.
What's left for the body to use for the base metabolism of life?
Your body can feel threatened and stressed and respond in negative ways if there is too big a difference between what you burn and what you eat.
MFP figured out an eating goal based on NO exercise being done that will already result in fat loss.
When you do more you should eat more, and you'll still lose fat.
When you do less you also need to eat less, and you'll still lose fat.
Life lesson about weight management right there.
Bigger deficit is NOT better - and that's what you are creating.
Is it too much? I'd suggest if dealing with brain tumor your body is already under stress.
You increased the deficit when you didn't eat more but you started working out a whole lot more than before.
With workouts the body really needs to recover from.
Worst time to increase the deficit.
You increased the stress, cortisol likely increased, that increases water weight, slowly up to 20 lbs is possible.
With losing 4-6 lbs a month - you could go 3 to 5 months with no weight loss on the scale due to water weight increase.
During that time your workouts will likely start sucking compared to what they could be - because the body is stressed.
The body adapts in other ways to reduce that deficit it doesn't like.
Just some points since you asked what to do.
Your body seemed to be fine with the about 500 cal deficit it had before.
You increased the deficit.
Doesn't seem to be as fine now.0 -
SarahMorganP wrote: »That Fitbit adjustment is not just exercise - it's the total difference between the activity level you selected on MFP (right or wrong), and what Fitbit estimates you burned in total.
Could be no exercise for that matter. And if you had selected exactly the right MFP level - there would be no adjustment.
I will say this for the Fitbit estimate.
You should manually log the Weights as a Workout Record. You can start and stop it as an Activity Record just to see the stats during that chunk of time (HR probably only interesting one) - but manually log the same Start & Duration time as a workout and let Fitbit estimate the calorie burn - which will be less.
There won't be double-counting, Fitbit is replace-only system, the last entered is the current info, so you can leave both records.
With the walking, if starting a workout on that, HR-based calorie burn would be used, and walking level of HR will cause inflated estimate in those calculations.
If your increased daily activity is not logged as workout, and merely lots of daily movement then no issue, it's using distance-based calorie burn which is very accurate if distance is right.
So you may be showing a bigger calorie burn than true.
It doesn't mean exercise calories don't count.
You appear to have had an average 467-700 calorie deficit in place based on your weight loss amount.
Good job going slow, likely just fat.
With your eating records of 1500-1800, did Fitbit really show you burning around 2200-2300 on average?
Because lifting is more stressful on body, and if you accidentally increased the deficit same time you increased the stress on your body - exactly backwards. Because you increased activity a lot, but not eating level, so deficit increased.
Stress induced water weight increase, along with what you get for lifting anyway, plus the high glycogen usage just asking body to store more with it's attached water - yep water weight increase expected.
Thank you for responding.
Sorry, I have a brain tumor and have a lot of trouble understanding things sometimes so I might have some of your post wrong.
I don’t have my Fitbit and MyFitnessPal connected. I don’t know how to do that, I’m very technologically challenged. I think my calories burned on my Fitbit is just based on my heartbeat as that’s what I click on to see the calories I’ve burned for the day.
And I don’t log any exercise into MyFitnessPal or my Fitbit since I don’t plan to eat any extra for the calories I just don’t see the point.
So you have no exercise calories to eat back actually, because you don't log anything on MFP, and you don't have accounts linked.
You don't log exercise - then how do you know you burn 700-1000 in exercise you stated?
No your calories estimated by Fitbit are not just by heartbeat.
Exercise is if you start a workout.
Daily activity is not, it's by your calculated BMR, and the distance you move in your activity.
Former could be iffy as I explained, the latter can be pretty good estimate.
So you have a misconception about diet.
You eat less than you burn in TOTAL. Does exercise and increased activity burn more calories than lying around all day?
So you have a workout, it's uses up a bunch of calories merely to power you for that exercise.
What's left for the body to use for the base metabolism of life?
Your body can feel threatened and stressed and respond in negative ways if there is too big a difference between what you burn and what you eat.
MFP figured out an eating goal based on NO exercise being done that will already result in fat loss.
When you do more you should eat more, and you'll still lose fat.
When you do less you also need to eat less, and you'll still lose fat.
Life lesson about weight management right there.
Bigger deficit is NOT better - and that's what you are creating.
Is it too much? I'd suggest if dealing with brain tumor your body is already under stress.
You increased the deficit when you didn't eat more but you started working out a whole lot more than before.
With workouts the body really needs to recover from.
Worst time to increase the deficit.
You increased the stress, cortisol likely increased, that increases water weight, slowly up to 20 lbs is possible.
With losing 4-6 lbs a month - you could go 3 to 5 months with no weight loss on the scale due to water weight increase.
During that time your workouts will likely start sucking compared to what they could be - because the body is stressed.
The body adapts in other ways to reduce that deficit it doesn't like.
Just some points since you asked what to do.
Your body seemed to be fine with the about 500 cal deficit it had before.
You increased the deficit.
Doesn't seem to be as fine now.
I don’t know if this picture will work, but this is the screen I look at on my Fitbit. This shows me how much time is spent active, just based on my heartbeat.
I actually don’t make any cortisol, that’s why I have to take prednisone, or I would die. So high cortisol really isn’t an issue for me, unless I get stressed and have to take hydrocortisone to avoid going to the hospital.
So are you saying that I might need to eat more then? I’m just so scared to gain since I’m already so big. But I suppose I could try it and if I go up I can just lower it again.
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I don’t know if this picture will work, but this is the screen I look at on my Fitbit. This shows me how much time is spent active, just based on my heartbeat.
I actually don’t make any cortisol, that’s why I have to take prednisone, or I would die. So high cortisol really isn’t an issue for me, unless I get stressed and have to take hydrocortisone to avoid going to the hospital.
So are you saying that I might need to eat more then? I’m just so scared to gain since I’m already so big. But I suppose I could try it and if I go up I can just lower it again.
0 -
SarahMorganP wrote: »I don’t know if this picture will work, but this is the screen I look at on my Fitbit. This shows me how much time is spent active, just based on my heartbeat.
I actually don’t make any cortisol, that’s why I have to take prednisone, or I would die. So high cortisol really isn’t an issue for me, unless I get stressed and have to take hydrocortisone to avoid going to the hospital.
So are you saying that I might need to eat more then? I’m just so scared to gain since I’m already so big. But I suppose I could try it and if I go up I can just lower it again.
MFP is designed for you to eat your exercise calories back or at least some of them back ..You are not eating enough with all the exercise you do1 -
1.5 hours a day of heavy lifting may be too much. If it has been 2 months of no loss then you are probably eating at maintenance or have a lot of water retention due to all of the weight lifting.1
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You may just be gaining muscle. The mirror is what counts, not the scale. I'd at least try to give a muscle group 1-2 days to recover. So, if you're doing the same thing every day, try rotating between muscle groups.
You can also try an hour walk in the morning, to add to your deficit. You'll burn a couple hundred calories, so probably an extra half pound of loss a week.0 -
You may just be gaining muscle. The mirror is what counts, not the scale. I'd at least try to give a muscle group 1-2 days to recover. So, if you're doing the same thing every day, try rotating between muscle groups.
You can also try an hour walk in the morning, to add to your deficit. You'll burn a couple hundred calories, so probably an extra half pound of loss a week.
I do upper body on Monday/Friday and Legs Tue/Thur/Sat. So I always have days in between muscle groups and take Wed/Sun off from weights but still do all my walking. I can’t do cardio (other than waking) due to my health issues. I do walk 30min in the morning and on my lunch break and after work. And 15min on the treadmill before I do weights.
1 -
SarahMorganP wrote: »
I eat around 1700-1800 calories a day, (I weigh and measure everything)
When you say "weigh and measure", how much of your food are you weighing (in grams/oz) and which things are you just measuring with cups/spoons? It's possible that the issue lies with your food intake logging rather than exercise.0 -
Redordeadhead wrote: »SarahMorganP wrote: »
I eat around 1700-1800 calories a day, (I weigh and measure everything)
When you say "weigh and measure", how much of your food are you weighing (in grams/oz) and which things are you just measuring with cups/spoons? It's possible that the issue lies with your food intake logging rather than exercise.
I would say 90% of things I weigh, on the rare occasion that I’m eating something that doesn’t have the nutrition on it. I don’t measure things often. Almost every dinner I have is from Every Plate so that tells me the calories. And my lunch is usually a sandwich and a single serving bag of chips with carrots. And then a snack at night is a bag of skinny popcorn. So it would be nearly impossible to be off with my calories, maybe by like 50-100 but for sure no more. I eat the two meals and a snack a day and that’s it. I’m an extremely picky eater.
1 -
I would not rely on the calorie counts from Every Plate.1
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Have you talked with a dietician about your caloric needs since starting your weightloss journey? You’ve lost almost 50lbs... your basal metabolic rate may have adjusted based on your lower body mass overall. It’s not uncommon to have to adjust caloric needs every 25-50 lbs. It might just have timed with the water shifts of starting weight lifting that you noticed the stall. Was your weight loss trend tapering at all prior to that?
With a complex medical history, you might want to go over it with your medical team to see if you need to adjust your calorie base. You’re going to get conflicting advice here.
BTW- congrats on your progress so far- outstanding!!2 -
Have you talked with a dietician about your caloric needs since starting your weightloss journey? You’ve lost almost 50lbs... your basal metabolic rate may have adjusted based on your lower body mass overall. It’s not uncommon to have to adjust caloric needs every 25-50 lbs. It might just have timed with the water shifts of starting weight lifting that you noticed the stall. Was your weight loss trend tapering at all prior to that?
With a complex medical history, you might want to go over it with your medical team to see if you need to adjust your calorie base. You’re going to get conflicting advice here.
BTW- congrats on your progress so far- outstanding!!
Thank you.
Unfortunately I have seen 2 different dietitian and both just said to eat 1200 calories a day. No matter how much exercise I did or how much I currently weigh or want to lose.
No, my weight loss had been steady until I started the weights. I have had 5 iron infusions during these two months and I do know a lot of people say they gain weight from iron, so idk if that could also be playing a part? And it’s always a possibility my thyroid meds need to be adjusted again, but I haven’t had the severe depression that comes from thyroid issues so I’m assuming that’s currently ok.
I am a medical mess lol so it’s always a question of if any of my issues are causing the stall in my weight loss.
I guess I will keep on doing what I’m doing. While losing weight would be great, getting stronger and just more fit in general is really my main goal. And I am seeing big improvements with those things.
1 -
SarahMorganP wrote: »I don’t know if this picture will work, but this is the screen I look at on my Fitbit. This shows me how much time is spent active, just based on my heartbeat.
I actually don’t make any cortisol, that’s why I have to take prednisone, or I would die. So high cortisol really isn’t an issue for me, unless I get stressed and have to take hydrocortisone to avoid going to the hospital.
So are you saying that I might need to eat more then? I’m just so scared to gain since I’m already so big. But I suppose I could try it and if I go up I can just lower it again.
Yes - the pic showed up.
That is the HR review screen, it throws extra info on the screen too.
There is a better Daily calorie burn screen, which will also throw extra info on there.
The extra info doesn't mean it causes what's on the screen, nor what's on the screen causes the extra info.
Fact is take the device off and carry in your pocket with no HR available - you'll get daily calorie burn.
Good to know on the cortisol, wonder if the other cascading hormones that it touches off still increase?
Anyway - you started lifting weights 5 days a week for 1 to 1.5 hrs daily.
Did you start burning more on average? (that would be an obvious yes)
Your body seemed to do fine with a 500 cal avg deficit before you started doing that extra workout.
You are not eating more though you are burning a lot more.
Therefore your deficit is bigger.
Would you say from your results your body is happy with that?2 -
You may just be gaining muscle. The mirror is what counts, not the scale. I'd at least try to give a muscle group 1-2 days to recover. So, if you're doing the same thing every day, try rotating between muscle groups.
You can also try an hour walk in the morning, to add to your deficit. You'll burn a couple hundred calories, so probably an extra half pound of loss a week.
A woman starting a lifting routine eating at what was already a deficit and not eating more when starting to lift.
Gaining muscle mass weight fast enough to hide fat loss weight?
Oh if it were only that easy.
Very true though on recovery and having a good routine. Too many just make it up without having the knowledge and skills on how to do it well, and fall back to a bro-routine they've heard of.2 -
SarahMorganP wrote: »Have you talked with a dietician about your caloric needs since starting your weightloss journey? You’ve lost almost 50lbs... your basal metabolic rate may have adjusted based on your lower body mass overall. It’s not uncommon to have to adjust caloric needs every 25-50 lbs. It might just have timed with the water shifts of starting weight lifting that you noticed the stall. Was your weight loss trend tapering at all prior to that?
With a complex medical history, you might want to go over it with your medical team to see if you need to adjust your calorie base. You’re going to get conflicting advice here.
BTW- congrats on your progress so far- outstanding!!
Thank you.
Unfortunately I have seen 2 different dietitian and both just said to eat 1200 calories a day. No matter how much exercise I did or how much I currently weigh or want to lose.
No, my weight loss had been steady until I started the weights. I have had 5 iron infusions during these two months and I do know a lot of people say they gain weight from iron, so idk if that could also be playing a part? And it’s always a possibility my thyroid meds need to be adjusted again, but I haven’t had the severe depression that comes from thyroid issues so I’m assuming that’s currently ok.
I am a medical mess lol so it’s always a question of if any of my issues are causing the stall in my weight loss.
I guess I will keep on doing what I’m doing. While losing weight would be great, getting stronger and just more fit in general is really my main goal. And I am seeing big improvements with those things.
Hello from a fellow iron infusee!
I'm down a pound since my last infusion, June 29. I weigh daily and looked at my log in Happy Scale after my April infusions and went down a few pounds in the week after the first one and up a pound after the second one. But I think these are more likely related to my menstrual cycle than the iron. I retain water when I ovulate and premenstrually, and have a corresponding drop afterwards.
There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings1
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