I Cant lose weight

I am in at least a 1000 calorie deficit a days, im doing the 75 hard day challenge so im working out twice a day, im three weeks and have lost no weight, in fact ive gained 2 pounds. What is going on.

I want to cry im working so hard!
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Replies

  • megansaw
    megansaw Posts: 4 Member
    Hey i measure everything, ive mainly eaten protein and salad and veg, my apple watch is saying I'm burning between 2600 to 3000 calories a day and I'm eating between 1400 to 1500.
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,750 Member
    megansaw wrote: »
    I am in at least a 1000 calorie deficit a days, im doing the 75 hard day challenge so im working out twice a day, im three weeks and have lost no weight, in fact ive gained 2 pounds. What is going on.

    I want to cry im working so hard!

    I think you may not actually be in a 1000 calorie deficit. You say you're working out twice a day, but calories burned from working out are unreliable and basically untrackable (despite what well meaning people will try to say). Yes, some people will say they are maintaining a deficit through working out, but what's probably closer to the truth is that they are monitoring their calories eaten, and that works out despite the calories they think they've burned through exercise, not because of it. Exercise is for health, not weight loss.
  • megansaw
    megansaw Posts: 4 Member
    This is an example from yesterday and ive basically kept to the same each day

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  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,191 Member
    If you’ve been doing this for less than 4 weeks it can be water retention, after 4 weeks it’s that you’re not in a WEEKLY calorie deficit due to many factors with your counting and tracking.
  • musicfan68
    musicfan68 Posts: 1,143 Member
    Most of your examples in yoir diary look like you aren't weighing your food on a scale. All food needs.to be weighed grams. Also, are you including all.sauces, drinks that may have calories?

    That combined with over estimating calorie burn, means you are probably not in 1000 calorie deficit.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,350 Member
    megansaw wrote: »
    This is an example from yesterday and ive basically kept to the same each day

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    Make sure you have your activity setting correct.

    Make sure your Apple Watch negative calorie burn (I’ll have to go back and look up the real name) setting is enabled or Apple will credit you too many calories.

    That seems to be a very very large burn for 88 minutes of work, although possible if you had a large number of steps, but I’d expect there to be a little bit of bump bump showing in the exercise graph if you’d had a lot of steps. You might double check what you’re calling your activity. I can get a large difference in calories between “functional strength training” with my trainer versus cardio strength, even though they’re comparative.

    If you’re somehow picking up the burn from gym equipment via Apple Watch, know that gym equipment usually records very inaccurately high burns.
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,205 Member
    i piggyback the question about whether you are using a digital food scale for foods measured in grams.

    i also agree that for two-a-days, you may need more time due to water retention
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,350 Member
    edited January 18
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    See the deduction circled at the top?

    If you start the timer on an exercise, Apple will record both the steps in the exercise and the steps, period. Same with some calories burned. So they do a rather awkward and irritating adjustment to back off some of the duplicate burn.

    You have to go into settings to enable the adjustment.

    See how I’ve only got credit for 1000 exercise calories? That’s based on a setting of very active, and includes a gym session, cardio class, an hour swimming laps, and about 7 or 8 miles walked outside of steps around the house. You’ve got to be very careful about selecting the proper type of workout and recording exercise via Apple Watch. If you’re not conservative it will lavish you wish extra calories and throw your numbers off.

    You’ll see similar deductions if you scroll back through my (open) diary. If you do: Caveat- I’m running a deficit for a cut right now.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,350 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    If you make things hard enough so that you end up giving up when you don't see the results you deserve to see given the effort you've invested...well you will end up giving up and not achieving the end result you wanted

    But will the root cause of the problem be the lack of results? Or will the root cause be the setup of making this so hard that it ends up having more chances to fail than to succeed?

    This is golden.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,207 Member
    You're 3 weeks in. Compare your weight trend (using a weight trend app) at the same point of your monthly cycle and under similar conditions

    New or increased exercise or exercise cessation? Injuries? Bowel issues? Recent flight? Eating out during the past few days? Pregnancy? All of these would be conditions not similar! 🤷‍♂️
  • threewins
    threewins Posts: 1,455 Member
    How many times have you weighed yourself?
  • Adventurista
    Adventurista Posts: 1,618 Member
    edited January 19
    Could be hormonal/cycle fluctuations/increases... to be followed with a big woosh if you continue a real deficit the rest of the cycle. I always had an upswing the last few days irrespective of deficits.

    I saw a clear fluctuation pattern when i charted daily weights across about 4 months, during stable eating and deficits. Body had retention intentions of its own ;)
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,205 Member
    edited January 20
    this is a question about the app in general as opposed to a criticism or suggestion — if you set your activity level to “very active” then also log all your workouts, are you double dipping in a way? double logging activity? i have always just selected sedentary — THEN logged my workouts
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,181 Member
    @csplatt

    When you set your activity level, that should be your activity level EXCLUSIVE OF INTENTIONAL EXERCISE. Look at what the descriptions of the activity levels are and note they don't include exercise:
    • Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
    • Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesperson)
    • Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. food server, postal carrier)
    • Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter)

    If you do exercise on top of that, you should log it.
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  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,207 Member
    edited January 20
    Me neither. Hahaga so silly we are

    Understanding weight fluctuation and trajectory and the causes and time frames helps. A lot.
  • Zachor717
    Zachor717 Posts: 9 Member
    Perhaps some words of encouragement? From your data you may be overtraining and risking puting yourself into starvation mode - which will shut down most everything. Also, increased muscle mass has weight associated with it. You may have lost bodyfat while simultaneously added muscle mass. Added muscle mass can lead to attainment of your goals. Finally, attempt to not look too closely at things. relax, and perhaps attempt to attain more than weight loss and achieve a healthy sustainable life. Much good health to you.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,181 Member
    @Zachor717

    The idea of a body going into "starvation mode" and somehow not burning fuel is common and also incorrect. It would be the equivalent of your car getting better fuel economy when it was almost empty compared to when it was full. Most of the calories you burn daily go to keeping you alive, and your brain is the biggest user of fuel. If you're not familiar with it, read about the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. Maclolm Gladwell did an episode on his podcast "Revisionist History" about it.

    It is possible that if a body is underfueled, some movements that we aren't even aware of might slow down, like foot tapping and the like. That would reduce our caloric expenditure, but doesn't alter our metabolism.

    Adding muscle mass does indeed affect our total mass as shown on the scale. It's a slow process. Gaining any appreciable mass from muscle growth wouldn't show up quickly, and it would be hindered if a person was in a caloric deficit. I had to look up what the 75 hard day challenge is, and it incorporates 90 minutes of working out each day. A person eating 1400 to 1500 calories per day while working out for 90 minutes would almost certainly be in a deficit, so no - the issue isn't muscle mass.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 1,067 Member
    OP, try setting your settings to sedentary and adding your workouts - and take calories burned with a grain of salt, because i've never seen a calorie counter that was exactly right as they're all averages.

    starvation mode isn't an actual thing. when i was a teenager and didn't know any better, i ate 600 to 800 calories per day, and you know what? i lost a lot of weight - including muscle, no doubt - very fast. i didn't go into "starvation mode" and stop losing weight at any point.

    the only way that the OP isn't losing weight is that they're not eating at a deficit. it's basic biology.
  • PeacefulBalance
    PeacefulBalance Posts: 473 Member
    Hormones, thyroid, and adrenal glands play a HUGE role. Sometimes when the body goes too hard or does too many HIIT style workouts it can lead to too much cortisol in the body (stress hormone that leads to weight gain). If you already have a lot of stress in daily life AND you’re stressing your body out via intense workouts it can backfire and burn your adrenal glands out which also affects your thyroid.

    Underlying inflammation is also a biggie. Not sure if you experience other daily symptoms at all but gut imbalance could lead to that extra stress and retained water as well.

    Just thought I’d bring a different perspective to the convo as we always jump to calories as the blame!

    I’m a dietitian and deal with a lot of this :) again, just trying to give a different potential root cause!
  • Jules230730
    Jules230730 Posts: 1 Member
    megansaw wrote: »
    I am in at least a 1000 calorie deficit a days, im doing the 75 hard day challenge so im working out twice a day, im three weeks and have lost no weight, in fact ive gained 2 pounds. What is going on.

    I want to cry im working so hard!

    Hi Megan, this may sound counterintuitive at first, but have you tried upping your calories? And working with a smaller calorie deficit?
    Are you doing mostly cardio or weight training?
    Twice a day sounds like a lot of stress on your body- have you considered working out only 3 times a week, but doing high resistance training? For the protein to work with you, you also need to grow your muscles, lift heavy.
    For the weight gain you noticed: does your scales tell you whether this is muscle growth? Or fat?
    Your body might be stressed out and retaining...perhaps you could try upping your food with protein and cards to a small calorie deficit ans reduce training but switch to heavy weight training? Good luck!!!
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,586 Member
    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    Hormones, thyroid, and adrenal glands play a HUGE role. Sometimes when the body goes too hard or does too many HIIT style workouts it can lead to too much cortisol in the body (stress hormone that leads to weight gain). If you already have a lot of stress in daily life AND you’re stressing your body out via intense workouts it can backfire and burn your adrenal glands out which also affects your thyroid.

    Underlying inflammation is also a biggie. Not sure if you experience other daily symptoms at all but gut imbalance could lead to that extra stress and retained water as well.

    Just thought I’d bring a different perspective to the convo as we always jump to calories as the blame!

    I’m a dietitian and deal with a lot of this :) again, just trying to give a different potential root cause!

    I would've just ignored this, except that you claim to be a dietitian, so I'm going to call it out, because as such, you are hypothetically giving real people this advice. None of this is true nor based in scientific evidence. You can't "burn your adrenals out". That's not a thing. It's not how it works. Furthermore, hormones would not be in your scope of practice, as you are (assumedly) not an endocrinologist.

    Completely agree - adrenals don’t burn out and giving endocrinology advice when not medically trained in that field is irresponsible and downright dangerous. Why does this wind me up? I had a dopamine secreting pheochromocytoma which *kitten* up my body for years. Yet you know what? That little sucker of an adrenal gland was still going for it, pumping out hormones like it was supposed to. Just massively in excess in my case.

    OP: you are exercising v hard, which can definitely lead to water weight gain. But you may also (unintentionally) not be recording your food intake accurately. Set up MFP, pick a less aggressive rate of loss, and log as accurately as you can. Weight loss is a marathon not a sprint - and trust me, it’s easier that way.