Haven't lost weight in months. Math doesn't work.

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wellbert
wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've taken averages over many sites, and came up with a BMR of about 2600 calories.
I use a 'sedentary' base for my calorie goals. A straight 2000/2100 calorie diet should be 1lb/week.
I eat fairly clean, 80-90% of my food is healthful. Fruits, veg, peanuts, lots of protein. little to no refined sugar or white flour.
I drink a *lot* of water.

Here is my exercise:

Every day: 3 mile walk. 350 cals
3 Days: Muay Thai: 650 cals recorded (Sites read this anywhere from 600-900 on their calculators. This one says 850)
3 Days: Weight Lifting: 250 cals (All compound lifts.)

This puts me at roughly 730 calories burned every day on average.

I actually eat 2300 calories per day on average. That's a 300 calorie deficit, plus exercise, leaving me with roughly 1000 calories per day deficit. (It seems like a lot but I'm very tall and weigh 250lbs)

Yet, my weight fluctuates 1-2 lbs up and down.

I use calipers at home to measure bodyfat and it seems consistent, but I also know they are not accurate in the wrong hands. (Mine.)

My body has been changing a lot as a result of the exercise. My legs were squishy, and now they're like concrete. So I can accept that muscle gain could potentially slow down overall weight. However, I also know that even top level athletes have trouble packing on more than 1oz per day. I eat in a deficit and I don't lift to failure, so I doubt I'm anywhere near that. Even if I Was gaining nearly 7oz of muscle per week, it doesn't account for my lack of weight loss.

I don't believe I'm in any kind of starvation mode because I always have plenty of energy and I can tell I'm getting stronger week to week.


Should I cut my calories even more? Add more exercise?

Replies

  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    Why did you choose sedentary? You may still need more calories, depending on how tall you are.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Since you only have 24 lbs to lose your goal should be to lose no more than 1 lb/week (500 cal/day deficit) a 1000 cal/day deficit is too large for the amount you have to lose.

    Besides the above make sure you are using a HRM to calculate calories burned more accurately, and to weigh all of your food to ensure you are eating what you think you are eating.

    Here is a guide to safe deficit (weekly loss goals):
    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.
  • FriendsR4EverTreasures
    FriendsR4EverTreasures Posts: 181
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    How are you calculating your calories burned? To be as accurate as you can be for your body type, the best way is to use a HRM because you may be over or under estimating calorie expenditure causing the weight plateau. I was in a weighloss plateau despite having a deficit and couldn't figure it out. Well I realized I was eating enough but not eating regularly. this is what I mean, I was drinking a lot of coffee in the morning, not always eating snacks and lunch, and then trying to make up for the huge calorie intake I still had at the end of the day. This put my body in starvation mode despite the fact that i was eating most of my calories. I didn't lose weight for 3.5 weeks. Then last week, a friend told me to try eating breakfast consistently as well as snacks and lunch and to eat at the appropriate times, morning, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack so that my blood sugar levels remained regulated and it worked! I lost 1.6 lbs last week after not losing an ounce for almost 4 weeks. Your blood sugars do need to be maintained. You may be doing this already just wanted to share :)
  • shar140
    shar140 Posts: 1,158 Member
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    Knowing full well I will get flamed for this, I will point you to Mark's Daily Apple: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-carbohydrate-continuum/
    And also, Gary Taubes' book, "Why We Get Fat" - see if your local library has it.

    I have a lot more to lose than you, but I understand your frustration - I've been there, too. This is what works for me.
  • soupreem27
    soupreem27 Posts: 41 Member
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    I'm in the same boat as you. This is why I joined MFP. I'm on a 1500 cal a day goal. I try not to have to much of a deficit at the end of the day. I exercise 6 days a week and I make up the cals I burn. I'm usually left with anywhere from 30-80 remaining cals for the day. I don't want to be consistent and have to big of a deficit because sometimes it's hard to maintain that. And if you're gonna do that, why not change your daily goal?
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
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    Thanks for the input.
    If my deficit was too high, eventually thermodynamic law would take over and I'd start cannibalizing muscle tissue, wouldn't it?

    I would have a hard time wearing a heart rate monitor during muay thai, since it would quickly get destroyed - so I've just been conservative with my estimates. - Using website calculators like the one built in here.

    I do the 6-7 small meals thing. I have tried eating as high as 2700 calories per day.

    I chose sedentary so I can try and keep a tighter track of calories in vs out.

    I'm really NOT in a hurry to lose weight - I'm more concerned about overall body composition than the scale - but it's frustrating to see no changes.

    Especially since I lost the initial ~30lbs or so very, very easily! (Without exercise, just by cutting out junk food.)


    I think I will go ahead and trust the site, then, and try to eat within 100 calories of its suggestion. I'll give it 3 weeks and see. Thanks!

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