HELP! What am I doing wrong???

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  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
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    You don't mentioned how much you're burning through that exercise. You might be overestimating your TDEE.
    I would lower cals for 2 weeks and see how that works out unless you're already at a ridiculously low NET.

    I am not sure what my net should really be anymore. I am starting not to trust any of the calculations. Usually I net around 1400-1600. I have been told that I should never go below my basal metabolic rate which is 1650....
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    i think that looks like a LOT of calories.....


    Not everyone needs a low amount of calories. Some people simply need more. I can easily maintain my weight consuming upwards of 2500 (or more!) calories a day.

    The last week or so I've been netting around 2800 and still maintaining right around 147lbs. It all depends on your activity level.
  • hperowl
    hperowl Posts: 234 Member
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    It might be your body has just settled into your p90x routine. I would mix it up.

    Ditto. And, if you're gaining muscle mass that could add pounds.
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
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    What are you using to determine your caloric intake (what are you using to estimate your TDEE in other words), what are your current stats (h/w), during which of the above weeks did TOM occur (personal I know but very relevant to this discussion), how active are you outside of the gym/outside of your workouts?

    I am 5'8" 167.4 pounds this morning. I did attribute this past weeks loss to the TOM from the week before, but still overall I am up 5 pounds from when I started here in Feb. and my intake overall is decreasing,..When I look at info from feb. my weight was 161 and I averaged 1930 intake and burned avg 2500 per day....
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    Are the calories you have listed net calories or total calories?

    I'm trying to figure out if you are creating too large of a deficit calorie-wise or what is going on, but am confused by all the different responses.

    You have some kind of a HRM, so you know that your calorie burn is accurate?

    Have you checked your BMR and found out your TDEE? Or are you simply guessing?
  • nurse_chris
    nurse_chris Posts: 189
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    I am no professional, but you are near your goal, but doing a very rigorous workout. You have probably gained a fair bit of muscle and now your scale is misleading. For the remainder, i would change your goal to a certain body fat% or measurements and only use the scale for poops and giggles.

    There was an earlier post about increasing your cals, and i would go with that. What i do know about the human body, is that it will go into self preservation mode if you further drop calories. You burn a lot of calories, so up your protein and greens and see if that works.

    No matter what you decide, it will take a few weeks for your body to adjust, so don't despair after a week into your change.

    good luck!!!
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    Probably time for a break.
  • Aeriel
    Aeriel Posts: 864 Member
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    Every time I stalled out in my loss, I cut back my rate of loss 1.5 pds/week->1pd/week->0.5pd/week, giving me more calories to eat, just a few hundred at a time. I eat back about 1/2 my exercise calories, or more/less depending on hunger levels. Each time, I jump started my weight loss again within a week. Eating more really does help if you are active.

    A huge thing for me is sodium. If I have one day of high sodium, I see a gain of several pounds that takes a week to get off. Several days and I can see a gain of 10 pounds or more from water weight. That can take me a few weeks to reverse.

    Good luck!
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
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    Are the calories you have listed net calories or total calories?

    I'm trying to figure out if you are creating too large of a deficit calorie-wise or what is going on, but am confused by all the different responses.

    You have some kind of a HRM, so you know that your calorie burn is accurate?

    Have you checked your BMR and found out your TDEE? Or are you simply guessing?

    my BMR is based on several different calculations, and I also had it checked with by calimetry where you breath in a tube for like 15 minutes or so and have a bag over your head etc. I also had it checked where they attach electrodes to you foot and hand and both time was around 1650, so according to everything, its about that. My gross total intake for the past 2-3 mos has been 1800-2200, netting 1400-1800 or so.
  • Otter1971
    Otter1971 Posts: 3 Member
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    Even though you are at 40/30/30 you may just simply need to change the scale of your macronutrients. the 40/30/30 is a balanced nutrition.. that is what I suggest everyone start out with for a month or so and see how things go.. some peoples weight drops right away, others stay at the same weight but when I measure them they have lost several inches and suggest staying with the balanced approach..

    everyone is different.. I use myself as an example.. I have insulin sensitivity so a very low Carb High Protein medium to higher fat nutrition approach works for me very well. I have no Starchy carbs but only 1 or 2 times per week. I stay very full and satisfied, have great energy and lean out.. It can take a long time to figure out what works best with your body because you have to try different things out and it may take a few weeks for your body to adjust.. however I have seen once someone has tweeked their Nutrients they have had a fat loss rather quickly.. everyone is different.. Just keep moving forward.. Nutrition is always the key with exercise.. the right nutrition you will thrive with your workouts and feel great all day long..

    and remember your Water intake... I have all my Clients drink a gallon a day.. start off the Morning by downing 20 to 30 oz and go from there.. always have water with meals.. Ice cold water..

    Hope it helps.. just keep plugging away..
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
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    Even though you are at 40/30/30 you may just simply need to change the scale of your macronutrients. the 40/30/30 is a balanced nutrition.. that is what I suggest everyone start out with for a month or so and see how things go.. some peoples weight drops right away, others stay at the same weight but when I measure them they have lost several inches and suggest staying with the balanced approach..

    everyone is different.. I use myself as an example.. I have insulin sensitivity so a very low Carb High Protein medium to higher fat nutrition approach works for me very well. I have no Starchy carbs but only 1 or 2 times per week. I stay very full and satisfied, have great energy and lean out.. It can take a long time to figure out what works best with your body because you have to try different things out and it may take a few weeks for your body to adjust.. however I have seen once someone has tweeked their Nutrients they have had a fat loss rather quickly.. everyone is different.. Just keep moving forward.. Nutrition is always the key with exercise.. the right nutrition you will thrive with your workouts and feel great all day long..

    and remember your Water intake... I have all my Clients drink a gallon a day.. start off the Morning by downing 20 to 30 oz and go from there.. always have water with meals.. Ice cold water..

    Hope it helps.. just keep plugging away..

    thanks!! I just had someone else recommend lowering carbs to 100g/day and increasing fats to balance out the calories. I do usually drink 80-120 ounces of water per day. Usually 96 minimum, but some days I fall a little short...Thanks again!
  • Hoosiermomma
    Hoosiermomma Posts: 877 Member
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    Bumping just to see what ends up working for you. With your determination I know something will. Great BF measurement! I would like to have a good measurement soon. The charts have so many different results! I especially like the response of a rest. Eating at maintenance without exercise to allow the body to level out. I think I did that without trying when I had a couple busy weeks. Now the losses are adding up again for me.
  • MoneySavingLisa
    MoneySavingLisa Posts: 25
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    Years ago when I lost 30lbs, what worked for me towards the end was keeping carbs under 100 grams a day, fiber at 25 grams and tried not to have much sugar.. BUT I'd typically end my day with a serving of chocolate peanut butter ice cream topped with Fiber One :) The Fiber One made it crunchy which I liked, and slowed down the carbs/sugar from spiking insulin.

    I kept the weight off for 8 years until I joined the army. Go figure.
  • charlottefairbairn
    charlottefairbairn Posts: 19
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    Muscle weighs more than fat. I have lost ~4 inches from my jeans size, lost around 7% bodyfat, and I weigh exactly the same as I did when I was fat, perhaps even more. Trust the calipers, trust your dress size, and above all - trust what you see in the mirror! Food is fuel at the end of the day, your body is just becoming more used to being a highly-tuned tank :) Plus stick to the no-brainers - no carbs after 6pm and control your fat intake.
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
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    Bumping just to see what ends up working for you. With your determination I know something will. Great BF measurement! I would like to have a good measurement soon. The charts have so many different results! I especially like the response of a rest. Eating at maintenance without exercise to allow the body to level out. I think I did that without trying when I had a couple busy weeks. Now the losses are adding up again for me.

    thats what I am doing now! I am taking this week off from exercise and eating at maintenance. I am also trying to limit carbs to 100g, but I am having a hard time getting to 2000 calories without going ridicuolously over on protein and fat!!!

    @goldfshark: I agree and my BF did possibly go down 1% if I trust my husbands using the calipers (which I am 50-50 on whether he is using them right) but clothes are not fitting better, measurements are about the same. I am glad they arent geting tighter, but wish they were looser.
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
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    I wonder how long I need to do strength training before I will see the metabolic improvement and visual results???? I feel like my body resists the strength training!! I have done 2 full ( 12 week) rounds of p90x and slight improvement in upper body visually, but negligible change in measurements....I seem to do so much better with just straight cardio. It makes it hard for me to keep do weights when the results arent coming after 6 months.....and I have gone up in weights...when I started the program my heaviest weights were 8 pound dumbells, and now I am up to 15lbs plus using bar with weights (?name) and barbells...
  • Hotrodhoodlum
    Hotrodhoodlum Posts: 148
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    Calories seem a bit high for weight loss . You also don't indicate what is your brake down is on Carbs, Protein, Fat , Sugar . Not enough information
  • MLeigh18
    MLeigh18 Posts: 120 Member
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    just because you're gaining weight doesn't mean its bad weight.

    You really shouldn't worry so much about the number on the scale. Worry more about your BF %, measurements and how your clothes fit- NOT THE SIZE NUMBER but how they fit.

    Here's some perspective about the number on the scale from my experience:

    I'm 5'8

    October 2010 I weighted 136.
    Waist 35"
    thighs (at the biggest part) 16"
    Hips 38"
    BF% 19

    Today 12/20/11: weight 143 ( I was 145 over the weekend but I ate a lot of cake :) )
    Waist: 28"
    Thighs (at the biggest part) 21"
    Hips 34"
    BF% 16

    You see, I weigh approx 7 pounds more than I used to, but I've lost inches and BF%. Just because the number on the scale is higher doesn't mean you're bigger.

    Take your measurements and let that be your judge, not the scale.

    Also, I did not read through the whole thread so i dont know what type of exercise you are doing, but you should be strength training 3x/week and doing cardio 3-4x/week, or more if you choose. But remember cardio is going to make you lose muscle mass, and muscle mass is what burns more calories. So always be sure to have good strength training regimen. You may not burn as many calories at the gym while you are strength training, but your resting metebolic # will be higher, ergo you will burn more calories daily than through cardio alone.
  • MLeigh18
    MLeigh18 Posts: 120 Member
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    I wonder how long I need to do strength training before I will see the metabolic improvement and visual results???? I feel like my body resists the strength training!! I have done 2 full ( 12 week) rounds of p90x and slight improvement in upper body visually, but negligible change in measurements....I seem to do so much better with just straight cardio. It makes it hard for me to keep do weights when the results arent coming after 6 months.....and I have gone up in weights...when I started the program my heaviest weights were 8 pound dumbells, and now I am up to 15lbs plus using bar with weights (?name) and barbells...


    8-15 pounds dumbbells isn't strength training. Pick up a barbell, start with at least 45# ( thats the weight of the bare bar). 8-15pound dumbbells isn't going to build your muscles. Dont waste your time doing 3 sets of 12 with 15#s. Do 12 sets of 3 with a 45# bar.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    Calories seem a bit high for weight loss . You also don't indicate what is your brake down is on Carbs, Protein, Fat , Sugar . Not enough information

    It's truly not high for weight loss. you have to understand she is doing a lot of exercise which burns much. Between P90X and running, Dawn burns a lot of calories.



    Dawn, since you are on a caloric deficit, it will be difficult to see an increase in metabolic rates. You can't build muscle when eating at a deficit. What you can do on a deficit is burn fat and maintain muscle mass. I also didn't realize that your deficits were as high as 750 per day (I am assuming that is on running days). If that is the case, you may need to eat around 2500 calories.

    Also, cooking in olive oil and eating a handful of nuts can help with getting calories up.

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