Lies about weight loss...

Calories in vs calories out.
If x person has a TDEE of 2000 calories and they eat only 1500, or they eat 2000 and burn 500 in exercise, then they are going to lose a half pound.

my TDEE is about 2800-3100... I eat between 1600-2100... And exercise 200-600 . By that logic... I should be losing more than a pound. But I am not.

???

Actually as a Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) person, Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) including your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is 2579.77 calories per day. That means to approximately lose 1 lb per week, you would cut 500 calories per day and for a 2 lb per week loss you would drop 1000 a day. Since you are eating 2000 a day, just stick with that consistiently. Since this number already factors in your activity, you don't eat back your exercise calories.

I also recommend you track your sodium...I noticed your diary in your comment, and eyeballing what you eat, I bet you are getting too much. That would account for your water retention.

Many things attribute to not losing weight...stress increases the production of cortisol which leads to retention of body fat (especially in the belly area). Lack of sleep, female conditions, depression, certain medications etc all will inhibit your loss. I've learned a lot of this through trial and error and a lot more in my chosen profession, which is nutrition.

I do recommend talking to your doctor about this he/she may be able to make some recommendations to help. I found out that I am insulin resistant...not diabetic (I am actually hypoglycemic). I found that adding a chromium supplement helped to combat that and got things going again.

I hate to add fuel to the fire, but I seem to be one of those people that lose weight really easily. I'm going to increase my calories again to try to slow my weight loss down.

I don't tend to read anyone's diary unless they ask me to do so. And quite honestly, if I did - I wouldn't question their weight loss. What works for some people, won't work for others. If they've hit on something that works for THEM - who am *I* to judge them?

I've had people question me about how much I eat each day and it pisses me off. Just because it may not work for YOU, doesn't mean it doesn't work for anyone. This is a very individual journey and I feel like people need to focus on their own goals and stop worrying about what everyone else is or isn't doing.

I've learned that for me - it IS all about calories in/calories out. My body isn't phased by sodium, sugar, or carbs. As long as I stay under my calories? I'm good. I also know that I have a pretty wide range of calories that I can consume each day and still be fine.

I COULDNT AGREE MORE! THANKS FOR READING MY MIND!

Do you ever question some peoples weight loss?

If you look at some folks exercise and food diaries... do you think-how the H*LL are they losing weight!?!?

Some of it just doesn't add up.

All the while.. I am trying really hard, and having little to no results.

Eat this .. don't eat that... do this.. don't do that...not eat carbs, don't eat dairy, dont' eat fruit...
UGGGHHHH!!!

I am about over it.

It just isn't as simple as burn more than you eat....
As great as that theory is...it has little to no merit with me.

Thoughts from the peanut gallery?

It is just that simple. Get over it.

Internet points to you.

I get this is a place for support. But I would prefer that the support be from a place of health and logic, and sencereity...not just plastic BS comments.

Who was this directed at? It would be nice if you clarified who these responses were for. It's a little confusing otherwise.

No specific direction... just general statement.

Oh ok. I was a little confused. Thanks.

I do wish you all the best and hope my comment doesn't come off a harsh, but it's the truth, a truth that took me months to realize.

No you were fine. I appreciate the feedback.

I am just frustrated.

At the rate I am going...it will take me 2 years to lose what I need to lose.
That is just tooo long.!!!!!

Too long for whom? I took me two years to drop from 315 to 185. According to weight loss scams and the biggest losers that far too long. However, here is the kicker. I did it the right way. Slow and steady.

The number 1 problem is putting a timeline on weight loss. It's doesn't work like that.

People expecting to drop weight that they accumulated over a matter of years and or decades, in a matter of months. Absurd.

I am going to play of fitness's post, and the one that talked about thyroid. It's true.... it is simple as calories in vs calories out... But the big question is "how big is your calories out?" how impaired is your metabolism?

You might be eating at 1000 calories a day and have a metabolic rate of 1000 calories a day. Yet calculators and a lot of other crap tells you you have a metabolic rate of 2,000 calories.

The body will store fat, that's what it does... When does it store fat? in times of stress. What is low calorie diets?(Stress) what is a ton of exercise?(stress).

If you find yourself in this situation, you should take a break from everything, eat at maintenance.. or build up to maintenance to rebalance your hormones. Once you have been at maintenance for a month, then you can restart with a smaller deficit 20%.

It's not worth it man.

Great post.

We're only accountable for our own actions. If someone is lying they're hurting themselves, not you. Anyway its not good to directly compare yourself to others.

I hate to add fuel to the fire, but I seem to be one of those people that lose weight really easily. I'm going to increase my calories again to try to slow my weight loss down.

Jg627, you're one of the lucky ones. I do believe in the classifications of ecto, meso, and endomorphs. Now, I don't believe someone is 100% a type, we all have mixtures. I do believe we have a higher % of one type over another.

For example, I function better on a higher protein, higher fat, and moderate carb "diet". When I was larger, carbs was my enemy due to my lack of insulin sensitivity. However as I got leaner my sensitivity improved, and I can get away with a higher carb intake. In turn more muscle mass, means a higher BMR. So, I can eat more calories and keep weight gain at bay.

Same here. Carbs got me. I think I am somewhere between endo and meso. I'm only 5'9", but my wrist measures 8.5" and I have tree trunks for legs, so my favorite exercise is squats.

Yikes, going by several posts in this thread I guess shedding 100+ lbs of weight entitle you to make sarcastic, snide remarks directed at people who are at the start of their journey and frustrated at their progress too then? Losing a great amount of weight DOES make you a weight loss expert... when it comes to YOUR body and ONLY your body.

While I don't pay as much attention to other's progress, I have my moments of frustration at my own (relatively) slower pace of losing pounds. It's not always a steady downward decline on the Progress Chart, for some of us the rate of losing is giant zig-zags in opposite direction. My advice would be to just ignore what other people are saying and recording and try a billion different approaches to exercising and eating until something works better.

I don't question other people's weight loss, but I do hate all the contradictory information that's out there. It makes it virtually impossible to separate fact from fiction and what was done in scientific studies with a sound methodology and what wasn't. I've been at a plateau since mid January and it does just drive me crazy, to sit there and try to figure out what I should be doing. I've been trying a lot of different things, and I just started another one today. Thing is that everyone has a different body, but then they start trying to make these one size fits all recommendations, and so many are contradictory and whoever is doing the studies is not looking deeper at what causes certain things to have certain effects (which would point to why some individuals react to different things differently). If they did that they could start building a more cohesive body of knowledge.

I don't question other people's weight loss, but I do hate all the contradictory information that's out there. It makes it virtually impossible to separate fact from fiction and what was done in scientific studies with a sound methodology and what wasn't. I've been at a plateau since mid January and it does just drive me crazy, to sit there and try to figure out what I should be doing. I've been trying a lot of different things, and I just started another one today. Thing is that everyone has a different body, but then they start trying to make these one size fits all recommendations, and so many are contradictory and whoever is doing the studies is not looking deeper at what causes certain things to have certain effects (which would point to why some individuals react to different things differently). If they did that they could start building a more cohesive body of knowledge.

Read my post about the Endo, Meso, Ecto. It's backed by science. HOWEVER, at the end of the day it's still calories in vs calories out. People take that to the extreme and they fail. As one poster stated, you need to create a balance.

I've had people question me about how much I eat each day and it pisses me off. Just because it may not work for YOU, doesn't mean it doesn't work for anyone. This is a very individual journey and I feel like people need to focus on their own goals and stop worrying about what everyone else is or isn't doing.

No need to judge others and how things are working for them. I don't know what works for me yet, hahaha...but I hope to find out soon.

Even if the whole burning more than you eat thing doesn't do much for me, I won't judge others for how they "GET" it to work for them. It just does...the end.

Why wouldn't it work for you?

Bump

If it is simply calories in/calories out, then I need to be studied for science, because I'm defying physics or thermodynamics or something with my major plateau!

I feel the same way, despite coming in here with a total calories in, calories out mindset. It gets discouraging, but I am finding certain patterns in my own eating and activity levels. I can usually predict what the scale will say to the ounce when I get on it in the morning. I know how much water weight I tend to gain from a salty meal or how much real weight I'll have gained or lost due to what I'm eating and doing, again, often to the ounce. Now that's scary. I know for sure I can't go by someone else's weigh ins and diaries. What works for them sure might not work for me and vice versa.

But explain to me the science and the logic of someone eating cookies and cake burger from where ever .. and still having a 3+ lbs loss in a week. It baffles me.

A net calorie deficit along with a little drop in water and glycogen weight most likely. I had a nice bacon cheeseburger and a pint of IPA last night. And some cake a little while ago (ZOMG my coworkers sabotaged me!!). No worries. I know my weekly deficit will still be in check. I know I will get the protein I need to maintain my muscle. And I know I will hit the goals I am targeting all in due time.

My frustration lies ultimately with myself... I don't know what else to do...where to turn.

But explain to me the science and the logic of someone eating cookies and cake burger from where ever .. and still having a 3+ lbs loss in a week. It baffles me.

I will say again as I have said before...
I have no medical condition that would hinder my loses.
I am eating Primal as of last week. I gave each of the other "ways" a month each.

(Not that it really matters, but I've lost 34 lbs. --29 before trying out MyFitnessPal--, and I did it even though I ate a lot of junk food the whole way and hardly worked out; I just reduced the total number of calories I consumed, but didn't care at all about how many of those calories were from carbs, protein, etc. Now I've gotten to the point where I'm not really ready or willing to eat less, so I have to work out more to lose weight. I believe what I say in the following paragraphs is correct; I haven't always followed what I think though just because sometimes I just love eating junk too much and am willing to suffer health-wise for it lol.) What I write in the following paragraphs may have not worked for other people, but I'll just throw the suggestions out there in case you want to try them when you're done with the primal diet. The following are my opinions, based on many articles (which seemed to be from reliable sources) that I've read over the years.

Iam frustrated with my lack of weight loss. I am 5'10 244lbs.. and I am a large framed girl...not just fluffy.
I started out totally with MFP calculations and suggestions of 1370 cals a day.. working out 1-3 days a week.
No big results.(I would eat clean.. and carbs at about 30%)
I up'd workouts. Nothing.One month down.
I changed my calories to be at my estimated BMR...1890... ate between 1500-1900 cals. No eating back. Work outs the same... Went up and down the same 5 lbs for a month. 2months down. Down 5-7lbs from the start date.
Beginning of month 3...(Last week) I decided to try Primal eating. Lost 1lbs or so.

First of all, I don't understand why you're frustrated when, according to what you said above, you lost at least 5 lbs. in 2 months and then 1 lb. in a week. That is an average of around 0.625 lbs. a week (I divided 6 lbs. by 9.6 weeks since there's an average of 4.3 weeks in a month), which is really good! Are you frustrated because you expected more loss than that? If so, then I think you just need to lower your net calorie goal because the calculators from which you get your TDEE, BMR, etc. are just estimates and could be really inaccurate. Moreover, even the calories consumed and burned during exercise that you try so very hard to get accurate are just an estimate, but to make this simpler, just assume the net goal given by MFP or whatever site has been overestimated; then, if you want to lose even more than you have been, you just have to lower the net calorie goal.

Of course, there are other factors when it comes to weight loss/gain: if you do not poop enough (you're somewhat constipated), you'll weigh more on the scale; if you do not eat enough protein, you'll lose muscle and this will reduce your weight on the scale; if you eat more protein than you need to maintain your muscle, then you will gain muscle and this will increase your weight on the scale (without exercise, about 78 grams of protein is needed to maintain muscle, according to a recent article in Times, CNN, etc.; with exercise, more protein is needed). This is why weight isn't the only thing you should be looking at. If you don't already have one, you should get a scale like the one here http://www.amazon.com/Omron-Body-Composition-Monitor-Scale/dp/B001803OS6 that will show you a body fat percent; that scale also shows skeletal muscle percent. While the percents may not be totally accurate, it is good to look at those numbers weekly to see how they CHANGE: sometimes your total weight may not change, but your fat has decreased and your muscle has increased.

I lose less than a lb a month... need to lose 80-90.

That statement of yours contradicts what you said about having dropped 5-7 lbs. by the 2-month point and 1 lb. during the first week of the 3rd month. Anyway, the point is that if you want to lose more weight than you have been, then lower your net calorie (calories consumed - calories burned through exercise) goal.

I have my cals @2000. Which is just 110 cals above my BMR. and still about 100-900 below my TDEE-depending on the day.
I have a HRM and Body Media Fit.... that I use when working out.
I work out 3-5 days a week... burning 200-800 cals.

my TDEE is about 2800-3100... I eat between 1600-2100... And exercise 200-600 . By that logic... I should be losing more than a pound. But I am not.

???

Okay, your current net calorie goal is 2,000. If you want to lose more than you have been, then reduce the net calorie goal, and meet it by eating fewer calories or exercising more. (Forget about what your TDEE, BMR, etc. supposedly is; those numbers are probably wrong since they're just estimates.) However, for people who have struggled much with losing weight throughout their life and for whom reducing calories or exercising more feels very difficult, I believe they should start out with a goal of just losing a small amount of weight per week, like half a pound ...because if a person has been gaining or maintaining their weight for a very long time and they find it difficult to lower calories or exercise more, does it make sense to aim at losing 2 lbs. a week instead of 0.5? --No. They might succeed for a few weeks, but if they feel too deprived, they may later binge, then feel disappointed, and lose motivation to go on. ...But if you still want to lose more than you have been, try reducing your net calorie goal to 1,750 (if you want to lose about 0.5 lbs more) or 1,500 (if you want to lose about a pound more).

I don't use butter(well, seldom) I use olive oil and coconut oil in cooking. And gear towards good fats.

You probably do, but just making sure: do you measure the olive and coconut oil and record those calories into MFP? Olive oil is a good fat but has many, many calories per teaspoon.

I have only eaten fruit 1-2x a week. And I still eat dairy. But will add more fruit in at the 25-30 day of primal.

I'm against any diet that requires less than 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables a day. While I haven't always eaten enough fruits and vegetables, I wish I did because they're very important to get proper nutrition (vitamins, etc. --a multivitamin is good to take when dieting but will never be as good as getting the vitamins from actual food), ...and fruits/vegetables also help you poop better, ...which results in a lower weight shown by the scale (because there will be less water retention and less weight of poop). (Sorry, I keep mentioning poop, but it's important lol. Pooping pebble-shaped turds or hard poop is bad; it should be long, soft, and easy to get out. Lack of enough water also causes bad turds.)

And when is it needed?
I was of the understanding that cardio was to exercise your HEART.... just as lifting wts exercises your skeletal muscles. I want a strong heart. I don't want to be outta breath walking up a steep hill....

So, what is your idea of when it's needed?

Cardio is absolutely necessary for good health. The minimum you should do is 2.5 hours per week (like 30 minutes 5 days a week, or if you can't do it 5 days a week, you can even do all 2.5 hours in one day, but spreading it out is best), but the more you do, the better for your heart and overall health (I'm trying to get up to 6 hours per week). Do however much you need to do in order to meet your new reduced net-calorie goal, but never less than 2.5 hours a week.

You must also do strength training every week in order to maintain and build muscle so that your metabolism doesn't decrease too much --bare minimum is 2 sets per week of every muscle; doesn't matter whether you choose to do this over 1, 2, 3 or however many days of the week. (It takes me about 2.5 hours to do 3 sets of every muscle in a once-a-week session.) 3 sets twice a week per muscle is probably much better. Note: calorie counters are pretty bad at estimating calories burned during strength training; therefore, you should either not count them, or you should underestimate them --just definitely avoid overestimating them!