Here's why you're not losing weight! Follow this equation!

I think your post is awesome and now i need to make some adjustments

Bump!

Bump for later! Looks very interesting. Thanks for the post

bump to read later

And for those who have the numbers right, but are STILL not losing weight...it's almost always because either:

a) You aren't being completely accurate in your food logs. Be sure to measure, weigh and log every bite. Cheat days can kill a diet.

b) You are overestimating your calorie burns during workouts. Not everyone burns 900 calories an hour doing cardio.

c) You haven't given it enough time. Often, it takes days or weeks for your weight to reflect what you are doing/not doing. Be patient.

If the above are 100% accurate and you STILL aren't losing:
then,

d) You may have a medical issue, see your physician.

Great post!

Great abs!

BUMP

bump

:noway:

I've been quoted...

I want to add a few things to clarify stuff. The "chart" that I posted originally that was quoted was using example numbers of a specific person's BMR. You need to know your BMR for it to work. Conveniently, MFP has a BMR calculator (it's under the Tools tab.) There are also lots of different sites around the internet that have calculators using different formulas, my personal favorite is the Katch-McArdle formula, as that takes individual muscle mass into consideration. Of course, if you don't know your body fat percentage, just stick with the MFP number, it's gonna be close enough.

The full formula I was referring to is "BMR x Activity Factor = TDEE"
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure, which is the total number of calories you burn on a normal day. BMR is the total number of calories you would burn if you were in a coma, in other words, just enough to maintain vital organ function and maintenance. The real goal is to find your BMR, then use that to calculate your TDEE (be honest with your activity level, the only person you hurt lying about it is you,) then NET somewhere between those 2 numbers and you will lose weight.

What does NET mean? It means "Food Eaten - Exercise Calories Burned." This is an important distinction, as most people just pick BMR and decide to just eat that. But, when you burn calories while exercising, you are essentially erasing those calories from your diet for the day. So, if your BMR is 1400, and you choose to eat 1400, and then you exercise and burn 800 calories on a nice long run, then you've only netted 600 calories. Most people will agree that if you eat 600 calories a day without exercising, it's not healthy. Well, netting 600 calories a day is equally unhealthy, as the body doesn't recognize a difference between the too. Either way, it only has 600 calories to run and maintain your vital organs with (when you exercise, your body uses that energy as it happens, it doesn't think about whether it should save some to keep your heart beating, as far as the body is concerned, you aren't on a treadmill, you're running from a tiger, and if the tiger catches you, well, it won't need to worry about keeping your heart beating, anyway.)

So, recap. Use the BMR calculator, and then figure out your TDEE from there. Pick a number between them, and NET it consistently. Lose weight. Enjoy life. :drinker:

thanks for the info

Thanks for posting this. I've been "stalling" for weeks now. And I know I'm not eating enough. I'm trying, but I just don't be hungry :ohwell: I've been walking about 20+ miles a wk so far and doing Insanity and Jillian's 30day Shred. My BMR is 1500. I set my calories at 1200 and I struggle getting to that. :frown: *sigh* I'm 19pds down and have another 37 to go. I feel defeated sometimes.

Thanks for posting this. I've been "stalling" for weeks now. And I know I'm not eating enough. I'm trying, but I just don't be hungry :ohwell: I've been walking about 20+ miles a wk so far and doing Insanity and Jillian's 30day Shred. My BMR is 1500. I set my calories at 1200 and I struggle getting to that. :frown: *sigh* I'm 19pds down and have another 37 to go. I feel defeated sometimes.

Eat more, hungry or not. Remember, hunger is controlled by hormones, and can be "trained." If you chronically under eat, your body responds by depressing your hunger signals, as a survival response. Hunger pangs are distracting, if there is very little food, and you're too distracted by hunger pangs, you might walk past the little food that's left (remember, your body doesn't understand "dieting," it only recognizes that food is plentiful, or that you're starving, and reacts accordingly.)

Quick question, sorry if it's been asked. I have an office job so I would be considered to have a sedentary lifestyle. Having added 3 to 5 40 minute weekly workouts to my regimen, would I adjust my activity level based on how often I exercise?

That's a personal preference. Some people find it easier to adjust their activity level, and other's find it easier to just stay sedentary, and eat back whatever calories you burn. Personally, I'd always rather leave exercise calories out of my activity level, that way if I don't exercise for whatever reason, I don't have to try and figure out how much to eat.

Thanks, I'll try to be more mindful of this going forward!

Ok nevamind, I found it, lol. Gonna give this a shot, see if it gets the boat moving. Thanks for the info. Seems so confusing sometimes.

Okay I just want confirmation that I have this down right....Sorry to dumb it down so much.

MFP set me up with a 980 cal deficit a day to lose 2 pounds per week. This gave me 1200 calories a day to eat.
I started p90x and burn 500 calories a day doing this exercise.
This means I should eat 1700 calories a day and I still keep my 980 deficit which means I still should be on track to lose 2 pounds a week.

Correct????