This makes no sense. Explanation, anyone??

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femmi1120
femmi1120 Posts: 473 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, I'm going to start off by posting my stats so there is no confusion.

Height: 4'11" (VERY short)
Weight: 123-125 (still borderline overweight)

Current cals: Set to 1410 net to lose 1/2 lb per week

Now, can someone please explain to me why I lose weight after my cheat days only to have it slowly creep back up on my "good" days? I'm not starving myself and try very hard to stay within my goal net cals although some days it's hard to make it when I burn a lot. I usually burn about 500 or so, and try to aim for 2000 cals on those days...

I keep feeling like I'm eating too close to my maintenance and that's why I'm not losing and then I'll let myself have a cheat day (like the last one where I was over by 900 and had only burned off about 100 cals) and the next day, I weigh in at about 122...

And then I "get back on track" and work out more during the week (while still aiming for my goal net) and the weight goes back to the 124 range...

I'm lost...

Replies

  • gemiwing
    gemiwing Posts: 1,525 Member
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    With how much you're working out- I seriously doubt the 1400 you're averaging is your TDEE maintenance. Try to keep your cals up during the week- cut a few high burns down a bit so you can reliably eat your exercise cals back. You're having quite a few days with 400+ cal differences- this can make your NET fall below your BMR which will stall you.

    Try to give your body reliable fuel- eat your exercise cals back more reliably and give it a few weeks. You can re-evaluate your plan in a month but you need to first DO the plan properly. :)

    Judging by your diary- what is happening is that you were eating your exercise cals back and then had two days over, then (perhaps out of guilt? punishment? dunno) you dropped your cal intake too low and now you're in a degenerating pattern. Don't forget MFP gives you a deficit to start with- you don't create one through exercise on this program.

    Hope this helps.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    At your weight, a 500 calorie burn takes some pretty strenuous work, so you might be retaining fluid from the exercise.
  • femmi1120
    femmi1120 Posts: 473 Member
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    I try super hard to hit my cal goal, but the problem I have is that working out seriously curbs my appetite as well as hunger and that makes it incredibly difficult especially when I do multiple workouts throughout the day.

    On the other hand, on days when I can't work up the motivation to do anything, it's all I can do to keep myself from binging! And it's very tough to find a balance, because on days when I am really motivated, I always want to take full advantage of it =\
  • gemiwing
    gemiwing Posts: 1,525 Member
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    I try super hard to hit my cal goal, but the problem I have is that working out seriously curbs my appetite as well as hunger and that makes it incredibly difficult especially when I do multiple workouts throughout the day.

    On the other hand, on days when I can't work up the motivation to do anything, it's all I can do to keep myself from binging! And it's very tough to find a balance, because on days when I am really motivated, I always want to take full advantage of it =\

    Maybe what would work better for you (and does for me) is to take your TDEE for each day of the week and then create an average to eat so you're eating the same amount each day. So if I work out three days a week and rest for four- I take my TDEE from each type of day, average it out for the week and then take 20% off that. Then I change my calorie goal in MFP to reflect the average- so on rest days I'm left with some eating room and I don't bite the heads off my family :D I no longer worry about exercise cals unless I do something big (easily dealt with by a big meal) or have a week like this week where I'm sick and can't exercise (just cut back a bit everyday).
  • daisymae9801
    daisymae9801 Posts: 208 Member
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    Ok, I'm going to start off by posting my stats so there is no confusion.

    Height: 4'11" (VERY short)
    Weight: 123-125 (still borderline overweight)

    Current cals: Set to 1410 net to lose 1/2 lb per week

    Now, can someone please explain to me why I lose weight after my cheat days only to have it slowly creep back up on my "good" days? I'm not starving myself and try very hard to stay within my goal net cals although some days it's hard to make it when I burn a lot. I usually burn about 500 or so, and try to aim for 2000 cals on those days...

    I keep feeling like I'm eating too close to my maintenance and that's why I'm not losing and then I'll let myself have a cheat day (like the last one where I was over by 900 and had only burned off about 100 cals) and the next day, I weigh in at about 122...

    And then I "get back on track" and work out more during the week (while still aiming for my goal net) and the weight goes back to the 124 range...

    I'm lost...

    Hmm, I don't know but I'm 5' 2", same weight, but mine are 1330 to lose .5 a week.
  • femmi1120
    femmi1120 Posts: 473 Member
    Options
    Ok, I'm going to start off by posting my stats so there is no confusion.

    Height: 4'11" (VERY short)
    Weight: 123-125 (still borderline overweight)

    Current cals: Set to 1410 net to lose 1/2 lb per week

    Now, can someone please explain to me why I lose weight after my cheat days only to have it slowly creep back up on my "good" days? I'm not starving myself and try very hard to stay within my goal net cals although some days it's hard to make it when I burn a lot. I usually burn about 500 or so, and try to aim for 2000 cals on those days...

    I keep feeling like I'm eating too close to my maintenance and that's why I'm not losing and then I'll let myself have a cheat day (like the last one where I was over by 900 and had only burned off about 100 cals) and the next day, I weigh in at about 122...

    And then I "get back on track" and work out more during the week (while still aiming for my goal net) and the weight goes back to the 124 range...

    I'm lost...

    Hmm, I don't know but I'm 5' 2", same weight, but mine are 1330 to lose .5 a week.

    I'm guessing you need a higher deficit since you're already at a healthy weight?
    Maybe what would work better for you (and does for me) is to take your TDEE for each day of the week and then create an average to eat so you're eating the same amount each day. So if I work out three days a week and rest for four- I take my TDEE from each type of day, average it out for the week and then take 20% off that. Then I change my calorie goal in MFP to reflect the average- so on rest days I'm left with some eating room and I don't bite the heads off my family :D I no longer worry about exercise cals unless I do something big (easily dealt with by a big meal) or have a week like this week where I'm sick and can't exercise (just cut back a bit everyday).

    this options intrigues me... I'm just afraid my averages would vary too much from week to week :-\ Plus, I tried eating at maintenance and creating the deficit by working out, and what ended up happening was that I got too lazy to work out and just ate at maintenance >.<
  • dancin2011
    dancin2011 Posts: 92 Member
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    I didn't read all the replies but this had been happening to me consistently before I realized that because the days I wasn't super strict, I was eating enough calories. It was over my goal set by mfp but my goal set by mfp originally was too little apparently. So now I have upped my overall intake and the weight has stopped going up.
  • femmi1120
    femmi1120 Posts: 473 Member
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    So do you think I should up my cals? I'm a little scared to up it any more than 1500 net since I have a screwed up metabolism due to hypothyroidism, but I'm also really confused as to how I could be losing on the days when I go over...

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