My body appears to be defying the laws of physics.

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PurpleProphecy
PurpleProphecy Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all!

I've been reading these forums for a while now and you have been a lot of help to me. But now I need some more. Thanks in advance!

I've been trying to lose weight since January and have lost about 4.5kg, almost all of them in the first six weeks, after that the scale was up one week, down the next. At the time I was eating about 1700 calories a day. Then I discovered I should probably not be eating under my BMR and figured that was why my weight loss stalled. So I upped to 1900 a day... and now I have been gaining 0.1kg a week for the last three weeks. I've been measuring myself as well and at first it went incredibly fast and now I have been at the same size for weeks. No improvement at all.

My food diary isn't open because I'm just putting in calories from another app I use. I use a food scale and try to eat as clean as possible. I'm not forgetting to log anything, I watch my sodium intake and drink a lot of water and tea.

My excersize schedule looks like this:

MON 30 minutes of elliptical trainer and 40-50 minutes of lifting weights
TUE 30-40 minutes of running
WED 30 30 minutes of elliptical trainer and 40-50 minutes of lifting weights
THU off
FRI 30-40 minutes of running
SAT off
SUN 30-40 minutes of running

I'm 25 years old, female, 174cm and 95kg.

When I use the Harris-Benedict formula I seem to be eating above my BMR but at the maintenance of a woman my age and height, but 20kg lighter. I would think I'd be losing weight for sure, but it's not happening. Not on the scale and not on the measuring tape.

So either my body is defying the laws of physics or I'm doing something wrong. Can you tell me which?

I feel like I should start eating less again, but common sense tells me I'm closer to undereating than overeating at the moment, so maybe I should be eating more. Either way, I'm willing to try eating less or more, I'm just hoping you guys can tell me which I should try first. And maybe help me figure out what I'm doing wrong.
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Replies

  • golferd
    golferd Posts: 400 Member
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    I read the following tip: If your losing inches and not weight your body is maintaining. Cut your calories, and drink your water.

    I exercise a lot and eat well, and I am currently consuming under my "net bmr"

    Keep switching it up, until you find your correct calories.

    It is not an excuse to stop :)
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
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    Maybe you are exercising too much.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    More lifting! :) Muscle is metabolically active. Make it work!
  • Gwoman2012
    Gwoman2012 Posts: 163 Member
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    I would change up your workouts. Keep lifting but do different exercises...maybe stick to running a couple times a week but add in something to replace elliptical...preferably something with intervals.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    So you ate 1900 calories for 3 weeks and gained weight with no noticeable size changes ?
  • 2April
    2April Posts: 285 Member
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    Hi all!

    I've been reading these forums for a while now and you have been a lot of help to me. But now I need some more. Thanks in advance!

    I've been trying to lose weight since January and have lost about 4.5kg, almost all of them in the first six weeks, after that the scale was up one week, down the next. At the time I was eating about 1700 calories a day. Then I discovered I should probably not be eating under my BMR and figured that was why my weight loss stalled. So I upped to 1900 a day... and now I have been gaining 0.1kg a week for the last three weeks. I've been measuring myself as well and at first it went incredibly fast and now I have been at the same size for weeks. No improvement at all.

    My food diary isn't open because I'm just putting in calories from another app I use. I use a food scale and try to eat as clean as possible. I'm not forgetting to log anything, I watch my sodium intake and drink a lot of water and tea.

    My excersize schedule looks like this:

    MON 30 minutes of elliptical trainer and 40-50 minutes of lifting weights
    TUE 30-40 minutes of running
    WED 30 30 minutes of elliptical trainer and 40-50 minutes of lifting weights
    THU off
    FRI 30-40 minutes of running
    SAT off
    SUN 30-40 minutes of running

    I'm 25 years old, female, 174cm and 95kg.

    When I use the Harris-Benedict formula I seem to be eating above my BMR but at the maintenance of a woman my age and height, but 20kg lighter. I would think I'd be losing weight for sure, but it's not happening. Not on the scale and not on the measuring tape.

    So either my body is defying the laws of physics or I'm doing something wrong. Can you tell me which?

    I feel like I should start eating less again, but common sense tells me I'm closer to undereating than overeating at the moment, so maybe I should be eating more. Either way, I'm willing to try eating less or more, I'm just hoping you guys can tell me which I should try first. And maybe help me figure out what I'm doing wrong.
    Eat less...BMR calculators are a guess.
  • coolbluecris
    coolbluecris Posts: 228 Member
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    Several ideas come to mind.

    Are you eating too many carbs? Professional body builders cut out carbs when they want to strip fat for an event.

    When you do your cardio, do you wear a heart rate monitor? You need to be aiming for at least 70% of your maximum heart rate for your age. Or do interval training, and walk the lows and run the highs. Add intensity.

    Are you lifting weights that are too light for you? You should really be struggling by rep No 10, if not, the weight is too light. You may want to hire a PT for just a session to discuss appropriate cardio and weight intensities that are right for you.

    If you are doing all the above correctly, then its just about patience.

    PS: The body needs sodium, just not the processed kind which has aluminium as an additive, and has been stripped of all minerals. Go to the health food store and buy either Himalayian or Celtic sea salt. These have no harmful additives, and are actually recommended by naturopaths for good health due to the natural minerals in them. I have heard that the body cannot absorb vitamins well without minerals.

    I am not a professional by all means, so please seek professional help where needed, but I hope this gives some ideas.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
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    Maybe you are exercising too much.

    I agree especially on those days where you also do weight lifting. Maybe try reducing your cardio during your weight lifting off-days & just use it as warm-up during your weight lifting days.

    Also I noticed you only doing two types of cardio exercise, you see our bodies have this amazing ability to adapt to any activities that we do which is why if you notice that as time passed by you find running & doing elliptical a lot easier than before which translates to lesser calories burned. If before you burn lets say 500 calories on a 30 min run at the beginning, once your body begins to adapt to it you will only burn around 450 calories & you will need to add in a few extra minutes to be able to burn 500 cals. And if all things being equal, you thought you're eating OK but in reality you're already eating more than you burn which caused the weight gain. Maybe replace one day of your running with biking or swimming to make your body guess. This is called muscle confusion.
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
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    Perhaps your body is more complicated than a formula. You need to experiment a bit to see what works for you, because everyone is different. Try eating a couple hundred more calories per day. Try eating a couple hundred less calories per day. Try a different workout. Whatever you do, keep at it for a few weeks to give it a chance and see what happens.

    Also, keep in mind that weight loss does not happen as a smooth line. It happens when it wants to happen. If you've been eating well and taking care of yourself, it might not happen for a few weeks and then BOOM, you lose a few pounds all at once. That happens to me a lot. I think hormones have something to do with our metabolisms.
  • Melmade
    Melmade Posts: 349 Member
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    I think your exercise looks great! Have you checked out the zig-zag approach? Lots of people on this forum have had great success with it.
  • rileamoyer
    rileamoyer Posts: 2,411 Member
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    I think your exercise looks great! Have you checked out the zig-zag approach? Lots of people on this forum have had great success with it.

    That approach always worked for me when it came to busting a plateau.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Cut down on the cals.
  • cmccorma
    cmccorma Posts: 203 Member
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    Cut down on the cals.

    Agree. Online BMR calculators are estimates.
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
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    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/you-are-not-different.html
  • PurpleProphecy
    PurpleProphecy Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks for all the suggestions, I really appreciate it!

    I forgot to mention that I'm a runner and I run because I love to do it, not to lose weight (although if it happens you won't hear me complaining of course). So running three times a week is staying (and will be getting longer when the weather gets better) and I can't lift more often because it impacts my running too much.

    I lift heavy, after some warm up sets I do three sets of eight reps and by the last one I'm cursing all over the place because I'm so close to muscle failure. I switch up the lifts I do every couple of weeks.

    The zig-zag approach sounds interesting, but since I seem to be lost in finding my maintenance calories I'm not sure how to do that. Any help here would be appreciated!

    As for whoever said formulas are only estimates, I know. But in my case that would mean a very often used formula is off by about 800 calories. Somehow that doesn't seem right? I'm not saying I should get the results the formula predicts, but if I'm eating an amount they say should be maintenance for something 20kg lighter than me, I shouldn't be gaining.

    Also, while I appreciate the help, I know there are people on this board that (IN MY OPINION!) do very unhealthy things and have a very unhealthy relationship with food. If you just say 'eat less' without any help or explanation I'm going to assume you are one of the <1200 calories crowd and while I completely respect their decisions to do what they do, I'm not going to do that.
  • cmccorma
    cmccorma Posts: 203 Member
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    I have seen people get their BMR tested professionally, one was called new leaf testing I believe. Her BMR was near 1,100. She was given a much higher number by the online calculators and was overeating. I'm not suggesting you randomly lower to 1,200 at all. Maybe just have your BMR tested as a suggestion.
  • PurpleProphecy
    PurpleProphecy Posts: 5 Member
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    I didn't even know you could do that! I'll look into it, thanks :)
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
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    Hi all!

    I've been reading these forums for a while now and you have been a lot of help to me. But now I need some more. Thanks in advance!

    I've been trying to lose weight since January and have lost about 4.5kg, almost all of them in the first six weeks, after that the scale was up one week, down the next. At the time I was eating about 1700 calories a day. Then I discovered I should probably not be eating under my BMR and figured that was why my weight loss stalled. So I upped to 1900 a day... and now I have been gaining 0.1kg a week for the last three weeks. I've been measuring myself as well and at first it went incredibly fast and now I have been at the same size for weeks. No improvement at all.

    My food diary isn't open because I'm just putting in calories from another app I use. I use a food scale and try to eat as clean as possible. I'm not forgetting to log anything, I watch my sodium intake and drink a lot of water and tea.

    My excersize schedule looks like this:

    MON 30 minutes of elliptical trainer and 40-50 minutes of lifting weights
    TUE 30-40 minutes of running
    WED 30 30 minutes of elliptical trainer and 40-50 minutes of lifting weights
    THU off
    FRI 30-40 minutes of running
    SAT off
    SUN 30-40 minutes of running

    I'm 25 years old, female, 174cm and 95kg.

    When I use the Harris-Benedict formula I seem to be eating above my BMR but at the maintenance of a woman my age and height, but 20kg lighter. I would think I'd be losing weight for sure, but it's not happening. Not on the scale and not on the measuring tape.

    So either my body is defying the laws of physics or I'm doing something wrong. Can you tell me which?

    I feel like I should start eating less again, but common sense tells me I'm closer to undereating than overeating at the moment, so maybe I should be eating more. Either way, I'm willing to try eating less or more, I'm just hoping you guys can tell me which I should try first. And maybe help me figure out what I'm doing wrong.

    Id get your body fat checked and rerun the figures using the katch mcardle formula, adding bf can make a few hundred calories either way which can be enough to stop you losing.

    If the running has to stay, maybe do away with the elliptical and just do an hours weights on those days.
    As you increase running, increase your cals to cover the extra burn.

    The calorie charts based on your goal weight tdee only give a small deficit (just under 1lb week at your weight).
    Multiply by 1.2 to get your current tdee, and make your deficit from this based on the usual 500 cals per lb, just watch your average net doesnt fall below bmr.
    At your weight you will be good for 1.5 per week.

    By eating a level calorie intake throughout the week, your exercise will naturally create the 'zigzag' for you, with a higher net on rest days and lower on exercise days.

    I weigh same as you and am losing 1.5 per week at 2000 total / 1600 average net. Have had bf / lean mass tested and the loss is all from fat with a 1.2kg muscle gain :-)

    What are your carb / protein / fat macros set to?

    Hope this helps x
  • kelseyk14
    kelseyk14 Posts: 95
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    More lifting! :) Muscle is metabolically active. Make it work!

    THIS! Lift HEAVY weights!!
  • PurpleProphecy
    PurpleProphecy Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks em9371, it helps to hear from someone at the same weight.

    I'll definitely get my body fat checked next week! Maybe I'll be able to get a better estimate then.

    Why are a lot of you are suggesting to stop doing the elliptical? I'm definitely willing to try not doing it for a while, but I'm interested in the reason why. I didn't think I would be in danger of overtraining by only half an hour, really.

    My splits are about 50% carbs, 25% fat and 25% protein. I'm trying to get the carbs to go down a little more and the fat and/or protein to up a little, but most days it's about 50-25-25.

    PS. congrats on your fat loss/muscle gain! I'll get there too one day :)

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