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[SlytherinQueen]

Hey guys, I'm posting here because I feel utterly defeated. I've posted about this in my weight loss diary but have not gotten any feedback so I thought I would post a thread related directly to this problem.

I am really struggling to lose weight. Not because I can't stick to the program, but literally the pounds are not coming off. In the past I've lost ~5lbs in 7-10 days just by cutting back calories/doing moderate exercise. Well these past 6 weeks I've been cutting way back and increasing my exercise by A LOT and having very little weight loss.

I bought a BodyMedia GoWear Fit to track my calories burned to get a better idea of what was going on with my body. I consistently burn upwards of 2100 calories on light days and usually closer to 3000 on heavy days. I never eat more than 1200 calories. Using my calorie deficit as generated by the GoWear I should be dropping 3+ pounds a week, however this week I lost ZERO. Most weeks I lose ~1.5 lbs, but there have been several weeks where not even a pound was lost.

I've been working incredibly hard the last several months and in particular the last 6-8 weeks and have yet to see motivating results.
The GoWear also generates my daily totals of nutrients and I am in the healthy range/percentage for carbs, proteins and fats and I never eat above the recommended amount of sodium.

I only drink water or occasionally Sobe life-water. I may have 1 diet soda a week, if that. Almost all my meals are prepackaged and I measure everything out with actual measuring cups so I know I am not underestimating my calorie amount. It seems really crazy to me that I can be having at least a 1000 calorie deficit a day, which would put me at 2 lbs a week, and not be losing the right amount of weight. Especially since my deficit is usually closer to 1500 calories.

What the heck is going on?

 

[ExerSize Matter]

Hi there, I am really sorry things are going the way you want them too! Reading through your post its obvious that you are doing a lot of good things. Hang on in there!

5lbs in 7-10 days is alot though! What sort of weight loss are you wanting to see? the reason I ask is that with many of my clients they intially are very disheartened at weigh ins as they have unrealistic goals and targets.

Ok, so workouts wise what are you doing? What exactly, how long for? Do you have any idea what your heart rate is while you areworking out?

Just wondered if you could clarify what you mean by "prepackaged foods"

 

[biggestloser105]

What the heck is going on?

I would try to count the calories you burn by using an online calculator for your weight/age/gender and sedentary lifestyle, and separately add in the calories you burn by exercise.

I would compare that to the number your device gives you. If there is a significant difference, it's possible that the unit you have is defective and is counting wrong. Also, if their algorithm uses any averages such as your height/weight to calculate their calories, it also could be that it would give you an inaccurate estimate if your metabolism is significantly different from what it should be for your height/weight (such as if you have significantly less muscle then they expect you have, and therefore burn less calories at rest).

( some information about how it works)


Do you have a scale that measures body fat %? Has that been dropping? It's possible that you're retaining water.


But 1.5 lbs loss per week is not a bad loss. How much do you weigh/how tall are you?

 

[SlytherinQueen]

Hey guys I really appreciate your responses. I'll try to cover all the questions asked with sufficient answers.

First off I'm female, 5'0, almost 21 years old and currently weigh 176 lbs.
I'd really like to see about 2 lbs a week, I realize that shooting for upwards of that is unhealthy and I'm not trying to do quick weight loss that isn't permanent. Ideally I'd like about 10-12 lbs a month. My goal weight is 105-110 lbs. So I don't think my goals are unreasonable. I realize that once I lose weight getting the last 20 or so lbs off is going to be difficult, I've actually fought this battle once before but it was in my teenage years so I'm sure the parameters are different. I thought that for the first 40 pounds or so the weight would come off pretty easily if I exercised a lot and ate less/ate healthy.

My workouts vary because I am lucky enough to be at a University that has a bunch of group fitness classes. On Tuesdays I do Bosu, Wednesdays are step class, Thursdays are Zumba (dance class), Fridays are step, and Sundays are Zumba again. These are all 55-60 min classes. In addition I usually do about 55-60 mins on the track doing brisk walking/jogging/running. Then there is also a 15 min concentrated ab class that I usually attend. So on any given day I'm doing 1-2 hrs of exercise. On the days I don't have classes, or if I can't make them I have a lake trail nearby I like to walk that is about 3 mi around and I walk it twice. So I try to have variation in my workouts. I also sometimes attend Total Body Sculpt which incorporates weight lifting as does the Bosu Burn class.
I'm not sure exactly what my heart rate is, but it's definitely up! Haha, I can tell you what my cals/min are according to my GoWear are, but unfortunately don't have a heart rate monitor.
By prepackaged foods I mean like lean cuisine meals, weight watchers smartones, healthy choice and lean pockets. In addition to protein bars and sometimes cereal, which I measure out with measuring cups. So unless the nutrition information is incorrect on the boxes I know exactly what I'm dealing with calorie wise. I eat these for that exact purpose, because I do not want to underestimate my calories.

Biggest Loser - I have used those calculations before, and get similar numbers to what my GoWear produces (~2000 cals on a day where I'm lightly active, like walking to classes and cleaning around the house), but I wasn't having a lot of luck using those calculations to lose weight. So that's why I bought this, to see how my body responded to exercise/increased activity. I'm pretty sure I have a low BMR because it has always been a struggle for me to lose weight.

Unfortunately my scale does not measure body fat, it's just a simple digital scale. I am tempted to invest in a better scale because I'm afraid this one isn't very accurate. However at this point its not just the number on the scale that bothers me, its the lack of change in my overall physical appearance and the lack of change in the way my clothes fit me. So if it was just the numbers I wouldn't be concerned, I'm more concerned with looking/feeling good, I could really care less what the scale says on its own. The thing is I feel more physically fit - I ran a mile for the first time today in several years and I felt pretty good - but my body doesn't seem to be responding with weight loss.

And I know that 1.5 lbs isn't bad, but I'm really striving to hit that 2 lb mark and I think I'm doing the necessary tasks to accomplish it, so I'm confused as to why its not happening. Also this week there was NO weight loss and to me that just doesn't seem normal. And it's not just weight fluctuation, because I weigh in during the week as well and I'd gone down .2 lbs and now I'm back at the same exact number.

Sorry this was a long post, just trying to include all the necessary information. Again I really appreciate the feedback, I'm just getting discouraged so I was hoping for some fresh eyes to review my case, so to speak.

Any advice is welcome!

 

[biggestloser105]

I think you should buy a body fat % scale, it could catch things like water retention. (Unless you are poor and can't afford it obviously.)

But it probably comes down to you using less calories than the machine tells you, it's possible the machine uses some average for your height and weight and that you're not average.

How many calories would you say you're eating. You say never more than 1200, but do you ever eat less than 1200?

The thing that happens when you eat few calories is your metabolism adjusts and slows down. So maybe your body burns 2000 calories when you're functioning normally, but if you're eating really little your daily requirements can go down by as much as 40% so you may actually be using 1200 calories a day on your light activity days.


You should be eating a minimum of 1200 calories, and maybe if you are in a situation where you lowered your metabolism you need to eat more for a while to let it recover, and then lower your calories again but never below 1200.


Also, I would ditch the step classes unless they're the same intensity as running and just run instead if you're able. Run for an hour every day, and do resistance exercises with weights/body weight.

 

[SlytherinQueen]

I usually walk/run in addition to step, and I go with a friend so I'll probably just keep with that. I can't, well up until this weekend, wasn't able to run for any sort of extended period of time, I'm really trying to change that.

I usually eat 1,000-1,200 calories a day so I guess I will stick more with the 1200 side of things. Honestly though, it's not even like I'm trying to cut my calories that low. I eat three meals a day and sometimes have a little dessert and it usually adds up to be about 1000. So I don't feel like I've been depriving myself or anything, but I guess I'll just have to make an effort to eat a little more, and not let myself drop below a good amount. I've read a lot of about starvation mode and the like, but I guess I always just assumed I had a super slow metabolism, because I can eat what is recommended by the BMR formula and still gain weight, so I always just figured I could never go too low. (Barring like zero calories, which is obviously too low).

The GoWear fit is supposed to be measuring 4 dynamics and is said to be ~92% accurate in readings. I wear it on me at all times, so I'm hoping its not THAT far off. It was pretty expensive too..haha.

On that note, yes I am a poor college student, but I am willing to spend more on weight loss stuff because right now my focus is really on getting myself healthy and I really don't think there's a price for that.

I'm also considering going to get my thyroid levels checked. It's been something my parents and I have been concerned about for a while, and I'm pretty sure they even had them checked when I was younger because my metabolism seemed so slow, but the results then were negative.

Thanks so much I really appreciate your insight. Again I knew about starvation and I do want to do this the healthy way, I don't want to starve!, but I thought it was just something that I didn't need to worry about given how slow I am to lose weight. (And haha, if you told anyone who knows me that I was ~starving~ myself no one would believe you because I am a sucker for all things sweet and have always had a problem saying no. I am getting better though, much better.)

Oh and BTW when I said in the OP that I had lost 5 lbs in the first week, usually that was right away when I would start eating healthy and cutting back. It wasn't like a consistent weekly 5 lb loss. Like when I started weight watchers for instance I was 5 lbs lighter at my 2nd weigh in.

 

[mizzie]

How long has this been going on? It could very well just be a plateau, which is perfectly normal and happens to nearly everyone. They can last several weeks, even a month or two. Also, how much water do you drink and what kinds of foods do you eat. Even with drinking a lot of water, eating a lot of sodium heavy foods can cause water retention.

But, if all that looks good, calories are in check (and you know it because you weigh and track every bite), eating healthy food, drinking a lot of water, exercising well, and you still aren't losing anything for an extended time (several months), there could be something weird going on with your metabolism. Which would require a trip to the doctor to figure out.

 

[biggestloser105]

I usually walk/run in addition to step, and I go with a friend so I'll probably just keep with that. I can't, well up until this weekend, wasn't able to run for any sort of extended period of time, I'm really trying to change that.

I usually eat 1,000-1,200 calories a day so I guess I will stick more with the 1200 side of things. Honestly though, it's not even like I'm trying to cut my calories that low. I eat three meals a day and sometimes have a little dessert and it usually adds up to be about 1000. So I don't feel like I've been depriving myself or anything, but I guess I'll just have to make an effort to eat a little more, and not let myself drop below a good amount. I've read a lot of about starvation mode and the like, but I guess I always just assumed I had a super slow metabolism, because I can eat what is recommended by the BMR formula and still gain weight, so I always just figured I could never go too low. (Barring like zero calories, which is obviously too low).

The GoWear fit is supposed to be measuring 4 dynamics and is said to be ~92% accurate in readings. I wear it on me at all times, so I'm hoping its not THAT far off. It was pretty expensive too..haha.

On that note, yes I am a poor college student, but I am willing to spend more on weight loss stuff because right now my focus is really on getting myself healthy and I really don't think there's a price for that.

I'm also considering going to get my thyroid levels checked. It's been something my parents and I have been concerned about for a while, and I'm pretty sure they even had them checked when I was younger because my metabolism seemed so slow, but the results then were negative.

Thanks so much I really appreciate your insight. Again I knew about starvation and I do want to do this the healthy way, I don't want to starve!, but I thought it was just something that I didn't need to worry about given how slow I am to lose weight. (And haha, if you told anyone who knows me that I was ~starving~ myself no one would believe you because I am a sucker for all things sweet and have always had a problem saying no. I am getting better though, much better.)

Oh and BTW when I said in the OP that I had lost 5 lbs in the first week, usually that was right away when I would start eating healthy and cutting back. It wasn't like a consistent weekly 5 lb loss. Like when I started weight watchers for instance I was 5 lbs lighter at my 2nd weigh in.

I think maybe before buying a body fat scale you should try to find if there is one you can use for free, such as at a gym or maybe a friend? If your body fat percentage is really high, it could also be the reason why your metabolism is slower than normal because muscle burns more calories at rest than fat.

But checking your thyroid is a good idea as well.