Notices

got 2 questions, care to answer?

Old 05-17-2010, 03:25 PM
  #1  
FitDay Member
Thread Starter
 
farahb7's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 334
Default got 2 questions, care to answer?

got 2 issues here, i can't find a logical explanation for:
first, i don't seem to be able to lose much weight, it's into week 5 and still has lost only about 6.8 lbs, last week i barely lost a lb. i watch my diet, log in my food religiously and do about 50 minutes exercise most night. have also been limiting my carbs so much, keeping it about 35-40 % and still no weight lose, what am i doing wrong?

second, at this slow weight lose, after a lb or two of weight lose, i gain it back back for few days and then it goes down a bit more again and i don't understand what it means and what i need to do about it. please help me solve these mysteries!!!!
farahb7 is offline  
Old 05-17-2010, 03:53 PM
  #2  
Super Moderator
 
cjohnson728's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,083
Default

Hi farahb7,

I guess the first thing that comes to my mind is to say that if you don't have a huge amount to lose, then a loss of about a pound or two per week is probably about average and a pace that will make it easier to maintain. A lot of the folks losing several pounds per week weigh more to begin with.

That being said, what is your calorie deficit between what you take in and what you burn? What does that deficit translate into in terms of what you think you should be losing?

I know that for me, FitDay really overestimates my calories burned. Once I started logging in my hours asleep, it pretty much gets it right on the nose. There is also another site that you can use to see how many calories you burn, so you can compare to FitDay's numbers: Calorie Calculator - Daily Caloric Needs.

I can relate to the up and down, up and down...I went to weighing weekly. It can fluctuate so much day to day, depending on your hydration level, how much food is still in your digestive system, how much sodium you've had, whether you've worked out recently, etc.
cjohnson728 is offline  
Old 05-17-2010, 10:58 PM
  #3  
FitDay Member
 
almeeker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,742
Default

Quite frankly I think you're doing fine, your on a diet not in a race and a 7 pound weight loss over 5 weeks is right on track. You don't have that much to lose, and you don't weight that much so expect it to come off slower than some of us who started much heavier.

I guess I have a couple of questions for you. How many calories are you eating and is your workout hard? I have to keep increasing my workout to keep the burn at the same level, so maybe it's time for you to get some bigger hand weights or add another 10 minutes to the routine.
almeeker is offline  
Old 05-17-2010, 11:08 PM
  #4  
FitDay Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 208
Default

Hi farah,

First of all, congratulations on making healthy changes and on your weight loss so far! I totally get that you're feeling frustrated right now, but don't let that overshadow the fact that you are doing something great!

Second, I see from your stats that you don't have a ton of weight to lose. Losing about a pound a week may feel slow, but it's probably best for you! It means that you're losing fat, not muscle or water weight. Plus, it makes it much more likely that you'll keep the weight off once you get to your goal. Slow progress is better than no progress at all, and as long as you don't stop, you WILL get to where you want to be!

Okay, now that I'm done with my "glass half-full" speech, I'll attempt to answer your questions. =)

I've experienced the same thing as you, where I feel like I'm doing everything right but the weight isn't dropping or worse, it's going up! Through trial and error, I found that my struggles were mostly related to how much water I was drinking. If I don't drink at least 8-10 8oz glasses of water a day, the scale won't move in the direction I want it to. Simple as that. Are you getting enough water?

Other thoughts I had...are you getting too much sugar? Your carbs are low, but can you get more complex carbs than simple carbs? Can you increase your fiber?

Also, do you weigh yourself daily? If so, I think daily fluctuations are normal. Especially since you're a woman (just another joy of being female!). Track your weight on FitDay and try to look at the overall trend of your graph, not just the day to day fluctuations, frustrating as they may be!

Sorry to ramble, but I hope something I've said is helpful to you...keep up the good work and keep us posted on your progress!
fletch8502 is offline  
Old 05-19-2010, 01:46 AM
  #5  
FitDay Member
Thread Starter
 
farahb7's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 334
Default

Originally Posted by cjohnson728
Hi farahb7,

I guess the first thing that comes to my mind is to say that if you don't have a huge amount to lose, then a loss of about a pound or two per week is probably about average and a pace that will make it easier to maintain. A lot of the folks losing several pounds per week weigh more to begin with.

That being said, what is your calorie deficit between what you take in and what you burn? What does that deficit translate into in terms of what you think you should be losing?

I know that for me, FitDay really overestimates my calories burned. Once I started logging in my hours asleep, it pretty much gets it right on the nose. There is also another site that you can use to see how many calories you burn, so you can compare to FitDay's numbers: Calorie Calculator - Daily Caloric Needs..
Hi Cassie, thank you for the response. my calorie deficits are usually between 700- 900, i don't know how to translate it into my ideal weight loss plan though, guess this is one of the things i need to work on, to find out how to use these numbers and make sense of them. i also used the link(thank you for posting it). the calorie calculator is saying for me to lose 1-2 lbs weekly i need a calorie intake of 1176. well, i have that much calorie, or less and exercise too and still don't see much weight loss. do you think i should look for any other reason?
farahb7 is offline  
Old 05-19-2010, 01:51 AM
  #6  
FitDay Member
Thread Starter
 
farahb7's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 334
Default

Originally Posted by almeeker
Quite frankly I think you're doing fine, your on a diet not in a race and a 7 pound weight loss over 5 weeks is right on track. You don't have that much to lose, and you don't weight that much so expect it to come off slower than some of us who started much heavier.

I guess I have a couple of questions for you. How many calories are you eating and is your workout hard? I have to keep increasing my workout to keep the burn at the same level, so maybe it's time for you to get some bigger hand weights or add another 10 minutes to the routine.
well, my calorie intakes are somewhere between 1100-1200 (to be honest more like 1000-1100) cal/day and based on my workout i burn about 400- 450 calories most days. i could work it and make it around 500-600 i guess, maybe that helps?
farahb7 is offline  
Old 05-19-2010, 01:59 AM
  #7  
FitDay Member
Thread Starter
 
farahb7's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 334
Smile

Originally Posted by fletch8502
Hi farah,
I've experienced the same thing as you, where I feel like I'm doing everything right but the weight isn't dropping or worse, it's going up! Through trial and error, I found that my struggles were mostly related to how much water I was drinking. If I don't drink at least 8-10 8oz glasses of water a day, the scale won't move in the direction I want it to. Simple as that. Are you getting enough water?

Other thoughts I had...are you getting too much sugar? Your carbs are low, but can you get more complex carbs than simple carbs? Can you increase your fiber?

Also, do you weigh yourself daily? If so, I think daily fluctuations are normal. Especially since you're a woman (just another joy of being female!). Track your weight on FitDay and try to look at the overall trend of your graph, not just the day to day fluctuations, frustrating as they may be!

Sorry to ramble, but I hope something I've said is helpful to you...keep up the good work and keep us posted on your progress!
Hello Fletch! i don't drink much water, that has to change for sure, but carb wise, i do use complex carbs, get as much fiber i can and avoid sugar( one of the hardest thing i have done).
i guess i should use all the good advise i got and keep on going, as almeeker say, i shoud also remember i'm not on a race, the weight has to eventually drop off!

thank you all, to be honest you ladies are my shining stars and i truly appreciate your comments and advise here!
farahb7 is offline  
Old 05-19-2010, 09:56 AM
  #8  
Super Moderator
 
cjohnson728's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,083
Default

It's possible that your metabolism is slowing down because of too few calories. That happens for some, not everyone, but a number of folks have offered the suggestion before to up the calories and see if that jump starts your metabolism.

But otherwise, I still think that since you don't have a very large amount to lose to begin with, your rate of loss is right on target with what would be expected at your size. If you hit a plateau, stick with it...cycle your calories and change up your exercise; you will get past it!!
cjohnson728 is offline  
Old 05-19-2010, 10:06 AM
  #9  
FitDay Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 576
Default

Hi Farah,

I just wanted to add that in addition to dietary considerations, you may want to switch up your workout. I've had friends who changed their routine for a couple weeks to break through plateaus. One friend did yoga for a few months, plateaued, took up running for a few months, plateaued again, did some indoor wall climbing for a while, plateaued. Most recently she started P90X, and just this week she started adding in more climbing on top of that.

This isn't to say that you should switch as often as my friend did, but if you keep doing the same exercise day to day, eventually your body becomes really efficient at doing it (read: you burn less fuel to do the same action - for weight loss this is not good). So say now you are doing 30 min cardio, 20 min weights a night, even if you switched it up for a few weeks to 10 min high-intensity cardio, 10 min weights, 10 min low-intensity cardio, or something like that, then go back to your routine, you might see some improvement in your weight loss.
tandoorichicken is offline  
Old 05-19-2010, 06:39 PM
  #10  
FitDay Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 3
Default

hey Farah...

I think I cannot add any more valuable advice to the wonderful advice that's already being given to you. I only urge you to be patient, and realize that people vary in what they lose from week to week. Also, it is true, the less poundage you have the lose, the slower it comes off - but that is NOT to discourage you. It is merely a statement to let you know...continue your efforts, they WILL bear fruit!

Also, as someone in the medical field, just to be on the safe side...you might want to pay a visit to your physician and have him run your thyroid hormone levels to check if they might be deficient. I have seen many women who have gained a lot of weight beat themselves up wondering why it is that they are not losing weight although they are doing everything right - and it just turns out that their metabolism had been slowed down due to hypothyroidism.

However, I urge you not to get trapped by this thought - it may or may not be hypothyroidism, and you SHOULD get it checked out, but regardless of it is or isn't...you should continue your efforts because what you are doing right now will steer you towards a healtheir you. GOOD LUCK!!!
enamoredsoul is offline  

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2021 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.