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?:confused:

second, at this slow weight lose, after a lb or two of weight lose, i gain it back back for few days:eek: 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!!!!

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.

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.

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!

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?

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?

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!

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!!

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.

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!!! :)

Hello All, and thank you for all your wonderfull advise!

enamoredsoul i do have hypothyroid and am taking medications for it, meds are keeping it at 1.3 level, i have asked my physician if the meds need to be increased a bit, maybe to bring it to 1.5-2 level, but he does not seem to like the idea. do you think i should get a second opinion?

Hi Farah!

I just thought I'd say hi because we had the exact same starting weight and we have the same goal weight! I started fitday on Oct. 1 and it's been a long, and like you, somewhat frustrating journey. I burned around 500-600 calories a day to lose no more then 1 lb per week. I think that is a perfectly healthy way to do it (even if it takes a while!).

I would not eat less then 1200 calories a day like someone else mentioned. I was not losing very much when I tried to cut out too many calories, especially when you're exercising that much.

I'm down to 129 right now and have hit a huge plateau, but I've heard that will happen when you get so close to your goal.

Just keep at it and it will pay off! Get ready to buy all new clothes though :)

If your thyroid meds are too high, that can negatively affect your heart, so it's not surprising your doctor would be reluctant to increase them. However, I firmly believe there is never a reason to not get a second opinion. Medicine is as much an art form as it is a science.

Average weight loss of one pound per week has gotten me from 182 to 153. A small loss is still a loss, and a week holding steady is better than a gain. Try not to weigh yourself too often, my weight can change by as much as 5 lbs between when I get up in the morning and when I go to bed. If I forget to weigh very first thing in the morning, I don't do it at all, because I know the changes won't be accurate if Im not weighing at the same time of day.

Also, stress increases your cortisol levels, and when your cortisol is high, it's harder to lose weight. This is easier said than done, but don't worry so much and find some way to release the stress. Try walking, listening to music, yoga, a hot bath, spending time on a hobby, trolling the fitday forum :p or whatever you enjoy. Find ways to love yourself as you are, because then you can love the improved you that much more.

thank you for the advise! now, i'm ebraced to say, i was about to lose motivation, specially today, since i weigh myself this morning and was up .4 lbs, after all that calorie counting, logging food and exercising!:eek:
but, i keep reading your messages, and use the advise, so hopefuly and eventually the weight lose will happen to me too. thank you all so very much!

Lots of good advice above. You don't say what your Protein intake is. I have found that by increasing my protein (even if it includes some additional calories) I lose more weight. I use protein shakes. I'm a guy and I also experience the up and down weight. I lose a little then bounce back up then lose again to a new low point and repeat. I try not to stress too much about it and here is why. One pound of body weight is the equivalent of 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound a week you need to be at a 500 calorie deficit daily. So when my weight bounces up 2 pounds and I know I didn't take in 7000 calories over my maintenance I know it is just water weight and undigested food. Remember that everyones metabolic rate is different and the maintenace numbers you are seeing on Fitday or other sites are averages. If you are not seeing the weight loss you want adjust your intake or increase your cardio. (I suggest HIIT cardio as it is the most efficient at burning calories.. you can search for some other posts in the forum for more info on HIIT). But your current rate of loss is good. Don't get impatient, the weight doesn't ever come off fast enough. Go too fast and you lose muscle not fat.

this is exactly what i experience. the ups and downs of weight loss! but you have a very good point, saying when the weight shows up and you know you have not had that many extra calories, then it's not weight gain!
by the way, i do the ratios of 20/35-40/35-40 for fat/carb/pro or as close to it as i could. by last night i was reading an article on the internet, saying if your metabolism is slow, having more fat or protein is going to make it even slower. it was suggesting a ratio of 15/60/25 which includes complex carbs. what do you think about this theory?

If you're metabolism is a little on the slow side, and you're already getting 35-40% protein as you say, there's probably other factors at play. I don't agree at all with that article you mentioned saying to boost protein past 50 and dropping fat. Personally I find it hard to go that high in protein and I don't imagine I'd feel too satisfied.

Have you toyed with increasing fat? Try it for a couple weeks and see what happens. What we call fat is actually a collection of dozens of different chemicals, and they all have different, special roles in the body's metabolism and immune function, so if you don't get enough you could be inadvertently slowing down and/or increasing your chances of getting sick. Avocados, olive oil and coconut oil are my favorite sources.

Are you also getting enough sleep and/or "me-time" ? Stress releases cortisol (the "stress hormone") which makes it tough to lose weight. Ironically it also makes you have crappy sleep. Take a little rest this weekend and you might get a little metabolic boost.

i have been so stressed last few weeks with crappy sleeps. took on a big task, even though i know i can do it, it's still making me stress. interesting to think of the relationship between the two!

So the article suggested 15% fat, 60% carb, 25% protein? I have three problems with this. 1. All the studies I have seen with low carb diets have shown a greater fat (not just weight) loss than the same caloric intake with higher carbs. (This is attributed to the fact that the higher carb intake group took in less proteing and thus lost muscle as well as fat. So their bodyfat percentage did not go down as much.) 2. Unless all the carbs are complex (harder to metabolize than simple carbs) any large caloric intake is apt to derail your weight loss. Simple carbs are quickly digested and your body converts them into glycogen for your muscles to use as energy. However if your body percieves your glycogen levels to be adequate those same carbs are converted to fat stores. This can happen if you just eat a very large meal. Even if your daily caloric intake is at maintenance. Because it is easier for your body to convert muscle into energy than fat into energy when you exercise later you lose muscle instead of burning off the excess fat. This is the reason I advocate getting plenty of Protein. 3. I also have a problem with dropping your fat intake to less than 20%. This can lead to serious health problems. Fat is needed to support critical body functions like nutrient dispersal. I believe your current level of fat/carb/protein is good. I would advocate you look at some of the other ideas like switching up your routine, increasing your sleep or eliminating some stress rather than radically changing your macro-nutrient percentages.

hello all, just wanted to say thank you again, i have used all your wonderfull advise and am so happy to say that last week i dropped about 2 lbs!!!! that is a very big number for me, i have dropped 1/3 of my extra weight so far, and to be honest, even thoguh it seems frustrating at times, it hasn't been all that hard to do. been drinking more water, paying more attention to calorie deficincy( i actually understand what it means now) changing my exercise and it IS working!!!!!!:D