-Diablo's Journal, 10 May 2019

"Why can’t I lose weight?
You are not losing weight because you are not eating at a calorie deficit.

Please read that again.

You are not losing weight because you are not eating at a calorie deficit.

It doesn’t matter what the TDEE calculator says. It doesn’t matter what your food logs say. It doesn’t matter what math you’ve done. Unless you’re living in a metabolic ward, every measurement and calculation you can make are all only imprecise estimates, no matter how meticulous you are. But the scale doesn’t lie.

You must either eat less, or be more physically active. Calorie balance really all there is to it, and the chances that you have an undiagnosed metabolic disorder are vanishingly small. This 1992 study demonstrates perfectly – all subjects with a history of difficulty losing weight had no significant variance in their metabolic rate (ie, they did not have “slow metabolisms”) and wildly under-reported the amount of calories they were eating and significantly over-estimated their activity levels.

Either you are over-estimating the amount of calories your body is using, or under-estimating the amount that you are eating. It’s easy to get tripped up, discouraged, or confused when you are trying very hard and not seeing results, but it is important to remember that weight loss is entirely about achieving a calorie deficit. You can be as meticulous in your tracking and calculating as humanly possible, but if you are not losing weight, you need to eat less. Do not allow yourself to get so stuck staring at the trees of your calorie counting that you miss the forest of what your scale is telling you.

Keep in mind the following important points:

TDEE calculators are an estimate only and never to be taken as gospel if it’s in conflict with your results on the scale.
Bodyweight can fluctuate by five pounds a day or more due to factors such as food, urine, feces, water, and glycogen. There is no need to be concerned just because your weight is not constantly moving downward. You should be tracking a trend over multiple weeks before worrying.
Many food tracking websites crowd source their nutritional info, and may not be totally accurate. Never take this information as gospel if it’s in conflict with your results on the scale.
If you’ve recently started a low carb or ketogenic diet, you likely experienced a rapid up front loss of weight that slowed down significantly. This was water weight and glycogen stores – not true weight loss – and should not be used as a barometer for your future weight loss.
“Calorie burn” estimates (especially those that come from electronic devices or marketing materials for classes / gyms / workout methods) are generally wildly inaccurate and grossly overestimate the actual calorie usage of physical activity. It is all but guaranteed that you are not “burning” anywhere near as many calories as these numbers claim to tell you. You should avoid “eating back” calories based on those estimates or relying on them to reach a deficit.

If you are absolutely certain that you are eating in a way that should otherwise result in weight loss, but have stagnated over a long period of time, then you should consult with a doctor, as the only alternative is a disease or disorder that r/Fitness is not qualified to help you with.

If You’re Already Using a Calorie Tracker

Sites like MyFitnesPal (MFP), SparkPeople, LiveStrong, FatSecret, CalorieCount, and CalorieKing often crowd source their nutritional information from users without verifying their claims. There are many examples of entries under-reporting the actual calories and macros in a given product or item. This can result in you eating significantly more calories than you think are.

Alternatively, http://nutritiondata.self.com is not crowd sourced and can be trusted as a more reliable source of nutritional information of raw ingredients.

When eating out, try and find comparable commercial proxies for your dish. Corporate websites often post the nutrition data for their products. For example PF Chang’s, Pei Wei, or Panda Express can be used for Chinese food. Applebee’s, TGI Friday’s, or Chili’s can be used for American food. Subway, Quiznos, or Firehouse Subs can be used for Sandwiches."

https://thefitness.wiki/faq/why-cant-i-lose-weight/

Diet Calendar Entries for 10 May 2019:
3960 kcal Fat: 169.90g | Prot: 157.86g | Carb: 459.15g.   Breakfast: Quest Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Protein Bar, Mission Pizza Company Italian Sausage Thin Crust Pizza, Cuties Mandarin Orange, 2% Fat Milk, Canola Vegetable Oil. Lunch: Flour Tortilla, Mission 8" Flour Soft Taco (10 ct), Tortilla, Rosarita Refried Beans, Fried Rice, Beef, White Cake with Icing (Home Recipe or Purchased), 2% Fat Milk, Eggo Pancakes Minis, Syrup. Dinner: Fried Rice, Puerto Rican Style Tongue Pot Roast (Lengua Al Caldero). more...
4225 kcal Activities & Exercise: Weight Training (moderate) - 1 hour, Standing - 7 hours, Bicycling (leisurely) - <10/mph - 3 hours, Sitting - 3 hours, Sleeping - 8 hours, Resting - 2 hours. more...

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Comments 
@bdy it could be that the persons weight has gotten low enough that your caloric intake is now the same as their burn. OR their body has adapted and become more efficient therefore only needs that amount to maintain. <that’s why the 12 week rule I believe. At week 12 I was noticing that I was maintaining or losing 0.25-.5/week which wasn’t enough for me. I’d dropped to 1200 without even seeing what my intake was in the beginning. Wrong move on my part and it took awhile to get back to losing a decent amount (for me that’s 1/2# or more, preferably 3-4#/month).  
10 May 19 by member: peeperjj
Dang, bdy got bodied. I'm busy but I didn't need to lift a finger. thanks ladies. 😊 
10 May 19 by member: -Diablo
I was gonna say - D has taught us well LOL 
10 May 19 by member: LZenn
We are so knowledgeable about fat loss 😃 
10 May 19 by member: rosio19
Yes, we have great teachers here 😀 
10 May 19 by member: Keilin_4
Good information 
10 May 19 by member: FullaBella
Now that I’ve proven to myself I can gain weight on an LC intake I’ve learned what we debate about here so much is true. CICO is really the only thing that counts. Sustained work outs to build muscle and calorie deficit is really the only way to reduce weight. 
11 May 19 by member: 66Pack
Yup, pick a way of eating you can stick to and keep a deficit. :) 
11 May 19 by member: LZenn
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