so ive been losing much less weight then i predicted. ive counted every calorie and exercised. my deficit should be 1000-1300 a day. but according to what im losing its more like 700. all the calculators ive been using say i burn 2300-2500 in a sedetary lifestyle (i dont include my exercise in the calories burned a day calcs to give it some buffer room) but according to my calculations based on the weight im losing, its more like 1800-2000. im 270lbs and 5'8, that seems really low to me? and thats with the exercise included so its more like 1600-1800 without , my question is , is that possible at my height and weight to burn so few calories? ive been tested i dont have any health issues
Weight loss is not as exact as 2+2, there's a lot in our body that have important part in your weight loss. Also, the type of food you are eating can make you lose weight faster or not.
Another thing is that you are eating to low calories in relation to your basal metabolic rate, wich are the calories your body need to function properly, at some point your body will take the calories you are giving to him just to function and not to burn cause is to low to do both. If you excersice you don't have to go that low on calories at your size. Eating less make you lose less weight at some point.
You might want to try cycling your calories, i.e., eating 1400 one day, 1600 another, 1500 another, etc. Many people believe that the body gets used to a certain number of calories, and that if you mix it up, you'll lose more consistently. I don't know if that's really true, but I've cycled my calories from the start, and I lost fairly quickly on a weekly total of about 9800 (divided by 7 days, that's an average of 1400 per day). I didn't weigh myself, but based on my clothing size, I lost nearly 8-10 lbs. a month, and I'm 43, 5 ft. 3, and started at about 180 (estimate). I did make a conscious effort to move more, though, in addition to exercising, so maybe that made the difference.
I would say that amount of calories is low, i weight 221 (today 224 i'm bloated) and i can eat up to 1800 cals and lose weight, of course i do at least 2hrs exercise every day between fasted cardio, weights and afternoon cardio
i only exercise 20-30 minutes a day with some walking, i cant even eat 1800, its too much food, way to much. i barely manage to stuff 1400 into me a day, thats a lot of food, for me anyways. i was never a big eater, i just ate the wrong things and led me to balloon montrously, but without junk food or fast food, my normal intake is 1400ish and thats pushing it
The calculators are just averages, and so many things can affect metabolism. When I was in my teens and 20's (when you had to do the math calculations yourself) the metabolism formulas I found in books and magazines came pretty close to my own experience. I would lose about what the formula predicted (though even then, I would say that i was more apt to lose a little slower than the formula predicted, rather than faster).
But over time, with more and more crash and yoyo diets under my belt, the calculations became less and less accurate and more and more likely to overestimate my calorie needs. The formulas weren't changing, but obviously my body was. Somewhere in my mid-twenties (maybe even a bit before then) my metabolism started progressively dropping.
One theory for why yoyo dieting can slow metabolism, is that with crash diets and diets that aren't sufficient in protein, you not only lose fat, you lose muscle. And muscle is more metabolically active that fat (it takes more calories to maintain a lb of muscle than a pound of fat, so if you have proportionally less muscle, you're calorie needs are going to drop).
I don't even tell people what my maitenance calorie level is, because no one believes it. I used to be able to consistently (for months) lose 5 to 8 lbs a week on what I now need just to maintain or maybe lose a pound or two a month.
I have found that I can eat more and still lose weight, if the calories are coming from a relatively low-carb diet.
It's worth experimenting with carbohydrate levels and activity to see if that helps (since I've been able to exercise more, I'm finding my metabolism is picking up a little, more so than I would have expected).
charlaine09: You poor thing! I know how it feels to try your hardest and not see the results you deserve.
This is actually the main reason why people don't continue with weight loss - because they don't get the results they expect, even after they give their all.
Stick with it and you will see results! Due to water weight and such, the scale is really not a good indicator of progress. How do you feel? I know it may sound silly, but are you feeling lighter? I can feel when my stomach starts flattening out and such - or when my clothes fit differently.
Eventually the scale will reflect your progress. If I lost as much weight as I predicted, I'd definitely be closer to 145 right now. But, despite my adamant effots, I've recently just made it to 156 after a longish plateau (scale plateau).
I did change things up when I realized the scale stopped moving. I started cycling between 14-1800 a day - of course trying to hit more lower days. My diet is not low carb, but I did start eating low carb dinners (mainly big salads/ more veggies and less sweets). I also added in a new exercise routine.
I'm not telling you this so that you will do exactly what I did - but rather so that you see how most of us do get stuck and things don't go as predicted. Keep tweaking and you'll eventually get it.
yea im gonna stick with it for sure, i do feel lighter and healthier. hopefully if i pîck up my activity level and get into some weight training as well my metabolism will repair itself. im only 24 so i dont think my age is slowing it down, probably just damaged it from dieting so often, but since this is a lifestyle change and will be permenant i guess i should be more patient and let my body catch up. im gonna try to watch my sodium and cycle my calories as well. i just cant wait to have the body that reflects my new lifestyle and how i feel inside
is this possible?
