[srmb60]

I got to thinking about that line in my signature that says I've been below 130 lbs for over a month now. I realised that that means I've been about 129 or so for that long.

Good but not good.

According to fitday, I have an over-all deficit. So something's not adding up.

I think I need to have a look at how many calories I use at work. An 8 hr shift seems to make my usage pretty high for a day. I have tried to prorate it according to how busy my shift was ... I'd better think again.

I'm probably not measuring as carefully as I could be.

For me carbs beget carbs. I used to watch that a lot more carefully than I do now.

What about you? What do you do if things just aren't seeming to work out right?

[LynneA]

I just changed my fitday lifestyle back from seated work to sedentary. I know fitday isn't accurate and I use it as a guideline but I suspected I was overestimating the amount of calories burned during the day. By switching back to sedentary, I am underestimating which makes me feel a bit more comfortable because I know I'm burning more cals than Fitday says I am

I'm a copout, I know!

As for things not working out right, well, I'm currently going through an evaluation stage of my own. I'm either going to drop cals way down or zig zag, because what I've been doing for the last month or so hasn't been working.

I do need to stop buying cheese though. It's the debil.

[707Goddess]

I dont do fitday but i did change they way i calorie count i discovered that carbs are the calories DUH so now i am counting calories but eating only good carbs its been day 2 now i wanna see if anything chages on weigh in on friday ??? i'll let you know and as for sitting behind the desk all day YEP thats me..LOL

[jillybean720]

The math never works out for me. NEVER. I just think there are entirely too many individual factors--while one person burns x number of calories doing an activity, another could burn many or more, or even fewer, even if they are the same age and weight. I can't rely on the numbers at all--just trial and error until things fall into place.

[srmb60]

Mine was working very well for a long time. If I'd lost two pounds I could actually find a period during which I had a deficit of 7000 calories. But not any more.
I have changed my level back to bed ridden and I'm keeping a closer eye on portions and time spent at activities.

And Jilly? It's by trial and error that I got it to work out right at all. But I've been plugging away at fitday for a couple of years. I can see that that wouldn't be for everyone. Maybe just the compulsive

[aphil]

The "math" and figuring deficits never works for me, either...so I never ever count my exercise calories burned and do all that...no matter what my supposed defecit says...it doesn't mean that I am going to lose that week.


When things aren't moving for a while, here are some things that I do:

~eat cleaner for a period of time

~eat DIFFERENT foods than ones that I do all the time-for instance, if I eat oatmeal every morning, and have for quite a while...and I eat chicken breast for dinner a lot-then I will change things up and have eggs and fruit for breakfast for a while...and fish more often at dinner. Same calorie level...but different foods than what my body is accustomed to digesting.

~Changing my exercise. If you walk on the treadmill 5 days a week...your muscles get used to doing that particular activity, and don't have to work as hard. Ride a stationary bike, or a bike outdoors...do an aerobics video...do the elliptical at the gym-basically, just do something similar (as far as cardio or resistance) but replace it with a *different* activity that your body isn't used to.

~Change up the intensity of your workouts. Heavier weights...a 40 minute Pilates video instead of a 30 minute one...adding a 1/4 mile to your daily walk-just something small that "adds up" over the course of a week's time. Small things like that make a difference over the long haul.

[srmb60]

Amy, you make a good point. We must always be open to changing things up a bit.

[srmb60]

Although it pains me to think I've only used about 1800 cals today ... that's probably more correct. Now I have no excuse to let my food calories creep up over 1500

Oh well ....

Hey Amy! I've referred folks back to this thread because I think your tips on getting past a stall are right on!

[aphil]

I have always found that when I make changes, that it really helps. Even good habits the body can grow accustomed to. I like to equate it to a postal worker. The first couple of weeks on their walking route I am sure they see (and feel) the difficulty of the new activity...but after 2 years of walking the same route, they are "used" to it and it isn't challenging any longer.

It can even be something as simple as going from one strength training routine to another for a few weeks-such as switching from a routine that does traditional bicep curls to one that does hammer curls instead...basically, switching the routing around so I am working the same muscle groups-but *differently*.