-Diablo's Journal, 10 May 19

"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/

View Diet Calendar, 10 May 2019:
3960 kcal Fat: 169.90g | Prot: 157.86g | Carbs: 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 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...

38 Supporters    Support   

1 to 20 of 28
Comments 
👍🏻 This took me a long time to learn....I'm glad I finally did.  
10 May 19 by member: NikiM2sZ
Yay for this. 
10 May 19 by member: davidsprincess
Thank you for posting accurate and truthful information Diablo 
10 May 19 by member: rosio19
I 100% agree with this post. Couldn't have said it better. Thank you for sharing. 
10 May 19 by member: the_cutting_machine
Such good info!! 
10 May 19 by member: g_ortegam
There are also studies that refute these claims. There isn't just one scientificially supported claim out there. And that is because there is never one variable to anything. And that is as truthful as you can get. People should focus less on weight loss and focus on HEALTH. A person needs a NUTRITIOUS diet. When you cut calories, you risk also cutting nutrients. Nutrition should be the goal. Not being able to metabolize as much as you want or to look a certain way. It's about health. People need to lose (or gain) in a healthy way. Your calorie budget shouldn't be so low that you become malnourished. The body needs certain nutrients to function properly. Losing weight will not stave off disease and it doesn't mean you will suddenly be happy with your body. The body self-regulates in that when there is a lack of something it compensates in other ways. There are people who make excuses, perhaps whoever is reading were or are one of them in which personal experiences can shape our frame of reference and cause us to partake in confirmation bias.  
10 May 19 by member: AboutMyTribe
Courtney aren’t you in a severe calorie deficit?  
10 May 19 by member: rosio19
I don’t think you should be preaching health and nutrition when you are putting your body to severe calorie deficit...that’s not healthy or nutritious  
10 May 19 by member: rosio19
Whenever I'm eating food from restaurants (more often than not), I always check for their nutrition pages so that when I'm logging my food here, I can verify the information matches. Whenever I record a new food on the website, I make sure to include my source. It's very frustrating when you're logging those calories and the scales don't move. I don't mind if I have to play Nancy Drew in order to ensure that the calories I record are correct. That way when the scale and I disagree, I know it's got to be something other than what I recorded. 
10 May 19 by member: jeannieselby
👍👍👍 
10 May 19 by member: moopie321
Everyone should preach health and nutrition as a goal. I don't know if I am in a "severe calorie deficit" or how to determine if I am. And you are actually emphasizing my point by saying that. As I said, "our calorie budget shouldn't be so low that you become malnourished.". And this is what I am learning on my weight loss journey and trying to figure out because for me health and nutrition is the goal. Also, it shouldn't deter others for emphasizing health and nutrition as well. 
10 May 19 by member: AboutMyTribe
Jaen those labels are a guide  
10 May 19 by member: rosio19
I always overestimate when I don’t cook or when I drink 🍸  
10 May 19 by member: rosio19
Thank you! I didn’t realize the nutrition info at self.com was more accurate. I’ve seen the site before but use FS. I’ll check there and see if the numbers match up. Thanks again! 
10 May 19 by member: peeperjj
Ok. I've bookmarked the nutritional info site. I'll use it as a comparison. Thanks! :) 
10 May 19 by member: LZenn
https://hoffday.wordpress.com/2013/07/21/several-metabolic-ward-studies-have-shown-that-there-is-no-difference-in-weight-loss-when-protein-intake-was-held-constant/ ---Courtney. These are metabolic ward studies. There is no room for error. Not only does it prove CICO it proves the insulin hypothesis wrong. You can disregard it all if you want to keep believing fat loss is some confusing puzzle to unlock when it's just math. 
10 May 19 by member: -Diablo
False. Not being in a deficit is not the only reason one may not be losing weight. To preach this is naive and misleading. If you’re in a deficit for too long and it is too high, you will NOT continue to lose weight. Being in a deficit first requires being able to eat what you’re burning in order for all of your body’s systems to function optimally enough to sustain the stress of a deficit. A deficit should last no longer than 12 weeks. Many are living in deficits for extended periods of time with the expectation to continue losing weight. This is unrealistic and unhealthy. 
10 May 19 by member: Bdy127
Deficit = calories in less than calories used = fat usage = weight loss. It's just the definition. If any side of the equation changes and no loss is happening you're, by definition, no longer in deficit. 
10 May 19 by member: LZenn
Bdy127, that means that you are not longer in a calorie deficit, you have to reduce your calorie intake, it's why we always say: Don't start losing weight with 1200 calories or less if you are an average person, because every time you have a stall you will have to reduce your calorie intake.  
10 May 19 by member: Keilin_4
I needed to hear the crowd source info. I trust the data on here too much. Need to verify. 
10 May 19 by member: demigh

     
 

Submit a Comment


You must sign in to submit a comment. Click here to sign in.
 


-Diablo's Weight History


Get the app
    
© 2024 FatSecret. All rights reserved.