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Calories in/calories out weight loss people...tell me why?


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For two weeks I've been walking 7 miles a day, 5 days a week.

 

I've also been measuring/tracking my food.

 

I'm 5'6". I weigh 224 lbs. :blushing:. I've been eating around 1600 calories per day, mostly vegetables and protein.

 

Got on the scale, and I've gained 3 lbs. :001_huh: :glare:

 

If the walking is new, it's because you are building muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. But muscle also burns more calories than fat.

 

Are you eating enough? I have one book that said if you have more than so many pounds to lose, you should eat 2000 calories a day. I don't know how many pounds that was though.

 

In my experience, weight fluctuates a lot. It could be the day before you weighed, you had a lot of salt. Maybe you ate late in the evening (after 7 pm). Maybe you are close to your cycle.

 

Keep working at it. You will see results!

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I would love to hear the answer to this also!

 

DH decided to go on a health kick in April - Ive been eating WAAAAY healthier - less sugar/fat/treats, more veggies, lowfat greek yogurt, whole grains. Just water or unsweetened tea.

 

I've gained 5-7 lbs while he lot 30.

 

I think I need to go back to my "cookies for breakfast' diet. I do much better when I eat unhealthy :)

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Are you sure you are taking in enough calories? It is possible to have your body kick into a survival mode if your caloric intake is too far below what you are expending. Someone else may be able to explain better, but it can have an impact on your metabolism and even leave you burning muscle instead of fat.

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Because you're starving yourself. I am 5'8" and weigh a considerable amount less than that and need to eat 1800 calories to lose!

 

EAT MORE!!!! :D Also, make sure your calories "count" -- don't eat processed junk. Eat a lot of fruits and veggies. You'd be amazed at just how many strawberries you can eat for 100 calories.

 

ETA: I agree with the others that say you really need to make sure your heart rate is in fat-burning mode.

Edited by BramFam
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Yes, I agree with the others. You have to eat to lose weight. I have learned a lot from joining Weight Watchers. I was not eating enough and felt terrible. Now the pounds are coming right off. I only do the elliptical machine as doing the treadmill makes my left knee hurt from an old sports injury. I also only do the elliptical for a mile or two each day and I am consistently losing weight but I am eating more and better choices too. I used to hate fruit but now I eat at least two or three pieces of fruit each day. :-)

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Get rid of your scale.

Get rid of your scale.

Get rid of your scale.

 

Eating well and exercising regularly will pay off in the long run. Fretting now over increased muscle mass and varying water retention is counterproductive to building and maintaining a healthy routine.

 

Seven miles is a lot. At your weight, you're burning over 150 calories per mile (assuming at least 2.5 mph). Please consider upping your daily calorie intake.

 

Are you taking time to stretch? I'd recommend The Complete Guide to Walking by Fenton if you need help developing a safe and healthy routine.

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Guide-Walking-Revised/dp/B001LNOOMA/

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A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. Have a few extra sprinkles of salt and it suddenly looks like you "gained" when you've been losing fat.

 

If you're eating lower calories but higher percentage from carbs, those carbs store in your muscle as glycogen to fuel exercise, and every molecule of glycogen bonds with two molecules of water - so it looks like you've gained, but you've been losing fat.

 

If you really want to drop fat fast, up the exercise intensity, or cut the time dramatically and do REALLY high intensity for just a few minutes. There are free high intensity workouts online. PM me if you need ideas.

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For two weeks I've been walking 7 miles a day, 5 days a week.

 

I've also been measuring/tracking my food.

 

I'm 5'6". I weigh 224 lbs. :blushing:. I've been eating around 1600 calories per day, mostly vegetables and protein.

 

Got on the scale, and I've gained 3 lbs. :001_huh: :glare:

Are you weighing yourself at the same time, for instance in the morning before you eat anything? Weight normally fluctuates throughout the day, based on eating and drinking.

 

Water doesn't contain any calories, but a liter of water weighs about a kilogram or 2.2 pounds. Sudden weight changes often reflect change in hydration statuswith little or no affect to the body's fat stores. Example things that can cause this are changes in the amount of sodium (salt) in one's diet and hormonal fluctuations of women's cycles. And since you wrote it's been two weeks, that's half a month. My hunch is that the 3 pound weight gain reflects where you are on your cycle.

 

Another possible problem--your scale could be low on batteries or otherwise unreliable. Or you measured your weight on different scales. I recently replaced our family's bathroom scale because my weight could go up or down six or more pounds within thirty seconds, just by stepping off it and then back on.

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Building muscle. If you weigh first thing in the morning (after you p ), and every day, you will notice your weight going up and down. Certain foods can make you gain 2-3 pounds overnight as well. Now that I said that, go throw the scale away! You are building muscle, and as others have said, probably starving your body in the process. Make sure you are eating healthy meats, carbs (fruits, beans, veggies etc) and fats. Increase your calorie content to at least 1800 calories. Walking in the morning increases your metabolism and helps you burn more calories throughout the day too. It takes time! Dd went gluten free in January, and basically starting eating low carb. It took 6 months for it to be noticeable, but at the point she started dropping inches. She went from a 14-16 when she started, to a 12 by first of August, and is now wearing a size 10. Hang in there and give it time!

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I wonder if it could be hormonal fluctuations? I am having the same problem right now. I will eat 1200 calories (which is not starving myself -- I am 5'4" with a smallish build) and exercise daily on my elliptical and still gain weight at times. My weight will not budge below a certain number. This has been going on for almost a year, so I do not believe it is increased muscle or water weight.

 

When I was younger, I would easily lose weight by eating 1200 calories. I never would have believed calorie counting wouldn't work, but it just doesn't anymore. Increasing my food intake even minimally does nothing but cause me to gain weight very quickly.

 

Since I can't control hormonal shifts, I am going to try joining a gym and using weights to build up some muscle mass. I had been going to Curves for a number of years and I easily lost and maintained my weight when I was doing that. Unforunately, Curves closed and I have to fight tooth and nail just to maintain my weight again even though I'm exercising aerobically.

 

Lisa

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Building muscle. If you weigh first thing in the morning (after you p ), and every day, you will notice your weight going up and down. Certain foods can make you gain 2-3 pounds overnight as well. Now that I said that, go throw the scale away! You are building muscle, and as others have said, probably starving your body in the process. Make sure you are eating healthy meats, carbs (fruits, beans, veggies etc) and fats. Increase your calorie content to at least 1800 calories. Walking in the morning increases your metabolism and helps you burn more calories throughout the day too. It takes time! Dd went gluten free in January, and basically starting eating low carb. It took 6 months for it to be noticeable, but at the point she started dropping inches. She went from a 14-16 when she started, to a 12 by first of August, and is now wearing a size 10. Hang in there and give it time!
\

 

How awesome for your dd!! Good job! :)

 

I went gluten free 12 months ago, and just like your daughter, I lost weight as well. very slowly, but I did it without much effort.

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good for you! that's a lot of walking.

 

fast thoughts, in no particular order:

- i just gain anything i eat after about 7pm at night. i need to eat nothing after then if i'm going to lose weight.

 

- metabolism changes as we age. the calories i ate in my 20s and 30s were way more than i can eat now in my 50s..... way more, even though i am more active than i was then. so a lot of folks will look at your calorie intake and think its low, but if you are "of a certain age", then it may not be too low at all.

 

- age seems to have affected how i process carbs, too. before 45, i could eat pretty much all the carbs i wanted. now, i need to eat way fewer of them if i want to lose weight.

 

- as unfair as it may seem, exercise doesn't burn nearly as many calories as i'd like it to!!! so if it were me, i'd stop eating after 7pm, and reduce my calorie intake by 100 calories or so, and see what happens.

 

hth,

ann

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My family has a few issues with food and needing to be slim (with girls) but this is what my Grandma taught me about eating to be slim.

Don't eat too little because then you slow down your metabolism and your body with hoard any food it gets. Don't eat all your calories in a few big meals, but rather in 6 or so small meals throughout the day. Eat more veggies and fewer dairy and grains. Really, drastically vary your exercise routine from one day to the next. Drink LOTS of water. She used to chew me out regularly for eating too much at a time or for not eating enough throughout the day.

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On The Biggest Loser, they talk about needing to eat in order to lose weight.... But they've got people who are afraid to eat more than 500-600 calories/day. TBL diet is in the range of 1200-1600 for women and 1500-2000 for men. They allow one higher-calorie day per week. I've just recently read a couple articles that said recent research shows that the biggest reason people don't lose weight is because they don't reduce calories.

 

Your body will quickly adapt to your exercise level, so every week or so you have to add something new to surprise your metabolism. You can carry weights while you walk, or add some 60-90 second jogging intervals.

 

You have to burn more calories than you take in, but stress will seriously mess up your hormone balance so that you're not burning as many calories. Exercise will help manage your stress and get your hormones back in balance, but I've found that I need to exercise *hard* to feel any stress relief. I hated exercise until I started watching TBL and realized that it's okay to push myself much harder than I ever thought possible. It's weird, but exercise doesn't feel good to me unless I am dripping in sweat.

 

And then there's the effect of aging, which also makes it harder to lose weight because of hormones changing. :glare:

 

:grouphug: Try to focus on the health and stress management benefits of exercise instead of the weight. The last thing you need to worry about right now is the scale.

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Get rid of your scale.

Get rid of your scale.

Get rid of your scale.

 

Eating well and exercising regularly will pay off in the long run. Fretting now over increased muscle mass and varying water retention is counterproductive to building and maintaining a healthy routine.

 

Seven miles is a lot. At your weight, you're burning over 150 calories per mile (assuming at least 2.5 mph). Please consider upping your daily calorie intake.

 

Are you taking time to stretch? I'd recommend The Complete Guide to Walking by Fenton if you need help developing a safe and healthy routine.

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Guide-Walking-Revised/dp/B001LNOOMA/

 

:iagree:

 

Focus on getting healthy, not weight. It may take time but the weight will slowly come down. Don't focus on that. Focus on eating well and enjoying your walks. Stress can take an awful toll on your body. Right now, you need to pamper yourself. I would consider long walks and healthy eating pampering.

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WHY do we always go to the "building muscle" argument? How long has she been walking and how many pounds of muscle do you think are built in a single month by walking?? Please look into a reputable health source and find the answer because it isn't 3 pounds for a 200+ pound woman in one month. It's just not. Professional bodybuilders have lower expectations than that!

 

I'm sorry, I hate to be a downer, but inflammation and the water retention associated with the small tears and healing in one's muscles (particularly previously UNUSED muscles) is more likely the cause than actual larger muscles.

 

Also, without saying WHAT one is eating, it's hard to just go by calories in/calories out. I can drink 300 calories in 2 cans of soda, but that isn't going to help me lose weight. (Just an example, I doubt that's what the OP is doing! LOL)

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WHY do we always go to the "building muscle" argument? How long has she been walking and how many pounds of muscle do you think are built in a single month by walking?? Please look into a reputable health source and find the answer because it isn't 3 pounds for a 200+ pound woman in one month. It's just not. Professional bodybuilders have lower expectations than that!

 

I'm sorry, I hate to be a downer, but inflammation and the water retention associated with the small tears and healing in one's muscles (particularly previously UNUSED muscles) is more likely the cause than actual larger muscles.

 

Also, without saying WHAT one is eating, it's hard to just go by calories in/calories out. I can drink 300 calories in 2 cans of soda, but that isn't going to help me lose weight. (Just an example, I doubt that's what the OP is doing! LOL)

 

:iagree: Of course muscle weighs more than fat, but muscle is built VERY SLOWLY. A weight gain of 3lbs in 2 weeks is either fat or water retention, most likely. I support eating more, especially more good fats. 1600 calories is unlikely to be too much for a 200+lb woman. I started out at 226lbs/5'9" and would expect to lose weight RAPIDLY at that level of exercise vs calorie intake.

 

I'm not a big fan of exercise for weight loss for this reason exactly. I did something very similar last summer, walking many miles a day while pushing a 150lb triple stroller. I gained weight. This summer I have been doing LCHF and I'm expecting to break the 200lb mark in the next week.

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The exercise is *not* for weight loss, I just expected that to be the happy side-effect of finally being very active and not eating so much.

 

The walking is mostly for sanity's sake. After a while, it's numbing in a way I find really pleasant right now. I do some short runs, just under 1/4 mile, a couple of times during my walk, and I expect that I'll probably soon be able to run the 1/4, then the 1/2, and then, someday...maybe a mile. ;)

 

I don't drink soda, I don't eat dessert, I don't eat white bread or white rice. I don't eat anything with much caffeine, be it chocolate, coffee, or tea. I make almost everything from home-grown or organic food sources, and buy almost no "food" that comes in a box.

 

I drink somewhere around 8 glasses of water per day, and it's always been my favorite drink.

 

I've tried low-carbing, and I did indeed find it easy to lose weight that way.

For me though, it seemed to cause something that I can only describe as "carb sensitivity". After a while of low-carbing, if I had so much as a tiny taste of anything with sugar, I basically went comatose (not literally, but absolutely unable to function, and definitely unsafe to drive). It became a professional hazard, since I am, once in a while, required to sample new recipes as I develop them. Even a tiny bite seemed to do me in after about 20 minutes.

 

Anyway, thanks for the advice, and the commiseration.

I'm not looking at the weight as something I can do anything about right now, I'm just trying to keep on keepin' on. Breathing in and out appropriately, etc.

It just boggles my brain that the calories in/calories out thing doesn't seem to be remotely accurate in my case. :confused:

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Two weeks is not long enough to establish a pattern. You need more time than that to establish whether whatever changes you are making are working for you.

The eating less has been going on for four months. The exercise has been going on for two weeks. I guess we'll see over time. I'll be doing it anyway, but it would be nice to see some physical change also.

 

ETA: That's it. The grammar police should be knocking on my door any second. Maybe this is "the New Me", but I don't think I care.

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Because you're starving yourself. I am 5'8" and weigh a considerable amount less than that and need to eat 1800 calories to lose!

 

EAT MORE!!!! :D Also, make sure your calories "count" -- don't eat processed junk. Eat a lot of fruits and veggies. You'd be amazed at just how many strawberries you can eat for 100 calories.

 

ETA: I agree with the others that say you really need to make sure your heart rate is in fat-burning mode.

 

Don't think this works for everyone! I know that to loose weight I need to eat less than 1000 calories.

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Here are my thoughts on disappointment with weight loss: In February I topped out my weight at 178 and I am 5'5". I joined Sparkpeople and entered all the info about my weight, height, age etc.... It set me up to need to eat between 1400-1800 calories, which of course I thought was incredibly high for trying to lose weight. I also started walking on my treadmill with a goal of 15 miles a week. Anyway, I struggeled to eat more than 1200 calories thinking that I would never lose weight on that amount and found that I didn't lose weight the first month. I upped my calories to about 1500 and after a week or so finally started to lose weight. I have lost 20 pounds since February. I am not where I want to be but I am still working out and watching what I eat.

 

Sparkpeople has many message boards with advice....every day someone new asks why they haven't lost any weight or stating that they have actually gained weight...so I think this is very common for early changes in health with excercise and food consumption.

 

Oh and Sparkpeople is free! I love the tracking for excercises and for calories and have gotten so much info from their daily email articles.

 

One other thought, most women gain 2-5 pounds just prior to their period...just water weight which resolves normally.

 

Congrats on your new goals! Don't give up!

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If the walking is new, it's because you are building muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. But muscle also burns more calories than fat.

 

:iagree: This. Every summer we spend two-three months in the city where my husband works. We either use public transport, or more often, walk where we need to go. We walk miles every day. I always come home at the end of the summer 6-8 lbs heavier and with looser fitting clothes.

 

Two of my daughters are 5-1. The curvier, DD busted, low-muscle toned girl weighs 102 and the solidly built, lean, flat-chested dancer is 105.

 

One more example. My husband works out every day, running, biking weight training (keeps him out of trouble when we aren't there :D). He's 5-8 and change and weighs 175lbs. According to BMI, he's overweight. But he wears a size 32-33 pants which is what he wore 20 years ago when he weighed 160.

 

Keep at it, Julie! Keep track of your upper thigh measurement. I remember reading somewhere that the upper thigh measurement was a better judge of fat gain during pregnancy than the scale (ETA, I know you aren't pregnant...those two thoughts were actually unrelated in retrospect). I'm sure that your thigh measurement, your waist measurement, and how your clothes are fitting are a better way to tell fat loss than the scale if you are exercising that much.

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...inflammation and the water retention associated with the small tears and healing in one's muscles (particularly previously UNUSED muscles) is more likely the cause than actual larger muscles.

 

:iagree: with this as well. There are many things that could be contributing. Go ahead and continue weighing, but take measurements and keep a journal. You may be making more progress than you think.

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Take measurements instead of getting on the scale.

 

You know what you weigh now, Weigh again in a few months, but check your measurements every couple of weeks.

 

:iagree: I began a workout routine with my son in late July. I saw no weight loss (I'd like to lose 10 lbs) until this last week. *However* I am down 2 inches on my waist, 1.5 inches around the middle (belly button area) and an inch in my bum. This is working out 3 days per week for about 45 min. to 1 hour. I'm not dieting, but I am watching to make sure I don't eat too much sugar or other carbs. And this week I discovered I had lost about 2 lbs. But I'm down a full size in bottoms (medium to a small or 8 to a 6 - had to go out today and get some new shorts) and although my tops are still medium (due to the bOOks), the shirts are loose around the body.

 

Stay away from the scales for a while, get some baseline measurements, WRITE THEM DOWN, the continue the exercise and diet. Check the measurements and scales in a couple of weeks.

 

Best wishes! It's hard to continue if you don't see improvement. If you can find an exercise partner, that will help tremendously.

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