Scale not budging, not even an ounce?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your diet is far too low in fat. This isn't the 1980s. We now know that fats from whole foods are not something to avoid.

Here's a challenge: keep this same calorie count for three weeks. But make it so your macros / daily ratios are 60% fat, 30% protein, 10% carbs.

Skip the orange and eat an avocado. Skip the rice and have brussels sprouts or cauliflower roasted in olive oil. Skip the oatmeal and have two or three eggs scrambled in coconut oil or butter.

I bet you'll lose weight and feel far less hungry than you do currently.

You know what, on second thought: DON'T keep this same calorie count. It is too low for someone so active. Give yourself a couple hundred extra calories as you add in more fat (in place of carbs, not protein). Give it 2 weeks. See what the scale says, and how your clothes fit.

Other than avocado and butter, what do you suggest for fat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't "eat back" exercise calories. Change that fact in your calculation and you will see change.

OP should also have actually reasonable estimates to ignore anyways. 15-20 miles in 40 minutes on a bike is 22.50-30mph. That’s effectively impossible. Unless she is on time trial bike and planning on joining the women’s professional peloton.

I ride outdoors on an old railway trail. It’s a straight shot with hardly any stops, and I absolutely ride 15 miles in around 40 minutes. I ride distance races and I am currently training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Other than avocado and butter, what do you suggest for fat?

Eat fattier cuts of meat (chicken thighs instead of breast; ribeye instead of filet mignon, etc.) and oily fish (sardines, white anchovy, and mackerel tinned in olive oil).

If you like (avocado- or olive oil) mayonnaise, be generous with it: make chicken salad, or a mayo-based salad dressing for vegetables or as a dip for crudites. (For example, this is an easy, delicious recipe that always gets raves as both salad dressing and dip).

Scramble your eggs, roast your vegetables, and cook meats in oils (olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, bacon fat).

Snacks: cheese (preferably aged, but string cheese and BabyBel are easy on the go), sunflower seeds, olives, toasted unsweetened coconut, macadamia nuts.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and FULL-FAT DAIRY. Fage 5%. Full-fat sour cream. Etcetera.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and FULL-FAT DAIRY. Fage 5%. Full-fat sour cream. Etcetera.

I’ve been doing the 20g protein yogurt because it’s easy dense protein and feels like a treat. I *think* it’s full fat? It’s definitely not low cal. I will check and see because now I’m curious.

It’s funny you mention this. I made a chicken wrap for dinner today on a protein wrap and I added mayo before I even saw your comment, and it was oddly satisfying.

[Anonymous]

The simple answer is you’re not in a real deficit. Deduct 200 calories from what you eat and see if there’s any movement in 4 weeks. True fat loss is slow!

[Anonymous]

OH nevermind just saw you’re only eating 1300 calories?? That’s insane. Bump it to 1700 and you’ll see more progress, guaranteed. You are not fueling properly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You may not be eating enough. Your body may think you are in crisis, so is storing calories.

Ya, no, this is not a thing.

Are you an idiot? Of course it’s “a thing.”

No it’s not. If you eat too little you burn muscle and fat for energy. You don’t store the calories you do eat because your body is in “crisis” mode. Like WTF??? If that were the case it wouldn’t be possible to starve to death.

Stop believing this BS. No one is getting fat or holding onto fat because they are eating too little.

OP do not listen to this disordered poster. Listen to your doctor. Consult experts who’ve actually researched the impact of chronic calorie insufficiency on the body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OH nevermind just saw you’re only eating 1300 calories?? That’s insane. Bump it to 1700 and you’ll see more progress, guaranteed. You are not fueling properly.

NP but how would this even work? If I’m stranded on a deserted island and getting fewer calories, I will drop weight. I won’t drop EVEN MORE weight if another 200 calorie fish swims to shore for my consumption. Can you elaborate because I feel stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OH nevermind just saw you’re only eating 1300 calories?? That’s insane. Bump it to 1700 and you’ll see more progress, guaranteed. You are not fueling properly.

NP but how would this even work? If I’m stranded on a deserted island and getting fewer calories, I will drop weight. I won’t drop EVEN MORE weight if another 200 calorie fish swims to shore for my consumption. Can you elaborate because I feel stupid.

Not the PP but eventually your body gets used to that 1300 and thinks it he’ll starve so it doesn’t want to let fat go. This person is very active so they can probably go up to 1700 and try it for a few weeks to see a new baseline and then maybe drop to 1500.

[Anonymous]

I have been there recently too. I have always been very active and wasn’t seeing any drop in scale for the past several months. This is what I’ve been doing in April and I’ve lost 3-4lbs.

No alcohol (stopped this 12/31)
Very limited sweets (this is my downfall and it’s a work in progress)
100+g protein a day
Follow glucose goddess hacks for steady glucose.
3 solid meals a day, no snacks
Limited my fasting to a few long fasts right after ovulation and period.

I have not counted calories or macros or taken out any other food group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been working out in the gym with a trainer for about two months. I recently took my cardio outside and it’s definitely using different muscles and INTENSE. I’ve upped my water. I’ve been tracking macros diligently (I paid to have my macros and use a digital scale) I’m in a calorie deficit. I’ve been doing two-a-day intense cardio workouts for three weeks (training for a race) and checked the scale again for the first time a week ago. It hasn’t moved, not even an ounce! I thought the scale was broken, so I changed the batteries, placed weights on the scale (it’s accurate!) and weighted myself on two other scales. Just checked it today and also not an ounce! How is this possible?

I can’t cut calories any more with this level of intensity. I asked. My trainer says “you’re building muscle”. That’s fine, but not even an OUNCE of difference in the scale? What could be going on?

You talk a LOT about exercise but what I really want to know is how is the diet. I know you said you are tracking but what is your current weight, goal weight and your calories? With all that exercise are you possibly eating more than you think?

Are you tracking ALL calories and consistency; how many days out of the month you are hitting your calorie? Should be hitting calorie target at least 85-90% of the time.

How often are you weighing yourself? I find more often gives a better picture as once a week can mask normal weight fluctuations.

Now if you are doing a lot of cardio your body will build glycogen stores/retain more water. This will eventually even out. I know when I trained for a marathon I stored more water and was 3-4 lbs heavier, but as soon as the race was over and I cut back on all the running that went away quickly.

You are probably getting stronger, but like gaining fat building muscle also required a calorie surplus. You can't build fat or muscle without excess energy (calories) to do so.

Not entirely true. First, if you are overweight, your body can absolutely use fat stores as fuel to build muscle. Secondly, the calorie surplus only needs to be right after the lifting. So you eat more calories than you burned right after you lift and then a deficit the rest of the day.

AS for fat, for a long time I had insulin resistance and was technically in a calorie deficit every day, but still gained weight.
The point is, the old rules are not accurate and too simplistic.

Different poster - how did you get out of the insulin resistance?

Metformin, 1000. After two months on it, with zero changes to my diet, I started dropping weight. 20 pounds. I am now maintaining...6 months. For the two years before MF, I was eating about 1400 calories a day with an estimated burn of about 2000-2300. I continued to gain weight. After the metformin, 14-1500 calories got me to drop the weight instead of continually gaining. I now eat about 1700-1800 calories. I am 48 years old.

What were the side effects?

[Anonymous]

I am in a similar situation and increasing calories HAS led to greater weight loss. Someone explained it to me that there are some (say, 200) calories that you use for non-basic functions and non-exercise: just housework, gardening, walking a little further, optional stuff you don’t think about. When you are cutting calories so much, your body is too calorie-poor to do those things do your body finds ways to avoid them. This was true for me—instead of cleaning the kitchen for example I was so depleted I was just sitting on the couch in the evening. When I added more calories I felt better and added more punches of activity throughout the day, offsetting those and then some.

[Anonymous]

How are your clothes fitting? Doing what you’re doing with eating and exercise (although I’d cut the awful protein powders and add nuts and nut butters as snacks or components instead) and have a pair of “reference pants”. If your clothes are still fitting the same then some thing is really off. I’d also get your thyroid checked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OH nevermind just saw you’re only eating 1300 calories?? That’s insane. Bump it to 1700 and you’ll see more progress, guaranteed. You are not fueling properly.

Absolutely. Bump your calories, you’ll be amazed at how it drops.