Weight

[Liftnsquat]

Hi everyone I’m looking for a bit of advice.

I’m 5”1 female 31 years old and weigh 152lbs. I exercise 4x per week doing the PHUL programme I have been doing this for around 14 weeks now ( with maybe 2-3 weeks when I couldn’t go to the gym ) anyway I can’t seem to shift my weight. The scale won’t budge. I’m eating anywhere between 1300 cals and 1400 cals a day. I track and weigh all my food. I eat just under 1g protein per lb of body weight. My macros are 140g protein 123g carbs and 39g Of fat. I also do some moderate cardio after my weight for around 15-20 mins. Is there something I’m doing wrong to be not losing weight? I can drop maybe 1-2lbs a week but my weight never goes Under 150lbs? I drink enough water I’d say maybe 1 litre -1.5 litres a day. I also would say that my clothes around my mid section seem a little more loose but really not that big a difference. My waist and hip measurements have stayed the same also. Where am I going wrong?

Tia x

[Heisman2]

Could you post everything you are eating in a typical day? You also may want to bump up the fat intake some as well.

[Mrpb]

The scale won’t budge. I’m eating anywhere between 1300 cals and 1400 cals a day. I track and weigh all my food.

It's simple. You're eating too much.

You'll probably resist this but your calorie counting is off somewhere. Are you using Myfitnesspal? It has many errors in the database. You may be forgetting some oils or drinks.

Anyway, if you're not losing weight you'll need to eat less than you're currently eating.

[Liftnsquat]

It varies day to day

So for example

Breakfast can be
6 egg whites and 1 whole
Egg and a bowl of porridge with semi skimmed milk

Lunch can be pasta and 5% lean steak mince with reduced sugar dolmio sauce and peas

Dinner - salad with chicken and extra olive oil ( which I also track)

Snack- Greek yoghurt with raspberries

If my protein is low I will have a protein shake with water just to hit that 140g

( I also take a multivitamin, a vitamin C and a fish oil tablet)

If I bump up fat my calories are going to increase even more?

But I change up what I eat every second day or so :/

If I bump fat intake should

[Liftnsquat]

I do use my fitness pal to track everything and there’s times where I can be eating around even 1200 calories just to make up for any errors I have made

[Mrpb]

I do use my fitness pal to track everything and there’s times where I can be eating around even 1200 calories just to make up for any errors I have made

The database of Myfitnesspal contains many errors. You'll need to double check every entry you use.

I can guarantee you if an active 150 pound female eats 1300 kcal she will loose weight. There's no doubt about it.

[Liftnsquat]

The database of Myfitnesspal contains many errors. You'll need to double check every entry you use.

I can guarantee you if an active 150 pound female eats 1300 kcal she will loose weight. There's no doubt about it.

Sometimes my macros don’t match my calories I have noticed that so I will start checking the packaging if everything. I’ve actually only started adding in the cardio the last week I know I don’t need it but I really enjoy it will doing this help with my deficit too?

[Heisman2]

Sometimes my macros don’t match my calories I have noticed that so I will start checking the packaging if everything. I’ve actually only started adding in the cardio the last week I know I don’t need it but I really enjoy it will doing this help with my deficit too?

Yes, doing cardio will burn more calories so if you don't increase your intake your deficit will increase.

Look at the nutrition labels of everything you eat and figure out the total calories, grams of protein, and grams of fat you consume in a typical day. Total calories never matches the macros for a variety of reasons, but you can still use the total calories for the calorie aspect of things and the grams of protein/fat for the protein/fat minimums.

[Mrpb]

Sometimes my macros don’t match my calories I have noticed that so I will start checking the packaging if everything. I’ve actually only started adding in the cardio the last week I know I don’t need it but I really enjoy it will doing this help with my deficit too?

Depends. Some people who add cardio will be resting more at home. Total daily expenditure is what matters.

[rtpmarine]

I can guarantee you if an active 150 pound female eats 1300 kcal she will loose weight. There's no doubt about it.

Do you have much experience training or counseling women?

[Liftnsquat]

Depends. Some people who add cardio will be resting more at home. Total daily expenditure is what matters.

Well I calculated my tdee and I try and eat 500 cals below it ( I know my tdee based off a calculator won’t be perfect ) but I’m obviously eating a lot more than I think I am if my weights just bouncing between 150lbs and 152lbs it’s just really stressful especially when I’m training hard 4x a week and try my hardest to eat in a deficit. Is there any other apps that are a bit more accurate for logging food other than MFP?

[Mrpb]

Do you have much experience training or counseling women?

I have some in real life and I've given advice to a lot of women here. I'm well aware of how many women CLAIM to not lose weight on 1300 kcal. That doesn't change my opinion because I know how extremely common under reporting is.

Some questions for you:

Are you aware of the scientific literature that has looked at how accurate people can report caloric intake?

Are you aware that even licensed dieticians can't accurately track their caloric intake?

Can you link me to any controlled study where active females of similar weight were not losing weight on 1300 kcal?

Not that any of this really matters because she'll have to eat less than she's currently doing anyway, regardless of the accuracy of her tracking. In the mean time I'm encouraging her to improve the accuracy of her tracking.

Well I calculated my tdee and I try and eat 500 cals below it ( I know my tdee based off a calculator won’t be perfect ) but I’m obviously eating a lot more than I think I am if my weights just bouncing between 150lbs and 152lbs it’s just really stressful especially when I’m training hard 4x a week and try my hardest to eat in a deficit. Is there any other apps that are a bit more accurate for logging food other than MFP?

MFP is fine in principle. You just need to make sure you're using the correct entries. You only have to do that once, then you can keep using that entry.

Say you use Quaker oatmeal. Scan the product once, check on the label if it's all correct, then keep using that entry.

[Liftnsquat]

I have some in real life and I've given advice to a lot of women here. I'm well aware of how many women CLAIM to not lose weight on 1300 kcal. That doesn't change my opinion because I know how extremely common under reporting is.

Some questions for you:

Are you aware of the scientific literature that has looked at how accurate people can report caloric intake?

Are you aware that even licensed dieticians can't accurately track their caloric intake?

Can you link me to any controlled study where active females of similar weight were not losing weight on 1300 kcal?

Not that any of this really matters because she'll have to eat less than she's currently doing anyway, regardless of the accuracy of her tracking. In the mean time I'm encouraging her to improve the accuracy of her tracking.



MFP is fine in principle. You just need to make sure you're using the correct entries. You only have to do that once, then you can keep using that entry.

Say you use Quaker oatmeal. Scan the product once, check on the label if it's all correct, then keep using that entry.

Okay thanks for the help. I will certainly double check my food and make sure it’s matching the packaging. If I keep doing a bit more cardio after sessions maybe that might help tip the scale the right way too? I’ve only done cardio the last 2 days properly where I’ve done about 20 mins. I know I shouldn’t even have to do cardio if I’m genuinely eating 1300 cals to see the scale move but like I mentioned I do enjoy doing a bit of it

[Mrpb]

Okay thanks for the help. I will certainly double check my food and make sure it’s matching the packaging. If I keep doing a bit more cardio after sessions maybe that might help tip the scale the right way too? I’ve only done cardio the last 2 days properly where I’ve done about 20 mins. I know I shouldn’t even have to do cardio if I’m genuinely eating 1300 cals to see the scale move but like I mentioned I do enjoy doing a bit of it

Sure. Cardio is great for health benefits too.

[Liftnsquat]

Sure. Cardio is great for health benefits too.

Yes for your heart and lungs 🙂 thanks so much for your help. Im not on here often but I do jump on to ask questions from more knowledgeable people like yourself

[AdamWW]

Yes for your heart and lungs ������ thanks so much for your help. Im not on here often but I do jump on to ask questions from more knowledgeable people like yourself

And recovery, and joints, and sleep, and stress hormones

[kabirkolle]

Eat a high-protein breakfast.
Avoid sugary drinks and fruit juice.
Drink water a half hour before meals.
Choose weight loss-friendly foods (see list).
Eat soluble fiber.
Drink coffee or tea.
Eat mostly whole, unprocessed foods.
Eat your food slowly.