I’m discouraged! Anyone else find it hard to get to 500 calorie/day deficit? Why is it taking so long to attain my goal?

F 34 5’3.5” sw 119 gw 108 cw 114.  So I started cc a few months ago.  I was eating 1200/day and working out 30-45min/day 5x/wk.  I can honestly say I didn’t pay too much attention to calories burned, plus I wasn’t sure if I was sedentary, lightly or moderately active. 

My doc said 1200 was too little for what I want to do and my lifestyle I should be eating 1600/day.  So I tried doing that…I also started doing more intense workouts (intervals & circuits) plus I added some weights too. 

I could see the changes in my body.  It was getting closer to the goal of what I wanted.  I got with in 2lb of my goal weight (but started thinking more about the look and feel of what I wanted my body to be than the number on the scale...although that number is always in the back of my mind too).

I also just found out that I’m 1.5(always thought I was 5’2”) taller than I had thought I was.  This changes my stats a little also.  After a long not so good cc weekend (I over did eating & drinking) and getting ttom the scale is up and my belly is not looking as tight as last week. I realize I’m at a healthy bmi and weight but just not the shape/size I’d like to be.  I’m not going for some drastic weight loss or even looking to be super muscular…just closer to what I was in my 20’s. I just want to be lean w/ muscle tone/definition and cut (not ripped or 6pk) abs.

Yesterday I had a deficit of 475 calories.  I think this is the closest to 500 I’ve ever had. Today I show 1730 total burn estimate with 1161cal eat (I have to still add some snacks), but to achieve 500 deficit this means according to cc I should eat 1230 which is low.  I’m just so confused and frustrated because I haven’t attained my goal and I’m getting tired of not getting there yet.

How do you get the 500cal/day deficit?  What am I doing wrong?

Don't cut! Try taking a walk or doing some push-ups. Buy a weighted hula hoop. Find something easy to do that isn't time-consuming to burn a few extra calories during the day. The higher your burn, the higher your defecit (unless you eat more).

But are you sure you're only burning that little per day? Doesn't sound possible!

I have my settings set to sedentary and I add my workouts.  I don't have/wear a hr monitor so I use what cc has as a guide.  There is no listing for hiit training so I go with circuit training (some on the fitness board said they'd concider some of my work outs hiit).

I'm always running around w dd.  When the weather's nice I take her (sometimes dog too) to playground.  While I'm there I play on the equipment too, I also will do chin ups (as best as I can), dips, reverse crunches, monkey bars.  But the last two day has been rainy so no extra outdoor activity.

Hey! Judging by your stats, 1600-1700 sounds about right for maintenance on sedentary days. If you were to exercise vigorously for 1h, then that`s your weight loss amount. But I think you might be underestimating your burn, if you are always chasing after your kid and/or dog. Did you know that if you are a moderately active person your metabolism burns more calories at rest than if you were sedentary? That`s another place where you might be underestimating, try a week of only logging exercise on top of a moderately active setting and see if you`re not more comfortable and doing better.

Also, 108 sounds a bit low for your height, it`s borderline underweight. If I were you I`d just stop trying to lose weight now, eat maintenance and rely on my activity level to tone up. Actually, that`s exactly what I did back when I was losing. :) I upped my cal intake to maintenance when I was about 5 pounds away from my goal (I`m 1 inch shorter than you) and just incorporated a bit more activity. I was very pleased with the results I got within just a few weeks, the number on the scale didn`t even make such a difference anymore. Trust me, when your old high school clothes fit even better than before, you won`t care if you`re 2 pounds heavier than you were back then. :)

I'm 5' 7" 143lbs, healthy bmi, aiming for 135ish. What's most important is toned muscle and a chance to see the abs I've worked so hard for, not so much a number. I consume, on average 1350-1550 cal/day and hard workout days it's higher. The foods I eat are filling and nutritious, I'm never starving. Maybe somewhere between 1300-1400 is okay to get the deficit, but 1600 is about right. I wouldn't go less.

After a long plateau, I started walking on my lunch hour, about 2.5 miles (200-220 cal) and I run in the afternoon. Never used a HR monitor until 2 weeks ago, I didn't realize how much I was burning. My runs include hiit. On a day I do both, I burn between 600-650 cal. I lost 2 lbs. the week I started the extra walk. I sit at a computer for 8hrs, so the extra exercise is crucial.

I also changed up the foods I eat. Instead of turkey burgers, Boca (cut up in a wrap or rice, I kinda shy away from breads). Foods like quinoa & oatmeal are excellent with weight loss, belly fat, etc. Very filling, nutritious, lower cal. and endless possibilities. Try for natural sugar and low sodium. Cut out coffee for a week if you can, water only, see what it does.

The best way to get around the plateau is to shock your body. Change your foods, change your workouts; every body is different. The HR monitor might push you to burn more in a workout and see how much you're really burning (find one that takes a HR from just your wrist so it's comfortable to wear all day if you like, I don't think I could wear the band I have all day). It helps you maximize your workout in a short time-frame. Buy a resistance band to build lean muscle. Changing food and workouts has helped me, never went to a doctor for advice, just made sure I was full and getting the correct nutrients. Three years ago I was 220lbs, that 135 is within reach for me. Hope the tips help.

You were already undereating when you were working out and eating 1200 calories.  Then you added more calories but also made your work out more intense (thus burning more calories).  You are still undereating.  By adding more exercise as you added more calories you actually just undid any good that higher calorie intake might have done for you.

That "plateau" is your body trying to conserve your reserve because it percieves you are already starving.  That is also why you are finding it hard to keep that deficit.  You are hungry! 

Also make sure you are really eating what you think you are.  Weigh - don't measure your food.  It can make a huge difference.

I do weigh every thing I eat/drink (aside from cheat/treat meals...even them I have a fairly good idea just from all the weighing and measuring I do)

Don't forget there are TWO ways to create your deficit.  You can either cut your calories, or burn more calories.  In this case, you are so close to your goal weight that cutting calories will put you in that too-low range for your daily intake, just as your doctor said.  So you only have one option.

If your daily intake is 1600 calories a day, then to create your 500cal/day deficit, you need to burn 2100 cals/day.

However, you don't HAVE to have a 500cal/day deficit.  If you're finding this unsustainable, you're better off with a smaller deficit, slower weight loss, and a lifestyle you can live with and sustain.

Good luck!! :)

Original Post by jg3778:

I have my settings set to sedentary and I add my workouts.  

I think you are undereating.

If you work out then set yourself to light or moderately active.  These guidelines are there because if you exercise you have a higher base metabolism because you'll inevitably have more muscle than someone who is actually sedentary.  So you sitting around doing nothing burns more calories than a sedentary person sitting around doing nothing.  That is why the levels are there, they do not account for exercise.

Set yourself to the appropriate level of activity then add exercise. 

Probably eating too many carbs. Lower your carbs and up your protein on the same cals and you'll be there in no time at all.

2 months is not a long time. I've been at this game over 2 years and had plenty of frustrations and barriers to overcome, and I'm just now in the same boat as you. I'm back to losing again on a strict modified carb cycling plan, but you have to be patient really, you only have to lose the weight once as long as you learn your lesson, and you can enjoy the benefits for the many decades left in your life.

I don't know if this will be helpful or not, but I have found that cc actually underestimates my calorie burn.  I have my settings at light activity.  I am a teacher and tend to be on my feet a lot of the day.  CC estimates my burn at 1650 each day.  I wore my heart rate monitor all day a few months ago, and my burn reading was more like 1900.  So I can eat around 1400 calories on the days I don't work out and still get a 500 calorie deficit. 

Yeah, CC underestimates my burn too.  I'm losing on what it thinks I need to maintain.  I'm almost wondering if there's a "fudge factor" worked into the equations to account for the fact that most people underestimate their food and overestimate their activity level - so that if you get the food and activity right, CC will give an underestimate.

Original Post by thermal:

Original Post by jg3778:

I have my settings set to sedentary and I add my workouts.  

I think you are undereating.

If you work out then set yourself to light or moderately active.  These guidelines are there because if you exercise you have a higher base metabolism because you'll inevitably have more muscle than someone who is actually sedentary.  So you sitting around doing nothing burns more calories than a sedentary person sitting around doing nothing.  That is why the levels are there, they do not account for exercise.

Set yourself to the appropriate level of activity then add exercise. 

 This is actually incorrect. The Blog from CC posted last week discussing the new formula for the burn meter specifically said to either set your activity level at the appropriate one for your activity and don't add your daily exercise OR set it to sedentary and add your daily exercise. If you use moderate for example, it will add in your average exercise already.

Now, I kow this does not help the OP any. I just wanted to clarify this for others who may be reading this. For the OP, I would suggest just increasing her activity when possible, as others have suggested too. Maybe increase the cals a little too.

I found that to get my 500-700 calorie burn over eaten I walk more.  An extra 1 hour walk is an extra 270 odd calories which can be the difference between hitting your deficit or not, and its exercise so its good for you.

So I generally do 2 hours of walking a day, including getting to and from work and that gives me around 400 calories extra burn, of that I allow myself 200 to eat and 200 to add to my aimed deficit - works well as it means my allowable eat increases to 1400 per day and my deficit still remains the same.

Also, with note to wanting your body from your 20's, you do realise that as you get older you are unlikely to return to your body that you had in your 20's because your body structure changes, your metabolism changes, you get sagging etc and its just not possible for most people to reattain that body.  Might be better to aim for something about how you want to look without directly comparing to what you had in your 20's.