Getting really disillusioned

What the hell do I have to do to lose a f#@king pound. Every RDI calculator says I should eat 2000 to 2400ish calories to lose a pound a week. My activity log on this site says I burn 3000+ calories per day. I don't have a desk job & I'm very active at work every day. Why is it when I eat less than 2000 calories per day, I still gain weight. At this point I have to drop below 1400 to 1500 calories to maintain. I'm 5'10 & have been floating between 212 & 220 pounds for way too long now. I shouldn't have to starve myself.

The amount of calories burned here seems very optimistic. Also, when you calculate your calorie needs, and if you enter in "active" since you have a physical job, then that should already be considered in the factor when computing your RDI. When I was tracking my exercise, I kept the basic sleeping/resting, and I skipped adding things like driving, sitting, standing, shopping, etc., and mainly only added actual exercise. I lost weight fairly consistently on 2200-2400 calories per day.

When I calculate my RDI, I use inactive for the activity level, or I use RMR calculators which don't factor in activity. The fatsecret one on low active says I should eat 2300 calories to lose 1 pound per week. I'm not a small guy, I have good muscle tone & a large skeleton. I exercise regularly & I'm almost constantly moving all day. I use measuring cups & scales to control portions, so there's no error on the number of calories I'm eating. 1800 calories is enough to keep me from feeling hungry. 1200 or 1400 isn't, & its ridiculous to think someone who's active & my size should have to eat that little to lose weight.

The thing is, you shouldn't. It's not about creating as big a deficit as possible. There is such a thing as eating too little, and you're reaching that point. Starving yourself is a million times worse than overeating.

Any weight that you have gained is purely water weight. Stop worrying so much, and stop reducing your calories so much. Consume a lot of water so that you cut the water weight (I know it's counter-intuitive, but just do it), and lastly, give it time.

it also looks like from your scale that you have reached a plateau.
You need to change your excersize regiment a little bit.
Believe it or not -taking a break for 1 week may not be a bad idea.
yea you may pick up a lb or two in water weight, but then it will come right off.

Best is to alternate your activity a little if you can, to shake the body.

Try cutting down on the carbs (like by half). Too much sugar packs on the fat.

This is why I'm so frustrated. I drink a gallon of water per day on my worst days, usually 1.5 or more. As far as carbs, I'll eliminate more of the simple ones, but good protein sources are too expensive for my someone at my income level to eat 250+ grams per day. That's just not feasible. I think I will also increase my calories again to reduce the deficit, but I've tried that before & it didn't work. I'm just out of ideas. I'm not giving up, & I know its a long bumpy road that I'm on. I'm just frustrated. Thanks for the advice so far. I know I'm not alone, & that's always a big help.

Add more fats to increase calories. Makes foods taste better too.

I'll try that. Thanks for the advice.

well hell you've lost 47 pounds!!! NICE JOB!!!!

PS. I don't think your carbs or you fats look too bad. But, your protein could use some help.

If I were you I'd totally ramp up the protein to a minimum of 150 grams a day and keep your daily calorie intake at least 1800. and, I second the water, water, water. keep a very large glass with you at all times and drink from it often.

You'll get there. Look how far you've already come!

i agree with mwessinger.....don't enter anything into your excerise log unless your actually working out. Your probably not at as much of a deficit as you think you are. Also get a heart rate monitor to get your calories burned during workouts, its extremely accurate and that plus being accurate with your calorie intake will surely lead to more weight loss.

Sounds like you've already received some amazing advice and while at this point you're both looking for suggestions but mostly wanting to vent extreme frustrations. Here are a few tips several women I know have used to realign after once they have hit a plateau after a nice weight loss (such as over 47 pounds)

1. Change every Routine
A. Exercise routines make your body complacent and don't really try your muscles or your HR nearly as much anymore

B. Diet plan changes throw your metabolism off balance making it second guess what your body is processing next also allowing you the same advantage of working against muscle memory in the exercise routine. But I stress the same as the other friends above If you drink over 1.5 gallons a day now then make it 2... It has been proven that people will continue to eat because they feel hungry even when they are not due to being dehydrated.

C. Don't step on the scale for at least a WEEK, when you become so preoccupied about the numbers the plateau is inevitable. I'm guilty of it, everyone is guilty of it.

Good luck and I wish you the best

Sounds like your carb sensitive. I`d look at trying Atkins for 4 weeks or just try low carb for a month. It works like a charm for me. Also try eating every 3 waking hours to get your metabolism cranked up. If that means eating 3 hours before bed .. do it, it`s fine. Just make sure it is only a small amount of high quality protein, like a little chicken breast or half a cup of 1% cottage cheese.

As far a water goes. I take my body weight in pounds divide by 2 and thats how many ounces of water I drink daily throughout the day.

Good luck

Eating smaller eals with snacks in between really helped me. Breakfast, fruit, snack, lunch, fruit, snack, dinner. Snacks include things like small bran muffin, Biscuits with a protein like low fat or fat free cottage cheese. Fruit helps with the sugar cravings. Cut back om potatoes and mayo, portion controll and eating something every 2 to 3 hours and of course water. This works for me.

Good luck!

I agree with some of the other commentors here, try reducing your carbs and increasing your fat intake. Get most of your carbs from salads. I'd also suggest reading the book "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Tabues. It's a quick read that will change your perspective on nutrition and probably answer some questions about why you're having trouble losing.

Welcome to my world....I really don't have any advice at this point, but I would like to remind you that you are still performing HIT and the scale will not be your friend with the building of lean muscle. Stay the course. Don't be afraid of the stalling points, you've done an amazing job so far. I'm certain that people have noticed and tell you that all the time.

As far as the activity meter, your body will constantly adapt to the level of activity. If you are doing something everyday, you will have to add more activity to create the burn needed to lose more fat. I am going to have to go against the HIT principles of "no cardio" to boost fat loss too. I've been looking into HIIT as a fat loss strategy. In addition, too much of a deficit will make you retain fat. SO my recommendation would be eat at base, but add some intense cardio.

Also, nothing works better for me than a direct challenge. So, if you're game, I'll challenge you to a mini-challenge. Name the goal and I'll race you there

What have your measurements looked like over this period? Are your clothes fitting any differently? Keep in mind that the scale is one very crude method of measuring progress. If you're in an exercise rut, you might be burning fewer calories than you think, but if you're pushing yourself, remember that tired muscles retain water and that can add up to a LOT of weight gain- and its completely meaningless.

Personally, I'd try entering only activities that are true exercise and record your activity level as light active (since you don't have a desk job), then see what kind of an impact it has on your deficits. If they're really high, try a couple weeks of lower ones and if they're low, try increasing them.

Also, do you occassionally throw in a calorie surplus day to keep your metabolism on track? Your body will adjust to a lower calorie level and you don't want it to do that. You should also take your measurements now, so that you can build another point of reference beyond the scale. I've actually gained weight over the last couple of weeks while doing more exercise and staying on track with my food, so I know how that goes, but I'm also increasing strength training, so I'm consciously ignoring the scale results for the rest of the month as I know its not reflecting my real progress.

If you've consistently logged your diet and exercise, spend some time reviewing your past data and see if there are any changes from when you were doing better- the type of foods (processed vs. not), breakdown of fat/protein/carbs, changes in level of exercise, size and frequency of meals, salt intake- all can have an impact.

Hope some of the many insights on this sting helps find the answer. Most important thing: don't give up!

exactly the same thing happened to me when i last tried to lose weight - i reached a point where no matter how little i ate and how much i exercised, my weight would not go down. (2 years ago now with the same start and goal weight, tragic!)
i have since learned that you gain water weight from not eating enough, or eating too many carbs or sugar. i think too much salt can also cause this too.
i'd recommend looking to see if you've changed much in your eating recently - are you eating less or eating different things? - and then go back to how you were eating when you were losing weight.
and most importantly, don't get disheartened and give up like i did!
good luck.