8 replies to this topic

[mommyinpgh]

So I have been wearing the armband for two weeks. Full disclosure: I have had some days where I ate more than the JC plan. But, when I ran a report for the last 14 days, here is what it showed:

Target cals burned vs average of actual:  2300/2550
Target cals eaten vs average of actual: 1300/1950
Target deficit vs average: 1000/656


So, based on an average deficit per day, over the last 14 days, of 656 cals, I should technically have lost a little over 2.5 lbs over the past two weeks.

And I will find out if this is the case tomorrow.

I'm not retaining water. It is not TOM. So, we'll see.

I'm disappointed I didn't stick closer to 1300 cals eaten, but my target burn is ALWAYS higher on average. I had several days where I burned over 3000 cals, through exercise. I had a goal of averaging 10,000 steps a day and I beat that. I have down that m y goal is 30 min of vigrorous activity a day and 60 min of moderate. I beat that, too. So, naturally, I am hungrier on plenty of days where 1300 cals doesn't suffice. Trust me -- if you have a 1500 calorie deficit three days in a row, you'll be hungry-- and no amount of soupetizer helps. So, I eat more of mostly the right things -- and try to maintain a deficit on average.

I have no idea if this will be my undoing, though.

The last time I used this armband, it didn't ever really correlate with my weigh in. It showed general trends ... if I had a 1000-cal deficit on avg each day, I might lose 1.5 lbs that week. If I showed a 200-cal deficit per day, I might gain 1.5 lbs. I guess the larger point for me is to see those trends and adjust. Wearing this for the past two weeks helped nip a trend of weight gain, even if it didn't toally change my mindset and propensity to eat a bunch of stuff at night that I shouldn't. Small steps.

And very curious about tomorrow. Whatever it is, I will post the results here.

[I Called Jenny]

OK, let us know what happens and then bring the info to your JCC. It's possible that with the extra exercise (because I know you can go nuts with these things when you get into the "losing zone") you MIGHT need extra calories. But it also might be possible since you didn't have a week where you TOTALLY followed the plan that she might want you to follow the plan for a week or two and then re-evaluate what you need to do.

Just give her as much info as possible so she can make an accurate evaluation at what you should or shouldn't do.

Let us know how it goes.

[Laurie S]

Interesting stats. Let us know what happens tomorrow. I will be curiously waiting...

[mommyinpgh]

Well, okay ... i was UP 2 lbs.

This is perplexing to me. BUT, I have to consider that it has been 2 weeks since I last WI. And the last weigh in, I had lost a whopping 10 lbs in one week (5 of which had to be TOM issues, and I had heavier clothes on, so in my head I thought I actually lost about 3).

So perhaps, after a loss of 10 lbs in one week, two weeks later my body adjusted? I don't know. I was very honest in recording everything in the armband. Just now, I ran a 14-day report, and here is exactly what it says:

CALORIES BURNED 2300 CALORIES 2519 CALORIES

CALORIES CONSUMED 1300 CALORIES 1857 CALORIES

CALORIE BALANCE 1000 CALORIE

DEFICIT 662 CALORIE

DEFICIT

TARGET DAILY AVERAGE TARGET

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 1:30 HRS:MINS 1:44 HRS:MINS

NUMBER OF STEPS 10000 STEPS 11831 STEPS

SLEEP DURATION 8:00 HRS:MINS 7:48 HRS:MINS

[mommyinpgh]

So -- 662 calorie deficit on average. That would make anyone happy, right? That's a 1-2 lbs loss per week. So what gives? I'm not giving up. But I KNOW I need to be way closer to my target intake cals (1300) and not so worried about my burned cals.

I did NO activity yesterday -- was dead tired. Literally drive to work, sat at my desk, drove home. I burned 1950 cals with no activity. As you can see from the 2500 cals burned on avg, I have no trouble with activity. Twice this past week I walked over 20,000 steps (running, tennis, walking, etc). It's the calories taken in. Even at 1800-1900 on average, this is reasonable for my activity level. It should not be producing a gain. I need to change my signature -- time to face reality. That weight is not accurate. I weighed in at 166 today. :-(

[mommyinpgh]

ok, changed my signature. I am back, people!

[jenrdn69]

Hey mommy -- sent you an email via my gmail this morning.  After I emailed, I finally got my butt out the door and decided to take a chance -- did 9 miles this morning.  SLOWLY -- just shy of 2 hours.  And, my legs are sore (not hurt like injury), but that last mile was yikers on my leg muscles, but I'm happy I got in that distance as its something I've really wanted to do (about a mile more than my longest so far).

My opinion is that there is one thing you need:  consistency.  You understand what I mean.

For everyone who used the armband -- for me, my deficits never = weight loss.  I've given up even worrying about that because I'll have deficits and my weight loss is never, basically.  Hard to accept that, but for me and for now -- I'm looking at positive behavoir changes and being healthy --- it's not easy by a long shot to accept that I may never loose another pound.  My body just goes up and down these few pounds now.

So, I never look at my deficits because they never reflect weight loss.  I use the armband as a tool to monitor how many steps I'm getting -- how active I can make my day, how my at rest calorie burn is impacted by intervals (it usually goes up for a few hours after) and my sleep.  Today I'll be interested to see how my body responds to my longer run with my regular burn for the rest of the day -- does it impact my sleep or calories burned at rest?  The armband has alot of good data there for me to look at and that is what I use it for.

[mermaid76]

mommyinpgh, on 02 June 2012 - 08:44 AM, said:

Well, okay ... i was UP 2 lbs.

This is perplexing to me. BUT, I have to consider that it has been 2 weeks since I last WI. And the last weigh in, I had lost a whopping 10 lbs in one week (5 of which had to be TOM issues, and I had heavier clothes on, so in my head I thought I actually lost about 3).

So perhaps, after a loss of 10 lbs in one week, two weeks later my body adjusted? I don't know. I was very honest in recording everything in the armband. Just now, I ran a 14-day report, and here is exactly what it says:

CALORIES BURNED 2300 CALORIES 2519 CALORIES

CALORIES CONSUMED 1300 CALORIES 1857 CALORIES

CALORIE BALANCE 1000 CALORIE

DEFICIT 662 CALORIE

DEFICIT

TARGET DAILY AVERAGE TARGET

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 1:30 HRS:MINS 1:44 HRS:MINS

NUMBER OF STEPS 10000 STEPS 11831 STEPS

SLEEP DURATION 8:00 HRS:MINS 7:48 HRS:MINS

Oh man... I'd be frustrated too! Especially after such hard work! Sorry to hear this! But you shouldnt give up! There are up and down... our body is not a computer like that armband. I wish it was... but we all have those weeks when we think WTF I did everything right but still....

Hang in there.... I am sure next week you'll see a loss again! And after losing 10lbs in one week it's just normal for your  body to adjust !

Afterall you have lost 3 lbs per week now on average. That's nothing to sneeze at!

Hugs and hang in there!
Birgit

[Eliza422]

I have worn the armband for a year and a half now, and I credit it with all my success I've had at this point. Here are my thoughts.

One thing I think we forget is that we are not a simple combustion engine...yes, in the grand scheme it is calories in vs. calories out, but we are a living dynamic organism that has a complex energy system.

Over time my losses pretty much match up to my deficit. I go for a 500 cal deficit...anything bigger and I think our bodies start fighting a lot. That's why you often hear on the boards that you might be eating too little if you exercise a whole lot.

I also find that the quality of calories will also affect my losses, even if I have a deficit. We all metabolize carbs, fats, and proteins slightly differently - so a deficit in calories might not work as well as you might think if you are carb sensitive, for example.

I am currently working on cutting back on the carb heavy JCs to see if that gets me off of a slight plateau I've been on.

I see it as a tool, but it doesn't dictate reality.