Background
To improve my physical and mental condition, I decided to work on changing my lifestyle. I started with dancing Zumba on my switch, and I gradually made changes. My goal is to lose weight without losing my muscle mass. I implemented formal strength training offered by Les Mills into my exercise program last month. I have been exercising mindful eating for two months without any strict calorie or food restriction. With approximately 400- 460 minutes of activities per week, I gained 0.4 lb. of muscles till lost only 0.2 lb. Mindful eating is necessary; however, I still need to change how I eat to lose weight.
Procedures
I follow the following exercise program during the last 4 weeks.
| MON | TUE | WED | THUR | FRI | SAT | SUN | |
| Class | Rest | BODYPUMP | Any cardio | BODYPUMP | Any cardio | BODYPUMP | BODYFLOW |
I rotated BODYATTACK, BODYCOMBAT, or BODYSTEP for my carid days, approximately 300-330 calories per 30 minutes per session. Additionally, I walked on Saturday and Sunday, which add up to about 2 hours of activities minutes. Therefore, my average activity minutes were 400- 460 minutes per week. I achieved over 8,000 steps goals for all days except for June 29th, when I felt ill. Therefore, I had more than sufficient activity minutes for losing weight. My muscle mass had increased by 0.4 lb.
The Possible for Not Losing Weight
Why am I not losing weight? I was frustrated; however, I thought that the best way to find out the causes is to review my notes. Since I am not losing weight as fast as I would like, I must make some changes. From my notes, I came up with the following reasons why I am not losing weight.
Not Enough Cardio Exercise
I may need to increase Cardio Exercise as I do only twice per week of moderately-intensity cardio exercises. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we must target 150 minutes to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activities per week (p. 21). I did only two sessions of cardio per week which might not be adequate for losing fat. I have many activities minutes; however, approximately 250 minutes of those activities are generated from walking or doing house chores.
Not Enough Calorie Deficit
I suspected that this is the leading cause of my struggles since I exercised mindful eating. I decided how much I should be eating by listening to the needs of my body. I ate more than 1,600 calories on some days because I was starving after a long walk or workout. To lose weight, we must create a calorie deficit. To lose one pound, I need to make a deficit of 3,500 calories. I was not losing weight because I was not producing enough calorie deficit. Therefore, I need to create a calorie deficit by either doing more exercise or eating less.
Eating Not Enough or Too Much Protein at Once
Since I was still gaining muscles, I assumed that I ate enough calories and protein. So, there is a cap on how much our body can synthesize protein at once! According to the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (as cited in Venuto, 2013), you will need to eat 0.4 to 0.5 grams of high-quality protein per kilogram of lean body mass weight. For example, someone with 70kg of Lean body mass weight should eat somewhere between 28 and 35 grams of high-quality protein both pre-and post-exercise. Although, our protein synthesis cap out to about 25 to 30 grams for women (p. 179). Any excess protein above protein synthesis turns into fat. I ate approximately 70 % of my daily protein at supper. According to Layman (as cited in Venuto, 2013), the average American consumes over 65% of daily protein at dinner (p. 179). I ate enough protein because I considered total protein intake per day. However, I did not consider the timing of protein intake. So, some of my protein converted into fat since I was overeating at once. I should break up my protein intake multiple times per day.
Not Sleeping Enough For Two Weeks
In the 2nd week of the last challenge, I messed up my sleeping schedule for three weeks. I had days I could not sleep at all. I tended to eat more even with my mindful eating practice when I did not sleep 6 hours. Insufficient sleep prevents you not only healthy but also me you unproductive. Furthermore, poor sleep leads to weight gain and obesity (Markawld et al., 2013). I also see the tendency to eat more dense calories foods when I do not have enough sleep. Sometimes, I was scared to get on the weight machine in the morning. The number is a good way to monitor, but it can be cruel. When I gained weight for 1.2 lb, I had to think about how much cumulative weight I lost. I managed to fix my sleeping schedule last week, and now I am sleeping on the correct sleeping schedule. I wrote a blog, “Am I sleeping Enough?,” about how I tackled this program. Please check it out!
Things Need to be Changed
After making the list of possible causes for my struggle, I made few hypotheses on possible strategies to overcome struggle. My main reason for not losing weight was that I overate. Therefore, to lose weight, I must create a calories deficit by eating fewer calories or exercising more. According to Harvard Health Publishing (July 11, 2020), you should make 500 to 1,000 calories less than the total weight-maintenance calories to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. Although, it is not recommended to eat less than 1,200 calories per day for a female and 1,500 calories per day for a male (para. 3). You can calculate your maintenance calories by the following formula.
- If you do little or no exercise: Calories = BMR x 1.2
- If you do light exercise (1-3 days per week) = BMR x 1.375
- If you do moderate exercise (3-5 days per week) = BMR x 1.55
You can calculate your BMR by the following formula.
BMR (Base Metabolism Rate) = BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) – (5.677 x age in years) Women: BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) – (4.330 x age in years)
Garnet Health. (July 1, 2016) Basal Metabolic Rate Calculator
If you feel lazy, You can use the online Maintenance Calories Calculator I found on the Omni Calculator website (Please use the web address for reference).
I want 500 calories deficit per week. Since my Maintenance Calorie is 1,337.3 kcal/ I want 500 calories deficit per week. Since my Maintenance Calorie is 1,337.3 kcal/ day, I could reduce only 100 calories just from eating without going below 1,200 calories. Thus, I must create a deficit of 400 calories from exercising or being active. I added 20-minute High-Intensity Interval Training on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday to increase energy output. Les Mills has a GRIT program. I am considering doing 20-minute short GRIT for now.
Modified Exercise Program
| MON | TUE | WED | THUR | FRI | SAT | SUN | |
| Morning | Rest | BODYPUMP | Any cardio | BODYPUMP | Any cardio | BODYPUMP | BODYFLOW |
| Evening | HIIT | HIIT | HIIT |
Conclusion
I did not lose as much weight as I would like at the last challenge. The main reason was I did not make enough calorie deficit. It was a disappointing result, but weight loss is a long journey. I am not going to give up on my journey. For the next challenge, I will create a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day by eating 100 calories less from my body maintenance calories and creating 400 calorie deficits from exercising. I would increase my cardio exercise to lose more fat.
References
Garnet Health. (July 1, 2016). Basal Metabolic Rate Calculator. https://www.garnethealth.org/news/basal-metabolic-rate-calculator
Harvard Health Publishing. (Jul 11, 2020). Calorie Counting Made Easy. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/calorie-counting-made-easy
Michalowska, J. (Jul 08, 2021). Maintenance Calorie Calculator. https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/maintenance-calorie
Markwald, R. R., Melanson, E. L., Smith, M. R., Higgins, J., Perreault, L., Eckel, R. H., & Wright, K. P. (2013). Impact of insufficient sleep on total daily energy expenditure, food intake, and weight gain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(14), 5695–5700. JSTOR.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2018). Physical Activity Guideline for Americans. https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf