Weight / Fat loss

If you're actually in calorie deficit you will lose weight.
So either your baseline calorie use is wrong or like most people, your intake is underestimated.

I guess there could also be measurement error, ie. weighing at different hydration states, pre/post shits, after big endurance rides. Do you measure body fat %?

Thanks, 76kgs, 5'9" sedentary job, 10+ hours cycling per week. 1700 calories to maintain weight.
Diet is at least 1-1.6 grams of protein per Kg bodyweight.

FWIW if you double your cycle load and don't "eat back" the extra cycling, you are using more calories on exercise.

So your body can then react by dropping more fat (it most likely won't gain muscle anymore if you are not super new to cycling) OR slowing down processes as you are annoying it and there will be no more fat loss and no more body composition changes, it just finds a new balance.

In that case, a "reverse diet" where you very carefully ramp up calories until you maintain LBM (your weight may go up a little due to carb stores) may be what you need for a bit.

Then you can re-calculate and go down again. If you have been dieting for more than a few months, that could be the way to go.

If you're actually in calorie deficit you will lose weight.

I weigh/ scan every morsel and eat very little processed meals/ food.
No measure of body fat used

Yes, I like the idea of adding a few extra calories per week and seeing the result as this has been suggested to me.
I wouldn't say I diet as such, but eat healthy and keep within set calorie range

If that is true the next most likely explanation is your calorie expenditure is overestimated.

There's also discrepancies with measured calories and actual but then we're into more than error margins. There was an segment on calorie estimation being off on Trust Me I'm a Doctor or one of the similar Health/Eating shows recently, that touched on this:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-reveals-why-calorie-counts-are-all-wrong/ but also how most people underestimate because they simply forget foods or inaccurately measure (sorry, estimate) portions.

I can't remember the show but they discussed various differences in estimated vs. useable calories: https://theconversation.com/why-most-food-labels-are-wrong-about-calories-35081

Then next most likely is your BMR estimate is wrong.

I find after a certain time of dieting (8ish weeks) it gets horrid with cravings, and yes I track everything, and I have get back to maintenance.

All the dudebros say not to diet for more than 10-12 weeks if you aren't using PEDs, I am going to assume they are on to something.

I do weigh everything though and don't eat too much white bread/other things where you absorb all the calories. So I am calling it "take a break" but maybe I also am making calculating errors.

Something is cuckoo

Check your figures. I made a mistake some time ago on this thread - the posts were very similar! My primary school mathematics let me down.

On a totally different note -

Has anyone any experience of using an Apple Watch for tracking fitness?

I got a series 3 eleven days ago and it seems a good job but today it ‘uped’ my working calories from 500 to 1010! Not happy as this will be difficult to close the rings on days when I am working.

Got old. 15 year relationship ended. Weighed myself. I'm 5ft 8in. 75kgs. Most I've ever weighed.
A good 15kgs over my old race weight :((

Jesus, my bmi is 24.2, another point or so and I'd be overweight. F that.

I want to lose 10kgs at least. I don't know what time scale is appropriate. Let's say July 19th.

Feb 19th -- 75.2kgs -- bmi 24.2

And your plan to lose weight is?

Stop eating biscuits, bread, added sugar, cakes and other crap. Just start exercise. Running for now. Maybe some HIT stuff which I've done in the past. But cycling and/or gym will have to wait as I'm currently dossing at someone's house and don't have all my gear etc.

(I've been fairly inactive for a couple of years. Sit a lot as I'm a writer. But I don't wanna be a fat writer.)

Edit - first run in years today. Will get my legs going first then work out a proper plan in terms of how far, how quick, how hard etc.

My suggestion for what it's worth. I did this at the start of the year, it worked and is pretty easy.

Stop drinking, apart from one day a week and no beer.
Exercise every day (I constituted exercise as a minimum of 30mins at working HR - think a 5km run)
Work out how many calories you need and aim to eat fewer than required (Talk up thread about calorie deficits).
No sugary snacks or drinks. Nuts are good as are some of the protein snacks.
Sparkling water will fill you up if you get hungry.

Do that for a month and see where you get to. I don't weigh things and I don't eat super clean. Just eat less than you need, eat as little sugar as you can and exercise. :)

And post on here obvs!

Yep. I don't do sugary drinks anyway. Not a regular drinker, but gonna sack it completely for 6 months at least. Bicscuits and snacks are my main foible. It's all the tea.

But yeah, thanks, I can do that. Just gotta get the legs used to running for now.

Don’t overdo the running if you’re starting from scratch. You’ll likely get injured and lose motivation. Incorporate some walking into your runs :)

Yup. Steady away for three to four weeks at least.

If you can get to a pool that’s brilliant or play football/squash then I found those types of exercise broke up the running/gym monotony.

Bulk Powders do these really good chocolate bites - which are high in protein and low in sugar. They’re the best of the chocolate/protein type snacks I’ve tried. Ive found most of them are too dense and pretty gross.

Bollocks - just seen they've stopped making them! :'(

PhD smart bar aren't mega dense either maybe try one of those?

As yeah lots of protein bars are a touch too chewey...

I'm 5ft 8in. 75kgs.

Amateur.

I'm 5'8in. 75kg is my target weight (I'm aiming for a sub-4h marathon if I get under 80kg). I'm 95kg right now (skiing was good for beer and food).

I don't know what time scale is appropriate.

From my experience I know I can sustain 0.5kg a week weight loss for prolonged periods (by increasing exercise and not overcompensating with too much extra food). When starting to exercise I usually have a 4 week plateau where fitness improves and body shape changes but weight remains static (as the body loses fat but gains muscle).

10kg at 0.5kg/week = 20 weeks + 4 week plateau = 24 weeks.

Now + 24 weeks = August 7th, so 19th July is not out of the question, especially if you make quicker progress than I tend to. Good luck with it!

Well I defo won't be doing any marathons no matter what weight I am !

Cheers for the breakdown, sounds do-able when you put it like that.

2 weeks of work travel but being mostly good, new half marathon pb at the weekend and I first weigh in for 3 weeks and I've lost .5kg so down to 74.9, another half in 3 weeks so trying to focus again and get down to 73 something and hopefully another PB!

03/01 96.9 morning (it was 96.9 but I had a coffee and a shit and weighed again)
04/01 94.2 night (post-ride, pre-dinner)
05/01 94.5 why you getting heavier shitbrains?
08/01 93.8 morning (post coffee, post toilet destroying shit)
09/01 93.6 But I may have eaten a packet of Tim Tams to "get rid of them" and a cherry ripe... or two.
10/01 93.8
11/01 93.7 Doh. I'm going to put this down to eating a lot yesterday as I did two days gym back to back.
12/01 94.2
14/01 95.8
16/01 95.3 you said it was just 100g... pfft. It was a fun weekend but knocked my recent healty routine.
17/01 94.8 steak, salad, margarita and a cherry ripe for dinner, gym (fucking crushed it)
18/01 93.9
19/01 93.7 after colleague's leaving do, out on the piss
20/01 93.9 comedy gig tonight so more booze and associated bad food choices
23/01 92.8 1.1 off yesterday, almost certainly dehydration and nothing meaningful. fuck you, body
24/01 93.2 gym, no commute
25/01 94.4 gym, commute, work lunch could get interesting, BF% down 1% possible anom
29/01 93.6 100mi yesterday, still bit dehydrated, recovery focus on kebab and ice cream not fluid
30/01 93.4
31/01 93.2 down ~2%bf
01/02 92.3 into the 92s after two nights on turbo, no gym, will disappear with boozin next days
02/02 92.1 grump, thrown bag punched door before I'd even left flat. creates anger manglement thread
04/02 93.8 meh
05/02 93.5 meh
06/02 92.2 ooh
07/02 91.7 yay #dehydratedmuch
08/02 91.3 I'm comin' for ya 90.x's
09/02 91.7 okay... maybe not...
3 day meltdown
12/02 92.9 after a ~500g shit
13/02 93.6 after going to but not partaking of an all you can eat ribs offer
14/02 92.2 after salad and pancakes, skipped turbo workout
15/02 91.7 eerily familiar territory.. post hard turbo session last night, dehydration likely
16/02 91.5 let's see how much of this disappears after tonight on the piss
17/02 89.x Drinking til puking did get me under 90kg but hasn't been great maintaining the training
19/02 92.3 I always expect to be lighter after a long ride but never am.
20/02 92.1 Up and down and up and down and up and down

^ 4 KG off! Not so bad :)

I lost 3% fat, now to keep it off.