I know, it seems so unfair doesn't it!  I guess that is why the last couple pounds get so difficult to lose.  I have upped the exercise I am doing so that I can continue to eat as much and keep losing weight at the same rate. 

Hehehe, yeah, a bit unfair eh!  BUT, have you heard of "overeating" days so that your metabolism gets a bit of a shake up.  You should definately pick something like your birthday as an overeating day!!!

Have that extra piece of cake, go on, it is your birthday right!   Just make up for it gradually over the next week with an aim of still having a deficit over the period of the week.

I am doing something similar, only just getting started, but know it works - I plan on having a sizeable piece of birthday cake on my birthday for sure!

The older you get the less you have to eat too right?

Mortal monkey: Yep.  Your BMR/RMR drops by tiny bit each year as you get older.  Try having a play with the burn meter tool and change how 'old' you are, but dont change how much you weigh or how tall you are.

Bah! life sucks! The thinner and older you are, the less you eat! Boooo!

What if you're still trying to build muscle? I've been eating a surplus/building muscle/losing weight..

Don't you know that the birthday cake from your birthday doesn't have any calories?  Only other people's birthday cakes are bad for you.    Happy Birthday!

That's what I heard too!!

I hear your complaint, ten fold.  I do cake decorating for friends and family.  I have to try and control myself all the time.  For a bit there I wasn't controling myself and I went up in weight fast.  I learned to give any extra cake away, right away.  It's not any fun is it!

But Anyways it's your birthday, have your cake and eat it too!! Just do some extra exercise, it will all come out in the wash.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I noticed that, too. This means... I have to exercise D=

Just to let you know, I believe that the Burn Meter is very general and likely not very accurate as I am pretty sure it only goes in increments of 100.  As in 1900, 1800, 1700, etc.  The most reliable way to know is to get metabolism testing done.  And if that is totally not an option you should invest in a heart rate monitor and wear it for a whole day and see what it says.  Also the monitor is great for workouts, and will give you much more accurate info for that (than the machines espeically!)

even though i've never had a significant drop in weight that it changed my burn meter too much, i do wish that my weight could be higher my means of height. 5'7" isn't short, but obviously it'd be nice to be 6'4" (aha, yeah, that's my ideal "height").

Original Post by xzcandizx:

Just to let you know, I believe that the Burn Meter is very general and likely not very accurate as I am pretty sure it only goes in increments of 100.  As in 1900, 1800, 1700, etc.  The most reliable way to know is to get metabolism testing done.  And if that is totally not an option you should invest in a heart rate monitor and wear it for a whole day and see what it says.  Also the monitor is great for workouts, and will give you much more accurate info for that (than the machines espeically!)

 actually, mine says i burn 1610, but i definitely agree with it not being the most accurate way to assess a person's caloric needs.

If you want to eat a piece of cake, you could do more exercise to burn it off. 

It does suck that you have to eat less and less the more you lose! 

yeah, weight loss sucks in that the less you weigh and the older you are, the less you get to eat. i don't know about you guys, but my love of food is what got me in this mess to begin with! and even though i'm trying to lose weight, i sure as heck don't wanna break up with food. so i've decided to exercise more, like some other posters said, so i don't have to drop the calories too too much.

and eat the birthday cake! the very next day, your caloric needs are going to go down (b/c you're older), so you might as well shove a big fat piece in your mouth while you can!

Why don't you put in some extra exercise and then eat that piece of birthday cake like you want to? In fact, if you exercise more in general you can eat more without feeling guilty. But if that isn't your thing, then just bump up the workout a little on those special days so you can eat what you want.

Also, sometimes going over your calories for the day is exactly what your body needs to break through a plateau or convince it that it doesn't need to hold onto the weight because it's getting what it needs to keep itself going.

Original Post by xzcandizx:

Just to let you know, I believe that the Burn Meter is very general and likely not very accurate as I am pretty sure it only goes in increments of 100. As in 1900, 1800, 1700, etc. The most reliable way to know is to get metabolism testing done. And if that is totally not an option you should invest in a heart rate monitor and wear it for a whole day and see what it says. Also the monitor is great for workouts, and will give you much more accurate info for that (than the machines espeically!)

Do you recommend a certain type of monitor?  Which work best?  I would really like to invest in one to get my real daily burn.  I am tired of not knowing the truth! : )

Original Post by betsyanne26:

Original Post by xzcandizx:

Just to let you know, I believe that the Burn Meter is very general and likely not very accurate as I am pretty sure it only goes in increments of 100. As in 1900, 1800, 1700, etc. The most reliable way to know is to get metabolism testing done. And if that is totally not an option you should invest in a heart rate monitor and wear it for a whole day and see what it says. Also the monitor is great for workouts, and will give you much more accurate info for that (than the machines espeically!)

Do you recommend a certain type of monitor?  Which work best?  I would really like to invest in one to get my real daily burn.  I am tired of not knowing the truth! : )

I would recommend a Polar heart rate monitor.  I believe a lot of people on calorie count use this brand, and it is probably the most well known.  Personally I have the F6.  I don't think there is a HUGE difference between most of the models but I wouldn't buy the lowest end one, I'm pretty sure that one doesn't give you a weekly recap of your exercises and calories burned.  I would recommend the F4, F6 or F11.  They aren't cheap but they will last a long time and they come with the actual monitor strap, and are a watch when you aren't using the monitoring.  You can buy them on amazon or a lot of gyms/ fitness stores carry them.