Exercise + calorie count but no weight loss, suggestions?

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Replies

  • xina86
    xina86 Posts: 12 Member
    Amandaj 1966 - Its a plan :) I'm not really a breakfast person but i had been eating raisen wheats everyday for a few months, but stopped when i started calorie counting because of the milk. Maybe i should start again.
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  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Weight loss is not linear and water weight can cause fluctuations and mask 'real' weight loss.

    Make sure you weigh all your food with a digital scale, and measure liquids, (as much as possible) and log everything, eat about 50 - 75% of your exercise calories back and be patient.
  • xina86
    xina86 Posts: 12 Member
    3 - drink more water. I don't know if you just aren't listing it in your journal or not, but this too is a topic you may want to read up on.

    I dont put my drinks into my diary (maybe i should start). I drink water throughout the day but probably not enough, maybe only 1 - 1 1/2 litres, then sometimes 1 large diet fizzy drink in the evening.

    You may also find one other tip helpful...
    4 - try interval eating. This last idea is the quirkiest & not something I've personally tried but I know some who swear by it. , It is a variation of the starvation mode mentioned in #2 above. It involves keeping your same caloric intake for the week, (i.e. 1200 x 7 for you), but changing the timing for eating them. To do this on 2 approximately equally spaced days reduce your calorie intake to @ 500, but on the other 5 days increase it to 1480 which would be the offsetting balance. The theory is that if spaced out over the 3 meals the 500 cal intake is still enough to keep your body from going into starvation mode, while it is acclimated to burning your normal 1480 which causes the weight loss on those 2 days.

    Best wishes & God bless.

    I have heard of this, my sister was talking about it. Could be worth a go.

    Thanks
  • GeminiBridget
    GeminiBridget Posts: 99 Member
    That's what I'm referring to. If you look at her Diet Diary she is eating a lot of fried foods and sugar, too much to reach her goals. I love fried foods and sugar but I eat them in moderation, not every day.
  • xina86
    xina86 Posts: 12 Member
    Thanks for all your input everybody, im getting a lot of ideas of thing i can change and try :)
    What exercise are you doing? Duration, intensity etc?

    I do a mixture of Tae Bo (although havn't done that recently due to pulling a quad muscle) and power hooping. Tae Bo is very intensive - kicking, punching, high cardio - and hooping is less impact but more toning and strengthening muscle work.

    Calorie intake could be a culprit - do you weigh your food? How are you calculating exercise calories, do you eat them back?

    I weigh food on kitchen scales then look them up in app or work it out from back of packet.
  • GeminiBridget
    GeminiBridget Posts: 99 Member
    When I am stuck in a plateau I realize it's because I am not recording foods and exercise accurately. Like many people, I overestimate calories burned through exercise and underestimate what I eat.

    Remember what my mom calls those "BLTs" ... bites, licks, and tastes ... they can easily add a few hundred calories without one realizing. Also remember that 90% of weight loss is what you put in your mouth ... so be sure you are absolutely faithful to the food tracker.

    Good luck!

    I love that quote from your mom! BLT. She's so right about that! :)
  • scary low protein intake. Unless you are a toddler. (weigh 30lbs)

    Cut the candy
    Cut the fried foods (which sound like they are also processed)
    UP your protein to adult levels
  • xina86
    xina86 Posts: 12 Member
    That's what I'm referring to. If you look at her Diet Diary she is eating a lot of fried foods and sugar, too much to reach her goals. I love fried foods and sugar but I eat them in moderation, not every day.

    From replies i've been getting it seems this and not eating breakfast are the main problems, as well as possible water weight.
    Thanks all! I'm feeling like i may be able to get some weight loss happening :)
  • GamerLady
    GamerLady Posts: 359 Member
    Well you really aren't eating healthy.
    1) You aren't eating breakfast. Eat some fruit, eggs, or at least drink some milk.
    2) You're eating chips and fried food. NO! No wonder you aren't losing weight. You should be eating fruits,veggies, lean meats (turkey, fish, chicken.) And no not fry, broil, or grill. and stay away from sweets and junk.

    I disagree, you don't have to eat breakfast to lose weight and be healthy. I've never eaten breakfast, ever. Also, if you're just looking to lose weight, you can eat anything you want within your daily calories, it doesn't matter, you will lose weight. If you're looking to gain muscle then you cut down on the carbs and up the protein more.

    I'm not saying she should be stuffing herself with sugars and bad foods all the time, but I've found when people are trying to lose weight if they don't allow themselves some of that food, they go on a binge and eat a lot and then feel like $h%# and get discouraged. I'd much rather them eat some of those sugary treats they enjoy while they're staying within their daily calories than to blow it all binging.

    As for not losing weight at 1200 calories. What exercising do you do? Sometimes if you mix it up and change things a bit you start losing again. Your body gets use to what you're doing and things get easier with the same old routine, it doesn't push you as it use to to work harder, burning more.
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    You don't have to eat breakfast if it doesn't suit you. It's not a deal breaker when it comes to weight loss. In theory, if you are eating at a deficit and recording everything correctly you should be losing weight.

    You diary is a bit sweety-tastic lol. I love food like that, but I found the more sugar I have in my diet the more I crave it. I cut back and I don't want it any more. You will find you will get more food for the calories if you eat more natural foods. For someone like me who likes to eat a lot this is a better option. You may or may not be the same I don't know.

    There are plenty of people on here that have lost weight by eating what they want as long as they stick to their deficits. Don't let people force their way of eating on you, if you want to eat sweets and can still lose then good for you. It's about finding what works and is sustainable for you, not what people tell you you should be doing by their standards.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    That's what I'm referring to. If you look at her Diet Diary she is eating a lot of fried foods and sugar, too much to reach her goals. I love fried foods and sugar but I eat them in moderation, not every day.

    Eating 1200 calories of veggies will not net her better luck than eating 1200 of friend chicken. You can eat Swiss Rolls all day and as long as you are at your target deficit it won't matter. To claim otherwise simply doesn't make any logical sense, unless you think your body looks at veggies and does "Hey, these calories are clean, best burn them!" and looks as chocolate and goes "Oh no, dirty calories, better hold on to these." or something.
  • That's what I'm referring to. If you look at her Diet Diary she is eating a lot of fried foods and sugar, too much to reach her goals. I love fried foods and sugar but I eat them in moderation, not every day.

    Eating 1200 calories of veggies will not net her better luck than eating 1200 of friend chicken. You can eat Swiss Rolls all day and as long as you are at your target deficit it won't matter. To claim otherwise simply doesn't make any logical sense, unless you think your body looks at veggies and does "Hey, these calories are clean, best burn them!" and looks as chocolate and goes "Oh no, dirty calories, better hold on to these." or something.

    sorry but professional physiologists will disagree with you all day long on this.
    This MIGHT be truer IF her protein levels were met, but they clearly are not.
    A calorie is not a calorie.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    That's what I'm referring to. If you look at her Diet Diary she is eating a lot of fried foods and sugar, too much to reach her goals. I love fried foods and sugar but I eat them in moderation, not every day.

    Eating 1200 calories of veggies will not net her better luck than eating 1200 of friend chicken. You can eat Swiss Rolls all day and as long as you are at your target deficit it won't matter. To claim otherwise simply doesn't make any logical sense, unless you think your body looks at veggies and does "Hey, these calories are clean, best burn them!" and looks as chocolate and goes "Oh no, dirty calories, better hold on to these." or something.

    sorry but professional physiologists will disagree with you all day long on this.
    This MIGHT be truer IF her protein levels were met, but they clearly are not.
    A calorie is not a calorie.

    A calorie is nothing but a unit to measure energy; to suggest that one unit of measure is different from the same unit of measure is nothing short of illogical.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    Hmm, i dont have one. How do you know what your target heart rate is?

    There's a formula that you can easily find on the web and most heart rate monitors allow you to set an alarm if you are outside of your target rate. As with everything else, you have to use your judgment. My heart beats faster than the larger, middle-aged men who probably were used to create the average. After talking to my doctor about it, and getting a stress test, I exercise at a level that is far above the supposedly safe rate for a woman my age. When I stayed within the prescribed range I couldn't break a sweat.

    Ignore the "fat burning zone" unless you are planning on exercising for hours. Try to stay within the aerobic zone after warming up. That is the most efficient way to exercise.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    That's what I'm referring to. If you look at her Diet Diary she is eating a lot of fried foods and sugar, too much to reach her goals. I love fried foods and sugar but I eat them in moderation, not every day.

    Eating 1200 calories of veggies will not net her better luck than eating 1200 of friend chicken. You can eat Swiss Rolls all day and as long as you are at your target deficit it won't matter. To claim otherwise simply doesn't make any logical sense, unless you think your body looks at veggies and does "Hey, these calories are clean, best burn them!" and looks as chocolate and goes "Oh no, dirty calories, better hold on to these." or something.

    sorry but professional physiologists will disagree with you all day long on this.
    This MIGHT be truer IF her protein levels were met, but they clearly are not.
    A calorie is not a calorie.

    Weight loss and health are more complex than calorie in calorie out. A diet of unhealthy food takes its toll.

    A calorie is nothing but a unit to measure energy; to suggest that one unit of measure is different from the same unit of measure is nothing short of illogical.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    That's what I'm referring to. If you look at her Diet Diary she is eating a lot of fried foods and sugar, too much to reach her goals. I love fried foods and sugar but I eat them in moderation, not every day.

    Eating 1200 calories of veggies will not net her better luck than eating 1200 of friend chicken. You can eat Swiss Rolls all day and as long as you are at your target deficit it won't matter. To claim otherwise simply doesn't make any logical sense, unless you think your body looks at veggies and does "Hey, these calories are clean, best burn them!" and looks as chocolate and goes "Oh no, dirty calories, better hold on to these." or something.

    sorry but professional physiologists will disagree with you all day long on this.
    This MIGHT be truer IF her protein levels were met, but they clearly are not.
    A calorie is not a calorie.

    Weight loss and health are more complex than calorie in calorie out. A diet of unhealthy food takes its toll.

    A calorie is nothing but a unit to measure energy; to suggest that one unit of measure is different from the same unit of measure is nothing short of illogical.

    Weight loss is simple; use more than you take in. How you manage this is irrelevant to the the basic principle.

    I wasn't aware we were discussing health, but whether or not the OP has to switch to a "clean" diet to lose weight, which she most certainly does not.

    I'm not saying the OP shouldn't eat clean if she wants to; if she wishes to go full on organic vegan well that's groovy and more power to her, but I'm very much opposed to "you must eat like this to see results" when is simply isn't true.
  • GeminiBridget
    GeminiBridget Posts: 99 Member
    It seems to me that some of you are on threads to argue and prove that your way of thinking is right. I'm not about that. If someone asks, I share what I've learned and what works for me on my journey to better health, if you don't agree with my information that is perfectly fine, but I won't get into any type of argument over a difference of opinions.
  • Maybe you are gaining muscle but losing fat as well. I found that my body was changing and my clothes were getting loose but it wasn't showing on the scale.
    It is more about what you eat. Exercise is good, but you can blow it by just eating the wrong things. Stay away from whole wheat bread, anything with high fructose corn syrup, orange juice, artificial sweeter. Eat natural things, like fruits and veggies, nothing frozen. I recently watched a really helpful information video!!
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    It is more about what you eat. Exercise is good, but you can blow it by just eating the wrong things. Stay away from whole wheat bread, anything with high fructose corn syrup, orange juice, artificial sweeter. Eat natural things, like fruits and veggies, nothing frozen. I recently watched a really helpful information video!!
    What product were they selling?
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    Amandaj 1966 - Its a plan :) I'm not really a breakfast person but i had been eating raisen wheats everyday for a few months, but stopped when i started calorie counting because of the milk. Maybe i should start again.

    Why avoid milk if you're not avoiding chocolate, Haribo, chewiness etc?
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    Maybe you are gaining muscle but losing fat as well. I found that my body was changing and my clothes were getting loose but it wasn't showing on the scale.
    It is more about what you eat. Exercise is good, but you can blow it by just eating the wrong things. Stay away from whole wheat bread, anything with high fructose corn syrup, orange juice, artificial sweeter. Eat natural things, like fruits and veggies, nothing frozen. I recently watched a really helpful information video!!

    Gaining muscle on a diet like that? Not likely!!
  • xina86
    xina86 Posts: 12 Member
    Amandaj 1966 - Its a plan :) I'm not really a breakfast person but i had been eating raisen wheats everyday for a few months, but stopped when i started calorie counting because of the milk. Maybe i should start again.

    Why avoid milk if you're not avoiding chocolate, Haribo, chewiness etc?

    Because you only have so many calories to use. I preferred to use the calories on choc/sweets rather than milk and cereal.
  • yourenotmine
    yourenotmine Posts: 645 Member
    While it doesn't matter for weight loss (barring certain medical conditions), you certainly aren't meeting your nutrient levels with the diet you've been recording. That will adversely affect your health over time. I'd also say that eating so few calories that you're concerned about a little milk... Well, you might wish to rethink that too, because it certainly doesn't sound sustainable.
  • operation_cute
    operation_cute Posts: 588 Member
    Your not giving your body much to work on, your protien is consitantly down everyday, most of what I see are snack foods that offer very little nutrition, and your calories are up and down... try to balance your intake more, and Keep it more consistant... You don't have to give up the foods you love, just make sure they fit along with the foods that help your body run :( The good for you food should take up the majority of your food log, and then a treat here and there... If your serious about loosing weight you'll choose healthier options :(
  • xina86
    xina86 Posts: 12 Member
    Hello everybody!

    Just wanted to say thank you for all your ideas and help. I try to drink around 8 cups of water a day and exercise 5 days a week. I still don't eat breakfast and i still have a few sweets in the evening. I am staying under my calorie goal most days (birthdays etc can't really be helped) and usually have about 100 or more saved.

    Since i posted this topic i have lost 6lbs! Also 0.5 inches off my hips and 1.5 inches off my waist. I am hoping to lose at least 10 before i go on holiday in the first week of August so am going to try green tea twice a day.

    So thanks! I'm getting there hehe :)
  • SJcook40
    SJcook40 Posts: 5 Member
    hi all,

    Any help would be gratefully received.i am getting pretty desperate , i have been using this app for the week (i no that is not alot of time but happened loads in the past ) i havnt lost an ounz ! i have been weight training at the gym aas well and swimming , i have bought a activity monitor and my BMR is set for 1942 ,i have reduced my calorie intake to 1400 ??

    am i doing any thing wrong i just want to see some results to keep me encouraged!! : 0 any suggestions plzzzzz