HELP! I'm a failure!
Katniss12Peeta
Posts: 29 Member
Everyone, please help me out! This is my first post on here, even though I read them all the time.
I am 5'4''. I weigh 189 pounds right now. I have been dieting for a month- about 1800 calories eaten per day the first 2 weeks to ease myself into it. Then the last 2 weeks, I have went to the gym 5-6 times a week with walks or bike rides on my "rest" days. I have also cut to about 1200 calories, sometimes more, sometimes less. I do NOT underestimate my calorie intake. I log religiously on LoseIt! and I measure everything I eat. I don't eat desserts, I don't drink alcohol or cokes. I drink water and tea. A cup of coffee here and there. Besides my stomach being a little less bloated, I have not lost even HALF a pound!!!! What am I doing wrong?
- Side note: I am an "athlete" although a fat one, at this point. In the past, when I was 20 I have been able to reduce calorie intake, work out a little, and lose 20 pounds in 2 months, and never plateau. This time, its just not working. Is it because I'm getting "older"? I'm 23.
I get enough sleep. I have a varied diet. I avoid carbs, but don't completely cancel them out. I don't eat breads or pasta or cookies - nothing crazy. My diet is mostly protein. I burn about 400 calories each gym session and always eat them back since I am on a 1200 calorie plan. I don't think I'm gaining muscle really because I mostly do cardio and a little bit of high rep/low weight training. I also don't see any difference in my body. I know I've only been dieting for a month, but shouldn't I have at least lost 1 pound?!?!?!?
Any advice you could give would be great!! I am so lost and upset and I feel like I am going to be a fat failure forever. I miss my strong, small body. I hate being too big for my husband to carry. Guys, please help me!
I am 5'4''. I weigh 189 pounds right now. I have been dieting for a month- about 1800 calories eaten per day the first 2 weeks to ease myself into it. Then the last 2 weeks, I have went to the gym 5-6 times a week with walks or bike rides on my "rest" days. I have also cut to about 1200 calories, sometimes more, sometimes less. I do NOT underestimate my calorie intake. I log religiously on LoseIt! and I measure everything I eat. I don't eat desserts, I don't drink alcohol or cokes. I drink water and tea. A cup of coffee here and there. Besides my stomach being a little less bloated, I have not lost even HALF a pound!!!! What am I doing wrong?
- Side note: I am an "athlete" although a fat one, at this point. In the past, when I was 20 I have been able to reduce calorie intake, work out a little, and lose 20 pounds in 2 months, and never plateau. This time, its just not working. Is it because I'm getting "older"? I'm 23.
I get enough sleep. I have a varied diet. I avoid carbs, but don't completely cancel them out. I don't eat breads or pasta or cookies - nothing crazy. My diet is mostly protein. I burn about 400 calories each gym session and always eat them back since I am on a 1200 calorie plan. I don't think I'm gaining muscle really because I mostly do cardio and a little bit of high rep/low weight training. I also don't see any difference in my body. I know I've only been dieting for a month, but shouldn't I have at least lost 1 pound?!?!?!?
Any advice you could give would be great!! I am so lost and upset and I feel like I am going to be a fat failure forever. I miss my strong, small body. I hate being too big for my husband to carry. Guys, please help me!
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Replies
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How do you know how much you are burning at the gym? Somewhere you are either overestimating your burn (either physically or metabolically) or underestimating your intake, or both.0
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How are you measuring your food, with cups and spoons or with a food scale? If it's the former then yes, you probably are underestimating what you're eating. Also, if you're eating back 100% of your exercise calories that may be putting you over. Most people on MFP who eat them back only do 50-75% due to overestimations of burns.0
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Katniss12Peeta wrote: »Everyone, please help me out! This is my first post on here, even though I read them all the time.
I am 5'4''. I weigh 189 pounds right now. I have been dieting for a month- about 1800 calories eaten per day the first 2 weeks to ease myself into it. Then the last 2 weeks, I have went to the gym 5-6 times a week with walks or bike rides on my "rest" days. I have also cut to about 1200 calories, sometimes more, sometimes less. I do NOT underestimate my calorie intake. I log religiously on LoseIt! and I measure everything I eat. I don't eat desserts, I don't drink alcohol or cokes. I drink water and tea. A cup of coffee here and there. Besides my stomach being a little less bloated, I have not lost even HALF a pound!!!! What am I doing wrong?
- Side note: I am an "athlete" although a fat one, at this point. In the past, when I was 20 I have been able to reduce calorie intake, work out a little, and lose 20 pounds in 2 months, and never plateau. This time, its just not working. Is it because I'm getting "older"? I'm 23.
I get enough sleep. I have a varied diet. I avoid carbs, but don't completely cancel them out. I don't eat breads or pasta or cookies - nothing crazy. My diet is mostly protein. I burn about 400 calories each gym session and always eat them back since I am on a 1200 calorie plan. I don't think I'm gaining muscle really because I mostly do cardio and a little bit of high rep/low weight training. I also don't see any difference in my body. I know I've only been dieting for a month, but shouldn't I have at least lost 1 pound?!?!?!?
Any advice you could give would be great!! I am so lost and upset and I feel like I am going to be a fat failure forever. I miss my strong, small body. I hate being too big for my husband to carry. Guys, please help me!
Sounds like your husband needs to get stronger LOL. JK though. Well depending on what you lost you could have increased in Lean body mass and lost a little in fat that shows no scale change.
Usually the answer to this question is underestimate foods log and overestimate exercise calories.
Being 23 is a little bit different and that old methods might need to be tweak a little on how you lose weight.
You can open diary so people can give you ideas on what might be wrong if anything is.
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How do you know how much you are burning at the gym? Somewhere you are either overestimating your burn (either physically or metabolically) or underestimating your intake, or both.
Usually what I do is put in all my info on the machine and do not cheat at all. I get that calorie amount. Then I look on the web as well for calorie burned and kinda pick a number in the middle.0 -
How are you measuring your food, with cups and spoons or with a food scale? If it's the former then yes, you probably are underestimating what you're eating. Also, if you're eating back 100% of your exercise calories that may be putting you over. Most people on MFP who eat them back only do 50-75% due to overestimations of burns.
Cups and spoons. Ok, so I should lower my calorie goal perhaps so that when I underestimate my eating, I will be on track?
And I could probably stop eating back my exercise calories, but I think I will starve to death combining these two ideas. =(0 -
1. You're NOT a failure. You're taking better care of yourself and probably feel better physically, right?
2. How do your clothes fit? Are you seeing/feeling results that the scale isn't sharing?
3. How is your water intake? I'd try bumping it up some.
4. You go to a gym you said? do they have someone there who can help with body fat percentage and workout ideas to help you?0 -
Katniss12Peeta wrote: »How are you measuring your food, with cups and spoons or with a food scale? If it's the former then yes, you probably are underestimating what you're eating. Also, if you're eating back 100% of your exercise calories that may be putting you over. Most people on MFP who eat them back only do 50-75% due to overestimations of burns.
Cups and spoons. Ok, so I should lower my calorie goal perhaps so that when I underestimate my eating, I will be on track?
And I could probably stop eating back my exercise calories, but I think I will starve to death combining these two ideas. =(
Maybe time to get a food scale.
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The machine is unfortunately incapable of knowing anything about you physiologically, other than the height/weight/gender it lets you input. It doesn't know your fitness level, how hard you are working, etc.
If you are using a heart rate monitor and a gadget that can read it and calculate calories off of it, you can get much closer to reality. Also if it's a burn of only 400 or so according to the machine, you may want to consider that only "bonus" and not try to eat back too much of it. The reality is it is likely much less.0 -
Katniss12Peeta wrote: »How are you measuring your food, with cups and spoons or with a food scale? If it's the former then yes, you probably are underestimating what you're eating. Also, if you're eating back 100% of your exercise calories that may be putting you over. Most people on MFP who eat them back only do 50-75% due to overestimations of burns.
Cups and spoons. Ok, so I should lower my calorie goal perhaps so that when I underestimate my eating, I will be on track?
And I could probably stop eating back my exercise calories, but I think I will starve to death combining these two ideas. =(
Weigh liquids in cups, and solids on a food scale. You are not getting accurate measurements for your caloric intake by using cups and spoon.
Food scales are cheap at Walmart; I'd invest in one!
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Katniss12Peeta wrote: »How are you measuring your food, with cups and spoons or with a food scale? If it's the former then yes, you probably are underestimating what you're eating. Also, if you're eating back 100% of your exercise calories that may be putting you over. Most people on MFP who eat them back only do 50-75% due to overestimations of burns.
Cups and spoons. Ok, so I should lower my calorie goal perhaps so that when I underestimate my eating, I will be on track?
And I could probably stop eating back my exercise calories, but I think I will starve to death combining these two ideas. =(
Buy a $15 food scale and see if your logging has been accurate. Take what you think was a certain amount of, say, chicken or peanut butter, weigh it out and see if you were close. If you were way off, start using it regularly.0 -
Sounds like your husband needs to get stronger LOL. JK though. Well depending on what you lost you could have increased in Lean body mass and lost a little in fat that shows no scale change.
Usually the answer to this question is underestimate foods log and overestimate exercise calories.
Being 23 is a little bit different and that old methods might need to be tweak a little on how you lose weight.
You can open diary so people can give you ideas on what might be wrong if anything is.
[/quote]
I would open my diary but I do my diary on LoseIt because thats where my mom does it and we help each other. Sorry! My days are usually something like this: Cottage cheese and pineapple for breakfast - measured serving sizes. 180 calories.... Lunch is some sort of frozen meal or a salad.. usually around 300 calories. Then i sometimes do a P3 protein pack for before workout snack (I'm usually pretty hungry).. 160 calories. Then workout, burn an average of 250 calories. Dinner varies a lot, but usually chicken and veggies or salad, or a very small serving of a meatloaf or something - usually about 500. If I stay up late, I let myself have a coconut bar... 160 calories... That means a grand total of 1050 net.... that is if I am estimating right. I look everything up online and even enter recipes and serving sizes on my app.
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Katniss12Peeta wrote: »How are you measuring your food, with cups and spoons or with a food scale? If it's the former then yes, you probably are underestimating what you're eating. Also, if you're eating back 100% of your exercise calories that may be putting you over. Most people on MFP who eat them back only do 50-75% due to overestimations of burns.
Cups and spoons. Ok, so I should lower my calorie goal perhaps so that when I underestimate my eating, I will be on track?
And I could probably stop eating back my exercise calories, but I think I will starve to death combining these two ideas. =(
A food scale is way more accurate than cups/spoons. Invest in one (you can find them for as low as $10-15) and you'll see. What a manufacturer says is 3/4 of a cup for something may end up being an entire cup if you follow the weight.0 -
I am reading through some great posts, and remember, the road to success is paved with the stones of failure.
Never quit!
Read through this thread and start again. Nobody is a failure so long as they keep trying.
Good Luck!
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I am reading through some great posts, and remember, the road to success is paved with the stones of failure.
Never quit!
Read through this thread and start again. Nobody is a failure so long as they keep trying.
Good Luck!
Yeah it is man. My profile pic is prime example of my best to my worst to now which will be my new best in over a decade.
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I'll also add...you said you just started working out. When you first start an exercise program, you can retain water, masking weight loss. So it's possible you're in a deficit and just need to give it a little more time. When I started a new program this summer, I gained a few pounds of scale weight for the first week and a half or so. It went down to normal.0
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To: Adnaram:
1. I am feeling better and sleeping like a log.
2. my clothes don't really feel any different. My stomach is slightly flatter, but I think its just bloat gone from eating well.
3. I could bump up my water intake a lot.
4. I use the gym at a senior center community gym. No one really there to help me. Just you guys on MFP0 -
OK, so you guys are saying to get a food scale and a heart rate monitor.... good ideas. How do you use a food scale? like if I was going to measure out my cottage cheese and pinapple, how to I use the food scale for that?
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I will be patient and keep trying... get a food scale and a heart rate monitor. Should I take anything like that Garcinia or Green Coffee Bean or ask my doctor for something?0
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What is your sport as an athlete?0
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Katniss12Peeta wrote: »OK, so you guys are saying to get a food scale and a heart rate monitor.... good ideas. How do you use a food scale? like if I was going to measure out my cottage cheese and pinapple, how to I use the food scale for that?
But the pineapple on the scale, note the weight, figure out the calories in the app you use. Just put in the weight and it should give you the calories. (I'm not familiar with the one you mentioned). For the cottage cheese, put the container on the scale, note the weight, add the cottage cheese, take the difference, add the amount to your calorie tracker.0 -
Wow pretty lady STRONG WORDS... After one month you are NOT a failure... not at all... probably your body is just adjusting to the changes...
I know everyone will say this but MEASURE and weight EVERYTHING... spoons and cups are not reliable at all!
-watch you sodium! water weight can make you feel like nothing comes off!
-drink water...A LOT OF WATER!
-machines always over estimate your burns... I under estimate my burns by around 100 cals every time!
good luck!0 -
Turn the scale on, set the bowl on the scale. Where the on button is it should also say "tare"...hit it again and it'll zero the weight out. Place the cottage cheese in the bowl, note the weight it says, hit tare again. Do the same thing with the pineapple. Then you can record those weights.
Also, diet pills/garcinia/etc. are basically worthless so avoid them.0 -
Katniss12Peeta wrote: »I will be patient and keep trying... get a food scale and a heart rate monitor. Should I take anything like that Garcinia or Green Coffee Bean or ask my doctor for something?
There is no need for more out of pocket expenses other than food scale and HRM. Green coffee beans is suppose to raise metabolism right. I see those things all the time for sale. No one buys them.0 -
Katniss12Peeta wrote: »How are you measuring your food, with cups and spoons or with a food scale? If it's the former then yes, you probably are underestimating what you're eating. Also, if you're eating back 100% of your exercise calories that may be putting you over. Most people on MFP who eat them back only do 50-75% due to overestimations of burns.
Cups and spoons. Ok, so I should lower my calorie goal perhaps so that when I underestimate my eating, I will be on track?
And I could probably stop eating back my exercise calories, but I think I will starve to death combining these two ideas. =(
You can get a decent digital food scale at Walmart for $14.... I use mine to weigh my meat in oz and everything else in grams. And also with this scale, you can put a bowl on it and then zero out the weight before adding the actual food you will be weighing.
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TavistockToad wrote: »What is your sport as an athlete?
Well I played softball like a maniac from birth to 21. Now I am a cyclist. Doing about 80 miles tops right now, been doing it about 6 months. I also hike often.0 -
Food scale, Heart rate monitor with chest strap Polar ft7 is what I use for calculating that gym burn, Proper measuring cups, spoons and other items to do this properly...stop guessing this takes work, calculation and TIME. (read the instruction manual with all items YOUTUBE has instructional videos on scales and monitors)0
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The coffee bean crap became a thing because Dr. Oz got paid to hype it. Sales soared directly after. Then the Senate hearing happened. Where he stuck his foot in his mouth and revealed his putz-ittude. I've lost 55lbs not using weight loss supplements. My metabolism was crap. I did fine. I recommend you stick to basics and save your money.
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OP, you aren't a failure, you just need to figure out what small thing or things are going wrong and tweak it. Keep at it.0 -
You're only a failure if you stop trying.
Stay focused, listen to these smart people helping you, and keep trying.
You can do it.0 -
Take measurements (chest, waist, biceps, thighs, neck) and track them over the next few months. You may not be seeing the change on the scale, but the changes are showing up there instead.
Also, consider changing your workouts; muscle confusion = weight loss.0 -
Thanks for the info about the scale, malibu927 and I_Will_End_You0
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