I just want a success story already :(

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  • tcraw15
    tcraw15 Posts: 223 Member
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    Yeah I agree with everyone who said to take measurements / progress photos. I've been stuck at a weight plateau for a couple of weeks now, but have been consistently losing inches. And I can see a difference in the photos I've been taking.
  • Xiaolongbao
    Xiaolongbao Posts: 854 Member
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    If you've been at a certain level for a while and are not seeing a difference, it means you are AT MAINTENANCE. Time to re-evaluate your deficit. :flowerforyou:

    This.

    Maybe you need a lower calories intake to lose weight.

    Maybe you're eating more than you think.

    Maybe your exercise is burning less than you think.

    Whatever the answer is it seems as though you're in maintenance right now. If you want to lose you're going to have to eat less or move more. I know "eat more" is a popular answer on this website but sadly it really doesn't work for everyone.
  • mkim3138
    mkim3138 Posts: 80
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    you should weigh all your food and what are your macros at? can't see your carbs either..
  • arlenem1974
    arlenem1974 Posts: 437 Member
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    after looking at your diary I noticed that about half of your days you really go over your sodium limit that would effect your weight loss. Try and cut back on the sodium that might help with your weight loss.
  • MonicaT1972
    MonicaT1972 Posts: 512
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    I looked at your diary and can tell you exactly what the issues are. But as you stated you prefer to eat "real food" If you want to see serious changes you might want to consider changing that up.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    Are you taking measurements/progress pics? - No.
    Have those showed any changes? I know that I am not shrinking because of how my clothing fits.
    Have you seen your doctor about a possible medical reasoning? I underwent blood tests a few months ago and nothing showed up as far as I know.
    Are you weighing and measuring all your foods? No.

    make sure you arn't leaving anything out of your log, i.e secret nuts, etc

    make sure your servings are correct (do you know what 15g of peanut butter looks like? DO YOU?)

    are you adding lard to your food? (worth checking)

    if you think you have those things down, (you haven't been weighing your food so.... no) then maybe drop your calories to say

    1500, and only eat back 1/2-2/3 of your exercise. if you have already added in your exercise to the intake, redo it without the exercise and log it as you do it.

    and as I'm on the kick of it right now, you could try intermittent fasting, it has got the ball rolling for me. 16:8 (16 hour fast, 8 hour eating window per day) - just an idea.
  • jeansgirl
    jeansgirl Posts: 99 Member
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    It might not have anything to do with food. If you have a lot of stress over job, home, love life, family,money..what the heck ever...it does have an effect on your weight loss. Even the change in lifestyle we are trying to get to..i.e. being healthy..is stressful. You are your own success story!!! You have lost weight! Take a breath, give yourself a break, as in don't be hard on yourself..and keep going. There for ya if you want to friend me. We are all here to help!
  • MysticRealm
    MysticRealm Posts: 1,264 Member
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    One more thought. Your sodium is often through the roof. That's gonna cause a lot of water retention and bloat which will hide a lot of losses. Try eating under 2500 for a couple weeks and see what the scale and measurements say.
  • tootchute
    tootchute Posts: 392 Member
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    I think it your control. In your diary you have days you don't write in, days you do which are okay and then day's your over your calories, if your serious then count everything then you should notice.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    If you've been at a certain level for a while and are not seeing a difference, it means you are AT MAINTENANCE. Time to re-evaluate your deficit. :flowerforyou:

    At this point, this makes the most sense.
  • wickedwendy6
    wickedwendy6 Posts: 117 Member
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    Firstly, thanks for having your diary open when you ask this question. I HATE people who ask for help but don't let anyone see the full picture. :bigsmile:

    Here's my suggestion: I don't see much in the way of fruit and vegies in your food diary. Now, I am well aware of the whole 'a calorie is a calorie' debate but I think it truly makes a difference and if you've tried for this long and not had much success then I'd definitely be thinking of giving it a go to see if it would work.

    Hope you have some success soon! :happy:
  • AmelieMustLoseWeight
    AmelieMustLoseWeight Posts: 180 Member
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    I would try to stay away from anything that bulks you up. I for one Love breads. I got rid of carbs from my diet and anything with high frutose corn syrup in it. Lots and lots of water. Don't be afriad to sweat either. I wear hoodies while running to help me sweat more. Dont do it if you feel you will pass out though. My body likes to stay in the same range as well. I learned I just have to keep on moving. Doing something physical at all times. You have to burn more cals than you take in. Thats the key to losing the weight.

    Sadly I love my food as well but thats why I make on healthy meal and drink protein shakes with fat free milk instead. they are so thick and nasty you wont want to eat.

    good luck!
  • Rosplosion
    Rosplosion Posts: 739 Member
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    I second weighing your food. I know, with me, my estimates were way off one way or the other depending on how I felt that day. 1 cup of rice or pasta or whatever could be either 1/2 cup or 1 1/2 cups.

    QFT

    I'm pretty sure this is the cause of my current plateau. I NEVER weigh/measure my food and clearly my guesstimates are off.


    Also, I'm exactly the same height as you and I would be so super stoked to be your weight right now. I know I wasn't happy at that weight when I was there, but it sounds like you have a much better body composition than I had back then, so give yourself some props!
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    I would get a BF analysis. You might already be at a healthy level like 20%. If you are already there then it's going to be very hard to lose more fat.

    Sorry, but if she was at 20% at 150 and 5'4" she'd be built like a body builder, and it would be obvious. I'm 5'7" and 135 at 24% and I have some serious muscle mass.

    I know everyone here thinks that you have to eat a lot of food to lose weight, but have you tried eating fewer calories? Try eating at at the calorie levels MFP suggests for your goal (I'm guessing it will be at 1200-1300) for three weeks. I'd be willing to bet you'll be able to start shedding pounds.

    I don't know why so many people think that they will get fat if their calories fall below 1200. I find the whole idea of eating extra food so that you can lose weight, absolutely ridiculous.
  • LeanneGoingThin
    LeanneGoingThin Posts: 215 Member
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    Perhaps you're not logging your calories correctly. It's the only logical explanation. Make sure you aren't underestimating calories or forgetting about some (such as baking oils). Weigh what you eat for a period of time to check this.
  • amnsetie
    amnsetie Posts: 666 Member
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    Another vote for sodium as the problem
    And some of your food even said no sodium where I'm sure it has a lot
    like the Old El Paso Taco kit
  • pluckabee
    pluckabee Posts: 346 Member
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    If you aren't weighing and measuring your food you cant know how many calories you are eating.

    Start weighing and measuring absolutely everything for a few weeks to make sure you're eating ~1600 calories. If you still cant lose weight after that you need to increase your deficit
  • khall86790
    khall86790 Posts: 1,100 Member
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    Are you weighing and measuring all your foods? No.

    Then you probably aren't logging your food intake accurately. Potentially seriously going over your calories. Most people's estimations are under what they really ate.
  • Saaaam42
    Saaaam42 Posts: 154 Member
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    Sodium is a big one for me. It's in everything! I have such a hard time avoiding it. Will start to watch that though.

    When I started on this site I ate 1200 calories per day for 3 months and didn't lose anything, so I bumped it up as so many people suggest on MFP.

    Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I think I will start by eating smarter and weighing my food.

    And for those of you who pointed out that I didn't log for a few days recently, as I said, *******I lost my job. I was a little preoccupied and frankly a lot depressed. That is the only time in 230 days where I didn't log my food.*******
  • Saaaam42
    Saaaam42 Posts: 154 Member
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    I looked at your diary and can tell you exactly what the issues are. But as you stated you prefer to eat "real food" If you want to see serious changes you might want to consider changing that up.
    I never said anything about "real food" I just said I eat "food" meaning I eat well above 1200 calories per day.

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