Not losing, please advise

missemmapeel

That's really difficult for you, sorry for your struggles.

I agree with the weighing, and becoming more diligent with the logging. It takes a bit of practice to get it right. I noticed last week you at 8tbs of salsa, 1/2 cup of cheese with only 1 oz of nachos. To me this seems way off, and you probably had a heck of a lot more nachos.

What has worked for me on the weight loss was eating way more protein, increasing fresh vegetables and walking every day.

You're trying the logging and calorie restriction, it may be time to refine the logging and change a few food choices so you stay full longer. And increase your physical activity even by a bit may help. For me it was about shifting the energy balance and I had to do everything to lose the baby weight.

Hope this helps, happy if you want to add me as a friend I've been in maintenance for a couple years now.

allunits

I am 5'3, currently 194. I exercise very irregularly and not seriously. I used to be a consistent weightlifter and I know that what I'm doing now is nothing, so I would count myself as sedentary.

ashleycde

Just watched the video above. That pretty much hits the nail on the head to what I was talking about. Logging accurately is so critical, and near impossible without a food scale.

allunits

Danilynn, I'm sorry about your thyroid and I'm glad you are working to figure things out.
I do not have a thyroid problem and have no medical issues, no high cholesterol, nothing. The only thing is that my glucose was 94 at my last bloodwork but it was not after fasting and even then it's not very high. Getting new blookdwork done next week, coincidentally, but I do not suspect any medical issue whatsoever. It's my diet, I'm just trying to fine tune things with some help from people who know more than me.

segacs

Ignoring the person trying to derail the thread and make it all about her...

Agree with the meticulous use of a food scale, at least for a little while. Weigh everything that isn't liquid on a digital food scale. Measure liquids with measuring spoons or cups. Make sure you're weighing cooking oils, condiments, that bite of food you stole off your boyfriend's plate...

No, you probably won't have to be quite so fussy about it for the rest of your life. But it sounds like you've hit a wall and you're looking for ways to get past it, so yeah, you will want to do this really, really carefully for a while.

1200 calories sounds like it's probably too low for you. I don't know your age or height, but if you weigh in at 194, then it's very unlikely that 1200 calories is an appropriate goal for you. Put your height, weight and age into MFP, choose "sedentary" as an activity level, and set your goal to lose 1lb/week. It'll spit out a number. Follow that number.

But at the moment you're almost certainly NOT eating 1200 calories... you just think you are. You need to get a handle on how much you're really eating, no cheating or guesstimating, and then you'll be able to adjust.

Also, 5 pounds in 8 weeks ain't bad. Maybe it's not quite as much as you'd expected to lose, but it's not terrible by any means. Remember, you put the weight on slowly, it's gonna come off slowly.

bwogilvie

allunits wrote: »

Can I ask one other thing? What do you think my calorie goal should be while I am sedentary? On the lower or higher side of my weightless range? And are the TDEEs that important?

I would say that you should pick a value, and in four weeks, see how you're doing. If you're losing weight more slowly than you would like, then lower your goal. If you're losing weight too quickly, then raise it.

A lot of people forget that calorie calculators are producing an estimate based on a model. Individuals will vary from the model; two people of the same gender, age, height, weight, and build might vary by several hundred calories in their sedentary TDEE depending on how much they fidget (no, really!), how efficient their digestive tract is at extracting energy from food, and other factors. The only way to know your true requirement to maintain (and thus to lose) is trial and error.

allunits

Thank you all! You are right and I needed to hear it. I am not religious about weighing and I do estimate quite a bit. That video is awesome and v convincing. I am going to weigh as much as I possibly can for the next 50 days and compare. Thanks, everyone!

cerad2

Could someone please explain what a food scale has to do with the topic? The original poster tracked for two months while losing a small amount of weight. It's clear that, however they were doing it, that they were consistently eating at a slight deficit. Otherwise the weight would have been different. Isn't that what the mantra "calories in - calories out" means?

So how would weighing food make things different? The original poster then cut back a bit. Since they were already logging for two months then it's again clear that they really did cut back. The cutback has only been for a few days so I would think that just being consistent a few more weeks will show some results.

wizzybeth

The video totally rocked.

Sued0nim

cerad2 wrote: »

Could someone please explain what a food scale has to do with the topic? The original poster tracked for two months while losing a small amount of weight. It's clear that, however they were doing it, that they were consistently eating at a slight deficit. Otherwise the weight would have been different. Isn't that what the mantra "calories in - calories out" means?

So how would weighing food make things different? The original poster then cut back a bit. Since they were already logging for two months then it's again clear that they really did cut back. The cutback has only been for a few days so I would think that just being consistent a few more weeks will show some results.

How is it clear that they are eating at a defecit if they are guessing what calories they are eating ..clearly in the estimation and guesswork and cup measurements they've eaten up the defecit that the screen is showing

Weighing makes it more accurate (amongst the whole calories estimate anyway) so that she can check if her calorie defecit goal is accurate in the first place

allunits

cerad2 wrote: »

Could someone please explain what a food scale has to do with the topic? The original poster tracked for two months while losing a small amount of weight. It's clear that, however they were doing it, that they were consistently eating at a slight deficit. Otherwise the weight would have been different. Isn't that what the mantra "calories in - calories out" means?

So how would weighing food make things different? The original poster then cut back a bit. Since they were already logging for two months then it's again clear that they really did cut back. The cutback has only been for a few days so I would think that just being consistent a few more weeks will show some results.

Cerad, you might be right and I definitely like the acknowledgment that I am eating at some deficit . I think the issue is that I would like to lose a little bit faster or more consistently. Based on how much effort I feel like I put in and how little I eat (much less than I would like or used to) I would like to see more results. For the last 2 weeks, for ex, I have been gaining and losing the same 1.5lbs. I'd like to see the scale go up less often, I guess. And I agree with everyone that I don't really weigh everything and pick a lot of estimated entries when I track. I do think it makes sense to really find out how much I am really eating for a while. If that still doesn't work, I'll be back with more questions.

Sued0nim

You don't know if you're eating at a defecit though ..purely due to the estimations that you have already acknowledged...someone looking at the maths on your diary also doesn't know if you are, they can only judge it based on what you've logged

allunits

rabbitjb wrote: »

You don't know if you're eating at a defecit though ..purely due to the estimations that you have already acknowledged...someone looking at the maths on your diary also doesn't know if you are, they can only judge it based on what you've logged

You're right, I just meant that I have lost a little bit of weight so overall, I have eaten at a slight deficit. Am I looking at it wrong?

segacs

cerad2 wrote: »

Could someone please explain what a food scale has to do with the topic? The original poster tracked for two months while losing a small amount of weight. It's clear that, however they were doing it, that they were consistently eating at a slight deficit. Otherwise the weight would have been different. Isn't that what the mantra "calories in - calories out" means?

So how would weighing food make things different? The original poster then cut back a bit. Since they were already logging for two months then it's again clear that they really did cut back. The cutback has only been for a few days so I would think that just being consistent a few more weeks will show some results.

That's a really good question and one that I think comes up a lot here.

It comes down to margin of error.

At the beginning of a weight loss program, there's water weight drop and there's also a higher deficit since, hey, when you weigh more, you're also burning more calories. A bigger body takes more energy to move around all day than a smaller one.

So, let's say you start off and you're estimating food and you're losing a pound a week. Great! All good, right?

The problem is, of that pound a week, maybe only half of it was actual weight loss. You thought you had a 500 calorie/day deficit when in truth you had a 250 calorie/day deficit and were eating 250 calories more each day than you thought you were.

Now, fast forward a couple of months and your weight loss stalls. "But I didn't do anything different!" you say.

Ah, but the water weight drop stopped. You're down 10 pounds and your margin of error is smaller. You've gotten a little lax in your tracking, 'cause everything was working and you thought it was all hunky-dory. And suddenly, your slim deficit disappeared and you stop losing weight.

The answer now is to tighten up your logging. Before assuming that you have to change your numbers dramatically, you do the smart thing and invest in a food scale and start weighing everything. Suddenly you realize that you thought you were eating 1500 but you've actually been eating 1750. You adjust and start eating a "true" 1500 (or as close as possible to, since no logging's ever gonna be 100% perfect). And you start losing weight again.

It's VERY common. It's usually the first thing you should try.

cerad2

rabbitjb wrote: »

How is it clear that they are eating at a defecit if they are guessing what calories they are eating ..clearly in the estimation and guesswork and cup measurements they've eaten up the defecit that the screen is showing

Read the original post. She lost several pounds over the course of several months. Body weight scales are fairly accurate so measuring weight loss is not an estimate nor is measuring time. If your weight is less now that is was a few months ago then yes you are eating at a deficit.

Weighing your food may or may not help you track and maintain your day to day deficit. But month to month average body weight measurements are the only practical way to be sure.

emdeesea

You're right, I just meant that I have lost a little bit of weight so overall, I have eaten at a slight deficit. Am I looking at it wrong?

No, I think you've got the right idea. You just need to tighten up on your logging and weighing. Use that calculator I recommended (or one that's similar) and you'll do great. You would have to be a genetic anomaly to not lose weight at a deficit. It just takes time and a WHOLE lot of patience and consistency.

Sued0nim

allunits wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

You don't know if you're eating at a defecit though ..purely due to the estimations that you have already acknowledged...someone looking at the maths on your diary also doesn't know if you are, they can only judge it based on what you've logged

You're right, I just meant that I have lost a little bit of weight so overall, I have eaten at a slight deficit. Am I looking at it wrong?

Nope ...that's the best measure of all

If you're losing you're at a defecit ...you can guesstimate what kind of defecit by calculating roughly 3500 calories under maintenance per pound loss then average that over the length of time

Sued0nim

cerad2 wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

How is it clear that they are eating at a defecit if they are guessing what calories they are eating ..clearly in the estimation and guesswork and cup measurements they've eaten up the defecit that the screen is showing

Read the original post. She lost several pounds over the course of several months. Body weight scales are fairly accurate so measuring weight loss is not an estimate nor is measuring time. If your weight is less now that is was a few months ago then yes you are eating at a deficit.

Weighing your food may or may not help you track and maintain your day to day deficit. But month to month average body weight measurements are the only practical way to be sure.

Agree

Must have misunderstood your confusion in your original post

RadiantKola

Sorry to hear you're stalled. I agree that a trip to the doctor is always insightful. The previous suggestions are all good, as well. Food scales, measuring cups, teaspoons stashed in your purse when you are away from your kitchen...these things matter and will, over time and with the data you accumulate from your food diary, teach you about what works for your own body.

I think it is also important to address the "types" of calories you are eating. Perhaps you are eating a lot of sodium laced, manufactured foods. Perhaps your body doesn't give up the fat because you are eating a lot of carbs and you don't digest them as efficiently at this time. Perhaps you are the the type of person who responds better to a higher protein, heavily "vegged out" plate.

I have found that the beauty of MyFitnessPal's tracking system is that, over time, you can more clearly figure out what exactly works best for your body. Through tracking and constantly reviewing my statistics (at least once per week) I can see "trends" and remember what "felt" right for me.

Another thing that has helped me, personally, is not losing too fast. I started MyFitnessPal at my heaviest weight ever, 186.2lbs twelve months ago. Over the course of the past year I have stayed in what I call a "weight decade" for about 6-8 weeks. That is to say, once the initial extra five pounds came off in the first weeks, I stayed in the 170's for two months before I went to the 160's, etc., It has helped me maintain my weight and enjoy where I'm at, and FEEL GOOD ABOUT MYSELF AND WHAT I'M DOING, even with extra to lose.

Good luck to you. I wish you luck accepting your beauty no matter your size, and hope you are able to gain support here learning about safe and sound nutrition, because that's what fuels and fires our movements and minds.

SLLRunner

Danilynn1975 wrote: »

queenliz99 wrote: »

Danilynn1975 wrote: »

Are you cold?
are you losing hair, fingernail changes?
Are you so tired you could sleep as an Olympic event?
are your eyelashes falling out, weird bloating?

do you have a lump in your throat?

and most importantly, have you hit some wall where no matter how hard you log, weigh and measure, work out through pain, tired, and exhaustion can't lose weight?

Go check your thyroid. Don't wait. Don't settle for living a half life of hell.

I have been unable to lose weight past where I am for 2 years. I log so faithfully it is unreal. exercise is a ritual. nothing worked, so I called it done, and have been maintaining/gaining/ping pong bounce with no change in diet between 153 and 164 for that same 2 years.

A lump in my throat as I type this could very well be cancer. They don't know, all they do know right now is it is on my right lobe of my thyroid which is swollen to nearly double it's size with a "normal TSH", which is only 1 test of about 7 for a thyroid panel. You have to fight to get the rest done.

At best right now they suspect I could have an auto-immune disorder called Hashimoto's as my weird stuff is a mix of both Hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.

Check your throat if any of this sounds like you. Plateaus that won't break? despite what you may read in these forums, it may not be your "failure to accurately log" your "weak exercise routine".

Please don't settle for faux science and get yourself checked out.

So, in the next few weeks, I get to be even more of a pincushion for the medical field, I'm going to drink gross stuff to light up my throat for scans and at some point have needles shoved into that growth to find out. Don't wait thinking it's you and "crap logging" that is causing this. It may just be your thyroid. a few blood tests beat the heck out of being told 1 day before your 40th birthday you might have cancer.

Disregard this

so you my new doctor? really don't recall seeing you in the exam room or when I got an ultrasound on my throat.

Please tell me how you became an expert on what my medical health is. I'd love to know how an enlarged diffuse thyroid 2 times it's normal size with a 2.1 cm growth is normal and to be disregarded.

enlighten me. please oh medical guru

You copied and pasted this post for another thread too? Or, copied and pasted here? I understand you are angry, and I don't blame you, but this in no way addresses the original post.