Under Calorie goal but not losing weight very quickly

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KrysKiss87
KrysKiss87 Posts: 124 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So every day I try pretty hard to stay at or under my calorie goal. I am pretty active in the evenings and usually walk a mile at least per day. (would be more if I didn't have so many dang knee issues lately) But it seems like my weight is generally staying put. I have only lost 2 pounds so far. I know I need to cut back on my sugars because I have a soft spot for baked goods. But is there any other advice you guys can give me. I just made my diary public,which was kinda painful but I'm here to face reality. What I've done in the past doesn't work and I'm done with making excuses. My son needs me to be healthy so we can run around together like maniacs when he gets older. I think I need a swift kick in the butt to get me on the right track.

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  • SilverRose89
    SilverRose89 Posts: 447 Member
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    First off, how long is 'very quickly'?
  • KrysKiss87
    KrysKiss87 Posts: 124 Member
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    I'm at roughly a pound a week. In the past attempts I have lost at least 2-3 pounds a week, but If a pound a week is a good start, I'm ok with that.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    You should try and meet your calorie goal, not be under. Any homemade entries you use should be those you entered yourself and not something you found in the database. Buy a food scale - your diary will be much more accurate. Once you get the diary in check the weight will follow. How long have you been at this? You only had a few days logged. A half a pound to a pound a week is fantastic progress.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    Might help if you log on Friday and Saturday. By not logging it is possible that you are decreasing the deficit you built earlier in the week and as this would cause you to lose at a slower rate than expected.


  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited March 2015
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    KrysKiss87 wrote: »
    I'm at roughly a pound a week. In the past attempts I have lost at least 2-3 pounds a week, but If a pound a week is a good start, I'm ok with that.

    1-2 lbs a week is normal healthy rate of loss. So 1lb a week isn't bad at all.
    4b4c0bb47c1416c3da875df180cf7c98.jpg
  • TheEats
    TheEats Posts: 49 Member
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    Your logging seems incomplete. Do you frequently not have any dinner or have you simply not put it down? Several days there is nothing logged at all. If these days are black holes, you can easily eat back a lot of your deficit.

    Also, do you have PCOS? Symptoms include male pattern hair growth, excess abdominal fat (but narrow hips) and irregular periods. If you do, you need to restrict carbs a bit, add heavy lifting and cardio - and losing weight will take you a bit longer than for the average person.
  • hezemakiah
    hezemakiah Posts: 157 Member
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    I love sweets too, which is what got me here in the first place!!!! I might have a brownie once a week (one small one...) but I've kicked the sugary coffee creamer, soda, bread, white pasta, chocolate, SODA - anything that is a pure weakness for me -sugar or that which turns to sugar - out of my house!!!! I'm not going to look at my weaknesses every day and have to battle my brain over whether to eat it or not!!!! For me it's best to stay away - for the most part. I do allow myself one to two treats a week - but I do NOT keep them in my house!!! I would ditch the baked goods if I were you - at least from the house. If you're really serious about weight loss it might be a good place to start!!!
  • SilverRose89
    SilverRose89 Posts: 447 Member
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    KrysKiss87 wrote: »
    I'm at roughly a pound a week. In the past attempts I have lost at least 2-3 pounds a week, but If a pound a week is a good start, I'm ok with that.

    A pound per week is fine. It's what I'm aiming for and have been doing for 9 weeks, but everyone is different and some people do aim for 1.5 or 2.

    As long as you are logging everything, weighing accurately and logging exercise accurately, you will lose just fine :)
  • KrysKiss87
    KrysKiss87 Posts: 124 Member
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    Might help if you log on Friday and Saturday. By not logging it is possible that you are decreasing the deficit you built earlier in the week and as this would cause you to lose at a slower rate than expected.


    just got the app on my phone today. I don't have a computer at home. (I know, I'm a loser. <
    kidding)
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    Are you using a food scale?

    There are a lot of "homemade" and "generic" entries in your diary. Did you use the Recipe Builder to enter those recipes, or are you finding those entries in the database? If they're not your recipes, I guarantee the calorie counts aren't accurate for what you're actually eating.

    It's always better to enter all the individual components of a dish instead of trying to find one that sort of matches. So for your coffee, enter the black coffee, the amount of creamer and the sweetener as separate items. That's a small example, but I've seen people choose PB&J entries that are around 200 calories, and I've never made a PB&J that even comes close to 200 calories! Always use the Recipe Builder tool or enter each individual item separately.

    I'd suggest taking another 4 weeks and really tightening up your logging. Learn the tips and tricks for accurate logging in the MFP database, and really make sure that you're being as accurate as possible.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I'd say it's your logging. It's not terribly accurate.

    For example, Yesterday you had this:
    Homemade - Loaded Baked Potato (Red), 1 small 430 0 0 0 0 0

    There's no macros listed for it. Which means it's an innacurate entry. Was this YOUR recipe? Or was it an entry you found in the database? How much did this 'small' potato weigh? What was on it?

    My advice would be to invest in a food scale and weigh all of your foods. Log them by weight. Select entries that have tons of confirmations on them for accuracy, or entries without the * on them.

    Also, there's some days not logged. Don't do that. Log every single day like it's your religion.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    oh you might want to read this:
    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    A pound per week is a reasonably anticipated rate of loss...the fastest you would want to go is about 1% of your body weight per week...after that, you're losing muscle.

    Also, in the past if you were doing low carb or whatever, you probably lost more water weight up front as is typical.

    Just make sure your logging is tight and buckle up for the long haul...healthy weight loss is fairly slow.
  • streamgirl
    streamgirl Posts: 207 Member
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    Figure out which trade-offs you want to make. For me, I set my calories a bit lower, and am content with about 3 pounds in a month. In exchange, I don't weigh everything and so I know I underestimate foods. I'm a big-picture person and weighing everything I eat would probably be a deal-breaker for me. However, I do weigh more "calorie-dense" foods--potatoes, etc. If you want to lose more, be more precise in logging. Or be happy with a pound a week. Over time, you'll likely lose 40 or so pounds in the next year, and that would be awesome! Remember, slow and steady wins, and you have to trust what you are doing is better for you than what you were doing. It's definitely a process and you have to figure out what works best for you!
  • KrysKiss87
    KrysKiss87 Posts: 124 Member
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    I have brushed up on how to properly log in the food diary and feel much more comfortable with the numbers I am getting now. I have made all of my own entries instead of just searching the database in order to ensure accuracy. I need to stop trying to rush this process and be patient. A pound is a pound. That's still a victory.
  • 79browneyes
    79browneyes Posts: 1 Member
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    KrysKiss87, I know it's nice to see the scale go down a larger amount, especially when you are just starting. BUT if you want to be healthy and keep the weight off, it's about changing the way you live, which can be a slow process. (It has been for me) You have to find a lifestyle that works for you so that you can not only loose weight but keep it off. You are off to a great start. Walking is great, also think of using hand held weights and a exercise ball when watching TV... maybe take a short walk on breaks at work. The little things add up to help in the long run.

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