Net Calories are under but still not losing weight, Need help!

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  • olivia_june
    olivia_june Posts: 111 Member
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    MFP is notorious for underestimating food calories and overestimating exercise calories.

    My number one tip for newbies is to find a good calorie amount for YOU (this will require some wiggle room), a good start is to go through this calculator: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

    Take that number and then follow the instructions on the page to get your recommended daily calories.

    Then follow that number for 2 weeks. Weigh everything on a food scale (solid and semi-solid), and measure using measuring cups (liquid).

    *Do not eat back your exercise calories*

    After those 2 weeks, look back and reevaluate. Did you lose weight? Were you always hungry? (Note that your body needs time to adjust to eating reduced amounts of food). Add in an extra 100 calories per day if this is the case, and repeat again in 2 weeks.

    Once you find the right amount of daily calories that feels right for you, stick with it. When I started I was doing 1200 because of MFP's stupid auto feature, felt better when I popped it up to 1300, but it didn't stick. Now I've been eating at 1600-1800 per day for the last year and it's working great.

    The idea is that you want to be eating as much food as possible while still losing weight. You want it to be sustainable for the long run, and able to be adjustable around plateaus. If you're only eating at 1200 (never do this), and you stop losing, where can you go if you want to reduce your calories? If you eat at a sustainable level, you won't starve yourself and make yourself miserable. Being constantly miserable and hungry guarantees that you won't ultimately succeed in your weight loss efforts. :)
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
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    Exercise calories seem really inflated. Also noted that you are eating out a lot. Not tracking your sodium. Did you just start? Only logged for a week.Give it a chance! You have a long journey ahead.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    You're not logging properly

    Golf, using power cart 270minutes = 1,500 calories

    c'n I huh?

    Weigh and log your food, don't use homemade entries make your own, don't use cups to measure, double check against packs

    Don't put in inflated calorie burns

    You'll get there
  • spainsoccerfreak
    spainsoccerfreak Posts: 7 Member
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    Thanks for the help guys, Calories I am using polar heart rate monitor so they seem to be as accuarte as they can not sure how inflated they can be if I am using that, Yes I do eat out a bit :( Net calories for the week were negative so not sure whats going on, sleep has been an issue for quite sometime due to stress which i can try control but will not go away any time soon, Macros yes I guess I could try to get them betetr more protein less carbs, as for weight in I do have a scale at home I use when I cook at home. Any more feedback would love it.
    Just seems like I worked out quite a bit and see so loss so something is not right for sure, Guess I can try eating only at home and see how that goes.
  • spainsoccerfreak
    spainsoccerfreak Posts: 7 Member
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    Sodium might be bad I do drink at least 3 diet cokes a day, can calories be inflated while using Heart rate monitor?
  • uvi5
    uvi5 Posts: 710 Member
    edited April 2015
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    spainsoccerfreak wrote: »
    Net Calories are under but still not losing weight, Need help!
    I know not getting enough protein & calories are as accurate as they can be a wear a polar HRM.
    I do have issues to sleep I don't get more than a few hours like 4 or 5 on lucky days.

    I just to a peek at your diary. This is just one example. You have an entry for 4 fried chicken wings. That would be a general guess. Are these weighed out, because I just ran a search (without weight of the wings, just count) and a general calorie count was, "The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that one skin-on chicken wing that is coated with batter and fried has close to 159 calories." = 636/calories which is more than 1/2 what your entry is. I'm just trying to point out how easy it is to underestimate with generic entries. I'm just starting to get better at this and it can be too easy to mess up entries and get calorie estimates that are way off. Just something to think about. It takes practice. I love chicken wings (fried). I have not had them in a while, but If I was sure I could have 4 for 320, I would definately have them :smiley: Also, i noticed another entry for "Generic - Baked Bbq Chicken Breast, 4 oz 100" Is this w/ bbq sauce, or just on the grill w/o sauce. Even without sauce 4 ounces is a bit more maybe 2x that amount. For example: https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/chicken-breast-roasted-broiled-or-baked-skin-not-eaten?portionid=4856&portionamount=4.000

    I can't wait for my digital scale (w/ tare and unit measurements) next month, but even using the one I have has helped me get better at my logging. It makes a huge difference. There's much guess work w/o out one.

    Good luck to you Op :smiley:

    Edit to add: Just one more thing, Is this your recipe for this omelet? Homemade - Spinach, Ham, & Cheese Omelette, 2 Omelette 240? If not, you'd have no idea how much oil/spray/butter/cheese/size of eggs/spinach/ or ham are in the omelet, so calories could differ quite a bit.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    To add on to the good observations @uvi5 made in her post, I'll also add that you have lots of entries for things like "fried eggs" or "scrambled eggs" that don't take the oil or anything else added into account. You also have things like "2 slices" of ham -- were they thick slices, thin slices? You should get a food scale and focus on logging. You are logging 2,000 calories most days, but you could be eating much more than that.
  • uvi5
    uvi5 Posts: 710 Member
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    uvi5 wrote: »
    spainsoccerfreak wrote: »
    Net Calories are under but still not losing weight, Need help!
    I know not getting enough protein & calories are as accurate as they can be a wear a polar HRM.
    I do have issues to sleep I don't get more than a few hours like 4 or 5 on lucky days.

    I just to a peek at your diary. This is just one example. You have an entry for 4 fried chicken wings. That would be a general guess. Are these weighed out, because I just ran a search (without weight of the wings, just count) and a general calorie count was, "The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that one skin-on chicken wing that is coated with batter and fried has close to 159 calories." = 636/calories which is more than 1/2 what your entry is. I'm just trying to point out how easy it is to underestimate with generic entries. I'm just starting to get better at this and it can be too easy to mess up entries and get calorie estimates that are way off. Just something to think about. It takes practice. I love chicken wings (fried). I have not had them in a while, but If I was sure I could have 4 for 320, I would definately have them :smiley: Also, i noticed another entry for "Generic - Baked Bbq Chicken Breast, 4 oz 100" Is this w/ bbq sauce, or just on the grill w/o sauce. Even without sauce 4 ounces is a bit more maybe 2x that amount. For example: https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/chicken-breast-roasted-broiled-or-baked-skin-not-eaten?portionid=4856&portionamount=4.000

    I can't wait for my digital scale (w/ tare and unit measurements) next month, but even using the one I have has helped me get better at my logging. It makes a huge difference. There's much guess work w/o out one.

    Good luck to you Op :smiley:

    Edit to add: Just one more thing, Is this your recipe for this omelet? Homemade - Spinach, Ham, & Cheese Omelette, 2 Omelette 240? If not, you'd have no idea how much oil/spray/butter/cheese/size of eggs/spinach/ or ham are in the omelet, so calories could differ quite a bit.

    Edit to Say: I feel like a moron, I did not realize this has been responded too already. I thought this was just posted. How did I miss this, blah I need more coffee! I'm sure you have been helped :smiley:
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    zmusic wrote: »
    spainsoccerfreak wrote: »
    Net Calories are under but still not losing weight, Need help!
    I know not getting enough protein & calories are as accurate as they can be a wear a polar HRM.
    I do have issues to sleep I don't get more than a few hours like 4 or 5 on lucky days.

    The Rotation Diet has always worked for me.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10141996/zs-rapid-reduction-rotation-diet#latest

    If OP isn't logging correctly, a "rotation diet" that is based on hitting a different calorie goal each day is going to help . . . how?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    What are you using your HR monitor for - because it's only suitable to track steady-state cardio

    also I'm afraid it is your logging - you need to fix that

    it doesn't matter what the numbers show - you aren't inputting the info correctly

    fix that and you'll find the weight comes off
  • ginnettemoskowitz
    ginnettemoskowitz Posts: 12 Member
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    start lifting weights. lifting weights will make you burn more calories


  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    MrM27 wrote: »
    You've logged for 1 week and have days of 2100, a couple close to 2000, 1500, 1000 and under 1000 so I'm not sure how you can say you're in a deficit with that kind of logging.

    I agree with this. Your lodging is all over the place and I personally do not trust HRM and exercise calories earned. All that combined, it is impossible to know if you are in fact in a deficit.
  • Britxclarity
    Britxclarity Posts: 235 Member
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    MrM27 wrote: »
    You've logged for 1 week and have days of 2100, a couple close to 2000, 1500, 1000 and under 1000 so I'm not sure how you can say you're in a deficit with that kind of logging.

    I am a bit confused by this? I thought long as your under your calorie goal for the day that your body can stay in that deficit? I forgot what the op said their cal intake was but I know mine is 2400 and my days of eating have been jumping all over the place from 1300-1700 but still under 2400
  • uvi5
    uvi5 Posts: 710 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Also, (here I go again without coffee)...My hubbies a golfer too :smiley: Anyway for exercise you have listed 1500/burn for golf using a power cart. Is this a vehicle?

    edit: w/o "more" coffee :lol:
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    kayfaei wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    You've logged for 1 week and have days of 2100, a couple close to 2000, 1500, 1000 and under 1000 so I'm not sure how you can say you're in a deficit with that kind of logging.

    I am a bit confused by this? I thought long as your under your calorie goal for the day that your body can stay in that deficit? I forgot what the op said their cal intake was but I know mine is 2400 and my days of eating have been jumping all over the place from 1300-1700 but still under 2400

    The point is that it seems doubtful that OP is actually at the number of calories required to create a deficit. I am not sure what her goal is, but if she is eating 2,000 calories regularly, this may be too much. Her calorie burns for exercise seem vastly inflated and, given the state of her logging, she may actually be eating much more than what she thinks.
  • uvi5
    uvi5 Posts: 710 Member
    edited April 2015
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    ginnettemoskowitz wrote: »
    start lifting weights. lifting weights will make you burn more calories


    And it's awesome! Going into 3 weeks now myself and my sleep has been much better. Sometimes I sleep less, but very well and other nights I am getting a straight 7 to 8 hours :smiley: I am loving how i'm feeling, so great advice here. Lift!

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