1 month in - still having trouble.

kaitlynbschott

I have been a member of MFP since last year and was successful in losing pounds and pants sizes before. I ate a lot of fresh produce, thanks to a challenge at work with coworkers. I exercised with a rotation of walking, yoga and pilates almost everyday. In 3 months I lost 25 lbs, which is no longer logged on my profile because I was so ashamed when I gained all of it back, and then some, a year later.

A month ago, I was able to commit to logging everything I ate and diligently working out 4-5 times a week, at least 30 minutes, sweating with cardio or a combination of circuit training and cardio. I lost about 7 lbs in the first 2 weeks and then gained all of it back at the month mark.

What am I doing wrong? I think I eat a lot, because of working out and because I have so many good snacks to help if I get hungry at work. I do take a day here and there for rest but feel that those are the days that are harder because I still want to snack but can't.

Thanks for reading & offering your advice!

jkal1979

With your diary closed it's kind of hard to say.

Are you making sure that you are logging accurately by weighing and measuring your food?

kaitlynbschott

Sorry about that. My diary is public now.

I think I do an OK job of logging accurately. I tend to measure it at first and with some foods, if I eat the same thing every day, I then "eye" it.

I think I'll need to invest in a scale for food so I can have more peace of mind.

JustPeachy044

We all have trouble of some sort. Hang in there. You are on the right track by asking for help and being willing to adjust.

I have some ideas:
*Measusre, measure, measure! The scale can be a horrible "liar"--there can be a multitude of changes in your body that don't show up on the scale. I personally weigh daily, just once, but only count the weight and log it here once a week. My weight can and often does fluctuate 3-4 lbs. in a week when I am simply trying to maintain. At a recent assessment at my fitness club for an 8 week challenge, I saw that I had gained 2 lbs. but it was 2 lbs. of muscle and I had lost a lb. of fat in that same time. My arm measurement increased but waist and thigh decreased in that same time. If I'd have relied only on the scale in that 8 week period, I'd have thought "crap, I worked my a** off and gained 2 lbs.".
*you have to find a diet plan you can live with and sustain. Have you tried calorie cycling? It may work for you. It lets you eat higher calories some days and be more restrictive on others. When I was in a major focus on losing, it worked great for me. Find foods and recipes you like that are also healthy for you.
*as another poster said, log EVERY bit, sip, etc. I advocate giving up sweetened drinks of any kind for awhile, and watch the snacking if you do food prep. Those little bites add up.

You can do this! Be patient with yourself and take this one day at a time.

jaymibecca

Drink lots of water! It makes big difference. Sometimes your body thinks its hungry when it's actually thirsty.

jkal1979

When it comes to a lot of foods (like cereal) you are a lot better off using a food scale instead of a measuring cup or your eyes. Sometimes we think we know what a portion size looks like but over time the portions get a little bigger and bigger.

askeates

Ok so I looked at the last week and a half of your logging, and you are very consistent, and close to your calories.

The things I noticed that could possibly be causing issues, your sodium and carb intake. Typically one or the other is pretty far over the recommended macros. So when looking at your actual foods, there are at least 1-2 quick and pre-packaged things (cranola bar or instant oatmeal) each day, sometimes these pre-packaged or quick items have additional sodium in them. You may want to attempt using the steel cut or traditional oatmeal instead of instant. I am finding the less I rely on these pre-packaged items the better I feel and the closer to my macros I stay.

The other thing (and I struggle badly with this one), get at least 8 glasses of water every single day. Water is very helpful, especially if you are struggling with reducing your sodium intake.

Hope this helps, keep up the great work and you will see results! :drinker:

Lisa_Rhodes

Like others have said, weigh your food and drink plenty of water. Also, do you use a Heart Rate Monitor? I ask bc if not, MFP estimates for exercises can quite exaggerated for calories burned. When I put in that I did 20 minutes on the Elliptical, it'll automatically put 360 calories burned when in reality it's 210. If you do use one, then you're good there... maybe watch your sodium bc that can make you bloat.

Good luck with your journey

Beastmode454

What has helped me so far is i have got a estimation of my TDEE ( total amount of calories used in a 24hr period) you can find some sites online that give a free TDEE estimation.. type in TDEE in the search bar and several results will come up. once you have your TDEE subtract about 20 to 25%, so TDEE AMOUNT / 4 will give you the 25% after that subtract that 25% from the TDEE and thats the calories you should be at and that gives you the amount of calories you should be eating to loose weight. MFP already puts you at a deficit that puts your body into weight loss. If your working out that much you should probably increase your calorie intake a lil.. for example My TDEE Is around 2,800 calories a day that my body uses.. Used calories ( - ) lets say you eat about 2,000 calories that leaves me 800 calories remaining.. so that is -800 i still need if i work out and burn 200 calories now i am at -1000 calories... so at the end of the day you body is not releasing fat cuz it doesn't have enough food/calories in its system... maybe this might help

bwogilvie

When it comes to a lot of foods (like cereal) you are a lot better off using a food scale instead of a measuring cup or your eyes. Sometimes we think we know what a portion size looks like but over time the portions get a little bigger and bigger.

^ This is great advice. I know that if I pour myself a bowl of cereal and eyeball it, it's often 20-25% bigger than a bowl that I weighed. A cheap food scale is well worth the investment.

stepho38

To me it seems like you get a lot of calories to eat in one day. I only get 1200 a day unless I work out then I get more. I don't know if that is just because I have a lot more weight to lose or not.

kaitlynbschott

Thank you all so much! I'm looking over my caloric intake again and how much I should be eating with how often I'm working out. I will get a kitchen scale and I will also try to keep track of my heart rate to see how hard I'm working. It seems to me that I have way too many calories to eat, this is based on my height and weight through the TDEE calculator that was recommended above so I will see what happens.

I will try not to eat every single calorie I'm allowed.

bwogilvie

It seems to me that I have way too many calories to eat, this is based on my height and weight through the TDEE calculator that was recommended above so I will see what happens.

Those calculators are based on averages of a large group of people. Individuals vary a lot (some people fidget a lot, others don't--that can account for a few hundred calories' difference in TDEE each day; there's increasing evidence that the balance of bacteria in your gut play a role, too). The only way to figure out your real, personal TDEE is to accurately track your calories consumed over a reasonably long period, then measure your weight change over the same period. Calculators are a good starting tool, but like all tools, they have their limitations.