Well I gained... again.. how do you guys do it?

whereslisa

So, last week I did pretty terrible. I barely logged anything and I overate almost every day, my weekly weigh in Monday morning hit me where it hurts, I gained 2lbs. Now, 2lbs isn:t the worst gain, but my issue is I cannot seem to get under 170lbs. I:ve lost maybe 5 pounds in the past 4-5 months, I:ve given up bread )hurts my stomach), soda, most candy and rarely ever eat fast food which helps me feel better physically and sleep better, but I:m stuck with my weight. I:m at 172lbs now, and my goal is to be under 145lbs, I may look good at 145lbs or may look good at 130lbs, so my goal is to hit a weight that I:m comfortable at but I need to lose at least around 30lbs more. I don:t really have a set date but I:d like to lose around 1lb a week from now on. I just can:t even manage to do that... Since this time last year with off and on dieting I:ve lost around 30 or 35 lbs.

I was logging super accurately, the first week I lost 2lbs, then I continued logging every morsel that went into my mouth and didn:t lose anything, then I had a lot of issues come up with family and such and slipped back a little and that:s when I gained my 2lbs back. I know it:s because I:m not logging accurately or exercising for that matter, it:s just very hard to cook meals and eat good and still have time to spend an hour or more exercising every day with my current routine.

So my question being, how do you guys do it? I imagine a lot of you have jobs and some have pretty busy lifestyles, where do you find the time? My biggest issue is I:m hungry, and not at my house, and there:s a thousand places to get junk food, so I get it because I hadn:t eaten all day, but when I get home at night I:m exhausted and starving and so I grab whatever food is available, eat it and pass out. Ugh..

strong_curves

When you say you log accurately, do you mean you are weighing out all your portions?

janejellyroll

You have to be willing to make yourself, and your goals, a priority. This means I take a few minutes each week to plan my meals. I take time each evening to prepare what I need for breakfast and lunch the next day. I take time to make myself a dinner (sometimes a really simple one). I pre-log so that I know what my goals are for the next day. This makes it easier for me to avoid changing my plan. I don't exercise an hour or more per day -- most days I just spend half an hour (and you don't even have to exercise each day if you don't want to).

It sounds like you now what your problem points are. Make sure that you don't find yourself out and about without a food plan (carry small snacks in your purse or whatever). Have quick meal options for the evening that fit your goals.

segacs

Your answer is right there in your original post: You get fed up and frustrated and you eat more than your calorie goal. That's why you're not losing weight.

How do people do it? You just do. You decide not to eat the things that don't fit in your daily calories, because you'd prefer to have the weight loss than the extra food.

There's no need to cut out any foods unless for health reasons, or to overly restrict yourself. Fast food once in a while is okay. Snacks are okay. Eating on the run is okay. Just eat less in those instances.

What works for many people is to take some time on the weekend to pre-log and pre-cook food for the week, and portion it out so you can grab-and-go in the mornings.

When you're ready to do this, you'll see that you can have success or you can have excuses, but generally not both.

Good luck!

gothchiq

I have the app on my phone to log with. I pre-weigh the stuff I take to work for lunch so that I can enter it ahead of time. Anything I add during the day, I log the calories through the app from what's listed on the item such as a packet of Quaker lower sugar oatmeal. I work out like a maniac every other day and then I rest on the "off" days so that I can build muscle after lifting. This got rid of 30 lb in a year.

PeachyCarol

I preplan and prelog. It's a time saver. I prep ahead to be able to weigh things out to log them, and that also helps with time saving.

oedipa_maas

I put aside one weekend day--usually Sunday--and make food for the week, cut up vegetables and fruit...basically do most of my prep on one day. That way when I get home tired from work, I either already have a meal made that I can heat up or I've made it easy to throw something together, like a stir fry. I do it this way because I'm totally wiped when I get home from work and I know I don't eat well when I'm too hungry and tired.

alyhuggan

Over the past two years not only have I been training physically but also mentally.

You are in control of you. No-one else can do these things for you.

To sort the problem out with eating when out, pre-cook your food, store it in a tupperware tub and eat it instead of junk food.

I'm not meaning to be rude but all I see in this post is excuses.

"I'm exhausted and starving and so I grab whatever food is available"

"it's just very hard to cook meals and eat good and still have time to spend an hour or more exercising every day with my current routine."

You answered your own question in your own thread.

" I know it's because I'm not logging accurately or exercising for that matter"

Unfortunately the only way you are going to lose is by making time, logging accurately and staying mentally strong.
It's tough, but it's got to be done. You have to ask yourself are you happy with how you are now? Sulking and complaining about it, making excuses about things and trying to place blame elsewhere doesn't get anyone anywhere. You have to decide how badly you want it, giving up isn't going to get you anywhere. Good luck!

ruggedshutter

Time? HAHA I barely have time to think most days....lol I have an hour commute to work, 9 hours at work, commute home. I run my own photography studio as a side business, meet with clients in the evenings/weekends and have 2 kids.

Somehow I still find 30 minutes to fit in a cardio session (Insanity Max30 right now). I do that 3 times a week. I calculated my TDEE with only working out 3 times/wk and eat at that. Some weeks I can get 3 workouts....some I don't get any.

uvi5

whereslisa wrote: »

So, last week I did pretty terrible. I barely logged anything and I overate almost every day, my weekly weigh in Monday morning hit me where it hurts, I gained 2lbs. Now, 2lbs isn:t the worst gain, but my issue is I cannot seem to get under 170lbs. I:ve lost maybe 5 pounds in the past 4-5 months, I:ve given up bread )hurts my stomach), soda, most candy and rarely ever eat fast food which helps me feel better physically and sleep better, but I:m stuck with my weight. I:m at 172lbs now, and my goal is to be under 145lbs, I may look good at 145lbs or may look good at 130lbs, so my goal is to hit a weight that I:m comfortable at but I need to lose at least around 30lbs more. I don:t really have a set date but I:d like to lose around 1lb a week from now on. I just can:t even manage to do that... Since this time last year with off and on dieting I:ve lost around 30 or 35 lbs.

I was logging super accurately, the first week I lost 2lbs, then I continued logging every morsel that went into my mouth and didn:t lose anything, then I had a lot of issues come up with family and such and slipped back a little and that:s when I gained my 2lbs back. I know it:s because I:m not logging accurately or exercising for that matter, it:s just very hard to cook meals and eat good and still have time to spend an hour or more exercising every day with my current routine.

So my question being, how do you guys do it? I imagine a lot of you have jobs and some have pretty busy lifestyles, where do you find the time? My biggest issue is I:m hungry, and not at my house, and there:s a thousand places to get junk food, so I get it because I hadn:t eaten all day, but when I get home at night I:m exhausted and starving and so I grab whatever food is available, eat it and pass out. Ugh..

Just looked at your diary and the first thing that caught my attention is the entry for bacon (4 slices @ 70 calories) Even the turkey (lean) bacon I use is 30 calories a slice (120 for 4 slices) and in the database for MFP is 42 calories for 1 slice (4 being 168 calories) for pork bacon. Do you use a kitchen digital scale with unit measurements and Tare? Are the recipes yours? Things to pay attention to, then go from there. I am logging everything and still am learning to get it right. I'm dropping size at a good (slow) steady rate. Started lifting weights over a month ago (4 x per week at 1.5 hours a session) and do cardio daily. I eat back 1/2 to 3/4 of burned calories. Good luck Op and keep learning, weighing, logging, moving and start lifting. Be patient, enjoy the journey and trust the process.

SezxyStef

mamapeach910 wrote: »

I preplan and prelog. It's a time saver. I prep ahead to be able to weigh things out to log them, and that also helps with time saving.

This...

I sit on Sunday evening and plan my week.

aislingbury

Hi, sorry to hear you've had a tough week. I'm fairly new to this but hopefully I can help.
Everyone has set backs but the important thing is to keep your head up and carry on. Just remember that tomorrow is a new day. Firstly you need to re-commit to logging EVERYTHING. I find it really helps to keep me motivated. With regard to temptation I would suggest planning your meals ahead and perhaps even prepping. I find healthy packed lunches help keep me away from fast food. Once you've started planning you can log your intake in advance. I find this helps because the last thing I want to do is go back that evening and change my log to something far more calorific! Make sure you carry around some healthy, slow energy release snacks with you so that you can stave off temptation! Here's a great list of healthy snacks: http://www.buzzfeed.com/carolynkylstra/healthy-snacks-under-200-calories
In terms of exercise it's all about finding a routine. I know this can be difficult in the busy lives we lead but it's important to see it as something as everyday as brushing your teeth and not as a chore. I find the best way to do this is find an exercise plan which you cab enjoy. Test out a few different programs and see what works for you. These days it's easy to do exercise at home because there are so many resources so you don't even need to find the time to get to the gym. I would recommend the app 'Sworkit'. I use it when I'm away from home and can't get to the gym. All you need is a yoga mat! It's a circuit training style app and you can adjust the workouts to whatever length of time that suits you.
Hope that helps and good luck!

BicepsAndBows

One of the best tips I can offer you is to PLAN AHEAD! I am always busy and on-the-go, and one thing that saves me is planning ahead for what I will eat. I pack healthy snacks that are easy to grab and go so that when I get hungry and am not at home I have healthy options right there. It makes eating healthy easier away from home!

Sarasmaintaining

First-get away from the mentality that some foods are 'junk'/'bad'. Weight loss is about calories and math. You can most certainly lose weight and improve your health in the process, while still eating out (I ate fast food all the time while in active weight loss phase and still do now that I'm in maintenance). And yes, you can still eat bread, candy and drink soda too, as long as you fit it into your calorie goals. If you're not losing weight anymore it's because you're eating more calories, than what you need to be at a deficit. Get those numbers figured out (and if you've lost weight you may need to re-run your stats because your allotted calories will go down as you lose).

Second-you've had a few rough days. Own them, and then get back at it. This is for life, and a few days detoured isn't going to make or break you-unless you let it.

You can do this

eta: as far as exercise goes-I did NO exercise at all, while I was in my active weight loss phase. You don't need to exercise every day to lose weight, or even every week. Eat less calories than what your body's maintenance calorie range is, and you'll lose the weight.

SergeantSausage

Find the time? It requires ZERO time to NOT overeat, right?

Quit making excuses. You know what you need to do.

Do it, already.

freeoscar

If you are finding it difficult to consistently exercise, then make sure that consistent exercise is not part of your weight loss plan - from both a planning purpose (i.e. set your targets to reflect your regular life activity, only account for exercise after you've completed it), and from a psychological perspective (exercise is not necessary to achieve significant weight loss, so if you can't do it, it doesn't matter).
Prioritize getting your food intake correct - meal planning, shopping, preparation and logging.

cwolfman13

I don't keep a diary anymore, but when I did it took me all of 10 minutes log. I generally pre-logged my days so I always knew pretty much exactly where I was.

mwyvr

Plan ahead is a recurring theme and for good reasons. Planning helps you avoid making bad spur of the moment decisions.

Planning ahead doesn't always have to entail making up a meal plan for the entire day. Planning can mean checking MFP before eating something. You can look up whatever fast food is tempting you at a particular moment *before* you even hit the restaurant. If the calories involved are going to put you off your daily goal, do something else.

I love onion rings but won't go for them because at 360 calories that would represent most of one of my meals and they certainly aren't providing me with nutrition. I used to buy this rather healthy looking and tasting fresh baked peanut bar at the locally owned coffee shop until I looked it up. 600 calories. Ditto the cookie at Starbucks.

There's so much good, tasty, nutritious food in the world I'm unwilling to give up so many calories for junk. Being informed before I shop is a tiny bit of pre-planning - takes only seconds - that saves me from making bad decisions on the fly.

LeslieB042812

I concur with what everyone else has said. You can lose without exercising (although of course exercise has many benefits so it's better if you do), but maybe you should let that go for now and just focus on the eating, so it doesn't feel so overwhelming. Then, once you've gotten into good habits with tracking, you can add in exercise.

All the advice on prepping and meal planning on Sundays is excellent, and you should probably try that. To be honest, though, that's not my style. I tend to instead focus on quick healthy options that I can do in the moment without falling into bad habits. For example, I always keep raw almonds and low calorie high protein granola bars in my desk drawer at work, along with some packets of tuna (super filling and super low calorie). I usually eat a frozen meal (again, the more protein the better) and a piece of fruit for lunch (no thought or prep--just grab and go) and then have a snack (from my healthy snack drawer) just before I leave work so I don't get the crazy hungries while running errands or on my way home. Finally, for dinners, I try to have easy things to throw together (egg beaters to make an omelette, bagged salad, soups, etc.).

The key is to commit to tracking EVERYTHING, even if you slip up. Good luck!

Lounmoun

I plan out dinners for 28 days at a time. I split that list into groups of 7. I cross things off as I have them. I have reused the same list sometimes for a couple of months before making a new one.
I prelog my whole day in advance the night before or in the morning. I start with entering dinner, then lunch, breakfast, and snacks. It is very helpful to me to see my whole day at one and I can change things if things don't fit well.
I drink mostly water or unsweetened tea so my calories are for food.
I stick close to my calorie goal. I exercise about 30 minutes 6 days a week. I eat a portion of my exercise calories back.
Eat foods with protein, fats, and fiber to help you feel satisfied.

JessicaThompson12

Instead of stopping at fast food, pack stuff to take with you. Stuff that is already packaged and ready to go. If you have to do fast food, then choose kids meals for the small amount of calories.

You are in a cycle that you just need to break.

I'm a single mom of an 8 year old who works 9 hour days, drives 2 hours every day and I have no time. But I know my triggers. I know if I go somewhere hungry when I get there I'm going to shove everything in my mouth so I try to eat something small before I do. Find your triggers.

LeslieB042812

Also, try to only have foods that fit more easily into your eating plans in the house. It's a lot easier to exercise will power for an hour in the grocery store than all night when you're tired and hungry. If you live with others (spouse, kids, parents, etc.) who want to have junk food in the house, then it can help to get them things you don't like as much (like a type of chip they like but you don't).

noclady1995

The main theme here is meal planning. That's the only thing that keeps me on track. I was out of town last week and my logging was not great. And I know I ate way too much sugar and sodium. But I got back on track on Monday and, as of this morning, managed to lose the 3 lbs I gained. Clear indication I had too much sodium. LOL. Anyway, get back on track, drink your water, and consider meal prep/plan. I do my meal prep on Sundays and the rest of the week I have 2 snacks, lunch and dinner for 5 days of the week. I usually make my breakfast every day.

And see about putting some good snacks in your purse. I saw a picture of one lady's purse full of snacks like (cans/packets of tuna, Special K bar, Quest protein Bar, etc. you could probably also add whole grain crackers, and nuts). That way if you're out and hungry, you're eating something that's not fast food.

maillemaker

My biggest issue is I:m hungry

Try eating more protein. Or see your doctor about phentermine/topiramate. These are about your only options for hunger. And the drugs only work for as long as you are on them, which will only be about 6 months, so sooner or later you have to learn to deal.

mdcoug

Another thing to consider is setting small goals. I struggle with motivation too and while I have an end goal in mind, I don't let myself think about that goal. I think about today. Today my goal is to log everything and stay within 100 calories of my calorie goal. It's not a lofty goal by any means, and I don't always reach it. But, I know if I reach it today and most days, I'll reach my bigger goal. I also have another small goal for total weight loss this week. Again, it's not a stretch, it's attainable. This is what has always worked better for me.

janejellyroll

maillemaker wrote: »

My biggest issue is I:m hungry

Try eating more protein. Or see your doctor about phentermine/topiramate. These are about your only options for hunger. And the drugs only work for as long as you are on them, which will only be about 6 months, so sooner or later you have to learn to deal.

More protein or drugs?

OP could also try eating a bit more fat (depending on what she eats now), eating higher volume foods, or adding more fiber to the diet. Given that we don't know if she has tried those, saying she only has two options left is premature.

LKArgh

You do not have time to eat better? At 18?

Sarasmaintaining

noclady1995 wrote: »

The main theme here is meal planning. That's the only thing that keeps me on track. I was out of town last week and my logging was not great. And I know I ate way too much sugar and sodium. But I got back on track on Monday and, as of this morning, managed to lose the 3 lbs I gained. Clear indication I had too much sodium. LOL. Anyway, get back on track, drink your water, and consider meal prep/plan. I do my meal prep on Sundays and the rest of the week I have 2 snacks, lunch and dinner for 5 days of the week. I usually make my breakfast every day.

And see about putting some good snacks in your purse. I saw a picture of one lady's purse full of snacks like (cans/packets of tuna, Special K bar, Quest protein Bar, etc. you could probably also add whole grain crackers, and nuts). That way if you're out and hungry, you're eating something that's not fast food.

You have to be careful-some of these things are pretty high calories. A mint chocolate chunk Quest bar is only 40 calories less than a small Mcds fry. Not that much of a calorie savings. Nuts are also pretty high calories. Nothing wrong with this-but I know if I had a purse full of snacks it would be very easy to grab more than one, and the calories would add up pretty quickly.

ElizabethKalmbach

Admit to yourself what your style and tendencies are and then shop like it. If you're gonna snack at night, then buy healthy snack foods so that they're available when you're hungry. If you're likely not going to cook from scratch every night, then buy some easy-to-prepare foods that are in a healthy calorie range for you. If you're going to be grabbing fast food, figure out what you can get that's within your caloric allowance and stick to that.

Don't pretend you're going to exercise and then fail at it. If you're not going to work out, then plan your calories accordingly.

Plan for WHO YOU ARE and not who you want to be. If you want to be different, you can change that too, but it's not going to happen over night, and it's only going to happen if you really work at it. If you just want to lose weight, then do that as the person you are now.

mmatusevici1

segacs wrote: »

Your answer is right there in your original post: You get fed up and frustrated and you eat more than your calorie goal. That's why you're not losing weight.

How do people do it? You just do. You decide not to eat the things that don't fit in your daily calories, because you'd prefer to have the weight loss than the extra food.

There's no need to cut out any foods unless for health reasons, or to overly restrict yourself. Fast food once in a while is okay. Snacks are okay. Eating on the run is okay. Just eat less in those instances.

What works for many people is to take some time on the weekend to pre-log and pre-cook food for the week, and portion it out so you can grab-and-go in the mornings.

When you're ready to do this, you'll see that you can have success or you can have excuses, but generally not both.

Good luck!

peleroja

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

noclady1995 wrote: »

The main theme here is meal planning. That's the only thing that keeps me on track. I was out of town last week and my logging was not great. And I know I ate way too much sugar and sodium. But I got back on track on Monday and, as of this morning, managed to lose the 3 lbs I gained. Clear indication I had too much sodium. LOL. Anyway, get back on track, drink your water, and consider meal prep/plan. I do my meal prep on Sundays and the rest of the week I have 2 snacks, lunch and dinner for 5 days of the week. I usually make my breakfast every day.

And see about putting some good snacks in your purse. I saw a picture of one lady's purse full of snacks like (cans/packets of tuna, Special K bar, Quest protein Bar, etc. you could probably also add whole grain crackers, and nuts). That way if you're out and hungry, you're eating something that's not fast food.

You have to be careful-some of these things are pretty high calories. A mint chocolate chunk Quest bar is only 40 calories less than a small Mcds fry. Not that much of a calorie savings. Nuts are also pretty high calories. Nothing wrong with this-but I know if I had a purse full of snacks it would be very easy to grab more than one, and the calories would add up pretty quickly.

Yeah, a Quest bar is about 200 calories but it's also got 20g of protein and makes most people feel way more satiated than the fries.

Ultimately though it doesn't really matter if you just eat at the drive through as long as you log it accurately and stay under your calorie goal. It matters for your health, but for weight loss? Nope.