Not losing even a pound

cbowman1114

I'll try that! I'm just still kinda new to it all. The first time I lost weight it was so much easier. There would be weeks I'd lose 3-4 pounds a week, and I'm doing the same things I did then. So when I use my scale and have it in grams, how do I put it in here so I know the calories? Because I usually just search and find the serving size that looks the closest and use it

SLLRunner

I am going to suggest talking to your doctor about your thyroid medication if it's not working for you.

Weight all your food, whether it is prepackaged or not, and log every single thing you eat.

cbowman1114 wrote: »

I don't weigh food if I can look at the label and know how many calories it is, I don't need to weigh my quest bars it says on the package there 190 calories. I'm talking about fruit, veggies, chicken, stuff like that

I have yet to find a 100 calorie pack of anything that does not weigh more than indicated weight on the package, thus more calories. Weigh everything, unless you're in a place where you can't (out to dinner, activities outside the home).

I can also tell by your diary that you have missed some days. Try to log each day.

Emilia777

Sephixteeo wrote: »

Just an aside, but when I went from nothing to 5-6 times a week workouts, I stalled for a month. Then one day I was down almost 3 pounds. It still goes up and down for a bit.

Don't discount some retention of fluids for your muscles, they're getting used to more work.

All of the above is great advice too, just wanted to throw this in as well.

Agreed! When I first got back into it, I lost no weight for 5 weeks. Then a whole bunch just came off, about the equivalent of the weekly average I expected. Don’t be discouraged! But I do highly encourage you weigh *everything*, count everything you eat (including sauces etc), and log it in your diary. If you do all this, I would be very surprised if you didn’t see results in a couple of weeks or so. Hang in there!

DemoraFairy

cbowman1114 wrote: »

I'll try that! I'm just still kinda new to it all. The first time I lost weight it was so much easier. There would be weeks I'd lose 3-4 pounds a week, and I'm doing the same things I did then. So when I use my scale and have it in grams, how do I put it in here so I know the calories? Because I usually just search and find the serving size that looks the closest and use it

If what you're eating is in a branded package, then find that exact listing that has the correct calories for a given serving amount (packets should all have calories per 100g), if that listing isn't there then create it, and if it's wrong then fix it. If you're eating something generic (such as fruit) then find any entry that has grams as an available option for serving size.

cbowman1114

Thank you everyone this is all very useful!!

SLLRunner

oneloopygirl wrote: »

Given your weight, 1600 calories may not be enough.

If she were not eating enough she would be losing weight. Increasing calorie intake is never the answer to someone who is not losing weight. Before you can raise our calorie goal while staying in a calorie deficit, you have to know how much you're eating. The OP really does not know at this point.

cbowman1114

Do you guys think I should add in more weight training? I workout 5 days now but it's all mostly cardio. Two classes I do have weights involved

SLLRunner

cbowman1114 wrote: »

Do you guys think I should add in more weight training? I workout 5 days now but it's all mostly cardio. Two classes I do have weights involved

The only requirement to lose weight is to stay in a calorie deficit. Otherwise, there are no shoulds. Do what works best for you.

That said, I weight train and do cardio.

2snakeswoman

Don't trust labels. Not long ago, the label on the tortilla chips I had said there were 130 calories per ounce, and 1 ounce was about 15 chips, so I was trusting the part about 15 chips. Then one day I decided to weigh them, and it turned out that 1 ounce equaled 8-9 chips.

yopeeps025

SLLRunner wrote: »

I am going to suggest talking to your doctor about your thyroid medication if it's not working for you.

Weight all your food, whether it is prepackaged or not, and log every single thing you eat.

cbowman1114 wrote: »

I don't weigh food if I can look at the label and know how many calories it is, I don't need to weigh my quest bars it says on the package there 190 calories. I'm talking about fruit, veggies, chicken, stuff like that

I have yet to find a 100 calorie pack of anything that does not weigh more than indicated weight on the package, thus more calories. Weigh everything, unless you're in a place where you can't (out to dinner, activities outside the home).

I can also tell by your diary that you have missed some days. Try to log each day.

I notice that too. The serving sizes never really match with the singular food. Anything. Some things weigh 20 more grams which can be a lot of extra calories not accounted for when not weighing foods.

SusanKing1981

Weigh the peanut butter, honestly you'll be so surprised how little you get for the weight. Once I tested myself and eye-balled a tbsp. and then weighed it, I was over twice my estimated amount.

SLLRunner

2snakeswoman wrote: »

Don't trust labels. Not long ago, the label on the tortilla chips I had said there were 130 calories per ounce, and 1 ounce was about 15 chips, so I was trusting the part about 15 chips. Then one day I decided to weigh them, and it turned out that 1 ounce equaled 8-9 chips.

I had the same experience.

I notice that too. The serving sizes never really match with the singular food. Anything. Some things weigh 20 more grams which can be a lot of extra calories not accounted for when not weighing foods.

So true.

cbowman1114

faeriesue1 wrote: »

Weigh the peanut butter, honestly you'll be so surprised how little you get for the weight. Once I tested myself and eye-balled a tbsp. and then weighed it, I was over twice my estimated amount.

Silly question but how do you weigh the peanut butter? Do you just put it like on a plate? I usually just use the tablespoon that comes with my measuring cups

cbowman1114

cbowman1114 wrote: »

faeriesue1 wrote: »

Weigh the peanut butter, honestly you'll be so surprised how little you get for the weight. Once I tested myself and eye-balled a tbsp. and then weighed it, I was over twice my estimated amount.

Silly question but how do you weigh the peanut butter? Do you just put it like on a plate? I usually just use the tablespoon that comes with my measuring cups

Like on a plate, on your food scale

malibu927

cbowman1114 wrote: »

faeriesue1 wrote: »

Weigh the peanut butter, honestly you'll be so surprised how little you get for the weight. Once I tested myself and eye-balled a tbsp. and then weighed it, I was over twice my estimated amount.

Silly question but how do you weigh the peanut butter? Do you just put it like on a plate? I usually just use the tablespoon that comes with my measuring cups

Place the plate and the item you're putting it on on the scale, zero the scale out, and spread the peanut butter. The number the scale says is the amount you're eating. Alternatively, you can place the jar on the scale and record how much you took out of there (which can be a bit more accurate, especially if you're prone to licking the remaining peanut butter off the knife...I mean, I don't know anyone who would do such a thing...).

SusanKing1981

I usually get a small dish, put it on the scale so it reads zero and then weigh the peanut butter on the dish. But I've heard of people that put the whole jar on the scales, and take what they want and then work out the difference. So if you weighed the whole jar and it was 250g, then you take some and it reads 225g, you know you've taken 25g.

SusanKing1981

It really is a PITA to begin with, but after a while it's second nature.

sombrefawn

^ exactly! Best way to measure peanut butter (all spreads really) is to put the jar on the scale, hit tare, and scoop out your portion onto whatever (piece of bread, etc.). The scale will tell you exactly how much was removed from the jar. Then you get to lick the spoon/knife too.

asl1979

900 - 1000 calories? That seems crazy low. Hard to understand why a doctor would suggest that.

cbowman1114

asl1979 wrote: »

900 - 1000 calories? That seems crazy low. Hard to understand why a doctor would suggest that.

Exactly my thought too. I'm no doctor but that number of calories just seems dangerously low. That is not good practice and she clearly knows nothing about nutrition. I told her if I start eating 1000 cals a day I'll have nothing to work with. I'm not gonna go down to like 600 calories a day

yopeeps025

cbowman1114 wrote: »

asl1979 wrote: »

900 - 1000 calories? That seems crazy low. Hard to understand why a doctor would suggest that.

Exactly my thought too. I'm no doctor but that number of calories just seems dangerously low. That is not good practice and she clearly knows nothing about nutrition. I told her if I start eating 1000 cals a day I'll have nothing to work with. I'm not gonna go down to like 600 calories a day

I notice in some cases doctors feels that it is ok to lose lots of weight quickly when having lost of fat to lose. Now for what? I not too sure on that one. Maybe they want you to get out of the high fat% risk area.

blankiefinder

For things like peanut butter, put your jar on the scale, zero your scale, then take out your PB. Whatever the negative number is after, is the amount of peanut butter you've used. Just be careful licking the knife

editorgrrl

cbowman1114 wrote: »

I've been eating around 1600 calories a day, and tracking it all on here. All healthy food. No tv dinners or anything high in sodium, also drinking around 100oz of water a day.

I weigh 230.4 and am 5'5. I've been working out 5 times a week and yesterday even did two workouts. This is week three and I literally haven't even lost half a pound! I do have am under active thyroid.

I have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid disease), and I lost just like everybody else—by eating fewer calories than I burn.

Hands down, the best weight-loss advice I ever received was to read the Sexypants post: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

Weight loss is not linear. Some weeks you do everything right but maintain, or even gain. Others you lose a whole lot in a "whoosh." Are you taking measurements and progress photos?

Are you logging everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly? Thyroid meds (in my case, Synthroid & Cytomel) reduce the fatigue so I can be more active. But I kept gaining until I tightened up my logging. Logging works.

yspen42

Drink more water! The more you drink...the more you shrink

Uselessly_Irrelevant

I can't believe I hadn't thought to measure the jar of peanut butter to get the weight! I've been putting my bread on the scale, spreading on the peanut butter -- then very morosely and dejectedly NOT licking the knife

cbowman1114: an example on how to measure the banana you log as 100 grams. Weight your banana - if it comes out to 120 grams, put 1.2 in the serving size.


The same goes for the Butterball Turkey Bacon - a serving is 14g. (someone correct me if there is an easier way to do this) I usually keep a cheapo calculator in the kitchen. Divide the number on your scale by the number of grams per serving.. If my slice weights 16g, then 16g/14g = 1.14 servings put THAT number in to the serving section. I know it sounds like a hassle, but that's the way you're gonna get the most accurate results.

I know that I am too lazy for that usually, so I'll just put in "1 slice" instead of weighting it BUT the difference is I know that I'm not being completely accurate and if my weight loss slows down I'll start being more meticulous with my tracking.