Help! I'm not losing

justbecause2014
justbecause2014 Posts: 371 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, so quick back story! 3 years ago I did MFP, I lost around 23lbs and was super proud. Fast forward 3 years, I've gained 14lbs back! Yikes! Here's the problem, I've been faithfully logging, eating well, drinking plenty of water, and working out regularly. I'm only down 1 pound in 2 weeks! Please, someone help me out here! I'm at 1,260 net calories, I eat back exercise calories, you can feel free to look through my diary. Someone, help a sister out!

Replies

  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    You might want to just eat back 50% of your exercise calories since the burn estimates tend to be too high.

    Are you weighing your solid foods on a scale and measuring your liquids with measuring cups and spoons?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I was wondering about the burn estimates...

    seska422 - do you just log 50% of your exercise time?
  • justbecause2014
    justbecause2014 Posts: 371 Member
    Measuring liquids, yes. Weighing food, no.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I was wondering about the burn estimates...

    seska422 - do you just log 50% of your exercise time?
    I use a notebook for exercise because I don't want my MFP goal numbers to adjust. I'm mostly sedentary right now so exercise isn't much of an issue for me anyway.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited May 2015
    justbecause2014 wrote: »
    Measuring liquids, yes. Weighing food, no.
    You don't really know exactly how much you are eating unless you weigh your solid food. I even weigh peanut butter by weighing the jar, removing the peanut butter, and then weighing the jar again to see how much I removed.
  • scottacular
    scottacular Posts: 597 Member
    Weighing your food is 99% of knowing how much of it you are eating. Obvious solution is obvious in this case.
  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
    seska422 wrote: »
    justbecause2014 wrote: »
    Measuring liquids, yes. Weighing food, no.
    You don't really know exactly how much you are eating unless you weigh your solid food. I even weigh peanut butter by weighing the jar, removing the peanut butter, and then weighing the jar again to see how much I removed.

    Mhm. Very important. OP, I would definitely start by weighing everything (e.g. cheese, pretzels, dressings). Also, I agree that you shouldn’t eat back all of your exercise calories - half is a safe bet.

    Finally, “only” 1 lb two weeks, when you don’t have that much to lose? That’s a great result.
  • Justygirl77
    Justygirl77 Posts: 385 Member
    edited May 2015
    justbecause2014 wrote: »
    Okay, so quick back story! 3 years ago I did MFP, I lost around 23lbs and was super proud. Fast forward 3 years, I've gained 14lbs back! Yikes! Here's the problem, I've been faithfully logging, eating well, drinking plenty of water, and working out regularly. I'm only down 1 pound in 2 weeks! Please, someone help me out here! I'm at 1,260 net calories, I eat back exercise calories, you can feel free to look through my diary. Someone, help a sister out!
    I think you are doing really well.
    BTW how did you gain the weight back...were you not tracking your intake, etc etc, or are you not sure?
    i'm pretty excited you are tracking fiber!!
    I could suggest the complete diet overhaul (look in my diary for that), or I could just suggest a few tweaks. I'll just suggest a few tweaks here in this answer:
    When you go to make a meal, think protein and fiber (from veggies).
    Up your protein intake a bit (I don't know your lean body mass, but 1g/lb is my own goal), increase your fiber intake to 35-45g/day using non-starchy veggies. YOu can even do this at breakfast! I just ate green protein smoothie, and a stir fry with chicken breast for breakfast.
    I like that you are not afraid to eat fat. Make those fats from basic, healthy sources like avo, nuts, coconut products etc.....totally avoid commercial oils like canola.
    Track your carb intake and try to keep it low (personally I keep my carb intake below 50g NETcarbs......Carbs - Fiber is net carbs).

    Yes, weigh your food in grams....do you have a food scale? I finally got myself to do this and I really like it!

  • justbecause2014
    justbecause2014 Posts: 371 Member
    I gained the weight back because I got lazy! I've been gaining and losing the same 5lbs for the past 1.5 years! And no, I don't have a food scale at this point.
  • deceived1
    deceived1 Posts: 281 Member
    I would highly suggest investing a scale. They're not too expensive nowadays. There's a very high chance that you're eating way more than you think (due to inaccuracies with guessing how much food you're eating).
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    The importance of weighing your food instead of measuring here in this short video.

    You are not losing weight because you probably eat more calories than you think

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
  • UltraHealthSeeker
    UltraHealthSeeker Posts: 21 Member
    I agree it's time to invest in an inexpensive food scale for your home. Tracking is not accurate at ALL unless you truly are weighing your solid food. Let us know how it goes!
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Weigh your food. Unless you see some kind of whoosh this week, you're at a 250 calorie per day deficit and losing .5 lbs per week, or so it seems. Which is fine. But you're eating more than you think. Always best to be aware.
  • errollmaclean
    errollmaclean Posts: 562 Member
    Agree with everyone else. FOOD SCALE!!! You'll be surprised at what a difference it makes. Without it you're just guessing. Pick up a food scale (they're only $15) and you'll be set :)

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