Not losing!

loiscoles

MFP suggests to lose 1lb a week I eat 1270cals a day. My activity level is set to sedentary and I add in any exercise I do since it varies day to day rather than saying I'm lightly active or whatever.
I eat around 1300 and I'm not loosing! I normally have a cheat day a week where I eat around 2000 so obviously I'm going to be loosing less than 1lb a week. But when I have this cheat day I fluxuate a pound or 2 and I seem to spend the rest of the week working this off again. I don't understand as this has happened for the past few weeks now.

ncboiler89

loiscoles wrote: »

MFP suggests to lose 1lb a week I eat 1270cals a day. My activity level is set to sedentary and I add in any exercise I do since it varies day to day rather than saying I'm lightly active or whatever.
I eat around 1300 and I'm not loosing! I normally have a cheat day a week where I eat around 2000 so obviously I'm going to be loosing less than 1lb a week. But when I have this cheat day I fluxuate a pound or 2 and I seem to spend the rest of the week working this off again. I don't understand as this has happened for the past few weeks now.

A few weeks isn't long enough to determine your weight loss direction. How are you tracking your calorie intake?

strong_curves

If you aren't weighing/measuring your intake with a scale, I'd start there first.

Azexas

Are you using a scale to measure your portions? Are you using measuring cups for liquids?

Are you eating back all of your exercise calories that you burn? Sometimes the estimated burn is very inflated

If your cheat meal is high in sodium you may hold on to a few pounds of water weight, which may explain weight gain after.

malibu927

Can you open up your diary?

zoeysasha37

Are you weighing everything you consume? Weighing your foods is very important.
How are you determining exactly how much you consume on these cheat days? Are you still weighing everything even on these days?

reeves45

I used a different calorie calculator than MFP. MFP told me to eat 1700 calories, every other calculation from different sources recommended 1500. That being said, make sure you are imputing everything you put in your mouth, are simply just tracking calories, or are you getting your calories from nutrient dense sources. If you are following a meal plan, maybe it isn't the one for you. Take a look at other diet guides, find one that might work for your metabolism and lifestyle.

Harlequin1983

Your body can fluxuate 4 lbs in a day. It sounds like you have plateaud, and need to change something in your exercise routine, or your diet. Try eating a little more on a regular day. Try hitting 1400 cals. Sounds like you need to up your calorie limit to burn calories. Odd, I know but its the truth. Change something, and let me know how it goes! Feel free to add me!

malibu927

JennaAraza wrote: »

Your body can fluxuate 4 lbs in a day. It sounds like you have plateaud, and need to change something in your exercise routine, or your diet. Try eating a little more on a regular day. Try hitting 1400 cals. Sounds like you need to up your calorie limit to burn calories. Odd, I know but its the truth. Change something, and let me know how it goes! Feel free to add me!

A plateau is 4-6 weeks of no movement, and generally means they're already eating too much. And what does "up your calorie limit to burn calories" mean?

jennifer_417

A lb is roughly 3400 calories, so if you're eating a 2000 calorie cheat meal every week, you're erasing most of your deficit right there. Also, if you're going by MFP for your calorie burns, it's pretty much universally agreed that the site overestimates significantly. Those 2 things could readily explain why you're not losing.

ncboiler89

JennaAraza wrote: »

Your body can fluxuate 4 lbs in a day. It sounds like you have plateaud, and need to change something in your exercise routine, or your diet. Try eating a little more on a regular day. Try hitting 1400 cals. Sounds like you need to up your calorie limit to burn calories. Odd, I know but its the truth. Change something, and let me know how it goes! Feel free to add me!

No. Just so much no with this post.

loiscoles

I don't weigh my food no, but I know the weight of the packets of most stuff and guesstimate based on how much of the packet I've used. Buying a food scale is just too far and obsessive. Also I only drink mostly water so 0 calories anyway. If I have a drink with calories I'm normally out so just add a bottle of something to my diary.
By not using a scale I imagine I'm about 100 calls out a day at most. So say I'm eating 1400 a day, my BMR is around 1550 so I would surely have lost in a few weeks

Azexas

loiscoles wrote: »

I don't weigh my food no, but I know the weight of the packets of most stuff and guesstimate based on how much of the packet I've used. Buying a food scale is just too far and obsessive. Also I only drink mostly water so 0 calories anyway. If I have a drink with calories I'm normally out so just add a bottle of something to my diary.
By not using a scale I imagine I'm about 100 calls out a day at most. So say I'm eating 1400 a day, my BMR is around 1550 so I would surely have lost in a few weeks

Bingo- Sounds like your estimates may be off. I highly suggest using a food scale. They're cheap and they really help.

Edit: This is the one I use. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FE8QXT0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

SezxyStef

loiscoles wrote: »

I don't weigh my food no, but I know the weight of the packets of most stuff and guesstimate based on how much of the packet I've used. Buying a food scale is just too far and obsessive. Also I only drink mostly water so 0 calories anyway. If I have a drink with calories I'm normally out so just add a bottle of something to my diary.
By not using a scale I imagine I'm about 100 calls out a day at most. So say I'm eating 1400 a day, my BMR is around 1550 so I would surely have lost in a few weeks

Interesting...my brother used a food scale from the time he was 6 years old...diabetes...

and you don't mind obsessing over not losing for a few weeks...

you are underestimating your intake/over estimating your burns.....you have no idea how much you are out because if you truly were eating on average 1400 a day you would be losing.

kr1stadee

Not losing = eating too much

zoeysasha37

loiscoles wrote: »

I don't weigh my food no, but I know the weight of the packets of most stuff and guesstimate based on how much of the packet I've used. Buying a food scale is just too far and obsessive. Also I only drink mostly water so 0 calories anyway. If I have a drink with calories I'm normally out so just add a bottle of something to my diary.
By not using a scale I imagine I'm about 100 calls out a day at most. So say I'm eating 1400 a day, my BMR is around 1550 so I would surely have lost in a few weeks

Without using a scale, your calories are likely a lot higher then you think.

NoIdea101NoIdea

It is incredible how even packeted guidelines can be wrong sometimes; i remember what a shock it was when i first started weighing food. Unfortunately if you aren't losing, you are eating more than you are burning (medical conditions aside). So, you are either underestimating the amount you are actually eating, over estimating the amount you are burning, or both.

galgenstrick

loiscoles wrote: »

I don't weigh my food no, but I know the weight of the packets of most stuff and guesstimate based on how much of the packet I've used. Buying a food scale is just too far and obsessive. Also I only drink mostly water so 0 calories anyway. If I have a drink with calories I'm normally out so just add a bottle of something to my diary.
By not using a scale I imagine I'm about 100 calls out a day at most. So say I'm eating 1400 a day, my BMR is around 1550 so I would surely have lost in a few weeks

My wife told me that I was too obsessed because I used the food scale for everything. Since then I've lost 30 pounds. Now once in a while she comes to me for weight loss and fitness advice and isn't annoyed by me using the scale anymore. You can lose weight just fine without counting calories or weighing food, but that usually comes at the cost of restricting your diet to extremes like paleo or the like. Whatever works for you, but if you want the fastest and most predictable experience, then weigh all your food.

jessica22222

I agree with weighing your food. I weighed out my hummus and it was significantly less than the tbsp I was scooping out. I had double the amount without weighing.

malibu927

loiscoles wrote: »

I don't weigh my food no, but I know the weight of the packets of most stuff and guesstimate based on how much of the packet I've used. Buying a food scale is just too far and obsessive. Also I only drink mostly water so 0 calories anyway. If I have a drink with calories I'm normally out so just add a bottle of something to my diary.
By not using a scale I imagine I'm about 100 calls out a day at most. So say I'm eating 1400 a day, my BMR is around 1550 so I would surely have lost in a few weeks

Actually you're going to be off well over 100 calories...I think the average is about 350. And individual servings of items can oftentimes weigh more than what they say.

zoeysasha37

If you where truly eating 1200/1400 calories ,you'd be losing weight. (Unless your extremely small or older)

jkal1979

loiscoles wrote: »

I don't weigh my food no, but I know the weight of the packets of most stuff and guesstimate based on how much of the packet I've used. Buying a food scale is just too far and obsessive. Also I only drink mostly water so 0 calories anyway. If I have a drink with calories I'm normally out so just add a bottle of something to my diary.
By not using a scale I imagine I'm about 100 calls out a day at most. So say I'm eating 1400 a day, my BMR is around 1550 so I would surely have lost in a few weeks

It also helps to make sure that you are using the correct entries when logging. Some are off by a few calories, some are off by several hundred.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

As far as using a food scale, it really can make a big difference. You might think that you are off by 100 calories at most, but in reality it could be a lot more than that, especially when it comes to more calorie dense foods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

loiscoles

So the packets lie about weight? Then why would I trust the calories on them? I lost easily before so why has it stopped now? I also do put slightly more into my diary than what I think I had which is why I only think I'm 100cals out at most

SezxyStef

loiscoles wrote: »

So the packets lie about weight? Then why would I trust the calories on them? I lost easily before so why has it stopped now? I also do put slightly more into my diary than what I think I had which is why I only think I'm 100cals out at most

Packages can say that 5 crackers are 19grams when in fact it could be 6 or 4 crackers...or 1/2cup of cottage cheese is 125grams when in fact it's about 100...

that is why we use a scale...125grams of cottage cheese is the calorie count on the package not 1/2cup.

your weight loss has stopped for one of two reasons...you are either under estimating calories in or over estimating calories out....or both.

stroths

The basics of weight loss are that you burn more calories than you take in. There are some important things to consider this process.

1. Accurate measurement of caloric intake (i.e. food scale)
2. 1 lb a week requires a 3500 calorie deficit over that 7 day period (500 cal/day on average)
3. Watch your sodium intake as the lack of weight loss may be due to water retention
4. Be clear on if your goal is fat loss or weight loss. If you are doing any weight training, you could be losing fat while building muscle. If fat loss is your goal (my suggestion for multiple reasons), pay more attention to how your clothes fit versus what the scale reads. Get a cheap measuring tape and track that in addition to your overall weight (http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Your-Waist).
5. If you are doing all of this and still not seeing results, cut 100-200 calories off your daily goal for a week and see if it makes a difference.

If you want a good reference with more detailed instructions, I suggest a book called "Thinner, Leaner, Stronger" by Michael Matthews. I have the male version of this book (Bigger, leaner, stronger) and it's the best fitness book I've read over the years as it uses real world experience in addition to science.

Everyone gets discouraged, but keep with it.

moribunny

Nevermind. I confused BMR with TDEE.
I agree with everyone else still about the food scale to be more accurate with calorie intake however.

jennifer_417

loiscoles wrote: »

So the packets lie about weight? Then why would I trust the calories on them? I lost easily before so why has it stopped now? I also do put slightly more into my diary than what I think I had which is why I only think I'm 100cals out at most

Well, you shouldn't trust them. That's the point. The company has to meet a minimum amount in the container, and usually packs slightly more so as make sure the serving is in there. I used to work for a bottling company. It's standard procedure.

malibu927

bunnyxhime wrote: »

From what I can tell, if your BMR is 1550, you are allotted about 10850 calories a week to maintain weight, so you don't have much room to guestimate your calories if only going down a few hundred calories to lose weight. For example, if you are underestimating your calories and are even taking in 1400/day plus that one ~2000 calorie cheat day you mentioned, that's 10400 calories right there. That's barely making a difference (and that's saying if you aren't going over 1400 calories). Looking at it from this standpoint, it seems pretty clear why you're not losing weight.
I know you don't seem into it, but you may want to consider purchasing a scale. Scales not only help you lose weight but maintain weight as well.

You're confusing BMR with TDEE, which will be higher

moribunny

malibu927 wrote: »

bunnyxhime wrote: »

From what I can tell, if your BMR is 1550, you are allotted about 10850 calories a week to maintain weight, so you don't have much room to guestimate your calories if only going down a few hundred calories to lose weight. For example, if you are underestimating your calories and are even taking in 1400/day plus that one ~2000 calorie cheat day you mentioned, that's 10400 calories right there. That's barely making a difference (and that's saying if you aren't going over 1400 calories). Looking at it from this standpoint, it seems pretty clear why you're not losing weight.
I know you don't seem into it, but you may want to consider purchasing a scale. Scales not only help you lose weight but maintain weight as well.

You're confusing BMR with TDEE, which will be higher

Ah, yes. Thanks!

ncboiler89

loiscoles wrote: »

So the packets lie about weight? Then why would I trust the calories on them? I lost easily before so why has it stopped now? I also do put slightly more into my diary than what I think I had which is why I only think I'm 100cals out at most

You need to weigh your food that is not prepackaged or if you don't eat the entire portion of a prepackaged food item. By prepackaged I mean something that is meant to be consumed in one sitting like yogurt, a small package of crackers, or a breakfast bar (I'm actually doing a small study on prepackaged food and the weight listed on the information panel versus the actual weight).

If you have a small container of yogurt or a breakfast bar you don't need to weigh it. If you open a bag of chips and take a portion you need to weigh it. If you make a sandwich you need to weigh the items.

If you aren't losing weight you are either overestimating your calorie burn, underestimating your calorie intake, or both. It's as simple as that. Nothing harder, nothing magical, you just aren't eating at a deficit.

Most people cannot 'guestimate' their portions to the point of being able to log without weighing. And it's the people that think they can that end up bitching about not losing weight. To say you can guestimate your daily calorie intake to +/- 100 calories is either laughable or noteworthy. I weigh almost everything and I doubt I come within +/-100 calories of what I actually consume on a daily basis.

All that being said, a few weeks is not enough time to determine that you need to make changes to your plan. However if you are not weighing your food and you have doubts about your plan that is the first place to make a change.