Looooong Plateau
Replies
-
If you're talking about being at a plateau, that implies you are trying to lose weight. If you are trying to maintain a caloric deficit, that implies you are trying to lose weight. We all understand here that we are not on some short-term 'diet' and that we are making long-term changes for life and health, but it's important to be clear when you're talking about struggles you are having while trying to lose versus struggles you're having when trying to maintain weight.
Thank you for the reply. And while I certainly understand and appreciate your pont I have maintained all along that I am not deting, but having a lifestyle change. With having to lose 160 pounds from the beginning it is a mental thing with me. It is long term and truly a way of life for me. I cannot take a "break" or old habits will resurface too quickly. The exception is when I am also taking a break from everyday life, such as on a longer vacation. That gives me a definite start point from which to pick up the logging tools and begin once again. In October that will be the second I step off that ship!
Also, a diet implies to me "forbidden foods". When I mess up and eat something forbidden I get discouraged with myself and quit. Trust me. At 62 years old and being overweight & having tried about every "diet" out there throughout most of my adult life I know how I react mentally. On MFP I have no forbidden foods and that makes it work for me. If I really want that cupcake I can have it, I just have to be careful with other things. Or, since I pre-plan most days I can plan on it and work it in. Funny thing is, once I have to work in those calories, the desire for that cupcake usually fades and I find I don't really want it at all. But it is not forbidden. It is my choice, not the diet's choice.0 -
sunnyazgirl wrote: »Eating out, such as at a steakhouse. If it advertises a 6 oz steak on the menu do you log all 6 ounces of "sirloin steak" or log "grilled sirloin steak, 4 ounces" as once was taught to do at Weight Watchers.
Always trust the nutritional information on the restaurant's website and/or the menu. If none, you need to find the closest reliable match in the database. Anyone can put anything in the database, so it's full of junk data. Choosing a low-calorie entry will not get you closer to your goal.
Never, ever underestimate. 6 oz. is 6 oz.—not 4. Trust USDA information more than others. Then a national chain with multiple listings at the same calorie count. Meat is tricky—the entry should say raw or cooked. The two are very different.
A 6-oz. grilled sirloin steak is 392 calories, but lots of people have put in entries for 200 or 250 calories. Also, never, ever use an entry that says "homemade." Some people are downright delusional.
Bottom line: Logging is simple, but it ain't easy. All the calorie counts are estimates (burns, too), so it'll take trial & error to find the "sweet spot" where you're eating at an appropriate deficit.0 -
editorgrrl wrote: »sunnyazgirl wrote: »Eating out, such as at a steakhouse. If it advertises a 6 oz steak on the menu do you log all 6 ounces of "sirloin steak" or log "grilled sirloin steak, 4 ounces" as once was taught to do at Weight Watchers.
Always trust the nutritional information on the restaurant's website and/or the menu. If none, you need to find the closest reliable match in the database. Anyone can put anything in the database, so it's full of junk data. Choosing a low-calorie entry will not get you closer to your goal.
Never, ever underestimate. 6 oz. is 6 oz.—not 4. Trust USDA information more than others. Then a national chain with multiple listings at the same calorie count. Meat is tricky—the entry should say raw or cooked. The two are very different.
A 6-oz. grilled sirloin steak is 392 calories, but lots of people have put in entries for 200 or 250 calories. Also, never, ever use an entry that says "homemade." Some people are downright delusional.
Bottom line: Logging is simple, but it ain't easy. All the calorie counts are estimates (burns, too), so it'll take trial & error to find the "sweet spot" where you're eating at an appropriate deficit.
Good advice again, I was told at one resturant that the weight on the steak is the raw weight. So the online nutritional info should be for "cooked" I would presume?
0 -
You have gotten some great advice in this thread and I commend you for your willingness to take it all to heart! The only other thing that I would add is that if you aren't already, see your doctor regularly and discuss all of this with him/her as well. If you see another long plateau, they will be able to rule out (or in) any medical reason and will be able to help you from that front. I have to say my doctor has been absolutely instrumental in my weight loss efforts. She's been able to help me troubleshoot both medical and non-medical issues that have come up. I have had a long road, just like you (my goal was a 120 pound loss and I have 25 left to go and I'm 3 years into this new lifestyle) and I'm not sure I would have lasted without my doctor's help and advice along the way.0
-
sunnyazgirl wrote: »I was told at one resturant that the weight on the steak is the raw weight. So the online nutritional info should be for "cooked" I would presume?
Restaurants who post their nutritional information online or in print put the actual information for the food as served.
So if you go to Outback Steakhouse and order the 6 oz. Outback Special with house salad and baked potato, it's 724 calories: http://www.outback.com/nutrition
If you went to a non-chain restaurant and were told that your steak was 6 oz. raw, then you need to find an entry that says raw—not cooked. But then you need to account for the oils & butter that were used for cooking & serving. Restaurant food is full of hidden fat & sugar.0 -
NikiChicken wrote: »You have gotten some great advice in this thread and I commend you for your willingness to take it all to heart! The only other thing that I would add is that if you aren't already, see your doctor regularly and discuss all of this with him/her as well. If you see another long plateau, they will be able to rule out (or in) any medical reason and will be able to help you from that front. I have to say my doctor has been absolutely instrumental in my weight loss efforts. She's been able to help me troubleshoot both medical and non-medical issues that have come up. I have had a long road, just like you (my goal was a 120 pound loss and I have 25 left to go and I'm 3 years into this new lifestyle) and I'm not sure I would have lasted without my doctor's help and advice along the way.
That is good advice. I have been gettng a lot of medical support along the way. My internal medicine doc wants me to cut out all grains, but he pushes the Paleo diet on all of his patients, which I am not sure is for me. But in hitting another plateau it would be something to consider. I have also undergone cancer treatment since 2011. I am cancer free at this time and my oncologist is thrilled at my progress. He says that calorie restriction plays a big part in helping prevent cancer reoccurance. He is a huge nutrition advocate and it is a big part of my treatment, one of the reasons I started this in the first place. I am also on mega-supplements from him designed just for my form of cancer, in addition to chemo. However, I am done with chemo treatments for the time being.0 -
That is the direction I was going in. Nice to have it confirmed by someone else with a lot of experience on this board!editorgrrl wrote: »Restaurants who post their nutritional information online or in print put the actual information for the food as served.
So if you go to Outback Steakhouse and order the 6 oz. Outback Special with house salad and baked potato, it's 724 calories: http://www.outback.com/nutrition
If you went to a non-chain restaurant and were told that your steak was 6 oz. raw, then you need to find an entry that says raw—not cooked. But then you need to account for the oils & butter that were used for cooking & serving. Restaurant food is full of hidden fat & sugar.
I do prefer restaurants that post their information online. I often have it all logged in my plannerbefore we even go out. That way I don't even look at the menu and get tempted by something else.
0 -
sunnyazgirl wrote: »I do prefer restaurants that post their information online. I often have it all logged in my planner before we even go out.
Prelogging my food helps me make better choices. I'll never forget the "sticker shock" the first time I looked at Chipotle's nutritional information. (It sure helps me hit my protein & fiber goals, though, so I fit it into my week.)
Bottom line, it'll take a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you.0 -
I just want to report back that I have lost 6 pounds since I first posted this thread. Thank you to all of you! Great advice.
The weighing everything was a bit of a pain at first, but I quickly learned how to save time in doing it. I like the idea of putting the plate on the scale, zero, put on the meat, write it down, zero, etc. I still scan a lot of prepackaged things. If it matches the label when I weigh it, I leave it as scanned, otherwise I change it. Everythng gets weighed! I even bought a pocketbook sized scale to carry to work and out to eat and I weigh without making a scene. What an eye-opener! Now I see where that calorie defict went.
0 -
way to go!!0
-
What have you done to save time on it? Because that is still my struggle
I always way my fruits, but have a hard time weighing anything else 0 -
sunnyazgirl wrote: »I even bought a pocketbook sized scale to carry to work and out to eat and I weigh without making a scene. What an eye-opener! Now I see where that calorie defict went.
Wow! A pocketbook scale! You have been fully converted.
0 -
Kimegatron wrote: »What have you done to save time on it? Because that is still my struggle I always way my fruits, but have a hard time weighing anything else
The method of placing a plate on a scale, zero, put on food, record weight, zero, place next item, weigh, record,zero, etc. works best for me. I then calculate later when I have time. I weighed at a restaurant the other day. Came home and found out I had to take a really long walk if I really wanted my planned Skinny Cow Truffel bar!
I also still scan prepackaged foods. I only adjust if the weight is off. Some foods (like my yogurt and low sodium rice cakes) are spot on, so I don't weigh them all the time any more- I just do spot checks now and then. With the yogurt I would weigh the container before and after I ate it. I did not dump it out. Other foods I have found I cannot trust at all. I have dispensed with measuring spoons and cups so that saves time. For example, to make a PB & J sandwich I would take a piece of bread, weigh it, write it down, zero the scale. Take a knifefull of PB, spread it on the bread, put it back on the scale and I have the PB weight. Zero the scale and do the same with the jelly. It just takes less time and searching for the foods is not hard when I put in "Peanut butter, grams" for example. It feels like it takes less time when you are sitting down later and not rushing to get a meal ready.
I think, like all of MFP habits, the more you do it the better you get at it, the quicker the website finds the items for you, and the easier it becomes. 0 -
sunnyazgirl wrote: »I even bought a pocketbook sized scale to carry to work and out to eat and I weigh without making a scene. What an eye-opener! Now I see where that calorie defict went.
Wow! A pocketbook scale! You have been fully converted.
LOL! When I get a hold of something I tend to jump in with both feet, especially when I see that it really works.0 -
Have you taken a diet break in the entire year? Eating more/at maintenance won't make you lose weight, but a diet break is nice for the mind and body. I find that I'll lose a bit easier once I head back into my deficit. No science behind it, just something I've noticed. But diet breaks are definitely good.0
-
arditarose wrote: »Have you taken a diet break in the entire year? Eating more/at maintenance won't make you lose weight, but a diet break is nice for the mind and body. I find that I'll lose a bit easier once I head back into my deficit. No science behind it, just something I've noticed. But diet breaks are definitely good.
Only when I went on my cruise. I plan to do the same thing on a 15 night Panama Canal cruise coming up in October. I know myself too well. I can't think of this as a diet, but a lifetime committment. It is my new lifestyle. Even though my husband has been at goal for a year now he still logs every day at maintenance. The only difference is that his goals are now different than they were before. When I go on a cruise (and I go on one or two a year) my whole routine is different. There is a definite stop and start time, so it is easy for me to pick up my log and start again. If I stopped without that definition I am not sure I would be able to start up again. I have come to far to lose it now. That has happened too many times in the past and it's not happening again!
Edit: When I go on a cruise I will not log at all during the cruise. My phone is locked in the safe and I have a vacation from technology, too! But we also take several land trips a year, usually 3 or 4 days. We are going to Vegas for 4 days in a few weeks. At that time I plan to reset my goals to maintenance and see what happens. I do plan to keep logging, though.0 -
You said in your original post that you eat out several times a week. Restaurants are notorious for adding calories and sodium to the simplest of meals, even salads. I would recommend that you start cooking instead of eating out. Not only will you know a better approximation of calories, but shopping for food, cooking, and cleaning up afterwards will burn more calories! Win, win!0
-
Congrats
Dedication and consistency will see you through.Kimegatron wrote: »What have you done to save time on it? Because that is still my struggle I always way my fruits, but have a hard time weighing anything else
It was time consuming and fiddly for me when I first started weighing my food. I resisted the food scale for a long time.. But now I enjoy it, and you will find ways to shorten the process as you go. I'm a well oiled fast machine when it comes to weighing and logging now
0 -
atypicalsmith wrote: »You said in your original post that you eat out several times a week. Restaurants are notorious for adding calories and sodium to the simplest of meals, even salads. I would recommend that you start cooking instead of eating out. Not only will you know a better approximation of calories, but shopping for food, cooking, and cleaning up afterwards will burn more calories! Win, win!
Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, we have cut back on eating out. When we do eat out for convenience my strategy is to order simple, plain foods and to use my pocketbook scale whenever possible. It is easier than thought it would be. 0 -
Thank you for the congrats.christinev297 wrote: »Congrats Dedication and consistency will see you through.Kimegatron wrote: »What have you done to save time on it? Because that is still my struggle I always way my fruits, but have a hard time weighing anything else
It was time consuming and fiddly for me when I first started weighing my food. I resisted the food scale for a long time.. But now I enjoy it, and you will find ways to shorten the process as you go. I'm a well oiled fast machine when it comes to weighing and logging now Yes, weighing is getting easier and I can see how it will continue to get even easier as it goes along.
0 -
I hit a LONG plateau as well - then started Intermittent Fasting. Tons of info on the internet about it. I fast 2 days/week, and eat at maintanence the other 5 (1600-2000calories). On fast days I get 500 calories to eat however I want. Some days I spread it out through the day, others (like today) I eat it all at the dinner meal. Drink lots of no calorie fluids during the day. The weight started coming off really easily with this approach. There is a 5:2 group on here as well and they have lots of answers.0
-
I hit a LONG plateau as well - then started Intermittent Fasting. Tons of info on the internet about it. I fast 2 days/week, and eat at maintanence the other 5 (1600-2000calories). On fast days I get 500 calories to eat however I want. Some days I spread it out through the day, others (like today) I eat it all at the dinner meal. Drink lots of no calorie fluids during the day. The weight started coming off really easily with this approach. There is a 5:2 group on here as well and they have lots of answers.
Wow! Not sure I am ready for that at this point, but it is something to keep in mind if this stops working. Congrats to you, though!
0 -
sunnyazgirl wrote: »atypicalsmith wrote: »You said in your original post that you eat out several times a week. Restaurants are notorious for adding calories and sodium to the simplest of meals, even salads. I would recommend that you start cooking instead of eating out. Not only will you know a better approximation of calories, but shopping for food, cooking, and cleaning up afterwards will burn more calories! Win, win!
Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, we have cut back on eating out. When we do eat out for convenience my strategy is to order simple, plain foods and to use my pocketbook scale whenever possible. It is easier than thought it would be.
That's great, but how does your scale know how many calories are actually in the food? Green beans, for example, could have lots of pork fat, beef broth, and butter thrown in.0 -
atypicalsmith wrote: »sunnyazgirl wrote: »atypicalsmith wrote: »You said in your original post that you eat out several times a week. Restaurants are notorious for adding calories and sodium to the simplest of meals, even salads. I would recommend that you start cooking instead of eating out. Not only will you know a better approximation of calories, but shopping for food, cooking, and cleaning up afterwards will burn more calories! Win, win!
Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, we have cut back on eating out. When we do eat out for convenience my strategy is to order simple, plain foods and to use my pocketbook scale whenever possible. It is easier than thought it would be.
That's great, but how does your scale know how many calories are actually in the food? Green beans, for example, could have lots of pork fat, beef broth, and butter thrown in.
No, there is no way to know exactly, but I do try to order steamed veggies, I add butter often to my log if i suspect there is any added. Most of the times my salads are plain salads, veggies only with no added croutons, cheese or anything else. I often will just use vinegar for dressing. The fact of the matter is we will continue to eat out occasionally and I will continue to do my best in logging and tracking. Our busy lifestyle makes eating out convenient and is also what our friends often do to socialize. If I hit another plateau I will reevaluate at that time.0 -
sunnyazgirl wrote: »atypicalsmith wrote: »sunnyazgirl wrote: »atypicalsmith wrote: »You said in your original post that you eat out several times a week. Restaurants are notorious for adding calories and sodium to the simplest of meals, even salads. I would recommend that you start cooking instead of eating out. Not only will you know a better approximation of calories, but shopping for food, cooking, and cleaning up afterwards will burn more calories! Win, win!
Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, we have cut back on eating out. When we do eat out for convenience my strategy is to order simple, plain foods and to use my pocketbook scale whenever possible. It is easier than thought it would be.
That's great, but how does your scale know how many calories are actually in the food? Green beans, for example, could have lots of pork fat, beef broth, and butter thrown in.
No, there is no way to know exactly, but I do try to order steamed veggies, I add butter often to my log if i suspect there is any added. The fact of the matter is we will continue to eat out occasionally and I will continue to do my best in logging and tracking. If I hit another plateau I will reevaluate at that time. The fact is that our busy lifestyle makes eating out convenient and is also what our friends often do to socialize.
I truly wish you the best of luck.0 -
There are times when you just have to guesstimate. We can't perfectly gauge every little thing we eat, we can only do the best we can..
I've read of people who refuse to eat outside of the home because they cant accurately count the calories. There was a woman here who's husband was deployed, and they hadn't seen each other for over 6mths. He organised a romantic dinner at a restaurant and she refused to go, because she didn't want to mess up her calorie count
I know this off topic, but it's always stuck in my head, it was just sad!0 -
christinev297 wrote: »There are times when you just have to guesstimate. We can't perfectly gauge every little thing we eat, we can only do the best we can..
I've read of people who refuse to eat outside of the home because they cant accurately count the calories. There was a woman here who's husband was deployed, and they hadn't seen each other for over 6mths. He organised a romantic dinner at a restaurant and she refused to go, because she didn't want to mess up her calorie count
I know this off topic, but it's always stuck in my head, it was just sad!
That's one meal out in over six months. I think that's probably okay. Dunno why she didn't care enough about her husband to do that. That IS sad!0 -
sunnyazgirl wrote: »I just want to report back that I have lost 6 pounds since I first posted this thread. Thank you to all of you! Great advice.
The weighing everything was a bit of a pain at first, but I quickly learned how to save time in doing it. I like the idea of putting the plate on the scale, zero, put on the meat, write it down, zero, etc. I still scan a lot of prepackaged things. If it matches the label when I weigh it, I leave it as scanned, otherwise I change it. Everythng gets weighed! I even bought a pocketbook sized scale to carry to work and out to eat and I weigh without making a scene. What an eye-opener! Now I see where that calorie defict went.
WOOT! So happy for you! You are living proof that plateaus can be shattered.0 -
That is very sad. We can become so obsessed we forget about the bigger picture about just why we are doing this in the first place. I think if I found myself refusing to go out with my husband or friends because I could not count the calories exactly I would have to just count my blessings for what I have already lost and be happy with my new weight. However, I know I don't have to do that, not at this point.christinev297 wrote: »There are times when you just have to guesstimate. We can't perfectly gauge every little thing we eat, we can only do the best we can..
I've read of people who refuse to eat outside of the home because they cant accurately count the calories. There was a woman here who's husband was deployed, and they hadn't seen each other for over 6mths. He organised a romantic dinner at a restaurant and she refused to go, because she didn't want to mess up her calorie count
I know this off topic, but it's always stuck in my head, it was just sad!
We just went out to dinner. I cannot be completely 100% sure that the restaurant listings are accurate and I was not able to find approx weights of the servings on the website. However, I am right at my calories for the day (if the website is accurate and the cook followed the guidelines exactly) and I still have 182 exercise calories left for the day. Plus, my husband and I are soon going to be taking our nightly 1 1/2 mile walk. So, I will have more. I will not eat back any of those exercise calories just because I could have eaten too many calories unknowingly while out to dinner. If I had not gone out to eat and I had been in complete control of my calories I would probably have my usual 110 calorie ice cream bar for dessert, at least.
One more thing, I have been on high blood pressure medicine for the last several years, a pretty high does. Sodium is a problem for me, so that is one reason I have limited (not eliminated) going out to eat. My doctor recently cut my BP medicine in half with the instructions to not take it at all if my systolic BP is under 110. I have only had to take it about every three days now. So, another NSV despte going out to eat occasonally!
0 -
sunnyazgirl wrote: »I just want to report back that I have lost 6 pounds since I first posted this thread. Thank you to all of you! Great advice.
The weighing everything was a bit of a pain at first, but I quickly learned how to save time in doing it. I like the idea of putting the plate on the scale, zero, put on the meat, write it down, zero, etc. I still scan a lot of prepackaged things. If it matches the label when I weigh it, I leave it as scanned, otherwise I change it. Everythng gets weighed! I even bought a pocketbook sized scale to carry to work and out to eat and I weigh without making a scene. What an eye-opener! Now I see where that calorie defict went.
WOOT! So happy for you! You are living proof that plateaus can be shattered.
Thank you! 0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 394.1K Introduce Yourself
- 43.9K Getting Started
- 260.4K Health and Weight Loss
- 176K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 435 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153.1K Motivation and Support
- 8.1K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.9K MyFitnessPal Information
- 15 News and Announcements
- 1.2K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.7K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions