Not losing weight after over 3 months, yada yada (please help though)
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maverickmagali wrote: »Basically, does it seem like I'm overestimating? Is there something that I'm missing? Haaaaalp.
I got one day in and found 0.25 servings of fudge and "bbq chicken" with no details on what is in the sauce (the caloric variation between low-cal and high-cal saucing is *massive*) and 0.38 cups of beans.
Really? 0.38 cups? How does one even measure beans, in a measuring cup, to two decimal places?
If you want an accurate log, you're going to have to get a scale and weigh things.
Good luck!
:drinker:
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Exercise-->Settings-->Enable negative calorie adjustment
I only figured this out last week and it sure got my butt in gear to meet steps on my rest days - nobody takes my calories away
Wait, is this a premium setting? When I go to Exercise --> Settings, it just bounces me to the general food and exercise setting page, which only gives me four options (change nutrient settings, change the names of meals, etc.).0 -
maverickmagali wrote: »Basically, does it seem like I'm overestimating? Is there something that I'm missing? Haaaaalp.
I got one day in and found 0.25 servings of fudge and 0.38 cups of beans.
Really? 0.38? How does one even measure cups to two decimal places?
If you want an accurate log, you're going to have to get a scale and weigh things.
Good luck!
:drinker:
Don't want to hijack this thread, but how do people view the OPs diary? Do you have to be friends? When I get to OPs profile that's the only option I get.0 -
Since I can't afford a scale right now, are there any foods (aside from PB and nutella-like foods) that I might be underestimating severely? Is it typically condiments?0
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maverickmagali wrote: »No, I do not weigh my food since I can't afford a food scale (law student on loans) and most of my food is pre-portioned. But as I said, I do measure anything that can be measured (i.e. is not pre-portioned) out with cups, tablespoons, etc.
My exercise is almost entirely brisk pace walking. When I do other stuff, it's often not serious enough for me to log. I figure that if I'm expending calories and not accounting for them, it might make up for any incidental calorie underestimation.
A food scale might run you anywhere from about $10-20. They aren't expensive.
And as for brisk pace walking ... that's about 100 cal for 30 min. But maybe that's what you're already calculating?
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maverickmagali wrote: »Exercise-->Settings-->Enable negative calorie adjustment
I only figured this out last week and it sure got my butt in gear to meet steps on my rest days - nobody takes my calories away
Wait, is this a premium setting? When I go to Exercise --> Settings, it just bounces me to the general food and exercise setting page, which only gives me four options (change nutrient settings, change the names of meals, etc.).
Haha no, I'd never pay for premium. Right under the change the meal names section, there is one called "Calorie Adjustments" and there is a small checkbox on the left. It's really small.0 -
I got one day in and found 0.25 servings of fudge and "bbq chicken" with no details on what is in the sauce (the caloric variation between low-cal and high-cal saucing is *massive*) and 0.38 cups of beans.
So the quarter piece of fudge was last night, and I actually cut that into even quarters. I'm confident about that one too, since I made that fudge myself for the "chocolate day" at work today. As for the .38 cups of beans, that was supposed to be .33. It was 1/3 cup, which I did measure out.
Unfortunately with the BBQ chicken, that was at a cookout. I didn't really get a chance to ask the host exactly what kind of sauce he was using, but I will say it was a thin, barely noticeable sauce.0 -
maverickmagali wrote: »Exercise-->Settings-->Enable negative calorie adjustment
I only figured this out last week and it sure got my butt in gear to meet steps on my rest days - nobody takes my calories away
Wait, is this a premium setting? When I go to Exercise --> Settings, it just bounces me to the general food and exercise setting page, which only gives me four options (change nutrient settings, change the names of meals, etc.).
Haha no, I'd never pay for premium. Right under the change the meal names section, there is one called "Calorie Adjustments" and there is a small checkbox on the left. It's really small.
This setting only shows up sometimes, it never use to be there for me, then one day it suddenly was, so if you can't find it, your steps might not be syncing properly.
Also, OP, you could be overestimating almost everything. Measuring cups are unreliable. I'm a grad student too, so I get where you're coming from, maybe collect all your small change together, or eat a less expensive snack for a few weeks to supplement the money?
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maverickmagali wrote: »Since I can't afford a scale right now, are there any foods (aside from PB and nutella-like foods) that I might be underestimating severely? Is it typically condiments?
My biggest culprits are nuts, seeds, nut butters, oils, dried fruits, cheese and red meat. Not an inclusive list, but definitely the things I have had the most trouble logging correctly without weighing.0 -
My food scale was $10 at Walmart. Totally worth it and I think you'd have more success with it.
I'd also try more veggies and less processed foods since they're high in sodium (and other things).0 -
maverickmagali wrote: »Since I can't afford a scale right now, are there any foods (aside from PB and nutella-like foods) that I might be underestimating severely? Is it typically condiments?
The following foods were really eye opening to me:
-- nuts. What I thought was one serving of nuts and maybe about 100 cal, was really about 4-5 servings and about 400-500 cal.
-- cereal. One serving is usually about 45 grams, and to me, that's just a dusting of cereal on the bottom of the bowl. Definitely not even worth it.
-- pears. Not the weight so much, but I've always thought of pears as all water. They aren't. They are roughly 100 cal.
-- cheese. Now this was a HUGE disappointment to me. I shed tears over this one. I love cheese ... and then one day I weighed the amount I thought was one serving ... the amount I would eat in one sitting ... and it was up around 600 calories!! One serving is teensy-tiny.
-- honey. I used to smear a large dollop of honey onto toast. Yeah, about 2-3 servings worth, not 1.
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maverickmagali wrote: »Since I can't afford a scale right now, are there any foods (aside from PB and nutella-like foods) that I might be underestimating severely? Is it typically condiments?
The following foods were really eye opening to me:
-- nuts. What I thought was one serving of nuts and maybe about 100 cal, was really about 4-5 servings and about 400-500 cal.
-- cereal. One serving is usually about 45 grams, and to me, that's just a dusting of cereal on the bottom of the bowl. Definitely not even worth it.
-- pears. Not the weight so much, but I've always thought of pears as all water. They aren't. They are roughly 100 cal.
-- cheese. Now this was a HUGE disappointment to me. I shed tears over this one. I love cheese ... and then one day I weighed the amount I thought was one serving ... the amount I would eat in one sitting ... and it was up around 600 calories!! One serving is teensy-tiny.
-- honey. I used to smear a large dollop of honey onto toast. Yeah, about 2-3 servings worth, not 1.
Ugh, yes. Cereal. Boo.0 -
Here's an idea about how many calories are in nuts ... this convinced me to start using a scale ...
http://www.thekitchn.com/a-visual-guide-to-100-calories-of-nuts-snack-tips-from-the-kitchn-2017780 -
First of all when you dont lose weight than you eat to much calories ( maintenance) You eat more calories than you think.
When you can't afford a scale, keep measuring with your cups but take less of the more calorie dense food, and automatically you have cut back a bit.0 -
I don't eat cereal much any more because I need more like 5 servings!
Peanut butter, nutella, cheese,mayo etc etc are just depressing amounts when you weigh them out
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Yeah, here's what I see for settings. It's good to know that the little checkbox comes and goes though, so I'll just keep checking back every now and then. I use the latest version of Chrome.0 -
I can't afford a $20 scale either. I got a simple one at Wal-Mart for $5. It measures OZ, but not down to a decimal. Opened my eyes about how much I was eating.0
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maverickmagali wrote: »
Yeah, here's what I see for settings. It's good to know that the little checkbox comes and goes though, so I'll just keep checking back every now and then. I use the latest version of Chrome.
Stupid MFP. Making me into a liar. I swear it's there...
But, you can manage without it as well. At "lightly active" I have to hit 6,000 steps before I am no longer in the red. Sedentary is somewhere between 3500 and 5000 but I always err on the cautious side so Id shoot for 5,000. That's just me.0 -
The following foods were really eye opening to me:
-- nuts. What I thought was one serving of nuts and maybe about 100 cal, was really about 4-5 servings and about 400-500 cal.
-- cereal. One serving is usually about 45 grams, and to me, that's just a dusting of cereal on the bottom of the bowl. Definitely not even worth it.
-- pears. Not the weight so much, but I've always thought of pears as all water. They aren't. They are roughly 100 cal.
-- cheese. Now this was a HUGE disappointment to me. I shed tears over this one. I love cheese ... and then one day I weighed the amount I thought was one serving ... the amount I would eat in one sitting ... and it was up around 600 calories!! One serving is teensy-tiny.
-- honey. I used to smear a large dollop of honey onto toast. Yeah, about 2-3 servings worth, not 1.
Okay, that cheese one is a litttle rough. I do eat deli cheese occasionally, and almost always just one average slice (e.g. not too thin, but definitely not thick) at a time. It seems like that's usually between 80-100 calories per slice, depending on the type of cheese or thickness. Is that about the same with a scale? Before I started tracking calories, trust me, I could just sit DOWN with some cheese. But I'm usually satisfied if I can get in a deli slice here and there, or a small handful of shredded in meal.
Otherwise though, I don't frequently eat that much of the foods anyone mentioned (my cereal usually gets stale or expires before I get halfway through the box, honestly), so I feel a little better about holding off on getting a scale until my finances are more in order. Whenever I do eat those things, I will super overestimate my portions to balance everything out. To be honest, I have some obsessive tendencies and I kind of worry that weighing my food would open the door into some seriously disordered eating for me personally.0 -
maverickmagali wrote: »
The following foods were really eye opening to me:
-- nuts. What I thought was one serving of nuts and maybe about 100 cal, was really about 4-5 servings and about 400-500 cal.
-- cereal. One serving is usually about 45 grams, and to me, that's just a dusting of cereal on the bottom of the bowl. Definitely not even worth it.
-- pears. Not the weight so much, but I've always thought of pears as all water. They aren't. They are roughly 100 cal.
-- cheese. Now this was a HUGE disappointment to me. I shed tears over this one. I love cheese ... and then one day I weighed the amount I thought was one serving ... the amount I would eat in one sitting ... and it was up around 600 calories!! One serving is teensy-tiny.
-- honey. I used to smear a large dollop of honey onto toast. Yeah, about 2-3 servings worth, not 1.
Okay, that cheese one is a litttle rough. I do eat deli cheese occasionally, and almost always just one average slice (e.g. not too thin, but definitely not thick) at a time. It seems like that's usually between 80-100 calories per slice, depending on the type of cheese or thickness. Is that about the same with a scale? Before I started tracking calories, trust me, I could just sit DOWN with some cheese. But I'm usually satisfied if I can get in a deli slice here and there, or a small handful of shredded in meal.
Otherwise though, I don't frequently eat that much of the foods anyone mentioned (my cereal usually gets stale or expires before I get halfway through the box, honestly), so I feel a little better about holding off on getting a scale until my finances are more in order. Whenever I do eat those things, I will super overestimate my portions to balance everything out. To be honest, I have some obsessive tendencies and I kind of worry that weighing my food would open the door into some seriously disordered eating for me personally.
My not too thin, but definitely not thick piece of cheese came in at nearly 200 cal.
And now when I put shredded cheese onto a baked potatoes it is a pinch rather than a handful.
Personally, I find weighing my food interesting. I'm a numbers person and (aside from the cheese horror) it is fascinating.
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