After only 3 weeks, I've dropped an entire pound!!! Woo Hoo!!
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Crap! I see that now. OK, let's go with the 2162.
So yesterday, I logged 1225 calories for the day being as accurate as humanly possible. That's a deficit of 900 calories for the day. I realize that I could have been off on some of the foods previously but I still have a hard time believing I could be off by that much.0 -
purelyprimitives wrote: »Mischievous_Rascal wrote: »Your logging is way too generic. "Homemade Pasta and Meat Sauce - 2 cups" for less than 500 calories? Sorry... Considering two cups of cooked pasta is around 450 cals, then either you used a mere tablespoon of sauce or you used someone else's incorrect entry. The recipe builder is super easy to use - just make sure you're choosing correct ingredient entries.
Message received loud and clear!
Going forward I will not be using the default setting but will break everything down by component.
There are several recipe websites that automatically link to the MFP app recipe builder if you are interested. Yummly is one of them.
Best wishes 0 -
After 31 days, averaging 1200 calories/day I weigh basically the same as when I started. This is 800/day less than suggested by this site to lose 1 pound a week. Again, I find it hard to believe that I could be off by that much per day. Something is clearly wrong.0
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purelyprimitives wrote: »After 31 days, averaging 1200 calories/day I weigh basically the same as when I started. This is 800/day less than suggested by this site to lose 1 pound a week. Again, I find it hard to believe that I could be off by that much per day. Something is clearly wrong.
Are you saying you've been weighing your food and using the recipe builder instead of generics for 31 days? Or do you mean you've made the changes suggested a few days ago and still haven't lost additional weight?0 -
Sandcastles61 wrote: »
There are several recipe websites that automatically link to the MFP app recipe builder if you are interested. Yummly is one of them.
Ooh, I didn't know this. Thanks for that tip! 0 -
purelyprimitives wrote: »After 31 days, averaging 1200 calories/day I weigh basically the same as when I started. This is 800/day less than suggested by this site to lose 1 pound a week. Again, I find it hard to believe that I could be off by that much per day. Something is clearly wrong.
Open your diary.0 -
Are you weighing everything with NO cheat meals / days?0
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janejellyroll wrote: »
Are you saying you've been weighing your food and using the recipe builder instead of generics for 31 days? Or do you mean you've made the changes suggested a few days ago and still haven't lost additional weight?
Being as accurate as possible over the last week or so, I've seen no difference. Again, there's no way I'm under-reporting to the tune of 800 calories/day. That just isn't possible.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
Are you saying you've been weighing your food and using the recipe builder instead of generics for 31 days? Or do you mean you've made the changes suggested a few days ago and still haven't lost additional weight?
Being as accurate as possible over the last week or so, I've seen no difference. Again, there's no way I'm under-reporting to the tune of 800 calories/day. That just isn't possible.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
Are you saying you've been weighing your food and using the recipe builder instead of generics for 31 days? Or do you mean you've made the changes suggested a few days ago and still haven't lost additional weight?
Being as accurate as possible over the last week or so, I've seen no difference. Again, there's no way I'm under-reporting to the tune of 800 calories/day. That just isn't possible.0 -
purelyprimitives wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »
Are you saying you've been weighing your food and using the recipe builder instead of generics for 31 days? Or do you mean you've made the changes suggested a few days ago and still haven't lost additional weight?
Being as accurate as possible over the last week or so, I've seen no difference. Again, there's no way I'm under-reporting to the tune of 800 calories/day. That just isn't possible.
I love this video, I think it's important to note that people almost always eat more than they think, even when logging. And maybe not by 800 calories, but maybe by 500 and you might be on the lower end of TDEE for your age/height/weight. So it matters.
http://youtu.be/KA9AdlhB18o0 -
How were you computing your activity level/TDEE again? Online calculators?
Keep doing the accurate weighing and logging for 4 weeks total, so you have 4 weeks of data. And then use that to calculate your actual TDEE. I think you're doing a good job, and I hope you don't give up.0 -
I repeat this often but when I started working out and accurately logging, I didn't lose for 5 weeks. Now I lose consistently. It can just take time for the body to catch up. 1 week of accurate logging isn't long enough to become disheartened yet! Keep going!0
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How were you computing your activity level/TDEE again? Online calculators?
Keep doing the accurate weighing and logging for 4 weeks total, so you have 4 weeks of data. And then use that to calculate your actual TDEE. I think you're doing a good job, and I hope you don't give up.
I've purposely selected a lower activity level than reality for me to force a lower TDEE. According to the scoobyworkshop.com site, supposedly the most accurate on-line calculator, my TDEE is 2136/day. This is actually 50 cals/day more than this site suggests. So the question is, are these just generic suggestions or are they accurate? So far, for me, they aren't even close.0 -
They are generic starting points, to be adjusted based on personal results.0
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Start measuring yourself instead or measure body fat! You may see better numbers.0
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purelyprimitives wrote: »How were you computing your activity level/TDEE again? Online calculators?
Keep doing the accurate weighing and logging for 4 weeks total, so you have 4 weeks of data. And then use that to calculate your actual TDEE. I think you're doing a good job, and I hope you don't give up.
I've purposely selected a lower activity level than reality for me to force a lower TDEE. According to the scoobyworkshop.com site, supposedly the most accurate on-line calculator, my TDEE is 2136/day. This is actually 50 cals/day more than this site suggests. So the question is, are these just generic suggestions or are they accurate? So far, for me, they aren't even close.
My guess is you have less lean body mass than average, and the calculators are a bit off. That's why I suggest committing to logging as accurately as possible for 4-6 weeks, and then doing math to determine your actual TDEE. If you go back to the Scooby's calculator, there's even a little section on "calibrating" for your specific results. It's step 9. Follow his calibration and maybe you'll get more accurate estimates. Because that's all it is ever going to be: estimates.0 -
purelyprimitives wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »
Are you saying you've been weighing your food and using the recipe builder instead of generics for 31 days? Or do you mean you've made the changes suggested a few days ago and still haven't lost additional weight?
Being as accurate as possible over the last week or so, I've seen no difference. Again, there's no way I'm under-reporting to the tune of 800 calories/day. That just isn't possible.
Seven days is way too early to get frustrated.0 -
^^ is this true??? never heard that a low battery could distort a scale reading before!mangrothian wrote: »This might seem like a weird one to add in, but make sure your scale is 1) electronic & 2) not in need of fresh batteries. Every time my scale's battery level gets low, it tends to not show my losses (or tells me my bf% is at 95 like it did this morning).
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After moving 1 ton of wood into my cellar (I'll be moving 2 more tons over the next couple of days) I'm over 1100 calories in the hole for today. I don't normally add activity because the net calories are so low. This is based on the closest activity I could find in this site's anemic list of activity. I couldn't even find general 'lifting'. My question is: How does the calculator handle negative calories??0
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I honestly admit I don't add this kind of exercise. I let my FitBit count my steps and add things like set exercise. To me, this is more like lifestyle stuff that goes under your generic "activity" setting. If you regularly haul wood, you aren't "sedentary," if that makes sense. If you're always logging lifestyle activities and then "eating back" those calories, I wonder if that's why you're not losing.purelyprimitives wrote: »After moving 1 ton of wood into my cellar (I'll be moving 2 more tons over the next couple of days) I'm over 1100 calories in the hole for today. I don't normally add activity because the net calories are so low. This is based on the closest activity I could find in this site's anemic list of activity. I couldn't even find general 'lifting'. My question is: How does the calculator handle negative calories??
Did you start weighing your food?
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I honestly admit I don't add this kind of exercise. I let my FitBit count my steps and add things like set exercise. To me, this is more like lifestyle stuff that goes under your generic "activity" setting. If you regularly haul wood, you aren't "sedentary," if that makes sense. If you're always logging lifestyle activities and then "eating back" those calories, I wonder if that's why you're not losing.purelyprimitives wrote: »After moving 1 ton of wood into my cellar (I'll be moving 2 more tons over the next couple of days) I'm over 1100 calories in the hole for today. I don't normally add activity because the net calories are so low. This is based on the closest activity I could find in this site's anemic list of activity. I couldn't even find general 'lifting'. My question is: How does the calculator handle negative calories??
Did you start weighing your food?
I don't 'eat back' the calories and I rarely log any lifestyle activity since the numbers would be so low (like today), it made little sense. What I eat is what I log and in all honesty, I am fairly active so the 'real' daily caloric intake should actually be much higher than it is.
Regarding weighing the food, in most cases I use measuring cups to size the portions or use the portion information from the package. Sometimes weighing can be difficult. For instance, for supper tonight my wife is making a zucchini - chicken baked casserole with fresh string beans on the side from our garden. If I weigh the portion that I eat, how much is zucchini and how much is chicken.. Once everything is mixed up there is no real way to determine the exact calorie content so all I can do is estimate.
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purelyprimitives wrote: »
I honestly admit I don't add this kind of exercise. I let my FitBit count my steps and add things like set exercise. To me, this is more like lifestyle stuff that goes under your generic "activity" setting. If you regularly haul wood, you aren't "sedentary," if that makes sense. If you're always logging lifestyle activities and then "eating back" those calories, I wonder if that's why you're not losing.purelyprimitives wrote: »After moving 1 ton of wood into my cellar (I'll be moving 2 more tons over the next couple of days) I'm over 1100 calories in the hole for today. I don't normally add activity because the net calories are so low. This is based on the closest activity I could find in this site's anemic list of activity. I couldn't even find general 'lifting'. My question is: How does the calculator handle negative calories??
Did you start weighing your food?
I don't 'eat back' the calories and I rarely log any lifestyle activity since the numbers would be so low (like today), it made little sense. What I eat is what I log and in all honesty, I am fairly active so the 'real' daily caloric intake should actually be much higher than it is.
Regarding weighing the food, in most cases I use measuring cups to size the portions or use the portion information from the package. Sometimes weighing can be difficult. For instance, for supper tonight my wife is making a zucchini - chicken baked casserole with fresh string beans on the side from our garden. If I weigh the portion that I eat, how much is zucchini and how much is chicken.. Once everything is mixed up there is no real way to determine the exact calorie content so all I can do is estimate.
I am counting calories/cooking for my husband. What I would do is before I cook anything, I would weight all the raw ingreients and write them in my recipe builder. After I finish, I would weight the finished product and divide them up. You are going to be surprised how hard it is to make a filling, yummy, and low calorie dinner. A bit of bread crumbs here, a little butter there, and you end up with 2x as much calories as expected.0 -
purelyprimitives wrote: »...in most cases I use measuring cups...
Ah, you're simply eating more calories than you think. Easily something you think can't be more than 500 calories is, in fact, 800. I don't know if you can help your wife cook, and show her how to weigh as you go, or if weighing simply is something you'll never be able to do. No one here can force you to weigh ingredients. Tons of successful weight loss has been done without it.0 -
RunRutheeRun wrote: »
^^ is this true??? never heard that a low battery could distort a scale reading before!mangrothian wrote: »This might seem like a weird one to add in, but make sure your scale is 1) electronic & 2) not in need of fresh batteries. Every time my scale's battery level gets low, it tends to not show my losses (or tells me my bf% is at 95 like it did this morning).
@RunRutheeRun it's definitely true. Same with kitchen scales, when I start getting weird or inconsistent readouts I know it's time to change the batteries.
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I am counting calories/cooking for my husband. What I would do is before I cook anything, I would weight all the raw ingreients and write them in my recipe builder. After I finish, I would weight the finished product and divide them up. You are going to be surprised how hard it is to make a filling, yummy, and low calorie dinner. A bit of bread crumbs here, a little butter there, and you end up with 2x as much calories as expected.
I hear ya. If you check my food log, 7.5 ozs turned out to be a whopping 833 calories. But I just took the default for the casserole...could have been more or less.
Another question: Is the raw calorie content the same as the cooked?
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You did not, I repeat emphatically did NOT burn over 1000 calories moving boxes for 90 minutes
You need to half that at least0 -
Use the recipe builder / ask wife to and measure out food portions
Throw away your cups they are useless
Weigh everything
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You did not, I repeat emphatically did NOT burn over 1000 calories moving boxes for 90 minutes
You need to half that at least
This was taken from this site's activity list which was the closest thing I could find to the actual activity. I would challenge your statement because what I actually did was lift 40 pounds of preprocessed wood blocks and carried them down 10 stairs and walked 40 feet to stack them in my cellar, walked back 40 feet and climbed the 10 stairs. I repeated this 52 times! There are probably much better 'work' calculators that would show that I more than likely exceeded 1000 calories.
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purelyprimitives wrote: »You did not, I repeat emphatically did NOT burn over 1000 calories moving boxes for 90 minutes
You need to half that at least
This was taken from this site's activity list which was the closest thing I could find to the actual activity. I would challenge your statement because what I actually did was lift 40 pounds of preprocessed wood blocks and carried them down 10 stairs and walked 40 feet to stack them in my cellar, walked back 40 feet and climbed the 10 stairs. I repeated this 52 times! There are probably much better 'work' calculators that would show that I more than likely exceeded 1000 calories.
What Rabbit was saying was that it's too high of a burn, not that you didn't work hard. I'm 60lbs over weight and I would have to constantly run for 90 minutes to burn less than 1000 calories. Even if your heart rate was elevated, I really doubt you burnt 1000 in 90 minutes.
And consider how successful Rabbit has been I would definitely believe her.
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