Why am I not losing any weight or body fat?
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To the OP you foods look really nice, but it still boils down to the fact that you need to be accurate as you can be. You have had some great advice here, take the silly comments with a pinch of salt. You now know what you need to do to succeed. This site is great for support. This is the way i lost my weight without shelling out for weight watchers, slimming world etc. My first week was an eye opener when i just logged all the food i ate in one day. then i started to make changes. As soon as you start weighing you will see movement. Good luck.
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The portion sizes of the meals in those pictures look absolutely massive, I would be very surprised if your calorie estimates are accurate.0
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Those portions are huge and your salad looks drizzled in dressing
Why don't you try weighing everything and logging it separately, just for one week
Just try it0 -
Just the avocado in the salad is at least 200 calories...0
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thanks... i'll eat less and weigh more.0
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It's really a green eggs and ham kind of thing - try it, try it, and you'll see. $10 for a food scale, try it for one week, see if the food is more than you've been thinking, and see if the other scale moves. At worst, you'll be able to tell off everyone for being mean and how wrong they are. At best, you start losing the weight you were aiming to lose.
I don't see the loss (other than maybe $10 if you don't own a food scale) with either way, but then again, I'm the kind of person that can get a certain joy disproving strangers on the internet.0 -
OP, we are similar height, your weight is 30 kilos more than mine. I am maintaining at 1800 calories or so. Based on your photos, your portions are about 2-3 times larger than mine. Use a scale. You are eating at least twice as many calories as you think you are, most probably even more. Because you have no clue what a portion feels like in weight and calories. Stop thinking that avoiding carbs or eating healthy ingredients will help you lose weight. You are eating too many calories.0
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Those portions are huge and your salad looks drizzled in dressing
Why don't you try weighing everything and logging it separately, just for one week
Just try it
Agreed. Your food looks delicious and nutritious! However I do think that you're eating more calories than what you think. The couscous and salmon for example - both are very calorie dense and it looks like you have more than 140 calories worth. I had a similar issue which contributed to me being overweight - I ate healthy, cooked 90% of my meals at home and from scratch etc. But my portion sizes were off. They would have been fine if j was a 6ft tall guy but I'm not, I'm only 5"2 so my calorie deficit to lose weight is smaller and thus portion sizes had to shrink. I've noticed you have created a lot of your own meals - do you portion out exactly the same each time? Did you weigh and check the calories when you created the recipe? eyeballing portion is difficult. When I start weighing items I was surprised. When your calorie allowance is 1200-1400 you don't have much wiggle room and some extra avocado and salmon can totally put you over.
People aren't being critical to be mean. They're trying to help you because clearly you're putting in SO much effort and you're not getting results, which is really upsetting. It's tough love. They're telling you what has worked for them. Your way clearly isn't working despite you giving 100%. Just try weighing all your items separately and carefully logging. Just for a few weeks. The time will pass anyway!
ETA I just noticed that you use olive oil in your salad dressings. Do you measure out how much you're using? A teaspoon (which is tiny!) is 50 calories. If your drizzling the oil over the salad that could easily be 200 calories straight up.0 -
Feel free to add me.0
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I eat 1700 calories/day and those portions look big. I would guess that every one of those meals is over 600 calories.
There is no way that couscous with salmon is 193 calories. 1 cup of couscous is 176 calories and salmon (3oz) is 177. That dish is at least 343 calories.0 -
nordlead2005 wrote: »I eat 1700 calories/day and those portions look big. I would guess that every one of those meals is over 600 calories.
There is no way that couscous with salmon is 193 calories. 1 cup of couscous is 176 calories and salmon (3oz) is 177. That dish is at least 343 calories.
Heck, it may even be 353 calories. I mean, if 176 and 177 equal 353
So, the OP never opened their diary which is fine. Best of luck OP. And a 10 calorie difference in a meal isn't bad. But 3 meals at 10 calories every day for a year is 10,950 calories. . . .which may make a difference in weight loss. Peace out brown trout.
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_Terrapin_ wrote: »nordlead2005 wrote: »I eat 1700 calories/day and those portions look big. I would guess that every one of those meals is over 600 calories.
There is no way that couscous with salmon is 193 calories. 1 cup of couscous is 176 calories and salmon (3oz) is 177. That dish is at least 343 calories.
Heck, it may even be 353 calories. I mean, if 176 and 177 equal 353 So, the OP never opened their diary which is fine. Best of luck OP. And a 10 calorie difference in a meal isn't bad. But 3 meals at 10 calories every day for a year is 10,950 calories. . . .which may make a difference in weight loss. Peace out brown trout.
I obviously needed to actually wake up before doing math...0 -
nordlead2005 wrote: »_Terrapin_ wrote: »nordlead2005 wrote: »I eat 1700 calories/day and those portions look big. I would guess that every one of those meals is over 600 calories.
There is no way that couscous with salmon is 193 calories. 1 cup of couscous is 176 calories and salmon (3oz) is 177. That dish is at least 343 calories.
Heck, it may even be 353 calories. I mean, if 176 and 177 equal 353 So, the OP never opened their diary which is fine. Best of luck OP. And a 10 calorie difference in a meal isn't bad. But 3 meals at 10 calories every day for a year is 10,950 calories. . . .which may make a difference in weight loss. Peace out brown trout.
I obviously needed to actually wake up before doing math...
I thought it was part of the new math. I made a great pot of coffee the other morning; would have been really good if I added coffee grounds.
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I think your food looks awesome and I would eat all of that, but I have no doubt it's a lot more than 1200Cal. Without a food scale, we tend to log food that's on the lower side of the calories without knowing it (I've done it).
My husband is trying to lose weight, and I can only afford a teaspoon of oil a day when I cook for him. He will be extremely hungry if I cook with a normal amount of oil. When comes to weight loss, it doesn't matter if you are using olive oil or lard, fat is fat, and fat has a lot of calories (huge difference when comes to health ofc). It's very difficult to fit extra fat into your calorie allowance.
Also, I feel your dinner is the worst for your diet. You just don't known how many calories they are serving you. To make food taste good, chefs tend to put a lot of unnecessary fat, sugar, and salt into their food. You are choosing seemingly healthy options, but they are only seemingly healthy. Honestly, I feel it might be better for you to make a meal replacement shake for dinner.
As your workout, I love cardio, but you should try adding some strength training into your routine (unless you are and I missed it). Perserving your muscle now is much better than trying to bulk up after you have lost the weight.
Good luck!0 -
nth what others have said, you need to be weighing what you are eating. Those salads look massive! Honestly I'd say that even if you absolutely refuse to weight food, try having just one of the bowls for lunch!
Also watch how much oil you are using to cook, it mounts up quickly. I either use 1 cal spray or nothing and noticed no reduction in taste for leaving it out.0 -
OP you have some very good advice here, especially with logging and weighing everything you eat. It can seem cumbersome at the start, but once you get in the swing of things and have your food database set up, it will come naturally.
To emphasize the importance of weighing and logging, in 2013 I started to use MFP properly to lose a stone before my wedding. I bought myself scales, weighed everything, exercised and lost all the weight I wanted and got really strong. Once I hit the goal weight I maintained for a few weeks and then thought to myself, "hey, I now know what my portion sizes should be like, I am sure I can maintain this weight without logging everything". 10 months of not logging later I am pretty much back where I started in 2013, and I have no idea what happened (well I do, I ate more than I thought I did, but if I look back at those 10 months and try and imagine how much extra I may have consumed, it did not seem like a lot at all). It didn't seem very different to the amounts I was eating when I was maintaining and logging, but it is very easy to underestimate calories if you don't log/weigh.
So make that your priority. Log everything, the ketchup, the 0.5 tea spoon of oil, the calories in the sweetened water (which can be around 100kcals, depending on the brand). The only things that I do not log are my peppermint/green/jasmine teas (because I know they are 0-2kcals) and my water!
Good luck!!0 -
Calling everyone mean, showing what you logged and a lot of pictures mean nothing. You were asked questions about weighing and logging accurately which you did not answer. As far as exercise - again, as said before, that's for fitness, and means little in the big picture for weight loss. Quite a few people tried to help you, and I'm sure some of that got lost in the long list of posts here. But don't get snarky, just read through and find the help. Weigh your food and stick to the calorie deficit. You'll lose weight. That's your answer. No anger required.0
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fightingformyhappiness wrote: »I do not quite know how to react to every comment, as I confess many of them were plain mean and hit me really hard as I had thought this to be a community of helpers and encouragers. thank you for all the helpful remarks. perspectives, I believe.
let me clarify this by showing you a screenshot of my diary and photo example of my food.
--> please note i do not always log in my workouts because very often i cannot accurately record the exercises down for an accurate measurement. hence, i always leave it out and use the app only for diet and nutrition. just because you do not see the workout here, doesn't mean i am not doing.
Example of a lunch:
--> this is couscous with boiled salmon and a salad mix with avocado, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes with a light soy.
Example of a dinner i make:
--> this is a baked chicken with olive oil and rosemary, with steamed and lightly boiled zucchini and baby potato.
Example of a meal when I eat out:
--> this is a Japanese seared tuna salad, with a wasabi soy
Example of another meal when i eat out:
--> this is Kimchi stew with NO rice or noodles.
1. when I said 1 CUP OF HONEY WATER, the emphasis is on the water. perhaps this is my mistake for not writing it in a terribly accurate way, but it's what I call it and understand it. and by that, my portions are: 1 teaspoon of honey mixed with 1 cup of warm water + 1/2 slice of lemon. a detoxification water process for myself every morning. I love the taste of honey and have this as a habit since I was young. now I do not suppose this adds to a 1000 calories.
2. it is good that someone pointed out to me that I'm taking too many fruits. a kiwi in the morning is for my nutrient intake. a banana for my energy.
- this is NOT to say that every breakfast i take the same generic things.
3. when i said i do not take up to 1200kcal a day, perhaps that is my mistake for a misleading comment and i apologize for that. My recommendation is to take 1200-1400kcal a day, giving myself at least 500kcal deficit as recommended by my trainer. Sometimes I hit up the full 1400kcal, and the next day I will reduce. But based on the amount I burn each day at my workout, I had felt that hitting this range is just right. If this is a problem, thank you for pointing this out so i can make better diet adjustments.
4. I often cook on my own. and my choice of ingredients such as oil includes olive oil, fresh herbs such as thyme and rosemary for flavour instead of salt. my salad dressings are often simply just lemon and olive, or sometimes if the salad is more of a japanese take, soy - and when i do that, i am mindful of the sodium and carbs in it as rightfully pointed out by my trainer. when i dine out, i go to places like the salad stores where my salad is made in front of me, and the to-go dressings are thai lemongrass, wasabi soy, or japanese miso depending on my mix of the day. Yes, i do eat out during dinners because it facilitates my working schedules, and yes i know it is not ideal - but i do try my best to make informed choices - and if my choices are not good enough, then thank you for letting me know.
5. just because I pointed out i'm Asian, doesn't mean I eat rice every single day. I mentioned family dining where we have dishes to pick from instead of individual servings because this is how most of us eat here, especially during family gatherings. And i know of the pitfalls of rice, and other forms of carbs disguised. For example, i pointed out i like eating sushi. Do you think i am unaware of the carbs in the rice?
6. For my favourite juices: here is a caloric breakdown from the app itself: an A-B-C (apple beetroot carrot) --> as a snack is 148kcal, with 0.3g of fat, 120mg sodium, 690mg potassium, 38g carbs, 9.5g fiber, 25.9g sugars, 2.2g protein, 205% vitamin A, 18.2% vitamin C, 11% calcium, 4.5% iron.
- if this is also not good for me, please advise and I will make better informed choices.
7. As to someone who pointed out the flaws in my workout, thank you. i would like to clarify here that while it seems like i am "focusing more on my abs", that is far from the truth. i conscientiously incorporate abs training every single of my workout doesn't mean this is something i am just focused on. I mix up my work out, i go from kickboxing, to HiiT, to running, to cycling, to now trying pilates. If this mix is not good enough or effective enough, please advise.
Great. Thanks for several of the helpful comments. I'm not stupid. Thanks for the commenter who posted the "i'm trying everything to lose weight, but not diet and exercise" post. I'm here because i'm not a food scientist or some exercise nutritionist expert. there is a reason why i'm a historian, not a sports nutritionist advisor. I'm here because i had thought this is a community of helpers and encouragers. I have been advised by 2 nutritionists NOT to count calories to the nitty gritty last bit. perhaps i should. What is the bloody harm of trying, isn't it. If there is any inconsistency in my calculation or what i am doing, thank you for pointing them out nicely. It is why i am here to make adjustments and improve. thank you for the encouragement.
If the pictures are supposed to match what is logged, I see a lot of food in the pictures that is not reflected on your log...potatoes, oils, squash, sesame stick.. Those extra calories here and there can really add up...it is mind numbing but you have to track everything. I don't use my scale all the time, only when i see my weight go up and then i need to pull it out for a portion refresher course. I wish you all the luck.0 -
fightingformyhappiness wrote: »I do not quite know how to react to every comment, as I confess many of them were plain mean and hit me really hard as I had thought this to be a community of helpers and encouragers. thank you for all the helpful remarks. perspectives, I believe.
let me clarify this by showing you a screenshot of my diary and photo example of my food.
--> please note i do not always log in my workouts because very often i cannot accurately record the exercises down for an accurate measurement. hence, i always leave it out and use the app only for diet and nutrition. just because you do not see the workout here, doesn't mean i am not doing.
Example of a lunch:
--> this is couscous with boiled salmon and a salad mix with avocado, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes with a light soy.
Example of a dinner i make:
--> this is a baked chicken with olive oil and rosemary, with steamed and lightly boiled zucchini and baby potato.
Example of a meal when I eat out:
--> this is a Japanese seared tuna salad, with a wasabi soy
Example of another meal when i eat out:
--> this is Kimchi stew with NO rice or noodles.
4. I often cook on my own. and my choice of ingredients such as oil includes olive oil, fresh herbs such as thyme and rosemary for flavour instead of salt. my salad dressings are often simply just lemon and olive, or sometimes if the salad is more of a japanese take, soy - and when i do that, i am mindful of the sodium and carbs in it as rightfully pointed out by my trainer. when i dine out, i go to places like the salad stores where my salad is made in front of me, and the to-go dressings are thai lemongrass, wasabi soy, or japanese miso depending on my mix of the day. Yes, i do eat out during dinners because it facilitates my working schedules, and yes i know it is not ideal - but i do try my best to make informed choices - and if my choices are not good enough, then thank you for letting me know.
5. just because I pointed out i'm Asian, doesn't mean I eat rice every single day. I mentioned family dining where we have dishes to pick from instead of individual servings because this is how most of us eat here, especially during family gatherings. And i know of the pitfalls of rice, and other forms of carbs disguised. For example, i pointed out i like eating sushi. Do you think i am unaware of the carbs in the rice?
So first things first - if my meals looked like yours do, I would probably eat all the time lol. My meals never plate that well.
Second, in #4 you start with I often cook on my own and finish with I do eat out for dinners. Those things kind of contradict each other. Realistically, if you often cook on your own you do not eat out every day. I don't care if you justify it or not, and how much you eat or when you eat it or where you eat is really not up to me. But the simple fact is that you do not "often" cook on your own if you're eating out dinner every day (or most days) I eat out like twice a month . . . I'd say that's often cooking for myself.
Third, your first post states you avoid carbs but eat sushi; and if you know the content/carb count of rice you'd know that you are not avoiding carbs. You just aren't. Further, a lot of the foods you eat do contain carbs just not starchy carbs (for the most part) or they aren't up in you face in nutritional value. Carbs are a macro nutrient and are found in a large majority of foods. You cannot avoid them.
It's not being mean at all - most people on here won't sugar coat things. If you are complaining you aren't losing, and they give you valid advice but you find 100 different reasons you're that special snowflake and continue on the way you were then of course nothing will change because you didn't change anything.
You are pretty much, simply eating too much and what you think you're eating is not what you actually are eating (IE the biggest one being you avoid carbs when your diet shows you don't). I think you need to do some reading/research/education on nutrition and go from there. Or if you want to pay someone to do it for you, find someone who knows their stuff - not just someone who LOOKS like they know their stuff.0 -
For a 1200 calorie diet, I would say the picture of your lunch would be about the amount you would have to have for breakfast AND lunch in total, and HALF of that plate with meat, potatoes and zucchini would be the size of a dinner to stay within 1200 for the day, and then you would most likely feel pretty hungry once you finish that. I know that I would be STARVING on 1200 cals of mainly carbs, little meat. I just can't do it.
Also, I haven't really seen anyone mention the fact that with all that exercise, especially cardio, I would think you would burn a decent amount with 6 days of exercise a week. So even if you were off by a couple to a few hundred per day (so 1500-1800 calories instead of 1200), at your height (the same as mine), you should still be in a deficit. So not losing means you have got to be eating even more than a few hundred extra per day above 1200 to offset all that exercise you do. I am the same height as you and I eat 1800 on strength training days (4 days) and 1550 on rest days (3 days) and burn fat at a decent pace even with not much left to lose. I calculate calories to the T though, every lick, every bite, otherwise I'm just fooling myself.0
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