This started out as an answer to "why did you get fat" but then it got long so...

tomteboda

Also, measurement of calorie burned is grossly inaccurate as well, as argued eloquently recently in Salon.com: http://www.salon.com/2015/01/27/your_exercise_equipment_is_lying_to_you_partner/

tomteboda

Obviously, if I'm here, and succeeding at losing weigh (45 lbs in 9 months), I'm not throwing out calorie counting as an effective weight loss tool.

When you measure intake consistently, whether with a scale of by volume, and keep an eye on nutritional balance, you are held accountable for your actions and choices. You are also empowered to make changes based on your weight loss success or lack thereof. But thinking that those little numbers on your food diary are accurate is a bit of a daydream.

Andreatts9

As someone who told themselves for years that they "worked out" and "ate healthy" and ended up being 270lbs...I understand the question about honesty and I don't think it was coming from a place of ill intent because I told myself that I was doing all of these things and didn't understand why I could not take the weight off when in fact I was 100% lying to myself. It was not until I actively started writing down every single thing I put into my mouth (yes even the 3 M&M's) and actually joined a fitness program that was not just 20 minutes on the stationery bike at level 3 that I really began to see a difference and hold myself accountable.

I learned about strength training, I learned about portion control and about macros and what my body needed. Diet is the most important part in weight loss and 1500 calories adds up quick and when people tell me now that they eat less than that and are incredibly over weight, I have a hard time believing it because it is so challenging.

I used to reward myself for the challenges in my life with food, now the reward is how amazing I feel from working hard at the gym and I have learned how to prepare delicious meals that fuel my body for what I need to accomplish.

I wish you so much luck because I too have been there, and it is not easy to self reflect on what we are really eating and what we are actually doing for workouts. Much love on your journey!

dubird

I have no idea if OP is coming back, but my two cents in case she does.

Yes, you need to start weighing. But that doesn't mean you'll be doing it the rest of your life! What you need to be doing is changing your eating habits and getting a better idea of what a serving actually is. I didn't weigh at first, just did my best to estimate, and I didn't really lose much. By using a scale for a while, I realized I was VASTLY overestimating what a serving of something was, and was able to start taking it down slowly to what it should be. Now, 3 years later, I don't weigh my food much anymore. Part of that is because my diary list is full of things I've eating before (I tend to eat a lot of the same things). But it's mostly because I've gotten a better idea of what a portion is. Am I always accurate? Hell no! Occasionally, I bring out the scale and weigh things again just to keep myself on track. But I've trained my eye and body to recognize what a listed portion of food is, for the most part, and don't make a lot of errors anymore. I'll probably be logging the rest of my life, but that's so I don't go back to my old eating habits and gain weight again.

Keep in mind, this is a SLOW process. Took me 3 years to lose almost 50lbs. But you know what? By doing it slowly I kept myself from feeling deprived of foods and kept from being hungry all the time, I was able to retrain myself to how much I should be eating, and still managed to keep at least smaller portions of the foods I like. I feel much more confident that I can stay in my target range, and that's where I need to be. If you're looking for another method to try, maybe start with just eating like you normally want to, but log everything for a week. That will give you a baseline of where you're starting from and help you identify where you need to make changes. Then, start with one thing and give yourself a week to get used to it. Then, change something else. It takes longer, but it gives you time to get used to things so it won't feel as hard, and it makes it more likely that you'll keep the weight off later.

Granted, everyone has a different method, so this is just what I did that worked for me. It might seem too slow for you. But at the base of every diet plan out there, even the crappy unhealthy ones, is the idea is that it makes you take in less calories than you burn. Period. And if you're not going to log accurately, at least for a little while to get your baseline, you'll never consistently get that.


As an aside, if you're using calories estimated by MFP, you're not getting an accurate count. MFP uses averages to get the calorie burns it gives you, and most of us don't have the averages stats it uses. Same goes for most gym machines. Best way to keep track of your calorie burn for any kind of exercise is to get a heart rate monitor and make the calculations yourself. I can't help you for that part because I suck at math, but I do know that a 20 minute walk according to MFP burns a lot more calories than my Fitbit with HRM tells me. And since the Fitbit is using my entered stats plus my heart rate to calculate, it is more accurate.

Angel_Grove_

Itsonlymeagain wrote: »

@derek... no I'm not part of any movement and I don't believe it either. I already said I want to lose weight because I'm feeling it in my joints, among other raesons. What I DID say is that medical doctors don't pay much attention for me because there is nothing for them to treat. High TSH? here's a pill. High aic? here's a pill. What does a medical doctor do for someone with normal labs? Not much.

I don't mean to argue but some people are being irrationally hardball and I don't appreciate that. There is not one way to do things and it's stupid, literally stupid, to say measuring 1/2 cup of oats is vastly different than weighing it. I'm not a stupid person. IT's not like I"m packing them down in tight. So when I say I measure the food I'm looking for an honest discussion on why this is so bad vs weighing. I don't see it. Sorry, I don't and being nasty instead if informational is not helping me or anyone else who may be reading and not commenting.

I felt the same way for a long time, then I did an experiment for a week and measured everything like I normally would, but then I weighed it. That 1/2 cup of oatmeal that was supposed to be 40g/150 calories? Most of the time, it was 50g/188 calories. The tablespoon of sugar that should have been 12g/45 calories? It was usually 16g/64 calories. Eat that for breakfast every morning, and that's an extra 400 calories/week. And that's just one meal. I weigh my food every chance I get since then. Now, if I'm in a hurry or out, I'll eyeball it and make sure to overestimate, and that has worked well for me as long as it's not all the time. A digital food scale can be had for $10 - it's worth a shot to try it out, if only just to check your measurements.