2 weeks and haven´t lost anything even with a defeceit... :(

lilie710

Hello everyone! I have just began this journey and so far in 2 weeks I have lost 2 lbs and gained 1 lb... i don´t know what I´m doing... i eat healthy...well i try... and i am exercising every single day! a combo of weights, strength training, circuit training and cardio 15 min on my bike at 14-16mph... i just don´t get it. i must confess... i don´t drink as much water as i´d like to. i feel like i´m getting smaller but it´s probably just my imagination. i haven´t measured since 2 weeks ago because i feel like i won´t see any difference. i don´t weigh my food either. i go by the generic stuff on MFP and just eyeball (i know i´ll get crap for doing this). please help... i am 5´6" and weigh 212lbs.... i´ve lost 22lbs since last march when i had my daughter (2nd baby) but can´t seem to get out of this rut!!!

juggernaut1974

2 weeks is far to short of a timeframe from which to draw any meaningful results.

And you HAVE lost a net of 1 lb in those 2 weeks.

LeanButNotMean44

lilie710 wrote: »

Hello everyone! I have just began this journey and so far in 2 weeks I have lost 2 lbs and gained 1 lb... i don´t know what I´m doing... i eat healthy...well i try... and i am exercising every single day! a combo of weights, strength training, circuit training and cardio 15 min on my bike at 14-16mph... i just don´t get it. i must confess... i don´t drink as much water as i´d like to. i feel like i´m getting smaller but it´s probably just my imagination. i haven´t measured since 2 weeks ago because i feel like i won´t see any difference. i don´t weigh my food either. i go by the generic stuff on MFP and just eyeball (i know i´ll get crap for doing this). please help... i am 5´6" and weigh 212lbs.... i´ve lost 22lbs since last march when i had my daughter (2nd baby) but can´t seem to get out of this rut!!!

See bold. Exercise - your muscles are likely retaining water from starting a new program. Food - WEIGH EVERYTHING. Without weighing, you are eating more than you think.

Trishfitz78

" i don´t weigh my food either. i go by the generic stuff on MFP and just eyeball"
You've probably answered your own question. It's imperative to be really particular about what you're eating

janejellyroll

If you aren't weighing your food, you can't really be sure if you're in a deficit. If you're using generic entries, you can't really be sure you're in a deficit.

If you have increased your exercise, it's possible that your body is adjusting and your muscles are retaining water. If you have lost two pounds and gained one, doesn't that give you a loss of one pound in two weeks? That's not bad.

It sounds like there are a lot of unknowns in your current plan. I get your frustration. But if you're going to put in the effort, why not take the simple steps (like making your logging more accurate) to get the results you want?

Ashtoretet

You need to give your body time to rest between exercising. You also need to count calories more accurately, you're probably overeating.

diannethegeek

I'm going to echo a lot of the points others have made, but here are my suggestions.


1. It's been less than 3 weeks, so don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

3. Consider buying a food scale. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Some of them are WAY off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

6. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

7. If you weigh yourself frequently (more than once or twice a week), consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

AliceDark

Food intake is significantly more important for weight loss than exercise -- you're focusing on the small stuff (exercise) instead of the #1 thing that is going to make a difference (accurately tracking and controlling your food). Put your energy into learning how to log correctly (including selecting the right entries in the MFP database and measuring your food in some way), and the weight will start to come off. If you're not going to get a handle on your intake, you're going to continue to spin your wheels.

msf74

diannethegeek wrote: »

I'm going to echo a lot of the points others have made, but here are my suggestions.


1. It's been less than 3 weeks, so don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

3. Consider buying a food scale. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Some of them are WAY off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

6. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

7. If you weigh yourself frequently (more than once or twice a week), consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

This is excellent advice.

lilie710

Thanks everyone! I am ordering a scale on amazon as i type... i Can´t wait to lose this weight. i have a goal of 9 months... by 25 June 2016 because it´s my bff´s wedding! i need to be as close to 145-150 as possible! any ideas or suggestions are welcome. my diary is public so please take a look. thanks everyone!!!

ASKyle

lilie710 wrote: »

Thanks everyone! I am ordering a scale on amazon as i type... i Can´t wait to lose this weight. i have a goal of 9 months... by 25 June 2016 because it´s my bff´s wedding! i need to be as close to 145-150 as possible! any ideas or suggestions are welcome. my diary is public so please take a look. thanks everyone!!!

Good luck! There are lots of quality scales at good prices on Amazon.

I want to echo the advice above. Don't rely on exercise to lose the weight, rely on what you eat. It is easier to count the calories going in your body (with the scale) than it is to estimate your exercise burns.

SueInAz

lilie710 wrote: »

Thanks everyone! I am ordering a scale on amazon as i type... i Can´t wait to lose this weight. i have a goal of 9 months... by 25 June 2016 because it´s my bff´s wedding! i need to be as close to 145-150 as possible! any ideas or suggestions are welcome. my diary is public so please take a look. thanks everyone!!!

Great! You will probably be very surprised at how many calories the foods you are eating actually contains. Even pre-packaged foods can be off on the serving sizes and what you might think is a serving size of a particular food is probably larger than it should be.

Also remember that if you're entering exercise into MFP for more calories, those counts can be off by a significant amount. In the absence of a way to verify calories (and NOTHING about calorie counting is completely accurate) always underestimate your exercise calories and overestimate food portions.

lilie710

I do enter exercise but i don´t eat back those calories. so i don´t even put in all the exercises i do...

lilie710

Oops sorry. I changed it

WBB55

-Keep logging
-Try to be as accurate as possible (preferably by using a scale to measure things)
-Patience until your body gets with the program

I think you're doing great. Just keep at it. And make sure to be as honest as possible and don't skip days.

AliceDark

The first great thing is that it looks like you're getting used to just logging every day. That's a hurdle in itself. Here are just a couple of quick suggestions:

1. For things like fruits/vegetables, I always search for something like "banana raw" or "banana usda," and look for an entry that includes grams. That seems to pull up more accurate entries instead of the billion other user-entered items.
2. When you get your food scale, at minimum start weighing the calorie-dense foods like peanut butter, meats and cheeses. The more you use the scale, the better, but it can be overwhelming at the beginning. Make sure to use the scale at least on the things where it makes the most difference. (I was a little hesitant about getting a scale, but I LOVE mine because it means I don't have to wash measuring cups/spoons).
3. Make sure to log things like cooking oils, and it's always better to enter each individual component (ex: the bread, the PB and the jelly) than to find an entry that looks like it includes everything (ex: a PB&J).

Edit: I think people get too caught up with being absolutely perfect right from the beginning, and they burn out and quit. Something is always better than nothing, and you want to find the sweet spot that lets you track your food and lose weight without making you crazy. Would it be most effective to weigh every single item and only eat what you cook yourself? Probably, but it's probably not realistic (and it certainly doesn't sound enjoyable).

jkal1979

I looked back a few weeks and here are some things that I noticed (besides not weighing food, but I seen you are going to start doing that):

-Not logging on the weekends. You need to log everything everyday. It wouldn't take much for you to wipe out a good chunk of your deficit on those two days.

-Generic & Homemade entries. Try to be as specific as you can when searching for items. Look things up by name or store brand. When you search for meats and produce use 'USDA' in the search box. Don't use any homemade entries that another user entered into the database. Since you have no idea what ingredients they used or how big the portion size is there really is no way for it to be accurate.

ETA: When searching for meats, make sure to pick the entry based on how you weighed it. If you weigh it raw, search for the raw entry. If you weigh it cooked, search for how it was cooked (baked, broiled, grilled, etc).

-Once you get your food scale you should be weighing everything in grams, including fruits. Ditch the fruit entries that have serving sizes of "small, medium, large".

This link is a good guide on how to accurately log on MFP.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

Marilyn0924

Using the food scale and logging accurately will make a huge difference. Find the accurate entries (produce via USDA etc) Don't forget to log everything, everyday, including weekends, even if you've had a cheat meal. You'd be amazed at what happens when you skip logging and start eyeballing/guesstimating what you consume!
Best of luck!

lilie710

jkal1979 wrote: »

I looked back a few weeks and here are some things that I noticed (besides not weighing food, but I seen you are going to start doing that):

-Not logging on the weekends. You need to log everything everyday. It wouldn't take much for you to wipe out a good chunk of your deficit on those two days.

-Generic & Homemade entries. Try to be as specific as you can when searching for items. Look things up by name or store brand. When you search for meats and produce use 'USDA' in the search box. Don't use any homemade entries that another user entered into the database. Since you have no idea what ingredients they used or how big the portion size is there really is no way for it to be accurate.

ETA: When searching for meats, make sure to pick the entry based on how you weighed it. If you weigh it raw, search for the raw entry. If you weigh it cooked, search for how it was cooked (baked, broiled, grilled, etc).

-Once you get your food scale you should be weighing everything in grams, including fruits. Ditch the fruit entries that have serving sizes of "small, medium, large".

This link is a good guide on how to accurately log on MFP.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

WOW! Thank you!!! I sure will...