Nothing is Happening

CaseyGwaltney

First time writing about fitness so cut me some slack

juggernaut1974

OK

ManiacalLaugh

Huhwhatnow?

I'm thinking the rest of your post disappeared? I've seen a couple of replies today that were 'eaten', but this would be the first OP that was sucked into the netherverse.

zyxst

Nothing of what is happening?

Your phone ate your post.

maidentl

CaseyGwaltney

It won't let me post! What the heck

CaseyGwaltney

Sorry guys my phone wasn't posting it, no need to make fun.

I started using this app 1 month ago. 40 lbs is how much I would like to lose. It gave me the 1250 calories to work with and I have been so good at sticking within that!! My main meals are chicken, fish, rice, egg whites, frozen grapes, occasional peanut butter/ rice cake. Cut out 90% of sugar! Drink only water now(with flavor drops), around 18 cups a day! It's easy to keep track in my water jug lol.

Also I have been going to the gym 5 days a week doing 50 min of various cardio and random arm leg belly exercises.

MY DILEMMA!!!! I've only lost 2 lbs

Help me understand what I'm doing wrong please!

Thanks in advance!
Casey

Marilyn0924

Hi Casey,

Welcome to MFP!

Are you using a food scale to weigh all solid/semi solids? Measuring cups for liquids?

AshesToBeast

Your calories are probably to low, 1,250 cals is not healthy, even more so considering your activity level

CaseyGwaltney

Dang, I was just going of what the app said. I'm not a big eater, so that's prob why I haven't had a problem sticking too it.

I haven't weighed any food, the meat is all prepackaged individually. I did measure the liquid though.

AshesToBeast

How many pounds a week are you set to lose?

diannethegeek

I posted these tips in your other thread. I'll repeat them here for any lurkers who happen on this post and have the same question. Maybe something will help you out.

1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or 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 if you don't already have one. 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. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. If you weigh yourself frequently, 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.

9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

leighloh

I know this might be a silly question but...are you compensating for calories you lose during your workouts?

CaseyGwaltney

Thanks Dianne!

Ashestobeast, it says 1.5 lbs

CaseyGwaltney

Nope leighloh! i dont even hold my phone during my workouts so it doesnt count any of those calories burned i guess. Idk if thats a good or bad thing.

siluridae

CaseyGwaltney wrote: »

Dang, I was just going of what the app said. I'm not a big eater, so that's prob why I haven't had a problem sticking too it.

I haven't weighed any food, the meat is all prepackaged individually. I did measure the liquid though.

And there you go. You eat too many calories. Weigh your food from now on with a digital scale.

CaseyGwaltney

I eat too many at 1250????

siluridae

I say you are not eating 1250 because you are not measuring correctly.

sunandmoons

I didnt lose anything for two weeks. Then lost quite a bit. As others suggest weigh your food. Your diary shows quick adds like 500 calories. Tighen that up and add each food. Once you do check your nutrition after a couple weeks then scale in. Maybe your not consuming enough.

snowflake954

I would suggest tightening up your logging. You're using the "quick add calories" alot. That's OK once in a blue moon, but it's not percise. Weigh everything on a digital scale. Good luck.

siluridae

And I see things like 1 cup, 1 spread in your diary. Weigh it in grams instead, that is accurate and does not leave room for any error.

CaseyGwaltney

Yea I would do the quick add when I was just entering in the calories off the back of something.

leighloh

CaseyGwaltney wrote: »

Nope leighloh! i dont even hold my phone during my workouts so it doesnt count any of those calories burned i guess. Idk if thats a good or bad thing.

That might be the issue. You are already eating very little, so you might be having problems because you are not eating enough calories back after your workouts.

ManiacalLaugh

CaseyGwaltney wrote: »

I eat too many at 1250????

You're quick adding a lot of random calories. Where are those coming from? Are you absolutely certain that's how much you've taken in?

They've done studies - most people underestimate what they're eating if they guestimate by sight (even dietitians were tested on this idea - and they failed to quantify their food portions accurately as well). If you're not weighing your food, there's no real way to tell that you're actually taking in 1250 calories a day.

Also, you have some cup measurements on your diary. Measuring solids that can vary in weight due to water, mass, or air content is a bad idea. I made this mistake with rice at first. A "cup" of rice can vary by 75 calories each time you pour it, based on how tightly you pack it, what kind of rice it is, etc. The rule of thumb idea is to weigh solids and reserve cups, tbs, etc... measurements to liquids.

Marilyn0924

Just a quick peek at your diary...your logging is all over the place and guaranteed, you are eating more than you think you are.
Dianne's post is awesome, and bang on.

Get that food scale, and take the time to log correctly, it makes a huge difference.

siluridae

leighloh wrote: »

CaseyGwaltney wrote: »

Nope leighloh! i dont even hold my phone during my workouts so it doesnt count any of those calories burned i guess. Idk if thats a good or bad thing.

That might be the issue. You are already eating very little, so the issue might be that you are not eating enough calories back after your workouts.

And even if she did eat too little, she'd still lose weight.

Starvation mode happens for actually starving people. You know, the ones that are dying. Starvation mode isn't the body conjuring calories out of thin air to make someone stay fat.

CaseyGwaltney

I understand. For rice when it says one cup. I literally take a measuring cup and use 1. So i think that one is correct.

janejellyroll

You are getting some really good advice here. The issue is your logging, you are likely eating much more than you think.

What is "1 spread" of peanut butter? (I had peanut butter today, weighed it out, and it was 190 calories). The Subway sandwich you entered -- how do you know that the person who made that entry chose the same topping and condiments as you did? Does that include cheese? My avocados come in all different sizes -- without weighing it out, how do you know that your 1/2 avocado isn't larger than usual? Are you really eating plain egg whites without anything at all (no oil used to cook?)? "Katie's homemade chicken salad" -- did you make that entry? If not, how do you know the recipe the person used and if it was close to yours?

siluridae

Only use cups or spoons for liquids. It's not a good measurement system.

leighloh

siluridae wrote: »

leighloh wrote: »

CaseyGwaltney wrote: »

Nope leighloh! i dont even hold my phone during my workouts so it doesnt count any of those calories burned i guess. Idk if thats a good or bad thing.

That might be the issue. You are already eating very little, so the issue might be that you are not eating enough calories back after your workouts.

And even if she did eat too little, she'd still lose weight.

Starvation mode happens for actually starving people. You know, the ones that are dying. Starvation mode isn't the body conjuring calories out of thin air to make someone stay fat.

It was just an idea

CaseyGwaltney

the peanut butter i did one tablespoon (measured) and only used half of that for my rice cake. Thats why i called it one spread.