Can someone look at my food diary please?

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CherylG1983
CherylG1983 Posts: 294 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys! I work out 6 days a week for at least 30 minutes. This week, I intend to start running two or three days a week for at least 20 minutes because my weight isn't shifting as much as I would like.

Now, I should tell you I'm well aware that the numbers on the scale aren't everything. I do measure myself as well. While there is SOME progress, it's really terrible slow. To give you an idea how slow exactly, I've been hovering between 180 and 185 since January. I've lost roughly 37 pounds before that, over the course of about 8 months, which I think is a healthy pace.

My goal is not to get "thin" or a certain weight, rather to get fit and have definition. I'm having an exceptionally hard time losing the fat around my tummy, hips, butt and thighs.

SO, if you have time and can take a look through my diary to see if there's something there that might be throwing off me off my goal, by all means, share your ideas with me!

Please note: Friday nights are nachos night in my house! It's the one cheat meal I have a week... a tradition while we watch Bill Maher!
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Replies

  • lisaloolovesblue
    lisaloolovesblue Posts: 30 Member
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    You have your diary set to private! Go into your settings and change that.
  • threadmad
    threadmad Posts: 190 Member
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    HI Cheryl. I looked at the last three days of your diary and I notice a lot of items are volume measures (cups, tablespoons, etc) and some look like they might have been chosen from the MFP database. Are you using a food scale to weigh your portions? If not, you might want to try that, especially for peanut butter (one of my favs, and I always weigh it). Good luck with your journey!
  • wasp700
    wasp700 Posts: 8 Member
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    Maybe cut out the Six Star Pro Nutrition Whey Protein Elite Series Triple Chocolate - Protein Powder, 1 scoop .?

    Drink water instead,A veteran runner friend of mine who is sat along side me says there is no need for the protien shakes :)
  • CherylG1983
    CherylG1983 Posts: 294 Member
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    threadmad wrote: »
    HI Cheryl. I looked at the last three days of your diary and I notice a lot of items are volume measures (cups, tablespoons, etc) and some look like they might have been chosen from the MFP database. Are you using a food scale to weigh your portions? If not, you might want to try that, especially for peanut butter (one of my favs, and I always weigh it). Good luck with your journey!

    Yes, I measure and weigh my food... I was taught portion control from the 21 Day Fix! :) Thanks.
  • CherylG1983
    CherylG1983 Posts: 294 Member
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    wasp700 wrote: »
    Maybe cut out the Six Star Pro Nutrition Whey Protein Elite Series Triple Chocolate - Protein Powder, 1 scoop .?

    Drink water instead,A veteran runner friend of mine who is sat along side me says there is no need for the protien shakes :)

    Maybe not, but to reach my macros, I find it very helpful. Plus, it's a great way to get in additional vegetables and fruit! :D
  • wasp700
    wasp700 Posts: 8 Member
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    Then maybe wait a week or two till after you have done said intended running and check your stats then :)
  • threadmad
    threadmad Posts: 190 Member
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    I always use protein powder if I find myself low on protein at the end of the day. Six Star Decadent Chocolate is a yummy way to hit the macros.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,302 Member
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    So, how quickly did you lose the weight? And how long have you stopped or hit a plateau?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    You're not weighing your food... I see a lot of things in cups and not weighed (veggies, 'medium apples' or bananas etc). Some entries are plain wrong too - 5oz of cooked chicken breast is more than 117 calories. More like 180...

    Weigh everything and use accurate entries (look for usda entries).

    Other than that, you're eating so little I can't imagine why you would not lose. Either you're not logging everything, or you're REALLY underestimating your cup entries, or you have a medical issue that stops you from losing.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    cherylmurray83 wrote: »
    threadmad wrote: »
    HI Cheryl. I looked at the last three days of your diary and I notice a lot of items are volume measures (cups, tablespoons, etc) and some look like they might have been chosen from the MFP database. Are you using a food scale to weigh your portions? If not, you might want to try that, especially for peanut butter (one of my favs, and I always weigh it). Good luck with your journey!

    Yes, I measure and weigh my food... I was taught portion control from the 21 Day Fix! :) Thanks.

    If you weigh everything, why isn't it recorded that way in your diary? If you're not losing weight, you're not in a deficit and the most likely culprit is inaccurate logging.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    wasp700 wrote: »
    Maybe cut out the Six Star Pro Nutrition Whey Protein Elite Series Triple Chocolate - Protein Powder, 1 scoop .?

    Drink water instead,A veteran runner friend of mine who is sat along side me says there is no need for the protien shakes :)

    That's kind of a blanket statement. Protein shakes are a very useful tool for people that can't consume enough whole food protein to meet their goal.
  • wasp700
    wasp700 Posts: 8 Member
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    AJ_G wrote: »
    wasp700 wrote: »
    Maybe cut out the Six Star Pro Nutrition Whey Protein Elite Series Triple Chocolate - Protein Powder, 1 scoop .?

    Drink water instead,A veteran runner friend of mine who is sat along side me says there is no need for the protien shakes :)

    That's kind of a blanket statement. Protein shakes are a very useful tool for people that can't consume enough whole food protein to meet their goal.

    The question wasnt about protein intake as i understand,It was to look at her food diary and make suggestions.
    As the main statement was to start a running program,Hence my answer.:)
  • CherylG1983
    CherylG1983 Posts: 294 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    You're not weighing your food... I see a lot of things in cups and not weighed (veggies, 'medium apples' or bananas etc). Some entries are plain wrong too - 5oz of cooked chicken breast is more than 117 calories. More like 180...

    Weigh everything and use accurate entries (look for usda entries).

    Other than that, you're eating so little I can't imagine why you would not lose. Either you're not logging everything, or you're REALLY underestimating your cup entries, or you have a medical issue that stops you from losing.

    I do weigh everything. I don't feel it necessary to weigh an apple. And I measure in cups because that's how it's taught to do it in the 21-Day Fix. I'm also from Canada, so we don't measure dry goods in ounces. I did look up the chicken... I will have to replace the option I use in MFP for the more accurate one. 230 oz for 5 ounces! I can't see how I'm eating so little. I have three meals and two snacks a day, and within a healthy calorie range for safe weight loss.
  • CherylG1983
    CherylG1983 Posts: 294 Member
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    _Terrapin_ wrote: »
    So, how quickly did you lose the weight? And how long have you stopped or hit a plateau?

    It took me about 8 months, probably closer to 9 to lose the initial 37 pounds, and I've been at this plateau since January 2015, so 10 months of little to no movement. I don't even want to lose much more, maybe just 15-20 lbs (depending on how it looks... I don't want to be too thin!) I'm 5'10", so I think about 160 if I'm in good shape would be ideal.
  • CherylG1983
    CherylG1983 Posts: 294 Member
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    wasp700 wrote: »
    Then maybe wait a week or two till after you have done said intended running and check your stats then :)

    Yes, it could just be that I need to burn a little extra!
  • irenehb
    irenehb Posts: 236 Member
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    It honestly looks like you don't weigh anything. All your entries seem to be standard size serves.
    If I have spaghetti sometimes the serve maybe 54 grams, other times 55, 56, 57 etc but it isn't always exactly 56 grams like your entries.
  • ShashayLee
    ShashayLee Posts: 178 Member
    edited October 2015
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    you can weigh your food in grams, so much more accurate than measuring :) there can be a huge difference between measuring & weighing. i also weigh my apples & all fruit just to be safer as again there is a wide variation of weights
  • CherylG1983
    CherylG1983 Posts: 294 Member
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    irenehb wrote: »
    It honestly looks like you don't weigh anything. All your entries seem to be standard size serves.
    If I have spaghetti sometimes the serve maybe 54 grams, other times 55, 56, 57 etc but it isn't always exactly 56 grams like your entries.

    I'm not sure what you mean... I had quinoa spaghetti just now for dinner. 56 g is almost 2 oz (my scale measures in oz, not grams). I weigh it before I cook it.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    Measuring instead of weighing tends to throw people off by 300-400 calories a day. Most entries allow for grams instead of ounces.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,302 Member
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    Okay, well when I viewed your diary it seemed fine. I saw weighing and not much measuring so I'm not sure what everybody saw but. . .meh. Weigh everything in grams if you can and avoid measuring and ounces as much as possible. In terms of your body goal, resistance training would probably be my recommendation. As far as losing weight in those target areas you listed above, sorry, but BF on women are in those places for a simple reason.....babies. You can change this to an extent but women carry their fat mostly in those areas.

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