Fitbit and MFP

hillabeans23

So I was feeling really good about myself Nov 6 (yes I have an exact day).

I have been taking progress pictures since starting mfp in august. I also upgraded my garmin and got a fitbit HR around that time. And I sync all my workouts to mfp with it. Now fitbit will say that I burned EX: 300c during my workout and sometimes mfp takes all those calories, none, or some of them. And adjusts my calories accordingly. My daily intake is set at 1500 plus whatever I have earned back from exercise. Sometimes I eat 1500, sometimes more sometimes less. It all varies. And I think (keyword) at the end of the week, it all balances out. I do eat pretty well and then during the weekend, I will go out to eat.

Since I got my fitbit, I started focusing more on weight training (p90x and weight focused Jillian Michaels videos). And more or less cut out cardio altogether. I started taking measurments too. The scale hasn't really changed but by a few pounds, small increases and decreases in measurements, older clothes fitting- I cant explain it. My body just doesn't feel as lean and cut as it did Nov 6. I feel more bloated now and I'm wondering if maybe I should start listening to mfp calories a little better. My workouts are roughly 3 days a week for 45m to an hour. And I am usually burning a lot according to my fitbit-300-500c a workout. And I'm reaching all heartrate zones for approximately the same amount of time. But my body just doesn't feel the same. This isn't some woman thing, I'm not pregnant or pmsing. I've been noticing for a little over a month that I just don't feel or look the same. It's almost like I'm losing the definition I had in that progress picture awhile ago. I've tried process of elimination and I'm going to try to be as detailed and honest with you guys as I can: My diet is a lot of protein bars and shakes. My work schedule is very weird and I need to adjust my eating schedule for my clients (I'm a caretaker). I try to eat a lot of protein. But sometimes I really just need to heat up that frozen meal which always has a lot of carbs. It seems I have been going over my carb limit a few days a week now...which didn't really happen before. Now frozen meals don't happen often, maybe 2 or 3 days a week and I do try to get the low calorie ones. But even those have a crap ton of carbs. I know frozen meals for me was an issue a few months ago and I thought I had reached a plateau but when I stopped eating them as much and replacing it with whole meals, the scale started moving again and whatnot, so I try to be careful with which ones I eat and how often now. I don't have a set eating schedule. Some days it is 2x a day and a bar in between. Sometimes its 5 small meals a day. There's no order because my job makes it really hard to have order. Regardless, I do try to eat 1500c a day. I portion freaking everything btw! Portion and measure!

It seems with weight training, my body is changing but not the way I would have thought. Like I said, I don't feel as good about my body now. I've lost this lean that I thought I had. You know how in the morning, you feel your smallest? I don't feel that anymore. My body just feels blah all the time. In fact, the only time I feel even kind of good is when I do eat like 1200 calories and don't work out. I don't know. I'm getting to the point that I just want to go back to running and maybe do weight training like once a week. Because I do feel bulky and bloated. But like I said, I have not gained weight according to the scale.

Please help.

branflakes1980

Don't pay so much attention to your carb intake as much as your sodium intake. Too much salt will make you feel bloated and blah. (those frozen meals are jam packed with sodium too). Good luck to you.

hillabeans23

Haha, that's probably the best response I've ever recieved. You're right. But I don't think that's my issue. I tend to just use some salt and pepper to season things. I cut way back on seasoning.

branflakes1980

?? You don't have to put salt on something to have too much of it. If you look at the ingredients on the label of the food you are eating, be mindful of the sodium content. Sodium = salt. . . MFP set my sodium goal to 2,300 grams per day. A lean cuisine for example has between 450 - 950 grams of sodium all by itself.

hillabeans23

My point with that was I don't eat foods with a lot of sodium. In addition to not seasoning my food much. I don't eat nearly enough frozen food. And mfp never tells me I'm over sodium, it's carbs and that's usually if I eat 1 frozen meals or 2 protein bars in a day. I do check macros and nutrients. I'm sorry, sodium is not the problem.

kt4au

I was doing a round of Whole30 back in May and I started to feel great. All of a sudden I noticed I felt bloated all the time. Come to find out, it was all the nuts that I was eating. I know you said you were eating a lot of protein bars, so maybe that's the case. If not, what about trying a cleanse for a couple of days to see about restarting your body.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

a cleanse will not restart your body. your body is not like a computer it cannot be restarted and there is no such thing as a cleanse. your organs "cleanse" your body if they are working properly.as for bloating certain foods can cause it(which could be since you said you dont eat a lot of sodium),too much fiber,not enough fiber,retaining water,and even some health issues can cause bloating.could it be the types of protein in the shakes and bars you are eating? I know things like that if they have a certain type of protein will cause me to bloat,also artificial sweeteners are another one that makes me bloat.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

if you are weight lifting and feeling blah maybe you arent eating enough to fuel your workouts? since you said you feel better with 1200 and no exercise? you wont get bulky eating in a deficit,being a woman also prevents that as well. lifting weights helps prevent muscle loss when in a deficit.I would eat my higher carb meals on days I work out and then on days I dont go lower carb. see if that makes a difference for you.also try a different shake/bar and see if that makes a difference too. it could be your body is reacting to an ingredient in them. when you weight lift though you will see a difference in how your body looks,that is normal. going over your carbs once in awhile wont make a difference either, unless you have to watch carbs due to a health issue.