Scale is not moving! :(

HollyRae

I've been tracking my calories since January 1st and I'm only 0.3 lb less. On average, I consume just about or very slightly less calories than MFP says I should in order to lose 1 lb per week. I'm exercising quite a bit more that I was. I do notice I feel ravenous most of the time. I wonder if I'm not balancing my food properly?

A typical menu:
Breakfast : 2 eggs, 1 cup spinach, either a slice of whole wheat toast (dry) or piece of fruit.
AM Snack: fruit, almonds
Lunch: Soup (low cal weight watchers veggie) or salad w/ low fat balsamic vinagrait. 4oz tuna or lean chicken breast.

*2 HRS AFTER LUNCH AND I'M STARVING!

Mid afternoon snack: 1 orange, maybe a few almonds or whole grain sun chips

*4PM NOW I'M SO STARVING I FEEL SICK, HEADACHE, I COULD PASS OUT OR EAT A COW! DESPERATELY REACH FOR A MINT, HARD CANDY, CHOCOLATE, GRAPES.....

5pm snack while making dinner: *so tired, still hungry, no energy to work out* : fresh veggies, nuts, crackers, sun chips

DINNER: Glass or 3 of wine, baked fish or lean meat, brown rice, glazed carrots, green salad with balsamic vinagrait.

Looking at this in writing it all looks obvious. But any input is welcomed, please.

That being said, I am 40 yrs old, have a full time on my feet job and am a mom of 4 busy boys.
I successfully lost 25 lbs about 8 years ago using MFP. I don't know what I am doing wrong this time, except i have less time for exercise but I am really making an effort!

elphie754

Are you weighing all your food?

Nuts are very calorie dense and it is possible you are eating more than you realize.

diannethegeek

If the exercise is fairly new, your mucles may be holding onto some extra water to help cushion and repair them. That can cause a short term stall on the scale.

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.

Marilyn0924

If you don't already have one, buy a digital scale. Weigh all solids, measure all liquids. Instead of drinking your calories, cut back to 1 glass of wine if your calories permit and use the other couple of hundred calories on an extra snack if you need one. If you're using MFP as a guage for your exercise calories, cut it by about 30% and only eat half of those back. See how you're doing in a couple of weeks and then reassess. Good luck

shan11385

Not sure, but maybe you're not be eating enough protein and that is why you are so hungry? I make a smoothie in the morning with 45 grams of protein and I am not looking for something to eat for at least 4-5 hours. I can't help you with the weight loss, as I'm in the same boat. Counting calories, working out three days a week and eating better than I ever have, but I gain and lose the same four lbs. and I've been at it for about eight weeks so I'm getting discouraged. . .

HollyRae

Thank you all for the great advice. It all makes sense. I just have to figure out what works for me. I don't have a food scale, but as far as the nuts go, I get the 100 cal snack packs so I use that measurement.

I weigh myself maybe once a week because I don't want to see the results but i do use a digital scale.

What goes into a 45 gram protein smoothie? And how could i wisely add more protein to my meals and not tack on a lot of extra calories?

HollyRae

shan11385 wrote: »

Not sure, but maybe you're not be eating enough protein and that is why you are so hungry? I make a smoothie in the morning with 45 grams of protein and I am not looking for something to eat for at least 4-5 hours. I can't help you with the weight loss, as I'm in the same boat. Counting calories, working out three days a week and eating better than I ever have, but I gain and lose the same four lbs. and I've been at it for about eight weeks so I'm getting discouraged. . .

Don't get discouraged! We can do this together!

Zellyrus

Try for high protein snacks. I have a cheestick and some turkey pepperoni as a ~150 calorie AM snack.

Also drink a lot of water, it can help fill you up (and make you feel better in general).

HollyRae

Thank you. I have been trying to drink more water. And green tea.

haviegirl

I'm 53, so older than you. I am having good success--down 9.4 pounds since December 21st. I track every single thing I eat/drink (yes, I use a food scale) and I wear my Fitbit religiously. If I am not strict with myself, I've found that I overestimate my activity and underestimate my food intake. I allow myself one glass of wine each WEEK. Yes, I am hungry sometimes, and when I am, I drink water like it's my job. Yes, I'm sore from working out sometimes. But I am seeing great results--and it's totally worth it. So if you're not already doing so, get strict with yourself and see if that makes a difference. Good luck!

erinc5

3 glasses of wine can be about 400 calories. Don't know what your goal is, but that's a big chunk of mine. I'd start by cutting back there - not getting completely rid of it , but maybe at least not drinking every single night. That way you can add something else in its place to make you feel more full during the day.

Garthweightlosspal

Only tip I can really give is be truthful to yourself and accurately log EVERYTHING, don't eat/drink something and then not log it.

mkh858

I noticed my scaled won't budge if I ate to much sodium the day before. On this app it shows how much. My nutritionist told me going over 400 of sodium can cause 1-2lbs weight gain

muscleandbeard

Go easy on the almonds and nuts. I used to not account for them and when I finally did, a handful or two can easily add up to 400-500 calories. They're good for you but not the best weight loss snack.

semillon100

Hi may I suggest the following
- high protein/ high good fat
- Research bone broth to fill you up and nourish your body
- Include a fermented food or beverage with each meal eg water kefir or raw sauerkraut.
- Increase you vegetables intake = increase fibre
- Eat nutrient dense food rather than packet slim or protein products
- Some great cook books to use are Pete Evans fast food for families. He also has a 10 week program to get you in the routine.
- Check your hormones, blood test
- Go you for getting this far and hang in there ! You are on the right path and by the sounds of it you just need a little bit of fine tuning!
Deb

PAV8888

Reduce your caloric deficit to 500 Cal a day (1lb a week) which still puts you on pace for 50lbs in a year.

Conventionally a 20% deficit off TDEE is considered safe (25% while obese). Deficits > 500 cal imply a TDEE of about 3000 Cal a day; ergo most people should be set at -250 or -500.

Start using a trending weight app to smooth out water weight variation and allow you to see your underlying weight trend. Libra for Android, Happy Scale for iphone, trendweight.com and weightgrapher.com on the web.

irisheyes637

HollyRae wrote: »

Thank you all for the great advice. It all makes sense. I just have to figure out what works for me. I don't have a food scale, but as far as the nuts go, I get the 100 cal snack packs so I use that measurement.

I weigh myself maybe once a week because I don't want to see the results but i do use a digital scale.

What goes into a 45 gram protein smoothie? And how could i wisely add more protein to my meals and not tack on a lot of extra calories?

I use bsn syntha 6 protein powder. It only 21 grams of protein but helps me feel full for at least 3 -4 hours and it only has 200 calories. I also work retail and am a mom so sometimes it hard to pack a lunch. On those day, I'll grab a protein bar ("think thins" are my favorite) and a banana. On days I don't workout I consume around 70 grams of protein and in workout days it can get up to 110 grams. Just depends on how much a workout that day.
This doesn't work for everyone but it has worked great for me.
My mom when she was in her 40s weighed in the upper 200s also did a high protein, low sodium diet. It worked wonders for her without needing to workout. She joined the quick weight loss center and they helped guide her through the program.

WrenTheCoffeeAddict

There's a lot of stats and numbers flying around, but there's one I want to know from you - What are your goal stats? Because there's a possibility that you're actually not eating enough. I had been using MFP for a while, and when you lose weight, it lowers your calorie goals. Until it lowered my goal to 1200. Boom, stopped losing weight. Plateaued for 6 months. Got very fed up, stopped using MFP, gained back 1st7lb of the weight I'd lost. Spoke to a lot of people on the forums, went back up to 1600, and I'm losing weight again.

snowflake954

Eating too much? Eating too little? You really don't know until you break down and buy a digital food scale. I don't know how much you want to lose--you didn't give your stats--but if it's 30 lbs or less, you really have to fine tune your calories so you eat just the right amount to lose weight. You could spin your wheels for a long time. Buy that scale, weigh and measure everything you eat, stay within your MFP calorie goal everyday for 2 weeks and if you're still not losing come back (with more information) and we'll help you.

irisheyes637

ZombieLauren wrote: »

There's a lot of stats and numbers flying around, but there's one I want to know from you - What are your goal stats? Because there's a possibility that you're actually not eating enough. I had been using MFP for a while, and when you lose weight, it lowers your calorie goals. Until it lowered my goal to 1200. Boom, stopped losing weight. Plateaued for 6 months. Got very fed up, stopped using MFP, gained back 1st7lb of the weight I'd lost. Spoke to a lot of people on the forums, went back up to 1600, and I'm losing weight again.

I know someone with the exact same problem. She had to go the a nutritionist to figure it out. I think it was bc her metabolism rate was so high, she needed more calories to burn. Something like that. I was just shocked when she told me, bc my body absolutely doesn't work like that. My body is full and happy through the day on 1200 or under calories. I go over 1200 and I start putting weight back on. Every body is different that is why there are million different diets.

veganbaum

diannethegeek wrote: »

If the exercise is fairly new, your mucles may be holding onto some extra water to help cushion and repair them. That can cause a short term stall on the scale.

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.


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.



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.

I'm going to reiterate these, given that it's only been three weeks. But, tweak number 8 a bit. You say you weigh yourself "maybe" once a week. Each person needs to decide how often to weigh themselves, based on personal preference. Some people do once a week, once a month, or never and just measure progress by other factors. However, a lot of people weigh daily. Many people who weigh daily also use a program to track fluctuations, such as trendweight as mentioned. This helps show the trend of your weight. Since weight fluctuates, it's helpful to see whether your trend is upward, downward, or fairly static. If you only weigh once a week, or sometimes, you could be weighing on a higher day (such as after more sodium than usual, or at a time you're retaining water due to your cycle, etc., etc.) and you're not seeing the true picture. If weighing every day is going to freak you out, don't do it. But if you think you can handle it, I'd suggest doing so and using a program to track the trend.

irisheyes637

Just try not to weigh during you menstrual cycle. Most all women put on water weight that week. I gain about 5lbs that week. When I first figured this out, I about screamed when I stepped on the scale. I was weighing everyday, bc I was enjoying watching the weight come off. I changed my mind that day about daily weighing.

napilibay

I used to eat almonds alot and they just didn't satisfy me. Like others said, include some more protein and dairy snacks and instead of toast, try oatmeal...that helps me. My go to snacks are greek yogurt/fruit, cheestick/fruit, lowfat ricotta cheese, celery/pb...these have been better than almonds. Also in the morning, try a mixture of eggwhites instead of eggs...for some reason, egg whites hold me longer especially when I mix in a little cheese.

mgmad1993

My scale only moved .4 oz in the past 5 days. I have 10 more pounds to go. I try to stay around 1200 calories a day and not to go under 1000 but it varies. Some days I go a little over 1200 and some days it goes a little under 1000. I weigh myself daily so I can monitor it. I read somewhere eating nuts was healthy & good for you so I bought a bag of walnuts. As I was entering my food items on here, I noticed that it was 200 calories!! I've been losing weight but noticed that some days it looks like I'm still carrying weight in my stomach....I've read where it says not to weigh yourself daily because they don't want you to get discouraged. I do it just so I can monitor it.

cindyb0121

I find that if I drink 64 oz of water in the morning, It fills me up and I dont feel like snacking so much during the afternoon. Try and increase your water intake :-). Also, a lowfat cheesestick and a serving of nuts helps tremendously with the protien!