Open food diary what am I doing wrong?
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You should pay more attention to weekly weight loss rather than daily.
You should pay attention to trends, not any particular number. If I weighed myself on week one and I weighted 180, then I weighed myself on week two and I still weighed 180, I might think that I didn't lose any fat, even though I ate in a deficit. If I instead weighed myself every day and and saw a gradual loss each day, but after a week my last weigh in was the same as my first, then at least that tells you it's likely a retention of water/food weight. Weighing yourself every day increases the resolution of your data, more data points are always better.0 -
@omp33 there's no change weekly or daily0
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mistress8956 wrote: »I log on either Sunday/ Monday mornings after I shower but before I eat anything. That's the weight I log or rather don't log since it's not changing. I've notice about a .5lb fluctuation back and forth through the the week but it always ends up back at the same place
Ideally you should weigh yourself first thing in the morning, after going to the bathroom, but before taking a shower.0 -
@galgenstrick so u think I should log every day even if I got up say .2 or what not just to see a fluctuation pattern?0
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mistress8956 wrote: »@galgenstrick so u think I should log every day even if I got up say .2 or what not just to see a fluctuation pattern?
Yes, absolutely.0 -
I'll try that then although idk if it will make me feel any better lol0
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mistress8956 wrote: »I'll try that then although idk if it will make me feel any better lol
Basically you want to keep as many variables constant as you can so that you can tell what the problem is if a problem arises. I'm looking at your diary and I see that you've been way under on your sodium over the whole week, except for the last two days you've been over. So you could be retaining a bunch of water over the last couple days but you could have really lost a bit of fat, the only way you could have possibly known that for sure is if you weighed yourself every day.
One other thing you could be doing is charting your waist, chest and thigh measurements over time as well.
Once you have those metrics down, and you know you are weighing all the food you eat and counting the calories correctly (this also means hitting your goals within 50 calories every day), then you will know for sure if you're eating too much or not exercising enough. At that point you can make a tweak to your calories or exercise program.
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your eating too much fatty foods and not enough carbs0
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Sakura_Tree wrote: »your eating too much fatty foods and not enough carbs
I hope you're just being snarky about what OMP33 said earlier, if not you are wrong.0 -
galgenstrick wrote: »Sakura_Tree wrote: »your eating too much fatty foods and not enough carbs
I hope you're just being snarky about what OMP33 said earlier, if not you are wrong.
Carb up mate0 -
galgenstrick wrote: »Sakura_Tree wrote: »your eating too much fatty foods and not enough carbs
I hope you're just being snarky about what OMP33 said earlier, if not you are wrong.
Carb up mate
lol, I'm all about the carbs, i'm just saying that carb/fat ratios don't matter for weight loss, except for the thermic effect of food, which is not significant enough to stall weight loss.0 -
Could you possibly try a couple of weeks on a strict diet of fruits, veg and lean protein --none of the 0 calorie drink and only water, coffee or tea.
This would not be easy but if you really want to get the scale moving, give yourself a huge change by using fresh, canned or frozen vegetables (fresh when possible) and lean protein...snack on fruit that is full of water. ....this is not a complete diet but it could get you going in terms of what you want because, it is hard to hear, but you might be overeating now----you'll have great awareness consuming the foods mentioned above.
Good Luck0 -
Could you possibly try a couple of weeks on a strict diet of fruits, veg and lean protein --none of the 0 calorie drink and only water, coffee or tea.
This would not be easy but if you really want to get the scale moving, give yourself a huge change by using fresh, canned or frozen vegetables (fresh when possible) and lean protein...snack on fruit that is full of water. ....this is not a complete diet but it could get you going in terms of what you want because, it is hard to hear, but you might be overeating now----you'll have great awareness consuming the foods mentioned above.
Good Luck
and what happens when you stop being so strict? It's better to learn moderation than to eliminate foods completely. It's just statistically more sustainable.0 -
Sakura_Tree wrote: »your eating too much fatty foods and not enough carbs
This. Even if your calories are in check everything you are eating is processed. Processed milk drinks, breaded chicken, candy. No fruits of vegetables.0 -
I'm really wondering if some of the people commenting are even bothering to read my food diary? Nor try to be salty about it because I truly appreciate the help/ input. But where am I over eating? I rarely eat red meat it's almost alway chicken, I mostly eat fresh veggies/ sometimes frozen never canned, I don't drink soda/ coffee/ tea/ carbonated drinks of any kind. I like sweats which is my down fall, that's why I go with a protein shake or bar because it gives me my chocolate/sweet tooth fix. I aim low for my calories because then at the end of the night if I'm craving something sweet I still usually have room for it. So if your commenting without reading my diary, please keep your opinions to your self.0
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You may not be over eating at all, you just aren't eating the best things to make your body feel as good. Instead of the processed white sugar loaded eat fresh fruit! I never even crave sweets anymore EVER I just eat so much fruit and I love it! The chicken you eat is breaded, probably fried before. You asked for peoples opinions and help so that what everyone is trying to do.0
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I ate breaded chicken one time lol that does not consist of my entire diary. But yes I could at more fruits and veggies and less sugar that's true, but for me that would lead to a major binge. I'm very happy that you love fruit and no longer craze sweets but that's you not me. Going off the whole consent of calorie count and and mfp it shouldn't technically matter what foods I'm eating0
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@galgenstrick thanks for taking the time to explain and answer questions much appreciated0
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The tides have changed with MFP. I'm sorry0
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Sakura_Tree wrote: »your eating too much fatty foods and not enough carbs
This. Even if your calories are in check everything you are eating is processed. Processed milk drinks, breaded chicken, candy. No fruits of vegetables.
Not that. The calories can come from anywhere for weight loss. Even A LOT of processed food.
OP, I haven't looked at your diary yet (I'm on my tablet right now and it seems to limit me sometimes) but if you've gone long enough without any loss, are positive you're weighing everything correctly, don't weigh yourself after eating calorie and sodium bombs, maye you should think about getting some blood work done just to rule out all sorts of fun things that make it more difficult to lose.0 -
How tall are you? I think it'd be important to look at your metabolic rate and see what amount of calories you should be eating...using the Harris Benedict Equation is a great tool. You can find it online. I think you might be too low in your calories. The goal is to eat a certain percentage of your calories from carbohydrates, protein, and fat. It is recommended to eat 45-65% carbs, 20-30% protein, and 20-30% fat. It's important to make sure your body is getting a good variety of nutrients from carbs, protein, and fat. Burning/Eliminating 500cals per day will produce a 1lb loss per week. Make sure you are drinking adequate water as well - it's recommended to drink half of your body weight in ounces per day - so for you 104oz water/day. This will help tremendously with your health.0
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I weigh everything except like protein bars and things like that, everything else is weighed ( if I eat at work I don't weigh like today but I usually don't eat their for that reason, but I can still somewhat accurately gauge a serving) I had blood work done about 6 months ago and everything checked out fine. My bad cholesterol was like 2 points high, dr said to cut back on butter/ oils. But I don't use butter or oil when I'm cooking either.0
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My body seems like it doesn't want to go under the 208-198lb range I can never get below that. When I lost 60lbs 2 yrs ago that's where my weigh loss stalled out, and I got discouraged. Like my body refuses to let it happen0
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Don't get discouraged. Patience is key. Trust in the process. If you are consistent and actually eating at a deficit, you will lose weight.
Weigh yourself once a week and then look at your weight graph over a period of months. This is a marathon, not a sprint.0 -
Was it a standard check up? I believe some conditions need more specialized blood work to diagnose.mistress8956 wrote: »I weigh everything except like protein bars and things like that, everything else is weighed ( if I eat at work I don't weigh like today but I usually don't eat their for that reason, but I can still somewhat accurately gauge a serving) I had blood work done about 6 months ago and everything checked out fine. My bad cholesterol was like 2 points high, dr said to cut back on butter/ oils. But I don't use butter or oil when I'm cooking either.
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Whoa, all of a sudden there's a lot of woo in this thread!
OP, I think I saw earlier you said you haven't lost for 3 weeks. Weight loss isn't linear, it is perfectly normal to not lose for a few weeks and then all of a sudden you start losing again.
Otherwise, the flow chart on the first page tells you all the things you need to consider. The other stuff is just noise, you can lose weight eating processed food and whatever macros you like, as long as CI is less than CO.
Good luck!0 -
Whoa, all of a sudden there's a lot of woo in this thread!
OP, I think I saw earlier you said you haven't lost for 3 weeks. Weight loss isn't linear, it is perfectly normal to not lose for a few weeks and then all of a sudden you start losing again.
Otherwise, the flow chart on the first page tells you all the things you need to consider. The other stuff is just noise, you can lose weight eating processed food and whatever macros you like, as long as CI is less than CO.
Good luck!
Lol, I left the forums for 1 hour and all this woo started spreading everywhere. Thanks for bringing this thread back to reality
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OP, absent a medical condition, there's no possible way that your diary is accurate if you haven't lost any weight for 3 weeks. Either your scale is wrong, the entries you are picking are inaccurate (this one is very common), you are wildly off on your estimated portions when you don't weigh at work, your calorie burns from exercise are really off (though you should still be losing even if this was the case, albeit at a slower rate), or a combination of those things.
It comes down to a matter of math. You would not have stalled for 3 weeks eating as little as your diary indicates. From Jan 12th to yesterday (22 days), your total intake was 24,743 calories, or 1124 per day. At that amount, you should be losing even if you weren't doing exercise. If you take the exercise burns into account for that time, your total calorie goal was 35,389, or 1608 per day. That means, on top of the deficit that is already built into your base calorie goal of 1200, you ran an additional deficit of 484 calories a day. You would have seen some movement at this point as your total deficit would be close to 15,000.
That's what I mean when I say your diary isn't accurate. I know it's not, because if it was, you would have lost some weight over the last 3 weeks.0 -
tincanonastring wrote: »OP, absent a medical condition, there's no possible way that your diary is accurate if you haven't lost any weight for 3 weeks. Either your scale is wrong, the entries you are picking are inaccurate (this one is very common), you are wildly off on your estimated portions when you don't weigh at work, your calorie burns from exercise are really off (though you should still be losing even if this was the case, albeit at a slower rate), or a combination of those things.
It comes down to a matter of math. You would not have stalled for 3 weeks eating as little as your diary indicates. From Jan 12th to yesterday (22 days), your total intake was 24,743 calories, or 1124 per day. At that amount, you should be losing even if you weren't doing exercise. If you take the exercise burns into account for that time, your total calorie goal was 35,389, or 1608 per day. That means, on top of the deficit that is already built into your base calorie goal of 1200, you ran an additional deficit of 484 calories a day. You would have seen some movement at this point as your total deficit would be close to 15,000.
That's what I mean when I say your diary isn't accurate. I know it's not, because if it was, you would have lost some weight over the last 3 weeks.
I agree with this. There maybe some water weight, but even so the sodium levels aren't overly high (assuming the nutritional information is accurate).
You could track your weight daily, to see trends, if you think it would help. Some people find it helpful, others find the fluctuations discouraging. But even weighing in weekly you should be seeing some results. According to your diary there were some days your calories were very low (under 1000).
The whole "don't eat so much processed food, blah, blah, blah, blah" isn't what's stalling your weight loss. Is it the healthiest choice? No, but it's is sometimes a fact of life. I eat more processed food than I should, but still lose weight consistently. Is it a pound a week, every week - no, but that is what the average is.
OP, only you know for sure if you're logging needs some work. If you are sure it's accurate, then you should probably see a doctor to rule out any medical reasons why.0 -
Sakura_Tree wrote: »your eating too much fatty foods and not enough carbs
This. Even if your calories are in check everything you are eating is processed. Processed milk drinks, breaded chicken, candy. No fruits of vegetables.
I eat a lot of "processed food" and I know what you are implying with that. Packaged, full of sodium, yada yada. I have lost 53 pounds. I eat chocolate daily, have some kind of take out weekly, and (putting on my best Oprah persona) I love bread. I eat bread every day. LOL
Consistent, sustainable calorie deficit and patience are all that is needed for weight loss. Fatty food, processed food, high carb, low carb, all of that is personal preference but for weight loss, is not the important factor. I do not lose weight every day, sometimes I don't lose in a week, but over time, I do and my average is about .4 pounds per week because I am very close to my goal.
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