Am I Doing Something Wrong?

caitlinvoland

Hi everyone!

I am trying to lose around 30-40 lbs for a cruise this summer.

When I started MFP (this second time around a few weeks ago) I was 212 lbs and 5'5"

Now I am floating around 205.6-206.6 lbs.

For a little while there I thought all was good because I was losing weight and eating under or just at my calorie goals for the day according to MFP. I've been doing some running on the treadmill, some elliptical, some weights, squats and I use the stepper machine occasionally.

I haven't been able to budge past the 205.6. Anyone have any tips or suggestions on how I can continue losing the weight??

I don't think I eat too badly.

Breakfast is usually cheerios or oatmeal, sometimes whole wheat toast.
Lunch is usually a low sodium turkey sandwich with swiss cheese and light mayo.
Dinner is always different now. Sometimes its stir fry, panera, a meat and potato, whole grain pasta, etc.
Snacks are usually a fruit or veggie!

I appreciate your help!!

janejellyroll

How long has it been since you've lost weight?

How many calories are you eating per day? For weight loss, the calories are more important than knowing what foods you are eating.

quiksylver296

Are you weighing all your food on a food scale and religiously logging EVERYTHING you eat? If no, I'd start there. Get a true idea of the amount of calories you are eating. Then adjust from there.

diannethegeek

Let's check and see if we can cover the basics:


1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so since you last saw a drop on the scale, 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.

Or in visual form:

quiksylver296

No way! I beat @diannethegeek to the chart.

Khovde07

Stagnation happens. Don't let it get you down. There could be any number of reasons causing the scale to stay put or even go up. You could be retaining water from eating too much sodium, maybe you're not eating enough calories back after your workout, maybe it's your time of the month (that always screws with me), or maybe the scale is just going to sit still for awhile because scales are evil.

Don't worry about it until you've been hovering at the same weight for a month at least. Keep at it and it will happen. You got this!

caitlinvoland

I am still new to this but it has been about a week that it has stayed at the same weight. I thought whatever I burned after workout out stayed that way? Am I supposed to be eating more after I work out? Maybe I am doing it wrong... I thought it was good to have more remaining calories because when I do it tells me I should lose so many lbs if I kept doing that daily...

quiksylver296

caitlinvoland wrote: »

I am still new to this but it has been about a week that it has stayed at the same weight. I thought whatever I burned after workout out stayed that way? Am I supposed to be eating more after I work out? Maybe I am doing it wrong... I thought it was good to have more remaining calories because when I do it tells me I should lose so many lbs if I kept doing that daily...

Refer to the chart...

caitlinvoland

@quiksylver296 I looked at the chart. I am not eating back the calories because I don't feel the need to. I am fine eating my breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. I work out before dinner so when I get home I eat and relax then go to sleep. I used a food scale for a little while and have been using the same amounts of food really, maybe even a little less.

diannethegeek

caitlinvoland wrote: »

I am still new to this but it has been about a week that it has stayed at the same weight. I thought whatever I burned after workout out stayed that way? Am I supposed to be eating more after I work out? Maybe I am doing it wrong... I thought it was good to have more remaining calories because when I do it tells me I should lose so many lbs if I kept doing that daily...

Yes, the system is designed for you to log your exercise and eat back at least a portion of the extra calories burned. It's set up that way to try and keep you at an even deficit so that you can fuel your workouts without dipping into low net calorie territory. If you haven't been, then that's not a confounding problem for your weight loss right now.

If it's only been a week, then it's too early to panic or start changing things. Double-checking your logging, double-checking that you have your profile set up correctly are good steps, but a week without weight loss is most likely a simple fluctuation. You're going to see it happen a lot as you progress.


http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10196160/scale-stress-syndrome/p1

quiksylver296

One week staying the same weight isn't that abnormal. Is it PMS time? I gain about 4 pounds and then lose it after TOM, every month. Drink lots of water, keep doing the right things, and be patient. I would seriously urge you to continue to use the food scale, though.

caitlinvoland

@quiksylver296 Nope not for me. I am lucky with bc only every 3 months.

AliceDark

Also keep in mind that everyone's weight fluctuates; nobody has an "exact" weight. You will have weeks when you're down on the scale, weeks when you're up, and weeks when it won't budge. Don't stress so much about seeing a drop literally every week. You're looking for a downward trend over time, not an exact amount of loss every seven days.

rileyes

Bread and cereal are high in calories. Since I like eating a lot, I try to eat more lean meats and vegetables to stay within my calorie goal. Try a week with eggs for breakfast. Or cut down on the bread for a week. And, if you do have cereal, make sure you weigh it because a bowl full could be over 500 cals.

caitlinvoland

@rileyes I wish I could eat eggs for breakfast. I won't eat eggs unless they are hard boiled eggs though. Any other form of eggs make me gag

rileyes

Have you tried vanilla protein crepes? Or omelets? Do you have a ceramic omelet pan?<--necessary if you don't like scrambled.

You can add some walnuts or fruit (or Sara Beth preserves--NOT smucker's) to the crepe for a sweet breakfast. Spray the pan with coconut oil for added taste.

ETA: mix one egg white carton with a scoop of vanilla protein to make crepes for the week.

caitlinvoland

@rileyes No offense but that sounds nasty to me lol I am a VERY picky eater. Everyone thinks I am weird because of my food tastes. Up until a few months ago I never would even eat steak because I thought it was disgusting.

rileyes

caitlinvoland wrote: »

@rileyes No offense but that sounds nasty to me lol I am a VERY picky eater. Everyone thinks I am weird because of my food tastes. Up until a few months ago I never would even eat steak because I thought it was disgusting.

Develop your palate. It seems to be genius with grains. Train it for lean meat and veggies. And eggs!

JennieMaeK

If it's only been a week or two, then it could be water water for a variety of reasons (too much sodium, starting new exercise, etc). Give it some time. If the weight doesn't change, then you could be eating more than you think you are. If you not weighing and measuring everything then you could be eating more calories than you think you are (even if you are pretty sure of portion sizes). I've been loosing weight steadily for just over a year now. Some ups and downs, and I still use a scale to weigh almost everything I eat.

zenjen13

FWIW, when I firt started MFP I lost about 5lbs in the first two weeks and then nothing. So, I read more forum posts and realized I needed to start weighin my food, weight moved again. Then it slowed down, read more posts and got my activity tracker. Realized the exercise I was logging in MFP was more in cals burned than I actually burned (even when I knocked cals off manually). Since then I've lost as much in three weeks as the first two months that I was on here. Logging the proper figures, for me, made all the difference in the world.

lisalsd1

Are you weighing your food? Looking at just your description of typical daily intake of food, cereal/sandwiches/grains equals a lot of carbs and little protein/fat (both of which will help you feel fuller longer).