Gaining weight 700 cal below TDEE
Replies
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Weighing your food may seem weird and obsessive compulsive, but it will teach you portion control and will be very eye opening. Go buy a cheap digital scale from Walmart and try it for a couple of weeks. Trust us on this one.
ETA: I know it can seem like we're all a bunch of a-holes, but people are speaking from experience. We know it's not easy to get over the mental hurdles but this does work if done correctly.3 -
OP, if you can't see yourself using a food scale indefinitely, maybe commit to using it for 2 weeks. That way you can get a good idea of how accurate you've been, and decide if it is worth the hassle of using it going forward.
Accurate logging gets easier as you get more practice. Eventually, your "recent" list has all your favorite foods sitting there, and you just have to click the button and change the portion size. Taking the time to find accurate entries now, means better logging with hardly any effort later
And I just wanted to reiterate, as illogical as I know it sounds, plenty of stuff I have bought from the supermarket doesn't weigh what it says it weighs.
Anyway, good for you for coming back, don't give up, and best of luck :drinker:0 -
OP, you know... I'm fairly small and originally wanted to lose 10lbs. With my starting weight (slightly overweight) and size (plus being a woman) I knew I had to be extra careful with estimating my calories. The only way that worked is by weighing everything.
A few things I noticed: my idea of what a tablespoon of cooking oil looks like and what whoever thought about it differs completely. It might just be a 6 grams difference, but it's a whopping 54kcal extra. But who cooks with just one tablespoon of oil? Thus it was rather twice that amount. That's 1/5th of my deficit obliterated. My idea of what a medium sized apple or banana is differs a lot from the data base entries. There's another 50kcal gone. The flat bread I brought along to the office for breakfast was 140kcal per half bread according to the label. But weighing the bread showed me they were rather 200. Now there's more than 2/5 of my deficit gone. Instead of losing 1 lbs per week I was only losing a bit more than half of that. By only making tiny errors with my cooking oil, fruit and bread.
Btw, I did lose nearly 40lbs in the end, have learned to eat the proper amount of food without limiting any products, and have been maintaining for well over a year.
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Yes it might seem obsessive to weigh foods but it is so eye opening that you will why we all rave about doing it.
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....low carb=low calories by default.....
Eh?? Low carb is only low calorie if you don't replace the calories that you don't get from carbs!
By your reckoning if I eat 2500 calories with only 10% from carbs I'm eating less calories than if I eat 2500 calories with 50% from carbs!0 -
I know there's a lot of attitude in my posts, but the point I'm trying to make is that I can't be overeating my calorie goal by double and not realizing it. That's what I would have to be doing to gain the amount of weight I have gained in a month's time.
There's a relatively simple way to test this out. Fancy being part of a science experiment of one?
Given your stats and current intake (irrespective of the lack of exercise) you should be losing weight without question. A month would generally be sufficient for natural fluctuations to be accounted for on the scale (ignore the home body fat reading though - they are next to useless.)
Now this is going to prove a little boring, and possibly a bit expensive, but it can put your mind at rest so it may be possibly worth the investment.
There are numerous companies out there who market pre packaged meals / meal replacements and so on where they state they give accurate calorie counts (although they can be a little off the calorie level you will be keeping should budget for this.) Many of these companies target sports nutrition as well so it doesn't have to be poor nutritional choice supermarket ready meals.
For two weeks eat 1,800 calories per day with these products only. See if you lose weight.
You want to know what my money is on?
Getting a food scale, estimating a portion and then weighing it would be far cheaper, but it's a good point.1 -
Actually, no. I weighed myself before bed last night and was too angry at myself to sleep, so I wrote those two posts. Then I woke up and had to work 12 hours straight (with no lunch break, mind you) because one co-worker no-showed and the other started vomiting and ended up going home.Pretty sure OP has stomped their foot and run off because we keep telling them what they don't want to hear.
I feel like I owe this thread an apology. I was full of anger when I wrote my posts last night, and now I am full of shame. I see lots of advice, which is exactly what I was asking for. I wanted to thank anybody who took the time to respond for their time.
I should have picked a better time to "come out" with my open diary and bare my self to the internet. Yes, my diary entries in the last few days show increasingly poor food choices. I feel this is a reflection of my depressed self, on the subject of my increasing mass and girth. It's that feedback cycle of eating and depression and more eating.
As for the "incomplete" entries, I disagree. Anybody who is looking at my diary are seeing the all the foods I have eaten in the last month. Well, 23 days so far on this streak - last year I had a much longer streak, I don't know how to see how long that was. I can answer for every entry you see. 3/10/16, I ate 410 calories in the morning and literally nothing else until the following day because I felt like I would vomit if I ate anything from about 11am until I woke up the next morning. Stomach bug I guess?
For the "inaccurate" entries, sure. I'm guilty there. I do sometimes pick entries like "french bread roll 1.3oz", but it's because I ate a small portion of french bread from a much larger roll. "Taco bell bean burrito"? Not from taco bell, from a school fundraiser who was selling bean burritos. Close enough. "Applebees bacon cheeseburger" for 970 calories? Not from Applebees, made in a gastropub where I had lunch with my family. Gotta be close enough. I know the steak I ate 4/12/16 was 6oz because it was a 12oz steak when I bought it, and I split it right down the middle to share with my wife.
I do cook most of my meals at home, and I do approximate some of the meals because I don't want to spend hours logging. I also frequently make custom recipes to log, based on all the ingredients and the portions sizes I consumed, relative to the entire batch. I do know that the caesar salad I ate for dinner last night had about 2oz of french bread, made into croutons with herbs, spices, and not more than half a tablespoon of olive oil. It had the exact brand of salad dressing I logged on it, I approximated it to be 3 tbsp. I know it wasn't half a cup of dressing. I also ate a large apple a little later, which seems like a lot at 110 calories and it's because of all the sugar I'm sure.
Weighing every ounce of food that I need seems seriously obsessive-compulsive to me, but what I'm doing obviously isn't working. I will consider a food scale, but I'll definitely feel like a weirdo when I use it. I'm aware I am not a special snowflake.
I'm also sure I can't possibly answer all of the opinions offered. I'm not even really trying to argue here, just vent my frustration. Again, I am sincere in my thanks for everybody who has posted. I'm trying here, just need some help.
We're all human and make mistakes. Get a food scale, log to the gram and see what happens.0 -
Weighing every ounce of food that I need seems seriously obsessive-compulsive to me, but what I'm doing obviously isn't working. I will consider a food scale, but I'll definitely feel like a weirdo when I use it. I'm aware I am not a special snowflake.
Being weird is a small price. My spouse has ragged on me for my weighing. But I'm down 45 pounds, so guess how much I care?
Rarely is the easiest choice the most successful.1 -
Actually, no. I weighed myself before bed last night and was too angry at myself to sleep, so I wrote those two posts. Then I woke up and had to work 12 hours straight (with no lunch break, mind you) because one co-worker no-showed and the other started vomiting and ended up going home.Pretty sure OP has stomped their foot and run off because we keep telling them what they don't want to hear.
I feel like I owe this thread an apology. I was full of anger when I wrote my posts last night, and now I am full of shame. I see lots of advice, which is exactly what I was asking for. I wanted to thank anybody who took the time to respond for their time.
I should have picked a better time to "come out" with my open diary and bare my self to the internet. Yes, my diary entries in the last few days show increasingly poor food choices. I feel this is a reflection of my depressed self, on the subject of my increasing mass and girth. It's that feedback cycle of eating and depression and more eating.
As for the "incomplete" entries, I disagree. Anybody who is looking at my diary are seeing the all the foods I have eaten in the last month. Well, 23 days so far on this streak - last year I had a much longer streak, I don't know how to see how long that was. I can answer for every entry you see. 3/10/16, I ate 410 calories in the morning and literally nothing else until the following day because I felt like I would vomit if I ate anything from about 11am until I woke up the next morning. Stomach bug I guess?
For the "inaccurate" entries, sure. I'm guilty there. I do sometimes pick entries like "french bread roll 1.3oz", but it's because I ate a small portion of french bread from a much larger roll. "Taco bell bean burrito"? Not from taco bell, from a school fundraiser who was selling bean burritos. Close enough. "Applebees bacon cheeseburger" for 970 calories? Not from Applebees, made in a gastropub where I had lunch with my family. Gotta be close enough. I know the steak I ate 4/12/16 was 6oz because it was a 12oz steak when I bought it, and I split it right down the middle to share with my wife.
I do cook most of my meals at home, and I do approximate some of the meals because I don't want to spend hours logging. I also frequently make custom recipes to log, based on all the ingredients and the portions sizes I consumed, relative to the entire batch. I do know that the caesar salad I ate for dinner last night had about 2oz of french bread, made into croutons with herbs, spices, and not more than half a tablespoon of olive oil. It had the exact brand of salad dressing I logged on it, I approximated it to be 3 tbsp. I know it wasn't half a cup of dressing. I also ate a large apple a little later, which seems like a lot at 110 calories and it's because of all the sugar I'm sure.
Weighing every ounce of food that I need seems seriously obsessive-compulsive to me, but what I'm doing obviously isn't working. I will consider a food scale, but I'll definitely feel like a weirdo when I use it. I'm aware I am not a special snowflake.
I'm also sure I can't possibly answer all of the opinions offered. I'm not even really trying to argue here, just vent my frustration. Again, I am sincere in my thanks for everybody who has posted. I'm trying here, just need some help.
We've all had moments of frustration and wanting to throw this whole thing out the window (my own rant post from a few weeks ago is in the maintenance forum area
). The important thing is to think about the advice given and then come up with a plan of action to get things back on track! 0 -
Just a note: weighing food is not OCD. Eventually you'll get better at estimating portions when you start weighing food. I do have OCD and weighing food is not part of it at all. OCD usually comes paired with anxiety and it's a totally different ballgame.
OCD is something like not being able to do things because of your compulsions, or not feeling satisfied over it. An example of this is not being able to go outside sometimes because I feel like something bad may happen, or not being able to touching anything in the sink because I feel like it's dirty and contaminated and I will get genuinely upset if I accidentally touch something in the sink. And I cannot touch other people's dishes, or eat off their plates, I can't stand food touching, etc.0 -
I know there's a lot of attitude in my posts, but the point I'm trying to make is that I can't be overeating my calorie goal by double and not realizing it. That's what I would have to be doing to gain the amount of weight I have gained in a month's time.
There's a relatively simple way to test this out. Fancy being part of a science experiment of one?
Given your stats and current intake (irrespective of the lack of exercise) you should be losing weight without question. A month would generally be sufficient for natural fluctuations to be accounted for on the scale (ignore the home body fat reading though - they are next to useless.)
Now this is going to prove a little boring, and possibly a bit expensive, but it can put your mind at rest so it may be possibly worth the investment.
There are numerous companies out there who market pre packaged meals / meal replacements and so on where they state they give accurate calorie counts (although they can be a little off the calorie level you will be keeping should budget for this.) Many of these companies target sports nutrition as well so it doesn't have to be poor nutritional choice supermarket ready meals.
For two weeks eat 1,800 calories per day with these products only. See if you lose weight.
You want to know what my money is on?
Getting a food scale, estimating a portion and then weighing it would be far cheaper, but it's a good point.
Sure, my point was really directed to making the point that if the OP gets a higher degree of consistency and accuracy over this calorie count he will probably start losing weight rather than him not being physically able to lose weight at 1,800 cals per day.0 -
I know you feel the entries you're picking are "close enough" but if you're gaining weight....they just aren't close enough. They're way off. If you're steadily gaining weight, you're just eating too many calories. If you really don't want to try weighing your food for awhile (I get it, I really do) you could lower your calorie goal by a few hundred, and continue to log inaccurately. Maybe that will get you to the 1800 you actually want to hit. So if you're goal is 1500, you hit that on MFP, but in reality you're consuming 1800 when you add in the food diary discrepancies, perhaps you'll start to lose again.0
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Fundamentally, there's only three things that could be happening, possibly in combination:
1. Your actual calories in are higher than you estimate.
2. Your actual calories out (TDEE) are lower than you estimate.
3. You are seeing changes in weight from things other than fat, such as water weight.1 -
Disregard everything you've read in this thread, here's the answer you're looking for:
You are a special snowflake. Your body's biological functions are so unlike any other that no matter what you do, you can't lose weight. In fact, your body is so uniquely efficient that it can produce extra energy to store when it takes in less energy than it needs. You will soon be contacted by physicists to be studied as you break the basic laws of energy.
WHY THEM AND NOT ME?!
You get yours later.
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.blues4miles wrote: »Disregard everything you've read in this thread, here's the answer you're looking for:
You are a special snowflake. Your body's biological functions are so unlike any other that no matter what you do, you can't lose weight. In fact, your body is so uniquely efficient that it can produce extra energy to store when it takes in less energy than it needs. You will soon be contacted by physicists to be studied as you break the basic laws of energy.
WHY THEM AND NOT ME?!
I always think of Captain America and how (in the movie at least) they state his metabolism is 4x that of a normal person's. So if a normal sedentary guy is like, what, 2,200 calories? That's at least 8,800 calories, not accounting for his muscle mass and his non-sedentary lifestyle. How is the guy not eating all day? Also, I want to be able to eat 8,000 calories a day...sure it would get expensive. But it would deliciously expensive. Also the movie message of the first movie seems very pro-steroid...just sayin'...
He's got some high cal snacks hidden around his uniform, the strap of the shield is also a jerky for emergencies. Stark Technologies thinks of everything.0 -
Just read your post title again. Is this possible? No. You're just not eating at 700 under.0
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If you're logging by estimation and not losing as expected, but actually gaining, then 'close enough' is not close enough. If its been only a few weeks though, it may be too soon to determine if you're gaining or just trending around a point due to water weight.
Try to avoid food choices for the next few weeks where you have to guess. That will help improve your accuracy.0 -
never weigh before bed as your weight in most cases will be higher. weigh first thing in the morning after you use the bathroom and either naked or in your underwear. same time and same way whether weekly or daily. this will give you a more accurate weight.0
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I think this is an issue for a doctor. Scale or no scale there is no way in heck the man is over eating maintenance plus 3500 cals, unless he's straight blind2
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lemonychild wrote: »I think this is an issue for a doctor. Scale or no scale there is no way in heck the man is over eating maintenance plus 3500 cals, unless he's straight blind
If that was true then he would have gained weight at a seriously alarming rate before he started his diet. He didn't mention it, and I would think that's fairly unlikely. If TO is gaining water weight (yes, you can feel the difference to fat) then he should be rushing to the next E&R right away, but also that seems unlikely. It's really easy to overeat massively.1 -
I had my struggle with the food scale too. I came to MFP bitching and whining because I couldn't lose any weight, despite exercising.
I've since lost 77 pounds, and have a hell of a long road ahead of me. The change was that I bought a food scale. I was measuring in cups with the impression that whatever I could fit into the measuring cup constituted a cup. This is SO incorrect. A "full" cup is a bit below the top of the measuring cup, and in some cases I was doubling my portion sizes!
You say your steak was 12 ounces. Awesome! Unfortunately, it's very easy to get an extra ounce or two without realizing it. Even if exactly the same size, yours may have been a bit thicker, etc. Additionally, keep in mind that cooking changes food weight. Cuz, water!
Your generic entries are going to be your downfall. How big was the banana you ate? How many grams was the french roll? Find me one baker anywhere who is able to get exactly the same roll size every single time. Serving sizes vary.
You will become accustomed to weighing your food. I stick my plate on the scale, turn it on, plop my food on it, and press the tare button in between food types. In the morning I set my cup of coffee on the scale, turn it on, and watch the grams creep up while I pour in my heavy cream. By the way, that cream? 100 calories per tablespoon. A few DROPS could double my calorie intake if not weighed.
No one is trying to be mean. We're definitely trying to help! Please buy a food scale.3 -
You should look into insulin resistance and intermittent fasting, Look up both on youtube, I have, and am losing now.0
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Actually, no. I weighed myself before bed last night and was too angry at myself to sleep, so I wrote those two posts. Then I woke up and had to work 12 hours straight (with no lunch break, mind you) because one co-worker no-showed and the other started vomiting and ended up going home.Pretty sure OP has stomped their foot and run off because we keep telling them what they don't want to hear.
I feel like I owe this thread an apology. I was full of anger when I wrote my posts last night, and now I am full of shame. I see lots of advice, which is exactly what I was asking for. I wanted to thank anybody who took the time to respond for their time.
I should have picked a better time to "come out" with my open diary and bare my self to the internet. Yes, my diary entries in the last few days show increasingly poor food choices. I feel this is a reflection of my depressed self, on the subject of my increasing mass and girth. It's that feedback cycle of eating and depression and more eating....
Weighing every ounce of food that I need seems seriously obsessive-compulsive to me, but what I'm doing obviously isn't working. I will consider a food scale, but I'll definitely feel like a weirdo when I use it. I'm aware I am not a special snowflake.
I'm also sure I can't possibly answer all of the opinions offered. I'm not even really trying to argue here, just vent my frustration. Again, I am sincere in my thanks for everybody who has posted. I'm trying here, just need some help.
Glad you came back!
I find using a digital food scale much faster and accurate than using cups. Plus there are no cups to wash. I first saw a food scale when I was an assistant baker. All the commercial bakers I know prefer them to cups. It's just more accurate, which is important in baking, and weight loss.0 -
That's why I don't keep my food diary public. I ate a lot of junk yesterday, but I also exercised and had a net of 1400 cals. I don't care what others eat, it's not my business.0
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No kidding on the bolded text. My husband thinks I am definitely spooky now. I can't tell you how many times, since using the scale, I can reach into a package of shredded cheese and pull out exactly 14 grams. Last night I really freaked him out by pouring out 51g of cereal to a "T" without batting an eye.sunnybeaches105 wrote: »Weighing your food may seem weird and obsessive compulsive, but it will teach you portion control and will be very eye opening. Go buy a cheap digital scale from Walmart and try it for a couple of weeks. Trust us on this one.
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I hear you about the OCD thing. I FINALLY bought food scales (one for work, one for home) because I'm not losing weight. But I thought it was a bit much when I heard about having to weigh food too. I'm hoping that by weighing food I'll get a better knack for eyeballing how much a certain amount really is!1
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butterfli7o wrote: »I hear you about the OCD thing. I FINALLY bought food scales (one for work, one for home) because I'm not losing weight. But I thought it was a bit much when I heard about having to weigh food too. I'm hoping that by weighing food I'll get a better knack for eyeballing how much a certain amount really is!
Hate to say, but your eyes lie to your brain. If you just want an approximate size and you're not worried about being off by a bit, have at. There have been so many posts from people saying they can't lose weight and when we say weigh, they say they can eye ball it because they weighed food for years.
We're unreliable to ourselves!
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YMMV, but I thought weighing food was going to feel obsessive and be time-consuming, but it isn't. There are some quick tricks:
- For peanut butter, purchased salad dressing, etc.: Put the container on the scale, zero it, pour/dip a portion, put the container back on the scale, read the negative number & record that.
- For things you assemble on a plate/bowl (salad) or in a pot (stew/spaghetti sauce), put the pot on the scale, zero, put in an ingredient, record; zero, put in another ingredient, record; etc.
- For stuff like bananas, weigh the banana, eat, weigh the peel, do a little arithmetic, record.
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