Stuck for weeks at this weight
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I can't wrap my head around that...I lost weight before and never weighed a thing.if the cereal box days bran flakes 3/4 cup I measure 3/4 cup....why weigh something that has nutritional values given to me as cups, tablespoons, 3 cookies, one slice,of bread?
Because most people don't use a food scale and the manufacturers are providing the closest volume measurement to what the weight is (you'll notice they also provide the weight 99% of the time). It's the same as baking in the US, we use volume for dry ingredients rather than the much more precise weight.
Try an experiment with a few of your foods: take oatmeal. Measure out whatever the serving is on the container - let's say quaker Oats. On the package you see 1/2 cup dry (40 g) is one serving. Measure out your 1/2 cup, then weight that serving to see if they match. Most of the time, you will find they differ. Using a volume measurement for a solid is greatly inaccurate. You could possibly be adding hundreds of calories per day just by this.
It's wonderfully demonstrated here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=XpHykP6e_Uk
https://youtube.com/watch?v=TGcdyfDM3oQ
EDIT: I see a number of other people posted this same info at the same time
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I can't wrap my head around that...I lost weight before and never weighed a thing.if the cereal box days bran flakes 3/4 cup I measure 3/4 cup....why weigh something that has nutritional values given to me as cups, tablespoons, 3 cookies, one slice,of bread?
Because I've weighed things that I've measured out and the measurements are almost ALWAYS off in the wrong way.
For example: Cereal. My box of cereal says that 56g should be about 2/3 a cup. I have weighed things out and 56g ends up being 1/3 or 1/2 a cup. So by using 2/3 of a cup, you are actually getting 90g instead of 56g. Since my cereal is 210 calories per serving (56g), the measuring cup being off means that you end up having 337.5 calories instead of 210. That's more than a hundred off.
I also notice that you come in pretty close at the end of the day when you total up your calories. If you're eating back your exercise calories, that could definitely cause problems. I try to have at least 100-200 left over, if not more, to account for any discrepancies in underestimating food or overestimating calories burned.
It's a very fine balance that takes some tuning.0 -
I was always told to eat back most of those calories you earned since mfp sets a deficit when you set things up if how active you are and how much you would like to lose a week
See this is just contradictions and confusion0 -
Ugh...this is just frustrating. I think I am just going to give up just to not have this headache anymore. This is worse than having another full time job0
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I was always told to eat back most of those calories you earned since mfp sets a deficit when you set things up if how active you are and how much you would like to lose a week
See this is just contradictions and confusion
Eating back calories would be fine assuming that you are 100% accurate on how many calories you burned and how much you eat. Since you do not weigh your food, I am certain you are not 100% accurate in how much you are consuming. Also, it is impossible to be 100% accurate with your exercise. By assuming that you are going to be inaccurate, and giving yourself some wiggle room instead of trying to eat most all of your daily allowance of calories, you are going to see better results.
If you don't believe me, then just try it for a week or two. Buy a food scale, weigh out your food. Also, don't use MFP to count calories. If it doesn't have a label, don't eat it (fruit and veggies excluded since raw items are pretty standard in calories). Make sure you are logging accurately. Then if you think we're all full of it, and you are actually eating what you think you are eating (and what you're logging), no harm no foul.
Also try to come in with 200 spare calories at the end of the day.
If that doesn't help, then either we're all wrong or you may want to go to your doctor.3 -
So lets say I make my family a salad I have to weigh out every tomato every pepper ever portion of lettuce every cucumber slice then effing pick it all to bits and reweigh it when I put my portion in my individual bowl?
See...this is ludicrous! Plus by the time I figured all the math I would too pissed to eat that damn salad.
Omg am I the only one who sees that things should not be this anal and scientific? Salad is healthy....but after all that prep and math and science, that salad is a NIGHTMARE!
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I have gone to the Dr. I have PCOS. Making weight loss extremely difficult.AmandaOmega wrote: »I was always told to eat back most of those calories you earned since mfp sets a deficit when you set things up if how active you are and how much you would like to lose a week
See this is just contradictions and confusion
Eating back calories would be fine assuming that you are 100% accurate on how many calories you burned and how much you eat. Since you do not weigh your food, I am certain you are not 100% accurate in how much you are consuming. Also, it is impossible to be 100% accurate with your exercise. By assuming that you are going to be inaccurate, and giving yourself some wiggle room instead of trying to eat most all of your daily allowance of calories, you are going to see better results.
If you don't believe me, then just try it for a week or two. Buy a food scale, weigh out your food. Also, don't use MFP to count calories. If it doesn't have a label, don't eat it (fruit and veggies excluded since raw items are pretty standard in calories). Make sure you are logging accurately. Then if you think we're all full of it, and you are actually eating what you think you are eating (and what you're logging), no harm no foul.
Also try to come in with 200 spare calories at the end of the day.
If that doesn't help, then either we're all wrong or you may want to go to your doctor.
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So lets say I make my family a salad I have to weigh out every tomato every pepper ever portion of lettuce every cucumber slice then effing pick it all to bits and reweigh it when I put my portion in my individual bowl?
See...this is ludicrous! Plus by the time I figured all the math I would too pissed to eat that damn salad.
Omg am I the only one who sees that things should not be this anal and scientific? Salad is healthy....but after all that prep and math and science, that salad is a NIGHTMARE!
For things like this, I enjoy using MFP's recipe designer. You can put in how much lettuce you use, how many tomatoes, etc, and what your portion size is meant to be (Is it for just one person? Four people?). And also, Salad is not what I'm worried about (aside from dressings). As pointed out in some of the video's higher calorie foods, like oatmeal, cereal, etc, can really add up if you're off even by 10-20 grams. The one video that showed identical looking meals had a difference of 1700 calories and 2900. Just in regards to how much butter is used, how much peanut butter, the amount of chips, etc.
Just some thoughts. I'm not trying to discourage, just offer some advice and insight.3 -
OP, you can use the recipe tool if you are cooking a big dish for the family.
Using the food scale is a pain in the kitten for a couple of weeks, but just like anything else you do in life, it gets easier and easier until it becomes second nature. I don't even have to think about it anymore.
Honestly, you have to decide if losing the weight is worth some aggravation to learn how to use this tool effectively. There are thousands of people here who have done just that, and most of us are busy people with families who are not math geniuses. Best of luck.2 -
OP, somebody's gotta say it, so I will...
Looking at the last several days of your diary, it doesn't look like you are weighing your portions. 1/2 a turnover, one large banana, half a cup of rice. If you aren't weighing your portions most of the time, you could be eating several hundred calories more than you think.
You don't have to never eat out, but you at least should try weighing everything you have at home so you limit how much you might be off. Many folks only have to use the food scale for a period of time until they get the weight loss ball rolling and get a better eye for what a serving looks like, then they can do without until they start not losing again. I was doing great for awhile, then the weight loss stopped, so I got back into the habit of using the scale and got back on track. Just something to think about.
If you eat all your exercise calories back, it's possible that your HRM is overestimating a bit, so you could try only eating back half. Not sure if you are or not though.
There are words you aren't allowed to use here, the system replaces them with "kitten" when you hit "post".
^^^^This. Also, I have been dying to know why everyone says kitten. Thank you for explaining it. 0 -
AmandaOmega wrote: »
Just some thoughts. I'm not trying to discourage, just offer some advice and insight.
For that I thank you!
My doctors are not concerned as much with calories, fat or protein, but carbs so I try to reign those in outside of low starch vegetables which are allowed in abundance.
They actually told me to just do the plate diet and skip the stuff here.
1/2 plate is low veggies, 1/4 lean protein 1/4 a higher starch veg or a grain potato or carb.
Snacks are no more than 15-20 carbs each
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@mom23nuts
Try not to get discouraged. MFP's recipe builder is a life saver when cooking for more than just you! I know it seems like it's time consuming and aggravating. I thought so at first too but I'm down 23lbs since January and I owe most of that to MFP. Until I actually logged, I never realised how much I actually ate. Man was that an eye opener!1 -
Well if the nutritional info is on the container and I have half of the item why do I need to weigh it? I usually do the walk 3 minutes at 4mph then run 1-2min at 5.2 mph so I am doin g some of that ...Same with spinning sometimes it's a slow hill with resistance sometimes it's a fast sprint making up intervals of my. 40-55 minute workout.
Because there is likely more in the container that the label lists. Manufacturers can be penalized for having less product in a container than the stated amount, but not for having too much. Thus, the avoid those penalties they tend to go over, in accounting this is called overage and is part of the cost of business. Depending on the company and the sort of profit margin they run on, those overages can be substantial. Then the portions are not always equal. For example slices of bread, you would think they would be all the same, but once one gets a scale out there can be a fair amount of variability from slice to slice. I have found times where they are the same, but usually they are not. The same can be true for pretty much anything that is pre-portioned.1 -
So weighing everything for a couple weeks is great advice. But you cant really carry a scale around with you. Build in a couple safeguards. Manually set mfp for 100-150 cals less than it wants you to eat. Disable the exercise tracking function so it is not adding cals for exercise. This gives you a cushion for days you don't exercise of 100-150 for underestimating your intake. On days you do exercise allow yourself to go over by 100 cals but only if you really sweated as in shirt was physically wet. Also shut the eating down at least 3 hrs before bed. If I go bed feeling "empty" I lose weight. I wake up hungry and ready to start the day with some good protein and complex carbs to get the engine running. Buy a step counter and rack up 10000 steps per day. Most of us eat more and exercise less than we think.1
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So weighing everything for a couple weeks is great advice. But you cant really carry a scale around with you. Build in a couple safeguards. Manually set mfp for 100-150 cals less than it wants you to eat. Disable the exercise tracking function so it is not adding cals for exercise. This gives you a cushion for days you don't exercise of 100-150 for underestimating your intake. On days you do exercise allow yourself to go over by 100 cals but only if you really sweated as in shirt was physically wet. Also shut the eating down at least 3 hrs before bed. If I go bed feeling "empty" I lose weight. I wake up hungry and ready to start the day with some good protein and complex carbs to get the engine running. Buy a step counter and rack up 10000 steps per day. Most of us eat more and exercise less than we think.
This is solid practical advice! Thanks
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If you don't believe me, then just try it for a week or two. Buy a food scale, weigh out your food. Also, don't use MFP to count calories. If it doesn't have a label, don't eat it (fruit and veggies excluded since raw items are pretty standard in calories). Make sure you are logging accurately. Then if you think we're all full of it, and you are actually eating what you think you are eating (and what you're logging), no harm no foul.
Just tried it with my steel cut oats. The weight is equal to the amount it would have been measuring the dry ingredients listed on the label.
I don't think the people generating the nutrition labels and recipes giving you precise measurements are just winging it when they say 1/3 cup equals X grams or ounces or whatever. I don't eyeball food.
When I measure I don't go with HEAPING measurements. Flat level measurements you run a flat levelling over to scrape away the excess.0 -
I really am starting to consider fasting or a hunger strike or just going nuts on food. Stuck for WEEKS at this weight with no ups or downs and it is getting OLD fast.
I could stand to revamp my food choices, but I usually always have calories left over and give it my all on workouts, but I am feeling like pajamas and chocolate might win me over sooner rather than later if things don't change.
Going for a walk to clear my head, but this makes me feel so defeated.
I feel the same way. I've been stuck at the same 2-3 pounds for almost a month now. Just fluctuate up and down between those same pounds or go up even higher and then back down to that same range. It's very frustrating. I just want to be at goal. It's almost like my body thinks it's eating in maintenance mode and I only get 1200 calories per day.
I don't need to go any lower.
I've tried changing some things up this week and hope that will make a difference at my next official weigh-in in a few days.
Feel free to add me as a friend for motivation and support!1 -
I am thinking of trying weight watchers because you shouldn't have to weigh every morsel or never go out to eat because you can't accurately estimate the weight, calories, ingredients or fat, carbs, sugars, proteins etc.
You shouldn't have to become the girl in a bubble making this a science experiment to get results and become a anal retentive bonkers nutcase over this.
She it starts getting ti that level with no results, it's almost natural to throw in the towel and just live without all of these restrictions with no payback or payoff or rewards....ugh
I do Weight Watchers right now along with tracking my food here at MFP to see what I am actually eating. But I prefer Weight Watchers. I was losing wonderfully and steadily on their plan and came here to MFP about a month ago and stopped losing and my body seems to be maintaining. So as of this week I still log my food here but sticking mainly to the Weight Watchers way. So you may want to consider trying their plan.
And yes! Weigh and measure your foods.0 -
If you don't believe me, then just try it for a week or two. Buy a food scale, weigh out your food. Also, don't use MFP to count calories. If it doesn't have a label, don't eat it (fruit and veggies excluded since raw items are pretty standard in calories). Make sure you are logging accurately. Then if you think we're all full of it, and you are actually eating what you think you are eating (and what you're logging), no harm no foul.
Just tried it with my steel cut oats. The weight is equal to the amount it would have been measuring the dry ingredients listed on the label.
I don't think the people generating the nutrition labels and recipes giving you precise measurements are just winging it when they say 1/3 cup equals X grams or ounces or whatever. I don't eyeball food.
When I measure I don't go with HEAPING measurements. Flat level measurements you run a flat levelling over to scrape away the excess.
You said what you were doing wasn't working, and many people here who have successfully lost the weight shared with you what they learned. If you want to discount the many posts with many examples of how measuring is inaccurate by trying it with one thing, obviously you can. If using the scale is not an acceptable option to you, then you'll need to find something else. After trying everything under the sun, the food scale literally changed my life, so I don't have any other suggestions for you. I hope you find something else that works, best of luck.5 -
Second using a food scale. I saw an entry that was something like 0.37 tablespoons walnut. WTF is that lol??
Using a food scale made every difference in the world to me. I weigh literally everything, packaged things included. All those extra calories (10 here, 7 there) ALL add up, especially when you're like me and are down to the last 8 or so pounds. That target I have to hit every day is pretty small.
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I really am starting to consider fasting or a hunger strike or just going nuts on food. Stuck for WEEKS at this weight with no ups or downs and it is getting OLD fast.
I could stand to revamp my food choices, but I usually always have calories left over and give it my all on workouts, but I am feeling like pajamas and chocolate might win me over sooner rather than later if things don't change.
Going for a walk to clear my head, but this makes me feel so defeated.
Hi! Do some research into flexible dieting! It is possible that you are focusing too much on the overall caloric intake of your food rather than the 'what' you are consuming (i.e. carbs/fats/protein). It is a very real possibility that you are not consuming enough protein! I personally struggle with this, and it is a very common road block for women. As you exercise, your body (ideally) uses the stored fat to repair the muscle tissue. If you are not consuming enough protein, then your body is merely going off of carbohydrates (found in everything-- fruits, veggies, starches-- not just bread!) and then burning muscle.
I have included a link below to an overview of flexible dieting as well as a link to the site of the woman who inspired me to change my life! I hope you find what works for you, and successfully continue on your journey!
https://healthyeater.com/flexible-dieting
https://www.katyhearnfit.com/Results0 -
You said what you were doing wasn't working, and many people here who have successfully lost the weight shared with you what they learned. If you want to discount the many posts with many examples of how measuring is inaccurate by trying it with one thing, obviously you can. If using the scale is not an acceptable option to you, then you'll need to find something else. After trying everything under the sun, the food scale literally changed my life, so I don't have any other suggestions for you. I hope you find something else that works, best of luck.
I guess I just can't wrap my head around how the nutrition label is wrong if it is giving you measurements and what that measurement translates into in weight. It just seemed redundant to measure and then weigh as well. I am not trying to discount the advice of the others, it just didn't seem to be a necessary step if the bread bag says 1 slice = 80 calories and then it gives you the weight of the bread too.
On that note, let's say the slice goes over a bit.....so what do you do then before you make your sandwich.....refigure the math to add in or take out that .1 .2 difference or just lop off and throw away some of the bread?
You can't do that at a restaurant, you can't whip out the scale at subway then disassemble your sub to weight it all out or do you? Or do you live in fear and just stay home and make your own stuff?
Than is what I cannot wrap my head around. I have a book Calorie king that I look stuff up in and even jot down notes of what I ate so I get every item in there before I forget even when out and about.
I really need to find a flexible plan that works for me. I don't even carry a purse let alone a way to tote around a scale to whip out at Ruby Tuesdays.0 -
You don't measure AND weigh it. I put a bowl on the scale, I dump out oatmeal till it hits 40 grams. I put a banana on the scale, see it weighs 129 grams, then I peel it and chop it up into my cereal, weight the empty rind, see it weighs 30 grams, and know I have 99 grams of banana in my bowl. I put a jar of peanut butter on the scale, tare it so it says zero, then I scoop out PB until the scale says -32 grams so I know I have a serving.
I eat out a couple of times a week, and I don't use a scale for that. But since my other meals are spot on, it's not a huge deal if one or two meals a week are off a little. I guesstimate high and keep my fingers crossed. Plus, the more you use the food scale, the better you are at recognizing what a serving of a particular food looks like.
If you are eating out a lot, then you are just going to have to guess. In addition to not being able to weight the serving, you don't know what ingredients they used. And even if they publish nutrition info, that only tells you for the way it's SUPPOSED to be prepared. If you have a server with a heavy hand, or they ran out of one ingredient so they subbed another, it isn't going to be right anyway. And if you aren't losing weight, chances are you are guessing wrong.
Honestly, because of that, when I got serious about losing weight, I also got serious about being in control of my diet. Obviously, if I get invited out to eat or to someone's house for a celebration, i eat what's there and do the best I can and enjoy myself. But I cut out a lot of the "convenience" restaurant eating. I started doing weekly meal prep, pre-logging meals, bringing snacks to work with me. Losing the weight was worth the effort, and now it's effortless. But that was the decision I made for my life. You might have to make a different decision. The only point I wanted to make is that sometimes it's worth it to learn to do something that seems difficult, if it's a skill that will help you for the rest of your life. But there are folks here who have never used a food scale and had success.
Sorry I just typed you a novel! You just have to keep trying stuff until you find the thing that works for you, and give anything you try some time to work (like 4-6 weeks).5 -
You could have metabolic damage. What is your caloric intake daily? Have you cut the calories? If you have cut them too low, you have no where to go. To fix this you would need to reverse diet by increasing your calories by 100 to 200 calories for two to three weeks and continue this until you get to an ideal caloric intake depending on your exercise level.0
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I am at 1600 calories without exercise. I set my goal to lose 1-2 lb a week and I have always been active, just never slim like charts and doctors and insurance riders say I should be for my height. 5'6"You could have metabolic damage. What is your caloric intake daily? Have you cut the calories? If you have cut them too low, you have no where to go. To fix this you would need to reverse diet by increasing your calories by 100 to 200 calories for two to three weeks and continue this until you get to an ideal caloric intake depending on your exercise level.
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Well if the nutritional info is on the container and I have half of the item why do I need to weigh it? I usually do the walk 3 minutes at 4mph then run 1-2min at 5.2 mph so I am doin g some of that ...Same with spinning sometimes it's a slow hill with resistance sometimes it's a fast sprint making up intervals of my. 40-55 minute workout.
Examples of not going by the label ... My 1/2 cup or 130g of black beans are supposed to be the same. They're not. 130g does not fill a half cup. One egg is supposed to be 63g--they're never smaller than 68. One slice of cheese should be 28, always at least 32. One breaded chicken tender is supposed to be 66g, they range from 60 (rare to be under) to 91.
It really is likely you're eating more than you think. All those little calories add up quickly.
You just have to stick with it. We've all been where you are, and most of us will be again. It's a marathon, not a sprint. You're just hitting mile 10 and are about to get your second wind.
Stick with it--you'll never lose the weight if you give up.1 -
It s definitely not a sprint, and it's a lifestyle change...and that takes a lot of work to learn how to do it right and keep yourself honest. Something that many times gets people stuck, is falling into routines. Eating the same foods day in and day out, doing the same exercise. The best advice is look back at your diary and see what weeks rewarded you with a weight loss, and which ones didn't. It's the key to losing weight...knowing what you eat and understanding how it effects your weight. Adjusting for or exercise when needed.
I found WW helped give me some tools for weight loss, but lost interest in the points games and having to continually change tools, scales, books, etc. every time they changed the program. I'm doing just as well here on MFP, actually better, as I never logged meals at WW for 125 days straight. Counting calories is far easier than figuring out points2 -
I am thinking of trying weight watchers because you shouldn't have to weigh every morsel or never go out to eat because you can't accurately estimate the weight, calories, ingredients or fat, carbs, sugars, proteins etc.
I go out to eat all the time; I find something reasonably close in the MFP database and use that. For example, I had a cheese and avocado omelette with bacon with friends for breakfast yesterday and recorded it as three eggs, three strips of bacon, a quarter cup of avocado, and a quarter cup of pepper jack cheese.
It took me a few seconds to do this and to be as accurate as I could. If I miss something, no big deal, it will average out over the week. I spend maybe 2-3 minutes a day recording things, weighing and measuring things, and examining my daily food diary, that's it. If you're spending a lot of time doing this or worrying over the results, you're overthinking things. You're doing battle with yourself in your own head.
I've gone from 267 lbs to 185 lbs doing this, without spending hours at the gym. I record weight losses only, not weight gains and weigh myself no more than once a week. My average weight loss is a pound a week. Your body's a metabolic machine, and if you stick with it, are patient, and are honest with yourself, you'll see results.2 -
positivepowers wrote: »
That is a fantastic chart!0 -
First, I would stop eating back exercise calories, unless it is something that really requires vigorous effort. You have a lot of walks, gardening, shooting baskets (?) etc. These are basically random everyday activities, do not eat these calories back.
Second, use a food scale. Even for just a few weeks. From your diary, I suspect you will be surprised.
Take some examples:
scrambled egg with butter, 90 cals. How big was the egg, and how much butter? Just 15 grams of butter would mean about 100 calories from buttern only. 1 large egg could easily have 80-90 calories alone. So, this entry could in fact be closer to 200 calories.
Cream half and half, 5 tablespoons, 98 calories. Were you tablespoons exactly 15 grams each? Just being 5 grams over would mean 25 grams total more, so 30-40 calories more and so on.
Walnuts, chopped, 0.25 cup, 180 calories. What is 0.25 of cups? was it 20 grams or double this, which would easily bring you above 300 calories?
I agree that using a scale is tiresome and not possible all the time, but you are currently facing a problem. A scale might help you figure out where you are usually making an error in logging.0
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