Stuck for weeks at this weight

AZTeri2016

I just came here to ask the same question, and after reading through all the replies, I get the importance now of weighing EVERYTHING. I'm just at the beginning of this journey, lost 6 pounds by simply cutting out simple carbs, but stuck. Problem is when I go out to eat - which is at minimum 2x a week (because I can't get home and back to appointments at night in time - and don't want to wait until 9:00 pm to eat dinner!), usually more like 3-4. I tend to eat salads then, with little dressing that is usually on the side, and always their lightest dressing - balsamic vinegar if they have it with no oil. I usually eat at Panera on Mondays and record based on their calories, but I'm sure that is not accurate. I'm not working out as much yet - up to 20 minutes on the elliptical, but no heart monitor. Also, I ride on weekends, and I know the calories spent is not accurate there, again because I don't have a heart rate monitor.

I'm going to try to measure as much as I can... but even today is a good example... if we stay after church for the lunch (I'm on staff, and kind of expected to ) then I can't measure. They have salad in addition to the burgers and hot dogs and chips and crud I can't eat, so I'll probably just have that with no dressing, and come home and have something else. Ugh.

nutmegoreo

AZTeri2016 wrote: »

I just came here to ask the same question, and after reading through all the replies, I get the importance now of weighing EVERYTHING. I'm just at the beginning of this journey, lost 6 pounds by simply cutting out simple carbs, but stuck. Problem is when I go out to eat - which is at minimum 2x a week (because I can't get home and back to appointments at night in time - and don't want to wait until 9:00 pm to eat dinner!), usually more like 3-4. I tend to eat salads then, with little dressing that is usually on the side, and always their lightest dressing - balsamic vinegar if they have it with no oil. I usually eat at Panera on Mondays and record based on their calories, but I'm sure that is not accurate. I'm not working out as much yet - up to 20 minutes on the elliptical, but no heart monitor. Also, I ride on weekends, and I know the calories spent is not accurate there, again because I don't have a heart rate monitor.

I'm going to try to measure as much as I can... but even today is a good example... if we stay after church for the lunch (I'm on staff, and kind of expected to ) then I can't measure. They have salad in addition to the burgers and hot dogs and chips and crud I can't eat, so I'll probably just have that with no dressing, and come home and have something else. Ugh.

Honestly, if you are keeping accurate track of everything else, it gives you a better cushion for the meals you have less control over. If you are only doing that once or twice a week, take your best guess, and go with it. You don't need a heart rate monitor, although they are more accurate for steady state cardio. I have a FitBit, the clip on, no heart rate monitor. It works fine. The best way to tell if you are doing things right is to monitor your progress over time. If you've just started out and lost 6 lbs already, then you are not stuck. You won't have a loss every day, and not always every week. There are many things that play havoc with the scale number, so don't get too tied up with it. Here's my data from October to March. Daily weights, notice the ups and downs? Notice the overall trend?

mom23nuts

aggelikik wrote: »

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.

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.

So in your logic, my activities are too mundane and not intense enough to be logged? I don't do basketball with my son on. A regular basis, plus if my 55 min hike up hills daily manages to surpasses 55 min of spinning, why shouldn't it count? Where do you draw the line. What if a heavy person can't be intense. So a 5k doesn't count but a marathon might? My hrm during activity registers at least 70-85% vs a resting 37%....so I am not really buying any of your logic there.

AZTeri2016

Nutmegoreo - thank you, that helps. I ended up guessing today, probably too low, but tomorrow I'm going to weigh, weigh, weigh away! I'm determined to do this so when we go on a cruise this summer, no one will mistake me for a whale !

KatKat1209

mom23nuts wrote: »

aggelikik wrote: »

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.

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.

So in your logic, my activities are too mundane and not intense enough to be logged? I don't do basketball with my son on. A regular basis, plus if my 55 min hike up hills daily manages to surpasses 55 min of spinning, why shouldn't it count? Where do you draw the line. What if a heavy person can't be intense. So a 5k doesn't count but a marathon might? My hrm during activity registers at least 70-85% vs a resting 37%....so I am not really buying any of your logic there.

I think aggelikik just meant it as a tip to try out if it helps and not as in "not worth mentioning" cause there are way cooler or higher calorie burning activities

I'm more or less a newbie here but still had a peek into your diary.. I'm a bit confused with your total calorie intake which varies a lot (from around 1600 to 2200)... daily...
and... to which activity Level did you set you MFP? because "lighter activities" like described above might already been taken into acount through MFP so extra logging is maybe too much? What is you maintenance and weight loss calorie count without extra activities?

And btw.. I understand you are frustrated but I think that everyone here just wants to help you so try taking their advice - since you are the one that asked for it in the first place.
and last but not least neither facial expressions, tone nor body or hand gestures (which we rely on a lot in face to face conversations) can be conveyed with written conversations which makes it a lot more difficult to interprete how something "said" is meant...

LKArgh

mom23nuts wrote: »

aggelikik wrote: »

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.

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.

So in your logic, my activities are too mundane and not intense enough to be logged? I don't do basketball with my son on. A regular basis, plus if my 55 min hike up hills daily manages to surpasses 55 min of spinning, why shouldn't it count? Where do you draw the line. What if a heavy person can't be intense. So a 5k doesn't count but a marathon might? My hrm during activity registers at least 70-85% vs a resting 37%....so I am not really buying any of your logic there.

Logging and eating back calories is not done to look cool and compete with others, it is done to help you lose weight. Which is not happening to you right now. If someone spends e.g. 2 hours running per day, it makes perfect sense to eat extra calories, because this is a lot of calories and the body needs to replace them. Activities which do not burn too many calories, and are more like being active through everyday life, they are hard to estimate and eating back these calories might kick you out of your deficit. And no, this does not make them any less important. If anything, a person who is overall active is usually more able to keep this lifestyle for longer and remain in good shape.

12Sarah2015

Have you measured your waist etc, or tried smaller clothes I hqdnt budged for two weeks but measured much less in inches

mom23nuts

Well. The plateau is broken and haven't weighed any food and I don't plan to.

My husband agreed with me. I am doing what I can eating healthy and stepping up activity all around, whether some people consider it enough or not.

I have to do something sustainable and realistic before it becomes something I give up on. I know myself, I am not going to be bothered weighing stuff out, u barely have the tolerance to dug out the food containers from freezer or trash to fix all all the nutritional errors here.

I would be MORE likely to give up weighing food and give up in the plan vs waiting out a plateau