Am I delirious or is this really how it works?

sammy_c_read
sammy_c_read Posts: 22 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone so I have been trying to lose around 30 pounds for a year now but can't seem to do it. I eat well in the week and stay within in my calorie budget monday, tuesday, wednesday, and most thursdays but most of the weekends I go over my budget. I work out almost everyday but have never really been consistent on eating perfect every day and working out everyday. Is it normal that I have stayed at completely the same weight 164-166 and not moved up or down? or is something wrong? maybe im just delirious on how hard this really is and its a 24/7 eating right commitment. Starting to get extremely frustrated with myself and this process.

Replies

  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    What is your calorie budget? if you try to eat 1200 calories it is probably not enough - therefore the weekend binges....
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Set your goal .5 per week, it will be slower but you will get more calories per day. If you eat a little lighter during the week you can have more calories for the weekend.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Villae81 wrote: »
    Not meaning to hijack the OP but will it still work if you stay under Cal limit Monday to Friday and stay on maintenance on Sat and Sun?

    That would work too!
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    Villae81 wrote: »
    Not meaning to hijack the OP but will it still work if you stay under Cal limit Monday to Friday and stay on maintenance on Sat and Sun?

    I know eat under my calorie goal on Monday-Friday and eat enough to maintain on Saturdays and Sunday. I have been able to lose weight this way just fine. :) But if I eat more than maintenance on weekends, I always stall on my weightloss temporarily :/
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Villae81 wrote: »
    Not meaning to hijack the OP but will it still work if you stay under Cal limit Monday to Friday and stay on maintenance on Sat and Sun?

    Of course. You could eat maintenance 6 days a week and in a deficit 1 day and it would work to gradually lower your weight.
  • DaniCanadian
    DaniCanadian Posts: 261 Member
    Say you eat at a 250 calorie deficit 4 days of the week, that's a 1000 cal deficit or just under 1/3 of a lb. Then say you go over your maintenance calories by 250 for the other 3 days. That's 750 Cals subtracted from your deficit which means you only get a 250 cal deficit for the whole week. It would take you 14.4 weeks just to lose a pound. The math doesn't lie.
    You sound like me where by the end of the week I kind of get a '*kitten* it' attitude and am not strict with myself. After I'm done breast feeding, I'm going to do intermittent fasting. My way will be 3 days of 500 Cals and 4 days of 2200 Cals (so I can still indulge a bit) interspersed. So one day 500, the next 2200. Might be worth looking into for you as well. Good luck :-)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    scjamieson644 wrote: »
    Hey everyone so I have been trying to lose around 30 pounds for a year now but can't seem to do it. I eat well in the week and stay within in my calorie budget monday, tuesday, wednesday, and most thursdays but most of the weekends I go over my budget. I work out almost everyday but have never really been consistent on eating perfect every day and working out everyday. Is it normal that I have stayed at completely the same weight 164-166 and not moved up or down? or is something wrong? maybe im just delirious on how hard this really is and its a 24/7 eating right commitment. Starting to get extremely frustrated with myself and this process.

    As you have found, your weekends erased the deficit you created during the week.

    I was able to lose 30 pounds in the past year because I set very reasonable weekly weight loss goals and therefore felt no urge to overeat on the weekends. I started with losing 1 pound per week and recently decreased it to a half pound per week. I didn't find it hard at all. I do eat a little more on the weekends, but I also exercise more on those days.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    If I were you, I would make a budget of my calories where I "bank" a few every day, and then on Saturday, you eat your regular meals (still tracking) and then you have your regular calories along with whatever you've saved up.

    For example: I used to eat at 1,250 calories per day six days a week faithfully. Then on the seventh day, I would eat up to 800 calories and I would have about 2,000-2,500 to spend for a huge meal and drinks. It always worked and I managed to lose a lot of weight doing that.

  • WakkoW
    WakkoW Posts: 567 Member
    I pay more attention to weekly totals than daily.

    I'd recommend you lower your expectations and be happy with a slower weight loss. If you consistently lost 1-2 pounds a month, you would be down 12-24 pounds this year. You wouldn't feel the need to binge on weekends. My guess is that you are severely undereating 4 days a week leading to overeating 3 days and wiping out any deficit.
  • mfmetsker
    mfmetsker Posts: 26 Member
    This is a great post. I'm struggling with the same thing and have made it my goal (for now) to just log EVERYTHING. Even if it's embarrassing and over maintenance. This way, I you can actually see how much you're really eating and accept the flubs, learn and move on.

    I like the idea of saving up a "bank" for the weekend splurge. But it's still important to count.
    Add me as a friend and I'll be happy to keep you accountable:)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,633 Member
    scjamieson644 wrote: »
    Hey everyone so I have been trying to lose around 30 pounds for a year now but can't seem to do it. I eat well in the week and stay within in my calorie budget monday, tuesday, wednesday, and most thursdays but most of the weekends I go over my budget. I work out almost everyday but have never really been consistent on eating perfect every day and working out everyday. Is it normal that I have stayed at completely the same weight 164-166 and not moved up or down? or is something wrong? maybe im just delirious on how hard this really is and its a 24/7 eating right commitment. Starting to get extremely frustrated with myself and this process.

    That's exactly how I got here in the first place. I was doing pretty much what you are doing and would remain the same for weeks or even a month or two ... and then I'd gain a tiny bit. Then I'd remain there for quite a while ... and then I'd gain a tiny bit.

    The whole thing was so slow and subtle I didn't really pay attention to what was happening. And then one day ... I was overweight.

    In order to lose weight (and I've lost 55 lbs ... back down to a weight I never imagined I would reach), I had to weigh and measure and log everything, and stick to the diet like glue 7 days a week. I did that for 16 weeks straight, and lost about 33 lbs in that time. Then I took a 1-month break while I decided what I wanted to do next ... and then resumed at a slightly higher calorie level for another 16 weeks and lost 22 lbs more.

    And for me, it's not about "eating right" ... I eat whatever I want, I just keep it within my calorie limit.

    Also, if I want to eat more (like pizza and cheesecake on the weekend), I exercise for it. I enjoy exercise so I get the best of both worlds that way. :)

  • DanSTL82
    DanSTL82 Posts: 156 Member
    This depends on:

    1. What is your "budget" Monday through Thursday? Is it well under maintenance, or just slightly below maintenance?

    2. How much do you go "over" on the weekends? Is it just a slight bit, or are you binging on pizza and beer every day and going 1,000+ over maintenance?

    The higher both numbers are, the more likely you won't lose weight (and may even gain).

    Budget yourself less calories on weekdays so you can have a bit more on the weekends. As long as your weekly deficit is high, you'll lose weight, even if your daily deficits vary and you go over on a couple days.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Let's say you eat at a 1000 calories deficit 4 days a week because you set MFP for 2 lbs per week. You could easily negate that in the other 3 days. You would have to overeat by only 1500 or so per day, which isn't that hard to do.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    I can't speak for anyone else, but I can easily wipe out an entire week's calorie deficit in a single day. Your body logs everything you eat, whether you record and it or not.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,324 Member
    Don't eat your exercise calories back during the week…and allow yourself only one cheat day on the weekend..and I bet you lose doing that. You obviously don't want to live being strictly on a diet all week long..so don't.
  • giomarine13
    giomarine13 Posts: 10 Member
    Try changing up your workout routine to something your body isn't used to. I recommend swimming
  • VeganRaptor
    VeganRaptor Posts: 164 Member
    Keep in mind that MFP overestimates the calories you burn!
  • lasirena624
    lasirena624 Posts: 41 Member
    Just like you I wanted to loose weight but could not seem to do it! Once I followed the advice that others are sharing here about making sure I had a weekly calorie deficit the weight steadily started to come off (I am down 18lbs). I measure and weigh everything!
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    I took a glance at your diary. You log things like exactly 4 oz. vodka, 3 oz. chicken breast, 0.5 cups mashed potatoes etc. Either you're super-picky about portioning or you're estimating... and my guess would be that you estimate, a lot. Odds are that you're eating a lot more calories than you think you are, even on the days you're being careful. I think a kitchen scale would benefit you enormously.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    Measuring and logging is 24/7. You can eat more but you have to know how much more exactly.

Categories