Sooooo frustrated! Help!

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Replies

  • lisaishere
    lisaishere Posts: 24 Member
    edited May 2016
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Stalls happen. If your period is due soon, you could just be retaining water.

    And yeah, they frequently give you more food at Chipotle, so I'd try to pack your own lunch as much as possible.

    This may be an issue too. I just changed birth control pills and haven't had a period in 6 weeks as a result! Maybe I'm just backed up! Lol.
  • charleycartee
    charleycartee Posts: 49 Member
    edited May 2016
    lisaishere wrote: »
    Lunch at work: Usually
    1) A salad from Chipotle: Grilled Chicken, peppers, Salsa, Lettuce, cheese (according to their website calculator, this is a 345 calorie lunch.
    I would suspect that the chipotle salad might be a place you're unknowingly picking up extra calories. They will often give you more than what the calculator says, which can bump the calories significantly.

    For example, the serving size for the calculator on the cheese is 1oz. They could very easily double or even triple that.

    My rule of thumb is that whatever their calculator says I bump it up by at least 25% (or even 50% or more depending on how heavy handed they are making it)

  • Krissi1330
    Krissi1330 Posts: 16 Member
    lisaishere wrote: »
    Krissi1330 wrote: »
    I'm 5'2" also, and I find losing hard. I'm only down 3-4 pounds too, but I think I know why. The MFP program could not create a calculation for me to lose weight unless I worked out twice a week. I try to make that happen, but sometimes I fall short. That makes my weight loss stagnant. I don't know how many calories you eat or burn in a day, but I pretty much have to eliminate carbs to get the scale to move. I hate it, but it has always been hard for me to lose much. Losing the extra weight on diet alone doesn't work for me.

    I'll second this. I'm 5'2" and I have to mostly eliminate carbs to reach/maintain weight goals. I'm sure the CICO argument is valid, but honestly I can eat a ton of calories from high fat/high protein/low carb and still lose weight, yet gain too much on calorie restricted higher carb diets. That's along with exercise - weight lifting and running.
    I'm 5'2" also, and I find losing hard. I'm only down 3-4 pounds too, but I think I know why. The MFP program could not create a calculation for me to lose weight unless I worked out twice a week. I try to make that happen, but sometimes I fall short. That makes my weight loss stagnant. I don't know how many calories you eat or burn in a day, but I pretty much have to eliminate carbs to get the scale to move. I hate it, but it has always been hard for me to lose much. Losing the extra weight on diet alone doesn't work for me. Working out is difficult because I have knee issues. I just have to do the best I can and if I see any loss at all, I feel like it's progress. You are right, though. I will probably be dead before I reach my goal.

    Maybe I will give the low-carb thing a try for a bit to see if I can swing the scale.... anything at this point! I don't eat a ton of carbs or processed food to begin with, but maybe a specific effort to cute them out completely will make the difference. Do you do ATKINS when you go low-carb?

    When I first did low-carb, I followed the primal blueprint diet. Tons of vegetables, meat, full-fat dairy, nuts, minimal fruit except berries. My energy was through the roof and I could fast without craving food. Obviously there's plenty to argue against that diet too, but I'm just sharing personal experience. My weight dropped to 108. I stopped exercising because of a major surgery, started eating like crap again, and gained, so I'm back to experimenting.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    I'm 5'2" and have no problem losing weight. How tall/short you are doesn't mean you have to go low carb or do VLCD. Either tighten up your logging and/or move more. Though I would bring a scale to work to weigh my lunch, you don't have to. If you're getting take-out, stick to eating half of it (especially from Chipotle).
  • Krissi1330
    Krissi1330 Posts: 16 Member
    Krissi1330 wrote: »
    I'm 5'2" also, and I find losing hard. I'm only down 3-4 pounds too, but I think I know why. The MFP program could not create a calculation for me to lose weight unless I worked out twice a week. I try to make that happen, but sometimes I fall short. That makes my weight loss stagnant. I don't know how many calories you eat or burn in a day, but I pretty much have to eliminate carbs to get the scale to move. I hate it, but it has always been hard for me to lose much. Losing the extra weight on diet alone doesn't work for me.

    I'll second this. I'm 5'2" and I have to mostly eliminate carbs to reach/maintain weight goals. I'm sure the CICO argument is valid, but honestly I can eat a ton of calories from high fat/high protein/low carb and still lose weight, yet gain too much on calorie restricted higher carb diets. That's along with exercise - weight lifting and running.

    Calorie is a calorie. Body doesn't care if it's from fat, protein or carbs really. Only difference is that low carb can make you lose some water weight... which comes back. And also carb high diet can make you feel hungrier in general. CICO works. Being short doesn't change anything. The only reason to avoid some food group is health issues or personal preference... but it won't have effect on weight loss. If you eat under your TDEE you will be losing weight. And OP is losing weight, only slowly. Which suggests she's eating close to her maintenance calories. There are several possibilities: inaccurate logging, overestimating exercise calories, lower TDEE than calculator assumes for a person of her age and size (health problems- thyroid etc.). For 5'2 sedentary person TDEE can be around 1500... so if there is issue with logging it could easily wipe out exercise deficit. I'm also 5'2, started at 149 now at 132 lbs (in 15 weeks), doing usually 11-13 k steps a day and eat between 1200-1400 kcal a day. If weight is not coming off:

    1. Tighten food logging
    2. Move more
    3. Rule out health issues if you are sure your logging is correct
    4. Be patient...4 lbs loss is better than nothing

    Good luck!

    I'm not arguing against CICO, and no, height isn't the issue - my mother is 4'11", eats a high-carb vegan diet, and weighs 90 lbs. Just an anecdotal "me too." But I realized reading this that a major problem for me is my workouts suffer when I eat carbs. They make me feel sluggish and cause notable energy/blood sugar fluctuations - I don't run as hard or lift as much when I'm blah, so it's possible that I burn more calories through exercise when I'm more energetic from low-carb.
  • lisaishere
    lisaishere Posts: 24 Member
    I am going to try an cut the carbs for a bit. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are not really an issue. Even the Chipotle, I get that usually once a week.

    Looking back at my food diary, I think dinners are the issue. I have to come up with a better strategy.

    Right now, my sitter cooks for us while I am at work (I don't get home from work until around 7:30 - so the kids usually eat before I get home, or are anxiously waiting for me to get home). She's a better much better child-care provider than healthy-chef though! We have four hungry, active, growing kids, none with a weight problem at all.... and they eat a LOT!

    I'm so happy to have dinner cooked and cleaned, and the kids fed that I don't get too fussy about what she makes. I try and dole out a small portion for myself of whatever she makes, but there is always a LOT of food! Sometimes it's healthy, with good low-carb options, and sometimes it's not (like she'll make a big casserole with chicken, noodles and cheesy broccoli or something). I'm so hungry by then, that I'll just eat whatever she makes. I try to keep the portions small, but I don't really know how many calories are in those things.

    I need to have some other easy to heat-up options in the house for myself on those nights.
  • Alarae21
    Alarae21 Posts: 171 Member
    I'm 5'3 and while we don't have the luxury of a slightly higher TDEE in comparison to a sedentary taller person, it would only make a hundred or so calorie difference.

    The real deal is tightening up your logging. A small deficit can be easily wiped out with meals you can't determine the calories for- often they contain a lot more than you think! Trust in foods you make yourself.

    If you want a treat, don't deny yourself it. Just make it fit! Go for an extra walk. Don't just eat it, earn it :)
  • lisaishere
    lisaishere Posts: 24 Member
    Alarae21 wrote: »
    I'm 5'3 and while we don't have the luxury of a slightly higher TDEE in comparison to a sedentary taller person, it would only make a hundred or so calorie difference.

    The real deal is tightening up your logging. A small deficit can be easily wiped out with meals you can't determine the calories for- often they contain a lot more than you think! Trust in foods you make yourself.

    If you want a treat, don't deny yourself it. Just make it fit! Go for an extra walk. Don't just eat it, earn it :)

    Just did a TDEE from http://mytdee.com/:

    It says: 1920 is my TDEE, and

    We suggest the following for your goal to Lose Fat
    1536 Calories per day

    Your goal weight of 125 lbs can be reached by:
    Sun, Jan 15, 2017

    Or, 36 weeks 4 days from today

    I'm confused now? Maybe eating 1500 calories a day is better than eating 1200?? Which is what I am trying to do? MFP - put me at a 1200 per day net calories goal.
  • KorvapuustiPossu
    KorvapuustiPossu Posts: 434 Member
    edited May 2016
    Eating more won't help lose weight faster. You are already eating almost at maintenance since your weight loss is quite slow. Your problem is in inaccuracy of food logging. When calculating TDEE you probably put some exercise in...that's why it's higher than MFP number - but MFP doesn't include exercise-only basic everyday activity. If you actual TDEE is 1920 and you ate 1200 a day you'd have 720 deficit a day and would lose just under 1.5 lbs/week. Since you are not losing that much you are quite likely overeating by a good amount (those dinners that are guesstimated) and also TDEE might be a bit lower than what calculator suggests (they are not 100% accurate for everyone).
  • ridge4mfp
    ridge4mfp Posts: 301 Member
    lisaishere wrote: »
    kmbrooks15 wrote: »
    What calorie limit are you trying to sustain? Sometimes weight loss can stall if you're not eating enough (sounds weird, I know!).

    MFP tells me 1200 net calories to lose 1 pound a week. If I go to sites basedon my BMR, they say that 1200 calories is more like .8 pounds a week. I am finding it to be more like .25 pounds a week! It's soooooo painfully slow!

    In case you are not aware, MFP will not assign anything lower than 1200 for a female. If you chose to lose 1 lb per week, and the calculation came out less than 1200, it is going to give you 1200, period. I would check on what it gives you for .5 lb a week. If it still comes out 1200 or only slightly higher, then 1 lb per week is too aggressive for your stats.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited May 2016
    lisaishere wrote: »
    I actually DO weigh my food and measure it when possible. At work in the office - if I grab a banana from the deli I do not. But that's a good point. Maybe I will skip fruits and get pre-measured things like a simply 100.
    Do you use the scale for all solid and semi solid foods and leave the cups/spoons to liquids only?
    Even pre-packaged foods aren't accurate. Weigh all meats/grains/pastas/vegetables raw. Weigh peanut butter/butter/mayonnaise and use cups for liquids only. Even spoons can be off.

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    lisaishere wrote: »
    Alarae21 wrote: »
    I'm 5'3 and while we don't have the luxury of a slightly higher TDEE in comparison to a sedentary taller person, it would only make a hundred or so calorie difference.

    The real deal is tightening up your logging. A small deficit can be easily wiped out with meals you can't determine the calories for- often they contain a lot more than you think! Trust in foods you make yourself.

    If you want a treat, don't deny yourself it. Just make it fit! Go for an extra walk. Don't just eat it, earn it :)

    Just did a TDEE from http://mytdee.com/:

    It says: 1920 is my TDEE, and

    We suggest the following for your goal to Lose Fat
    1536 Calories per day

    Your goal weight of 125 lbs can be reached by:
    Sun, Jan 15, 2017

    Or, 36 weeks 4 days from today

    I'm confused now? Maybe eating 1500 calories a day is better than eating 1200?? Which is what I am trying to do? MFP - put me at a 1200 per day net calories goal.

    I'm 5"8 and 148lbs and that calculator gave me similar numbers to yours, I chose lightly active.

    Your TDEE is:
    1929
    Calories per day
    We suggest the following for your goal to Lose Fat
    1544
    Calories per day
    Your goal weight of 143.1 lbs can be reached by:
    Sat, Jun 18, 2016
    Or, 6 weeks 2 days from today
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