Can't seem to lose weight
Replies
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I'm not trying to be rude but I think you might be missing the point. Even with packaged foods the calories can be off enough to make a difference in your weight loss. We are all just trying to help.10 -
But you aren't losing weight. That was the title of your post. You aren't losing weight the way you're doing it now. You're guessing and it isn't working, right?
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how could i be over eating when
07:30 breakfast- Oatmeal or porridge Sometimes i dont even finish the bowl which is never full from the begening
10:30 snack- Banana smoothie or a fruit banana smoothie only has 2-3 bananas
13:00 lunch- vegetables or a sandwich or Salad vegetables are good eitherway, which i put in a lunch box which is a normal lunch box
15:00 Snack- a fruit or usually skip this snack
18:00 Dinner- Pasta or steamed vegetables or fish or a sandwich i usually measure the pasta by cups which i only use a lil bit more than half of cup, and if i would be eating steamed vegetables it wouldn't gain too much weight from a plate of steamed vegetables, and steamed is digested faster than raw anyway
i do assume this is a normal amount for a person who works 8 hrs which includes constant lifting/ moving/walking in a fast pace
Let's take the banana smoothie, for instance. The entry for the bananas I eat is 110 calories for 126 grams. I used to eat a banana and think it was 110 calories. Got a scale. A banana was 180 grams. Making it 157 calories instead of 110. Multiply that 47 calorie difference times 2 or 3 bananas and I'd be 94-141 calories off.
And pasta. I'd pour a cup, cup and a half of pasta and call it a serving. Got a scale, I was eating 1.5-2 times the serving size. The pasta I eat is 210 calories per serving, so I was at least 105 calories off. All of that adds up very, very quickly
Edit: And, even though you said nothing about peanut butter, if you happen to (ever) eat peanut butter, or any nut butter for that matter, with your fruit or what-have-you, a food scale is most certainly recommended because that will mess you up big time. Don't even get me started on the internal tears I shed when I found that out25 -
This mentality is why you are not loosing weight. And why you are on a calorie counting site using eyeball portions and strange ways to measure food is beyond me.
I am trying to get answers to help.. but the insistant method you use seems to be what you want us to confirm is the right way to do this.. its not.
I am going to try one more time to see if OP will provide the following:
How many calories MFP gave her to eat a day?
Do you exercise... forget the work stuff..this should be included in your activity level..
What is your activity level set to..??
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http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
OP, please take a look at these two threads. If you were truly eating 1000 calories, you would easily be losing weight. You need to tighten up on your logging and portion sizes.7 -
just to satisfy you all i will prove that i'm not over eating by measuring everything tomorrow
http://i.imgur.com/QYrwxNO.png imagine this bowl, i have it half full with porridge or oats, and i never finish eating it that is not 600calories
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just to satisfy you all i will prove that i'm not over eating by measuring everything tomorrow
http://i.imgur.com/QYrwxNO.png imagine this bowl, i have it half full with porridge or oats, and i never finish eating it that is not 600calories
Your method is certainly failing you.. What can we say or ask that will help you move on from this method?
If nothing then we have provided all that we can...
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just to satisfy you all i will take pictures and scale everything i eat tomorrow just to prove that im not over eating
http://i.imgur.com/QYrwxNO.png imagine this bowl, i have it half full with porridge or oats, and i never finish eating it0 -
just to satisfy you all i will prove that i'm not over eating by measuring everything tomorrow
http://i.imgur.com/QYrwxNO.png imagine this bowl, i have it half full with porridge or oats, and i never finish eating it that is not 600calories
Nobody said it was 600 calories, I said your porridge plus your fruit smoothie is 600 plus calories.
I don't know what you want to hear? That you're special and that you're a scientific anomaly and to just give up trying to lose weight?
Also, how much do you have to lose?19 -
just to satisfy you all i will take pictures and scale everything i eat tomorrow just to prove that im not over eating
http://i.imgur.com/QYrwxNO.png imagine this bowl, i have it half full with porridge or oats, and i never finish eating it
This will only satisfy yourself...7 -
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Oh dear, you seem very resistant to the truth OP.
- As others have pointed out, if you're not losing weight you're not eating at a deficit. You decided to log one day and claimed you only consumed 1000 calories. If you were truly only consuming 1000 calories, weight would be flying off of you. It doesn't matter if you don't think you're eating that much, the body doesn't lie and maintaining your weight is the proof that you are not eating less calories than you burn. You are eating much, much more than you think you are.
- You're probably "always hungry" because, to be blunt, your macronutrient balance appears to be pretty crappy based on the typical day of food you listed. Aside from the fish, all I see are carbs, carbs, and more carbs. You unnecessarily cut out sweets which are usually carbs, fat, and sugar, but you eat still mostly carbs anyway. You cut out meat and I have no clue why, but if it's purely for weight loss reasons then you should probably eat meat again, as being a pescetarian does not automatically mean you will lose weight. It's all about CICO.
- My job includes a lot of movement as well; unless you're running everywhere, you're not burning as much as you think. I get 15,000 steps minimum on most days and I don't earn too many calories from walking around at my job. I earn the most calories on the five mile walks to/from work and/or the exercise I do every morning. You say you're too lazy to exercise and that's okay! You don't have to exercise if you don't want to. Just understand that the 8 hour on your feet all day job you have probably is not burning as many calories as you think and, if it is, you're eating too much to lose anything from the activity.
You posted with an issue and you're getting sound advice, advice that you choose to refute. You have two options in this situation. One is to keep doing what you're doing and make no progress, the other is to let the advice that people are giving you sink in and start following it.33 -
OP, WE ALL have been there and done everything you are doing right now.. I would like to think you would want advise and true and tried experience from us MFPer's .. We are not kidding you in any way and we will not steer you in the wrong direction..
But being out right hardheaded is why this is not working and now why we are little frustrated at the moment. Take a few minutes and think about what we are saying and if you insist that you are 100% right, carry on.. This process and method you insist on using is not bringing you 1 lick of results.
I only lay it out like I see it..4 -
would 1700cals a day help me lose weight? or do you suggest eating less
What did MFP tell you.. not this calculator??
And do you exercise?
And is your activity level setup in MFP as lightly active? This def will come up more that 1200 calories to eat, and if you exercise you can eat those back..
Next, buy the gosh darn food scale... LOL5 -
just to satisfy you all i will take pictures and scale everything i eat tomorrow just to prove that im not over eating
http://i.imgur.com/QYrwxNO.png imagine this bowl, i have it half full with porridge or oats, and i never finish eating it
Don't do it "just to satisfy" us. And you certainly don't need to prove anything to us (or me, rather. I don't want to speak for others). I've got my proof. If you don't want to do it, then don't. Keep doing what you're doing and I hope the weight comes off, I truly do
I'm honestly not sure what you wanted us to say that wouldn't have had you making all sorts of reasons/excuses (depending who you ask, so I'll just leave that). We could lie to you and tell you that it's absurd you haven't lost weight and that Garcinia Combodgia is the key to success. But then we'd be a crappy community full of people looking out only for themselves and personal gain through selling gimmicks. Instead, we are trying to offer you realistic and true answers to a question that you posted because you wanted help.
I am 5'5.5", 21 years old, and I started at 169 pounds. I am now maintaining around 147 (my goal was 145, and I hover around that). I did that by weighing and logging my foods and coming in at a deficit. I also work out almost every day, but your strenuous 8-hour factory job should make that about even. So nutrition is the problem, your calories in side of the CICO equation is off12 -
i do have a food scale i will scale everything i eat tomorrow5
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I want to buy OP a food scale.
Ok I see you have one. I will buy myself a better one to celebrate!
Edited in light of new info.6 -
You are clearly frustrated. You are also not listening to anyone here, are not in a learning mode but a defense mode. Being 170 pounds for an average height 19 y/o female is HARD. Working in a factory on your feet all day is even harder.
So you can either continue to defend what you do and return the same results or you can get a dang food scale at the goodwill or Walmart (doesn't have to be electric) and start to measure and log everything you put in your mouth.
Edited: Oh thank god - we are making progress!! food scale ACHIEVED. Logging to commence.
(not eating enough and probably needs a pedometer..tbd)3 -
OP, I'm glad you'll be weighing and logging all your food tomorrow. At the very least, it will give us a better idea of how to help you. Would you also be comfortable opening your diary now that you've logged a day or two worth of food?
Otherwise, these are my really generic tips:
1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.
2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.
3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.
4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.
5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.
6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.
7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.
8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.
9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.5 -
i do have a food scale i will scale everything i eat tomorrow
It truly is eye opening. I eyeballed for the first month thinking I was close. Once I got the scale and saw how much I was really eating, it was a huge difference. Even with the deficit I had, I'm surprised I managed to lose anything. Probably wouldn't have if I hadn't been exercising as well.4 -
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Great on the food scale! Yeah!
The video above will be a mind opener for sure!2 -
yes a scale is more accurate then using measuring cups for solids. what I thought was a serving of oatmeal 40g(porridge to others) was actually more like 65 or more using a measuring cup. same with dry cold cereal. all solids and semi solids need weighed on a scale(no two pieces of food will be the same weight,and if packaged will often be off) and liquids only in cups. those little bits of calories will add up and if you eat more calories and dont weight you will just gain more weight most likely because it wont be accurate. I got an eye opening experience when I started weighing all my food.3
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Also, when you say you eat pasta, surely it's not just plain pasta bolied. What do you add to it? That needs logging and while you are at it, weighing too. Smoothie with 2 or 3 bananas, what about adding the milk? Measuring the milk. That sounds like a decent smoothie that would take 400 calories at least and you say you eat 1000 for the whole day. If you had 3 bananas at 126 calories each assuming they are what the average banana is in MFP, that's 450 just in bananas. Add milk and you have a 550 calorie smoothie. Oats are very high in calories, l nearly died when l saw how small a 50 gram serving was. Add pasta with something on it, a sandwich with fillings etc. Just saying it like that sounds more than 1000 calories, a lot more.4
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Also, when you say you eat pasta, surely it's not just plain pasta bolied. What do you add to it? That needs logging and while you are at it, weighing too. Smoothie with 2 or 3 bananas, what about adding the milk? Measuring the milk. That sounds like a decent smoothie that would take 400 calories at least and you say you eat 1000 for the whole day. If you had 3 bananas at 126 calories each assuming they are what the average banana is in MFP, that's 450 just in bananas. Add milk and you have a 550 calorie smoothie. Oats are very high in calories, l nearly died when l saw how small a 50 gram serving was. Add pasta with something on it, a sandwich with fillings etc. Just saying it like that sounds more than 1000 calories, a lot more.
She said the smoothies are with water only, but you're spot on on the rest.2 -
Sorry l missed that and l just realised my banana calculations are off. Still high though and the oats and the pasta and bread and all the fillings and toppings. That in itself sounds like a day much higher than 1000 calories.0
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Also, when you say you eat pasta, surely it's not just plain pasta bolied. What do you add to it? That needs logging and while you are at it, weighing too. Smoothie with 2 or 3 bananas, what about adding the milk? Measuring the milk. That sounds like a decent smoothie that would take 400 calories at least and you say you eat 1000 for the whole day. If you had 3 bananas at 126 calories each assuming they are what the average banana is in MFP, that's 450 just in bananas. Add milk and you have a 550 calorie smoothie. Oats are very high in calories, l nearly died when l saw how small a 50 gram serving was. Add pasta with something on it, a sandwich with fillings etc. Just saying it like that sounds more than 1000 calories, a lot more.
just to be more specific
oats/porridge - would only be half of a bowl but i usually never finish it because im not a morning person.
banana smoothie - i use water for that and less than half of teaspoon of cinnamon.
Steamed veg would be in a lunch box and its a decent size of a lunch box and its not too cramped with veg.
for pasta i eat those gluten free pastas but i dont use anything to flavor the pasta.
for a sandwich i'd use a brown bread and half of Mozzarella
when im eating i try not to mix too much but sometimes its hard. i try not to mix too much because my stomach is very sensitive that is why i cut out meat or pastries or sweets because every time i ate them i felt like it wasn't right and i never felt good0 -
You don't know how many calories you're eating because you don't weigh your food.
What you eat does not matter. I lost over 80lbs including cookies, ice cream, and all the goodies.
weight loss is all about consuming LESS calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight.
How much are you putting in the bowl in the first place? How do you know that what you're cooking is 1 serving? What are you adding to the porridge? Do you use milk or water to cook it?how could i be over eating when
07:30 breakfast- Oatmeal or porridge Sometimes i dont even finish the bowl which is never full from the begening
2-3 bananas can be as much as 300-400 calories. What else are you putting in the smoothie.10:30 snack- Banana smoothie or a fruit banana smoothie only has 2-3 bananas
What size lunch box? What's a 'normal' lunch box? I see lunchboxes of varying sizes.13:00 lunch- vegetables or a sandwich or Salad vegetables are good eitherway, which i put in a lunch box which is a normal lunch box
It depends on what fruit. They vary in calories. Some fruit is higher in calories than others.15:00 Snack- a fruit or usually skip this snack
Pasta can be quite high in calories. Fish. Which fish? Fish varies, too. Are you including any oils or butters used in cooking?18:00 Dinner- Pasta or steamed vegetables or fish or a sandwich i usually measure the pasta by cups which i only use a lil bit more than half of cup, and if i would be eating steamed vegetables it wouldn't gain too much weight from a plate of steamed vegetables, and steamed is digested faster than raw anyway
Do you drink anything other than water?
Yeah, using cups is highly inaccurate. If you're not losing, start weighing your food. If I don't weigh my food, I don't lose weight, either.
Another:
Are you logging your food? Are you counting calories? Not overeating does not mean eating the right amount of food volume-wise, it means eating the right amount of calories for you.
But, you wouldn't be here asking if it were working, would you?4 -
Not measure. You'll be back to square one. Weigh your food. How do you think we all got successful?just to satisfy you all i will prove that i'm not over eating by measuring everything tomorrow
http://i.imgur.com/QYrwxNO.png imagine this bowl, i have it half full with porridge or oats, and i never finish eating it that is not 600calories
Why are you being....snarky? You asked for help and got many answers form those who have taken the time to learn all this themselves and become successful from it. They also took the time to help YOU.
I'm sorry, but weight loss happens of you eat LESS CALORIES than you need to maintain, not LESS FOOD.Also, when you say you eat pasta, surely it's not just plain pasta bolied. What do you add to it? That needs logging and while you are at it, weighing too. Smoothie with 2 or 3 bananas, what about adding the milk? Measuring the milk. That sounds like a decent smoothie that would take 400 calories at least and you say you eat 1000 for the whole day. If you had 3 bananas at 126 calories each assuming they are what the average banana is in MFP, that's 450 just in bananas. Add milk and you have a 550 calorie smoothie. Oats are very high in calories, l nearly died when l saw how small a 50 gram serving was. Add pasta with something on it, a sandwich with fillings etc. Just saying it like that sounds more than 1000 calories, a lot more.
just to be more specific
oats/porridge - would only be half of a bowl but i usually never finish it because im not a morning person.
banana smoothie - i use water for that and less than half of teaspoon of cinnamon.
Steamed veg would be in a lunch box and its a decent size of a lunch box and its not too cramped with veg.
for pasta i eat those gluten free pastas but i dont use anything to flavor the pasta.
for a sandwich i'd use a brown bread and half of Mozzarella
when im eating i try not to mix too much but sometimes its hard. i try not to mix too much because my stomach is very sensitive that is why i cut out meat or pastries or sweets because every time i ate them i felt like it wasn't right and i never felt good
Again, bowls vary in size. You cannot say you have 'a bowl' of porridge and expect everyone to understand that. Handfulls. Bowls. Mugs. Plates. Lunchboxes. All vary in sizes.
Gluten free pasta can be higher in calories, so keep that in mind.
Each brand of of the same food can be vastly different.
It's ALL about the calories when it comes to weight loss.
You have to log everything that goes into your sandwich. Everything that goes with your pasta.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
https://youtu.be/vjKPIcI51lU
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XpHykP6e_Uk
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