I cannot lose weight!
jstalt0525
Posts: 10 Member
Hello! My name is Jamie and I'm extremely frustrated. I cannot lose weight no matter what I do. Did 21df. Gained. Trained for a triathlon. Gained. Have up caffeine. Gained. Started to eat clean. Gained. Beachbody coach. Gained. Weight watchers. Gained. Had labs done. I'm picture perfect so how does one explain the fact that in the heaviest ever and no matter what I do I cannot lose. Would love some motivation to try and break this cycle because I'm at the end of my rope.
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How many calories are you eating each day?
Do you eat back exercise calories?
Do you use a food scale to weigh all solid foods (including packaged stuff)?
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And are you willing to open your diary for people to give more specific help? (some of the database entries are wrong, okay, a lot of them are wrong)2
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I'm eating 1500-1700 a day. Depends on the day. Sometimes I eat some of the exercise calories if I'm hungry. Just started yesterday but would be willing to make my diary public if it will help. Don't know how to do it though. Lol0
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I do use a food scale and the containers for the 21dayfix to make sure I don't overeat. I drink only water 100oz daily.0
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So, from what you've posted so far it seems you've done everything that people do who fall for the "diets" "eat clean" "detox" trends.
To lose weight - you need to eat less than you use in a day.
Use your height, weight and activity level -to find out what your maintenance is and then eat 20-25% less than that. I'd start at 10% less.
Get weight scale for foods and measure and log everything. Even if you over-eat one day-LOG IT.
A deficit of 3500 calories = 1 lb of weight
Weight is 100% diet related. Exercising is good for health but you don't need to do jack squat if you maintain a proper deficit.
Good luck. Start logging and measuring properly. You can lose weight even eating chips as long as you maintain a deficit. So don't fall for "clean diet" traps or "detoxes" . Nutrition is one thing and losing weight another. Just focus on logging and measuring.5 -
and how heavy are you and how much do you need to lose?
Sounds like you have some muscle with the beachbody and triathlons.0 -
jstalt0525 wrote: »I do use a food scale and the containers for the 21dayfix to make sure I don't overeat. I drink only water 100oz daily.
I can stuff a lot of food into a container, if I try hard enough. It's another way we can deceive ourselves. The food scale should be for all things. 1500-1700 plus exercise calories may be too much. How did you come up with those numbers? What is your height and weight? How are you determining your exercise calories? (again, the database is inaccurate for many people)
For reference: I'm 5'2" 185lb, 43, and can lose on 1700 cal/day (no exercise cals back) IF I swim for 60-90 minutes 5 times/week, plus lifting 2x/week, plus PT once per week, plus work (which has me on my feet for nearly 7 hours). If I'm not that active, I have to eat less to keep losing.3 -
That is why I'm here. I feel using the food diary will help me see what I'm missing. Also don't mind the motivation from like minded people!
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jstalt0525 wrote: »That is why I'm here. I feel using the food diary will help me see what I'm missing. Also don't mind the motivation from like minded people!
Well, since you are just starting here are some general suggestions:
1) Weigh everything solid/semi-solid. Packaged foods can be off by up to 20%, if you have a calorie dense item, that can have a significant impact.
2) If you add exercise calories, start by only eating back about half of those until you know how that is working for you.
3) Let the program set up your calorie goals, but be smart about setting your goals. It won't help if you are starving all the time and then end up going crazy on burgers and ice cream every couple of days.
4) Plan for and make room for treats. Learn to fit in a beer, chocolate, or ice cream every now again. Knowing you can have these things can help you stay focused on keeping within your goals the rest of the time.
5) Make sure the database entries you are using are correct. Many of them are user entered, and can be horrendously incorrect. Even the ones that have a green check that are supposed to be verified can be incorrect. Plus there are regional differences between countries.
6) Have some patience. Pick a strategy and give it about 6 weeks before determining if it is working or not. Several things influence our weight day to day, sodium, exercise, and TOM can all cause water retention which will mask losses, so you need to give it enough time to watch for trends.
7) Have patience with yourself. Some days are going to be more challenging than others, so be kind to yourself when things happen.7 -
Have you tried HFLC or Keto/Paleo. Check it out if you haven't. There is alot of great info about it, might want to check out youtube, some good videos on it. Healthfulpersuit is one you might like, she has a plan especially for women. Good Luck0
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jstalt0525 wrote: »Just started yesterday but would be willing to make my diary public if it will help. Don't know how to do it though. Lol
Go to 'Settings' at the top of the web page, then click on 'Diary Settings'. At the bottom of that page you can choose how visible you want your diary to be.
@nutmegoreo spelled everything out nicely and I don't have a lot to add to that! I especially agree with the last two - you need to be patient and give the process time, don't start changing things after a week or two because you think it's not working. And there will be times you stumble and fall, so you need to realise that it's not going to ruin everything and you just pick yourself up and get back on track as soon as you can. (Not "on Monday"... now, today, next meal! )
There are many different ways of eating, and the low-carb style mentioned by @tnevin225 is just one of them - it works for some people, others find it really difficult to give up carbs. If the idea appeals to you, give it a try for a few weeks and see how you feel! If it doesn't sound like it's for you, then that's okay - there are plenty of ways to eat less without cutting out any food groups.
I think that the most important thing is to get a food scale, if you don't already have one, and weigh or measure everything. It's really easy to underestimate how much we're eating, and if you really haven't lost any weight then I'm afraid you haven't been in a calorie deficit and have most likely been eating more than you think. (This is not to imply that people are inherently 'greedy' or anything, just that a large number of us are really bad at estimating portions!) Weighing your food is an eye-opening experience.
Finally, I'd add that you should take photos and measurements as an additional way to gauge progress, because the scale doesn't always cooperate! Having other ways to see that things are changing, like losing an inch on your hips or a shirt fitting more comfortably, is a great motivator when it seems like your weight isn't budging.
Good luck, and stick with it - it will work, if you get your calories in line and give it time.
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Great words of wisdom @SueSueDio and @nutmegoreo. I hope the tracking of food will be the ticket. I have a food scale and use it regularly. I feel I've been patient for so long!! I know I won't see results overnight but some progress needs to happen. I get so defeated! I'll keep you updated on progress.0
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I'll send you a friend request - sounds like you could use some support! It's great that you're weighing your food - do you also weigh pre-packaged items, or do you rely on the listed weights? The actual weight can be out by a considerable amount sometimes, so it's always worth double-checking! (Also make sure, if you do eat packaged foods, that what you're eating is actually "a serving" - some things that you'd think were one serving in a package are actually two or more based on the listed nutritional info!) 2
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I do triathlons and have done the insantity workwork programme but i don't train to loose weight i train to gain fitness and improved health. If your goal is to loose weight then this is a matter of calorie counting. If you consume fewer calories than you burn you will you will loose weight. I'm sure you already know this and other members have mentioned it to.
If in your experience this isn't true or somehow it doesn't work then i think their is something else going on. Whatever the cause is you can loose weight, stay honest with yourself, if you have a bad day log everything anyway and feel good. Good luck!
p.s - i've always found that MFP overestimates the number of calories burnt during exercise. I could be wrong but i've always observed the notion that 30mins of vigorous cardio (where you're sweating) will burn about 250 cals. This has always worked for me and in the past three months i have lost 22Ibs1 -
Agree about the overestimation - I use my fitness tracker to estimate my calories burned through (very minor!) exercise, and even then I knock a few off before I log it here!
Jamie, I forgot to mention that you should go and look through the Success Stories forum here, if you haven't already - there are a ton of inspiring stories and photos there, including those from people who thought they could never lose weight. Some have amazingly fast losses, others take a few years to get where they are now (I relate to those more easily!), but all of them are great. It's good to go and read a few threads there anytime you feel a bit despondent. 1 -
@jstalt0525 , I will add my "welcome" and my endorsement of the effectiveness of this site. The USDA has a database of nutrition values for all manner of food items. You can find it with a search either on google or using the Search function in these discussions. That is a gold standard of nutrition information. Another gold standard is maintained at http://nutritiondata.self.com/ , but it's chock full of pop-ups and I don't use it much. If you don't know about tdeecalculator.net , now you do. Another sick useful site is scoobysworkshop.com .
One of the most awesome threads ever on this site is http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also/p1 .
You can find accurate food database listings, it takes some time and diligence but it is worth the effort.
When you think you're in the groove, you can dive into the maelstrom of the recipe tool. The only way to make it work right is to copy-paste from the USDA database, remembering to remove commas.
I could have called the recipe tool a *kitten*, which is what happens when you try to describe your feelings about it.
The community here is the best resource offered.
I have lost 58 lb since January 25, mostly by getting into and staying in a calorie deficit for consecutive weeks between single day or meal or hour excursions from it, which I'm trying to make rarer and less severe.1 -
OP I got those containers from the 21 day fix in another beach body program I ordered a while back. I did a test doing both the containers and logging food and WEIGHING food in MFP. I did this simply for fun and to see if it was even close.. Out of amazement to me, it was pretty darned close. I was cutting weight and training for a marathon so this was ok for me follow for a couple of months.
This is very restrictive and does allow for wiggle room for any changes to have your favorite things, etc. As you know, you can only have so many carbs in the containers each day and it is not very much to say the least. I actually had a lot of sucess eating this way, I hated the restriction though.
My test concluded that if you eat exactly what foods you are supposed to eat in those containers (the amount of fruits, protein, fats, carbs that fit on those containers) etc. It will come out pretty close to what MFP calories allotment for day comes out. SO if you choose the right food plan in the 21 day, it should be fairly similar in number of calories in MFP gives you to loose weight.
Start marking daily trends in your weight and then do that weekly and monthly. Start seeing where and when you retain water, exercise more or add volume or intensity, time of the month, eat more carbs than usual if you do not follow the containers, sodium and hydration. In lieu of just scale weight, use tape measurements, photos and perhaps record these weekly or monthly.
Make sure when you weigh your food the entries in the database are 100% accurate to your food labels on the foods you buying and consuming. And make sure that you add oils, condiments, dressings, etc.. things that make it on your food but you may omit to log in the diary..1 -
Not sure if someone mentioned this but also track what you drink. Juices, milk, alcohol, anything with calories... I found I was drinking a lot more calories than I'd assumed. Hope that's helpful. Good luck to you!1
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ItsyBitsy246 wrote: »Not sure if someone mentioned this but also track what you drink. Juices, milk, alcohol, anything with calories... I found I was drinking a lot more calories than I'd assumed. Hope that's helpful. Good luck to you!
That is a good call.. I stopped drinking my calories so long ago, I forgot that.. 2 -
Hey jstalt0525.
I too am in the same position.... I don't know what I am doing wrong, if I don't exercise, I lose weight, and yet if I walk (because I suffer from panic attacks and I'm scared to exercise) I don't seem to lose any weight.
I'm new to the message board thingy and its nice to see there are people in the same situation as me!
All the best,
Helen1 -
ItsyBitsy246 wrote: »Not sure if someone mentioned this but also track what you drink. Juices, milk, alcohol, anything with calories... I found I was drinking a lot more calories than I'd assumed. Hope that's helpful. Good luck to you!
I agree, it's easy to omit a bite here and there, or a sip here and there... it adds up!
I would also add to make sure that you drink enough water, since it will help you shed extra water weight and appear less bloated. Being hydrated is also important to allow your body the resources to burn fat (since all processing in your body needs water, if you're dehydrated burning fat won't be a priority to your body).
I would suggest also to calculate your TDEE to base your deficit on, and only eat back only half of your exercise calorie since most trackers usually overestimate (I actually didn't eat any). http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
How many calories under your TDEE + calories burned is your deficit. You would need to maintain a deficit of 500cals daily to lose 1lbs in a week, 1000cals daily for 2lbs in a week. Don't eat any less then 1200cals per day.
lly, I like to set up my calorie goal at my TDEE. The calories left for the day then represent my deficit, and I think this is really motivating! My TDEE is 2000cals per day and I eat usually 1200cals. My deficit is then 800cals per day, or 5600cals, representing 1.6lbs per week. Those are all averages though and results may vary.
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Yes about overestimating - I started calculating my calorie burn myself according to its MET score (Google it, you'll get a list). However, you say that you've been to the doctor and had a panel done, but have you gone to an endocrinologist? GPs don't always pick up on thyroid problems because they ONLY look at TSH and ignore the other hormones.
(Long story ahead, feel free to skip).
Years ago, I was about 140 lbs when I was taking care of myself, lower if I wasn't and we're not getting into that. I didn't eat perfectly, but pretty well - avoided fried/heavy food, loaded up on lean protein and fresh produce. Exercised 5-6 hours per week. Despite this, my weight started creeping up; I went up about a size per year. At the same time, my energy levels started going down. Every time I mentioned this to a doctor, they'd test my TSH, tell me I was fine, and lecture me about eating less and exercising more. Eventually I gave up.
I started law school last fall, right when my energy levels hit bottom. Law students routinely have to study 10-12 hours per day, but after about four hours of classes, I'd get so tired that I literally could not function. It wasn't a matter of not being able to make sense of the concepts; it was like I had actually forgotten how to read. The only fix was a 'nap' that lasted 2 or 3 hours. I went to the doctor and told her that I was so exhausted and brain fogged that I was in danger of losing my scholarship, utterly at the end of my rope and wondering if there was any point to my life if my brain abandoned me entirely.
She ordered a test of my TSH and then lectured me about losing weight, eating less, and exercising more.
Instead of dropping out of school, curling up on the couch, and withdrawing from the world, I got a second opinion from an endocrinologist who looked at symptoms as well as bloodwork. In the weeks coming up to the appointment, I charted EVERYTHING. Sleep, medications, supplements, menstrual cycle, every and any weirdness that I could think of. Seriously, he got an Excel spreadsheet. (In the meantime, I pulled through fall finals with just below a 3.0. Thanks, 5 hour energy and diet pills. It's a wonder any of us get through grad school alive.) As it turns out, I DO have a thyroid problem in the form of antibodies that make me effectively hypothyroid despite my TSH. He put me on synthroid, and I was feeling better within a month. I made the dean's list in the spring via an ungodly amount of effort to catch up on what was fogged out, and if I'm not in the top 10%, I'm damned close. After my last final, I've spent the summer trying to re-establish a healthy routine for myself, planning meals and workouts exactly as they'll fit into my fall classes so that I won't slip up. So far I'm down 11 pounds since the end of April.
TL;DR - if you're truly being honest with yourself about what you're eating and your exercise, you still can't lose weight, and your GP says there's nothing wrong, go get a second opinion from a specialist.1 -
i like @xmarye comment about setting calories at TDEE and eat less to see the deficit for the day ... but I know i would eat all the way to TDEE so that would not work for me, and maybe not work for other's also. But it is a good idea.
To each their own, definitely! The reason why I started doing this was because I hated that whenever I went over my calories, the number became red and I felt like I had failed! Even if I was just over by a few calories. Now I can see the bigger picture and realize how much of a deficit I can achieve everyday.0 -
jstalt0525 wrote: »Hello! My name is Jamie and I'm extremely frustrated. I cannot lose weight no matter what I do. Did 21df. Gained. Trained for a triathlon. Gained. Have up caffeine. Gained. Started to eat clean. Gained. Beachbody coach. Gained. Weight watchers. Gained. Had labs done. I'm picture perfect so how does one explain the fact that in the heaviest ever and no matter what I do I cannot lose. Would love some motivation to try and break this cycle because I'm at the end of my rope.
Everyone says this but the evidence is right there, you keep switching programs nothing is done for more then 3 weeks?... you need to find a program and stick to it. You don't need to go keto or paleo you just need to accurately track what you eat and stop eating *kitten*. CICO and IIFYM have people thinking that you can "fit in" ice cream cause it falls into your caloric goal for the day. That's not the case it doesn't work for everyone!! I get the science, I get the logic to it... but it just doesn't work.
Actually weigh and measure your food, oil counts, salt counts, butter counts, that 1 spoon of peanutbutter it counts, that can of coke counts...everything counts. You also don't earn *kitten*, you didn't earn a cheat meal, youre not a bodybuilder so you don't get cheat meals, you have a goal so commit to it 100% or don't and stop complaining about it. Realize that stuff that is marketed as "good for you" really isn't IE quest protein bars, that *kitten*'s not good for you... who said it was Quest? *kitten* that chemical filled stuff. Gluten free isn't good for you either... full of *kitten*. Eat white meats and vegetables that's it, nothing else! do that for 8 weeks and see what happens, stop cooking with oil or butter at most use Pam.
Everyone says it's so hard, it's really just adjusting to the changes once you adjust it's easy.1 -
TimOwenWhite wrote: »I do triathlons and have done the insantity workwork programme but i don't train to loose weight i train to gain fitness and improved health. If your goal is to loose weight then this is a matter of calorie counting. If you consume fewer calories than you burn you will you will loose weight. I'm sure you already know this and other members have mentioned it to.
If in your experience this isn't true or somehow it doesn't work then i think their is something else going on. Whatever the cause is you can loose weight, stay honest with yourself, if you have a bad day log everything anyway and feel good. Good luck!
p.s - i've always found that MFP overestimates the number of calories burnt during exercise. I could be wrong but i've always observed the notion that 30mins of vigorous cardio (where you're sweating) will burn about 250 cals. This has always worked for me and in the past three months i have lost 22Ibs
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I was in the same position as you. My nutritionist suggested that I log EVERYTHING, weigh and measure EVERYTHING, log all my activity, and cut 100 calories a day from my intake. Worked like a charm for me.0
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Tedebearduff wrote: »Everyone says this but the evidence is right there, you keep switching programs nothing is done for more then 3 weeks?... you need to find a program and stick to it.
This is a good point.CICO and IIFYM have people thinking that you can "fit in" ice cream cause it falls into your caloric goal for the day. That's not the case it doesn't work for everyone!! I get the science, I get the logic to it... but it just doesn't work.
You're right in that it doesn't work for everyone, but that's not to say it doesn't work at all. I know I'm not the only person who prefers to fit in some chocolate or ice cream regularly because it removes the temptation to binge on "forbidden foods".Actually weigh and measure your food, oil counts, salt counts, butter counts, that 1 spoon of peanutbutter it counts, that can of coke counts...everything counts.
Also true.Eat white meats and vegetables that's it, nothing else! do that for 8 weeks and see what happens, stop cooking with oil or butter at most use Pam.
That sounds incredibly boring and would drive me nuts. I'd give up after a couple of weeks. Some people may find it necessary to be so restrictive, but in most cases it's not really required and many people have more success just learning portion control. Everyone is different, and we all have to find what works best for us.
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viren19890 wrote: »So, from what you've posted so far it seems you've done everything that people do who fall for the "diets" "eat clean" "detox" trends.
To lose weight - you need to eat less than you use in a day.
Use your height, weight and activity level -to find out what your maintenance is and then eat 20-25% less than that. I'd start at 10% less.
Get weight scale for foods and measure and log everything. Even if you over-eat one day-LOG IT.
A deficit of 3500 calories = 1 lb of weight
Weight is 100% diet related. Exercising is good for health but you don't need to do jack squat if you maintain a proper deficit.
Good luck. Start logging and measuring properly. You can lose weight even eating chips as long as you maintain a deficit. So don't fall for "clean diet" traps or "detoxes" . Nutrition is one thing and losing weight another. Just focus on logging and measuring.
Agreeing with this thinking myself.0
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