I'm definitely broken - can't lose! Any advice from my diary?

ellersrb

My diary is open so feel free to judge!
I'm so cross. I stayed the same and then lost a pound last week after linking up my new fitbit and logging everything (even the things I don't like to log as they put me over the 1200 - a bad habit of mine from previous).
But this week, 1.5lb on. I'm not even logging that - I'll drink lots of water today and see if it's just that and weigh tomorrow but I'm seriously nearing my limit on happiness. It gets me down constantly.
I'm 37, weight currently 153.6 and am 5ft5 so could do to lose a stone and a half.
I gave up smoking a year ago and put on about half a stone which I kind of expected but it just hasn't shifted. My exercise is terrible as I only liked running but I have stopped as it hurts my back (getting physio). I've started walking further and making it part of my day wherever I can.
But my food diary looks fine to me - are there any glaring obvious errors I'm making?? It's not like I'm new to the game of calorie control and trying to lose weight.
I think I'm broken! Any advice?

tiny_clanger

Can you tell me a bit more about yourself? I guess from your profile you're the woman in the picture? Have you had children? How is your reproductive health - are your periods regular, do you have any reproductive issues?
Women approaching the end of their fertility window often experience some metabolic issues relating to hormone imbalance which can inhibit weight loss. Women often find it very difficult to lose weight from dieting alone as it will exacerbate any underlying metabolic issues. You really would benefit from getting as active as possible - are you able to run/walk or nordic walk which will be a bit more active than just adding in a bit more walking?

RoxieDawn

You diary is not open.

While you are opening the diary, do you use a food scale?

Can you elaborate on this part from your post.. part in bold...

I stayed the same and then lost a pound last week after linking up my new fitbit and logging everything (even the things I don't like to log as they put me over the 1200 - a bad habit of mine from previous).

Clawsal

Your food diary seems to be closed.

ellersrb

Sorry, I've opened it now.

tiny_clanger I have had one child, periods are very regular on a fairly short cycle (22-23 days) but haven't tried for another one (and won't be!).
I often wonder about starting the menopause or whether, as I get older, I just need to make myself more active.

I used to cheat myself when logging food on mfp so if I got up to 1200 cals for the day and then ate, for example, a pack of crisps in front of the tv at night, I knew it would put me in minus figures and didn't log it. Which obviously does nothing but lie to myself so I don't do that anymore

ellersrb

I use a food scale for pretty much everything apart from if I'm at work with an apple, I'll use the closest thing I can find and, unless it's massive, call it a medium.

Clawsal

I really don't think at 37 you should be worrying about menopause yet.

Your logging seems fine to me. Not weighing an apple isn't going to change anything. Just don't let that become a trend. I have a scale at home and one at work so I can weigh everything.

I see you eat around 1500 kcal. I am also 5'5 and 152 pounds and my goal is 1500kcal a day. After losing 10 pounds my weight loss has stalled. I created a post about that and some people suggested I could be eating close to my maintenance calories, and so weight loss will be slow and water weight could be masking progress (because of a new exercise routine for example). So I will start worrying (and decreasing calories) when I go 5-6 weeks without any change.

Ahah guess I am telling you my personal experience so you know you are not alone

ellersrb

Thanks Clawsal, I think I'm destined to be at the upper end of my healthy weight range so getting any lower than 140 I just don't see happening (although it did briefly last year when I was heavily no carb and not very happy!) while maintaining my mental health.
I'll keep going and see if my body catches on to what I want it to do!

Machka9

What are you doing in the way of exercise? You appear to be doing quite a lot of exercise every day.

ellersrb

The exercise is just the walking which comes through my fitbit. So any calories burnt over the 1700 mark come through as additional. Up to 1700 is my BMR I think they call it so the excess comes over.

smotheredincheese

The only thing I can see in your diary that might be inconsistent is the pick n mix. The calories content can vary depending on exactly what sweets you're having, but as it's only an occasional thing I can't see it really holding you back.
I think you just need to give it more time.

ellersrb

I'll be patient! Love your profile pic by the way smotheredincheese

Machka9

ellersrb wrote: »

The exercise is just the walking which comes through my fitbit. So any calories burnt over the 1700 mark come through as additional. Up to 1700 is my BMR I think they call it so the excess comes over.

So ... when it says you've burned about 350 calories from exercise, that means you've gone for a 1 hour and 45 minute walk?

I ask that because I'm about your height and was your weight once, and I burn approx (calories burned is all approximate) 200 cal/hour when I walk.

And because of the approximate nature of "calories burned" it is recommended that we only eat about half of our exercise calories back ... maybe 75% if we've put in a really good effort, like say a 5 hour hike in the mountains or something.

85Cardinals

lol I bet you're not broken. Might need a tune-up though!

ellersrb

Thanks Machka9 - it just counts up steps done throughout the day (which I'm trying to increase) and adds them on. I might take that option off though, because if they're there, I'll eat 'em!

oolou

How often are you weighing yourself and do you use a trend graph to log your weight? I find that when I hit a few weeks of my weight bouncing up and down rather than steady loss and I know I'm still eating according to my goals, the trend graph keeps me sane as it smoothes out the ups and downs. I also second the advice on eating back only 50% of calories burned through exercise.

Machka9

ellersrb wrote: »

Thanks Machka9 - it just counts up steps done throughout the day (which I'm trying to increase) and adds them on. I might take that option off though, because if they're there, I'll eat 'em!

Yeah, I know. I find available calories very tempting too.

I add my exercise in manually, and I underestimate it. So even if I figure I've had a tough bicycle ride, I'll select one of the slower speeds/light ride and round the time down. Same with walking ... I'll record a moderate pace even if I motor along (which I usually do), and I'll round the time down.

I also don't count everything. I might do a few flights of stairs, and not count them ... multiple trips halfway across the office and back to the photocopier don't get counted ... steps all over the house doing housework don't get counted. I figure those are all bonus steps for those times when I miscalculate something I've eaten. Maybe that biscuit at a work morning tea wasn't 150 cal ... maybe it was really 200 cal. Well, if I've been back and forth to the photocopier 7 times that day, maybe I burned off those extra 50 cal, so I won't worry about it.

ellersrb

Oolou I used to weigh every day which played havoc with my head so now strictly once a week, but on a day like today where if I input it, it'll be a 1.5 increase, I'll do it tomorrow instead and hope for a loss. I will start changing it to the graph to see the trends - I'm sure it flucuates with cycle as well, but I don't think I can claim menstrual water weight on day 16 of my cycle!
I'll change the settings so the exercise calories don't go in as available to eat I think. I'm already aiming for a 500 calorie defecit at 1200 so if I go into the red, so be it!

SezxyStef

I looked at your diary and you may weigh your food but you don't log it like that...

Weighing is just the first step...

for example you have logged halluomi cheese 2 slices...homemade fried onion rings 5 rings??? did you make those? Then red pesto halluomi pasta 1 serving? did you make that and enter all the ingredients into the recipe maker?

1 quarter of a baguette, 2 cupcakes...1 cup of rice....2 meat burgers...3 spring rolls

you need to log more accurately...if you didn't make it don't use homemade entries, weight prepackaged food as well...there is no guarantee the label is correct. They can be off by law.

So basically I am saying your logging is sloppy at best.

mitch16

If the exercise calories are coming just from daily steps and not necessarily "exercise"--those should be included in your activity level...

There are lots of anecdotal stories out there about "my fitbit is making me fat"--essentially it overestimates calories burned... Which seems to be happening to you--if you're not losing weight, then you're probably not in a deficit.

daniip_la

mitch16 wrote: »

If the exercise calories are coming just from daily steps and not necessarily "exercise"--those should be included in your activity level...

There are lots of anecdotal stories out there about "my fitbit is making me fat"--essentially it overestimates calories burned... Which seems to be happening to you--if you're not losing weight, then you're probably not in a deficit.

If the OP is listed as sedentary, all that extra walking isn't accounted for, and their Fitbit giving them extra calories proves that. It's not going to give calories that double up on what MFP is already giving.

OP, there's nothing wrong with eating back what Fitbit gives you, if your logging is absolutely accurate. I'm guessing it's not, by what others saw going through your diary. I wear a Fitbit One at all times, get at least 300kcal given to me for all the non-purposeful-exercise steps I take a day, and I eat them all back. And lose exactly according to plan.

Before you decide to not trust your Fitbit, tighten up the logging. Then, once you're sure your logging is spot-on, track your intake/output/weight for a month or two and see how accurate your Fitbit is. It might be 100% accurate like mine, or it might be less accurate, like some others have seen.

tiny_clanger

ellersrb wrote: »

Sorry, I've opened it now.

tiny_clanger I have had one child, periods are very regular on a fairly short cycle (22-23 days) but haven't tried for another one (and won't be!).
I often wonder about starting the menopause or whether, as I get older, I just need to make myself more active.

I used to cheat myself when logging food on mfp so if I got up to 1200 cals for the day and then ate, for example, a pack of crisps in front of the tv at night, I knew it would put me in minus figures and didn't log it. Which obviously does nothing but lie to myself so I don't do that anymore

Thanks for the responses - I wouldn't worry about menopause yet either, but it is something to bear in mind, and long term, you're doing a good thing by working on losing weight now as that will stand you in good stead as your body does start to change.

I really, really would recommend getting more active. Losing weight through calorie restriction alone is very difficult for women and isn't usually sustainable. Half an hour a day doing something which raises your heart rate and gets you breathing more quickly (is the walking doing that?) is a great starting point

Machka9

ellersrb wrote: »

My exercise is terrible as I only liked running but I have stopped as it hurts my back (getting physio). I've started walking further and making it part of my day wherever I can.

tiny_clanger wrote: »

I really, really would recommend getting more active. Losing weight through calorie restriction alone is very difficult for women and isn't usually sustainable. Half an hour a day doing something which raises your heart rate and gets you breathing more quickly (is the walking doing that?) is a great starting point

I agree.

Getting more active in general ... getting up and walking, standing, taking the stairs now and then, and all that ... is good. But taking a bit of time to actually exercise can be very helpful too.

I try to be as active as possible throughout the day, but in the evenings, my husband and I will often go for a walk to the beach and back or go for a bicycle ride or go to the gym or something. And on weekends we try to be quite active ... mostly cycling. I found the exercise really helped me.

ellersrb

Thanks everyone. My logging is as accurate as I can possibly make it - the quarter baguette, 2 cupcakes, 2 burgers, spring rolls etc were all taken from the actual packaging and then worked out exactly what I ate from that pack. If the label on the food is wrong, there isn't much anyone can do is there?!
The recipes, yes, they are my own and are weighed, logged and then split in to portions.
I try to make it accurate within the boundaries of the tools I have. I don't eat clean and have raw ingredients all the time, in fact, rarely, but when I do I log it all individually.

LazSommer

still have to weigh packaged food per the weight portion on the side. it differs from the volume portion

RoxieDawn

ellersrb wrote: »

Thanks everyone. My logging is as accurate as I can possibly make it - the quarter baguette, 2 cupcakes, 2 burgers, spring rolls etc were all taken from the actual packaging and then worked out exactly what I ate from that pack. If the label on the food is wrong, there isn't much anyone can do is there?!
The recipes, yes, they are my own and are weighed, logged and then split in to portions.
I try to make it accurate within the boundaries of the tools I have. I don't eat clean and have raw ingredients all the time, in fact, rarely, but when I do I log it all individually.

Its not that the label on the food is wrong, its that the food itself you get out of the package will weight more or less than what you are consuming. You need to weigh what you take out of the package.

For example because I actually count macros and calories, my yogurt cups can be lower .. meaning they jipped on what was in the package.. However, spring rolls, biscuits, burgers etc.. can weigh more (and usually do) than the serving on the package.

When you get closer to goal, this kind of stuff gets even more important. Just keep that in mind..

edited to add: The title of your thread is "I'm definitely broken - can't lose!" and beacause you are having issues with losing weight, and the logging in the diary is def not on point, if you want to get accuracy in what you are doing, the ideas presented about your diary are things you need to do to see if logging is your reason for not losing.. Good Luck..