Judge me please

asilmegan34

Or rather, my diary because I am stuck in a rut and I feel so defeated. I cannot lose weight and I am gaining inches in my stomach area.

Short background:
I've lost 70 pounds in 3 years and I have overcome an ED. I have been doing strictly calorie restriction to lose weight for the last 6 months. I hit a plateau and I was so tired of looking flabby and felt crappy so I started cardio and lifting weights. I've gained weight and have been unable to lose.

Right now I work out 5 days a week, I get in at least 12-15K steps a day (fitbit), and I do 3-4 days a week of strength training with cardio. I feel sore everyday from exertion but I figure that's a good thing.

I feel like my weaknesses are:
- Eating too many carbs
- Not measuring all of my food via digital food scale (just purchased one today)

Does anyone have advice for me to get things moving in the right direction? Should I cut my calorie intake more? Realistically I have 20 pounds left to lose. I do measurements and I have lost 11.5 inches total in various places in 6 weeks but it has drastically plateaued to .5 inch per week if that. My clothes feel tighter in my stomach area and I feel like I look bigger, and my progress pics don't really show much change at all.

Thanks for helping out someone who is totally clueless.

andrea4736

asilmegan34 wrote: »

Or rather, my diary because I am stuck in a rut and I feel so defeated. I cannot lose weight and I am gaining inches in my stomach area.

Short background:
I've lost 70 pounds in 3 years and I have overcome an ED. I have been doing strictly calorie restriction to lose weight for the last 6 months. I hit a plateau and I was so tired of looking flabby and felt crappy so I started cardio and lifting weights. I've gained weight and have been unable to lose.

Right now I work out 5 days a week, I get in at least 12-15K steps a day (fitbit), and I do 3-4 days a week of strength training with cardio. I feel sore everyday from exertion but I figure that's a good thing.

I feel like my weaknesses are:
- Eating too many carbs
- Not measuring all of my food via digital food scale (just purchased one today)

Does anyone have advice for me to get things moving in the right direction? Should I cut my calorie intake more? Realistically I have 20 pounds left to lose. I do measurements and I have lost 11.5 inches total in various places in 6 weeks but it has drastically plateaued to .5 inch per week if that. My clothes feel tighter in my stomach area and I feel like I look bigger, and my progress pics don't really show much change at all.

Thanks for helping out someone who is totally clueless.

The food scale will most likely help a lot as it is really easy to misjudge how much you are eating. If you are sore from strength training, you are most likely retaining water. If your profile pic is current, you look great! Weight loss slows drastically the closer you get to goal.

CattOfTheGarage

What is your height, age, starting weight and goal weight? These things affect your numbers so it's hard to advise without knowing them.

CafeRacer808

asilmegan34 wrote: »

- Not measuring all of my food via digital food scale (just purchased one today)

I suspect this will have the biggest impact on whether or not you start losing weight again. As we get closer to goal weight, logging accurately becomes extremely important. Weigh everything, including packaged or pre-portioned foods like crackers, bagels, slices of bread or bacon, etc. Do this consistently and I'm fairly certain the scale will start to move.

asilmegan34

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

What is your height, age, starting weight and goal weight? These things affect your numbers so it's hard to advise without knowing them.

My height is 5'10
SW: 270
GW: 180
CW: 200

I was at 185 back in December but got on Prozac and I gained 15 pounds. I dont want to blame the medicine as I know I ate really crappy in December. And once I gained the weight, I decided to do cardio and weights instead of just trying to be skinny flabby.

asilmegan34

andrea4736 wrote: »

asilmegan34 wrote: »

Or rather, my diary because I am stuck in a rut and I feel so defeated. I cannot lose weight and I am gaining inches in my stomach area.

Short background:
I've lost 70 pounds in 3 years and I have overcome an ED. I have been doing strictly calorie restriction to lose weight for the last 6 months. I hit a plateau and I was so tired of looking flabby and felt crappy so I started cardio and lifting weights. I've gained weight and have been unable to lose.

Right now I work out 5 days a week, I get in at least 12-15K steps a day (fitbit), and I do 3-4 days a week of strength training with cardio. I feel sore everyday from exertion but I figure that's a good thing.

I feel like my weaknesses are:
- Eating too many carbs
- Not measuring all of my food via digital food scale (just purchased one today)

Does anyone have advice for me to get things moving in the right direction? Should I cut my calorie intake more? Realistically I have 20 pounds left to lose. I do measurements and I have lost 11.5 inches total in various places in 6 weeks but it has drastically plateaued to .5 inch per week if that. My clothes feel tighter in my stomach area and I feel like I look bigger, and my progress pics don't really show much change at all.

Thanks for helping out someone who is totally clueless.

The food scale will most likely help a lot as it is really easy to misjudge how much you are eating. If you are sore from strength training, you are most likely retaining water. If your profile pic is current, you look great! Weight loss slows drastically the closer you get to goal.

It's current as of today, so thank you!

asilmegan34

CafeRacer808 wrote: »

asilmegan34 wrote: »

- Not measuring all of my food via digital food scale (just purchased one today)

I suspect this will have the biggest impact on whether or not you start losing weight again. As we get closer to goal weight, logging accurately becomes extremely important. Weigh everything, including packaged or pre-portioned foods like crackers, bagels, slices of bread or bacon, etc. Do this consistently and I'm fairly certain the scale will start to move.

I agree. I came across a post on here where someone showed the difference of the serving size of bagels for nutrition facts on the bag versus the scale, and it was off by a decent margin. I dont use condiments much because of this, because I am way too lazy to get an accurate measurement so I'd rather just not eat it.

aflane

Once you start using a food scale, you'll find it gets easier and easier. At first, it's kind of tedious, but in no time at all, it becomes a breeze. I can get my breakfast and lunch measured out before my tea is ready. Lately, I've started to make a game of it.... how close to 85 grams (1 serving) is this handful of carrots? When I nail it on the first try, it gives me a strange sense of accomplishment.

As everyone said, the food scale will make a huge difference, and you might not need a caloric adjustment at this time.

Tacklewasher

aflane wrote: »

Lately, I've started to make a game of it.... how close to 85 grams (1 serving) is this handful of carrots? When I nail it on the first try, it gives me a strange sense of accomplishment.

I'm good with my snap peas, but not so good with the baby carrots. Takes way fewer than I though to hit 85g.

aflane

I LOVE my snap peas... eating them now. <lol>

VintageFeline

It's not going to be your carb intake but your food intake overall. Getting more accurate with your logging will likely get things moving again.

clambert1273

My diary is open if you ever need/want to look... ignore the repetitiveness LOL I was offline here for a bit so this last week is up to date and if you flip back to Aug/Sep last year... Are you doing a progressive lifting program? If so, I would research eating to a macro count (this is what I do) and it is much easier and a steady state of calories every day.

The food scale will be your primary weapon

sllm1

You look great.

Food scale is a must.

GainWisdom2CherishWhatMatters

Megan, u look gr8. U don't need to lose more. Focus on maintenance-exercise & eating habits u can follow for YRS to come. Depriving urself, spending so much time exercising, weighing & recording food, etc. can't leave much time for "life" that comes up. A stressful event/setback, a sick family member/friend who needs u, chronic ongoing stress with work, relationship, or another issue--this could upend ur strict regimen & send u back into the arms of comfort food & stopping exercise altogether. Check out OA Anon (good podcasts) or fitwoman.com (GreenMountain) - good perspective & wisdom for stress eaters, etc. who struggle against having their weight rule their world. Stay strong, inside & out. Believe in urself, & don't let ur weight define who you are.

asilmegan34

Thank you!

kshama2001

asilmegan34 wrote: »

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

What is your height, age, starting weight and goal weight? These things affect your numbers so it's hard to advise without knowing them.

My height is 5'10
SW: 270
GW: 180
CW: 200

I was at 185 back in December but got on Prozac and I gained 15 pounds. I dont want to blame the medicine as I know I ate really crappy in December. And once I gained the weight, I decided to do cardio and weights instead of just trying to be skinny flabby.

I hated Prozac. It gave me anxiety attacks. I take Wellbutrin now and like it a lot better.

Good for you for not blaming the medication. However, with so many anti-depressants available, why not work with your doctor to find one that does not increase your appetite?

Also, with only 20 pounds to lose it's going to be very slow.

Where are you in your menstrual cycle? Might you have some premenstrual bloat going on right now?

asilmegan34

kshama2001 wrote: »

asilmegan34 wrote: »

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

What is your height, age, starting weight and goal weight? These things affect your numbers so it's hard to advise without knowing them.

My height is 5'10
SW: 270
GW: 180
CW: 200

I was at 185 back in December but got on Prozac and I gained 15 pounds. I dont want to blame the medicine as I know I ate really crappy in December. And once I gained the weight, I decided to do cardio and weights instead of just trying to be skinny flabby.

I hated Prozac. It gave me anxiety attacks. I take Wellbutrin now and like it a lot better.

Good for you for not blaming the medication. However, with so many anti-depressants available, why not work with your doctor to find one that does not increase your appetite?

Also, with only 20 pounds to lose it's going to be very slow.

Where are you in your menstrual cycle? Might you have some premenstrual bloat going on right now?

Actually I am on Prozac because I have Pre Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). I get really bad bloating during this time, to the point where I have to wear different bras. Last cycle I made sure to cut out my caffeine and try to keep carbs a little lower as well as sodium and it helped slightly.I just came out of my cycle so where my measurements are now, are pretty spot on.

asilmegan34

anyone else have any insight?

VeryKatie

I actually think you're already moving in the right direction to solve the mystery by buying the food scale. It will show you what you need to know about your calorie intake!

The other thing I can suggest is to look at your exercise calories. Are you inputting the MFP or a heartrate or Fitbit calculation? Those all tend to be too high. Are you eating back all of your exercise calories?

What kind of strength exercises do you do?

Also, at your height and weight, you might want to try reducing your calorie intake by 100 or so again. You can decrease it slowly to see how that affects your weight (such as reducing your daily goal by 100 cals every couple of weeks and see how that affects your weight loss). Probably not below 1500 though, plus eating back 50% of your exercise calories.

kimny72

asilmegan34 wrote: »

anyone else have any insight?

Food scale. You really can't know exactly what the problem is until you're sure your diary is accurate. Commit to using the food scale for everything possible for 2 weeks. I bet in that time the answer will pop right out at you. Whether or not you are losing weight depends on your calories. Also, with 20 lbs left you will prob start to lose slower, and smaller fat losses can easily be hidden on the scale by water weight fluctuations. It may take 2 or 3 weeks at a time to see the losses taking place show up on the scale.

laceyslabaugh

Definitely food scale! What I thought was an ounce - was NOT even close!

jennybearlv

asilmegan34 wrote: »

Or rather, my diary because I am stuck in a rut and I feel so defeated. I cannot lose weight and I am gaining inches in my stomach area.

Short background:
I've lost 70 pounds in 3 years and I have overcome an ED. I have been doing strictly calorie restriction to lose weight for the last 6 months. I hit a plateau and I was so tired of looking flabby and felt crappy so I started cardio and lifting weights. I've gained weight and have been unable to lose.

Right now I work out 5 days a week, I get in at least 12-15K steps a day (fitbit), and I do 3-4 days a week of strength training with cardio. I feel sore everyday from exertion but I figure that's a good thing.

I feel like my weaknesses are:
- Eating too many carbs
- Not measuring all of my food via digital food scale (just purchased one today)

Does anyone have advice for me to get things moving in the right direction? Should I cut my calorie intake more? Realistically I have 20 pounds left to lose. I do measurements and I have lost 11.5 inches total in various places in 6 weeks but it has drastically plateaued to .5 inch per week if that. My clothes feel tighter in my stomach area and I feel like I look bigger, and my progress pics don't really show much change at all.

Thanks for helping out someone who is totally clueless.

I would love to lose .5 inch a week. I lose weight just fine, but I'm lucky to lose .5 inch a month. That is the great thing about measuring our progress in different ways. Just because the scale doesn't move you can still lose in other ways. That looks like success and progress to me. I'm thinking you could just be bloated, especially if your stomach is getting bigger. I had that happen last week. Sudden mysterious 2 pounds extra on the scale with an inch more in my waist measurement. We lose fat all over though, and it happened overnight so I knew it wasn't real.

Adding that food scale could make a big difference. It sounds like you are shrinking just fine, but that scale could really boost your losses.

2011rocket3touring

andrea4736 wrote: »

...The food scale will most likely help a lot as it is really easy to misjudge how much you are eating. If you are sore from strength training, you are most likely retaining water. If your profile pic is current, you look great! Weight loss slows drastically the closer you get to goal.

Nailed it.

AnnPT77

asilmegan34 wrote: »

CafeRacer808 wrote: »

asilmegan34 wrote: »

- Not measuring all of my food via digital food scale (just purchased one today)

I suspect this will have the biggest impact on whether or not you start losing weight again. As we get closer to goal weight, logging accurately becomes extremely important. Weigh everything, including packaged or pre-portioned foods like crackers, bagels, slices of bread or bacon, etc. Do this consistently and I'm fairly certain the scale will start to move.

I agree. I came across a post on here where someone showed the difference of the serving size of bagels for nutrition facts on the bag versus the scale, and it was off by a decent margin. I dont use condiments much because of this, because I am way too lazy to get an accurate measurement so I'd rather just not eat it.

Condiments are easy. Let's use mayo as an example, and assume you're weighing in grams, but the principle works for other things.

Remove the cap from the mayo, unless it's a squeeze bottle. Put the whole bottle on the scale. Zero (tare) the scale. Take the bottle and spread or squirt a nice blob of mayo on your sandwich. Put the bottle back on the scale. The scale will have a negative number on it. Let's pretend it's -11 grams. Log 11 grams of mayo (that's how much you took out of the bottle & put on your sandwich. Done.

Here's granny's full standard list of food-weighing tips, while we're talking about it:

• Assembling a salad in a bowl, a stew in a pan, sandwich on a plate? Put the bowl/pan/plate on the scale, zero, add an ingredient, note the weight, zero, add the next ingredient, note the weight . . . .
• Using something from a carton or jar, or cutting a slice from a hunk of cheese? Put the container or chunk on the scale, zero, take out portion, note the negative value (it's the amount you took out).
• Eating a whole apple, banana, unhulled strawberries, corn on the cob? Weigh the ready-to-eat food, eat the yummy parts, weigh the core/hulls/peel, subtract & note.
• I like to keep a few clean plastic yogurt-tub lids around to weigh small items, like a handful of nuts or chopped hardboiled eggs or something. Drop the lid on the scale, zero, add item, note weight, eat or use - just a quick rinse of the lid under the faucet & you're done.

No measuring spoons to scrape out, or wash, except when you need to measure liquids . . . and you can weigh some of them, too.

While I'm cooking, I usually scribble the items & grams on a junk-mail envelope, and log the whole list on MFP when I'm done, so I don't have to worry about spills on my device.