Eating healthy, not losing weight

sodaceratops

I eat very healthy, exercise as often as I can and still can't seem to lose weight. I've been vegan for 4 years now, vegetarian since childhood. I had a baby 9 months ago and gained 100 lbs during pregnancy, after having lost 100 lbs 6 years ago. I'm around 235 now, and have been going up and down 10 lbs for a while.

I am a single mom and am not able to go to a gym or do anything without my baby. I walk whenever possible (3+ hours/day), try to do an hour of yoga at least thrice a week. The only junk food I eat is homemade dark chocolate and nuts, and that's rare. I don't buy many packaged foods (tofu is the main exception).

I don't have time to record what I eat everyday, weighing and measuring like I used to. I figure since I eat healthy it should be fine. I haven't lost any weight since the birth of my baby. Here's what I ate yesterday:

2 Smoothies *1 banana, 1 tbsp cacao, 1 tbsp hemp hearts, 2 c. homemade almond milk, 1 tsp maca*

Taco salad *spinach, cherry tomatoes, 1/2 avocado, 3 tbsp homemade cashew dressing*

Sweet/sour tofu *1/2 pk tofu, 1 red pepper, 1 onion, 1 tsp ketchup, 2 tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp soy sauce*

This is a typical day of food. I usually have 1 or 2 smoothies (different each day), a tofu/bean dish, and a salad/veggie bowl. If I need a snack, I'll eat some dehydrated apple slices, or veggie chips. Rarely, I'll make dark chocolate squares and eat 1 to 3 a day. I don't often have cravings for food, I eat when hungry, or when I have time. A "slip" for me would look like eating an entire bar of dark chocolate, or a pint of coconut ice cream (this hasn't happened for 2 months). I'm also breastfeeding and was told that helps shed pounds, it hasn't.

I've spoken with my doctor a few times about losing the weight and what I can do. He thinks that with the stress in my life, I'm unable to lose the weight. I don't fully agree because that hasn't stopped me before. Any suggestions/tips/advice on how I can lose weight or get more exercise in would be great.

inertiastrength

you need to eat less, not healthy

inertiastrength

I mean you are certainly WELCOME to but it's not necessary lol

rsclause

Exercise can be used to increase burn and deficit but in the end it is calorie deficit that reduces weight.

Stella3838

If you eat less than you burn, you'll lose weight. Without tracking, you'll never really know if/what calorie deficit you're creating. I get the not having time thing, but tracking is the only way you know for sure. If you aren't losing now or if you're gaining, you need to eat less.

Rebecca0224

I gained weight as a vegetarian. Being a vegetarian or vegan doesn't mean you will lose weight. If you want to lose weight you have to be more conscious of intake. If you are not losing weight you are taking in more calories than your body is using.

heybales

sodaceratops wrote: »

I don't have time to record what I eat everyday, weighing and measuring like I used to. I figure since I eat healthy it should be fine.

You have proven, as anyone else has - that this is incorrect.

And it will be harder if difficult to log and weigh.

But how much variety is there really to your different meals and such?

Weigh and log 1 time, and you may have that meal covered, merely need to weigh it next time you eat it - already in MFP to select.

cathipa

Eating healthy does not always mean you will be a healthy weight. You state "I don't have time to record what I eat everyday, weighing and measuring like I used to. I figure since I eat healthy it should be fine. I haven't lost any weight since the birth of my baby." You must be eating maintenance calories if you aren't losing weight. To lose you must be in a calorie deficit. Why can't you weigh your food and log daily?

inertiastrength

If you are 100lbs overweight, you need to make time. I'm sorry but you just had a baby, would you like to see them grow up?

crzycatlady1

To lose weight you must be at the correct calorie deficit for your weight loss goals. What foods you eat to make up your calorie intake doesn't matter though-only that you're hitting that calorie deficit.

If you're not losing weight then you're eating too many calories.

amtyrell

Logging doesn't take that much time. You are making homemade almond milk that takes more time then a weeks logging.

anectine

Its not just as easy as "just eat less". U probably need to calculate your daily calorie requirement and shoot for 500/day calorie deficit. Severely restricting calories will cause your weight loss to slow as your body adjusts. Also change type of foods....more protein healthy fats. No processed foods. Exercise regularly even if at home. Any type of high intensity intervals will help boost metabolism. Good luck!

LessCookiess

What you're doing right now isn't working for you, so in order to see change in your body you need to implement a change.
I don't calorie count and I don't weigh my food. But I know if I wasn't losing weight this is a tool that will be beneficial. For me personally I practice portion control i once bought containers like the 21 day fix ones from amazon helped me out might be good for you as well. I don't use them anymore but if you're a busy person this might be helpful.

The second option is so start weight your food, and to also track the calorie content of what you're eating.

See what will work for you.

LVNF04

rsclause wrote: »

Exercise can be used to increase burn and deficit but in the end it is calorie deficit that reduces weight.

I agree with this. Nobody exercises all day. We are at resting state the majority of our day, so the key is how do you increase your metabolism at rested state, and all the stuff you are eating makes you healthy but I don't think it promotes weight loss, are there other factors like getting enough sleep, water? We're programmed to eat eat and eat. Our earlier ancestor didn't have that luxury. I believe in eating when you are hungry and only when you are hungry.

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AliceDark

People gained and lost weight before logging/food scales/etc. were things, so it's certainly not required. Some people do very well just by reducing the overall amount they're eating. However, since you're still breastfeeding, that's probably not the best plan for you (you need to make sure you're still eating enough to feed your baby, so just randomly reducing calories might not be ideal).

Logging isn't a "if it's not 100% perfect, there's no point" kind of thing. Even getting a general picture of what you're eating is better than nothing. Yes, if you have time and it doesn't cause you undue stress, using a food scale all the time is great, but if that's not you right now, it's okay. I would strongly suggest starting to log more generally just to get an idea of your overall intake. Using an entry that says "1 large banana" or using an entry for Hershey's dark chocolate (until you have the free time to create your own recipe in the recipe builder) will get you into the right ballpark, and that's better than no ballpark at all.

Logging tends to be a little bit more labor-intensive for the first few days, and then it gets easier as you start to build up your library of frequently used entries. (I eat a lot of the same things over and over, and it sounds like you do too. For people like us, continued logging tends to be super easy because we don't have to continually search for new entries). If you use the full web version of MFP, the "Copy from Date" function is fantastic (you could copy your previous smoothie recipe and then just change anything that differs). My phone app also has that function, and a Swipe Right to Add Previous Day's Meal option as well, so planning my day only takes a minute or two when I'm eating things I've eaten before.

I'll also say that not everyone finds losing weight easy while breastfeeding; some people find it very difficult. You may just need to wait it out until your little one is weaned, but even if that's the case, you can certainly spend this time continuing to practice your healthy habits so that you're ready to go later on.

sodaceratops

I logged my food yesterday and the day before. Yesterday was 900 calories and the day before was 1000. How many calories should I be eating to lose weight? I was told anything under 1600. I don't believe I eat over 1600 calories. When I was recording my daily food intake, I was always around 1000. I'll try to record my food for the week and hope this helps.

cathipa

If you are breastfeeding you are way under the calorie recommendations. Even still, if you are truly only consuming 900-1000 calories you would be losing weight. 1600 is the minimum for breastfeeding.

Maxematics

sodaceratops wrote: »

I logged my food yesterday and the day before. Yesterday was 900 calories and the day before was 1000. How many calories should I be eating to lose weight? I was told anything under 1600. I don't believe I eat over 1600 calories. When I was recording my daily food intake, I was always around 1000. I'll try to record my food for the week and hope this helps.

Then you're definitely underestimating your food intake. If you were only eating 900 to 1000 calories per day, you'd definitely be losing weight.

RedheadedPrincess14

Smoothies can cause weight gain because they are more quickly abs bred and hence raise your insulin levels, making you hungry all day long. I also notice that you have a fair bit of fat in your diet. I am a vegan and I base my diet around starches, whole veg and fruit (unblended), and low fat. This lets me eat a lot of food and lose weight. But also, go easy on yourself since you just had a baby!!! Look up dr.mcdougall, dr.lisle, and chef aj. Also, mr and mrs vegan on YouTube have a program called WSLF (whole starch low fat) that doesn't require calorie tracking and can allow you to eat a lot while still loosing weight. Good luck

Piqueaboo

Count calories. Stick to what MFP gives you. you should see the scale move shortly after.

cerise_noir

anectine wrote: »

Its not just as easy as "just eat less". U probably need to calculate your daily calorie requirement and shoot for 500/day calorie deficit. Severely restricting calories will cause your weight loss to slow as your body adjusts. Also change type of foods....more protein healthy fats. No processed foods. Exercise regularly even if at home. Any type of high intensity intervals will help boost metabolism. Good luck!

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with "processed" foods. So, yogurt, cheese, ground beef, etc is bad?

OP doesn't have to figure out TDEE -500. They're on MyFitnessPal. They can enter their stats and chose to lose 1lb per week unless they have under 50lbs to lose (should chose to lose half a pound), or over 50lbs to lose (chose to lose 1.5lbs per week), and up to 2lbs per week if they have 75lbs+ to lose. Mfp works out the deficit for us.

xmichaelyx

Step 1: Figure out exactly how many calories you are eating.
Step 2: Figure out exactly how many calories you should be eating.
Step 3: Eat that many calories.

Eating "healthy" or "unhealthy" is mostly irrelevant to weight loss.

sodaceratops

I should also mention that I am fairly tall 5'10" so I'm not supposed to be 120 lbs or anything. MFP hasn't given me anything to stick to.

RGv2

Maxematics wrote: »

sodaceratops wrote: »

I logged my food yesterday and the day before. Yesterday was 900 calories and the day before was 1000. How many calories should I be eating to lose weight? I was told anything under 1600. I don't believe I eat over 1600 calories. When I was recording my daily food intake, I was always around 1000. I'll try to record my food for the week and hope this helps.

Then you're definitely underestimating your food intake. If you were only eating 900 to 1000 calories per day, you'd definitely be losing weight.

A) How long have you been eating so low?

B ) Can you open your food diary? If you were really eating that little (literally less than my kindergartner) and breast feeding, the pounds would be falling off. This reads like something in your logging/Calories In estimation isn't right.

sodaceratops wrote: »

I should also mention that I am fairly tall 5'10" so I'm not supposed to be 120 lbs or anything. MFP hasn't given me anything to stick to.

This makes me question your reported intake even more. At your stats and reported intake you're approx. at TDEE -58%, which isn't advised for anyone and would be an estimated weight loss of over 2lbs per week.

The easiest way for us to help you now is by letting us know how long you estimate you've been eating this low and my opening up your diary.

Piqueaboo

sodaceratops wrote: »

I should also mention that I am fairly tall 5'10" so I'm not supposed to be 120 lbs or anything. MFP hasn't given me anything to stick to.

Are you sure? Did you fill this out?

joaniebalonie088

Sounds like you eat the same stuff all the time, so after a week it so if logging it should be pretty easy. The "recent" tab is helpful on your log!

CharlieBeansmomTracey

RedheadedPrincess14 wrote: »

Smoothies can cause weight gain because they are more quickly abs bred and hence raise your insulin levels, making you hungry all day long. I also notice that you have a fair bit of fat in your diet. I am a vegan and I base my diet around starches, whole veg and fruit (unblended), and low fat. This lets me eat a lot of food and lose weight. But also, go easy on yourself since you just had a baby!!! Look up dr.mcdougall, dr.lisle, and chef aj. Also, mr and mrs vegan on YouTube have a program called WSLF (whole starch low fat) that doesn't require calorie tracking and can allow you to eat a lot while still loosing weight. Good luck

NO. she is eating more than she thinks. has nothing to do with the smoothies, I lost weight eating things I liked.fat is healthy and needed for hormone function.eating low fat does not mean fat loss or losing weight. low fat diet should only be for those who have health issues/problems with digesting fat.if you are losing weight its because you are in a deficit period! insulin levels raise and lower in normal people and thats a normal function,its not going to cause weight gain or fat to be stored,unless again health issues and then its still all about the deficit.

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CSARdiver

Congratulations on the new baby!

Don't overestimate breastfeeding or any other CO process. There is an inherent 20% margin of error in calorie estimations to begin with, so you don't need to add to this by overestimating your caloric output.

Take the time to be specific and provide details describing what you are experiencing and what MFP has you set for. Open you diary and have someone more experienced take a look.

Bottom line if you are not losing then you are not in a caloric deficit and eating more than you think you are.

Piqueaboo

Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »

@RedheadedPrincess14 -- That is absolutely not true, insulin levels do not cause fat storage on the body, insulin is NEEDED for the body, it increases in normal healthy people to keep sugar from sticking to red blood cells, which is what is actually harmful, not increased insulin, Fat is also important in diets, especially good dietary fats, it also helps people remain more satiated as they learn to stick with a deficit. People do not need to go vegan, that is a life choice people make for ethical reasons, if they don't have any issues eating meat or products that come from animals they can eat them and still lose weight just fine

Haha, preach, I'm down 50lbs with plenty of pasta, meat, pizza and alcohol! It's how much we consume, not what we consume (although I do advocate for moderation rather than just junk all the time)