Fast food

Bran_mob08

I'm going to just be honest here. I'm a fast food junkie. I try to make obvious healthy choices.

I don't cook much at all.

I literally eat most meals as fast food. I log it all. I stay within my caloric goals and workout burning 500-1000 calories a day.

I haven't lost a single pound.

I know the ideal answer would be "you need to eat at home"

But a calorie is a calorie correct? Maybe not. Maybe I'm overthinking this.

I'm feel discouraged after not seeing the scale move when I feel like I'm logging EVERYTHING down to a package of sauce if I use it. Always have a deficit and still nothing.

MFP has me eating 1400 calories for a 2 lb a week loss. I pretty much eat the 1400 a day. I don't eat much of my workout calories back so almost days MFP still says I have 700-1000 calories left to eat.

Any insight would be helpful. Sorry for the ramble

kimny72

How long have you been logging and not seeing any loss?

jdog022

So for example your eating McDonald's or something right? and website says it's X amount of calories. It's likely alot more when the person making the sandwich puts 2x mayo on or the fry guy overflows the cup by 1.5x. it can add up especially if ur eating multiple times per day out. Whenever I eat out fast food or any place really I add 20% to what their site says or to my best guess.

how long are we talking about anyways since you started tracking? and you track 100% of what goes in your mouth?

it would also be helpful to open your diary and provide us all your stats. age height weight etc

inertiastrength

In another post you mentioned you had 600-1000 calorie daily burns. This one shows you eat fast food for most of your meals. Given that a 16yo kid is putting who knows how much mayo on your junior chicken that could be off by 20% on a GOOD day, coupled with some generous burns it's not that surprising. You're probably eating more than you think and burning less than you think. Try eating back only 25% of those exercise cals and maybe asking for calorie dense things on the side. I know you can get mcchicken sauce (mayo) in a packet where you would know the exact weight etc. Good luck!

Blitzia

Jdog022 has a good point. Things like portion size can be really important. You may have eaten "fries", but there can be a 500 calorie difference (or more?) between small fries and large fries. It may be worth checking into whether your portion sizes in reality match with serving sizes of the listed nutrtion facts.

Otherwise, yes, a calorie is a calorie. You could eat 1400 calories worth of twinkies and as long as your maintenance calorie level is over 1400 and your twinkie calorie math is correct, you will lose weight. So the issue has to be that (somewhere, somehow) you are eating more than 1400 net calories.

TimothyFish

Well the good thing is that the calories listed for fast food is likely to be correct because fast food places make money through consistency. The likely answer is that there is something that you aren't logging.

Bran_mob08

When I eat out I don't get anything with mayo etc.

For instance I eat egg mcmuffins a lot

Chick fil a grilled nuggets a lot

Subway turkey sandwich a lot (oil and vinegar)

Eggs whites when I can from places.

So I'm not just going to fast food and eating burger and fries. I'm trying to at least choose healthier options.

Let me make my diary public. I'm trying to figure out how.

inertiastrength

There is nothing wrong with fast food. I eat Wendy's chilli nearly every single day, and I've been known to hit the all day breakfast menu at McDonald's but there definitely is a problem in your data if you're not losing after a month. I'll take a peek at your diary and see if I see anything that stands out

jdog022

You seem to be a bit hung up on this concept of "healthy" . Forget that. You can get fat on any food on the planet if you are consuming them a surplus of what your body uses. That includes egg mcmuffins or a subway Turkey sandwich.

Sure yes those are likely lower calories then some deep fried whatever but the bottom line is your are not in a calorie deficit.

Have you been logging and doing this for at least a few months? Could just need more time if this has only been a week or two.

Bran_mob08

Okay I'm being wishy washy on these discussions I apologize.

I've been logging for 2 weeks. Horrible at logging weekends.

Been working out a month and was logging on weight watchers at first. Then came here.

Diary is public now.

Sorry for being all over the place. I'm just stressing out and I think in my mind I feel like I've been doing this SO LONG when in reality its been consistent logging since Monday. I annoy myself

Bran_mob08

jdog022 wrote: »

You seem to be a bit hung up on this concept of "healthy" . Forget that. You can get fat on any food on the planet if you are consuming them a surplus of what your body uses. That includes egg mcmuffins or a subway Turkey sandwich.

Sure yes those are likely lower calories then some deep fried whatever but the bottom line is your are not in a calorie deficit.

Have you been logging and doing this for at least a few months? Could just need more time if this has only been a week or two.

I thought it was longer but it's been a darn consistent logging week. I just need to stop being impatient

jdog022

We all totally and completely understand. We have all been right here. I think you have answered your own questions here and that's going to go a long way.

One thing worth mentioning is FF of any kind is usually pretty high on sodium which will have you hold onto water. that can mask fat loss for a bit. be patient stick with it. reassess in a few weeks and check back if you logged 7 days a week 100% and have lost nothing

Bran_mob08

jdog022 wrote: »

We all totally and completely understand. We have all been right here. I think you have answered your own questions here and that's going to go a long way.

One thing worth mentioning is FF of any kind is usually pretty high on sodium which will have you hold onto water. that can mask fat loss for a bit. be patient stick with it. reassess in a few weeks and check back if you logged 7 days a week 100% and have lost nothing

Thank you!! I'm going to do that. It's amazing when you "diet" you feel like you've done it so much longer. I try not to be so fixated on numbers but I am

jdog022

what is really crazy is how it evolves over time. How your tastes change. How much easier and seemless it becomes. Now it's just how I eat. wieghing my food is just what I do. Not doing that feels wierd now

Bran_mob08

jdog022 wrote: »

what is really crazy is how it evolves over time. How your tastes change. How much easier and seemless it becomes. Now it's just how I eat. wieghing my food is just what I do. Not doing that feels wierd now

On my other post when I said I weigh my food.. what I meant by that was when it's not fast food I do weigh. Again, I'm very inconsistent on these post because I try to answer to quickly without explanation LOL.

I cook a lot of egg whites at home and turkey bacon etc on the weekends (when I don't log) and I weigh all of it out. When it's fast food I never weigh because I just pull the nutrition info off the app. Going to try and log this weekend consistently.

I over indulged tonight due to my negative attitude so I sucks to log it but I'm going to.

jdog022

Don't worry on the over indulge. I think what separates the success stories vs non is just getting back to it the next day vs letting one bad day set off 100 straight bad days. I went 1k over last Sat. no biggie. logged it all and moved on

Packerjohn

Could I ask what sort of workout you're doing to be burning 500-1000 calories a day? 1000 calories would be in the range of a 10 mile run for someone around 180 pounds.

arrghmatey1

Fast Food is of the Devil .... All joking aside you aren't getting good nutrition and are eating a diet extremely high in fats and carbs.

Your work outs are what is probably keeping you on an even keel and that is probably slightly uphill and with a few missed workouts you will gain weight.

I know this will start a firestorm among the calorie is a calorie folks but a calorie is not a calorie when you combine all the other factors like blood sugar and metabolism, etc. etc. etc.

I will give credit to the fact that through your diligence you maybe affecting a fairly reasonable maintenance diet for your current weight and this would be acceptable if say you were on a extended 3 week vacation or even doing a lot of irregular or extra work hours for a month or two that affect your preparation time each day.

That being said it is a losing game your playing.

Please don't misunderstand stand me I am not being mean I am just stating facts.

I have battled my weight for a very long time on many occasions and it is only this last time where I have made the commitment to actually change the way I eat and to follow a reasonable nutrition plan have I begun to experience true results which are sustainable. ( 51 lbs in 17 weeks with small amounts of exercise on a regular basis and good nutrition)

I have been able to lose weight far in excess of the calories I have given up in deficit. It has not included any fast food but there have been a few pizza nights and some other treats.

Lets be real a Big Mack is in excess of 800 calories. I can make a meal that is 800 calories that you would not be able to finish which is nutritionally sound.

If you are only eating 1400 calories a day that is not a lot of fast food and you are probably hungry most of the time.

So here is the bottom line you are not going to lose weight by simply cutting back on the foods that made you fat in the first place.

Its not just the calories but the make up of the food you are eating.

Too me as a former smoker of many years I can tell you that most smokers cannot see their addiction for what it truly was until they are on the backside of it. Sometimes it takes years for them to see it.

Fast Food is very similar in that if you can bust that cycle for a few weeks most of it will not appeal to you anymore because your body will have nutrition it needs and you will see it for the greasy mess it is.

I was a young married once and I believe you when you state your goals but they aren't achievable eating a daily diet of fast food.

Please don't weight (pun intended) till your an old married to finally get it. Good Luck!

jdog022

although I agree with a lot of what you said in terms of nutritional Balance and quality.. you can still eat only big macs and lose weight. Just don't want to to confuse the OP. people tend to change to "better foods" once they track and see they have no calories left and still starving

rileysowner

I will have to disagree with those who say that the calories for fast food are going to be much higher than listed. Fast food places, at least the big names, when tested by independent labs come out very close to the published numbers. This is largely due to the fairly small margin they run on, and the very regimented preparation procedure. This is quite different than a sit down restaurant where the cooks have a lot of flexibility in preparation.

If you have not been consistently logging, that is weekends being bad, it is very easy to destroy your calorie deficit in those days.

Nutritionally, it would be wise to try to eat more home cooked foods, especially veggies, but you can lose using fast food. A good example would be the guy in the movie Fat Heads. While there are shortcomings in that movie, it does show that consistently eating fast food while tracking calories will bring weight loss.

jdog022

I have weighed my last 3 small French fries from five guys and they aren't even 80 grams within each other. that's hundreds of lovely deep fried caloric discrepancies

diannethegeek

http://abc7.com/health/teacher-loses-60-pounds-while-eating-nothing-but-mcdonalds/705916/

^You absolutely can lose weight while eating predominantly fast food.

OP, you mention you're lax with logging on the weekends. I would start there, logging as best you cam every day. That and a little patience and it sounds like you've got a pretty good attitude to carry you through all this. Keep it up. You'll get there :flowerforyou:

kimny72

arrghmatey1 wrote: »

Fast Food is of the Devil .... All joking aside you aren't getting good nutrition and are eating a diet extremely high in fats and carbs.

Your work outs are what is probably keeping you on an even keel and that is probably slightly uphill and with a few missed workouts you will gain weight.

I know this will start a firestorm among the calorie is a calorie folks but a calorie is not a calorie when you combine all the other factors like blood sugar and metabolism, etc. etc. etc.

I will give credit to the fact that through your diligence you maybe affecting a fairly reasonable maintenance diet for your current weight and this would be acceptable if say you were on a extended 3 week vacation or even doing a lot of irregular or extra work hours for a month or two that affect your preparation time each day.

That being said it is a losing game your playing.

Please don't misunderstand stand me I am not being mean I am just stating facts.

I have battled my weight for a very long time on many occasions and it is only this last time where I have made the commitment to actually change the way I eat and to follow a reasonable nutrition plan have I begun to experience true results which are sustainable. ( 51 lbs in 17 weeks with small amounts of exercise on a regular basis and good nutrition)

I have been able to lose weight far in excess of the calories I have given up in deficit. It has not included any fast food but there have been a few pizza nights and some other treats.

Lets be real a Big Mack is in excess of 800 calories. I can make a meal that is 800 calories that you would not be able to finish which is nutritionally sound.

If you are only eating 1400 calories a day that is not a lot of fast food and you are probably hungry most of the time.

So here is the bottom line you are not going to lose weight by simply cutting back on the foods that made you fat in the first place.

Its not just the calories but the make up of the food you are eating.

Too me as a former smoker of many years I can tell you that most smokers cannot see their addiction for what it truly was until they are on the backside of it. Sometimes it takes years for them to see it.

Fast Food is very similar in that if you can bust that cycle for a few weeks most of will not appeal to you anymore because your body will have nutrition it needs and you will see it for the greasy mess it is.

I was a young married once and I believe you when you state your goals but they aren't achievable eating a daily diet of fast food.

Please don't weight till your an old married to finally get it. Good Luck!

OP didn't say she was hungry and already acknowledged her current diet isn't the healthiest.

Just because you couldn't moderate fast food doesn't mean no one can. I eat fast food a couple of times a week and can get a filling meal for around 600 cals. A burger and a side salad has nutrition whether I get it at Wendy's or make it at home.

There's no harm obviously in giving up fast food, but it's not necessary and it's probably not why OP isn't losing. She's not losing because it's only been two weeks and she's been a little unfocused by her own admission

Bran_mob08

Packerjohn wrote: »

Could I ask what sort of workout you're doing to be burning 500-1000 calories a day? 1000 calories would be in the range of a 10 mile run for someone around 180 pounds.

I do an hour of boxing 3 times a week.
An hour of orange theory 4-5 times a week
And yoga.

I don't track my yoga calories burned
My heart rate monitor says I burn usually 500-600 in orange theory
400-500 in boxing.

I sometimes do boxing and orange theory back to back which is in I get those high 1000 calories day burns

Packerjohn

Great thoughts by @arrghmatey1. Start eating like an adult which would mean fast food is an occasional item, not a regular thing.

jtomaszewski81

I LIVE on fast food. So when I started trying to lose weight, I changed what I ate. Not where I ate at.

No more condiments, fried sides, or breads. Typically sonic for breakfast (side of eggs and splurge on a piece of bacon), lunch is subway or Panera salad or Panda Express veggies and beef n broccoli. Dinner may be Wendy's taco salad, workout the chips or salsa.

Snacks are one serving of mixed nuts and a string cheese. Desserts are sugar free jello with whipped topping.

I've lost 20 lbs in about 60 days. It's my own spin on south beach..low(er) carb, healthier eating, lower calories, and greatly reduced sugar. Good luck!

Bran_mob08

Packerjohn wrote: »

Great thoughts by @arrghmatey1. Start eating like an adult which would mean fast food is an occasional item, not a regular thing.

That's my goal. Just slowly trying to do it one thing at a time or I know I'll give up.

I again start to question though why it matters what kind of calories I put into my body. If I were eating crap meals like burgers and fries then I would understand where my issue was.

I've maintained my weight for 3 years now and added exercise a month ago so I thought the weight would come off by adding exercise and making some better fast food choices.

Bran_mob08

jtomaszewski81 wrote: »

I LIVE on fast food. So when I started trying to lose weight, I changed what I ate. Not where I ate at.

No more condiments, fried sides, or breads. Typically sonic for breakfast (side of eggs and splurge on a piece of bacon), lunch is subway or Panera salad or Panda Express veggies and beef n broccoli. Dinner may be Wendy's taco salad, workout the chips or salsa.

Snacks are one serving of mixed nuts and a string cheese. Desserts are sugar free jello with whipped topping.

I've lost 20 lbs in about 60 days. It's my own spin on south beach..low(er) carb, healthier eating, lower calories, and greatly reduced sugar. Good luck!

Okay good so you're like me when it comes to fast food LOL.

The only condiments that I get are oil from subway and maybe a chick fil a sauce but I track it.

Maybe I'm just not giving this enough time.

Did you see a loss your first week? I have to stop weighing everyday. My weigh in is Monday and I just don't see myself losing between now and then.

jdog022

it's not been one week. I haven't missed a log in 43 straight weeks and that's not even close to other folks around here . Yes.. More time. I'm down 80 ibs by the way. It works. trust me

Bran_mob08

jdog022 wrote: »

it's not been one week. I haven't missed a log in 43 straight weeks and that's not even close to other folks around here . Yes.. More time. I'm down 80 ibs by the way. It works. trust me

That's amazing. I have 50 to lose. Again here I am 5 days into consistent tracking and griping.

I'll post again after 2 weeks if I haven't lost and have y'all look at my diary. My goal is to track this weekends food.

rileysowner

jdog022 wrote: »

I have weighed my last 3 small French fries from five guys and they aren't even 80 grams within each other. that's hundreds of lovely deep fried caloric discrepancies

I wouldn't actually consider Five Guys fast food. McDonalds, Burger King, Arby's, Wendy's, Taco Bell those are fast food, cheap and quick. Five Guys is far from fast, and is pretty spendy.