Not seeing the scale move too much, whats wrong? (See my diary

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  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    beastmoves wrote: »
    dfwesq wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    I agree with the others, whats your height and weight??

    Based on your diary it looks like the problem is... you are eating too many calories. Some days you are eating well over 2,000 calories and have food logs including generic entries.
    I agree. It's also possible you're eating more than you're logging. Unless you're measuring or weighing everything, it's hard to say whether your entries are accurate. There are also a lot of fast foods whose calorie counts could be off by a lot.
    It doesn't matter if you eat perceptibly "healthy" or "vegan" foods, you still have to control your overall calorie intake.
    This doesn't relate directly to calories, but it doesn't look to me like your diet is healthy. I looked back a couple of weeks and didn't see any fruit, and only a few vegetables. Many days it was less than one serving, and some days none. But there was a lot of fast food, pizza, cheese, chips, cookies, and alcohol. And some days, a lot of alcohol. I can't point to any scientific evidence that alcohol slows down metabolism, but it's something to bear in mind. Nutritionally, May 7 was the worst day I saw. I know there are posts on this board that basically say you can eat anything you want and you'll lose weight as long as you maintain a calorie deficit. But imo you're not likely to succeed in the long term unless you eat a more nourishing diet.

    I thought i had been doing a good job of logging everything, and was weighing everything except if it was like for example a "beyond burger" or "qrunch patty" or like 2 small tortillas that says the calories per piece on the back. I didn't realize i was eating a lot of pizza, cheese, especially cookies, since i'm not really a sweets person, especially lately, i feel like i have been eating more of those qrunch burger (quinoa patties) which i dont fry them in oil, i just kind of spray the pan with a little olive oil cooking spray. I need to pay better attention and make better choices, thanks.

    here's something cool- https://www.reddit.com/r/1200isplenty/

    ^ it will give you an idea about what your calorie goal actually looks like. There's also plenty of photos, specific products, etc.
  • beanz744
    beanz744 Posts: 221 Member
    edited May 2017
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    just check ur dairy n i have say that u r not really treating the 1200 as ur upper limit 40+% of the time n when u go over it, u GO OVER it. u do hit 1200 on some days so u feel that u r "doing it" but if u go to nutrition page n look at ur weekly (not daily) average calories intake n i m sure that u will see many weeks that u r actually over on an average basis. plus, i think u r mis-using the fitbit concept if u r wearing it the whole day n entering the calories burned for the whole day (because i see entries of 800 to 1000 cal for exercises n nothing u did can burn that)into MFP where u ONLY should log the calories burned from ur exercises (correct me if i m wrong on this). my suggestion,

    1. reset MFP at 1400 to 1600 calories a day n learn to eat accordingly n only set to 1200 when u have success for a few weeks
    2. check ur WEEKLY average calorie intake to see if u r still under for the week regularly
    3. only input the calories u burned from exercises (not from ur daily routine) n only eat back half at the max


    its great that u r making the right decision to do something for ur health. GOOD LUCK!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Also OP, weigh packaged food! I had a pack of pitas that said a serving was half a pita, or 39 grams. A weighed one pita and it weighed 99 grams, so half was ... 49 grams, not 39. This happens with all sorts of foods. Weigh the burger, weigh the tortilla :)
  • beastmoves
    beastmoves Posts: 17 Member
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    Thanks again for all the input and suggestions everyone, I'm going to sit down once i get home from work and read all of these comments and take some notes.
  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
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    Just fyi, the qrunch burgers are mostly grains and starches, with added fat and a few vegetables and seasonings for flavor. They're not a great source of protein or any of the nutrients usually found in vegetables.

    You really can't thrive on the kind of menu you are eating. Last Saturday, for example, your food consisted of ten servings of grain/bread and one serving of cheese, plus whatever the 100 calories of "quick add" were. In addition, you drank over 1300 calories of alcohol.

    Now that I've thought about this a little more, I think it would probably be a good idea for you to talk with your doctor about what you are eating and drinking. You could either print out or export your daily menus to show him/her. I think your doctor could give you some insights that we here on the internet couldn't.
  • beanz744
    beanz744 Posts: 221 Member
    edited May 2017
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    beanz744 wrote: »
    just check ur dairy n i have say that u r not really treating the 1200 as ur upper limit 50+% of the time n when u go over it, u GO OVER it. u do hit 1200 on some days so u feel that u r "doing it" but if u go to nutrition page n look at ur weekly (not daily) average caloried intake n i m sure that u will see many weeks u r actually over on an average basis. plus, i think u r misusing the fitbit concept if u r wearing the whole day n entering the calories burned for the whole day (because i see entries of 800 to 1000 cal for exercises n nothing u did can burn that)into MFP where u ONLY should log the calories burned from ur exercises. my suggestion,

    1. reset MFP at 1400 to 1600 calories a day n learn to eat accordingly n only set to 1200 when u have success for a few weeks
    2. check ur WEEKLY average calorie intake to see if u r still under for the week regularly
    3. only input the calories u burned from actual exercises (not from ur daily routine) n only eat back half at the max


    its great that u r making the right decision to do something for ur health. GOOD LUCK!

    Can you clarify what you mean by "nothing you did can burn that"? When I'm set to sedentary, I frequently have Fitbit adjustments that are on the larger side. This isn't misusing the Fitbit, it's how the Fitbit is designed to work. Yes, there is one day with a larger adjustment -- but the other days are close to what I'd expect to see for many women who have a Fitbit sync -- 300-400 calorie adjustments.

    If you have a device that is synced, you won't just see the calories from intentional exercise. You will see all activity adjustments for all movement that gives you a higher calorie burn estimate than your activity level would have predicted.

    i dont wear a fitbit so i dont know how accurate it is but i m a certified instructor n i know that one hour intense high impact cadio will only burn 500to 600 cal on an average n lifting weight for an hour for an average male will only burn 200 to 300. what i was making sure is that u only enter the calories u burned for the intentional exercises like walking for 20-30 min on a treatmill (around 50 to 80 cal) or lifting for an hour (150 to 250 for a female). use what u feel is suitable from what i wrote. #p

    GOOD LUCK!

    PS if ur 400 to 600 cal entry is from multiple sessions in one day then it should be correct but try to only eat back half of those calories

    PS2. i thought u were the OP but i hope the above clea up my meaming amyway#D
  • beastmoves
    beastmoves Posts: 17 Member
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    dfwesq wrote: »
    Just fyi, the qrunch burgers are mostly grains and starches, with added fat and a few vegetables and seasonings for flavor. They're not a great source of protein or any of the nutrients usually found in vegetables.

    You really can't thrive on the kind of menu you are eating. Last Saturday, for example, your food consisted of ten servings of grain/bread and one serving of cheese, plus whatever the 100 calories of "quick add" were. In addition, you drank over 1300 calories of alcohol.

    Now that I've thought about this a little more, I think it would probably be a good idea for you to talk with your doctor about what you are eating and drinking. You could either print out or export your daily menus to show him/her. I think your doctor could give you some insights that we here on the internet couldn't.

    Oh no :/ this is bad news, those are my favorite. Agreed, and i know that was bad even for a cheat day, but i dont eat drink like that everyday, though, i know i shouldn't do it at all.
  • beastmoves
    beastmoves Posts: 17 Member
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    Weekends are harder for me to stay on track but its obviously a big problem.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    beanz744 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    beanz744 wrote: »
    just check ur dairy n i have say that u r not really treating the 1200 as ur upper limit 50+% of the time n when u go over it, u GO OVER it. u do hit 1200 on some days so u feel that u r "doing it" but if u go to nutrition page n look at ur weekly (not daily) average caloried intake n i m sure that u will see many weeks u r actually over on an average basis. plus, i think u r misusing the fitbit concept if u r wearing the whole day n entering the calories burned for the whole day (because i see entries of 800 to 1000 cal for exercises n nothing u did can burn that)into MFP where u ONLY should log the calories burned from ur exercises. my suggestion,

    1. reset MFP at 1400 to 1600 calories a day n learn to eat accordingly n only set to 1200 when u have success for a few weeks
    2. check ur WEEKLY average calorie intake to see if u r still under for the week regularly
    3. only input the calories u burned from actual exercises (not from ur daily routine) n only eat back half at the max


    its great that u r making the right decision to do something for ur health. GOOD LUCK!

    Can you clarify what you mean by "nothing you did can burn that"? When I'm set to sedentary, I frequently have Fitbit adjustments that are on the larger side. This isn't misusing the Fitbit, it's how the Fitbit is designed to work. Yes, there is one day with a larger adjustment -- but the other days are close to what I'd expect to see for many women who have a Fitbit sync -- 300-400 calorie adjustments.

    If you have a device that is synced, you won't just see the calories from intentional exercise. You will see all activity adjustments for all movement that gives you a higher calorie burn estimate than your activity level would have predicted.

    i dont wear a fitbit so i dont know how accurate it is but i m a certified instructor n i know that one hour intense high impact cadio will only burn 500to 600 cal on an average n lifting weight for an hour for an average male will only burn 200 to 300. what i was making sure is that u only enter the calories u burned for the intentional exercises like walking for 20-30 min on a treatmill (around 50 to 80 cal) or lifting for an hour (150 to 250 for a female). use what u feel is suitable from what i wrote. #p

    GOOD LUCK!

    I mean, i really think between 200 and 300 calories every 30 minutes of INTENSE exercise is average. i personally only burn 400-425 calories instructing (non-stop, hr 160+) an hour long cardio class.

    That being said, i've found my fitbit and garmin to be pretty accurate for non-exercise walking and activity.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    youre not weighing your food accurately
  • beastmoves
    beastmoves Posts: 17 Member
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    I don't know why the math of weight loss stuff is so confusing for me. I tried that calculator on iifym, still confused. Lets say my goal is 1200 per day and i start sticking to that, if i burn like 150 calories on the treadmill, and i'm also burning calories just by walking around during thr entire day, is that really bad for weight loss too? Because then i wont actually be meeting 1200 calories per day.
  • beastmoves
    beastmoves Posts: 17 Member
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    I don't really know what to put for my activity as far as "sedentary" and "lightly active" etc. also.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    beastmoves wrote: »
    I don't know why the math of weight loss stuff is so confusing for me. I tried that calculator on iifym, still confused. Lets say my goal is 1200 per day and i start sticking to that, if i burn like 150 calories on the treadmill, and i'm also burning calories just by walking around during thr entire day, is that really bad for weight loss too? Because then i wont actually be meeting 1200 calories per day.

    Burning more calories is never bad for weight loss, you just want to take it into account when determining your overall calorie goal.

    If your calorie goal comes from MFP, it's based on your activity without intentional exercise. You can then add back the calories you burn through intentional exercise. So if you burn 150, you would have a "new" goal of 1,350. This makes your net calories for the day still 1,200.

    If you're burning calories via walking around for the whole day, then you should be taking that into account when creating your initial goals on MFP. If you choose "lightly active," you will get a higher base calorie level than if you chose "sedentary." Both include estimates of how much you would burn. You don't want to eat back calories from your daily activity because those should be factored into your initial goal. But if you have a day when you move much more than usual, you can consider factoring those in.

    Does that make sense?

    If you have a Fitbit that is syncing activity (it's unclear to me if you do), then it will do all these adjustments for you -- you don't have to worry about choosing an activity level or whether or not activity is intentional exercise or not.
  • beastmoves
    beastmoves Posts: 17 Member
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    I did the iifym calculator and i put lightly active, 5 days working out 60 minutes per day, light intensity and it says 1526 calories per day
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    beastmoves wrote: »
    I did the iifym calculator and i put lightly active, 5 days working out 60 minutes per day, light intensity and it says 1526 calories per day

    If you're using that calculator, then go with that goal. Don't add back exercise calories because it has already taken those into account.
  • beanz744
    beanz744 Posts: 221 Member
    edited May 2017
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    beanz744 wrote: »
    just check ur dairy n i have say that u r not really treating the 1200 as ur upper limit 50+% of the time n when u go over it, u GO OVER it. u do hit 1200 on some days so u feel that u r "doing it" but if u go to nutrition page n look at ur weekly (not daily) average caloried intake n i m sure that u will see many weeks u r actually over on an average basis. plus, i think u r misusing the fitbit concept if u r wearing the whole day n entering the calories burned for the whole day (because i see entries of 800 to 1000 cal for exercises n nothing u did can burn that)into MFP where u ONLY should log the calories burned from ur exercises. my suggestion,

    1. reset MFP at 1400 to 1600 calories a day n learn to eat accordingly n only set to 1200 when u have success for a few weeks
    2. check ur WEEKLY average calorie intake to see if u r still under for the week regularly
    3. only input the calories u burned from actual exercises (not from ur daily routine) n only eat back half at the max


    its great that u r making the right decision to do something for ur health. GOOD LUCK!

    Can you clarify what you mean by "nothing you did can burn that"? When I'm set to sedentary, I frequently have Fitbit adjustments that are on the larger side. This isn't misusing the Fitbit, it's how the Fitbit is designed to work. Yes, there is one day with a larger adjustment -- but the other days are close to what I'd expect to see for many women who have a Fitbit sync -- 300-400 calorie adjustments.

    If you have a device that is synced, you won't just see the calories from intentional exercise. You will see all activity adjustments for all movement that gives you a higher calorie burn estimate than your activity level would have predicted.

    ok, let me answer ur question since i@thought u were the OP.

    let say i have 1200 limit. if i wear a fitbit the whole day n it says i burnt 450 cal where i only did 30 min walking on the treadmill (max 100 cal) then i should know that 350 is what i burned in my normal daily routine. if i enter 450 cal in my exercise section in MFP n thinking i have a possible eating limit of 1650 then it is dangerous because i might eat 1600 n think its still under or i look at my weekly stats n it shows great numbers but thats not the case because i m double counting. i dont think sedentary in MFP means one just lie in bed all day long but rather it is including some of the calories that one normally burned in that lifestyle. imagine if i do NO exercise but i wear a fitbit all day long n it tells me that i burned 300 cal, should i enter that into the exercise section n treat it like a possible extra calories that i can eat off of?

    PS if OP was only entering the calories burned from exercises n not from the whole day then it is GREAT. i was only pointing a possible oversight
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    Also OP, weigh packaged food! I had a pack of pitas that said a serving was half a pita, or 39 grams. A weighed one pita and it weighed 99 grams, so half was ... 49 grams, not 39. This happens with all sorts of foods. Weigh the burger, weigh the tortilla :)


    [/quote]

    I thought i had been doing a good job of logging everything, and was weighing everything except if it was like for example a "beyond burger" or "qrunch patty" or like 2 small tortillas that says the calories per piece on the back. I didn't realize i was eating a lot of pizza, cheese, especially cookies, since i'm not really a sweets person, especially lately, i feel like i have been eating more of those qrunch burger (quinoa patties) which i dont fry them in oil, i just kind of spray the pan with a little olive oil cooking spray. I need to pay better attention and make better choices, thanks.[/quote]

    Seconding what @Kimny72 said - packaging can have very wrong calorie counts! They're allowed to be off by as much as 20%, which for a 1200 calories goal could wipe out a 250 calorie deficit (.5lb/wk), even with perfect logging if all of your food came from packaging.

    I find it best to look at your week as a whole, rather than on a day to day. It's easy to tell yourself that you only went over a day here or there, but if you suddenly see that you went over for the whole week, then you know where you need to focus your efforts to get better numbers. Lots of alcohol (no judgment!) can effect how you hold on to water weight which could work with other factors like hormones and sodium to mask any true weight loss, so it may be worth experimenting to see if the scale is different if you (for instance) drank on the weekends, but not during the week and weighed yourself towards the end of the week on Thursday or Friday morning. The scale jumping around on you could be that you're not really in a deficit at all and you show lower numbers when you're significantly dehydrated or have simply consumed less solid food over a couple of days, and then when you drink more water and eat normally, you're back to where you should accurately be. It's worth trying a different approach to see if a different pattern of eating/drinking will get you different results, but it'll probably take a month or so to get good data.

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