Frustrated
Replies
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How often are you weighing yourself also?
If you're just weighing once a week, it could give you numbers that will not be consistent. It's possible that the day before you had weighed a pound less, but since you didn't weigh, you dont know. I always have clients weigh themselves everyday, in the morning, fasted, after using the bathroom, and take an average for the week and compare the weekly averages.
Obviously if you think this would cause you problems, then don't do it, but if you can see the number objectively on a daily basis and not let little bumps and changes mess with you, it can help you a lot. By going off the weekly averages, it helps to eliminate any daily fluctuations and lets you really learn about your body and see what causes you to retain water and get rid of water weight.1 -
ruthhowellwriter wrote: »Thank you for all your insightful replies . . . but they raise yet another question. Here goes... I am 5'7" and my starting weight was 179. As of today (Wed) I have lost 2 lbs. My goal is to lose 26 lbs at 2 lbs a week. My normal diet was comprised of a lot of sweets and pasta. The only thing I've changed is I've cut out both of them and that has left me with the appx. 800 calories a day. Except for the sweets and pasta, I AM eating normally (for me).
How in the world can I increase my calorie intake while NOT increasing my carbs and sugar? I most definitely do not want to do muscle damage, especially to my heart as I have already undergone heart valve surgery and have some heart damage. I just don't crave food very much - except for sweets and pasta lol. This may sound a little ridiculous to most, but I was think for most of my life and, apparently, never learned to eat properly or worry about things like calories, carbs, sugar, etc. Now I am worried about my low calorie intake.
the answer is that you can eat carbs, sugar, etc, as long as you stay within your calorie target for the day and are getting sufficient nutrition, and hitting macros.
For example, if the number MFP gives you to lose two pounds per week is 1500 and at the end of the day you are at 1200 then you can eat some ice cream to get to 1500 and you will still lose weight.
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ruthhowellwriter wrote: »Thank you for all your insightful replies . . . but they raise yet another question. Here goes... I am 5'7" and my starting weight was 179. As of today (Wed) I have lost 2 lbs. My goal is to lose 26 lbs at 2 lbs a week. My normal diet was comprised of a lot of sweets and pasta. The only thing I've changed is I've cut out both of them and that has left me with the appx. 800 calories a day. Except for the sweets and pasta, I AM eating normally (for me).
How in the world can I increase my calorie intake while NOT increasing my carbs and sugar? I most definitely do not want to do muscle damage, especially to my heart as I have already undergone heart valve surgery and have some heart damage. I just don't crave food very much - except for sweets and pasta lol. This may sound a little ridiculous to most, but I was think for most of my life and, apparently, never learned to eat properly or worry about things like calories, carbs, sugar, etc. Now I am worried about my low calorie intake.
As others have said, with only 26 pounds to lose, losing 2 pounds per week is too aggressive.
Because I don't find sweets and pasta to be very filling, limiting them is helpful for me to create a calorie deficit. However, unless you have a medical condition that requires you to be low carb, you don't need to cut them out all together in order to lose weight. (I did eliminate foods like Oreos that I am unable to moderate.)
I find potatoes and rice more filling than pasta so have them more often.0 -
RAD_Fitness wrote: »How often are you weighing yourself also?
If you're just weighing once a week, it could give you numbers that will not be consistent. It's possible that the day before you had weighed a pound less, but since you didn't weigh, you dont know. I always have clients weigh themselves everyday, in the morning, fasted, after using the bathroom, and take an average for the week and compare the weekly averages.
Obviously if you think this would cause you problems, then don't do it, but if you can see the number objectively on a daily basis and not let little bumps and changes mess with you, it can help you a lot. By going off the weekly averages, it helps to eliminate any daily fluctuations and lets you really learn about your body and see what causes you to retain water and get rid of water weight.
Ya, I weigh every day and chart this in Excel (there are also apps that do this) and log my weight in MFP when I hit a new low that looks like it has stuck.
Because of weighing every day I know that I have a water weight gain when I ovulate, premenstrually, after Chinese food, etc., so no longer worry about these normal fluctuations. It's the downward trend that matters.1 -
ruthhowellwriter wrote: »Thank you for all your insightful replies . . . but they raise yet another question. Here goes... I am 5'7" and my starting weight was 179. As of today (Wed) I have lost 2 lbs. My goal is to lose 26 lbs at 2 lbs a week. My normal diet was comprised of a lot of sweets and pasta. The only thing I've changed is I've cut out both of them and that has left me with the appx. 800 calories a day. Except for the sweets and pasta, I AM eating normally (for me).
How in the world can I increase my calorie intake while NOT increasing my carbs and sugar? I most definitely do not want to do muscle damage, especially to my heart as I have already undergone heart valve surgery and have some heart damage. I just don't crave food very much - except for sweets and pasta lol. This may sound a little ridiculous to most, but I was think for most of my life and, apparently, never learned to eat properly or worry about things like calories, carbs, sugar, etc. Now I am worried about my low calorie intake.
I don't think this is an unusual question; I think a lot of people don't necessarily think about what they're eating until they have to.
If you look back in your log, are there areas where you're consistently missing your targets? Are you consistently low on your protein or fat? Are you happy with the number of fruit/vegetable servings you're getting daily? If it looks like you're low in any particular area, now's your chance to focus on getting more of that, whatever it is. For example, if you're consistently low on your vegetable servings, you could try using a spiralizer to make vegetable noodles or even just make spaghetti squash, then top with whatever sauce you'd use for pasta. If you're low on protein, time to experiment with some new meat-, egg- or dairy-based dishes. If you're low on fat, start adding oil/butter, avocado, peanut butter, etc.
If everything else looks good, it's okay to eat pasta! (Unless you have a medical reason to limit sugar, like diabetes or PCOS, carbs are fine.2 -
How do you add calories/nutrition?
You find food that isn't sweet or pasta, and you eat it.
What ARE you eating? Have a slightly larger portion! Add a little sauce to it!
Are you eating veggies? Put a full-fat salad dressing on them!
Add some nuts! What about some toasted seeds? Pine nuts! Avocado slices! Drizzle everything with olive oil!
Add some beans for fiber and fullness, or some whole-grain pilaf.
Eating more and keeping "more" healthy isn't rocket science.4 -
Congrats on the loss! 2lbs a week is tough and aggressive. All losses even the incremental ones add up to big results eventually.0
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