Not losing weight
xxzenabxx
Posts: 948 Member
Hi everyone! So I'm 23 years old, weigh 154lbs. In oct 2015 I managed to get my weight down to 136 lbs by diet and exercising but because of university and stress I've gained all the weight back. I've been eat 1200/1400 calories a day and I exercise three times a week. I sometime mix up hand weights at home, yoga or stretching. I've built abit of muscle. I'm at loss as to why it's been over a year and I'm not losing weight?! I am an ectomorph and endomorph! Pear shaped slightly! I'm desperate and want to do alternate day fasting?!
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Replies
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How long has it been since you've lost weight? What is your calorie goal?1
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Any more information you can give? Height, calories, how you measure your food (if you do), how often you go over? If you could open your diary too that would help.0
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Sorry I updated the info! It disappeared for some reason! I measure my food by reading labels or using portion control like the size of my palm for example.0
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Sorry I updated the info! It disappeared for some reason! I measure my food by reading labels or using portion control like the size of my palm for example.
These measuring methods can lead to a situation where you are eating more than you think you are. This could be why you aren't losing. Check out a food scale, it's the most accurate way to measure your food.11 -
I'm not eating more than I think...I measure and eat mostly low calorie veggies...even if I was it would only be 100 calories more and I don't feel very energetic. i can't use a food scale as my family would think I'm going into my eating disorder past...I'm tryng to do this in the least mentally draining way possible.4
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What kinds of food are you eating also? It can make a difference.6
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I'm not eating more than I think...I measure and eat mostly low calorie veggies...even if I was it would only be 100 calories more and I don't feel very energetic. i can't use a food scale as my family would think I'm going into my eating disorder past...I'm tryng to do this in the least mentally draining way possible.
If you're measuring your food using labels (which isn't measuring) or using rough estimates like the size of your hand, you can't know that you aren't eating more than you think.
Given that you have a history of ED, does your treatment team know that you're currently trying to lose weight? That you are attempting this by focusing your diet on low calorie foods is concerning, as is the fact that you have to keep it hidden from your family.15 -
Sorry I updated the info! It disappeared for some reason! I measure my food by reading labels or using portion control like the size of my palm for example.
Well, there's your likely problem. You're underestimating your calories (could also be over estimating calories from exercise if you eat those back, almost all machines and fitness bands *massively* overestimate what you're burning.) Even "portions" listed on packaging unless you're doing it by weight are often off by as much as 25-30%... and consider items like potatoes, which of the potatoes in the bag is a 'medium potato'? I've seen a single bag have potatoes from 65g to 350g and without weighing... you might as well be blind guessing at calories consumed.
Try weighing your food for a month. I'd wager you're over estimating what you're eating by a significant amount (you're not gaining because you're active and you're not off by *a lot*, but you're stalling out.)
If the original post isn't showing your vital statistics to calculate tdee/bmr I'd just reply again and post em, people will see em, still very close to the thread top.janejellyroll wrote: »Check out a food scale, it's the most ONLY accurate way to measure your food.
FTFY
(Realism is... some people have no need to weigh food, they naturally regulate the food they eat to what they're expending very well, they're generally not the folk on this site. If you have went more than a month or two of no weight loss at a calorie deficit that should result in a multiple pound weight loss and you're not weighing your food, 90% of the time that is the cause, 9.9% of the time they're basing their numbers off bad numbers from exercise machines/fitnessbands and eating back too many calories, 0.1% of the time it's actually some metabolic disorder a doctor needs involved in resolving.)1 -
I'm eating 70/80g protein and some days I eat more carbs like 100g and I eat a higher fat diet. I feel insanely healthy but my body has been stuck on 154 lbs for one year...in fact it went up to 161lbs and I recently came down to 154 and it's not going down...0
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I'm eating 70/80g protein and some days I eat more carbs like 100g and I eat a higher fat diet. I feel insanely healthy but my body has Brenna stuck on 154 lbs for one year...in fact it went up to 161lbs and I recently came down to 154 and it's not going down...
I don't understand how you're eating mostly low calorie vegetables and getting 70-80 grams of protein per day and also eating a higher fat diet.
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I notice you've been a member of MFP for just a few hours. Have you been tracking elsewhere or using another diet as a path?0
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First: determine if you really need to lose weight and, if so, what is your goal. Focus on being a happy productive person. Don't get overly preoccupied with appearance. Focus on health.
Given that, It all comes down to maintaining a consistent deficit over many weeks or months. The deficit can be small, but so long as you maintain it consistently, you will lose weight. This means knowing your portions.
IFs can help, within reason. But body weight isn't gained or lost in a day.1 -
I'm not eating more than I think...I measure and eat mostly low calorie veggies...even if I was it would only be 100 calories more and I don't feel very energetic. i can't use a food scale as my family would think I'm going into my eating disorder past...I'm tryng to do this in the least mentally draining way possible.
If you don't want to be accurate with your logging due to your ED past - you're either going to need to accept your weight the way it is or reduce your calories. With your ED I don't know that reducing your calories would probably be a great option. I agree with the person above who suggested working with your treatment team.7 -
I'm not eating more than I think...I measure and eat mostly low calorie veggies...even if I was it would only be 100 calories more and I don't feel very energetic. i can't use a food scale as my family would think I'm going into my eating disorder past...I'm tryng to do this in the least mentally draining way possible.
I just googled the calories in a small chicken breast and a large chicken breast and the difference was 198 calories.
A baby potato has aprox 50 calories per potato so if you had 5 baby potatos at a size 1/5th bigger than the average then thats an extra 50 calories.
So just misjudging those 2 items for dinner could lead to an extra 250 calories in that one meal.
If its not on a scale then the judgement is always going to be wrong unless you only eat prepackaged food.
Weight loss is a simple method of calories in vs calories out. So if you are not losing weight you are eating at maintenance levels.
I know that you don't want to hear that you are eating too much to lose weight but unless there is a medical condition involved, either your calculation of how many calories you should have a day is wrong, or you are misjudging how much you are eating.0 -
princeofmind wrote: »I'm not eating more than I think...I measure and eat mostly low calorie veggies...even if I was it would only be 100 calories more and I don't feel very energetic. i can't use a food scale as my family would think I'm going into my eating disorder past...I'm tryng to do this in the least mentally draining way possible.
I just googled the calories in a small chicken breast and a large chicken breast and the difference was 198 calories.
A baby potato has aprox 50 calories per potato so if you had 5 baby potatos at a size 1/5th bigger than the average then thats an extra 50 calories.
So just misjudging those 2 items for dinner could lead to an extra 250 calories in that one meal.
If its not on a scale then the judgement is always going to be wrong unless you only eat prepackaged food.
Weight loss is a simple method of calories in vs calories out. So if you are not losing weight you are eating at maintenance levels.
I know that you don't want to hear that you are eating too much to lose weight but unless there is a medical condition involved, either your calculation of how many calories you should have a day is wrong, or you are misjudging how much you are eating.
Even pre-packaged food is legally allowed to have a variance from what is shown on the package. This can lead to someone consuming more calories than they think if they're assuming that they match.5 -
Look I can't used a food scale, but I can read packaging and I can use the fist and palm method to track calories. And I'm not going to accept my weight the way it is because my clothes have become tighter for me. I've been on MFP for over a year but I haven't religiously tracked my calories everyday. Some days I don't log in. Also, how can I go below 1200 calories? Isn't that undereating?1
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Look I can't used a food scale, but I can read packaging and I can use the fist and palm method to track calories. And I'm not going to accept my weight the way it is because my clothes have become tighter for me. I've been on MFP for over a year but I haven't religiously tracked my calories everyday. Some days I don't log in. Also, how can I go below 1200 calories? Isn't that undereating?
Unless there is additional information you aren't sharing, you aren't at 1,200 now. If you were, you'd be losing weight. That you are means that you are eating more than you think. I know it may not be what you want to hear, but your method of tracking calories isn't working.
As said above, you can accept this or you can make adjustments. Given your history, I strongly encourage you to talk to your treatment team and get their input. To add alternate day fasting to your history of ED -- without professional guidance -- sounds really dangerous.18 -
Also, how can I go below 1200 calories? Isn't that undereating?
Because you're not eating 1200 calories. You only think you are. I know you don't want to believe it, that's okay. We've all been there and with your situation it doesn't sound like accuracy is going to be something you can do right now. Buy new clothes if yours don't fit. Unfortunately that's going to be your best option based on the information you've given us.4 -
Is food scale the only other option for me then? I also use the food labelled on MFP. I guess I don't understand how it's been a year and I'm sick of dieting and I can't get below 154 lbs. I remember a few weeks ago I ate 500 calories in a day and I didn't feel any better.0
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Look I can't used a food scale, but I can read packaging and I can use the fist and palm method to track calories. And I'm not going to accept my weight the way it is because my clothes have become tighter for me. I've been on MFP for over a year but I haven't religiously tracked my calories everyday. Some days I don't log in. Also, how can I go below 1200 calories? Isn't that undereating?
Those methods are, quite simply, inaccurate. As has been mentioned, discuss this with your treatment team, so he/she/they can determine if this line of action is appropriate for you. If so, then they can help guide/refer you to do this in a good way for you.
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Is food scale the only other option for me then? I also use the food labelled on MFP. I guess I don't understand how it's been a year and I'm sick of dieting and I can't get below 154 lbs. I remember a few weeks ago I ate 500 calories in a day and I didn't feel any better.
Does your ED treatment team know that you are restricting to 500 calories a day on some days? This is beyond the internet's ability to help you, you need to speak with your treatment team.11 -
Look I can't used a food scale, but I can read packaging and I can use the fist and palm method to track calories. And I'm not going to accept my weight the way it is because my clothes have become tighter for me. I've been on MFP for over a year but I haven't religiously tracked my calories everyday. Some days I don't log in. Also, how can I go below 1200 calories? Isn't that undereating?
If you have been at this for a year, even being 200 calories under maintenance would have made you lose 20.8 lbs by now. I dont know your hight but I just put your age, weight, and sex into a calculator with the made up hight of 4ft 8 inches and it says for you to maintain your weight it would be 1800 a day.3 -
Hi everyone! So I'm 23 years old, weigh 154lbs. In oct 2015 I managed to get my weight down to 136 lbs by diet and exercising but because of university and stress I've gained all the weight back. I've been eat 1200/1400 calories a day and I exercise three times a week. I sometime mix up hand weights at home, yoga or stretching. I've built abit of muscle. I'm at loss as to why it's been over a year and I'm not losing weight?! I am an ectomorph and endomorph! Pear shaped slightly! I'm desperate and want to do alternate day fasting?!
Look at the website Avatar Nutrition. It will calculate your macros based on information you plug in and what your goals are.0 -
I'm 5 4 height and I have no eating disorder anymore. Hence why I want to do this in the safest way possible and not starve myself. Exactly I don't understand why I haven't lost 20lbs...okay I will look into avatar nutrition. Thank you!0
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she800hunter2014 wrote: »Hi everyone! So I'm 23 years old, weigh 154lbs. In oct 2015 I managed to get my weight down to 136 lbs by diet and exercising but because of university and stress I've gained all the weight back. I've been eat 1200/1400 calories a day and I exercise three times a week. I sometime mix up hand weights at home, yoga or stretching. I've built abit of muscle. I'm at loss as to why it's been over a year and I'm not losing weight?! I am an ectomorph and endomorph! Pear shaped slightly! I'm desperate and want to do alternate day fasting?!
Look at the website Avatar Nutrition. It will calculate your macros based on information you plug in and what your goals are.
I don't understand how this will help without accurate measuring.4 -
you never fully recover from an eating disorder - its like alcoholism, its a daily struggle
people here are giving you advice, but you need to take it. Avatar nutrition may help you determine what you need to eat, but that won't help solve the problem of eating too much or too little - you need to weigh or measure food in some shape/size/form - a palm measurement doesn't help4 -
Is food scale the only other option for me then? I also use the food labelled on MFP. I guess I don't understand how it's been a year and I'm sick of dieting and I can't get below 154 lbs. I remember a few weeks ago I ate 500 calories in a day and I didn't feel any better.
Don't forget that many of the database entries in MFP are incorrect, as well. I understand that you're sick of dieting and not seeing any progress, but you really do have to accept that the reason why is that you're not measuring accurately.
To address the food scale issue: If the only reason why is that you don't want your family to see you using one, come up with an explanation that will make them less concerned. Try looking up recipes on the internet that measure in grams, not ounces/piece. Then, you're just trying to get the recipe right! Or, go with a less subversive explanation which is: you want to be at a healthy, comfortable weight and you want to be able to eat as much food as possible getting there. Using a food scale ensures that you get to eat as much food as possible and still maintain a healthy deficit (which for you may only be 250 calories a day). It doesn't have to be obsessive if you don't obsess over it. It only has to be a tool that you use to make sure that you're getting the nutrition and the calories that your body needs. As others have mentioned - talk to your ED treatment team. They may even advise you to use a scale!3 -
You are eating more than you think because you are not accurately measuring your intake. Period. Believe it or not it's the truth if its been as long as you say it's been with no loss.3
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Is food scale the only other option for me then? I also use the food labelled on MFP. I guess I don't understand how it's been a year and I'm sick of dieting and I can't get below 154 lbs. I remember a few weeks ago I ate 500 calories in a day and I didn't feel any better.
Don't forget that many of the database entries in MFP are incorrect, as well. I understand that you're sick of dieting and not seeing any progress, but you really do have to accept that the reason why is that you're not measuring accurately.
To address the food scale issue: If the only reason why is that you don't want your family to see you using one, come up with an explanation that will make them less concerned. Try looking up recipes on the internet that measure in grams, not ounces/piece. Then, you're just trying to get the recipe right! Or, go with a less subversive explanation which is: you want to be at a healthy, comfortable weight and you want to be able to eat as much food as possible getting there. Using a food scale ensures that you get to eat as much food as possible and still maintain a healthy deficit (which for you may only be 250 calories a day). It doesn't have to be obsessive if you don't obsess over it. It only has to be a tool that you use to make sure that you're getting the nutrition and the calories that your body needs. As others have mentioned - talk to your ED treatment team. They may even advise you to use a scale!
Or it's possible the reason they don't want her using a food scale is that they don't share her conclusion that her ED is no longer an issue.7
This discussion has been closed.
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