Not particularly happy with my weight at this point in the game

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cc3833
cc3833 Posts: 80 Member
edited August 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
Not particularly happy with my weight at this point in the game. I have been tracking my food but I've never actually used a food scale. Just measuring cups and such. But my weight keeps bouncing between losing and gaining the same 4 lbs. I mean I'm glad I haven't kept gaining more weight than that but since January..... this is frustrating. Its hard to keep my motivation to stay on here. I am trying harder than I have in a while. I have logged in and logged my food for the past 29 days. So being this fed up and really wanting to make head way I bit the bullet and ordered a few new kitchen items: food scale, vacuum food sealer, and a crock pot.

I love cooking but sometimes I'm just so tired and the meals I typically like to cook take at least 1-2 hours with prep time and cook time. So I figured maybe using a slow cooker for some of my meals and then being able to seal and freeze them will help cut down on meal prep time and allow me to spend that time in the gym instead. Also I can actually use the food scale to measure everything out and create my recipes on MFP so my meals will be more accurate.

I mean about 2 years ago I lost 40lbs in about 7 months. I worked out a whole lot (5-6 days a week and twice a day on sundays), I ate a bunch of eggs and not many other variations on my meals and I cut out bread, rice and pasta. I know I can lose weight but I'm not quite sure why this time is so much harder to get started.

Anyone else have this issue in the past? How did you overcome these obstacles?

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,030 Member
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    The food scale will be really good for you.

    I have about thirty different meals that take 30 minutes or less - and I don't own a microwave.

    I say simplify! Fresh produce, portioned meat, there are lots of ways to have quick easy nutritious meals.

    When I want something like spaghetti sauce or meatloaf I fix enough for a week and then freeze portions. Same with roasted meat - I cook it one time and freeze portions.

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    How many lbs are you trying to lose. If I was gaining and losing the save 4 lbs I'd drop my calorie goal as it would seem I was eating at maintenance.
  • cc3833
    cc3833 Posts: 80 Member
    edited August 2017
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    @janejellyroll : Thanks, that's the hope

    @cmriverside : That was my hope. That I can keep making the food I love to make but instead of making it every day or every other day I can make a big batch and then vacuum seal and store for later. The containers I currently have are not keeping the food as fresh as I would like so I end up throwing away left overs instead of having go to, ready made meals.

    @Need2Exerc1se : I have between 40-50lbs to lose. I keep bouncing between 175-180 lbs (I'm 5'0). My calorie goal is 1320 cal and I eat about 25-50% of my exercise calories back. I have MFP set to sedentary. I also wear a fitbit and usually take 10,500 steps a day. I also own a horse and I ride him 5-6 days a week (anywhere between 20-60 minutes). I think where I am going wrong is I am "logging" but not as accurately as I think I am (which is the reason I decided to buy a food scale). I also need to get in the gym on top of my riding... my motivation to food prep more efficiently so I can spend that time in the gym vs cooking.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    if you are taking 10k steps a day you aren't sedentary - light active/active is more appropriate
  • cc3833
    cc3833 Posts: 80 Member
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    @deannalfisher I feel every time I change it to lightly active it gives me wayyy more calories and then I end up eating too much. Versus eating just a portion of my exercise calories back that I get from fitbit and MFP once they are synced.
  • RichJames90
    RichJames90 Posts: 7 Member
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    You really need to get some food scales. Measuring in cups/tsps/tbsps etc just isn't accurate enough and a small difference with some foods can equal very big calorie variances (10g of mayo ~ 60kcals, cheese 40kcals). You don't need to get anything fancy, but something with a digital display and a tare/zero function (which is pretty standard now anyway) will do!
    I wish you well :)
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Great job on ordering the food scale. It is a real eye opener! One of my most valuable weight loss tools. I think you'll really start seeing some improvements in your progress once you start using it.
  • Meelisv
    Meelisv Posts: 235 Member
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    So i lost over 70 KG. I am lazy, and literally nothing a cook takes me more than 30 mins prep+cook time.
    But as others have already said, a food scale is most important thing to have in the kitchen.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    edited August 2017
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    checar3193 wrote: »
    Remember to eat enough calories to lose weight. Although we don't want to over do it, the body requires a certain amount before it comes out of starvation and can let you lose weight again. I was plateaued at the same weight for more than a month on 1400 calories. Once I pushed back up to 1600 calories daily, the weight started coming off again. Don't lose hope and keep pushing forward. You will make it!

    The only thing your body does in "starvation" is gradually die from lack of calories and nutrients. And you are unlikely to starve if you're eating 1400 calories a day.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,484 Member
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    You are going to have so much fun with your new aquasitions.
    As someone who works with her crock pot, vacuum sealer, and makes multi meal curries, stews, and sauces, I found that getting a few matching freezer to oven/microwave dishes was really useful.
    (Been doing this for 12yeaes at least)

    I make, and log, my recipe, divide, by weight, it into the dishes, then freeze.
    Once frozen I then remove from dishes, and vacuum seal.
    It makes the vacuum freezing less messy, stacking in the freezer easier (yes I now have a 17cuft one), and I can just put meal back in the original dish to defrost, heat and serve.

    As far as weight loss, once you start weighing your food, don't be surprised if you have to adjust your intake because you are more accurate. Your weekly deficit over time will tell you.

    Cheers, h.
  • LizbethHeller
    LizbethHeller Posts: 39 Member
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    No advice, just sympathy!! I've been weighing and measuring for a 40 day streak. I posted a week ago that I could not seem to break the 130 mark. A week later, I'm still bopping between 132 and 130. On my husband's advice (that's right, blame the husband) I had a cheat weekend to "reset" my system. Today I am exactly the same as what I was on Thursday... well, at least I didn't gain from the weekend's excesses! Hopefully this week will show that the 'reset' was effective and I'll see the magic 129.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    cc3833 wrote: »
    Anyone else have this issue in the past? How did you overcome these obstacles?

    Yes. I got a food scale. That solved it. As simple as that.

    Ditto AnnPT... food scale so much quicker/less cleanup that measuring cups & spoons.

  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    You're going to love that food scale: What no one much tells you is that it's not just more accurate than cups/spoons, it's also quicker and easier.

    How??!? I'm just gonna drop these tips right here:
    • Assembling a salad in a bowl, a stew in a pan, sandwich on a plate? Put the bowl/pan/plate on the scale, zero, add an ingredient, note the weight, zero, add the next ingredient, note the weight . . . .
    • Using something from a carton or jar, or cutting a slice from a hunk of cheese? Put the container or chunk on the scale, zero, take out portion, note the negative value (it's the amount you took out).
    • Eating a whole apple, banana, un-hulled strawberries, corn on the cob? Weigh the ready-to-eat food, eat the yummy parts, weigh the core/hulls/peel, subtract & note.
    • I like to keep a few clean plastic yogurt-tub lids around to weigh small items, like a handful of nuts or chopped hardboiled eggs or something. Drop the lid on the scale, zero, add item, note weight, eat or use - just a quick rinse of the lid under the faucet & you're done.
    • I also use an old junk-mail envelope to scribble the items while I’m cooking to spare spills on my electronic device, and record the results after.
    No measuring spoons to scrape out, or wash, except when you need to measure liquids . . . and you can weigh some of them, too.

    I just now realized how long it's been since I've used (and had to wash) any of my measuring devices!! The exception is my TBSP, which I use everyday. Today at lunch, I was eating soup and grabbed a 1/2 cup measuring cup to portion out my 1.5c of soup. I noticed that the serving was also in grams on the package, so I just plopped the bowl on the scale, zero'd out, and poured in my soup until it neared the number of grams I wanted. The measuring scoop went right back in the drawer.
  • cc3833
    cc3833 Posts: 80 Member
    edited August 2017
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    Wow! Thanks for the food scale tips!! I never even thought it could be that easy. I thought I was going to have to measure everything individually to get the measurements right but just taring and adding the next thing sounds so effortless! Much easier than what I was going to do!

    I know my calories are low and it is set to sedentary but I figured it would be better to set it that way in case I didn't end up riding that day or doing any exercise I wouldn't go over my allotment. I typically eat dinner after I am done riding and such so I could tweak my dinner depending on if I worked out or not.

    I also understand that there are plenty of ways to eat without taking a long time to cook but I HATE salad. I don't know what it is but it makes me angry. I feel as though I am depriving myself so I just don't eat salad. I would rather toss some veggies in spices and bake them and eat them with whatever meat I have in the house and then I don't feel deprived and I know it is something I could live with forever. And I enjoy cooking complicated meals. It makes me feel proud of myself that I can make these delicious, nutritious foods and have them not be boring at all. So I figure if I can make these recipes but accurately calculate the ingredients and then freeze them I will be more successful. I won't have to eat the same food 3 days in a row which gets boring I can just pull out different meals from the freezer but still be on track because I made them and I know exactly what is in them. I have tried doing this in the past but the containers I had were not doing a good job and my food was coming out freezer burned and I ended up having to waste money and food throwing it away. Lost 6 lbs of meat the other day from freezer burn... very upsetting.

    For those of you who cook and freeze your foods.. I was thinking once I vacuum seal them I could write the date it was prepared, the name and the calories in that particular servings size to take out the guess work. Have any of you done this? What are your tricks to food prep?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,459 Member
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    cc3833 wrote: »
    Wow! Thanks for the food scale tips!! I never even thought it could be that easy. I thought I was going to have to measure everything individually to get the measurements right but just taring and adding the next thing sounds so effortless! Much easier than what I was going to do!

    I know my calories are low and it is set to sedentary but I figured it would be better to set it that way in case I didn't end up riding that day or doing any exercise I wouldn't go over my allotment. I typically eat dinner after I am done riding and such so I could tweak my dinner depending on if I worked out or not.

    I also understand that there are plenty of ways to eat without taking a long time to cook but I HATE salad. I don't know what it is but it makes me angry. I feel as though I am depriving myself so I just don't eat salad. I would rather toss some veggies in spices and bake them and eat them with whatever meat I have in the house and then I don't feel deprived and I know it is something I could live with forever. And I enjoy cooking complicated meals. It makes me feel proud of myself that I can make these delicious, nutritious foods and have them not be boring at all. So I figure if I can make these recipes but accurately calculate the ingredients and then freeze them I will be more successful. I won't have to eat the same food 3 days in a row which gets boring I can just pull out different meals from the freezer but still be on track because I made them and I know exactly what is in them. I have tried doing this in the past but the containers I had were not doing a good job and my food was coming out freezer burned and I ended up having to waste money and food throwing it away. Lost 6 lbs of meat the other day from freezer burn... very upsetting.

    For those of you who cook and freeze your foods.. I was thinking once I vacuum seal them I could write the date it was prepared, the name and the calories in that particular servings size to take out the guess work. Have any of you done this? What are your tricks to food prep?

    I usually just put the recipe in MFP's recipe builder with some arbitrary serving size in grams (depending on the total finished weight of the whole recipe) and use arithmetic at the time I eat the thawed food, to estimate it. Your way would be a little more accurate (most foods will weigh a little less after being frozen for a while, though yours are vacuum sealed so that's less an issue). I'm too undisciplined too weigh & label the portions when I freeze them.

    I like to freeze things in tempered glass bowls with snap-on plastic lids (Pyrex, Anchor brands), to minimize packaging waste, and because I can microwave them in the dish (I don't like microwaving in plastic - I put a plate on top instead of the plastic lid, to microwave). A china marker (aka grease pencil) is good for marking date & such on the plastic lid - washes off with soap & hot water, but doesn't smear in the freezer

    I make huge batches of very plain bean or pea soup, freeze those in 2C bowls, then fancy them up with veggies or spices at eating time, so there's more variety.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Fix large batches of the meals you like to fix, portion out, and freeze or refrigerate for easy eating later.

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