The norm isn't working!

acullen31

Hi! About 6 years ago I went from 160ish-120 within a short period of time with the help of exercise and calorie counting. Well now, I'm 32. Within those 6 years I had a baby ( she's now 3 ) and I've obviously become busier and the pounds have crept back. I'm 5'3 and I'm back to 150. I am very active, get almost 20,000 steps per day. Workout 3-5x a week and try to stay around 1,400-1,600 calories a day.

I'm all for hard work and dedication but for some reason it's not working and after seeing pictures of myself at Christmas, I'm panicking.

Any suggestions? What has worked for you? How can I switch up my food/workout?

In the past I've tried supplements but I'd like to do it the all natural way this time

estherdragonbat

How are you measuring your portions and calculating your workout burns? Also, how long have you been trying to lose weight this outing?

janejellyroll

When you say you're trying to stay around 1,400-1,600, does that include logging each day? How many days are you not able to hit that target?

If you open your diary, we may be able to help. Generally, a 150-pound woman getting 20,000 steps a day should lose weight if she's consistently hitting 1,400-1,600 so I'm wondering if accurate logging may be an issue here.

sijomial

The answer probably lies in your food diary - which isn't public.

What worked for me: eating at a moderate calorie deficit in an eating pattern which helped my adherence, lots of exercise (but ate those calories back), eating foods I enjoy with a casual eye on my protein goal, patience.

maybe1pe

Without knowing more info. I would guess a logging/accuracy issue.

How long since you started trying to lose weight?

Cherimoose

acullen31 wrote: »

I'm all for hard work and dedication but for some reason it's not working and after seeing pictures of myself at Christmas, I'm panicking.

Maybe it's your camera.

Here are the usual reasons for slow progress. One or more of them probably apply to you.

acullen31

Ok thanks Everyone. I'll turn my diary Public, I didn't realize it was even set to private. I feel like I try really hard every day to log. Sometimes I forgot and will go back and add things in so maybe people telling me i'm not logging accurately is just what I need!

I've gained almost 25lbs slowly over the last two years. Right after having my daughter I was 127 the morning after. So something i'm doing isn't working!

sijomial

acullen31 wrote: »

Ok thanks Everyone. I'll turn my diary Public, I didn't realize it was even set to private. I feel like I try really hard every day to log. Sometimes I forgot and will go back and add things in so maybe people telling me i'm not logging accurately is just what I need!

I've gained almost 25lbs slowly over the last two years. Right after having my daughter I was 127 the morning after. So something i'm doing isn't working!

It's quite surprising that just a daily 120 calorie surplus would account for that weight gain. Just a small adjustment to your calories in or out can reverse that drift.

Setting an upper intervention weight that triggers action is a helpful safety net.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

The answer will lie with your food intake.

acullen31

So Yes, Honestly I feel like track religiously, but looking back I see i'm lacking in that aspect. So I plan to be more accountable with tracking. It has to be that, so I'll give it a better shot and see if that helps

acullen31

estherdragonbat wrote: »

How are you measuring your portions and calculating your workout burns? Also, how long have you been trying to lose weight this outing?

Um, honestly, i've been measuring my portions with my eyes. lol I need to not do that! My workouts, I tend to follow my fitbit watch. It'll let me know what I burnt based on my heart rate. I've been slowly gaining these 25 lbs for two years while simultaneously trying to not gain those 25 lbs.

janejellyroll

acullen31 wrote: »

estherdragonbat wrote: »

How are you measuring your portions and calculating your workout burns? Also, how long have you been trying to lose weight this outing?

Um, honestly, i've been measuring my portions with my eyes. lol I need to not do that! My workouts, I tend to follow my fitbit watch. It'll let me know what I burnt based on my heart rate. I've been slowly gaining these 25 lbs for two years while simultaneously trying to not gain those 25 lbs.

Lots of people (including me) find that they're just not great at eyeballing and estimating portion size. Once I began using a scale, my weight loss really became reliable.

deannalfisher

i still can't see your diary (are you sure its open?)

WhereIsPJSoles

That’s kinda good news because now you know you’re not broken! Once you start using a food scale religiously, you will see results.

Be aware of serving sizes too! Just yesterday I realized those little (what I consider to be) single serving Campbell’s soup cups are actually “about 2” servings. Same with a couple of things I was eating before tracking.

acullen31

deannalfisher wrote: »

i still can't see your diary (are you sure its open?)

Ok, fixed it

acullen31

WhereIsPJSoles wrote: »

That’s kinda good news because now you know you’re not broken! Once you start using a food scale religiously, you will see results.

Be aware of serving sizes too! Just yesterday I realized those little (what I consider to be) single serving Campbell’s soup cups are actually “about 2” servings. Same with a couple of things I was eating before tracking.

Ok, I have one at home, i'll just have to get it out and get comfortable using it! It's crazy how they are tricky about that kind of stuff!

diannethegeek

acullen31 wrote: »

estherdragonbat wrote: »

How are you measuring your portions and calculating your workout burns? Also, how long have you been trying to lose weight this outing?

Um, honestly, i've been measuring my portions with my eyes. lol I need to not do that! My workouts, I tend to follow my fitbit watch. It'll let me know what I burnt based on my heart rate. I've been slowly gaining these 25 lbs for two years while simultaneously trying to not gain those 25 lbs.

I just went through a spot check with my father. He wasn't losing and couldn't figure out why. I broke out the food scale and had him weigh out a serving of some of his common foods. Turns out his 1400 calories were closer to 1900 calories when he stopped eyeballing his portion sizes. Most of us are pretty rubbish at eyeballing portion sizes, sadly, so it might be a good idea to weigh (food scales are my favorite, so much easier for me and less mess) or measure more carefully for a bit just to see what's happening.

Muscleflex79

acullen31 wrote: »

WhereIsPJSoles wrote: »

That’s kinda good news because now you know you’re not broken! Once you start using a food scale religiously, you will see results.

Be aware of serving sizes too! Just yesterday I realized those little (what I consider to be) single serving Campbell’s soup cups are actually “about 2” servings. Same with a couple of things I was eating before tracking.

Ok, I have one at home, i'll just have to get it out and get comfortable using it! It's crazy how they are tricky about that kind of stuff!

if you haven't been weighing your food you have no idea how much you've actually been eating...it will be eye opening for you once you start - trust me!

janejellyroll

In a quick look at your diary, I do think more accurately measuring will help you figure out how much you're really eating.

Some other tips: try to minimize the use of "homemade" or "generic" entries for the database. If you're using an entry that someone else has created for things like stir-fry or buffalo chicken dip, you have no idea how they made it or how closely what you're eating resembles what they made. It's nice to have access to a big database, but the vast majority of entries were created by other users. Some of those users are detail-oriented people who are successful with weight loss but many of them have no real idea what they're doing and are creating entries that are hot trash.

Also, I know sometimes it can't be avoided, but try to avoid lots of days where you're choosing the closest thing in the database. Same logic -- you may be close, you may be not. I notice you have a day where you've logged a cookie from Safeway, cake from Aladdin, pasta salad from Outtakes . . . you may have gotten all those things there, but it's likely you were just choosing the closest thing in the database. Not saying *never* to do that, because we all have days when we're just doing out best. But if you're doing that a lot, then your log is going to be closer to estimates.

The more days you have that are accurate, the more wiggle room you have for days when you can't be as accurate and are logging your best guess. And keep in mind, it isn't forever. Once you get the hang of accurate logging, you often become better at estimating.