Not losing weight!!! So frustrated!
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noexcuses0626 wrote: »I don't want to be an elite athlete, I don't want 15% body fat. I am a 37 year old busy working mom who just wants to be healthy. It shouldn't be this complicated! I should be able to eat a freaking bagel if I feel compelled to, but I can't! In fact, even eating only two meals a day, I have two dozen people telling me that I'm eating too much. It's upsetting, honestly, to think that this is what my life has come to. I have 40-50 lbs to lose just to be considered healthy and I'm already struggling at 1400 calories per day and exercising 5 days a week. I don't know how much more energy I can give to this endeavour. Maybe I should just resign myself to being a fatty.
I'm gonna be honest - when I was losing weight, I couldn't have a bagel if I wanted to, I had to plan out my week to fit one in if I really wanted it. I had to stop opening a bottle of wine during the week, and stick to one bottle of beer on Saturday. We become accustomed to thinking of high calorie treat foods as normal daily occurrences and feel deprived when we don't get them. But they aren't meant to be "whenever I want them" foods.
What I had to do was really study my food log and figure out what foods filled me up at the right calorie level and build my daily plan around them. Once I did that enough, it became a habit, just how I eat, and it no longer took effort. Then I found treat foods that made me happy but didn't blow my numbers out of whack, and had them pretty much daily. And then there are the calorie bombs - the bagels, the bottles of wine, the big burger and fries at the restaurant on the corner - these things I mostly avoided, except for special occasions. I had to change the way I thought about those foods. Now that I'm at goal weight, I can fit them in more often, but I'm still basically eating the way I did when I was losing, because I really did enjoy it and it did just become "the way I eat".
I would second the suggestion to read the diet break thread, and consider following that protocol while you experiment with the food scale. Hang in there :flowerforyou:
Ditto.
I'm supposed to be working on maintenance, or at least increasing my calories. I *still* can't "just have" a bagel.
I work in one a week, and *only* after I've gone to barre. Considering that a bagel + cream cheese from a deli is at least 480 calories (I get 330 calorie bagels, and 150 calories worth of cream cheese) it's something that simply has to remain a sometimes treat.
Beer, wine, or a cocktail only happens if I have calories leftover for the day, and I've met my protein goals. Otherwise, nope, it's water or a Diet Coke.
It's all about choices.5 -
collectingblues wrote: »noexcuses0626 wrote: »I don't want to be an elite athlete, I don't want 15% body fat. I am a 37 year old busy working mom who just wants to be healthy. It shouldn't be this complicated! I should be able to eat a freaking bagel if I feel compelled to, but I can't! In fact, even eating only two meals a day, I have two dozen people telling me that I'm eating too much. It's upsetting, honestly, to think that this is what my life has come to. I have 40-50 lbs to lose just to be considered healthy and I'm already struggling at 1400 calories per day and exercising 5 days a week. I don't know how much more energy I can give to this endeavour. Maybe I should just resign myself to being a fatty.
I'm gonna be honest - when I was losing weight, I couldn't have a bagel if I wanted to, I had to plan out my week to fit one in if I really wanted it. I had to stop opening a bottle of wine during the week, and stick to one bottle of beer on Saturday. We become accustomed to thinking of high calorie treat foods as normal daily occurrences and feel deprived when we don't get them. But they aren't meant to be "whenever I want them" foods.
What I had to do was really study my food log and figure out what foods filled me up at the right calorie level and build my daily plan around them. Once I did that enough, it became a habit, just how I eat, and it no longer took effort. Then I found treat foods that made me happy but didn't blow my numbers out of whack, and had them pretty much daily. And then there are the calorie bombs - the bagels, the bottles of wine, the big burger and fries at the restaurant on the corner - these things I mostly avoided, except for special occasions. I had to change the way I thought about those foods. Now that I'm at goal weight, I can fit them in more often, but I'm still basically eating the way I did when I was losing, because I really did enjoy it and it did just become "the way I eat".
I would second the suggestion to read the diet break thread, and consider following that protocol while you experiment with the food scale. Hang in there :flowerforyou:
Ditto.
I'm supposed to be working on maintenance, or at least increasing my calories. I *still* can't "just have" a bagel.
I work in one a week, and *only* after I've gone to barre. Considering that a bagel + cream cheese from a deli is at least 480 calories (I get 330 calorie bagels, and 150 calories worth of cream cheese) it's something that simply has to remain a sometimes treat.
Beer, wine, or a cocktail only happens if I have calories leftover for the day, and I've met my protein goals. Otherwise, nope, it's water or a Diet Coke.
It's all about choices.
It's good to remember that macros have different saety levels for everyone. I'm in maintenance and eat an asiago cheese bagel pretty much every day at around 500 calories per bagel/cream cheese. Actually right now I'm dealing with dental issues (root canal etc), and I've had a few days where I've eaten two bagels in one day because it's soft food. Scale holding steady though and that's because carbs are very filling for me. A bagel mid-morning and then a large veggie/chicken dish in the evening and I'm full all day. Coming in under 1,600 calories a day, even with the bagel.
Someone else may eat a bagel and be hungry an hour later. It just depends on the person and how different macros affect them
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noexcuses0626 wrote: »I don't want to be an elite athlete, I don't want 15% body fat. I am a 37 year old busy working mom who just wants to be healthy. It shouldn't be this complicated! I should be able to eat a freaking bagel if I feel compelled to, but I can't! In fact, even eating only two meals a day, I have two dozen people telling me that I'm eating too much. It's upsetting, honestly, to think that this is what my life has come to. I have 40-50 lbs to lose just to be considered healthy and I'm already struggling at 1400 calories per day and exercising 5 days a week. I don't know how much more energy I can give to this endeavour. Maybe I should just resign myself to being a fatty.
OP, I wasn't suggesting that you are or should try to become an elite athlete, I was only using those specific in the context of my experience to demonstrate the successes that I've had in employing the strategies that others have mentioned in the thread; I'm sorry if you thought I was implying anything beyond that.
This absolutely doesn't have to be hard or complex. There are already a number of other very experienced users providing very solid advice. By your frustration it's evident what you're doing now isn't working for you, time to change some variables.3 -
MerryMavis1 wrote: »collectingblues wrote: »noexcuses0626 wrote: »I don't want to be an elite athlete, I don't want 15% body fat. I am a 37 year old busy working mom who just wants to be healthy. It shouldn't be this complicated! I should be able to eat a freaking bagel if I feel compelled to, but I can't! In fact, even eating only two meals a day, I have two dozen people telling me that I'm eating too much. It's upsetting, honestly, to think that this is what my life has come to. I have 40-50 lbs to lose just to be considered healthy and I'm already struggling at 1400 calories per day and exercising 5 days a week. I don't know how much more energy I can give to this endeavour. Maybe I should just resign myself to being a fatty.
I'm gonna be honest - when I was losing weight, I couldn't have a bagel if I wanted to, I had to plan out my week to fit one in if I really wanted it. I had to stop opening a bottle of wine during the week, and stick to one bottle of beer on Saturday. We become accustomed to thinking of high calorie treat foods as normal daily occurrences and feel deprived when we don't get them. But they aren't meant to be "whenever I want them" foods.
What I had to do was really study my food log and figure out what foods filled me up at the right calorie level and build my daily plan around them. Once I did that enough, it became a habit, just how I eat, and it no longer took effort. Then I found treat foods that made me happy but didn't blow my numbers out of whack, and had them pretty much daily. And then there are the calorie bombs - the bagels, the bottles of wine, the big burger and fries at the restaurant on the corner - these things I mostly avoided, except for special occasions. I had to change the way I thought about those foods. Now that I'm at goal weight, I can fit them in more often, but I'm still basically eating the way I did when I was losing, because I really did enjoy it and it did just become "the way I eat".
I would second the suggestion to read the diet break thread, and consider following that protocol while you experiment with the food scale. Hang in there :flowerforyou:
Ditto.
I'm supposed to be working on maintenance, or at least increasing my calories. I *still* can't "just have" a bagel.
I work in one a week, and *only* after I've gone to barre. Considering that a bagel + cream cheese from a deli is at least 480 calories (I get 330 calorie bagels, and 150 calories worth of cream cheese) it's something that simply has to remain a sometimes treat.
Beer, wine, or a cocktail only happens if I have calories leftover for the day, and I've met my protein goals. Otherwise, nope, it's water or a Diet Coke.
It's all about choices.
It's good to remember that macros have different saety levels for everyone. I'm in maintenance and eat an asiago cheese bagel pretty much every day at around 500 calories per bagel/cream cheese. Actually right now I'm dealing with dental issues (root canal etc), and I've had a few days where I've eaten two bagels in one day because it's soft food. Scale holding steady though and that's because carbs are very filling for me. A bagel mid-morning and then a large veggie/chicken dish in the evening and I'm full all day. Coming in under 1,600 calories a day, even with the bagel.
Someone else may eat a bagel and be hungry an hour later. It just depends on the person and how different macros affect them
This is a very good point. Figuring out personal satiety is the key to making those decisions about foods.
But I have one criticism - if the bagels where you live are a soft food that's easy to chew, they're doing bagels wrong
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scales for the win. weigh everything you can. log everything.
unless there is an underlying health issue it is simply cico.
it's not about being an athlete, it's about losing weight.
then look at what keeps you full. check protien to fat to fiber ratios. and not just physically full, mentally full. while a vegetable or fruit might be the healthy option, your mind might still craving be something else. i try to leave room for ice cream for bedtime. or hot chocolate.
i changed into healthy eating because i found it more satisfying all the way around but i certainly eat my fair share of burgers and fries0 -
MerryMavis1 wrote: »collectingblues wrote: »noexcuses0626 wrote: »I don't want to be an elite athlete, I don't want 15% body fat. I am a 37 year old busy working mom who just wants to be healthy. It shouldn't be this complicated! I should be able to eat a freaking bagel if I feel compelled to, but I can't! In fact, even eating only two meals a day, I have two dozen people telling me that I'm eating too much. It's upsetting, honestly, to think that this is what my life has come to. I have 40-50 lbs to lose just to be considered healthy and I'm already struggling at 1400 calories per day and exercising 5 days a week. I don't know how much more energy I can give to this endeavour. Maybe I should just resign myself to being a fatty.
I'm gonna be honest - when I was losing weight, I couldn't have a bagel if I wanted to, I had to plan out my week to fit one in if I really wanted it. I had to stop opening a bottle of wine during the week, and stick to one bottle of beer on Saturday. We become accustomed to thinking of high calorie treat foods as normal daily occurrences and feel deprived when we don't get them. But they aren't meant to be "whenever I want them" foods.
What I had to do was really study my food log and figure out what foods filled me up at the right calorie level and build my daily plan around them. Once I did that enough, it became a habit, just how I eat, and it no longer took effort. Then I found treat foods that made me happy but didn't blow my numbers out of whack, and had them pretty much daily. And then there are the calorie bombs - the bagels, the bottles of wine, the big burger and fries at the restaurant on the corner - these things I mostly avoided, except for special occasions. I had to change the way I thought about those foods. Now that I'm at goal weight, I can fit them in more often, but I'm still basically eating the way I did when I was losing, because I really did enjoy it and it did just become "the way I eat".
I would second the suggestion to read the diet break thread, and consider following that protocol while you experiment with the food scale. Hang in there :flowerforyou:
Ditto.
I'm supposed to be working on maintenance, or at least increasing my calories. I *still* can't "just have" a bagel.
I work in one a week, and *only* after I've gone to barre. Considering that a bagel + cream cheese from a deli is at least 480 calories (I get 330 calorie bagels, and 150 calories worth of cream cheese) it's something that simply has to remain a sometimes treat.
Beer, wine, or a cocktail only happens if I have calories leftover for the day, and I've met my protein goals. Otherwise, nope, it's water or a Diet Coke.
It's all about choices.
It's good to remember that macros have different saety levels for everyone. I'm in maintenance and eat an asiago cheese bagel pretty much every day at around 500 calories per bagel/cream cheese. Actually right now I'm dealing with dental issues (root canal etc), and I've had a few days where I've eaten two bagels in one day because it's soft food. Scale holding steady though and that's because carbs are very filling for me. A bagel mid-morning and then a large veggie/chicken dish in the evening and I'm full all day. Coming in under 1,600 calories a day, even with the bagel.
Someone else may eat a bagel and be hungry an hour later. It just depends on the person and how different macros affect them
I don't disagree at all. But for me, it's also that 480 calories is a good chunk of my calories for the day, so it has to be a sometimes treat, not an every day treat. 1 -
in 2003-2004 I broke my leg and needed a rod and pins in it. I was not eating as much and I lost over 20 lbs and I was not even trying to lose weight. I surely wasnt active either as it was hard to get up and around. gained it all back and in 2013 I started working out and trying to eat less, I lost some but started gaining it back again. couldnt figure out why. so I started working out twice a day,didnt lose anything.
I was using measuring cups and so on at the time. I thought it was about exercise too. I kept trying until I was ready to give up. I did a search and it brought me here to MFP. I was told to get a scale and weigh everything solid and semi solid and to use cups and spoons for liquids. once I did that I started losing weight,I was even able to scale my exercise back to once a day and was still losing. so yeah at one point I was working out a lot but still eating more than I burned only I didnt know that.
I thought I was doing everything right and thought that because I lost it without trying the last time it would be easy 10 years later. nope its been harder in fact. so get a scale and you will be shocked at what a portion of something really is.8 -
MerryMavis1 wrote: »collectingblues wrote: »noexcuses0626 wrote: »I don't want to be an elite athlete, I don't want 15% body fat. I am a 37 year old busy working mom who just wants to be healthy. It shouldn't be this complicated! I should be able to eat a freaking bagel if I feel compelled to, but I can't! In fact, even eating only two meals a day, I have two dozen people telling me that I'm eating too much. It's upsetting, honestly, to think that this is what my life has come to. I have 40-50 lbs to lose just to be considered healthy and I'm already struggling at 1400 calories per day and exercising 5 days a week. I don't know how much more energy I can give to this endeavour. Maybe I should just resign myself to being a fatty.
I'm gonna be honest - when I was losing weight, I couldn't have a bagel if I wanted to, I had to plan out my week to fit one in if I really wanted it. I had to stop opening a bottle of wine during the week, and stick to one bottle of beer on Saturday. We become accustomed to thinking of high calorie treat foods as normal daily occurrences and feel deprived when we don't get them. But they aren't meant to be "whenever I want them" foods.
What I had to do was really study my food log and figure out what foods filled me up at the right calorie level and build my daily plan around them. Once I did that enough, it became a habit, just how I eat, and it no longer took effort. Then I found treat foods that made me happy but didn't blow my numbers out of whack, and had them pretty much daily. And then there are the calorie bombs - the bagels, the bottles of wine, the big burger and fries at the restaurant on the corner - these things I mostly avoided, except for special occasions. I had to change the way I thought about those foods. Now that I'm at goal weight, I can fit them in more often, but I'm still basically eating the way I did when I was losing, because I really did enjoy it and it did just become "the way I eat".
I would second the suggestion to read the diet break thread, and consider following that protocol while you experiment with the food scale. Hang in there :flowerforyou:
Ditto.
I'm supposed to be working on maintenance, or at least increasing my calories. I *still* can't "just have" a bagel.
I work in one a week, and *only* after I've gone to barre. Considering that a bagel + cream cheese from a deli is at least 480 calories (I get 330 calorie bagels, and 150 calories worth of cream cheese) it's something that simply has to remain a sometimes treat.
Beer, wine, or a cocktail only happens if I have calories leftover for the day, and I've met my protein goals. Otherwise, nope, it's water or a Diet Coke.
It's all about choices.
It's good to remember that macros have different saety levels for everyone. I'm in maintenance and eat an asiago cheese bagel pretty much every day at around 500 calories per bagel/cream cheese. Actually right now I'm dealing with dental issues (root canal etc), and I've had a few days where I've eaten two bagels in one day because it's soft food. Scale holding steady though and that's because carbs are very filling for me. A bagel mid-morning and then a large veggie/chicken dish in the evening and I'm full all day. Coming in under 1,600 calories a day, even with the bagel.
Someone else may eat a bagel and be hungry an hour later. It just depends on the person and how different macros affect them
I wish I could eat a bagel and cream cheese and be full.
I just leave them for treats on road trips where I bring celery and carrots to snack on in the car.0 -
Bagels. I love them, and had stopped eating them completely because at 5'3" and 1260 calories/day, it wasn't worth the spend. However, there are always alternatives. Check out Skinnytaste's recipe for "Easy Bagels"!! There was a thread here with so many of us happy about this discovery. 5 ingredients, super easy to make, much better macros than a regular bagel and very satisfying because of the extra protein.
OP, you can do this, don't overthink it, so much great advice given by some of our amazing members that have been there and done that.
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First; my rant from my page last week :
Warning: Rant to Follow: SO I went and worked out this morning, worked out hard, ate an egg white beforehand but that was just to tide me over since I try to go 12 hours between dinner and breakfast... so now I am adding an hour workout on top of going 12 hours not eating so hard boiled egg white and lots of water seemed like a good idea ... when I left after my shower I was starving and my gym was handing out freshly toasted bagels and cream cheese ... well I really am not a bread person so I really have no idea how bad this is ... so I take the bagel eat most of it on the drive to work not thinking much about it ... sure carbs and calories but man I had no idea till I logged it... WTGG .... there was less sugar, sodium, and calories in my 10 dark chocolate almonds with single bag of butter popcorn than in the frikin bagel WITHOUT CREAM CHEESE ... and I was hungry an hour later after the damn bagel .... NEVER again .... WHEW I feeeeel better.... goodnight everyone!!!
Second; you got a lot of great advice from a lot of MFP OG's on here... nothing to add but maybe just a little thought to you original statement about having your child and losing weight that year; if you breastfed that burns an extra 300 to 700 calories daily on its own depending on how many ounces of milk a day you produce. So you might have been at a larger deficit that year then you realized compared to currently, which could possibly count for some variance between these two time periods (as in you though you lost more weight faster but really you were in a larger deficit then you realized)?
Anyway, get a scale, log, DON'T GIVE UP!!!3
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