Just Frustrated Today

iamkateiam

So I just need to rant a little. I had my baby in February and I am now the exact same weight I was when I left the hospital- which is 30lbs heavier than before I got pregnant. I have a long weight loss/ gain history- at my heaviest I was 275lbs. I had managed to lose 100lbs after I got married through diet and exercise. But it will just not budge this time. I've been counting calories, eating (relatively) clean, and walking every day. But nothing! I did Weight Watchers online for a while before switching over to MFP, but I figured why pay for something that wasn't working? Now I've been on MFP and it continues to not work, but at least I'm not paying for it. Anyways, thanks for listening. I'm just feeling sorry for myself today.

CyberEd312

Are you weighing and measuring your food and logging everything you intake?? That is the only way to know for sure that you are 1.) Getting in the necessary calories needed and 2.) Hitting your Macronutrients goals...... Best of Luck

JakeBrownVB

so thats almost 6 months of not losing weight even though you are calorie counting, so you are definitly eating at maintenance.

How stressed are you with this new child? could be a factor however as you havent changed in 6 months it must also be the accuracy of your counting or your goals.

You lost 100 lbs in the past so you know what it takes to accurately record those calories, make sure you get back to that as you arent adding them up right OR you have overestimated your TDEE.

HeinekenMan

First, you need to take a close look at the number of calories you're eating. Are you neglecting to log the BBQ sauce on your sandwich or the two cookies that you ate after lunch? I bought a package of cookies last night. They are tiny little things. But they are 75 calories PER COOKIE. If you pack away four of those per day without logging, you're lying to yourself about 300 calories that you've eaten.

Another thing to check is how many calories you're set at. The numbers provided by MFP and other sites are estimates. And they may or may not be accurate. Be sure that you are giving it the right information. For example, I was telling mine that I was exercising 30 minutes every day. But I wasn't. So it was giving me a number much higher than it should have been. If I had been eating that number of calories, I wouldn't have lost much weight. Fortunately, I was eating less than their recommendations.

If you are able to verify that you are putting in the correct info to calculate your calorie target and that you're putting in everything you are eating, then you have a few options. One is that you might want to consider trying to eat 300-500 calories less than your target. Now, I'm not a doctor. So I'm not going to say it's a good idea. A lot depends on what your calorie target is. If it's 2,200, I think eating 1,700 would be reasonable just to see if it kick starts your weight loss. If your target is 1,200, you obviously don't want to eat 700 calories. You might try dipping below your target for a week or two. That's what I would do.

HeinekenMan

so thats almost 6 months of not losing weight even though you are calorie counting, so you are definitly eating at maintenance.

How stressed are you with this new child? could be a factor however as you havent changed in 6 months it must also be the accuracy of your counting or your goals.

You lost 100 lbs in the past so you know what it takes to accurately record those calories, make sure you get back to that as you arent adding them up right OR you have overestimated your TDEE.

LOL. You said in one sentence what it took me three paragraphs to say!

thisismeraw

Are you sure you are using this website correctly? Are your goals set correctly? Are you drinking enough water? Are you hitting your protein, fat and fibre goals? Are you hitting your calorie goals or are you over/under regularly? Do you log your exercise and eat your exercise calories back?

Are you properly logging your exercise? We tend to think we are working out at a higher intensity than we really are. Remember, sweating a lot doesn't always mean you are working really hard.

Do you have a kitchen scale? Are you weighing all food? Or are you eyeballing portions? Are you using measuring cups? Eyeballing portions and using measuring cups to measure food is not accurate at all and you will probably be consuming far more calories than you are counting. Only use measuring cups for liquids, never food.

Are you tracking everything? Sugar/sweeteners/cream/milk in coffee/tea? Sauces, dressings, other condiments? When you make a meal. do you use something in the database or do you enter your own ingredients in the recipe builder? Are you checking portion sizes? Some things that seem like they would be one serving (one of those 500ml cartons of milk for example) are actually two. Are you tracking those little tastes? Bites off something? Do you count absolutely everything?

I had a look through your food diary. I would suggest tracking sodium as I would imagine yours would be a bit higher. How much water do you drink since you don't log any. Add in more fresh foods.. more fruits, more veggies and lean meats.

iamkateiam

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to start logging my water and sodium today and see if that makes a difference. I'm also going to start looking at things other than calories.

Mainly I just need to stop having a pity party and get on it (c:

Absonthebrain

After looking into your diary it appears that you are eating way too many unhealthy food choices, donuts, cookies, chocolate potates will help you keep the weight you want to lose.

This program does work. You should try for the next two weeks to stick to a plan of eating for example...

Breakfast-
oatmeal or eggs and a fruit with coffee(I like black coffee)

Lunch-
Try the canned soups if youre not big on cooking-the ones with clear broth like chicken noodle..no more than 200 cals for the whole can and way filling!

Dinner-
Vegetables(you can have a double serving if you make it..like frozen chopped spinach with just a little seasoning no oil
Meat, like chicken or fish BAKED with no oil or creamy gravys
Starch-like sweet potato baked or none at all just add more veges

Snack-apple or orange celery something like that.

Also if you can refrain from beer durin thiis time do so, so you can see results-beer and alcohol tend to make you want to eat way more than you would need and also makes it more difficult to say no to high calorie fast foods.

If you are still hungry you can eat more veges and remember to drink at least 64oz(8cups) of water daily.

When you go for your walk try to give your self a goal of walking as fast as you can to get your heart rate up. If you have android you can download the Cardiotrainer App and it will help calculate your distance and calories burned.

If you do this in 2 weeks you will see a difference. I'm giving you this advice based on my personal success with doing the same things and I was eating at 1200 cals when I started.

Good luck to you! Feel free to add me as a friend if you like! :flowerforyou:

cdcooper321

You just have to figure out your balance and say NO to the unhealthy temptations that set us all back.! Add me! Let's do this!

HeinekenMan

I looked at your food journal, too. The thing I noticed was your calorie goal. It was around 2,000-2,200. Then you changed it. I'm a 340-pound guy, and my calorie goal was 2,300, and that was factoring in 30 minutes of daily exercise. I'm not sure you have the right calorie target.

ladyro420

No worry. We've all been there. Just keep up the work, and walk walk walk. Those pounds will start to fade before you know it. I struggled to lose and it took me (after 30+ yrs of not doing anything) two years of diet change and increased activity but I went from 270-280lbs down to 185lbs and felt great. I'd gotten a dog and the need to walk him daily helped ALOT. Well last fall everything went south. My dog went missing then a couple months later in October I fell and broke my back, needless to say weight began coming back. I felt so down on myself it's ridiculous. I regained 30lbs total and it has been a struggle since I got my brace off to get myself back on the track I was on. So I guess what I'm trying to say is hang in there, pay attention to what you're putting in your body (this site really helps for that), cut your carb intake increase the fresh veggie and fruit(not too much fruit though cause those carbs can count against you), and know that you have support here when needed.
Good Luck:*)

ladyro420

HeinekenMan is right...set your calorie goal lower. Try for 1500 for at least a couple months. And watch your portion sizes. I noticed that helps alot more than the calorie counting most of time.

crazybookworm

I'm all about portion control and moderation. When I started my weight loss journey, I knew I wouldn't be able to forever give up donuts and a chocolate chip cookie. I would just moderate how often I had these guilty pleasures, and I of course, my portion control. I eat clean 85-90% of the time, so for that 10-15% I don't stress over it.

Secondly, are you sure you are logging everything correctly? Do you use a food scale or heart rate monitor. Although they are not necessary to be successful at losing weight, they definitely help! I was blown away at the size of a "real" portion when I first started. There was a time that what I thought was one serving of cereal, was really 3-4 servings! It is pretty mind blowing!

I would also recommend changing up your exercise routine. Depending on how often you exercise, it is important to switch up your routine about every 4-5 workouts. You want to avoid your body falling into a routine. If your body gets used to an exercise routine, then it doesn't have to work as hard, which results in your body not burning as many calories. So instead of just walking every day, try intervals. Brisk walk to warm up, Speed walk for 3 minutes, than return to a brisk walk for 1 minute, back to speed walk, etc. You can create your own plan. Stop off at some park benches and do some tricep dips or incline push ups. Stop and do some walking lunges and push-ups. And don't worry what people may think! You are working on your health, that is very admirable! Try incorporating or working on jogging/running. Check out some workout DVD's to do while your baby is taking a nap. Can't go wrong with Jillian Michaels. Switching up your routine will definitely keep that body guessing, and result in a great calorie burn every time you exercise!

I hope this helps!

Good luck!

And feel free to add me! I am happy to help and to be along your side during your journey!

witmer1

Re-evaluate your calorie goals, ensure you're logging everything and weigh what you're eating and keep up your activity level. You'll lose it.