3 weeks in and I've just about had enough :-(

witmer1

dont give up you could just be gaining muscle turning fat you losing to solid muscle did you know what your bmi was when you started

No. Fat cannot turn into muscle.

CyberEd312

I looked at your diary. You are eating a lot. A lot of it is straight carbs - soda, jam, etc. Your body responds to that with an insulin spike and stores it directly as fat. It's the worst stuff you can eat unless you really need immediate energy because you are doing things like backpacking or running marathons.

If this was even remotely true then how did I lose the weight I have eating 50% of my calories from Carbs?? and I might add I am a type 2 diabetic....... I do not demonize food into groups of good or bad, I have taken the approach of Keep it simple stupid and I track my caloric intake and watch my Macros beyond that I got my *kitten* moving and kept a modest calorie deficit...... OP may I ask if you are measuring and weighing out your food??

corn63

dont give up you could just be gaining muscle turning fat you losing to solid muscle did you know what your bmi was when you started

^^No.

You do not gain muscle on a caloric deficit.

And let's not even get started on the muscle DOES NOT weigh more than fat. How can something weigh more than anything else? I mean honestly. A pound equals a pound equals a pound. Unless you're on another planet.

nxd10

.

CyberEd312

I needs carbs though - I'm diabetic :-(

carbs and sugar are bad for a diabetic aren't they?

This is not entirely true....... I am type 2 diabetic and I must monitor my intake of carbohydrates but they do make up 50% of my macros. I tend to stay away from enriched white flours but eat my fair share of whole grains and my A1c have dropped from 10.0 4 years ago to averaging 5.3 the past 2 years....

witmer1

I did try this the second week but the general advice is I'm not eating enough

You're not eating enough to lose weight is quite the oxymoron. I see you've closed your diary, so I can't really help here. You're getting defensive over the help and you don't want to listen to the truth. You're making excuses. Carbs and sugars are bad for diabetics. You're insulted by using the sedentary setting and not really listening to the advice here.

I wish you luck. Losing weight isn't hard to figure out. It can be hard to stick to. Discipline and honesty to yourself are key. When you really want it, you'll listen to the advice and you'll do it. Until then, you'll struggle. I hate to be negative here, but you need to want it. I went through the stage you're in. I didn't want to listen. I thought I knew it all. Hell, I still don't know it all, but look below my post at my progress bar. I know enough to get me where I am. I'd love to help, but you have to want it.

kaotik26

THE RACE DOESN'T GO TO THE SWIFT NOR THE STRONG BUT THE ONE WHO ENDURES.

I'm putting this on my motivation wall!

nxd10

I looked at your diary. You are eating a lot. A lot of it is straight carbs - soda, jam, etc. Your body responds to that with an insulin spike and stores it directly as fat.

No.

Just ... no.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/27/how-carbs-can-trigger-food-cravings/

I could give you a lot of other references too. Carbs are not evil. They are not the enemy. But they can be problematic in high percent of your calorie intake and are particularly problematic in easily digested forms like liquid (soda) and sucrose (jam).

JLArispe

In fact 1 pound of anything is 1 pound. Muscle does not weigh more then fat, its just distributed throughout your body differently. Muscles are dense and compressed, where fat is scattered in large masses thru your body, so while it seems muscle weighs more an fat, it doesn't.

Much of the time when you exercise you are building muscles and muscles weight more than fat, but you should lose inches.

kaotik26

dont give up you could just be gaining muscle turning fat you losing to solid muscle did you know what your bmi was when you started

^^No.

You do not gain muscle on a caloric deficit.

And let's not even get started on the muscle DOES NOT weigh more than fat. How can something weigh more than anything else? I mean honestly. A pound equals a pound equals a pound. Unless you're on another planet.

A pound of fat covers a larger surface area than a pound of muscle

Achrya

I did try this the second week but the general advice is I'm not eating enough

You're not eating enough to lose weight is quite the oxymoron. I see you've closed your diary, so I can't really help here. You're getting defensive over the help and you don't want to listen to the truth. You're making excuses. Carbs and sugars are bad for diabetics.You're insulted by using the sedentary setting and not really listening to the advice here.

I wish you luck. Losing weight isn't hard to figure out. It can be hard to stick to. Discipline and honesty to yourself are key. When you really want it, you'll listen to the advice and you'll do it. Until then, you'll struggle. I hate to be negative here, but you need to want it. I went through the stage you're in. I didn't want to listen. I thought I knew it all. Hell, I still don't know it all, but look below my post at my progress bar. I know enough to get me where I am. I'd love to help, but you have to want it.

Bolded for lols, considering the post right above yours. With the guy who is not only diabetic but whose ticker makes yours look about as impressive as mine (not very)

punka23

Cut out all dairy, fruit/sugars. My doctor put me on a diet no milk and no fruit I just finished my 2nd month and I've lost a total of 22 pounds so give it a try. No substitudes! I can send you a list of foods you can have if you'd like.

rml_16

I looked at your diary. You are eating a lot. A lot of it is straight carbs - soda, jam, etc. Your body responds to that with an insulin spike and stores it directly as fat.

No.

Just ... no.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/27/how-carbs-can-trigger-food-cravings/

I could give you a lot of other references too. Carbs are not evil. They are not the enemy. But they can be problematic in high percent of your calorie intake and are particularly problematic in easily digested forms like liquid (soda) and sucrose (jam).

Please point out where that article states carbs are directly stored as fat, as you stated in your first post.

Leather_N_Lace

Did you take your body measurements? You could be losing inches while the scale hasn't caught up yet.

^^^^^This right here! I weigh weekly and I am actually up .6 pounds this week but down 1.5 inches.

beachlover317

Much of the time when you exercise you are building muscles and muscles weight more than fat, but you should lose inches.

You do Not build muscle at a calorie deficit.

This X 100000000.

You've only been doing this for 3 weeks. Patience.

beachlover317

Cut out all dairy, fruit/sugars. My doctor put me on a diet no milk and no fruit I just finished my 2nd month and I've lost a total of 22 pounds so give it a try. No substitudes! I can send you a list of foods you can have if you'd like.

This is very YOU specific. I eat a variety of foods and I've lost quite a few pounds. Why would you eliminate fruits? They are full of nutrients that your body needs.

Akimajuktuq

For many people, WHAT we eat matters. True story-though many people here will assert that it is ONLY calories in and calories out, forgetting that the human body is a complex system affected by everything. There's many people here that do their best to sabotage and ridicule the experiences of others. Many men in particular have been successful by just reducing calories and using "willpower". They are very vocal here on MFP but they seem to think if they have not experienced something personally, then it must not exist. If you are drinking lots of pop and eating processed foods, but ready to "give up", maybe the "eat anything in moderation" advice needs to be revisited.

Also, it's only 3 weeks. You need to find a healthy lifestyle that you can do forever and stop viewing weight loss as a race. You can lose weight doing just about anything and being persistant but if it's not sustainable and you can't wait to go back to "normal eating" then you will gain all of the weight back plus maybe more.

BigGuy47

So much misinformation in this thread. :grumble:

I'm out.

aliceb39

I am also a type 2 diabetic. I've lost 68 lbs (the last 57 on MFP since Feb 2012). Yes, you need carbs. My nutrtitionist said 15 g for snacks, 45 - 60 for meals. I use the calories MFP calculates plus the carb guidelines. You get more food/feel more full when your carbs are not in juice or soda. I eat a lot of prepared foods, but I do watch and track my sodium, which can also be a problem for diabetics. You can do it! I won't say it's easy, but it's not as hard as I thought it would be. There's very little I don't let myself eat, but my portions got much smaller (for instance, 1/6 or 1/4 of a frozen pizza instead of 1/2; 1/2 c of ice cream instead of a whole bowl).

Achrya

Cut out all dairy, fruit/sugars. My doctor put me on a diet no milk and no fruit I just finished my 2nd month and I've lost a total of 22 pounds so give it a try. No substitudes! I can send you a list of foods you can have if you'd like.

Fruit though?

sarahrbraun

I needs carbs though - I'm diabetic :-(

carbs don't HAVE to be junky.

My trainer is T1 diabetic, on an insulin pump. He eats things like fruits and veggies for his carbs. Sometimes he eats granola bars ( the crunchy kind).

1princesswarrior

While being a painter would be very active for most, how long have you done this? I'm just asking because your body may be used to it and you may need to try a completely different type of exercise to jump start your weight loss. This happened to me when I hit a plateau, I work part-time at a horse farm and that's hard work and really burns calories but I quit losing until I really bumped up my cardio starting with Zumba, and now running.

I would speak with your doctor about your(stressed) diabetes and what carbs/sugars you should or shouldn't eat. I have several diabetic family members and they all react differently to carbs and sugar, it's such a complicated beast.

Don't give up, give it some time.

gr8xpectationz

I needs carbs though - I'm diabetic :-(

Oh my God... seriously? I don't think I've ever posted anything mean here...ever. But this is absurd. You're using diabetes to justify having Pepsi for breakfast? Really?

Go straight to your doctor. Do not pass go. Do not collect 200 dollars. And when you get there, ask about what you should be eating. Ask for a referral to a diabetic educator, nutritionist, or certified dietician.

I know a LOT of diabetics, in fact I'm married to one, and I swear to you you are doing so much damage to yourself with that bizarre presumption. Yes, you DO need carbs. But no diabetic on earth should be drinking Pepsi for breakfast for heavens' sake. There are high- and low- glycemic carbs. You need to keep your insulin from spiking, and mainlining sugar is NOT the way to do it.

Try a book. Try Google. Seriously....figure out how diabetics ought to eat, and eat that way. This is WAY more important than whether or not you've lost a pound. You're talking about a future of blindness, amputations, and suffering if you do not educate yourself and adjust your eating accordingly.

Akimajuktuq

I needs carbs though - I'm diabetic :-(

carbs and sugar are bad for a diabetic aren't they?

This is not entirely true....... I am type 2 diabetic and I must monitor my intake of carbohydrates but they do make up 50% of my macros. I tend to stay away from enriched white flours but eat my fair share of whole grains and my A1c have dropped from 10.0 4 years ago to averaging 5.3 the past 2 years....

^the above drives me nuts. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented and CURED with a permanent ketogenic lifestyle. "I need carbs because I am diabetic"... who the hell told you that!? Higher amounts of carbs can be included in a diabetic diet but then much care must be taken with constant blood sugar monitoring. Why do that? Is a daily bowl full of grains or piece of bread really worth that? Not for me. Nothing but good has happened to my health since ditching a high carb lifestyle; I wouldn't go back for anything. It's not "hard" and unless you call perfect health and effortless weight loss "suffering" then that's not happening either.

PS. If you are Type 1 diabetic, going crazy with sugar is also not advised.

esme1983

My two pennies:

You wont be building muscle on a deficit, but, you may not be in a deficit if you are very near to your calorie allowance. Also, some say calories are calories and there is an obvious science in that if you burn more calories than you eat, you will lose weight. However, all that sodium (and I agree with the poster who said that your sodium tracking is inaccurate) is not conducive to turning your body in to a fat burner.

I think some people are feeling impatient with your post because some of us have been changing things up/ being persistent for years now and 3 weeks is a very short amount of time. But no point going on if you're doing it wrong. And the first three weeks should give a dramatic loss in my opinion.

My advice, for what it's worth is this:

Drink a pint of water with every meal that you eat, more if you can - that is a minimum. Downing a pint with each meal can be a good way of remembering to drink water, then sip throughout the day.

Also, start taking a calcium supplement. Start your day with something fatty and full of protein (eggs, steak, bacon, nuts, salmon etc.)

Try limiting your sodium, set it low, and make sure the things you are logging are added to the system accurately. Lots of users don't track the sodium when they first add the product so take time to check through the things you add.

I think if you do those things you'll see weightloss.

Good luck.

PheonixRizing

Um the OP stopped replying and closed their food journal.

rml_16

Um the OP stopped replying and closed their food journal.

Yeah, but I'm still waiting on an answer to the "carbs are directly stores as fat" issue.

leadiax3

Perhaps u just have a low basal metabolic rate. Maybe ur doctor can check?

lesley964

hi there,
I would also encourage you to weigh out / measure ALL your food. I had the same problem before joining MFP thinking that I knew it all after nearly 30 years of losing weight (and gaining it all back and then some!) What I make sure I do is obsessively check my daily intake, (I like the pie chart on the app) and log as I eat so I don't conveniently forget that I have eaten!!
What came as a huge shock to me when I started MFP 3 weeks ago, how much sugar I was taking.....my OJ in the morning was more than half my daily allowance. So I have cut back or changed my fruit (unsweetened cranberry and blueberry) and I make sure I eat enough protein, sometimes I have a protein bar, just check the sugar on the label first.
I have lost about 12lbs in 16 days and have already noticed a difference in my clothes but the biggest change I have noticed is my energy levels, I am wide awake as soon as I wake up and am alert all day instead of falling asleep in front of the TV about 8pm. Don't give up, hang in there, just make a few changes. Get a tape measure to see if you have lost inches and don't get hung up on the numbers!!!! It's about achieving a healthy disposition and don't dismiss the length of time it took for all the weight to get there in the first place!!!

VeggieKidMandy

I am on a diabetic regimen pretty much, and my rule of thumb is that try to fit in fresh vegetables and less white and refined sugar. Natural sugars are fine in moderation as long as you are pairing them with other vegetables and whole grains.