Slow weight loss
Replies
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Yeah, just hang in there (here).
No one loses consistently, everyone gets frustrated when there is no obvious answer.
Tightening your logging should help, it does in most instances.
Check back in a couple of weeks and let us know how things are going, please.
Cheers, h.5 -
HoneyBadger155 wrote: »I've had weight loss seriously slow when my macros were off. In my case, it was not eating enough fat - too much low/no fat items. I added some full fat items in, cut back on quantity to keep my calories the same, and it kicked back into gear. Prior to that I was still losing but it had slowed significantly.
If you're eating just enough to keep your body going, making sure it's actually getting what it needs is going to be more important.
Thanks. I do know I eat too much crap food, and too much sugar. Maybe that is the issue, by body is not happy with the macros I am consuming.3 -
elsie6hickman wrote: »I have been reading this whole thread - and I guess my question to you is what are you trying to get from this discussion? People have said everything they know about losing weight, and apparently you know all of this. If you are eating what MFP tell you to eat and you are not losing weight, then drop your calories by 100 and see what happens. Are you wanting everyone to agree there is something medically wrong with you? And then what? You still aren't losing weight, even if everyone agrees with you. You say you have met with Drs. and met with a nutritionist and you've gotten nothing from seeing them. Perhaps you will need to turn to bariatric surgery this time. I can only imagine how frustrated you are. And btw, if you want to look at my food diary, please do.
It took a lot for me to even begin this thread. I knew exactly what everyone was going to say. I guess I was hoping people that maybe had have similar stories with mine would be able to give me constructive help. Eat less this, eat more this. Dont eat at this time. Eat more breakfast. Exerecise more. Something helpful. Not "eat less" . You dont measure. Less cals is less weight. That isn't helpful. Or maybe someone would say "oh have the dr run this test".
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I agree with most of everything said. However, I will add that I think that you need to get into the kitchen and get your diet to be 80% whole foods and only 20% other crap. Your compliance will be much easier that way. Lean meats, vegetables, good starches, and fruits for a snack. Regardless of your bodyweight making real changes to your diet is going to help your health long term. Also, 8000 steps are great. I think you need to also get a workout program that you enjoy.
I would also suggest based upon your weight going up and down and the diet getting with your primary care doctor and getting Vitamin D, testosterone panel, cholesterol panel, A1c, fasted blood sugar, and thyroid before the metabolic testing. Make sure all of that is good and then get the metabolic tests.
Thank you. The last time at the drs (maybe 2 years ago), all of my tests came back terrefic. At that I point I was 250 but was platuead for like 3 months. I'll go back to the dr and get a wellness exam.0 -
nadizm0228 wrote: »stress much? sleep little? I ALWAYS stall when I don't get adequate sleep. And, when I'm stressed, I don't sleep well. Could be a factor that you haven't considered...
Very stressed. Not so much right now, but still am. I lost my job of 24 years last June and was unemployed until June this year. That is when I gained 55 pounds back.8 -
Thanks to all for the comments, I do truly appreciate the time you took to respond. I know you are all trying to help. Hopefully I didn't come off as unappreciative, or a know it all. I think my net steps will be eating healthier food, less sugar, and try to get my macros in line. Add back some cardio, and get in to see a doctor.11
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Since you are open to adding more healthful choices I’ll mention that you don’t have to make sweeping changes all at once. Start where you are. If you aren’t currently eating any fruit or vegetables set a goal to add one or two into your daily diet. After you are doing that consistently look for other small swaps. You might be surprised what your diet looks like after several weeks. And you may find maintenance easier after you reach goal.8
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But what are you going to eat instead? Are you magically going to enjoy other foods and magically stop craving what you're eating now? If so, why haven't you changed your diet a long time ago?I do know I eat too much crap food, and too much sugar. Maybe that is the issue, by body is not happy with the macros I am consuming.
What do you mean with "maybe that is the issue" and "my body is not happy with the macros I am consuming"? Do you think the "wrong" foods are preventing you from losing weight? If so, that is not the issue. The issue with eating so much crap and so little food, is that you feel like crap, and when you feel like crap, you don't want to move, you want to eat, and it's easy enough to eat and not move, these days.
Haven't you read a weightloss article in your life? That's what they are filled with. And I suspect it's where you have that idea from. And if it worked, you wouldn't have been asking for help here, you'd tried those tips, and succeeded. But they don't work. But they do appeal to you still. That's why they are given, to appeal, not to work. That's why you struggle. You resist advice that works. Actually, the mainstream weightloss tips is why so many people struggle. Adults should never be told when and what to eat. Adults need to make their own decisions, because that's what they do anyway. Everybody gets tempted to say "screw this". Smart, responsible adults just make it easier to make better decisions, and harder to make bad decisions.I guess I was hoping people that maybe had have similar stories with mine would be able to give me constructive help. Eat less this, eat more this. Dont eat at this time. Eat more breakfast. Exerecise more. Something helpful. Not "eat less" . You dont measure. Less cals is less weight. That isn't helpful. Or maybe someone would say "oh have the dr run this test".18 -
I haven't read all of the posts here but I spent just a minute looking at your diary and know that your logging is way off which is why you would not be losing weight like you want. You do not weigh everything. Not even close. You eat many solids which you measure with cups instead of using scales. Anything prepackaged is not weighed but you have simply assumed that what you are eating is one serving. The weight of these can be over by as much as 20% and this adds up to a significant amount over the course of a day. You are also eating a reasonable amount of takeaway food. It is not uncommon for the calorie count of these to be significantly under also. If you only eat out occasionally you wouldn't see any effects from this but on a regular basis, you would.
My suggestion is to smarten up more on your logging. Weigh everything you eat that is solid using digital kitchen scales. Never use cups. Reserve measuring cups and spoons for liquids only. Try to eat out less frequently and when you do log as 1.2 or 1.5 servings instead of 1 because this is probably closer to the amount you are actually eating when out.
Things like meat, rice and pasta are normally weighed before they are cooked and not afterwards (unless otherwise mentioned) so be sure to do this. Double check the database entry you have chosen against the nutritional information on the label or against the USDA database online. As the database here is user entry there are some truly woeful entries.11 -
elsie6hickman wrote: »I have been reading this whole thread - and I guess my question to you is what are you trying to get from this discussion? People have said everything they know about losing weight, and apparently you know all of this. If you are eating what MFP tell you to eat and you are not losing weight, then drop your calories by 100 and see what happens. Are you wanting everyone to agree there is something medically wrong with you? And then what? You still aren't losing weight, even if everyone agrees with you. You say you have met with Drs. and met with a nutritionist and you've gotten nothing from seeing them. Perhaps you will need to turn to bariatric surgery this time. I can only imagine how frustrated you are. And btw, if you want to look at my food diary, please do.
It took a lot for me to even begin this thread. I knew exactly what everyone was going to say. I guess I was hoping people that maybe had have similar stories with mine would be able to give me constructive help. Eat less this, eat more this. Dont eat at this time. Eat more breakfast. Exerecise more. Something helpful. Not "eat less" . You dont measure. Less cals is less weight. That isn't helpful. Or maybe someone would say "oh have the dr run this test".
The reason nobody said those things is because (perhaps apart from the doctor in some specific cases) none of them impact your weight loss. You can eat whichever foods you want, so more or less of a particular food will do nothing. It doesn't matter what time you eat. Of course exercise can help increase the calories you burn, but it's not a requirement for weight loss if you control your calories in.
At the end of the day, the only thing that matters for weight loss is calories in <calories out.
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Lillymoo01 wrote: »I haven't read all of the posts here but I spent just a minute looking at your diary and know that your logging is way off which is why you would not be losing weight like you want. You do not weigh everything. Not even close. You eat many solids which you measure with cups instead of using scales. Anything prepackaged is not weighed but you have simply assumed that what you are eating is one serving. The weight of these can be over by as much as 20% and this adds up to a significant amount over the course of a day. You are also eating a reasonable amount of takeaway food. It is not uncommon for the calorie count of these to be significantly under also. If you only eat out occasionally you wouldn't see any effects from this but on a regular basis, you would.
My suggestion is to smarten up more on your logging. Weigh everything you eat that is solid using digital kitchen scales. Never use cups. Reserve measuring cups and spoons for liquids only. Try to eat out less frequently and when you do log as 1.2 or 1.5 servings instead of 1 because this is probably closer to the amount you are actually eating when out.
Things like meat, rice and pasta are normally weighed before they are cooked and not afterwards (unless otherwise mentioned) so be sure to do this. Double check the database entry you have chosen against the nutritional information on the label or against the USDA database online. As the database here is user entry there are some truly woeful entries.
I do not measure anything in cups. I weigh everything. It may show up as cups, but that is because that is the mfp entry I used. Still same calorie count. Can you give me an example of what you are seeing? Also, I hardly ever eat out. I don't know where you are seeing this. I eat out maybe 1 time a week? And yes, I weigh everyhting before cooking.7 -
kommodevaran wrote: »
But what are you going to eat instead? Are you magically going to enjoy other foods and magically stop craving what you're eating now? If so, why haven't you changed your diet a long time ago?I do know I eat too much crap food, and too much sugar. Maybe that is the issue, by body is not happy with the macros I am consuming.
What do you mean with "maybe that is the issue" and "my body is not happy with the macros I am consuming"? Do you think the "wrong" foods are preventing you from losing weight? If so, that is not the issue. The issue with eating so much crap and so little food, is that you feel like crap, and when you feel like crap, you don't want to move, you want to eat, and it's easy enough to eat and not move, these days.
Haven't you read a weightloss article in your life? That's what they are filled with. And I suspect it's where you have that idea from. And if it worked, you wouldn't have been asking for help here, you'd tried those tips, and succeeded. But they don't work. But they do appeal to you still. That's why they are given, to appeal, not to work. That's why you struggle. You resist advice that works. Actually, the mainstream weightloss tips is why so many people struggle. Adults should never be told when and what to eat. Adults need to make their own decisions, because that's what they do anyway. Everybody gets tempted to say "screw this". Smart, responsible adults just make it easier to make better decisions, and harder to make bad decisions.[/quoteI guess I was hoping people that maybe had have similar stories with mine would be able to give me constructive help. Eat less this, eat more this. Dont eat at this time. Eat more breakfast. Exerecise more. Something helpful. Not "eat less" . You dont measure. Less cals is less weight. That isn't helpful. Or maybe someone would say "oh have the dr run this test".
I'm sure you're trying to help, but sure doesn't seem like it. I am a responsible adult. I eat 1700-1900 calories a day. IM NOT LOSING WEIGHT. I've done this before and lost 100 pounds in a year. It's not like I forgot he to be an adult. What I'm saying is I did this before, and it was relatively easy. Eat less, weigh less. Now it doesn't "work" for me. I am doing the same things I did the first time around and for wahtever reason my body will not drop the weight. That is why I am frustrated and confused. Its like before addding 2 plus 2 was 4, and now for some reason 2 plus 2 is 3 and i cannot figure out why.4 -
Redordeadhead wrote: »elsie6hickman wrote: »I have been reading this whole thread - and I guess my question to you is what are you trying to get from this discussion? People have said everything they know about losing weight, and apparently you know all of this. If you are eating what MFP tell you to eat and you are not losing weight, then drop your calories by 100 and see what happens. Are you wanting everyone to agree there is something medically wrong with you? And then what? You still aren't losing weight, even if everyone agrees with you. You say you have met with Drs. and met with a nutritionist and you've gotten nothing from seeing them. Perhaps you will need to turn to bariatric surgery this time. I can only imagine how frustrated you are. And btw, if you want to look at my food diary, please do.
It took a lot for me to even begin this thread. I knew exactly what everyone was going to say. I guess I was hoping people that maybe had have similar stories with mine would be able to give me constructive help. Eat less this, eat more this. Dont eat at this time. Eat more breakfast. Exerecise more. Something helpful. Not "eat less" . You dont measure. Less cals is less weight. That isn't helpful. Or maybe someone would say "oh have the dr run this test".
The reason nobody said those things is because (perhaps apart from the doctor in some specific cases) none of them impact your weight loss. You can eat whichever foods you want, so more or less of a particular food will do nothing. It doesn't matter what time you eat. Of course exercise can help increase the calories you burn, but it's not a requirement for weight loss if you control your calories in.
At the end of the day, the only thing that matters for weight loss is calories in <calories out.
Perfect. Did you look at my diary? I weigh about 310 pounds right now. I am 6 feet tall. Male, 41 years old. MFP tells me to eat 1940 cals a day to lose 2 pounds a week. I avg 1700-1900 a day, and have plateued. I lost 10 pounds the first 8 weeks, and now nothing.2 -
Here is my excel spreadsheet for weight lost: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ndq44gj3gekryiq/Weight.ods?dl=01
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Lillymoo01 wrote: »I haven't read all of the posts here but I spent just a minute looking at your diary and know that your logging is way off which is why you would not be losing weight like you want. You do not weigh everything. Not even close. You eat many solids which you measure with cups instead of using scales. Anything prepackaged is not weighed but you have simply assumed that what you are eating is one serving. The weight of these can be over by as much as 20% and this adds up to a significant amount over the course of a day. You are also eating a reasonable amount of takeaway food. It is not uncommon for the calorie count of these to be significantly under also. If you only eat out occasionally you wouldn't see any effects from this but on a regular basis, you would.
My suggestion is to smarten up more on your logging. Weigh everything you eat that is solid using digital kitchen scales. Never use cups. Reserve measuring cups and spoons for liquids only. Try to eat out less frequently and when you do log as 1.2 or 1.5 servings instead of 1 because this is probably closer to the amount you are actually eating when out.
Things like meat, rice and pasta are normally weighed before they are cooked and not afterwards (unless otherwise mentioned) so be sure to do this. Double check the database entry you have chosen against the nutritional information on the label or against the USDA database online. As the database here is user entry there are some truly woeful entries.
I do not measure anything in cups. I weigh everything. It may show up as cups, but that is because that is the mfp entry I used. Still same calorie count. Can you give me an example of what you are seeing? Also, I hardly ever eat out. I don't know where you are seeing this. I eat out maybe 1 time a week? And yes, I weigh everyhting before cooking.
premium bake shop - white bread, 2 slices 418 -Not weighed or logged correctly. How much is 2 slices and every slice can be a different weight?
Lunchables - Pepperoni & Mozzarella Lunch Combo, 1 Package 1,046 - This may not be takeaway but it is prepackaged. How much exactly is 1 package. Did you weigh it to check that the size you ate was the same as indicated on the package?
Michelina's - White Chicken Penne, 1 package 1,213 - Same as above.
Tyson - Honey Bbq Seasoned Wings, 4 pieces (94g) - Was this weighed or just that you ate 4 pieces?
red baron - thin & crispy crust bacon lovers pizza, 0.75 container (435.00 gram) - Was this weighed or did you just eat 0.75 of a container (Still trying to figure out a container of pizza though!)
Sour Patch - Big Sour Patch Kids, 1 pieces
Skittles - Fun Size, 1 Pack (20g)
Precious - String Cheese , 1 stick
Wonka - Mini Chewy Sweet Tarts, 20 pieces - Were any of these weighed?
You may not be eating takeaway but much of it is prepackaged and looks like you eat a serving assuming it is the same as indicated on the package. If this is the case then you will definitely be eating much more than you think you are. Most of your entries are in slices, sticks, pieces, tubes etc. When searching for foods on the database keep searching until you find the food you are after with either grams or ozs. It is the only way to ensure accuracy.
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Perfect. Did you look at my diary? I weigh about 310 pounds right now. I am 6 feet tall. Male, 41 years old. MFP tells me to eat 1940 cals a day to lose 2 pounds a week. I avg 1700-1900 a day, and have plateued. I lost 10 pounds the first 8 weeks, and now nothing.
Eat less or move more or do both. A true plateau means you're eating at maintenance.
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I looked at your diary and all I know is that if I ate that much sodium a day, I would never lose weight. Have you considered that? I would try to eat more fresh foods and really watch your sodium. I would also make sure to be drinking enough water. I drink a gallon a day and it's easy to do. I'm also a very slow loser so I get your frustrations, but you just got to keep tweaking and not give up.
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Hey i don’t really have any new advice for you. My best bets would be to cut out pre-packaged & convenience foods - maybe not completely, lots of people say 80/20 so 20% treats & convenience items (lunchables, pre-cooked stuff) and 80% straight up, I cooked all this oatmeal myself weighed the chicken raw etc.
But that is a ton of work and I feel tired just thinking about it. And having done this all before I can only imagine the frustration. Maybe that’s my future too. This is the first time I’ve successfully lost more than 10lbs.
My SO has regained weight he lost as well, and I can see how tired he is. It’s rough. I think I get why you asked - maybe if someone else could say “this exact thing happened to me, and this is exactly how I fixed it” it would be okay. That’s what I would want to know. An example to follow.
And if you can’t muster the resolve yet to re-do your entire diet, the advice earlier about just cutting your calories by 100 until you see loss is also sound. Bodies aren’t machines to the tune of MFP. It’s not exact. I underate by eating my MFP goal and not knowing how to track my daily activity.
Big hugs about the job loss ❤️❤️❤️❤️ and good luck.4 -
Hey i don’t really have any new advice for you. My best bets would be to cut out pre-packaged & convenience foods - maybe not completely, lots of people say 80/20 so 20% treats & convenience items (lunchables, pre-cooked stuff) and 80% straight up, I cooked all this oatmeal myself weighed the chicken raw etc.
But that is a ton of work and I feel tired just thinking about it. And having done this all before I can only imagine the frustration. Maybe that’s my future too. This is the first time I’ve successfully lost more than 10lbs.
It's not a ton of work though. And the majority of people (no, not all) could very easily find the time in their schedules to shop for and make healthy meals if they valued their health more than they valued watching TV or fiddling around online or whatever time waster they get sucked into only to look up two hours later and realize it's time to go to bed.11 -
There are things that I'll do when I'm gung-ho that I know I won't do over the long term. For weight management, if I won't do it over the long term, there's no point in doing it in the short term.
It's not a ton of work though. And the majority of people (no, not all) could very easily find the time in their schedules to shop for and make healthy meals if they valued their health more than they valued watching TV or fiddling around online or whatever time waster they get sucked into only to look up two hours later and realize it's time to go to bed.Hey i don’t really have any new advice for you. My best bets would be to cut out pre-packaged & convenience foods - maybe not completely, lots of people say 80/20 so 20% treats & convenience items (lunchables, pre-cooked stuff) and 80% straight up, I cooked all this oatmeal myself weighed the chicken raw etc.
But that is a ton of work and I feel tired just thinking about it. And having done this all before I can only imagine the frustration. Maybe that’s my future too. This is the first time I’ve successfully lost more than 10lbs.
OP, I've lost weight and kept it off by finding convenient things to eat that I like to eat and that keep me in my macro/calorie target range. The microwave is my go-to cooking tool. Most days, breakfast is a frozen sandwich, lunch is oatmeal and a pre-packaged boiled egg, dinner is a frozen dinner plus sauceless steam-in-bag veggies, and late-night snack is a protein bar. I drink tea between meals to keep my hands and mouth busy.2 -
Hi all- I'll try to make this as short as possible. 5 years ago, I started myfitneespal and lost almost 100 pounds in a year. I went off the diet and maintained well for 6 months and then started gaining back. Went back on diet and lost about half of what I had regained (10 pounds out of the 20), and then plateaued. I would get frustrated go off diet, gain a bunch back, and then diet again but would always slow way down or plateaua after the first 5 or 10 pounds lost. Anyways, this went on for the last 4 years. This past year, gained almost all of the weight back, and started hardcore again first week of June. I lost 6 pounds the first month, 2 pounds in July, and only 1 pound this month. I weigh 309 pounds, am 41 years old male, net 1700-2000 cals a day and walk about 8000 steps a day. Cannot lose weight.
Please don't ask if I am weighing my food. I am. Please don't tell me I am eating more then I think. I am not. I did this the first time around and worked well, and now mu body just doesn't want to give it up. Any thought on medical reasons? I has thyroid checked last year and it cam back smack dab in the middle.
Ok, well..... I will not pretend to know much. I know what some studies have shown. That even weighing and measuring can be off 5-10% I mean, not much, but could be something. I lost 220lbs, not bragging, just staing the facts, I maintain, so far on about 3100-3200. I am active as all heck. 15,000 steps a day, on my feet most of the day, and lift 4 days a week. I mean this could change, but who knows? Why would you think your thyroid is off besides weigh not coming off? Having hair loss? Cold intolerance? Constipation? Ringing of ears? I know that I developed most of these issues after losing weight. My tsh and t4 are spot on so far. These test are good, but get a T3RT3 done. I am having one done this week. Edit: Maybe just monkey what MFP says for calories. Eat a certain number, as close as possible, and see what weight does over a month.
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I am also very curious to what the nutritionist and doctors said to you....... kinda left that a little sketchy.... not saying that you are lying that they were no help, but sometimes when we are subjective vs objective we miss things.4
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Hey i don’t really have any new advice for you. My best bets would be to cut out pre-packaged & convenience foods - maybe not completely, lots of people say 80/20 so 20% treats & convenience items (lunchables, pre-cooked stuff) and 80% straight up, I cooked all this oatmeal myself weighed the chicken raw etc.
But that is a ton of work and I feel tired just thinking about it. And having done this all before I can only imagine the frustration. Maybe that’s my future too. This is the first time I’ve successfully lost more than 10lbs.
It's not a ton of work though. And the majority of people (no, not all) could very easily find the time in their schedules to shop for and make healthy meals if they valued their health more than they valued watching TV or fiddling around online or whatever time waster they get sucked into only to look up two hours later and realize it's time to go to bed.
Maybe most people but genuinely not everyone. I pre-make sandwiches and yogurt with fruit, but the fruit is frozen in a package, the deli meat is a packaged food. So is Greek yogurt. So is the bread. I didn’t make that stuff myself and I’m going by package info. I get up at 5:30 to exercise and make breakfast for my family and pack my bag for work. I get home at 7 and have enough time to reheat food, feed people, exercise (sometimes), shower, put people to bed, and crash into bed at 9:30 or 10 if transit took longer or there was a hiccup in the day. No TV in there. And I don’t think this level of exhaustion is abnormal. I work service industry. I travel 2h each way to and from work. Trying to take care of my body is hard. And I rely on packaged food in a lot of ways.
Meals are cooked in batches. Now there are pre-cooked hamburgers and chicken in the freezer. I know what the batch weight of the meat was before the burgers were made and cooked earlier in the month but to log each burger do I weigh them cooked? Inaccurate! Or just guess ~ 1/4 of the total 1lb of beef.
Being accurate to the gram is hard. Cooking absolutely everything yourself is hard. Learning how to do these things and function properly is hard as heck. And I’m not complaining- it’s been a good learning process. I feel better about myself than when I just threw myself at school and work and bought food because it felt too impossible to figure out what else to do. But once you’ve learned it, you’re remiss to forget that it is indeed, quite hard.8 -
Y'know, sometimes on threads like this, I do wonder about the role of nutrition.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a total "calories count for weight loss, period!" hard-headed bigot. But I'm also a believer that nutrition is good for something(s).
So, when I read stories like yours, where things are OK for a while (or on past rounds of restriction), then results decrease without perceived behavioral change, and - frankly - the person seems on the ball enough that they're probably not just misunderstanding something truly major . . . well, I wonder.
I'm pretty confident (though mostly via anecdote) that over-restricting calories, in at least some people, leads eventually to reduced energy in daily life (so less daily life activity/lower NEAT) and lackluster workouts (lower burn for exercise time), adding up to a reduced overall calorie expenditure (TDEE), thus significantly slowing (not ending) weight loss. Those energy losses can be gradual and subtle, so below radar. I wonder if under-nutrition can lead to the same result, in at least some people.
I don't think there's magic in "healthy foods" as an article of weight-loss religion, and definitely don't subscribe to "good food/bad food" dichotomies. But hitting decent macros (especially protein and healthy fats) and getting ample micros (mostly from food) . . . . well, I wonder.11 -
nadizm0228 wrote: »stress much? sleep little? I ALWAYS stall when I don't get adequate sleep. And, when I'm stressed, I don't sleep well. Could be a factor that you haven't considered...
Very stressed. Not so much right now, but still am. I lost my job of 24 years last June and was unemployed until June this year. That is when I gained 55 pounds back.
Stress is a bad deal for your body. I would try to get some help with that from a mental health professional if you think it is affecting your life.
Next, every two years is a reasonable timeline to get all the scans done.
I'm sorry about the job, hopefully the new job can support the medical recommendations. However, your health needs to come first.
All the best.
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I wonder if you need new kitchen scales? Just a thought...I know that you don't want to hear it but something in your tracking is off. You can troubleshoot that and figure out the issue or keep looking in the wrong places and keep struggling.
You are ingesting fewer calories than your body is using so you are getting some weight loss. Sedentary people lose more slowly because they can't create as much of a deficit and don't have a lot of wiggle room for tracking errors. Figure out a comfortable calorie intake amount that leaves you at a deficit and settle in for the long haul.
Increasing your calorie intake would be counterproductive.
Double-check your database entries for accurate nutrition facts. Log everything immediately before you eat so that you don't forget to log it later. If you have cheat meals/days, log them just as carefully as you log everything else.
Treat this like a science experiment where you are the only subject. Collect the best data that you can and make adjustments from that data.
Thanks. Like I said, I've done this before. I plan out meals days in advance. I use nutrion form labels. I log everything, down to the 5 cal mustard on my sandwhich. I measure everything. This is why it is so frustrating, because I know all of the things to do.
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I once at 1200 a day, and only lost 2 pounds in 3 months. Then 25 ish fell off in the preceding months. I guess it just takes time. Work = Results!2
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OP -
I sympathize with your situation. I have lost and re-gained hundreds of pounds over many years, have struggled with "plateaus" where I could not seem to lose weight no matter what I did, and have heard enough advice about exactly how I should lose weight to fill endless volumes. I've just recently come back to zMFP in the hope of doing something better than what I have been doing lately, and I don't know yet how well I will do.
I don't know what will help you in your specific situation, but I'm going to mention some things that have worked for me in the past. Maybe some of them will be of use to you.
1. It really matters what I eat. Lots of people say "If Calories Out > Calories In, then Weight Loss > 0." I guess that works for them, and it might work for me if my body were made out of math.
But my experience has been that on days when I eat all of my allotted servings of protein and vegetables, all of my minimum allotted calories, and at least the minimum but no more than the maximum number of servings of fat; I tend to lose weight.
My thinking on this is that my body needs nutrition to run, not just calories. It need amino acids and trace minerals and peptides and glycerides and a whole bunch of I don't know what all, but my body doesn't function properly without them. I'm mostly* not sure whether my metabolism just doesn't burn the fat, like a fire that's all laid perfectly but never gets lit; or that I crave whatever I'm not getting so badly that I go into some sort of oblivious fugue state and overeat.
(*Mostly. I do know that when I get less than the minimum ration of fat, my body can't absorb the fat-soluble vitamins it needs to function. I wind up in a a sort of a pale funk whether all I can imagine doing is either going to sleep or eating something with fat in it. Too much fat and I tend to gain weight or plateau, but too little and I become ill or I overeat - or both.)
2. Exercise. I don't lose much weight when I don't exercise, and what I do lose comes back in a hurry if I slip up on diet at all. This has often been my downfall, because I have yet to find a suitable form of exercise that doesn't bore me to tears. But when I do exercise, that's when I lose weight.
3. Recording my food before I eat it. When I record my food after eating, I tend to "forget" little or not-so-little things I've eaten (sauces, sides, an extra dinner roll, etc.). Recording beforehand helps to keep me more honest. (Again, I don't know if this applies to you at all. It's just a thing that has helped me.)
So, maybe these will help you. Maybe they won't. They're guaranteed to be worth at least what you paid for them.
But I am definitely in your corner, and you absolutely do have my understanding and support. 17 -
@Evelyn_Gorfram
Lots of what you are saying is great, but some of it is misunderstanding of what people are saying and how our bodies work.
You lose fat from day to day if you're in a true, consistent calorie deficit, but you can't see it on the scale from day to day because of water weight fluctuations. So when you saw a big drop on the scale from one day to the next, it was you having less water and digesting food in your system.
When people say "CICO is all that matters for weightloss", they refer to calories in/out controlling your weight, that there is no magic. They do not encourage you to ignore nutrition. Quite the opposite, they emphazise that in order to eat less for any weightloss to take effect, you have to eat better. But in order to eat better for any length of time, and not revert back to your old habits, you have to follow your own preferences, and you can - people who feel free to make their own decisions, tend to make better decisions overall. People who think they should eat in a certain way - eat this (which they're not that keen on) and not that (which they like a lot), or at certain times (which always seems to be different from what they normally do and/or interferes with their work/family/social life) - tend to crash and burn. For me, trying to go low fat was especially unfortunate, not only did it drive me to overeat (so I got fat), I also suspect it messed up my gallbladder (preventing it from emptying itself and thus create a buildup of stones).
Prelogging is a great idea; I have continued to plan my meals even after I stopped tracking calories - the predictability is good for me, and seeing the whole day laid out in front of me, makes me feel safe, certain that I will have enough food, enjoyable food. Feeling deprived was what made me overeat.14 -
(Sorry this is so long. I don't like being wrong, which I was in one case; and I really don't like being told I'm wrong, which I'm pretty sure I wasn't in another case.)
Oops - I misspoke there.kommodevaran wrote: »@Evelyn_Gorfram
Lots of what you are saying is great, but some of it is misunderstanding of what people are saying and how our bodies work.
You lose fat from day to day if you're in a true, consistent calorie deficit, but you can't see it on the scale from day to day because of water weight fluctuations. So when you saw a big drop on the scale from one day to the next, it was you having less water and digesting food in your system.
I was trying to be concise, and wound up oversimplifying. I should have said:
I should have made clear that I do not weigh myself every day, nor do I expect the effects of my weight loss efforts to be measurable on a daily scale. I think the problem arises from the fact that it is what I do every day that affects what I see on a weekly or longer timescale....my experience has been that on days when I eat all of my allotted servings of protein and vegetables, all of my minimum allotted calories, and at least the minimum but no more than the maximum number of servings of fat, I feel full and satisfied and do not tend to overeat. And when I consistently meet those goals for at least several days in a row, I tend to lose weight.kommodevaran wrote: »@Evelyn_Gorfram
Lots of what you are saying is great, but some of it is misunderstanding of what people are saying...
Um, yeah. When people say "CICO is all that matters for weight loss," and what they mean is something other, or something more detailed and complex, than "CICO is all that matters for weight loss;" then I'm going to misunderstand them.kommodevaran wrote: »When people say "CICO is all that matters for weightloss"
(But if "CICO" is something more than an acronym for "Calories-In-Calories-Out," or if there is some secret MFP glossary that gives alternate meanings for "all that matters" or "weight loss," please do let me know.)
Ummm…kommodevaran wrote: »they refer to calories in/out controlling your weight, that there is no magic. They do not encourage you to ignore nutrition. Quite the opposite, they emphazise that in order to eat less for any weightloss to take effect, you have to eat better.
While you do go on to contradict this with what seems like a distinction between types of food:kommodevaran wrote: »What do you mean with "maybe that is the issue" and "my body is not happy with the macros I am consuming"? Do you think the "wrong" foods are preventing you from losing weight? If so, that is not the issue.
You then return to a statement that seems to follow from “CICO is all that matters for weight loss,”:kommodevaran wrote: »The issue with eating so much crap and so little food, is that you feel like crap, and when you feel like crap, you don't want to move, you want to eat, and it's easy enough to eat and not move, these days.
And others say:kommodevaran wrote: »Adults should never be told when and what to eat.
(emphases added by me)Redordeadhead wrote: »"You can eat whichever foods you want, so more or less of a particular food will do nothing. It doesn't matter what time you eat. Of course exercise can help increase the calories you burn, but it's not a requirement for weight loss if you control your calories in.
At the end of the day, the only thing that matters for weight loss is calories in <calories out.”
(this is the entirety of their response to a quote from the OP)Eat less or move more or do both. A true plateau means you're eating at maintenance.
Except for the reference you made to not “eating so much crap,” I don’t see where the OP is being encouraged not to ignore nutrition. The only thing these quotes seem to be emphasizing is the idea that in order to for any weight loss to take effect, you have to eat fewer calories than you burn up.
(I have to admit that I have a bit of a knee-jerk aversion to this, due to nearly a lifetime of being overweight and thus surrounded by people (usually of normal weight) forever telling me that "all I have to do is eat fewer calories that I expend." (And it's true - just like all that poor people have to do is to have more money.))
I’m sorry to hear about your gallbladder troubles - how awful!kommodevaran wrote: »But in order to eat better for any length of time, and not revert back to your old habits, you have to follow your own preferences, and you can - people who feel free to make their own decisions, tend to make better decisions overall. People who think they should eat in a certain way - eat this (which they're not that keen on) and not that (which they like a lot), or at certain times (which always seems to be different from what they normally do and/or interferes with their work/family/social life) - tend to crash and burn. For me, trying to go low fat was especially unfortunate, not only did it drive me to overeat (so I got fat), I also suspect it messed up my gallbladder (preventing it from emptying itself and thus create a buildup of stones).
I agree with you that people must hammer out a way of eating that conforms to their own needs and preferences - blindly following fads, or even well-meaning advice, seldom works out.
Being deprived - of the complex suite of nutrients my body needs - seems to be what makes me overeat. And the complex ballet of stuffing all those needed macros and micros into an appropriate calorie range using consisting of foods that I can afford to buy, can prepare without too much trouble, and find palatable-to-enjoyable, is enough to make me mix my metaphors.kommodevaran wrote: »Prelogging is a great idea; I have continued to plan my meals even after I stopped tracking calories - the predictability is good for me, and seeing the whole day laid out in front of me, makes me feel safe, certain that I will have enough food, enjoyable food. Feeling deprived was what made me overeat.
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