Annoyed with progress :((

ChellieIrish

Chellie...after looking carefully at your diary, I think I need to tell you....
You need to eat MORE.
EVERY day you end the day under 1200 net calories! Slipping under every once in a while is ok, but NOT every day. You really should be eating OVER 1200 every day, plus eating back exercise calories. Sometimes when you exercise and only eat less than 1200 you are actually at about 800 net. Try to stay above 1200 net.

Change your goal to 1 lb or 1/2 lb a week, and see how many calories it tells you to eat. You can always change it back and it won't make a difference. Do it just to see what is recommended. If you are set to 2 lbs a week and it has you at 1200, 1/2 lb a week would probably be better for you.

People need to start thinking of their calorie goal as a goal to REACH, not a goal to stay UNDER. Too many people don't eat enough and then wonder why they plateau. I did the same thing, then changed it to 1500 and broke the plateau big time. Lost 4 more pounds in a few weeks after raising my calories.

Thanks so much for looking at my diary :flowerforyou: I actually thought I was eating enough ie getting fairly close to the 1200 goal hmmm just goes to show how much I didn't see looking at it :grumble:

I've now changed the goal from 1.5 lbs loss to just a loss of 1 lb per week (as recommeded) that brings my cals from 1200 to 1360 :blushing:

My next problem will be how to eat so many cals I struggle with 1200 as it is :blushing: I've never had a big appetite maybe I can increase the size of my brekkie and see if that helps

I had a bad day today not everything was logged :blushing: so starting the new programme fresh tomorrow :drinker:

ChellieIrish

I see what you mean.... the last 5 weigh-ins you've been having a rough go of it. Have you tried measuring yourself? It could be that evern though you're not showing it on the scale you may be dropping inches...

Thanks :flowerforyou: yes it has been hard to look at those figures guess I will have to for a few more weeks ... slow and steady :grumble:

Since this journey has started yes I have dropped 2 sizes which yeah it's great but not where I wanted to be by now lol ... This has been a very long journey over a year and to see only 24.7 lbs loss it feels like my body is just teasing me lol :noway:

I'm by no means a quitter so I'll just adjust what needs to be and keep going

dogdaze

Despite everything you have still lost about 5lbs in the past month. Not bad! Hang in there!

The weight did not come off smoothly but I think a lot of us have that problem. I certainly do. I will plateau for 2 to 3 weeks and then drop several pounds at once. Not sure why, though water retention and hormonal issues definitely come to mind.

yvonnej1

I actually thought I was eating enough ie getting fairly close to the 1200 goal hmmm just goes to show how much I didn't see looking at it :grumble:

I've now changed the goal from 1.5 lbs loss to just a loss of 1 lb per week (as recommeded) that brings my cals from 1200 to 1360 :blushing:

My next problem will be how to eat so many cals I struggle with 1200 as it is :blushing: I've never had a big appetite maybe I can increase the size of my brekkie and see if that helps

I recently changed my goal from 1lb a week to 1/2lb a week and I have actually lost more weight since doing that. I have to admit to not always managing to eat my calories too, but now I have a higher target if I am 200 or so calories under my goal, as I often am, this still takes me over 1200.
One of the changes I made was changing my cereal bar from a really low calorie one to one that has nuts and seeds in to boost calories. I know cereal bars are often not ideal but I am not a morning person and for me it is better than not eating breakfast at all. Other changes I have made include using a reduced fat rather than really low fat coleslaw, same for mayo. I'm considering changing from very low fat soft cheese to a reduced fat option too. Although you might not eat these sorts of foods, there may be something similar you can change to help you eat your calories. Perhaps by changing some of the foods you eat to a higher calorie option if it's available you get round the problem of not physically being able to eat more.

Good luck with your weight loss, you will get there :happy:

robin52077

yes! What Yvonne said. Anyone who is struggling to reach 1200 should stop eating "diet" food, Go for real butter instead of low fat spread, use real mayo in moderation, whole eggs instead of just whites, real yogurt instead of "light fat free".
Nuts, seeds, peanut butter, whole milk instead of skim....there are plenty of ways to get your calories in. I keep both the lower cal and higher cal options in the house and if I am having a high cal day I will eat the low cal snacks, and if I am struggling to meet my cals I will eat the higher cal options to get them all in.


And Chellie - maybe you'd have more appetite if you drank a LITTLE less coffee! Your tummy is full of liquid ALL the time, no wonder you don't feel hungry! lol:flowerforyou:

ChellieIrish

Despite everything you have still lost about 5lbs in the past month. Not bad! Hang in there!

The weight did not come off smoothly but I think a lot of us have that problem. I certainly do. I will plateau for 2 to 3 weeks and then drop several pounds at once. Not sure why, though water retention and hormonal issues definitely come to mind.

Thanks :flowerforyou: Well after the last few weeks hoping I am due for a bigger loss this Friday

I actually weighed myself this morning and was quite surprised I was down another 0.2 lbs :noway: Honestly yesterday was in really PO humour and since it was my treat day had a few more treats than normal so expected to be up as was way over the cals .. that was the only reason I weighed in usually only do it on a Fri I actually wish I had been good to see what the figure would/could have been lol but that was yesterday back on track today :bigsmile:

ChellieIrish

I actually thought I was eating enough ie getting fairly close to the 1200 goal hmmm just goes to show how much I didn't see looking at it :grumble:

I've now changed the goal from 1.5 lbs loss to just a loss of 1 lb per week (as recommeded) that brings my cals from 1200 to 1360 :blushing:

My next problem will be how to eat so many cals I struggle with 1200 as it is :blushing: I've never had a big appetite maybe I can increase the size of my brekkie and see if that helps

I recently changed my goal from 1lb a week to 1/2lb a week and I have actually lost more weight since doing that. I have to admit to not always managing to eat my calories too, but now I have a higher target if I am 200 or so calories under my goal, as I often am, this still takes me over 1200.
One of the changes I made was changing my cereal bar from a really low calorie one to one that has nuts and seeds in to boost calories. I know cereal bars are often not ideal but I am not a morning person and for me it is better than not eating breakfast at all. Other changes I have made include using a reduced fat rather than really low fat coleslaw, same for mayo. I'm considering changing from very low fat soft cheese to a reduced fat option too. Although you might not eat these sorts of foods, there may be something similar you can change to help you eat your calories. Perhaps by changing some of the foods you eat to a higher calorie option if it's available you get round the problem of not physically being able to eat more.

Good luck with your weight loss, you will get there :happy:

Thanks :flowerforyou: I actually don't like the higher cal foods lol but from reading your suggestions I am thinking I might add some mixed nuts to boost the cals :bigsmile: I think if I weigh a portion out I could easily pick at them during the day without even realizing it which will hopefully help with the extra cals needed :laugh:

I've had them in the press for a while but been afraid to open the packs lol but if I control the amount it might just work :drinker:

absofsteel

What about a little psychological trick - if you got a new scale that doesn't weigh in fractions (actually, not sure that's possible in the US? I'm in the UK so my scale is in stones and pounds) - I know I don't lose a full pound every week, but the scale implies I do. I might then lose a bit more than a pound the following week so in the end I'm probably losing about the same as you - 4-5 pounds a month, but week on week I feel like I'm losing steadily.

I'm not sure that made sense - it makes sense in my head but I'm not explaining it very well. LOL.

I understand this totally !!! my scale measures in 1/4 lbs...I am aiming for 2lbs a week but this week Iost 1.8lbs and was disapointed for a few seconds that I was under goal but then I realised that on anyother scale that would have been a 2lb loss :huh:

weighing once a month would give the best result and save us all a lot of heart ache..but who can resist hopping on those scales

ChellieIrish

yes! What Yvonne said. Anyone who is struggling to reach 1200 should stop eating "diet" food, Go for real butter instead of low fat spread, use real mayo in moderation, whole eggs instead of just whites, real yogurt instead of "light fat free".
Nuts, seeds, peanut butter, whole milk instead of skim....there are plenty of ways to get your calories in. I keep both the lower cal and higher cal options in the house and if I am having a high cal day I will eat the low cal snacks, and if I am struggling to meet my cals I will eat the higher cal options to get them all in.


And Chellie - maybe you'd have more appetite if you drank a LITTLE less coffee! Your tummy is full of liquid ALL the time, no wonder you don't feel hungry! lol:flowerforyou:

Thanks :flowerforyou: I am taking all the help you have offered on board and I think the best option for me will be adding the nuts and seeds I used to add seeds to my cereal so also might start doing that again

I've had time to sleep on this and I agree with all of you I am on a journey here it might be slow and steady at times but a loss is a loss so I will just do my best :bigsmile:

Emm re the coffee lol I used to have about 8 - 10 mugs a day which now I average about 4 - 5 a day somedays less lol but I am trying :laugh: In saying that I have now added a cup of water everytime before I have one while I am waiting for the kettle to boil so that will prob cut it out even more or :blushing: I'll be running to the loo :laugh:

misstrish03

Dunno if this has already been said becuase I didn't read the whole thread, but one diet book I have (the fat-fighter diet.. its fantastic!) says that every 5th day you should eat the amount of calories you would need to *maintain* your weight.So for me thats about 2100, but my daily goal is 1200. So every 5th day jack up your calorie intake, to trick your body out of "starvation mode" - storing calories as fat. It keeps your metabolism going!

ChellieIrish

Dunno if this has already been said becuase I didn't read the whole thread, but one diet book I have (the fat-fighter diet.. its fantastic!) says that every 5th day you should eat the amount of calories you would need to *maintain* your weight.So for me thats about 2100, but my daily goal is 1200. So every 5th day jack up your calorie intake, to trick your body out of "starvation mode" - storing calories as fat. It keeps your metabolism going!

Thanks sorry I missed this before :blushing: I'd never heard that before thanks for sharing :flowerforyou:

ChellieIrish

OK I am even more pissed off today I upped my cals to 1360 which was supposed to be aiming for a loss of 1 lb per week as recommended by MFP :grumble: I also added more exercize to my week

I am UP 1.5 lbs this morning what gives :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad:

Ashli333

I dont know if this helps, but I've heard quite a fe times that treat days are good for 2 reasons...

1, You get to have what you want and if you dont have these days you will end up bingeing massively

2, you trick your body into thinking that your gonna start eating loads again, and it starts to work a bit harder to burn those extra calories, and will continue to do that for a few days, therefore burning more calories even on the good days. If you dont have treat days or dont change your calorie intake every few days (just 50 less here, and 50 more there) your body gets used to what your taking in and burns only the calories it thinks it needs to.

Hope that makes sense....

Keep up the good work. Your still losing weight and thats the main thing!!!
xx

sifu33

stay positive, i put on a lb this week but lost 1-2" thats the hidden loss, so keep up the gud work, dont focus on the lbs or inches but think about how gud u are all beginning to feel and how you know this is the right thing for you. Nothin wrong with monitorin what u eat and how u exercise that can only be gud for your life so stay off treats, focus on health, thats a better goal.

thumper44

OK I am even more pissed off today I upped my cals to 1360 which was supposed to be aiming for a loss of 1 lb per week as recommended by MFP :grumble: I also added more exercize to my week

I am UP 1.5 lbs this morning what gives :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad:

You didn't gain 1.5 lbs by upping calories to 1360. People fluctuate every day, and throughout the day by +/- 3 lbs.
Upping calories also doesn't mean you should be allowed to have an extra chocolate bar

Your eating daily chocolate bars with caramel, crumpets, scones and lots of coffee. Doesn't sound very healthy
Where's your fruit and vegetables?

You should also change your column from Sat fat to Fat. You are not seeing the other fats,
ie the fat that's in the almonds you ate.

Slowly tweaking it and you'll get there.

JStarnes

I also added more exercize to my week

This is probably what caused part of the gain. Something about muscles retaining water after being worked more than normal...someone will chime in & explain it better, I'm sure.

Don't give up!:flowerforyou: