What am I doing wrong?

jamiekidby
jamiekidby Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm fairly knowledgeable about nutrition and fitness, but I am looking for some input. On January 1, I began tracking my calories, logging all food, logging all exercise, etc. Based on Myfitnesspal's recommendation, I have been eating 1330 calories or less each day. I typically hit right at 1330 - could be under or over by 50 calories. I've been eating zero processed food - mostly nutrient rich fruits/vegetables and chicken/turkey burger and lots of eggs for protein. I've been doing light cardio (incline speed walk or light jog) for roughly 30 minutes each morning, and then hitting the gym nearly every day for a fitness class for a minimum of 60 minutes. On Jan. 1, I weighed 206. On Jan. 3 I weighed 199. I'm certain that was water weight. I was eating seriously like crap prior. Here I am on Jan. 21 and I've not lost a pound. What can I do differently?? I do not eat back my calories because I believe I'm eating plenty of calories to sustain. It's not like my workouts are so intense or like I'm lifting so heavy that I need to increase calories. Please keep in mind that I DO realize that it has only been 3 weeks. My question is simply, in your opinion, should I change things up in order to see results quicker? I have a hard time remaining consistent when I don't see results. Any feedback is appreciated! I would love to hear stories if anyone struggled at first with weight loss but then began losing after just hanging in.
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Replies

  • jamiekidby
    jamiekidby Posts: 11 Member
    breefoshee wrote: »
    I'd ask about your change in exercise.... I'm notorious for gaining water weight when I work out really hard. Sometimes if I fall off track for a little while and then get back on, it takes me 3-4 weeks before I see a loss on the scale. When you work out, your muscles need water to repair themselves. I wouldn't start changing things right away.

    This is my first discussion post, so hopefully I'm replying correctly! Thank you for the post. I do really seem to go up and down in water weight. I appreciate your feedback!
  • jamiekidby
    jamiekidby Posts: 11 Member
    RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »
    Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?

    I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
  • jamiekidby
    jamiekidby Posts: 11 Member
    Teabythesea_ wrote: »
    You've acknowledged that its only been three weeks so I don't think anyone can tell you whether or not you should change anything. It sounds like a pretty good plan to me, but as with any other plan only time can tell. If after a few months you are losing too quickly or not enough then you can adjust. However I certainly would not recommend going any lower with your calories considering your activity. Additionally, MFP is designed for you to eat back exercise calories so I would recommend at least eating back a portion. With only 1330 calories your activity (and I'm just estimating the calorie burn here of around 200) could put you under the 1200 minimum and while you may feel like that is enough to sustain you and your activities it can catch up. As others have mentioned, you should also be using a food scale and weight loss is not linear. Good luck!

    Thank you for the feedback - I appreciate it!
  • jamiekidby
    jamiekidby Posts: 11 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Are you using a food scale? Check out these threads when you get a chance:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

    Thank you for the response - I'll be checking out these posts! Someone explained a little below about how a scale will make a difference, and I do have one, so I'm on the right track.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    jamiekidby wrote: »
    RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »
    Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?

    I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?

    Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.

    Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    One more idea... You say you had a big water weight loss? What I find sometimes is people lose water then continue low calorie eating but don't see a loss for a while. Often the water has come back as the body processing the idea that eating has changed. Now as the fat is lost and the water comes back it appears the diet isn't working. Be patient. Also you may well be one of those people who loses in gushes. Some call it a woosh.

    Definately make sure you are weighing your food and logging by weight (not small, medium, cup). Watch the tastes and snacks you forget to log. If that applies to you it can really derail your efforts. Also be sure you aren't having cheat days. One big cheat day can cancel out a week of dieting.

    Good luck.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    jamiekidby wrote: »
    RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »
    Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?

    I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?

    Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.

    Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.

    I started weighing eggs when I was getting them from a local farmer, and could clearly see the difference in size. Then I started weighing supermarket eggs, and learned that there is a difference in size there as well.
  • Teabythesea_
    Teabythesea_ Posts: 559 Member
    jamiekidby wrote: »
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    jamiekidby wrote: »
    RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »
    Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?

    I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?

    Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.

    Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.

    Really?! I guess weighing will be very eye opening!

    No doubt it will be. Weighing food is what made me realize that almost all of the frozen sides I use for lazy dinners consisted of about a quarter more product than what the packaging said. Also, bags of frozen chicken breast... I have yet to get one that is even remotely close to the 113 grams that's on the label. Most are around 200.
  • jamiekidby
    jamiekidby Posts: 11 Member
    estherdragonbat wrote: »
    jamiekidby wrote: »
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    jamiekidby wrote: »
    RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »
    Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?

    I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?

    Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.

    Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.

    Really?! I guess weighing will be very eye opening!

    I know this. My typical breakfast is a cup of seedless grapes, topped by a 6oz container of Greek yogurt and 1 bar out a 2-bar envelope of Nature Valley granola bars (calories vary by flavor). Initially, I was logging the cup of grapes using the database entry: Grapes - Raw, 1 cup which valued them at 62 calories. Then one day, I tared my bowl on the scale, measured out my cup of grapes, and tossed them into the bowl. And got something rather like today's entry: Grapes - Raw, 176 g valued at 118 calories, i.e. just under DOUBLE the measuring cup value. And those were grapes. Now 60-odd calories aren't making any kind of difference. But if I mess up on the grapes and I mess up on the mashed potatoes and I mess up on the peanut butter, it's totally possible for me to accidentally wipe out my deficit.

    I'm a little scared!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    jamiekidby wrote: »
    estherdragonbat wrote: »
    jamiekidby wrote: »
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    jamiekidby wrote: »
    RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »
    Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?

    I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?

    Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.

    Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.

    Really?! I guess weighing will be very eye opening!

    I know this. My typical breakfast is a cup of seedless grapes, topped by a 6oz container of Greek yogurt and 1 bar out a 2-bar envelope of Nature Valley granola bars (calories vary by flavor). Initially, I was logging the cup of grapes using the database entry: Grapes - Raw, 1 cup which valued them at 62 calories. Then one day, I tared my bowl on the scale, measured out my cup of grapes, and tossed them into the bowl. And got something rather like today's entry: Grapes - Raw, 176 g valued at 118 calories, i.e. just under DOUBLE the measuring cup value. And those were grapes. Now 60-odd calories aren't making any kind of difference. But if I mess up on the grapes and I mess up on the mashed potatoes and I mess up on the peanut butter, it's totally possible for me to accidentally wipe out my deficit.

    I'm a little scared!

    yeah you will be surprised and also packaged food can be off by up to 20% PER SERVING!. you will be shocked when you weigh everything(solids/semi solids in grams) only use measuring cups/spoons for liquids .It was an eye opener for me too when I came here and was told to weigh EVERYTHING. I am still shocked some days what something can weigh vs eyeballing it.

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