Advice please!!
Options
AreneeS22
Posts: 42 Member
Over the years I’ve tried so many things to lose weight, & nothing seem to work. Granted usually after a few months something happens wether it be life happens or something health wise, but during the time I am sticking with it, I seem to never make any progress. I’ve tried low fat, low carb, kept calories at 1200, work out videos and gym memberships, medication...the only time I actually lost was taking adipex but my diet was so all over the place I didn’t keep it off..recently I’ve been trying keto, been 3 months now, plus going to the gym 3 days a week, & the most I’ve lost is 10 lbs in the first month, but then I just keep gaining and losing those same 10 lbs! I’ve had my thyroid checked, full blood panel and everything always comes back normal. I felt like keto was my last shot at finding something that works, but that doesn’t seem to be working either. I’ve tried staying within the app suggested 1700 calories/day..nothing. Tried 1500/ day..tried 1200/day...keeping my carbs below 20..still nothing. All I end up with is being extremely frustrated and feel like I’m depriving myself of almost everything..I end up having to cook twice just to make something that I can eat because the rest of my family can’t always eat the things I need to eat..& all the extra food prep and special recipes I have to do to make sure I’m following ‘keto’ properly take so much time sometimes and having a 1 year old and a busy schedule as it is...I’m struggling. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, thinking I should just ditch keto and go back to the basics of simple portion control without cutting anything specifically.. I don’t know what else to do 😩 Sorry I know there was a lot of venting in this, I just feel like I’m at that point where I feel like screw it, I guess I’m just destined to be fat!
2
Replies
-
Sorry to hear about your struggles. Don't think like that, you can do this. You've been tracking various calorie levels, but do you have a food scale and are you weighing all of your food? That's the only way to truly know whether you are accurately eating 1200, 1500, 1700 calories a day. Even going low carb, at the end of the day it's still all about eating less than you burn. Either diet could work fine for you, but it's more of a preference to each person which way of eating works best for them long term rather than short term.
Start with a food scale, if you don't have one. It's an eye opening experience.
Edited: Grammar7 -
Yes, I’ve been using a scale..I have literally been weighing and measuring everything I eat for the last 3 months, & all I drink is water besides my coffee in the morning, and I don’t even use sugar in that anymore0
-
My advice is to stop looking for "the fix" and keep it simple.
It sounds like you're looking for the magic bullet or the one secret that will change everything. Low fat, low carb, crash/starvation dieting, radical changes, etc. There's no fix, there's no magic, there's no secret otherwise everyone would be doing it and there'd be no MFP.
It also sounds like you're jumping in too far, too quickly and trying to do to much. The fact of the matter is when 99% of us start to manage our weight we're hopeless novices at it. We're complete beginners, Total Noobs. But we still decide to try and tacking weight management like a seasoned pro and get discouraged and give up when we can't achieve the impossible standards we set for ourselves. It's like deciding to learn to play the guitar and getting upset that you can't play like Jimi Hendrix the very first day.
So try starting to learn to manage your weight like a beginner and keep it simple. And it doesn't get any simpler than sticking to one rule.
Rule: Eat fewer calories than you use.
That's it. Forget about all the other rules like 'I gotta eat healthy', 'I gotta watch my <insert macro here>', 'I gotta cut out <insert food> etc. Just eat food you enjoy, food you genuinely like to eat and track (accurately, with a scale) how much of these foods you're eating to make sure you're eating in an appropriate calorie deficit more often than not.
Do this and you'll be 70% of the way there and what you'll find is that as you get better and more knowledgeable and more experienced at managing your weight you'll naturally start to make necessary tweaks to improve your results and make things easier. You'll find yourself naturally avoiding some foods as they'll be to "expensive" calorie wise so won't be as enticing. You'll start to discover other foods that you enjoy that are better "value" for the calories they contain. You'll get better and things will get easier but it all starts with Rule one.
G'luck16 -
Yes, I’ve been using a scale..I have literally been weighing and measuring everything I eat for the last 3 months, & all I drink is water besides my coffee in the morning, and I don’t even use sugar in that anymore
Okay, you mentioned that you weigh and measure. What type of foods are you measuring? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to discern all the variables right now. Please bear with us.
2 -
personally I found that working with a coach (not any coach - a decent one who teaches you as well as guides you, and those cost money) really helped me to get started. I now do it myself, but having that support at first was really really beneficial to me.
At first I just did what she told me to - the diet was NOT restrictive (you'd need to ask about that) - I had a meal plan but it had options for each meal and also we discussed what foods I liked/didn't like and she incorporated that in there.
After a while she started to teach me about macros and I was able to sort of wean off the plans and into a more flexible approach of eat what I want but by that stage I had the knowledge and tools to help me.
Also, she taught me how to lift properly so that I also worked the fitness/body aspect too.
There are many coaches out there, the majority are not good though and will get you on restrictive chicken and broccoli meal plans. Steer clear of those. I'd recommend more of a flexible dieting approach. Meal plans helped me in the beginning because I didn't have to think much and I knew what I needed to make to eat and could do so a few days in advance.
To this day (4 years later) I still kind of eat roughly the same things (a variety of options for each meal though) for my first 3 meals and I leave my dinner as more of a free for all.
If you can afford it, I'd recommend it. PM me if you want more info on how to look for a coach.
disclaimer - I am not a coach and am not recommending any in particular, just can provide you with general information. And it's none of the beachbody or isagenix or other MLM crap either. Just my experience.1 -
Almost any weight loss plan will work, if you stick to it. Eat keto if you really like those foods. If you don't, then go back to calorie counting. Are you having cheat days? A big meal out can completely undo 6 days of eating on plan. Do you find yourself getting looser in weighing and measuring every bite after a while? Are you eating back all of your exercise calories? Maybe try eating back only half?3
-
Unless you are a snowflake, if you weigh all your food and drinks with a scale and are in a deficit you will lose weight. This is the laws of physics. This is intended to ease your mind, itnwill work. Consistency and not an overly aggressive deficit, as well as a trending app, will change your experience almost immediately.7
-
I’ve been sticking with the basics food wise...eggs, meat, vegetables..I cut out starches and fruits, no sugar..anything I would need sweetened I use swerve sweetener...I don’t know, is there such thing as being TOO restrictive on carbs? 🤷♀️3
-
fruit is very very good for you. no need to cut it out. nothing wrong with potato either - it's actually really good bang for your calorie buck. I put away 200g of potato for dinner quite often and it only costs me 160-odd calories and mate - 200g of potato keeps you full for a good while and look wonderful on the plate - LOTS of potato. When i'm cutting weight I ALWAYS eat potato for exactly that reason - keeps me full and I can eat heaps for not much calories.
no need to cut any of it out. just need to weight everything, log everything, stay below your caloric goal. Use the TDEE method if you can't be bothered working out the eating back on the MFP model (tdeecalculator.net) and stick to it and you will lose weight.
5 -
I’ve been sticking with the basics food wise...eggs, meat, vegetables..I cut out starches and fruits, no sugar..anything I would need sweetened I use swerve sweetener...I don’t know, is there such thing as being TOO restrictive on carbs? 🤷♀️
No. You are over complicating it. It’s not your fault, there’s so much seudo science out there. Tbh no matter what you eat you will lose weight if in a deficit. Being satiated and healthy is an entirely different story however. Eat things that you enjoy but allow you to make this a lifestyle and reachh your goals. And just to get ahead of it, excercise isn’t mandatory for weight loss either, just a benefit to your overall health.4 -
I actually don’t eat back any of my exercise calories, I don’t log them..I guess maybe I should..& honestly no I have not enjoyed the keto way of eating..I only chose it to give it a shot and see if it was something I had better luck with..I never allowed myself potatoes, and I used to love wraps and sandwiches (whole grain or spinach wrap), & I really miss pasta...but eating pasta made of zucchini noodles, or trying to make a bread like substance out of almond flour and egg that tastes like an overly spongy nasty egg is not satisfying at ALL...don’t get me wrong, I LOVE zucchini, I love most vegetables..but they are no replacement for pasta. Some things I’ve learned to make like little cheesecake bites that are sugar free are good and I don’t mind eating those and they aren’t high is calories either, but most everything else I have to eat, I feel like Im cutting out so much of what I DO like that I just don’t enjoy eating at all anymore..I guess maybe I’ve been looking at this all wrong, one of the many ‘brainwashed’ so to speak on carbs being the enemy of your body...it all made sense In the beginning 😕1
-
I’ve been sticking with the basics food wise...eggs, meat, vegetables..I cut out starches and fruits, no sugar..anything I would need sweetened I use swerve sweetener...I don’t know, is there such thing as being TOO restrictive on carbs? 🤷♀️
Again, you're focusing on the wrong things.
Go back and read through the responses in this thread and (unless I missed it) no where does anyone mention cutting things out of your diet, sticking to any particular foods or restricting carbs. Go back and read the advice that people are giving you and you'll find one common theme. Eat food you like in a calorie deficit, have a little patience and you'll lose weight.
The key take away is, weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. Cutting carbs won't work unless you're eating in a calorie deficit. Eliminating a particular food or group of foods won't work unless you're in a calorie deficit and neither will sticking to a particular food or group of foods.
The truth is, when it comes to weight loss what you eat doesn't matter, it's all about how much you eat. Taken to a ridiculous extreme to illustrate the point. Eat cake, ice cream, burgers, pizza and chocolate in a calorie deficit and you will lose weight. Eat veggies, chicken breast, salad and kale-acai-goji berry smoothies in a calorie surplus and you'll gain weight.9 -
Forgetting “weight” for a minute: did your measurements (waist, thighs, chest, etc) change at all? These can tell you something weight won’t.
Other things to investigate: sleep & stress. They can muck with your hormones, which affects weight.
There have been some studies that show sweeteners still lead to weight gain even though they don’t have as many calories as sugar. Theory is they trick your body into releasing hormones on the expectation of receiving sugar, and this raises your insulin, which makes it harder to lose weight. Might want to cut them out.
Intermittent fasting might be another tool in your belt if you want to try something you haven’t already.
I feel for you, there’s no doubt some people have a harder time losing weight than others, and we all have to go through a bit of trial and error to discover what works specifically for us.6 -
You really would benefit from a full reset and rethink.
There's some really good threads in the sticky post section about how to weigh your food and chose entries.
Your next biggest issue will be perception of progress.
So:
Stop thinking about diet/hard diet/going all out.
.
Start thinking about dialing in the number of Calories you need to eat every day to keep your weight constant and reducing them by about 20% (for most people who are not obese and/or very active aiming for a 500 Cal deficit/1lb a week and achieving a loss between 0.5lb and 1lb a week is more than enough to see results)
If the "diet" is not too hard it just might be something you can stick to long term, right?
I mean what's the point of making changes you already KNOW you cannot stick to? What happens after? So look for changes you just MIGHT be able to stick to.
Just assign a label of: it was worth the calories to me at this time vs it wasn't worth the calories at this time. You will soon start weeding out "good bargains" from bad.
Use a food scale and chose the right entries.
Use a weight trend app. Use a weight trend app. Use a weight trend app.
As a woman compare your trending weight to your trending weight a month ago at the same point in your cycle.
Weightgrapher.com might help with that due to their ability to graph that comparison.
Personally I use trendweight (mainly because weightgrapher's suggestions annoy me).
Most phone people use happy scale for iPhone and Libra for Android.
You are going hard and expecting results right away. Go at it long term and be patient.
Don't think of it as removing items from your diet.
Think of it as adding new things that take out of the rotation bad caloric bargains.
A piece of pie may be ok in the right circumstances once in a while. A daily piece of 450 Cal worth of pie might be replaced for far fewer calories with say.. 453.6 grams of pineapple!!!!
My pediatrician used to suggest that eating an apple half an hour before your main meal was helpful in reducing calories.
40+ years later I have to admit that he might have been on to something, especially if he had suggested using a food scale!!!!7 -
-
Do you mind sharing your diary? Maybe there's something off that we'll be able to spot and help you on your way to losing weight.0
-
10 lbs. in a month is aggressive. It is likely water weight you lost because of the caloric restriction. The fact that you are not tracking your exercise could well be the key.
The amount of exercise you do could be cutting your caloric intake even further. If you exercise regularly but also stick to 1200 calories a day then you may in fact be getting too few calories and so your body is holding on to every bit of energy it can (fat) because it's not getting enough calories.
Forget keto for now. Look at just focusing on the amount of calories you eat versus what you eat. You can still enjoy pasta etc. if you want as long as you track it and account for it. Eat fruit as well as it is good for you. And for your overall health cut out artificial sweeteners because they can be worse than the real thing.
To get your caloric needs try this link. The article is also a very good read from a reliable source. The calculator they use is probably the most accurate you will find online.
Your weight loss has likely stalled because your body simply isn't getting enough calories. Start tracking your exercise as well and be sure it is as accurate as possible...use the internet to get an idea of how much you are burning or get a fitbit or pedometer or something. I say use the internet because one site may not be as accurate as another so you would generally use an average. You still don't have to eat back those calories if you don't want to but it gives you a better idea as to why your body may need more fuel to lose weight.
Look at body builders. They require enormous amounts of calories to maintain their physique...too few calories and they suffer muscle loss, muscle strain and are prone to more injuries and they get tired faster3 -
How many days in a row do you stick to 1500 or 1200 before you fall off the wagon? Do you make it as far as 8-12 weeks?1
-
Firstly, this is long term process and changes won’t happen over night so you have to be patient.
1. Use the target given by FitnessPal based on .5 or 1 per week.
2. Eat foods you love within your target.
3. Use your food scale at all times.
4. Block out news of the latest diet fad; they lead to confusion.
5. Make one meal for the family. Weight your portion or have more vegetables; if you like rice or pasta, you can consume them within your target or use a substitute such as cauliflower rice (if you like the taste).
6. Plan for occasions; read restaurant menus online before going. Have a small slice of birthday cake. It’s all about balance.
Lastly, make this a habit that’s just a part of your lifestyle without it being your primary focus.
3
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 393 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 934 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions