Food frustrations

zoeadrienne13

I am a 38 year old female with type 2 diabetes. I have been hitting the gym for at least two hours a night 5 to 6 nights a week for three months now. I lost 8 pounds right away but now I am having a hard time loosing any more and finding the right “diets” to live by. I search artical after artical and just find lists of foods that you can or cannot eat and every artical contradicts the next. This is the most frustrating part of this journey and I tend to give up. I am determined to not give up because I do have some results when it comes to muscle toning. Does anyone have any suggestions. ?

JeromeBarry1

Quit reading articles.

Eat what you like.
Log your food accurately.
Log your exercise accurately.
Stay within your calorie budget.

Record your data.

Make adjustments as rationally justified with good data.

kimny72

I'm not a doctor, so I can't speak to your diabetes. But for weight loss, what you need is a calorie deficit, regardless of what foods you eat. Are you logging your food, accurately and consistently?

New_Heavens_Earth

Since you're diabetic it might be best to check in with your doctor, a dietitian, or a diabetic educator (if you haven't already). Random diets you find in articles might not suit your needs.

zoeadrienne13

Yes I am logging all my food regularly. I am portioning and weighing litterally everything that is going into my body. So I am new to this and don’t judge lol, but what is a calorie deficit?

MichelleSilverleaf

zoeadrienne13 wrote: »

Yes I am logging all my food regularly. I am portioning and weighing litterally everything that is going into my body. So I am new to this and don’t judge lol, but what is a calorie deficit?

A calorie deficit is the number of calories you need to eat less of in order to lose weight. So for example my calorie needs is 2570cal a day. To lose 1lb a week I have to eat 500cal less than that.

chelny

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

Quit reading articles.

Eat what you like.
Log your food accurately.
Log your exercise accurately.
Stay within your calorie budget.

Record your data.

Make adjustments as rationally justified with good data.

"Eat what you like" is not good advice for a diabetic, as generally diabetics should avoid carbohydrates. There may be foods you cannot eat, in order to manage diabetes. A doctor or dietitian should be able to help with that (there is a lot of conflicting information out there). But since your question seems to be more related to losing weight, you need to eat fewer calories than the amount it would take to maintain your current weight.

lastingmemoriesnursery1

my husband is diabetic The best thing I ever made him do lol was to see the diabetic counselor. Before it was okay you are diabetic first thought cut out sugars. Has NOTHING to do with the sugar in anything. Look at the carbs. He cut out the carbs and lost 60lbs he was taken off of insulin and everything else. That being said he is a man and we are woman and getting the weight off seems to be harder for us. Look up diabetic counselors in your area I promise they make it so easy to understand.

apullum

To lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories than you burn. This is true for everyone.

Speaking only about weight loss, it doesn't matter what foods or macros those calories come from. However, your diabetes means that you probably need to limit or avoid certain foods. You will need to be in a calorie deficit while also eating foods that are safe for your needs.

As a diabetic, you should get nutrition advice from a professional familiar with your own medical needs. People on the internet aren't knowledgable about your own individual body. Ask for a referral to a registered dietician who specializes in diabetic nutrition.

zoeadrienne13

So basically what I’m getting out of this is....MFP calculates me at 2100 calories per day... so I should cut that down to 1600??? And as for the diabetes, that is now under control and stabilized just from what I have been doing. Thank you everyone!!! It’s been a lot of help❤️

lynn_glenmont

zoeadrienne13 wrote: »

Yes I am logging all my food regularly. I am portioning and weighing litterally everything that is going into my body. So I am new to this and don’t judge lol, but what is a calorie deficit?

A calorie deficit is an intake of food that contains less energy than you expend, over whatever period of time you want to compare intake to expenditure.

lynn_glenmont

zoeadrienne13 wrote: »

So basically what I’m getting out of this is....MFP calculates me at 2100 calories per day... so I should cut that down to 1600??? And as for the diabetes, that is now under control and stabilized just from what I have been doing. Thank you everyone!!! It’s been a lot of help❤️

If you told MFP your goal was to lose weight (and then told it how much weight per week you want to lose), that 2100 calories per day it gave you already accounts for the deficit necessary to lose the weekly amount you specified. And MFP assumes you will not exercise, so you are expected to eat more calories to account for any exercise you lot to keep your deficit the same size. (Note that you were not supposed to include intentional exercise when you told MFP what your activity level was.)

1BlueAurora

MFP is telling you to eat 2100 calories a day. Don't subtract from that number... it's already calculated the calorie deficit you need to lose weight. Log in all the food you eat into MFP every day. When you exercise, be sure to "add exercise" to your log. That will give you more calories to eat that day. For instance, when I do a 60 minute Zumba class, MFP gives me credit for burning 611 calories in addition to my normal daily allowance. So, if you do Zumba you can eat 2100 + 611 calories that day for a total of 2711 calories. You will still lose weight!

rheddmobile

Hi, I’m also type 2! I have lost 125 lbs and maintained at a normal BMI for over a year now, with my a1c under 5 now.

There are many roads which will all get you to the same place. The trick is to pick what works for you. I know diabetics who are pure carnivores and eat nothing but meat, some who do keto, some who eat a modest number of carbs, and even a handful who are vegan and eat a high percentage of carbs including a lot of fiber, all who are well controlled and have been successful with weight loss. By exercising often you are already doing good things for your insulin resistance and should see your blood glucose numbers improve.

What I do that works for me is eat about 150g net carbs daily, with heavier carb meals timed so that they work with my exercise. For example I might eat a carby snack which will raise my blood sugar right before heavy lifting, which drops it, or eat a bunch of French fries after a long run, which makes my levels low for a long time. This enables me to make the most of the food I want to eat. However, different diabetics have different tolerances for carbs. See a nutritionist but also pay attention to your own testing to see how different foods affect you.

As far as weight loss is concerned, the only crucial thing is to stay in a caloric deficit as others have mentioned. If you haven’t seen a loss in three months you are not eating at a deficit. The most likely reasons for this, based on common mistakes people often make, are that you are overestimating the calorie burn from your exercise, or that you are underestimating the amount of food you eat. Are you weighing and logging your food? How are you deciding how much to eat back when you exercise?

zoeadrienne13

I am weighing and logging food intake everyday. And I guess I don’t really add food based on exercise. I guess I’m the big picture I’m just confused on what to eat and when. I will
Go back to following MFP recommendations and just stick with it.

gallicinvasion

zoeadrienne13 wrote: »

I am weighing and logging food intake everyday. And I guess I don’t really add food based on exercise. I guess I’m the big picture I’m just confused on what to eat and when. I will
Go back to following MFP recommendations and just stick with it.

The good thing is that if your goal is weight loss, it doesn’t matter what you eat, or when you eat. It just matters how much you eat😊

The only time the “what” and “when” matters is when you’re trying out different combinations to see what keeps you full through the day. Some people find adding more protein or fat keeps them fuller, some don’t need to. Some people find that eating breakfast keeps them full, and some do better when they eat lunch as their first meal of the day.

csplatt

Why do you need articles and diets if you can just log all your food on MFP and make sure you are in a calorie deficit?! Simple and works!

Lounmoun

You'd be better off reading the sticked posts in the forums here.

MFP gives you a calorie goal based on what you input as your stats, daily activity level and desired rate of loss. If you eat that amount of calories you should lose weight. The activity level is supposed to be without exercise and then you log exercise and eat additional calories. You do not need to follow a particular food list for weight loss just eat the right number of calories.
If you need a special diet for health reasons talk to your doctor or registerd dietician.

If you are eating the amount suggested and not losing at your desired rate or at all you might first check your logging accuracy.
Are you logging everything you eat and drink?
Are you using a food scale or measuring cups or eyeballing things? A food scale is most accurate.
Are you using correct entries from the database? Not all entries are correct even if you scan the bar code so check against your food label or look up the item elsewhere to confirm it is correct.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10621050/how-to-use-the-usda-food-database-mfp-food-database-for-accurate-logging/p1

A second place to check is inaccuracy in calories burned. If you have overestimated your activity level or calories burned from exercise and are eating more than you should then your weight loss can slow or stop.

If you have lost weight you also will periodically need to adjust your goal. I think it may be every 10-15 lbs lost. If you were losing and stopped this might be something you need to do.

It is not unusual to not lose every week even if you do everything right. If you have not lost anything for 4 weeks you should look at all the above but if it has only been a week maybe just be patient and keep doing what you are doing.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

tiptoethruthetulips

You do not need to be doing two hours exercise per day, this is not sustainable for most people (athletes and the like excluded).

Look to your diet, make sure you are weighing/measuring everything that passes your lips, plan your daily menu in advance (allow for some flexibility), do some exercise but do not overdo exercise. More most people two hours a day is excessive.