Feeling Discouraged

akolman4

Hi! Was previously on WW and then moved back to fitness pal. Feeling a bit discouraged that since the end of May I haven’t seen the scale budge once. Looking for some guidance and some tough love on my weekly calorie count vs goal. I try to do soul cycle ~3 days a week and I walk a lot living in the city.

PAV8888

Not sure if your consumption of calories is the more likely problem or your recording of your consumption of calories!

And by I don't mean to imply you're deliberately not counting things. There exist many *and common* pitfalls when it comes to calories. and some people have even written FAQ's about them!

But, to begin with: are you weighing everything that can conceivably be weighed on a scale and recording what you're about to eat or drink before doing so? --yes, even Pam spray can be weighed and is a closer approximation than counting seconds or sprays! And peanut butter definitely doesn't get a soup spoon for measuring--just the jar and negative weight!

After that it is just a matter of finding the correct entries. Most entries that I am using for the first time I double check against the USDA Standard Reference database

L1zardQueen

What is your goal weight? What is your starting weight? Your height?

Nickers5405

If the calorie consumption is accurate then there's lots of days where you're going over your daily limit. There's also days where you're under so it's probably more or less balancing itself out and that might be why you're not seeing the scale move.

akolman4

Starting is 155 goal is 140 and I’m 5’5.

All fair points thus far and really appreciate the responses!! I know snacking is a vice of mine. 😶

Jadu786

The less weight you have to lose the harder it is! Just keep working hard ..

smantha32

Snacking could be putting your calories higher than you think.. track everything.

emmamcgarity

Jadu786 wrote: »

The less weight you have to lose the harder it is! Just keep working hard ..

^This
At 10 pounds from goal I am now losing about 1 pound per month. I personally feel slower weight loss is more sustainable and am choosing not to get discouraged. The journey is the goal for me.

Panini911

there is no issue with snacking. as long as you fit it in your calorie allotment. ie at 5-6x a day and lose fine as long as i correctly weigh and log my food and remain at a deficit regularly over time.

you are just a smidge in overweight on BMI (if i did that right) so weight loss at this point should be slow. maybe 1lb/week max for a few more pounds then best to go down to 0.5lbs.

my recommendation:
1 - use a food scale on all foods. at least at first. ALL FOODS.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

2 - carefully select entries in MFP. it's user generated database and many entries have errors. you can double check with google if you are not convinced. Use entries with weight based options not cups/spoons.

3 - use a weight trending app to see if your weight is trending down. sometimes it feels like the scale isn't moving but it actually is over time. I use Happy Scale (for Iphone).

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1


Good luck!

kimny72

akolman4 wrote: »

Starting is 155 goal is 140 and I’m 5’5.

All fair points thus far and really appreciate the responses!! I know snacking is a vice of mine. 😶

With that little to lose, accuracy and patience is key. You should only be expecting to lose 0.5-1 lb per week, and that can easily hide behind water weight fluctuations for weeks at a time. Tighten up your logging as best you can - use a food scale, verify that the database entries you are choosing have the correct calories, avoid unlogged meals that make your calorie level unclear. Snacking is fine as long as it is accurately logged and fits in your calories.

Hang in there!