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Andia15
Posts: 104 Member
I'm 5ft on the dog, weigh 130 lbs and I'm trying to get to my goal weight of 112 lbs... problem is, I've been trying for months and I can't get my weight down any further... my TDEE is 1500cal so to lose 0.5lb a week I need to eat 1250 cals which I've been doing but the scale isn't budging... I'm at my whits end, what am I doing wrong?
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Replies
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are you using a food scale? for all foods? carefully selecting entries in MFP (lots of errors in the database?)
do you use a weight rending app? 0.5lb/week can be lost to water weight fluctuations.
added any new or increase past exercise routine in those months? Major injury or any surgeries? Stress? these can cause water retention temporarily (but can be weeks and weeks)
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/3 -
Food logging is likely your problem:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p12 -
I don't believe logging is my problem, I log accurately and cross reference with the labels on the package using a digital scale and measuring cups... I use this app and fitbit... No recent injuries or surgery, also no recent change to exercise routine... I exercise 5 days a week, 3 days weight training and 2 days cardio... I'm a mom so only the stresses of that lol0
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Any chance you'd be willing to change your diary settings for a bit so that we can see it? I understand if you're not interested, but it really can help to see the whole picture while you're trying to troubleshoot this.
Otherwise, these would be my generic tips (some of which have been covered already):
1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right.
2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.
3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one and use it for everything. Everything. For a couple of weeks to see what kind of discrepancies you're running into. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.
4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries. Don't trust the barcode scanner or restaurant entries 100%.
5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.
6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.
7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.
8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight, happy scale, or libra to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.
9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.3 -
I don't believe logging is my problem, I log accurately and cross reference with the labels on the package using a digital scale and measuring cups... I use this app and fitbit... No recent injuries or surgery, also no recent change to exercise routine... I exercise 5 days a week, 3 days weight training and 2 days cardio... I'm a mom so only the stresses of that lol
Just to be sure, you mean that you use a food scale for everything solid and measuring cups only for liquids, right? It's just, you'd be surprised how many people say they use a food scale for everything but then later say they use it for meats only and measuring cups for veggies, grains, rice, etc. or some such. Or worse that they trust single-serve packaging!3 -
How long have you been logging food accurately? Weigh everything. Don't trust labels, they can be off by 20%. With a 1250 plan, you may be eating more like 1500 - negating your deficit. Read that link I listed above. Otherwise, here are some other ideas:
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I use the scales for meats, vets, dry pasta and the likes of them good stuffs and use the cups for liquids, sauces and the likes...
I believe my diary is public already but I can try to change it if it's not...
It's been about 2 months unfortunately, my weight goes up and down by 1lb... I weigh myself daily but only log it on a Monday morning first thing after the bathroom... I try not to eat back exercise calories but if I do i usually only eat back about half...0 -
I started this over a year ago and have successfully managed to lose 18lbs so far0
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I use the scales for meats, vets, dry pasta and the likes of them good stuffs and use the cups for liquids, sauces and the likes...
I believe my diary is public already but I can try to change it if it's not...
It's been about 2 months unfortunately, my weight goes up and down by 1lb... I weigh myself daily but only log it on a Monday morning first thing after the bathroom... I try not to eat back exercise calories but if I do i usually only eat back about half...
I checked before I asked, otherwise I wouldn't have asked. It's definitely not public. You may have it set for friends only. Settings > Diary settings > Public if you want to change it. It's up to you.0 -
I made it public there0
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It should be public now, I must've hit the wrong button that time...0
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I use the scales for meats, vets, dry pasta and the likes of them good stuffs and use the cups for liquids, sauces and the likes...
I believe my diary is public already but I can try to change it if it's not...
It's been about 2 months unfortunately, my weight goes up and down by 1lb... I weigh myself daily but only log it on a Monday morning first thing after the bathroom... I try not to eat back exercise calories but if I do i usually only eat back about half...
weigh sauces and oils.
no oils or anything when cooking?
do you weigh the chicken raw (actually raw?)1 -
I don't use oils or condiments but I measure sauces... I grill everything so no need for oils... I do weigh raw0
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All of the weights you recorded were round numbers - 190, 150, 125, etc. Do you actually get all of your food to round numbers like that?0
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Yes or I round up, so if it's 119grams I round up to 120 to make room for any errors...0
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