Where am I going wrong?

Iwanttobetheoldme

Stats - Female, 30, small framed, height 164cm
Current - 128lb (in morning)
Goal - 112lb (been this weight all my adult life until pregnancy)

I’m measuring, weighing, logging & pretty much eating the ‘correct’ amount of food groups according to MFP. I make healthy filling choices eg porridge, skim milk, lean meats/fish, berries, lots of veg, almonds/avocado, low fat Greek yog

I do 1 x 30 min jog, 1 x 30 min walk & 1 lifts (30 min). Other than that I’m sedentary (drive lots, desk job all week). I really have to force myself to do this exercise & I hate it.

My questions are:
1. What should my calories & macros be, is MFP always really accurate?
2. Why am I always hungry & thinking about food (is it genuine hunger or is it just poor willpower)
3. Why am I maintaining?Despite following the plan?

I’d like to lose 1lb per week, but any loss would be worth the effort!

Belly fat/mid section is where I’m carrying most weight following pregnancies.

Thanks

yirara

Good that you ask what you might be doing wrong!

How much have you lost so far, and over what period of time?

You are already very light, and losing 1lbs per week might be too much for you. Losing will be slow for the following reasons: you should not be eating less than 1200kcal per day as your body needs proper nutrition. 1lbs equals approximately 3500kcal. Thus to lose 1lbs per week you'd need to eat 3500kcal per week, and hence 500kcal per day less, without getting below 1200. It might be possible, it might not be.

Secondly, are you using a food scale for everything you eat? With so little to lose you need to be extra careful and just spoons and cups are not precise enough.

Finally, make sure you use accurate database entries. There are a lot of really rubbish entries in the database. Data in grams, especially with the addition of USDA has a better chance of being correct than others.

addendum: As a woman you're somewhat doomed with regards to waterweight. This can mask small weight losses. Your water weight will always vary, depending on time in your cycle, temperature, sports, amount of carbs or salt eaten, long travels and pretty much any other reason.

Finally 2: if you're uncertain you could open up your diary to us and we have a look at what could be improved.

Good luck! I'm sure you'll manage

Panini911

agree with the above you are already at a healthy BMI and have little to lose, you should be aiming for 0.5lb/week rate of loss. This may also help with your hunger.

the last few pounds are slow and water fluctuations can hide progress. realize this is going to be a slow journey and you won't see progress daily or weekly but that doesn't MEAN there is no progress actually being made.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

Use a weight trending application and muster up all your patience.

1 - MFP is as accurate as the information you enter. be honest about your stats, select 0.5lb/week rate of loss and an accurate activity level.
Macros only matter for feeling full and overall health NOT for weight loss. i just use the standard one set by MFP but don't really look beyond ensuring i get enough protein and fat.

2 - could be you need more carbs, or more fat or more protein to feel full. different things work for different people.

3 - how long have you been doing this? New or increase in exercise can lead to muscles retaining water temporarily so that could be coming into play (see above link). but if it's been less than two weeks it's still too early to tell if it's working or not.

make sure to use a food scale for all foods. avoid using measuring cups and spoons as much as possible. with a small deficit you have very little wiggle room for mistakes. you need to measure intake accurately. Be careful in selecting entires in MPF database as well, many errors exisit.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

Iwanttobetheoldme

Thanks for the responses! Yes I use electronic scales & weigh in grams. I enter everything truthfully. I find that by dinner time I’m ‘running out’ of calories.

Problem is I seem to crave sugar, I’ve cut a lot of chocolate out, and now have got my taste buds used to a 25g of 85% dark chocolate. If I eat say fruit & yoghurt or something sweet to help the craving, I still keep thinking about that chocolate and end up giving in (which then results in more calories as I’ve had extra foods I didn’t really want!) so I figured just have it? This comes in at 150cal, with 13g fat, 5 carbs, 4 sugar. Is this my problem?

One app suggested 1216 calories, another 1350, and another 1400! So not sure exactly where I should be at. I’ve been at 1350 for the past 3 months which has worked, but the past 3 weeks I’ve just maintained?

Sorry, forgot to say I’ve lost 7lb over 3 months.

I know it doesn’t sound like much weight, but it is to my frame if that makes sense? None of my old clothes fit. I’m due back to work & don’t want to ask for a bigger uniform!

Perhaps I’ve got confused over macros too, I always aim to fulfill them. So if I’ve not had much fat I’ll add almonds, walnuts or avocado to my meal (but of course then the calories go up!)

Separate question, but how can I get more iron in my diet? I eat spinach every day & have skim milk & lean meats. I’m getting about 8%!

Thanks for the guidance

brittlb07

I am 123 right now (5’4’’) and at 1,300 calories only losing about 0.5 pounds a month. I started at 146 (post pregnancy) January 1. Slow and steady wins the race! My goal is 118.

Panini911

Try pre-logigng most of your day and INCLUDE a small portion of very good chocolate. Don't front load your calories to find yourself "lacking" in the second half of the day.

I eat chocolate 1-2x a day i just eat them in a way that fits my overall calorie goals.

7lb in three months when in healthy weight range is awesome. that's pretty much on target or higher than 0.5lb/week.

Macros i ignore beyond ensuring i get enough protein and fat (because i tend towards low fat) generally speaking. I ensure to meet calorie goal.

Iwanttobetheoldme

Thanks! Pre logging is a good idea

I think getting up with the baby during the night has some affect on my appetite too? As I’m tired & crave sugar.

Second time baby weight is really hard to shift! I lost it all without even thinking after my first baby.

Do you think it’s ok to keep the chocolate in? How could I get more iron?

I totally get I’m not huge, but for my frame I’m out of shape. And have a lot of belly fat! And can’t afford a new wardrobe!

BuddhaBunnyFTW

My initiative is to always be patient with myself, to be kind to myself and forgive myself for frustrations. The more you try and cut out or try and be a martyr, the more likely you won't be able to keep at it. Find what works for you and stick with it, it's a marathon and little changes over time make the biggest differences. Be well!

NovusDies

You may also need a diet break because you are so close to goal and you have already been doing this for 3 months:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

If you eat meat that is your best source of iron. It is definitely okay to keep chocolate in your diet as long as it doesn't contribute to your hunger. In other words you don't want to eat so much of it that you don't have room for more filling food.

Panini911

like i said, i eat chocolate 2x a day. i had to play around with what i could keep in the house safely for awhile but that improved with time. lost 55lbs eating chocolate 1-2x daily.

diet break also a great idea.

Iwanttobetheoldme

Thanks Panini - that is music to my ears!

I used to gag at dark chocolate so I’ve come a long way too but I still can’t have biscuits & kinder bueno in the cupboard - I can’t be trusted!

With a diet break, do you just eat healthily? Or just add treats? Don’t want to undo it!

I eat 2 x fish or meat every day, but only get around 8g of iron? MFP says I need 100g?!

mitch16

How long ago did you have your baby? Are you breastfeeding?

Iwanttobetheoldme

Nearly 9 months, no BF. Been tracking for 3 months. Had a junk food/sugary diet previously.

Tried a few more online calculators, averaging at:

1230 calories, or 1420 on exercise days. Yikes! 35 carb/35 protein/30 fat macro %

NovusDies

During the break you eat your maintenance calories (set MFP to maintain) and that should keep your weight about the same once you resume and the fluctuations decrease. Since only calories matter not the type of food you can take this time to have a few more treats or just eat more food. I usually do a little of both.

Is your iron testing low? I wouldn't put a lot of effort into making MFP happy because many entries do not have all the information listed.

NovusDies

charl152526 wrote: »

Nearly 9 months, no BF. Been tracking for 3 months. Had a junk food/sugary diet previously.

Tried a few more online calculators, averaging at:

1230 calories, or 1420 on exercise days. Yikes! 35 carb/35 protein/30 fat macro %

If you have been doing this for 3 months you start going by your own numbers not online calculators. If you need help with that let us know.

Are you saying "Yikes!" at the macro split? I think that is the same one I use.

Rammer123

charl152526 wrote: »

Perhaps I’ve got confused over macros too, I always aim to fulfill them. So if I’ve not had much fat I’ll add almonds, walnuts or avocado to my meal (but of course then the calories go up!)

Calories and your macros should tie out. If everything is being inputted correctly, there shouldn't be much of a difference in your calorie goal and your macro goal.

I would just stick with it. You're losing about 0.5/week which is pretty solid for your size. Generally a good rule of thumb is 1% of your BW to be a slightly aggressive weight loss and 0.5% of your body weight would be a safer and more maintainable weight loss. So losing at 0.5lb per week for you is not bad, its solid.

How long have you been stuck at your current weight?

Iwanttobetheoldme

NovusDies wrote: »

charl152526 wrote: »

Nearly 9 months, no BF. Been tracking for 3 months. Had a junk food/sugary diet previously.

Tried a few more online calculators, averaging at:

1230 calories, or 1420 on exercise days. Yikes! 35 carb/35 protein/30 fat macro %

If you have been doing this for 3 months you start going by your own numbers not online calculators. If you need help with that let us know.

Are you saying "Yikes!" at the macro split? I think that is the same one I use.

Thanks, what do you mean do by my own numbers? I’m saying yikes to the 1230 calories I’m at 1350ish a day at the moment & struggle with that. Not sure how to cut more. So many different calculators give me different ratios, but all around the same calories

Panini911

remember different calculators may use different numbers.

MFP gives you the calories to eat assuming NO exercise. so you'd eat back a reasonable estimate of the calories burned during your workout. Make sure to select 0.5lb/week rate of loss and an accurate activity level (few people are actually sedentary)

teranga79

Also worth bearing in mind that a lot of entries don't have full nutritional info added. So even though the calories may be correct, they may just not have their iron content listed as it's another number someone needed to add.

NovusDies

charl152526 wrote: »

NovusDies wrote: »

charl152526 wrote: »

Nearly 9 months, no BF. Been tracking for 3 months. Had a junk food/sugary diet previously.

Tried a few more online calculators, averaging at:

1230 calories, or 1420 on exercise days. Yikes! 35 carb/35 protein/30 fat macro %

If you have been doing this for 3 months you start going by your own numbers not online calculators. If you need help with that let us know.

Are you saying "Yikes!" at the macro split? I think that is the same one I use.

Thanks, what do you mean do by my own numbers? I’m saying yikes to the 1230 calories I’m at 1350ish a day at the moment & struggle with that. Not sure how to cut more. So many different calculators give me different ratios, but all around the same calories

Once you have enough data you can calculate what your rate of loss has been and how that translates to your actual deficit not your given estimated deficit.

You want clean numbers so I always tell people not to start with their starting weight but one a week or two into the weight loss.

Find an early weight and the day you recorded it.
Find a current weight and the day you recorded it.
For ease Google "How many days between <early date> and <current date>"
Subtract the two weights which for you is about 7 pounds.
Divide the weight change by the number of days from the google result = this is your average daily weight change
Multiply the daily weight by 7 = this is your average weekly rate of loss
Multiply your average weekly rate of loss * 3500 = this is your average daily deficit
Add your deficit to your average daily calories = this is your average maintenance calories

If you have been losing faster/slower than you should you multiply the number to adjust * 3500 and then divide it by 7 to make your daily adjustment.


Example is if you were losing at .75 pounds a week and should be losing at .5 it would be

(.25 * 3500)/7 = 125

125 is an average so you would probably start by adding 100 calories to your day or rethinking how you calculate how many exercise calories to eat back. If you want to adjust your exercise days and let's say you exercise 3 days a week you do the same math but divide it by 3 not 7 and you would find you need to eat back 290ish more calories on those days.

ETA: This all assumes that you log accurately because that is a major component of using your own numbers.