Frustrated, even furious

badgerbabs

Counting calories IS NOT WASTED TIME. I was STUNNED when I found out how many calories I had been eating - and how much I underestimated serving size. And I, too, am well educated when it comes to nutrition. For years I had been told that the most successful way of losing was to write down EVERYTHING I ate. I, too, dismissed it as unnecessary and fussy. When I actually committed to doing it, I was, and continue to be, amply rewarded. When I started, I really was WRITING everything down - which is, indeed, tedious. Then I got a smart phone and found this program; voila! It takes a fraction of the time, and i can make my entries while I'm eating or in the bathroom or whatever.

Yes, it seems OCD, but no more than when a diabetic tracks their blood sugar - it's VITAL for your health if you're trying to lose weight. Once you've done it for a while, it gets easy and almost automatic - especially with a smart phone. It might take, at most, an extra 10 min/day. If you tend to eat similar meals - i.e., the same breakfast most days - you can copy the entire meal from an earlier day and enter it today, in one step. IT'S NOT THAT HARD.

In addition, you can track your exercise calories burned. My approach was to enter myself as "sedentary," and use the recommended number of calories as my daily goal; and then when I do actually work out, I enter the calories and may or may not "eat back" those calories, if I'm hungry.

Do this. It works.

pseudomuffin

I have found that with the many cooked-from-scratch foods I eat it is simply not practical to calculate how may calories my portion represents. I don't eat food that comes from labeled packages and for me it would just take way, way to long to figure out exactly how many calories a certain bite has.

Apologies if someone has already posted this resource, but this is what I use to calculate my own recipes and add them to the database: http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php?ns=1

Type it all in, calculate, add to MFP database (I add the whole recipe's nutritional info and then use my food diary to log portions, say 1/3 of a recipe, etc.) and you're done! Takes maybe 3 minutes to type it all in... I cook a lot from scratch and this has helped me greatly.

ElsaVonMarmalade

You've already gotten tons of replies, but about those two pounds you keep gaining: I did a 5-hour hike yesterday and was up two pounds today. Being up two pounds overnight doesn't mean that I gained weight. It means that my body is retaining water b/c my muscles are sore or I ate a little extra sodium or a million other things. Weigh yourself once a month instead of daily and let go of the up-and-down frustration.

kimmymayhall

I have found that with the many cooked-from-scratch foods I eat it is simply not practical to calculate how may calories my portion represents. I don't eat food that comes from labeled packages and for me it would just take way, way to long to figure out exactly how many calories a certain bite has.

Apologies if someone has already posted this resource, but this is what I use to calculate my own recipes and add them to the database: http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php?ns=1

Type it all in, calculate, add to MFP database (I add the whole recipe's nutritional info and then use my food diary to log portions, say 1/3 of a recipe, etc.) and you're done! Takes maybe 3 minutes to type it all in... I cook a lot from scratch and this has helped me greatly.

I'm just curious why you don't use the MFP recipe tool. I haven't used caloriecount so maybe it is easier, but it sounds like it does the same thing as MFP.

mandasalem

I have found that with the many cooked-from-scratch foods I eat it is simply not practical to calculate how may calories my portion represents. I don't eat food that comes from labeled packages and for me it would just take way, way to long to figure out exactly how many calories a certain bite has.

It's taking you longer to repeat on this thread why you DON'T count calories than it would for you to set up some custom recipes and count calories. There are plenty of sites out there that help calculate calories in your homemade recipes. Try those, and listen to the folks who you came to for advice. Not everyone on here is smart, but a lot of folks know their stuff.

pseudomuffin

I have found that with the many cooked-from-scratch foods I eat it is simply not practical to calculate how may calories my portion represents. I don't eat food that comes from labeled packages and for me it would just take way, way to long to figure out exactly how many calories a certain bite has.

Apologies if someone has already posted this resource, but this is what I use to calculate my own recipes and add them to the database: http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php?ns=1

Type it all in, calculate, add to MFP database (I add the whole recipe's nutritional info and then use my food diary to log portions, say 1/3 of a recipe, etc.) and you're done! Takes maybe 3 minutes to type it all in... I cook a lot from scratch and this has helped me greatly.

I'm just curious why you don't use the MFP recipe tool. I haven't used caloriecount so maybe it is easier, but it sounds like it does the same thing as MFP.

I'm adverse to change!

Haha seriously though, I don't know. I've always used this one and didn't even realize MFP had one because I've never gone looking for it. But see, OP, there's lots of ways to analyze your recipes from scratch! I'd rather take a little extra time and figure out calories than be hungry constantly!

panano

I'm no expert, but it sounds like your body has shifted into starvation mode, and I'm sure that has been mentioned above. The problem is when you eat less than 1200 cals a day, your body begins to shut down, because it thinks it's starving. Any extra food it DOES get, it stores away immediately because it doesn't know when the next time it's going to get fed again is. I understand the scare, and wanting to lose weight as quickly as possible - but I believe if you want to eat normally again at some point, you will need to gradually increase your calories. I would strongly suggest going to see a nutritionist, or talk to someone who's a professional about your diet, so they can correctly assess what you should be eating on a daily basis. Best of luck to you.

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

Nevermind.

What I was going to say would be met with another reason why it won't work for you.

Best of luck on your journey.




BTW, it's a marathon, not a sprint.

I know you guys mean well - and I have learned tremendously by reading on this forum, but calorie counting just doesn't work for me. I do understand it's a marathon, but I am starting not to like this marathon anymore :-(.

I think I might just have to eat slightly more than I am eating and accept a very, very small weight loss rate from here on.

So, what exactly are you looking for then?

1. You don't want to count calories
2. You can't make time for exercise
3. You don't seem to want to hear that a 2 pound fluctuation is perfectly normal DAY BY DAY even

How CAN we help?

All of this. I mean honestly, like 12 pages of responses for a person that has no desire to help herself. I personally find it offensive to go on and in about how she is too busy to devote any time to this lifestyle yet there is an expectation that we all should use our time to help.

Sorry OP, but put your big girl panties on and make some changes. You have gotten some great advice here and the sad part of it is that you have probably done more damage to yourself than that fibroid ever would have.

Good luck.

madtownjeremy

Much easier to curse the darkness.

Is that a Summoner Geeks reference? You should know I LOLd.

histora

Much easier to curse the darkness.

Is that a Summoner Geeks reference? You should know I LOLd.

Lol I thought it was a rephrase of a lyric from Lightning Does the Work.

beattie1

Much easier to curse the darkness.

Is that a Summoner Geeks reference? You should know I LOLd.

Lol I thought it was a rephrase of a lyric from Lightning Does the Work.

"It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness"

From the Phrase Finder -
Several people are associated with this proverbial saying, notably John F. Kennedy. It was first spoken in public by Peter Benenson, the English lawyer and founder of Amnesty International, at a Human Rights Day ceremony on 10th December 1961. The candle circled by barbed wire has since become the society's emblem.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/207500.html

CollieFit

Had lots of medical test recently - all very good, including thyroid, except that little fibroid they found in May (about 1.5 cm) which started the scare. I know many women have fibroids but I am a bit of a hypochondriac and I always think of the worst when I hear about possible health problems.

Before that (May), I was eating a lot, mainly stress-based due to harried life. Now it's still harried but I am trying to pace myself and control the stress with relaxation, exercise, the jazz.
Since May, I have been eating controlled, consciously, usually below saturation point and I lost 29 pounds. MY estimation is I have been doing around 1200 cal a day (this is how much it was when I was logging a little in the beginning).

It IS POSSIBLE that I may be eating below 1200 some days and this is what gives me the hunger. Then again, there are days when I know for sure I eat more than 1200. So it just varies.

Someone very nice sent me an article in private about taking breaks in dieting. It was really interesting and it makes sense.
Maybe I am just due for one.

Have you considered you may have a medical condition which inhibits your progress? My Doctor found my Thyroid was under performing. When this happens your body does operate effectively, which can leave to tired and cause you to not lose weight. When I got on medication for the Thyroid problem I was able to start losing.

After a very good blood work up where I showed I was back to the low side of normal I ask my Doctor to let me decrease the dosage. WRONG WRONG WRONG. I wound up real tired and even though I really upped my exercise and watch my food I could not lose weight. When I went back on the original dosage the weight cam off and my energy levels went up.

Bottom line if your in a holding pattern see a Doctor to see if you have medical handicap. Especially the Thyroid. It may be small, but it can make a big difference.

PMSL I love the way you just totally ignore pages and pages worth of advice and pick the one single thing that is what you WANT to hear.

You may as well run around with your fingers in your ears singing la-la-la....

fitmomhappymom

I don't understand why everyone is assuming she eats 900-1200 calories when she is not counting calories? Why assume the worst? I don't think 900 calories was ever mentioned by the OP.

Additionally, I'm not sure why everyone is pushing counting calories so hard. I mean, I could see the first few times, but after she's said she's not interested 5 times people should accept that it's her life, she doesn't want to count them, and move on. Not everyone who doesn't count calories is fat, and not everyone who doesn't count calories is lazy. Also, people keep saying you have to be willing to change what is not working, but it has been working for her! She has lost quite a bit of weight! It sounds like she is just starting to feel that it is difficult, and hitting a plateau. Plateaus are NORMAL after that much weight loss. It doesn't automatically mean she is doing something wrong! Again, it really seems like everyone is assuming the worst. How many of you on here who have lost a lot of weight, have felt like it was easy the entire time? Or never hit a plateau? Don't be so quick to assume that her method won't work for her just because there's a challenging spot.

OP I wish you well and it sounds like you have done a great job so far and lost a good chunk of weight. Whether you choose to change strategies or stick with the same is up to you, but either way believe you can do it and don't let others make you feel bad about yourself for any reason.

She is saying she is furious with her lack of results, yet shoots down any suggestions and refuses to change what she's doing. Obviously her method of not doing anything isnt working, or she wouldn't be so upset at her lack of weight loss. Furthermore, whats the point of joining a calorie counting website if you think counting calories is silly?

Nachise

If you keep doing what you're doing, you're going to keep getting what you're getting.

I understand what you mean by eating clean. I do that. I thought if I drastically underate, I would lose weight faster. I thought I could eyeball everything and eat under my calorie limit. I was dead wrong.

1. Get a kitchen scale. They are generally inexpensive, and will get you in the habit of getting into the right portion size and calorie count. I even take mine on trips.

2. Set up your profile and track everything you eat for one month. This takes absolutely no time. If you have time to poo-poo every suggestion people here have given you, you have plenty of time to track. If you have a smart phone, download the MFP app You can scan bar codes to add foods to the database, and you can even enter your recipes for a calorie count. The established database is amazingly vast. There is no excuse not to log.

3. Buy a Fitbit or an accelerometer and track your activity and exercise and record it on MFP. Sometimes we overestimate our exercise. Sometimes we get into a rut with our exercise, so sometimes it's good to see a trainer to see what you can do to mix it up.

4. Make an appointment with a nutritionist.

Just try it. If you knew everything there was about losing weight, you'd have lost it already in a healthy manner.

ST99000722

She has NO IDEA what her calorie intake is. She' probably doesn't time her workout sessions either. She's like the woman driving down the highway with no speedometer and a blanket over her windshield, and she's getting upset because she keeps crashing.

I call TROLL on her. Sayonara, Troll. You should change your username to Wisdomescapesme.

You win the thread ! :laugh:

ron2e

I got to "I do not count calories because it seems like a tremendous waste of time for me", gave up and came to the last page to comment.

OP, why bother? Stay fat.You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink as the proverb goes.

DragonSquatter

amytaylorwilliamdrake

have not read all the posts in this thread as I lost interest about 6 pages in, one thought though,,,,,,,,,,,,she has no time to track calories but can respond to all of these posts???

QuincyChick

Classic case of someone not getting the "easy way out" answer she was looking for.

If you don't want to count your calories, and continue to guess what you're eating, go for it.

grentea

I cook from scratch a lot and it is sometimes difficult to figure out calorie counts. What I usually do is go online and find nutrition information for similar recipes. It is not an exact science, but it would give you a ballpark figure. I agree with others who have suggested that you need to count calories if you want to be sure. I think you will have to try to accept that you need to use more discipline if losing weight is your goal. Maybe try to relieve some of your stress from finding out you have a fibroid, and cut back on weight loss for a little while. You don't have to lose all of the weight overnight. Give yourself a break.