Frustrated, even furious

hookilau

This might be a beneficial read for you: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/993576-why-you-gain-weight-if-you-eat-more-than-your-cut

Good call. That was a good read, makes sense too :drinker:

wisdomfromyou

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.

MinMin97

Yes, you could be more disciplined than you are....or maybe that's the wrong word....more temperate.
You oscillate wildly back and forth. You will get calmer as you keep working on it.
I think it would be helpful for you to focus on what you do right....notice all your improvements and celebrate them.

Also, quite frankly, I think there is a legitimate need to have celebration times of food, family, friends, fellowship and fun....eating and celebrating. It's gonna hit the spot! Then on the other days of your life you eat more purposefully, with good habits, with a deficit if called for. But to deny yourself, or feel guilty about when you do it, or indulging under the wrong circumstances will invariably produce frustration.

krisjohnson121

Without logging you do not know what you are consuming. I am sorry but it takes about 10 minutes to enter the days food into MFP if you are serious with this than take the time to log.

As others have said you need to redefine the healthy weight to lose. At 5'7 190 lbs is not huge - you need to cut 3500 calories a week to lose a lb - it is unreasonable and unhealthy to try to lose more than 2 lbs per week.

If you re starving yourself you will lose weight - but when you eat it will come back and the longer you continue this roller coaster the more out of whack your metabolism will become.

Start tracking! I would suggest going into maintenance mode for at least 2 weeks to get your metabolism back on track. You may gain - just accept it. After you reach a point where you are maintaining your weight while eating at maintenance. Create a reasonable goal for losing weight and eat to that goal.

RiannonC

I am just want to be a normal person.
Normal people have their bodies regulated, they eat until they are not hungry anymore, they don't gain any weight and they never log.

I read a lot about the CR method - namely, always eating a little below your level of saturation.
This is something that can be done by listening to your stomach and that does not need daily logging - which for me is incredibly taxing, time-wise.

This is actually vastly untrue for most "normal" people in today's world. There may be the occasional skinny person who can eat to their heart's content and not gain, but usually if someone is fit and has a good body, it's because they've worked extremely hard to get and maintain it.

I am in the minority here, but I agree that while counting calories can be helpful, it is not always necessary for every person and that if you eat just till you're not hungry anymore, rather than eating till you're totally full, you will naturally lose weight. It sounds like this method is working for you, but you're a bit frustrated that it's so difficult?

It's probably harder for some than for others, and who knows what would happen if you started logging, or raised calories as some have suggested, but if it were me I would just continue doing what has already been working for you, and resign myself to the fact that yes, it's going to be difficult the whole time. Most things in life that are worth having are hard work. Maintaining my weight is hard for me too, I'm in the same boat as you are where I never eat till I'm totally full and pass up many things that would taste good because if I eat them, I'll probably gain weight. If I have a day where I slip up, usually I'm up 2 lbs the next day (which is usually water weight and goes away pretty quick if I get back on track). Sometimes I wish it were easier, but mostly I welcome the challenge.

Francl27

You got to weight your food and log your calories, no way around it. The $20 to buy a scale will be the best $20 you spend. If you don't want to do that, well, you can keep estimating and come back and say you still haven't lost weight in 2 months.

We're just offering you the easiest solution to your problem. I mean, we can tell you to eat 1500 calories a day until your metabolism is fixed some, but that won't help you, as you have no way of making sure you're eating those 1500 calories a day.

tawanda6329

Not sure how a small fibroid is a health scare for you. I've had one the size of a grapefruit and was able to function just fine. Also, not sure why you would ask for advice on a site that is built around counting calories when you do not count calories.

nxd10

I would suggest counting calories. It's not a waste of time.

It is SO not a waste of time.

Also, you will be less hungry if you eat more protein and eat slowly. Soup also helps in that it is filling and not that calorie dense.

Be patient with yourself.

SezxyStef

When I started I was 205 appx and the same height...I lost 25lbs from January to June...and now using MFP my calories are 1360 to loose 1lb a week...and I eat my exercise calories back.

If I were to try and eat 900-1200 calories I would be starved all the time too...

Trust us when we say logging calories is not a waste of time and you are consuming more then you think if you are not weighing your food...even a measuring cup can be off depending on what the food is...

PRMinx

As soon as I deviate just a bit from doing this - the scale goes up a couple of pounds.
This week I had two days of slightly less-than-orthodox eating (orthodoxy for me being what I described above). One day I ate a little extra at a department meeting at work (don't imagine any sort of serious overeating!!) and two days after that, husband and I went out for sushi and a coffee with a bit of cream on top...and bamm!! - two ponds gained this week, as if I had committed I don't know what kind of nutritional murder.

^This doesn't sound like weight gain to me. It sounds like bloating from all of the sodium in sushi (soy sauce).

Do you have a food scale? That might help with your accuracy. Also, I know you have a very demanding schedule, but exercising can really help with your stress. Can you make time in the early AM? Honestly, it's better to get up and get it done than to carry around all of this emotional stress.

Turnaround2012

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 actually gets easier as time goes on and you start to get "go to" home cooked meals.
For example

Chicken Breasts, Broccoli - become easy to track with a scale

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think?page=8#posts-16587739

---

When I eat certain foods (high sodium, sweets, fast food) I won't more. when I eat less processed foods I can actually tame the "hunger tiger"

When things get really Bad

I eat egg whites. I have tried to stuff myself on egg whites and I can still only manage to eat 200 calories worth and the day is saved!

Good luck and hang in there!

---

btw - I am a 50+ year old male. Started at 205 and have been steadily losing at 1/2 lb per week eating 2000 calories per day.

strongmindstrongbody

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.

Logging your food is important. Take the extra time to do it, knowing that it's in your best interest. You are worth the time, right?

lisajsund

Do you have any idea what your Body Composition is? When I make it to 165, I'll be close to 21% Body Fat. That is normal range, or maybe even fit range - I'd have to check. I'm 5' 5.5" and am slowing working my way down to goal. If you work out at a gym, one of the trainers could do a 3 point caliber test for you. If your goal weight is 142, you could be in the dangerously low Body Fat range when you get there.

qtgonewild

i think you can get more disciplined than you actually are (your words) BY actually logging every thing you put in your mouth. just sayin.

wisdomfromyou

Unless you're eating a lot of things that aren't in the database (and don't have nutritional data available), it's borderline effortless.

I DO eat a lot of things that aren't in the database. I did track very briefly on this forum in the beginning and it was not something that I wanted to continue doing. Very time consuming for me.
I am not American born and raised and I cook many recipes learned from my mother and grandmother - many adapted to be low in calories (less fat, salt, never sugar). There will be no such dishes in the database - only approximations - which I can do with my own eye balling.
I also sometimes graze just a little bit throughout the day given that I am restraining myself so much with the portions at meal times. Could be a few almonds, flax crackers or a fruit, or a little taste when I cook, etc;
so trying to track all these little bitty things would drive me up the wall.

Let's put it this way: when I buy shoes I favor those that I can slide my foot into in a matter of seconds. Tying shoes instead of sliding and running is time-consuming for me; between work, kids, cooking-from-scratch and trying to go to bed at a reasonable hour, my leisure time is measured in seconds. Yes, I am abusing it and pushing my luck right now by being on this forum.

So it is out of the question that I WILL add an extra "calorie counting" task to my daily routine. There's got to be a way to continue to lose weight without calculating every bit that enter my mouth every day.

juliemouse83

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.

hookilau

Both my grandfather and my mother-in-law (who is an amazingly healthy, flexible and thin 86 yo) have always been very moderate people with small appetites and a relative indifference to "delicious foods".

I am a creature of extremes, on the passionate and high-strung side, I love food and have a naturally large appetite. :-(

Do your elder relatives eat low fat?....because if they don't, ie: use real butter on toast, cream in coffee, eat bacon & eggs etc. This may be why they have small appetites.

I have an underlying medical issue that caused quite the scare 4 months ago. Due to that, I changed my diet from low fat/high carb to high fat/low carb. Since I started eating this way, I realized very little food is needed to make me feel satisfied. You have to be careful though, you can't eat high carb + high fat, that's where you run into a caloric overage really really easy.

A high fat, low carb meal might be a 3-4 oz piece of skirt steak and a salad with full fat bleu cheese dressing.
Eggs (cooked in ghee or coconut oil) & bacon.
Veggie omelette with cheese or ham.

You get the idea Not sure if this will help you, but it sure helped me. I don't count calories. I used to when I first started here before I knew about my medical issue. There's just no reason to do it anymore. I eat when I'm hungry and the signals that tell me I'm done come from my head, not my insides anymore.

The glycogen stores link is dead on. I freaked out & thought I was plateauing for the past 4 months but it turned out to be 'carb creep' because I started eating cashews by the fistful multiple times per day. I suddenly gained 4#'s at the rate of about 1 pound per day and then stayed there. Ooops. I accidentally got to maintenance eating too many cashews. I'm very carb sensitive to begin with and because I'm eating lower carb than most, it has a tendency to increase your carb sensitivity, so if I really HAD wanted to be in maintenance, I would've increased my carb intake by 5-10 grams per day until I got to where I maintained.

Good luck & I hope you can work this out.

wisdomfromyou

It sounds like this method is working for you, but you're a bit frustrated that it's so difficult?

You got it.
I couldn't believe that only two days of being less-than-perfect had to turn into 2 pounds+ back.

brandiuntz

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.

Congrats on losing weight so far. Be proud of what you've accomplished.

Now that you've hit a plateau, make adjustments. I suggest logging food and exercise. As has been said many times, you can't really know how much you're eating unless you log for awhile. That will give you a sense of how much a certain amount of food "feels". It will help you re-train your hunger pangs.

Simply log all the ingredients of what you cook. You don't even have to turn it into a recipe. Just log all ingredients in the amounts used. I cook from scratch and log the ingredients. You can make logging calories work for you. The database here is huge and adding something is not hard.

PRMinx

Unless you're eating a lot of things that aren't in the database (and don't have nutritional data available), it's borderline effortless.

I DO eat a lot of things that aren't in the database. I did track very briefly on this forum in the beginning and it was not something that I wanted to continue doing. Very time consuming for me.
I am not American born and raised and I cook many recipes learned from my mother and grandmother - many adapted to be low in calories (less fat, salt, never sugar). There will be no such dishes in the database - only approximations - which I can do with my own eye balling.
I also sometimes graze just a little bit throughout the day given that I am restraining myself so much with the portions at meal times. Could be a few almonds, flax crackers or a fruit, or a little taste when I cook, etc;
so trying to track all these little bitty things would drive me up the wall.

Let's put it this way: when I buy shoes I favor those that I can slide my foot into in a matter of seconds. Tying shoes instead of sliding and running is time-consuming for me; between work, kids, cooking-from-scratch and trying to go to bed at a reasonable hour, my leisure time is measured in seconds. Yes, I am abusing it and pushing my luck right now by being on this forum.

So it is out of the question that I WILL add an extra "calorie counting" task to my daily routine. There's got to be a way to continue to lose weight without calculating every bit that enter my mouth every day.

1. You can enter in your recipes using the recipe function here, which will help you count your calories. I do it all the time. It will take 5 minutes.

2. Cook on the weekends for food during the week. At any given time I have homeade soup, pasta sauce, stew, shredded chicken, marinated meats cubed for easy kabobs, frozen fish and frozen turkey burgers in my freezer. Have your husband take the kids for a few hours over the weekend and bang out some healthy meals. It saves SO much time. Also, crockpot.

3. Take a step back from the situation and work with your husband to carve out some time to get a good schedule going. Work as a team.

You sound incredibly stressed. You either need to figure out a solution with the resources you have (husband, family, neighbors, nanny, etc.) or you're going to drive yourself crazy.