Discouraged and Confused

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doppleganger613
doppleganger613 Posts: 7 Member
in Motivation and Support
Just started working out again this year, after 20 years on my butt. Aside from a couple of slips, i have managed to stay under the recomended goal of 1630 calories a day. I have used the stationary bike at least 6 days a week since new years, and added daily weights three weeks ago. Even cut most meats out of the diet, and tossed all the junk food. I realize i took me 20 years to get this out of shape, and it will take a long time to get back, however, ive only lost 2lb in the last 48 days. Im not delusional, or a fool, but i excpected better relults for the work im putting in. So question is.... Am i sabotaging myself by having a couple drinks on the weekend? Does snaking before bed halt any gains made through out the day? Have i already plateaued by cardio by only doing one type of excercise (bike)? Should i be adding "fat burning" foods to my diet?

I know thats its kinda hard to diagnose anything on so little data from me, but if im missing something simple, or stupid, id feel like more of a noob than i do now.

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,944 Member
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    All of those worries mean nothing if you are not aware of your calorie intake. The mistake a lot people make is going ALL IN with exercise and not addressing the food side.

    Go to Goals. Choose "Lose 1 pound per week." Log everything you eat. Log your exercise and eat a little more on exercise days. Not 1000 more, something more reasonable like 200-400 more per hour of moderate cardio, 100 more for lifting.

    Learn to log food accurately. Be patient. You're eating too much right now, most likely.

    Good starter thread:

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


    Food logging:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
  • ashleyconradt
    ashleyconradt Posts: 1 Member
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    Good morning! It is possible that you're gaining muscle as you're losing fat - which might make it seem like you're plateauing. How are your clothes fitting?
    I had been at the same weight for a couple of months, and I had read about how intermittant fasting could be beneficial. So now I only eat for 8 hours a day - fast for 16. I've had some pretty good results, got the weight loss jump started again.
    And good job on deciding to be a healthier you!!
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,287 Member
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    It does take time for some bodies to flip the switch. I'd guess you're eating more than you think. I, myself, don't log calories any longer. But..in the beginning after years of mindless eating? The very best thing anyone can do is log their food. Every single nibble, crumb, and bite. And don't guess or use measuring cups.. get a Digital scale and weigh every single morsel. You'll be amazed as what you "thought" was two ounces of chicken...or cheese..

    You will win the battle by logging your food accurately. Be mindful of not eating 1600 calories of chips a day..leaving you famished weak..and vulnerable of a binge. Eat the most healthy food and portiens for your calorie allowance. If you do that and keep up with your bike at the gym... you'll be dropping that weight.

    It just takes time to relearn how to eat healthy. It is a real education. Also..remember ... weight loss is totally what you eat...exercise is for getting fit and does help burn extra calories..but too much exercise can make you overly hungry and ruin everything. Think balance...and remember the battle is won in the kitchen. Best to you.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,400 Member
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    ashleyconradt wrote: »
    Good morning! It is possible that you're gaining muscle as you're losing fat - which might make it seem like you're plateauing. How are your clothes fitting?
    I had been at the same weight for a couple of months, and I had read about how intermittant fasting could be beneficial. So now I only eat for 8 hours a day - fast for 16. I've had some pretty good results, got the weight loss jump started again.
    And good job on deciding to be a healthier you!!

    Gaining muscle takes a long time--that's why it's better to save as much as you can while dieting. OP--the other two posters are right on. Get out that digital food scale and be as accurate as you can. If you're drinking, log it. Alcohol has lots of calories.
  • doppleganger613
    doppleganger613 Posts: 7 Member
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    If anything, id think i was under eating. The app has me targeted at 1630 cal a day, but i normally get to around 1200, then get 30 to 45 min of cardio. Could i be hitting starvation mode?
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,130 Member
    edited February 2020
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    doppleganger613 wrote: »
    If anything, id think i was under eating. The app has me targeted at 1630 cal a day, but i normally get to around 1200, then get 30 to 45 min of cardio. Could i be hitting starvation mode?

    No starvation mode is not a thing in the way it's suggested a lot in the diet world. (There also aren't any fat burning foods or plateaus from doing the same cardio workouts, I implore you to review where you're getting you fitness/diet advice from).

    How are you measuring your calorie intake? Would you consider opening your diary to public so we can spot if there are any common logging errors? ( Navigate to the settings, choose 'Diary Settings'. Select "Diary Sharing", and set the option to 'Public)

    Most people who aren't losing weight, either aren't being patient enough or are underestimating food intake and/or overestimating calorie burns.

    It may even be a simple case of water retention from the new exercise, that alone can take a couple of weeks to normalise, particularly with weight training.

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
  • doppleganger613
    doppleganger613 Posts: 7 Member
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    https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss-plateau/art-20044615

    https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-fat-fighting-foods

    What people generally refer to as "starvation mode" (and sometimes "metabolic damage") is your body's natural response to long-term calorie restriction. It involves the body responding to reduced calorie intake by reducing calorie expenditure to maintain energy balance and prevent starvation. www.healthline.com

    I had though about water retention as im always way over my daily sodium intake, really hard correcting that one. About half of all i eat, i scan the upc to get the most accurate data i can. Also, i measure alot of what i eat with a measuring cup, unfortunatly i do find i have to guess at some meats, and items not conveniently measured in a cup. Scale IS in the mail.

    Snowflake954, muscle "gain" isnt a primary concern right now, but i was told that weight lifting burns more calories then cardio, over the same time frame and intensity.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited February 2020
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    doppleganger613 wrote: »
    About half of all i eat, i scan the upc to get the most accurate data i can. Also, i measure alot of what i eat with a measuring cup, unfortunatly i do find i have to guess at some meats, and items not conveniently measured in a cup. Scale IS in the mail.

    It'll be a fun experiment to see what differences you get with the scale, versus the UPC codes and measuring cups! You'll have to let us know. :)

    UPC codes were one of my biggest culprits. Just because the UPC code says my protein bar was 60 grams doesn't mean the protein bar actually weighed 60 grams. Some foods are spot-on, and some are WAY off!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,070 Member
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    doppleganger613 wrote: »
    https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss-plateau/art-20044615

    https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-fat-fighting-foods

    What people generally refer to as "starvation mode" (and sometimes "metabolic damage") is your body's natural response to long-term calorie restriction. It involves the body responding to reduced calorie intake by reducing calorie expenditure to maintain energy balance and prevent starvation. www.healthline.com

    I had though about water retention as im always way over my daily sodium intake, really hard correcting that one. About half of all i eat, i scan the upc to get the most accurate data i can. Also, i measure alot of what i eat with a measuring cup, unfortunatly i do find i have to guess at some meats, and items not conveniently measured in a cup. Scale IS in the mail.

    Snowflake954, muscle "gain" isnt a primary concern right now, but i was told that weight lifting burns more calories then cardio, over the same time frame and intensity.

    UPC codes on MFP still are crowd-sourced/user-entered data. For accuracy, you still need to check the entry the first time you use it.

    The fact that the UPC entries are more automated seems to make people believe they're more accurate. They're not, sadly.

    Odds are that you're underestimating your calorie intake, or overestimating exercise calories, unfortunately.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,109 Member
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    doppleganger613 wrote: »

    Snowflake954, muscle "gain" isnt a primary concern right now, but i was told that weight lifting burns more calories then cardio, over the same time frame and intensity.

    From what I know, it's actually the opposite, cardio generally burns more calories than weight lifting.

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