6 weeks in - no weight shifted - please help!
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KrissCanDoThis wrote: »I just want to explain something to the OP
Oof, I’m sorry.. I should’ve clarified that 1230 is my minimum set goal on MFP, the days I exercise I do take in more.. 🙈
And maybe you’re right about the plateau ending simply because it ended. And not because of anything else I did different! You’re right about wt loss not being linear. THANK YOU for that constructive criticism. I’ll restrain from sharing any more “advice”, given how new I am at this compared to the rest of you, (and esp after the responses on here), but please know that I am grateful to you for taking the time to actually explain this to me! ❤️ it makes me feel much better.
Another observation: You seem concerned by water weight.
This is a really good article to read:
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
Welcome to MFP, by the way, and congrats on your losses so far!
Thank you! You’re right.. I think I’m fixated on the water weight to try to explain the stubborn scale, but that is not the right thing to focus on. Very helpful article. Thank you! It does reiterate some of my points, but bottom line is, consistency is key, as is gradual, slower loss.
I think I just got too excited with my progress, and wanted to share, without seeing the overall bigger picture here... so all this is much appreciated!!
Thank you for your kind words and the encouragement! ☺️5 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »
There is no reason she has to not eat 3 hours before bed, and avoid sugars and carbs, this is a myth, you can eat all your calories at anytime of the day and still lose, carbs do not make you fat, too many calories do
She asked for advice and I gave her advice on what worked on me. Clearly I said I’m not a pro, but these things worked, regardless of if it’s a “myth”. Didn’t say carbs make you fat. I said I read that carbs can cause water retention = water weight. This is also why I mentioned that measurements are a more accurate assessment of progress than actual weight.....
Well as far as your n=1...
ETA ok i see you have listened to others, sorry for jumping in. But I'm going to leave my comment anyway because CARBS ARE NOT THE ENEMY. Nothing is. No single food makes you gain or lose weight. It's simply Ci vs Co.
I usually aim for more protein than carbs. So probably get around 140/150g carbs per day most days. But towards the end of last week I carb loaded - so closer to 300g of carbs per day. All simple carbs. Bread, rice, sugar. I was still in deficit though.
Guess what, I lost weight every day - I track daily and use a trend app)
So yes carbs like water, but if you are in deficit you will still lose weight, even if you eat almost 100% carbs.4 -
I was just going through my past week's calorie intake this morning with the same issue...I noticed that, regardless of whether I stayed around the same amount of calories each day, I gained weight on the days I ate mostly carbs and sweets (the sweets I choose also being carbs.)
Most days, most of us eat around some normal, average number of carb grams each day, especially when counting calories to try to lose weight.
Then, maybe once in a while, we diverge from our usual routine, and eat a few more carb grams (or extra sodium, or both) - maybe still a perfectly reasonable number of carb grams, but just noticeably more than usual.
It's normal for the human body to retain something like 3-4g of water for each carb gram we eat, as part of the digestion/metabolization process.
That means that if I usually eat 250g carbs (and I do, in maintenance), I always have around 750-1000g of water in my body attached to those carbs, part of my normal weight. Let's say I suddenly go to a birthday party, and have those cute finger sandwiches (mostly bread, so plenty carbs), some potato salad (various nutrients, but plenty more carbs), a glass of punch (wooooo sugar!), and a nice slice of birthday cake with ice cream (yum, fat and carbs!).
Let's further imagine that I banked some calories on the days before to cover this extravagance, as well as eating lightly the rest of that day, and getting in an extra workout, so my calories were around my normal level after taking all of that into account. Let's speculate (fairly realistically) that if I ate anything the rest of the day (which I said I did), I've probably about doubled my carb intake to 500g, compared to my usual 250.
Next day, I will expect my scale weight to be up by at least 750-1000 g (around 2 pounds +/-) just because of the water involved in metabolizing those carbs. If the sandwiches & potato salad were on the salty side, I may retain more water on top of that, to balance my electrolytes. I could be up 2-3 or more pounds on the scale just from water weight. I may also have more food in transit in my digestive system than average, adding to that scale weight (that potato salad weighs the same sitting in my stomach as it did sitting on the plate, until it's digested and the residue eliminated).
Y'know what? I don't care. It's not fat. It's water and digestive contents. It will drop off over the next few days, without my doing anything special, as my eating returns to normal. I'll be back at my maintenance weight quite soon. I know this. I've done the equivalent over and over, during over 5+ years of logging (1 year loss, 4 years maintenance).
Here's my philosophy:
We don't have a true current weight. Instead, what we have is a current weight range, and a long-term weight trend.
Over a day to a few days, up to a week or few, my weight (whether gaining, losing or maintaining body fat) is going to fluctuate meaninglessly up and down because of water weight changes, and temporary differences in digestive system contents. Last few days, that's been around 129-132 poiuinds, mostly. That's my current weight range.
Over multiple weeks to months and even years, that range of weight is going to be higher numbers than now (I gained fat), lower than now (I lost fat), or about the same (I maintained). For example, last year (2019) at this time, my weight was fluctuating around 135-138 pounds, more or less. I've lost weight (intentionally, wanting to lose a few vanity pounds in maintenance very slowly). Based on just those two points, my long-term weight trend is down: Losing fat.
No matter how you think of it, I'd encourage you not to feel fussed about the water weight that shows up on the scale after you eat an unusual amount of carbs, withihn calorie goal. It's not fat, so not worth a moment's concern.
Watch the trend, over time - weeks to months. That's the important thing.
Best wishes!
Just gonna link this again, because it's that good:
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations10 -
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P.S. to the OP:
I drank apple cider vinegar (the raw kind) daily for weeks at a time while losing weight (for reasons unrelated to weight loss). For other weeks at a time, I drank none (also unrelated to weight loss). I logged eating, exercise, and weight changes as carefully as possible during both times.
There was zero observable change in my weight loss rate, with or without apple cider vinegar. It was the same rate of loss.
I noticed no change in my appetite, cravings, or any other subjective factors related to weight loss or the ease of doing it, whether drinking the vinegar, or not drinking it.
There may be reasons to consume apple cider vinegar (even if one just enjoys it . . . though there are some speculative benefits to certain people beyond that, maybe). But my experience was that it didn't help weight loss in any way whatsoever.7 -
ETA ok i see you have listened to others, sorry for jumping in. But I'm going to leave my comment anyway because CARBS ARE NOT THE ENEMY. Nothing is. No single food makes you gain or lose weight. It's simply Ci vs Co.
I usually aim for more protein than carbs. So probably get around 140/150g carbs per day most days. But towards the end of last week I carb loaded - so closer to 300g of carbs per day. All simple carbs. Bread, rice, sugar. I was still in deficit though.
Guess what, I lost weight every day - I track daily and use a trend app)
So yes carbs like water, but if you are in deficit you will still lose weight, even if you eat almost 100% carbs.
Thank you for still leaving your comment, because in all honestly, whereas I repeatedly had stated I was new to this, what I posted was labeled as “poor advice” and that was basically it. So I was a bit disheartened to see that what seemed to work for me was quickly shut down as being wrong. Therefore I am very grateful to those of you who later followed up to explain that perhaps my plateau resolved simply because it’s part of the process, and maybe I am fixated on the wrong thing, and also what you noted about carbs and your personal experience!
Thank you all! I learned some valuable things today! (Hopefully the person who started this thread did too! 🙈😃)7 -
Hi everyone! Thank you so for the tips and advice. I've still not lost any weight, even after upping the exercise more.
I'm thinking I might have to try having carb free or less carbs after all. What do you guys have for breakfast and lunch that is filling? My dinner usually consists of pasta with mince (all calorie counted) or chicken, potatoes and salad, or chicken and vegetable stir-fry. So it's really the breakfast I normally have one slice of toast, and lunch a bowel of cereal or Jacobs crackers. Not that much option with lockdown at the moment!
Hope you're well 2 -
Hi everyone! Thank you so for the tips and advice. I've still not lost any weight, even after upping the exercise more.
I'm thinking I might have to try having carb free or less carbs after all. What do you guys have for breakfast and lunch that is filling? My dinner usually consists of pasta with mince (all calorie counted) or chicken, potatoes and salad, or chicken and vegetable stir-fry. So it's really the breakfast I normally have one slice of toast, and lunch a bowel of cereal or Jacobs crackers. Not that much option with lockdown at the moment
Hi there!
I think if you try to answer in detail some of the questions that a few of the posters asked above, perhaps someone can help provide more advice?
I’ve been reading quite a bit of posts on MFP, and everything boils down to (as posters above suggested) calories in = calories out. Regardless of the diet, in the end a caloric deficit is what’s really the key.. hence why people said that all these specifics suggested (low carb, etc.,) don’t actually matter.
The other thing I’ve been noting is to ensure that you are eating enough protein.
As people also mentioned, it’ll be harder for you since you have little to lose and are at a healthy BMI.
Going back to what you noted for your daily intake, as someone mentioned, perhaps make your diary public so people can review it and give you more focused recommendations?
ETA: for breakfast I typically will have two eggs, pan fried in a small amount of butter, and also I’ve been loving chia pudding (30g in 1/2cup sweetened almond milk set overnight) and a cup of coffee. Total about 380-400 calories for all of that. I work long shifts in a busy hospital so this keeps me quite full till lunch.
Lunch varies greatly. I always try to make sure it includes about 3-3.5 ounces of lean protein.5 -
Hi everyone! Thank you so for the tips and advice. I've still not lost any weight, even after upping the exercise more.
I'm thinking I might have to try having carb free or less carbs after all. What do you guys have for breakfast and lunch that is filling? My dinner usually consists of pasta with mince (all calorie counted) or chicken, potatoes and salad, or chicken and vegetable stir-fry. So it's really the breakfast I normally have one slice of toast, and lunch a bowel of cereal or Jacobs crackers. Not that much option with lockdown at the moment!
Hope you're well
Breakfast: Oatmeal with plain Greek yogurt, thawed frozen mixed berries, walnuts, hemp seed, flax seed, blackstrap molasses, cinnamon; 2 x coffee with hot skim milk; iced matcha. Same thing I ate during 50+ pounds weight loss most of the time, except I think I added the hemp/flax when I got close to maintenance, and switched from a tablespoon of all-fruit spread to same amount of blackstrap molasses later. That's 80.3g of carbs, though (more importantly for me, 37.9g protein). During loss, without the swaps, about 11g fewer carbs, 6g less protein.
Lunch in lockdown: Apple with peanut butter, or Ezekiel pita with peanut butter, possible with a big cracker thingie with about an ounce of goat cheese on it. (Weird, right?) Around 27g carbs, 20g protein.
I think you maybe low-balling protein, for best satiation.
No opinion about whether you should cut carbs: I never did, except to the extent needed to reduce calories. If you do it, expect a nice rewarding scale drop at first from reduced water weight, which is psychologically rewarding . . . but not fat, which is usually the main thing we want to lose.
You seem to have been on MFP only for about a week? Have you been calorie-counting (accurately) longer than that?
Advice: If you keep switching up what you're doing, it's going to be hard to tell what really works. Results lag multiple days behind eating (not show up in the very next day), and get averaged over multiple days, besides. You can end up thinking that X is your magic solution, when it was really the thing that you did right before X that was the more productive route.
Are you eating back your exercise calories? If so, how many calories do you believe you burn, for what specific lengths/types of exercise? Didn't see where you'd said, if you did.
Are you including any cheat meals/days (I'm not talking about the candy bar)? If so, how often, and what's their nature?
And +1 to the suggestion that you temporarily make your diary public, so we can help you find any new-user logging issues you may not be aware of.
Best wishes!4 -
Hi!
Thanks for your replies
I've been using other apps for calorie counting, so sharing my diary won't be of much help, I mainly joined because of the forums. I'll definitely try and fill out my diary more on here as well.
I never eat back my calories, it's hard to tell what I really burn calorie wise. My stationary exercise bike says 400 calories for 40 minutes though I feel like that might be a bit too high.
I also tend to have a cheat day once a week on a Saturday (after I've had my weigh day), I won't be so strict on calorie counting and have a couple of slices of pizza, or have a nice dessert instead. Is once a week too often? Probably! I'll probably be more around the 1800-2000 calories on those days.
I'm thinking of having 1 boiled egg and maybe one ryvita for breakfast instead of a toast or cereal. Do you guys reckon that would make a difference? Xx1 -
The only thing that will make a difference, weight wise, is a calorie deficit. It doesn't matter WHAT you eat, just how many calories. If you like ryvita, go for it.
400 calories seems a lot for 40 mins on an exercise bike, unless you've got a high resistance and are pedalling like mad. However, you're also burning SOME calories, not none, so should be eating some back. Perhaps try eating 50% to start with.2 -
Hi!
Thanks for your replies
I've been using other apps for calorie counting, so sharing my diary won't be of much help, I mainly joined because of the forums. I'll definitely try and fill out my diary more on here as well.
I never eat back my calories, it's hard to tell what I really burn calorie wise. My stationary exercise bike says 400 calories for 40 minutes though I feel like that might be a bit too high.
I also tend to have a cheat day once a week on a Saturday (after I've had my weigh day), I won't be so strict on calorie counting and have a couple of slices of pizza, or have a nice dessert instead. Is once a week too often? Probably! I'll probably be more around the 1800-2000 calories on those days.
I'm thinking of having 1 boiled egg and maybe one ryvita for breakfast instead of a toast or cereal. Do you guys reckon that would make a difference? Xx
You need to log EVERYTHING even if you go over your calories for the day intentionally.
If you are like me and only aiming for a 250 calorie deficit a day - so a slow sustainable weight loss, that's only 1750 calories in a Week. You can easily eat that in a day if you aren't tracking without knowing it, therefore causing a plateau. I know. I've done it. So I track everything, even treat days.
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Hi!
Thanks for your replies
I've been using other apps for calorie counting, so sharing my diary won't be of much help, I mainly joined because of the forums. I'll definitely try and fill out my diary more on here as well.
I never eat back my calories, it's hard to tell what I really burn calorie wise. My stationary exercise bike says 400 calories for 40 minutes though I feel like that might be a bit too high.
I also tend to have a cheat day once a week on a Saturday (after I've had my weigh day), I won't be so strict on calorie counting and have a couple of slices of pizza, or have a nice dessert instead. Is once a week too often? Probably! I'll probably be more around the 1800-2000 calories on those days.
I'm thinking of having 1 boiled egg and maybe one ryvita for breakfast instead of a toast or cereal. Do you guys reckon that would make a difference? Xx
Zero for the exercise calorie estimate is for sure wrong.
If MFP set your calorie goal, and you set activity level based on pre-exercise activity as per directions, eat back at least some of the exercise calories.
If that breakfast is more filling for its calories, or gives you more perceived energy vs. your current breakfast, or helps you hit your protein/fat minimums more consistently, it's a better breakfast. Calorie balance overall determines weight loss, what we eat and when is for nutrition, feeling full, energy level, etc.
As far as the cheat days (or whatever term you prefer): Log them, even if you have to estimate (err on the high side when guessing ), and look at your average daily calories for the week. Then you'll have more realistic data to judge from.
It's fine that you don't log here . . . it's just that it closes off the community here from helping refine your logging. It's totally your call where to log. Make sure you're including bites, licks, tastes (BLT), condiments, sauces, oils in cooking or on foods, beverages that have calories, etc. Log pre-packaged foods by weight (not package estimate), don't use compound entries other people created ("Lasagna, 1 piece": Whose lasagna? What was in it?). Make your own entries based on the ingredients you use. Here, you can save those as a meal or recipe to reuse in future. Use a food scale like it was religion.
That level of detail may not be necessary for everyone, or forever, but that attention to detail for a couple of weeks can highlight what's really going on, especially in a case where someone feels like they should be losing faster.
Best wishes!0
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