Are you struggling to lose weight even though you track everything and eat low calories?
Replies
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alisdairsmommy wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »alisdairsmommy wrote: »dragon_girl26 wrote: »
😅🤣
I just had to laugh about the "dipwit" tablespoons, because you're so right on that. 😂😂😂
Yeah, it may be great for spices and some liquids, but just trying to measure out chunky peanut butter with those things is ridiculous. I'd put measuring cups in your dipwit category too. I can pack a ton of ice cream into a 1/2 cup if I'm dedicated enough.
Or "packed" vs "unpacked" brown sugar. Have I smushed it in the cup well enough to count as packed? (Actually, one of the first things I started doing when I was trying to reduce sugar was just always doing unpacked when baking. I don't notice a taste difference at all.)
When I measured produce in cups I was always stress about how tightly to pack them. Big relief when I switched to a food scale!
I don't buy brown sugar anymore - I use 1 C of white sugar plus 1 T (20 g) molasses. I buy molasses by the case so always have this around.
I have found that most American recipes for baked goods can have the sugar reduced by 1/3 with no harm to the recipe, and often an improvement.
And that was my next discovery!
It's nice to cut those calories and to feel more economical. 
I rarely use white sugar so usually just choose to buy brown. I use molasses exactly once a year for one type of Christmas cookie. I'm curious what you use it for if you don't mind sharing!
Like kshama, I appreciate blackstrap molasses (carefully selected brand) for not only the iron, but also a useful amount of potassium and other micros, plus the great taste. I put about a tablespoon of it in my oatmeal every day, for the nutrition and that pleasant, rich slightly-sweet flavor. Some brands, as she says, are bitter, or have an unpleasant sort of acrid/burnt taste. That one she's getting from Walmart is a great price!
I kind of chortle at the "must avoid added sugar" threads, because I'm *adding* this sugar to *improve* my nutrition (some days, it's the only added sugar I eat).
Unlike kshama, I do keep both white sugar and dark brown sugar in the pantry. I rarely use the white sugar, but I swear, in a tight jar it will keep for centuries. Usually I prefer dark brown in a lot of baked goods, for the slightly richer flavor. I also cut sugar but 1/3 even up to 1/2 in recipes, where it's not a structural ingredient, and find I usually prefer the resulting product over the hyper-sweet version. (I'd swear recipes, on average, have gotten sweeter and sweeter over the years, but maybe it's just that my mom had a light hand with sweeteners, too. 😆)
Many of my baking recipes come from my grandmothers (and from one of my husband's grandmothers). They all had raging sweet tooths (sweet teeth?) and I have to dial it back. So it might just be the light touch! On the other hand, another relative went way too far and just...doesn't put *any* sweetener in at all, and the results are inedible.
I wonder if there's also the change in taste buds as we age. Children I guess have a much higher tolerance for sweet flavors, and I know I don't like sweet things as much as I used to when I was younger. If I make a layer cake, I'd rather choose one with less icing. But I've also been consciously working on my eating habits, so my tastes could also have changed as a result of that. There's a lot of things I can't believe I used to eat and like.1 -
Over 60, short and the margin of error was always small but now it's razor thin. I work out daily, weigh everything and eat healthfully, and still loss is just slow for my body. Always was, but now it's just slowed down. The good news is that over 60 also means I'm more self-forgiving, and also more patient. It's definitely CICO, but it's also activity level, age and healthful habits for the long haul.5
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alisdairsmommy wrote: »alisdairsmommy wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »alisdairsmommy wrote: »dragon_girl26 wrote: »
😅🤣
I just had to laugh about the "dipwit" tablespoons, because you're so right on that. 😂😂😂
Yeah, it may be great for spices and some liquids, but just trying to measure out chunky peanut butter with those things is ridiculous. I'd put measuring cups in your dipwit category too. I can pack a ton of ice cream into a 1/2 cup if I'm dedicated enough.
Or "packed" vs "unpacked" brown sugar. Have I smushed it in the cup well enough to count as packed? (Actually, one of the first things I started doing when I was trying to reduce sugar was just always doing unpacked when baking. I don't notice a taste difference at all.)
When I measured produce in cups I was always stress about how tightly to pack them. Big relief when I switched to a food scale!
I don't buy brown sugar anymore - I use 1 C of white sugar plus 1 T (20 g) molasses. I buy molasses by the case so always have this around.
I have found that most American recipes for baked goods can have the sugar reduced by 1/3 with no harm to the recipe, and often an improvement.
And that was my next discovery! It's nice to cut those calories and to feel more economical.
I rarely use white sugar so usually just choose to buy brown. I use molasses exactly once a year for one type of Christmas cookie. I'm curious what you use it for if you don't mind sharing!
Like kshama, I appreciate blackstrap molasses (carefully selected brand) for not only the iron, but also a useful amount of potassium and other micros, plus the great taste. I put about a tablespoon of it in my oatmeal every day, for the nutrition and that pleasant, rich slightly-sweet flavor. Some brands, as she says, are bitter, or have an unpleasant sort of acrid/burnt taste. That one she's getting from Walmart is a great price!
I kind of chortle at the "must avoid added sugar" threads, because I'm *adding* this sugar to *improve* my nutrition (some days, it's the only added sugar I eat).
Unlike kshama, I do keep both white sugar and dark brown sugar in the pantry. I rarely use the white sugar, but I swear, in a tight jar it will keep for centuries. Usually I prefer dark brown in a lot of baked goods, for the slightly richer flavor. I also cut sugar but 1/3 even up to 1/2 in recipes, where it's not a structural ingredient, and find I usually prefer the resulting product over the hyper-sweet version. (I'd swear recipes, on average, have gotten sweeter and sweeter over the years, but maybe it's just that my mom had a light hand with sweeteners, too. 😆)
Many of my baking recipes come from my grandmothers (and from one of my husband's grandmothers). They all had raging sweet tooths (sweet teeth?) and I have to dial it back. So it might just be the light touch! On the other hand, another relative went way too far and just...doesn't put *any* sweetener in at all, and the results are inedible.
I wonder if there's also the change in taste buds as we age. Children I guess have a much higher tolerance for sweet flavors, and I know I don't like sweet things as much as I used to when I was younger. If I make a layer cake, I'd rather choose one with less icing. But I've also been consciously working on my eating habits, so my tastes could also have changed as a result of that. There's a lot of things I can't believe I used to eat and like.
My cousins once served me baking chocolate, which has no sugar, for a dessert 5 -
I'm just getting the hang of weighing-- I have a scale at my desk and one at home.
My only aversion is that I hate trying to find things on MyFitnessPal that are measured by weight. I find myself doing a lot of scrolling just to find that one.
A lot of times, I just weigh out whatever the serving is. So if it says two tablespoons=30ml... I pour 30ml and log it as two tablespoons. Or if I only want 15ml, I weigh it out and log it as 1 Tbsp. So if anyone looks at my diary, it's full of "cups, tablespoons, servings" but I do weigh most everything.4 -
I'm just getting the hang of weighing-- I have a scale at my desk and one at home.
My only aversion is that I hate trying to find things on MyFitnessPal that are measured by weight. I find myself doing a lot of scrolling just to find that one.
A lot of times, I just weigh out whatever the serving is. So if it says two tablespoons=30ml... I pour 30ml and log it as two tablespoons. Or if I only want 15ml, I weigh it out and log it as 1 Tbsp. So if anyone looks at my diary, it's full of "cups, tablespoons, servings" but I do weigh most everything.
When you’re looking for things which are measured, try a search criteria like “gala apple 100g” - as the database is populated by users there are multiple entries. So using 100g in your search terms often brings up more useable entries!1 -
FitAgainBy55 wrote: »I consider myself a very good cook. I don't follow recipes because I think part of the enjoyment of cooking for me is the creativity. I HATE following recipes and so trying to weigh everything when I cook would completely take the enjoyment out of it for me. I'm a man, so I hate following directions
s more important than being absolutely perfect with measurements.
I consider myself to be a barely cooking cook. That's because I almost never follow any directions. Heck I open up the fridge and the pantry without a plan and then start cooking depending on what grabs my eye. And halfway through change what I am making depending on the ingredients I've used and how they seem to be cooking together. Seriously. Literally totally change it. Has happened more than once.
Scale, pen, paper, tare, dishes.... jot jot jot. No issues keeping track!
Sometimes I get confused and forget what it was that I was jotting based on the weird kitten abbreviations I used... or forget to log total finished weight and have to make a guess as to how much I end up eating as a guessed broad percentage of what went in.... all that falls under my more recent "loose logging" at maintenance set up!
When I was starting out on MFP, and still in the obese range, I was a bit more "compulsive" with weighing my food and I had a self made rule of not eating any food until it was fully logged in my MFP diary. I also used to test log alternatives to get an idea of where I might end up for the day.... I am not doing any of this at maintenance, or even when trying to create deficits these days... it's more along the lines of keeping track of what was consumed and keeping myself aware.... relatively accurately
>
I can't imagine being invited over for dinner, lol. Me: "What are we having?" You: "I'll let you know when we sit down." 5 -
girlwithcurls2 wrote: »I can't imagine being invited over for dinner, lol. Me: "What are we having?" You: "I'll let you know when we sit down."
Dad asks the day before... what are we having tomorrow and what time... 🤣😂😂🤣 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️2 -
Someone seems not to have actually read the thread.5
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dragon_girl26 wrote: »scarlett_k wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »scarlett_k wrote: »A tablespoon is only 15 grams if you're weighing water. It's always 15ml but different items have different densities.
A Tbsp serving of peanut butter is 15 grams...says so right on my label.
Your label is wrong. Or your peanut butter is waterscarlett_k wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »scarlett_k wrote: »A tablespoon is only 15 grams if you're weighing water. It's always 15ml but different items have different densities.
A Tbsp serving of peanut butter is 15 grams...says so right on my label.
Your label is wrong. Or your peanut butter is water
My peanut butter shows 32 grams for a 2 Tbs serving so 15g for 1 would be in the right ballpark.
Yeah, I have several jars of different brands of pb in my cabinet and every one of them say 32g for 2 tbsp as well. I doubt every peanut butter jar is mysteriously wrong.
But that assumes that a) the spoon is a standard size and b) you don't pile on the peanut butter but only go to the edge and not over.
Here in the US, home of the dipwit "tablespoon" type measure, there are standard measuring tablespoons that all have the same volume capacity, and "one tablespoon" would be understood to refer to those special spoons.
Anyone who cooks recipes using the dipwit tablespoons method understands that "one tablespoon" means a level tablespoon, unless it explicitly says otherwise. Specifically, it means one is intended to pack the spoon full, and scrape over the top of it with something flat like a knife, to remove the excess. "Measuring tablespoons" are normally designed in a way to facilitate this scraping process. This is the dumb way we usually standardize recipes here, without using a scale. 🤷♀️
None of this makes tablespoons less dipwit as a measuring scheme. But here, to anyone accustomed to the measure, your (a) and (b) would be implied and assumed when "one tablespoon" is referenced, such as on a peanut butter jar. 😉😆
Just had to post this to add to the tablespoon/nut butter conversation. 😂
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Saw this the other day at Target and thought of this conversation:
53g can be 1/3 of a cup or 1/2 of a cup. You choose.
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verdenlola wrote: »Hey guys, I read your posts and I'm really sorry to hear all that. I know how hard it is when it comes to losing weight, it's really a pain in the a**, especially when you need to make it sustainable. I'm proud of you all, keep fighting! If you need any help I have a few tips and tricks to keep that weight off. Feel free to add me, message me and let me know if I can help in any way!
If you have any tips and tricks you could start a thread about them so everyone could consider your suggestions.
No need to wait for people to message or friend you - put them out there in public arena.
Unless..... 10 -
littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »I'm in the UK and have always been baffled by the cup measures referred to in U.S. recipes.
How big a cup? A level cup? What does it mean?! I guess it's just what you're used to.
As a child when I was baking with my mother I was taught to use a food scale, because that's how you make a good cake.
So I knew early on just how important it was to weigh one's food 😆
there are measuring cups in the UK also.2 -
@paperpudding you got me there, I'm new and to be honest this is my first forum, it took me few days to understand how this works. I'm kind of shy by nature.
In my experience low calorie doesn't necessarly mean sustainable weight loss. I kind of scheduled my diet (3 days a week green, 2 days white meat, 1 day fish and 1 day red meat). If you can try swimming maybe 2 times a week for half an hour it keeps your full body active and let's be honest it's much easier in the water.
If you're feeling bloated try fennel tea with a little honey, works wonders!3 -
verdenlola wrote: »@paperpudding you got me there, I'm new and to be honest this is my first forum, it took me few days to understand how this works. I'm kind of shy by nature.
In my experience low calorie doesn't necessarly mean sustainable weight loss. I kind of scheduled my diet (3 days a week green, 2 days white meat, 1 day fish and 1 day red meat). If you can try swimming maybe 2 times a week for half an hour it keeps your full body active and let's be honest it's much easier in the water.
If you're feeling bloated try fennel tea with a little honey, works wonders!
I dont think many of us would argue that low calorie means sustainable weight loss - on the contrary, the frequent message here is eat appropriate number of calories, not too low, and aim for steady sustainable weight loss.
the other things are your personal preferences - so, sure, if eating white meat, red meat, fish on different days, 3 days green (not sure what you mean by that - only green foods??) and swimming works for you, that's great.
It probably won't be relevant to most people's plan though
and not quite sure how fennel tea came into this -but sure, if it helps with bloating, that's good.
9 -
Australian cucumbers can always be substituted for fennel tea Ms Pudding!!!
But seriously for anyone and everyone: if you apply the appropriate reasonably chosen caloric balance impetus over asufficient length of time you will get to wherever it is you're trying to get to. Fennel and cucumbers are optional❣️7 -
cucumber tea - what a thought
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paperpudding wrote: »cucumber tea - what a thought
You've heard of cucumber soup, on a warm summer night, right? <bats eyelids>
<back story: ms pudding is not exactly a fan of cucumbers, and someone knows this!!!>🤣🤣🤣2 -
paperpudding wrote: »cucumber tea - what a thoughtpaperpudding wrote: »cucumber tea - what a thought
You've heard of cucumber soup, on a warm summer night, right? <bats eyelids>
<back story: ms pudding is not exactly a fan of cucumbers, and someone knows this!!!>🤣🤣🤣
With apologies to OP for continuing this digression, it can get even weirder than that:
It was good, really good, I thought. More likely to *cause* bloating than cure it (somewhat carbonated, yes?), so I guess one would need the cucumber or fennel tea, too.1 -
paperpudding wrote: »cucumber tea - what a thoughtpaperpudding wrote: »cucumber tea - what a thought
You've heard of cucumber soup, on a warm summer night, right? <bats eyelids>
<back story: ms pudding is not exactly a fan of cucumbers, and someone knows this!!!>🤣🤣🤣
With apologies to OP for continuing this digression, it can get even weirder than that:
It was good, really good, I thought. More likely to *cause* bloating than cure it (somewhat carbonated, yes?), so I guess one would need the cucumber or fennel tea, too.
Wow this needs to be on the international food thread! What a weird drink.🤣1 -
Mind boggles. 1
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Just think, those cucumber tea bags would work wonders for refreshing your eyes. A 2 for 1 deal.
Cheers, h.2 -
Why has this thread derailed to cucumber? Anyone feel like discussing liquorice instead?0
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Mmm are we talking liquorice root or black liquorice?
The former I haven’t had in decades but used to enjoy, the latter I’ve never really liked unless it was a carrier for kalie. (There’s something for the ‘foreign food’ thread.)
Cheers, h.3 -
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Mmmmm.. sodium!
But I do have to admit that it was a very sad day, at the time, and liberating, in retrospect, when I first weighed my peanut butter.
It almost matches the day I realized that even though for most intent and purposes 1ml of water is 1g (which is what the scales that purport to measure ml actually measure) most ice cream (and whipped cream) weighs half or less due to fat and air content. So that "125ml" of carefully weighed ice cream was closer to double the calories i thought!
3 -
middlehaitch wrote: »Mmm are we talking liquorice root or black liquorice?
The former I haven’t had in decades but used to enjoy, the latter I’ve never really liked unless it was a carrier for kalie. (There’s something for the ‘foreign food’ thread.)
Cheers, h.
Both! I always have both in the house. They're just a must for me Though I recently got addicted to pickled cucumber. 1 -
paperpudding wrote: »verdenlola wrote: »@paperpudding you got me there, I'm new and to be honest this is my first forum, it took me few days to understand how this works. I'm kind of shy by nature.
In my experience low calorie doesn't necessarly mean sustainable weight loss. I kind of scheduled my diet (3 days a week green, 2 days white meat, 1 day fish and 1 day red meat). If you can try swimming maybe 2 times a week for half an hour it keeps your full body active and let's be honest it's much easier in the water.
If you're feeling bloated try fennel tea with a little honey, works wonders!
I dont think many of us would argue that low calorie means sustainable weight loss - on the contrary, the frequent message here is eat appropriate number of calories, not too low, and aim for steady sustainable weight loss.
the other things are your personal preferences - so, sure, if eating white meat, red meat, fish on different days, 3 days green (not sure what you mean by that - only green foods??) and swimming works for you, that's great.
It probably won't be relevant to most people's plan though
and not quite sure how fennel tea came into this -but sure, if it helps with bloating, that's good.
Green foods as vegetables, but I try to keep it as colourfull as possible. Most of my groceries I get from my garden and planting and taking care of it really payed off, flavour is uncomparably better.
One of the biggest problems I had was being bloated mostly because of the weight and partially hormones, I believe that there's a number of people here with the same problem, that's why fennel tea.1 -
verdenlola wrote: »One of the biggest problems I had was being bloated mostly because of the weight and partially hormones, I believe that there's a number of people here with the same problem, that's why fennel tea.
In this thread? Why do you assume that?2 -
verdenlola wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »verdenlola wrote: »@paperpudding you got me there, I'm new and to be honest this is my first forum, it took me few days to understand how this works. I'm kind of shy by nature.
In my experience low calorie doesn't necessarly mean sustainable weight loss. I kind of scheduled my diet (3 days a week green, 2 days white meat, 1 day fish and 1 day red meat). If you can try swimming maybe 2 times a week for half an hour it keeps your full body active and let's be honest it's much easier in the water.
If you're feeling bloated try fennel tea with a little honey, works wonders!
I dont think many of us would argue that low calorie means sustainable weight loss - on the contrary, the frequent message here is eat appropriate number of calories, not too low, and aim for steady sustainable weight loss.
the other things are your personal preferences - so, sure, if eating white meat, red meat, fish on different days, 3 days green (not sure what you mean by that - only green foods??) and swimming works for you, that's great.
It probably won't be relevant to most people's plan though
and not quite sure how fennel tea came into this -but sure, if it helps with bloating, that's good.
Green foods as vegetables, but I try to keep it as colourfull as possible. Most of my groceries I get from my garden and planting and taking care of it really payed off, flavour is uncomparably better.
One of the biggest problems I had was being bloated mostly because of the weight and partially hormones, I believe that there's a number of people here with the same problem, that's why fennel tea.
May I ask specifically which form of "bloated" you think fennel tea is good for? People here - frustratingly to me - use "bloated" as a synonym for water retention, constipation, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting in the moment. It helps to be specific.
(I know that some people avoid mentioning things like "constipation". I think a level of clarity is helpful, and ideally would outweigh that impulse, on a health & diet site like this one.)2
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