I don't understand why I am not losing.

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  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    edited May 2021
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    1 week may not be enough time... Please don't give up!

    Your focus is on real weight loss. But when you step on the scale, lots of little things impact the # it reports. Like are you wearing clothes? Shoes? How much food waste is in your body at the moment? How much water? That last bit, water, is ALWAYS changing and is easily affected by the things you do.

    To make your weighins mean something, you want to start with being consistent. Such as weighing at the same time of day, with the same clothing on each time (or none). Many will weigh in the morning after waking up, before eating/drinking anything and after using the bathroom.

    As others have said, fast food info for nutrition for some things will be less accurate than others. One employee may put more fries in the package than what is supposed to be there. Someone else may put the right amount. I am NOT saying to avoid fast food. But to be aware that logging it includes some estimation. If you're logging 2400 though, and your TDEE is 3600, more than likely you are at a deficit (even with some error) and will lose weight. But you may not see a scale drop every day or even every week. Why? Because of that water weight I mentioned before. But if you keep going, eventually the water weight will even out and the scale will 'catch up'.

    What can you do in the meantime? If you like fast food or it fits your life for whatever reasons (convenience, for example) then study up on the menus of your usual places. I can order something to fit my calories at most fast food places, and I have fewer calories to work with than you do. Knowledge is the important thing, so you don't walk in - already hungry - and just order whatever. I like the grilled chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A. The regular BLT from Jersey Mike's, but I have them make it without mayo and then I add light mayo of my own. Nuggets & a small fry from McD. Salad and some nuggets from Wendy's.

    Edited after reading more. :)

    If you feel like you're not getting enough to eat - try adding in some low cal vegetables. Good for overall nutrition, and adds bulk without a lot of calories. Cucumber slices, carrots, peppers, etc. But in general, give this time to work. And make an effort to move more. That does not mean you have to sign up for a marathon. If you normally spend the afternoon sitting at a desk, get up and stretch at least once an hour. Think about what distance you can walk comfortably - and do that a few times a day. In a week or two, walk a little further a few times a day. Repeat. The movement helps you to burn more calories, and is good for the body.

    It is possible, as others have mentioned, that your tdee is lower than the online calculators say for an average person. Adding little bits of movement during the day can help with that.
    Dwade0981 wrote: »
    First please do not judge or if you have nothing but negativity to say just move on. don't need to hear it. i am probably going to be called a liar but.

    Last week I got a scale and started using myfitnesspal. well nothing in my diet has changed and I eat the same foods, same amounts and all my cals from myfitnesspal is under what my tdee thingy should be. with little to no exercise and saying I need to maintain 3,610 cals to stay at my current weight. for the past week now I have been weighing food, been keeping track and marking everything I eat. my sodium intake is a little off the charts because of evrything being prepackaged/frozen meals produced etc.

    today alone i am -483 in my 2300 sodium daily intake. so im over by 483. but my cals are good i have like 1.2k ish left for the day and just ate dinner. had two premade hamburger patties around 3oz each both with sliced cheese 60 cals each, and some of those prepackaged curly fries of arby's 2.8oz at 189 cals, etc. no bread no condiments since i had the fries with the patties. ive gone over the past week on myfitness and noticed only twice i have gone way over my cal intake but thats it.

    my amounts of food have not changed at all, nothing has. so i don't get why im not losing weight if im constantly staying below my 3,610 cals per day to maintain my weight where its at. I am 519 to 520 lbs at 5'11" male aged 40.

    by going off this past week of documenting everything. everything has been the same nothing has changed just me weighing food, marking it down on apps. thats it. so by this site alone I should be losing weight but im not.

  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    The only reason I know what DE is is because it goes in my pool filter. I had no idea people consume it, so I’m going to learn something here. What does it do? I.e. why consume it, OP? It sounds kind of dangerous?
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
    edited May 2021
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    https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-is-diatomaceous-earth

    Food grade DE, I doesn’t sound like does anything.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
    edited May 2021
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    😃
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    edited May 2021
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    Dwade0981 wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    IF you're in a calorie deficit and your SODIUM is too high, then you're likely retaining water. Electrolyte imbalance definitely throws weight loss off. How much water do you drink? I consume over 4,000mgs a day of sodium, but I also drink a good amount of water to offset the water weight.

    i been drinking diatomaceous earth for the past week as well, 2 teaspoons per day mixed in water. I should be drinking lots and lots of water, but I haven't been drinking much of anything lately. once a day if that I will have a dr pepper 20 oz or 16.9oz, but before i started the DE i was drinking water all day long nonstop almost. around 9 to 12, 16.9floz bottles full. but idk, i barely been touching anything to drink lately since i started the De which is bad bc I been told I need to drink tons of water after taking it but idk, I just been kinda going dehydrated like im not really thirsty at all and have to force anything to drink down my throat bc I been going without. as of the past few days.

    OP, this may have something to do with your water retention. Since googling this, I have learned:
    - DE in soil promotes moisture retention
    - DE kills bugs by absorbing all their moisture, drying them out
    - DE is composed of silica, also the main component of desiccants

    I echo everyone else urging a long term view. One week isn't long enough to really determine much of anything, especially when you are changing a couple things at the same time (like adding DE). Whenever someone doesn't see the weight loss expected on the scale, water retention (which has many possible causes) is a likely explanation. If you are up for experimenting, drop the DE, keep everything else the same and see what happens.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,710 Member
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    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10832733/my-mfp-victory-story#latest

    Sorry if I’m interjecting or insulting -it’s unintentional- but sounds like you have a considerable amount to lose. You might read this guy’s story.

  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,710 Member
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    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

    Suggestions I found here were very effective for me.
  • LisaKinVA
    LisaKinVA Posts: 18 Member
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    I feel your pain ... I do. I am in a caloric deficit (have been for weeks), and am not losing any weight. The scale is *not* budging (a lot of this is my age and hormones, unfortunately ... so I just have to keep going, but it really, really stinks). When you say you "have" to eat pre-packaged food, I'd like to know why. Do you have a stove and oven? Or just a microwave? There are some simple substitutions you can make that will increase your veggie intake but are simple. I love red meat. I love burgers. But the buns don't love me. So, I create a salad for my burger. 2 cups of iceberg and other "sweet" lettuces, throw on some shredded carrots, diced onions, slice up some cherry tomatoes, add some cheese, throw the burger (cooked with a bit of salt and pepper) on top with avocado mayo (because it's a healthier mono-saturated fat) and mustard and a couple of pickle spears on the side -- now I've had my burger and a lot of greens on top. For your egg sandwiches, you can actually MAKE scrambled eggs on a sheet pan (you do have to cook up the crumbled sausage first -- I like to mix in some sauteed mushrooms, spinach, onions, and bell pepper). Then after it's baked (and set), cut into sandwich-sized portions. Change your bread to something like Dave's Killer bread or bagels -- and in the morning just toast the bread, add a slice of your eggs (or two, if it's thin), a slice or two of your favorite cheese -- and go! Make sure you have some fresh fruit, if you can. The egg sandwiches take a little bit of preparation one day a week, but then you will have food ready when you need it! (Another homemade sandwich would be pre-baking eggs in a muffin tin, and then using English Muffins, cheese and Canadian Bacon). You can store the eggs in the fridge and reheat, and put it on a toasted English muffin with cheese and heated Canadian bacon. Assuming there are no underlying issues, you should be able to lose weight. Lowering the sodium will be important, though. Don't worry about something you have once a week. You need any changes you make to be sustainable. Good for you taking the first step at looking at the foods you're eating and trying to create a reasonable caloric plan. There are a number of other easy substitutions you can make with food that either requires limited preparation or with things that are available ready to use.

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