I don’t know what I am doing wrong

brittany1992espinosa

So honestly, I don’t know what I am doing wrong. I’m gonna need as much guidance as possible. I have done a lot of diet tricks. I have kept up with what I eat. I eat a lot of vegetables I eat some protein I eat fruits I eat very less carbs and my weight keeps on fluctuating Some days I lose weight then I gain weight so can I please get some tips. On what I could possibly be doing wrong I drink a whole gallon of water a day and still nothing!

zebasschick

Only one thing can cause you to lose weight. That's eating less calories than you burn. Drinking more water, eating more vegetables, none of that will have an effect on your weight except in the short-term if it helps you lose water weight. That's because if you eat more calories than you burn, no matter what the source of those calories even if it's just juice, your body stores it as fat. It's an adaptation to help living creatures survive periods when there might not be food available.

Weight always fluctuates as some days your body holds more or less water for a variety of reasons, and some days you have more food that you have an eliminated in your system, and that has weight too even if it's only lettuce.

If you use MyFitnessPal as it's supposed to be used, you will weigh and log everything you eat, and you will soon have an idea of where your calories are coming from and where you can cut them easily, or what changes you can make. And that's how this app can help you lose weight. I've lost 100 lb using MyFitnessPal.

cmriverside

Here is the often shared poster / flow chart.

Pretty sure your answer is in it! :flowerforyou: If not, here are the "Most Helpful" threads from the Getting Started category: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest

Corina1143

Last summer you said you only weighed once a month. Are you still weighing once a month? Or did you recently start weighing more often? Weight loss isn't constant. It's up and down. You will weigh more after eating than before, more after exercising a little, but possibly less after exercising more.
If you choose to weigh often, find a good weight averaging app, set a time of day to weigh--the best may be in the morning immediately after going to the bathroom, before anything else. Write it down every day, then forget it. Instead read the average.

springlering62

I’m going to home in on the word “tricks”.

There are no fast solutions, no tricks, no magic pills, regardless of what social media, clickbait, even friends tell you.

I listened to a woman explain to a cardio classmate yesterday that she’d lost seven pounds simply by changing from white to brown rice, white bread to whole wheat. I had to bite my tongue and walk away. If that were the truth, brown rice sales would be through the roof.

Same with cabbage and celery diets, drinking apple cider vinegar, etc etc etc etc etc………

What did you do between last summer and now? I’m going to go out on a limb and say “reverted to same old same old”, and now you’re back again, frustrated it’s not working immediately, like the headlines promise.

Losing weight is a grind. You’ve got to be mindful, willing to make changes, willing to be in it for the long haul.

Someone asked me this morning “why are you at the gym every day?” Because I committed to those changes, was successful, and I ain’t going back. I’ve learnt new habits and plan to keep them in place til I die- literally.

Be patient. Commit. Read here as often as you can. If you had, you’d’ve learnt that the ups and downs are absolutely normal and to be expected.

When you learned to drive, did you insert key and go? No. You had to learn some rules, create habits like looking in the mirror before you back out or change lanes, learn how to fuel your car. Your body is no different. It’s a finely tuned machine, just like your car.

It’s your choice. Quit, start, quit, start, quit again and never reach a destination.

springlering62

PS: the “guidance you seek”?

It’s in the stickie threads at the top of every board. Read them and reap knowledge, or fritter your time away worrying why “it’s not working”.

You get out of the app what you invest in it.

How do I know? I lost 97 investing in it and have been in maintenance several years.

tomcustombuilder

There is no such thing as diet tricks. There is only taking and fewer calories than you burn on a weekly basis, over and over and over again.