Frustrated... my own fault?

retirehappy

Read this:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

Your tweaking too much as others have said. Also without weighing you have no idea what you are eating. Voice of experience speaking.

Keep it simple and good luck.

ereck44

Hi, first of all congrats on losing and keeping off 6 pounds!

OK, some tips that worked for me. Food scale----so important. My fav.food to snack on is raw almonds. I was measuring it using a measuring cup, but one day I noticed how many grams in one serving per food scale

---

what a difference! I was under-estimating by a lot!

Next exercise, try to work in a sweat and then at least a half hour exercise of whatever after you start sweating. Weight training is great. Before I broke my toe, I was doing weight training 3-4 x per week. I use a heart rate monitor and I will measure how many cals burned during weight training. I have hypothyroidism and my heart rate lingers around 42-45 beats peer minute--so I really have to push myself to get in fat burning zone.


Veggies will be your best friend. Hardly any cals, unless you cook it in butter, Use mfp food library, and Google some veggies, you will be surprised. A whole cup of mixed green lettuces is only 5 Cal's. Berries are the lowest Cal fruits

In 9 months, I have lost and kept off 30 pounds. Hope some of these tips work for you. It may take you a little longer due to Hashimoto's but keep plugging, don't get discouraged!

walleymama

How much data have you accumulated? If you have daily weight, caloric intake, and exercise calories you could check to see if your actual weight loss matches the weight loss predicted by deficit from TDEE. If those two numbers don't match up very well, it could mean either your TDEE estimate is off, or its the calories and exercise. If it's TDEE it won't be wildly off so if you have to tweak it to ridiculous values to match up predicted with actual then it is a pretty good indicator that your calories counts are off. Since it sounds like your exercise values may not be too far off its probably your calorie count. The food scale is a great idea.

And forget about forgoing your KitKats and other treats. If they fit into your daily goal, you go for it and don't feel guilty! Life is too short to snack only on salad, lol. Seriously though, you'll have time to tweak your diet when you reach your goal weight, in the meantime don't make it any harder than it needs to be!

amie709

Hey gang.

I started in July at 214lbs. I'm 5'5" and 30 years old.

At first I was eating 1900 cal because MFP told me my TDEE was around 2400 and I was aiming for 1lb loss a week.

That worked pretty well until about a month in when I stalled around 208. I decreased my calorie intake to 1700 and got a FitBit. The FitBit told me I was burning around 2200 cal/day, at which point I switched down to 1600 cal/day, thinking that I might also be underestimating my calorie intake (I have little patience to weigh food--I'd rather just eyeball, log everything ASAP, and keep my Goal Calorie number 100-200 cal below on average, know what I mean?)

I ride my bike to and from work about 4 days/week (20 min each way about 400 cal total), and I play tennis on the weekends (30 min, burning about 350 cal). I sometimes eat back my exercise calories, sometimes not. My "bad" days are usually Friday/Sat, when I go to happy hour with coworkers or out to dinner with my fiancé. These days I might go over 500 cal, but it usually "balances out" on average from the past 7 days.

The problem is, I've been hovering between 207 and 209 for like over a month and it's getting to me. My measurements are also going up and down. My "weigh in" day is Wednesday, but I weighed myself on Tuesday (207) and today (208.7).... so...wtf?? :explode:

I have Hashimoto's, but my levels are good. Work has been stressful, but has calmed down in the last week.

Is there something I'm doing wrong? Should I just "exercise patience"? Eat more? Eat less? Weigh everything? Or, lift weights?

Any advice appreciated, thanks!

Yes-and you already know what your doing wrong-you already said it!! My "bad" days are usually Friday/Sat, when I go to happy hour with coworkers or out to dinner with my fiancé. These days I might go over 500 cal, but it usually "balances out" on average from the past 7 days.(I have little patience to weigh food--I'd rather just eyeball, log everything ASAP, and keep my Goal Calorie number 100-200 cal below on average, know what I mean?

I_Will_End_You

I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but in regards to your Fitbit....their customer service is amazing. If you email them & say you lost your Fitbit, they're likely to send you a new one.

Jewlz280

Hi! First, ignore dude who said you need to do cardio every day. SO NOT TRUE. Cardio is great, but you do NOT need to do it every day. Next, follow what most PP's have said and stick to ONE calorie plan for at least a few weeks. Next, again, as PP's said, you need a food scale. When you eat pre-packaged food, it all tells the size. But if you are having to dig your own out (like, peanut butter) you can really do yourself harm eyeballing. Fats are SO calorie dense that when you think you aren't using much, you're using way too much! I usually put my bread on the scale, zero it out, then add pb. TADA! I know it can be a lot of work, but it can really change your life with food. But here's the catch, I only do it with fats. You can get away with it pretty easy on fruits and veg and with meat, it's fairly easy to eyeball. Fats are where you really have to watch it.

As for the 'type' of food, that's hogwash. I've not been on here long, but prior to joining I lost right at 45 to 50lbs. and I ate whatever in moderation. There really are NO bad foods. Some are more nutrient dense than others, but you have to make what you are going to eat sustainable. So, if you know you will continue to eat say, pizza even after you hit goal, no reason to ban it now. Same with everything else to include your time out with your friends. My only suggestion for that is to either scale back a few cals a day for a few days after to bring down your average or go in with a game plan like, "I'm going to have two beers and an app." And then be done. It helps if your first drink is water, then your drink with your food, then another water, then your last drink. No health benefits or anything, just sorta spreads it out. LOL

Anyways, good luck with it! Just don't get too frustrated and give up yet. It can take time to find that 'sweet spot'. I'm currently trying to find mine with this style. I promised I would give myself 1 or 2 mos. So far, I've not lost much but I'm trying to give it a bit of time.

thrillho3

Hi! First, ignore dude who said you need to do cardio every day. SO NOT TRUE. Cardio is great, but you do NOT need to do it every day. Next, follow what most PP's have said and stick to ONE calorie plan for at least a few weeks. Next, again, as PP's said, you need a food scale. When you eat pre-packaged food, it all tells the size. But if you are having to dig your own out (like, peanut butter) you can really do yourself harm eyeballing. Fats are SO calorie dense that when you think you aren't using much, you're using way too much! I usually put my bread on the scale, zero it out, then add pb. TADA! I know it can be a lot of work, but it can really change your life with food. But here's the catch, I only do it with fats. You can get away with it pretty easy on fruits and veg and with meat, it's fairly easy to eyeball. Fats are where you really have to watch it.

As for the 'type' of food, that's hogwash. I've not been on here long, but prior to joining I lost right at 45 to 50lbs. and I ate whatever in moderation. There really are NO bad foods. Some are more nutrient dense than others, but you have to make what you are going to eat sustainable. So, if you know you will continue to eat say, pizza even after you hit goal, no reason to ban it now. Same with everything else to include your time out with your friends. My only suggestion for that is to either scale back a few cals a day for a few days after to bring down your average or go in with a game plan like, "I'm going to have two beers and an app." And then be done. It helps if your first drink is water, then your drink with your food, then another water, then your last drink. No health benefits or anything, just sorta spreads it out. LOL

Anyways, good luck with it! Just don't get too frustrated and give up yet. It can take time to find that 'sweet spot'. I'm currently trying to find mine with this style. I promised I would give myself 1 or 2 mos. So far, I've not lost much but I'm trying to give it a bit of time.

Fabulous advice, thank you!

weightlossdiva1219

I agree with the food scale tip. As well as maybe not eating out every weekend? I would LOVE to go out every weekend with my boyfriend, but if we do it's not a food related date. Not as often at least. Good luck!