3 months, ZERO PROGRESS

aimeejolene

Sorry that it's frustrating at the moment! Plateaus do happen, though three months does seem long. Any change since you got so much interesting advice?

I am going to take a bit of advice from everywhere and keep trying. I'm not ready to give up, I'm just disappointed. Work, work, work.

FlaxMilk

I agree with this. I try to go with things that are already measured or are easy to measure (a measuring cup is my friend), but maybe I am missing something. I am ok with going back to measuring. I just don't want this to consume my life.

Totally understood. What helps me avoid this is pre-logging. I figure out what I'm going to eat for the next day while I'm relaxing and watching tv at night. That way, I don't have to think about it at all other than to measure out the portions if I didn't pack it the night before. When I don't pre-log, I overeat or spend too much time playing mental math. (Does your husband follow recipes when he cooks?)

aimeejolene

Thanks, Flax. (I keep reading your name as Flex, hah.) I appreciate all the time you've put in to help here.

I will return to measuring. I can't do anything if my chest strap is lying to me about what I am burning - that is my only way I currently have of knowing if I am burning anything at all or not. I am trying to do things to get my heart rate up and keep it there for periods of time. All I can do is go by what it tells me.

Oh, and the ravioli is a steamer by Lean Cuisine. Not the best choice ever, but it was quick and easy for lunch at work and pretty darn good. Higher in sodium than I would like, but it is what it is.

No problem at all! I know the measuring/logging can be a PITA, so I hope it helps. (The Lean Cuisine answer makes sense.) Don't worry about defending your food choices--you really can eat anything you want as long as it falls within your calorie needs to lose weight. To start, try just focusing on calories and see how you do for a couple of weeks. Once you know if everything is ok with that variable, you can begin focusing on the other things if you like (for good nutrition-protein, healthy fats, fruits and veggies, etc.) Everyone's priorities are slightly different, too. My main priorities are calories, protein, satiety, and healthy fats. Everything else falls where it falls. I am always trying to increase my veggie intake, but this is a perpetual goal. You'll figure out how to approach this in a way that works for you as you go.

Everyone has a different opinion on what "eating clean" means and I am taking that part with a grain of salt, since I did give it a try and it didn't work out. Your advice is definitely what's staying with me in this thread.

linsdog

All I can add is to comment that measuring/eyeballing is a world of difference from weighing with an accurate scale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY&feature=youtu.be

That and log everything (cheat meals included). You can see my diary if you like and see that I do the same most weekends and have been successful so far.

krschultzauthor

Eat back your exercise calories???? say what????
1200 cal is the minimum intake to avoid starvation mode regardless of how many calories you burn. If you eat back all your exercise calories you will not lose weight. Net calories are the caloric intake minus execise calories I operate at an average calorie intake of 1500-1600 per day minus about 800-900 cal that i burn curing cardio and weight training each day therefore my net calories are 600 and 700 per day I am losing around 2-3 lb per week because of this deficit.(My BMR is 1880 cal). I have lost 30 lb since the beginning of September.
That would never happen if I ate back by exercise calories... you are giving bad advice... please stop.

aimeejolene

I agree with this. I try to go with things that are already measured or are easy to measure (a measuring cup is my friend), but maybe I am missing something. I am ok with going back to measuring. I just don't want this to consume my life.

Totally understood. What helps me avoid this is pre-logging. I figure out what I'm going to eat for the next day while I'm relaxing and watching tv at night. That way, I don't have to think about it at all other than to measure out the portions if I didn't pack it the night before. When I don't pre-log, I overeat or spend too much time playing mental math. (Does your husband follow recipes when he cooks?)

He does. I try to find something we can both eat for us to cook, but occasionally we eat seperate. I try not to eat at all after dinner because I found that is when I want the bad stuff! Typically, I buy all my food for the week at one time and prep it on Sunday morning so all I have to do is grab it and go.

Mongognom

I would do a week of weighing everything, including your proteins.

Debbie_Ferr

I am going to take a bit of advice from everywhere and keep trying. I'm not ready to give up, I'm just disappointed. Work, work, work.

You rock !! Keep up the good habits & it WILL pay off. :drinker:

JaxDemon

Overestimating cals burned and eating crap such as special k.

Clean your food up and ditch 80% of the processed crap until your cheat meal.

Go for a 1 hour walk every day upon waking fasted if possible, Go lift some weights 3 times a week in a gym or at home or anywhere. If it can be lifted then lift it. Get more active is my point.

Eating clean is not expensive. A good butchers will sell you 10kg Chicken breast with a good discount on, Eggs as well can be cheap if you source them correctly.
broccoli here in the UK is like £1 a bag frozen I chuck around 200g frozen in 2-3 meals a day, Cooked it weighs around 150g and is only 47 cals. 150g broccoli is a lot but look how cheap it is, slap it with chicken breast simple meal add 10z almond nuts for some good fats with your meal.

Protein:

Tuna or most any fish.
Cottage cheese.
Eggs (especially the whites).
Chicken breast (boneless skinless).
Turkey breast (boneless skinless).
Lean beef.
Low fat or no fat cheese.
Low fat pork.
Milk protein isolate.
Whey protein.
Soy protein.
Essentially most any other source of protein so long as it is low in saturated fat and carbohydrates.



Good Carbohydrates:

Sweet potatoes.
Oat meal, oat bran, oat bran cereal (i.e. cheerios).
Bran cereal.
Brown rice.
Wheat bread (try to limit to 2 slices per day).
Beans.
Low fat popcorn (low fat butter spray makes this a delicacy).
Fruits (limit to 2-3 servings per day).
Malto dextrin (during workout).
Dextrose (during workout)
Vegetables.
Stay away from refined grains and anything that says “enriched” or “high fructose corn syrup” on the label!


Healthy Fat:

Omega 3 capsules (i.e. fish oil capsules).
Flax seed oil.
Primrose oil.
Borage oil.
Olive oil.
Nuts (limit to 1 serving per day), peanut butter (as long as it does not contain hydrogenated oils).
Egg yolks.
Fish (salmon especially).
All other fat should come as a by-product of your carbohydrate and protein intake.

JaxDemon

Eat back your exercise calories???? say what????
1200 cal is the minimum intake to avoid starvation mode regardless of how many calories you burn. If you eat back all your exercise calories you will not lose weight. Net calories are the caloric intake minus execise calories I operate at an average calorie intake of 1500-1600 per day minus about 800-900 cal that i burn curing cardio and weight training each day therefore my net calories are 600 and 700 per day I am losing around 2-3 lb per week because of this deficit.(My BMR is 1880 cal). I have lost 30 lb since the beginning of September.
That would never happen if I ate back by exercise calories... you are giving bad advice... please stop.

Starvation mode hahaha.

Your body can live on 700 cals for weeks before it will even go there.

carol5047

Thanks, Flax. (I keep reading your name as Flex, hah.) I appreciate all the time you've put in to help here.

I will return to measuring. I can't do anything if my chest strap is lying to me about what I am burning - that is my only way I currently have of knowing if I am burning anything at all or not. I am trying to do things to get my heart rate up and keep it there for periods of time. All I can do is go by what it tells me.

Oh, and the ravioli is a steamer by Lean Cuisine. Not the best choice ever, but it was quick and easy for lunch at work and pretty darn good. Higher in sodium than I would like, but it is what it is.

I know when I eat above my sodium allowance but within my calories, I tend to gain weight the next day. Try to watch your sodium.

ereck44

I agree with this. I try to go with things that are already measured or are easy to measure (a measuring cup is my friend), but maybe I am missing something. I am ok with going back to measuring. I just don't want this to consume my life.

Totally understood. What helps me avoid this is pre-logging. I figure out what I'm going to eat for the next day while I'm relaxing and watching tv at night. That way, I don't have to think about it at all other than to measure out the portions if I didn't pack it the night before. When I don't pre-log, I overeat or spend too much time playing mental math. (Does your husband follow recipes when he cooks?)

He does. I try to find something we can both eat for us to cook, but occasionally we eat seperate. I try not to eat at all after dinner because I found that is when I want the bad stuff! Typically, I buy all my food for the week at one time and prep it on Sunday morning so all I have to do is grab it and go.

I feel your pain there. My husband and I eat totally different foods, and the refrigerator gets tight with lack of space!

FlaxMilk

Everyone has a different opinion on what "eating clean" means and I am taking that part with a grain of salt, since I did give it a try and it didn't work out. Your advice is definitely what's staying with me in this thread.

Thank you. Your post about being disappointed but not giving up says to me that you've got the right attitude and that you'll get this. If you have any questions as you go, the Eat, Train, Progress group is a great one for asking questions. The users who run the group are knowledgeable and helpful and there is less back and forth than you get in the main discussion forums. I've never regretted asking a question in that group.

asapmust

I agree that it is quite expensive to eat healthy/clean but look at it as an investment in yourself. I changed my life right after Christmas almost 2 years ago and yes it was very expensive BUT preparing good food and stocking the house with fruits and veggies didn't hurt anybody in my house. I barely see any veggies in the food diary you cut and pasted except for the lettuce and tomato on your burger and the spinach in your lunch - and no fruit at all. I am down 100 pounds since I started and reached maintenance 3 months ago and I pretty much have stuck to what works for me. I pack hubby and I salads every day for lunch - he's jumped on this journey with me. If the fresh fruit and veggies are too expensive, buy frozen - obviously not the ones with added sugar or butter or cheese sauce. They seem to be constantly on sale around here lately.

Thruen

Scoobys calorie calculator asks for activity level right? Then it says pretty accurately how much on average you should be eating. On days you do a good workout you could eat some of the calories back.

aimeejolene

Overestimating cals burned and eating crap such as special k.

Clean your food up and ditch 80% of the processed crap until your cheat meal.

Go for a 1 hour walk every day upon waking fasted if possible, Go lift some weights 3 times a week in a gym or at home or anywhere. If it can be lifted then lift it. Get more active is my point.

Eating clean is not expensive. A good butchers will sell you 10kg Chicken breast with a good discount on, Eggs as well can be cheap if you source them correctly.
broccoli here in the UK is like £1 a bag frozen I chuck around 200g frozen in 2-3 meals a day, Cooked it weighs around 150g and is only 47 cals. 150g broccoli is a lot but look how cheap it is, slap it with chicken breast simple meal add 10z almond nuts for some good fats with your meal.

All other fat should come as a by-product of your carbohydrate and protein intake.

I agree with most of this. I really don't want to be eating the exact same meal every single day, and I live in the desert - everything I get will have to be frozen or cost an arm and a leg.

aimeejolene

Scoobys calorie calculator asks for activity level right? Then it says pretty accurately how much on average you should be eating. On days you do a good workout you could eat some of the calories back.

Scooby is kind of cool. It says I should be eating over 1600 calories a day, which is interesting. I put in gain muscle, lose fat as my choice - with just lose fat, it says I should be at 1400. Pretty darn close in either direction to where I have been, but the breakdown is fascinating.

dsjohndrow

So what exactly are you doing different then you were three months ago?

In my view you are just eating too much. I am 55, 199, 6' 1" and for the last year I have been at 1350 calories. A year! I run 35-50 miles a week and eat back some of my exercise calories. It's slow going, but everything is in the normal range.

aimeejolene

So what exactly are you doing different then you were three months ago?

I my view you are just eating to much. I am 55, 199, 6' 1" and for the lat year I have been at 1350 calories. A year! I run 35-50 miles a week and eat back some of my exercise calories. It's slow going, but everything is in the normal range.

Well for one, I am not eating out three times a week. Thanks.

Mr_Knight

Well, there are only two possibilities.

1. There is something crazy-wrong with your body, medically, in which case you need to go see a doctor, pronto.
2. You are eating more than you think you are.

There are no other options.

Good luck!