Open Food Diary, Please Help!

kcb0308

I have struggled with weight issues for the last 10 years, and I've tried countless "fad diets" and never seem to get anywhere. My personality is typically all or nothing, so moderation is difficult for me to grasp. I have been working out, mixed cardio and strength training, and eating better for about 2 months. I have only been back on MFP for a few weeks. In the first month I lost 15lbs, but since I've been tracking my food and measuring everything down to the gram, I haven't seen any change on the scale, clothing fit, or body measurements. Would you all please take a look at my food diary and offer some encouragement or suggestions. I am trying to stay motivated, but it is hard with seeing no change in a month's time.

I am 26 years old, height is 5'8, and weight is 230lbs. My body fat % according to my digital scale is 32.9%.

Oh yeah, and before I committed to changing my lifestyle, I ate incredibly sporadic. Only thing consistent was that I'd drink 7-10 sodas a day, I know terrible. I'd often skip meals and then splurge with an insanely large dinner.

Please help!!!

kcb0308

bump

3laine75

I'd suggest upping your protein goal. I only looked at one day and 122g seems good (but way over you r goal so you might not get as much other days?)

You can change the % in 'goals' 'change goals' 'custom'.

I have mine at 40% but you can fiddle with it to see what works for you - you especially need the extra protein if you're strength training (for recovery). Make sure you're getting enough fat too.

Just stick with it, sometimes our bodies are just f@cking with us

GNeiswender

At first glance it looks like you aren't eating enough. I know it seems strange - but your body is like a car - it needs fuel . . . so when you are working out you need more fuel than you might think.

I like this website: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ you can enter your information into the website and it tells you how many calories to eat (which I found to work better than the MFP calories). Actually, I think I was just not using MFP exactly correctly because I think you need to eat most of your exercise calories for it to work for you (or at least for me). When I use this other website for my calorie number it seems to work well for me.

Good Luck!

Oh, and I forgot to look when I was looking at your dairy . . . if you increase your protein it helps build muscle which burns fat more efficiently.

psuLemon

For an active male, you don't seem to be eating a lot of calories. I am 31 years old, desk job, 185lb and exercise 6 hours a week and I lose weight at 2400-2600 calories. Also, depending when you started your exercise, you may be holding onto some water retention.

I suspect you are weighing your food with a food scale based on your comments. If not, make sure you get one. Accuracy is key to success. Also, don't worry about meal timing as it doesn't affect weight loss. Now, it may affect workout performance but that is individualized. Many people can work out fasted (first thing in the morning or doing programs like interim fasting) but I can not.

I would recommend fueling your body. Since you have a bit more body fat, try starting around 2100 calories and up your protein . Additionally, make sure you log every day for a month. After that you can evaluate your situation. But without a log that is complete, it's hard to say what you are really eating.

kcb0308

Thank you all... I am using a scale to weight all food. I am averaging about 1500 cal per day, I just don't know how I can get another 500 cals in per day eating the same types of foods I am eating now. I have cut out most of the old foods I used to eat that were super high in calories. Plus, I am not really hungry as is. The more I read about calories in versus calories out the more I believe it is based in science and math, but then why is the weight not going away. There has got to be something that I am missing??

psuLemon

Thank you all... I am using a scale to weight all food. I am averaging about 1500 cal per day, I just don't know how I can get another 500 cals in per day eating the same types of foods I am eating now. I have cut out most of the old foods I used to eat that were super high in calories. Plus, I am not really hungry as is. The more I read about calories in versus calories out the more I believe it is based in science and math, but then why is the weight not going away. There has got to be something that I am missing??

Water retention can mask weight loss. But then again, when I looked at your diary, there were several days that were incomplete. One day of over eating can wipe out your entire deficit. Like I mentioned, log for an entire month and be thorough. If you do that, I bet you will lose weight.

If you want to learn how to up your calories, look at my diary. Essentially, you want to add calorie dense foods and don't use low cal or low fat substitutes. Add cheese to items, nuts, avocado, protein bars, protein shakes, going to town on a peanut butter jar (just weigh it, lol). Or finish each night with ice cream. Ideally, your main objective should be getting around 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass (about 80% of your weight in grams of protein) and around .35g of fat. The rest can be carbs. Keep in mind, that food is energy. That's its only purpose. So eaten "dirty" is beneficial if you meeting your caloric goals. I would suggest setting your calories higher (you would be surprised it might reduce some water weight) and macro's around 40% carbs, 30% protein and fats.

If you have more questions, feel free to friend me or post.

monbot

To maintain a bit of "healthy lifestyle" consistency, I find that I need to mix up my food alot. If I had the same protein shake every morning, I'd get bored and go crazy!

Get creative with your food. Find new ingredients/recipes and incorporate them into your diet. By creating a variety of choices you may find that you get a bit more excited about food and are willing to eat a bit more to reach your calorie goals.

kcb0308

To maintain a bit of "healthy lifestyle" consistency, I find that I need to mix up my food alot. If I had the same protein shake every morning, I'd get bored and go crazy!

Get creative with your food. Find new ingredients/recipes and incorporate them into your diet. By creating a variety of choices you may find that you get a bit more excited about food and are willing to eat a bit more to reach your calorie goals.

I actually like the protein shakes in the morning, right before my workout. But I'm not much of a cook, and thus have creative issues with lunch and dinner meals.