"Junk" Calories

_jayciemarie_

I haven't lost weight in almost 3 weeks now. I weigh everything. I use a Hrm for exercise. I don't eat back all of my calories. My weekly average of calories is right on track. So, why am I not losing weight? I have been stuck at 184/185 since Christmas. I've analyzed my diary (which is open to the public) and I realize that I am eating A LOT of junk calories. I'm eating Special K bars 2 or 3 at a time. I'm eating chocolate (something I didn't even like until recently). I need suggestions on healthier foods to eat. I have a sweet tooth. So fruit is good, but I feel I need something else. Hmm... anyone help?

janeite1990

I looked at your food and exercise diary. I think you nailed it with "junk" calories. I have to really limit my processed foods, or I get no scale movement. If you'll cut the junk, other things will taste sweeter and better to you. I'm a sweet-aholic, too, but if I'm eating right, and apple in the middle of the afternoon is the best thing in the world.

Also, you might double check the calories burned for exercise. How fast are you running. Just make sure the numbers you are getting are close to accurate. They seem high if you are walking a good bit of that. There is a running/walking entry that gives you speed in mph. I think that one is pretty good, or at least better than some others. Unless you have a HRM or something that will give you a really accurate reading.

Finally, I wouldn't count housework like cleaning in the exercise. I'm not saying it won't make you tired, but it can give you a false idea of how much you have left to eat.

You are eating lots of good foods in there, too. Make a couple of little changes, and maybe you can get off the plateau! Good luck!

WendyTerry420

A calorie is a measurement of heat energy.


That's like saying I walked a mile today, but that last 50 feet was nothing but junk because I enjoyed it.

Greytfish

Unless you're quite petite, your protein intake is quite low. Your sodium is quite high as well. Your carbs are a bit high and moslty from processed or grain sources.

I would work in some meat or whey protein, get your sodium back in range, and try subbing a salad or some veggies for your pasta sides.

christinemadden0223

Ya, If you are eating at a deficit, measuring your food correctly and measuring cals burned correctly you should be losing weight. I noticed you eat well over your sodium goal every day- probably sugar too. You could be holding water weight... Or sometimes plateaus happen and you just have to wait good luck!

sunnyside1213

This is not a diet. It is a life style change. Try eating cleaner. If it has a label, it should be avoided. Are you drinking lots and lots of water? Green tea? I have a wicked sweet tooth. I eat sugar free pudding and jello when I can't ignore it. Good luck.

jlneibauer

Yogurt really helps me. I put yogurt on top of fresh avocado and oranges. I sprinkle a little cinnamon over it. YUM and I'm not a yogurt or fruit person. Also, maybe you should decrease your carb intake. I'm sure there are more carbs in the special K bars than you think. Granola bars of any kind for that matter. My body doesn't do well with carbs. Everyone is different though. But I'd give it a try. Also, popcorn is good snack if you make it fresh with coconut oil and a little salt. I has a salty sweet flavor to it.

Riemersma4

In the end, it comes down to your Macros.

While junk calories are not helping your overall nutrition, I suspect that you are off on either the true cals eaten or the true cals spent in exercise.

I suggest that you compensate for that potential and adjust both by 5% for a month and see what happens. Target 5% less cals eaten and give yourself credit for 5% less cals burned while working out.

Best!

stacylorinobrown

You are overshooting your sodium and carbs almost everyday. The sodium mainly. Stop eating the pizza! I love pizza too, but just say no to pizza for 2 weeks, even the smart ones brand. Are you drinking a lot of water to flush the sodium? It may be making you retain water as well.

RGv2

This is not a diet. It is a life style change. Try eating cleaner. If it has a label, it should be avoided. Are you drinking lots and lots of water? Green tea? I have a wicked sweet tooth. I eat sugar free pudding and jello when I can't ignore it. Good luck.

:huh:

WendyTerry420

This is not a diet. It is a life style change. Try eating cleaner. If it has a label, it should be avoided. Are you drinking lots and lots of water? Green tea? I have a wicked sweet tooth. I eat sugar free pudding and jello when I can't ignore it. Good luck.

:huh:


Do you grow/raise/slaughter your own food? Everything food that is sold has a label. It is required by Federal law.

eldamiano

A quite some junk calories during my weight loss last year too but I still lost weight. This is not to gloat, but you probably arent being completely honest with yourself in your recording of food/drink.

neanderthin

This is not a diet. It is a life style change. Try eating cleaner. If it has a label, it should be avoided. Are you drinking lots and lots of water? Green tea? I have a wicked sweet tooth. I eat sugar free pudding and jello when I can't ignore it. Good luck.

:huh:

Hey, Ive seen lots of water with labels on it.

martyqueen52

It doesn't matter if those calories come from pop-tarts or greek yogurt...

Unless you're competing in a show for maximum body composition it doesn't matter. You have to be not tracking correctly. And why are you eating back calories you burn?

_jayciemarie_

It doesn't matter if those calories come from pop-tarts or greek yogurt...

Unless you're competing in a show for maximum body composition it doesn't matter. You have to be not tracking correctly. And why are you eating back calories you burn?

In my original post I said that I track/weigh all my foods. That is an honest statement. I hate eating out, because I can't weigh the portions. At home--I weigh EVERYTHING. I don't track when I chew sugarless gum--but the amount per day is probably only 5 calories. I use a HRM when I workout. I workout typically for 65 minutes and even though I walk part of it, I typically complete about 5.2 miles in that time. I haven't paide attention to my Macros at all. That is one of the things I really want to focus on, but haven't. I don't eat back all of my exercise calories just in case my HRM is significantly off. I've lost weight consistently doing what I do---just the last 3 weeks it has stalled.

martyqueen52

Personally, I don't eat back calories I burn.

Rather it's an off day when I do light cardio or a workout day when I lift.

Also, I think it's every 5 or 10lbs you lose you have to re-evaluate your TDEE/Maintence calories in MFP or another calculator like Free Dieting Calculator (<--- Best I think)

So, re-evaluate and stop eating back calories and see what happens.

stealthq

It isn't the composition of what you eat that's the problem with not losing weight, unless you're changed your normal salt/carb intake and are retaining water. Though, I'd recommend eating more protein to help you retain muscle. Taking you at your word re: weighing and measuring, I can think of one other issue that might be hanging you up:

Have you lowered your goal calories as you've lost weight?

If so, then just be patient. Weight loss isn't linear. A stall isn't even considered a plateau until you've not lost weight for about 6 wks. Plenty of people have had a 'pause' in their weight loss for weeks, only to suddenly lose a chunk of weight taking the average weight loss back to their expected average rate.

eric_sg61

If it has a label, it should be avoided.

What food doesn't have a label? When I am buying food I don't want a mystery as to what I am buying.

glassyo

So, re-evaluate and stop eating back calories and see what happens.

I agree with the first part and disagree with the second. If she set mfp up to lose weight, she's already in a deficit so not eating her exercise calories back would just give her more of one which could end up being too much of a deficit. Plus she's already not eating all of her exercise calories back.

If you've lost weight consistently weighing your food, eating whatever junk food you've eaten, being over on carbs and sodium, and using your hrm for your calorie burned count, it's either....wait, has Aunt Flo come to visit?

Phoenix_Warrior

I'm sorry but Saturday's quick added exact 2500 calories is a big red flag to me about your logging. You're not losing weight because somewhere, you are eating up your deficit. That's all I can think of to suggest. I just had oral surgery Friday and I've eaten nothing but high sodium soups, chocolate pudding and ice cream and I managed through to lose .8 lbs in the past week. While I think balancing your macronutrients is important, calories is 100% the reason for loss or lack thereof in weight loss.

martyqueen52

So, re-evaluate and stop eating back calories and see what happens.

I agree with the first part and disagree with the second. If she set mfp up to lose weight, she's already in a deficit so not eating her exercise calories back would just give her more of one which could end up being too much of a deficit. Plus she's already not eating all of her exercise calories back.

If you've lost weight consistently weighing your food, eating whatever junk food you've eaten, being over on carbs and sodium, and using your hrm for your calorie burned count, it's either....wait, has Aunt Flo come to visit?

MFP asks your activity level for a reason, and deducts those calories based off of the level of activity and THEN gives you a number. Sorry, but, you're wrong.

If that were the case I would be losing weight (which I don't want to) instead of gaining lean mass.

twixlepennie

I'm sorry but Saturday's quick added exact 2500 calories is a big red flag to me about your logging. You're not losing weight because somewhere, you are eating up your deficit. That's all I can think of to suggest. I just had oral surgery Friday and I've eaten nothing but high sodium soups, chocolate pudding and ice cream and I managed through to lose .8 lbs in the past week. While I think balancing your macronutrients is important, calories is 100% the reason for loss or lack thereof in weight loss.

This.

Mr_Knight

I use a Hrm for exercise.

In your most recent exercise diary entry, you have 70 minutes of walking/running. How far did you walk, and how far did you run? Because that is looking like a 500 calorie over-estimate on the burn, which means apart from everything else, you would have been in a surplus that day.

ItsCasey

This is not a diet. It is a life style change. Try eating cleaner. If it has a label, it should be avoided. Are you drinking lots and lots of water? Green tea? I have a wicked sweet tooth. I eat sugar free pudding and jello when I can't ignore it. Good luck.

I hope you took the labels off the sugar-free pudding and jello first.

glassyo

MFP asks your activity level for a reason, and deducts those calories based off of the level of activity and THEN gives you a number. Sorry, but, you're wrong.

I wouldn't say wrong. It pretty much depends on what she put for her activity level and if she took her exercise calories into consideration when picking it.

lrmall01

I think your calorie burns for the walking/running might be a little generous. Perhaps be a little more conservative with your estimate on those and see if it gets your weight moving. I would guess that you are probably only burning about 1/2 the calories you are logging.

mamahannick

I notice a lot of Weight Watcher's products logged...I would suggest cutting out those kinds of packaged diet foods and start eating REAL foods. Get the tub of quick oats and make your own oatmeal instead of the packets, and add fruit (I like peanut butter and either raisins, banana, or apple in mine). Snack on apples, oranges, grapes, baby carrots, celery, cucumber. Make your own things. Make your own pizza with a whole wheat thin crust and load it up with fresh veggie toppings. Marinate your own meats rather than the Jennie-O pre-marinated ones that most likely have a lot of sodium and preservatives. There are plenty of recipes floating around online for "bars" made with real ingredients that could replace your Special K bars. Go for whole, real foods over the pre-packaged diet foods that contain "junk".

cwolfman13

So, re-evaluate and stop eating back calories and see what happens.

I agree with the first part and disagree with the second. If she set mfp up to lose weight, she's already in a deficit so not eating her exercise calories back would just give her more of one which could end up being too much of a deficit. Plus she's already not eating all of her exercise calories back.

If you've lost weight consistently weighing your food, eating whatever junk food you've eaten, being over on carbs and sodium, and using your hrm for your calorie burned count, it's either....wait, has Aunt Flo come to visit?

MFP asks your activity level for a reason, and deducts those calories based off of the level of activity and THEN gives you a number. Sorry, but, you're wrong.

If that were the case I would be losing weight (which I don't want to) instead of gaining lean mass.

Technically, with MFP you're only supposed to include activity from your work and day to day kind of stuff in your activity level. Then you log exercise as "extra activity" because it isn't accounted for in your day to day...thus MFP gives you those calories back. There are many people who include all activity, including exercise...and at that point you would be double counting...but if the OP has established her profile as per the MFP format then she would eat back exercise calories. I lost 40 Lbs using this method and was right on pace with what I told MfP I wanted to lose...1850 net calories to lose 1 Lb per week and grossing 2100 - 2200 calories for the same results once i started exercising.

To the OP...you are having an estimation error somewhere in there...you are either underestimating your intake and/or overestimating your burn...probably both. If you're adding in stuff like housework, etc then stop doing that...it isn't exercise and regardless of whether you're only eating back 1/2 or not, you're overestimating there.

I would personally recommend reducing the junk, but purely from a nutritional POV...a deficit is a deficit is a deficit...it doesn't really matter where the calories come from.

GamerLady

I think your calorie burns for the walking/running might be a little generous. Perhaps be a little more conservative with your estimate on those and see if it gets your weight moving. I would guess that you are probably only burning about 1/2 the calories you are logging.

Aye, I agree.
Also, I'm not trying to be mean, really I'm not so please don't take it that way, but I've never known anyone that's tried to lose weight and did so quickly by walking. They always looked the same and stayed the same weight or kept gaining when their exercise was just walking. Maybe try and do a bit more exercising in that long period of time you usually use, an hour of walking you could do half an hour of say, spinning or even for free from fitnessblender.com some HIIT training. It will cut your hour in half and you'll burn more calories from it than you will from walking twice the amount of time. I'd also add some strength training in your routine if you possibly can.

lrmall01

I think your calorie burns for the walking/running might be a little generous. Perhaps be a little more conservative with your estimate on those and see if it gets your weight moving. I would guess that you are probably only burning about 1/2 the calories you are logging.

Aye, I agree.
Also, I'm not trying to be mean, really I'm not so please don't take it that way, but I've never known anyone that's tried to lose weight and did so quickly by walking. They always looked the same and stayed the same weight or kept gaining when their exercise was just walking. Maybe try and do a bit more exercising in that long period of time you usually use, an hour of walking you could do half an hour of say, spinning or even for free from fitnessblender.com some HIIT training. It will cut your hour in half and you'll burn more calories from it than you will from walking twice the amount of time. I'd also add some strength training in your routine if you possibly can.

If you open up her exercise diary, she also has some 30 day shred entries. I just pointed out the walking / running entry because it is so large (about 700 calories per entry).

jennegan1

This is not a diet. It is a life style change. Try eating cleaner. If it has a label, it should be avoided. Are you drinking lots and lots of water? Green tea? I have a wicked sweet tooth. I eat sugar free pudding and jello when I can't ignore it. Good luck.

Huh...Everything has "labels" on them....Even Greek Yogurt...You eat sugar free pudding and jello? Dont they have a label on it?