Born this way

Rhozelyn

Ok It's only the 16th day into a new year and I'm fed up of logging and not losing a single pound of weight. I have gained 2lb. I'm frustrated that I need to log in my food and I am sick to death of hearing about TDEE and BMR! How can some calculation be accurate about my body? Plus my body seems to do whatever it wants whatever I do. I can stick to the TDEE and workout and lose NOTHING. It simply wants to fulfil its potential and what I am attempting to do is not nature's plan. Nature wants me to be fatter…my mind even plays tricks on me…TBH sometimes I look in the mirror and I think I look ok…..then I see myself in photos and I cringe and feel worthless. I can eat the same as everyone around me and they won't put on weight and I will pile on 7lb!
In December I was on holiday for 2 weeks and ate anything and everything and gained 4lb….then in the last 2 weeks I have been trying to log my food and all I have done is to gain 2lb whilst trying to restrict.

I can't connect with my body. It has so much fat yet it can't use it as an energy source. I even still have hunger pangs when I'm carrying around 80lb of fat! (my body fat is apparently about 41%).
Is my life going to be about logging every morsel of food that passes my lips???? Really????!!!! If I'm not prepared to do this for life then why bother??? Is this sustainable???

In the last 3 years I don't know who my body is because it's definitely not me. Well it is but I can't lose weight or my body doesn't want to lose weight.
Maybe I'm not giving it 100%….ok I'm not. I have to make a decision now…because I sure as hell am not going to be logging every bloody morsel and finding myself still fat in 3 months' time!!!!! I CAN'T!!!!
So I AM going to stop logging in pretend calories(who know?? the numbers and and weights all vary!) I am the queen of guestimating!!

To top it off I have just seen some amazing success stories…"pic only success thread"….Am I jealous?? No! I keep wondering HOW DID THEY DO IT????


Add me if you are in the same boat….or a different speed boat! I have been on MFP for 1 year and I have gained 20lb…..ENOUGH!
Rant over and 100% effort begins NOW!

lavaughan69

To top it off I have just seen some amazing success stories…"pic only success thread"….Am I jealous?? No! I keep wondering HOW DID THEY DO IT????

Well they didn't quit after 16 days. They weighed and logged every single thing they ate. I've been doing it for 10 months now and yes sometimes it gets tedious, but for the most part I eat the same thing for lunch and I repeat a lot on dinner foods so it's rather quick. You've spent years creating bad eating habits that have resulted in your excess weight, so don't expect change to be easy. You need to form good habits and that takes time and energy. Trust me, after you do this for a couple of months it will seem so easy and you'll have a better understanding of what your body needs to fuel it.

I struggled the first couple of weeks of the diet, it took time for my body to adjust to the changes I was making and perhaps for me to fully understand and log things correctly. Just focus on hitting your daily calorie goal and less on what the scale says for now.

wilsoje74

First of all you need to be willing to change long term. If you are frustrated after only 16 days maybe you aren't ready to put in the work it takes to lose the weight, you most likely are still eating too much.

twixlepennie

Ok It's only the 16th day into a new year and I'm fed up of logging and not losing a single pound of weight. I have gained 2lb. I'm frustrated that I need to log in my food and I am sick to death of hearing about TDEE and BMR! How can some calculation be accurate about my body? Plus my body seems to do whatever it wants whatever I do. I can stick to the TDEE and workout and lose NOTHING. It simply wants to fulfil its potential and what I am attempting to do is not nature's plan. Nature wants me to be fatter…my mind even plays tricks on me…TBH sometimes I look in the mirror and I think I look ok…..then I see myself in photos and I cringe and feel worthless. I can eat the same as everyone around me and they won't put on weight and I will pile on 7lb!
In December I was on holiday for 2 weeks and ate anything and everything and gained 4lb….then in the last 2 weeks I have been trying to log my food and all I have done is to gain 2lb whilst trying to restrict.

I can't connect with my body. It has so much fat yet it can't use it as an energy source. I even still have hunger pangs when I'm carrying around 80lb of fat! (my body fat is apparently about 41%).
Is my life going to be about logging every morsel of food that passes my lips???? Really????!!!! If I'm not prepared to do this for life then why bother??? Is this sustainable???

In the last 3 years I don't know who my body is because it's definitely not me. Well it is but I can't lose weight or my body doesn't want to lose weight.
Maybe I'm not giving it 100%….ok I'm not. I have to make a decision now…because I sure as hell am not going to be logging every bloody morsel and finding myself still fat in 3 months' time!!!!! I CAN'T!!!!
So I AM going to stop logging in pretend calories(who know?? the numbers and and weights all vary!) I am the queen of guestimating!!

To top it off I have just seen some amazing success stories…"pic only success thread"….Am I jealous?? No! I keep wondering HOW DID THEY DO IT????


Add me if you are in the same boat….or a different speed boat! I have been on MFP for 1 year and I have gained 20lb…..ENOUGH!
Rant over and 100% effort begins NOW!

How did I do it? I kept it simple. Seriously. I did alternate day IF (an unconventional way of counting calories), and I focused on that and nothing else. I didn't try changing my diet to cut out foods I enjoyed and replacing them with stuff I didn't like. I never once ate a food that I didn't like. I also did NO exercise, because up to that point in my life I had never exercised and trying to add it in was too overwhelming. I counted calories. I stuck with it. I gave 100% to the plan I was following. I ignored everything else and stayed focused on the calories. I lost over 50lbs. I'm now maintaining effortlessly.

I would start with the very basics and the only thing that actually matters for weight loss-calories.

lindsayvernon

just picking up a few points that you made in your post. You say that you are the queen of guesstimating, so you are admitting to not logging your food accurately and then you wonder why you are gaining weight. Invest in a food scale and weigh your food, it's really not that hard and not that time consuming. Tracking can be annoying sometimes, I go through times that I really can't be bothered but then I still do it because I know that it is what will make me successful.

farway

"So I AM going to stop logging in pretend calories(who know?? the numbers and and weights all vary!) I am the queen of guestimating!!"

Maybe this is the answer from your own keyboard?

I think wilssoje has it, you are not ready to face facts and want some quick easy fix, there is not one

The answer is in your hands & gob, weigh food, log food, come back in a month and then tell us it still does not work

jonnythan

Open your diary.

ladynocturne

I can stick to the TDEE and workout and lose NOTHING.

This really stuck out to me inparticular.

If you decide to do the TDEE method, then you'll need to actually subtract calories from your TDEE to lose weight. Most people start with 20% less than TDEE.

If you have been eating your TDEE this whole time, that is why you haven't lost any weight.

Plus if you aren't logging correctly, then that could also explain any weight gain. I'm having trouble understanding why you are upset about why something isn't working and how much effort it takes, when you haven't been doing it right to begin with.

Would you scream at a flashlight for not working if you refused to put batteries in it?:huh:

SLLRunner

Your negative attitude about yourself isn't helping you any. If you want to make long term changes you need to be just a bit kinder to yourself.

I see you've been a member since 2012. Is that how long you've been on your weight loss journey and you haven't lost a pound? In fact, you've gained a few pounds?

Have you been judiciously logging all food and exercise during this time? Do you weigh all solid food and measure all liquids? Do you log every single thing that goes into your mouth? Have you taken steps to ensure that you are accurately logging exercise calories burned? If you don't have a heart rate monitor with a chest strap and that is properly calibrated, are you refraining from eating all your exercise calories back?

The only thing required to lose weight is to eat at a calorie deficit. If you are gaining weight then you are misestimating somewhere, or not logging everything you eat.

Nobody is meant to be fat. I know, I was born fat. In fact, the doctor told my mother to put me on a diet as an infant. All through my childhood my parents tried to make me diet. My average weight during junior hight was 165 and 200 during school. My highest was 220. Around 10-12 years ago i lost a total of 75 pounds. I gained around 30 back over a 3 year period.

Guess what. I've been doing this silly calorie counting thing since April and I am 35 pounds down. Today, I weigh WAY less than I did in high school and I'm probably the same weight I was in junior high (147). I am on a mission to lose a few more pounds but not much more. It's going to be sloooooowwww because that's the way I want it.

Get off your pity pot (and I mean that with kindness }and make sure you are accurate in all your logging before you give up. If I can do it you can do.

Bis4Bri

You CAN do this. I too am 16 days into tracking, 20 days into this "lifestyle change" and yesterday the little voice inside said to quit. I'm done detoxing, I'm not craving anything I just wanted to quit. For no real reason.... I got my up and completed a workout instead.

The tools work. They are sustainable. However, you have to find what works for you. The nerd in me LOVES to calculate every calorie eaten and every calorie burned as closely as possible. Those are not guesses. I am guaranteed results as long as I track accurately (If you "cheat"- log it anyway)- you have to be honest with yourself.

Don't quit now. It takes 21 days to START forming a habit. Let's form new habits together. I saved the picture that made me say ENOUGH as the wall paper on my phone. I don't like the girl in the pic, so everyday I work to become better.

Also, get a measuring tape. Sometimes the scale doesn't move but the measurements do.

nomeejerome

Pending any medical conditions that would make weight loss more difficult, a calorie deficit is all that is needed to lose weight. If you are not losing weight, you do not have a calorie deficit. If the logging, weighing and counting calories is too much for you right now, just eat less of what you do now until you are ready to make the logging commitment.

bumblebreezy91

To top it off I have just seen some amazing success stories…"pic only success thread"….Am I jealous?? No! I keep wondering HOW DID THEY DO IT????

Well they didn't quit after 16 days. They weighed and logged every single thing they ate. I've been doing it for 10 months now and yes sometimes it gets tedious, but for the most part I eat the same thing for lunch and I repeat a lot on dinner foods so it's rather quick. You've spent years creating bad eating habits that have resulted in your excess weight, so don't expect change to be easy. You need to form good habits and that takes time and energy. Trust me, after you do this for a couple of months it will seem so easy and you'll have a better understanding of what your body needs to fuel it.

I struggled the first couple of weeks of the diet, it took time for my body to adjust to the changes I was making and perhaps for me to fully understand and log things correctly. Just focus on hitting your daily calorie goal and less on what the scale says for now.

This x1000.

sunnyside1213

Open your diary.

This.

mamadon

1. We never quit.
2. We logged every single calorie
3. We weighed and measured everything.
4. We ate at a calorie deficit.
5. We exercised.

kamakazeekim

You and me both! I went to the endocrinologist I see for my PCOS to check all my hormones. All the ones that should be down were up and the ones that should be up were down. She doesn't know the reason for this but says it definitely affects the way my metabolism works. So add that to the PCOS and I have a recipe for disaster. Maybe have your doctor check you out?

jonnythan

You and me both! I went to the endocrinologist I see for my PCOS to check all my hormones. All the ones that should be down were up and the ones that should be up were down. She doesn't know the reason for this but says it definitely affects the way my metabolism works. So add that to the PCOS and I have a recipe for disaster. Maybe have your doctor check you out?

Not losing weight after two weeks with a closed diary doesn't quite call for professional intervention just yet.

NewMnky1

Years ago when I tried losing weight, I would always say "I don't want to have count and record food for the rest of my life etc. when does it just become second nature" That quote/comment meant I was not ready to change and didn't want to change.
I wasn't ready then. I realize now that I will forever have to weigh and record food and I am ok with that because doing what I was doing before didn't work.
For me- I could and probably always will be able to slip back to my previous ways of eating and not exercising and that is not ok, I need to log and keep myself accountable in order to stay healthy.
It is easy to eat whatever when you don't actually know how many calories are in it (we can justify anything to ourselves).
You need to be willing to do whatever it takes to make this work and if you aren't there yet, then you aren't, but recognize that and come back when you are ready to really do what it takes.
I don't mean to come of as cold or not caring, just stating what I found from my past experiences.

janeite1990

If you are just ranting to build your own motivation, I get that. If you are posting in this board (a help board) for help, you'll need to give more information for anyone to give you advice that might work. Opening your diary would help, but also, what is your goal? How much do you weigh now? How old are you (it matters)?

jlcrph

How do you get it done?! Here is what I believe works:

1. Accurately track, measure/weigh and log everything you eat and drink - and I emphasize the accurate and the everything….
2. Stick to your calorie goal to ensure a calorie deficit
3. Exercise routinely (5-6 days a week works for me) to feel MUCH better and assist with your calorie deficit

Is the above always fun? NO! Do I want to do this every day? NO! However I do - as it works, and my desire to be healthy outweighs my desire to eat whatever I want and be lazy about tracking.

This is a lifelong change that will require dedication and patience. Not every week will you have success, even if you do everything right. You just have to trust that if you eat healthy foods in the right quantities and exercise, you will ultimately reach your goals. It is a matter of what you want most - to lose weight…. or to keep your freedom to eat and do whatever you want.

marjoleina

Look, it takes time and consistency and you are being a little negative here. Get a food scale, and weigh your food. You will be surprised. It is easy to guess portions way to large. I did really well, had a major life style upset in my personal life and gained the weight I lost because I gave up.
This does not make matter better, so I am back on the wagon. Give it an honest effort.

WalkingAlong

Your negative attitude about yourself isn't helping you any. If you want to make long term changes you need to be just a bit kinder to yourself. ...

Get off your pity pot (and I mean that with kindness }and make sure you are accurate in all your logging before you give up. If I can do it you can do.

I agree that all the self-labeling is working against you. Your body is not your enemy, it does not hoard fat, etc. Those attitudes plague us all but start to look at how convenient they are. If I believe I CAN'T do this and it's genetic, I can quit trying. You have to spot that thinking and decide it's lazy and a cop-out. Anyone can lose weight. You have to pick a plan and keep doing it for hundreds of days in a row. It's simple but not easy.

Someone probably mentioned this but you can't eat at your TDEE and lose weight, or maybe you typed that wrong.

Good for you for recommitting to get the logging right.

vickysail

First, buy a digital food scale. Use it. Guesstimating calories is a great way to fail.

Second, I found alternate day dieting to be the best method for me, and I'm 52. It fools the body completely, and it can't adjust to the piston action the diet is doing to your body. The Brits have a 5:2 ratio, and I use the 4:3, which is the JUDDD (Johnson Up Day Down Day) method. You go to his web site, plug in your numbers, and you'll have an idea how to do it correctly.

Third, it will take a really long time. I lost an average of 3-4 lbs a month, and was extremely grateful not to be gaining. It took a year to go down around 45 lbs, but I went down. Without exercise.

Fourth, when you make changes, your body will throw out all sorts of hormones to trigger cravings. It will keep water in your system when you exercise (especially if you get sore), and for every sugar molecule in your system, something like 4 or 5 water molecules bind to it to bloat you up. So try to cut sugar out, including many simple carbs, which just turn to sugar in your system. You'll know you're doing it right when you just pee, and pee, and pee.

Are you drinking any calories? Juices, non-diet beverages, hell, even sugar in your coffee is sugar. Those sneak up on you.

Fifth, your attitude. Find your motivation, and run with it. If all you can say to yourself is "I'm a failure", well guess what? You've already defeated yourself. Everyone here will give you help, but only you can find your motivation and the willpower to stay true to the path you desire.

Good luck!

Mcgrawhaha

Ok It's only the 16th day into a new year and I'm fed up of logging and not losing a single pound of weight. I have gained 2lb. I'm frustrated that I need to log in my food and I am sick to death of hearing about TDEE and BMR! How can some calculation be accurate about my body? Plus my body seems to do whatever it wants whatever I do. I can stick to the TDEE and workout and lose NOTHING. It simply wants to fulfil its potential and what I am attempting to do is not nature's plan. Nature wants me to be fatter…my mind even plays tricks on me…TBH sometimes I look in the mirror and I think I look ok…..then I see myself in photos and I cringe and feel worthless. I can eat the same as everyone around me and they won't put on weight and I will pile on 7lb!
In December I was on holiday for 2 weeks and ate anything and everything and gained 4lb….then in the last 2 weeks I have been trying to log my food and all I have done is to gain 2lb whilst trying to restrict.

I can't connect with my body. It has so much fat yet it can't use it as an energy source. I even still have hunger pangs when I'm carrying around 80lb of fat! (my body fat is apparently about 41%).
Is my life going to be about logging every morsel of food that passes my lips???? Really????!!!! If I'm not prepared to do this for life then why bother??? Is this sustainable???

In the last 3 years I don't know who my body is because it's definitely not me. Well it is but I can't lose weight or my body doesn't want to lose weight.
Maybe I'm not giving it 100%….ok I'm not. I have to make a decision now…because I sure as hell am not going to be logging every bloody morsel and finding myself still fat in 3 months' time!!!!! I CAN'T!!!!
So I AM going to stop logging in pretend calories(who know?? the numbers and and weights all vary!) I am the queen of guestimating!!

To top it off I have just seen some amazing success stories…"pic only success thread"….Am I jealous?? No! I keep wondering HOW DID THEY DO IT????


Add me if you are in the same boat….or a different speed boat! I have been on MFP for 1 year and I have gained 20lb…..ENOUGH!
Rant over and 100% effort begins NOW!

sorry, not to be rude... BUT...

all i hear you say is...

"im lazy, i want to be lazy, i enjoy being lazy, and i dont want to have to put in the hard work that it would take to undue the damage i did to my body from all of my laziness."

yes, you need to log your food, because you obviously, like many of us, cant monitor your food intake naturally, thats how we got 80-100 pounds over weight, right?

yes, your going to put in a lot of work and sometimes see no loss... oh well, our bodies are not perfect, but eventually, it all works out...

do you think those of us that lost weight had fun 100% of the time, didnt sacrifice, and didnt feel defeated at times? do you think we didnt work our *kitten* off to shed the fat off of our bodies, that we piled on by being lazy?

the weight doesnt just fall off for you, you have to make it happen. 16 days in, and your ready to throw in the towell? maybe you dont want it as bad as many of us here... i think you do, but i also think you are lazy...

you know what that means? choose one or the other... choose to be lazy, and maybe pile on another 80 pounds over the next year, or choose to take control of your life and your body, and become the person you feel that you are inside.

thats it, we cant do it for you, its all up to you.

ScientificExplorerGirl

Lots of good advice here. I would only add: don't think about tracking calories and exercise for the rest of your life. Just do it today. And do it honestly and accurately.

bajoyba

You said yourself that you're the queen of guestimating. That may very well be your problem.

Weight loss is simple, but it all comes down to the numbers. If your numbers are off, you're going to have problems. As others have mentioned, accuracy and consistency are KEY. You have to make sure that the calories you enter are the calories you're eating, and you have to enter the correct calories every day in order to know what your eating really looks like and whether or not you're in a deficit.

Does it take time and effort? Yes. Is it worth it? That's up to you.

I used to think I was meant to be fat, and I spent most of my life believing that. But when I hit 235 pounds, I decided to test that belief. As it turned out, I was wrong. I was simply eating too much and not moving enough. It has taken some time and effort to shed that extra weight (and I'm still working on it), but it is very worth it to me. Before, I was investing most of my spare time and effort in sitting on the couch. Now I'm making myself a priority, and I'm very happy with the results so far.

Rhozelyn

16 days? No I have been doing this dieting thing for more than a decade. I'm no spring chicken. Thank you all for your replies. I read the boards and the same messages keep coming through. My post was a half rant at my self and a kick up the backside because I am trying to find my peace with food , weight, body image and realistic expectations. I have been dieting for years and was largely successful except for the last 2 years when I put on weight. So forgive my rant and "negative" attitude which really wasn't the essence of the entire post. I have all the gizmos and gadgets to do things right….but I am not a machine. I have emotions, hormones, genes, life and all the rest and these factors ultimately sometimes take over.

I want to lose weight and I don't need to open my diary because I KNOW it's not accurate. What I really need is motivation and support hence why I'm here. Some people may identify with me and others only read black and white.
I will keep this thread going as a reminder of my journey. I will get there.

beautifulwarrior18

My guess is you don't measure your food.

Measure everything you put in your body and get a heart rate monitor for calories expended and you'll start losing weight before you know it. You can't guess and be successful.

Jkn921

I used to feel the same way - I had always felt before that I was just born a fat person and could never shift it. The thing I changed was my habits. I got sick of junk food and the way food in general was making me feel so I first stopped my snacking completely for about a month and the next week from when I started to add in a 10 minute exercise each day - it killed me. I was sore but I kept persistent and 5 months later, 20lbs came off and now I'm in the best shape of my life and honestly it isn't THAT hard as people make it out to be. The main thing that's really difficult is the patience. But if you're willing to be extremely persistent with it, you WILL make changes as other people here have done.

Educate yourself on what it takes, adjust your attitude to becoming successful and build your character up by strengthening your levels of persistence and perserverance. Change one thing at a time and they'll add up.

I also never notice any weight loss till after 2-3 weeks if I gain a bit, it's a long wait but as I know it takes that long, it doesn't worry me.

Good luck

jimmmer

16 days? No I have been doing this dieting thing for more than a decade.

I humbly submit that you're doing it wrong then.

If you've got no appreciable results in 10 years, I would look to ironing out the kinks in your approach.

speedy740

Sorry to be blunt but... PUT AN EFFORT INTO IT. Wow not even a whopping month and your attitude towards your "new lifestyle" sucks. I'm not gonna sugar coat it like u are a child. You want results be prepared to work for them. I think u need to turn around your attitude and say you can do this. Don't be lazy, weigh and measure, take two TINY minutes three times a day to actually record what's going in your stomach. There I said what everyone was holding back, no sugar coating. Good luck in your journey ????

jonnythan

Well congratulations on doing it wrong, finding limited success, and being unwilling to alter your methods.