Weight won't budge, please help!

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  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I honestly think it is the food you are eating. A diet is like a marriage--you can't cheat. I take it you are more on a lifestyle change than a "diet," but you know what I mean. It sounds like you are putting a lot of time and energy into trying to meet your goal, and I feel like that is the hardest part. I was in your shoes and found that once I was a lot more strict with the things I put in my mouth the weight fell off. I think drinking more water would benefit you, but I don't think it is the answer to you wanting your weight to budge. I think that lies in what you are eating. Hope that helps. Keep on keepin' on! :)
    It doesn't matter what type of food you eat as long as you eat at a calorie deficit. Burn more calories than you eat and you will lose weight.
  • Otterluv
    Otterluv Posts: 9,083 Member
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    Your logging is really inconsistent, there are a ton of empty days, which is much worse than having everything logged but off a few calories here and there because you ate out and had to guess at equivalencies and amounts.

    Log everything, EVERYTHING, as closely as you can. If you are at home then a digital food scale and measuring cups is the way to go. This will also help you to be more accurate at guessing/eyeballing portion sizes when you go out to eat. Once you get your data right, if you are still not losing, then we can help narrow down what is going on. But right now there is no way for us or for you to know what you are really eating.

    Really, it works. Do it and it will take less and less time as you get better at it. Logging my food only takes minutes out of my day. Using a food scale just means that I hit the tare button in between items as I pile them on my plate (which is on the scale). It's really not difficult to pour your milk into a measuring cup before dumping it in your glass. It becomes habit.

    You came here to help figure out why you weren't losing, and just because you don't like the answer doesn't mean that it's not helpful. Try it for a month and see what happens.
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
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    BTW you asked for help.


    weighing your food is the BEST thing you can do to see the results you are wanting...you may be eating more than you think...why not find out?
  • jgerard83
    jgerard83 Posts: 20
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    I DO MEASURE with measuring cups. I am not working and cannot afford a scale, although one would be nice. I could ask my fiance to get me one he probably would.
  • jgerard83
    jgerard83 Posts: 20
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    I have a heart rate monitor. A polar heart rate monitor a nice one with a chest strap and watch. I have my weight, height, and age in the watch. it calculates my calories during my workout
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
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    I DO MEASURE with measuring cups. I am not working and cannot afford a scale, although one would be nice. I could ask my fiance to get me one he probably would.
    that or save up.

    i think mine was ten or twelve dollars.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    I DO MEASURE with measuring cups. I am not working and cannot afford a scale, although one would be nice. I could ask my fiance to get me one he probably would.

    You can get a scale for like ten bucks. Its infinitely more useful than a HRM since how much you burn is useless information if you don't know what you're eating.
  • jgerard83
    jgerard83 Posts: 20
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    Where did you get yours? we do have an amazon gift card for 50 dollars that my brother got us for christmas, I could always ask him to use that.
  • Otterluv
    Otterluv Posts: 9,083 Member
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    I DO MEASURE with measuring cups. I am not working and cannot afford a scale, although one would be nice. I could ask my fiance to get me one he probably would.

    That's great. Log it consistently.

    Digital food scales are generally less than $20.
  • Otterluv
    Otterluv Posts: 9,083 Member
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    Where did you get yours? we do have an amazon gift card for 50 dollars that my brother got us for christmas, I could always ask him to use that.

    I bought mine from Amazon, so that's perfect.
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
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    Where did you get yours? we do have an amazon gift card for 50 dollars that my brother got us for christmas, I could always ask him to use that.
    I got mine at bed bath and beyond, and even had a twenty percent off coupon:smile:

    you dont need it to be fancy

    i do like that i can press a button and it goes from grams to ounces.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    Where did you get yours? we do have an amazon gift card for 50 dollars that my brother got us for christmas, I could always ask him to use that.

    Walmart
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    I try to eat 1500 calories or less every day...

    Your diary says otherwise. There's no mystery here, you're eating more than you should be, for your goals.

    Eat less, problem solved.

    Good luck!
  • jgerard83
    jgerard83 Posts: 20
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    Yes but dont you subtract the calories you work out? like say you eat 1700 food calories and burn 300 doesnt that leave you with 100 more calories to meet your goal of 1500 since your net is 300 from exercise? Like if you eat 1700 and burn 300 then want a 100 calorie snack but still come up to 1500 total because you worked out? isnt that your net what you worked out and burned off? thats why my calories are higher because i thought you could eat more if you burned off calories during exercise and you were still under your goal
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    I DO MEASURE with measuring cups. I am not working and cannot afford a scale, although one would be nice. I could ask my fiance to get me one he probably would.
    Do you have a Kmart, Walmart, or Target near you? $20 for a food scale.

    Measuring cups are not accurate, but the food scale is.

    For example, 1/2 cup of dry oatmeal is not the same as 48 grams.--the half cup is MORE than 48 grams, therefore you will eat more calories than you think.

    Of course, measuring is more accurate than not measuring, but keep in mind that it won't be as accurate as weighing your food.
  • jennybenny35
    jennybenny35 Posts: 10
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    Log your food, keep working out, weight training is best, and then throw away your scale! Measure your body and understand that your body is changing, muscle weighs more then fat! The only way to know it's working - is to measure and to see the changes in the mirror. Don't focus on the number - it's NOT your success measure! The changes in your body tell the story! :-)
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
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    I DO MEASURE with measuring cups. I am not working and cannot afford a scale, although one would be nice. I could ask my fiance to get me one he probably would.

    Read this thread as to why measuring cups suck .. you have to weigh your food to be at all accurate. They are cheap .. so you should be able to buy one as you mentioned.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1186508-weighing-food-vs-measuring-wow
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    Log your food, keep working out, weight training is best, and then throw away your scale! Measure your body and understand that your body is changing, muscle weighs more then fat! The only way to know it's working - is to measure and to see the changes in the mirror. Don't focus on the number - it's NOT your success measure! The changes in your body tell the story! :-)
    A pound is a pound whether it's muscle or fat, it's just that muscle takes up less space.

    I agree with measuring and not focusing on the number.
  • Sreneesa
    Sreneesa Posts: 1,170 Member
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    Where did you get yours? we do have an amazon gift card for 50 dollars that my brother got us for christmas, I could always ask him to use that.

    Perfect! Got mine on amazon for 10 bucks.
  • klkateri
    klkateri Posts: 432 Member
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    I came here for help and motivation, not negativity. I am already frustrated as it is. I am not a lazy person and at one point in time I was an athlete.

    OK, so I think I understand where you are coming from!!

    I used to be an athlete and a dancer so I understand the frustration from not seeing the numbers move... I was a wrestler & a dancer and weight was so important so when we don't see the numbers move we freak out.

    So here is my advise and I'm hoping it doesn't sound jerky!!

    A. Muscle is heavier than fat. You are working out a lot and you said you feel thinner and your fiance thinks you look thinner. So perhaps you are toning up.

    B. I have the same issues with the numbers on the scale not going as fast as I think they should so I measure my body and record the numbers. Believe it or not, I see the measurements go down faster than the scale numbers. I consider the scale a "reference point" and stick more with my body becoming small, my clothes changing in fit ( and buying smaller :happy: ) and people asking "Hey, have you lost weight? You look awesome!!"

    C. I also find food logging helps so much because we are so used to such large portion sizes that it can be hard to know what's right or wrong. I don't have a food scale. I use my measuring cups and I went online for references like meat=a deck of cards. Well, it's not a perfect system but it works for me and it seems to be helping.

    D. Smaller plates!! I don't use my large dinner plates anymore, I eat on the saucer. Its a mind trick that works really well. If we use a large plate we naturally want to fill it but if you use a smaller plate less room = less food = less calories. Also, I took an entire afternoon once and figured out what my favorite glass, coffee mug, soup bowl, etc. can hold so I don't have to measure all the time.

    Stick with it though, as a former athlete your body will remember and enjoy being fit and lean again and it will happen!! And sometimes, it helps to step off the scale and look at how our body is changing and being perceived by those close to us. We've been trained to only think in terms of the number on the scale but there is so much more to it and so many other ways to measure how we are really doing!!

    Good Luck and Press ON!!!!

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