What went wrong?

susie3g

Awhile back I was trying to lose weight. I was exercising 5 days a week and counting calories, eating healthier, the whole bit. After a month, I had not lost any weight at all, so I gave up. What things besides hormonal birth control and thyroid issues could have been the cause of my failure? Doing all that was at least helping me maintain my weight because I've gained about 25 pounds since I gave up. Now I'm starting all over again... what can I do to ensure success this time?

LoosingMyLast15

difficult to say went went "wrong". did you log your food? did you weigh your food? were you honest about what you were eating. were you eating 1200 calories then exercising and not eating back those calories? a MONTH is nothing. i didn't loose any weight for the first 3-4 weeks. if you don't have much to loose it takes much longer to lose it. m

can't help you with gaining 25 pounds if you're honest with yourself you certainly were not eating healthy. yes you can eat all the healthy foods you want but if you're eating them in excess how "healthy" is that.

what to do? give yourself time. don't restrict yourself to the point of failure. we're our worst enemies. eat your calories, exercise, eat those calories. be kind to yourself. don't beat yourself up after a MONTH if nothing happens. keep on pushing you'll loose the weight.

it's a marathon not a sprint.

AJ_G

Were you tracking calories? Were you weighing and or measuring every single piece of food you put in your mouth? It's not enough to "eat healthier", you have to set a calorie intake for weight loss and hit it every single day

susie3g

I was logging all my calories, all my exercise, and staying within calorie range.. opting for less processed and fried foods and more veggies in my diet. I didn't weigh my food, but I did use my measuring spoons and measuring cups religiously! At that time, I needed to lose about 50 pounds. Now I have about 75 pounds to lose.

VBnotbitter

Weight loss isn't linear and you will have periods when the scale doesn't move. This is not a sign of failure it is just life. So don't focus solely on the scale as a measure of success. Take progress pics, take measurements, be aware of improvements in your fitness and well being. Don't expect to have the same rate of weight loss as you see in the first couple of weeks.

Buy yourself a food scale and weigh your food. Measuring cups and spoons rely on a lot of eyeballing and are notoriously inaccurate
Read this its the best advice you can get

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Ready2Rock206

I'd say what went wrong was you quit as your first option before trying anything else.

creativerick

Were you tracking calories? Were you weighing and or measuring every single piece of food you put in your mouth? It's not enough to "eat healthier", you have to set a calorie intake for weight loss and hit it every single day

That's one way, but not the only way

susie3g

ReadytoRock206...Well that's what I'm asking. .. what else I can try.

susie3g

Weight loss isn't linear and you will have periods when the scale doesn't move. This is not a sign of failure it is just life. So don't focus solely on the scale as a measure of success. Take progress pics, take measurements, be aware of improvements in your fitness and well being. Don't expect to have the same rate of weight loss as you see in the first couple of weeks.

Buy yourself a food scale and weigh your food. Measuring cups and spoons rely on a lot of eyeballing and are notoriously inaccurate
Read this its the best advice you can get

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Thank you for the link.

Mr_Knight

What things besides hormonal birth control and thyroid issues could have been the cause of my failure?

You were eating too much for your activity level.

Period, full stop.

kbailey374

You guys are pretty COLD. Assuming she's doing/not doing things w/o asking!

SherryTeach

The results are never good when giving up is the first option.

Weighing food is the only way to accurately measure calorie intake. I also know many people who claim that they "ate healthy" and stayed within their calorie goal, who, in reality went over at least half the time.

I'd start with accurate measurements and a diary open to analysis.

VBnotbitter

You guys are pretty COLD. Assuming she's doing/not doing things w/o asking!

Sorry did you actually read her request asking why she went wrong last time? How is answering that request cold? How about providing advice yourself rather than critiquing those that are willing to help?

cafeaulait7

If you started exercising 5 days a week, your muscles probably stored more glycogen for repair, causing the scale to stay put for a few weeks. That is totally normal, depending on how big a deficit you expected to have. Someone really large will still see lbs come off simply because their deficit is big enough to show past the water/glycogen 'stall'.

Probably the biggest thing you did wrong was stopping. Patience is huge!

susie3g

That's one way, but not the only way

Could you please elaborate?

susie3g

What calorie range do you suggest?

susie3g

The results are never good when giving up is the first option.

Weighing food is the only way to accurately measure calorie intake. I also know many people who claim that they "ate healthy" and stayed within their calorie goal, who, in reality went over at least half the time.

I'd start with accurate measurements and a diary open to analysis.

Ok... giving up was not my first option. The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again, expecting different results. I finally chose my sanity. That's all.

Weighing food is the way to go. I get that. I didn't have extra money to spend on a food scale. So does this mean that if one doesn't have a scale, then it's pointless?

susie3g

What things besides hormonal birth control and thyroid issues could have been the cause of my failure?

You were eating too much for your activity level.

Period, full stop.

What calorie range do you suggest?

susie3g

You guys are pretty COLD. Assuming she's doing/not doing things w/o asking!

Sorry did you actually read her request asking why she went wrong last time? How is answering that request cold? How about providing advice yourself rather than critiquing those that are willing to help?

I don't think she was criticizing those who are willing to help. She was criticizing those who had critical remarks with no suggestions, those who believe I am just lying about what I ate or how I exercised.

susie3g

Ok.. I resent that people think I have come for advice and I'm not being honest with you guys or myself. That's not very encouraging at all. I have a sneaky suspicion that my failure has something to do with the birth control I was taking at the time.. as it's notorious for helping women pack on the pounds. But just in case that wasn't the problem, I wanted to see others' ideas about what could have went wrong and what I can do differently this time. I didn't come here to be told I am a liar.

susie3g

Just in case MFP has my calorie range screwed up, what calorie range would all of you suggest for me? I am 39 years old, female, 5'3", mostly sedentary at the present time, and I weigh 200 pounds.

susie3g

You guys are pretty COLD. Assuming she's doing/not doing things w/o asking!

Thank you.

tegalicious

I would say not giving it enough time and not weighing your food. As an example.... I had been previously measuring pb2 with measuring spoons. Finally got a scale and weighed out the measuring spoon portion. It was DOUBLE the portion. My little measuring spoon portion that should have been 45 calories was really 90 calories worth of pb2. Not that big of a deal if I had only been having what I thought was one serving. A huge deal though considering I was having 8 measured servings a day. Which was really 16 servings. An extra 360 calories in pb2 alone. Not to mention the countless other items I was underestimating. Like pasta. And bananas. And nuts. No wonder my weight loss stalled when I started upping my calories as I got close to my goal weight. I was completely negating my deficit by measuring instead of weighing!

LoosingMyLast15

Ok.. I resent that people think I have come for advice and I'm not being honest with you guys or myself. That's not very encouraging at all. I have a sneaky suspicion that my failure has something to do with the birth control I was taking at the time.. as it's notorious for helping women pack on the pounds. But just in case that wasn't the problem, I wanted to see others' ideas about what could have went wrong and what I can do differently this time. I didn't come here to be told I am a liar.

the problem with using measuring cups is it's not always 100% accurate. we all measure things differently with them. food doesn't fit perfectly into measuring cups. gaps are formed when certain foods are measured with a measuring cup. i'm notorious for using measuring cups which is why i am always stuck on a plateau. does it bother me not really but we are all very different. i like food and if it takes me 2 years to loose 18lbs then so be it.

if you can't afford a fancy food scale then buy a cheap food scale or start checking local thrift stores for one. i have a pretty cheap one that's not digital and it works for me. i think i found it on clearance somewhere for less than $10.

i'm 41, female and 4' 11-3/4" (yup that 3/4" is very important). so i'm short and my metabolism is not as fast as say a 20 yr old. these things are against me. i eat 1385 and i eat back my exercise calories but like i said we are all different.

there's a site you can go to (at this second i can't find the link), plug in your information and it will help you determine how many calories you should eat to loose weight. have you entered your information into this site? how many calories does it give you?

maybe it's less about the number of calories you were eating and more about WHAT you were eating. instead of going back to eating the same kinds of food try eating more protein dense foods they will keep you fuller longer.

first step would be to change your sedentary lifestyle and get back to being active.

susie3g

I would say not giving it enough time and not weighing your food. As an example.... I had been previously measuring pb2 with measuring spoons. Finally got a scale and weighed out the measuring spoon portion. It was DOUBLE the portion. My little measuring spoon portion that should have been 45 calories was really 90 calories worth of pb2. Not that big of a deal if I had only been having what I thought was one serving. A huge deal though considering I was having 8 measured servings a day. Which was really 16 servings. An extra 360 calories in pb2 alone. Not to mention the countless other items I was underestimating. Like pasta. And bananas. And nuts. No wonder my weight loss stalled when I started upping my calories as I got close to my goal weight. I was completely negating my deficit by measuring instead of weighing!

so when you look up calories for a banana, it is listed in ounces? I'm not trying to be a dunce. But do you take your scales to restaurants with you?

servilia

Measuring cups work fine for liquids but for most solids I would opt for weighing. It's more accurate. I would even weigh cold cuts and cheese slices that are labeled per slice (and grams) because as I've experienced, the actual weight per slice can be really off from what's on the label and it adds up. Other things to consider: your exercise cal burns might have been overestimated so when you ate them back you actually too much; including all condiments; including liquid cals, etc.

tegalicious

I would say not giving it enough time and not weighing your food. As an example.... I had been previously measuring pb2 with measuring spoons. Finally got a scale and weighed out the measuring spoon portion. It was DOUBLE the portion. My little measuring spoon portion that should have been 45 calories was really 90 calories worth of pb2. Not that big of a deal if I had only been having what I thought was one serving. A huge deal though considering I was having 8 measured servings a day. Which was really 16 servings. An extra 360 calories in pb2 alone. Not to mention the countless other items I was underestimating. Like pasta. And bananas. And nuts. No wonder my weight loss stalled when I started upping my calories as I got close to my goal weight. I was completely negating my deficit by measuring instead of weighing!

so when you look up calories for a banana, it is listed in ounces? I'm not trying to be a dunce. But do you take your scales to restaurants with you?

I look up "banana USDA" in the mfp database. That gives me a list of bananas in the database with the serving in grams. I weigh my banana. The digital food scale gives me it's weight in grams. I record that in mfp. My diary is open so feel free to take a look. I just got the scale two weeks ago. I don't eat at restaurants often but when I do I go to places that have the calories online. I often add 50-200 quick add calories to the meal to account for the chef's ability to be creative with the ingredients . It is cheaper and tastier for me to eat at home. My boyfriend is a great cook .

susie3g

Ok.. I resent that people think I have come for advice and I'm not being honest with you guys or myself. That's not very encouraging at all. I have a sneaky suspicion that my failure has something to do with the birth control I was taking at the time.. as it's notorious for helping women pack on the pounds. But just in case that wasn't the problem, I wanted to see others' ideas about what could have went wrong and what I can do differently this time. I didn't come here to be told I am a liar.

the problem with using measuring cups is it's not always 100% accurate. we all measure things differently with them. food doesn't fit perfectly into measuring cups. gaps are formed when certain foods are measured with a measuring cup. i'm notorious for using measuring cups which is why i am always stuck on a plateau. does it bother me not really but we are all very different. i like food and if it takes me 2 years to loose 18lbs then so be it.

if you can't afford a fancy food scale then buy a cheap food scale or start checking local thrift stores for one. i have a pretty cheap one that's not digital and it works for me. i think i found it on clearance somewhere for less than $10.

i'm 41, female and 4' 11-3/4" (yup that 3/4" is very important). so i'm short and my metabolism is not as fast as say a 20 yr old. these things are against me. i eat 1385 and i eat back my exercise calories but like i said we are all different.

there's a site you can go to (at this second i can't find the link), plug in your information and it will help you determine how many calories you should eat to loose weight. have you entered your information into this site? how many calories does it give you?

maybe it's less about the number of calories you were eating and more about WHAT you were eating. instead of going back to eating the same kinds of food try eating more protein dense foods they will keep you fuller longer.

first step would be to change your sedentary lifestyle and get back to being active.

I agree. I definitely need to be more active. I can't afford a gym membership and don't have the time away from my daughter to do that anyway. I'm somewhat limited to exercise I can find on dvd or you tube. I understand about the weighing thing now but how does that work when you are not home? Do you take scales with you and every thing is listed in MFP by weight?

susie3g

The range that MFP gives me is 1200-1420 calories.

tegalicious

Also a lot of prepackaged foods have the weight in grams of the serving on the back with the nutrition facts. So I have made a lot of my own foods by adding them to the database with the serving in grams instead of the package serving. So for example the mini pack of raisins I am having later today. The serving on the package is one box of raisins for 40 calories. But it also says that one box is 14 grams. So I enter it as a create a food with the serving as grams instead of 1 box. Happily I discovered that they shafted me 4 grams of raisins and my 40 calories box of raisins is less than 40 calories .

susie3g

I would say not giving it enough time and not weighing your food. As an example.... I had been previously measuring pb2 with measuring spoons. Finally got a scale and weighed out the measuring spoon portion. It was DOUBLE the portion. My little measuring spoon portion that should have been 45 calories was really 90 calories worth of pb2. Not that big of a deal if I had only been having what I thought was one serving. A huge deal though considering I was having 8 measured servings a day. Which was really 16 servings. An extra 360 calories in pb2 alone. Not to mention the countless other items I was underestimating. Like pasta. And bananas. And nuts. No wonder my weight loss stalled when I started upping my calories as I got close to my goal weight. I was completely negating my deficit by measuring instead of weighing!

so when you look up calories for a banana, it is listed in ounces? I'm not trying to be a dunce. But do you take your scales to restaurants with you?

I look up "banana USDA" in the mfp database. That gives me a list of bananas in the database with the serving in grams. I weigh my banana. The digital food scale gives me it's weight in grams. I record that in mfp. My diary is open so feel free to take a look. I just got the scale two weeks ago. I don't eat at restaurants often but when I do I go to places that have the calories online. I often add 50-200 quick add calories to the meal to account for the chef's ability to be creative with the ingredients . It is cheaper and tastier for me to eat at home. My boyfriend is a great cook .

Thanks for explaining how that works. I don't cook on weekends at all and that might be a hard point for me.