Why is my plan not working?

kuroboxx

so when i weigh food.... how do i measure the calories of it? on this site?

when I weigh my food, do I enter it on this site and will it give me the proper calorie intake?

also....any good suggestions for a heart monitor to properly calculate how many calories I burn?

kuroboxx

thanks for the help! kind of... it\s overwhelming

kuroboxx

I just measure the calories burned by what is says on the machine and also i enter all the food on here that i eat very precisely.

This is part of your problem. The machine doesn't know what your heart rate is or what your height and weight are. When I wear my heart rate tracker and compare it to what it says on the treadmill, the treadmill always says at least 100 calories more than the heart rate tracker which is customized to me. Invest in a heart rate tracker, not only for better work outs, but for more accurate calorie burn stats.

any suggestions for a good heart rate tracker to see how many calories I am ACTUALLY burning as oppose to how many I think i'm burning?

jonnythan

any suggestions for a good heart rate tracker to see how many calories I am ACTUALLY burning as oppose to how many I think i'm burning?

I recommend against HRMs. For a variety of reasons, the output of such devices is rather unreliable and prone to significant error. Even at their very best, the only thing they are good for is steady-state cardio such as jogging or cycling. They are poor for lifting, strength training, interval training,mixed training like Insanity, etc.

Your best bet is to open your diary. This will probably allow us to very quickly identify where you are going wrong.

jonnythan

so when i weigh food.... how do i measure the calories of it? on this site?

when I weigh my food, do I enter it on this site and will it give me the proper calorie intake?

also....any good suggestions for a heart monitor to properly calculate how many calories I burn?

Yes. Almost all prepackaged food gives serving size in grams. So you measure the grams you're eating. For non-packaged foods such as produce, I use "usda" as a search term in MFP. For example, for a banana I'll search for "banana usda" and then find an entry that has grams or ounces as the serving size. I'll also check the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory as a sanity check when necessary:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

GiddyNZ

OP is not gaining muscle on low calorie intake, whilst doing mainly cardio.

Actually as OP has said she has only recently started doing more than gentle exercise.. any new regular exercise will form new muscle growth as your body never did it before.. we are talking holding on to 1lb here and there instead of losing it, we aren't talking about bulking up. If her measurements are changing as per the clothes fitting differently but the scales aren't moving then YES this is could very well be the case. Not all muscle growth is from weight training and calorie loading.

Diet is also important, but she would need to be making some serious logging errors to account for her 500 cal deficit each day.

If OP had been logging for months at a sustained loss then plateaued my answer would have been different, but she hasn't so it isn't.

beachlover317

Generally you need to FOOL the body into thinking your metobalism has increased. This by eating lots of carbohydrates, For 3 days eat more carbohydrates exceeding your 1300 calorie limit if you have to. Anywhere from 180 to 225 carbs per day is good for those 3 days of carbohydrates eating. Keep the pattern constant don't think the 7th day is a day of rest and free day. Continue to eat 3 carb days and 3 fatty/protein days each week.

Then for 3 days eat more fat and protein foods and hardly any carbohydrates (if you can) That means bacon, chicken, steak, pork, whatever meats you like but for 3 days not going over a 65 fat 16 saturated fat limit though if you can. A point here and there isn't going to matter much. Usually 4oz of any type of meats that are lean to very lean work great for this. Keep your carbs under 150 lower if you can. Work into eating less carbs if you can.

I have done this and it works like a charm! Usually one night per week I load up on cereals and healthy grains like right before I go to bed. I always wake up several inches thinner and with my metabolims absolutely roaring! It's a good trick and a good jump start or re-start.

For OP, yeah maybe it's muscle which is awesome. I would suggest you really try to weigh your food accurately and take a look at your portions.

What this does is makes for a metabolism roller coaster for your body. As the carbohydrates increase it won't store as much fat and on the days you eat proportionately fatty high protein foods it won't store as much fat and you'll begin to see weight loss.

Don't expect 5lbs in a day as all this takes time once the water weight has been lost. Losing a single pound takes time even with a 3500 calorie a week cut down on calories. Drink lots of water and water type products (tea and such). Water flushes out more than you think and it's one of the things dieters don't do often enough.

Also, remember waste adds weight inside your body, so if you're weighing after that meal of pizza and bread sticks sure your weight is going to go up. Best time to weigh is after going to the toilet and a good colon cleanser helps also. You can cut your weight down around 2lbs to 35 lbs (depending on your size) by cleaning your colon tube. They are just like pipes in a sink. They get clogged and stuff sticks to them also over time building up and of course adding weight. When John Wayne died they found 35lbs of waste inside of him. That's a lot of clogging and unnecessary weight.

This works for me in terms of fooling your metabolism. At least one night per week I graze... not binge... graze on cereals, popcorn, healthy grains (carbs) like a half hour or so or even sometimes right before I go to bed. The next morning I always wake up several inches thinner with a roaring metabolism. It works like a charm for me!

To OP, I would suggest trying to weigh your foods accurately and pay attention to portion size.

How do you know your metabolism is roaring? And where are the inches disappearing from on your body exactly?

kuroboxx

Diary is now open.

jonnythan

Diary is now open.

Right away: extremely inconsistent logging. Yesterday all you logged was 140 quick add and 250 calories of tea. Monday, 290 calories of milk, 260 quick add, and a 90 calorie granola bar. I jumped back a week and saw literally nothing but quick add calories.

You need to work on your logging practices.

Kitship

My recommendation would be to start logging real food. Quick added calories is the most inaccurate thing ever. You might as well not even log. :frown:

LishieFruit89

OP is not gaining muscle on low calorie intake, whilst doing mainly cardio.

Actually as OP has said she has only recently started doing more than gentle exercise.. any new regular exercise will form new muscle growth as your body never did it before.. we are talking holding on to 1lb here and there instead of losing it, we aren't talking about bulking up. If her measurements are changing as per the clothes fitting differently but the scales aren't moving then YES this is could very well be the case. Not all muscle growth is from weight training and calorie loading.

Diet is also important, but she would need to be making some serious logging errors to account for her 500 cal deficit each day.

If OP had been logging for months at a sustained loss then plateaued my answer would have been different, but she hasn't so it isn't.

She's retaining water as muscle repairs itself from his but she isnt growing any.

chapklc

I hear you and understand, as another reply mentioned, you're probably holding on to weight due to changes especially if your exercising as much as you mentioned. One thing I was doing was overestimating calorie burn. There is a lot of information out there for gross calories and net calories... The calories you see at the gym, say for example treadmill, reveal to you gross calories (and if you eat all those calories back, it's just too much).

I highly recommend that you enter into MFP the NET calories burned. To help you get these numbers I suggest this calculator. It has helped me tremendously. http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn-conversion-calculator.aspx You just input the information for your self and then the minutes and calories you burned. It will then give you the NET to enter into MFP.

I know it all sounds a little nuts, but it helped me be more cautious about what i was eating back, and how much I actually had to burn to make a difference. I hope this helps

PrettyPearl88

Although I have been semi-going to the gym since late november....I didnt actually get serious about it till late jan.

Around jan 20th....i began only eating about 1300 calories per day (veggies, lean meats, the whole 9 yards) and excersizing more frequently ( almost everyday) burning about 200-350 each session (cardio) and some strength training for legs. Although I ate those calories back so my body would not go into starvation mode and hold on to any weight.

At first it was working...I lost about 5 lbs in 2 weeks....but then on my 'free day'...i ate more than 1300 calories (but still under 2000) and literally gained back all the weight i had worked off in that one day ( i dont know how). But ever since then...I havent been able to loose anything anymore....

what is wrong with this plan??...please heeeeeeelp!

UPDATE:
age-23
weight- 158 (got it down to 153 at some point in my dieting)
height- 5'6''

and yes...free day as in i ate around 1800 calories or so. (although i didn't excersize on that free day....I did walk around for a couple hours at a comfortable walking pace...about 2.5 mph)

yes my clothes do fit better and a bit looser actually.... but it hasnt really changed much with anything else.

I just measure the calories burned by what is says on the machine and also i enter all the food on here that i eat very precisely.

First of all, if you're 5'6" and around 158 lbs, you're NOT going to gain weight quickly eating at 1800 calories/day. (You may not even gain at all; that may be close to maintenance for you, but everyone's body is different so I can't say for sure.) So your one day of eating at 1800 calories almost certainly had ABSOLUTELY NO NEGATIVE EFFECT on your progress. So don't fret about that.

Second, if you're on your cycle/time of the month, it's entirely possible that your "weight gain" is due entirely to that. My weight normally goes up about 3-4 lbs during my cycle and then drops right back down when I'm done. It's totally normal.

Finally, have PATIENCE! Netting around 1300 calories/day sounds like a healthy plan and because it's healthy and fairly manageable, you're NOT going to see quick results. It's going to take time. (The plus side of losing weight slowly though is that because you learn to keep up the healthy habits for a long time, they truly become ingrained in you and the change becomes more permanent, so it's MUCH easier to keep the weight off!) You must be patient, stay strong and motivated, and keep going and doing what you're doing! What you're doing is clearly working because you said your clothes are starting to fit better! So CONGRATS! You're doing it right, just keep on going and please DON'T GIVE UP! It's going to take time, it might take a LONG TIME, but I promise it'll be so worth it when you get to your goal! *hugs* :flowerforyou:

P.S. Right now, I'm about 5 lbs from my weight goal, but I lost all of the weight in my ticker over a period of 4 years. I did it very slowly and during that time, I learned to make exercise and healthy eating work into every aspect of my life. I learned how to stay healthy and keep losing weight around birthdays, holidays, and even vacations. Because I taught myself how to stay healthy and still enjoyed my life during the last 4 years, the new habits I've formed have become so deeply ingrained in me that I'm a completely different person now, a person I couldn't even dream of before! It's easy for me most days to make healthy choices now because I've been practicing it for so long! It took forever to get rid of this weight, but I kept going and now keeping it off and still losing a little more is so much easier! It took forever, but it was worth it!

kuroboxx

will you help me and be my personal trainer?! haha.... really though.

I measure the calories by what it says on the package (ex. I log a veggie wrap from the store as 260 calories because it SAYS 260 calories on the package) that's how i measure calorie intake usually...

I guess I should stick to my calorie intake diet but only eat half the calories I burn in one day? and see if that makes a difference?

My biggest issue with weight loss is the lower abdomen and inner thighs. That is literally where all my fat cells are stored lol. (although it may be because I used to eat lots of sweets all the time) and I know how insulin effects weight loss.

I am confused about the low intensity/high intensity cardio. Everyone says high intensity is better... but I don't really know.

trogalicious

My biggest issue with weight loss is the lower abdomen and inner thighs. That is literally where all my fat cells are stored lol. (although it may be because I used to eat lots of sweets all the time) and I know how insulin effects weight loss.

your body just stores fat wherever it wants. there may be more there, and unfortunately.. there's no way of spot reducing.

jonnythan

will you help me and be my personal trainer?! haha.... really though.

I measure the calories by what it says on the package (ex. I log a veggie wrap from the store as 260 calories because it SAYS 260 calories on the package) that's how i measure calorie intake usually...

I guess I should stick to my calorie intake diet but only eat half the calories I burn in one day? and see if that makes a difference?

My biggest issue with weight loss is the lower abdomen and inner thighs. That is literally where all my fat cells are stored lol. (although it may be because I used to eat lots of sweets all the time) and I know how insulin effects weight loss.

I am confused about the low intensity/high intensity cardio. Everyone says high intensity is better... but I don't really know.

Instead of entering just the calories, scan the package or search for it. Nutrients like protein and fat are important too.

Anyway, your 1200 calorie goal seems reasonable. Your exercise seems to be relatively moderate. I would stick with the calorie goal and current exercise for 2 weeks but be super-religious about accurately logging everything.