Someone please explain, 30+ pounds to lose.

Alyssawinter1221

Hi,

I know that when you get close to your goal weight the pounds come off slowly. But, I am 5'3.5" and 164 pounds, so I still have a lot of weight to lose (30-40 pounds). I just thought it would be coming off faster since I'm so far out from my goal I stay under my calories and exercise every single day. So whyyyy so slow??

Thanks for your time and anyone feel free to add me.

SezxyStef

because you are eating more than you think.

I peeked at your diary and I see you don't use a kitchen scale...that is key in logging calories as that is the only way to really know how much you are eating

Check out this post

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

and watch the video too...but to give you perspective

At first I was "eating" 1380 calories + exercise a day and I should have been losing 1lb a week...I was only losing half a pound.

read that post, watched the video, bought a digital scale that day...

I started weighing all my solids and went from 1/2lb a week to 1lb a week and it continues to this day even eating on average 1700 calories a day.

Ktmax456

What do you consider slow?

Youve lost 18 already. That's awesome!

3P0X

Slow and steady wins the race At what pace have you been losing weight? 1 lb/week?

diannethegeek

How slow is slow? With 30-40 pounds to lose you want to aim for 1 - 1 1/2 pounds per week maximum.

You don't appear to be weighing your foods and you eat out a lot. That's not a problem and you can definitely still lose weight this way, but you may have to accept slower weight loss when you don't have as much control over what goes into your food.

125KC

If your calories are in fact accurate, I notice you eat under 1200 a day, which may be too little. I was eating under 1200 and got no where until I upped my calories a bit, then i started to lose...might be worth looking into this too if your calorie count is not out as has been suggested above.

Alyssawinter1221

I realized after I posted this that people were going to tell me about getting a scale, I know I should! But being in college, I can't really afford one nor do I honestly think I'll use it /:
As far as food goes, I consider it a win to not have pizza and beer every night with my friends. I'm working on the nutrition though!

Thanks for the thoughts.

GLady1980

Hello,

I was looking at your food diary and i would say that it looks like you are not completly tracking all food but it also looks like you eat the most food later in the day and it is usually junk food maybe try having a larger breakfast with healthy fruits, veg and protein that might work better for you?

Alyssawinter1221

Also, I usually add twice the food I eat (for example if I have half a cup I log a cup) to be sure I didn't over eat, and I log half of my exercise (took an hour cardio class, I only log 30 min) so I don't ever estimate. How could I still be going over?

Also I guess it's not as slow as I thought, I did the math and I've lost about 1.6 pounds a week.

I guess I'm just getting impatient.

WBB55

Also, I usually add twice the food I eat (for example if I have half a cup I log a cup) to be sure I didn't over eat, and I log half of my exercise (took an hour cardio class, I only log 30 min) so I don't ever estimate. How could I still be going over?

So what you're saying is, let's say yesterday, you actually only ate half of what you logged (so a total of 571 calories total) and you exercised 446 calories? So you "netted" 125 calories for the day?

My suggestion is to start logging accurately. Then after you're doing that consistently, you can start seeing where you can make changes.

Serah87

I realized after I posted this that people were going to tell me about getting a scale, I know I should! But being in college, I can't really afford one nor do I honestly think I'll use it /:
As far as food goes, I consider it a win to not have pizza and beer every night with my friends. I'm working on the nutrition though!

Thanks for the thoughts.

But you can afford to go out eat all the time. Gotcha. :laugh:

Alyssawinter1221

I realized after I posted this that people were going to tell me about getting a scale, I know I should! But being in college, I can't really afford one nor do I honestly think I'll use it /:
As far as food goes, I consider it a win to not have pizza and beer every night with my friends. I'm working on the nutrition though!

Thanks for the thoughts.

But you can afford to go out eat all the time. Gotcha. :laugh:

Well I never thought of that until you so rudely brought it to my attention, so thank you I suppose. It doesn't change the fact that I'm the worst cook on the planet. But I'll try

KatyRu

Have you ever bought a pizza? Like $3.99 can buy you a medium Hot'N'Ready pizza at Little Caesar's. Have you ever made a healthy meal? Far more expensive from my experience, unless you like munching on lettuce and carrots all day. Just saying.

Not to the OP, just forgot to quote.

SezxyStef

I realized after I posted this that people were going to tell me about getting a scale, I know I should! But being in college, I can't really afford one nor do I honestly think I'll use it /:
As far as food goes, I consider it a win to not have pizza and beer every night with my friends. I'm working on the nutrition though!

Thanks for the thoughts.

But you can afford to go out eat all the time. Gotcha. :laugh:

Well I never thought of that until you so rudely brought it to my attention, so thank you I suppose. It doesn't change the fact that I'm the worst cook on the planet. But I'll try

wasn't really rude just to the point..but I got mine for like 20$...trust me it's a great tool...and it takes all of 5mins max in a day to weigh your food...seriously...well for me now...

Sarah4fitness

I realized after I posted this that people were going to tell me about getting a scale, I know I should! But being in college, I can't really afford one nor do I honestly think I'll use it /:
As far as food goes, I consider it a win to not have pizza and beer every night with my friends. I'm working on the nutrition though!

Thanks for the thoughts.

But you can afford to go out eat all the time. Gotcha. :laugh:

Well I never thought of that until you so rudely brought it to my attention, so thank you I suppose. It doesn't change the fact that I'm the worst cook on the planet. But I'll try

Those scales are on amazon and cost about ten bucks or less. You can afford one. It's the excuse not to weigh that's holding you back. No one wants to limit their intake, no one wants to actually be accountable for the food they're eating having (gasp) and effect on how their body looks.
Don't cheat yourself by fudging numbers, log accurately, eat according to what will create a deficit for you, and progress.
1.6lbs a week is mighty respectable, btw.

errorist

Have you ever bought a pizza? Like $3.99 can buy you a medium Hot'N'Ready pizza at Little Caesar's. Have you ever made a healthy meal? Far more expensive from my experience, unless you like munching on lettuce and carrots all day. Just saying.

Not to the OP, just forgot to quote.

I would encourage anyone to learn how to cook healthy food. It is a proper life skill. Like being able to put up a tent.

Julesoola

Also, I usually add twice the food I eat (for example if I have half a cup I log a cup) to be sure I didn't over eat, and I log half of my exercise (took an hour cardio class, I only log 30 min) so I don't ever estimate. How could I still be going over?

Also I guess it's not as slow as I thought, I did the math and I've lost about 1.6 pounds a week.

I guess I'm just getting impatient.

A lot of your diary entries show you only logging (for examples) half or 2/3 a sandwich or 1/4 of a loaded baked potato or 3/4 a cup of cereal...does this really mean you're only eating 1/4 to 1/3 of a sandwich or 1/8 of a loaded potato or 3/8 (?!) of a cup of cereal?? How do you even measure that? If you find yourself stalling you're probably going to want to take an honest look at these estimations.

As a side note, given that you are hoping to one day become a dietitian, you're going to have to have these same conversations with people coming to you for help and you're going to be the one calling shenanigans on their excuses. I think that's what people here are trying to do for you, help you eliminate the excuses so that you can see the progress you want.

Alyssawinter1221

Also, I usually add twice the food I eat (for example if I have half a cup I log a cup) to be sure I didn't over eat, and I log half of my exercise (took an hour cardio class, I only log 30 min) so I don't ever estimate. How could I still be going over?

Also I guess it's not as slow as I thought, I did the math and I've lost about 1.6 pounds a week.

I guess I'm just getting impatient.

A lot of your diary entries show you only logging (for examples) half or 2/3 a sandwich or 1/4 of a loaded baked potato or 3/4 a cup of cereal...does this really mean you're only eating 1/4 to 1/3 of a sandwich or 1/8 of a loaded potato or 3/8 (?!) of a cup of cereal?? How do you even measure that? If you find yourself stalling you're probably going to want to take an honest look at these estimations.

As a side note, given that you are hoping to one day become a dietitian, you're going to have to have these same conversations with people coming to you for help and you're going to be the one calling shenanigans on their excuses. I think that's what people here are trying to do for you, help you eliminate the excuses so that you can see the progress you want.

If I log half a sandwich, I only ate a 1/3 or a 1/4. Sometimes I log a 1/4 if I took a bite if someone else's sandwich. How do I measure half a serving of cereal? 1/4 cup milk? With a measuring cup. Potato? Cut it into eighths.

seltzermint555

I looked at your diary and the only thing I wanted to bring up here that others haven't is when you go to restaurants and choose items from the database that are actually from other restaurants, that can be really tricky. By this I mean, even if a side dish at 2 restaurants looked and tasted identical, and you were logging exactly what ONE of their sites said nutrition-wise it doesn't mean the dish is really all that close in a different restaurant. I understand as a college student you may be going out to eat a lot because you're busy and what not...but this is one fast way to jack up your calories quite a bit (high or low). For example I have gone to a local burger place that posts their accurate nutritional info and a small double hamburger was 650 but at Steak N' Shake the "exact same thing" is 390 calories. Or with ice cream...a scoop from Braum's is around 170-230 calories, a large scoop from the custard shop could be close to 500 calories.

kmglennie

Seriously, the food scale is a game changer: I got mine for about $15 and I am shocked at how much of a difference it makes. I think it's definitely worth the investment, and then you know exactly what you're taking in. Congrats on the progress so far!

Edited to add:

This video shows really clearly why measuring spoons and cups are not giving you accurate counts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

seltzermint555

I realized after I posted this that people were going to tell me about getting a scale, I know I should! But being in college, I can't really afford one nor do I honestly think I'll use it /:
As far as food goes, I consider it a win to not have pizza and beer every night with my friends. I'm working on the nutrition though!

Thanks for the thoughts.

But you can afford to go out eat all the time. Gotcha. :laugh:

I don't mean to sound like I am ganging up on the OP or anything but this is kind of what I thought too. I was truly a poor college student and if I was going to have a restaurant meal it was either a date with someone out of college already, or a birthday meal from my parents LOL. Not three times a day to various chains.

stacythrashersanfilippo

I found a scale at the goodwill for $1.99. Look around at the thrift stores.

JoshuaElement

I realized after I posted this that people were going to tell me about getting a scale, I know I should! But being in college, I can't really afford one nor do I honestly think I'll use it /:
As far as food goes, I consider it a win to not have pizza and beer every night with my friends. I'm working on the nutrition though!

Thanks for the thoughts.

You're just full of excuses aren't you?

If you can't track something accurately you won't get good results.

When I'm in a lab doing submaximal testing on a subject do you think I'm guessing what their V02 is? I sure as hell don't sit there and say, "Uhh. I guess you're at 60% at the moment, let's push it a little harder". God no. I have a calibrated machine that gives me exact readings.

God damn people are stupid these days.

Morgaath

I realized after I posted this that people were going to tell me about getting a scale, I know I should! But being in college, I can't really afford one nor do I honestly think I'll use it /:
As far as food goes, I consider it a win to not have pizza and beer every night with my friends. I'm working on the nutrition though!

Thanks for the thoughts.

I know what it is like when money is tight, but you can find digital scales on Amazon for $6-10.
http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Scales-Digital-BL-1KG-BLK/dp/B0012N1NAA/ref=lp_289787_1_1/188-4968000-0203218?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1394659829&sr=1-1

chelseafxx

No offense to the OP but the poor college student excuse just definitely is that...an EXCUSE!! I have been poor as *kitten* for the past 4 years and my first year was absolutely horrific. I ate only the food on campus and wasn't working out and just rotted in my dorm room and cried and ate badly. That summer, I decided to quit the excuses and just do it and from that day on I never looked back. Now?? Couldn't tell you the last time I went out to eat at school. If my friends want to do something I will gladly do it but if it must involve food I do it on my cheat meal day. Other than that, I won't eat with them. Don't be afraid to do the EXACT OPPOSITE of what everyone else is doing. It is actually quite liberating. I watch my roommates eat disgusting food every day while I go to the grocery store once a week spend $50 on raw chicken, bags of salad, bags of fresh veggies, yogurt, etc. Baking chicken in the oven takes about 40 minutes and in the last 10 minutes I steam my veggies on the stove. VOILA! I am living paycheck to paycheck barely making ends meet right now but I am happy because my goals come first in my life. Also, I've never used a food scale and never had an issue. I would suggest changing your nutrition before you go the food scale route. You would probably see better results. Hope you find your success!!

OMGeeeHorses

Slow and steady girl. I am 5'3 and you see how much I have to lose and the weight I have lost has taken close to 1 year to get off. I should be the one complaining about not losing it fast enough LOL and I workout 6 days a week and 1 day rest :P

melinda200208

I am no expert at all here, but after looking at your diary, I am wondering if you need to make some changes in your eating habits? It doesn't look like you eat much of any fruits or veggies. Also, it looks like you have a lot of "take out" meals. You dont eat a whole lot each day but the little bit of foods you do eat dont seam like the best options??? I would suggest planning ahead, making your meals and lunches.

Morgaath

Have you ever bought a pizza? Like $3.99 can buy you a medium Hot'N'Ready pizza at Little Caesar's. Have you ever made a healthy meal? Far more expensive from my experience, unless you like munching on lettuce and carrots all day. Just saying.

Not to the OP, just forgot to quote.

I think that is because you don't know how to make cheap healthy meals.
Try this site (Navigation is weird...but hey) http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/recipes-food/

And read this to understand where she is coming from: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/07/jack-monroe-ready-meal-challenge

lindsey1979

I do agree with people on the scale issue -- you can find good ones on Amazon for less than $20-30. Here is one I bought: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001N07KUE/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It really can be a game changer.

But you say that you're losing 1.6 lb/week and exercising -- that's a good number. The more fat you lose versus muscle, the slow the numbers on the scale will go. This is because 1 lb of fat releases 3500 kcals, where as 1 lb of muscle releases far fewer kcals (somewhere from 600-1500 kcals). So, when you have a 3500 calorie deficit, if it's all fat, you'll only lose 1 lb. But if it's all muscle that's lost, that could be as much as 5.8 lbs on the scale.

Two ways you can reduce the muscle loss of the equation (i.e. and increase your percentage of fat) is (1) heavy lifting and (2) sufficient protein intake (debate on what this is, but I use 0.7 g protein per lb bodyweight). Most exercise also helps this equation, but heavy lifting has been shown specifically.

So, when you're losing more fat and less muscle in a caloric deficit, the scale goes down slower. So, 1.6 lbs is actually a very good number if you're exercising (especially heavy lifting) and eating enough protein. You're doing pretty good!

For lifting, check out this story -- she's the same size at 117 lbs, 132 lbs and 141 lbs -- the difference is that she put on a lot more muscle and improved her body comp. I find it really inspirational: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

Alex_murphyy

I also looked at your diary and one of the things I noticed is the foods that you are eating. I am in the same boat as you. We are at about the same weight. I know people will debate me till there blue in the face but just because your food is within your calories doesn't mean that it isn't affecting your body. Look at your sodium intake, your fat intake as well as your carb intake. For example, last night you had peach cobbler. Even though you were within your calories for the day, things like that will prolong your weight loss.

I have noticed when I eat less carbs and more protein in the day, I loose. Just what I have noticed about myself.
Hopefully this helps!

Sunitagt

Also, I usually add twice the food I eat (for example if I have half a cup I log a cup) to be sure I didn't over eat, and I log half of my exercise (took an hour cardio class, I only log 30 min) so I don't ever estimate. How could I still be going over?

Also I guess it's not as slow as I thought, I did the math and I've lost about 1.6 pounds a week.

I guess I'm just getting impatient.

A lot of your diary entries show you only logging (for examples) half or 2/3 a sandwich or 1/4 of a loaded baked potato or 3/4 a cup of cereal...does this really mean you're only eating 1/4 to 1/3 of a sandwich or 1/8 of a loaded potato or 3/8 (?!) of a cup of cereal?? How do you even measure that? If you find yourself stalling you're probably going to want to take an honest look at these estimations.

As a side note, given that you are hoping to one day become a dietitian, you're going to have to have these same conversations with people coming to you for help and you're going to be the one calling shenanigans on their excuses. I think that's what people here are trying to do for you, help you eliminate the excuses so that you can see the progress you want.

If I log half a sandwich, I only ate a 1/3 or a 1/4. Sometimes I log a 1/4 if I took a bite if someone else's sandwich. How do I measure half a serving of cereal? 1/4 cup milk? With a measuring cup. Potato? Cut it into eighths.

OP, just wanted to point out if you do get a food scale, it is very easy to measure the amount of potato you're having in grams, milks in fluid ounces or mL, cereal in ounces or grams. Most do tare and conversions. It is insanely easier to measure food on a scale than with eye-balling or measuring cups/spoons.