Eating much better and till ganing weight - HELP!?

theguy12

So I used to eat fast food three times a day plus huge snacks (basically extra meals). Probably 4000+ calories a day. Normal day consisted of:
Breakfast burrito + two donuts
Candy bar
Medium Italian sub + small BLT sub + cookie
snack bars
Two plates of spaghetti with 8 meatballs + salad with ranch
Cookies or ice cream bar, candy


Now as you can see in my diary I have cut most of that out and cut way back to around 2000 calories per day. I do falter occasionally but not often and typically am right around my calorie goal.

HOWEVER I AM GAINING WEIGHT INSTEAD OF LOSING IT. Two questions:

1.) Is it better to eat a big breakfast to get metabolism going and smaller lunch and dinner?
2.) What am I doing wrong?
3.) Would it be worth getting tested to see if I have hyperthyroid or something that causing me to not lose weight?

_Zardoz_

My guess is you're eating far more calories than you think. You have quite a few entries on your diary which are a mixture of dishes under one entry (normally from restaurants) my guess is these for starters are inaccurate. Make sure you log weigh and measure everything accurately. It may seem Labour intensive to start with but it gets easier. Good luck

JoRocka

HOWEVER I AM GAINING WEIGHT INSTEAD OF LOSING IT. Two questions:

looks like three actually- but that's semantics

1.) Is it better to eat a big breakfast to get metabolism going and smaller lunch and dinner?

meal timing is largely irrelevant- unless you are in further stages of being an athlete and or doing some heavy cut/bulk cycles.

2.) What am I doing wrong?

if you are still gaining- you are still eating to much- common flaws with this process
"cheating" in tracking- meaning not logging EVERY single thing that crosses your lips
Improper measuring (get a food scale and use it)
To much estimating- and often under estimating
Overestimating workout calories

3.) Would it be worth getting tested to see if I have hyperthyroid or something that causing me to not lose weight?

Ultimately yes- If you adjust down more- and you aren't seeing results- definitely get thee to a phsyician.

tern73

Firstly, good job on making the improvements you already have.

I looked through the past few weeks of food plus a few random ones over the past few months. My opinions.

1. I doubt that a big breakfast etc does much as far as metabolism goes. There have probably been studies about this but my opinion has always been that it doesn't matter when you get your calories at all. Now if a 500 calorie breakfast prevents you from having a 2000 calorie lunch, then that is still a good thing.

2. Your diary has lots of guessing. Wednesday you had indian buffet for lunch. I love a good indian buffet too, but who knows how many calories it was. Maybe around the 1050 you logged. Maybe more. Maybe LOTS more. Same goes for the previous night's dinner. A plate of pad thai (also delicious btw) and 3 crab rangoons. You might be in the ballpark but I think it has been shown that most people underestimate much more than they overestimate.

Having some meals like that is fine. Having one every day - the inaccuracies are going to add up in a hurry.

As far as general logging, a few short bits of advice
- Measure by weight, not volume. For last night's dinner, weigh the potatoes. Every time I stop doing this I always find that the serving by volume is more than the serving by weight should be.
- Be as specific as possible. Which specific bread did you have last night? It's probably in the database, and if not, you can always add it. Did you put anything on the toast or was it dry? Track that too!

3. I wouldn't ever DIScourage someone from seeking and following the advice of their doctor, and thyroid issues can really mess with you. Definitely talk to them if you feel like you want to. I know a lot of people on thyroid meds. Although my purely non-medical-professional opinion is that you're eating too many calories, caused in part by eating things that are impossible to accurately track.

Best of luck

Lizzy622

Just took a quick look at your diary. LOTS OF SODIUM. You may be retaining water. Stay with it for a couple of weeks but be more careful with sodium intake.

theguy12

Yeah - it's hard to use a scale when your eating out. Just can't do it. You guys really take a scale to restaurants and weigh your food?

As far as other stuff I try to be accurate - I have a scale to verify serving sizes when I am portioning out meals or cooking. My calories are pretty accurate actually. Most food I eat comes from a recipe planner and they give me the exact stats. Wondering if maybe I am eating too little (starvation mode) or too much.

P.S. That buffet consisted of one plate with three items and one suggested serving of each. Just can't help myself - I have a fiancé - we like to eat nice dinners out sometimes.

lisajsund

Try decreasing your carbs.

tern73

A definite "no" on taking a scale to restaurants. It's not (as much) that you can't weigh the food, but there's no way to know what's going into it anyway. How much butter, oil, cream, really calorie-dense ingredients. It's not easy to judge the serving-size by eye, but even if you do it's still hard to guess anywhere close to what your intake actually is.

Good on you for following a meal plan while you're at home, and weighing/measuring etc.

I hear you on eating out with your fiancee. I know we did the same thing when my wife and I were dating.

How do you think you'd handle trying to eat out less? It looks like you have a large-ish meal out almost every day. I strongly doubt you are eating too little.

theguy12

Regardless I a have gone from 4000-5000 calories a day (maybe more) to more like 2000-2500 -- that should result in weight loss. It's a calorie deficit - a big one.

smn76237

Regardless I a have gone from 4000-5000 calories a day (maybe more) to more like 2000-2500 -- that should result in weight loss. It's a calorie deficit - a big one.

I think what everyone here is saying is you probably actually are eating a lot more than 2000-2500 because you're eating out a lot and can't truly know how many calories you're eating. Eating out is convenient for sure, but not so much for tracking calories. Try to eat and make more meals at home, and limit eating out, unless it's a place like McDonald's where the portions you get are actually pretty close to the stated calories in their nutritional information.

JoRocka

A definite "no" on taking a scale to restaurants. It's not (as much) that you can't weigh the food, but there's no way to know what's going into it anyway. How much butter, oil, cream, really calorie-dense ingredients. It's not easy to judge the serving-size by eye, but even if you do it's still hard to guess anywhere close to what your intake actually is.

Good on you for following a meal plan while you're at home, and weighing/measuring etc.

I hear you on eating out with your fiancee. I know we did the same thing when my wife and I were dating.

How do you think you'd handle trying to eat out less? It looks like you have a large-ish meal out almost every day. I strongly doubt you are eating too little.

meh- I have taken mine with me. depends on where I am going.

Although I normally wouldn't take mine with me- I just make good choices that don't have a lot of crap in them- minimize condiments and sauces. The more of that there is- the more likely you are to be going over.

Regardless I a have gone from 4000-5000 calories a day (maybe more) to more like 2000-2500 -- that should result in weight loss. It's a calorie deficit - a big one

yes in theory- but 2500 might still be to much- if you maintain that for 2-3 weeks and aren't loosing- it's still too much.

4000 is grossly over what you need- your perception of what is "enough" is probably really askew.

TR0berts

Regardless I a have gone from 4000-5000 calories a day (maybe more) to more like 2000-2500 -- that should result in weight loss. It's a calorie deficit - a big one.

Maybe. You really don't know, if you're eating out that often. For instance, I had a burger with fries at Chili's one time. I figured it was probably about 700 Calories. I was amazed to find that it was 1500 Calories when I got home.

Also, if you were gaining on 4000 Calories per day, then your maintenance may be between 3000-3500. You might be eating that much now and not realizing it.

agidavis

Instead of getting wrapped up in the quantity and the calories, I would try changing the type of food you eat.
Calories don’t equal calories, and in my opinion if you changed what you eat, just once a day you would have better results and feel fuller too.

You cant lose weight without significantly adding more fruit and veggies. ( not restaurant salads)
The fact that you are considering `starvation mode` only tells me that the food you eat doesn’t meet your nutritional needs which is why you feel hungry sometimes ( I am just guessing ) Actually it happens all the time that we think its because we have expanded our stomach etc, but it’s because your brain is starving for more nutrition not quantity of food.
I made a mistake before that I did not listen to the advice people gave me because `they didn’t know my body` and what they said was simple but not easy.

Trust the process. You can eat the same or less but eat quality food. Just once a day try and switch out your meal to something that has more veggies or is healthier. I see you like pasta dishes, they sell rice noodles in ready to eat at Walmart, i use that with sesame chicken homemade or frozen. NOT the best dish, but better then spaghetti. In subway they have the roasted chicken sandwich instead of the subs. Instead of chips eat a bag of apples.

They even have a book that’s called EAT THIS not THAT. It compares big restaurant chains food, so instead of their mozzarella sticks try their fried eggplant… This will help you make good choices even when you eat out.

Baby steps. I know you will get there.

Good luck!

JoRocka

starvation mode is a myth.

magerum

Calorie source doesn't impact weight loss. A calorie is still a calorie.

serindipte

1. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

2. Weigh all solids. Measuring cups/spoons are not accurate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

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

4. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

How much weight over what time period?

vjohn04

How much weight over what time period?

Do you know what your TDEE is?

jonnythan

"2 cups of hash browns" as 112 calories? Probably more like 600 calories. 3 slices of bread is probably closer to 270-330 calories than 149; more if buttered. 6 links of sausage from a buffet probably more like 600 than 360 calories. "Heaping plate" of buffet food probably more than 1000 calories. "20 oz of pad thai" from a restaurant is probably more like 1200+ calories than 860. 3 crab rangoons closer to 300 than 200. 4 slices of cheese pizza probably more like 1000 than 580, depending.

Etc etc. I see a lot of what looks like rather extreme underestimating in your diary. I also see a lot of quick add calories.

In other words, you seem to be consuming quite a bit more than you think you are. You seem to be eating out at places that don't publish nutrition info pretty much every day, and massively underestimating calories consumed while doing so. And the stuff you're eating at home you don't seem to be weighing or measuring at all.

LolBroScience

Instead of getting wrapped up in the quantity and the calories, I would try changing the type of food you eat.
Calories don’t equal calories, and in my opinion if you changed what you eat, just once a day you would have better results and feel fuller too.

You cant lose weight without significantly adding more fruit and veggies. ( not restaurant salads)
The fact that you are considering `starvation mode` only tells me that the food you eat doesn’t meet your nutritional needs which is why you feel hungry sometimes ( I am just guessing ) Actually it happens all the time that we think its because we have expanded our stomach etc, but it’s because your brain is starving for more nutrition not quantity of food.
I made a mistake before that I did not listen to the advice people gave me because `they didn’t know my body` and what they said was simple but not easy.

Trust the process. You can eat the same or less but eat quality food. Just once a day try and switch out your meal to something that has more veggies or is healthier. I see you like pasta dishes, they sell rice noodles in ready to eat at Walmart, i use that with sesame chicken homemade or frozen. NOT the best dish, but better then spaghetti. In subway they have the roasted chicken sandwich instead of the subs. Instead of chips eat a bag of apples.

They even have a book that’s called EAT THIS not THAT. It compares big restaurant chains food, so instead of their mozzarella sticks try their fried eggplant… This will help you make good choices even when you eat out.

Baby steps. I know you will get there.

Good luck!

.....

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

1. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

2. Weigh all solids. Measuring cups/spoons are not accurate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

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

4. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

This too.

I just wonder if we're talking about fat gain or normal fluctuations.

Also assuming you're gaining fat you should be able to tell by how much you gain over what time period how much you're overeating.