Look at my diary please??

Supergirl9801

I have a feeling I'm not losing weight because I'm not eating enough protein? I've been working out intensely for almost a month and although I've seen a difference measurement wise, I'm not seeing any difference in my weight. It's getting very frustrating. I'm 5'6", 168, F. I am wanting to lose about 30 lbs and was hoping to lose 2 lbs/week. I put those specs in and it told me to eat 1200 calories a day and that I'd lose 1.3 lbs/week. I played around with different numbers to try to get it to 2 lbs./week and it just won't change?? Any suggestions?? I'm not exactly eating the "healthiest", and yesterday I had a splurge day and went way over my calories. Other than that day though, I tend to stay under my suggested calories. At first, I thought I wasn't losing because I was eating way too few calories, so I tried to bump it up some, but it still doesn't seem to be working. Getting frustrated!

BoxerBrawler

I am no expert but to me it looks like you are eating too much sugar and carbs, not enough healthy foods... I found success going with a lot of veggies, protein and dairy with very limited fruit and low carb.

Blokeypoo

Not sure if it's any help but I lost 28lbs on 1400cals/day and am only 5'2.5. I would never have aimed or hoped for 2lb/wk to be honest.

BUT, I didn't go hard at it, I exercised more but not madly and ate less but not tons less. I wanted a lifestyle change not a strict diet or unsustainable exercise plan.

I don't have enough diet/exercise knowledge to comment on fine detail but wonder if playing the longer game and not aiming for 2lbs/wk (when losing relatively little) would help.

QuietBloom

Yes, I agree that you are not eating enough protein. Up it to 1g/lb of lean body mass, or at least 100 g a day. Do you weigh your food? I suggest you buy a food scale - I got mine for less that $7 including shipping off of ebay.

SuperC_85

I see empty days and that you have only been logging consistently since last week Thursday?

But diary entries look good, you may want to have a look at upping your proteins a bit, That is consistently low.

Are you weighing all your food?

motivatedmartha

If you've been doing this for one month and have noticed changes in your measurements you're doing well - just be patient. Things are obviously happening and the scales aren't the bee all and end all

You could try and make sure that as many of your calories are good nutritionally and limit the 'treats' to one or two small ones a day. I also have a problem eating enough protein and love my fruit but it's worth trying to up the protein and cut the sugar a bit (in my opinion - not an expert). But - if you are eating at deficit you will lose weight - just keep going.

ETA like others have said - weigh and measure to make sure you are accurately logging

writergeek313

You won't lose 2 pounds a week if you only have 30 pounds to lose. 2 pounds per week is only realistic for people who have 75 pounds or more to lose. 1 pound a week is more realistic for now, though once you get to 20 pounds or less to lose, .5 pound a week will probably be what works.

I really recommend getting a food scale and weighing the things that you eat. I see some entries in your diary that I seem like they're probably not accurate (did you really go to McDonald's to get apple slices? If not, how do you know the apple slices you ate are the same serving size as McDonald's?). Little things like that add up in a hurry and can really keep you from losing weight. That happened to me.

I would try to get a lot more vegetables in your diet, since there are almost none in your diary since you started logging last week. I also agree with what others have said about adding more protein and cutting back on refined sugar. Do you really need 7 tsp. of sugar in your oatmeal in the morning? Almost 1/3 of your breakfast calories come from that sugar, which means they're empty calories. They're not doing anything to help you stay full until lunch. It would be better if they were coming from some kind of protein, like a hard boiled egg. Likewise, yesterday if you knew you were going to have cake, why waste almost 300 calories on sugary lemonade? Think of your calories like money--you want to make good investments, not impulse purchases.

melsinct

I had/have roughly the same stats as you (5’7” started at 175, lost 30 lbs). I can tell you from experience that setting MFP for a 2 lb/week loss is WAY too aggressive. I did the same thing in the beginning and it was all wrong: I wasn’t losing, and I wasn’t eating enough. Once I corrected that and set MFP for a 1 lb/week loss, the weight started moving again after 2 weeks or so.

Other observations: I agree you don’t eat enough protein. You also eat just about no vegetables. Your sugar is pretty high too due to packaged meal dinners, eating sugary meal replacement bars for lunch (real food will be more satiating), etc. Not that you have to do a complete diet overhaul immediately, but it would be beneficial to eat more vegetables and protein and less junky stuff.

Lastly, you don’t log consistently. This is a huge red flag as to why you aren’t seeing the results you want. If you don’t log it, then how do you know you’re doing it right?

Supergirl9801

Haaa, the apple slices were from my kid's happy meal LOL. So, yeah, that was pretty accurate. I don't weigh my foods. Don't really want to fool with that honestly. I will increase my veggie intake and concentrate on lowering my sugars. Yesterday was my cheat day...hence the lemonade and the chocolate cake. I'm just going to keep plugging along. I know it will come off eventually. I dropped about 15 lbs last summer but gained it all back just sitting around over the winter time. This time I don't just want to drop lbs, but really build muscle. Thanks for the advice. I've been working out for about a month but really only logging food for the last week or so, so it's not truly accurate yet to make too many conclusions.

jackielou867

Define working out "intensely" Are you only using scales or are you taking measurements. Are you lifting or doing mainly cardio. I work out intensely with weights, and my hope is to get leaner by losing fat and gaining muscle, and since muscle is heavier than fat I don't expect to lose any weight.
I think you need to break the carb/sugar cycle, you have an awful sweet tooth, as did I last year. Now I genuinely prefer to eat a bowl of fresh veggies and tuna to bread/cake/sugar. I eat a lot of fish, along with cottage cheese, eggs and low fat Greek yogurt ( I used to add honey when I first started with this but not now) . Protein helps me stay fuller longer, and the quantity of veggies I eat mean I can literally eat all day if I want to.
MFP will not put you under 1200 calories, no matter what your goal, because it is not safe, its hard to get nutritional balance with less. Plus if you exercise you need to eat back most of those calories. If you don't eat enough, you can end up levelling out, I am not literate enough to explain why, I just know it happened to me last year, I plateaued for a few weeks, then I did some research, upped my calories, and started to lose again.

bimpski

the first thing I see is a lot of sugar. another thing I see is only a few days worth of diary entries. and be careful what you pick for your diary entries. I noticed that the chocolate cake had no sugar, maybe it was sugar free, but it didn't say so? and the chicken alfredo had no carbs, no protein, no sugar and most importantly no sodium? choose something in the database the better reflects accuracy. and the last thing I notice was that you are not drinking enough water.

asciiqwerty

much the same as others, though i notice that some of the items you are logging may also not be accurate, your chocolate cake with frosting entry has no sugar associated with it

so especially as you seem to be high on sugar and low on protein, it may help you to make a special effort to check that the entries you are chosing are complete, especially user submitted entries, as not all users are as careful as others at completing hte nutritional information fully

good luck, i know that measuring and logging is a drag - but it is really worth the effort
if you're watching your sugars, focus on upping you intake of green veggies rather than fruit, I've recenlty started carrying pots of sugar snaps, snow peas or mange tout with me as they are naturally sweet and tasty when raw and snacking on those helps me not to want to snack on other things

SuperC_85

I don't weigh my foods. Don't really want to fool with that honestly. I will increase my veggie intake and concentrate on lowering my sugars.

I've been working out for about a month but really only logging food for the last week or so, so it's not truly accurate yet to make too many conclusions.

Yeah if you aren't logging then most people on this site (calorie counting site) wont be able to help you much.

Weighing your foods is quite a biggie if you want accuracy.

Thats how calorie counting works try it for a good 6 weeks then reassess your diary.

Good luck

damjanslapar

I believe you're not accurate on food logging (others explained why).

On top of that, you're logging quite high number of extra calorie burning (especially for a girl). While I by no means think this can't be done or you're not really burning that much, just double check that this are correct values: 800-900+ calories is anywhere from 1:15-1:30h quite fast jogging. Or 3+ hours weight lifting.

wilsoje74

What type of exercise are you doing to burn that high?

You need to log accurately, stop the cheat days, stay within calories. You are still eating too much if you are not losing.

Supergirl9801

I'm sure that my food logging is definitely not accurate as I do have to guess on some things I put it. I know my exercise is accurate though. I use Map My Fitness and time them. I ride a wind resistant bike for 30 minutes, do 20 minutes on weights and abs, then another 30-45 minute kickboxing routine. It's definitely an intense workout. I'm honestly more focused on that than my food.

wilsoje74

I'm sure that my food logging is definitely not accurate as I do have to guess on some things I put it. I know my exercise is accurate though. I use Map My Fitness and time them. I ride a wind resistant bike for 30 minutes, do 20 minutes on weights and abs, then another 30-45 minute kickboxing routine. It's definitely an intense workout. I'm honestly more focused on that than my food.

Cals burned do seem high for that workout. However if it's working then continue. Remember weight loss happens I. The kitchen, fitness in the gym. You can't out exercise a bad diet.
The biking is maybe 200 cal, the weights and abs minimal (100?) and kickboxing maybe 300 max for half hour. Is there no warmup or cool down?

lauren3101

I don't weigh my foods. Don't really want to fool with that honestly.

Yesterday was my cheat day

I've been working out for about a month but really only logging food for the last week or so

This is why you are not losing weight.

If you want it badly enough, you will log your food, you will measure and weigh your food, and you won't have 'cheat' days - they aren't necessary.

You've also lost inches - would you rather measure your success by the way you look, or by a random number on a scale that only you see and know?

As for your food diary, yes your protein is low, you also eat at restaurants a lot - not a criticism, but just bear in mind that they will be high in sodium which can cause water retention = no weight loss. I also see little fruit and veg or home made meals..
It depends whether you want to just lose weight or improve your health.

And by the way:

This time I don't just want to drop lbs, but really build muscle.

You won't build muscle eating at a deficit.

juliemouse83

Exercise for health, diet for weight loss is what I've always been told, so that's what I focused on. I also weighed and measured my food, and have logged it religiously daily for over a year. Edited to add that if you don't log what you're consuming how do you know if you are eating at a deficit?

Blokeypoo

Got to echo the others, as soon as you say you're not weighing food you cannot say a plan isn't working tbh.

We all have to estimate when out but not weighing stuff at home (I thought I'd punch someone but do it in seconds now) is likely to lead to failure which does your head in and adds to the head messer that wt control can be!

biffmon

Yes, I agree that you are not eating enough protein. Up it to 1g/lb of lean body mass, or at least 100 g a day. Do you weigh your food? I suggest you buy a food scale - I got mine for less that $7 including shipping off of ebay.

From what I can see I agree that you need to up your protein intake. "Up it to 1g/lb of lean body mass" is a good baseline. You can do this by supplementing with a protein shake (there are tons of tasty ones out there) or by focusing in on high protein foods.

That great thing about high protein foods is that they tend to be lower in both calories and carbs. The other plus is that you will feel fuller eating more protein. On top of that your body has to work harder to break down protein which in turn burns more calories.

Please keep in mind that this is not the Atkins diet. The goal is not to eliminate carbs but be smarter with the carbs you eat. Complex carbs rather than simple are much better for you.

So yep... increase the protein and you should notice a difference.

hope that helps!