Finding what works for you.

CazLovesCalories

I have tried eat more to weigh less, and I gained every week (I logged perfectly). I tried eating 1500 calories and not eating back exercie cals, I gained. I tried eating 1500 and eating some exercise cals, I gained.

I am now eating 1200 cals, and not eating any exercise cals (i walk about 5 miles a day)...and I am losing half a pound a week, if I am lucky. I don't want a quick fix by any means, I understand all that....but everyone seems to be losing more than me, and its so disheartening

Just not sure what to do anymore. I seem to gain in the blink of an eye.

I am 5ft 6, and weigh 223lb.

CazLovesCalories

I have noticed on my fitbit dashboard (for those that have a fitbit), I am under most days....could that be it? There is a dial that says UNDER, CORRECT, OVER which tells you if you have eaten enough. I have never understood fitbit really..I just wear it and log my food. Could this be why?

Yesterday I ate 1200 cals, and I burnt 1300 in exercise.

lamps1303

If you are really eating the calories you say you are there is no reason why you shouldn't be losing weight. Chances are you're eating more than you think.

Your diary is closed so cannot directly comment on what you're eating - open it for specific advice

General rules when logging:
- Measure and weigh EVERYTHING!
- Log EVERYTHING - this includes, milk/creamer and sugar in tea/coffee, drinks, especially alcohol, condiments, cooking oil, spreads (butter, margarine, etc.), all snacks and 'nibbles' i.e. the odd biscuit, a bite of someones food,
- Be honest - just because you didn't log it, doesn't mean you didn't eat it

To lose weight you need to have calorie deficit - it's as simple as that. Cardio exercise simply allows you to eat more, whilst also having obvious health benefits. You can lose weight without doing cardio. Try lifting weights too.

Like I said, no-one will be able to comment accurately without seeing your food diary to look at what and how you log.

CazLovesCalories

Trust me, I log everything!!! I have been on MFP for 757 days now, everything that goes in I log. I think maybe I am eating too little

CazLovesCalories

I have unlocked my diary.

TavistockToad

I have tried eat more to weigh less, and I gained every week (I logged perfectly). I tried eating 1500 calories and not eating back exercie cals, I gained. I tried eating 1500 and eating some exercise cals, I gained.

how long did you try each of these different calorie amounts for? how much did you gain?

CazLovesCalories

About 4 weeks, and I didn't gain much, but I didn't lose. For the most part I gained 1lb, and then maintained at the same weight for the whole month.

TavistockToad

I have unlocked my diary.

while you dont have to eat fruit and veg to lose weight, from a health persepctive it would be good for you to at least try and get one or 2 of your 5 a day!

TavistockToad

About 4 weeks, and I didn't gain much, but I didn't lose. For the most part I gained 1lb, and then maintained at the same weight for the whole month.

given that women have a monthly cycle i would give it more than 4 weeks to account for any fluctuations.

if you dont want to eat back exercise calories, work out your TDEE and take off 20%.

heroeslegend

So I had a look at your diary for the last week or so. There's only little things which I could see that you could try.

Firstly, each evening meal has complex carbohydrate - rice, potato, batter (was the sausage n chips n curry sauce good?) etc. I've found weight loss better to keep these types of starchy foods to breakfast or lunch.

Some of the calories look low. ~600 cals for a trip to the chippy for example seems low. Real low. Other items also appeared to be low. I've experienced that anything with pastry tends to be under estimated (consider short pastry is pretty much flour and fat in equal measures..)

Finally, wheres the fruit and water? :-)

I suspect that potentially that it is a combination of calories and volume that is causing the problem. If you consider the fact that the foods are calorie packed, and thus to keep the daily limit in check the volumes/portions are small, your body is probably going into starvation mode, slowing peristalsis. I suspect that swapping some/more/all of the processed foods out for more natural fruit/veg would result in bigger volumes for the same amount of calories, which would reduce/remove the starvation mode, make your digestive tract quicker and hence use the calories rather than attempting to store them?

lamps1303

Just had a really quick look at your diary...
- Do you weigh your slices of bread? As crazy as it sounds, it may be worth doing. I found the weight of each slice of bread changes dramatically, based on whether you're in the middle of the loaf or at the end.
- Do you actually weigh your butter/spread? 10g sounds very little for 3 slices of bread...
- Try to avoid 'generic' and 'homemade' entries (of course unless these are your own entries). The amount of milk one person puts in their coffee may be very different to others.
- Is there a reason there is little to no fruit/veg? (from a health perspective).
- You should still weigh any food items from a packet (you cannot guarantee each item is the same, despite the packet saying it is). I bought a bag of 6 salmon fillets. The packet said each fillet was 125g. I weighed 2. One was 75g, the other was around 130g, which would obviously impact on the calories. I never trust the weight the packets say, it is always just an average.
- Weigh your condiments - 14g of mayo isn't actually a full tablespoon - it's more like half or a quarter when you actually weigh it
- With food items like scrambled eggs, it's more accurate to log 2 eggs (raw) then add any butter/oil used during cooking. These little things add up.
- You're getting a lot of your calories from cakes, chocolate, biscuits, etc. While this isn't an issue if you're hitting your calories/macros, nutritionally it's not particularly healthy. You're better off sticking to 1 treat item and use the calories for more nutrient dense foods.
- You don't log water consumption (that's fine - I don't log it either) - how much water do you drink? Water should be your best friend and you should drink lots of it

The main things to remember:
- Weigh EVERYTHING
- Don't waste calories on sweet treats and alcohol - you're on a calorie restricted diet so you need to use each calorie wisely.

Hope that's useful.

CazLovesCalories

So I had a look at your diary for the last week or so. There's only little things which I could see that you could try.

Firstly, each evening meal has complex carbohydrate - rice, potato, batter (was the sausage n chips n curry sauce good?) etc. I've found weight loss better to keep these types of starchy foods to breakfast or lunch.

Some of the calories look low. ~600 cals for a trip to the chippy for example seems low. Real low. Other items also appeared to be low. I've experienced that anything with pastry tends to be under estimated (consider short pastry is pretty much flour and fat in equal measures..)

Finally, wheres the fruit and water? :-)

I suspect that potentially that it is a combination of calories and volume that is causing the problem. If you consider the fact that the foods are calorie packed, and thus to keep the daily limit in check the volumes/portions are small, your body is probably going into starvation mode, slowing peristalsis. I suspect that swapping some/more/all of the processed foods out for more natural fruit/veg would result in bigger volumes for the same amount of calories, which would reduce/remove the starvation mode, make your digestive tract quicker and hence use the calories rather than attempting to store them?

To be honest, the sausage and chips were the first take away I had for months, I hate eating them as I gain so easily after but the boyfriend brought it home as we had no food in for dinner.

I dont log water, but I do drink it.

To be honest, I could eat more fruit. That is one thing my diary majorly lacks I will admit that.

CazLovesCalories

Just had a really quick look at your diary...
- Do you weigh your slices of bread? As crazy as it sounds, it may be worth doing. I found the weight of each slice of bread changes dramatically, based on whether you're in the middle of the loaf or at the end.
- Do you actually weigh your butter/spread? 10g sounds very little for 3 slices of bread...
- Try to avoid 'generic' and 'homemade' entries (of course unless these are your own entries). The amount of milk one person puts in their coffee may be very different to others.
- Is there a reason there is little to no fruit/veg? (from a health perspective).
- You should still weigh any food items from a packet (you cannot guarantee each item is the same, despite the packet saying it is). I bought a bag of 6 salmon fillets. The packet said each fillet was 125g. I weighed 2. One was 75g, the other was around 130g, which would obviously impact on the calories. I never trust the weight the packets say, it is always just an average.
- Weigh your condiments - 14g of mayo isn't actually a full tablespoon - it's more like half or a quarter when you actually weigh it
- With food items like scrambled eggs, it's more accurate to log 2 eggs (raw) then add any butter/oil used during cooking. These little things add up.
- You're getting a lot of your calories from cakes, chocolate, biscuits, etc. While this isn't an issue if you're hitting your calories/macros, nutritionally it's not particularly healthy. You're better off sticking to 1 treat item and use the calories for more nutrient dense foods.
- You don't log water consumption (that's fine - I don't log it either) - how much water do you drink? Water should be your best friend and you should drink lots of it

The main things to remember:
- Weigh EVERYTHING
- Don't waste calories on sweet treats and alcohol - you're on a calorie restricted diet so you need to use each calorie wisely.

Hope that's useful.

HIya, thanks for looking. The homemade things are mine. I log the recipes everytime I make something myself.

I will log my butters, and condiments better, thank you. I know my fruit and veg are basically crap. I dont know why I dont eat more fruit as I do like it, but veg and me are not best friends. I only eat what I like, and that is not alot.

I know carbs are my downfall. This is one thing I really need to look at more carefully

lamps1303

Just had a really quick look at your diary...
- Do you weigh your slices of bread? As crazy as it sounds, it may be worth doing. I found the weight of each slice of bread changes dramatically, based on whether you're in the middle of the loaf or at the end.
- Do you actually weigh your butter/spread? 10g sounds very little for 3 slices of bread...
- Try to avoid 'generic' and 'homemade' entries (of course unless these are your own entries). The amount of milk one person puts in their coffee may be very different to others.
- Is there a reason there is little to no fruit/veg? (from a health perspective).
- You should still weigh any food items from a packet (you cannot guarantee each item is the same, despite the packet saying it is). I bought a bag of 6 salmon fillets. The packet said each fillet was 125g. I weighed 2. One was 75g, the other was around 130g, which would obviously impact on the calories. I never trust the weight the packets say, it is always just an average.
- Weigh your condiments - 14g of mayo isn't actually a full tablespoon - it's more like half or a quarter when you actually weigh it
- With food items like scrambled eggs, it's more accurate to log 2 eggs (raw) then add any butter/oil used during cooking. These little things add up.
- You're getting a lot of your calories from cakes, chocolate, biscuits, etc. While this isn't an issue if you're hitting your calories/macros, nutritionally it's not particularly healthy. You're better off sticking to 1 treat item and use the calories for more nutrient dense foods.
- You don't log water consumption (that's fine - I don't log it either) - how much water do you drink? Water should be your best friend and you should drink lots of it

The main things to remember:
- Weigh EVERYTHING
- Don't waste calories on sweet treats and alcohol - you're on a calorie restricted diet so you need to use each calorie wisely.

Hope that's useful.

HIya, thanks for looking. The homemade things are mine. I log the recipes everytime I make something myself.

I will log my butters, and condiments better, thank you. I know my fruit and veg are basically crap. I dont know why I dont eat more fruit as I do like it, but veg and me are not best friends. I only eat what I like, and that is not alot.

I know carbs are my downfall. This is one thing I really need to look at more carefully

Fruit is a brilliant way of getting a fix if you're craving something sweet - I find apples, oranges and pineapple are the best for that. I will never tell you to stop eating biscuits, cakes, etc. everyday as there is nothing wrong with it if you're hitting your calorie/macro goals. But perhaps have just one sweet treat and replace the other with a fruit salad or a smoothie?

I can understand you not getting on with veg, but you can be clever with the way you incorporate it into your meals, e.g. carrot and suede mash, sweet potato (greatest thing ever), adding mushrooms, peppers and carrots to bolognese sauce, omelette loaded with onions, peppers and mushrooms (or anything else!), stuffing chicken breast with a load of flavoured veg and pesto, etc.

CazLovesCalories

I will defo take your advice, thanks so much for taking the time to comment x

lamps1303

I will defo take your advice, thanks so much for taking the time to comment x

No problem. Feel free to add me. Would love to keep track of how you're getting on