Meanies of MFP - Bring it On

Aaron_K123

OP do you think that at least temporarily you would be willing to stick to home-prepared meals of whole foods? Not because I think eating "clean" is necessary for weight loss but it would allow you to easily and more to the point accurately track your intake using a food scale.

If you ate chicken breast and broccoli and other whole foods where the nutritional content is a known entity and you did that for about a month or two you could really nail down what your maintenance and weight loss calories are. After that you could maybe relax that and just be rigorous about estimating calories in things where the values are not so clear cut.

Its a learning process but it might be easier to learn if you pick foods whose values are fully known.

Examples would be:

Chicken breast
Tuna
Protein powder
Vegetables
Fruits
rice
beans
etc etc

....basically anything you prepare at home from whole ingredients rather than prepackaged where your food scale will give you the portion and from the portion you will know the exact nutrition since it is a whole food.

Just to be clear I don't think so called "Clean" eating is necessary for weight loss but it can make accurate calorie logging a whole lot easier. When I started my diet it was chicken breast tuna and broccoli for me until I got a handle on it after which I relaxed it a bit into things like occasional take-out or other processed things.

AwesomeGuy37

I was eating 1700 calories per week and only dropping 1.5 pounds per week. MFP says I should of dropped 2 pounds. The reason is that calories are not a perfect science and/or I am making errors in my food intake. So.. adjust something somewhere to where you are burning more or eating less and it should fix your miscalculations. I cut 200 calories/day and this week lost 2.2 pounds.

nosebag1212

The reason is that calories are not a perfect science

this makes no sense, a calorie is a calorie, period. don't listen to anyone's bull**** who tries to tell you otherwise, body doesn't care, if you're in a deficit you will lose weight

Aaron_K123

The reason is that calories are not a perfect science

this makes no sense, a calorie is a calorie, period. don't listen to anyone's bull**** who tries to tell you otherwise, body doesn't care, if you're in a deficit you will lose weight

I think he meant that our personal ability to accurately log and track calories is not perfect and comes with some error, not that a literal calorie is somehow not a scientific measure.

AwesomeGuy37

The reason is that calories are not a perfect science

this makes no sense, a calorie is a calorie, period. don't listen to anyone's bull**** who tries to tell you otherwise, body doesn't care, if you're in a deficit you will lose weight

Calories are a perfect science? :drinker:
http://youtu.be/ETdoQDP0gc0

I was not referring to anything to do with a calorie not being a calorie.. I meant to say the whole entire system we use has it's inaccuracies The formulas for finding your TDEE and exercise expenditure are anything but exact. Probably avoided if I could communicate better. My apologies..

MyChocolateDiet

Okay lemme sharpen my pencil before I begin...

MyChocolateDiet

Okay - I need a smack down. I like to think I am doing everything right, but clearly I am not. I know I need to eat less and move more. I just looked at my progress chart. I've been losing and gaining the same couple pounds since NOVEMBER!! That's absolutely zero progress in 7 months. That's ridiculous.

My calorie goal is 1670 (obviously too high - need to figure out what to lower it to - I follow IIFYM so I don't track exercise) - I go to kickboxing twice a week, see a trainer once a week and go to the gym one additional day (obviously not enough).

I have a scale and I use it. I've cut back on eating out (not enough obviously). If I don't start seeing some progress on the scale soon I'm going to lose it. I've been steadily gaining weight this monthand the whole situation is just making me miserable. I want to quit - but then I'll just be more fat so that's not an option.

I'm 5'8 - 185lbs (ugh - did I just admit that) and 41 yrs old. I do NOT want to have to eat only 1200 calories a day or do any ridiculous fad diets, but I am desperate to see some progress. Oh and I've not lost ANY inches - not a single clothing size - so noooo I don't need to throw out the scale and just measure myself.

After concurring with my associate I think look at the following.

1- pregnancy test due to recent gain.
2- start logging your workouts maybe you are burning more than you think
3- your cal goal isn't very high for your height, redo TDEE
4-commit to ONE WEEK or two of eating ONLY what you can measure accurately at least to give you an idea of scale or measure is the issue
5-get one of those HRM or fitbit things to see if your daily activity isn't what you think it is.

(please not to cringe at the pregnancy idea you said we could say anything. it's a real possibility for most ppl...and your weight gains are only recent.)

prattiger65

OP, you have been around enough to know what's wrong, you're eating to much. But I'm glad you invited me to be a meanie, most people are mad when they call me that! As for advice, double down on your logging accuracy, weigh and measure EVERYTHING at least for a little while until you are back on track. Good luck!

ravenmiss

Log your food properly and maybe stop eating out so much.

You know you can do this!

SunofaBeach14

n

Aaron_K123

OP, you have been around enough to know what's wrong, you're eating to much. But I'm glad you invited me to be a meanie, most prove are mad when they call me that! As for advice, double down on your logging accuracy, weigh and measure EVERYTHING at least for a little while until you are back on track. Good luck!

Honestly this, although vague, is the best and really only advice we can give. Probably doesn't feel that helpful but honestly it probably does come down to accurate logging.

If your current diet is difficult for you to log accurately perhaps, as I suggested earlier, you could change your diet at least temporarily to something that you could actually track accurately without much difficulty.

12by311

Agree with everyone on the "you're eating more than you think team".

I also agree with Aaron in that if you don't want to weigh foods, lower calorie goal to make up the error. Right now you are basically eating maintenance in reality (not that 1670 cals is your maintenance).

MyChocolateDiet

n

oh thanks time to go check back on that thread.

Aaron_K123

OP do you think that at least temporarily you would be willing to stick to home-prepared meals of whole foods? Not because I think eating "clean" is necessary for weight loss but it would allow you to easily and more to the point accurately track your intake using a food scale.

If you ate chicken breast and broccoli and other whole foods where the nutritional content is a known entity and you did that for about a month or two you could really nail down what your maintenance and weight loss calories are. After that you could maybe relax that and just be rigorous about estimating calories in things where the values are not so clear cut.

Its a learning process but it might be easier to learn if you pick foods whose values are fully known.

Examples would be:

Chicken breast
Tuna
Protein powder
Vegetables
Fruits
rice
beans
etc etc

....basically anything you prepare at home from whole ingredients rather than prepackaged.

Just to be clear I don't think so called "Clean" eating is necessary for weight loss but it can make accurate calorie logging a whole lot easier.

OP, with the fact that you are clearly underestimating your intake I think the idea that Aaron gave you above is a nice one. For nothing more than consistency and accuracy which is what you are lacking right now. Think about it. You have spent months making no progress as you call it so what harm would it do to sacrifice 3 weeks of your life to run this test to see what your numbers really are.

It doesn't mean you have to be super restrictive but you should make choices you can track properly without guessing. Then let's say you do eat 1600 and lose weight then it would confirm what you and everyone already suspects. You're eating to much.

Basically just sit down with a spreadsheet and a web browser with nutrition info make yourself a meal plan using whole foods you can get at your local grocery store. Plan some meals and do some cooking. You might have to eat in a rut for a while (similar things every day) but if you stick with it for a month you could get a real honest read on your intake that can help you set your goals for the foreseeable future. Think of it as a commitment that invests in your future ability to diet properly.

Aaron_K123

n

Oh my, did SunofaBeach actually self-censor? I would never have thought that would happen. :-)

_Terrapin_

So, intake weigh more of your foods. So each day maybe have 50 calories leftover

Walk 3 days a week for 45 minutes(roughly at 20 minute pace you pick up 650 calories each week)

So 50 x7=350 and 650 gives you 1,000 calories each week. Over the next 7 months you ought to drop about 28000 calories or 7 pounds. Damn mean people; so buy a scale, use it and start walking. Oh and :P

Aaron_K123

Whoops forgot to be mean. That thing you said that one time OP....that was stupid and totally wrong and you should be ashamed. There hope that qualifies.

neanderthin

Most calorie counters eat 200-400 more calories a day than they think. Get a scale and don't lie to yourself.:flowerforyou:

scorpiophoenix

The way I see it, 1670 with your current exercise habits is your maintinance for 185 lbs. Drop your calories a little, increase your workout intensity or time a little and you should see a budge. Gooid luck. Oh an of course make sur you weigh/log accurately etc

^^this I started two months ago at 185 (and I'm only 5'6" so you're up on me there) and to lose a pound a week my goal was 1430. I still eat out and have sweets, but I track my exercise and calories and make sure to only eat back about half of my exercise calories. Give or take. I've lost 10lbs so far using the site to keep track of everything. It really does help. Good luck getting out of your rut! :flowerforyou: