I don't lose weight- scientific miracle?

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  • in_the_stars
    in_the_stars Posts: 1,395 Member
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    That said, no you are not a scientific miracle aka special snowflake.

    I am. Tell me why I can't gain weight? :smile:

    You don't eat enough calories.

    No... I tracked (3 years ago here) at 2500+ daily. I gained 1 pound per month and went from 97 to 103 pounds. Lost it in 2 weeks of eating only 1700 or so calories daily.
    Well, then 1700 calories is at eating at a deficit for you. :smile:

    No, it's not. I've been in bed for months due to a bad car accident. If Alan can't put some weight on me I doubt that you can. :smile:



    Off for a moment, I have to play Emma.

    http://youtu.be/_uU5DU7P83E

    Well, if you lost weight on 1700 calories, that is a deficit for you. That's the only way to lose weight--eat less than you burn.

    Nobody can put weight on you, and I never said I wanted to anyway :wink:

    I don't know what you mean when you say, "If Alan can't put weight on me...."

    Aragon.
  • in_the_stars
    in_the_stars Posts: 1,395 Member
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    9108f9429cc37bb47235baba026ec39f.jpg
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
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    1) I just saw a post wherein someone said 'if you create a calorie deficit you WILL lose'.....

    2) i have been a vegetarian for 23 years, I gave up diet soda 10 years ago, i became a vegan about 4 yrs ago(i occasionally eat cheese but PARSE it out but NO other dairy), i eat a plant based diet that i supplement with two protein bars a day (they have whey but they are the only low carb, low sugar, tasty ones i liked),

    3) i drink water all day,

    4) eat little meals- try to eat every three hours or so. i don't snack, i don't binge, i don't eat out.

    5) i work out but inconsistently (like everyday for a month, then not for two weeks, then again for 3 weeks, etc and this has been the case since i was 20- i am now 44).

    6) i have logged my calories to be 1200 to 1400 cals a day. I am rarely hungry.


    1) This is accurate. Staying in a calorie deficit makes weight loss possible.

    2) Being a vegan, a vegetarian, giving up soda, eating low carb, low sugar, etc. does not mean you are in a calorie deficit.

    3) Drinking water all day is okay - if you're that thirsty.

    4) Meal timing, size, etc. are not needed - you just need to have a calorie deficit for the day. You can eat out, eat a large meal, and snack - as long as you stay in your calorie deficit for the day.

    5) Working out is really good for staying healthy, but not necessary to lose weight. It helps some people keep their deficit.

    6) Logging is a good start. Do you weigh with a scale & measure with measuring cups/spoons all the food you eat?


    ETA: Making "massive lifestyle changes" will certainly improve your health - but doesn't mean you're in a calorie deficit.

    QFT

    Do you own a food scale? If so do you weigh everything you eat?
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    thank you for all this. i should have written all The Words, i was trying to anticipate the questions i am typically asked ('do you COUNT calories?' 'do you exercise?' 'do you eat a lot of protein?').
    I do log my food, i do 40 protein/30 fat/30 carb because i think i am insulin resistant, i have cut calories 100 at a time (guestimating that i must have been about 2000 when i wasn't dieting) from 1800 to 1600 all the way down to 1200 (where i started gaining) and back up to 1300-1400 and at no point did i LOSE. They say 'starvation mode is 750 calories so where am i supposed to be at?
    And no i have no thyroid condition. my blood panel is totally normal.

    Great job on opening up your diary! However as you know, other than today it contains no entries - I went back two weeks or so. Would you like to give us a time where you logged accurately that we can look at, or maybe try logging for about two weeks or so and then regroup and/or ask questions if you want? You can eat whatever you want, you just need to be in a caloric deficit in order to lose weight

    I hate to mention this but I noticed sausages etc in your log today. Were you just playing with the tool or were these vegetarian items? It doesn't matter to me what you eat, just needing consistent information so we can better offer suggestions, or know when we would be unable to offer useful tips

    Read this if you haven't already:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    Also here's a great guide to logging, please get a digital food scale if you do not have one yet:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
  • rdsxfn
    rdsxfn Posts: 58 Member
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    weigh your food. you're eating more than you think.
  • fullercorp
    fullercorp Posts: 37 Member
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    i know - vegan fail. i eat the same things everyday. i eat veggie sausage (or links or bacon) for breakfast and dinner). I eat an english muffin for breakfast as well (shoot, i put jam on there, i need to amend my diary!). I eat a protein bar at 9am, i eat a sweet potato (or an artichoke) at noon and a cup and a half of asparagus at 1pm (or swap those things for each other), another protein bar at 2pm (i drink tea and coffee and crystal light, btw), i have the veggie meat for dinner, as i mentioned, sometimes a salad (which is butter lettuce, 1/4 garbanzo beans, some.times a 1/2 avocado and 2 tblspoons dressing). sometimes i have a tablespoon of that Better than Peanut Butter stuff, but not often. Same thing, everyday. that is how i know about the calories. i don't eat stuff and then forget i ate it. I don't keep food in the house that i might consume and then forget to log.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
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    i know - vegan fail. i eat the same things everyday. i eat veggie sausage (or links or bacon) for breakfast and dinner). I eat an english muffin for breakfast as well (shoot, i put jam on there, i need to amend my diary!). I eat a protein bar at 9am, i eat a sweet potato (or an artichoke) at noon and a cup and a half of asparagus at 1pm (or swap those things for each other), another protein bar at 2pm (i drink tea and coffee and crystal light, btw), i have the veggie meat for dinner, as i mentioned, sometimes a salad (which is butter lettuce, 1/4 garbanzo beans, some.times a 1/2 avocado and 2 tblspoons dressing). sometimes i have a tablespoon of that Better than Peanut Butter stuff, but not often. Same thing, everyday. that is how i know about the calories. i don't eat stuff and then forget i ate it. I don't keep food in the house that i might consume and then forget to log.

    Get a food scale. Weigh everything. Don't rely on measuring cups. Those don't really work for solids.

    You can't go by MFP's 1/2 an avocado either because every avocado is a completely different size. Some days maybe you're eating 30g of avocado, others maybe 40g or 24g. You won't know unless you have a food scale. Same thing with a cup and a half of asparagus, depending on the size it can vary each day.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
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    I know you are not new here but

    Read these:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    i am a vegan fail, clearly. i am trying to switch to all plants but am concerned about getting enough protein

    Perhaps you answered this already and I missed it, but I must ask, why are you trying to go vegan? Is it simply because you think it will help you lose weight? If so, I am sure that there are plenty of Vegans on here that will tell you that you won't automatically lose weight just by cutting out all animal products. You may even lower your metabolism further if you don't get enough protein and lose muscle mass.
    Not bagging on Vegans here, just pointing out that it doesn't necessarily equal weight loss, or lower calorie. Since it is usually a higher carb diet, you have to be very careful to get in the proteins, etc you need.

    And since you are having trouble sticking to the Vegan diet, I wonder if it is sustainable for you. Perhaps pescatarian, or lacto-ovo might be better suited for you?
  • fullercorp
    fullercorp Posts: 37 Member
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    i am vegetarian for ethical reasons and am trying to transition to vegan for same. i merely brought it up to flesh out the picture, not because i know it guarantees weight loss (although if you follow it strictly, there are SO many foods you can't eat that you prob will be thin). Sorry if i muddied the water in bringing it up. I just didn't want a lot of suggestions of high protein/low carb (which i believe IS effective for calorie burning) that involved meat.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    i know - vegan fail. i eat the same things everyday. i eat veggie sausage (or links or bacon) for breakfast and dinner). I eat an english muffin for breakfast as well (shoot, i put jam on there, i need to amend my diary!). I eat a protein bar at 9am, i eat a sweet potato (or an artichoke) at noon and a cup and a half of asparagus at 1pm (or swap those things for each other), another protein bar at 2pm (i drink tea and coffee and crystal light, btw), i have the veggie meat for dinner, as i mentioned, sometimes a salad (which is butter lettuce, 1/4 garbanzo beans, some.times a 1/2 avocado and 2 tblspoons dressing). sometimes i have a tablespoon of that Better than Peanut Butter stuff, but not often. Same thing, everyday. that is how i know about the calories. i don't eat stuff and then forget i ate it. I don't keep food in the house that i might consume and then forget to log.

    So MFP is a logging site. Unfortunately it would be hard to say what the issues may be without your logging over a long enough period. So I'd say log for about a month or so, with a reasonable calorie target and let us know if nothing changes. Over time, your calories in must be less than calories out to lose weight. Calories in would include night snacking, weekends, holidays, once in a life time parties, I just don't feel like logging days, restaurants, planned or unplanned cheats, normal daily and saintly logging, etc
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
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    i am vegetarian for ethical reasons and am trying to transition to vegan for same. i merely brought it up to flesh out the picture, not because i know it guarantees weight loss (although if you follow it strictly, there are SO many foods you can't eat that you prob will be thin). Sorry if i muddied the water in bringing it up. I just didn't want a lot of suggestions of high protein/low carb (which i believe IS effective for calorie burning) that involved meat.

    Sorry but you don't become thin by going vegan either. It does not guarantee weight loss. That is a myth about being vegan. I know you said you're doing it for ethical reasons, but there are plenty of fat vegans. You may drop a few pounds, but it's still calories in < calories out.

    Get a food scale. Weigh everything you eat. and with that I'm out.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    There are a lot of fears around eating too little food such as starvation mood, metabolic damage, etc. The majority of the effects from severe caloric deprivation are myths, misconceptions, and misnomers. Take for example starvation mode... It simply means that if you eat less your BMR goes down. This is true, but if you eat more your BMR goes up. Both of these effects in short term are also temporary meaning no "metabolic damage". The only scientifically validated metabolic impact is from formerly obese people who lose significant weight. In their case leptin levels decline to a point that encourages weight regain and this will not change until the weight is put back on.
    Have you read up on the Minnesota Starvation Experiment? Emaciation, loss of muscle and body fat? That's starvation mode. that said, starvation mode is not realistic in the lives of us mainstream dieters. In other words, it's doubtful that any of us here will ever encounter starvation mode in ourselves, loved ones, or anyone we know.
    This is one explanation why your weight loss has started to halt under a caloric intake that would normally produce weight loss. Even in this case though it still means you need to eat less to lose weight. If you have fat on your body you have calories available - don't let anyone else fool you otherwise. The important part to pay attention to is eating enough nutrients and you can eat more nutrients in 500 calories than 3,000.
    I would agree that if a person is not losing weight they are eating more than they think. However, it's bull that you can get more nutrients in 500 calories than you can 3,000. 500 calories is dangerously low, and the MFP forums do not support very low calorie diets.
    If you want to know where your BMR is at go get it measured, but the calculations anyone uses to estimate these values are incredibly error prone. For example, when I'm fasting my BMR is measured around 1,550 calories and when I eat 4,500 calories my BMR measures around 3,000. No current BMR equation accounts for history of weight and/or caloric intake and both are known to influence BMR.
    I have a difficult time believing this, because if it were true then that would mean your TDEE also goes up based on how many calories you eat. Finally, if THAT were true, then al we'd have to do was stuff ourselves to raise our BMR and TDEE, and then we would lose weight.
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
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    You've logged one day out of the last month (yes, I looked). That one day was a grand total of 855 calories.
    The rest of your diary is set to 700 calories.

    Something isn't right here.
  • fullercorp
    fullercorp Posts: 37 Member
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    because MFP isn't my main stop for weight loss. i logged my calories on a spreadsheet of my own. i eat the same things all the time. It is unnecessary to log daily for the most part. I just inserted that one day because everyone asked for an example of what i was eating.
  • KarmaLaine
    KarmaLaine Posts: 37 Member
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    because MFP isn't my main stop for weight loss. i logged my calories on a spreadsheet of my own. i eat the same things all the time. It is unnecessary to log daily for the most part. I just inserted that one day because everyone asked for an example of what i was eating.

    Why eat the same thing every day if it's not working for you? Are you eyeballing your portions or measuring them every time? When you start eyeballing, it's amazing how much bigger the portions get.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    Have you read up on the Minnesota Starvation Experiment? Emaciation, loss of muscle and body fat? That's starvation mode. that said, starvation mode is not realistic in the lives of us mainstream dieters. In other words, it's doubtful that any of us here will ever encounter starvation mode in ourselves, loved ones, or anyone we know.
    I'm quite familiar with it yes. In that experiment the reported BMR of participants dropped about 25% observed by body temperature and resting heart rate changes. I understand your point, but starvation mode is used a lot more loosely by most people.
    I would agree that if a person is not losing weight they are eating more than they think. However, it's bull that you can get more nutrients in 500 calories than you can 3,000. 500 calories is dangerously low, and the MFP forums do not support very low calorie diets.
    A very low calorie diet (usually defined as 800 calories or less) has been shown in studies to not only produce better weight loss short term but to produce better weight loss long term (5+ years). In a recent study to reverse Type II diabetes a 600 calorie diet was used for 8 weeks and participants mostly reversed their condition in 2 weeks. Fine you don't support a VLED but the whole of scientific evidence suggests it's a very beneficial diet.
    I have a difficult time believing this, because if it were true then that would mean your TDEE also goes up based on how many calories you eat. Finally, if THAT were true, then al we'd have to do was stuff ourselves to raise our BMR and TDEE, and then we would lose weight.


    It does not mean that stuffing ourselves will lead to weight loss for two reasons: 1) it doesn't mean BMR is going to increase as much as you new net caloric intake; 2) once you eat less it means it will drop back down. Many studies show that BMR does fluctuate according to diet which is why BMR is (in a good weight change study) measured before and after the diet. The Minnesota Starvation experiments is a great example of it dropping and the Vermont Prison Overfeeding Study is a great example on how it can go up.
    And, you provide these "studies" but you don't cite any sources as to BMR and very low calorie diets being kosher.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    However, it's bull that you can get more nutrients in 500 calories than you can 3,000.
    I forgot to specifically address this and I meant to...

    I'll go with an extreme example first. 500 calories of any natural food versus 3,000 calories of soda.

    3,000 calories of fast food versus 500 calories of fresh fruit and vegetable juices.

    3,000 calories of the average American diet versus 500 calories of green vegetables (that'd be about 5 lbs of spinach as one example).

    So yes it's quite possible to get many more nutrients in 500 calories than 3,000.

    No it's not. 500 calories of just fruits and vegetables does not give you your essential nutrients and is not nearly enough to properly fuel your body.

    How about cleaning up logging habits instead to ensure that you are eating at a deficit all the while meeting your protein, fat, and carb macros?

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