What am I doing wrong

evella02

Hi all. This is my first time posting to a message board, so hopefully I'm doing it right.

I joined MFP May 2, and started logging calories. I was 245lbs. I had a horrible diet before that. Fast food breakfast 3 times a week, restaurants 3 or 4 times, etc. So decided to make a change, and my trainer at the gym suggested the app. I was already working out 3 times a week at that point for a month with a gym trainer to kick my butt once a week, but she said nutrition was the key to shedding pound. I started off with 1900 calories a day because my job is decently physically demanding.

Then I got injured around May 7th. Slowed down. Had to wear a boot. At this point I'm 250lbs. If you look at my food journal there is a week, the 19th to the 22nd there was no logging. That's because the boot hurt a lot, I was still working out, but I was depressed, and went back to eating badly. I shook that off, changed my MFP to sedentary job, and 1300 calories.

So now, I'm going on my third week of intensely excercising and calorie logging. After I picked myself up from the boot, I was 250lbs. I have an UP band to make sure that I'm staying active (walking around the building every hourish, pushups against my cubicle, etc) and I work out 5 or 6 days a week. I have shakes for breakfast, small snacks at 10, lunch at 1, and another snack at 3 and dinner at 6. I am a regulated fiend. I haven't lost weight. It has to be my diet right? What am I doing wrong? I'm losing motivation and drive. I have radically changed how and what I eat. All substainable changes, but being in a demanding (time wise and physical wise) we ate a lot of junk bc that's what I'm used to. I just want to be in the 240s again so I feel like something is moving forward. Can anyone help?

BigT555

log log log. diet is everything, unless there are underlying medical issues (which are rare) then you are eating above your maintenance level.

my advice is to focus on diet and get that down pat before you go buck on exercising. changing too many things at once can lead to just going back to the old ways due to exhaustion.

shakes are alright, but wont keep you full. if hunger is an issue switch to some eggs or something for breakfast.

i can say with almost 100% certainty that at 250 lbs 1300 cals is not a healthy amount of food, add more

LifeWithPie

I'm curious, what work out did you do on Saturday that gave you an 1172 calorie burn?

SezxyStef

Well first things first...exercise is for health/fitness...calorie deficit is for weight loss.

At your weight 1300 calories is quite a deficit and probably not necessary. The goal should be to eat as much as you can and still lose a reasonable amount of weight...

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

I am in your diary and see you do not weigh your solids...that is usually a key to knowing your intake.

I see days (not in the ones you mentioned) that are not logged...ie May 31 or days that are partially logged...Saturday.

You are also usually eating back all your exercise calories...MFP is known to over estimate those...however...it is good you are eating them back...perhaps try 75% of them. However the UP band adjustments are exceptionally high....June 5th for example 1200 calories...

So basically what I would do is the following:

1. Get a food scale and weigh all your solids and measure liquids.
2. Log everything using the correct entries (entries that start with homemade I wouldn't use) check the nutrional values against the package etc.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=Logging+accurately&page=3#posts-19337078

3. Eat back 75% of the calories from exercise and ignore the up band at the moment. Daily activity is already figured into MFP numbers.

evella02

Saturday I went to the gym twice and according to the UP band, with the gym, walked 6 miles. June 5th was the same. Trainer in the morning, and friend workout in the evening. I have a problem saying no when a friend wants to work out, because I like the company. But as of today, I'm a little burned out from the gym. Taking tomorrow off. Since I've gotten the UP band, I've been letting it do the workout adjustments as it seems to be lower than the MFP workout calorie burns. Is that bad?

Working out is the easiest change I've made. I did it for mental and physical health. I was a student athlete. Trained competitively and was being recruited for college softball until I blew out my knee. So working out 5 days a week actually aids in my eating goals because I'm not super hungry afterwards. Shake in the morning, snacks and lunch, work out after I get off work at 5, then make dinner. As long as I'm not super stressed out, I'm never really hungry. I do eat back a good amount of my calories. And I haven't weighed my food.

Eating constantly, the small snacks, I'm very rarely hungry. I use whey protein in my shakes, which I've been having since January, so it's a meal replacement for myself. Right now it's 9:30, and I feel fine, maybe a tiny bit peckish, but I have my GoGo Squeez applesauce ready.

I like the article on really logging. That's something I've been suspicious of for awhile. Also, I take Saturday as a cheat day. My trainer does it, so I don't go crazy, I just use it to feel like a normal person who isn't obsessed with food. I just see a lot of people, doing a lot less and actually seeing results, and I'm frustrated.