losing and then not - despite diligence on fitbit & mfp
Replies
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To OP: several here have been critical of my advice, although there's not much science in their responses. Broscience! LOL.
If you remove the bagel from your breakfast and replace it with 25g of protein, your hunger will be satisfied and your food won't provide any glucose to be stored as fat. You are already eating at a calorie restriction, right? So the other foods in the limited quantities won't go to fat storage either.
Your lunch recently had about 40g of protein w/few or no carbs ... don't change anything there. Replace the ritz crackers and pretzels and pasta that you ate later in the day -- they are relatively empty carbs with almost zero nutritional value as compared to a low-starch vegetable such as spinach or broccoli. Replace these empty carbs with protein and low-starch vegetables -- you don't need to go more than 25-30g of protein for a meal, keep it to about 15-20g for snacks. Keeping your meals relatively small helps avoid excess being stored as fat .. the idea is to ingest just enough to meet your needs for the next few hours.
Eat as many low-starch vegetables as you'd like ... you'll find it difficult to exceed 30-40g of net carbs daily if you limit your carbs to this source. (net carbs = total carbs - fiber grams)
For ideas on getting more protein: I use Quest protein bars for between-meal snacks (20g protein, usually 2-3 net carbs). And I supplement with whey protein concentrate (organic, grass fed, cold pressed ... had to add that to give my "Broscience" labelers some more to target LOL). I use a pure stevia extract powder (without a carb-based carrier) for adding sweetness to salads, tea, etc. With these there's no feeling of missing out on sweet tastes on a daily basis. These are all sweet treats if you avoid the processed carbs and eliminate them as a reference point.
Again, once you are at your optimal weight, and you aren't trying to LOSE fat, having a nominal amount of carbs in your diet beyond low-starch vegetables will be just fine. There's no fat-loss benefit to eating them now.
Wishing you the best!0 -
All food is not nutritionally equal. Eat carbs, but should come mostly from vegetables and fruit. Stay away from prepackaged foods, because they contain many ingredients that can stall your weight loss. Protein is very important so incorporate it in every meal.0
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Great advice!
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Pasta is empty calories???? :grumble:
I do agree with increase protein, but pasta has it's place... as do bagels and saltines..
I eat a lot of veggies 2 fruits per day, 2 probiotics and a lot of protein and I still end yup around 100g of carbs per day. I don't eat the breads and pastas often because I choose not to. If you do hard cardio, you'll need carbs anyway. I always eat oatmeal prior to my long difficult hikes. protein is good, but doesn't satisfy and keep you going like carbs does. Now if you're eating pasta 3 times a day, that might be excessive, but pasta is fine for you.
I eat between 160-200 g of protein a day on a normal day. makes me feel great!
ps.. i'm laughing hard.. quest bars have 25g of carbs in them.. net or not.. that's a lot.esp for someone advocating low carb. Honestly i'd skip the quest bars and go with greek yogurt or cottage cheese made into something yummy. an not because of carbs, but because it tastes better and you can be super creative with it. (make it taste like cheesecake!! So good!!)0 -
Honestly, are you accurately tracking your food intake? I find it hard for anyone to be tracking using a food scale with grams and ounces eating around 1200 calories to be losing weight.0
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To OP: several here have been critical of my advice, although there's not much science in their responses. Broscience! LOL.
If you remove the bagel from your breakfast and replace it with 25g of protein, your hunger will be satisfied and your food won't provide any glucose to be stored as fat. You are already eating at a calorie restriction, right? So the other foods in the limited quantities won't go to fat storage either.
Your lunch recently had about 40g of protein w/few or no carbs ... don't change anything there. Replace the ritz crackers and pretzels and pasta that you ate later in the day -- they are relatively empty carbs with almost zero nutritional value as compared to a low-starch vegetable such as spinach or broccoli. Replace these empty carbs with protein and low-starch vegetables -- you don't need to go more than 25-30g of protein for a meal, keep it to about 15-20g for snacks. Keeping your meals relatively small helps avoid excess being stored as fat .. the idea is to ingest just enough to meet your needs for the next few hours.
Eat as many low-starch vegetables as you'd like ... you'll find it difficult to exceed 30-40g of net carbs daily if you limit your carbs to this source. (net carbs = total carbs - fiber grams)
For ideas on getting more protein: I use Quest protein bars for between-meal snacks (20g protein, usually 2-3 net carbs). And I supplement with whey protein concentrate (organic, grass fed, cold pressed ... had to add that to give my "Broscience" labelers some more to target LOL). I use a pure stevia extract powder (without a carb-based carrier) for adding sweetness to salads, tea, etc. With these there's no feeling of missing out on sweet tastes on a daily basis. These are all sweet treats if you avoid the processed carbs and eliminate them as a reference point.
Again, once you are at your optimal weight, and you aren't trying to LOSE fat, having a nominal amount of carbs in your diet beyond low-starch vegetables will be just fine. There's no fat-loss benefit to eating them now.
Wishing you the best!
No, just no.
Eat what you want in moderation. If you want a bagel, eat a bagel.
Weigh and track everything that you put into your mouth.
Eat at a REASONABLE deficit, and you will lose weight.0 -
ones from the system and home made, and yes, restaurant entries are similar, not the exact places i eat. i try not to eat out very often...and i cook a lot.
my thoughts were it was maybe alcohol but even cutting that back hasn't helped.
i really appreciate you looking and offering suggestions! i'm open to anything!
I'm still a little confused by this answer but if the "homemade" entries aren't your recipes, I would strongly suggest using your own recipe. The new importer tool makes it way easier if you are using an online recipe too.
Does the new importer tool work better now? I know that early, it was...uh...challenging.
(Oh, sorry for the off-topic question.)
OP, weigh everything (that is weighable). No, seriously, you've tried it your way and you've stalled...so now try it the way that so many are suggesting. They're not suggesting it for LOLz...they're suggesting it because we've seen this problem so many times before, and weighing is the most likely answer to the problem.0 -
To OP: several here have been critical of my advice, although there's not much science in their responses. Broscience! LOL.
If you remove the bagel from your breakfast and replace it with 25g of protein, your hunger will be satisfied and your food won't provide any glucose to be stored as fat. You are already eating at a calorie restriction, right? So the other foods in the limited quantities won't go to fat storage either.
Your lunch recently had about 40g of protein w/few or no carbs ... don't change anything there. Replace the ritz crackers and pretzels and pasta that you ate later in the day -- they are relatively empty carbs with almost zero nutritional value as compared to a low-starch vegetable such as spinach or broccoli. Replace these empty carbs with protein and low-starch vegetables -- you don't need to go more than 25-30g of protein for a meal, keep it to about 15-20g for snacks. Keeping your meals relatively small helps avoid excess being stored as fat .. the idea is to ingest just enough to meet your needs for the next few hours.
Eat as many low-starch vegetables as you'd like ... you'll find it difficult to exceed 30-40g of net carbs daily if you limit your carbs to this source. (net carbs = total carbs - fiber grams)
For ideas on getting more protein: I use Quest protein bars for between-meal snacks (20g protein, usually 2-3 net carbs). And I supplement with whey protein concentrate (organic, grass fed, cold pressed ... had to add that to give my "Broscience" labelers some more to target LOL). I use a pure stevia extract powder (without a carb-based carrier) for adding sweetness to salads, tea, etc. With these there's no feeling of missing out on sweet tastes on a daily basis. These are all sweet treats if you avoid the processed carbs and eliminate them as a reference point.
Again, once you are at your optimal weight, and you aren't trying to LOSE fat, having a nominal amount of carbs in your diet beyond low-starch vegetables will be just fine. There's no fat-loss benefit to eating them now.
Wishing you the best!
just stop...0 -
For fat loss, eliminate the processed carbs: no more bagel, ritz crackers, pretzels, pasta, and nothing with added sugar. Get your carbs from low-starch vegetables broccoli, asparagus, organic greens such as spinach, chard, etc. (great in salads). Limit the total carbs to 30-40 each day. Your body will switch over to burning fat vs. relying on the glucose from the carbs you are eating. You can re-introduce carbs in your diet when you reach your goal weight. Whenever you eat these, glucose spikes, resulting in an insulin spike, and the fat loss immediately stops. The excess glucose gets stored as fat. Make the sacrifice of these items now and you'll reap the benefits of fat loss.
Make sure you are getting 1g of protein for each lb of lean body mass (get a body composition test if you don't know this value). This is likely significantly more protein that you are eating now based on your diary.
Eat healthy fats that occur naturally: grass fed butter or ghee (great for sauteing veggies), grass fed beef beef, chicken, eggs, seafood, olive oil. Also add coconut oil, MCT oil to your diet -- these will boost your metabolism.
And finally, make sure you are strength training. You need adequate muscle to have adequate metabolism. If you aren't strength training, and aren't getting enough protein, or if you are doing excessive cardio workouts, you'll experience muscle wasting when eating a calorie-restricted diet. In the long run, that will just make it more and more difficult to lose weight. You WON'T bulk up with strength training since you won't be doing heavy lifting ... you'll just build adequate/toned muscle that burns calories.
Best wishes to your success.
I'm not sure what this person is talking about. This is over complicating things. If you want to lose weight. Track accurately, be in a caloric deficit, and you will lose weight. We often sweat the small stuff like macros to soon. First figure out what you need to be in a deficit. This is the ONLY thing you need to lose weight. Worry about the macros once you get the scale going in the direction you want to. Do you know your caloric maintenance calories? Use a calculator and get an estimate first. Eat that estimate (don't worry about macros) for 7 days straight. Do you best to stay as close as possible. If at the end of the 7 days your weight is the same. Good, now subtract 500 calories from that number and eat that for the next 7 straight days. Did you lose weight? If so, you have a deficit to work with. Now take that amount of calories and create your macro nutrient split for your preference. Start with protein, then fat, then feel the rest with carbs. You just need to get the scale moving in the direction you want it in first without worrying about how much of your calories make up carbs, protein, and fat. That sounds to be adding stress to the equation. None of this will work if you do not use a food scale and ACCURATELY track everything you are eating during this test. Add me if you need help. Good luck.0 -
To OP: several here have been critical of my advice, although there's not much science in their responses. Broscience! LOL.
If you remove the bagel from your breakfast and replace it with 25g of protein, your hunger will be satisfied and your food won't provide any glucose to be stored as fat. You are already eating at a calorie restriction, right? So the other foods in the limited quantities won't go to fat storage either.
Your lunch recently had about 40g of protein w/few or no carbs ... don't change anything there. Replace the ritz crackers and pretzels and pasta that you ate later in the day -- they are relatively empty carbs with almost zero nutritional value as compared to a low-starch vegetable such as spinach or broccoli. Replace these empty carbs with protein and low-starch vegetables -- you don't need to go more than 25-30g of protein for a meal, keep it to about 15-20g for snacks. Keeping your meals relatively small helps avoid excess being stored as fat .. the idea is to ingest just enough to meet your needs for the next few hours.
Eat as many low-starch vegetables as you'd like ... you'll find it difficult to exceed 30-40g of net carbs daily if you limit your carbs to this source. (net carbs = total carbs - fiber grams)
For ideas on getting more protein: I use Quest protein bars for between-meal snacks (20g protein, usually 2-3 net carbs). And I supplement with whey protein concentrate (organic, grass fed, cold pressed ... had to add that to give my "Broscience" labelers some more to target LOL). I use a pure stevia extract powder (without a carb-based carrier) for adding sweetness to salads, tea, etc. With these there's no feeling of missing out on sweet tastes on a daily basis. These are all sweet treats if you avoid the processed carbs and eliminate them as a reference point.
Again, once you are at your optimal weight, and you aren't trying to LOSE fat, having a nominal amount of carbs in your diet beyond low-starch vegetables will be just fine. There's no fat-loss benefit to eating them now.
Wishing you the best!
What?0 -
To OP: several here have been critical of my advice, although there's not much science in their responses. Broscience! LOL.
If you remove the bagel from your breakfast and replace it with 25g of protein, your hunger will be satisfied and your food won't provide any glucose to be stored as fat. You are already eating at a calorie restriction, right? So the other foods in the limited quantities won't go to fat storage either.
Your lunch recently had about 40g of protein w/few or no carbs ... don't change anything there. Replace the ritz crackers and pretzels and pasta that you ate later in the day -- they are relatively empty carbs with almost zero nutritional value as compared to a low-starch vegetable such as spinach or broccoli. Replace these empty carbs with protein and low-starch vegetables -- you don't need to go more than 25-30g of protein for a meal, keep it to about 15-20g for snacks. Keeping your meals relatively small helps avoid excess being stored as fat .. the idea is to ingest just enough to meet your needs for the next few hours.
Eat as many low-starch vegetables as you'd like ... you'll find it difficult to exceed 30-40g of net carbs daily if you limit your carbs to this source. (net carbs = total carbs - fiber grams)
For ideas on getting more protein: I use Quest protein bars for between-meal snacks (20g protein, usually 2-3 net carbs). And I supplement with whey protein concentrate (organic, grass fed, cold pressed ... had to add that to give my "Broscience" labelers some more to target LOL). I use a pure stevia extract powder (without a carb-based carrier) for adding sweetness to salads, tea, etc. With these there's no feeling of missing out on sweet tastes on a daily basis. These are all sweet treats if you avoid the processed carbs and eliminate them as a reference point.
Again, once you are at your optimal weight, and you aren't trying to LOSE fat, having a nominal amount of carbs in your diet beyond low-starch vegetables will be just fine. There's no fat-loss benefit to eating them now.
Wishing you the best!
Honestly, just looked at your diary... Bullet Proof Executive. Everything you say moving forward = null and void.
Enjoy your organic grass fed butter coffee for extra fat burning capabilities. wut?0 -
Honestly, just looked at your diary... Bullet Proof Executive. Everything you say moving forward = null and void.
Enjoy your organic grass fed butter coffee for extra fat burning capabilities. wut?
Hey now...I really like BP coffee...
...even though I'm not deluded into thinking it does anything magical for my body composition.0 -
When starting weight loss, we eat less. This makes us need less water to process food. So a majority of that 7 pounds you lost was not fat, it was water.
If you eat extra one day, your body will retain water. I gained 3.2 pounds one day from over-eating 150 calories worth of sunflower seeds one day. But the gain was water.
Given your size, here is what you NEED to do:
Calculate your BMR.
Calculate your TDEE WITHOUT exercise.
From there, you will need to set your calorie goal under TDEE and above BMR. When you exercise, log only half the calories. So if you are told you burnt 200 calories, then log it as 100.
You will also NEED a food scale. And measure accurately and honestly. Period.
Why is it so strict? Because you are 5'0", which is short, meaning you are a small individual and have significantly less room for error than a 6'5" man for example.
MFP has a floor of 1200 calories daily. This means that no matter what you put in, it will not give you less than 1200. So, if by chance your TDEE is say 1500 and you say you want to lose 2 pounds a week (1000 deficit), it will still say 1200, not 500; which is a 300 calorie deficit, a little over 0.5 pounds a week and not the 2 pounds a week the person may be thinking they are supposed to be losing. So, since you hit the floor, we really don't know what you will be losing weekly.
Thus, get your numbers.0 -
I hit a wall a little over a year ago and I did an elimination diet and added things back slowly like dairy, wheat, oatmeal, squash basically starchy carbs and found I can't lose eating dairy or wheat. So I didn't have to make major changes and the weight started falling off. I reviewed your diary and there were a few things that jumped out at me that could be the cause of your not losing. #1 Most days you are way under your protein goal every day. Protein speeds up your metabolic rate, if you don't like meat much google vegan protein sources. Some veggies are as high in protein as an egg per serving. #2 if you are going to keep dairy in your diet you should know it is best digested as a stand alone snack than with other foods. Especially in women it can slow our weight loss efforts. Just keeping dairy separate from other foods caused one of my friends to lose her baby weight faster with her 2nd child than with her first. #3 I noticed you eat a lot of processed carbs which sadly turn into sugar for energy and get stored as fat. They also have very little nutritional value. Your body needs lots of nutrients to break down stored fat and build lean muscle so you might want to trade in your carbs for some veggies. It will help a lot. You don't have to cut them all out. I just found the right amount for me to enjoy and still lose easily was 1/2 cup of rice, g.f. pasta, potato, sweet potato, and if I have it with dinner I only do 1/4 cup. If I want my dairy free pizza I have it for lunch not dinner. So I still enjoy the foods I love but with a giant pile of veggies. I went from having a 1/2c serving of my chosen green vegetable to having about 1.5c with dinner and I stay full and I keep losing inches and scale weight. I hope this helps you get back on track with your goals. Best of luck!
Ever hear of a paragraph break...
But from what I could get out of all of that not necessary and just NO.0 -
ones from the system and home made, and yes, restaurant entries are similar, not the exact places i eat. i try not to eat out very often...and i cook a lot.
my thoughts were it was maybe alcohol but even cutting that back hasn't helped.
i really appreciate you looking and offering suggestions! i'm open to anything!
I'm still a little confused by this answer but if the "homemade" entries aren't your recipes, I would strongly suggest using your own recipe. The new importer tool makes it way easier if you are using an online recipe too.
Does the new importer tool work better now? I know that early, it was...uh...challenging.
(Oh, sorry for the off-topic question.)
OP, weigh everything (that is weighable). No, seriously, you've tried it your way and you've stalled...so now try it the way that so many are suggesting. They're not suggesting it for LOLz...they're suggesting it because we've seen this problem so many times before, and weighing is the most likely answer to the problem.
I dont know if it is "better" but I've used it several times and thought it was really good. Maybe I was lucky. Or maybe it is improved. I don't know what the original issues were.0 -
I think your logging is off. You have butter portions estimated at 36 cals.10 grams of butter is 110 - it's not much to look at. If you are off with logging you could easily be taking in 300-500 more than you think. I really recommend weighing everything.
I just noticed your height - you did really well to lose so much in April, it may just be difficult to sustain that. I lose between .5 and 1 lb a week and I'm 4'11", eating 1500 cals a day carefully weighed.0 -
everyone thank you so much for your help. i know i've been overdoing it with the processed carbs...i was just deluding myself that because i lost 7lbs while eating lots of bread etc in the UK in April, i could continue doing it here.
i ordered a food scale and will commit to weighing everything i can. i'll report back
thanks again! and have a great weekend.0
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