What am I doing wrong?!?!

Holly_Roman_Empire

I'm afraid that is the only answer Park.

It just seems insane that I have to drop down to 1,350kcal diet when I'm exercising 5-6 times a week at 183 lb just to create a deficit. I thought dropping it down to a goal of 1,600 sounded reasonable.

I guess not.

levitateme, I've confirmed, corrected and created more entries in this data base than I'm proud of, as well as using the recipe tool every time I cook. :-/

I wasn't going to respond until you wrote this. If you do drop down to that many calories, eat some of your exercise calories back.

On a personal note, I thought I was a lot more active than I was until I got a fitbit. I thought, "Gee, I know I sit at a desk all day, but I go home, do yard work, play with the baby, go for walks, and there's stairs in my house, so I MUST be pretty active." Not really the case. I got the fitbit and I'm losing weight again. Not saying you have to buy one to know for sure, but it's possible your TDEE is lower than you think.

Holly_Roman_Empire

For me what broke my plateau was IIFYM (if it fits your macros), upping my water, and along with IIFYM, measuring my grams on the food scale TO THE GRAM

What macros do you recommend?

I've been asking all over MFP what macros to aim for and why.

Please include a source or link or something so I can research further :-)

I don't have any links, but the .8 grams of protein per lean muscle mass is supreme around here for those that lift and try to lose weight.

I'd just play with the macros until that amount of protein that's appropriate for you is reflected in your macro goals.

AsaThorsWoman

Yeah, calories burned is definitely a wild card.

I usually log log 100 calories for every mile walked, jogged or hiked (intentionally, fast, as exercise, not loafing around the mall or office).

I usually log 100 calories for Centurion Method, usually an hour and a half of lifting and jump rope.

I do log swims at MFP's recommendation, because I am clueless on that, I tried posting on MFP how to log them, and some websites were recommended that gave essentially the same read-out, or were difficult to use without knowing my distance traveled.

I log 100 calories for a Parkour workout, usually about an hour or so.

I log 100 calories for a Jillian Michael's workout, 20 intense minutes.

And I try to only eat back %25-%50 of those calories if I'm really hungry.

I do walk a mile then do sword practice on Mondays. I typically lift Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, these include a 1-2 mile walk for warm up, and jump rope at the end. (I'm just now getting to the stage where I'm adding more weight and tracking that...) Saturday and Sunday in the day time I usually go for a long walk at Lake Hefner. I aim for five miles, but usually give up at three if it's really hot. I swim at home and at the OU pool about once a week, maybe twice. More when my daughter's around. I only occasionally hit up the gym for some elliptical cardio.

But the burns on the exercise is all guesses, so I try to underestimate, and not eat it all back because it is the wild card.

sweetpea03b

Girl... the only thing I can say is welcome to the club. However, you are losing inches so that's something... I wouldn't sweat the weight. It's the clothes fitting that matters the most anyway you know? I would really try mixing things up and see if that helps you. I know if I go on a long stretch where I eat all the same meals and do all the same workouts I'll stop losing. I'll take a week or so off... eat up to maintenance... not work out so hard.... then get back to work and usually that will do the trick and I'll have a loss. Also for me, I really have to cut back on carbs to see results. No carbs for lunch or dinner... I'll usually just have a snack like a little bag of chips or something to satisfy that craving.... otherwise the scale doesn't budge. Hope that helps!

Good luck!

AsaThorsWoman

For me what broke my plateau was IIFYM (if it fits your macros), upping my water, and along with IIFYM, measuring my grams on the food scale TO THE GRAM

What macros do you recommend?

I've been asking all over MFP what macros to aim for and why.

Please include a source or link or something so I can research further :-)

I don't have any links, but the .8 grams of protein per lean muscle mass is supreme around here for those that lift and try to lose weight.

I'd just play with the macros until that amount of protein that's appropriate for you is reflected in your macro goals.

How do I know what my lean mass is? I know my body fat percentage is currently %32, I did an online calculator (calculating with measurements, weight etc) and a body fat scale, and while they're both rumored to be wildly inaccurate, one read 32.1% and the other read 32%, so I'm going with that for now.

Does that mean my lean mass is the other 68% of 183lb?

3dogsrunning

Sidesteel breaks it all down here (he covers everything but I am referring to macros)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

SLLRunner

You say you weight and measure everything but a lot of entries in your diary are cups and tablespoons. Like your cereal one day. Another entry was a piece of brisket that didn't specify size or weight. You have .06… cup of cheese often. Weigh everything you can.

Are you eating half a banana? Most are closer to 110-120 calories than 70something you have logged.
You have a few generic "homemade" items in your diary as well.

Keep in mind, no matter how diligent you log, it is still all an estimate and numbers can be off. If you are logging everything, and logging accurately, I might try dropping even 100 calories at first and see how that goes.

So sooooooo important.

I weigh all my food, fruits and veggies too. I've weighed bananas in grams with calories anyhere from about 80 to 125. Not all of anything is created equal.

AsaThorsWoman

Sidesteel breaks it all down here (he covers everything but I am referring to macros)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Ugh, I already do all this stuff religiously. This is great advice but very basic and written for beginners.

I'm not a beginner, I've been at this for two full years now.

3dogsrunning

Sidesteel breaks it all down here (he covers everything but I am referring to macros)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Ugh, I already do all this stuff religiously. This is great advice but very basic and written for beginners.

I'm not a beginner, I've been at this for two full years now.

Did you read the part on setting macros? That's why I linked it. Do you not want to use those macros? I'm confused.

AsaThorsWoman

You say you weight and measure everything but a lot of entries in your diary are cups and tablespoons. Like your cereal one day. Another entry was a piece of brisket that didn't specify size or weight. You have .06… cup of cheese often. Weigh everything you can.

Are you eating half a banana? Most are closer to 110-120 calories than 70something you have logged.
You have a few generic "homemade" items in your diary as well.

Keep in mind, no matter how diligent you log, it is still all an estimate and numbers can be off. If you are logging everything, and logging accurately, I might try dropping even 100 calories at first and see how that goes.

So sooooooo important.

I weigh all my food, fruits and veggies too. I've weighed bananas in grams with calories anyhere from about 80 to 125. Not all of anything is created equal.

I weigh the bananas. I swear to Odin. On my scale.

Some are big, some are small.

Some are small and I tear bruises off and don't eat that part so they seem even smaller in the log.

AsaThorsWoman

Sidesteel breaks it all down here (he covers everything but I am referring to macros)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Ugh, I already do all this stuff religiously. This is great advice but very basic and written for beginners.

I'm not a beginner, I've been at this for two full years now.

Did you read the part on setting macros? That's why I linked it. Do you not want to use those macros? I'm confused.

I'll read that link, brb.

megantischner

Haven't seen this suggest yet -- have you been to your doctor recently for a check-up? It's possible that an underlying medical condition or medications you're taking are making it difficult to lose weight.

AsaThorsWoman

Thanks for the advice ya'll, all ya'll by the way.

I don't mean to be rude or snippy, and I know ya'll just trying to help.

I do get frustrated when people tell me to use the food scale and say I don't, when I know, my kid knows, my co-workers know, my boyfriend knows, my bestie knows... everyone and their mom knows, I weigh the food.

I really, really do weigh the food. I use self-nutrition website when in doubt about an entry, or using a new entry for a food I'm not used too.

I use the Nutrition Label.

I use the recipe tool.

I really do.

I wouldn't have sat here and logged in six months of food to screw myself by making sloppy estimates.

MelodyandBarbells

Thanks for the advice ya'll, all ya'll by the way.

I don't mean to be rude or snippy, and I know ya'll just trying to help.

I do get frustrated when people tell me to use the food scale and say I don't, when I know, my kid knows, my co-workers know, my boyfriend knows, my bestie knows... everyone and their mom knows, I weigh the food.

I really, really do weigh the food. I use self-nutrition website when in doubt about an entry, or using a new entry for a food I'm not used too.

I use the Nutrition Label.

I use the recipe tool.

I really do.

I wouldn't have sat here and logged in six months of food to screw myself by making sloppy estimates.

Well, that should mean those posts should take up less of your time. You can just briefly scan them and know that no follow up is required. Plus you may be reducing the chances of getting additional responses if we fear you're gonna bite our heads off because we forgot to read something :laugh:

Would you be willing to simplify the calories burned part and just eat a flat calorie amount daily? It could be one more variable to completely remove. Maybe do like some members and log exercise as one calorie each, and eat about 1500/1600 calories a day to start with, with or without exercise. That way "calories in" would be the only portion of the equation that matters for a while and also will be the only aspect to be modified if you're not getting the results you want.

AliceDark

Regarding macros, everyone has a different distribution that suits them best, so really the only way to dial yours in is observation/trial/error. You said you tried low-carb and it didn't work well for you, right? (That's totally fine, btw, low-carb doesn't work for a lot of people).

This is pretty labor-intensive (honestly, it's a pain in the butt in the short term), but it's a good way to start to identify patterns in how you feel after you eat certain things...

Get a notebook and jot down how you feel 1 or 2 hours after you eat. Do this for every meal and snack, at least for a week but two would be better if you can stand it. Make note of things like tired, hungry again, shaky, lots of energy, still full, etc. That can help you start to identify whether or not a certain type of meal makes you feel a certain way. (For example, if I eat just protein/fat, I'll probably be full 1 hour after eating but I'll feel super shaky and weak at that point unless I had some carbs with that meal). That method won't help you set your macro ratios from scratch, but it will help you adjust them a little.

The one thing you'd need to watch out for is confirmation bias, if you "think" you need to be eating a certain way. You have to try to be as honest and unbiased as possible when you record how you feel. If you go into the experiment thinking "I ate a high-protein meal, so that's good for me," it's easy to talk yourself into thinking you feel good when it comes time to record your observations, and that's not really helpful.

AsaThorsWoman

Regarding macros, everyone has a different distribution that suits them best, so really the only way to dial yours in is observation/trial/error. You said you tried low-carb and it didn't work well for you, right? (That's totally fine, btw, low-carb doesn't work for a lot of people).

This is pretty labor-intensive (honestly, it's a pain in the butt in the short term), but it's a good way to start to identify patterns in how you feel after you eat certain things...

Get a notebook and jot down how you feel 1 or 2 hours after you eat. Do this for every meal and snack, at least for a week but two would be better if you can stand it. Make note of things like tired, hungry again, shaky, lots of energy, still full, etc. That can help you start to identify whether or not a certain type of meal makes you feel a certain way. (For example, if I eat just protein/fat, I'll probably be full 1 hour after eating but I'll feel super shaky and weak at that point unless I had some carbs with that meal). That method won't help you set your macro ratios from scratch, but it will help you adjust them a little.

The one thing you'd need to watch out for is confirmation bias, if you "think" you need to be eating a certain way. You have to try to be as honest and unbiased as possible when you record how you feel. If you go into the experiment thinking "I ate a high-protein meal, so that's good for me," it's easy to talk yourself into thinking you feel good when it comes time to record your observations, and that's not really helpful.

That's an interesting idea... but curious on how to execute it.

I guess log the meal alone on a random day, view the macros, then record the macros and feelings in the food notes? Hmmm...

AliceDark

That could work. Personally, I'd just jot down notes after every meal for a week or two. It's okay if 50% of them say "feel okay" or whatever. Just getting into the habit of noting something after every meal increases the likelihood that you'll get an accurate picture of how you feel over time.

You wouldn't need to go into a ton of detail about the individual macro percentages per meal -- that's a good way to drive yourself insane. What you'd be looking for is a general pattern. Something like "every time I eat a very low-fat meal, I'm hungry again within an hour" (or whatever, I'm totally making up examples, btw).

Have you figured out what your average macro breakdown has been over the last few months? I'd personally start with something that is fairly evenly distributed, like 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat and then adjust from there. I'm not a believer in low-anything diets, though, and I fully acknowledge that other people are different.

AsaThorsWoman

That could work. Personally, I'd just jot down notes after every meal for a week or two. It's okay if 50% of them say "feel okay" or whatever. Just getting into the habit of noting something after every meal increases the likelihood that you'll get an accurate picture of how you feel over time.

You wouldn't need to go into a ton of detail about the individual macro percentages per meal -- that's a good way to drive yourself insane. What you'd be looking for is a general pattern. Something like "every time I eat a very low-fat meal, I'm hungry again within an hour" (or whatever, I'm totally making up examples, btw).

Have you figured out what your average macro breakdown has been over the last few months? I'd personally start with something that is fairly evenly distributed, like 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat and then adjust from there. I'm not a believer in low-anything diets, though, and I fully acknowledge that other people are different.

It is slightly low-carb than average, I get most of my carbs from veg, fruit, and treats, so it does come across as a lower carb amount. I'm FINE with 75-100 per day. It's netting below 20 that disagreed with me.

Muscleflex79

just checked out your goal macros and you have carbs at 20 (pretty low), fats at 169 (seems crazy high) and protein around 60 (low). where did you get these macros and why do they seem so out of whack????

AliceDark

It is slightly low-carb than average, I get most of my carbs from veg, fruit, and treats, so it does come across as a lower carb amount. I'm FINE with 75-100 per day. It's netting below 20 that disagreed with me.

So, if your goal is 1600, say you get 100g of carbs. That's 400 calories, or 25% carbs.

The general recommendation for protein is 0.8-1g per lb of LBM. If you're 180 and 30% body fat, you have 126 lbs of LBM. Let's say you want 126g of protein, that's 504 calories or 32% protein.

That leaves 696 calories of fat, or 43% fat. (77g of fat).

That seems a little high in fat to me, so I might take a little bit of the fat and put it to protein, but you can play around with it from there.