So this is where I would normally give up

fattymcrunnerpants

For about a year I've been steady at 247. Every time I try to lose I will get down to about 237, 238 then creep right back up again without a change in my diet and exercise. So this time I got down to 236 for the first time. This week I haven't lost any weight, I've gained 3lbs! I've stayed in a calorie deficit, my sodium has been way high some days but other than that I've been coming close to hitting my other macros such as protein almost every day. I'm exercising 3x's/ week. What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions are welcome, my diary is open. I'm a 27 year old female 5'2

126siany

I went through a few days and what jumps out at me is how many meals are eaten at restaurants/fast food places. While these establishments do give calorie counts, they are not accurate. In effect, you're guesstimating calories even though you are faithfully logging.

Would it be possible to prepare a few more meals at home each week?

WBB55

What you're doing "wrong" is that you give up. Just keep doing what you're doing for now. Some weeks you don't lose. Some weeks you gain. Weight loss isn't linear. In the past 2 months, you've logged 15 days total. The first thing I think you should do is just start logging consistently and as accurately as you can. And then give it a couple months to see. Now, granted, you're not gonna be perfect. But do your best to log every day for two months.

and read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

dedflwrs

Do not give up. Even staying the same is better than keep gaining.

I'm sure that you've read this in the forums before but... Are you sure that you are accurately keeping your food log? I find that I can't be accurate with MFP because the measurements you can keep are very limited. When I'm home I measure everything (in grams) and when I go out I try to calculate based on my experience measuring. Also, when out, I try to enter all ingredients in a dish rather than giving a meal one caloric value. What sent me running back to FirtBit for keeping track of my calories was having the same lunch two days in a row, entering one on MFP in cups, slices, pieces, etc and the next day in grams on FitBit and seeing a difference of several hundred calories. That's in ONE meal. imagine for the whole day. Or worse yet, a week? A month?

I know there's a lot of of talk about your micros here. I don't know if that works or not. I assume that it does for some but we are all different. I find that just keeping track of my calories does it for me. One thing that helps me at times when I have been real bad (I love ice cream) is having real big salads. I do add eggs and/or falafel or tempeh but I have lots of veggies in there so that the calories are not high but I feel satisfied, get good nutrition, plus they are yummy.

I wish you good luck with your program. I know it is hard. My son tried for many years and finally, in the last couple of years, he lost about 120 lbs. Now he's struggling a little again but I know he will be ok. It is a life long struggle but it's worth it to be healthy.

fattymcrunnerpants

I went through a few days and what jumps out at me is how many meals are eaten at restaurants/fast food places. While these establishments do give calorie counts, they are not accurate. In effect, you're guesstimating calories even though you are faithfully logging.

Would it be possible to prepare a few more meals at home each week?

Yeah, I'm working on that. Sometimes it's possible sometimes it's not. I prepped a bit better this week in the hopes that I'll stay out of the drive thru.

fattymcrunnerpants

What you're doing "wrong" is that you give up. Just keep doing what you're doing for now. Some weeks you don't lose. Some weeks you gain. Weight loss isn't linear. In the past 2 months, you've logged 15 days total. The first thing I think you should do is just start logging consistently and as accurately as you can. And then give it a couple months to see. Now, granted, you're not gonna be perfect. But do your best to log every day for two months.

and read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

I've actually been logging consistently for about 3 years now regardless of weight loss/gain. I just started using MFP for my logs so that I can get the break down :laugh: But you're right the last two weeks I've actually been cognizant of the caloric/ macro break downs.

Holly_Roman_Empire

What you're doing "wrong" is that you give up. Just keep doing what you're doing for now. Some weeks you don't lose. Some weeks you gain. Weight loss isn't linear. In the past 2 months, you've logged 15 days total. The first thing I think you should do is just start logging consistently and as accurately as you can. And then give it a couple months to see. Now, granted, you're not gonna be perfect. But do your best to log every day for two months.

and read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

I've actually been logging consistently for about 3 years now regardless of weight loss/gain. I just started using MFP for my logs so that I can get the break down :laugh: But you're right the last two weeks I've actually been cognizant of the caloric/ macro break downs.

Are you logging on two different websites or something? How can you be consistently logging for 3 years when it's not evident in your diary?

fattymcrunnerpants

Do not give up. Even staying the same is better than keep gaining.

I'm sure that you've read this in the forums before but... Are you sure that you are accurately keeping your food log? I find that I can't be accurate with MFP because the measurements you can keep are very limited. When I'm home I measure everything (in grams) and when I go out I try to calculate based on my experience measuring. Also, when out, I try to enter all ingredients in a dish rather than giving a meal one caloric value. What sent me running back to FirtBit for keeping track of my calories was having the same lunch two days in a row, entering one on MFP in cups, slices, pieces, etc and the next day in grams on FitBit and seeing a difference of several hundred calories. That's in ONE meal. imagine for the whole day. Or worse yet, a week? A month?

I know there's a lot of of talk about your micros here. I don't know if that works or not. I assume that it does for some but we are all different. I find that just keeping track of my calories does it for me. One thing that helps me at times when I have been real bad (I love ice cream) is having real big salads. I do add eggs and/or falafel or tempeh but I have lots of veggies in there so that the calories are not high but I feel satisfied, get good nutrition, plus they are yummy.

I wish you good luck with your program. I know it is hard. My son tried for many years and finally, in the last couple of years, he lost about 120 lbs. Now he's struggling a little again but I know he will be ok. It is a life long struggle but it's worth it to be healthy.

Thank you... that's crazy about the different caloric measures! I do have a food scale and use it religiously so I'm pretty sure that I'm getting it right. I also use grams only, unless it's measured in something else by food label.

fattymcrunnerpants

What you're doing "wrong" is that you give up. Just keep doing what you're doing for now. Some weeks you don't lose. Some weeks you gain. Weight loss isn't linear. In the past 2 months, you've logged 15 days total. The first thing I think you should do is just start logging consistently and as accurately as you can. And then give it a couple months to see. Now, granted, you're not gonna be perfect. But do your best to log every day for two months.

and read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

I've actually been logging consistently for about 3 years now regardless of weight loss/gain. I just started using MFP for my logs so that I can get the break down :laugh: But you're right the last two weeks I've actually been cognizant of the caloric/ macro break downs.

Are you logging on two different websites or something? How can you be consistently logging for 3 years when it's not evident in your diary?

Paper and pen. I didn't always have internet access consistently.

IHateThinkingOfAUsername

My sodium has been way high some days.

Personally if I don't counter high sodium with drinking more, I notice a 'gain' in the form of water retention.
One swallow doesn't make a summer.
One gain doesn't make you fat.
Just don't give up, keep plugging your way at it.

FatJockSing

Hi - for me the comments above cover it. Restaurants are notoriously BAD at giving accurate calorie and macro figures. And your logging needs to be more consistent.I also think that when you say you are CLOSE to your Macros - the logs tell a differnt story. And if you ARE going to miss them, potentially the worst way is LOW on Protein and HIGH on fats.

If you have been doing the same thing for a long time and getting the same results - continuing to DO the same will on GET you the same. Time for a change somewhere in yor Daily routine.

Good luck!

TavistockToad

if you've been logging for 3 years, have you been in a deficit for all that time?

Branstin

Giving up certainly isn't going to get you to your goal. I suggest reading the link and re-read it if necessary. High level of sodium will cause water weight gain but drink plenty of water/fluid and it will pass in a couple of days. Give yourself credit for losing some weight. Now, you just have to tighten the reins a little better. Many of us have been around this thing a few times before getting it right.

hj1119

I agree with everything above and I will say that I personally prefer buying ice cream bars that are pre-portioned (Skinny cow bars are my favorite!) to scooping bowls of "about 3/4 cup" of ice cream because I will always convince myself that I'm eating less ice cream than I actually am. Having one serving as opposed to scooping from a pint definitely helps with the portion control aspect of things

Lalasharni

I too relate to this and agree with all that's been said here. However.....

A lot of your calories come from sugar and fat. I've had a skim through your diary and although you say that you are in calorie deficit, it may well be that there are more than a few "guestimates" there.
If you are able to, give up the alcohol too - empty and non nutritive calories and your liver will process alcohol before anything else as it sees it as a poison. Whilst its doing that, the fat and sugar are sitting in your system.
I find that once I knock out the booze for a week, then I drop several pounds. You might try this too.

Forget ice cream for a while - go for water ices or make your own fruit granita

Try to load yourself with more nutritional food and switch your carbs to slow release carbs that contain fibre and goodness rather than refined white carbs. That should sort you out and yes - way too much salt. This will cause you retain tissue water and whilst its not true weight per se, then its enough to knock your confidence when you get on the scales. Go for pepper instead. It flavors food and doesn't aid water retention.

If you'd like, add me as a friend, I might be able to throw some yummy recipes your way!

liekewheeless

Since you say you use your scale, I'm sure you are already doing this. For everyone else, weigh pre-portioned food. I was experimenting with this the other day (just got a scale finally). Most portions were at least 10% more if not 20%.

Of 8 hotdog buns I weight, 1 was 43gr it was supposed to be (that's the one I ate), most were between 50 and 53 gr. So just because the package says one serving is 100 cal. doesn't mean the serving isn't actually bigger than that. For the buns that would mean instead of 100 calories, they are typically 120 calories.

nicknock01

Personally, I think the fact that you've logged consistently is so incredibly key. Fluctuations will happen, but consistency, in any form, shows that you have the perseverance to push through. You got this. Do NOT give up...and neither will I.

I_Will_End_You

You say you're weighing your food, so your calories should be fairly accurate, and your exercise calories do not look inflated...maybe you really are just retaining water from the sodium. Don't give up, keep doing what you're doing and see if your weight goes back down. I had a high sodium weekend, and I probably won't be back down to my normal weight until Thursday or Friday. (3lbs more than usual)

goldfinger88

Some things have been said here about fat calories. It's the sugar you need to cut out. Fat is the body's preferred fuel and fat does not make you fat nor does cholesterol raise your cholesterol nor does sugar make you sweet. Fat fills you up and causes you to eat less calories. Even if you didn't log. Which I don't and I eat about 40% fat, 40% carbs and 20% protein. That the Mediterranean diet macros. Add good fat. Take away added sugar and processed foods. Eat organic when you can - all natural foods, no boxed foods, no soups, grass fed beef. Don't be afraid to eat like people have always eaten before they went low fat and got obese.

Scienceteacher42

I think sodium is also a big contributer to your fluctuations. I have found that when I wake up thirsty, my weight is easily 3 pounds heavier. Then I think about what I eat the day before, and it was probably something really high in salt, like take-out Chinese. I also find it very difficult to stay under my calories when I eat out.

GiveMeCoffee

I saw you mention you use your food scale, but your diary has entries like 3/4 cup scooped ice cream, 1/3 cup shredded cheese, 15 chips, there's lots of other suspect entries.

Don't give up, just really focus on trying to log as accurate as possible

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=logging+step+guide

Good luck

fattymcrunnerpants

Thanks for all of the advice, I will definitly try more to lower the sodium and not eat out as much. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I work 50 hours a week and have two children. But I did want to address a few concerns:

-I haven't always been in a calorie deficit. I started logging consistantly to show my doctors that I wasn't over eating. Then since my hormones got balanced I decided to try again with restricting calories because I should be able to function like a normal human being now. But I've kept a food journal consistantly for 3 years. Which really helped last year because I gained 60lbs out of nowhere and my doctor didnt' believe that I wasn't overeating until I showed him my journal. Turns out I had a huge tumor on my thyroid and my thyroid wasn't fucntioning right. Looooooooong story. But my new doc wants to see the macros so that's why I started logging here recently.

- On the fast food front I typically don't eat all that they give me. I'll eat like half then log that I've eaten 3/4 or a whole serving


-With the enteries (especially on the ice cream) I weight it according to the grams on the box. For example, a serving is 67 grams. I'll have a serving and a half which is 100.5 grams. Then when it gets logged MFP measurements aren't the same but the nutrition info is. So it'll say I ate 3/4 of a cup but I ate 100.5 grams. IDK why that does that?

SLLRunner

For about a year I've been steady at 247. Every time I try to lose I will get down to about 237, 238 then creep right back up again without a change in my diet and exercise. So this time I got down to 236 for the first time. This week I haven't lost any weight, I've gained 3lbs! I've stayed in a calorie deficit, my sodium has been way high some days but other than that I've been coming close to hitting my other macros such as protein almost every day. I'm exercising 3x's/ week. What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions are welcome, my diary is open. I'm a 27 year old female 5'2

Weight loss is never linear. You just have to be patient.

Make sure your logging is in order too. Log every single thing you eat. For example, last evening we had chuck roast for dinner. I decided I was going to have a little bit more while I was cleaning up dishes, so I weighed that piece (almost an ounce) and logged it in. It's important to include all little bites here and there (within reason so that I'm not logging a sip of a sweet drink or something like that), condiments, butter, etc. If you won't weigh your food you might want to buy a cheap scale and give it a try. It's a real eye opener.

I used to think that I could not get down below 165. Then I worked hard about 12 years ago and got down to 155. I pretty much maintained for about five years, then about 30 pounds crept back on over a five year period. Last year I started using the MFP tools, and now my maintenance weight is between 139 and 142, which is fine. In fact, once you get to maintenance it's a range and not a set number.

You can do this, I know you can. If I can do it, anybody can.

SLLRunner

-I haven't always been in a calorie deficit. I started logging consistantly to show my doctors that I wasn't over eating. Then since my hormones got balanced I decided to try again with restricting calories because I should be able to function like a normal human being now. But I've kept a food journal consistantly for 3 years. Which really helped last year because I gained 60lbs out of nowhere and my doctor didnt' believe that I wasn't overeating until I showed him my journal. Turns out I had a huge tumor on my thyroid and my thyroid wasn't fucntioning right. Looooooooong story. But my new doc wants to see the macros so that's why I started logging here recently.

Thyroid is a whole different ball game.

- On the fast food front I typically don't eat all that they give me. I'll eat like half then log that I've eaten 3/4 or a whole serving

This is good because restaurants typically underestimate the calories in their food. I hope you get this worked out.

-With the enteries (especially on the ice cream) I weight it according to the grams on the box. For example, a serving is 67 grams. I'll have a serving and a half which is 100.5 grams. Then when it gets logged MFP measurements aren't the same but the nutrition info is. So it'll say I ate 3/4 of a cup but I ate 100.5 grams. IDK why that does that?

For many foods I have created my own entries under "My Foods" by grams so that I can accurately measure. I either take the nutrition information from the packaging or I look up the USDA nutrition information. Measurements, as in cups and spoons, are way different than grams and ounce measurements.

SLLRunner

A lot of your calories come from sugar and fat. I've had a skim through your diary and although you say that you are in calorie deficit, it may well be that there are more than a few "guestimates" there.
If you are able to, give up the alcohol too - empty and non nutritive calories and your liver will process alcohol before anything else as it sees it as a poison. Whilst its doing that, the fat and sugar are sitting in your system.
I find that once I knock out the booze for a week, then I drop several pounds. You might try this too.

Forget ice cream for a while - go for water ices or make your own fruit granita

Try to load yourself with more nutritional food and switch your carbs to slow release carbs that contain fibre and goodness rather than refined white carbs. That should sort you out and yes - way too much salt. This will cause you retain tissue water and whilst its not true weight per se, then its enough to knock your confidence when you get on the scales. Go for pepper instead. It flavors food and doesn't aid water retention.

Some things have been said here about fat calories. It's the sugar you need to cut out. Fat is the body's preferred fuel and fat does not make you fat nor does cholesterol raise your cholesterol nor does sugar make you sweet. Fat fills you up and causes you to eat less calories. Even if you didn't log. Which I don't and I eat about 40% fat, 40% carbs and 20% protein. That the Mediterranean diet macros. Add good fat. Take away added sugar and processed foods. Eat organic when you can - all natural foods, no boxed foods, no soups, grass fed beef. Don't be afraid to eat like people have always eaten before they went low fat and got obese.

Sugar and processed foods don't need to be cut out, nor does alcohol or anything else, because no food is good or bad. . It's all about moderation.

Moderation.

fattymcrunnerpants

For many foods I have created my own entries under "My Foods" by grams so that I can accurately measure. I either take the nutrition information from the packaging or I look up the USDA nutrition information. Measurements, as in cups and spoons, are way different than grams and ounce measurements.

That's a really great idea, I'll try that for sure!