Help! I need advice on losing weight! :)

jasveersingh925

Hi fellow MFPers,

I am having a bit of a problem that I need some tips/advice on. I have lost 30 lbs since January and since April I have been logging what I've been eating every day. The problem is that I've stalled on my weight loss and it's due to not being able to account for how much I am eating at times. It is impossible to accurately know how many calories I am eating on some of my meals. My family sometimes pressures me to eat the food that they have, such as take out or homemade Indian food. I tell them that I can only eat what I can count calories for and they say that's ridiculous! I log everything accurately the rest of the time, but I think that these "cheat" meals are impeding my weight loss progress by wiping out my calorie deficit.

I don't have this problem Monday through Thursday. It is only Friday, Saturday, and Sunday when I am with my family and there is food around. I really don't want to eat too little Monday through Thursday. It is really frustrating. I've also thought about doing cardio on a daily basis. But, still, I am totally guessing on my weight loss.

Thanks for your help

StaciMarie1974

Depending on your age and family dynamic, you do have some limitations.

Options which perhaps don't put you at odds with your family: eating smaller portions at family meals and/or increasing your activity to account for higher calories consumed. It may be a bit of a guessing game but if your issue now is that you're maintaining (you mention no loss in a few months but don't indicate you're gaining) then either of these or a combination should turn the tide back to a weekly deficit.

AmyG1982

Are you still trying to log on those days your family is pressuring you to eat? You may not know anything but there are probably some close things already created in MFP you could use so you'd at least have an idea how many calories you're taking in. And like Staci said, more exercise and smaller portions on those days!

Laurenloveswaffles

Have you recalculated your daily calorie amount since losing all that weight? (which is awesome btw - congrats!)
Your TDEE is going to be a lot different from when you were 30lbs heavier and now.

Like Staci said, it doesn't seem as though your gaining. Most likely just maintaining which is not bad.

I would figure out your new TDEE, subtract 20% for a reasonable deficit, and start there. Log as accurately as you can when you eat with your family.

Sometimes you're just going to have to say no to that food and cook your own.

Jim_Barteck

Depending on your age and family dynamic, you do have some limitations.

Options which perhaps don't put you at odds with your family: eating smaller portions at family meals and/or increasing your activity to account for higher calories consumed. It may be a bit of a guessing game but if your issue now is that you're maintaining (you mention no loss in a few months but don't indicate you're gaining) then either of these or a combination should turn the tide back to a weekly deficit.

^^THIS

Kalikel

You have two options: tell the family "No, thank you" or eat it.

The choice is yours.

If you feel you can't say No and are willing to sacrifice what you want to keep the peace, give up on the weight loss.

If you're really determined and think this is setting you back, you're going to have to firm (but polite) for a while.. "No, thank you." Repeat it over and over. There will be ruffled feathers, at first. Some people will never stop making rude comments. But as you lose and they see it, some will start congratulating you.

Try not to get mad, especially if the fat ones put you down. Always realize that when people put you down, it's because they feel inadequate and think that by putting you down, they will feel better. They're trying to reassure themselves that they're okay. It just comes out as rude and insulting. They have problems. Don't let their problems become yours.

Hang in there.

You can do it.

jasveersingh925

Thanks everyone for your input. I feel better about my situation now. MFP keeps my TDEE updated through updates I make for my current weight. For the days I can't accurately track the meal/food I am eating, I try to estimate and then do a quick add calories for it. As we all know, it is HARD work to track your food all week. It is then frustrating not only when I eat something I can't track, but also when I am normally tracking when I can account for my food intake.

jptrgrl1111

If you know some of the favorite family meals or staple dishes that are usually served you can add all of the ingredients and create your own food so that you can log it later. Obviously you will then need to break it into serving sizes. It's a pain but worth it. And don't be afraid to share your findings with your family! My other half always wants to order take out dinners and constantly pushes the salads as a "good diet option" for me. So one night I went ahead and ordered the salad, stood in our kitchen and completely dissected the entire thing into weighable/measureable/TRACKABLE amounts. When I was all done (he had finished eating by this time) I put it in front of him and told him to take a wild guess. His healthy take out option had 1350 calories!!! When I explained that that was more than I consume in an entire day, he backed off and stopped pushing take out food on me. The ones we love can be the hardest on us especially if they aren't fighting the same battle as we are. Don't let them make you question your choices though. This is for you, not them and hopefully they will stop pushing after a demo or two. Good luck!!

jasveersingh925

So I had a lot of time to think about this and I really value everyone's suggestions. This is the best I have come up with. I am going to eat a certain number of calories each day set by MFP and also do cardio exercise to increase my activity level. I will not eat back these exercise calories and let them add up until the weekend comes. I have estimated the total to be quite significant of the exercise calories. I will then try to use portion control for the weekend meals/food with my family and the calories from these meals will be taken from the exercise calories that I earn during the whole week. I do not think that there is a good chance that I will eat over this amount and have it effect my deficit.

I am still not happy that I have to compromise this much just because some people can't tolerate my adherence to my diet. I can't believe it but this is all I can come up with.

Does this sound good?