need help. this isn't working!

dianarileywoodward

hi all. hoping for a little advice.
i've been reading all of the community forums and see lots of ideas. hopefully someone out there has an idea for me?
i have a new strategy but don't know if it will work. and am getting really frustrated.

summer is my time of year to tone up, lose weight, all that jazz. i work 80-90 hours a week during the school year, and seem to only find time to maintain weight at best.

this summer i am having the hardest time. back into the running. back on very detailed recording of my eating.
it's been 2 1/2 months i've lost absolutely no weight. - i mean none!
my pants fit a tiny bit better, but same pant size.
Cant call it a plateau…. this is the great plains of weight loss!

i know, i know…….
muscle weighs more than fat (on earth, with oxygen, at sea level, ……. i promise, i do live on earth and all that stuff)
but i am overweight. i have never ever ever been not overweight. and i desperately want to not be overweight.

my new strategy is: (details on what i'm currently doing below)
- continue my 1/2 marathon training - race is october and i'm not quitting!
- stick with my current calorie intake
- drop my carbs way down. i'm not sure what way down means but have read that 50 g is a good start
that means my fat is going to go up a bit i'm sure, but I will still try to keep it relatively low.
protein way up - (got it. lean protein. veggies. maybe berries here and there got it)
- for exercise i will continue my routine, but also add some weight training? never done it before, but lots of forums seem to recommend it. my family is on a very tight budget, so investing in workout programs, gym memberships, and other investments are out for now.


Here's what i've been doing until now:

i run 4 days a week
elliptical at least twice a week.
i don't generally record my workouts on MFP b/c i just don't really buy the # of calories it says i'm burning. when i do record, it's only for 1/2-2/3 of the actual workout time.

I try to keep my protein to carb ratio equal, and my fat low. i stick to 1100 calories a day. sometimes i venture as high at 1200. eating more makes me gain. Yeah. my metabolism is low. i have tried the plateau busting strategies of eating more calories. and eating more calories makes me gain. i promise!

I DO NOT CHEAT! if it goes in my mouth it gets recorded. (ok, except when it's 7:30, and i know i have to eat more chx breast to get up to my calories for the day. then i eat it and don't recored it, b/c i know what the total will be and it's still in my range)

StaciMarie1974

Do you weigh your food? Log condiments, cooking oils, drinks, etc.?

dianarileywoodward

i do! meat on a scale.
count leaves of lettuce
cereal in a measuring cup. (well, ok, i got lazy and put a line on my cereal bowl)
i have a sneaky feeling cereal is the enemy

kaseyr1505

Opening your diary would help us help you.

jasonmh630

i do! meat on a scale.
count leaves of lettuce
cereal in a measuring cup. (well, ok, i got lazy and put a line on my cereal bowl)
i have a sneaky feeling cereal is the enemy

If it's a solid food, you should weigh it on a scale. The only thing to measure in a cup or tbsp is liquids.

dianarileywoodward

if i eat an actual prepared meal (very rare) i type up the exact ingredients i use into the recipes system on MFP and then record my serving of it.

dianarileywoodward

ooh! i'll try that! thanks!
gonna have to find a new way to record it. i've been using the ingredients w/ volume measure but weight recordings must be in there.

dianarileywoodward

you guys are lovely!
just opened my food diary. didn't even know you could do that!

erikarobles

I can relate!!! It has taken me 2 years to lose 20lbs and I have only lost that in the last few months!!!! I decided to just jump into adkins and it has worked. You should find some free exercises online that use your bodyweight for lifting. Good luck!!!!

dianarileywoodward

Thank you! I mean it! THANK YOU!

xcalygrl

One thing I'll say is that your running may suffer if you drop your carbs low. I know mine did when I switched from a IIFYM model to a Paleo/Primal model. I've recently switched back to an IIFYM model and saw my running improve.

bizco

What is your BMR? Click on "APPS" then on "BMR" right underneath. My guess is 1100 calories is way too little and your body is fighting tooth and nail to hold onto every little bit of fat to prevent starvation. Never eat below your BMR.

Alluminati

One thing I'll say is that your running may suffer if you drop your carbs low. I know mine did when I switched from a IIFYM model to a Paleo/Primal model. I've recently switched back to an IIFYM model and saw my running improve.

I need teh carbs to run, too

W31RD0

One thing I'll say is that your running may suffer if you drop your carbs low. I know mine did when I switched from a IIFYM model to a Paleo/Primal model. I've recently switched back to an IIFYM model and saw my running improve.

I would take this advice. Carbs arn't some magic macro that makes your more fat than the other macros. The only reason they should be scrutinized more closely is if you had diabetes since they can contribute to a sugar spike.

For the most part, the macros don't matter unless you are getting a severe dis-balance of some over the others. It's your calories that will matter the most in losing weight.

LeanButNotMean44

Looking back at the last week of your diary , you never ate more than 900-something calories. My guess is that you have, but you are incorrectly measuring your food and are eating more than you think. You really need to use a scale to measure everything (except liquids, of course). My dose of reality came earlier this week when I finally measured my morning oats and found that my 1/2 cup (which was perfectly level) was WAY more than the 40g listed on the package. It also meant I was eating an additional 48 calories which I had not accounted for in my diary. It doesn't sound like a lot, but 40-50 calories here and there DOES add up!

If you are correctly measuring your food, how the heck are you able to function on so few calories?

Ludka13

I find that if I eat fewer carbs then it's easier to lose weight. I don't cut way back, I eat about 4 servings of whole grains a day. Otherwise I fill up on protein, fruit, veggies, nuts, dairy, fats.

jasonmh630

I also noticed that you're consistently eating below 1,000 calories per day and your goal is 1,450 per day. Some days you eat about 650+/-... Any reason for that?

yo_andi

hi all. hoping for a little advice.
i've been reading all of the community forums and see lots of ideas. hopefully someone out there has an idea for me?
i have a new strategy but don't know if it will work. and am getting really frustrated.

summer is my time of year to tone up, lose weight, all that jazz. i work 80-90 hours a week during the school year, and seem to only find time to maintain weight at best.

this summer i am having the hardest time. back into the running. back on very detailed recording of my eating.
it's been 2 1/2 months i've lost absolutely no weight. - i mean none!
my pants fit a tiny bit better, but same pant size.
Cant call it a plateau…. this is the great plains of weight loss!

i know, i know…….
muscle weighs more than fat (on earth, with oxygen, at sea level, ……. i promise, i do live on earth and all that stuff)
but i am overweight. i have never ever ever been not overweight. and i desperately want to not be overweight.

my new strategy is: (details on what i'm currently doing below)
- continue my 1/2 marathon training - race is october and i'm not quitting!
- stick with my current calorie intake
- drop my carbs way down. i'm not sure what way down means but have read that 50 g is a good start
that means my fat is going to go up a bit i'm sure, but I will still try to keep it relatively low.
protein way up - (got it. lean protein. veggies. maybe berries here and there got it)
- for exercise i will continue my routine, but also add some weight training? never done it before, but lots of forums seem to recommend it. my family is on a very tight budget, so investing in workout programs, gym memberships, and other investments are out for now.


Here's what i've been doing until now:

i run 4 days a week
elliptical at least twice a week.
i don't generally record my workouts on MFP b/c i just don't really buy the # of calories it says i'm burning. when i do record, it's only for 1/2-2/3 of the actual workout time.

I try to keep my protein to carb ratio equal, and my fat low. i stick to 1100 calories a day. sometimes i venture as high at 1200. eating more makes me gain. Yeah. my metabolism is low. i have tried the plateau busting strategies of eating more calories. and eating more calories makes me gain. i promise!

I DO NOT CHEAT! if it goes in my mouth it gets recorded. (ok, except when it's 7:30, and i know i have to eat more chx breast to get up to my calories for the day. then i eat it and don't recored it, b/c i know what the total will be and it's still in my range)

You should probably eat a bit more. Training for a half marathon is a substantial amount of running on a weekly basis and your calories are wayyyy low to sustain that kind of activity level. Also, cutting carbs when you're training for a race will likely affect your training. Consider bumping your calories up a few hundred a week until you start seeing losses on the scale.

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

One thing I'll say is that your running may suffer if you drop your carbs low. I know mine did when I switched from a IIFYM model to a Paleo/Primal model. I've recently switched back to an IIFYM model and saw my running improve.

I would take this advice. Carbs arn't some magic macro that makes your more fat than the other macros. The only reason they should be scrutinized more closely is if you had diabetes since they can contribute to a sugar spike.

For the most part, the macros don't matter unless you are getting a severe dis-balance of some over the others. It's your calories that will matter the most in losing weight.

This.

I struggled with this concept too, after the whole Atkins "carbs are the devil" fad. Don't cut out carbs, especially since you are a runner. Your running will most definitely suffer.

dianarileywoodward

I just did my BMR and its 1300. but that's what i eat when i gain weight!

i will absolutely to the recommendations of putting EVERYTHING on a scale. have one right here but have only been using it for meat!

thanks for this guys!

new game plan.
- No cereal!
- maybe oatmeal - let's see how i feel w/ no cereal.
- no carb cutting other than that.
- all scales baby!

Thanks guys!

also got a message from someone about another website for a more detailed BMR rate. i'll try it out and see if it works. if it does i'll post it.

lemurcat12

First, it's a separate problem from why you aren't losing, but you AREN'T eating enough. 1100 is unlikely to be a reasonable goal, even apart from MFP's 1200 minimum thing--what's your height and current weight? Add to that that you are training for a half marathon (so am I), and that you usually aren't even eating your 1100, sometimes well below, and that's just not a good idea.

You said you only just restarted this in the summer and have been stalled. What calories were you eating before? Any idea? Were you maintaining? Why'd you decide on 1100?

Low carb works for a lot of people, so I'm not against that (though I don't do it), but you might want to check out the low carb groups for some tips. Also, I find running makes me want more carbs and I can feel the difference with both running and biking whether I'm well fueled (including with carbs) or not. One thing you might want to look at if you are committed to lower carbs but want to improve your running is something like Paleo Diet for Athletes. Also, you can't do low fat and low carb at the same time, it doesn't really work, so if you are going to do low carb you should ease up on fats. (Why low fat?)

There's some stuff I don't get in your diary--are you really just eating dry cereal for breakfast? Pasta no sauce at other times? Why is this? Your profile says you are a chef--why so few prepared meals? Burnout? Almost no vegetables? My worry here is that you are concerned about logging so picking foods where the calorie counts on are the package, and you don't need to do that with MFP.

There are various logging things mostly related to not weighing when you should be--don't estimate the size of a banana, but weigh it. Bananas vary a lot. I'm sure others will point that stuff out, but I don't think it's really the major issue since you are going to be way below a reasonable deficit anyway.

IMO, figure out what a 1 lb/week deficit is (or maybe more if you are more overweight than I'm guessing--I can't know) and get up there and hit it consistently with logging as precise (by weight) as can be. If you still don't lose or even start gaining a bit, see a doctor and show him/her your diary.

enterdanger

Ever had your thyroid checked? I would consider it. You don't look like you are eating enough to even be alive. lol

Also, I saw you are a chef. Do you taste everything you make like the TV chefs do? Maybe calories coming from that?

I'm not a chef, but I like to cook and I know I taste everything. I never log it, unless it's like a buttercream icing or some super sugary baked good...ok I'm lying I don't log those either and I'm still losing weight eating much more than you with about the same exercise.

Get your thyroid checked?

becs3578

I have been playing with my macros a bit and have now upped my calories and done with TDEE method of how many calories a day to eat. Aiming for 40% protein 25-30% carbs and 30% fat daily. I am almost never perfect but it is a nice goal each day. I will say I do weight training through crossfit. Right now 3 times a week at crossfit, 4 runs (I am training for a HM in October too) and 1 ballet class a week. I think for me for a while I was not fueling my body enough.

Yeah I stay far away from cereal right now. Had a bowl on vacation and it was like heaven. I am eating a ton of egg, egg whites, chicken and then veggies and sweet potatos. Cook with olive oil (but sparely).

My thought would be tweaking your protein/fat/carbs is a great idea.. but I wouldnt keep your fat too low. Good fat is out there and helps the body!

Good luck.

Hearts_2015

OP - grateful you posted to ask your questions because you've gotten some great responses which have also helped me immensely!

I buy larger bananas at Trader Joe's only to break them in half and consider it a small. I need to start Weighing them, I know better but have forgotten over the years... thanks so much for the simple reminder!!

Same with weighing solids on a scale it's made such a difference as someone shared it weighs out more on a scale than what a measuring cup holds! I use cups for liquids such as milk etc., scale for everything else. Regarding cereal, I hear over and over again how processed it is.. every time I see that shared it makes me stop and think how often I grab my cereal in the a.m because it's simple and quick.

Back to my Oatmeal and eggs etc. it is! Besides I miss my oatmeal!:sad:

Good luck with the training for the Run!:flowerforyou:

kimny72

I have to agree with most of the other posters. Looking at your diary, either you are not logging correctly or you are eating a very unbalanced diet that is crazy short on calories and nutrition.

On some days, half of your calories are carb-control shakes. The last several days are pretty much shakes, meat, and cheerios. A more balanced eating plan will keep you fueled for your running and keep you feeling full. Logging accurately, every single thing, will help you to see what is really going on and how to make it better.

Read the sexypants post pinned to the top of the Getting Started forum and figure out how many calories you should be eating and go from there. Good luck!

dianarileywoodward

hey there!
lots of good advice!

i am a chef. yup. and so while on rare occasions, i do tasted as much as 1 t (not 1 T) of my product, that's about it. I cook for my family every night, but don't ever eat what they eat.
so i boil pasta, take a bit for myself, and ten fix theirs. (my 6 year-old is my taster…… she want's to be a chef too…..yikes!)
i grill chx for the family and mine goes on dry , off to the side. (hmmmm… i do sprinkle salt and lemon. guess i should record that every calorie counts)
i really do eat cereal w/ no milk! i like to munch it while my kids eat theirs. seems to make it last longer and more satisfying.

Don't let the job title mislead. just b/c we work with food all day doesn't mean we eat it.

i find that if i eat a specific regimented diet, it's easier to behave. and also way easier to record. while it might taste better, the time it takes to log isn't a luxury i have all day long. and waiting to log until the end of the day makes it so easy to forget things. if i don't cook with it, and don't put it in my mouth, i don't have to log it!

That's kind of also the reason for my 1100 #. if figured, there's no way everything is completely accurate, and so 1100 keeps me as accurate as i can find

this has been great advice guys!

Rhaynestorm

Why no vegetables? Do you not like them?

ETA: Have you tried planning your meals ahead of time and then pre-logging? Doing that makes it way easier for me to stay in my calories.

dianarileywoodward

i'm bad. sometimes if i know what i would log and should log. i just add it in my head and don't take the time to log it. i do at times find it hard to eat more than 1050, but i always get there. you are right though, i should log everything if i'm gonna ask people for help!

kimny72

One more thing that popped into my head when I saw your reply...

As a chef, you must know that food is not only fuel for our bodies, but a pleasurable experience. Do you want to eat dry cheerios and plain chicken for the rest of your life? If not, as soon as you do drop some weight, you will go back to eating how you used to eat and gain it all back. You need to take a little time now to figure out how to eat in a sustainable manner to keep the weight off for the rest of your life. You can eat yummy food and still get to a healthy weight! Figure it out once, so you can do it as a habit for the rest of your life...

amberj32

Why no vegetables? Do you not like them?

ETA: Have you tried planning your meals ahead of time and then pre-logging? Doing that makes it way easier for me to stay in my calories.

That's exacting what I was thinking. Of course you don't have to eat vegetables but it seems strange to me that you don't eat any. Planning your meals ahead of time and pre-logging is a good idea. It's something I need to work on too! You will probably feel better incorporating more foods into your diet than sticking to shakes and cereal. I know you have to taste the food since you are a chef but those tastes might be adding up. My daughter works at a smoothie place and she gets to "taste" any extras, etc. She doesn't log them. She hasn't been losing weight lately. I told her to cut the tastings out since she really doesn't need to taste it. And just like others have said - use a scale to measure your food not cups.
MFP does work!

bwogilvie

Rather than give my own advice, I'll refer to three excellent posts already on MFP:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

After you've digested those, some of the other links on this page are useful:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read

Good luck! You've got a really positive attitude, unlike a lot of other posters who ask why things aren't working and then just come up with excuses.