18 days...no change.
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Actually, I had no problem with people asking questions.
Anyway, I already explained the one binge cheat day earlier.
Why would I be on here if I'm not willing to make SOME kind of change. I already HAVE. That's all.Somehwere inbetween. I think you need to change your mindset from the previous times you have tried.
The people asking questions are merely pointing out that somehwere along the line the calorie deficit isnt happening otherwise you would be losing weight. The main reason is because people dont measure properly and can underestimate what they eat.
There was also a good point made about your cheat days. Those days could be destroying all the calories youve saved. Why not have two weeks measuring and recording as accurately as people have suggested and scrap the cheat days or do more exercise and cut calories by 100 a day less. See if it makes a difference.
I dont think theres any magic solution you are either eating at a deficit or not.
If you hit a problem then you either want the end result and so are willing to make the change or not.0 -
If you arent getting any results, then your changes havent been enough. See what its like after 30 days just to make sure.0
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you need to clean up your diet if you are really serious...eating chocolate and McDonalds chicken nuggets are apple pies are not going to help0
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Well, on most of those 18 days, you have gone over your calories. How do you expect to lose weight that way?
As far as the cheat/binge days, it doesn't matter whether a lot of people do it or not. . . it's not working for you.0 -
i know i'm basically beating a dead horse but It really is about correctly logging! I had no idea how off I really was with my logging until I started being honest with myself. just a few weeks ago I began measuring my coffee creamer, that was something I always just assumed I wasn't over indulging in but as it turns out I was consuming 4 times the serving size of it! a little extra creamer there, a 'brisk walk' that really wasn't so brisk, just '1 tbsp' of peanut butter that was actually 3 and a half, the next thing you know you're adding on hundreds of calories. I would also advise you to get a heart rate monitor if you can. I used to think I was burning soooo many calories but my polar ft4 gave me a rude awakening. but yeah like I said unless you have a medical condition causing weight loss to be difficult, if you say in a deficit you WILL lose weight0
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When I began, I saw weight loss immediately within the first week and it has continued steadily. I even started at a higher daily calorie count and still lost weight and have since cut it back to 1500 and I'm still losing consistently. I lift weights -heavy weights-and I still show a consistent weight loss every week. Definitely measure every single tiny little thing and be 100% honest in it. I think portion sizes were the most surprising thing for me.
If you aren't seeing changes, reevaluate your goals and journal and if you know that you are absolutely legit in what you're doing and still no loss, then talk to a physician. Best of luck to you!0 -
you need to clean up your diet if you are really serious...eating chocolate and McDonalds chicken nuggets are apple pies are not going to help
Hypothetical:
- your maintenance is 2500 cals
- you are eating 2000 cals
- For a month you eat nothing but chocolate and french fries, at 2000 calories.
- The next month you eat nothing but broccoli and chicken breast, at 2000 calories.
In both months you will lose roughly similar amounts of weight.
Calories in/out. Macros for those who care about composition, but it's still about cals in/out, not quality of food, for weight loss.0 -
Yes, that is what I thought as well.you need to clean up your diet if you are really serious...eating chocolate and McDonalds chicken nuggets are apple pies are not going to help
Hypothetical:
- your maintenance is 2500 cals
- you are eating 2000 cals
- For a month you eat nothing but chocolate and french fries, at 2000 calories.
- The next month you eat nothing but broccoli and chicken breast, at 2000 calories.
In both months you will lose roughly similar amounts of weight.
Calories in/out. Macros for those who care about composition, but it's still about cals in/out, not quality of food, for weight loss.0 -
No, I don't think you are right. I agree with anna3067. I fully intend to have delicious McDonalds apple pies and chicken nuggets and chocolate sometimes while continuing to work on my calorie deficit.you need to clean up your diet if you are really serious...eating chocolate and McDonalds chicken nuggets are apple pies are not going to help0
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you need to clean up your diet if you are really serious...eating chocolate and McDonalds chicken nuggets are apple pies are not going to help
Absolute garbage advice. It's painful just to read it.0 -
I suggest being as accurate and fussy as possible about weighing and measuring during the week. Then you can really enjoy your (hopefully somewhat reasonable) 'cheat' meal, knowing that you're still in a deficit.
For example, I love wine. I love it even more when I know I've logged and weighed carefully -- it's a great feeling to have a treat knowing I'm not undoing hard work and self-control.
It's great that you're fine with slow progress. (I was, too.) But at a slow pace I'd say it'll be 6-8 weeks (possibly longer) before you see a consistent loss on the scale.0 -
I want to make a suggestion that irritates a bunch of people, and I completely agree with the opposing view train of thought, but here it goes....
While accurately logging and maintaining a calorie deficit, reduce your carb intake to almost nothing, to like 25 - 35 grams (or below 59 at least). The immediate effect will be at least a couple pounds of water weight lost after 4 or 5 days. To make up for the lack of carbs for energy, you should increase your fat intake.
This has worked for me, though I attribute the actual weight loss to calorie deficit, not some magic low carb, high fat keto diet.
What not eating carbs for means for me is that I have several hundred calories available for more satisfying foods.
So when I stopped eating bread, past, rice, potatoes, ect with every meal, at least 300- 400 calories were made available to me for things like blue cheese dressing (on my green salad), cheese, butter, etc... And that seemed to help keep me full longer.
Just a thought on what worked for me, but believe me, if you love bread and pasta and don't want to cut them out, then go for it. A simple calorie deficit really does work.0 -
The bottom line is you haven't seen any change in 18 days. As stated above, you should have seen some change by now. In fact, many see a fairly big weight loss the first week or two they are losing as compared to what they lose each week during the entire journey. The only answer is that something has to change. Ultimately, YOU are the only one who has the power to keep tweaking until you find what works for you. You can get pissed off at the posts that made you angry on here but in reality, those are probably the posts you need to seriously take a good look at. I've had the same experience in the past that you are having and my attitude was wrong. I stopped getting pissed off and started trying different things until I figured out what works for me. You stated earlier you aren't cutting anything out. That's fine. You don't have too but that just means you won't be able to eat as much food in order to achieve your goals. I love beer as much as you love McDonald's. At one point in my journey, I thought I could still drink beer and make it work with eating chicken and salad and working out like a mad man. I couldn't because one beer led to several and I ended up sabotaging myself.
Getting mad at the people who are trying to share with you what worked for them (because you asked) isn't helping YOU. Your attitude will need to shift before your scale will. Go to the library and check out a Tony Robbins CD or book. Go through the entire thing. With the attitude modification, you will find the weight loss you are seeking.
Whatever you do, don't quit. It ain't easy. If it was, MyFitnessPal would be out of business.0 -
Like people have said, you need to be at a deficit to lose weight.
The few days I checked in your diary were all over your goal. If you go over your goal that substantially a few times a week you just won't lose weight, that's it I'm afraid..
You can eat whatever you want, if you want to live off mcnuggets and cookies go ahead, you may not feel great about it and will be deficient in some vital vitamins and stuff, but you can lose weight, as long as you stay within your calorie goal.
Also, I've found when I have a high sodium meal (most ready meals and takeouts and that tbh) my weight loss doesn't show the next day. Oh and also weigh yourself the same time in the same conditions every time, like Monday morning at 8am after toilet in the nude.
Unfortunately in your case, you just have to eat less!
And as others have said, buy a digital scale and use that for ALL your food. There is no real way of getting a correct calorielog from a teaspoon of that and a medium *insert fruit/veggie*. Scales are the way to go!0 -
GO NOLES! and I agree. While patience is important, there comes a time when you have to reevaluate the approach and figure out why there is no weight loss. More than likely, the calories are too high.0
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I want to just start off by saying I commend you for 18 days of straight logging in!!
This is a JOURNEY and you will mess up sometimes....but you will LEARN and IMPROVE everytime!! I've been on my "journey" since January and have definitely hit many bumps in the road (such as no weight loss for a long period of time....scale fluctuating....etc) The good news is you already accomplished one goal....and that's logging everyday....CONGRATS! That really is a big deal and I'm super proud of you! Your next goal could just be a little tweaking.....I've had to tweaked my eating a couple times already to consistently lose weight...but they were minor changes......slowly over time......TOO MUCH TOO SOON and I'm "destined to fail" or give up....and I refuse to do that this time! For me personally....I started with my first goal of just "logging in everyday"......and I did it! 2nd goal was staying at 150-350 deficit on a regular basis.....and I did it! My 3rd goal (this is all over months and months of time).....was to watch my sodium/carb in take...just kind of be mindful of it...... I did it! Then later on.......I learned that my body did PHENOMENAL when it had more "real" food as oppose to drive thrus/processed/boxed or canned foods. I still have them or go to drive thru....or eat processed.....but it's no 80% real food/20% drive thru or processed.....and this has really helped me ALOT! I have a little so I do not feel deprived but overall I'm eating whole foods..... chicken, green beans, chef salads, ground turkey, fruit, eggs, etc.....this along with just an addition 20 min walk extra to my workout routines have made the BIGGEST differences.....so anywho! Keep up the great work......stay positive.....and continue to learn what works and doesn't work for your body with making minor tweaks over time....and you'll be on your way!!! 
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Log accurately and honestly.
I think if you converse with yourself you will see you were not setting honest goals
And were not logging accurately
Try googling iffym. The idea of cheat day is unnecessary and I think causing you to binge
I do not ever tell myself I can't have this or that. I just log honestly and meet my macros always
Let me know if this helps you
Xoxoxo dibsie0 -
No, I don't think you are right. I agree with anna3067. I fully intend to have delicious McDonalds apple pies and chicken nuggets and chocolate sometimes while continuing to work on my calorie deficit.you need to clean up your diet if you are really serious...eating chocolate and McDonalds chicken nuggets are apple pies are not going to help
The only thing to keep in mind with eating food from a fast food place (any food place, really) is that the calories may not be exact. So what the menu has listed could be up to 20% off, so you could be getting a lot more calories than you realize.
I am not saying that you should never eat them again, but if you aren't able to measure your food, it's hard to realize exactly what you are taking in.0 -
The same thing was happening to me. I was weighing EVERYTHING and not losing any weight. But then I realized that I was losing inches! I am so much more happier about that than the number on the scale I go to the gym 5-6 days a week. 30 minutes of cardio then I hit the weights. The point is, if you're feeling good, weighing and measuring everything then keep doing what you're doing 0
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First, I empathize with you in that it can be very frustrating to not see the scale drop after 18 days. In reviewing your post I also
agree that the "free meals" may be stalling your weight loss.
If you figure you need to have a deficit of 3500 calories over the course of 7 days, and that is basically 500 per day less than you need to eat to maintain your weight, then each day that you don't meet the 500 calorie deficit, you will come up short on the chance of meeting the 3500 by the end of the week.
Have you considered instead of having "free meals," having a free "snack" instead? A meal can be a LOT of calories and like some other posters have said, the free meals could be basically cancelling out whatever deficit that you have earned in the week, resulting in no loss.
One other thing that might be impacting your weight loss is if you do eat the extra calories that MFP credits to you for your activity for the day. So, for example when you finish logging for the day it will often say that you have earned a certain number of calories for your activity (or exercise). I usually do not eat any more calories than my goal calories per day. If it says I have an extra 400 or more calories for the day due to my activity, I just ignore that.
I also have found that you have to be careful because the MFP calorie counts can be off a bit. I will often scan my items if I can (if there is a bar code), but if I cannot then I will search and look at several examples to try to find the most accurate calorie count possible. I also err on the side of overestimating the number of calories rather than underestimating because I want the calories to be as accurate as possible or I am just misleading myself.
You do need to weigh things and measure. Studies have found that those who measure do lose more weight. It is easy for portions sizes to creep up in size over time if you are not measuring regularly. Have you ever measured a 1/4 cup of rice for example? I still am shocked each time when I see how little that actually is. The measuring also teaches us what a normal portion size should be. In this country, our portion sizes are outrageous, no wonder so many people are obese!
Another positive is that losing it slowly allows for you to learn the measured sizes of portions and the calorie levels which takes time to learn. I have also read that the body and skin also adjust better to weight loss if it is 1-2 lbs. per week. Drink half your weight per day in water (according to Dr. Daniel Amen), and don't drink your calories, eat fresh fruits, veggies, and whole grains as much as you can. Good luck!0 -
Agreed! The only time I have carbs now is right after my workout which is about noon 5-6 days a week. Your body needs the sugars after an intensive workout. Other than that I to stick to meats,veggies etc..Oh except when I want a beer! lol0
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well said!0
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When I change my Activity Level from Sedentary to Lightly Active there is a 280 calorie difference in my daily calorie goal. Some of the more knowledgeable folks might correct if I'm wrong, but I don't think your suppose to take exercise into account when setting your Activity Level. The descriptions in the Activity Level settings are about what type of job you do, how you spend 8 hours of your day. I am behind a computer all day so mine was easy, Sedentary for sure. However, I still do my 3 days of exercise every week. This one change might make a big difference for you, unless of course your job is a teacher, or salesman (the examples in the settings for Lightly Active) then I am at a loss 0
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Ok I can tell you what's going wrong. I looked at your last 8 days. It goes about this
Date Desired | Actual
9/5 1460 | 3037
9/4 1460 | 1509
9/3 1460 | 1501
9/2 1460 | 1736
9/1 1460 | 1754
8/31 1460 | 1658
8/30 1460 | 1276
8/29 1460 3007
9/6 11680 15478
Calorie Surplus = +3798
Now even with working out you can't beat that surplus, not unless you're a marathon machine.
The Splurge days account for near 73% of that surplus
Here Is what I recommend (cause it works for me and I don't work out at all.)
Take a Pound Add a zero and call that the daily calories it takes to maintain that pound.
10 pound=100 calories
100 pounds = 1000 calories
Assume if you consistently ate 1500 everyday with no working out you'd eventually weigh 150 pounds.
Your food surplus Currently equals on average to 1,973 daily. (Because of the splurge days) I would estimate your weight is between 190-200 Right now? (according to your weight not changing.
You should be eating a little less as a female If you are near 5'5 or so Try dropping to 1100. (this is what I am eating)
Have A splurge day only once a week, Even so Do not let that exceed 1,800C.
If you are Working at a desk Try to convert to a standing one. Standing hurts, Standing sucks, But it is VERY effective. I burn 1/3 of my calorie intake standing for 8 hours a day. Which gives me a little room to eat more so I don't feel famished.
Remember the food pyramid. If you never have Grain your body will demand it. same for meat, and you'll overeatit. So Eat dairy, Meat and grains at least once a day separately. And don't forget some sugar as well (like in your coffee) Just don't overdo it. You're body needs breaks from burning fat and the sugar will help to give it a good fluctuation of Carb/Fat burn So it doesn't feel like it's dying.0 -
See post #3 for some very helpful threads.
Yes, in 2 weeks you should be seeing some change.
When I first joined MFP, I lost 10 lb in the first 3 weeks.
When I got serious about exercising & eating right, last January, I lost 7 lb in the first 3 weeks.
If you haven't lost or gained weight, you now know your maintenance calories.
So to lose 0.5 lb per week cut 250 cal per day from what you're eating now.
Don't go below 1200 cal unless you're very short or monitored by a doctor.
Yep.
Those 'free meal days' might be your downfall and can sabatoge all the work you've done all week.My high calorie day is my free meal day, which a lot of people do. I have 1-2 free meals on the weekends. I'm not willing to get rid of that, it keeps me sane the rest of week.
Saying you're "not willing" to put an end to your cheat meals makes me think that maybe you're just not ready to change yet.
If you keep doing what you've been doing, you're going to keep getting the results you've been getting.
Your ticker says you only have 8 lb to lose. It's going to go very slowly.
0.5 lb per week would be a victory, but you're going to have to be accurate & honest in logging your intake & exercise.
I don't need an answer to this, but is TOM coming up?
You'll be retaining water & losing weight even more slowly just before that.
This.on most of those 18 days, you have gone over your calories. How do you expect to lose weight that way?
As far as the cheat/binge days, it doesn't matter whether a lot of people do it or not. . . it's not working for you.
1 - is your 8 lb desired weight loss going to put you at a healthy goal weight? If you're going too low, your body will fight it. If you're already in a healthy weight range, stay where you are but add weightlifting to your exercise program. You might lose weight, but you will tone up & look marvelous.
2 - realize you _might_ lose 0.5 lb per week if you're very accurate about logging, stick to your calories, and exercise
3 - learn how to log; see the link in post #3
4 - start eating fewer processed & fast foods, more whole & healthy foods. You don't have to completely give up doughnuts or pizza, but make them a much smaller part of your diet.
5 - don't drink your calories
Learn how to log.
Some of your diary entries:
"Veggie Chicken Pasta Salad w/ Ranch"
"pumpkin fluff, 0.5 serving"
"Frozen dessert, 1 serving(s)"
Don't use something like that unless you have entered the recipe you used to make it, every ingredient.
Otherwise, enter how much pasta, how much chicken, how much of which veggies, how much salad dressing.
"General Mills - Rice Checks, 1 cup"
Obviously user entered, due to the spelling error. I'd be suspicious of the calorie count too.0 -
Yep. This is what my doctor & dietician say: multiply your healthy goal weight by 10, and there's your calories to eat to get to that weight.Assume if you consistently ate 1500 everyday with no working out you'd eventually weigh 150 pounds.
She's only wanting to lose 8 lb, so there's not going to be much room for error... and she's making a lot of errors, as you pointed out.0 -
Haha Yeah I can say 1100C Can be a little drastic. My weight loss is rushed for halloween.
But with no working out and being quite sedentary it is fair to say your daily Calorie burn will drastically drop. Sitting around and eating mine was about 1800C at 200 pounds.but even standing is WRECKING the pounds. It's pretty legit. (heels still hurt though.)
Started taking it seriously 3 weeks ago, Standing one week ago. I have lost 8 pounds. And progress increased something like 30%.
Moral of the story is Everyone needs to sit less. Lol0 -
I measure and weigh my food already. I am over a bit sometimes but still in a deficit. I set it at 500 calorie deficit and I don't care if I only make it by 250 calories any given day, it's still a deficit for me. I don't care if it's slow progress so maybe I'm being inpatient.
My high calorie day is my free meal day, which a lot of people do. I have 1-2 free meals on the weekends. I'm not willing to get rid of that, it keeps me sane the rest of week. I don't think future free meal days will be 1500 cal. I know I binged that day and it felt disgusting, I just ate to eat.
There's no way I can eat less than this. Soooo do I just need to give it more time? Or am I destined to fail with this as usual.
you are not in deficit:-) If you were by definition your weight would reduce. Remember everyone's body is different and MFP guesses that you are average. I would drop your calorie target by 500 and see what happens. As people have already said if its your weight isn't going up or down your are eating at your TDEE. Good luck0 -
Hey guys
how do u put that goal.thing at the end of your msg...0 -
Just never have had the patience to be exact and account for every ounce of food taken in. Because of this bit of personal laziness I just began recording what I thought the portion size was. Over about a month I had a guess or rough estimate of what I was taking in and an average calorie (guess) intake. I had lost no weight during this period, instead of refining the detail of intake I just set a goal 200 calories less per day than the last month average and continued to track holding the new level of calorie intake. Not much happened so lowered by another 200. Now I am losing weight at the rate I wanted without measuring every item. Be sure to record all item eaten and best guess of amount, be honest. Also the quality of food eaten is a major component to successful weight loss.0
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