Massive Lifestyle Change- No results! :(

Kevalicious99

You do not need to give up food items to have it work .. you just need to be in a deficit.

Weigh you food .. this is critical at least til the weight you want to lose is gone.

And secondly .. ditch the scale. It really is stupid .. you should be concerned more on how your body is changing .. body fat measurements and physical measurements .. ie inches and not the scale.

The whole losing fat and gaining muscle thing is crap too ..

You are probably eating more than you think you are .. and over estimating your exercise burns .. or both. Search here at MFP .. there are a zillion threads just like yours from beginners.

But don't worry you will figure it out .. it is also not a race .. patience. :flowerforyou:

blackcloud13

Keep it up with the accurate diary and logging, and give it a few more weeks. What you've described should work!

MelodyandBarbells

Get thee a digital food scale and use it. Too many items logged in cups. If it's not a freely pouring liquid such as milk, it can be weighed on a food scale and logged. Try to focus on doing that for as many items as you can

Beploveshomer

Wow, you guys are awesome! I never thought there would be this many responses!

Unfortunately, I know that I could never stick to weighing all my food, I can't even imagine...
And yes, I only drink water or tea and coffee with stevia.
As some of you ladies mentioned, it could be a monthly fluctuation, I didn't think of that...that could be as much as 5 pounds for me.
So I will weigh again in a week.

So much good advice! Ya'll have inspired me, I most definitely am not giving up, and it's really good to see people with my same weight/height and have overcome!

I did lose a .5 inch off my waist and a .5 inch off my bust and didn't really count it because it is so negligible, but maybe I will just hold on to that, it's something.

And yes, it's also good that I haven't gained at least!

karenj_m

Unfortunately, I know that I could never stick to weighing all my food, I can't even imagine...

^^^^^
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This will be your downfall


1750-1800 for your stats is CORRECT (this is TDEE method WITH EXERCISE and 20% reduction)

I was close to your stats....and lost 1 lb per week on the above calories, then after 15 pounds lost, I dropped it down to 1650, have now lost another 14 pounds so far. That's with working out 3 strength days, 1 plyometrics, 1 yoga, 1 light cardio per week.

It took around 3 1/2 - 4 weeks in the beginning for my body to start losing on the above regiment. Its been going down consistently every week.

cavia

Unfortunately, I know that I could never stick to weighing all my food, I can't even imagine...

How do you know if you don't try?

MelodyandBarbells

I'm not surprised at how many responses you received, and plus you're a phenomenal topic starter! I hate to set the bar so low but a) you actually came back and posted still keeping your spirits high, and b) you opened your diary when asked. I have a feeling you'll be just fine!

About the scale, try not to be overwhelmed. Do you have one? Then step 1 is super simple. Get a digital scale that has both grams and ounces and has a Tare button. I like my scale better when the buttons are easy to push and kind of quiet. I don't know what your financial situation is but you can get one for less than $25 for sure. Less than 10 if you shop around or watch sales on Amazon.com, etc.

The easiest way to use my scale is to simply set it on the counter in the kitchen. Before I go to grab something, hit the on button. You may weigh items directly on the scale (careful of any hygiene / contamination issues especially with raw meat...), or just Tare the empty container and set your food down on it. I don't hit the "off" button ever. Usually I just let it time out.

There are tons of other tips out there for using a food scale and doing so very easily. Just do some searches and read up if you're interested; and if you've got specific questions or even just want us to type Some of the tips here for you, just ask.

maoribadger

I'd also say you may be retaining water if you are exercising hard Ive only been doing it 5 weeks and if I hit it really hard I actually seem to hang onto weight as my muscles just dont cope well yet. Also try the weighing. Im currently putting what I think it x amount onto the scale before I read how much it actually is to see how close I am so eventually I can learn to eyeball a portion and its easy to go over. And measure yourself. Weeks I dont lose much weight I still notice inches off and it keeps me motivated

Kevalicious99

OP I know you didn't want to weight your food, but sorry that is a tried and true method to achieve success. Remember that a little effort is all that is needed to make the difference between success and failure.

Look for the entries in the database that are preferably confirmed and have weights .. not in CUPS. That's not a real accurate way to measure food .. cups are crap.

So .. measure preferably in grams .. and use those entries, and trust me on this one, you can be way way out by guessing if you do not weigh your food .. and that could be enough to wipe out some or all of your deficit.

Is it necessary .. no but you take your chances if you don't. This is the best way to confirm that what you think is happening is actually happening. I weighed my food for 9 months .. and was very successful because of it. My weight loss journey is done .. and my food scale was a major part of it.

I think with the responses you have received you should be well on your way .. as there has been some good advice here.

aylajane

If you really dont think you can stick with it, can you try for just a day a week so you start learning actual portion sizes so you estimate better? If you are not losing you are eating too much, so just consciously cutting back will help if you keep a rough idea on calories. But if you are overestimating all around it wont help much at all.

So one day a week measure and weigh everything, and if you tend to eat the same things I lot, definitely measure those at least once! I eat a lot of the same things, so I weighed and compared with the measuring cup, so now I know exactly how full to measure the cup to get very close to the weight without actually weighing it. You could even put a special scoop in the cereal box that is the exact amount of one serving, etc.

There are ways to do it without weighing everything, but your body is going to keep an actual log regardless of whether you do or not! Its worth a little effort up front to and an occasional check in to make sure your serving sizes are not creeping up!

And when you get "stuck" and weight stops moving, log for another day or two and see where you stand!

kimny72

You should at least commit to weighing everything for a couple of weeks to see how accurate your eyeballed or cup-measured portions really are. Then you might find it's not nearly as difficult as you thought it would be and keep doing it! If not, at least you will get a better idea of what a true portion of your most common foods looks like.

I did that and was blown away by how off I was. I don't weigh food all the time, but I try to, and I always do when my stats seem to be stuck for a few weeks...

Good luck!

CloudySunshinee

First off, I would just like to say that I am INCREDIBLY proud of you for making such a change in your life. Not only will it make y feel better, but it helps you live a longer, healthier life.

What I think may be the problem, is that you haven't given it enough time yet. Yes, I know, that's disappointing. But continue what you're doing and give it about a month or so. I'm not sure what all this "Do you weigh your food?" talk is about; I do not weigh my food nor do I know how. I don't think you have to weigh your food, just kind of judge how much it weighs and how heavy it is or something. ^_^

extra_medium

. I'm not sure what all this "Do you weigh your food?" talk is about; I do not weigh my food nor do I know how. I don't think you have to weigh your food, just kind of judge how much it weighs and how heavy it is or something. ^_^

It's about getting an accurate count of what you're consuming. If you're entering inaccurate numbers into MFP and wondering why you're not losing weight even though you're in a deficit according to the site it can be pretty frustrating. That's why we see so many "am I in starvation mode?" and "is my metabolism messed up?" threads.

This is almost always due to either underestimating of calories in or overestimation of calories out. You don't need to give it very much time, if you're in a real deficit you'll see results pretty quickly.

JoeCWV

I lost 70 pounds and NEVER used a scale. This is not critical. If you continue to see no movement though it may be a good idea. You may not want to eat back your exercise calories, or at least eat only half back. Unless you use a HRM your burn could be significantly less. I suggest you set your MFP to lose .5 pounds a week and faithfully log EVERYTHING. Like others have said cutting out whole food groups (unless advised by your doctor) will usually result in binge eating.

diannethegeek

I lost the majority of my weight before I ever bought a food scale, so I know that weight can be lost without one. But I will say that, for me, switching from measuring cups to the food scale has been so much easier. I no longer have to round up and wash all of those little cups and spoons. I don't have to worry about how I'm cutting or smashing my food into those little cups. I don't have to waste the time transferring everything from container to measuring cup to bowl. Now I just put my bowl down on the scale, add as much as I want of ingredient one, hit the tare button, add ingredient two, tare, add ingredient three, etc. And it makes partial servings so much easier to figure out as well, especially when I'm at the end of the carton and don't have quite enough to fill a measuring cup.

I thought a food scale would be so much harder to use than it actually is, for some reason. It's not for everyone, but for me it's so much more freeing than trying to pack everything into a measuring cup or spoon each time.

jkal1979

This video is a great example of what can happen when you use measuring cups/spoons instead of a food scale.

As you can see, underestimating portion sizes can really add up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

AliceDark

A food scale is a good tool, but that's it. It's not the only tool. If it feels like that would be too big of a change right now, that's fine. Keep an open mind and maybe you'll be ready to get one later.

OP, I would suggest just working on your logging skills first. There are some tricks to navigating the MFP database that can make a huge difference in how successful you are. I took a quick peek at your diary, and have a couple of suggestions:

1. Avoid entries marked "generic" or "homemade." You have no idea whether or not your recipe is even close to what the person who added that entry was using, so you could easily be off by a few hundred calories every time.

2. All entries marked with an asterisk (*) are user-created. Sometimes they can be very accurate, especially for packaged food, but not always. Try to pick entries without asterisks if you can. Entries that include "USDA" tend to be more accurate.

3. The recipe builder tool is a great resource if you make a lot of homemade food.

4. It's always more accurate to add each individual component of a meal than it is to look for an entry for the whole thing (add the eggs and the butter/oil as separate entries rather than finding one marked "scrambled eggs.")

SabrinaLily

It's possible that 1,800 calories is just your maintenance number? You may need to eat less to lose. Just a thought, not sure if I'm right, but perhaps 1,400-1,600 is your magic number to lose?

Francl27

Unfortunately, I know that I could never stick to weighing all my food, I can't even imagine...

Fine, so just eat less, because you're probably eating too much.

MinnieInMaine

I totally get the hesitation with weighing food. I have a food scale but I don't use it most of the time because I get a ltitle OCD and it becomes overwhelming. However, it can be an eye opener so I would encourage you to get one (around $20) and use it to at least double check things now and then.

Your apple for example - you're saying it's a small (probably around 100g) but if you were to weigh it, it may be more like 150-200g and more like 75-100 calories. That's not many more calories per day but what if the same thing is happening with other foods you're logging so you're actually eating 200-300 cal more a day than you think and basically negating your deficit.

I didn't look closely at your diaries but just wanted to add - if yu're eating back all your exercise calories, that may be part of the problem. Many MFP listings overestimate but you still want to make sure you're eating enough so maybe try planning to only eat back about half of them instead and see if that helps.

However I did notice that you had a couple recipes logged - if those aren't your created recipes, be careful as their portion sizes or ingredients may be different than what you use.

Good luck!