Help... Following MFP and still gaining weight...

atomdraco

I saw you opened up your diary. Here are some suggestion:
(1) cut your big soda intake
(2) eat smaller meal, take more snacks (your body start consume all the calories you ate, if the meal is too big, those calories didn't get used, it will store, regardless if at the end of the day you are under total calories or not)
(3) starting healthier diet, limit restaurant food.

I noticed one of the day you have 1800+ calories just for a dinner @ Arby's (exactly my point #2 & #3)

CosmicChameleon

Thank You kindly atomdraco, and everyone else!

I will surely take ALL of this advice into account, and start shifting my habits! My plan is to be down to about 200 by the end of the year, and eating MUCH more healthy! And I've been noticing that making all these minor shifts here and there as I go has been having the best results... so I shall continue!

Thanks all! =D

ajwall3

Your body will not think it's starving itself. That is a silly myth. Think of the Biggest Loser, do you think those people eat back all their exercise calories? No. Don't eat so much the days you play raquetball. And don't eat prepackaged food high in sodium. Try to eat natural foods. I've been making things from scratch, and believe me, my body feels so much better now. If you have a Whole Foods or something nearby, that's a great place. If not, try to buy more fresh stuff. Fish is an amazing food...very filling and low in calories. But try and get it as fresh as possible! Also, drinks LOTS of water!

I completely agree! I hardly EVER eat back my exercise calories - the whole point is to create a deficit in your calorie intake in order to lose. I'm sure every body's different ... but I think it's a myth too! Otherwise how do anorexic people become that way - their body's wouldn't let them lose if that's the case! (Totally NOT advocating that - but to use as a point)

I also agree to limit processed foods. Eat more fresh, clean foods. Veggies, whole grains, lean meats, fresh/frozen fruits and a lot of water. Check the ingredients list - the more ingredients = the more it's processed and the worse it is for you. Look for simple ingredients and less processed.

stormieweather

How's the inches? Sometimes, the loss doesn't show on the scale, but it will in the mirror.

And be patient. THe losses don't always come evenly, x pounds every week, sometimes nothing happens for a while, then BAM! a few pounds disappear.

And think of changing up your exercise routine. Make sure you've giving your body time to rest/recover, and try intervals or using a different set of muscles for a while.

Good luck!


To the above poster: Too low of a deficit will cause muscle loss and possibly organ failure, which we definately do not want (yes, lets look at those anorexic people).

ladyhawk00

Your body will not think it's starving itself. That is a silly myth. Think of the Biggest Loser, do you think those people eat back all their exercise calories? No. Don't eat so much the days you play raquetball. And don't eat prepackaged food high in sodium. Try to eat natural foods. I've been making things from scratch, and believe me, my body feels so much better now. If you have a Whole Foods or something nearby, that's a great place. If not, try to buy more fresh stuff. Fish is an amazing food...very filling and low in calories. But try and get it as fresh as possible! Also, drinks LOTS of water!

I completely agree! I hardly EVER eat back my exercise calories - the whole point is to create a deficit in your calorie intake in order to lose. I'm sure every body's different ... but I think it's a myth too! Otherwise how do anorexic people become that way - their body's wouldn't let them lose if that's the case! (Totally NOT advocating that - but to use as a point)

I also agree to limit processed foods. Eat more fresh, clean foods. Veggies, whole grains, lean meats, fresh/frozen fruits and a lot of water. Check the ingredients list - the more ingredients = the more it's processed and the worse it is for you. Look for simple ingredients and less processed.

Perhaps you aren't aware yet, but the reason people say this (eating back calories) on MFP, is because MFP ALREADY CREATES A DEFICIT REGARDLESS OF EXERCISE. If you chose a 1 lb per week loss goal, then MFP subtracts 500 cals from your daily goal to achieve that loss. You will have a 500 cal deficit in your goal whether you sit on your butt, log 20 minutes of exercise, or log 5 hours of exercise. Simple.

To address your second idea, anorexics restrict calories to the extent that the body begins to break down EVERYTHING - fat, muscle, bones, hair, teeth, etc. Clearly, this is not the goal for healthy weightloss. If you do not replace exercise cals, you create a larger deficit than you (presumably) intended when you set up your account - 1 to 2 lb deficit vs 3 lb or more. At that level of deficit (unless you have at least 100+ lbs to lose), your body will lose an undesirable ratio of fat and muscle, for a short time (may be a month, may be several months). After that, your body begins to conserve as much as possible, your metabolism slows to enhance the conservation, and you will plateau and/or regain weight, particularly when you begin to binge because the calorie restriction is too much for your brain. Again, simple.

Please educate yourself by reading the threads I posted previously in this thread, or read the stickies at the top of each topic. It will do you a world of good. Good luck to you!

ajwall3

Your body will not think it's starving itself. That is a silly myth. Think of the Biggest Loser, do you think those people eat back all their exercise calories? No. Don't eat so much the days you play raquetball. And don't eat prepackaged food high in sodium. Try to eat natural foods. I've been making things from scratch, and believe me, my body feels so much better now. If you have a Whole Foods or something nearby, that's a great place. If not, try to buy more fresh stuff. Fish is an amazing food...very filling and low in calories. But try and get it as fresh as possible! Also, drinks LOTS of water!

I completely agree! I hardly EVER eat back my exercise calories - the whole point is to create a deficit in your calorie intake in order to lose. I'm sure every body's different ... but I think it's a myth too! Otherwise how do anorexic people become that way - their body's wouldn't let them lose if that's the case! (Totally NOT advocating that - but to use as a point)

I also agree to limit processed foods. Eat more fresh, clean foods. Veggies, whole grains, lean meats, fresh/frozen fruits and a lot of water. Check the ingredients list - the more ingredients = the more it's processed and the worse it is for you. Look for simple ingredients and less processed.

Perhaps you aren't aware yet, but the reason people say this (eating back calories) on MFP, is because MFP ALREADY CREATES A DEFICIT REGARDLESS OF EXERCISE. If you chose a 1 lb per week loss goal, then MFP subtracts 500 cals from your daily goal to achieve that loss. You will have a 500 cal deficit in your goal whether you sit on your butt, log 20 minutes of exercise, or log 5 hours of exercise. Simple.

To address your second idea, anorexics restrict calories to the extent that the body begins to break down EVERYTHING - fat, muscle, bones, hair, teeth, etc. Clearly, this is not the goal for healthy weightloss. If you do not replace exercise cals, you create a larger deficit than you (presumably) intended when you set up your account - 1 to 2 lb deficit vs 3 lb or more. At that level of deficit (unless you have at least 100+ lbs to lose), your body will lose an undesirable ratio of fat and muscle, for a short time (may be a month, may be several months). After that, your body begins to conserve as much as possible, your metabolism slows to enhance the conservation, and you will plateau and/or regain weight, particularly when you begin to binge because the calorie restriction is too much for your brain. Again, simple.

Please educate yourself by reading the threads I posted previously in this thread, or read the stickies at the top of each topic. It will do you a world of good. Good luck to you!

Well obviously I'm not condoning the practice of starvation. As anyone can see I posted healthy food items to focus on and ones to stay away from. I also am aware that people who have struggled w/anorexia also lose parts of themselves that are not intended (as you said, muscle, teeth, organ function, etc.) My point WAS that everyone is different and everyone's body requires different nutritional values. I do not believe that 1200 is some magic number by which weight loss fails or thrives. Sure, it's a guideline, an idea, however I don't believe that everything hinges on that number. I am, and have been speaking of my personal experience - which is what is so great about MFP - everyone has individual stories, experiences and lifestyles. Prior to my pregnancy I lost 15-20 lbs that I needed to lose and kept it off until I was put on bed-rest during my pregnancy and now I'm working on the last 10 lbs I have to lose. Regardless - I would NEVER advocate limiting nutrition to the point of anorexia - poor example - perhaps. My whole point was to say that in my personal experience, I eat healthy, I work-out, I don't make my calorie minimum because I'm not hungry, I'm not deprived, I'm losing fat, and my body doesn't need the extra calories. I eat every three hours, I keep my metabolism up and running. I don't starve, binge, starve, binge which WILL wreck your metabolism and screw up your body. I'm NOT advocating this at all and never alluded to that. To each his/her own. Simple.

Oh... and please don't patronize - it's very rude. Good luck to you too!!

earthymom

I think your exercise calories burned is calculated incorrectly. I just used an online calculator to calculate (based on your current weight) what an hour of racquetball would burn and I got 779. Some of your days list 1500+ calories burned. Did you play for 2 hours? If not, you are over-estimating your burned calories and that will definately make a difference in your weight loss.

rednose83

That's what I was going to ask. How are you calculating calories burned? If you're guessing, maybe you're not burning what you think you are. I got a heart rate monitor from Wal-Mart that seems to estimate the calories burned very well.

Also, I think you should focus on eating nutritious, whole foods and balanced meals. For me, it works to eat more often but smaller meals. You seem to be eating small breakfasts and lunches and HUGE (calorie wise) dinners. So, you're hungry all day and the over-stuffed. Or, on some days just the opposite.

deidrec

I agree with the sodium comments AND the time of day you weigh yourself! You can gain 2 pounds a day just from the food and liquid that you take in but your body hasnt processed. I started in January and the first few weeks were SO discouraging! Stick with it and stay away from the alcohol!! It lowers your metabolism (sad but true) and it makes you retain fluids and that bumps up your weight. I imbibe on weekends and jump right back on the diet on Monday mornings and it takes 2 days to shed the fluid retention from the wine.

CosmicChameleon

To those asking about the exercise calories where you saw over 1000+ cals burned... Yes, on those days I played for nearly 2 hours.

To everything else... I'm going to be paying a lot more attention to my sodium intake, as well as drinking a LOT more water! I'm not discourage by these past two weeks, being that I don't have any set time-frame that I want/need to lose the weight in. I just have a goal of 200lbs and I'm slowly but surely working toward that as I shift my daily habits.

The quality of the food intake is going to be the biggest change for my wife and I, given our schedules. But it's something we'll be working toward for sure. Until then, I'm going to try and add a lot more fruits and veggies to my diet, even though we'll still be eating those processed meals. Eventually we'll get away from those meals, and have the time to cook every meal!

But I want to thank you all for all of this excellent information. I'm taking it all in.... and one thing I think I'm going to start trying to do is eating much smaller portions more often throughout the day. Our tendency has been to eat all our calorie in just a few meals a day... again, because of our schedules.

Anyways... thanks again!