Review my food diary and exercise please!!!!!

emrogers

Ok, I need some input. I have been doing everything that I know to do to loose weight. Its just not budging. I weight myself every week, same time and same scale. I do tend to workout later on in the day, well since I started 30DS I do do that in the evenings and majority of my runs are during my lunch hour at work. I stepped on today and there's a 2lb gain. This is NOT ok with me!!! I eat about every 2-2 1/2 hours. I just can't think of what I'm doing wrong????????? This is frustrating on so many levels. I'm typically ok and don't flip out as much when I don't loose, but when the scale goes up, its just a BIG slap in the face. Please help me!!!!

rachelleahsmom

Looks to me like you need to eat more protein.

hamiltonba

Maybe you should eat some of your exercise calories? You have a lot left over at the end of the day.

sandram82

I recommend tracking your sodium.. to much will cause you too retain water.. and that means no weight loss!! Good luck

erickirb

I notice that you missed a few meals. Maybe switch your iceberg lettuce for Romane or use spinach, as they are much healthier. I notice, in general, you do not get enough veggies. Plenty of fruit, but you should have more veggies than fruit.

Are you measuring your food accurately? or are you estimating. You may want to invest in a kitchen scale if you don't have one already.

erickirb

Looks to me like you need to eat more protein.

She is above her protein allotment most days so I think she is fine here. MFP sets you at 15% she is probably getting 15-25% depending on the day, which is definitely enough..

♥_Ellybean_♥

Couple of things i noticed:

1) You should track your fiber... How much fiber are you getting? You should be getting 28g a day of Fiber which is essential for WL.

2) Your no eating any exercise calories back and some days your not even eating your 1200 calories. Make sure to hit that 1200 calories back, and try to eat some of your exercise calories back. Your body is working harder on the days you exercise, so it' essential to fuel it.

3) Your carbs are kind of high, try cutting back on eating carbs, I saw one day where it was 205 carbs which did not come from fruits or veggies (the good carbs), MFP has a very high setting for Carbs, try cutting that into half. Veggies are going to have a lot less carbs, and I don't see where you are eating much of them... more fruit than either.

4) Protein! ... try and get protein with every meal. You seem to be doing well (i don't agree your under) but try and make sure you are getting it with every meal.


Your water is awesome!!!

bubblybabeuk

I really don't think you are eating enough in general, like me you are on 1200 calories and I did not lose any weight, so I have upped my daily calorie intake to between 1500 and 1600 ignored my exercise calories and have started losing again and also feel so much better, less tired, much more energy.

Good luck

Newfiedan

I notice that you missed a few meals. Maybe switch your iceberg lettuce for Romane or use spinach, as they are much healthier. I notice, in general, you do not get enough veggies. Plenty of fruit, but you should have more veggies than fruit.

Are you measuring your food accurately? or are you estimating. You may want to invest in a kitchen scale if you don't have one already.

I agree with erickirb here add in more veggies, more protein around 30g at breakfast time and if you do not have one get a scale. In addition to that I would also recommend looking at your weekly cal goal as opposed to daily and cylce them up or down with workout days with no less than 1200 net cals on workout days. The first mistake commonly made by people with diet is to not eat enough protein, the recommendations on here are fine for those who do not work out for those that do try to get 1g for every 1 pound of body weight in per day.

Sarahr73

It looks like you're not netting 1200 calories each day. If you go under that your body can go into starvation mode and then it will store the calories and not burn them. So, everytime you work out, that exercise adds to your calories and decreases your net caloric intake. You need to eat them back and get to at least 1200/day or whatever MFP has deemed your calorie intake per day. Once you do that, you should start to see a difference.

I would also take some of the other advice into consideration...fiber, carbs, and so on. And make sure get 8 cups of water per day and a little extra when you exercise. Good luck. Your diary doesn't look that bad so you're on the right track.

tadturski

Hi
I started losing weight on 7 Jan 2011. I had tried before, but without noticeable results. In the night on 6 Jan I watched a film on the BBC - well and interestingly made, but more importantly opening widely my eyes. That was real inspiration and help. Since then I've lost 25lbs, so roughly I'm halfway through. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=7E061D343CF5AB75
I count my calories very strictly, adding every food or drink. I DON'T count exercises, although I walk with my dog about 1 hour a day. There was one week I DID count the exercises and my progress stopped.
I weight myself every morning just after wakening up and short visit in toilet, before putting on my clothes. It's the most repeatable way of weighing, because your dinner is completely digested.
Don't give up! You'll manage!

texasgal22

Looks to me like you have all kinds of wonderful suggestions. Lots of things can be factored into our gain or loss including attitude. Some things we just don't have control over such as hormones. You are doing what you need to do and perhaps some of the other words of wisdon will spark a new path for you. Here's to your success; keep up the good work.

mamaverick

Em;

I am on a 50 pound crusade myself and am interested in getting down below 10% bodyfat. I have had a lot of success losing weight in the past. My problem is that I slowly put it back on a pound or two at a time over a year or so. This time I have lost almost 20 pounds already in about 30 days without doing anything extreme, or starving myself at all. I go to bed content and eat every 2.5 hours to keep the hunger at bay. Here is what I learned and what is working for me:

1) Figure out how many calories your body needs to function without any exercise factored in at all. Not basic metabolic rate, but let's say you had a deak job and did not work out at all.
2) Once that is established figure out what your goal is. Mine was to lose weight and maximize lean muscle. I did not want that body builder look, but wanted to be lean and noticeably muscular.
3) First look at Fat intake.. For me I had figured out that 50G a day was the most I wanted to take in which accounted for roughyl 25% of my caloried from fat. Many will recommend a higher number but I think ina weight loss scenario 50 was enough for me
4) Take a look at saturated fat. I try and keep that within 20% of my total fat intake. Not easy but it works.
5) Keep Salt very low. Chinese Food, and Sushi (soy sauce) are killers. Look at the sodium in everything. I keep my numbers 500mg below what is recommended in my fitness pal.
6) Protein.. The recommended for me was about 90g, I consume about 158g of protein.
7) Carbs. Make sure you are eating carbs. No carbs or carbs that are too low will send your body into panic (starvation) mode and may acutally cause you to plateau or gain. I eat about 187 grams of carbs. Given that you are working out a lot, you wil need them. This number gets adjusted down as you lose more weight as do all these numbers. You have to continue to adjust you intake throughout the process or you will plateau or even gain some weight back. Use this formula.

Total Calories x .40 = Carb Calories

Carb Calories/4 = Grams of carbs.

That should be enough to gain lean muscle and keep your body and mind happy.
8) Sugar.. keep it very low. Fruit is good for you, but you can really crash your weight loss by eating too much of it. For me its less that 30g a day.

As for exercise.. Cardio is king for shedding fat, Interval training is shorter, harder and will get you off the treadmill faster. Long steady runs will eventually do nothing for you. Be carefull of heart rate so you don't get i into anarobic activity vs aerobic. Weight lifting will help you shed very fast and get you stronger, but you need to do exercises that use your biggest muscle group, your legs. Upper body workouts will obviously all have a positive benefit, but the weight is lost in your legs.

Lastly mix it up. Cause your body to have to readjust. Try Bikram Yoga for example, or another type of Yoga. Go to a boot camp instead of doing your ususal run. Now that the spring is here, hike a mountain, or even do a challenging bike ride. The more you change, the more your body will be forced to adapt and you will keep losing.

Keep yourself positive, don't get frustrated. It's all worth it in the end when you have a happier healthier you.

Good luck I hope this helps.

emrogers

Couple of things i noticed:

1) You should track your fiber... How much fiber are you getting? You should be getting 28g a day of Fiber which is essential for WL.

2) Your no eating any exercise calories back and some days your not even eating your 1200 calories. Make sure to hit that 1200 calories back, and try to eat some of your exercise calories back. Your body is working harder on the days you exercise, so it' essential to fuel it.

3) Your carbs are kind of high, try cutting back on eating carbs, I saw one day where it was 205 carbs which did not come from fruits or veggies (the good carbs), MFP has a very high setting for Carbs, try cutting that into half. Veggies are going to have a lot less carbs, and I don't see where you are eating much of them... more fruit than either.

4) Protein! ... try and get protein with every meal. You seem to be doing well (i don't agree your under) but try and make sure you are getting it with every meal.


Your water is awesome!!!

Ok, so I changed my settings to include fiber and sodium. I think I'm good on both of these. Carbs, I can see maybe cutting down a bit on them but I don't think I can manage letting some of those go since I run. I might be able to cut back on the days that I do not run. So I'll defintely consider that.
I do not have a scale but I do measure my food. I have learned the hard way that every time I estimate I am way under. So yes, I do measure.
thanks everybody for the input.
Oh and veggies, I agree, I need to start incorporating some of those in my diet.

mamaverick

Oh yeah a few things I forgot.

1) Drink a ton of water. I try to get to 3/4 gallon if I can. Most days I am at 8 glasses.
2) Eat High Fiber foods if possible
3) Really check the vitamin content you are eating especially Iron...

emrogers

Em;

I am on a 50 pound crusade myself and am interested in getting down below 10% bodyfat. I have had a lot of success losing weight in the past. My problem is that I slowly put it back on a pound or two at a time over a year or so. This time I have lost almost 20 pounds already in about 30 days without doing anything extreme, or starving myself at all. I go to bed content and eat every 2.5 hours to keep the hunger at bay. Here is what I learned and what is working for me:

1) Figure out how many calories your body needs to function without any exercise factored in at all. Not basic metabolic rate, but let's say you had a deak job and did not work out at all.
2) Once that is established figure out what your goal is. Mine was to lose weight and maximize lean muscle. I did not want that body builder look, but wanted to be lean and noticeably muscular.
3) First look at Fat intake.. For me I had figured out that 50G a day was the most I wanted to take in which accounted for roughyl 25% of my caloried from fat. Many will recommend a higher number but I think ina weight loss scenario 50 was enough for me
4) Take a look at saturated fat. I try and keep that within 20% of my total fat intake. Not easy but it works.
5) Keep Salt very low. Chinese Food, and Sushi (soy sauce) are killers. Look at the sodium in everything. I keep my numbers 500mg below what is recommended in my fitness pal.
6) Protein.. The recommended for me was about 90g, I consume about 158g of protein.
7) Carbs. Make sure you are eating carbs. No carbs or carbs that are too low will send your body into panic (starvation) mode and may acutally cause you to plateau or gain. I eat about 187 grams of carbs. Given that you are working out a lot, you wil need them. This number gets adjusted down as you lose more weight as do all these numbers. You have to continue to adjust you intake throughout the process or you will plateau or even gain some weight back. Use this formula.

Total Calories x .40 = Carb Calories

Carb Calories/4 = Grams of carbs.

That should be enough to gain lean muscle and keep your body and mind happy.
8) Sugar.. keep it very low. Fruit is good for you, but you can really crash your weight loss by eating too much of it. For me its less that 30g a day.

As for exercise.. Cardio is king for shedding fat, Interval training is shorter, harder and will get you off the treadmill faster. Long steady runs will eventually do nothing for you. Be carefull of heart rate so you don't get i into anarobic activity vs aerobic. Weight lifting will help you shed very fast and get you stronger, but you need to do exercises that use your biggest muscle group, your legs. Upper body workouts will obviously all have a positive benefit, but the weight is lost in your legs.

Lastly mix it up. Cause your body to have to readjust. Try Bikram Yoga for example, or another type of Yoga. Go to a boot camp instead of doing your ususal run. Now that the spring is here, hike a mountain, or even do a challenging bike ride. The more you change, the more your body will be forced to adapt and you will keep losing.

Keep yourself positive, don't get frustrated. It's all worth it in the end when you have a happier healthier you.

Good luck I hope this helps.

Hi. Thanks for the input. My long steady miles are a must for my marathon training so I need to get those in. Running accounts for 2-3x a week. I do Crossfit and bodyrock workouts which is a lot of circuit training with weights which accounts for at least 3x a week.Thanks for your input. Its greatly appreciated.

snoland81

The best feedback I can give is to EAT! You have to fuel your body with the food it needs to function as well as workout. I did the P90X challenge and the way that exercise and eating program is set up it really shows you how important it is that you eat enough in order to loose weight! I literally was doing 45 min workouts, they were intense mind you, but eating about 2200 calories a day! I never believed the people that were telling me I needed to eat more to loose until I did that program! Good luck!

erickirb

A balanced diet consists of carbs from 45-60% so you don't have to cut them and if you do, not by much. Those suggesting 40% carbs, might be fine for them but that is a lower carb diet, not a balanced diet.

A balanced diet consists for carbs from 45-60%, fat from 20-30%, and protein from 10-30%. For protein you want to be on the higher end of the range if you workout (20-30%)

JennLifts

Couple of things i noticed:

2) Your no eating any exercise calories back and some days your not even eating your 1200 calories. Make sure to hit that 1200 calories back, and try to eat some of your exercise calories back. Your body is working harder on the days you exercise, so it' essential to fuel it.

Love your wording! No starvation mode, just the honest fact that her body is working harder. Love love love it!

tristahenry

This is all good advice I'm seeing here, especially the amount of carb intake. I know they say that as long as you are eating good carbs your fine but for me, I eat whatever carbs come with fruits and veggies then shoot for only one serving per day of grains. Otherwise I gain. Also look at your sugar intake. Our bodies converts sugar to calories so if you eat 1,200 calories per day and lots of sugar, you're eating many more calories than you think. For some people (myself included) sugar is kryptonite for their weight loss and others it doesn't matter. Do some research on glycemic index (which is really fancy for sugar) for the foods you eat and see if you can make better choices.