VERY frustrated

eringle

Hi.. I started using Fitness Pal and was (and am) very excited. Its a great app and very convenient. Well.. I have been tracking EVERY bite and I think properly. I have been slightly over my weekly goal, but that should still result in weight loss. After 3 weeks, I really havent lost anything. I dont understand.. I am active.. the bicycling season is starting and I have been out a few times.. I have taken advantage of the earned calories.. but use the LEAST amount I can find.. so if I have been riding at 14 mph, I use the less than 10 mph exercise selection, which gives me less calories. I just wonder why NOTHING IS HAPPENING!!! I feel like I could eat like I WAS eating and stay at the same weight too...so this isnt really very motivating. I would appreciate any tips, suggestions or encouragement that anyone would like to share.

I am 51 years old, female, 5' 11" and weigh 220. THANKS so much

callipygianchronicle

I have been slightly over my weekly goal, but that should still result in weight loss.

Are you saying you have exceeded your calorie goals each of the three weeks?

sheri4l

Also I think it depends on what you are eating..protein? Or mostly carbs? You burn protein and you store carbs

Atlantique

Couple of things that might be going astray:

-How much are you over the calorie goals?

-Are you actually measuring (or even better, weighing) your portions? Eyeballing them usually leads to inaccurate logging.

-Do you make sure that you are entering the correct entry from the database? There are a LOT of incorrect entries in the database--either because they were never set up properly in the first place or because over time, manufacturers and brands have changed recipes and portion sizes. Pays to double-check before logging something. I find I frequently have to edit items that are already in teh database.

HannahPastoor

Are you getting the right type of food? Filling up your calories with junk is not gonna help you. Also try drinking alot of water. That helps : ) Good luck! Feel free to add me.

meggonkgonk

For us to give proper advice, you really need to open your food diary. I know having your food open and judged feels like being on display, but you can always close it up later- but we really need to see the cals, the sodium, the fats and the carbs to get an accurate picture of what could be going on.

RajwaJ

You say you are active? Is that what you have set yourself up as? This is for your normal everyday lifestyle not including extra exercise. Maybe in your normal day you are actually lightly active? This would mean less calories then what you are consuming. Just a thought. I'm still new and trying to learn it all myself.

crysmiss86

I am having this same problem. I lost 5 lbs the first week, but since then it has been nothing.

beth40n2

Everyone's body is different. If I eat all the exercise calories, I will not loose, in fact sometimes I gain. If I stick between 1200 and 1300 calories of food no matter how much exercise I do, then I loose. I am 52 years old. I do try to exercise about 400-500 calories off per day.

Also I find that if I stick to 100 carbs or less per day I loose. I also find for me that carbs from fruit don't really bother, but if most of my carbs come from bread, rice or potatos, then I can even gain on 100 carbs per day.

Try some different things and you will find what is right for your body. I think as we age and especially after menopause, the body handles food differently then when we are younger.

Good Luck!

kao708

Couple of things that might be going astray:

-How much are you over the calorie goals?

-Are you actually measuring (or even better, weighing) your portions? Eyeballing them usually leads to inaccurate logging.

-Do you make sure that you are entering the correct entry from the database? There are a LOT of incorrect entries in the database--either because they were never set up properly in the first place or because over time, manufacturers and brands have changed recipes and portion sizes. Pays to double-check before logging something. I find I frequently have to edit items that are already in teh database.

Also, are you eating your exercise calories? Honestly, I would make sure that you are logging everything accurately...even the exercise. Don't try to under log the burn or you may end up stuck like you have been. Work the program as it was created and see what happens.

For us to give proper advice, you really need to open your food diary. I know having your food open and judged feels like being on display, but you can always close it up later- but we really need to see the cals, the sodium, the fats and the carbs to get an accurate picture of what could be going on.

I agree with this as well.

kao708

You say you are active? Is that what you have set yourself up as? This is for your normal everyday lifestyle not including extra exercise. Maybe in your normal day you are actually lightly active? This would mean less calories then what you are consuming. Just a thought. I'm still new and trying to learn it all myself.

Good point, an accurate activity level setting is very important to make sure you aren't allowing yourself too many daily calories!

skeds

I am in a similar situation. 5 weeks of 3 days cardio, 3 days weights, 1700 calories and I've gained 4 pounds. I happened to have a doctor's appointment last week and she felt this was not normal. She's letting me go another month at this and if it doesnt reverse, will try to figure it out more. I'm not giving up though because I am starting to see stomach muscles, arm muscles, etc. And I feel better.

48 y/o female 5'9"
SW 205
CW 209
GW 160

gentlebreeze2

Have you checked your sodium intake? Currently RDA for sodium is 2,500, but the government is going to change that to 1,500. Too much can make you retain fluids. I am most comfortable between 1,500 and 1,800. You might say, I don't add salt to my foods. But guess what... food manufacturers do that for you. It's a cheap way for them to add flavor to foods. Watch out for anything canned, including soups, and veggies. Cheeses are usually loaded with sodium as well. Breads need sodium to bake properly. Good luck on your journey!

MzBug

What your eatting habits were like BEFORE MFP can play a roll too. If you were a feast/famine eater or meal skipper before MFP you may have a slower metabolism to start with. Until your body gets used to a steady food supply (something every few hours) you might gain a few pounds. Once you have reset the metabolism you will lose weight. It took me about a month (and 4 pounds gained) to get mine going again.

eringle

I have been slightly over my weekly goal, but that should still result in weight loss.

Are you saying you have exceeded your calorie goals each of the three weeks?

I have exceeded each week, but by an average of a few hundred calories. Since I set my profile to be losing 2 lbs a week, and lightly active, I would think that I would still lose SOMETHING even if I went a few hundred over. Supposedly, at my goal weight of 175 pounds, I would need 2000 calories a day. This program is telling me that I can have 1310 at my current weight of 220, to lose 2 pounds a week. So if I ate 1500 a day, I should still lose weight, right?

eringle

What your eatting habits were like BEFORE MFP can play a roll too. If you were a feast/famine eater or meal skipper before MFP you may have a slower metabolism to start with. Until your body gets used to a steady food supply (something every few hours) you might gain a few pounds. Once you have reset the metabolism you will lose weight. It took me about a month (and 4 pounds gained) to get mine going again.

My eating habits were basically eating everything I wanted, seconds at dinner, snacks at night. OR, I would have a couple of really good healthy days and then eat like a pig for a couple of days. Not really feast or famine, but more like normal and binging. So, I FEEL like this is a MAJOR change in my eating habits and I there are no results and its FRUSTRATING>

eringle

Sodium intake is probably high.. I dont really track it, except what the app says.

eringle

For us to give proper advice, you really need to open your food diary. I know having your food open and judged feels like being on display, but you can always close it up later- but we really need to see the cals, the sodium, the fats and the carbs to get an accurate picture of what could be going on.

How do I open my food diary? I would be happy to do that.

seadog1

I set my goal as 2 lbs week, dont count exercise and have lost 68 lbs since oct 10, also dialed down the carbs to 35 percent of normal. You almost have to be eathing or calories then you think;.

Atlantique

For us to give proper advice, you really need to open your food diary. I know having your food open and judged feels like being on display, but you can always close it up later- but we really need to see the cals, the sodium, the fats and the carbs to get an accurate picture of what could be going on.

How do I open my food diary? I would be happy to do that.

Go to Settings (top right of the page).

Click on Diary Settings.

Then scroll down until you see Change Diary Sharing. Click Public.

eringle

I set my goal as 2 lbs week, dont count exercise and have lost 68 lbs since oct 10, also dialed down the carbs to 35 percent of normal. You almost have to be eathing or calories then you think;.

Wow.. that is GREAT! Of course you are a MAN, which makes SUCH a gigantic difference. My husband lost 20 pounds in like a month by cutting back on his m+m consumption. Really....NOT...fair!

But to get back to your comment...I really dont think Im eating more than I think..I have been looking at calorie counts for a long time, have attended weight watchers, cook and bake. I know how to measure and how to estimate. I look for what I think is the highest calorie count in the data base for most items, and use that in my calculations.

rileysowner

Three things:

1) Get a measuring tape and measure you chest, waist, and hips at least (arms and thighs if you want) and watch those measurements. As a friend of mine says, the scale is the greasy used car salesman of weight loss (if I quote him correctly but you get the jist of his attitude about the scale, it only tells part of the story)

2) Strength/weight training is far more effective for fat loss than long duration cardio as is Interval Training. Cardio will help someone who is really out of shape, but in the long run that sort of steady state cardio is not that effective.

3) If you can afford it a good heart rate monitor with a chest strap would be very helpful to have more idea of your actual calories burned. Here is a good article to help you choose, http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472

jsavy

Well, I am 69 and find it comes off slowly and I don`t exercise BUT I find on here the calories sometimes aren`t accurate even though I love this site so I kinda do my own thing and allow for what I do know is right. The site has helped me be aware of what I am putting in my mouth but don`t understand why some of it is off count.

The people here are very good to help you too, I check in everyday and keep on tracking. It is funny how easy the weight goes on but how hard it is to get off isn`t it?

Good luck and keep on track you can do it!

eringle

For us to give proper advice, you really need to open your food diary. I know having your food open and judged feels like being on display, but you can always close it up later- but we really need to see the cals, the sodium, the fats and the carbs to get an accurate picture of what could be going on.

Ok.. diary is open. Have at it.. critique away!

Atlantique

I'm just sort of skimming through your diary.

I see not very many calories early in the day and then eating a lot in the evenings. While that doesn't change your total for the day, it will certainly affect your energy levels, and that may also explain the next thing that jumps out right away.

Which is the amount of sweets and junk. :noway: I'd certainly try to trim that. It's not good for you and it's going to send your blood sugar all over the place. Not only does that give you energy burst and lags throughout the day, it encourages your body to store fat because of the way it manipulates your insulin levels.

I realize you've only been at this a few weeks, as have I. Maybe you're doing more 'tracking' at this point than 'planning'.

Over the next couple of weeks though, try to focus on spreading the calories more evenly throughout the day. Actually eating breakfast is a HUGE help there. An egg white is not 'breakfast'.

Try to get rid of some of the simple starches (the bread and the like) and the sweets.

Do you dislike veggies? Because I don't see any.

And I think you'll find that if you prepare more food at home, you'll find it's a lot easier to eat more real food. It's also easier to know what calories you actually consumed--restaraunts don't give you the best calorie counts. You're also getting a LOT of sodium from the eating out and all the starches. You might want to add that tracking to your diary.

It sounds like a lot, I know. Trust me, my diary is far from perfect! :laugh: I try to pick one goal for the week and work on that. Trying to change everything at once is overwhelming, and we're here to try to develop life-long habits. Building new habits takes time.

LG61820

When I started I was eating very healthfully, or so I thought! Once I started tracking sodium I started to realize that I had to change my way of eating. I started having success the week I cut sodium back. Just take a look at the sodium content of cheese, I had a sad sad 10 minutes last night doing just that. It appears there's no such thing as low sodium cheese at a chain store.

I have learned to really enjoy foods I have turned my nose up in the past. Chickpeas, salmon, tilapia, edamame, frozen veggies, veggie burgers, I even bought quinoa for cryin out loud.

My point is that as you change what you eat you will change what you get hungry for. The more preparation you have to do instead of having a restaurant or food corp do for you the better the food will be.

I tend to stay the same for a couple of weeks and then lose some. I didn't gain weight every single week on my way here, I don't expect to lose weight every single week on my way down where I want to be.

Change something in your diet for just a week and see what happens. You can expand the items tracked to include sodium and other things which would be eye opening for you I think.

oldperson

I can certainly relate to that. I am 56 yr old female. I have been doing my food tracking & exercising 5 days a week, for at least 45 minutes each time & most of the time longer & I have only lost 7 lbs since December. I am working with a personal trainer who sets up my exercise programs, which change every 2 wks & we started at 1200 calories a day & both my trainer & my Dr have now increased it to 1800 calories a day. I voiced my frustration to my trainer & she seems to think that I need more protein, because my body needs the extra protein because of the exercise routine I follow. I have been slowly losing muscle & my trainer said this is because of not enough protein. I know I'm losing something, not necessarily weight shown on the scale, because I can see it in my face & my clothes are starting to fit a little better. I have been trying hard to find the right amount of protein, but I'm still working on it. My trainer said it's a work in progress until we find the right combination. I just have to keep telling me that it will happen as my trainer says it will, so just hang in there. It sounds like you are working on the same problem as me. So let me know if you get anything useful. OP