Help Please... Weight Loss Questions

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  • Calif_Girl67
    Calif_Girl67 Posts: 526 Member
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    Hi there,
    I have only been on MFP for a month but I have been on a diet since March 7th and I am losing really slow as well.
    I am losing between 1-2 pounds a week but I can tell I am also losing inches. i would prefer to see the numbers
    on the scale go down but as long as I am losing inches and ppounds at a healthy rate then I am ok with that.

    I am exercising just about everyday but I try to change up my exercise routine so my body doesn't get use to one
    type of exercise.
  • msdominique1
    msdominique1 Posts: 65 Member
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    You need to find what works for you, every person has their optimal calories Vs. exercise combination.

    However, you should have lost something in 1 month so there are a few things you need to tweak:
    1) up water to 10 cups per day - 8 is not enough
    2) ensure your NET calories are 1200 AFTER exercise (ALWAYS eat at least 1/2 of those exercise calories)
    3) get plenty of sleep, 7 hours if you can at least
    4) do not eat at least 2 1/2 hours before bed
    5) ensure your calories are from "clean" and healthy food, nothing processed
    6) up the intensity of your workouts

    When I started I had 80 pounds to lose, at that time I could drop from 2 to 4 pounds per week now that I only have about 25 pounds left I typically only will lose 1/2 pound to 2 pounds per week at the most. The most you can lose is typically about 8 pounds per month as a result.

    Tweak the above items and give yourself the gift of patience.

    Thanks for the advice I will try that... the struggle will be the water intake and well as those calories... some days i have a very hard time reaching 1200 before and sometimes after exercising...but i will try... :happy:
  • msdominique1
    msdominique1 Posts: 65 Member
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    Hi there,
    I have only been on MFP for a month but I have been on a diet since March 7th and I am losing really slow as well.
    I am losing between 1-2 pounds a week but I can tell I am also losing inches. i would prefer to see the numbers
    on the scale go down but as long as I am losing inches and ppounds at a healthy rate then I am ok with that.

    I am exercising just about everyday but I try to change up my exercise routine so my body doesn't get use to one
    type of exercise.

    I have lost almost 3 lbs... I haven't updated my weigh in yet... maybe i can change my exercise regimen... i don't see a change in my inches though... it has been the same for a while...
  • msdominique1
    msdominique1 Posts: 65 Member
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    It seems as if everything I eat has lots of sodium in it... And my sugar count is high because I do eat lots of fruit, but when I do that my sugar exceeds for the day so I figured I would eat less of it.

    I am so confused... :sad:

    It does depend a lot on the kind of fruit. Berries and apples have lots of fiber in them, so the sugar doesn't hit your blood stream in the same way that it does if you eat tropical fruits like bananas. I know a lot of people who swear that they just can't lose weight if they eat bananas and the chemistry might support their claims.

    I stopped eating bannanas too much because i did notice that they were high in sugar...
  • lpm3925
    lpm3925 Posts: 39
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    I have to agree with a lot of what has been said. Your sodium is high, I actually didn’t see listed what your fat intake is, you are not drinking enough water either. On the diet front:
    1) Drink lots of water, and only water. 100-150 ounces per day. Stay away from diet drinks, artificial sweeteners will slow weight lose.
    2) You need to eat healthier foods: Fruit is high in sugar, some is good, a lot is not; salad is mostly devoid of nutritional value contrary to popular belief; 100 calorie snack packs are not healthy for you, just lower in calories but the same bad cookie is still bad if it is small.
    3) Take a high quality supplement. I mean more than just a multi-vitamin, you are nutritionally empty, and your body will not function right until you get that fixed. That’s just what poor eating gets you. I started mine about 7 weeks ago now.
    4) I saw on your food diary you are eating a good bit of chicken, skin removed. Good, but you are eating dark meat, drums, wings. Dark meat has more internal fat than white meat such as a skinless boneless breast. Half of a large breast is about 4oz. That is all you should be eating at one time.

    Now on to exercise =). You say you walk a lot at work, great! But that’s not exercise. Exercise is getting your heart into your target heart rate and maintaining that intensity for a minimum of 15 minutes. I get up from my desk and walk around too, but that’s just not enough. Find a program you can do at home, gym, whatever for 35-45 minutes per day. That’s all you need, that’s all I do, 6 days per week.

    Feel free to look at my exercise and food diary. I have went from 318 to today’s weight of 287.8 in about 7 ½ weeks. You can do it, but you have to be serious about everything. Less calories (which you are doing), better food (You can improve), regular intense exercise (I think you can improve there too)

    Hope this helps =)
  • msdominique1
    msdominique1 Posts: 65 Member
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    The thing with MFP is although it tracks your caloires it cant tell if its good or bad food thats going in you.

    Lets say you have a 100 calorie snack, do you choose
    A. a small apple and maybe a few berries...100 calories
    or
    B. some sort of low fat no fat reduced sugar synthetic triple chocolate chip cookie...100 calories
    They may both be the same calories but we know what ones are best for us. Im guilty of choosing the tasty cookie on occasions but the thing about losing weight is you have to learn to make the right choices...mfp is here to help and support us to do that.

    Like the other have said maybe your sodium is making you retain water but im guessing you want to lose more than just water, you want to burn the fat away too. The only way to burn fat is to excercise. If you feel you arent reaching the goals you want then the codl hard truth is you have to step it up a little…clearly what your doing isnt working for you...train for longer and cut out all the little things you see as treats. Yes its hard but come vacation time it will be 100% worth it.

    Sorry to sound like the party pooper but I speak from experience and there is nothing worse than feeling like your trying so hard only to get on the scale and it doesn’t move…and even worse when you put on the jeans and they still don’t tie!
    I really hope you can surpass some of your goals and feel great for your vacation! 


    Sometimes I do go for the 100 calorie snack because I look at it as 100 calories and that is all... I did change my diary to track sodium because I did notice that my sodium intake was thru the roof... :sad: Hopefully by changing that I can monitor my foods better.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
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    I went and looked at your food and it is not too bad. I would make sure you are not counting daily walking with your job in your exercise calories. If you are doing that you are counting them twice. You should only count calories you burn exercising that are not part of you daily exercise. You should also add some weight training to your routine so you can build muscle.
  • msdominique1
    msdominique1 Posts: 65 Member
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    I have to agree with a lot of what has been said. Your sodium is high, I actually didn’t see listed what your fat intake is, you are not drinking enough water either. On the diet front:
    1) Drink lots of water, and only water. 100-150 ounces per day. Stay away from diet drinks, artificial sweeteners will slow weight lose.
    2) You need to eat healthier foods: Fruit is high in sugar, some is good, a lot is not; salad is mostly devoid of nutritional value contrary to popular belief; 100 calorie snack packs are not healthy for you, just lower in calories but the same bad cookie is still bad if it is small.
    3) Take a high quality supplement. I mean more than just a multi-vitamin, you are nutritionally empty, and your body will not function right until you get that fixed. That’s just what poor eating gets you. I started mine about 7 weeks ago now.
    4) I saw on your food diary you are eating a good bit of chicken, skin removed. Good, but you are eating dark meat, drums, wings. Dark meat has more internal fat than white meat such as a skinless boneless breast. Half of a large breast is about 4oz. That is all you should be eating at one time.

    Now on to exercise =). You say you walk a lot at work, great! But that’s not exercise. Exercise is getting your heart into your target heart rate and maintaining that intensity for a minimum of 15 minutes. I get up from my desk and walk around too, but that’s just not enough. Find a program you can do at home, gym, whatever for 35-45 minutes per day. That’s all you need, that’s all I do, 6 days per week.

    Feel free to look at my exercise and food diary. I have went from 318 to today’s weight of 287.8 in about 7 ½ weeks. You can do it, but you have to be serious about everything. Less calories (which you are doing), better food (You can improve), regular intense exercise (I think you can improve there too)

    Hope this helps =)


    Water is my struggle honestly... As I have been stating over and over :sad: I don't drink any types of sodas and yes i am guilty of using equal when I drink my tea because I figured it was 0 calories and it makes the tea taste better :smile:

    It seems as if I just need to eat fruits and veggies only... I am already a very picky eater so this is getting really hard for me.

    What is a high quality supplement?

    I think I do a lot of exercise throughout the week and I switch it up, but I don't know if I am doing something wrong in the exercise department or what... I do walk at work... but I also get on the elliptical at the gym... i do ab crunches at the gym... i take a water class (abs/glutes) 45 minutes at the gym... i got on the treadmill a few times but i don't really care for the treadmill too much :sad: ... Essentially I am working out 4-5 times a week... so is there anything else I should be doing or I should switch in the exercise department... When I don't go to the gym I do the Supreme 90 workout dvd at home which is a killer... :sad:
  • msdominique1
    msdominique1 Posts: 65 Member
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    I am having the very same issue. I have been on MFP for a month now. I went from eating probably somwhere close to 2500 calories a day (an embarrassing truth) to eatin so healthy, under 1600 calories a day. I went from not working otu at all to working out at least four times a week. I have completely changed my lifestyle. I have only dropped four pounds and last week I gained a pound a half back because I had a back injury and didnt run for three days. I just dont understand. However I have decided that no matter what this is important and I am sticking to it, so if you need another frustrated friend to vent to them feel free to add me.

    Feel free to vent to me as well... lol... I am totally confused as well... but i won't give up... I know I didn't get here overnight... it took years for me to get to this point, but in the end i will get out of it... one day... i will be patient and let the weight come off in time...
  • annabellesmile
    annabellesmile Posts: 14
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    I would suggest you cut out some of the Carbohydrates you are taking and replace them with fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. I have cut out 90% of pasta, rice, potato, bread and eat a lot more fish and meat without lots of sauces. I stay clear of cheese, chocolate and crisps but eat lots of yoghurts and this time of year lots of salads with all sorts of different meats and fish. I have being doing this since the beginning of the year and lost 22lbs and never felt hungry.
  • clw_888
    clw_888 Posts: 157 Member
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    Lots of great suggestions here! The only thing I would add is to really make sure you are weighing and measuring your foods. This is so important for balancing calories. If you are not and end up having a little bit more here and there, it can add up to enough over time to halt your loss. Good luck!
  • msdominique1
    msdominique1 Posts: 65 Member
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    I would suggest you cut out some of the Carbohydrates you are taking and replace them with fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. I have cut out 90% of pasta, rice, potato, bread and eat a lot more fish and meat without lots of sauces. I stay clear of cheese, chocolate and crisps but eat lots of yoghurts and this time of year lots of salads with all sorts of different meats and fish. I have being doing this since the beginning of the year and lost 22lbs and never felt hungry.

    That is interesting... I just need to find a diet or food regimen that will work for me... I am going to work on that...
  • jazgal
    jazgal Posts: 122
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    I have a hard time loosing weight ... I know by my numbers one would think that is not true .. BUT .. I read every label ... stay away from sodium, sugar and processed foods ... no non fat yogurts with fruit in the bottom .. I do eat 1/2 grapefruit before each meal for its fat burning enzymes ... Do take B-complex with added burst of B-12 sublingual daily in the morning. I do splurge on sugar when I take my gummy multivitamins in the morning (those are to me my candy treats) and I take biosil liquid (6 drops hidden in an oz or so of fresh squeezed orange juice) for my joints, bones, hair and fingernails .. My personal goal is 10 lbs a month. I have been running under my cal. daily ... not intentional but just how it has been working out. I do eat good food, lean meats, fish, raw nuts, fruit and veggies lots of water .. have found lots of reat healthy substitutes that I actually like ... and always looking for new ones.

    Wish you lots of luck .. great folks here that will help and support you ...
  • tam8374
    tam8374 Posts: 270 Member
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    I would like to add one more tidbit if I may. I agree with everyone about the sodium/ water intake. Also check your measurements, you may not be losing fat, but you may be losing inches.

    Another thing that may be throwing off your weight loss is that when you work out and your burn fat, and gain muscle. Muscle does weight more than fat.
  • msdominique1
    msdominique1 Posts: 65 Member
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    I would like to add one more tidbit if I may. I agree with everyone about the sodium/ water intake. Also check your measurements, you may not be losing fat, but you may be losing inches.

    Another thing that may be throwing off your weight loss is that when you work out and your burn fat, and gain muscle. Muscle does weight more than fat.

    That is one thing I fear that I will gain muscle which I don't want right now... as I used to work out and was in shape with a lil muscle so i fear that i could gain muscle... My calves are already muscle which I can't get rid of... I fear muscle gain in my arms that is why I stopped doing strength training like weights... I would like to lose the weight first and then tone later...

    Honestly I am losing about .5lbs a week.. I thought I could lose a little more than that or maybe I am just speeding the process along too much and anticipating some weight loss to come fast when it doesn't work in that fashion :sad:
  • lpm3925
    lpm3925 Posts: 39
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    You have to build muscle! Muscle burns fat. Strength training is an important part of any workout. You can do lower weight more reps for a leaner look, but you have to strength train!
  • msdominique1
    msdominique1 Posts: 65 Member
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    You have to build muscle! Muscle burns fat. Strength training is an important part of any workout. You can do lower weight more reps for a leaner look, but you have to strength train!

    I am so scared to do strength training because I think it just gonna make me gain weight and not lose it...
  • clw_888
    clw_888 Posts: 157 Member
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    You have to build muscle! Muscle burns fat. Strength training is an important part of any workout. You can do lower weight more reps for a leaner look, but you have to strength train!

    I am so scared to do strength training because I think it just gonna make me gain weight and not lose it...

    On the contrary, muscle will take up less space than fat so though the scale may not change you will look and feel smaller.

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