So close to throwing in the damn towel!!!!

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2

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  • CodyD18
    CodyD18 Posts: 161 Member
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    First off, plateaus happen to all of us. All you can do is keep trying. I mean, what's the alternative? Looking at your diary it seems like you eat a lot of simple carbs and I think that your diet could be a little cleaner. (You had pancakes and syrup one morning) It could also be possible that you're not eating enough too. Your body will go into starvation mode and it'll be very difficult to lose weight. You should also take body measurements and go by how you feel. We all know that weight can be funny sometimes. Don't get too caught up in the numbers. If you just keep going you'll get to where you want to be eventually.
  • mandysue1980
    mandysue1980 Posts: 31 Member
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    Do you drink soda? I know that was what kept me from drinking enough water before, and when I cut the soda out of my diet years ago I lost alot of weight.
  • Cam_
    Cam_ Posts: 515 Member
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    Try tracking your sodium as well. To do this, click
    "settings" (at the very top of your screen - right beside "Logout") then click
    "Diary settings"
    Under "Nutrients Tracked", go to the first item that is blank and click the "V" thingy.
    This will give you some options - click "sodium"

    You can click the next one and select something else if you want. I also track cholesterol

    Then click the green "SAVE CHANGES" button.

    You will be amazed how much sodium is in certain foods. Processed meats, bread, cheese and processed anything is pretty high.
  • westbrja
    westbrja Posts: 111 Member
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    Thanks all!! You are all great and it's nice to have people to turn to. Ok, to answer some of the questions.

    ghoztt - Yes June 4th is when I started back to my weight loss journey after my maternity hiatus.

    I guess I don't know the difference between complex and simple sugar. Is that like fruit vs. pancakes with syrup (wink)? Also how do I know what a good calorie level is for me? I just used the BMR calculator on here but other sites have me at a higher calorie level. Is there any other alternatives to plain water? What about iced tea? Does that count for my water intake?
  • westbrja
    westbrja Posts: 111 Member
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    It is possible you're not eating enough for your body. The reason I gained weight over the years was not because I was eating too much, but too little! My body was literally starving so it was holding onto every calorie it took in. Perhaps the same thing is going on with you? Have you tried eating more than 1250 since being on MFP? Might be a good idea to raise it up to 1360 or 1400 or so for a couple of weeks and see if that helps you.

    Ok so let me try to explain what I'm asking here. According to my BMI I can stand a 1000 calorie deficit. Is this from what I was eating prior to a healthier lifestyle? I'm sure that in my unhealthy days I was eating way more than 1350. Or is the deficit based on the BMR only?
  • kklindsey
    kklindsey Posts: 382 Member
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    I took a quick look at two days worth and I could be wrong but I saw a lot of cabs and a lot of sugar in ratio to protein. For me personally, thta is a no-no. When I dont eat enough protein I am hungry, tired, depressed, cranky and want to eat. I have been stuck trying to lose the same 20lbs for a year and since I changed my diet to protein with every meal and snack I have been losing at least .5 every DAY. To be fair I have been under calories too but when I get enough protein I am just not very hungry. I react very badly to carbs combined with sugar and simply forgot that in the last year. Most likely forgot that because my favorite thing to eat is sugary carbs.

    Its worth giving it a try to up your protein to carb ratio and cut back some sugar.
  • westbrja
    westbrja Posts: 111 Member
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    Other than the obvious eggs, tuna, protein meal bars. What's some foods that are higher in protein that I could have or snack on?
  • jenkins1103
    jenkins1103 Posts: 50 Member
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    Don't give up..You can do it..Maybe you can try not to eat all your exercise calories. I looked at you diary and if you stay around the 1250 mark and not eat your exercise calories you may see a loss. Stick with it...Your body will kick in to gear soon.
  • westbrja
    westbrja Posts: 111 Member
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    Don't give up..You can do it..Maybe you can try not to eat all your exercise calories. I looked at you diary and if you stay around the 1250 mark and not eat your exercise calories you may see a loss. Stick with it...Your body will kick in to gear soon.

    I'm so confused because I thought if you go under 1200 calories your body will go into starvation mode? If I eat 1250 in a day and burn 300 in exercise then that takes me to under 1000 calories for that day. Isn't that kind of low?
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    Don't go lower in calories at this point. You've only been back at this for 12 days. Work on your diet and activity levels first.

    I had a 6 week plateau which I broke and then I lost 13 pounds in the next 7 weeks. And would you look at that? It's 13 pounds in 13 weeks overall!!

    Here is what I did:

    * Be exact in weighing, measuring and logging. Every single thing gets weighed and measured and logged.
    * Eat more protein, keep carbs at or under my goal. My macros are 40c/30f/30p.
    * Drink at least 100 oz of water a day. Yes, it really does help and no, I don't count anything as water, but water.
    * Avoid simple carbs - sugary foods and processed foods (white rice, bleached flour, sugar added to anything at all.
    * Change up my exercise and do something very, very difficult. For me, that is lurching...err...running.
    * Do not cheat. No cheat meals, no cheat days, none of that. I DO allow a very controlled meal once a month at maintenance level and 1 week of eating at maintenance level, every three months. Stay away from the junk food as it just makes me want more.

    And I had to be patient. And wait.

    I just kept telling myself that my body was not *special* and would not be able to defy physics. If I ate less than I burned, I would HAVE to lose weight eventually.

    And I did. :flowerforyou:
  • angelicdisgrace
    angelicdisgrace Posts: 2,071 Member
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    DONT GIVE UP!!!!
  • westbrja
    westbrja Posts: 111 Member
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    So I've decided to go to the gym tonite with a new attitude! I will kick that tredmill's *kitten* and get off it with sweat dripping off of my face. Thanks for all the encouragement and kind words. I will NOT lose this fight!!!!
  • alifer
    alifer Posts: 387 Member
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    So I've decided to go to the gym tonite with a new attitude! I will kick that tredmill's *kitten* and get off it with sweat dripping off of my face. Thanks for all the encouragement and kind words. I will NOT lose this fight!!!!

    Great attitude! Keep it going!
  • milaxx
    milaxx Posts: 1,122 Member
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    Expand your settings to track sodium and sugar. You eat a far amount of processed foods and they tend to be high in sodium, Coupled with the smaller amount of water you drink and that may be the reason for your stall.
  • milaxx
    milaxx Posts: 1,122 Member
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    Other than the obvious eggs, tuna, protein meal bars. What's some foods that are higher in protein that I could have or snack on?
    Almonds are my fav high protein snack. A small handful (10 -20) gives me a nice boost.
  • srp2011
    srp2011 Posts: 1,829 Member
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    Looking at your food diary for about a week, I think the most likely culprit is what you're eating. Yes, your calories are within a reasonable range, but you are eating way too many carbs and starchy foods, way too little protein, and too few vegetables and fruits. If you want to lose more consistently, try more fresh fruits and veggies, and steamed/baked/broiled/grilled protein (some at each meal). Your food choices on the surface look relatively healthy, but you need to do some major shifting in the balance of foods you consume. That's definitely doing you in, not the exercise calories and muscle building this early on (unless you are doing some heavy duty weight lifting and taking steroids :-) - if you are doing that, there's other issues to discuss :-) ).

    Increasing exercise alone isn't going to get you moving much quicker. You really need to adjust your foods. Also, start tracking your sodium - it looks like you have a few foods that may be doing you in there (baked beans - very high in sodium and sugar when they come from a can), and I can't remember what else I saw that made me think this, but it was there (sauces maybe?). The salt/sugars/starches will cause water fluctuations and the sugars/starches will cause blood sugar fluctuations that will trigger insulin and put you in storage rather than burn mode, as well as make you hungrier and more prone to cravings. And as others have said, increase your water, although that probably isn't enough to do you in (I tend not to drink enough pure water, and when I eat right, it doesn't slow me down from losing at all - if you eat foods with a high water content, that helps).

    Good luck and don't throw in the towel yet! I have yet to see anyone who can't lose if they truly follow a healthy diet with some exercise.
  • sharidiane
    sharidiane Posts: 212 Member
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    I could understand the plateau if I had been at this for some time. Thanks for the motivation!

    Ummm .... this wasn't true for me. I *did* drop about 5 lbs right away. I knew it was water weight. But right after that, for a MONTH, it was like up two, down one, up one, down one, up two more, down one, up one ... etc. SOOOOO frustrating!!! Especially, because like you, I was at the beginning and didn't think I would plateau. It didn't seem fair that I was working so hard to lose, like, nothing.

    BUT ... I stuck with it. HARD. And then I got back to where I had been. And then this past week I lost 2 lbs!!!! And, it's too soon to say, but I think I am on track to lose about the same this week.

    Plateau: broken.

    Stick with it. HARD.

    :)
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    Looking at your food diary for about a week, I think the most likely culprit is what you're eating. Yes, your calories are within a reasonable range, but you are eating way too many carbs and starchy foods, way too little protein, and too few vegetables and fruits. If you want to lose more consistently, try more fresh fruits and veggies, and steamed/baked/broiled/grilled protein (some at each meal). Your food choices on the surface look relatively healthy, but you need to do some major shifting in the balance of foods you consume. That's definitely doing you in, not the exercise calories and muscle building this early on (unless you are doing some heavy duty weight lifting and taking steroids :-) - if you are doing that, there's other issues to discuss :-) ).

    Increasing exercise alone isn't going to get you moving much quicker. You really need to adjust your foods. Also, start tracking your sodium - it looks like you have a few foods that may be doing you in there (baked beans - very high in sodium and sugar when they come from a can), and I can't remember what else I saw that made me think this, but it was there (sauces maybe?). The salt/sugars/starches will cause water fluctuations and the sugars/starches will cause blood sugar fluctuations that will trigger insulin and put you in storage rather than burn mode, as well as make you hungrier and more prone to cravings. And as others have said, increase your water, although that probably isn't enough to do you in (I tend not to drink enough pure water, and when I eat right, it doesn't slow me down from losing at all - if you eat foods with a high water content, that helps).

    Good luck and don't throw in the towel yet! I have yet to see anyone who can't lose if they truly follow a healthy diet with some exercise.

    You saw the sausage...that is high in sodium as well probably and the sandwich meat. OP, your sodium has to be above 1500 mg and thats what the real recommendation is..not what MFP gives us.

    I agree with the poster I quoted. All calories are not equal because of the foods make up. If you adjust your menu as suggested and perhaps add a few more calories because I'm thinking your calorie intake is a little low for the amount of exercise you are doing. I'm almost at goal and my intake is 1260. I'm thinking you should be about 1400.
  • srp2011
    srp2011 Posts: 1,829 Member
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    Don't give up..You can do it..Maybe you can try not to eat all your exercise calories. I looked at you diary and if you stay around the 1250 mark and not eat your exercise calories you may see a loss. Stick with it...Your body will kick in to gear soon.

    I'm so confused because I thought if you go under 1200 calories your body will go into starvation mode? If I eat 1250 in a day and burn 300 in exercise then that takes me to under 1000 calories for that day. Isn't that kind of low?

    First, the 1200 calories is a guideline, not an absolute natural law, and it depends on many factors (height, weight, etc... and in fact it is disturbing when I see a man or very tall, active woman being told that as long as they get this many calories in, they are fine... no, they need more, but that's another story...). But it is best to try to keep your net around that number. But, you should also know that unless you are wearing an HRM to monitor calorie expenditure, the numbers you see on MFP or the machine you are using or any other calorie calculator are just estimates, and frequently are wrong (actual can be either higher or lower, but seems to be lower more frequently). So try playing around with how many of your exercise calories you eat back - try a quarter or a half, and see how you feel and how the scale reacts. Listen to your body. Weight loss is very individual - there is no one-size fits all approach.
  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
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    DRINK YOUR WATER, lol. I'm not friends w/ you yet on here, but I've read others' posts. Water is so very important to your overall health, not just weight-loss. For me, I don't stick to any calories range (I JUST DON'T) and it bother me, that so many people basically starve themselves. @ 1250 or so calories, I assume you're a bit hungry. Depending on whether or not exercise, my calories range from 1200-2500. I strength train, and do cardio. I switch up my routines all the time. I go to the gym/park/home to workout. Lots of different kinds of fruits. and most of all, PATIENCE. Truth be told, those who aren't patient are just not going to succeed, I have my moments where I may veer off track for a week or two and kick myself in the butt and do well. You have to do it for yourself. Best quote I just read today, "If quitting is an option, you never planned to succeed." Good luck, be patient, eat a variety of fruits, veggies, change up your workouts, drink your water, love yourself in the now (but look forward to the new you). Oh and look @ what you've already done, you don't want to loose out on your present success. And don't forget to treat yourself w/ something you like every now and again.

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