Has Paying Attention Made Me Gain Weight?

ivyjbres

So that's the 1 year progress report. I gained weight. I've been up and down, but a net gain. In the past, I've counted calories, but offline, I've done food combining, I've done the Diet Dr. Pepper Diet. That all worked (separately of course, I'm not crazy enough to try all 3 at the same time).

So now I'm paying attention to what I eat, I'm making healthier choices even when I can't log. I eat low GI and GL foods. I get plenty of protein. I do eat more fast food than I'd prefer, but I work in fast food. I only eat kid portion sandwiches and salads at work, I don't eat fries.

So why isn't this working?

I'm starting to think its because I'm obsessing, because I'm paying attention to food instead of life. I'm sitting hear at a computer stressing over my weight instead of cleaning my kitchen. Sure its not working out, but doesn't standing burn more calories than sitting?

I'm thinking of quitting... Not because I'm discouraged, but I'm wondering if being online isn't just reinforcing my bad habits.

bcattoes

MFP may not work for everyone. Obsessing is not good and if after a year MFP is making you obsess then maybe it is time to try something new. Or it may be time to stop obesessing and just follow the plan. Really give up the fast food, free or not, it's not good food. Stop looking to fad diets and commit to exercising regularly and eating healthy food within your calorie goals. If you really follow the plan and don't lose weight, then it's time to see a doctor.

Whatever your decision, don't give up on getting healthy!

meggers123

Your food diary isn't very regular, but the days I saw you are eating a very little food, but almost getting to your calories. I hate to say it, but I think you need to add some whole foods (fruit, veggies, bread, meat) that isn't fast food. Also, try eating around 1500. Are you active? These are things I would check out, but good luck and I'm sorry it hasn't been working out so far.

erzsebet_1560

I know exactly what you're saying. I have been wondering myself if the knowledge I have collected over the past few years is actually hindering my weight loss. I log, exercise and eat healthy, but I still gain weight. When I have dieted in the past, I just cut down what I ate and exercised, It wasn't about net calories this and whole grain or no grain...It's almost like I've obsessed and read every new finding and I've just confused myself and it's hurting me. i sit for hours reading online reports, when I should be moving my *kitten*!

gsager

Well, eating too many calories and not exercising enough, if you think that logging your information on MFP is causing a problem then quit. It has really helped me, made me workout more to get more calories to eat. Good Luck.

Qarol

There's a Diet Dr. Pepper Diet? I must google this...

ivyjbres

There's a Diet Dr. Pepper Diet? I must google this...

My sister "invented" it. Turns out its just like HCG, except much cheaper, just take out the HCG, add Diet Dr Pepper, eat an 800 calorie meal once a day, and viola!

ilookthetype

There's a Diet Dr. Pepper Diet? I must google this...

My sister "invented" it. Turns out its just like HCG, except much cheaper, just take out the HCG, add Diet Dr Pepper, eat an 800 calorie meal once a day, and viola!

The the 800 calories that is the trick...I can't...even...words are failing me.

ivyjbres

There's a Diet Dr. Pepper Diet? I must google this...

My sister "invented" it. Turns out its just like HCG, except much cheaper, just take out the HCG, add Diet Dr Pepper, eat an 800 calorie meal once a day, and viola!

The the 800 calories that is the trick...I can't...even...words are failing me.

Yeah, I was 15 and stupid. It worked.... Why is it that being stupid always pays off, and doing things the right was doesn't?

infamousmk

*blink*blink*


... are you really recording all of your food? Because if you are, you're not eating enough half the time, and all of the time you're not eating any real food. Unless you have a serious health condition, MFP will work for you.

1. Enter what you eat
2. See you eat crap
3. Change your habits little by little until you're not eating crap
4. Make sure you're eating enough
5. Work out some
6. Lose weight
7. Repeat as necessary, since we all screw up sometimes

ilookthetype

There's a Diet Dr. Pepper Diet? I must google this...

My sister "invented" it. Turns out its just like HCG, except much cheaper, just take out the HCG, add Diet Dr Pepper, eat an 800 calorie meal once a day, and viola!

The the 800 calories that is the trick...I can't...even...words are failing me.

Yeah, I was 15 and stupid. It worked.... Why is it that being stupid always pays off, and doing things the right was doesn't?

It would have worked because you were SEVERELY under eating...in my experience, doing it the right way is working. I don't even use a scale anymore because I was getting hung up on the numbers and it's easier to just go by the fact that I've dropped 2 pant sizes since I started, so the right way, totally works.

adrian_indy

I once invented a diet where everytime wanted to eat, I had to wrestle and win against a homosexual grizzly bear with a love of sodomy. I lost 112. lbs, my right eye, and my dignity (3 times).

agthorn

I once invented a diet where everytime wanted to eat, I had to wrestle and win against a homosexual grizzly bear with a love of sodomy. I lost 112. lbs, my right eye, and my dignity (3 times).

:laugh:

fakeplastictree

Yeah, I'd say that it's not the paying attention that made you gain. It's the fad diets and the not doing things the best way for your body. With the fad diets and such you are ruining your metabolism so now it is harder for you to lose weight than it was when you first started. I'd say just stick with eating regularly and making better choices for a prolonged period of time to get your metabolism back in check and then hopefully lose weight.

mandemonious

Yeah, I'd say that it's not the paying attention that made you gain. It's the fad diets and the not doing things the best way for your body. With the fad diets and such you are ruining your metabolism so now it is harder for you to lose weight than it was when you first started. I'd say just stick with eating regularly and making better choices for a prolonged period of time to get your metabolism back in check and then hopefully lose weight.

^^^This

Umeboshi

Not to be harsh but maybe the (many) days you're not logging, you're really eating more than you think? I don't think the days you eat way under 1000 calories help your metabolism much either.

ivyjbres

Yeah, I'd say that it's not the paying attention that made you gain. It's the fad diets and the not doing things the best way for your body. With the fad diets and such you are ruining your metabolism so now it is harder for you to lose weight than it was when you first started. I'd say just stick with eating regularly and making better choices for a prolonged period of time to get your metabolism back in check and then hopefully lose weight.

Thing is, all of that was when I was a teenager. I'm 26 now. My metabolism has had more than enough time to recover. And Just cause I'm not logging, that doesn't mean I'm not paying attention. My hubby is completely disabled, and we don't own a TV, the computer is the TV, so the majority of the time, I'm not logging because I'm not online. I don't always make my calorie goals, but I also don't go extremely over my maintenance calories more than occasionally. I'm not saying that MFP doesn't work, I'm just saying maybe its allowing me to hyper-focus on the wrong things.

infamousmk

Are you eating wholesome, natural foods, at a deficit of approximatley 500 calories a day, and being active 30m a day, at least four times a week? For reals?

juleseybaby

I once invented a diet where everytime wanted to eat, I had to wrestle and win against a homosexual grizzly bear with a love of sodomy. I lost 112. lbs, my right eye, and my dignity (3 times).

SO GLAD I WASN'T MID-DRINK WHEN I READ THIS... IT WOULD BE ALL OVER MY MONITORS!!!

To the OP - my sister has had a major plateau - making good choices - working out like crazy... it happens. Try to shake it up - confuse your metabolism to keep it going. And yeah - if you are being honest with yourself and your logging and you still aren't losing after that - go visit the doc.

Umeboshi

Yeah, I'd say that it's not the paying attention that made you gain. It's the fad diets and the not doing things the best way for your body. With the fad diets and such you are ruining your metabolism so now it is harder for you to lose weight than it was when you first started. I'd say just stick with eating regularly and making better choices for a prolonged period of time to get your metabolism back in check and then hopefully lose weight.

Thing is, all of that was when I was a teenager. I'm 26 now. My metabolism has had more than enough time to recover. And Just cause I'm not logging, that doesn't mean I'm not paying attention. My hubby is completely disabled, and we don't own a TV, the computer is the TV, so the majority of the time, I'm not logging because I'm not online. I don't always make my calorie goals, but I also don't go extremely over my maintenance calories more than occasionally. I'm not saying that MFP doesn't work, I'm just saying maybe its allowing me to hyper-focus on the wrong things.

Yeah, it's not the metabolism from the crash diets. It's the fact that in August like EVERY SINGLE DAY was between 2000 and 3000 calories. And you're honestly confused as to why you're gaining?

ilookthetype

I don't always make my calorie goals, but I also don't go extremely over my maintenance calories more than occasionally.

BINGO! You shouldn't be going over your MAINTENANCE calories.

anvacarz

You might be looking to these sites and "obsessing" over your diet but honestly it doesn't show on your diary... The things you do log in aren't the best choices. Instead of yogurt, cereal and milk for bfast- how about eggs, whole grain toast and berries? No more processed foods, no more sodium and get active and you should see the weight fall off. I don't think you are as dedicated as you like to think you are. Just saying you want to lose it doesn't make the weight come off. You have to take action. Choose fresh, whole foods, drink water and start walking. Stop kidding yourself, it's time to get serious.

ivyjbres

You might be looking to these sites and "obsessing" over your diet but honestly it doesn't show on your diary... The things you do log in aren't the best choices. Instead of yogurt, cereal and milk for bfast- how about eggs, whole grain toast and berries? No more processed foods, no more sodium and get active and you should see the weight fall off. I don't think you are as dedicated as you like to think you are. Just saying you want to lose it doesn't make the weight come off. You have to take action. Choose fresh, whole foods, drink water and start walking. Stop kidding yourself, it's time to get serious.

I eat that for breakfast because I have some medical conditions that those specifically address:
I'm hypoglycemic, iron deficient anemic and have chronic gastritis. Without sugar and iron in the morning, I don't wake up. And without fiber and activia, I don't **** for weeks. That's 375 calories. I don't think that's my problem.

RippedArmyGuy

Ivybres

You asked why this isn’t working:
I think your scenario is not uncommon. It sounds to me there are some very distinct things that needed to be pointed out to you. If you want to loose weight and keep it off there has to be a lifestyle change. First you have to get an eating schedule meaning there has to be a plan. I have found in my house that we have to plan our meals at least a week in advance, this includes 3 snacks and sometimes 3 meals that I prepare in advance because I am often at work or out of town. Next, we have to prepare everything that we can on Sundays (my rest day) to be able to prepare our meals quickly. If I want an egg white omelet then I have already cut up everything I want in the omelet, which makes it quick and easy to prepare. Being in shape and staying healthy takes some work and thoughtful planning but YOU can do it!

You mentioned that you are paying attention to what you eat (Great Job) and in the same paragraph you mentioned eating fast food and drinking Dr. Pepper Diet. The first rule to fitness, is don’t drink your calories or eat empty calories (this means that although your body has the calorie count) it is in starvation mode because it thinks that you are not going to feed it. Let me explain more, for example if you don’t eat breakfast and a snack in the morning and then go to lunch and eat 1350 calories your body is already in starvation mode, which in turn stores the fat that it collected from the 1350 calorie meal (big mac meal) in preparation of going a long time without fuel, make sense? You have to eat 5-6 meals a day (Small portions of good food), Instead of empty food, I would recommend eating something more in line with a chicken salad, it has a lot less calories and it is fuel for your body not empty calories like fast food. You will not get anything from Soda’s but fat, yes even diet. You must think of your body as a machine (which it is), if you put sugar in the gas tank of a car, what happens, it doesn’t run. You have to watch what you put in your body, if you exercise and eat right, you will crave the good foods that your body needs instead of empty food. Remember, that your feeding a machine that requires the right fuel to function right. The better you eat the more efficient the machine runs.

I would suggest that you get on an exercise, I use P90X and Cross fit alternating workouts. There are a lot of people doing many different exercise programs on here, but most important use the meal plans, this will pay huge dividends down the road. Don’t obsess, establish a good plan, there are enormous resources out there for you to reference and I can help you if you like but main thing is have a plan.

Lastly don’t give up, you can accomplish your goals but you have to put the work in. As you get stronger and loose weight you will crave working out and eating right. I can tell you from personal experience that I have never felt better than when I’m working out and eating healthy. Give up sodas, fast food for 30 days, exercise and eat healthy and you will be a different person but remember you can do this, all you have to do…..IS DO IT!

ivyjbres

Yeah, I'd say that it's not the paying attention that made you gain. It's the fad diets and the not doing things the best way for your body. With the fad diets and such you are ruining your metabolism so now it is harder for you to lose weight than it was when you first started. I'd say just stick with eating regularly and making better choices for a prolonged period of time to get your metabolism back in check and then hopefully lose weight.

Thing is, all of that was when I was a teenager. I'm 26 now. My metabolism has had more than enough time to recover. And Just cause I'm not logging, that doesn't mean I'm not paying attention. My hubby is completely disabled, and we don't own a TV, the computer is the TV, so the majority of the time, I'm not logging because I'm not online. I don't always make my calorie goals, but I also don't go extremely over my maintenance calories more than occasionally. I'm not saying that MFP doesn't work, I'm just saying maybe its allowing me to hyper-focus on the wrong things.

Yeah, it's not the metabolism from the crash diets. It's the fact that in August like EVERY SINGLE DAY was between 2000 and 3000 calories. And you're honestly confused as to why you're gaining?

As for you: just did the math- 10 of 31 days, I did not log online. The remaining 21 days averaged 1914, which is not drastic, but still an average 236 calorie deficit per day. Times 21, I should have at least lost a pound and a half. I actually lost 6. Its just that I've sprung back up.

An no, I'm not confused. Calories in calories out, duh. I know why I'm gaining. What I'm seeing though, is that my behavior seems to be worse the more I'm on MFP. So maybe y'all bring out the worst in me, IDK.

infamousmk

Okay, so you eat a moderately wholesome breakfast so you can *kitten* and wake up - I can get behind that. I mean, the food choices, not the actual sh!tting and waking up... but then what? You don't have to eat fast food just because you work in fast food. And as someone else pointed out, you were over your maintenance by a lot in August, and you still go over maintenance enough to admit it. I may go over my daily allotted calories on MFP, but I still stay under maintenance, because that's how weight loss works.

I really don't think you're being honest with yourself or us. And I'm not being an *kitten* about that, I used to do the same thing. I can spot a half-assed attempt from a mile away, because I've lived it for the last decade. Spend the next month logging your calories, everything you eat, and stay under your MFP allowance... get active, too. If you can come back and tell us that after one month of all of that, you haven't lost a single pound, then maybe you'll be able to say it's not working.

Papillon22

I'm sorry you're struggling with this and feel confused.

Honestly, mfp is just a tool. If you are not losing weight, it's not because of a tool that doesn't work. It has to do with you, more specifically your actions. I don't mean to be harsh, but I think that looking for a cause outside of your thoughts and behaviors is looking in the wrong direction. Just my 2 cents, and this is heavily based on my experience. I'm not trying to "teach" you anything, just sharing what I've discovered about myself.

I hope you can find the answer to your questions, and wish you best of luck

fakeplastictree

If it's not working for you and you don't like it then I suggest trying something else.

engineman312

I once invented a diet where everytime wanted to eat, I had to wrestle and win against a homosexual grizzly bear with a love of sodomy. I lost 112. lbs, my right eye, and my dignity (3 times).

ahahahahahaha... AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... AHAHAHAHAHAH.... STOP!!! i'mcrying here. guys at work thing i'm crazy.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

[An no, I'm not confused. Calories in calories out, duh. I know why I'm gaining. What I'm seeing though, is that my behavior seems to be worse the more I'm on MFP. So maybe y'all bring out the worst in me, IDK.

to address the first 2 sentences: It's not as simple as calories in/calories out, quality is also important and I'm not seeing a great deal of fruits and vegetables and raw in your diet. iceburg lettuce is not a quality food source, for example, so maybe you're eating a salad but how valuable is it? Convenience foods and candy aren't the keys to weightloss and a healthy lifestyle either.

to address the last 2: do you really think this, or are you just looking for a scape goat as to why accountablilty hasn't worked for you and why mfp hasn't possibly worked for you because you didn't start eating healthier or use it as a learning tool to adapt your existing lifestyle to a better one, just to eat the same crap you were eating before just possibly in less volume?

(wow, holy run on sentence)

adventuring

You don't seem to actually want any help. If what you want is a justification for not using this website anymore, I'm sure you can provide that for yourself. We don't need to do it for you.

You're not utilizing it, so it won't work. It's that simple.