Confused

mrzpeep1

I try my hardest to stick to 1500 calories(1lb week) and I am constantly down a pound, up a pound. I tried dropping to 1200 for 2lbs.But that's very hard to stick to and I hate eating the bare minimum amount of calories possible to lose weight. Any ideas. I'm getting frustrated.

nickscutie

are you exercising?

princessofpounds

You probably need to exercise, or you're eating the wrong foods, but fitting them into your calorie allowance. Also, keep note of how much fat your food diary says you have!

vjrose

Watch your protein intake, check what is healthy for you and then try to hit that goal, it was my downfall in the past, since i started here I have been tracking that and the weight is coming off. Takes protein to burn fat.

dls06

At least 1200.:drinker:

chatterbox3110

Ditto the above - have you checked your sodium levels when you log your foods?

If you are eating a lot of processed food, even if it's low in calories the sodium levels can be very high. I found this out when I was eating loads of crabsticks, thinking they were good for me - although they were very low in fat and calories, the sodium levels were sky high - I was eating over a weeks' worth of sodium in just one meal!

mrzpeep1

Thanks for all the advice! I think chatterbox is head on with the sodium. One of soups I was eating which is only 140 calories has 1800mg sodium. So maybe I'll try to watch my sodium a lil more this week and see if it makes a difference.

Dinah22

I hope you have some sucssess soon!

suewill12

Protein is key!!!! It keeps you fuller, longer and helps to keep your metabolism running at a higher level to burn more calories. One of the best tips I picked up from one of my friends was having a protein shake within the first 30 minutes of waking up so start your body burning early in the day and maintain its natural burning power through healthy snacks throughout the day. A great meal site that I found is skinnytaste.com. Great tasty recipes that are healthy and usually great to portion out to take to work!!

toasterlisa

I need to keep sodium to a minimum because I retain water which will make watching the scale frustrating.

Also, are you "regular"? If you don't take a good BM every day, that will show on the scale, possibly as much as 1.5 lbs.

Eat more whole foods, fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, unprocessed meats (no hot dogs, chicken nuggets, sausages).

Save processed carbs (bread, pasta, cookies, etc) for only special occasions.

Are you being honest on your food journal?

Per myfitnesspal's suggestion, I stick to just under my 1280 calories per day which should be 1 lb a week, regardless of what exercise I do. I've been losing 2 lbs a week.

My 2 cents worth. Best wishes on your health and fitness journey!

JeSuisPrest

It's a matter of finding what works for you, staying as low as 1200 kept me from losing. You should open up your diary though, so that people can properly help you.

mrzpeep1

Ok update on confusion. I made an appointment with a dietitian and told her I was having issues. I have been tracking calories for over year and haven't lost any weight. She said I should be eating 2000 calories! I asked her about sugar, sodium carbs etc. She gave me the food pyramid and told me basically eat 2000 calories nothing should be over 3gms fat and not to worry about sugar, sodium carbs etc. So I'm not sure about that either but I'm giving it a whirl and I've already GAIN 1.5lb so I just getting very depressed about dieting and ready to give up.