counting cals doesnt work

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  • bry_all01
    bry_all01 Posts: 3,100 Member
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    Sorry to interrupt this love fest that is going on in here, but Sara was responding to rainbow, who told her to stop commenting (shown above).

    Sara, you speak your mind anytime you have anything to say, everyone else does, regardless of being right or wrong.

    Ah. Missed that post. My mistake.


    We're all human, so its bound to happen.
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
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    When I hit menopause, I stopped taking my Pill. I lost 15 lbs without trying. It wasn't through some magic effect of stopping the Pill; it was because I was less hungry and ate less. I even stopped biting my nails without realizing it, and started hitting the wrong keys when I typed. (Did you know that Control-W is a LOT different than Control-S, lol?) But the weight I was losing was my breasts, which would have shrunk from menopause sooner if I hadn't been on the pill. Those lovely lady lumps aren't weightless, you know. Because I'm small, it was more obvious than it would be for a lot of women.

    Any hormone can make it easier or harder to lose weight, but only if your food intake changes. There's no magic weight generation process.

    It's just easier to lose if you have no appetite anyway.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
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    A different thought here - what is your height and what is your goal weight? For me your current weight is in the low-to-middle range of my perfect BMI. It might be that your body's at its "happy weight" and you don't actually need to lose any more. If so, you might want to concentrate on weight training to change your body composition to lose inches instead.

    I am just over a normal bmi for my weight. I believe that would be 140 at the highest "normal" bmi. My goal is 125 which is about in the middle for a normal bmi, not on the low or high end.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
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    I quit turbo fire because I didn't find it challenging and I got annoyed that chalene went too fast without showing the moves a couple of times.

    I couldn't do insanity, I tried and it was just something I didn't enjoy. I'm not a fan of jumping for 30mins straight. For me to stick to working out I have to like it. So that's not really a problem. I like my work out videos, I like the elliptical, I like the pilates and toning exercises I do. I change them around and if they do get "too easy" I add weight or reps or move on to more challenging things.

    I just feel ripped off. I am also a picky eater. Many things there's no point in me buying because I won't eat them. I will say I don't eat much meat so I'm probably not eating enough protein. I just don't know what to do with it or I'm too broke to buy it. i have chicken. So I can make a foil pack? big woop. That gets old the thousandth time in a row. I do not like salads. So theres no point in buying it because I will eat everything in the house before I get to it. I just works out that way. The only pasta I buy is whole wheat. I hate fish. It's a texture thing.

    I just feel like my diet is hopeless. I'll just try working more even more and maybe that will work if I bust it 2hrs a day. I did slimfast pretty religiously for awhile. Maybe I should just go back to that and lean cuisines. It worked. There's no point in trying to eat things I don't like if they aren't even going to work.

    I am done posting on this thread. thank you for your advice but I'm afraid most of it just isn't for me but i appreciated your input and wish you luck on what works for you. But clearly what works for some people doesn't work for me.
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
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    You need to re-think this....it is NOT a diet this is a lifestyle change. Open up your diary so you can be better advised! You CAN do this!!!
  • benita30
    benita30 Posts: 20
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    Unfortunately plateus are just something that can happen. i went through one for 6 weeks, but I counted calories all the way through and now I've broken through it. You just got to keep pushing, no matter what
  • marthafox1
    marthafox1 Posts: 191 Member
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    I wish the OP had posted her final comment at the outset, i wouldn't have wasted my time giving such a thoughtful and comprehensive response.
  • NaturalBodyBuild
    NaturalBodyBuild Posts: 3
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    Apparently it doesn't work. I have been stuck at this plateau for months. 144-145.
    I work out, I've changed my work outs. I've tried eating less cals, I've tried eating my exercise cals. No change. Wtf am I doing wrong? I even eat way healthier food. I lost weight faster back when I ate crap and just busted my *kitten* on the elliptical 45-60mins a day. But then I try and lose weight the "right" way it doesn't work.

    There is a few things u might want to look into. Are u eating more healthy food vs. eating less crap foods? kcals all add up u must weigh all your foods for counting kcals to work.
    another thing is that you have lost weight.. therefore drop your kcals the lighter you get in weight the less kcals your body needs so as you drop the pounds drop the kcals keep that going until you are at ur desired weight


    Lastly do sprints ....intervals is the only thing that burns fat. jog for 2mins sprint for 1 you wil lose it all i guarentee you im living proof of weight loss..
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
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    I wish the OP had posted her final comment at the outset, i wouldn't have wasted my time giving such a thoughtful and comprehensive response.

    Yeah, I consider that type of farewell-I'll-never-read-your-replies-anyway post a form of trolling.


    another thing is that you have lost weight.. therefore drop your kcals the lighter you get in weight the less kcals your body needs so as you drop the pounds drop the kcals keep that going until you are at ur desired weight

    True. Sounds like she has firmly established how many calories she needs to stay at 144 lbs.
  • Cyndipe
    Cyndipe Posts: 2
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    I'm 53 years old and tore my hamstring up a year and a half ago and gained over 25 pounds. Counting calories is definately working for me. Started at 169 pounds in the summer and now weigh 145. (five pounds more and i'm at my goal) I did hit a plateau at about 150, it lasted about 3 weeks, going up a pound and down a pound. I took a few days off from exercise and kept counting calories. Then I started back again at the gym and i'm losing and toning up nicely. Don't give up!!!
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
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    Just for ___ and giggles, I calculated how much she needs to reduce her calorie intake to reduce her weight to 125 lbs, as she wanted.

    The equation for calorie consumption in English measures is

    655 + (4.35*W) + (4.7*H) - (4.7*A) = X

    X= the calories you need to consume to stay at weight W if your height is H and your age is A and you are female (whole different equation for men). The asterisks mean multiplication, instead of using little x's.

    So for her, her current consumption X calories that is keeping her stable at 144 lbs is defined as

    655 + (4.35*144) + (4.7*H) - (4.7*A) = X

    Now we don't know her height or age, just that she is female. And we don't know how many calories she's eating now.

    But we don't need to . The equation for the calories she needs to consume to drift down to 125 lbs and stay there is

    655 + (4.35*125) + (4.7*H) - (4.7*A) = Y

    Where Y is the number of calories she needs a day to remain at 125 lbs.

    You can subtract equations just like you subtract numbers. So you can set it up like this:

    655 + (4.35*144) + (4.7*H) - (4.7*A) = X
    655 + (4.35*125) + (4.7*H) - (4.7*A) = Y
    _______________________________


    We don't know what 4.7* H is, and we don't know what 4.7*A is, but we know that if we subtract two things that are the same, we always get zero.

    655 + (4.35*144) + (4.7*H) - (4.7*A) = X
    655 + (4.35*125) + (4.7*H) - (4.7*A) = Y
    _______________________________
    0+(4.35*144)-(4.35*125)+0-0 = X-Y


    Get rid of the zeros to make it pretty

    (4.35*144)-(4.35*125) = X-Y

    4.35*144 is 626.4
    4.35*125 is 543.75
    (4.35*144)-(4.35*125) = 626.4 - 543.75 = 82.65, or about 83 calories.

    So we don't know how many calories she's eating now, but we know that if she ate 83 less per day, she'd go down to 125 lbs.

    But what if she's got a weird low metabolism and is already eating the amount the equation predicts she needs for 125 lbs?
    That would mean that her weight would be multiplied by a lower number than 4.35. That means she can go down even less than 83 calories and lose the weight.

    Obvioiusly, no one can reduce their intake by exactly 83 calories every day without measuring. That's why a diet scale is so useful. If you guestimate, you overshoot, you get hungry, and you gain all the weight back.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
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    How tall are you?

    144-145 might be your ideal weight.
  • bogle34
    bogle34 Posts: 107 Member
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    I feel ya - frustrated here...!!
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
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    If you truly want advice from people you need to open up your diary. What's the point of asking for help, complaining it doesn't work (when it clearly does, it's all what YOU put into to it), but not opening up your diary? Believe me, if I can do this, anyone can!
  • tammypatterson62
    tammypatterson62 Posts: 3
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    Counting calories works for me, BUT i agree with the other post concerning your thyroid. i had surgery in 2010 and my levels change from too low to too high. i would lose then gain lose gain and nothing worked. i joined weight loss for life and have lost 16 lbs since nov 1. another but my thyroid less had evened out. see your health care provider before giving up on calorie counting.

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