Trying really hard...but still need some advice.

LourdesitaMaria

I need some help...I have been eating more vegetables and fruits than I ever have, consistently, in my life. I have been doing an hour of Zumba 3 times a week and I have been eating more tuna, salmon, and turkey than I had been in the past. I have been logging most everything here at MFP. I feel that I'm doing much better with my diet and exercise now, but I still feel like I'm stuck. Last week I went up 1.8lbs at weigh in (I weigh in on Wednesday evenings at a Weight Watchers meeting). This week I don't feel any better because I woke up with a bloated feeling. I just don't get what I should do differently. Could someone take a look at my food tracker and help me. I know that's a lot to ask....but I so need the HELP. I want to be healthy...and lose the 100+ lbs. that I need to lose...

I did not eat well at all on Sunday, so that's why I didn't eat back all of my exercise calories on Monday and Tuesday. To try to make up for the slide.

I will welcome and embrace any suggestions any of you may have for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Maria

LourdesitaMaria

Can noone help me out....please...? :sad:

LourdesitaMaria

(Sigh) where is all the support and love...peeps...:(

Audddua

I hit a wicked plateau and I changed up my exercise to get losing again. It sounds like you've done a lot of zumba - maybe try adding weight lifting into the mix. If you're new, see if you can take a class, or get a trainer for a few sessions to help you sort out what to do.

:flowerforyou: DON'T GIVE UP! I was stuck for about 6 months and now I've finally got the scale moving again. I wish I had been measuring because I'm pretty sure that I lost inches without losing pounds. Maybe if you started tracking your measurements you could enjoy some non-scale victories (NSV)

LourdesitaMaria

Mossonga, thank you so much for your input...it means a lot. I started the Zumba back up the first week of January after about a 3 month of hiatus of not doing exercise (because of a painful accident...though I'm alright now). So I have been doing Zumba 2-3 times a week since then...I have a toning DVD that I purchased that I will begin working on tonight, then. Thanks for your help, again.

ericapage

How long have you been on this lifestyle change? I just see several days on your diary. I would recommend eating every two hours by incorporating healthy snacks. Adding more protein might be good too. It seems like the foods you eat at night are very high in calories/fat/sodium. It may be better to try eating a little cleaner (i.e. Homemade /non-packaged food) so you can control the calories, fat and sodium.

I'm not knowledgeable at all about MFP goals it sets for people. It seems (just to me) a little high on the fat and calorie goal. Maybe it would be good to meet with your doctor and see what they think your goals should be?

Best of luck to you! Feel free to friend me.

kyrstin__1188

I'm not sure how you feel about workout DVDs, but I have seen some great reviews and success stories of people using the Jillian Michaels workout DVDs. I just ordered two of them myself and will be starting them in a few days. There is a great variety to choose from. Maybe you could try one of those and see how you like it. Hope this helps!

ArroganceInStep

How do you measure the calories you eat? You mentioned most everything, what don't you log?
How accurate are your measurements for calories burned exercising? What do you use to get those numbers?
Are you paying attention to macronutrients? Was the calorie/macronutrient levels something you got from MFP or from something else?

I ask those as preliminary questions, certainly not as an attack. The best laid out plan is worthless if you can't accurately implement it.

Tia_N_Mac

I've only lost 15 lbs so I'm no expert. I have one day a week, Saturday, where I eat fast food and all the snacks I want. And surprisingly, I don't want much anymore. I see that you eat out several times a week so maybe try to incorporate more home cooked meals. It's hard to really account for all the fat and sodium in take-out.

Audddua

I have a toning DVD that I purchased that I will begin working on tonight, then.

Workout with a mirror so you can check to make sure you're form is good. My old roommate only worked out with DVDs and her form was AWFUL. (Admittedly there was precious little space in our dorm for working out, so some modifications were needed.) You can hurt yourself (aka be forced to miss workouts) if you're form is off. Go slow the first few times through and make sure you can do everything with good form before you push yourself too hard. My trainer taught me, "Less reps with good form is better than more reps with bad form. Keep up the work and you'll be able to do more reps with good form."

Bagman12002

No expert here still trying my self, but you put in looks like 1700-2000 calories daily, how many are you burning off, when you snack is it later at night, and maybe cook at home more eat out less. good luck.

LourdesitaMaria

How long have you been on this lifestyle change? I just see several days on your diary. I would recommend eating every two hours by incorporating healthy snacks. Adding more protein might be good too. It seems like the foods you eat at night are very high in calories/fat/sodium. It may be better to try eating a little cleaner (i.e. Homemade /non-packaged food) so you can control the calories, fat and sodium.

I'm not knowledgeable at all about MFP goals it sets for people. It seems (just to me) a little high on the fat and calorie goal. Maybe it would be good to meet with your doctor and see what they think your goals should be?

Best of luck to you! Feel free to friend me.

Hi Erica,
Thank you for your help! I have just started back up on my tracking here at MFP, but I've been doing Weight Watchers since last March....I had not been eating as well till January when I started to add more fish and vegetables and fruits to my diet. I have started to snack every two hours on fruits and vegetables like a tangerine or celery and cauliflower. I've cut out all the frozen dinners. I have been evading the doctor, but I will have to make an appointment as you suggested. Thank you again. Every bit of advice helps me get strong and move forward.

brett1117

Your body adjusts to doing the SAME diet and SAME workout week after week. tinker with the diet..egg whites, add more protein. mix in resistance training. more muscle your have more calories you will burn..Not saying be a power lifter either. W/o 4-5 days a week

LourdesitaMaria

I'm not sure how you feel about workout DVDs, but I have seen some great reviews and success stories of people using the Jillian Michaels workout DVDs. I just ordered two of them myself and will be starting them in a few days. There is a great variety to choose from. Maybe you could try one of those and see how you like it. Hope this helps!

Thanks for noting my post and for giving me your advice! I have one Jillian Michaels DVD and it was so hard....I tried it last year...I have lost a bit since then so I may be able to do the exercises better...so I will have to try it again. I may have to modify her moves; she's intense! Every bit of input helps if it is positive, thank you again!

busyPK

Based on your diary these are my pointers. Drink AT LEAST 8 cups of water a day, the more the better. Wake up and drink 1 cup right away and keep a water bottle with you throughout your day and drink, drink, drink. Next, look at your sodium and try and get that down to 2500. This is also hard for me, but I've started trying to reduce that to make it green each day. Eat every 3 hours or so and make your snacks count. Eat fresh fruit and protein for snacks at around 100calories - almonds, hardboiled eggs, Greek yogurt, string cheese, etc.. If you are starting out on this lifestyle change, give it time and you will see the changes you want.

casbar911

I would recommend going to a dietician if you are really concerned.

I went to one and found out my resting metabolism was A LOT less then the online calculators where telling me so I had to adjust my calorie intake and macro ratio's - helped alot.... MFP just gives you "Recommendations" they dont necessarily work work for everyone. It takes a little bit of work to find out what is best for "YOU"

Try to keep your sodium down and drink lots of water- will help with "bloat"
BE careful with the amounts that MFP tells you that you burn during exercise- it tends to give you more than you actually did.
I personally only eat my "exercise" calories back if I am truly hungry.

I would say take a look at my tracker but I dont track on here- I use Sparkpeople (dietician logs into that one and checks and makes suggestions" but I still like this site for motivation etc.

good luck and keep going- you will find what works for you...

KareninCanada

First off, good job not getting sucked into thinking you need to starve yourself in order to lose weight. Overall your calories look pretty good. Sodium is definitely too high, though - try to keep that below 2300mg per day and drink lots of water to keep things moving.

casbar911

I'm not sure how you feel about workout DVDs, but I have seen some great reviews and success stories of people using the Jillian Michaels workout DVDs. I just ordered two of them myself and will be starting them in a few days. There is a great variety to choose from. Maybe you could try one of those and see how you like it. Hope this helps!

Thanks for noting my post and for giving me your advice! I have one Jillian Michaels DVD and it was so hard....I tried it last year...I have lost a bit since then so I may be able to do the exercises better...so I will have to try it again. I may have to modify her moves; she's intense! Every bit of input helps if it is positive, thank you again!

even if you can only a little bit- iti s better than none... also then you can also see how you progress!! thats the best feeling!! when you only last 5 mins or for 2 pushups but then in a week you can do 10 mins and 5 pushups etc.. great motivator to keep going!! when I first did the 30 day shred I lasted 5 mins and didnt get through very much - now about 6 mths later I can do all 3 levels all the way through!!! key is form!! make sure your form is right- even if you can only do 1 or 2 reps!!
Have fun seeing results!!

LourdesitaMaria

How do you measure the calories you eat? You mentioned most everything, what don't you log?
How accurate are your measurements for calories burned exercising? What do you use to get those numbers?
Are you paying attention to macronutrients? Was the calorie/macronutrient levels something you got from MFP or from something else?

I ask those as preliminary questions, certainly not as an attack. The best laid out plan is worthless if you can't accurately implement it.

Thanks for your help and post! I usually go by the database on here and the labels on whatever I eat if there is a label available. I measure all of my food to the best of my ability and sometimes I will overestimate calories so as not to cheat myself. I log everything each day...but for example I blew Sunday and I tracked most everything, but I knew I needed to make up for it so I just got back to eating better on Monday and Tuesday. I find it difficult to eat completely whole foods when I have to eat soooo many calories according to my weight and height. I didn't get this way by eating LOTS of food at EVERY meal...I got this way by not eating all day and then eating fast food and making bad food choices during binges. Ugh. Just the thought makes me ill.

As far as the calorie burning is concerned it is an estimation. Each Zumba class is 1 hour long and so I log it on MFP by classifying Zumba as "Dance, aerobic etc" and logging my hour workout as being 45-55 minutes instead of the hour. I break a sweat 2-3 minutes into the class and keep up the intensity till the end, (I'm not a natural "sweater" by nature...but Zumba does make me sweat all through the workout.)

All in all as far as the calories and other numbers I get them from the MFP database...I also track my Weight Watcher points...never exceeding my daily alotment except on Sunday, when I bombed. Hope this was more detailed. I do not take your probe as an attack...I am grateful that you would want to help me. Thank you again so much!

LourdesitaMaria

even if you can only a little bit- iti s better than none... also then you can also see how you progress!! thats the best feeling!! when you only last 5 mins or for 2 pushups but then in a week you can do 10 mins and 5 pushups etc.. great motivator to keep going!! when I first did the 30 day shred I lasted 5 mins and didnt get through very much - now about 6 mths later I can do all 3 levels all the way through!!! key is form!! make sure your form is right- even if you can only do 1 or 2 reps!!
Have fun seeing results!!

Thank you, will give it my best shot...and you're right, I've learned that a little is better than none at all....and that I will get there at some point!! Good luck to you too!

UpEarly

Have you tried to cut back on your sodium? Some people are very sensitive to sodium and it causes them to retain water. From a quick glance at your diary, it looks like your sodium is off the charts high!

LourdesitaMaria

First off, good job not getting sucked into thinking you need to starve yourself in order to lose weight. Overall your calories look pretty good. Sodium is definitely too high, though - try to keep that below 2300mg per day and drink lots of water to keep things moving.

Thank you so much for your encouragement...I think I am very susceptible to Sodium...sadly. I have been struggling with it....and it seems EVERYTHING has sodium even celery!!!!! Ugh. I will make it a goal to stay below the number you recommended above. As for the water, I've gotten much better in the last few weeks at getting it all in. It was a hard habit to learn....because I could go all day without a drop and then I'd be guzzling it down at night only to be up half the night...you know. I have gotten to the point where I get to 9 glasses during the week...I Don't know what happens to me on weekends...will work on that this week too. Thank you for all of your help!

UpEarly

Thank you so much for your encouragement...I think I am very susceptible to Sodium...sadly. I have been struggling with it....and it seems EVERYTHING has sodium even celery!!!!! Ugh. I will make it a goal to stay below the number you recommended above.

I actually don't have trouble retaining water with sodium, but I still try to keep it around 1500mg. I cook for someone who is salt-sensitive. Some days, I go higher - especially when we go out to eat or when I make homemade pizza.. But most days, I can keep it around 1200-1700.

Try things like making your own salad dressing, cook with meat that hasn't been injected with broth/saline, use fresh veggies instead of canned, make soups/stocks from scratch, bake your own bread, have swiss cheese instead of cheddar, eat old-fashioned oats instead packaged cereal, if you like lunch meat - buy Boar's Head brand - many of their products have much lower sodium.

There are so many things that have hidden sodium, but they can be avoided with a little label reading. :-)

Good luck!

athearenee

Every day will be different...some days you might have 8 calories left...some days 300...
Your Body is changing and trying to adjust to your new diet/exercise plan...but it will adjust...

Yesterday I was so busy, I forgot to eat ...(say WHA?) - so I had quite a few calories left over
A few days ago I couldn't stop eating and I had to exercise and extra 75 minutes to make up for all the calories I consumed.

Every day is a new day...how do you feel?
Don't stuff yourself by any means...your stomach is shrinking and forcing yourself to eat will stretch it out and then you will be hungry for sure!!

Make sure you eat 5-6 times a day...balance it out.

a Protein + Carb for Breakfast
a Protein and Fruit for snack
a Protein and vegetable for lunch
a Fruit and Veggie for Snack
a Lean protein and Veggie for Dinner
a Fruit for Dessert

Snacks should be about 150 calories.
Meals should be about 300
*This will depend on what your total calorie goal for the day is, but Balance is critical and you don't want to be hungry or stuffed.

This will keep you at fat burning range and your blood sugar won't spike and fall as well

Hope this Helps!

LourdesitaMaria

Every day will be different...some days you might have 8 calories left...some days 300...
Your Body is changing and trying to adjust to your new diet/exercise plan...but it will adjust...

Yesterday I was so busy, I forgot to eat ...(say WHA?) - so I had quite a few calories left over
A few days ago I couldn't stop eating and I had to exercise and extra 75 minutes to make up for all the calories I consumed.

Every day is a new day...how do you feel?
Don't stuff yourself by any means...your stomach is shrinking and forcing yourself to eat will stretch it out and then you will be hungry for sure!!

Make sure you eat 5-6 times a day...balance it out.

a Protein + Carb for Breakfast
a Protein and Fruit for snack
a Protein and vegetable for lunch
a Fruit and Veggie for Snack
a Lean protein and Veggie for Dinner
a Fruit for Dessert

Snacks should be about 150 calories.
Meals should be about 300
*This will depend on what your total calorie goal for the day is, but Balance is critical and you don't want to be hungry or stuffed.

This will keep you at fat burning range and your blood sugar won't spike and fall as well

Hope this Helps!

Oh goodness, this definitely helps to see it distributed like that! Thank you! Would you consider canned tuna to be a lean protein? I never used to eat fish every week...but I've been incorporating it because it is very filling for me. I do feel I should add more protein to my day...I guess...I just always struggle with making good carb and protein choices. Thank you so much for your help and encouragement!

tbloor

If the weigh-in is getting you down, take measurements and photos...they could show you the real results of your efforts. Also, weighing in the evening can show some major fluctuations based on what you ate that day, so if you really want to see a consistent weigh-in, you may want to try weighing in the morning for your own peace of mind.

I am a fan of varied workouts. Choose several DVDs or activities that you enjoy and mix them up throughout the week! Try to include a day of stretch or yoga to improve flexibility and give your body a rest. Some of my favorites when I started out were Couch 2 5k and Zumba. Then I added in Jillian Michaels DVDs like 30 DS and Yoga Meltdown.

rgrace03

I know there is a lot of controversy over the low carb vs. low calorie diets. I am not here to argue either way with anyone, but I personally have stopped counting my calories and watching more what types of food I eat. I am not doing the Atkins thing or cutting carbs completely from my diet. I mainly eat carbs in the morning and I try to only eat whole wheat. If you are not already, try eating whole wheat pasta, brown rice, 100% wheat bread, instead of the white rice, pasta and bread. I stay away from sugar and regular soda as much as possible. Lunch and dinner are mainly protein and veggies for me. I only eat fruit for breakfast since it is high in natural sugars. Dinner is often chicken breasts with a large salad or large portion of veggies. I stay away from potatoes and carrots. I noticed on your diary, you had take out a few nights; try to avoid eating fast food, even if you are still under your calories for the day. You also consumed a majority of your calories for the day at dinner. Try to reverse that and eat more at lunch, when you have more time to burn additional calories. After dinner most people are not very active.

nixirain

I would suggest to get a heart rate monitor. You may be over eating if MFP is over estimating your calories burned.

ArroganceInStep

Thanks for your help and post! I usually go by the database on here and the labels on whatever I eat if there is a label available. I measure all of my food to the best of my ability and sometimes I will overestimate calories so as not to cheat myself. I log everything each day...but for example I blew Sunday and I tracked most everything, but I knew I needed to make up for it so I just got back to eating better on Monday and Tuesday. I find it difficult to eat completely whole foods when I have to eat soooo many calories according to my weight and height. I didn't get this way by eating LOTS of food at EVERY meal...I got this way by not eating all day and then eating fast food and making bad food choices during binges. Ugh. Just the thought makes me ill.

As far as the calorie burning is concerned it is an estimation. Each Zumba class is 1 hour long and so I log it on MFP by classifying Zumba as "Dance, aerobic etc" and logging my hour workout as being 45-55 minutes instead of the hour. I break a sweat 2-3 minutes into the class and keep up the intensity till the end, (I'm not a natural "sweater" by nature...but Zumba does make me sweat all through the workout.)

All in all as far as the calories and other numbers I get them from the MFP database...I also track my Weight Watcher points...never exceeding my daily alotment except on Sunday, when I bombed. Hope this was more detailed. I do not take your probe as an attack...I am grateful that you would want to help me. Thank you again so much!

Sorry for the delayed response, work and gym took over.

First and foremost, you're on the right track. That's a very important thing to keep in mind, particularly if you aren't seeing the results you were hoping for. Simply keeping track of what you eat and what you burn is a MAJOR hurdle towards getting control over your eating and exercise habits.

Now, based on your diary dating back a few days, and taking into account Sunday, you seem to be eating out a lot. Is it possible for you to do home-cooked food more and food out less? The problem with going out to eat is that you lose control over what goes onto your plate. I am also personally very skeptical of calorie listings given by restaurants (the same way my Dodge Ram was rated at 18 miles per gallon when in reality I was getting somewhere between 10 and 12). I'm certainly not saying never eat out, but I have noticed that I have much better success when I make my own food.

The heart rate monitor is also a good suggestion. I'm not saying you don't work hard at zumba, but 657 calories in 55 minutes strikes me as a bit high.

Another point is protein. I also think that MFP has a tendency of low-balling the targets for daily protein intake. I'm not going to preach low or no carb to you, but I think if you tried to eat fewer carbs than you are now and increased your protein and fat intake, you might see beneficial results. Also I would suggest trying healthy fats for snacks. A handful of almonds or a spoonful of peanut butter instead of crisps or chips might go a long way towards helping you as well.

I don't put much stake in eating a whole mess of meals a day. The scientific studies I've seen all seem to point to the differences being so minimal that it doesn't really matter much. That being said, I do know that for a lot of people eating a lot of meals helps keep them feeling fuller for longer and makes it less likely that they'll overindulge later. I'm personally the opposite, if I eat a little I just end up being starving. I eat a small breakfast, a huge lunch, and almost no dinner. It's what works best for me in keeping my total calorie intake low. Find what works best for you and stick with it.

I'm also going to suggest planning ahead if you don't already. Try to look at your calories from a weekly perspective rather than a daily one. If you're target is 1200 calories a day, and on Monday you eat 1100 and on Tuesday you eat 1300...you're doing fine (I'm not suggesting taking this to the extreme, you should still use common sense). If you plan in a cheat meal or cheat day, and prepare for it ahead of time, I find it makes you less likely to fall off your diet some other time. This week I'm eating a chicken and broccoli stir fry for lunch that's 500 calories (my usual lunch is 800-900 since I don't really eat dinner) so that I have room to relax for the super bowl. Looking forward to the MMMMMMMMBeer that I'll be able to have is a goal that I'm working towards this week that's keeping me honest. Also since it's planned, it will be less likely to destroy my diet for the whole day.

Last point, if all of that fails, it is ok to go below MFP's guideline. If you're not seeing results, try setting a target slightly lower than what MFP is giving (or try eating back fewer of your exercise calories, or try exercising a bit more, something that reduces your net caloric intake by a small amount). The estimates given are just that, estimates, it's up to you to get it to work for you. Again small steps, gradual changes are more likely to be permanent, and cause less of a shock to your system. You're also less likely to overshoot and do something unhealthy.

Good Luck!