Help! - I don't get it?

shortstuff189

Hi guys,

I'm looking for help please!! I am so lost

Every day when I log my food, it says I'm under my calorie goal etc. Every evening, I then go home agter work and walk my dog - we are trying jogging but she's not a fan. Here is basically what I eat daily

- Banana
- Satsuma
- 2 Slices Wholegrain bread toasted with butter

- Crunchy salad leaves with
- Feta Cheese
- Baby Tomato
- Smoked samlon/ grilled chicken breast
- Scallions
- Balsamic Dressing (homemade)

Then usually for dinner it will be roast potato and usually some roast sweet potato, a raw vegetable & some form of grilled meat (pork chop, gammon, steak) baked ham etc.

I drink a litre + of water daily. My dog & I are out for 40mins a night of very fast walking/jogging.

Where am I going wrong?

atlantapiper

Can you make your food/exercise diary public? Are you tracking your sodium/carbs?

erickirb

just eat more then, your body needs fuel to run its best. If you need more cals add nuts, seeds, dehydrated fruit, nut butters, put olive oil on stuff you eat (soups, sauces, salads etc) Avoid diet and lite foods.

misretail

Are you eating enough I am counting calories and up to now it seems to be working My husband keeps saying should you eat that much.

lizard053

It looks like you aren't eating enough! Add some more good sources of protein earlier into your day. (I don't know what Satsuma is). Maybe add a morning or afternoon snack of some yogurt or some low fat cheese. Just being under calories doesn't mean you're going to lose weight. It may be set too low for you! Or try eating back some of your exercise calories. You'd be surprised how many people lose weight by eating more!

hope516

If it is saying you are under your calorie goal...eat more If you are finding that you CAN'T eat more than just add high calorie, good for you stuff to your meals...i.e add some nuts (a couple tablespoons) will add a ton of calories, add avacado, have a spoonful of peanut butter to breakfast. These small additions will add tons of calories, and are still good healthy choices...

ElizabethRoad

How many calories are you eating and how long have you been doing it? It's not really telling us much to say what you're eating when we don't know how much of it.

ladyraven68

Hi guys,

I'm looking for help please!! I am so lost

Every day when I log my food, it says I'm under my calorie goal etc. Every evening, I then go home agter work and walk my dog - we are trying jogging but she's not a fan. Here is basically what I eat daily

- Banana
- Satsuma
- 2 Slices Wholegrain bread toasted with butter

- Crunchy salad leaves with
- Feta Cheese
- Baby Tomato
- Smoked samlon/ grilled chicken breast
- Scallions
- Balsamic Dressing (homemade)

Then usually for dinner it will be roast potato and usually some roast sweet potato, a raw vegetable & some form of grilled meat (pork chop, gammon, steak) baked ham etc.

I drink a litre + of water daily. My dog & I are out for 40mins a night of very fast walking/jogging.

Where am I going wrong?

When you say "going wrong" what exactly do you mean?

Do you mean you aren't losing weight, or are you just worried that your cals are too low?

ANewLucia

This is an excerpt from my Profile, I was typing it too many times, so I just put it on my page and direct people there when they ask....anyway, it could be that you are not eating enough...

EAT MORE to WEIGH LESS then I may not be the best fit for you. I spent about 8 months trying to loose the last 20lbs....eating from 1200, then went to 1350 and then 1500 and bounced up and down 3lbs...whined, cried, complained...you name it. Then one day, I read an excerpt from "New Rules of Lifting Weights for Women" and it totally broke down why eating less and exercising more reeks havoc on our bodies...why I was then in starvation mode and wasn't loosing weight. So based on the information I raised my non-workout caloric intake to 1800 and on my workout days I eat a minimum of 2000 but have gone as high as 2500. I have one cheat day on the weekend where I don't track. It broke down why CARBS ARE IMPORTANT AND PROTEIN TOO...and I adopted the 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat ratios. I eat no less than 30gr of fiber a day. I always drink a protein shake after every workout.

I now lift way heavier, never feel hungry or deprived, I stopped carb binging, and what I have started doing is loosing fat, gaining muscle, have lost inches and the weight loss is pretty steady. So, I am a huge proponent of EATING MORE to WEIGH LESS. I won't advise anything different from that now that I understand the mechanics of how our bodies work. I used to check diaries, but that has become too frustrating, so I try not to too often. I am here to help, so feel free to ask anything you want to know, but know that I will keep it real

shortstuff189

Wow that's a lot of answers! Well, I amen't losing weight at all, I lost a kilo last week & now I put it back on & .3 more! I had a bad weekend I'll admit but not that bad!
I really don't know how to trust eating more calories? Satsuma is an orange, clementine? Baby orange.
So if I were to intake more protein & try to add more calories, I will lose weight?
This makes no sense!! I will public my diary now.

pumpkin_mel

I have the same problem, logging calories & exercise the last 30 days faithfully and have only been over calorie goal maybe 4 times, mfp always says I should weigh *** but my weight is 10#'s more than that & hasn't budged, frustrating, maybe I need to try eating more calories just seems crazy

EricNCSU

It's going to be hard to help you when you didn't actually state what the problem is. Everything you are doing sounds good to me. So I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the problem is you are doing this healthy eating and exercise and *not losing weight?*

How far under your goal are you? You want to be as close to your goal as possible. 50-100 under is OK.. 400-500 under is not OK.

shortstuff189

It's going to be hard to help you when you didn't actually state what the problem is. Everything you are doing sounds good to me. So I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the problem is you are doing this healthy eating and exercise and *not losing weight?*

How far under your goal are you? You want to be as close to your goal as possible. 50-100 under is OK.. 400-500 under is not OK.

Sometimes between 22 - 70, somedays up to 500 under. Only at the weekends, I either really eat or don't eat at all. I can't afford a gym so I need a solution - have never had an issue losing weight before

AmyLRed

i agree to likely eat more. Eat what MFP gives you for calories at least.

Also, 1liter of water isnt much, thats 4 servings. Increase your water also if you can.

57scoutmaster

looks like you need a few more cal added to most days but spread them out a bit it looks like your eating most in 2 sittings make it 3 or 4 sittings and DRINK more water

billsica

Only at the weekends, I either really eat or don't eat at all. I can't afford a gym so I need a solution - have never had an issue losing weight before

Not eating at all is more than likely messing you up. You don't need a gym. the running is good. what about the aerobic stuff on TV?

Michele7091

Just took a quick peek at your diary and I think you need to eat more. There are days where you are only consuming 600-700 calories and that is WAAAAAAY under what you should be eating.

I found that for me personally, MFP's quidelines on the calories were too low. So I raised mine from 1200 to 1550. And only then did I start losing weight.

atlantapiper

After reviewing your food diary, seems that you are over on calories quite a few times. Looking at the foods, perhaps you should change the types of foods, for instance...don't eat white bread with butter, change it for 100% whole grain, whole wheat bread and maybe without butter; change eating potatoes for sweet potatoes, etc.

Also, you don't need a gym membership, walking is good, but you don't post that you do that daily or regularly every other day. Can you do some things in your house/apartment? I do pretty much everything at home.

I don't think it has to do with being under your calories, it seems yours are just extreme either way too low or over your calories. Simple changes and eating healthier will help you lose weight.

wilkin777

Hey, might it help to change up your exercise a bit? The body gets used to certain activity done on a regular basis so it might help? Exercise DVDs or shows can just give your body that little surprise it needs to kick start the metabolism. Also, could you be exchanging fat for muscle? We all know what that does.
Maybe not so many heavy carbs at night as your body has nowhere to burn them off so they get stored as sugar and then...sadly...fat.
Last little thing...do you measure yourself? I started doing this and although my weight has pretty much stayed the same I have lost 2 inches off my waist in the last 3 weeks. It definitely helps as a little booster when you are feeling a bit p****d off with the scale!
Don't know if any of this is helpful or not. Best of luck! : )

ArroganceInStep

How many calories on average do you eat? You mentioned falling off somewhat or not eating at all on the weekends, how many calories on average do you go over on the times you eat a bunch?

Looking at averages over time can be much more telling than trying to take each day individually. It has helped me get a much better grasp on what I'm eating, and the effects said food has on me. It's also enabled me to have cheat meals in a more controlled manner. I think the big problem that a lot of people have is that they slip once, and it feels like it ruined everything. If you're on track at a 200 calorie deficit a day for 10 days and then on the 11th day you decide to have a cheat meal, if you have something in excess of 2200 calories over what you were eating, that will overwrite the last 10 days of work. That's not to say having a cheat is a bad thing, quite the contrary, but even cheat meals should be planned and accounted for as much as possible.

To the specifics, you don't list quantities in your post (except the two pieces of toast). I haven't checked your diary yet, but even if you put quantities there, thinking in terms of amount at all times when it comes to food can be very helpful. When I stopped thinking 'steak' and started thinking '22 ounces of steak' it made it much easier for me to bring my own portions under control.

FitLink

It looks like you aren't eating enough! Add some more good sources of protein earlier into your day. (I don't know what Satsuma is). Maybe add a morning or afternoon snack of some yogurt or some low fat cheese. Just being under calories doesn't mean you're going to lose weight. It may be set too low for you! Or try eating back some of your exercise calories. You'd be surprised how many people lose weight by eating more!

A satsuma is like a mandarin orange. It's a small, round, seedless citrus fruit.