what am i doing wrong?

mrnice1058

i dont get it! almost every day i am staying below 2000 cal yesterday was the first day in 3 weeks that i ate something totally not good for me which was chinese food. every day this week i am between 1100-1800 cal and i am not loosing a pound! i dont get it! what am i doing wrong? not sure if you can see my profile but take a look at this week and the week before i am staying below 2000 cal but i have not lost anything! i dont get the chance to put in during the weekend because i am super busy with my family or working on the house the mobile app on my phone sucks but its because my phone sucks i need to get an upgrade asap! I need help! badly i am not loosing anything and i am starting to get depressed over it! Help if you can please give me some pointers. I am 6'1 304 pounds and i need to get to 220. i am almost to the point now where i am heavily thinking about getting bypass or lapband or something! please give me some pointers!!

itsuki

Your journal is set to private so we can't see it, sorry. Open it up!

mrnice1058

lol o boy give me a few to figure out how to set it to open

mrnice1058

ok its open now take a look

quilteryoyo

I feel for you. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but just hang in there and add some exercise to your day. My dad once lost about 35 pounds. Mom had starting just giving him a plate of food so there were no "seconds." After a month he hadn't lost a single pound and was about to give up. But, that day he started just melting away and lost the weight quickly. So, it may be that your body is having to adjust to eating less. I hope you continue trying on your own. Bypass surgery is really risky and should be a last resort. Good luck!!!!

mrnice1058

thanks i just feel like i have been at it for a while i started and worked hard and lost nothing then i gave up. i am back at it now for 3 weeks but i am not loosing anything. I do my sit ups and push ups i do my elliptical about 4 times a week my clothes are a little looser but i am not seeing a pound falling off my body. it doesn't help that my wife doesn't support me much. she knows i am doing my thing by eating better and working out but then she goes and makes peach cobbler! i was so mad but you know what i walked away from it and i have had any. i think starting tomorrow i am going to change my morning routine. i think i have to get up in the am and do my sit ups and elliptical and come home in the afternoon and work out with weights. that the only thing i can do differently.

megaron01

You're not logging everyday so I can't tell if you're eating totally terrible on the weekends............on the days you have logged it looks like you're not eating back enough of your exercise calories............it's only been 3 weeks so don't lose heart............stay the course!!!

mrnice1058

yeah i dont log on over the weekends because i cant get to my computer with my wife and my kid and working around the house. and the mobile app on my black berry doesnt work very well at all. what you see me eatting over the week is what i am eating on the weekend. and now that you say that. i thought the point of working out is not to eat what those calories burn is that incorrect?

quilteryoyo

Good for you for walking away from the peach cobbler! If your clothes are fitting looser, concentrate on that when you are discouraged. That means you are losing fat and getting healthier, which is the most important thing. I know pounds are also a VERY important indicator. That will come. Hang in there and let us know when the pounds start coming off!

quilteryoyo

You had a question about eating back your exercise calories. I had the same question and there is no real consensus. I think exercise allows you to eat more, if you want to. Anyway, what I go for more is to make sure I take in at least what experts say is a minimum amount to prevent your metabolism from slowing down. For women, that is 1200 calories. I just looked at a couple of sites, and for men, it is 1500. I noticed that you aren't taking in that much, so that could be an issue. I know it sounds weird to eat more so that you lose weight, but it may be a metabolism issue. Good luck again. I know those pounds are going to start coming off soon!

LauraLovesCamp

I hear you. Losing can be very frustrating. But what works for me: Log everything, everyday. You'd be surprised what will add up when you aren't looking. Wake up a little earlier on the weekends and add your food for the day before your computer isn't available. Plan. Plan. Plan. And my best friend is working out. Exercise, be it a long walk or a good run on a machine, moving helps me most.

Your wife will likely come around once she see's the change in you. Tell her how important it is to you. Tell her that you need her "help". That's a trigger word for woman. When they hear someone needs help they usually open both ears to listen.

Good luck. Don't give up. You're doing great.

megaron01

Lots of folks on MFP have varying opinions on the subject of eating back your exercise calories. I'm of the school of thought that you should you should feed your body more if you worked out more. I'm not saying you should go out & eat a whole pizza pie after a couple of hours at the gym. But you should have that extra protein bar/shake if you need it. Have that extra portion of lean protein if you've earned it. It sounds counter intuitive but it works. Give it a try for a week. If it doesn't work, we'll try something else.

labst24

I didn't get a chance to look at your caloric intake, but have you ever heard of www.teambeachbody.com? This is the group that does P90X, INSANITY, etc. These coaches that are on here are SUPER and the website gives you great advice for certain foods that blasts fat and such. I have a coach right now. We only talk online. I do a workout program as well, which I just started a few weeks ago and am seeing GREAT!!!! Results. If you are not huge into working out right now, the BeachBody group has a meal supplement called "SHAKEOLOGY" that makes a HUGE difference. It has all the best nutrients possible in one simple shake. It is like going to the salad bar up to 5 times!!!!!! Check out that site. You may like it.....keep this one too, though. I am on both. Hope I helped some.

MattGetsMad

Just don't quit.

CosmicBella

Don't give up !!!... Just keep logging, drink a lot of water and stay on track... Eventually the scale will show you the results you want!

wewon

I was in the same position as you last year. I was taking in a deficit of calories and not losing weight.

I became more careful about my (simple) carbs i.e. sugar, flour, white rice, HFC, ect.

Basically, I made it a point to eat 5 servings of whole fruits and vegetables per day in 6 small meals/snacks. I also cut out a lot of processed items like "ready made" breads (pilsbury biscuits) and cereals and started eating whole grains. Also, the only liquid I drink (other than a cheat day) is water.

My research is that this helps control insulin spikes and prevents your body from metabolising them into fats. You also stay full longer so that you are less likely to crave.

So far I have lost 15 pounds in 2012 ( I need to update that). Check out my diary for any help.

mrnice1058

thanks everyone i am not going to quit i started today with my new plan of attack and i am going to take time over the weekend to sit down and put in everything i eat! i hope i can keep it up!

Sidesteal

thanks everyone i am not going to quit i started today with my new plan of attack and i am going to take time over the weekend to sit down and put in everything i eat! i hope i can keep it up!

On February 15th, you had corn. Clearly this one ear of corn has caused all your problems and it will probably lead to your eventual death as it did the Mayan civilization.
























Just kidding brother - you keep at it and make sure you are being accurate with your food logging. Consider weighing/measuring portions for a few weeks if you aren't already.

Good luck.

vegagirl2012

I was going to say that if you are not eating enough what can happen is your body trys to kick in to survival mode & slows down your metabolism as it doesn't know when the next time it will be fed. So you do want to eat more through out the day but smaller meals & drink lots of water. Also eat more fruits & vegetables. I know my husband did that & he also switched to brown rice. His starting weight was 301 in December & he is down to 285. He has also started working with a personal trainer & ties to go to the gym at least 3 to 4 times a week. You might not see the results right away on the scale but it does sound like you are losing inches which is good so don't get discouraged. If you need support please feel free to add me as friend & you can add my husband as well (BigBoy00) & he can probably help you out with some pointers also because he was going through the same thing also.

pinkita

My 2 cents:

1. Looks like you need to eat MORE, not less
2. I believe it's important to track sodium, as too much will make you retain water, and is generally not good for us (you can go into your Settings here on MFP and add sodium to your tracker)
3. Under Tools, calculate your BMR. You should never eat below that number because if you do, you'll slow down your metabolism
4. Track and measure EVERYTHING you eat and drink
5. Don't just rely on the scale. Please buy a measuring tape if you don't have one already and start taking your measurements at least once a month! That's what kept me sane during times when I gained or hit plateaus.

Good luck and welcome to MFP! You can do this!!

carolemack

One other thing...if you are not using a Heart Rate Monitor to calculate how many calories you are burning during exercise then that would be a good investment to make. When I got mine it showed quite a large difference in my calories burned. Before you start "eating back your calories" you want to make sure they have been calculated correctly.

Stick with it, keep logging, keep moving, and you will be successful!

pinkita

One other thing...if you are not using a Heart Rate Monitor to calculate how many calories you are burning during exercise then that would be a good investment to make. When I got mine it showed quite a large difference in my calories burned. Before you start "eating back your calories" you want to make sure they have been calculated correctly.

Stick with it, keep logging, keep moving, and you will be successful!

Agreed!

Masachapa

thanks everyone i am not going to quit i started today with my new plan of attack and i am going to take time over the weekend to sit down and put in everything i eat! i hope i can keep it up!

You CAN keep it up!! Tracking everything you eat will really help you see where you are at daily. You have a ton of support here!!

IvoryParchment

There's no way you're going to see progress in 3 weeks when you're eating that much sodium. The water you retain will weigh more than the fat you reduce.

And I would also suggest getting a food scale so your measurements are accurate. Some of those quantities look like awfully round numbers.

Squir88

Try exercising and see what happens, but if you still don't see anything try this. Go to the doctor and get a checkup. Have them check all of your body functions, even your testosterone levels. I had extremely low testosterone levels and now with weekly shots I am up just a little higher than what it should be. Weight has been falling off of me. If everything does check out, eat around 1700 calories a day and cardio... cardio... and more cardio...

tsaustin

Hi,

I looked at your log and it seems you are eating too much sodium. This can cause you to retain water and not lose any weight. You could also drink a more water daily. You are doing a great job staying under you calorie goal but you seem to be going over your daily grams of fat. An idea would be to switch your salad dressing to low fat. Another way to make you full with less calories would be to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables.

Tarsha

joybell32

On February 15th, you had corn. Clearly this one ear of corn has caused all your problems and it will probably lead to your eventual death as it did the Mayan civilization.

lol, thats so true! i almost died when i read that!

sagetracey

Lots of great advice for you already. Please don't give up. You need to be in this for the long term. And also don't feel bad if you do eventually choose to go down the route of weight loss surgery. Just be sure to research very carefully and work closely with your medical team to make the choices that are right for you. I opted for the lapband last April and have now lost 56kg. It was right for me but that doesn't mean it will be right for everyone. It is an option, but it is only one option that is open to you.

Good luck.

bettyjeanbell

At the end of the day, it is all about calories in and calories out. One of the best investments I ever made to take the guess work out of the calories in/out equation was getting my metabolism tested. I haven't found a good way to google metabolic testing. What I would do is call your local gyms until you find one that does "Metacheck Metabolism Testing."

Make an appointment and have it done! it will tell you exactly how many calories you can eat in a day to lose weight then to maintain it for your unique body.

After you've done that, purchase a POLAR heart rate monitor (they're the only ones that really work) with a chest band and wear that when you workout. Get one that counts the calories you burn and stores them. Then, when you exercise, plug in the calories you burned into MyFitnessPal along with the type of workout you are doing.

For the remainder of your day, make sure to be tracking ALL the food you eat and drink into MyFitnessPal.

A couple other pointers that might help:
1. GO TO SLEEP! Not sleeping 8-9 hours per night causes your body to create stress hormones (cortisol especially which is released by your adrenal gland). Cortisol causes you to crave high-glycemic foods (such as breads and junk food). High glycemic foods cause your blood sugar to spike which increases insulin production. For this, all you really need to remember is that insulin is a fat storing hormone released when you consume carbs. However, when you eat low GI foods (such as proteins) your body produces the fat BURNING hormone, glucagon.
Not sleeping will create a lot of problems with your metabolism so make sure you get your Zzzs!

2. No matter what diet you decide to follow, make sure it is balanced and made up of mostly low-GI foods. Low GI foods are foods that are rated 55 and below on the Glycemic Index.

3. You may have a food allergy. It probably wouldn't hurt to get checked. I had a reconstructive surgery to my stomach in 1999 and continued to suffer from all sorts of problems such as IBS, insomnia, severe cystic acne, and many other things. In the end, it was a gluten intolerance! When I cut out gluten 100% (you can't cut out gluten "sometimes" - if you have an intolerance it is all or nothing) most of my health problems vanished. I couldn't believe it but you had better believe I am 100% gluten-free now!

If you need more support, gimme a holler at http://nutrition.black20fitness.com. Hope this helps! Hang in there!

jcbeck3578

You have to stay firm and postive. I know that the weekends were becoming my downfall. But recently I have started working out everyday and I really see a difference but I have also learned not to weigh myself. I know we are almost obsessed to do it, but I was not seeing anything different but my clothes were different. And you have to trick your body sometimes. Change your workout and change your food. Ultimately it is all about calories in, calories out.