Food Dairy

HeatherNicoleMomOf4

I just joined and started logging my food on thursday and i haven't been able to lose weight like i was at first so far ive lost 28 lbs ive been stuck and when i do lose it ,it comes back and I try to workout 3 times a wk for 30 mins if not longer but its hard to always get it in with having a 2 month old and 3 other children to take care of .I was wondering if you could look at my food dairy from thursday to today and give me some suggestions.Thank You

hesgro2

Hopefully you will get some advice from some nutrition experts, but I'll tell you what worked for me. When I first started trying to lose weight, I focused on calorie counting, but not really the composition of the calories I was eating. I also was usually waaaay below my calorie goals - which is also a problem. What worked for me, or at least jump started my weight loss again, was increasing my overall calories to get closer to my goal calories, and then also increasing my fats and proteins while reducing carbs as much as possible (especially those that were "added sugars"). If I were you, I would start playing around with calorie consumption and composition and see if anything changes. And like I said, hopefully someone who is really knowledgeable will post some advice too.

HeatherNicoleMomOf4

Thanks I've been mainly at 1,500 calories a day sometimes 1,200

rileysowner

You are not eating enough. With the little ones to take care of your activity level is at least lightly active, probably bordering on moderately active. They will keep you going, and that burns a surprising amount of calories. I don't know what your activity level is set on, or what your weight loss goal per week is, but looking at your diary you are not even reaching your calorie goal. That number of calories is what you want to eat, to not do so is to created to big a deficit and stress your body. Eat to your goal. Second, I see lots of frozen diet meals. They are packed with sodium which will cause water retention and could cause other problems in the long run. The water retention will hide fat loss. Also, don't depend just on the scale. Measure yourself and use those to mark your progress as well. Scales are notoriously unhelpful at times as a person can be losing fat and getting smaller, but not see the scale go down sometimes for weeks. However, their measurements will fall.

Losingbooty

I am a blunt person. Cut out the pizza, potato chips, white bread, sugars and bad stuff! Go back to the basics. The way we have explained our lifestyle change to our oldest child is that when God created the earth he did not give Adam and Eve a Pizza and a hamburger. Fruits and Veggies are the answer! Not saying that you should not eat meat! LOL! but I am saying that fast food is the root of all the medical problems of today I think anyway! So set a good example for your babies and and push that stuff out of the house and eat healthy! I have lost almost 70 lbs now (have not logged it all in yet) going back to my basics. But I think it works or it has for my family.

MountainMia

I've got 3 kids and my youngest is just getting mobile now. I can't imagine 4, but I got an idea about how much time you actually get for yourself or luxuries like meal planning an prep. I used to eat out of a box, bag or freezer 80-90% of the time and I HATED the "healthy" stuff. What I discovered though, was that I wasn't doing myself any favors. I was hungry, my cravings weren't satisfied, and the food was blaaah! That, AND I wasn't teaching my kids how to avoid my current battle.

I see a few potential traps for you with your current plan. If you go to goals and settings, you can opt to track your sugar and sodium. I would take a look at those. I'm betting they are high. Also, be VERY careful of quick add calories. It makes it hard to keep track of your macronutrients. It's ok to add a candybar if it satisfies a craving and is limited to one bar on occasion. The important thing is to see where your calories are going. Empty or Nutritious can make all the difference in how you feel and how your body responds. Junk is okay in moderation, but you would be surprised at how much "diet" food is really just JUNK in disguise.

Transitioning to natural foods can be a bear of a change. I've taught myself to prepare meals from scratch and worked out a routine with the kids so that I could get a small chunk of time to do so. When I shop, 90% of my cart comes from the outside of the market, fruits, veggies, meats, dairy and bread. I'll hit the coffee aisle every once in a while along with the baking stuff, but that's about it. Saves me a TON of time logging and tracking what I'm eating and I LOVE that I actually know what is in my food.

All my dinners take less than 20 min. So, I promise you, it can be done. I suggest starting with one or two meals a week and making them mostly from scratch including lots of veggies and a lean meat. I try to make these super rich in nutrients and I don't stress out too much over the fats and sugars in this meal. I use real butter, cream, sugar, oils and whatever else I can get my hands on too. REAL FOOD ROCKS!!!

Small changes are the ones that stick, but they have to be custom to your style and taste. If you want some ideas on good stuff that's quick and kid friendly, feel free to friend me or send me a message. I'd be happy to share... that goes for anyone.

ETA- I'm still not perfect and have a long way to go. My breakfast and lunch are Herbalife shakes which I choose as my food option, but it technically isn't real food. I like it and plan to use it forever as a suppliment or as breakfast just because it's fast and practical and is the best tasting, most balanced thing for me. It isn't for everyone, but it's a great tool for me as I'm starting my lifestyle change. My kids drink 1/2 shakes and have other stuff like oatmeal, eggs and toast or cottage cheese and fruit... all things I wouldn't mind eating myself if I wasn't cutting so many calories right now... like I said, a tool and transitional help.

HeatherNicoleMomOf4

Normally we eat alot of ground turkey,fish & chicken or sometimes will make our own little pizza's on a whole wheat tortilla and barely put any sauce or cheese on it.I haven't had chips in over 6 months so that was a treat that day and then yesterday with the pizza was dinner with friends that picked where we went .not trying to be rude or argue just saying

fatty2fabby

water!! and if u normally eat a lot better it could just be all of the sodium x

maf66

I am no expert, but based on those days you are definitely not getting proper nutrition. As others have said, use whole foods and lose the processed pre-packaged options. You can custom tailor your requirements under settings and also goals. I also agree that you should track sodium and sugar. You are not getting enough fat or protein. You need to consume fat to burn fat otherwise your body will store fat. You need to eat protein so that your body is better fueled and you need it to convert fat to muscle. And you also need 25g fiber daily. I'm not sure you're getting that.

I track Cal, fat, protein, fiber, sugar and carbs. Sodium is not an issue in my diet, but I do run weekly reports to check it and also check my vitamin intake.

You did ask for this!