Completely Discouraged

Marlene10025

I feel I've been doing great with watching my calories and getting to the gym... to gain a pound. I'm totally discouraged. Anyone have any advice? According to MFP, I should be down many pounds.... so discouraged. I'm somewhat new, so I'm not sure if you can see my logs or not. Any help would be appreciated.

susannamarie

Your diary is currently private. To change that, click my home -> settings -> diary settings.

MelissaL582

Bump up your water to at least 8 cups and start watching your sodium.

JeSuisPrest

Do your own cooking, save leftovers for your lunch and ditch the fast food!!

migoi357

Sorry to hear that you're discouraged. A couple of things to consider... It's not going to be easy. Like I tell my math students...if it was easy we'd call it beach sitting instead of math. If it was easy this place would be called beachsittingpal.com not myfitnesspal.com

Your ladybug says you've lost 5 pounds. Good job, great, wonderful, you're just getting started, you're doing wonderful. That's a great start and this journey is never going to be an easy coast along slightly declining ground. Keep doing what you are doing...watching the ingo, increasing the outgo. Pay attention that you're eating enough and correctly fueling yourself for your journey.

It will happen...

ethel72

Try not to think of your weight loss in terms of pounds. I completely understand what you feel. However, when you begin getting in shape you are toning your muscles. Maybe you lost in inches but not necessarily pounds. Stay away from the scale. It is not your friend. HaHa. Seriously, take a look at what you are eating. Maybe too much of a certain type of food and your body is used to it? For me its all about the calories. yes, I watch my carbs and fats but if I can keep my calorie intake at what I have set for myself that makes me happy. DON'T give up. You can do this.

jcpmoore

Bump up your water to at least 8 cups and start watching your sodium.

^^^^^ This. Then add more vegetables to your meals, not just the occasional salad. Try to switch out your snacks for vegetable snacks if you can.

And make sure you're being honest with yourself about your portions. Are you measuring? For example, your diary has 2 tsp of peanut butter every morning-are you sure it's 2 tsp and not 1 Tbsp? That's just one example.

Most important: Don't give up!

kittypencha

Hey there! From a quick look at your diary, it seems like you're giving yourself too much of a daily deficit.


What weekly goal have you set yourself on MFP? You need to remember that it takes into account how much weight you want to lose and calculates the daily calories according to that - so you should basically not have any calories remaining at the end of the day.

There is a possibility that your body has gone into a "starvation mode" of sorts, because it is not getting the nutrition it needs. So your fat loss will not be as efficient since your body will try to conserve as much as possible.

You mentioned you're hitting the gym. Can I ask what sort of exercise you do? The pound you gained could well be a pound of muscle - don't go for scales, they're depressing. Instead, measure your waistline or look in the mirror - see if you FEEL a difference. (The exercise in the gym, if not accounted for in your diary, means you're losing even MORE calories that you aren't eating back thus also supporting the "starvation" theory)

My advice? Keep your gym to 3/4 times a week (allow rest in between). Walking is a great fat burner for those days you don't do any other exercise. Eat your calories till you have nothing left. Eat more protein. Get your fats from fish, nuts, supplements etc.

greeneyes191

Just remember, you didn't get to where you are overnight. This is not a temporary thing. You have to make some lifestyle changes and stick to them. You CAN do this!!

Jph6701

Have you being doing any strengh training within your workouts?
If so it might be that you have gained muscle which is heavier than fat.

And also look at the longterm benefits, it's not just about losing weight it's about a healthier lifestyle and feeling that you are more full of energy.

I Have a 12 month goal in my head and count in that you are going to have ups and downs within that period.
I have wrote a remider to myself that I look at when I am being awkward with myself to question my motivation.
(Basicly to kick myself up the *kitten*)

(Note to self) Sorry about the caps but that is how I have it on my word Document.

TAKE THE ROUGH WITH THE SMOOTH AND MAKE SURE YOU REMEMBER YOU WILL HAVE THE ODD SLIP UP BUT WHEN YOU DO MAKE SURE YOU PUT IN EXTRA EFFORT AND REMEMBER YOUR DOING THIS FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY KEEP IT UP AND YOU WILL FEEL BETTER IN THE LONG RUN.

Shayztar

I am in no way perfect with my diet but after going back about a week in your diet here's my advice...

Eat more consistantly. Your diet is up and down. One day you eat your calories, the next day you are masively low. You are doing your body a disservice since it doesn't really know when a good sized meal is coming next. Positive snowball effects will follow that, like going #2 around the same time every day! LOL

Eat more clean food. You eat out A LOT. Chick Fil A and Subway, etc. You stay in your calories, yes, but you are fueling your body with crap. Cook more, eat more at home, if possible, bring your lunch to work. When you gain these skills, your food bill will be cheaper at the end of the month.

Your snacks are often junk food instead of fruits or vegetables. Eat more real food, less chocolate.

Quick add calories are good for accountability, but are maybe incorrect, and/or another poor food choice.

Do you over estimate your work out calories?

That's my 2 cents. Prolly worth less than that.

Any I'm not interested in forum haters hating on my advice. This Marlene will read my post or not.

JeSuisPrest

I am in no way perfect with my diet but after going back about a week in your diet here's my advice...

Eat more consistantly. Your diet is up and down. One day you eat your calories, the next day you are masively low. You are doing your body a disservice since it doesn't really know when a good sized meal is coming next. Positive snowball effects will follow that, like going #2 around the same time every day! LOL

Eat more clean food. You eat out A LOT. Chick Fil A and Subway, etc. You stay in your calories, yes, but you are fueling your body with crap. Cook more, eat more at home, if possible, bring your lunch to work. When you gain these skills, your food bill will be cheaper at the end of the month.

Your snacks are often junk food instead of fruits or vegetables. Eat more real food, less chocolate.

Quick add calories are good for accountability, but are maybe incorrect, and/or another poor food choice.

Do you over estimate your work out calories?

That's my 2 cents. Prolly worth less than that.

Any I'm not interested in forum haters hating on my advice. This Marlene will read my post or not.

Fabulous advice!!!!!

XXXMinnieXXX

Keep going. If ur calories in are above 1200 and your exercising it will come off. Try to eat back atleast half your exercise calories, if your close to a normal bmi then all of them! X

suztheq

I am in no way perfect with my diet but after going back about a week in your diet here's my advice...

Eat more consistantly. Your diet is up and down. One day you eat your calories, the next day you are masively low. You are doing your body a disservice since it doesn't really know when a good sized meal is coming next. Positive snowball effects will follow that, like going #2 around the same time every day! LOL

Eat more clean food. You eat out A LOT. Chick Fil A and Subway, etc. You stay in your calories, yes, but you are fueling your body with crap. Cook more, eat more at home, if possible, bring your lunch to work. When you gain these skills, your food bill will be cheaper at the end of the month.

Your snacks are often junk food instead of fruits or vegetables. Eat more real food, less chocolate.

Quick add calories are good for accountability, but are maybe incorrect, and/or another poor food choice.

Do you over estimate your work out calories?

That's my 2 cents. Prolly worth less than that.

Any I'm not interested in forum haters hating on my advice. This Marlene will read my post or not.

^^^^Pretty much what I was going to say. I think it's definitely worth the full two cents.

pstaceyca

You are leaving almost a 1000 calorie deficit most days! That is WAY too much. You need to eat more and choose healthier real foods and not processed and junkie type food. Try some nuts, Greek yogurt, fruits and veggies and maybe some hummus with a healthy cracker for snacks. Then you should find the scale will move the way you want it to. Good Luck with everything!!

Marlene10025

Thanks everyone. I have a few questions for you all. When I go to the gym, I log my exercise and my calories lost ( I have a HRM to track the calories)... I sometimes have a deficit because I try to eat my 1600 calories (or less) and not eat my exercise calories. Isn't that the whole purpose of going to the gym is to burn more calories and lose weight. In my mind, going to the gym and burning calories, then turning around and eating them again is a bit counter-productive.
I do measure my food, so I know I'm pretty consistent there. I don't log my drinks at all, but I do get in most of my water... especially the days I go to the gym.
Thanks everyone for your help... I'm certainly not perfect (as you can see by my diary), but I'm working on it.

aprilgicker

SO looking at your diary you need to try to remove some of the bread, starchy carbs.and sugary things. I would go slow because there is a thing as sugar withdrawal.

You seem to be eating most of them to up your fiber. instead change to veggies and fruit that are high in fiber.

and increase your protein a bit. I no most folks don;t like protein bars but try some of the adkins ones. The day breaks work great until you can get your carbs under control and swapped out without killing anyone. it will feel like PMS.

drink water like it is oxygen. and sleep at least 8 hours. if you feel a bit slow take some B12 or see if you can get a shot from your DR. they run about $30. sometimes your insurance will cover it.

keep up the good work! sometimes all it takes is some tweaking.

kbmnurse

If you are not measuring food-start. Lots h20/protein/healthy fats. Eat 5-6 meals daily.

Marlene10025

Thanks. Right now I'm doing spinning and zumba at the gym. I have my goal set to lose 1 pound a week. Here's what I don't get.... if I set my goal higher (say 2 pounds a week), I'd have to eat less calories, right? So if I eat less calories, why am I gaining?

Marlene10025

Hey there! From a quick look at your diary, it seems like you're giving yourself too much of a daily deficit.


What weekly goal have you set yourself on MFP? You need to remember that it takes into account how much weight you want to lose and calculates the daily calories according to that - so you should basically not have any calories remaining at the end of the day.

There is a possibility that your body has gone into a "starvation mode" of sorts, because it is not getting the nutrition it needs. So your fat loss will not be as efficient since your body will try to conserve as much as possible.

You mentioned you're hitting the gym. Can I ask what sort of exercise you do? The pound you gained could well be a pound of muscle - don't go for scales, they're depressing. Instead, measure your waistline or look in the mirror - see if you FEEL a difference. (The exercise in the gym, if not accounted for in your diary, means you're losing even MORE calories that you aren't eating back thus also supporting the "starvation" theory)

My advice? Keep your gym to 3/4 times a week (allow rest in between). Walking is a great fat burner for those days you don't do any other exercise. Eat your calories till you have nothing left. Eat more protein. Get your fats from fish, nuts, supplements etc.

Thanks. Right now I'm doing spinning and zumba at the gym. I have my goal set to lose 1 pound a week. Here's what I don't get.... if I set my goal higher (say 2 pounds a week), I'd have to eat less calories, right? So if I eat less calories, why am I gaining?

JeSuisPrest

Are you eating back those exercise calories??? When we don't fuel our bodies properly it will not metabolize and burn away the fat, it will hold on to what you have if you aren't eating enough. Please see the group "Eat more to weigh less"

Lindy901

All of the above are great points. Also remember you are individual. I look at it as a 2 steps forward 1 step back approach so I don't get so frustrated. I just had 2 weeks above and this week I finally got below my 3 week ago weigh-in. You can do this. Also mindset can have so much to do with it. I TRY to look at it as a serious life-changing my eating style. I'm not eating this way to lose weight, just to be healthier. The weight loss is a side issue. Best of luck to you. Friend me if you're looking for friends too.

gwenmf

Hey there! From a quick look at your diary, it seems like you're giving yourself too much of a daily deficit.


What weekly goal have you set yourself on MFP? You need to remember that it takes into account how much weight you want to lose and calculates the daily calories according to that - so you should basically not have any calories remaining at the end of the day.

There is a possibility that your body has gone into a "starvation mode" of sorts, because it is not getting the nutrition it needs. So your fat loss will not be as efficient since your body will try to conserve as much as possible.

I agree completely with this. Try not to have more than 100 calories at the end of the day, bump up your water, watch your sodium and WATCH THE WEIGH DROP! Congrats on down 5......you'll be in double digits before you know it~!

tigersword

Thanks everyone. I have a few questions for you all. When I go to the gym, I log my exercise and my calories lost ( I have a HRM to track the calories)... I sometimes have a deficit because I try to eat my 1600 calories (or less) and not eat my exercise calories. Isn't that the whole purpose of going to the gym is to burn more calories and lose weight. In my mind, going to the gym and burning calories, then turning around and eating them again is a bit counter-productive.
I do measure my food, so I know I'm pretty consistent there. I don't log my drinks at all, but I do get in most of my water... especially the days I go to the gym.
Thanks everyone for your help... I'm certainly not perfect (as you can see by my diary), but I'm working on it.

You're starving yourself. Exercise is for improving your physical fitness, it has nothing to do with weight loss. By ignoring the calories you are burning during exercise instead of eating them, you're wasting your time. Your body isn't getting enough fuel to function, so it's holding on to fat reserves in order to survive the famine until hopefully more food shows up. MFP already includes a deficit in your calories for safe fat loss, by not eating back your calories, you are creating a larger deficit that can potentially be unsafe, and that's what your body is fighting against, by slowing down your metabolism to match what you are eating, hence, no weight loss.

Marlene10025

Thanks everyone. I have a few questions for you all. When I go to the gym, I log my exercise and my calories lost ( I have a HRM to track the calories)... I sometimes have a deficit because I try to eat my 1600 calories (or less) and not eat my exercise calories. Isn't that the whole purpose of going to the gym is to burn more calories and lose weight. In my mind, going to the gym and burning calories, then turning around and eating them again is a bit counter-productive.
I do measure my food, so I know I'm pretty consistent there. I don't log my drinks at all, but I do get in most of my water... especially the days I go to the gym.
Thanks everyone for your help... I'm certainly not perfect (as you can see by my diary), but I'm working on it.

You're starving yourself. Exercise is for improving your physical fitness, it has nothing to do with weight loss. By ignoring the calories you are burning during exercise instead of eating them, you're wasting your time. Your body isn't getting enough fuel to function, so it's holding on to fat reserves in order to survive the famine until hopefully more food shows up. MFP already includes a deficit in your calories for safe fat loss, by not eating back your calories, you are creating a larger deficit that can potentially be unsafe, and that's what your body is fighting against, by slowing down your metabolism to match what you are eating, hence, no weight loss.

Okay, thanks. You learn something new everyday. Do I need to eat ALL of my burned calories? What if I'm not hungry, or full after eating a smaller amount?

kesslertg

Sometimes your calories can be on target for the day, but you could have eaten at a restaurant, like I did the other day. Had minestrone soup and meat and veggies, but could tell it was loaded with salt. So yesterday I was expected a loss and the weight stayed unchanged. Today I dropped a pound. Sodium causes fluid retention. This could be a cause.

missyh1

I agree with everything other posters have said about meal and snack choices. It can be hard to change your eating habits at first, but you will find your cravings change after you have done it for a while. I have also found that changing the mindset from "eating to lose weight" to "eating to be healthy" has made a difference for me. Now when I choose fresh veggies over chips or crackers I focus on the nutrients I am giving myself and the long term health benefits. Carrots, celery and cucumbers somehow taste better when you are making your body healthy than when you are trying to lose weight!

Also, your tape measure is your best friend when you are starting a new exercise regimen at the same time you are monitoring your food choices. Muscle is denser than fat so the number on the scale may not change as you gain muscle, yet your clothes will somehow not be as tight as they were before. If you go to a gym, see if they offer a body fat analysis. Checking this over time may also help you see progress, even if the scale doesn't reflect it!

Good luck to you!

KechiaG

I can speak from experience when I say that everyone's advice to you is RIGHT ON! I walk daily and take Zumba on Tuesdays and Thursday nights (side note: LOVE Zumba :happy: ) I was burning between 600 and 900 calories a day, but I wasn't eating enough calories. I posted questions on a message board and I got the same advice. I couldn't wrap my brain around how eating more would cause me to loose weight either, but I gave it a try becuase I was desperate for a solution to my plateau. Everyone was right! The scale has started moving again! Give it a try and hang in there!!

Marlene10025

Sorry to hear that you're discouraged. A couple of things to consider... It's not going to be easy. Like I tell my math students...if it was easy we'd call it beach sitting instead of math. If it was easy this place would be called beachsittingpal.com not myfitnesspal.com

Your ladybug says you've lost 5 pounds. Good job, great, wonderful, you're just getting started, you're doing wonderful. That's a great start and this journey is never going to be an easy coast along slightly declining ground. Keep doing what you are doing...watching the ingo, increasing the outgo. Pay attention that you're eating enough and correctly fueling yourself for your journey.

It will happen...

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement!

Marlene10025

Just remember, you didn't get to where you are overnight. This is not a temporary thing. You have to make some lifestyle changes and stick to them. You CAN do this!!

Thanks! I appreciate your encouragement.

mjterp

remember that muscle weighs more than fat. How are your clothes fitting? That is a better indicator than the scale (to me).

are you logging ALL of your intake (food, snacks, bites, nibbles, drinks...) That is something I used to screw up on.

DON"T give up. every day is a new chance to start over. You didn't get this way overnight, it won't come off overnight. YOU are worth it.