GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

ByrdMessy

Two months and zero pounds lost. I've had a hard enough time eating 1600 calories with the right kinds of food... I have no idea how I'm going to be able to eat 2,000 (what I'm "supposed" to be eating) without just grabbing something high in fat that will get me closer to my calorie goal. I feel like all this effort trying to eat super well is more useless than just eating the way I used to, more moderately. I have been eating crap just to reach my calories lately, so don't be surprised at my diary (open). I understand the scale is evil, but this whole time I've felt like I've been doing it all wrong. I need some inspiration, please, to do this without obsessing!

Which is most important? Eating more even though it seems an absurd amount to be eating? Forget about eating super clean? Eating at my goal intake even though it's "not enough"? Exercising at a low intensity to burn fat instead of carbs/sugar/muscle even though some people say there's no difference? Do I stuff way more calories towards the first half of the day so I have no room to slip up? Stop eating smaller meals five times a day and go back to three because I'm NEVER hungry when it's time to eat again? If I have so much trouble eating as much as I'm supposed to, how on earth do I eat all that AND exercise calories? Should I stop trying to avoid bread? I'm loving the exercise--getting cardio in has been no problem, trying to keep upping the strength, think I'm kicking my back problem--but eating is a pain in the *kitten*! I see people burning 1200 calories in one workout; I'd love to do that, but I could never eat that all back.

My blood pressure is good. Lab work showed no deficiencies. My motivation is slipping, not just for this but in other areas of my life. Maybe it's because I'm not eating enough--maybe I got to this weight because I've NEVER eaten enough, but I'm wondering if counting all together is the least effective way for me to lose weight. The only time I've lost weight was when I was NOT TRYING. Everyone's opinion is different, but how do I figure out what works if listening to what people have said has not put me in the right direction? Clearly people on this site won't likely recommend not using this site, but how long before I say it is not the right method? Two months isn't that long, but shouldn't I have SOME better idea than when I started?

imsomony

I have no answers to give... but I'm bumping this for the OP 'cause I'm really interested in others' insights into the problem.

ByrdMessy

thanks... seems no one has insights?

phoenix8633

I'm also interested in suggestions/answers.

gpstrucker

I have no idea what to tell you here. I have been following the program here, eating the calories I am supposed to eat according to MFP, getting some exercise, and it has been working for me.

Under eating can prevent weight loss.

How about your measurements? It's possible you are replacing fat with muscle so you aren't seeing a change on the scale.

douglasmobbs

under eating does not prevent weight loss . Calories out - calories in = weight loss, just as 2 - 3 = -1 always has and always will.

Jacole18

Weight loss sucks....that's the cold, hard truth. It's not easy, but it is possible. From reading your post, I'd say you're over thinking it. Eat the cals that MFP recommends by incorporating higher call foods (like peanut butter) with fruits, veggies, and proteins. Exercise to keep your heart healthy, and your waist smaller. It's a different formula for everyone. I like a big breakfast to get me started, a smaller lunch, and a bigger dinner. I do not eat back my exercise cals most of the time, but might if I was having a "hungry" day. The simple formula to weight loss.....eat less, move more! Good luck!!

vichm

t is a really tough one to answer as you seem to be doing all the right things. No one likes a platue yet they seem to happen from time to time and you get so frustrated. Have you tried varying your exercise type to give your body a 'shake up change'? I did this about a month ago as I had a few weeks maintaining and on the first week I was doing less exercise than normal just a different type and lost double and this worked for around 3 weeks then slowed off again. You body gets use to things and you need the change.
Its so hard to stay positive when you feel so deflated but sometimes this happens and its just about working through it, maybe have a whole week off (leave the calorie counting/ refresh) and come back to it but mix things round- might be what your body needs.

Good luck, hope you find an answer that helps-... x x x

PulchritudinousLady

Some people just need to eat less -- the calculators on this site and others are just estimations. Scale back to 1400 and see what happens -- just don't go below 1200. If you are not hungry, don't eat. I know it's important to eat back your calories but eating should not be the bain of your existence.

Also (and I haven't done this yet either) -- all of us should go visit a doctor that deals exclusively with weight loss. They have all the correct tools and tests that will provide us with the best information for us, not just estimates.

I'd also invest in a heart rate monitor. I bought a Polar F4 six years ago and that baby is still working.

britaut2

Hi Also, I am wondering if you are gaining muscle. Are your clothes fitting less snug? My friend that is helping me is at that maintenace lel Se wanted to lose about 3- lbs more to give her some leeway to gain and still be at her preferred weight. She has not been able to lose anymore even with intense exercise.

Daizy426

I don't know that I can give you any advise, but I can totally relate to trying to eat all those calories!! I was eating anywhere from 800 to 1,000 a day for a couple months. I thought I was eating pretty good, always full, no junk, etc. But I hit a plateau. So, now I'm trying to eat 1,500 - 1,700, my BMR and approx TDEE minus 15% and I'll tell you what, there have been days where I was going to just hit the vending machine at work and eat a couple candy bars just to up my calories!! I just read the other day where someone suggested nuts. That might help as I love cashews and peanuts but still, it's hard to eat "fat" and not feel guilty. I've only been eating more for a few days now, but I just wanted to tell you that I understand how hard that can be : )) Good Luck!!

spngebobmyhero

Your fat intake is really low. I would up that a bit. Healthy fats are not bad for you.

Why don't you track other things besides fat and sodium? Sugar might be a good option to track. It looks like your foods might be a bit high in sugar.

Some meals to try that are lower sugar and higher in healthy fats and proteins (not really low carb either):

Breakfast:
2-3 egg omelet with sauteed veggies and some feta or other type of cheese

Lunch:
1 can of tuna packed in olive oil on some spring greens with tomatoes, cucumbers, and some balsamic vinegar

Dinner:
Shepard's pie
http://ibuyflour.blogspot.com/2012/05/almost-paleo-shepherds-pie.html

Your looking at about 1500 calories with these three meals. Add some snacks or some coffee with half and half and you will be up a little more.

cazzy147

The only thing i can suggest is:
Eat healthy foods and try to drink 2L of water a day
The minimum calories to consume is 1200 as anything below and your body will start to starve itself
Keep up with regular exercise, especially cardio to burn off fat and weight training to build muscle which burns calories.
Remember that muscle weighs more than fat, so if youre gaining muscle and loosing fat that could be a reason why youre not loosing weight.
its difficult to know what else to suggest as they are the main simple rules for weight lose. sorry it isnt much help

ultrahush

Are you taking any measurements? I looked at your food diary and it all looks good to me. I noticed you are tracking sodium - I am as well, because I am VERY sensitive to it and high sodium days can lead to up to 8lb fluctuations. My weight loss if very slow as well, but I'm aiming for a more realistic/sustaining lifestyle. I'm also avoiding too many carbs and often don't reach the number of calories suggested... I'm going to add you, if that's okay! Good luck!

dawnfromia

I understand your pain. I work out like crazy (I'm a ZUMBA Instructor as well) and the scale doesn't budge. I track my calories and leave about 400-500 calories left at the end of the day. Technically I should be losing weight. All calories are NOT created equal of course. Eating junk food versus fruit for instance even if they are the same calories will hinder you. For those of you who have been successful at losing weight, how many calories are you leaving at the end of the day? I only need to lose about 10-15 pounds. Frusterating!!!

marybsalmon

I'm right there with you. I was eating 1350 for several months and not losing a pound. Now I've upped my calories to 1500 and having a hard time reaching that. I don't know whether or not to "eat back" my calorie burn. I am incorporating nuts, reduced fat cheese & Greek yogurt into my diet to increase nutritious calories. So when I'm short on my calories I just grab a cheese stick, container of yogurt or a handful of nuts to bump me up. I'm definitely avoiding candy bars and processed junk food. I'm hoping I'l start losing soon. Good luck!

astrampe

under eating does not prevent weight loss . Calories out - calories in = weight loss, just as 2 - 3 = -1 always has and always will.

You have it all wrong, and your argument is simplistic to the point of ignorance...Go do some research on TDEE, BMR and then maybe you will catch up.....

DeirdreMum8

I think the argument not all calories are equal has a place in these last 10 I am trying to kick:) Upping fiber, regardless of calories, seems to help me loose. Trying to get more creative with veggies and avoid stuff after dinner, that 3 hour before bed time slot. Love all the suggestions!!

NeverGivesUp

This journey can be sooooo frustrating. It has been HELL for me to get off these pounds. I suggest that you throw your body a bunch of curve balls, eat more then eat less, and switch it up. If you want results on the scale, you have to be a problem solver and figure out how to do that. Try new and different things. Change up what you eat. Eat clean, cut out a lot of sodium, take a day of exercise and then rest for a day. Every single pound I have lost here, I have had to fight for. You have to be smarter than the fat. There can be many explanations. I have a few friends that have barely lost anything and some that have lost quite easily. It is easy to want to give up and I commend you for coming such a long way already!! 2 months of no results is more than most people could take. If you are working hard enough, then you are not working smart enough. Good luck to you. I will never ever have to take this journey again because of this agitation!!! Hang in there, you are not alone.

wild_wild_life

What is your height, weight, and goal weight? What BMR and TDEE does MFP give you?

I would recommend tracking protein, carbs and fat. It may be that playing around with those ratios will make a difference. A lot of people recommend 40/30/30 respectively as a start. You would need to set that manually because the ratio MFP gives you is much lower in protein.

If you are exercising/active and have set a large deficit (ie 2 lbs a week loss) I think it is really important to eat all the calories MFP tells you to. You'll find a million threads here on that topic and many have success at first but too large a deficit will stall weight loss in my experience.

Athena98501

under eating does not prevent weight loss . Calories out - calories in = weight loss, just as 2 - 3 = -1 always has and always will.

I've seen an example which proves this assumption to be false. I know a women who is in her early fifties who is anorexic, though you wouldn't know it to look at her. For DECADES, she has consumed only a few hundred calories a day, some of the time running several miles a day. She's not underweight, or overweight. I'd say she's about as full figured as she can be without beginning to look a little overweight.

There used to be plenty of days when all she had to eat for the whole day was one serving of cream of wheat. At this point, she averages 400-600 calories per day, never a day when she consumes 1,000. And her weight doesn't change perceptibly.

KellyMirth

It's hard to get a good grip on your diet since you're not tracking protein & carbs as well. For me, I tracked food on this site for about a month and actually gained two pounds. Then two weeks ago I started really paying attention to what I was eating and started eating fewer fats & more proteins as well as working out. I've lost six lbs since (it only shows 4 on my tracker because the site is nice enough to not show weight gains.) I was also eating a lot of processed food which I cut back on and I started weighing & measuring everything because evidently an ounce of chips is not the amount I can pull out of the bag with two hands (who knew?) And finally, I started strength training again because that is what has worked really well for me in the past. I've been working out 4-6 times per week, starting with the weights first and finishing up with the cardio. I just alternately work out my upper body one day, lower the next, abs every time, followed by 30 minutes of cardio. I don't usually eat my exercise calories. This is just what works for me (so far, and in the past as well), hope it helps.

Jennyisbusy

Whoa Nelly!
Are you tracking with a tape measure or any other way besides the scale? If not start today. There have been several times on my journey where the inches were flying off and the scale was showing nothing or even a slight gain!!! Without the tape measure I would have thrown my hands up and quit.

I would not reach for junk to hit your calorie goals at the end of the day. If you need more cals then reach for a nut, avocado, oils, something that brings some nutrition to the table.

How are you feeling? (scale aside) stronger, healthier, faster, sexier,

Last I would consider setting a goal or two that is not scale related, and something that you can control and achieve. For example exercising x number of days this week, or drinking 0 sodas this week, are things that you can do and celebrate achieving. The scale is just too damn fickle to determine if you are being successful or not.

amandavictoria80

How come you're eating 1600 calories? That seems pretty high. My calorie consumption is 1300 or so.

Also, you don't need to be eating back your exercise calories. I actually recommend not to. Although, I know many people disagree with that. Yet many also agree with me. I personally don't lose weight when I eat back those burned calories. I believe eating back exercise calories is for those looking to maintain their weight. Not lose it.

Athijade

I understand your pain. I work out like crazy (I'm a ZUMBA Instructor as well) and the scale doesn't budge. I track my calories and leave about 400-500 calories left at the end of the day. Technically I should be losing weight. All calories are NOT created equal of course. Eating junk food versus fruit for instance even if they are the same calories will hinder you. For those of you who have been successful at losing weight, how many calories are you leaving at the end of the day? I only need to lose about 10-15 pounds. Frusterating!!!

I try to be between 100 over and 100 under, though I aim for 0. You should eat what MFP tells you because it is already set up to lose pounds based off of the information YOU provide it. You should NOT eat far under that number.

Most people who struggle to lose are eating to low. Know your BMR and TDEE. Look into eating more to lose more on these forums and in groups.

I eat around 1650 calories a day and lose 1-2 lbs a week with no issue. However, if I drop much lower my weight loss will just stop. I have tried this a couple of times and each time has the same result. Sometimes eating less is NOT the answer.

Athijade

How come you're eating 1600 calories? That seems pretty high. My calorie consumption is 1300 or so.

Also, you don't need to be eating back your exercise calories. I actually recommend not to. Although, I know many people disagree with that. Yet many also agree with me. I personally don't lose weight when I eat back those burned calories. I believe eating back exercise calories is for those looking to maintain their weight. Not lose it.

Uh... no. Eat back your exercise calories (or a percentage there of) so you can fuel your body correctly. That is how this is set up. Look into eating more to lose more. I am (and many many many many others) are LOSING when eating back exercise calories and not dropping our calories to extreme low amounts (under our BMRs). It is NOT just for those maintaining.

themommie

I would cut back your cals to 1400 and see what happens also you might want to try zig zagging your cals eating 1600 one day and 1200 the next. I have only been eating 1250 cals (until recently, now I am slowly increasing for maintenance) and I have not eaten back exercise cals and I have lost 102 lbs in 20 mths. Everyone is different you need to experiment and find out what works for you. But calorie zig zagging and doing different exercises confuses your body and helps with the weight loss

missataylor22

have you looked at what your eating consists of, sugars carbs etc, may be the wrong types of foods??? other than that i cant see why xx

ByrdMessy

Oh man, thank you all for the responses! Waking up and seeing just one "No suggestion, but good luck" was upsetting. I'll try to answer as many of those questions as I can.

Every single calculator that I've tried, including the fancy .gov one, has said my BMR is about 1700, so TDEE about 2000. But that's when I check "desk job" which I don't have.

I have lost one inch.

I am always too embarrassed to say... I'm 5 feet tall and weigh 204 lbs, 25 years old. Even when I was a cheerleader, taking 3 or 4 dance classes a week, on the tennis team and marching band all at the same time, I haven't been an ideal weight since before middle school, probably when I started over-thinking everything.

I don't care how much I lose per week, but I have to know that something is working to make me healthier. I want to figure out a plan to live by.

Because of my schedule--I'm a nanny, working three mornings a week, three afternoons a week, and I'm starting a non-profit and volunteer 10-20 hours a week to that and to my downtown's revitalization project--my exercise and diet is always varying. I have an interview for a steady job on Tuesday--part of my plan to change my routine in a big, long term way.

My weeks and exercises have been varying, too. I dance, I play with kids, I walk and run on the treadmill, stationary bike, (backwards sometimes) most of the strength I've been doing is geared towards strengthening my back, but I've been doing stuff using my own weight resistance as opposed to free weights, since I don't have any. I've had rest days and big burning weeks and lesser burning weeks. Every week I go to the grocery store, my diet changes slightly, too. I think it's only been lately when I've been going over my fats almost every day from crap instead of "good" fats.

I've been keeping chobani, non fat cottage cheese, bananas, avocados and nuts around constantly; I've been pre-packaging all my vegetables to make prep easier.

I stopped tracking protein and fiber cuz they seemed to be good, even though I don't eat most meat. The only concern my doctor had was I limit fats a little so that I "don't have a problem ten years from now". Sodium is my nemesis.

I feel better when it comes to activity, but isn't your diet (not dieting, but your diet) more influential than exercise? I feel messed up about food more than ever.

I seem to be the only one concerned that I am waaay overweight. My boyfriend keeps saying it doesn't matter, that I could gain weight and it'd make no difference to him, but we want to have a family--I know my body (especially my back) can't support any more weight in pregnancy. I need to do this deliberately.

ByrdMessy

So action plan at the moment is to eat more towards the front of the day. Try to up to 1850 after maybe a week off from tracking. Track fiber and protein. Indulge in more good fats. Stop buying whatever has the least calories. Try keeping my heart rate a little lower during the majority of my workout with just a couple bursts of more vigorous activity. Buy some weights...

douglasmobbs

under eating does not prevent weight loss . Calories out - calories in = weight loss, just as 2 - 3 = -1 always has and always will.

You have it all wrong, and your argument is simplistic to the point of ignorance...Go do some research on TDEE, BMR and then maybe you will catch up.....

My scales must have it really wrong as well. What about my increased strength, that must be wrong as well.

Under eating causes weight loss just ask any anorexic.