GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

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.

wild_wild_life

Sounds like you have a good plan and a good attitude. Honestly I'm not sure why you're not losing, although increasing your calories would be my advice, and eat between your BMR and TDEE. Remember that TDEE value is not truly your maintenance calories because it does not include exercise. You should lose weight at 2000/day if you are more active than a desk job and exercising.

As far as eating clean, if it stresses you out and you don't enjoy it, I wouldn't worry about eating clean 100% as I'm not sure it makes as much difference for weight loss. For overall health, I think it does, but that's different.

Other ideas would be getting your BMR professionally measured and/or seeing a nutritionist. I think you said your thyroid levels were normal, but that could be a factor too. Your metabolism may be atypical and these formulas are only estimates.

Sorry I don't have any better ideas -- best of luck!

em9371

Sounds like you have a good plan and a good attitude. Honestly I'm not sure why you're not losing, although increasing your calories would be my advice, and eat between your BMR and TDEE. Remember that TDEE value is not truly your maintenance calories because it does not include exercise. You should lose weight at 2000/day if you are more active than a desk job and exercising.

As far as eating clean, if it stresses you out and you don't enjoy it, I wouldn't worry about eating clean 100% as I'm not sure it makes as much difference for weight loss. For overall health, I think it does, but that's different.

Other ideas would be getting your BMR professionally measured and/or seeing a nutritionist. I think you said your thyroid levels were normal, but that could be a factor too. Your metabolism may be atypical and these formulas are only estimates.

Sorry I don't have any better ideas -- best of luck!

Tdee = total daily energy expenditure so SHOULD include exercise and is your maintenance level.

OP - If bmr is 1700, your tdee will not be only 2000. If you are a nanny (active job) and you work out, you should choose at least lightly or maybe moderately active. Choosing a desk job when that is not your true activity level will give you the wrong cals.

Re getting your cals in, choose regular versions instead of diet / light / low fat. At the very least you should track carbs / fat / protein they are the basic 'macros' that you need to stick to for a healthy balanced diet. It's also good to track sugar and sodium. Try to get 5 a day fruit & veg. 50g nuts will get you an extra 400 cals.
For comparison - I am 201 lbs. bmr 1569, tdee 2632 based on moderately active. I lose 1.5 a week eating 2000 / netting 1550.

ByrdMessy

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.

So you're saying you lost all your weight by under eating? Having over 100 lbs to lose, I'm sure under eating made you lose weight if it was a change from what you were doing before. You didn't stall after under eating for a while?

PinkEarthMama

This may come across as a touch... indelicate... but :

Are you portioning correctly?

I was downright annoyed when I realized I was using often 3-4 times as much PB as I was logging. Suddenly a 300 calories sandwich was an 800 calorie sandwich. Same thing for coffee creamer, butter, etc.

Are you drinking enough water?

There are all sorts of theories on how much water a person needs. Personally, I feel best when I drink like a dehydrated camel in Egypt... often close to 100 oz in a day, and sometimes more if I've been outside working. Not enough water = zero weight loss for ME. Your mileage may vary.

Are you regular?

Again.. not a very delicate question. Constipation can REALLY hinder weight loss, as far as I'm concerned. Not enough poo = zero weight loss for me. Once I got that under control, the weight came off much easier.

ByrdMessy

Sounds like you have a good plan and a good attitude. Honestly I'm not sure why you're not losing, although increasing your calories would be my advice, and eat between your BMR and TDEE. Remember that TDEE value is not truly your maintenance calories because it does not include exercise. You should lose weight at 2000/day if you are more active than a desk job and exercising.

As far as eating clean, if it stresses you out and you don't enjoy it, I wouldn't worry about eating clean 100% as I'm not sure it makes as much difference for weight loss. For overall health, I think it does, but that's different.

Other ideas would be getting your BMR professionally measured and/or seeing a nutritionist. I think you said your thyroid levels were normal, but that could be a factor too. Your metabolism may be atypical and these formulas are only estimates.

Sorry I don't have any better ideas -- best of luck!

Tdee = total daily energy expenditure so SHOULD include exercise and is your maintenance level.

OP - If bmr is 1700, your tdee will not be only 2000. If you are a nanny (active job) and you work out, you should choose at least lightly or maybe moderately active. Choosing a desk job when that is not your true activity level will give you the wrong cals.

For comparison - I am 201 lbs. bmr 1569, tdee 2632 based on moderately active. I lose 1.5 a week eating 2000 / netting 1550.

I know my TDEE is higher. Just showing what it would be bare minimum. But if I can't fix the problem of eating enough without it being junk, it doesn't matter much what it honestly is--I just need to figure out how to get anywhere near it (or 20% less than it).

Lleldiranne

Fat is not all bad. If it fits in your calories, it's okay (in fact, good) to have some fat. I try to eat about 40/30/30 carbs/protein/fat ... so 30% of my daily calories comes from fat. I have done a mix of making better food choices and eating normally but in moderation. I still eat ice cream, chocolate, cookies, chips, etc. But I measure out a serving and try not to have extra. I want to be able to maintain this lifestyle.

I spent a couple of months feeling like the weight wasn't coming off at all. I was exercising and eating right (I thought) and nothing. Then I did two things - I measured and saw that I had lost inches, so I was shedding fat and building muscle. Then I started completing my diary EVERY day, even my "cheat" days. I think there were many days where I just didn't hold myself accountable enough and didn't complete the diary. I also started really trying to drink 8+ cups of water a day. Between all of that (and continuing to exercise - I eat back all my exercise calories by the way) I did something that broke the plateau, and I've lost about 8 pounds over the last 2 months.

Hopefully something in my ramblings could help you.

Lleldiranne

I didn't read everything before my first post, so some of it has been addressed already. Sorry.

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...

It sounds like a great place to start!

ByrdMessy

This may come across as a touch... indelicate... but :

Are you portioning correctly?

I was downright annoyed when I realized I was using often 3-4 times as much PB as I was logging. Suddenly a 300 calories sandwich was an 800 calorie sandwich. Same thing for coffee creamer, butter, etc.

Are you drinking enough water?

There are all sorts of theories on how much water a person needs. Personally, I feel best when I drink like a dehydrated camel in Egypt... often close to 100 oz in a day, and sometimes more if I've been outside working. Not enough water = zero weight loss for ME. Your mileage may vary.

Are you regular?

Again.. not a very delicate question. Constipation can REALLY hinder weight loss, as far as I'm concerned. Not enough poo = zero weight loss for me. Once I got that under control, the weight came off much easier.

I can definitely try to be more accurate, but if I'm eating 800 "surprise" calories more everyday... then I should still be under TDEE.

I've had a few days where water's not been what it should be, but overall, I've been a champ about drinking it.

I was super regular up until maybe two weeks ago. I went to NYC for a short trip--traveling usually gives me intestinal problems, but I've pretty much gotten back to normal since then.

shbretired

A pear for breakfast isn't enough, on the other hand whats up with the fast food?

Ice cream? sandwiches?

You're missing a few days, but the last complete day shows the story.

Look at your totals.

yarwell

. But if I can't fix the problem of eating enough without it being junk

You seem to be running scared of fat, which will probably leave you eating a lot of carbs (but you don't track them or protein in your diary).

If you want to get your calories up then avoid 0 %fat, lean, diet, lite and similar things and have the real one - more and better calories straight away. Avocado and almonds are two foods that will give you healthy calories from fats/oils.

Remember you get nearly twice the calories per gram or oz from fats as from other stuff, so make fat your friend.