i need advice! ASAP please

MaverickUK2K

You should realise that going to the gym, pretty much regardless of what exercise you do, you will build muscle and obviously muscle weighs more than fat. Unless you see yourself getting fatter I wouldn't personally worry.

I'm not sure why a lot of people on here seems to think you can't eat, let's say, a BLT without it being a life changing decision that will add lbs to your weight. As long as you eat calories that do not go above your allowance, and don't spend ALL of your allowance on junk food, you're going to lose weight and get or stay healthy.

I have a genuine question to everyone; why do you feel you can't eat, for example, a Mars Bar without it being a burden?

I_love_frogs

Ugh...yes I understand so much of what you are saying.

I was never able to lose weight before when I said "no more cheeseburgers!!! " or "I CAN'T have pizza!!"

Saying I CAN but in moderation works for me. If I tell myself no it makes it more desirable in a way to me and I start obsessing over it. This way, I can say "I've had a good week,. I did my exercise, made good choices, and today I feel like having some pizza with dinner tonight. Let's work it into my day....hmmm I can do a bit extra exercise today or tomorrow and have a personal pizza....or a slice or two of a larger one."

Otherwise I start getting into a bad food cycle about it...obsessing and thinking about it until I finally end up going online to Papa John's and using the free pizza points that I have...and once I get the pizza I have to get cheesebread, and chicken, and a diet pop...you see where I am going with this. And then I can't have a bit...I end up eating most of the cheese bread, and a good few pieces of pizza and all the chicken....then feeling like crap both physically cos I ate too much and mentally cos I feel like a failure to myself (which is not a healthy state of mind to be in imho)

Moderation is the key. And exercising. I have gotten into the habit now of thinking about my choices and saying well, is it worth doing an hour of water aerobics or an hour of treadmill/walking/whatever to eat this item? If yes? Then I do my exercise and if I go over a bit then I go over, but I know I did my workout and so I can eat my pizza guilt free and instead of devouring most of it I have a few slices and a salad instead.

Also I do substitutions too. I will have an intense craving for something... like pizza. So lets see, I can use a piece of spinach flatbread...add a little sauce, some cheese, pineapple, and a bit of ham, basil, and spinach with some almonds thrown on top. I will throw it in the oven and boom a healthier version of pizza! Cravings averted and its a healthier version to boot.

BrownEyedSister

I've been living with the impact of OCD tendencies and an eating disorder for much of my life. I speak from experience in the mind set of good/bad food and judging myself based on what I did or didn't eat that day.

After lots of self reflection and work I believe I've reached a place today that allows me to think my diet is a bit like the weather. Some days it will be sunny, some days rainy and some days I will be like a tree, bending to the force of the wind. And like the weather I have some control. I can put on sunscreen, wear layers and my warmest boots, or I can go out completely unprepared. My diet is somewhat like that too. I can prepare by buying healthier foods, making sure I have snacks so I don't overeat when I am "starving" and try to make healthier choices when eating out. Does it always work? No, sometimes I wish I had brought my umbrella. But I realize that tomorrow is a new day and I can start fresh. And you can too.

However, if logging is causing you to fixate on things too much, free yourself by taking a break like other posters have suggested. Best wishes!

Into each life a little rain must fall
- Longfellow

Jessicaruby

You should realise that going to the gym, pretty much regardless of what exercise you do, you will build muscle and obviously muscle weighs more than fat. Unless you see yourself getting fatter I wouldn't personally worry.

I'm not sure why a lot of people on here seems to think you can't eat, let's say, a BLT without it being a life changing decision that will add lbs to your weight. As long as you eat calories that do not go above your allowance, and don't spend ALL of your allowance on junk food, you're going to lose weight and get or stay healthy.

I have a genuine question to everyone; why do you feel you can't eat, for example, a Mars Bar without it being a burden?

MUSCLE DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT! sorry for the caps but this irks me to know end. a pound is a pound wether its feathers, fat, muslce or gumnballs. i workout hard 6x a week. i enjoy working out. i go to the Y and have met some really cool people there. its just a mind issue i am having but i fear if i stop logging i will gain more weight

MaverickUK2K

Lol, the caps are warranted. It's like asking what weighs more, a tonne of feathers or a tonne of bricks. You'd be surprised at how many people say a tonne of bricks, though the answer is obvious (a tonne is a tonne). Not entirely sure what I meant when I said that, so I'm sorry for saying that.

What I meant, I suppose, is that muscle and fat have a different mass. A pound of fat sitting next to a pound of muscle will look very different, so the difference when looking in the mirror will be significant - but that doesn't really help me with the point I was making earlier, d'oh!

I suppose weight gain could also be related to water intake and your muscles taking on the extra water.

Jessicaruby

thank you all for your responses and advice. one thing i keep seeing is fit it into your calories. well if i want to go out and say have a tenderloin with fries (my all time favorite) thats just not going to fit my calories unless i workout like a mad women and restrict what i eat the rest of the day and that doesnt seem normal or the way to live to me. i dont understand how i could eat all this stuff before and be fine. i had to of been eating more then i do now but yet i weigh more now. i just dont get it!!

seekingstrengthX2

You are a size 5 and want to be a size 3. Combining that with your ocd and everything you have described, i think some counseling might help. You have some definite body image issues. Have you considered that?

swat1948

The beauty of this program is that you can eat the things you want in moderation. I eat cheeseburgers, pizza and ice cream but stay under my calories. I go out to eat and look for healthy options in my calorie range. I actually went over calories just once since I started here, but a binge will not kill you...pick yourself up and go on, you can do it!

Jessicaruby

The beauty of this program is that you can eat the things you want in moderation. I eat cheeseburgers, pizza and ice cream but stay under my calories. I go out to eat and look for healthy options in my calorie range. I actually went over calories just once since I started here, but a binge will not kill you...pick yourself up and go on, you can do it!

i just dont see how you can fit these things in within your calories unless you are super restrictive the rest of the day or exercises like crazy so you have extra calories to eat. i dont feel like "normal" people do this. before i started on MFP i didnt tell myself well im going to dinner tonight so i better eat a super light breakfeast and lunch. i just ate what i wanted when i was hungry and i had no issues. i feel like thats what people do in life. but i am terrified that if i go back to this i am going to gain more weight and i am already not happy with my body after bulking

rlmadrid

You should realise that going to the gym, pretty much regardless of what exercise you do, you will build muscle and obviously muscle weighs more than fat. Unless you see yourself getting fatter I wouldn't personally worry.

I'm not sure why a lot of people on here seems to think you can't eat, let's say, a BLT without it being a life changing decision that will add lbs to your weight. As long as you eat calories that do not go above your allowance, and don't spend ALL of your allowance on junk food, you're going to lose weight and get or stay healthy.

I have a genuine question to everyone; why do you feel you can't eat, for example, a Mars Bar without it being a burden?

MUSCLE DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT! sorry for the caps but this irks me to know end. a pound is a pound wether its feathers, fat, muslce or gumnballs. i workout hard 6x a week. i enjoy working out. i go to the Y and have met some really cool people there. its just a mind issue i am having but i fear if i stop logging i will gain more weight

I think what they were trying to say is that muscle is more dense than fat. 1lb is 1lb, yes. However, someone at 150 lbs who is very fit and largely muscular, will have a thinner appearance than a person who is 150 lbs, but very sedentary. What "muscle weighs more than fat" implies is that one may maintain or gain, but still see their proportions change. Scale weight is not the only measure of success.

I do agree with you though, I may have developed a mild OCD relevant to logging. I'm embarrassed to say that I went out to dinner on Saturday, and spent a good half hour after my meal trying to find comparable foods in the MFP database. I got a lovely lecture from my date (a boyfriend of nearly three years) about how I should just relax sometimes. I honestly think the logging helps me learn how much I can put in my body, and how that relates to what I put in my body. If it works for you, keep it up! Maybe one day we will all reach a point where we can just mentally understand our intake and not have to "obsess over the numbers" but until then, I will continue to feel pride for every day I am under my calorie goal.

rlmadrid

thank you all for your responses and advice. one thing i keep seeing is fit it into your calories. well if i want to go out and say have a tenderloin with fries (my all time favorite) thats just not going to fit my calories unless i workout like a mad women and restrict what i eat the rest of the day and that doesnt seem normal or the way to live to me. i dont understand how i could eat all this stuff before and be fine. i had to of been eating more then i do now but yet i weigh more now. i just dont get it!!

Metabolism changes, lifestyle changes. It could be that simple. I was tiny, under 135 at 5'9" until I was 18 in university. The secret was an obsession with soccer. I was working out 5-6 days a week without thinking about it and I was young. I never had to think about calories. In university I stopped playing competitively, only pick-up games and no practices. I started stressing, and being confined to my desk, with a bowl of various study treats. As well, my metabolism was slowing with age, and the end of growing vertically. The horizontal growth started. It sucks, but everyone goes through it. Being conscious of intake and output will help. Good luck!

nichojanes

I understand that it can be hard to fit the food you want into a daily calorie regime.

perhaps it would be better for you to use the reports to view you intake on a weekly basis. I tend to try to have 'naughty' foods, like chinese, indian, kfc, mcdonalds, at the weekend and then I can control my intake for the rest of the week to balance it all out.

Sidesteal

i just dont see how you can fit these things in within your calories unless you are super restrictive the rest of the day or exercises like crazy so you have extra calories to eat.

You're correct, but it's probably not quite as extreme as the above.

Example: If I want pizza, my previous meals would be vegetables and lean sources of protein (low-ish carbohydrate and low-ish fat, very high protein). Then I'll have macro space to eat pizza, which would typically be higher in carbohydrate and fat, and not all that high in protein relatively speaking.

I call it "eating like a bro" for the day so that I can fit in some junk later on. It's effective but depending on how calorie dense the food item is that you're trying to "fit", it CAN get frustrating.

BUT, I'd like to also interject with something: Are you competing? If the answer is no, perhaps you can find a way to just take a day here and there where you shut MFP off, and just go live a normal life and eat what you want? I know the thought might be scary and it might slow down your progress, but mental health is important. My assertion is that finding a balance where you do this a bit more frequently might allow you to not go as crazy on these "free days" because they're happening more often.

Then again, I could be full of crap.

Gwoman2012

I'll be honest...I don't think logging is for you.

I would go back to doing what you were doing before you joined MFP. Maybe consciously try to eat protein since you want the muscles but that is it.

It's actually not uncommon to end up heavier, it's called "yo-yo dieting"...get yourself off the cycle before it begins again!