Pls. look at my food&Exercise diary...What's WRONG?!?

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Honestly? Everyone is focusing on diet, pretty much. Forget that (well, not completely, of course!). While your food diary may have some issues, your exercise diary is more the issue, IMO. I don't think you're working hard enough, sorry! You've gotten some good advice on adding in some weight training....and I think walking is great, but pick up the pace a bit. I don't know what your current weight is, but if it's not of physical danger to you, walk as fast as you can or ever throw in some little jogging intervals to start. I'm 45, have a really rocky ankle, so when I started trying to do that, I looked pretty scary I'm sure. I probably still look scary, but it feels a lot better and I can actually almost sort of run!

I will ditto the "get a heartrate monitor or Bodymedia FIT or BodyBugg (etc!)" advice too. That said, I didn't have any of that when I started on here, and lost weight using MFP's estimates, even though I found out they were high when I did get a HRM.

Good luck on your journey!

WHAT?????!!!!!????????

Uhhhh............you are so my SHERO for saying that--bless God Almighty, Yikes and THANK YOU. Ohhhh girl, I can't believe you are saying this to me. MAN, this is the ticket (at least one of them FOR SURE). Wow, here I am thinking I'm doing something AWESOME (walking before and after breakfast lunch AND dinner most days--BUT as you so wonderfully and thankfully busted me out about..I'm walking super turtlelike and not giving it my all or even my some at all-- LOVE you for checking me my friend :drinker: ), and you show me (with LOVE), uh-uh...kick it up a notch. I can not tell you how much I appreciate and wil DO THIS for sure.

I've been galavanting about at a super leisurely pace, and not pushing myself AT ALL during these walks...oh honey, again, I'm positive this may have/play an important key in why things aint moving like they should. THANK YOU again...I can't run yet, and get outta breathe walking real fast (or that has been my excuse anyhoo ), but girlfriend, for real...I do need to kick it up a notch.

You rock miss missy--totally! :flowerforyou:

lizziebeth1028

Too many organic supplements make people Sarcastic:noway:

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Too many organic supplements make people Sarcastic:noway:

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I don't know if you're serious or joking, but that's funny as all get out! :laugh:

I'm not sure if you're referring to my reply to Javamonster...but if you were--my reply was serious as a heart attack, I LOVE and appreciate and will follow her advice and wasn't being sarcastic at all. Maybe you weren't referring to that, but if so..you're wrong. This (Javanmonster and everyone else advice is totally loved and appreciated by me..I wanted no holds barred reviews of my food/exercise diary) and that's EXACTLY what she and others did and are doing--am I'm GLAD. I don't just want folk agreeing with me...I want some help and she and others are giving it to me--for that I'm super grateful and not sarcastic in the least--just FYI.

If you were just saying this to be funny, honey it totally is

NewLIFEstyle4ME

You guys so rock...Thanks yet again!

I drink that orange juice because I mix it with the Amazing Grass Barley, Wheatgrass & Alfalfa grass...it taste like dirt, but is almost yummy mixed in the O.J.

Also, because you good folks have mentioned adding protein, I'm re-starting my Hemp Protein power drink again too, to help with making sure I get more protein. I'm not a vegetarian, vegan...I don't like to label myself--but I'm just not digging meat and diary--I just don't like it/my system doesn't like it--so that's why I need to take these supplements in lieu of eating beef, lamb and pork and diary. I really don't like chicken either, but will eat it sometimes and I also eat eggs too. Again, I'll eat them (meat and diary) if and when I want to...but I just don't want to/don't like to eat them (the way they taste and make me feel after wards) most times.

Let me say once more...I SO appreciate this advice. I'm feeling so encouraged and inspired--thank you ALL for your no-holds barred comments--{{{ Hugs}}}} I LOVE and NEED and WANT them:flowerforyou:

I eat mostly plant-based too, and get plenty of protein for my body. Yes, a hemp or a pea protein smoothie once in a while helps out, but eat beans, nuts, tofu, tempeh and you can do fine. I do try to steer away from the more processed vegetarian foods because they're too high in sodium and too much salt stalls my loss for sure.

Feel free to look through my diary (although I took about a 2 week break and just recommitted yesterday so take that in mind if you do!). And feel free to friend me if you like. I can always use more.

Oh, as to exercise, I tend to eat back 50-80% of my exercise calories on average but mostly I try to listen to my body. If it needs more food it usually lets me know! LOL!

Thank you! How do you get passed the low NET Calories when you don't eat all your exercise calories. When I don't it looks like I'm not eating enough and the Net Cals look low. I'm not so much concerned for myself--but low net cals seems to make other Mfp peeps go bonkers with worry, concern or contempt or something.

How does one/you not eat all of their exercise cals and still make your Net Cals or are you not concerns with Net Cals.

I'm asking you, but would love to hear from everyone on this isssue.

I would say realize that everything is estimated. Obviously you can get closer estimates on some things than others, but especially exercise calories can be overestimated (particularly if you are using MFP's or a machine's estimates). So eating 50% is a safe bet and even up to 75% is likely to leave you in a very safe range of preserving your deficit. Some people do eat 100% and are successful, just realize it's okay to work within a range and find a good balance while still being healthy.

This is wise and good advice--Thank you :flowerforyou:

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Track sodium for awhile and stay under 1500! See what happens! Good luck!

Thanks for this info. I'd clocking my sodium from the beginning and I think I've gone over maybe once or twice in my entire time here I just stopped clocking my sodium the other day, when I posted this cry for help. I put it back up to show how I rarely go over sodium...I think my issue is what you guys and Javamonster is saying:

Too many carbs, not enough protein, kicking my daily walking up a serious notch and underestimating my working out cals until i get one of those body bugs/'heart monitors or fitbit things. Plus other stuff mentioned. I'll still watch out for sodium too, but replaced my sodium watching with sugar watching the other day. I took out my fiber watching to put it back today too.

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Not sure what your height/weight, activity level, and goals are, but here's some generic advice:

1) If you don't have one already, get a food scale. Weigh and measure everything. Even if you use measuring cups, you can be off by quite a bit.

2) Eat back no more than 3/4 of your exercise calories. This is to account for the fact that a lot of these burn estimates are exaggerations. I think I saw 800+ burns in there for exercise, which raises a red flag. And don't try to log every single movement (e.g., walk to the mailbox, washing dishes, etc.). I know it can be tempting so that you can eat more, but doing this can cause you to eat/above at your actual TDEE instead of under. It's best to give yourself a bit of a buffer to make up for some of the estimation error. (If you use a HRM, it is likely more accurate, but make sure you still add in NET calories-- total calories burned minus nonexercise TDEE). And if you are on a plan where you eat back calories, make sure your activity level is set to sedentary. *

3) Have reasonable and realistic goals. According to your ticker (20-30 lbs to lose), I would suggest aiming for 0.5-1 lbs of weight loss per week. Also realize that weight loss is non-linear. You will often lose in "whooshes" --sometimes no loss for 3 weeks followed by 1-2 pounds overnight. Be consistent but patient.

4) Try to avoid letting your exercise effect your non-exercise energy expenditure. E.g., don't think "I exercised today, so I don't need to take the stairs." or "I earned a lazy Sunday because I worked out." etc. Exercise should be an addition to your normal routine, not a replacement. If you find that your exercise is making you too tired to do things you normally would, you can always back off a bit. Shorten your exercise and add on to the time or intensity *gradually* to give your body time to adjust. You're more likely to stick with it this way, too.

5) Eat mainly whole foods instead of supplements. This way you can get more familiar/comfortable with a healthy lifestyle (not diet) and really learn what a "proper" portion size is, etc. Why do you think so many that do shake diets gain all the weight back right away? Weighing food for a while will help you with portioning as well. If you're trying to eat from mainly vegetarian sources, I would suggest educating yourself on the diet over dependency on supplements (which get to be expensive). You shouldn't have much problems with deficiencies if you plan your diet well. E.g., I almost never eat read meat but have more than enough iron from regularly eating leafy greens, tofu, lentils, etc.

6) Increase your protein. Carbs and fat may need to go down. A good setting for most on a diet is 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat. You don't need to eat red meat and dairy to increase your protein. Tempeh, seitan, tofu, lentils/beans, eggs, fish, etc are all good sources. If you eat fish 4X a week, you probably won't get much benefit from the fish oil supplement.

*I know you asked about not wanting to keep your net calories low. My answer to that is that having a reasonable weekly goal (3) should allow you to eat enough. If you are worried about "how it looks on paper," just log the exercise that you did for 3/4 of the time. Or create your own exercise. I personally wouldn't worry too much about some busy-body thinking I didn't eat enough based on my NET, but that's just me. :-)

Wow Ruthie....THANK YOU

NewLIFEstyle4ME

dont eat back all your exercise calories, it ends up that u havnt exercised at all, i thought the whole point was to burn more calories than we are eating or at least try! and thats how you lose weight! am i totally wrong here!!

Yes you are totally wrong - so please don't send people down the wrong path.

OP, I would offer a couple of pieces of advice that may help you:

1. Change up your routine. If you have had success doing the same type of exercise and eating the same types of foods, there will come a point where the progress will slow dramatically. Remember that your body craves homeostasis and it wants to hold on to the fat - sometimes you need to change things up to kick start the fat loss again.

As for exercising, I suggest absolutely everyone includes some form of weight training or resistance exercise in their routine. It has a heap of benefits, including increased metabolism, increased bone density & strength etc.

2. Looking at the breakdown of your diet, I would suggest playing with your macros a little (more protein and less carbs specifically). Don't get me wrong, I love me some carbs and I'm not going to preach paleo, but some more protein might be a good idea.

DITTO ON ALL! Especially on not eating back your exercise calories. YES YOU SHOULD!! The bottom line is Calories in vs. calories out, whether this is caloric restriction or calories burned. Eat more to weigh less. Sounds crazy, but true. You should get to the point where you are HUNGRY and want to eat about every three hours. This means your metabolism is working. I can set the clock by my stomach. I plan ahead and do my best not to get stuck somewhere without food.

Weight training is KEY! Muscle builds metabolism!

All of this being said, don't be married to the scale. Take your measurements. I weighed the same for over six months, yet went down two pant sizes. GOOD LUCK!

Oh MAN! I'm definitely playing the bum on this for sure. THANK YOU for posting this! I have that Power 90 dvd set, which includes weight lifting--which I LOVED and that cardio one (with the yoga) which I HATE because it was so HARD for me, started it a couple of months ago, got busydoing other things and have not been lifting weight/strength training anymore much at all. You are so my SHERO for adding this--I am definitely neglecting this area. Thank you so much, I'll get back on weight lifting/strength training again FOR SURE!!!!!