What am I doing wrong?

MissGeorgiaPeachy

Hi I was wondering if anyone could take a look at my food diary and tell me where I'm going wrong besides not eating 1200 calories every day. Last week on day 7 I had lost 9 lbs and this week my scale hasn't budged at all and I'm on day 5. Thursday I go in to my doctor's office to weigh in, have my bp checked and get my B12/B6/Lipo shot.

Is it because my daily calories are so inconsistent or is my body already going into starvation mode and storing whatever it can?

It's so frustrating to get results one week and nada the next.

DanaDark

Whats your BMR and what is your TDEE?

What exercises do you do?

You calories seem frantic and all over the place. Are you logging EVERYTHING you eat?

MissGeorgiaPeachy

Whats your BMR and what is your TDEE?

What exercises do you do?

You calories seem frantic and all over the place. Are you logging EVERYTHING you eat?

I really have no idea. I started the Friday before last and I haven't measured anything but weight and blood pressure. I am logging everything, yes. I'm not eating a lot because I also started with phentermine just to suppress my appetite and get used to portion control.

beezlebubb

Just by taking a quick look, it looks like you are eating out a lot, which may mean that you don't 100% know whats going in your food OR the cals/nutrition. I'm saying that because they way restaurants prepare each item may vary, so the NI may not be 100% accurate.

I think upping the fruits and veg, trying to focus meals around lean protein, not carbs, and cooking more at home would increase losses (and most definitely health!)

DanaDark

Grats on starting... Lets get to work then!

Calculate your BMR here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

Calculate your TDEE here: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

BMR = How much you burn simply being alive.

TDEE = How much you burn in your every day life.

You calorie goal should be to eat MORE than your BMR, but LESS than you TDEE.

The deficit of calories you are looking for is 500 to 1000. If TDEE - BMR is less than that, you can throw in exercise to up spent calories for the day.

Try not to have too high of a deficit. Also try to eat more than your BMR. Eating lower than BMR for long periods can cause adverse effects on the metabolism.

ladybug1620

9 lbs is a lot to lose in one week, so it's no surprise you haven't lost this week. You should be losing about 1-2 lbs average a week. So if you think about it, you've lost enough for about a month in just a week's time. You'll lose again eventually, just keep at it. I didn't look at your diary but from your description you probably need to eat more also

nbme

Grats on starting... Lets get to work then!

Calculate your BMR here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

Calculate your TDEE here: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

BMR = How much you burn simply being alive.

TDEE = How much you burn in your every day life.

You calorie goal should be to eat MORE than your BMR, but LESS than you TDEE.

The deficit of calories you are looking for is 500 to 1000. If TDEE - BMR is less than that, you can throw in exercise to up spent calories for the day.

Try not to have too high of a deficit. Also try to eat more than your BMR. Eating lower than BMR for long periods can cause adverse effects on the metabolism.

Oh, is this why I've been in such a huge plateau??? MFP has my my daily calorie intake set to about the same amount my BMR is....so days that I eat less than my MFP, I'm not eating enough? Ooops. I'm going to up my calories and see if I can move off this plateau.

needamulligan

I do think that you aren't eating enough calories. Try to eat all of the allotted calories, at least 1200. I also noticed that much of your food choices are prepared and high in sodium. That could make you retain water. I forgot if you mentioned exercise or not. But adding exercise will help your progress. Good luck! and stick to it!

signgrrrl

Eat some REAL food. Tis the season for some fresh veggies... fruit... Stay away from the processed crap. Balance.

jurdejong

I just checked your diary. You need to eat more and not only fruit and bars. Eat some real stuff. Some rice, pasta, veggies. Also, never skip breakfast.
Good luck!

mamasmaltz3

You need to think about the food you eat food not in terms of "Is this gong to make me lose weight?". But, in terms of "Is this good fuel for my body?". Eating 600 to 900 calories even of nutrient rich foods is not going to give your body the number of nutrients it needs. I am trying to get in the mindset that food is fuel. If I want to keep a campfire burning I have to feed it. If you want to keep your metabolism burning you got to give it good fuel. I know you have said you are having energy problems on this number of calories. I eat least 1400 calories and on the days I exercise I eat more. You would feel much better mentally and physically if you up your calories. You would have the energy for more exercise which in turn is going to fuel your metabolism even more and make you feel that much better about yourself. You have taken the hardest first steps in this journey, you CAN do it!

Angebartle

I just took a quick look at your diary and it looks like you may need to bump up your breakfast. Try some grains and protein in with the fruit. I am not a morning person and it kills me to eat breakfast but starting today I'm making a pack with myself to try my best to get a good meal in the am. When I do I feel better and I'm not as hungry when my 10 am break comes around.

keep up the good work!

MissGeorgiaPeachy

Just by taking a quick look, it looks like you are eating out a lot, which may mean that you don't 100% know whats going in your food OR the cals/nutrition. I'm saying that because they way restaurants prepare each item may vary, so the NI may not be 100% accurate.

I think upping the fruits and veg, trying to focus meals around lean protein, not carbs, and cooking more at home would increase losses (and most definitely health!)

I do need to cut back on eating out. My willpower is still very low and when my family brings home restaurant food it's hard to say no, but I do try to log everything and not go over my macros... but I didn't think about possible errors in reporting NI. It's really hard for me to log foods prepared at home also because I have no idea how much of everything my mom puts into dinner... I am living at home at the moment and I work until 6 p.m. so dinner is usually ready and waiting.

I can definitely up the fruits, but I really dislike vegetables unless I have something to dip them in... and the only dressing/dip I like is Hidden Valley Ranch and not the light kind. I can't stand the light one. Also, I only like steamed vegetables if they have butter on them or I just can't force myself to eat them. I promise I'm not making excuses! haha I'm a really picky eater.

MissGeorgiaPeachy

Grats on starting... Lets get to work then!

Calculate your BMR here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

Calculate your TDEE here: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

BMR = How much you burn simply being alive.

TDEE = How much you burn in your every day life.

You calorie goal should be to eat MORE than your BMR, but LESS than you TDEE.

The deficit of calories you are looking for is 500 to 1000. If TDEE - BMR is less than that, you can throw in exercise to up spent calories for the day.

Try not to have too high of a deficit. Also try to eat more than your BMR. Eating lower than BMR for long periods can cause adverse effects on the metabolism.

Thanks for the links!! I did the calculations and my BMR is 1770 and my TDEE is 3693. There's no way I'll be going over my TDEE because on a good day I can do 1200 (lately anyway)...so I should be eating more than 1770 calories? I can't imagine how I could eat that much.

MissGeorgiaPeachy

9 lbs is a lot to lose in one week, so it's no surprise you haven't lost this week. You should be losing about 1-2 lbs average a week. So if you think about it, you've lost enough for about a month in just a week's time. You'll lose again eventually, just keep at it. I didn't look at your diary but from your description you probably need to eat more also

I didn't look at it that way. I was so focused on my scale not moving this week that I lost sight of how much I lost last week. I guess I can chill out for a few more weeks before I really start freaking out again, haha.

MissGeorgiaPeachy

I do think that you aren't eating enough calories. Try to eat all of the allotted calories, at least 1200. I also noticed that much of your food choices are prepared and high in sodium. That could make you retain water. I forgot if you mentioned exercise or not. But adding exercise will help your progress. Good luck! and stick to it!

Thanks! I really do need to work on eating more fresh foods, it's just that I'm so picky. I'm definitely not fat because I'm an emotional or boredom eater... I just love fatty, bad-for-you foods. lol

But to combat high sodium I should be drinking tons of water, right? I haven't been logging my water consumption at all, but I'm positive it's too low as well.

direwolfprincess

Grats on starting... Lets get to work then!

Calculate your BMR here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

Calculate your TDEE here: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

BMR = How much you burn simply being alive.

TDEE = How much you burn in your every day life.

You calorie goal should be to eat MORE than your BMR, but LESS than you TDEE.

The deficit of calories you are looking for is 500 to 1000. If TDEE - BMR is less than that, you can throw in exercise to up spent calories for the day.

Try not to have too high of a deficit. Also try to eat more than your BMR. Eating lower than BMR for long periods can cause adverse effects on the metabolism.

Thanks for this! I see these discussed around but wasn't 100% clear on some of the suggested guidelines. I knew my BMR but never saw the TDEE and knew that I should range in the middle. Great info!

jmoralesx5

Your sugar is very low...that is great! Your protein is also very low...not so great. You should have 1g of protein for each pound of muscle (some say your weight). So you really need to up that. Protein is what feeds your muscles and repairs your muscles after a workout. Also, you really do need to shoot for hitting your calories per day...and with "healthy" calories. The drink at Applebees helps boost your calorie intake, but you could've eaten 2 chicken breasts (260 calories/46g protein) and gotten better nutrition. I'm not saying skip the drink it didn't have sugar so that's good, but i'm saying think about where you are getting your calories from. You can friend me and look at my diet if you'd like. Good luck and know this is a work in progress!

MissGeorgiaPeachy

I just checked your diary. You need to eat more and not only fruit and bars. Eat some real stuff. Some rice, pasta, veggies. Also, never skip breakfast.
Good luck!

Thanks! I need to wake up earlier to have time to prepare breakfast. It's so easy to just keep the bars in my desk because I'm notorious for not having time for breakfast or forgetting my lunch. I've got to find veggies I like, but as far as pasta and rice... are we talking brown and wheat?

murphy612

Ok everyone is throwing all this information at you but, if you are on phentermine and you are eating Healthwise suppliments you must be under the care of a doctor or nutritionist, no? If not where are you getting these things? If you are then they have given you a diet plan, including calories and a menu, right? sorry I'm just confused by looking at your food log.

SavCal71

You are eating way under your calories.
You are eating very few fresh fruits and vegetables.
You are eating a lot of processed crap.
Where is the real food?

and where is the exercise?

MissGeorgiaPeachy

You need to think about the food you eat food not in terms of "Is this gong to make me lose weight?". But, in terms of "Is this good fuel for my body?". Eating 600 to 900 calories even of nutrient rich foods is not going to give your body the number of nutrients it needs. I am trying to get in the mindset that food is fuel. If I want to keep a campfire burning I have to feed it. If you want to keep your metabolism burning you got to give it good fuel. I know you have said you are having energy problems on this number of calories. I eat least 1400 calories and on the days I exercise I eat more. You would feel much better mentally and physically if you up your calories. You would have the energy for more exercise which in turn is going to fuel your metabolism even more and make you feel that much better about yourself. You have taken the hardest first steps in this journey, you CAN do it!

Thanks friend. You are absolutely right. I'm going to stop being so protein bar dependent. haha

MissGeorgiaPeachy

I just took a quick look at your diary and it looks like you may need to bump up your breakfast. Try some grains and protein in with the fruit. I am not a morning person and it kills me to eat breakfast but starting today I'm making a pack with myself to try my best to get a good meal in the am. When I do I feel better and I'm not as hungry when my 10 am break comes around.

keep up the good work!

I'm not a morning person either, but then again it could be I'm not giving my body the fuel it needs to get up and get moving! I used to do two hard-boiled eggs, turkey sausage and wheat toast and that was my perfect breakfast. Actually I could probably eat that for every meal of the day if there wasn't so much sodium! I've got to force myself to get back into that routine. I'd boil eggs on Sunday night for the entire week so I could just microwave them and go.

Thanks for your advice.

MissGeorgiaPeachy

Your sugar is very low...that is great! Your protein is also very low...not so great. You should have 1g of protein for each pound of muscle (some say your weight). So you really need to up that. Protein is what feeds your muscles and repairs your muscles after a workout. Also, you really do need to shoot for hitting your calories per day...and with "healthy" calories. The drink at Applebees helps boost your calorie intake, but you could've eaten 2 chicken breasts (260 calories/46g protein) and gotten better nutrition. I'm not saying skip the drink it didn't have sugar so that's good, but i'm saying think about where you are getting your calories from. You can friend me and look at my diet if you'd like. Good luck and know this is a work in progress!

Haha I wondered if anyone would bust me on that drink! I don't drink that often and had they given me two chicken breasts instead of that Bahama Mama, I might have thrown them at someone's head yesterday. I am definitely going to look into better options.

Things I've learned so far: More protein, more veggies, more fruit... carbs are okay in moderation, but stick to whole wheats.... don't skip breakfast... don't depend on protein bars and eat at least the recommended MFP calorie allowance, but possibly more because my BMR is actually higher than MFP's caloric intake suggestion... and move move move.

And for my own benefit... more water. Log water. Love water. Become mermaid.

MissGeorgiaPeachy

Ok everyone is throwing all this information at you but, if you are on phentermine and you are eating Healthwise suppliments you must be under the care of a doctor or nutritionist, no? If not where are you getting these things? If you are then they have given you a diet plan, including calories and a menu, right? sorry I'm just confused by looking at your food log.

I am indeed under the care of a doctor. I go in on Thursdays to weigh and they check my blood pressure and give me a look over to make sure I'm relatively "healthy". Also, they give me the injection for the week.

I raised concerns with my doctor about what my daily calorie intake should be and he told me not to worry about that, but to just make sure I'm eating protein.

So again I asked if I should stay around 1200 calories and he said that sounded okay and then proceeded to tell me that most of his clients were between 6-900 calories a day. I remember thinking at the time that there was no way I could eat that little, but lo and behold here I am.

As far as a meal plan, I was not given one. I was given a list of foods that were high in protein and that's all. Also, being such a picky eater, there are VERY few things on that list that I will even eat, so that's how I ended up relying on bars and fruit.

MissGeorgiaPeachy

You are eating way under your calories.
You are eating very few fresh fruits and vegetables.
You are eating a lot of processed crap.
Where is the real food?

and where is the exercise?

I think processed foods are going to be my biggest problem. I'm not a very good cook. I don't think I've ever boiled rice before in my life... and I don't know the first thing about steaming vegetables so it's easy to add seasoning packets and buy bagged veggies that I can just heat in the microwave... and then there's the issue of being invited out to lunch and dinner by co-workers and friends and trying to choose wisely because I don't want to be rude and turn them down.

Fruit will definitely not be a problem. I love almost all fruits and I am more than happy to add more of those. Vegetables are a slight problem... I don't like steamed vegetables without flavoring and I don't like raw vegetables unless I have something to dip them in. I'm incredibly picky. I love a LOT of foods, but they are a lot of unhealthy foods.

As far as exercise goes, I walk. My street has two steep hills that I climb on days that I do walk... the days that I don't walk are usually because I've done a lot of walking at the mall because I have an unhealthy obsession with shopping.

I don't have any way to measure how many calories I've burned by walking though. I guess I know what my next shopping expenditure will be... Hello HRM! I don't trust the one on MFP to be accurate. Yes I walked for 30 minutes at a leisurely pace, but I climbed steep hills which took a lot more effort than walking leisurely at the park.

Thank you for the input. I really appreciate all the comments. I have learned a lot today.

MicaelaFW

What kind of doctor are you seeing?? I can't even imagine a licensed professional telling you it was ok to eat 600-900 calories a day?? eeek?? I would look for advice from another physician, eat healthier, and exercise... GOOD JOB on seeking others advice and making an effort to better your life. xo

murphy612

I am indeed under the care of a doctor. I go in on Thursdays to weigh and they check my blood pressure and give me a look over to make sure I'm relatively "healthy". Also, they give me the injection for the week.

I raised concerns with my doctor about what my daily calorie intake should be and he told me not to worry about that, but to just make sure I'm eating protein.

So again I asked if I should stay around 1200 calories and he said that sounded okay and then proceeded to tell me that most of his clients were between 6-900 calories a day. I remember thinking at the time that there was no way I could eat that little, but lo and behold here I am.

As far as a meal plan, I was not given one. I was given a list of foods that were high in protein and that's all. Also, being such a picky eater, there are VERY few things on that list that I will even eat, so that's how I ended up relying on bars and fruit.

Horrible doctor!!! eeekkk You are getting good information here. Glad you realized you weren't getting good advice and went elsewhere. Please be careful with the phentermine and try not to take it very long. Best of luck to you girlie!!

clamar1012

We have about the same amount of weight to loss and I also hit a plateau around this point. Just keep pushing through and let your body also adjust to your new eating habit. You will continue to loose weight again. I know it gets hard and very frustrated that you ARE making these changes and not seeing any results - just stay strong and keep on going! Congrats on what you have accomplished so far and remember that you didnt put all your weight on at one time and you wont loose it all at the same time. Sometimes we also forget where we are going because we are too busy looking back at what you've done.

caraiselite

less carbs (stick to healthy ones that are not processed!!)

protein, veggies

MissGeorgiaPeachy

What kind of doctor are you seeing?? I can't even imagine a licensed professional telling you it was ok to eat 600-900 calories a day?? eeek?? I would look for advice from another physician, eat healthier, and exercise... GOOD JOB on seeking others advice and making an effort to better your life. xo

From what I understand he specializes solely in the diet market. The facility I go to offers no other services. I have an appointment with my primary care physician on August 2nd and I think you're right that I should bring up my concerns to her. Everyone here seems to be on the same page as far as advice and recommendations and I have really begun to wonder about the other doctor's credibility.

Thanks for your input. I do appreciate it.