What's the point?

2

Replies

  • vfnmoody
    vfnmoody Posts: 271 Member
    yup they have all said it.....it is not easy but it will be worth it.
    Your cadrio burn is kind of small and spotty. It sounds odd but I think you would benefit from an hour a day of the same type of cardio..not twenty min. of one thing , ten minutes of the next , .....that just is not going to do the same for your body as an hour straight of one type.

    It is hard work to lose weight and it takes along time you are just on the edge of starting to lose....do not stop now..
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    I was on lower cals very little fat just before I joind MFP. 4 weeks and I lost muscle mass and gained fat so I took some advice from a fitness buddy who told me to drink full fat iced coffee over an entire day as I needed fats and that was the easiest way to add them in. I'm off the coffee as of tomorrow and I'm going to drop the cals down to 1400 as suggested.

    I have been really upset about this all week. I've had no chocolates for 2 months and then my partner decided to buy a whole load of them. Comfort food at its best. He's taken the last of them to work today so they're out for now.

    Don't eat the exercise calories? I read over and over to eat at least half of them.

    Yes! Eat them up!
  • emnk5308
    emnk5308 Posts: 736
    Try better quality calories... =| I'd try to find an alternative to your coffee... I switched to a frozen coffee protein drink as a meal replacement! I love it.. so yummy! 300 calories, that is breakfast, and coffee, and lots of protein. Maybe should also try to monitor sugar.. I know it isn't necessary for everyone to but maybe you should try it. Most of my sugar comes from my fruits and stuff (now a good chunk comes from my coffee drink) but it hasn't been affecting me. Give that a try! =)
    Don't give up on it!! Try to graze! Get some raw veggies and fruits and snack during the day.
  • Melanie_RS
    Melanie_RS Posts: 417 Member
    I was on lower cals very little fat just before I joind MFP. 4 weeks and I lost muscle mass and gained fat so I took some advice from a fitness buddy who told me to drink full fat iced coffee over an entire day as I needed fats and that was the easiest way to add them in. I'm off the coffee as of tomorrow and I'm going to drop the cals down to 1400 as suggested.

    I have been really upset about this all week. I've had no chocolates for 2 months and then my partner decided to buy a whole load of them. Comfort food at its best. He's taken the last of them to work today so they're out for now.

    Don't eat the exercise calories? I read over and over to eat at least half of them.

    wow! I hope you do! I think you'll see results! I'm proud of you!
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    It looks like you have very little to lose and in all honesty the last 5lbs or so is awfully hard to lose. I know it was for me. I had to increase my calories to get the last few lbs off so I suggest you try the same.

    Oh and I would not recommend any of these restricting diets people are suggesting (like low carb, low sugar, etc) unless it's something you are going to stick with for the rest of your life.
  • HungerGame82
    HungerGame82 Posts: 41 Member
    More fruit, veggies, salads, whole grain, and lean protein. HEART HEALTHY FATS!!! If you lower sugar and carve, you'll see change very rapidly. You can do it but maybe do some research. Based on your diary you definitely won't lose currently but if you really want to I think you can. :)
  • Wonderob
    Wonderob Posts: 1,372 Member
    Being honest your diet looks like crap. Get rid of the coffee that is INSANE! Make your own coffee and get a light creamer. Which will be only 15-30 calories instead of 500. Eat protein with complex carbs in the morning. You need to eat a bigger breakfast!!! Try egg whites with veggies and wheat toast or an english muffin.

    Your lunch needs more protein, veggies with a complex carb and dinner should have protein and more veggies,

    Also you need healthier snacks. Your not losing weight because your not eating enough and your also eating crappy foods. If you want something sweet or salty try having a refuel meal once a week.

    You have a KFC biscuit in your diary and you have the nerve to judge someone else's diary lmao

    He wasn't asking for advice as to why he couldn't lose weight! The OP was

    Can you only give advice if your own food diary is impeccable?
  • HungerGame82
    HungerGame82 Posts: 41 Member
    More fruit, veggies, salads, whole grain, and lean protein. HEART HEALTHY FATS!!! If you lower sugar and carve, you'll see change very rapidly. You can do it but maybe do some research. Based on your diary you definitely won't lose currently but if you really want to I think you can. :)
    Supposed to say lower carbs!!!
  • jpfrimmer
    jpfrimmer Posts: 134
    I've been dieting, exercising, and staying within recommended calories for near 5 months now. I stopped losing anything months ago and eventually came to this site because of all the support and the weight/measurement trackers. Today I weighed in at exactly the same weight I hit 3 months ago. I lose a tiny bit, I gain it back, I lose it again, and back it comes. I've upped my cals. I've dropped my sodium. I've added different/changed my exercise. What is the point of putting in all this effort only to stagnate at the same weight, the same measurements? Why does nothing I do matter? All I wanted in march when I started this was to slim down to fit a certain pretty dress I own by October. In march I needed to lose a total of 10 cm or about 4 inches. 5 months of hard work and determination and I need to lose 10 cm. I am no closer for all the tracking and effort. Why won't the fat just go away?

    Seriously, your eating habits suck. It's all junk. And your calorie goal is high. I'm male, 5'8" and weighed 195 when I started. My calorie goal was 1400. Yours is something like 1700. Eat real food, not coffee with cream, and packaged junk like Snickers bars. You don't lose weight by TRACKING calories. You lose weight by not eating calories and by burning calories.

    Um if you knew any math you would realize the 1700 was AFTER exercise calories were added in.. not NET!

    Exactly! Although 1700 calories is not that high. My goal is 1800 calories BEFORE exercise and I'm a 5'5" female at 135 lbs. And I'm still making progress :)

    Back to the original post. You need to eat more whole foods such as fresh fruits and veggies, lean protein, and complex carbs. Prepackaged stuff is convenient but they are usually packed full of sodium and added sugar. They also have a lot of ingredients our bodies don't need.
  • Ripcode
    Ripcode Posts: 142 Member
    Are you weighing your food portions or guesstimating?

    If you are estimating, you could be way off in calories.
  • 33neenaj
    33neenaj Posts: 306
    Being honest your diet looks like crap. Get rid of the coffee that is INSANE! Make your own coffee and get a light creamer. Which will be only 15-30 calories instead of 500. Eat protein with complex carbs in the morning. You need to eat a bigger breakfast!!! Try egg whites with veggies and wheat toast or an english muffin.

    Your lunch needs more protein, veggies with a complex carb and dinner should have protein and more veggies,

    Also you need healthier snacks. Your not losing weight because your not eating enough and your also eating crappy foods. If you want something sweet or salty try having a refuel meal once a week.

    You have a KFC biscuit in your diary and you have the nerve to judge someone else's diary lmao

    He wasn't asking for advice as to why he couldn't lose weight! The OP was

    Can you only give advice if your own food diary is impeccable?

    Practice what you preach is my motto
  • Wonderob
    Wonderob Posts: 1,372 Member
    do you work out? i was looking at your diary and it looks pretty ok.

    Is it? A third of the calories invariably comes from coffee! Then there's the chocloate bars and donuts

    I'm not judging by the way as mine isnt that good - but to say it's ok is a bit misleading isn't it?
  • aimsteen
    aimsteen Posts: 49
    I agree with bettering the quality of your calories, but don't eat so clean and healthy you can't maintain it for a lifetime..and will eventually want to binge. This is a lifestyle change so keep it managable...if you want one of your coffee's occasionally..go for it. Also, make sure you measure as many foods as you can so you can calculate you calories to the best of your ability...they will never be completely accurate because most labels can have up to a 20% variance in nutrition information. No one can be sure we're measuring 100% accurately, but we can try our best. Just my opinion, but I would add a combination of strength training and cardio. You mentioned you previously lost muscle mass so the strength training, combined with some cardio, and increasing you protein intake should help you. Hope this helps. Good luck on your journey...you can do it!!
  • Pimpmonkey
    Pimpmonkey Posts: 566
    Heavy cream and a 500 calorie coffee? Thats just not a log that says "i want to lose weight".

    Feet to the fire. That's the gospel truth though isn't it? If you're serious about losing the weight, not just sort of want to but really serious, then you can lose the weight.

    How bad do you want it?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsSC2vx7zFQ
    That was awesome, thanks for sharing!
  • loumaag
    loumaag Posts: 118
    I'm not going to offer advice on your eating habits or your exercise (or lack of it) but I am curious as to how you have logged 599 calories burned from exercise TOMORROW, but haven't eaten anything yet? I know you are on the other side of the date line from me, but just asking how that might be.
  • Wonderob
    Wonderob Posts: 1,372 Member
    Being honest your diet looks like crap. Get rid of the coffee that is INSANE! Make your own coffee and get a light creamer. Which will be only 15-30 calories instead of 500. Eat protein with complex carbs in the morning. You need to eat a bigger breakfast!!! Try egg whites with veggies and wheat toast or an english muffin.

    Your lunch needs more protein, veggies with a complex carb and dinner should have protein and more veggies,

    Also you need healthier snacks. Your not losing weight because your not eating enough and your also eating crappy foods. If you want something sweet or salty try having a refuel meal once a week.

    You have a KFC biscuit in your diary and you have the nerve to judge someone else's diary lmao

    He wasn't asking for advice as to why he couldn't lose weight! The OP was

    Can you only give advice if your own food diary is impeccable?

    Practice what you preach is my motto

    And yet you have scolded someone for judging someone's food diary......... by judging his food diary!
  • loumaag
    loumaag Posts: 118
    ...<snip>

    Practice what you preach is my motto

    Then open your profile up or stop creeping and criticizing others.
  • aimsteen
    aimsteen Posts: 49
    It looks like you have very little to lose and in all honesty the last 5lbs or so is awfully hard to lose. I know it was for me. I had to increase my calories to get the last few lbs off so I suggest you try the same.

    Oh and I would not recommend any of these restricting diets people are suggesting (like low carb, low sugar, etc) unless it's something you are going to stick with for the rest of your life.


    I agree with this entire statement. I had to increase my calories and my strength training to really see a difference, and I don't do anything I can't maintain.
  • thepanttherlady
    thepanttherlady Posts: 258 Member
    I'm not going to preach about what you should and shouldn't be eating, I had McDonald's for lunch. :)

    What I DID notice in going through your diary; however, is that there are a lot of foods that don't show any sodium logged which isn't accurate. Some days you're over on the MFP recommended sodium and I suspect that you're over even more than what's logged. I've actually weighed myself after a high sodium day and showed an extra 9 lbs on the scale! I knew it was from the sodium so it wasn't anything to panic over.

    Make sure to weigh your food & don't use the "recipes" others have entered into the database. You don't know how well they've measured, what brands were used etc. You'd be best to create your own for accurate logging. Rather than log the breakfast you have (unless you, yourself made that entry and know it to be correct), I'd suggest you log the Vegemite separately (measured for serving size), then the toast separately and so on. You may find where the problematic area(s) are.

    Good luck and more importantly, don't give up!!!

    ETA (because another post reminded me I wanted to mention this) is if you've only a small amount of weight left to lose, make sure your settings reflect it. Meaning don't put that you want to lose 2lbs a week if you have little to lose. It's not realistic and could be a cause of gaining and/or not losing.
  • knk1553
    knk1553 Posts: 438 Member
    The best things I have done and that have worked for me amazingly (not saying they work for everyone, but what has worked for me for me to start seeing results):

    1. Buy a food scale, its the best $20 investment you'll ever make
    2. Drink more water, I have more energy than coffee has ever given me by upping my water intake
    3. Cut your carbs and up your protein, this is what has worked the best for me, I'm currently doing 30/40/30 carb/protein/fat and I've noticed a change in my body in just the last week
    4. Watch your sodium, I suggest adding it to your tracker
    5. VEGGIESSSSS eat more veggies, I aim to have a large serving of protein and a veggie with lunch and dinner, breakfast I aim for a protein and a fruit.
    6. Make sure you sweat, if you aren't sweating, you're not working, if your workout isn't hard, then its not a workout, also add some weight training in, muscle looks better than skinny.

    Don't give up, but seriously consider giving your diet a major overhaul, its hard work to eat healthy, but its very rewarding, you'll most likely see a huge change in your energy once you change what you eat. Everyone's advice is good advice, and now its time for you to figure out what works best for you, I wouldn't suggest upping to 1800, unless you aren't going to eat back your exercise calories. Play around with peoples tips and see what works for you, because none of us are you, but everyone has good advice
  • loubeth22
    loubeth22 Posts: 72
    Hehehe, its 9.30 am here. I've been up for 4 hours and I drank a coffee, did my work out on the elliptical, walked to work, ran up and down the stairs and am now about to eat breakfast. I haven't added in the food just yet. I figured I'd work out like a maniac before I got responses from this.
  • 33neenaj
    33neenaj Posts: 306
    ...<snip>

    Practice what you preach is my motto

    Then open your profile up or stop creeping and criticizing others.

    I'm not looking for advice
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    ...<snip>

    Practice what you preach is my motto

    Then open your profile up or stop creeping and criticizing others.

    Oh give it a rest. Her food diary is none of your business.
  • MsMartyMac
    MsMartyMac Posts: 33
    Exercise calories are bonus. Eat what you need of them if you are hungry but don't binge just because you have exercise calories left. Drink LOTs oF Water And don't ever drop below 1200 calories consumed for the day. This is my first go with MFP trying to drop the 25 lbs gained when I got off plan for two years.... best plan... eat real food..fruits, veggies, lean protein, high fiber carbs., and even dessert IN MODERATION. And Sweat, Sweat, Sweat with your workout..."If you ain't sweatin'...you ain't done" Just my $0.02
  • loumaag
    loumaag Posts: 118
    ...<snip>

    Practice what you preach is my motto

    Then open your profile up or stop creeping and criticizing others.

    Oh give it a rest. Her food diary is none of your business.
    Thank you, that was my point exactly. She has no real advice for the OP, but can creep other's profiles and criticize them for offering advice by creeping their profiles. I think you missed a step here somewhere.
  • Melanie_RS
    Melanie_RS Posts: 417 Member
    Hehehe, its 9.30 am here. I've been up for 4 hours and I drank a coffee, did my work out on the elliptical, walked to work, ran up and down the stairs and am now about to eat breakfast. I haven't added in the food just yet. I figured I'd work out like a maniac before I got responses from this.

    well, holy! you're rockin' it already! WTG!!!!!!
  • loumaag
    loumaag Posts: 118
    Hehehe, its 9.30 am here. I've been up for 4 hours and I drank a coffee, did my work out on the elliptical, walked to work, ran up and down the stairs and am now about to eat breakfast. I haven't added in the food just yet. I figured I'd work out like a maniac before I got responses from this.
    Thanks for that explanation, I was just wondering that is all. Personally I can't function in the morning before putting something in me. lol
  • wookiemouse
    wookiemouse Posts: 290 Member
    Couple of suggestions -

    1. Definitely cut out the crap food. It's ok to "just count calories" when you have 60 lbs to lose. When you have such a small amount to lose, every bite really counts - not just in quantity but also quantity. If you love chocolate, go ahead - but do one small square of dark chocolate a day. Stick to real foods, not chemicals in a box.

    2. Who set your goal weight? Is it realistic? Are you 100% sure that's where your body needs to be at? I suggest hiding the scale in the back of your closet, finding a good exercise routine that you can stick to, and clean up your diet. If you eat healthy and exercise, your body will take care of itself. Choosing a random number doesn't mean squat if that's not where your body is meant to be. Not everyone is meant to be a size 2.

    3. Exercise - strength training is a MUST. Cardio will get your heart rate up, you burn calories, you stop moving, calorie burn done. With strength training, you increase the biggest calorie burners in your body - your muscles! Meaning you could be sitting on the couch watching tv and STILL be burning fat just by lifting weights. It will increase your metabolism and the amount of food you can eat. Total win-win. Check out "The New Rules of Lifting for Women," it's a great guide. Be warned that the scale still may not budge when strength training tho. But you WILL be smaller. I lost 8 lbs in an entire year doing strength and mild cardio - but also lost 3 clothing sizes. You will NOT bulk up but be leaner and smaller, replacing fat with muscle.

    4. Finally, be honest with your diary and calorie count. Like a PP mentioned, get a scale. Weigh the 1 oz of chips, don't guesstimate. If you have another 3 peices of chocolate later that day, log it. If you have any "leaks" in your calorie log, honesty will definitely tell you!
  • amillerwvu
    amillerwvu Posts: 54 Member
    So many different things to listen to... I know it can be frustrating. I used to do Weight Watchers, and that was the best thing for me because it showed me what GOOD calories were. For example, a Snickers bar is worth 8 points and a medium Iced Mocha is 9 points. Say, for example, you're allowed to consume 29 points a day. Both of the two things I listed points for are almost a third of your points--points that should be used for "solid" things, like protein, vegetables, fruits, essential oils. The biggest "no-no" our WW leader told us was to avoid DRINKING our points. (not gonna lie...I need some alcohol once in a while...lol) Anyway, I learned that I cannot eat Smart Ones, for example, because they have way too much sodium in them. On my food diary, I open up the sodium and sugars so that I can view them because those are my weak spots.

    I'm not claiming to be an expert on this, but I learned a lot of information on my WW journey. I'm now on yet another journey of losing--due to my poor food choices. I've tried so many things in the last 15 years, and what I KNOW...the only thing that works for me is choosing my calories more wisely...and moving. I hate to exercise, but I'm doing it. There's just no other way IMO than disciplined effort. Is it easy? no....but I WANT it...and the only way to get it is if I (major capitalization on the "I"...lol) do it!

    I hope you find something that works for you. Go back and study your diary...perhaps look at sodium and sugars. I was surprised at how much sugar I had been consuming. I still struggle, but I know my weaknesses, so I try to stay on top of them. Good luck:)
  • loubeth22
    loubeth22 Posts: 72
    Hehehe, its 9.30 am here. I've been up for 4 hours and I drank a coffee, did my work out on the elliptical, walked to work, ran up and down the stairs and am now about to eat breakfast. I haven't added in the food just yet. I figured I'd work out like a maniac before I got responses from this.
    Thanks for that explanation, I was just wondering that is all. Personally I can't function in the morning before putting something in me. lol

    That's what the coffee was for. I think I'l see if I can get a meal replacement smoothie or something instead