not losing weight

traceygl1967

I am looking for a little advice here .
I have been dieting for the last 10 weeks ,only found MFP last week . before joining MFP i was having 1500 calories a day I lost weight at that level for the first five weeks then my weight stalled and I lost nothing thereafter.
When I joined MFP and brought myself a fitbit seems I was eating too little so for the last week I have upped my calories considerably . I usually burn around 1000-1200 calories more than I eat so in effect should be losing 2lb a week.

I weigh and measure all my food
my calories burnt are tracked by fitbit
i workout between 30-40 mins a day (not overly intense excercise as I have some knee and back problems because of my weight)
I started at 300 pounds got down to 291 in first 5 weeks and there I stay
Please any help would be greatly appreciated

traceygl1967

bump

traceygl1967

anyone offering some advice please???

rashmirao74

There could be many reasons why you are not losing weight. Have you checked your BMR (Basal metabolic rate), this will give you the exact calories that you need to stay alive. So if you are consuming lesser than your BMR, your body does not lose weight. Secondly have you checked your thyroid levels? If you happen to have hypothyroidism (which I have) it is tougher to shed the excess pounds. Also do you get 8 hours of sleep? Do you drink more than 8 glasses of water everyday? MFP has a great app for keeping count of water. Also on MFP we tend to overestimate our exercise numbers and underestimate our eating habits. Take a look at various factors and you might just figure out what is holding you back. All the best!!!!

Mellie289

I see in your diary that you aren't tracking your sodium intake. Too much salt can hinder weight loss. It looks to me like you might be eating some fairly salty foods. Something to look at maybe limiting to get your weight loss moving again.

If you are exercising so much, you might be losing fat and gaining some muscle, meaning you might not see the changes on a scale. Are you measuring yourself? I've had 2 weeks with very little change in weight (while doing the 30 Day Shred) in which I lost 2 inches off my hips, an inch off my thighs and waist. To me, that's amazing progress and I don't care that the scale didn't move when I went down a pant size. Try tracking your progress with a measuring tape instead of just weight.

Crochetluvr

Have you thought of trying to lower your carb intake? Its not for everyone, but it does work.

dragonyear

kfa;slkfjawe;lkfj I KEEP BINGING.

sarahrbraun

Have you thought of trying to lower your carb intake? Its not for everyone, but it does work.

^^^this^^^

I watched what I ate and worked out like a demon (90 minutes 3-4x a week) for 3 months and lost a whole 7lbs. I cut my carbs down to 100g a day, cut my workout down to 60 min 3-4x a week, and the weight started moving again! the first month I lost 8.4lbs...in 14 weeks I have lost 19.4lbs.

meerkat70

kfa;slkfjawe;lkfj I KEEP BINGING.

What? Where's the evidence of 'bingeing' in that diary? (And yes, there's an e in binge, sweetie.... ) Seriously, I get you're a teen and everything, but this is incredibly unhelpful. Run along.


Now to the OP.... I think the first thing is to check how you're estimating expenditure and intake. Are you weighing your food, especially calorie dense food? Your basic diet looks reasonably healthy (I don't see why other posters are concerned about salt - that doesn't look too bad to me.... ). Are you absolutely sure you're logging everything that goes in?

Now, on the question of expenditure. I don't know much about fitbits, in practice, but they always appeared to me to just be glorified pedometers? Is that the case? In which case, I'm not sure how reliable what is, essentially, a distance only based calculator, would be. You might want to think about a HRM for a slightly more accurate reading on outputs.

babygu24

Do you wear a Heart Rate Monitor when you exercise that counts calories burned. I was unable to lose, and when I bought mine I realized I was overestimating by a lot by using the reading on the machine....

BlueJean4114

how long have you been logging your food intake?
it looks like you have been staying under your calorie goal for all of........two or three days?

is that right?

GREAT START!!:bigsmile: but, it's only the start, but GOOD FOR YOU!!!

i am new here too, (IF you are also new)
and it took me a few days to get used to NEW eating habits, i messed up a few times, especially at first, til i got stronger in my mind about it all.


it will take more than two days to lose weight, but, it looks like you ARE headed in right direction!! KEEP GOING!!!
kudos to you for trying and figuring it out, you can do this!
we are ten miles into the woods,
and yes,
we will have to walk ten miles to get back out again.

but, we CAN do this, just keep logging every bite you eat, drinks, condiments, evvvvvvverything, and watch how just doing THAT will help you!! helped me, anyway, i am going to DO THIS THING!!

BlueJean4114

FOR ME,
having a feeling of HOPE, was crucial.

so do have hope, that you CAN do this.

i think it is hard for most humans to stick with something that they do not believe they CAN do,
nor will most humans persist at something that they do not believe will work.

so do get yourself to believe you CAN do this, the lil engine that could kinda mindset,
and focus only on TODAY.....try not to look at whole thing, just look at TODAY.
We can do anything for one (1) day,
and celebrate "yes, i did it right today."

try NOT to look at whole mountain, just the step you are taking NOW, today....one day at a time.

BlueJean4114

I am new here,
but, i love it and feel MFP is helping me focus on my caloric intake,
and find the very act of logging my food

---

every bite, every condiment, every liquid, everything,
just logging it all,
is causing changes in how i see my ktichen now.

For first time in my whole life,
i am becoming aware of how MUCH i eat---> the portion sizes.
NOW, i at least eyeball the food, if not actually measure it, to be able to log it later on.


I am becoming more aware of calorie-dense foods.
lol

---

i am getting eyes like that scene in the Terminator movie, where the alien guy scans a room and sees numbers/facts/measurements,

that is kind of how i see tables of food now:laugh:

---

my eyes look at a table and register this: "item in this bowl is probably about 300 cal per cup, item in this bowl is about 100 ca per cup." etc etc.

I am now eager and more eager, to weigh myself, to see if another few ounces has come off yet., focusing on one day at a time, instead of looking at the wholllllllllle pile of weight i have yet to lose.
I feel good to lose a few ounces,:bigsmile: instead of thinking, "aw geez, i still have 28 more pounds of fat :sad: on me."

I am becoming more focused on, what i eat = what i weigh, and which types of food are best for me.

Becoming aware of how many calories i have left for the day, has helped me (more than once), NOT eat something i normally would have eaten.
sometimes, late in the evening, i run to computer, log all my food, to see if there are enough calories to eat this snack, or not.

never did THAT before!! ha ha!! i AM going to make to my goal weight, and am going to become a healthier more active person again.

meerkat70

Having looked at your exercise diary, I'm pretty sure that's where your problems lie. It's just incredibly unlikely you're burning around 250 for 15 minutes on the exercise bike (I push hard on the static bike, with a high resistance, and that's about what I get for half an hour). Also, working out in 10-15 minute stretches isn't a massively effective way to burn calories. You need to be aiming for longer and less frequent sessions, I suspect.

I think you're overestimating expenditure, and if you're eating all that back, you'll be left with a negligible deficit.

clbowman11

There could be many reasons why you are not losing weight. Have you checked your BMR (Basal metabolic rate), this will give you the exact calories that you need to stay alive. So if you are consuming lesser than your BMR, your body does not lose weight. Secondly have you checked your thyroid levels? If you happen to have hypothyroidism (which I have) it is tougher to shed the excess pounds. Also do you get 8 hours of sleep? Do you drink more than 8 glasses of water everyday? MFP has a great app for keeping count of water. Also on MFP we tend to overestimate our exercise numbers and underestimate our eating habits. Take a look at various factors and you might just figure out what is holding you back. All the best!!!!

I think she hit everything there. And water is also great for the elasticity of the skin as well (: And I was eating to little and had to up my calories and it takes a little bit for you to start again a few days after adjusting my calories I had dropped 1.5 lbs (: And sleep definitely makes a difference. Especially on days your exercising, but you're exercising everyday, so it would be good to get at least 7 hours but preferably 8. (: Good luck (: Hope you start losing, again soon. But, don't give up! It will happen again eventually. (:

AVinmill

lower your carbs and increase your protein. Workout a little less and give yourself more rest, maybe a 4 on 3 off split or something like that. Try to get more natural foods, I didn't look too closely at your diary but even something as simple as swapping that potato for a sweet potato will help.. small changes can lead to big results.

YouAreTheShit

My recommendation would be to move to a low carb food strategy as soon as possible. Run that diet for about 4 weeks then review results and evaluate. Here is a good resource that explains the low carb diet:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/#axzz23vBEMcyK

Good luck!

jemboop

You need more fiber and need to detox

meerkat70

You need more fiber and need to detox

What do you mean by detox, and why does she need to do it?

Seriously, reading through this thread, I'm wondering whether anyone's looked at the diary.... ?

Well, good luck to the OP. I hope you find an appropriate solution. My money's still on overestimating expenditure.

traceygl1967

Thank you all for your input here are the things I am doing at the moment

I drink 2 litres of water a day
I weigh everything I eat and I mean everything lol( have done this for last 10 weeks)
I eat some of my excercise calories back most days
I wear a polar HRM when excercising( although i didnt and my excercise was over estimated but i still ended up with a good weekly deficit as i am set to lose 2lb a week )
I sleep between 6 and 8 hour a night .
My thyroid level are fine
I have measured myself no change


Fit bit calculate your BMR based on the usual equations you find around the internet then adds calories for activity and the BMR is pretty much the same as what MFP gives me give or take a calorie or two. It also counts steps taken and how many flights of stairs climbed it counts the day to day activities that a heart rate monitor doesn't . I use it really to encourage me to get up and move around more
I have also used the numerous calculators around the net to estimate my BMR TDEE ect and fit bit is very very close to be honest

For Bluejean 4114 yes I have only been logging food here for six days but have been logging elsewhere and stayed under my calories for 10 weeks and lost a total of 9lbs all in the first 5 weeks and nothing since.

I always find it very very difficult to lose weight and very very easy to put weight on but these last 10 weeks is the most serious effort I have put in to losing it .

I am on medication (Zoloft) which may have something to do with it but I just dont know.:ohwell:

I will have to consider the low carb diets but I do love my carbs lol

meerkat70

try not counting any exercise you do for less than 20 minutes. (I'm sorry, but I remain pretty convinced .... :-) )

There's something wrong in the numbers, I think. You need to review it all as carefully as you can. Check your weight is entered correctly on the hrm. (those static bike figures sound *way* high). Do the fit test to improve accuracy if your version of the polar offers this. That you lost before you started using this site, and changing the numbers suggests numbers *are* the issue. (not carbs... your carb intake isn't that high, unless viewed by a habitual low carber!)

Zoloft was 'sold' by pfizer as not causing gains, but there's more mixed evidence recently. I doubt that's the whole issue, but may contribute. Obviously don't come off it, but perhaps raise it as a concern when you review your meds.

Mellie's point - you might have some newbie muscle gains, but full on muscle gain is a bit unlikely. However, if you've stepped up activity since joining mfp, and particularly if you're stiff, you may have doms related water retention, which will mask loss.

Bear in mind 6 days is a very short time to be on this programme though... I know you've started elsewhere, but I'd give it a bit more time before you start to panic about drastically changing what you're doing.

jen8239

I started last April at 325 lbs and now down to 195. I changed my eating habits and diet plans several times throughout the course of my diet, especially when I'd plateau and get frustrated. So I know the ins and outs and ups and downs LOL

After checking out your diary I do see a few things you can change. First thing ALWAYS double check the nutritional info for each entry. Don't trust what other users have entered. I've made that mistake many times and had to do a face palm! One thing that jumps out at me is the amount of bread you are eating. That is a lot of unnecessary carbs. The Tesco Granary rolls entries are only showing the calories. I did a quick Google search and see those have a great deal of carbs and other nutritional info missing from your recorded entries. Always take a second and check the packaging on your food to see if it matches the item you selected on MFP. I know entering your own stuff from scratch is a pain sometimes but isn't worth it if it means the difference in your weight loss? The recipe entry on MFP is great too!

Secondly, you may want to consider watching your sugar. Sugar and carbs go hand in hand, if your carbs are high the sugar usually is too. As most people know, the body breaks down carbs and turns them into sugar.

Lastly I would recommend you try to get a balanced diet. Focus on fresh foods. Try to limit your intake of carb-filled starchy foods like breads and potatoes and eat them in moderation. Aim for foods that don't have empty calories and are high in vitamins and nutrients that your body needs. Try incorporating fresh vegetables, fruit, lean meat and low fat dairy like yogurt and such. If you find it hard to enjoy those types of food try to introduce them gradually to your diet. I find I'm more full and satisfied from a nice healthy meal and makes me feel better too! Remember just because you are on a diet doesn't mean the food you eat has to taste bad or leave you hungry.

Best of luck to you. Don't get discouraged. If you slip up and have a cheat remember the whole day isn't blown and isn't an excuse to have a food free-for-all. Stay the course! I go weeks sometimes with no loses but I keep at it day after day and it pays off! It's great that you are exercising. I have slacked on that lately. Just remember most of your success will come from what you eat and the exercise will help burn a little extra and tone you up. It's much easier to eat a sensible diet and use exercise as a boost to your weight loss than to use exercise as a means to eat junk and work harder to try and burn it off.

EDIT: Oh, and when I first started I was only able to exercise in 15-20 min periods cuz it killed me! I slowly worked up to 30 mins and then a hour! So just the fact that you are trying is awesome! Trust me it will get easier!

meerkat70

jen, those are all very sensible points.

triggerpuller702

i would give it a few more weeks on here. sometimes weighing and tracking your food on a program reveals that your estimating is off. second, if you aren't exercising your cals may actually be too low. what can happen in laymans terms is your body goes into shut down mode. it sees a drop in calories and starts to slow metabolism to keep your energy stores up. if you aren't getting exercise in, adjust your eight loss target to 1lb or less/wk for a bit.

also look into the glycemic index. carbs are fine, but if you aren't super active you need to know which ones are fine. eating low gi carbs will have less of an impact on your insulin levels and ultimately fat storage. they also tend to 'fill you up' better. try to spread out your meals - 5-6 a day eating every 2-3 hours. a good trick is to eat just enough so that you are beginning to get hungry at the next meal time. eating 3-4 300 cal 'meals' with 2-3 100-150cal 'snacks' should put you right where you need to be.

good luck.

traceygl1967

Thank you everyone you have all given me some great ideas to think about

moneill33

I'm losing all my Zoloft/Trazodone weight (all 6 stone of it!!!) It's painfully slow and prior to antidepressants was never even overweight. i'm now still obese and fighting for every 0.5 pound. This week I got 0.2 pound lol. I've been off the antidepressant for over 3 months but the weight is not flying off. I exercise 5/6 x a week pretty intensive with a personal trainer some sessions and boot camp once this week and bar about 2 days in months I've been under my calorie goal every day.

I have no advice because unfortunately I'm fighting the same battle. But stick with it and don't compare your losses with those of others just see that every static or small loss at least is not a gain and eventually if we keep putting the effort in it will catch up. Interestingly I have measured and in 6 months have lost 19 inches so far but only 2 stone in weight so far. The lower carb thing does help for me I did lose over a pound last week, when I ate more carbs this week I got 0.2 pounds. I'm also trying the rest days as my muscles are incredibly sore, also increasing water and cals for a few days and will reset on monday.

Good luck with your battle - you will get there!!!!!

acidosaur

I am on medication (Zoloft) which may have something to do with it but I just dont know.:ohwell:

Speaking for myself- only for myself- Zoloft caused MASSIVE weight gain over 3 years, with no change in eating habits at all. This is why I am here- trying to lose the 40-50lb I put on.

For example, I went to India for 3 weeks while I was on it, and despite taking in hardly any calories (stomach problems lol) and eating about once a day, I had barely lost anything when I got back. Now I am off it again, the weight is coming off.

Ultimately it was worth it for my mental health, but do consider that it could be the Zoloft that is making weight loss difficult.

acidosaur

I'm losing all my Zoloft/Trazodone weight (all 6 stone of it!!!) It's painfully slow and prior to antidepressants was never even overweight. i'm now still obese and fighting for every 0.5 pound. This week I got 0.2 pound lol. I've been off the antidepressant for over 3 months but the weight is not flying off. I exercise 5/6 x a week pretty intensive with a personal trainer some sessions and boot camp once this week and bar about 2 days in months I've been under my calorie goal every day.

I have no advice because unfortunately I'm fighting the same battle. But stick with it and don't compare your losses with those of others just see that every static or small loss at least is not a gain and eventually if we keep putting the effort in it will catch up. Interestingly I have measured and in 6 months have lost 19 inches so far but only 2 stone in weight so far. The lower carb thing does help for me I did lose over a pound last week, when I ate more carbs this week I got 0.2 pounds. I'm also trying the rest days as my muscles are incredibly sore, also increasing water and cals for a few days and will reset on monday.

Good luck with your battle - you will get there!!!!!

Moneill, I have heard that it takes a comparable amount of time that you were on the drug for the weight to fully come off. So far, that's true for me, although it did drop off much quicker in the beginning.

writergirljodie

Have you considered food intolerances?? I did the Fat Resistance Diet a couple of years ago and dropped serious weight in a hurry. But that wasn't the amazing part - it lead me to discover that I have a gluten intolerance. I immediately went to a gluten-free lifestyle and things have been moving much better for me since. Within a few months, I also discovered I have an intolerance to dairy. So, now I'm also dairy-free. I think that those two food groups really kept me from losing weight in any real increments (I'd only lose a lb. over a few weeks of diet/exercise regimens) until I got off the grain and gave up the cheese. Now, when I get back to working at it, I can see and feel a difference. So, maybe you can give up wheat for a short term test and see if it will make a difference. I still eat potatoes and rice so it's not a traditional low-carb diet. But seriously, gluten-intolerance is way more common than you may think. Might be worth a try...

AronrFells

you need to eat more to burn off calories faster. exercises: clean,walking and etc.. ever since i did this i lost 6 pounds in 4 days.

stormieweather

Most of the time, the culprits for not losing weight are A) underestimating food intake and overestimating calories burned.
To counter this, get a scale and measuring devices, use them, and make sure that everything you put in your mouth is logged....accurately. Know the proper way to measure - pasta is weighed dry, chicken is weighed before cooking, always measure and log oils, sauces, and dressings. Check labels and look up the correct info on fresh/natural items on nutritiondata.com.

Be very conservative in your exercise calories. I know people that say they burn 500 calories for 30 minutes on the elliptical or 1000 calories during an hour of zumba, but sadly, that is NOT me. I actually burn about 30% of what the machines and MFP calculate it to be. And even then, I only eat back half or so. Keep in mind that the Fitbit will keep on ticking even if you do nothing at all, so you need to deduct those calories from the "additional burn" due to exercise. Ie: My hourly, sedentary, calorie burn is 70. So if I go work out and my Fitbit shows 300 for an hour, 70 of that is what I would have burned asleep or sitting on my butt watching TV. So my extra is really only 230!! And I'll eat about 110-120 of that, depending on how ravenous I feel.

I lost 40 lbs doing this. And sometimes, nothing happens for weeks, just stick to it and NEVER give up.