I /should/ be losing, but instead I'm gaining. Help!

Shellsmiley

I AGREE with sooo many things people have written here and I will just throw in my two cents that really helped me (mainly cause I'm an emotional eater) -- DO NOT CONFUSE THIRST WITH HUNGER. Best. Advice. Ever. (For Me).

Also, I work in a coffee shop that sells donuts, premixed powdered sugary drinks, etc and for me, it's hard to be around it every day but I am trying to cut that crap out because I know eating out at work and other places has made me gain 7 lbs in the past month and it's not good. Also, I'm a fan of the sweet drinks, but honestly, a hugely bad thing to be drinking when wanting to lose weight. My doctor told me to "stay the hell away from those drinks because they are your enemy". I only drink them about once a month IF I feel like I want to and IF I hit my goal for the last week of the month. :drinker:

ALSO, I've been reading a book called "The pH Miracle To Weight Loss" by Robert O. Young. It talks about how the body needs to be ALKALINE (so eat a lot of alkaline rich foods) to lose weight. My doctors agree with this book because the know from personal experience that having an acidic body (and diet) is not good for anyone and can actually cause cancer (amongst other things) because cancer thrives in acidic conditions. (I know Cancer doesn't have much to do with losing weight, but good fact nonetheless). Haha. OKAY So I've said more than planned... hope it helped!!! :bigsmile:

Guines9

ON HERE, WE ARE ALL LOSERS!

dawnemjh

HI there! I am the same height as you and almost same weight, about 171 right now and I have gained 15lbs since starting on MFP:noway: :noway:

One thing for sure is that weighing food should make a big difference. I was shocked when I weighed my oatmeal to see that when I measure out 1/2 a cup, its actually more calories than the box, because it comes to more than 40gms, so now I weigh everything. Even using tablespoons to measure stuff like hummus and peanut butter, I found that the spoons were over what the weight was. This 'should' make a difference.

Also regarding alcohol, I find that when I drink, for whatever reason, the scale goes up and stays up. Not like a temporary increase from bloating or water weight, but seems to stick around. That being said, when I was younger I enjoyed drinking with friends and if you really enjoy that, then you should, but try lower cal options like someone else suggested, shots, or drinks with diet soda.....Best of luck to you!

Rho_Ro

DO NOT CONFUSE THIRST WITH HUNGER. Best. Advice. Ever. (For Me).

AND ME. I totally and absolutely agree with this. At age 55 I only realised this over the past year. It has made a huge difference to my weight. GOOD LUCK.

nicolie2012

Don't stop drinking, losing weight shouldn't effect your social life just pick lower calorie drinks. Try to be consistent, eat 3 meals a day and 2 snacks, mix up your workouts so your body doesn't get used to it. I'm always on a diet this is the first time I'm taking it seriously, I tend to lose 2lb then gain 2lb and it is so frustrating, take it one day at a time and good luck :-)

3dogsrunning

I looked at your diary and it appears that you are hitting your calorie goals but here are the two things that I would recommend:

1. Measure your food - I made this same mistake when I started here. I thought that I had a good idea of my portions and that I was eating smaller portions than I thought they were. When I purchased a food scale and started measuring I found that I was actually eating twice the amount that I was logging. Once I got the scale I went from a "plateau" to losing immediately

2. Cook your own meals when possible - Looks like you are eating out a lot and the problem with that is that you cannot really be sure that they are really serving the portion sizes that they are reporting or that they are using the ingredients that they are reporting. This could vary from place to place. In addition there is a lot more sodium in those food. The more foods you prepare, the better is is for you to ensure the correct calories.

All in all, good job on logging and good luck with your weight loss.

^^This is probably the best advice.

If you are not losing weight in the longer term (ignore weekly fluctuations as they are usually due to water weight) you are not at a deficit. Based on the intake I saw in your diary, you should be losing at that level of calories (assuming your higher calorie days do not negate the lower ones - you should take an average over the last month to see where you actually are). The most likely explanation is that you are eating more calories than you think you are.

Edited to fix typos

This.

I noticed you would have a cup of spinach, do you eat anything on it? I also don't see any sauces or condiments for pretty much any meal. Maybe you don't use them, just making points. These are just little things that can creep up.
And you logged rum and coke at about 60 cals a drink, which would be incorrect if it weren't diet.

deja_blu

I don't drink so it's no issue for me.

Tell the boys you are watching your figure (they're watching it too), LOL.