What am I doing wrong?

lisadlocks

I'm 5'4", 271.8 pounds. The experts are the people who came up with BMI.

What do I eat? Anything and everything. I used to be a chef, but now I'm a stay at home mom. We try and stay away from processed foods, canned food, boxed food, etc. It's not like I'm living on Hamburger Helper and Lean Cuisines or anything - yuck. I do eat a lot of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Since I've started on this weight loss quest, I have no taste for anything but grilled cheese, even though I'm constantly starving.

Any tips for cutting down sodium? I thought that drinking lots of water was supposed to flush out your system and prevent water retention?

Chef, you will have to start cooking and stay away from higher sodium choices such as most processed food and cheese. Buy fresh tomatoes or canned no salt varieties and make a delicious homemade tomato soup. You can train your taste buds to eat less sodium. Buy lower sodium swiss cheese for your grilled cheese sandwhiches. If you are reading labels, their is probably sodium in it! To lower my blood pressure without medication. I had to began cooking everything with no salt and only natural sodium food content. I keep my sodium gram 1500 most days (when I cook and don't eat out). Lime (Mrs. Dash) is my best food flavorer. I swear there is salt in there and read the label everyday just to check.

rock_kowgurl

I have to say one thing first: I'm kind of put off by the fact that you guys seem to think I eat a lot of processed foods. I don't. The only processed food I eat on a regular basis is Velveeta, and I only eat 1-2 ounces at a time. Now I feel defensive instead of feeling supported or like I'm getting advice.

Life and food have lost all their joy thanks to this weight loss attempt. I used to be a chef and love food and cooking, now I just want to die instead of diet.

I do measure everything I can, and I use my culinary skills to fill in the blanks. I always over estimate if I do have to guess. I realize that I eat a lot of carbs, but we are poor and can't afford fresh vegetables and meats. We're too rich for food stamps and too poor to buy the right things. I don't eat canned vegetables (except corn occasionally), only frozen or fresh. We have to get a lot of our groceries at the food pantry, and they don't have fresh produce very often.

I'm almost 31. Family history is unknown because I am adopted. The only thing I know is that at the time of my birth, the only overweight biological family member was my maternal grandmother, at 5'2" and 200+ pounds.

I don't eat at any specific times of day, intentionally, but the day usually goes like this:

Wake up 9am
Feed the baby
Gym 10-11
Feed the baby
Eat lunch while baby is sleeping (usually 11:30-12)
Feed the baby & have a snack around 3-4
Baby's dinner at 6
Parents' dinner at 8 (due to FH getting home from work at 7:45)

Most days I don't eat anything until noon.

We rarely eat fast food - less than once a week on average (some weeks we might eat it 2-3 times, but then not have any for a few weeks). I usually try to work out extra if I want fast food.

Just a note, I did eat half a jar of pickles because I was starving and had already gone over my calories. That's why my sodium is so high today. If you go back over the last few days, not just today, you will see that it's not always that high. Maybe that's why you think I eat a lot of processed foods and salad dressing and stuff like that too?

Sometimes, when I make food at work, it's 100% from scratch but I use a product that's already in the database - for example, last Tuesday we made macaroni & cheese for 500 people. I knew exactly what and how much the ingredients were, but I wasn't 100% on the serving size or how many servings the recipe actually made. Instead of trying to figure that out, I put in that I had Stouffer's macaroni & cheese. I find myself in that situation quite a bit. Local restaurants don't always have their nutrition info, so when I get a sub from my friend's place I put in the Subway equivalent. I guess that would be another reason why people are saying I eat a lot of processed foods.

I know you probably think I'm making excuses, but I'm just trying to make sure you all get the real picture short of moving into my house with me.

Here's my info from fat2fit.com

Entered information: 30 year old female, 62 inches tall, weighing 272 pounds.
From the information that you entered, you'd like to weigh 200 lbs.
Your current BMR is 1989 calories.

Daily Calories to Lose Weight
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) - 2010
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) - 2303
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) - 2596
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) - 2889
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) - 3183

Entered information: 30 year old female, 62 inches tall, weighing 272 pounds.
Your BMI is: 49.7
This puts you in the Morbidly Obese category.

CarlieeBear

I'd put the recipes in MFP and divide the total portions by the amount you eat to get the number of servings. The way you enter them now, they could be significantly off. You have a benefit most of us who eat at restaurants don't have. You know how much of each ingredient goes into the dishes. If the rest of us can't get info from the restaurant, we just have to guess. When I order food without cheese or mayo or dressing, I often have no clue how much is typically used.

stines72

just a tip for you since you cook -
you can add your own recipes in and it will tell you the caloric amount etc, even when making things from scratch
click "food" then click "recipes" enter all of the things you used to make it and voila!

Molly_Maguire

As far as "feeling jiggle", this could be a very good thing. I know when I started losing weight from my belly, the fat sort of "broke up", and before it started visibly reducing, it just got sort of Jell-Oesq and flabbier and grosser than before. I was super frustrated and grossed out. But I kept up with it and then it went away. I guess when you have a lot of fat to lose, the fat cells begin to shrink in random spots, making the trouble area looser and more jiggly, and THEN it starts to reduce.

Don't give up, keep eating at a deficit, stay with your exercise and pound water all day long. You'll get there if you're patient and stick with it.

weird_me2

I don't think the processed food is a problem, I think the having to estimate is. The other day you had three slices cicis cheese pizza for only450 calories total. Was that one of your pick a substitute entries, or is that what you really had? If you used that as a sub, you were probably way under on your calories. A cheese slice from just a small pizza will run about 250 for at least 750 for three, not 450. As for the measuring, if you can't weigh, then don't measure level for dressings and such...I've found that if it's a tablespoon, it's just under the rim of the spoon, not level with the top. Again, I also recommend making sure you are using the right entries...did you have kens ranch, or kens buttermilk ranch? Did you have cicis pizza or restaurant pizza? As for what you make, enter it in the recipe builder and try your hardest to figure out your portion size.

Your BMR calcs are probably off, because it doesn't account for lbm or body fat. Google military body fat calculator or just body fat calculator, find your average body fat percent, and use that to find your BMR. I keep saying yourbmr is probably too high because we are very close in weight, but I'm 6 inches taller with a good deal of lbm, and if you had my body fat %, your BMR would still be lower than what you have now.

Finally, you say you don't have the money for veggies, but you also mention going to a lot of local restaurants. Those two things don't really go together for me. My DH isnt working currently, and we manage to have fresh, healthy stuff for us and two kids. We only eat out twice a month, and this past weekend our eating out was a local pizza place. You should be enjoying your food...I know I do. In the past week, I've had bacon and Gouda stuffed pork chops with a ranch blt salad, awesome roasted veggie pizza (3 slices), scratch made gumbo with sausage, shrimp, and chicken, a huge Caesar salad with full fat creamy dressing and grilled chicken, and dessert almost every night. I'm loving my food choices...tonight I had scratch made chocolate chip cookies, not lightened up in any way, and they were amazing, and cheaper than a McDonalds run. If you love to cook, you should be able to find a way to make the foods you love, even on a budget.


Edited to add that a sub from a local place is probably going to quite different from subway...subway is skimpy...the cheese there is only 40 calories a ix inch...most real cheese slices are at least twice that, plus most local places are more generous with the meats and toppings, etc. Also wanted to add that while I've been enjoying my delicious foods, I've averaged pretty much 1 lb a week this year, and that includes the lost three months where I maintained because I wasn't tracking- my actual rate of loss counting only when I logged regularly is closer to 2 lbs a week than 1.

NakeshiaB

Do you have any kind of yard/balcony? If so try growing your own vegetables, it's something you can get the kids involved in and you can grow what you want to eat. Or look online to see if your community has a community garden. I hear so many people saying they cannot afford fruit and vegetables or don't have the time to grow their own, but with a bit a creativity, I've found it cheaper to buy produce. Cook soups/casseroles/stews with cheaper meat and lots of vegetables and freeze them, that way when you are rushed for time you can take a portion out of the freezer and zap it in the microwave. Also bulk up leftovers with rice, beans or potato. Buy these items in bulk and you will have enough for months.

PeterJonBoyd

looking at your food record you are eating a lot of processed foods with a high salt content Try to limit your processed foods, way too much sodium and other preservatives. Work with a 80/20 diet 80 percent of your food should be as close to fresh and natural as possible. As well until you drop to where you want to be fixate and be ruled by your base caloric intake,

Mcgrawhaha

you said you eat fast food ONLY once a week, sometimes 2-3 times a week... just in my experience, If I cheat on my diet, even once in a week, i usually will have no weight loss for the entire week, thats why i only allow myself to cheat only once every 2-3 weeks, as a "reward" for myself... something to look forward to. i think even ONCE a week fast food is adding to your problem, along with high sodium and lack of fresh foods... just my opinion tho... good luck!

LadyIntrepid

I'm not sure how I can say this gently since you're already feeling defensive, but I've looked at your diary over the last week or so. There's an awful lot of processed foods with enormous amounts of sodium, almost every day -- McDonald's, Taco Bell, Mrs. T's pierogies. Campbell's soup, pepperoni, etc., etc. Ah, and the pickles. Wow on the sodium there. Listen - I like all kinds of food, including fast food, as much as the next gal. But it's an occasional treat. If you cut back on the sodium and kept hydrating as you're doing, you would probably release quite a bit of water weight.

Sorry, love. I don't think the majority of the posters have been unkind. They're just offering advice to help support you.

rock_kowgurl

just a tip for you since you cook -
you can add your own recipes in and it will tell you the caloric amount etc, even when making things from scratch
click "food" then click "recipes" enter all of the things you used to make it and voila!

I don't know if it shows up on my profile, but I have over 50 recipes already. The hard part is when it's not my cooking, like when it's my friends, or when I make a huge amount, like for 500 people, and there's no way to measure it without going through and scooping out 500 one cup servings.

rock_kowgurl

Your BMR calcs are probably off, because it doesn't account for lbm or body fat. Google military body fat calculator or just body fat calculator, find your average body fat percent, and use that to find your BMR. I keep saying yourbmr is probably too high because we are very close in weight, but I'm 6 inches taller with a good deal of lbm, and if you had my body fat %, your BMR would still be lower than what you have now.

Finally, you say you don't have the money for veggies, but you also mention going to a lot of local restaurants. Those two things don't really go together for me. My DH isnt working currently, and we manage to have fresh, healthy stuff for us and two kids. We only eat out twice a month, and this past weekend our eating out was a local pizza place. You should be enjoying your food...I know I do. In the past week, I've had bacon and Gouda stuffed pork chops with a ranch blt salad, awesome roasted veggie pizza (3 slices), scratch made gumbo with sausage, shrimp, and chicken, a huge Caesar salad with full fat creamy dressing and grilled chicken, and dessert almost every night. I'm loving my food choices...tonight I had scratch made chocolate chip cookies, not lightened up in any way, and they were amazing, and cheaper than a McDonalds run. If you love to cook, you should be able to find a way to make the foods you love, even on a budget.

The military one is the exact one I used.

We frequent local restaurants because my friends own them and we can eat for free.

NakeshiaB

Adding to my earlier comment, if you can afford any takeaways whatsoever, you can afford a bag of potatoes, the most versatile vegetable in the world! Good luck to you :-)

rock_kowgurl

Well I'm glad I came for help and got judged instead. Thank you all for your advice.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Sounds like you've got some challenges. Processed food isn't a problem for me-- it's not ideal, but I doubt it's inhibiting your weight loss. In my opinion it's the estimating that's throwing you off, and possibly your calorie goal is too high.

I lost weight fine for awhile but at 20 lbs down I stalled out. After a couple of months with no progress I finally started being really truly rigorous on weighing and measuring. I cook too but I was still underestimating on things like oil and coffee creamer.

Maybe the answer is to leave yourself a buffer-- a couple of hundred calories that are there just in case your estimate is wrong. Since you have a lot to lose you don't have to worry so much about having too much deficit. But still, if there's any way to tighten up your logging that's going to help you a lot.

essensual911

Hi, I'm 5'3 and started off 62 kgs. Been on MFP about 6 weeks and lost 4.5 kg. I set a drastic goal for the first 4 weeks, 1200 cal, i.e. losing 1 kg a week. I exercise everyday though started off slow 30-45 min and now at least 1 - 2 hours a day. I think the key is vigorous exercise at least 30 min a day and strength training. After 3-4 weeks, muscles will help burn some cal off. I got hungrier towards the 4th week so I increased my cal to 1300/lowering goal to 1/2 kg a week. By all means, I still eat and drink and party, no food is off limit, just in moderation. If I plan to eat alot, I exercise more. I saw a good result when cutting fat and carb intake though. I cut my rice and fries consumption in half or sometimes replace with plain salad or veggies (steamed or stir-fried). If you still eat more fat and carb than you need, your body will not "melt" what you already have. I also drink fresh veggie juice 5 mornings a week to make sure I get enough essential vitamins: carrot, celery, beetroot, geen apple, spinach, brocolli, cucumber and capsicum. In the past, I tried diet drinks, all sort of diet pills concoction-popular brand-prescription-supplements, ate something that was supposed to make me feel full, skipped meals, etc. Nothing worked like MFP and good commitment to eat mindfully and regularly exercise. Feel free to add me to keep each other motivated!

Mcgrawhaha

Well I'm glad I came for help and got judged instead. Thank you all for your advice.

i dont think anyone judged you at all. i think everyone was honest with you... to lie and butter your buscuit just for shts and giggles would serve zero purpose...

Doodlewhopper

rock kowgurll it's in black and white and everyone is pointing out what you refuse to acknowledge. You are eating high sodium junk and too much processed food. Youre gonna stroke out eating that much sodium. There is an obvious reason youre not dropping weight, and those of us who are losing see it.

The choice is yours. You need to step back and recognize the lack of discipline in your diet. Losing weight takes honesty and effort.

BTW....Just as I finished viewing your diary you locked it up. That tells me you would rather hide your problem then address it honestly. .

Good luck.

weird_me2

Your BMR calcs are probably off, because it doesn't account for lbm or body fat. Google military body fat calculator or just body fat calculator, find your average body fat percent, and use that to find your BMR. I keep saying yourbmr is probably too high because we are very close in weight, but I'm 6 inches taller with a good deal of lbm, and if you had my body fat %, your BMR would still be lower than what you have now.

Finally, you say you don't have the money for veggies, but you also mention going to a lot of local restaurants. Those two things don't really go together for me. My DH isnt working currently, and we manage to have fresh, healthy stuff for us and two kids. We only eat out twice a month, and this past weekend our eating out was a local pizza place. You should be enjoying your food...I know I do. In the past week, I've had bacon and Gouda stuffed pork chops with a ranch blt salad, awesome roasted veggie pizza (3 slices), scratch made gumbo with sausage, shrimp, and chicken, a huge Caesar salad with full fat creamy dressing and grilled chicken, and dessert almost every night. I'm loving my food choices...tonight I had scratch made chocolate chip cookies, not lightened up in any way, and they were amazing, and cheaper than a McDonalds run. If you love to cook, you should be able to find a way to make the foods you love, even on a budget.

The military one is the exact one I used.

We frequent local restaurants because my friends own them and we can eat for free.

Okay, if ou used the military body fat calculator, what body fat did you get (not BMI, bofpdy fat %)? I can almost guarantee you are over 50% body fat. Using the katch Mcardle formula with only 50% body fat, your sedentary tdee is only around 2000. If your body fat is 60%, then your is only about 1700. That's not BMR, that's tdee. If you have to eat at restaurants, you are going to have to practice deconstructing. Instead of subway sandwich, you had 6" hoagie roll with 3 oz turkey with a deli slice of Swiss, mustard, I T mayo, 6 olive slices one lettuce. Instead of three slices cicis pizza, you had 3 oz mozzarella, 1/4 c pizza sauce, and 1/2 small pizza crust. Since you seem to be eating a decent amount of salad, are you measuring your dressing? I recommend getting a 2 T scoop or 1/8 C cup and using that. Guesstimating dressing amounts is a big problem for most.

chocl8girl

Well I'm glad I came for help and got judged instead. Thank you all for your advice.

Observation =/= judgement

People were viewing your diary and giving you advice based on what YOU entered. Please take a step back and consider that no one here is judging you, we all care about you, and we are all only giving advice based on what we can see/what you have told us. If you feel judged, perhaps you need to start looking deeper within yourself...


Good luck! :flowerforyou: