No loss in 3 months, lots of details - Help!

Sarauk2sf

Thank you! I totally understand it, and really, it's just going to come down to planning better to make sure I meet my PROTEIN requirements first, which is going to mean a change in the types of calories I'm eating. I just can't meet my protein minimum without going over on my calories because of the things I'm consuming. Meeting fat requirements is no problemo.

Grocery shopping and cooking for next week starts this weekend!

Oh, and I have increased my calorie goal to 2250 and gotten my percentages right for p/f/c.

THANKS AGAIN!

I actually disagree with upping your calories. If you are not losing on what you are on, I am not sure how upping them is going to help.

My suggestions:

- calorie goal: 1,800
- protein: 130g - approx 30%
- fats: 72g - approx 35%
- carbs, the balance

where proteins and fats are a minimum

- I would also suggest trying to eat less calories but a higher protein based meal for breakfast so that you 'save' calories for later. You may be hungry for a little while when reducing the volume but your body should get used to it after a short time.

Make sure you measure.weigh everything and log really accurately.

Well there are few ways of looking at this. First I think a diet break is definitely in order since it's been almost a few year. But upping the intake might not be too bad of a thing. It's quite possible her TDEE is greater than projected, especially since she is a mom of three kids. If you are running around with them and heavy exercising on top, I could suspect a large deficit is being creating than we estimate. I would almost suggest 2200 calories for 1 month. If weight loss is still not happening, then I would drop back down.

Again, I disagree.

She has not been on a significant deficit, is not that lean (sorry OP), and has had a few changes recently, including getting over a cold, increasing training intensity and upping calories.

Obviously, it is an option and up to the OP, but I think tracking at a fixed amount for a month or so to assess a consistent base with which to make a recommendation is the best course of action.

megalin9

Again, I disagree.

She has not been on a significant deficit, is not that lean (sorry OP), and has had a few changes recently, including getting over a cold, increasing training intensity and upping calories.

Obviously, it is an option and up to the OP, but I think tracking at a fixed amount for a month or so to assess a consistent base with which to make a recommendation is the best course of action.

Ha! No apology needed. I am not. Definitely athletic and strong(er), if I do say so myself, but far from lean.

And I appreciate all of the advice, and I'm going to think about everything. I feel like I have all of the information I need to make a good decision.

I will say that I had my snack at 3, and by 4:15 I was starving again. I downed 16oz of water, and now, I might feel like I'm about to float away, but I'm no longer hungry. Just FYI.

SideSteel

As much as I am a very big believer in IIFYM and choosing foods you enjoy, I would look at individual food selection and potentially look at meal timing and how they effect satiety.

You can probably select some foods that have lower calorie density and increase satiety that way.

psuLemon

I see where you are coming from Sara.. but I would still suggest a diet and exercise break. It''s always possible her body adapted and burns less calories. She could try 1700-1800 calories for a month. If it doesn't work, you can always try the additional calories.

Sarauk2sf

I see where you are coming from Sara.. but I would still suggest a diet and exercise break. It''s always possible her body adapted and burns less calories. She could try 1700-1800 calories for a month. If it doesn't work, you can always try the additional calories.

I agree that if the static calories/workouts etc do not work then the next thing to try would be a diet break.

katevarner

OP, measuring with a teaspoon is not measuring. Get a food scale. Measure in grams.

megalin9

You can probably select some foods that have lower calorie density and increase satiety that way.

I think this pretty much sums up my problem. I'm trying to eat "reasonably" while not giving up things I love, and most of those things just aren't satisfying and aren't low enough in calorie density to justify eating anything else. Like I said before, I have a hard time meeting my protein target but never have enough calories left over to eat anything else that would get me to my protein requirements.

Here's what I'm thinking...

I don't feel like a break is necessary. I pretty much had that over the holidays, and I'm happy to say I at least maintained my weight. Also, I LOVE exercising. That's the easy part for me, and I missed doing it consistently when I was sick.

I'm going to go back to 1800 like I had been a few weeks ago as a calorie target. I'm going to remember everything I've learned here today about meeting protein and fat requirements first.

As much as I would love for it to be different, I don't think the eating out is something we can change right now. We are busy with extra-curricular sports multiple times a week, church activities, and in the process of buying a house/shopping for furnishings. I'm really not trying to make excuses, but that is the situation.

The only thing different I can do is plan better by measuring and preparing food ahead of time to carry with me to work throughout the week. That way, I will at least be eating more nutrient dense and satisfying calories throughout the day and, hopefully, have more room in my calorie allowance for my dinners, whether we are eating out or not. It's dinner that always gets me in trouble because I've been hungry all day.

I will give this an honest shot and check back in a few weeks. Thanks again for all the input!

heybales

I will say that I had my snack at 3, and by 4:15 I was starving again. I downed 16oz of water, and now, I might feel like I'm about to float away, but I'm no longer hungry. Just FYI.

What was that snack?

You may have just gotten low blood sugar, so of course felt hungry though you didn't really need more food.

But that does mean finding out what caused that. Was it a total carb snack. Did you eat the carbs before the protein and fat.

If you eat strong carb items, does that happen frequently?

macdiver

Even though you are running around, you still do not have to eat out. It would take some planing and extra time on the weekends. You could prep your meals on the weekends to take with you. You would end up eating cold meals mostly but that is okay. There are things like london broil beef slices on a salad that is really good cold.

Another option which is difficult is to examine how much running around you do. I have a friend who this school year made the kids reduce the extracurricular activities to be home every night for a dinner at the table and for homework. So far, after lots of screaming and whining, the kids are doing better in school and as he says they feel like a family and not a taxi service.

mmddwechanged

Another way to deal with eating out is to have water, lemon, and a veg only salad or a 1/4 portion of what you usually eat. (items on the menu that you have checked the nutrients of only, so that it csn be recorded properly). Eat Something that won't make you go over , and if all you have is some lettuce and veggies, have a sandwich or meal that fits your plan at home before or after you go out. I have done this before. It's only temporary until you feel confident that you can accurately record what you are actually eating. Sometimes a change in habits can feel like a major sacrifice at first but you do have many choices. Some of the restaurant meals, even salads, that I have ordered are 1000 - 2000 calories when I check their nutritional breakdown.

Robin_Bin

You've already gotten better advice here than I can give, but I wanted to add a couple of other things to consider. You mentioned having a cold for a significant part of this time. Medicine you may have taken or the cold itself could change your fluid retention. Illness messes with your body in many ways, and it could be responsible for some of your additional hunger too. Track while you're getting well for a couple of weeks, but maybe your body is ready to come out of this now anyway? I may have missed it, but did you mention whether you've lost any inches?

Someone else said that she thinks of the plateaus or "stuck" times as her body "resetting" to a new, normal, lower weight. I like that idea... it encourages me when my loss isn't as fast as I'd like, but at least I'm not going backwards.

Good luck!

jha1223

As far as the scale goes, I have a recommendation. I got an Escali scale a few months back and it is fantastic. $35 on Amazon. Copying and pasting the features from their site:

Measures up to 15 lbs (7 kg) in 0.1 ounce (1 gram) increments
Single, smooth glass surface makes clean-up fast and easy
Measures both liquid (fl oz, ml) and dry ingredients (g, oz, lb + oz)
Display Hold feature: weight holds on screen when weighing large items
Tare feature: subtracts a container’s weight to obtain the weight of its contents
Automatic Shut-off feature ensures long battery life (2—lithuim batteries included)

For example, when I'm measuring juice, i just put the glass on the scale, hit tare and pour up to the oz that I want. I've also used it to measure a packages weight before taking it to the post office. It was like five pounds and physically large than the scale, so I just hit hold, put it on, it beeped when it had the weight, I took it off and the weight was still displayed. I think they are available in like 13 colors too if that matters. These things are wonderful...

http://www.amazon.com/Escali-Pound-Kilogram-Digital-Scale/dp/B0051ABGG6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1358396850&sr=8-4&keywords=escali

megalin9

Thought you all might like an update.

After educating myself on the basics and taking in everyone's advice, I set my calorie target to 1800 without eating back exercise calories. Since I like to record my work-outs, I just log my calories burned as "1."

I also set my protein to 30%, fat to 35%, and carbs to 35%, which is what I believe Sara had suggested.

I wrote down my goals for the entire month. In no particular order...
1. More water (mainly to help with hunger and so that I don't waste calories).
2. More lean protein (because I wasn't meeting my goal before and ALWAYS hungry).
3. More fruits and veggies (love fruit, hate veggies).
4. Plan ahead/Prepare food ahead of time/Cook at home.
5. Lift 3X/week (already doing)
6. Cardio 2X/week+ (already doing)
7. Stick to my calorie goal - no matter what!

My plan this week was to commit to my goals and fidget with my food and numbers in hopes that, within 2 weeks time, everything would be "right." Meaning, I would consistently meet or be under my calorie and carb targets, and I would meet or be over my fat and protein targets. On Monday, I had a few folks look at my diary and give me some really helpful advice. Tuesday, I had my numbers right. The next 3 days have been oh-so-close, but I'm waaaaay closer than I was before, and if nothing else, I KNOW what I have to do to make them right.

I have to make myself get to the grocery store, even if it's 8 o'clock and there's laundry to be done. I have to make myself pack my fruit the night before so that running late for work in the morning isn't an excuse not to pack it. I have to cook and cook more than I need so that I can take left-overs to work the next day. I have to plan ahead and make it a priority to take the chicken out to thaw so that I don't have an excuse for getting take-out. I have to measure ALL of my food, even if all I have is tablespoons and measuring cups (don't worry, I'm getting a food scale this weekend).

The working out part is the easy part. I simply love it, but now that I am well, I've been consistent in my work-out routine for the past 2-3 weeks.

Happy to report that, since last Friday, I have lost 5 pounds. Who knows how much of that was water weight, TOM weight, whatever. I don't care. After seeing something between 209.5 and 211 on the scale for the past 3 months, this morning the scale finally said 204.5.

:happy:

Sarauk2sf

Wow - that is excellent. Thank you so much for the update. Next stop...getting into the 'onesies'.

megalin9

Correct. Which will be a first in my adult life.

psuLemon

Its amazing how a little extra food and protein macro nutrients will go along way. That is awesome about you breaking the plateau.

ArroganceInStep

good job

Robin_Bin

Excellent!
You made a good, reasonable plan. And you stuck to it! Even more important (I think) was that you didn't let not being perfect discourage and derail you. As you noted, other things may have helped this week, and everyone has days that don't go quite right, but you've got a good plan that should work in the long run. And you can keep improving it over time! Thanks for the update. I'm so glad your plan worked!
Congratulations!
P.S. Hope that doesn't read as patronizing... you really did wonderfully. And it was good of you to share what you did, and how it worked so we can all continue to learn good ideas from each other.

mmddwechanged

So happy to hear. You are an inspiration.

lacurandera1

Megalin, I get suckered into eating out A LOT with my family. It used to sabatoge me bc I ordered the wrong things. But I have a few hard and fast restaurant rules. Always order a salad. Always. For the entree, I want something that meat is the superstar in. My protein goals are high and I have a hard time meeting them without supplements. So when I go out to eat I order a big hunk of meat and make sure my sides are lowish calorie veg. I still eat pasta and bread and tons of cheese, but if eating out I avoid those things like the plague bc dishes like a pasta Alfredo tend to be about 300 or 400 calories more than they would be if I made it at home. Idk what they put in that stuff, but i don't eat it when I go out anymore.

So. Salad. Meat. Veg. Pretty easy to stick to.