What am I doing wrong?

jonnythan

"the whole foods and no processed food is mostly nonsense." - no...THAT is nonsense!!!

Except it's not. Processed food doesn't make you gain weight. Calories make you gain weight. You could eat nothing but processed food and lose weight - in a healthy manner - as long as you hit good macro targets.

Look at the guy who literally ate nothing but Twinkies and vegetables for two months. He lost 27 pounds; his LDL and triglycerides went way down, and his HDL went up.

I went from 210 lbs to 155 lbs eating almost nothing but prepackaged/frozen food and fast food. My cholesterol went from borderline to normal during that time as well. Know how? I hit my calorie target every day.

Blaming the wrong things for weight loss - or lack of weight loss - only serves to confuse the issue and make people focus on things that don't ultimately matter.

If you're not losing weight, your calorie deficit is not large enough. This is an undeniable, inescapable fact.

CallMeWifey

I would definitely recommend limiting your sugar intake! It looks like you are eating quite a bit. I've done that recently and have noticed a change. Good luck!

hazelovesfood

Not enough protein, too much sodium and not enough natural foods. I noticed, one day you made a burger and you added, SUGAR, eeeeekkkkk no way. Eat greek yogurts, almonds and lost more protein . Plus veggies as well. You can still have a treat but that treat should only account for about 20 of your total cals each day. Walk as much as you can, and if possible take up weight lifting,

It definitely wasn't a burger with sugar..haha, that just sounds gross. I don't eat red meat. It was turkey and a homemade sloppy joe kind of sauce. If I don't disguise the taste of meat, I can't eat it. I need to find other ways to get protein that are not meat so that I'm not adding all kinds of crap on it to kill the flavor.

lol ok, so eat ricotta cheese, high in protein, cottage cheese, egg white, nuts.Fish if you like it, lobster is super high in protein.:flowerforyou:

Tandksmommy11

Holy crap- I just went to change my %. Protein was only at 15%, carbs were at 55% and fat at 30%. And that's all done by MFP. GRRR!!

I'm lactose intolerant so dairy can be tricky. I'll need to watch that because even with the pills if I have to much in a period of time, I end up sick. Going to look into seeing if Lactaid makes a cottage cheese, I know they make milk (obviously because I use it) and cheese. I'm also not a fan of the yolk of an egg but I do eat egg whites.

So, I should leave my activity level at sedentary and just focus on the carbs, protein and sugars?

shawncurry1344

Due to allergies, I had to completely cut out all wheat (bread, pasta, anything with flour in it, malt, beer, etc) and dairy. This is something I don't have a choice about. This leaves me with fruit, veggies, meat, and non dairy drinks and no beer. Maybe you could tell yourself you're "allergic" to being fat on your wedding day and stick to the good stuff. In my case the allergies cause systemic reactions that are quite unpleasant (arthritis being one of them, so if I want to save my joints I stick to the regimen). If you want to stick to looking great on your wedding day, then stick to your plan!

You've been given lots of great advice here too, so do yourself a favor and listen to what posters have to say. Don't disrespect the people who reply to you (and yourself!) by not listening to them! You can do it! Remember, though, "you can do it" has YOU and DO, not someone else and don't. So please, DO! :-D

August_1958

There are some great suggestions posted so far. All of them are good. Switch out your snacks for healthier ones, get a food scale and measure everything (sometimes we eat bigger portions that we realize).

BUT....

Looking at your profile picture at the beginning of this topic... you are very beautiful. You have to remember that no matter what size you are, the beauty within you is still there... it is still peaking out and people see that. You are a unique individual that is making and shaping a new life, a new beginning and except that fact that no matter what weight you are, you are beautiful.

Congrats and best of luck!!

jonnythan

So, I should leave my activity level at sedentary and just focus on the carbs, protein and sugars?

No, you need to cut calories.

Body mass is determined by calories in minus calories out.

Eating less sugar and more protein is a good idea, absolutely. But you won't start to lose weight by shifting your macros around while keeping the calorie target the same. If you're not losing weight at your current calorie target, you need to set a new lower target.

fitnessfreak1111

Hey there. A little background about me...I have my bachelors degree in health education and am a personal trainer. My advice to you is to eat WAY less carbs than MFP recommends and more protein than they recommend. For carbs you need to ditch the bread, cereal, prepackaged bars, etc. Your carbs should be coming from veggies, plain whole oats, brown rice, and quinoa. It is so important to eat clean, whole foods. Eat 1-2 pieces of fruit a day. Get your protein from chicken, fish, ground lean turkey, and lean cuts of red meat (sparingly). If you need more of a specific guide check out Tosca Reno's books on clean eating. Your fats should be coming from almonds, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, and fatty fishes like salmon. Also, a word of caution...be careful with artificial and fake things such as fake butter, diet sodas, etc. They may say 0 on the label, but those things do contain calories and the fake sugars have actually been shown to make people more hungry.

For exercise. If you are injured you can still work out. Have you ever tried lifting weights? Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn throughout the day. Check out www.oxygenmag.com and muscle and fitness HERS for some good workouts.

jonnythan

They may say 0 on the label, but those things do contain calories

....... No.

fancycatlady

I would definitively avoid the prepacked foods you are eating. You'll see your sodium intake decrease.

Here are some of my favorite sites for Healthy meals

http://www.fitsugar.com/healthy-recipes
http://www.shockinglydelicious.com/category/salad/tuna-salad-2/


If you are short on time you can also bring out your crock pot!

jivitasa

If you're exercising, watching calories, and not losing weight, then you're eating too many calories.

Drop your calorie goal by another 200-250.

The "whole foods" and "no processed food" is mostly nonsense. Eat whatever you want. Hit your calorie and protein goal for the day and forget the rest.

This is pretty poor advice. Don't go with it.

Ummm... yeah. Simple math would put everyone at goal effortlessly if there was any truth to this.

d2footballJRC

I fractured my coccyx in August. The actual bone has healed but it caused something called coccyxdynia which is inflamation around the coccyx joint and the membrane that surrounds it. I've received a steroid injection but did not have much relief, so the next step is probably physical therapy. Because of the injury- I can't run like I used to because of the jarring caused by pounding the pavement. Walking fast seems to irritates it, so there are days that I have to just walk at a 'normal' pace to get in that exercise. I can't sit on a weight bench to be able to do any kind of machine lifting because it's hard and I won't get proper form if I have to sit the way that I do. I tried getting in a pool and that seems to put pressure in that exact area and causes pain (I guess that's where we get our buoyancy from?) which is exactly what I thought was not supposed to happen! Frustrates me beyond belief and really is a pain in the @ss!!

I can do some hand weight stuff or something where I could lay down on my back (as long as it doesn't require me to go into a sitting position on my tailbone). I'll add some of that in.

I do weigh all of my food, and measure it out. I don't go walking every day, especially not on days that I work but I have gone more than 3 times in the past 2 months. I focus to much on logging every last bite that I don't even think about logging my walks. For working- I work 3 days a week, 4 hours each day.

I think that answers some of the questions.

Where can I get some extra protein from? I don't eat red meat, and I don't really like chicken or pork so I find myself forcing myself to eat it. Peanut Butter and celery maybe? That way I don't add in carbs like bread or crackers?

Look into some protein shake powder, replace your hot chocolate with them. Use almond or soy milk.

Is there protein powder that does not contain lactose?

Yes, Most whey protein powders contain 0.1 g of lactose per teaspoon of powder (Way less lactose then ice cream and etc, I don't know how intolerant you are to lactose), but you can also go with a Pea based protein powder like, from AI Sports. Or Hemp Based Protein powders, Soy Based Protein powders. There is options in this regards on protein powders.

kariannmbc

Can you add beans for more protein? My sister doesn't eat meat or most dairy products, and she gets her protein from beans.

now_or_never13

Holy crap- I just went to change my %. Protein was only at 15%, carbs were at 55% and fat at 30%. And that's all done by MFP. GRRR!!

I'm lactose intolerant so dairy can be tricky. I'll need to watch that because even with the pills if I have to much in a period of time, I end up sick. Going to look into seeing if Lactaid makes a cottage cheese, I know they make milk (obviously because I use it) and cheese. I'm also not a fan of the yolk of an egg but I do eat egg whites.

So, I should leave my activity level at sedentary and just focus on the carbs, protein and sugars?

You can get versions of yogurts and cottage cheese that do not contain lactose I believe. Check out either the health food section of your store or a health food store. You may have to go with a vegan variety to avoid lactose.

Do not leave your activity level at sedentary. You are not sedentary by the sounds of it. I would at least put it at lightly active.

To add more protein if you don't like much meat look into protein powders, yogurts/cottage cheese (most likely you will have to look for vegan options to avoid lactose ... but there may be others on the market)... you can find recipes online to make your own yogurt out of milk so you can use the milk you are able to drink. Other ways for protein would be lentils, beans, nuts, nut butters, etc.

d2footballJRC

Well I'll be the semi blunt one.

First, cut out the d@mn sugar!!!. A McDonald's Ice Cream shake for Bedtime Snack? Hot Chocolate and etc for nighttime snacks?

Secondly, are you weighting and being accurate on your food logging? Especially on days you are eating your exercise calories?

There is nothing wrong with ice-cream as a bedtime snack, as long as the overall diet is good. There is no need to be 100% perfect al the time, but try to aim for at least 80% of the time. If you have already hit your protein and fat goals, and have some calories left, then by all means have the ice-cream. Look at teh bigger picture rather than the minute details.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/903628-one-year-of-barbells-and-ice-cream-my-story-so-far-pics

There is when they are going way over on sugars, you haven't look much at the bigger picture. The OP's diary was way over in sugar for the day.

Adding in ice cream before bed is generally not recommended for other reasons. It’s also been discovered that eating high-sugar foods before bed causes nightmares. It also can result in snoring and lowering oxygen levels while sleeping, resulting in a lower quality of sleep.

jonnythan

If you're exercising, watching calories, and not losing weight, then you're eating too many calories.

Drop your calorie goal by another 200-250.

The "whole foods" and "no processed food" is mostly nonsense. Eat whatever you want. Hit your calorie and protein goal for the day and forget the rest.

This is pretty poor advice. Don't go with it.

Ummm... yeah. Simple math would put everyone at goal effortlessly if there was any truth to this.

Ummm.. it does. Simple math does put everyone at this goal.

rjmudlax13

It looks like you are staying under your calorie goal which is good. The big problem I see is the huge amount of sugar you consume! Try to stay away from foods with added sugar. Even "healthy" foods such as flavored yogurt (especially frozen yogurt) have insane amounts of sugar. And a McDonalds triple thick shake??!!! Come on!

Step 1: Get rid of sugary foods except for whole fruits.

Step 2: Eat more lean proteins such as chicken breast and fish.

Step 3: Don't be afraid of fat. More and more studies are showing that eating healthy fats is very good for you. Just try to stay away from Trans Fats. Beware that food companies can legally label foods as having 0 g trans-fat as long as they are below 0.5 g per serving. Look at the ingredients list and if you see hydrogenated anything, stay away!

Step 4: Make sure you are being honest and accurate with your calorie counting. Trying to eyeball sugary foods is dangerous and you can easily go beyond what you think.

Step 5: Try to exercise 5 days a week. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, just work up a sweat and get your heart rate up for a half an hour or so. Also, work in 1 or 2 days of resistence training if you can.

jstcallmecoco

I think it is extremely important to pay attention to every intake total, not just calories. And also, if you are drinking alot of water, make sure you aren't consuming alot of sodium.

It is a lifestyle change, don't be so hard on yourself take it one day at a time. Make good choices and always go a little bit further with your activity.

If it's too easy, chances are, it won't give you the results you want. If you have a deadline, you must push yourself even harder to get to where you want to be. I believe you can do it! MFP is a great community, you will have much support from your friends here. Stay motivated, determined and don't give up!!! YOU CAN DO IT. YOU WILL LOOK LOVELY IN YOUR DRESS !!! Best wishes.

Tandksmommy11

Thank you to everyone who has given advice. I've fixed my % on MFP and will be following the advice about upping protein, decreasing sodium, carbs and sugar.

If you happen to look at my diary today or tomorrow- please do not think that I'm ignoring what you've said. I can not get to the grocery store to get some new foods to try until tomorrow or Friday AM, so I need to just suck it up and deal with the potential weight gain from the above issues until I can get good foods. I am appreciative of the advice and will be giving it a go!

FinallyFindingLisa

It looks like you are staying under your calorie goal which is good. The big problem I see is the huge amount of sugar you consume! Try to stay away from foods with added sugar. Even "healthy" foods such as flavored yogurt (especially frozen yogurt) have insane amounts of sugar. And a McDonalds triple thick shake??!!! Come on!

Step 1: Get rid of sugary foods except for whole fruits.

Step 2: Eat more lean proteins such as chicken breast and fish.

Step 3: Don't be afraid of fat. More and more studies are showing that eating healthy fats is very good for you. Just try to stay away from Trans Fats. Beware that food companies can legally label foods as having 0 g trans-fat as long as they are below 0.5 g per serving. Look at the ingredients list and if you see hydrogenated anything, stay away!

Step 4: Make sure you are being honest and accurate with your calorie counting. Trying to eyeball sugary foods is dangerous and you can easily go beyond what you think.

Step 5: Try to exercise 5 days a week. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, just work up a sweat and get your heart rate up for a half an hour or so. Also, work in 1 or 2 days of resistence training if you can.

This is about perfect - but the sodium, that's the reason for pounds coming/going like they have. The sodium is crazy wicked when it comes to water retention and it can take me a week to lose what I gained from a few days of sodium