Not losing weight - too much protein or sugar?

cfamigl1

I'm a 24 year old female, and I've been doing this for more than a month, but have gained a pound, and I literally split my jeans yesterday. I initially I gained 30 lbs in a period of 3 months 2 years ago when I stopped going to the gym after I graduated college. I was at a stressful job and essentially lived off of starbucks paninis - so I understand why I put on the pounds. But since I got my life back in order, no amount of exercise/diet change has helped to get me back down to my normal weight - not even a single pound lost! I'm 5'2 and 155 lbs right now, which is a lot for me. I work out 5x a week, with a heart monitor and burn between 400-500 calories with about hour of cardio (which I've been consistent with for more than a year) I eat 1200 and always eat back my exercise calories (about 1600-1800).

I also may have a gluten intolerance, so I try to avoid that 90% of the time as I severely bloat.


Anyway, I just noticed the protein/sugar/carb counter which isn't on the app that I usually track with, and I notice that I always go over sugar and protein - even when I'm not eating sugary food. (I've even limited the amount of fruit I eat).

I was just wondering how much I should focus on the type of calorie I'm eating. I am trying to plan my day for tomorrow, but I'm still WAY over protein and sugar, but way below sodium and carbs. I also have 600 more calories to fill, but don't know how to do that without adding even more sugar/protein/fat. Please help! Below is what I plan to eat tomorrow. How can I adjust this to help me finally start losing weight. I'm am getting so frustrated.



7am - Pre Gym Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Sugar
Luna - Protein Bar Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter, 1 bar (45g) 190 19 8 12 250 13
190 19 8 12 250 13

830am - Post Gym
Lifeway ( Joey Corrected) - Organic Lowfat Kefir Plain Unsweetened, 1 cup 110 12 2 11 125 12
Generic - Egg, Hard-Boiled, 120 g 140 1 11 13 140 1
Add Food Quick Tools 250 13 13 24 265 13

11 Am
Blueberries - Raw, 0.33 cup 28 7 0 0 0 5
Mangos - Raw, 0.5 cup, sliced 54 14 0 0 2 12
Fage - Total 0%, 1 container 6oz 100 7 0 18 65 7
Add Food Quick Tools 182 28 0 18 67 24

1230pm - Lunch
Starkist - Chunk White Albacore Tuna In Water ., 112 grams 120 0 4 26 380 0
Fresh Express Dsf Net Carbs - Heart of Romaine Lettuce, 2 cups 15 3 0 1 5 1
Bolthouse Farms Creamy Yogurt Dressing - Chunky Blue Cheese 414ml Fixed, 60 g 70 2 5 4 280 2
Weight Watchers - Light String Cheese Light Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella, 1 stick 50 1 3 6 140 0
Red Bell Pepper - Red Bell Pepper, 0.5 pepper 19 4 0 1 3 3
Add Food Quick Tools 274 10 12 38 808 6

3-4pm Snack
Weight Watcher's - Cheese Stick, 24 g 50 1 3 6 150 0
Add Food Quick Tools 50 1 3 6 150 0

Dinner
Generic - Cod Fillet Baked, 1 fillet 220 0 1 20 65 0
America's Choice - Brussels Sprouts, 12 brussels (85g) 70 10 0 6 50 6
Generic - Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp 120 0 14 0 0 0
Add Food Quick Tools 410 10 15 26 115 6

Totals 1,356 81 51 124 1,655 62
Your Daily Goal 1,782 245 59 67 2,500 36
Remaining 426 164 8 -57 845 -26
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Sugar

2EggsSeparated

I can't help you because I am still trying to figure it out myself. However, the first thing people are going to tell you is to make your diary public so they can see what you are eating.

chrissi024

Im no nutritionist but have taken many biology classes. I think you really need to focus on those carbs your body uses carbs as its main energy source. so your body could be in starvation mode even tho you are eating enough calories, it just doesnt have enough energy to run.

cfamigl1

Thanks - diary is public now. I spoke with a nutritionist who originally said I was eating too many carbs and needed to switch to more protein because of a possible insulin resistance (I guess that was her take on me not being able to lose any weight).

JeneticTraining

It could be too much protein. An excess in protein can lead to fat storage.

2EggsSeparated

Or it could be the fact that you're eating 400 calories some days. You really need to eat. Protein is good for you -- you know, lean meats, eggs and dairy.

cfamigl1

I have to admit, I'm not always on top of inputing my cals in the app. I never only eat 400 cals, on those days, I just forget to log dinner or I went out to dinner and shared food with people/didn't measure.

I always meet the 1200, no matter what. There are times when I go slightly over, but never below. But I'd imagine if I'm working out, then I should be at least losing something, if not maintaining.

I also live in New York City in a 5-floor walk up, so I do a lot of walking.

dixiewhiskey

I really should read the entire post but right off the bat, I'm going to say sugar. You can't really have TOO much protein unless you have problems with your liver and kidneys..

SideSteel

It could be too much protein. An excess in protein can lead to fat storage.

Excess calories will cause weight gain regardless of macronutrient.

dixiewhiskey

I don't think you are eating enough anyway to really worry about protein being a problem.. at 155 lbs, you should be eating more than 1200 cals a day.

mockchoc

Any chance you could have PCOS or thyroid problems? Sounds like you should be losing fine on that. I'm your height but a lot older and I could lose on what you are doing. Eating too much protein won't make you fat. It is total calories in versus out that matter.

SideSteel

Chances are good that your inaccurate logging is playing a part. Excess calories cause weight gain. It's either that or fluid.

See here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think


Log more accurately and measure/weigh everything for the next two weeks and if that doesn't solve anything I'd then look at your gross intake.

That_Girl

Avoid gluten 100%

90% isn't enough. I know.

seanezekiel

You cant gain weight from to much protein other then its normal calorie content. To many calories of any kind will cause weight gain however protein itself does not convert to fat at any quantity other then its base calories.

dixiewhiskey

Chances are good that your inaccurate logging is playing a part. Excess calories cause weight gain. It's either that or fluid.

See here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think


Log more accurately and measure/weigh everything for the next two weeks and if that doesn't solve anything I'd then look at your gross intake.

^ Very important point. Probably the only advice you should take from this, other than upping your caloric intake.

Warchortle

Seems like your foods are super varied and you might want to just try eating the same meals more consistently. Random high days of sodium, sugar, alcohol probably are causing water and other food to be held onto longer than normal. Consistency of diet sometimes help not just hitting certain numbers.

Certain foods no matter what the calories I know will help or harm. High sugar foods cause me to gain weight, but the same calorie high fat foods won't. Cottage cheese is my like go to food when I want to cleanse for some reason. It shouldn't be because it has salt and dairy, but if I stay consistent for 3-4 eating it everything not only goes back to normal.. I'll lose weight. Seems like your days even though under your calorie limit swing in weird ways.


Pre-cook or assemble 4 meals and keep planning your meals ahead of time.

socajam

I looked at your diary and your sodium is way too high, that's a lot for one day. At 2500, me personally would reduce it to at least 1800. Cottage cheese is a very high sodium food, I tend to only eat it at least once a week.

When my sodium level is high, I normally juice cucumber and celery with some ginger and drink it along with lots of water, it get the salt out of your body.

3foldchord

i eat 100-140 grams of protein, and do a litttle strength training. I think your proteins and carbs are fine. my carbs flux betweeen 110-180.

keep an eye on the sodium. it causes water retention.

that's all the advice I have.

3foldchord

also- it looks like you have on been using MFP a month or so. you have some LOW days, some good days, and I say a lot of not-logged days.

try to log accurately and consistently for a full 4 weeks, then see if you need to make adjustments.

haymancm

Thanks - diary is public now. I spoke with a nutritionist who originally said I was eating too many carbs and needed to switch to more protein because of a possible insulin resistance (I guess that was her take on me not being able to lose any weight).

I found this article tonight. I agree with the nutritionist, eat more protein & less sugar. I have always gone over MFP's allowance for protein; they have it @ 15%. Try adjusting your intake for carbs/fat/protein to 30/40/30 as the article suggests & focus on eating more veggies vs fruits. http://www.wellnessresources.com/tips/articles/how_protein_helps_weight_loss/

tiggerhammon

I know another poster already said this. But, my initial impression was thyroid and after reading through everything that is still my gut feeling. Sounds exactly like a thyroid problem. But, if your blood sugar struggles, pre diabetes could be playing a role here too. I highly suggest having this discussion with a doctor.

The_Enginerd

Chances are good that your inaccurate logging is playing a part. Excess calories cause weight gain. It's either that or fluid.

See here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think


Log more accurately and measure/weigh everything for the next two weeks and if that doesn't solve anything I'd then look at your gross intake.

Just want to reiterate this. Except in the case of problems such as PCOS or a thyroid problem, the most common (by far) reason you will not lose weight is inaccurate logging. A cheap food scale ($20) is a great tool and an eye opener to what an actual serving size is. Also, you said you are using a HRM, which is great for getting more accurate estimates of your calorie burns. My only advice on this is to make sure that the calorie burn it is showing is net, not gross calorie burn (i.e. the extra burned from exercise, not the total burned including your resting metabolism).

Your food choices look good to me. I don't think you need to make any changes to the types of foods you are eating. You do have a lot of instances in your diary where it looks like you are using approximations for items with no nutrition info, so my first gut instinct would be to be the foods you ate are higher in calories than what you thought.

I lost 50 lbs and have maintained the loss for over a year so far. I am regularly over on my protein, and 2-3 times over on my sugar everyday. It has had no effect weight loss. You could lose weight eating Twinkies and chips all day if you logged it, although you wouldn't be very satisfied or necessarily as healthy.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

High sodium can cause water retention and water weight gain, but this would not hinder long term weight loss. BTW, I am also regularly over on my sodium as well. By a lot.

cfamigl1

Thanks everyone. I just ordered a food scale, so hopefully that will help.

To answer some questions, I was convinced I had a thyroid problem for a while, but had blood tests, and all looked fine. I went to an allergist who said I was reacting slightly to corn and soy, and I cut out gluten for a while and now when I do eat it (maybe twice a week) I get severely bloated. So I really need to avoid that. I had cut out alcohol during the week and no longer drink beer (I've been doing that for more than a year, I figured that alone would be 5-10 lbs). I drink 2 liters of water a day, 2 cups of coffee w/ skim or goat milk and no sugar, and green tea. I'll have 2 or 3 drinks on the weekends.

Basically, I just don't know how I can up my calories without upping sugar/sodium. The foods I eat everyday during the week are not generally high in sugar or sodium, they just tend to add up. (plain greek fage, hard boiled eggs, salad, etc.) And I usually cook dinner in the crock pot with fresh ingredients and don't add salt ( this is where I get the turkey meat, chicken, etc. for my lunch salads as well). Just not sure how to avoid the sugar and sodium.

***Diary Note -- I just changed the settings yesterday to accommodate my schedule (pre gym, post gym, midmorning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner), but it screwed up all of my past entries, saying that I was eating lunch at 8:30 a.m., etc. So pay no mind to the timing)

sPaRkLiNgLYFE

not enough exercise i think.

cfamigl1

Also - my daily allowance of sugar is 25g. I've already went over that with just a plain fage greek yogurt, a small container of fresh blueberries and mango, and brussel sprouts. That doesn't seem right to me.

bananasd09

Use http://www.fitnessfrog.com/ to estimate your BRM(calories burned at rest) & TDEE (Calories burned throughout the day). Make sure to eat the average amount between the two. My guess is you're not eating enough.
Honestly I haven't lost much weight at all but my pants are fitting looser :happy: due to increased fuel(food) & using heavier weights. No more 1200 calorie days for me.

KaseyC0711

I noticed that you didn't mention anything concerning weight lifting/strength training as part of your activities throughout the week.... Weight lifting is such a critical part of losing/maintaining weight. Although some are fearful of gaining weight or bulking while lifting, the female body can not "bulk" without using performance enhancing drugs... It's just not part of our DNA. Your diaries read pretty good, but you should definitely watch your sugars. Even when eating whole fruits. Limit your carb intake in the evening hours, and try not to eat them after 7pm if possible.

Check out Jamie Eason's Live Fit program on bodybuilding.com

I've never heard that too much protein will cause you to gain weight, but as with anything in life, moderation is key.

rebelate

I would just try eating more. MFP sets people so low, regardless. I'm 5'4" and started out at 220lb it gave me 1,200 a day. I recalculated at my current weight, 195,- 1,200 calories a day. I have friends on here who are 5'8" and 150lb - 1,200 calories a day.


I would look into eating TDEE - 20%, and add in some strength - even if it's on the machines. Take measurements for a month, stay off the scale for a full month, or only weigh every other week so you don't get discouraged.

lisabundy5

You are going to use carbs first, fat second, protein third. Unless you are eating steak after steak, you aren't going to get too much protein. Fiber and protein is what fills you up.

If you are only consuming 400 calories though, your body is hanging onto what it has and is basically going into starvation mode. You need to eat at LEAST what you burn. I have been taking in a bit more than what I burn and losing. It also takes time.

Too much sugar is also a bad thing. Focus on the good and remember to be proud of what you've accomplished, not how far you may have to go. Good Luck!