Am I sabotaging myself? What should I do?

niqua215

My weight isn't budging! I'm trying to get as much advice as possible. I've gotten advice on the workouts and Resistance, heavy lifting was recommended. I'm doing 30 Day Shred, kettlebells, Zumba Wii, les Mills Pump etc. But I'm just confused about the food part. Am I eating too much? Too less? Should I do the tdee? Does what I eat matter as long as I'm within my calorie budget? Low carb, no carb, what's the deal? I've lost weight before on MFP but fell off the wagon and regained my motivation so I'm at it again. Still have about 100 lbs to lose but the scale isn't cooperating, clothes not feeling looser, nothing. What am I doing wrong? Am I being impatient? How long should I wait before I start being concerned? It's been close to a month and no change. HELP ME PLEASE!! Before I lose my mind. Sigh. The struggle is real y'all! What worked for you? What approach should I take?

Cheeky_0102

are you feeling full with what you eat? I was looking at your diary and there ia a lot of processed food in there, maybe you are just retaining water? Do you know how to cook? you should try healthier foods for a few weeks
I do really well with 1400 ish calories / day, but I'm not working out very much... I know I will need more food than this once I start moving more.
good luck!

CoachReddy

My weight isn't budging! I'm trying to get as much advice as possible. I've gotten advice on the workouts and Resistance, heavy lifting was recommended. I'm doing 30 Day Shred, kettlebells, Zumba Wii, les Mills Pump etc. But I'm just confused about the food part. Am I eating too much? Too less? Should I do the tdee? Does what I eat matter as long as I'm within my calorie budget? Low carb, no carb, what's the deal? I've lost weight before on MFP but fell off the wagon and regained my motivation so I'm at it again. Still have about 100 lbs to lose but the scale isn't cooperating, clothes not feeling looser, nothing. What am I doing wrong? Am I being impatient? How long should I wait before I start being concerned? It's been close to a month and no change. HELP ME PLEASE!! Before I lose my mind. Sigh. The struggle is real y'all! What worked for you? What approach should I take?

How many calories are you eating?

What is your height/weight/age?

With that information we can tell you exactly what you need to do. Everything else (low carb, etc) is purely a personal preference thing.

Rgtjax85

You have many questions. I would first say it does matter what you eat. Empty calories (high fat), or highly processed foods are a big stumbling block. With your current weight loss goals I would recommend more cardio then weights. You need to be strong but cardio is how you drop weight. You also need to eat at deficit. Although you may know what I mean to explain you should eat less than the what it would take to maintain your current weight. I have not looked at your food and workout diary but I would ask you to look hard into what has changed over the last month. Hope this helps.

concordancia

You have a lot of incomplete days. Your first step needs to be to track everything at your current calorie goal.

mumtoonegirl

I looked at your meals. Start tracking sodium. You are eating processed food. You might be shocked how much sodium you are eating. Loosing weight is not just about the calories. Weight loss is 80% the kitchen. You can kill yourself at the gym and undo it in the kitchen.

Rgtjax85

You have a lot of incomplete days. Your first step needs to be to track everything at your current calorie goal.

^ 100% correct. Once you get back to logging, log everything. Also log your exercise. I never noticed that on there.

niqua215

Ok back to logging everything in the morning. I haven't been logging my exercise because I don't eat back my exercise calories. Plus I lost the sensor for my HRM so ill have to use the fitness log on MFP.

Confuzzled4ever

good.. log everything..
Then take a good hard look at what you are eating..
Esp if you eat pre-made processed foods. There's a lot of sugars, salts, chemicals in them that assist you in staying overweight. Anything ending is "ose" or syrup is sugar. eat how you normally do for a few weeks, then take a look at what you are eating and swap out less healthy items for a more healthy items one at a time.

Do you cook? You should. Food tastes better when you cook it yourself using fresh, whole raw foods. I love to cook now and I was the girl who burned water not to long ago. I started making my own juice today.. 1st glass eh.. not so great, but drinkable.. tomorrows will be better. Don't be afraid to experiment. There's all kinds of weird yummy veggies out there just waiting for you to get creative with them! You can add veggies to almost anything. Just because recipe doesn't call or onion and peppers doesn't mean they won't taste good in it! I go through a ton of onions and garlic because i love them. Be wary of low-cal, low/reduced fat, diet foods.. often the fat is replaced with sugar.. not a good swap and you're body needs naturally occurring fat to function properly.

i don't have an HRM. i just work hard at the gym and have my calorie goal between 1408-1643. I went over today, but i'm not worried. I actually started losing weight again when I increased my calories. just experiment. You'll find your optimum levels.

I eat 85% clean and organic. Open diary if you want idea.

Cheeky_0102

I'm a pretty good example of a complete diet too, Most of the foods that appear packaged are just my best estimate instead of entering a recipe

Reinventing_Me

Measuring/weighing your food is also helpful. Perhaps invest in new HRM (or whatever part is lost) to give you an idea of what your expending when you do exercise. I know you want to hurry up and see a difference, but too much cardio, as compared to what you're eating, can have an adverse effect...especially if you are not eating enough to support the activity. I'm not saying you have to eat back every calorie you burn off. Figure your TDEE and shoot for that number. You can give yourself a little leeway to eat a little more or less depending on the amount of exercise you've done for that day. Start lifting. Lifting weight can burn a lot of calories, espeicially when you keep your heart rate up. It doesn't have to stay super high either. Building muscle will help you burn more calories even after you're done exercising. You do not have to kill yourself doing a ton cardio every single day. With lifting you'll get stronger and will have a more well-rounded routine. Niqua, I have the same amount of weight to lose as you and have struggled with the same 20 pounds for years. I was sick of my knee bothering me everytime I walked more than 30 minutes and sick of feeling like I would be weak, tired and overweight for the rest of my life. Lifting has changed all of that. Even though I've only been at it for a few weeks, I feel the difference...I haven't felt this strong in years. With lifting, you know you're progressing not necessarily by the number on the scale, but by how strong you're becoming...adding more weight to your sessions or adding another rep that you couldn't complete. You have nothing to lose by starting a lifting program. At the very least, you'll tone up and start the feel your muscles tighten, strengthen and take shape. It takes patience, practice and consistency, but with it, the weight will come off. Three times a week will get you results. Add in a two or three days of cardio and take a complete rest day.