24 days eating clean and no loss - please look at my food

Athena42006

I tried 1300 net calories (food -exercise) as a goal for the first couple of weeks then upped it to 1400 and then 1600 because I read that I haven't been eating enough. I am 5'1" and 41 and weigh 180. I walk jog 3 days out of the week and do at least 30 minutes of workout videos 2-3 times a week. I calculate my BMR at 1532.

How much should I be eating? I am so confused and disenchanted. I have lost a few inches but not enough to feel good about. This is the first time I have stuck with something for over 3 weeks and I wish I knew what to fix to get some results.

shaywallis

you need waaayyy more protein than that!!

trlibet

There is a huge difference between meeting you're caloric intake for the day and eating the right things to meet that limit.
You are eating too many foods with high sugar content, that is un-naturally speaking. Also your meals are not complete and you skip some. It looks like you are also eating out too often.

April 21st - You had Denny's Egg Beaters Omelette, then for lunch you had two slices of pizza, then for dinner you're eating crackers and cheese. You might be under the caloric limit but again you are eating pizza and a dinner comprised of crackers and cheese.

April 22 - You start the morning off very well, brocolli florets, an egg, some yogurt...this is great. But....for lunch you are eating a Perkins omelette which is either frozen or at the restaurant and this is being followed by a 320 calorie cookie. For dinner you had Beef Nachos with cheese...this is a major no no. Also for a snack you had a Cheesecake Factory slice of cheesecake, all unhealthy calories and sugar.

April 23 - The day was very good until dinner. The Apple-bee's Cheesecake Shooter (370 calories) was more than you're two fish tacos you had (332 calories).

You have the right idea in mind. I believe you know what is healthy and unhealthy to eat but these short-cut meals and high sugar/calorie sweets are just going to create fat. You are going to see an amazing improvement if you cut these sweets and short-cuts out of the diet. Also pay close attention to serving size, today I had some Sabre hummus and noticed the serving size was 2 tbsps... I don't think any person can go in and only eat 2 tbsps

Athena42006

Yes I agree the sugar is too high. I should note that I am not really eating out but using the items that closely match what I ate. That Denny's omelette was actually my egg beaters omelette with sauteed veggies and cheese, for example. My days are really great, it is running out of time in the evenings that is hurting me. I plan and prepare ahead for the day but not so much in the evening since I really can't "cook" (breakfast and lunch are easy to just put stuff together). I can work on that. I also should be more precise in my entries and manually enter recipes item by item. THANKS!

Athena42006

Thanks! I am modifying my goals for more protein.

Mokey41

You shouldn't use restaurant foods for the calories of foods you cook at home. Make a recipe for them or if it's only a few ingredients add them separately to your diary. I know it takes more time but learning to make proper entries and judging your calories will go a long way in helping you make better choices in the future.

You say you're eating clean and I'm always a little leery of what people mean by that but a lot of your food choices are way off from clean.

Francl27

You might be eating too much actually. It really depends on how many calories you burn during your workouts. If you don't have a heart rate monitor, you might be overestimating what you actually burn (especially for the workout videos as they are all over the place).

What does MFP tell you for goal with a 'lose 1lb a week' setting? My BMR is close to yours and I workout everyday between 150 and 350 calories and rarely eat over 1700 calories (my net is 1400). I don't eat totally 'clean' either.

Other than that, the usual suspects are 1) use a food scale so you know it's accurate, 2) never use 'generic' unless it's fruit, veggies, or meat, 3) calculate how many calories are in your recipes.

TavistockToad

What exactly is your definition of clean!?

jakidb

i'm looking at your diary and from what i can see alot of days you're over in your carbs and fats which can definitely be a problem--even a cpl where you're over in calories

You may want to "adjust" that. Also, you say "clean eating"; the book I read abt clean eating (Tosca Reno) does not include fast food so you may wnt to eliminate that as well if you're going "clean".

Good luck lady

Raynne413

I wouldn't use restaurant estimates for what you make at home. . . they would be WAY over (for the most part) especially in sodium and fat!

Ready2Rock206

What exactly is your definition of clean!?

My question exactly. I don't think I have the same definition at all as the OP.

Athena42006

Thanks everyone. As far as clean, I meant relatively clean for me and in a way that has brought me weight loss in the past. I have changed my goal back to net 1400 and lowered carbs from 40% to 30% which makes all the past entries look even worse since MFP changes your historical goals as well. I am gonna do the work with measuring and inputting food. I just figured if I was over in one meal, it was probably offset by choosing the restaurant foods instead of what I made myself.

I do have a question about calories and a hrm. I was using a fitbit to record my exercise calories, but my dog ate it yesterday. I ran for 45 minutes at a 15 min mile pace yesterday and my hrm said 500 calories burned. I know this is a slow pace so I want to know if that sounds reasonable. This is only my second run with a hrm as I just got it.

red_road

There is a huge difference between meeting you're caloric intake for the day and eating the right things to meet that limit.
You are eating too many foods with high sugar content, that is un-naturally speaking. Also your meals are not complete and you skip some. It looks like you are also eating out too often.

April 21st - You had Denny's Egg Beaters Omelette, then for lunch you had two slices of pizza, then for dinner you're eating crackers and cheese. You might be under the caloric limit but again you are eating pizza and a dinner comprised of crackers and cheese.

April 22 - You start the morning off very well, brocolli florets, an egg, some yogurt...this is great. But....for lunch you are eating a Perkins omelette which is either frozen or at the restaurant and this is being followed by a 320 calorie cookie. For dinner you had Beef Nachos with cheese...this is a major no no. Also for a snack you had a Cheesecake Factory slice of cheesecake, all unhealthy calories and sugar.

April 23 - The day was very good until dinner. The Apple-bee's Cheesecake Shooter (370 calories) was more than you're two fish tacos you had (332 calories).

You have the right idea in mind. I believe you know what is healthy and unhealthy to eat but these short-cut meals and high sugar/calorie sweets are just going to create fat. You are going to see an amazing improvement if you cut these sweets and short-cuts out of the diet. Also pay close attention to serving size, today I had some Sabre hummus and noticed the serving size was 2 tbsps... I don't think any person can go in and only eat 2 tbsps

Just my two cents not saying this is the proper way, but.... i eat whatever i want, usually junk food as im a student and have lost 21lbs just by sticking to my calorie limit. Im currently doing JUDDD also known as alternate day fasting and have been having great success with it. Maybe check that out if your current diet isnt living up to expectations.

lattarulol

You really need to do the work and count your calories correctly - weighing it out, counting what you cook things in (i.e. butter, oil, etc). This is the only way to know if you really are eating around 1400 calories. And I recently looked up Cheesecake Factory items (since I was considering going there) and their regular cheesecake has over 700 calories in one slice. Portion size is important (and not blind trusting what is on MFP).

weliveaswedream

I really recommend using a TDEE calculator and sticking with it. I really struggled with net calorie method because I would be starving on my off days from exercise and that would lead to making really unhealthy food choices. I had a lot of success once I switched to this method and really tried to focus on how much protein I take in.

I used http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ and entered the stats you gave in your first post. It calculated that you should be eating 1850 - 1950 per day. If you do this method, you would not add in the extra calories you burn daily.

Also -- definitely do the work to calculate the actual foods you are using in your kitchen. The stats will be much better than whatever you're getting from using the restaurant. I use the mobile app, which has a bar code scan feature and it's so simple. I just scan everything and input while whatever I am making is cooking.

I also recommend investing in a kitchen scale. I bought a $30 one on Amazon and I use it daily. It definitely helps me to know exactly how much of what I am putting into my body.

Cassierocksalot

Also pay close attention to serving size, today I had some Sabre hummus and noticed the serving size was 2 tbsps... I don't think any person can go in and only eat 2 tbsps

I learned this one the hard way! I have to portion out my hummus and pita chips onto a plate and put the rest away before I even sit down. Honestly though, it's totally enough.

Acg67

There is a huge difference between meeting you're caloric intake for the day and eating the right things to meet that limit.
You are eating too many foods with high sugar content, that is un-naturally speaking. Also your meals are not complete and you skip some. It looks like you are also eating out too often.

April 21st - You had Denny's Egg Beaters Omelette, then for lunch you had two slices of pizza, then for dinner you're eating crackers and cheese. You might be under the caloric limit but again you are eating pizza and a dinner comprised of crackers and cheese.

April 22 - You start the morning off very well, brocolli florets, an egg, some yogurt...this is great. But....for lunch you are eating a Perkins omelette which is either frozen or at the restaurant and this is being followed by a 320 calorie cookie. For dinner you had Beef Nachos with cheese...this is a major no no. Also for a snack you had a Cheesecake Factory slice of cheesecake, all unhealthy calories and sugar.

April 23 - The day was very good until dinner. The Apple-bee's Cheesecake Shooter (370 calories) was more than you're two fish tacos you had (332 calories).

You have the right idea in mind. I believe you know what is healthy and unhealthy to eat but these short-cut meals and high sugar/calorie sweets are just going to create fat. You are going to see an amazing improvement if you cut these sweets and short-cuts out of the diet. Also pay close attention to serving size, today I had some Sabre hummus and noticed the serving size was 2 tbsps... I don't think any person can go in and only eat 2 tbsps

Not sure if srs

Acg67

I tried 1300 net calories (food -exercise) as a goal for the first couple of weeks then upped it to 1400 and then 1600 because I read that I haven't been eating enough. I am 5'1" and 41 and weigh 180. I walk jog 3 days out of the week and do at least 30 minutes of workout videos 2-3 times a week. I calculate my BMR at 1532.

How much should I be eating? I am so confused and disenchanted. I have lost a few inches but not enough to feel good about. This is the first time I have stuck with something for over 3 weeks and I wish I knew what to fix to get some results.

So you lost inches? Which is even better than moving some number on a scale

and there's nothing magical about clean eating in regards to weight loss, it's prob more likely you are underestimating how much you are eating

fitgal05

Yes I agree the sugar is too high. I should note that I am not really eating out but using the items that closely match what I ate. That Denny's omelette was actually my egg beaters omelette with sauteed veggies and cheese, for example. My days are really great, it is running out of time in the evenings that is hurting me. I plan and prepare ahead for the day but not so much in the evening since I really can't "cook" (breakfast and lunch are easy to just put stuff together). I can work on that. I also should be more precise in my entries and manually enter recipes item by item. THANKS!

Can you crockpot it for dinner? I also make salad usually for dinner, and add a can of tuna for protein or baked tilapia/baked chicken I usually eat one serving of the meat.

vnakkar

I ran for 45 minutes at a 15 min mile pace yesterday and my hrm said 500 calories burned. I know this is a slow pace so I want to know if that sounds reasonable. This is only my second run with a hrm as I just got it.

That sounds too high... 350 is probably more appropriate unless you were running up-hill. Heart rate monitors also include the calories you would have burned if you sat still. MFP already counts those... so when adding exercise, if you include them, you're counting them twice.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

Log your food you make at home--don't use estimates. There's no need for those entries when you KNOW what you ate because you prepared it. I also don't agree with those telling you that WHAT you're eating is the problem. My guess is your workouts are causing water retention and masking your weight loss. Give it time.