~1500cal/day, feeling satisfied, but not losing weight!

If anything, sometimes I feel like I have over-eaten.

Because you are!

Being at 1500 or 1200 calories is great and all, but if you are eating most of your calories in one sitting (dinner) then you are causing your metabolism to go into shock!!!! And what is this garbage about you skipping lunch???

I have a suggestion for you, go to your categories and chance them to the following: 1st meal, 2nd meal, 3rd meal, 4th meal, Snacks, Sweet Tooth... Now, you may never use 4th meal but it exists in the event that you get hungry again and have a "meal".

A meal is any food you eat that includes protein. You should have a balanced "meal" every time you eat. Zone diet people will say 30% carbs, 30% fats, 40% protein; I say the best ratio is 50% carbs (25% coming from fresh veggies), 30% fats, 20% protein. Only a person who IS exercising should eat more protein. But if you are living a mostly sedentary life then you are wasting your calories eating all that protein (which is high in calorie).

Also, next time you grab a "sugary" carb, remember that your insulin level is going to go up if it has a high glycemic index value. All breads, chips, crackers, tortillas, and processed foods have a high glycemic index value; this means it causes insulin levels to go insanely high. And while there is insulin in your blood, your fat in your fat cells cannot be burned.

I know the food pyramid and the "myplate" both want you to eat lots of grains, but try living without them for a week (this includes corn) and see how things go for your weight loss. You may be surprised how much more energy you have getting your energy from brocolli, carrots, apples, green beans, and peas.

Right...here we go with the bro science. And this is what's wrong with the "industry" Unfortunately it's 3 am and I'm about to go to bed. But just let me say that anyone reading this please just don't confuse yourself any further by paying attention to anything in this paragraph. Ok? Or just go to TheFitnessTutor.com and read around. New stuff coming soon, new site coming soon. Free giveaways, no there's nothing there you can buy!

No more protein unless you're exercising? There are only three sources of calories, barring alcohol...metabolically, you would have them run more fat and carbs ???
And protein...high in calories? did you just say that? Did you just sum up protein and vilify it??? This in and of itself should be cause to totally disregard your whole paragraph. Protein. it's 4 calories per gram, like carbs. 9 for fats.
gci is not even worth discussing unless you have a disease.
Yes we can do without grains. That was just some government crap to make you eat the subsidized farmers produce and keep getting votes, same thing with dairy. We're the only animal that thinks we should suck from the tit of another species, not to mention doing so when we're completely grown.

Lets remember something here folks...losing weight is not something the body wants to do for one. For two, if it does want to do it, as soon as it does, it doesn't want to anymore. Know why? It doesn't care what you think is cute or acceptable or what t.v. magazines, media, or school has led you to believe or have even um...supposedly "taught" you...obviously. Metabolism goes into shock....hahaha....laughable.

Hey op if I'm not back just inbox me... for crying out loud people.... MFP.....

sorry i meant to quote that lol

how is protein "high in calories" ????
LOL
protein , same as carbs has only 4 calories per gram
the only high calorie macros are fats which account for 9 calories per gram!

Thanks!! That is VERY true, after I work out I am always SO hungry and eat almost all calories I burned. I try to make sure it isn't over my daily allowance total, but I eat a disproportionate amount immediately after workout and try to tighten up at other times of day since I worked out.

You should also make sure that you never exercise on an empty stomach,. Eat about half an hour before your work out, then you won't be so hungry after. Also drink a LOT during exercise and then have a big drink after. Our body sends the same sigal to our brains for thirst and hunger, so drinking lots will mean you know if you are truly hungry.

I may sound harsh but I'm truly a comedian. You'll just have to stick around til I start doing videos....

1. I say there's no such thing as a "meal replacement"...I mean think about...pay for this and think you're not eating? Please, there's no need to waste money on naturade or whatever ever again. Eat as much real food as possible. Spend that money on some chicken or fish or steak and get some fish oil. And soy is totally overrated. Actually I wouldn't even eat it.
2. Kill the bananas.... no need if you're trying to lose weight. Black beans, kale, collards, give you potassium. Not to mention whole meats. Unless you just love bananas. Try to hold off until after your workout. Cut bak on fruit period for a while if you can.
3. Pretty typical. You're either afraid of meat, or can't afford it. Which one is it? Eat more meat, less carbs. Your liver is full and that in and of itself will make it harder to burn fat. I would shoot for no carbs or starches until after your workout. Don't want or know how to workout, just go walk for an hour. Carbs 100 grams or under for as many days as you can stand it up to 3 weeks. Meat and veggies, olive oil, good fats, avocados, veggies with your meats...While keeping your calories up. If you pull that off, you absolutely MUST have a carb load after there weeks. 3 400 grams of carbs or more.

Yes this is all barring any disease or malfunction. Let us know if you have any. It's always a good idea to get your hormones checked. Chances are you just need to eat better and do something strenuous with your muscles, i.e. lift weights...to increase insulin sensitivity among other things.

"carbs in the morning" yes if you want to run up your chance of craving carbs later. Again, you don't need them. Try to hold off on them until later. This will keep your liver glycogen low. Which is what you want right now. I don't do ratios. The 90's called, they want that outdated method back. Tell us your stats....height,weight, body type, percentage estimate or something or put a pic up. Chop your face off if you have to...noone cares. It's Mfp.

IF is fine for a female...you lovely ladies just tend to get crazy, antsy, and try to workout too much to "lose weight faster" or you want to under eat for the same reason. It might be a good fit for you if you're not hungry much. I do IF most of the time now. Or full 24 hour or more fasts throw in, mixed up with every other protocol in the book.
So what are your stats and your workout habits?

Keep your eye on portion sizing - weigh everything if you have to.

Do you do any form of resistance training? I tend to find that cardio alone doesn't solve my problems.

Amen!

bump!

Have your doctor check your thyroid function.

I would go with this also. I have a thyroid issue and it is real easy to gain weight and harder to lose it.
Hypothyroidism can hit at anytime. Just a thought...

You might try switching things up a little, you seem to be eating pretty clean which is great but if your diet and exercise is virtually the same every day your body gets used to it and becomes more efficient, slowing your metabolism. You can try calorie cycling (figure your total calorie intake for the week: say 10,200 and then have 2 days at 1,200, 2 days at 1400, 2 days at 1600 and one at 1800) change up your workouts: if you're a cardio person switch to mostly strength training and the do shorter hiit workouts for your cardio. And I feel like mfp overestimates my workout calories burned so I always adjust them down.

Also make sure you're measuring properly, I finally got a food scale an realized that things like my granola and oats were too big of servings, for example my granola says 2/3 of a cup should be 55 grams when really barely half a cup equals the 55 grams so each serving I was pouring was about 100 more calories than I was tracking it as!

You can also try going low carb for a few weeks to see if that does anything for you.

By the way how's that vega protein? I've almost bought it a few times but didnt want to spend the money in case it's gross

Thanks!! That is VERY true, after I work out I am always SO hungry and eat almost all calories I burned. I try to make sure it isn't over my daily allowance total, but I eat a disproportionate amount immediately after workout and try to tighten up at other times of day since I worked out.

You should also make sure that you never exercise on an empty stomach,. Eat about half an hour before your work out, then you won't be so hungry after. Also drink a LOT during exercise and then have a big drink after. Our body sends the same sigal to our brains for thirst and hunger, so drinking lots will mean you know if you are truly hungry.

.......you can def exercise on an empty stomach! ugh.

I think you're eating more calories than you think. Looking at your diary entry, I see a lot of stuff that seems to be artificially low in calories (like the high fiber tortillas and the noOodles). Those products seem to be subtracting the fiber from the calorie count, and, especially in the case of the noOodles, you still get calories from the soluble fiber in the products. On the tortilla from yesterday, the math doesn't add up if you look at the nutrition label. It says 60 calories but calculates to at least 86.

Plus, you seem to be eating fractions of stuff a lot of times. Are you actually measuring out .13 scoops of protein powder? How are you doing that? I would recommend getting a digital food scale and weighing your portions, especially since you eat a lot of small portions of a lot of things. With as many foods as you eat per day, even if you are off by only 5-10 calories per item, that could add up to 100-250 extra calories a day, and that doesn't account for the high fiber stuff that has incorrect calories anyway.

Have your doctor check your thyroid function.

I would go with this also. I have a thyroid issue and it is real easy to gain weight and harder to lose it.
Hypothyroidism can hit at anytime. Just a thought...

I agree that it can't hurt to get your thyroid checked (amongst all the other good advice). Just be aware of two things:

1. Most doctors will still try to diagnose thyroid disorder based only on testing your TSH. TSH is a measure of a hormone from your pituitary gland and not your thyroid, therefore it doesn't provide the whole picture. Ensure you also get your free T3 and free T4 tested (not total T3/T4). The free T3/T4 should ideally be within the top 1/3 of the range your lab uses.

2. Most doctors also use outdated TSH ranges, which is especially a problem if this is the sole test used to diagnose. Outdated normal range is .5-5.0. Updated range is .3-3.0. Therefore, if your TSH is 4.2 and you don't get the specific number or the other labs, your doctor could say your thyroid is "normal" even though it may not be.

Always ask for a copy of your labs, so you have them for your records!

If anything, sometimes I feel like I have over-eaten.

Because you are!

Being at 1500 or 1200 calories is great and all, but if you are eating most of your calories in one sitting (dinner) then you are causing your metabolism to go into shock!!!! And what is this garbage about you skipping lunch???

I have a suggestion for you, go to your categories and chance them to the following: 1st meal, 2nd meal, 3rd meal, 4th meal, Snacks, Sweet Tooth... Now, you may never use 4th meal but it exists in the event that you get hungry again and have a "meal".

A meal is any food you eat that includes protein. You should have a balanced "meal" every time you eat. Zone diet people will say 30% carbs, 30% fats, 40% protein; I say the best ratio is 50% carbs (25% coming from fresh veggies), 30% fats, 20% protein. Only a person who IS exercising should eat more protein. But if you are living a mostly sedentary life then you are wasting your calories eating all that protein (which is high in calorie).

Also, next time you grab a "sugary" carb, remember that your insulin level is going to go up if it has a high glycemic index value. All breads, chips, crackers, tortillas, and processed foods have a high glycemic index value; this means it causes insulin levels to go insanely high. And while there is insulin in your blood, your fat in your fat cells cannot be burned.

I know the food pyramid and the "myplate" both want you to eat lots of grains, but try living without them for a week (this includes corn) and see how things go for your weight loss. You may be surprised how much more energy you have getting your energy from brocolli, carrots, apples, green beans, and peas.

Interesting bump for later