Counting Calories NOT working

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that70sfan
that70sfan Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
Please help! I am getting so frustrated. I will spend all week following this calorie counter perfectly (I weigh my food, etc.) and I will be perfectly under 1379 all week. I will maybe lose 1 pound (which I understand is normal, so that's fine). Then I will have 1 week where I cheat maybe once or twice a week, and usually not that bad (maybe an extra 500-800 calories TOTAL a week). And yet my weight will jump about 3 pounds. And it's not a fluke because it will take another 3 weeks of being perfect to get down those 3 pounds. This makes no sense to me, and if I can't have the occasional cheat day without losing all my progress, I'm just going to give up. What am I doing wrong??
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Replies

  • jessicawrites
    jessicawrites Posts: 235 Member
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    Looking at your diary, I'm seeing quite a few empty or at least only partially filled out days. It's got to at least be possible that on those days that you're only logging part of what you eat, you may be forgetting some of your intake. Give it a try not only weighing (which is good) but actually logging, religiously, every bite, to make sure your intake and cheat days are matching up with what you think. For a while I would have sworn I was eating 1400-1500 calories per day, plus or minus 50, but when I started really checking up on myself it was more like 1700-1800.
  • jules080670
    jules080670 Posts: 55 Member
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    Are you logging those extra calories? If not you may be underestimating. Can you exercise to incorporate those little extras, that we all enjoy. If I know I want something that will put me over my calories, I jump on my exercise bike.

    I do sympathise, as I have this trouble too.
  • meangreen11
    meangreen11 Posts: 42 Member
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    You have lost 19 lbs. so you were doing something right!!

    A quick peek at your diary showed that you weren't tracking consistently or had gaps where you either didn't track or skipped a meal. Also, I would set your macros to show your sugar intake. It looks like you are eating a lot of sweet stuff and that dreaded high fructose corn syrup might be causing your problem.

    Again - your tracker shows a 19 pound loss - compare your diary from when you were consistently losing to now and see if you can find a trend.

    Good luck and don't give up!
  • Lilbutterflyy
    Lilbutterflyy Posts: 4 Member
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    Hi,
    Are you usually eating the same foods each week? Sometimes mixing it up completely with different foods that you haven't really been eating before helps kick in more weight loss. I totally understand what you mean about having to have a little cheat once a week. I do the same thing, usually my Saturday's are free days. Don't give up!! Just try some new things & see what happens.
    Hope this helps. :-)
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
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    Please help! I am getting so frustrated. I will spend all week following this calorie counter perfectly (I weigh my food, etc.) and I will be perfectly under 1379 all week. I will maybe lose 1 pound (which I understand is normal, so that's fine). Then I will have 1 week where I cheat maybe once or twice a week, and usually not that bad (maybe an extra 500-800 calories TOTAL a week). And yet my weight will jump about 3 pounds. And it's not a fluke because it will take another 3 weeks of being perfect to get down those 3 pounds. This makes no sense to me, and if I can't have the occasional cheat day without losing all my progress, I'm just going to give up. What am I doing wrong??

    How do you know you are 'eating perfectly under 1379 all week' when you have half logged pages on a regular basis? You can't really moan about not loosing when you arn't putting all your effort into it,
  • that70sfan
    that70sfan Posts: 9
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    Yeah that 19 pound loss was not from my counting calories days. That was my original SW but I somehow lost 15 of those pounds by doing nothing at all. I only added it on here for motivation (bad I know). And yeah my days aren't perfect because I'm a very busy professional student and sometimes forget to finish my diary because I'm up till 2 in the morning studying, but I still keep track mentally in my head (I just forget to fill it in later). I never skip meals, I just sometimes get lazy when I eat the same thing for lunch and dinner, and I add it all together onto one meal. I probably do eat too much sugar. And I was on the 30 day shred, but now that school started, I feel like i don't have enough time (In class from 8 - 5, 1hour break to eat dinner and relax, study from 6 - I pass out)
  • Birdie
    Birdie Posts: 256 Member
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    For myself this happens two ways.... 1) if it's my TOM I always gained 4 lbs and then lost it after. Now that I noticed this pattern I don't freak out about it. 2) if I eat too much salt This is also why I weigh myself daily. That way if I notice my weight go up I can look at what I ate and fix it.
  • Lilbutterflyy
    Lilbutterflyy Posts: 4 Member
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    I just looked at your food diary (I'm new to this site so didn't know I could do that if you weren't my friend).
    Try cutting out the cereal for breakfast & try to have more protein instead. Also maybe eat more fresh fruits & vegetables & not processed foods (like the cereal). just an idea. :-)
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    If you want to lose weight by counting calories you have to be consistent and track everything. You can't cheat if your calorie deficit is calculated so that you have no room to maneuver. If cheating just a couple of times a week causes you to gain three pounds you may be eating more than you think.

    Don't forget that even if you weigh everything, by law, the calorie estimates can be off by as much as 15%. Maybe you could try reducing your calorie max by 10% and see how it goes.
  • that70sfan
    that70sfan Posts: 9
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    I forget you guys can see my diary, but I know how to do math pretty well, and I sometimes just keep track in my head and forget to fill it in online but I have it written down in a paper notebook instead. So I don't appreciate your sarcasm.
  • that70sfan
    that70sfan Posts: 9
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    Yeah I'm starting to think I may try weight watchers instead if I'm not allowed to cheat a little. They at least allow you to eat as many fruits/veggies as you want. Thanks for your help guys!
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
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    Unless you track consistently then you can not say that counting calories is not working.

    No one can force you to track everything, it is simply down to you and although I understand you are very busy with classes try to make a little time 10 mins in the morning even to plan your day?

    Only you can make it work.

    What works for me is logging everything in the diary and I am sure it will work for you too if you can find a little time at some point to fill your diary.
  • stina0t2
    stina0t2 Posts: 62 Member
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    I'm the same way. I track my calories each day but don't always see results at the end of the week.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,303 Member
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    I don't know what to tell you.but I understand. This is my second attempt to lose weight calorie counting. I've lost 7 pounds in 40 days..which is ok..but I am pretty much stuck right now. My last attempt at this ..the same thing happened..only I only lost about 4 to 5 pounds counting calories for about six months.

    I really think it is key to find out exactly where you need to be calorie count wise. You may want to go down to 1200 calories..or perhaps increase your calories..as some lose more eating less.

    I just recently increased my calories to lose only .5 pounds a week to see if that helps me lose better. This, after a mfp member who is at maintenance told me this is how she lost better than when she was trying to lose 2 lbs. a week..which I was trying to do.

    So..I say tweak it.. see if that works.
  • rachelleahsmom
    rachelleahsmom Posts: 442 Member
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    I went to look at her profile and her account has been deactivated!
  • IrishHarpy1
    IrishHarpy1 Posts: 399 Member
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    I forget you guys can see my diary, but I know how to do math pretty well, and I sometimes just keep track in my head and forget to fill it in online but I have it written down in a paper notebook instead. So I don't appreciate your sarcasm.

    Maybe it's just me, but I'm not seeing any sarcasm here. You started a post, people tried to help, then you jump on them for trying to give you suggestions. If you really want sarcasm, I'm sure there are plenty of people here who would be happy to oblige...

    Don't expect to put something out there for all to see and then complain when people look at it. If you're genuinely looking for help, then please don't alienate the people who CAN help you, k?

    ETA: Oh, wait... she's jumped ship for another site that lets her eat all the fruit and veggies she wants. THAT will help her lose weight, won't it???

    /sarcasm :indifferent:
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
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    I went to look at her profile and her account has been deactivated!

    some people are so snarky lol!
  • T34418l3angel
    T34418l3angel Posts: 474 Member
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    Another case of a person asking for help but not wanting to take the suggestions smh.. My advice is to listen to the advice or don't ask for it. You obviously don't log everything and you can't magically guess what those calories are that your not logging. It's simple science, calories in vs. calories out.
  • MizzTatiana
    MizzTatiana Posts: 116 Member
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    Well while everybody is up in arms about what you ARE eating, I was curious, what are you NOT getting enough of? Take a (good, hard) look at your vitamin/mineral intake. There maybe a surprising nutrional deficinency that may be to blame. Maybe you just need a diet overhaul altogether. If you've been using weight watchers for example, dump it, try the paleo diet. If you've been on the atkins, dump it, just try something else. Also, if you've finally reached that 'healthy' body mass weight, then, you've REALLY gotta ramp up your workouts harder than ever if you really wanna continue to see improvements. I was counting calories RELIGIOUSLY when I first found MFP. I found it didn't help me at all. It made me so miserable that I was routinely eating wayy under. I stopped logging.
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,143 Member
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    Yeah...probably gone to WW so she can cheat. :)

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