Counting Calories NOT working
that70sfan
Posts: 9
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
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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 1700-1800.0
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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.0 -
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!0 -
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. :-)0 -
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,0 -
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)0
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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.0
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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. :-)0 -
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.0 -
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.0
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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!0
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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.0 -
I'm the same way. I track my calories each day but don't always see results at the end of the week.0
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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.0 -
I went to look at her profile and her account has been deactivated!0
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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:0 -
I went to look at her profile and her account has been deactivated!
some people are so snarky lol!0 -
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.0
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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.0
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Yeah...probably gone to WW so she can cheat.
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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??
I had nearly six months recently where I wasn't losing anything. A couple of things I did to help myself was really focus on how much water I was drinking. As a busy student, get a large water bottle and take it with you. Focus on more protien driven foods that are easy to carry — protien meal bars, hard boiled eggs — and if you have a smart phone, get the MFP app and log everything BEFORE you eat it...Since I've refocused on tracking things before I eat it and on how much water I drink I'm back to losing again.
Good luck.0 -
I have managed to lose 50lbs by using myfitness pal, but it is not a miracle cure ! It won't work unless you do the excercise as well. Having worked with this thing now for a few months, i have learned how to play it and make it work for me. I eat more food now than I ever have done but it does come at a small price and that is that you have to excercise ! I got fed yp with going tot he gym four times a week...it's boring but now i have a new passion and that'd walking. I do it every day and i just watched the pounds roll of me. Best thing I did was to get a fitbit which helps me to monitor everything I do and eat. I have now become a chocoholic and still dont put weight on ! Remember above all, it will work better for you if you do the excercise. Everything comes at a price ! Good luck.0
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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!
Have fun storming the castle!
In all seriousness, if you aren't willing to listen to feedback, don't ask for it. I hope she does well wherever she goes.
(I "cheat" all the time and I'm doing just fine. Balance FTW)0 -
I feel your pain, but I know exactly why I'm not losing weight and that is because I have cheat days. Because I work out regularly, I don;t gain weight, but I also don't lose it. I understand being busy. I worked full time (6-330) and was taking 19 engineering credits and still found time to work out. It sucks, but if you really want to lose weight working out and counting calories works. Having cheat days every week doesn't work for me. It does for some people. but if I want to consistently lose weight I have to stay committed all the time. Don't get frustrated, losing weight isn't easy. Just try to eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Good luck! 0
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Account is deactivated...I guess she went to Weight Watchers:ohwell:0
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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!
It's not about being "allowed" to cheat a little or not. MFP doesn't have rules about eating, it's just a way to track your calories, nutrition, and fitness. As long as you can make your indulgences fit into your goals MOST of the time, it's not even cheating.
Regarding logging every single thing: I understand time constraints, but, if you can't look back at your log and see what you ate, not approximate, but exactly, it's going to be harder for you to identify what the problem is. I don't see how someone can track calories and fat and carbs and protein and sodium, etc, in their head. All those things matter.0 -
I think what they really are meaning is, if you want us to help you we have to see the true picture and can't see the true picture if we can't see what you're eating/exercising.
Clean up the food a bit, try to eat more "clean" foods such as the way God made them, less processed or limited process and get exercise in DAILY.
Also, lack of sleep and too much stress will take it's toll on weight loss as well.0 -
Good luck to her.. It is possible that WW may work better for her and her goals.
I will say that I understand what she meant about keeping a notebook. I started counting calories back in the day using a notebook and I still use one to this day. Often times I've wrote my food in my notebook for an entire day but forgot to log it here. Nothing wrong with that..0 -
Account is deactivated...I guess she went to Weight Watchers:ohwell:
... Because a plan that allows you to eat an infinite amount of fruits and veggies will somehow magically have better results than where you keep track of everything... Well, good luck to her.0 -
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!
I realize she's left, but if she thinks that, she's seriously deluded. You can't eat as many coconuts or pineapples or ears of corn as you like. You have to be aware of the calories and carbs in those foods.
Sooner or later, she'll realize that Weight Watchers is just a less direct form of calorie counting. But whatever works for her.0
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