What gives?

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  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    I know I need more veggies and I am trying to work on that. The lasgna isn't your everyday normal lasagna. It's boiled chicken breasts shredded up and mixed with whole wheat penne and tomato sauce and some fat free cream cheese. I make a lot of it at a time and usually eat on it for a week. I think cutting the cheat days will help some.
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    How are your clothes fitting? Anything tightening up? Are you eating enough for the level of activity you are at now? What does MFP recommend you NET per day? If you're supposed to NET 1,700 but you're NETTING 1,000, that's going to be a problem for your long term success.

    Good luck to you!

    My pants are actually a little looser but like I mentioned I have lost 20 pounds since buying them but have been stuck for 3 months. MFP reccomends 3,000 for not losing any weight at all and I don't log exercise so that I don't eat back those cals.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    1. Log Daily
    2. Measure your food
    3. Get closer to daily calorie allotment
    4. Produce, lots of produce
    5. Less processed or prepacked food
    6. Start tracking sodium
    7. 30-45 minutes of exercise 3-5 times a week, mixing cardio and strength
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    1) You are not logging consistently

    2) You are greatly under eating. Many days show that you have not even had 1000 calories. At your size there is no reason to be eating that little.

    Right, on weekends a lot of times I am in an area that I can't get internet access and I just don't log. That is about to stop though. Also, anytime I am under 1000 it just means I didn't log something.
  • knowwhentoshutup
    knowwhentoshutup Posts: 318 Member
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    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Like others mentioned - find your BMR and your TDEE, and take a 15-20% cut to your TDEE.

    If you are 6'11" and 280, you are eating way TOO little. I'm 5'6.5" and am currently weigh 181, and eat a minimum of 1700 calories a day. That is BEFORE exercise. I know everyone is different, that is why understanding your BMR and TDEE is important.

    Don't cheat your body, less does not equal better results in the long term. Training your body to expect less, by under fueling, will only slow your metabolism down.

    Also - don't rely only on the scale. Take measurements, look for endurance changes, clothing fit, etc.

    Good luck!
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
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    1) You are not logging consistently

    2) You are greatly under eating. Many days show that you have not even had 1000 calories. At your size there is no reason to be eating that little.

    ^^^ THIS! I only went back a week but there are days where you don't log dinner and only had about 400 cals left... how much did you eat? You routinely eat around 1000 cals a day... I am a 5'10" woman weighing 218 and I eat around 1800 cals/day and am losing.

    Plus, I don't see a whole lot of "good" food in there. Where are your frutis and veg? Are you drinking water? Eat more "real" food and more of it

    Cheat days really just cheat ourselves, in my opinion. YOu shouldn't be cutting anything out, you should just learn to live with moderation and then you wouldn't need any cheaters
  • mikeschratz
    mikeschratz Posts: 253 Member
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    You're 6'11" tall and weigh 280 pounds and you eat 1300 calories a day? IMHO, you need to recalculate your BMR and TDEE and then cut that by 15% to 20%..... do that for a month and then see what happens.
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    1) You are not logging consistently

    2) You are greatly under eating. Many days show that you have not even had 1000 calories. At your size there is no reason to be eating that little.

    ^^^ THIS! I only went back a week but there are days where you don't log dinner and only had about 400 cals left... how much did you eat? You routinely eat around 1000 cals a day... I am a 5'10" woman weighing 218 and I eat around 1800 cals/day and am losing.

    Plus, I don't see a whole lot of "good" food in there. Where are your frutis and veg? Are you drinking water? Eat more "real" food and more of it

    Cheat days really just cheat ourselves, in my opinion. YOu shouldn't be cutting anything out, you should just learn to live with moderation and then you wouldn't need any cheaters


    I started at 2000 cals and that didn't work either. Water is the only thing I drink.
  • mikeschratz
    mikeschratz Posts: 253 Member
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    I ran your number and here is what I came up with:
    Mifflin - St Jeor
    BMR 2395
    TDEE 3353
    Cut 20% - 2682

    Also, I don't know your age, so I used 40 and an activity level of 1.4 (lightly active; little daily acitivity and light exercise 1-3 days a week).

    With these numbers, you need to eat A LOT more!
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    I ran your number and here is what I came up with:
    Mifflin - St Jeor
    BMR 2395
    TDEE 3353
    Cut 20% - 2682

    Also, I don't know your age, so I used 40 and an activity level of 1.4 (lightly active; little daily acitivity and light exercise 1-3 days a week).

    With these numbers, you need to eat A LOT more!

    I am 26, and activity level at work is pretty low so that should be ok.
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
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    I ran your number and here is what I came up with:
    Mifflin - St Jeor
    BMR 2395
    TDEE 3353
    Cut 20% - 2682

    Also, I don't know your age, so I used 40 and an activity level of 1.4 (lightly active; little daily acitivity and light exercise 1-3 days a week).

    With these numbers, you need to eat A LOT more!

    HA! I did the same thing on Scooby's calculator (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) , but used 30 years old ;-) The 20% cut came up with 2626 cals/day. :)

    You probably weren't losing at 2000 cals/day because you were STILL undereating (sounds crazy, I KNOW). Do some more research on what your BMR/TDEE is because once you understand the information you'll understand why you need the calories.

    also, just FYI, you need to eat (based on the exercise pattern you described) 4070 cals/day to maintain.
  • goblynn
    goblynn Posts: 152
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    Looks like you have received lots of great advise.

    I just want to add a couple things:

    Before I bought my food scale I guessed at the weights of my food. Because I wasn't losing weight I posted something similar to what you have and someone suggested I buy a cheap food scale which I did. Much to my surprise I was under-estimating the weigh of most of my food my 50-100%!!!

    It does take discipline but weighing (more than measuring) is what flipped the weight loss switch for me. The size of ONE CUP of mashed potatoes can greatly vary depending on if it is a level cup, heaping, cup and if you also include what you just licked off the serving spoon. Weighing it is consistent- you know you have 100g of potato no matter how big or small it looks. :)

    Good luck to you!!
  • mikeschratz
    mikeschratz Posts: 253 Member
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    I ran your number and here is what I came up with:
    Mifflin - St Jeor
    BMR 2395
    TDEE 3353
    Cut 20% - 2682

    Also, I don't know your age, so I used 40 and an activity level of 1.4 (lightly active; little daily acitivity and light exercise 1-3 days a week).

    With these numbers, you need to eat A LOT more!

    HA! I did the same thing on Scooby's calculator (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) , but used 30 years old ;-) The 20% cut came up with 2626 cals/day. :)

    You probably weren't losing at 2000 cals/day because you were STILL undereating (sounds crazy, I KNOW). Do some more research on what your BMR/TDEE is because once you understand the information you'll understand why you need the calories.

    also, just FYI, you need to eat (based on the exercise pattern you described) 4070 cals/day to maintain.

    Knowing now you are 26.... ^^^^^ THIS ^^^^
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    I ran your number and here is what I came up with:
    Mifflin - St Jeor
    BMR 2395
    TDEE 3353
    Cut 20% - 2682

    Also, I don't know your age, so I used 40 and an activity level of 1.4 (lightly active; little daily acitivity and light exercise 1-3 days a week).

    With these numbers, you need to eat A LOT more!

    HA! I did the same thing on Scooby's calculator (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) , but used 30 years old ;-) The 20% cut came up with 2626 cals/day. :)

    You probably weren't losing at 2000 cals/day because you were STILL undereating (sounds crazy, I KNOW). Do some more research on what your BMR/TDEE is because once you understand the information you'll understand why you need the calories.

    also, just FYI, you need to eat (based on the exercise pattern you described) 4070 cals/day to maintain.

    So I need to force myself to eat more? I am not ever hungry at my current cal intake. I would feel like I did nothing but eat if I ate that many calories. I eat stuff low in fat and cals so I can eat more and still stay under goal.
  • mikeschratz
    mikeschratz Posts: 253 Member
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    I ran your number and here is what I came up with:
    Mifflin - St Jeor
    BMR 2395
    TDEE 3353
    Cut 20% - 2682

    Also, I don't know your age, so I used 40 and an activity level of 1.4 (lightly active; little daily acitivity and light exercise 1-3 days a week).


    With these numbers, you need to eat A LOT more!

    HA! I did the same thing on Scooby's calculator (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) , but used 30 years old ;-) The 20% cut came up with 2626 cals/day. :)

    You probably weren't losing at 2000 cals/day because you were STILL undereating (sounds crazy, I KNOW). Do some more research on what your BMR/TDEE is because once you understand the information you'll understand why you need the calories.

    also, just FYI, you need to eat (based on the exercise pattern you described) 4070 cals/day to maintain.

    So I need to force myself to eat more? I am not ever hungry at my current cal intake. I would feel like I did nothing but eat if I ate that many calories. I eat stuff low in fat and cals so I can eat more and still stay under goal.

    Eat good and natural food as often as possible. Don't worry about low cal or the like, just eat so that you hit these calories. Your body has gotten used to eating "not enough" and you taught it how to do that.... now you have to teach it how to "EAT ENOUGH". It will take time, but your body will love you for it.....

    If you want to play with the numbers here is a easy spreadsheet to use....
    https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B3kFzsaVmRjmd1k4YjA1SlVWaFU/edit

    Good luck!
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
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    eat denser foods, add veg and fruit. I love fresh veg juice (I juice my own) and one of my favorites is around 450 calories.

    I eat a lot of salmon, tuna, chicken, turkey and whole wheat (I buy my bread for an acutal bread store). It has cals, but not as many preservatives and it is dense and keeps me full longer.


    almonds are a great snack that are calorie dense.

    Your body needs more nutrients
  • mikeschratz
    mikeschratz Posts: 253 Member
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    Please read this.... it is what I did and it really worked for me!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/635529-corn-used-my-man-parts-as-a-speedbag
  • mrstravisjones
    mrstravisjones Posts: 104 Member
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    Not going to repeat any advice I've already seen on here - a lot of it looks like good advice! But here's a few more things to think about.

    I was taught by a nutritionist to always eat SOMETHING within one hour of waking up. It will jump start your metabolism for the day. After that, don't let any more than 3hrs go by without eating - 2 hrs is probably better.

    Sodium rich foods tend to make people retain water - which makes people look and feel heavier. It also slows down weight loss.

    I'm not saying that Atkin's (low to no carb) is a good healthy option for a diet, but I would reduce the amount of pasta. Even whole wheat pasta isn't as healthy and nutritional as you think it is.

    Without lots of veggies in your diet, your body doesn't get all of the nutrients it needs and therefore will hold on to food. (Same thing with not enough calories - the whole starvation mode thing)

    Good luck to you.
  • castlerobber
    castlerobber Posts: 528 Member
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    I eat stuff low in fat and cals so I can eat more and still stay under goal.

    The low-fat thing may be part of the problem. Your macronutrients are set to 40% carbs, 40% protein, and only 20% fat, and you don't seem to be eating even that much fat. Dietary fat (except trans fat) is not the enemy; your body does require some. It's quite possible you're carbohydrate-sensitive, if you're eating as few calories as you say and still not losing weight. Try dropping the carbs down to 25%, protein down maybe to 35%, with the rest fat. Make the carbs count: Plenty of colorful veggies, berries and other lower-sugar fruit; reduce or even eliminate grains, starches, sugar, and processed stuff. Skip the man-made trans fats and highly-polyunsaturated vegetable oils.

    You might take a look at the Paleo/Primal way of eating, or South Beach, or Atkins, or even the old Harvey/Banting diet. Some people do fine eating anything that fits into their macros and calorie count; and some people can handle more carbs. Others of us have to be more selective.
  • sssygirl
    sssygirl Posts: 55 Member
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    I agree, you are not really eating good food. Powders and bars are great to supplement..but they should not be your "food".

    Can I suggest eating plain Oatmeal for breakfast with some fruit (fresh or frozen) on top and about a tsp of protein powder on it.

    For lunch eat your lean meat, a salad, some frest cut veggies and fruit..soups are great and you can make a large amount ahead of time and freeze.

    Dinner, meat or beans..make sure if you have pasta or potatoes that it s a side..not your whole meal. Soup and Salad with a nice piece of crusty bread is a favorite of mine.

    For snacks, try fruits, veggies, hummus and crackers, popcorn, yogurts.

    I also think you need to eat a little more.
    Make sure you are drinking enough water and not drinking any calories..
    Best of luck! You will get there!

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