Not seeing much progress - need guidance!!

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  • hdME
    hdME Posts: 19
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    Ummm... I don't get it. That's you in the pic, right? What exactly are you trying to do? Not trying to be rude, here, but you don't look like you actually need to lose any weight. Hell, I'd kill to have your *kitten*. Just sayin'...

    LOL. Thank you - that is great encouragement! Yes, that is me, but I am trying to tone everything up. I was about 126 lbs. until I moved to a third world country and my diet change drastically, and now none of my clothes fit! It all looks fine under a baggy top, but definitely needs some help.
  • gdrmuzak
    gdrmuzak Posts: 103 Member
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    It is my understanding that natural sugars (honey, fruit, etc.) can be converted easily to energy BUT refined sugar bypasses one of our organs, skips the energy conversion and gets stored as fat.

    I don't worry much about going over sugars IF it's coming from natural (vs. processed) foods. Also, I usually try to mix a protein snack with a carb/fruit snack (ie - almonds/peanuts/yogurt and a apple or banana).

    Lastly, I plateaued for three weeks and then things kicked off again BUT I did notice my clothes were fitting different. I expect those times and just keep going until another break through happens. Six years ago I worked out almost daily for 6-7 weeks and only lost 2-3 lbs in that time, then everything finally kicked in and I quickly dropped 1-2 lbs/week and lost more than 20 lbs. (Unfortunately, I found out where I'd lost those 20 pounds and discovered I'd hidden 35 more with them!) :noway:
  • opus649
    opus649 Posts: 633 Member
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    How much of the number on the scale is determined by "muscle weighs more than fat"?

    Zero.
  • hdME
    hdME Posts: 19
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    While we're at it... another question... I should probably make it another post, but...

    I live in a third-world country where it is very hot and I am sweating like all the time (attractive, I know) all day.

    If you are sweating a lot, but not necessarily raising your heart rate - does that effect the amount of nutrition that needs to be replaced into your body? Or just water?
  • BlackKat75
    BlackKat75 Posts: 210 Member
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    When you measure your food, make sure you do it by weight and not volume. Nutrition labels often set out values assuming a certain volume equals a certain weight. I have found that routinely the volume amount understates the actual weight of the food eaten. For example, 1/2 cup of old-fashioned oats according to the label is 40g for 150 calories. However, when I measured out a 1/2 cup and weighed it, I had 51g for 191 calories. I have found a similar 20-30% discrepancy with nearly every food that gives measurements by both volume and weight.
  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
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    hey I just took a quick look at your diary and I can offer a little advice :) this is how I do it personally and I've managed to lose about 1-2 pounds a week: I avoid carbs and sugars after 4. I also recommend eating more protein (fish, chicken) unless you are a vegeterian... I also recommend eat snacks in between your meals and cutting down your calories on lunch and dinner. I eat every 3 hours or so to keep my metabolism going/speed it up. But one thing is to realy cut down on the sugar and try to get your carbs and protein to equal out by the end of the day! I hope that helps :)

    Thank you for your help! It is hard with sugar because fruit has so much sugar. It seems like ANYTHING that I eat puts the sugar levels in the red...

    Sugar is the least of your concerns if you are controlling your overall carb intake. But as far as weight loss is concerned, unless your body doesn't handle glucose properly (you are insulin resistant or you have an intolerance to the foods containing carbs), then carbs shouldn't be a concern as long as you are burning them off by eating less than your TDEE.

    Weight loss is equal to eating less calories than you are burning. WHAT you are losing is the next concern. Are you losing fat? Or are you losing muscle? That depends on your protein intake.....
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    While we're at it... another question... I should probably make it another post, but...

    I live in a third-world country where it is very hot and I am sweating like all the time (attractive, I know) all day.

    If you are sweating a lot, but not necessarily raising your heart rate - does that effect the amount of nutrition that needs to be replaced into your body? Or just water?
    You also lose sodium and potassium in sweat.
  • mfp_1
    mfp_1 Posts: 516 Member
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    Do you have a digital food scale?
  • hdME
    hdME Posts: 19
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    Do you have a digital food scale?

    No. I've looked everywhere, but I will have to wait until I visit the US again to buy one. It looks like it it definitely needed, however.

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