Genuinely stuck and need solid advice, please.

Your body is freaking out at the changes. Some of your days are very very low carb. I've found a good formula that works for me... Might be worth a try.

1400-1500 cals.
120g protein (35‰)
120g carbs (35%)
50g fat (30%)

I only eat extra exercise cals if my hungry... But try not to go over 120g carbs. With how much you want, to lose these are probably good goals. For me personally if I go too high or too low on the carbs weight loss stops. It's about finding the balance for your body. Will take time, it won't be easy... But it can be done.

I think your sugar is quite high. Track it and don't go above around 50g (only, because it works for me)

Also track sodium. Keep it low 2 days before weigh in.

Don't weigh every day will drive you nutty.

Food, settings, goals, custom set, set percentages.

Food, settings, diary settings, track sodium and sugar.

Try to get 20-30g of fiber and 8+ glasses of water. You'll feel full and satisfied.

Save some carbs for a little treat at the end of the day within your macros if you need to.

Change the breakfast bar to a protein bar maybe? Add in a protein shake? These macros are actually very easy to stick to once you get used to them.

Zara x

This happened me a few months back i was training every day and eating well (or so i thought) but infact i wasn't eating enough (my personal trainer laughed at me when i showed him my food diary) you weighed yourself after 3 days that's far too early you need to ditch the scales only weigh once every 2 weeks if you get obsessed it stresses out your body and that leads to storage of fat you need to relax eat well (and i'd say a bit more too as it doesn't look like you're eating enough) i would also say you need to eat more veg and salad as this is what fills you up and fuels your body but be careful as the likes of bananas have carbohydrates in them (they are approx 100 cals each) so just watch that too plus 1 night of exercising is not enough you need to be doing some form of exercise at least 5 days a week. Hope this helps x

I lost 125 pounds. You can do it, but it will take patience and consistent dedication. You're just getting started - stick with it and keep working to make better choices.

I put some of the things I learned along the way into a blog. It also has links to other good blogs and threads that are helpful for someone starting out.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ihad/view/truth-justice-and-the-mfp-way-a-primer-for-beginners-422837

Good luck!

i've got about same to lose as you but mfp gives me 1870 cals daily so dont understand why your allowance is so low?? Maybe I'm missing something...

you picked "one pound per week" and she picked "two".
I guess she missed where it said "recommended" next to the 1 lb.
Good for you for reading and doing it smarter.
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OP: change your goal to 1 lb per week, meet your goals, eat veggies, drink water, exercise for strength and endurance, not to "burn calories", and have PATIENCE. You're not "stuck" if you've only been at it 3 days....

I didn't 'miss' the recommended 1lb per week choice, I just chose to select 2lbs a week which is just as healthy otherwise it wouldn't be documented as show by doctors and the like.. So please refrain from presuming I'm unintelligent, and if you can't be helpful then don't waste your time patronising and criticising. I'm here for advice not an argument. Thanks.

She's not picking on you or assuming you are unintelligent. Her comment was made to the other poster. She IS giving you good advice. 3 days isn't stuck - patience will be important in the long run, even if you lose quickly ver the next weeks, that will slow down. A reasonable deficit will make it work as it is less of a struggle to stick to.

Best of luck!

I advise you to add sat. fat and fibre to your tracking list. You need lots of fibre and as little as possible of sat. fats.

I take physillium husks to contribute to my fibre intake.

Good for you, but track it in your food diary, that's what I meant.

And we are all here to help, not to be mean. Most of us have been trough this, so we know what we are talking about

You are not "stuck" after 3 days. You haven't started yet. If you're the same weight in 3 months, then you can call yourself "stuck."

Why is nobody understanding what I mean with the word STUCK? I'm stuck as in I'm stuck mentally with what to do! Not that I've plateaued!!

Maybe because that's not what you asked. You said you were stuck and asked what you were doing wrong. Even here you ask about what to "do", not how to deal with a mental or motivational issue. If a lot of people aren't answering the way you want, rather than blame all of them, consider (1) were you clear about what you were asking? and (2) are you rejecting perfectly good answers because you don't like them rather than because they aren't good.

Motivation is key. You need to think about what you want and why. This is part of why there are sections on your profile page for you to enter your inspirations and reasons. And as people have suggested, if you think about this as something that will happen in days and be reflected as smooth, predictable progress on your scale, you are likely to be disappointed and discouraged. Research has shown that the simple act of writing down your goals and motivations makes it more likely that you can stick to a plan to achieve them. You don't have to share that with others, but start listing the reasons for yourself.

In the responses here people have suggested ways around the problems you're encountering (especially with motivation for more than a couple of days) -- weigh less often, use other measurements, etc. People have suggested lifestyle changes that worked for them -- keeping things they enjoy in their diet, but eating less of them, making sure they eat enough fiber, adjusting the kinds of carbohydrates. Instead of seeing these suggestions as attacks, consider that people are trying to give you what you asked for, "solid advice". What works for others may not work for you, but that doesn't mean it was bad advice or meant in a bad way. Move on and find something that works for you. Know that finding what doesn't work for you is part of learning what will work for you, so it's progress.

(And take a look at the recipes posted on the boards, and search for previous threads on vegetables. You may find that it's not all vegetables you dislike, but some vegetables especially when they are prepared in uninspiring ways. I also used to think I didn't like vegetables, but I've learned many ways to enjoy them.)

I read the list of foods you are eating and here is my advice.

Make sure you are not only checking calorie count, but sodium content. This may be why you are feeling more bloated and heavier.

Next, 1/2 gallon to 1 gallon of water per day. I know it sounds like a lot but you get used to it after a while. Trust me this helps.

Try and make the majority of your calorie intake protein and veggies.

Be patient. As women, our body weight can fluctuate anywhere between .5 to 5 pounds per day.

Stay off the scale. pay attention to how your clothes fit. Just don't even get on it, hide it.

Hope this helps.

Whatever you do don't give up. I go to a nutrionist...she has me making sure that I eat a 'healthy' snack between breakfast and lunch and then again between lunch and dinner. So spread your calories throughout the day. I am 'slowly' shedding. My nutrionist believes if you miss any of these it can triger your metabolism that you are going in to 'starve' mode, so it is very important to help boost metabolism. Myfitnesspal is a great & fun way to track what you eat, I'm enjoying it. I usuallly allow myself my 'bread'/wheat part of a meal, only at breakfast. I don't eliminate it but I have to be extremly careful as bread is always an easy one to go over.
Another thing is to always have a PLAN of what you are going to eat everyday and tell yourself to 'stick' to it. When you go out for a meal for sure 'plan' and keep telling your self to 'stick to it'. Also if you have one Bad day tell yourself that is 'maintinants day' and I will not be in a 'loss of weight mode' day, But do get back on tracking and PLANNING the next day.

I re-read and wasn't very clear--the reason for doing this is not superstition but that without a significant change in weight between weigh-in's, some scales just seem to not register the changes.

So please take the following coaching as a critical look at what you've written and what you have actually done.

You are not "stuck" in the physical sense. Maybe psychologically you are "stuck" to a certain point of view and that is going to be very hard to give up unless you give yourself permission to give up those views.

The problem is two part. There is what you are doing (physically and eating) and then there is what you are saying to yourself in your own monologue. You are treating that monologue as "THE TRUTH." And part of that comes from your practice and membership in the Church of "I don't wanna, you can't make me."

Here is what you described.

You did some stuff over a couple of days. You cut out eating some stuff (over a couple of days). You got on the scale after that couple of days and the number that came up was the same as before.

THAT IS ALL THAT HAPPENED.

Now, there is what you've said about it (and then justifed why you said what you did). None of that is THE TRUTH! All that stuff about expecting weight loss to occur fairly rapidly and then saying that you are "stuck" as a result of seeing a set of numbers after only a few days....well that is just stuff you tell yourself (and others) to seem 'reasonable' and to justify your reasons. You get something from doing that, otherwise you wouldn't do that. You have to be willing to give that up and replace it with something that matches with reality.

Just look at how you described your own self-sabotage ( you justified it as well).

Okay, now it is time to pick yourself back up.

If you've come this far without becoming furious at my reply, let me tell you there is some good news.

You could have done all of what you described in complete silence and the only one who would have known was you. And while you might be looking for validation of the "old you" (and that self-view will not go away without a fight because you have trained yourself and everyone around you to see yourself in a certain way), let's take at face value that you are looking for a new paradigm.

Solid advice?

As others have pointed out: fruits and vegetables. Not denying yourself that things that give you some pleasure in eating.

Really. it is more about balancing the elements of food intake rather than entirely eliminating whole classes of nutrients (unless your medical situation demands it). There are certain things you don't need even though you feel like you do. You don't need sugary drinks, for example, with their high-fructose corn syrup (there was a time when sugary drinks were sweetened by sucrose). It is easy to rearrange foods (and then complain about it) rather than rearranging our life for time for physcical activty. That is why we do that first. But it can also be like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic after it hit the iceberg.

Realize this...your body is in a dynamic equilibrium. Your weight is a reflection of this.

I have become a big advocate of focusing on one thing at a time to start. Rather than "starving yourself" I advocate starting with and then gradually increasing physical activity. Set some minimum level (above whatever level got you to where you are today) and do it...everyday. And if you miss a day, don't "double up" just get back to it the next day and keep going. Then gradually ramp that up. I started with 10,000 steps per day (measured with a pedometer that I had to purchase) and have gradually ramped up to 22,000 steps per day ( a real time challenge to work that in).

Take a complete set of body measuremenets, record them and check them once per month. For those months where you've been doing what you set out to do and there hasn't been scale movement, there might be inch movement. I spent an entire year at 190 pounds after dropping from 248 to 214, gaining back to 232 and then down to that 190 plateau. But I was losing the "bubble wrap."

Finally, it probably took you a while to get to your weight. Yes, you could set out to lose it relatively quickly, but honestly, slower may be better in the long-run. It took me a number of years to put on the weight and then it took me a long time to admit I had gotten fat and way outside of my idealized view of myself. I was equally surprised how long it took for me to realize that i was actually returning to my idealized view of myself. But if you can become aware of the fact that what you are telling yourself is just stuff you are telling yourself, it will go a long way to deal with you self-described feeling of being "stuck."

Remember, a mind can be a terrible thing.

it takes time to lose weight have PATIENCE!

totally agree its very hard to have the Patience. It took a long time to gain that 80 lbs and its going to take just as much time if not more to lose it... little steps at a time. Hang in there. add me if you would like its a process...