Constant Working Out & Eating Decent. Nothing :(

1. Eat at a calorie deficit by tracking what you eat.
2. exercise.
3. Be patient and repeat 1 and 2.

Hello hello!

First off, I'm new to this MFP (loving the acronym- I feel like I'm a part of the cool kids club).

My question though, is this website/app going to help?

Like, I have been working out 4-5 times a week since about the summer time, & eating-wise I monitor it more or less, but I am an extremely picky eater...

And well needless to say 8 months have passed, and I have only lost about 7 lbs.

What's wrong with me? How do I utilize this app/website to the best of my abilities.

HELP.

Sounds like progress to me.

I'm new to this too and was also wondering the same thing, only I've just started working out, so I'm hoping the weight loss will continue throughout my time on here. . .

Lots and lots of water.
Before a meal, have a tall (and i mean tall) glass of water, which will help to fill you up so you don't eat as much.

Drink cranberry juice (no sugars, preservatives, no cocktails, none of that junk) mixed with a large bottled water. Only put a few tablespoons in along with the water. This helps flush the system and keep you from bloating. I suggest the trader joe's kind, it has no sugar, so its a bit to take with taste, but it helps.

Do not add any salty substances to your food. Ex: salt, soy sauce, ketchup, etc. It will make you retain water and bloat hardcore.

Cardio + strength training = a good combo to keep your body fit and tight. Make sure to let your muscles take a rest for a day so they can restore themselves.

Track your calorie intake and how much you exercise. It will keep you motivated to stay on track.

Hope this helps a bit.

Measure your foods...I was surprised by how much I underestimated what I was eating.

THIS

To make your diary viewable:

You can go to settings (next to Logout), then Diary Settings, and at the bottom of the page will be where you can get the permissions for your diary.


Re: the food, if it's not something I made or have nutrition info for, I go to the database and pick something in the higher range of calories and use that.

The absolute best thing you can do is track every bite of every thing you eat. If it crosses your lips, log it. I'm a fan of using a digital food scale vs measuring cups and eyeballing portions, too. I would advise taking a week and not changing your diet AT ALL, just logging everything accurately exactly like you would have eaten it before getting the app. Knowing exactly where your starting point is will be infinitely helpful in getting the right program worked out for you.

Do you have any medical conditions or take any meds that may interfere with your progress?

Yes, a food scale has been my best friend through this, along with diligent hardcore tracking.

Another thing that I found helpful was befriending many people and opening my diary so that they could see everything I eat. Some days I have calories left, and I choose different foods to fill that caloric goal because I'd rather my mfp friends see me log some carrots and hummus than some more cookies .

Now, your progress might be appropriate based on your height and current/goal weight. Hard to tell. Make sure you have figured out your BMR, TDEE, etc. with your data to ensure you've picked an appropriate net daily calorie goal. MFP will tell you how many calories you'll need to eat to lose "X" lbs a week, but it doesn't know what a realistic or healthy rate of loss for your body is. It bottoms out at 1200 calories, but for many people this is too low and will hinder weight loss attempts. There's an excellent post on here somewhere that I don't know how to link to (maybe someone else could help? It's that "instead of a road map.." thread) that's very detailed about picking appropriate caloric goals.

I think there's a settings tab somewhere at the top (maybe under "my home") to set your diary to public vs. open to friends vs. private. I'd recommend public - that way if you ever need to post here for help, it's easier for people to see what you're doing and give specific feedback and recommendations.

Edited to add: To keep yourself sane, it's a good idea to have more than one measure of progress/success. I calculated my body fat percentage and did a bunch of measurements at the gym that I intend to repeat monthly to give me other indicators of success. I don't want some measley water weight or muscle mass to cloud my perception of progress and have me discouraged by slowness in the numbers dropping on the scale.

Sounds like you are losing about .5 lb per week "monitoring more or less" and that is not bad. Get more serious and you should do just fine. Track everything, everyday and keep reading these forums. Figure out your TDEE and go from there...

I use this website as a tool along with my diet from a local nutritionist. My nutritionist says record EVERYTHING you eat in a food journal-- paper or MFP. Last summer I lost 20 pounds while in college by following the diet they gave me and now starting again after seeing my wedding pictures. The key is to eat as much lean proteins and vegetables and limit carbs and fruit to two a day. My problem is snacking and carb intakes and on this diet I am satisfied and not hungry enough to grab junk food. They also suggest drinking three cups of hot lemon water which is a natural diuretic and helps tremendously with bloat in the pooch area! Already in two days i'm down 5 pounds (they call first three days quick start). Starting tomorrow I add fruit and carbs. I plan when on campus and at work to eat every 2 -2.5 hours to keep metabolism up and i lose weight easily! Average about 3.5 pounds a week and am always full and satisfied. Try tweaking snacks and meals for leaner proteins and pack/ carry healthy snacks at all times so you don't over eat. Best thing is I don't even have to exercise, but I do Zumba also to keep toned! Hope some of this info helps.

It's not just about eating less, it's about eating right. Make sure you are getting significant micro-nutrients, water and fiber.

For college cafeterias: salads and the salad bar are your friends.

1. Eat at a calorie deficit by tracking what you eat.
2. exercise.
3. Be patient and repeat 1 and 2.

This is so true, but my biggest dragon to slay is not the calories but the paitence. That's the biggy for me.
I'm like a yoyo, up and down, chocolate truffles daily, pecan pie, you think maybe that has something to do with all the calories? duhhhh.....I have got to do better..my daily goal is 1300 calories and I am not able to manage a good solid day of eating right and just 'doing it'..anyone else have that problem..

I would start by actually doing the MFP program - tracking your food everyday.

Don't be surprised by the results you don't get for the work you didn't do.