I'm doing everything right and not losing. help!
Replies
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There seems to be a lot of different opinions on here. My thoughts;
1. With the amount of weight you have to lose you can safely set your weight loss goal to 2 pounds per week. With your level of excess body weight it is unlikely to sacrifice much muscle. You may feel low in energy for a bit but give your body a few days to adapt to greater use of ketones from fat as fuel. It also takes some time for your body to start gluconeogenesis which is creating glucose for your brain. Just stick with it.
2. Keep up the exercise and eat the extra calories you earn from doing it, but make sure you don't overestimate the intensity of the exercise otherwise MFP will add too many calories to your allowance. Exercise is critical for weight loss as it upregulates leptin signalling (which suppresses hunger).
3. As others have said, make sure your calorie counts are correct.
4. Humans are omnivorous. We are built to function with optimal health from animal as well as vegetable sources. As you do not have a moral reason for your vegan diet perhaps you could consider eating some meat, fish, poultry for nutritional rather than taste reasons. Not only is it much harder to get adequate protein from a vegan diet but it is very hard to get an acceptable essential amino acid profile from the protein you do consume - vegetable proteins are usually incomplete sources. Perhaps you could even consider a whey protein supplement to get your protein? For a starting point use MFP to ensure your macro-ratios of protein-carbohydrate-fat are in line with recommendations.
Good luck with your efforts!0 -
I am beginning to agree. But how the hell do I count things with no nutritional information?
It would be hard to tell with already prepared things. I just avoid those. But MFP has the calories for many ingredients and typically lets you enter them in grams or ounces. I don't make too many MFP recipes, but occasionally I do. I just add ingredients to the dish right into the diary.
It does take more work though, and actually, I find that my meals are getting simpler as a result.
Another thing I do is when I have to estimate, I round up on what I eat, and round down on exercise.0 -
The majority of the time..even if you think you are doing everything right...the food count is off..and you are underestimating calories...
Best way to test it..is to get a scale and weigh it all.. its a pain....but you would be surprised!!!0 -
Well I know that even with exercise, and sedentary in settings, they have my calorie allowance set too high. If I go much over 1400 for more than a day or two, I start gaining. Just something I've learned through trial and error experimentation and now by most BMR calculators I've tried, my BMR with my weight loss so far is only between 12-1300 to start -- BEFORE exercise and maintenance at my goal weight is less than the magic 1200 number they stick to so assiduously. So I shoot for between 12-1300 for weight loss, sometimes it comes out less but it's not like I'm dropping weight like crazy in an unhealthy way so I am not worried about it. Anyway, so if 1750 is not doing it for your weight loss, start dropping your calorie allowance little bit at a time until you find your "magic number" that works for you. They can only guesstimate -- you have to find what your body actually responds to. That's my best two cents worth. Hope it helps.0
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Not only is it much harder to get adequate protein from a vegan diet but it is very hard to get an acceptable essential amino acid profile from the protein you do consume - vegetable proteins are usually incomplete sources.
Total myth.0 -
Unless you are six feet tall, I don't understand why your calorie count is set so high. Maybe you should recalculate your weight loss goals.
I agree. I'm 6'2 and I net about 1400 per day and am losing just fine.0 -
Unless you are six feet tall, I don't understand why your calorie count is set so high. Maybe you should recalculate your weight loss goals.
I agree. I'm 6'2 and I net about 1400 per day and am losing just fine.
It was never made clear, but presumably her 1750 is gross, not net. Perfectly reasonable amount for an average active female in calorie deficit.0 -
Unless you are six feet tall, I don't understand why your calorie count is set so high. Maybe you should recalculate your weight loss goals.
I agree. I'm 6'2 and I net about 1400 per day and am losing just fine.
It was never made clear, but presumably her 1750 is gross, not net. Perfectly reasonable amount for an average active female in calorie deficit.
It was made clear by the OP that it was what mfp set to lose 1lb a week, so it should be NET.
To the OP:
From what you've said, when it mentions a particular brand name in your diary, this is seldom true. You are logging a lot of cupcakes and cookies, which I do too, but you seem to be choosing particularly low calorie counts for them. If you are buying these from a farmer's market, they will be made predominantly for taste, not low calories, ditto cakes from recipe books or cake shops.
Regarding exercise, I think it is important to be honest with yourself. For example, if I was on the tennis court for 60 minutes I would probably log 30-45 minutes, because of stopping for a drink, to chat, or pick up balls. You may actually be playing 60 solid minutes of tennis, but only you know that.
Measuring is tricky. You use a lot of tbsp. I find that my idea of a tbsp can be 1.5 times the weight listed on the packet!
Finally, guesstimating. I guesstimate a lot because I get lunch Included where I work. At 5'5", 130lb, I seem to maintain at 2400kcal+, which seems rather high. Therefore I probably overestimate calories in on a regular basis. However, I seem to do it fairly consistently (I have never gained on 2400kcal), so I know I can log that much and be ok. If you like the way you log, just reduce your calories and accept that you may actually be eating around 1750kcal all the same.0 -
Many of the people above are on point 1750 is a high calorie intake, and two increasing your protein and decreasing carbs will make a big difference on the scale. Another thing Tennis sounds like great cardio, but make sure your doing some strength training along with that also(try 2x-3x a week). You seem to be mostly on track for the most part though:)
1750 is not necessarily high at all.0 -
Your caloric intake is all over the place so it is really hard to tell what your average calories are. That combined with the inaccurate logging makes any suggestion a guess.
You should eat to what MFP says (rolling cals is fine as long as you check your weekly amounts) and weight/measure log everything. When you eat out, try to find an average in the database for that food type. After 4 more weeks, reassess.0 -
One thing that I don't think that has been mentioned so far is that no weight loss does not necessarily mean no fat loss. I am 5 ft 5in and over the past year lost 30lbs eating an average of 2000 calories per day. I exercise 6 days per week burning between 300-800 calories in a 1-2 hour session (so not excessive).
I started at 80kg but once I got to 67 kilos (about 147lbs) my weight stabilised and I have remained that weight since about last April. However, as the months progressed I continued to lose inches, especially around my tummy, where I was carrying it all - so I surmised that I must be still losing fat even though I wasn't losing weight.
About a month ago I bought an Aria wifi scale that measures not just weight but also body fat %. I've weighed myself every day and my weight fluctuates on a daily basis between 66.1 and 67.1kilos - but my fat loss continues to fall. A month ago it was 35%. This morning it was 31%.
So my lean body mass is increasing at approximately the same rate as the fat is being lost - so weight-wise I remain the same, but I am getting thinner and leaner.
To the OP - don't get despondent. Get out the tape measure and measure yourself at strategic points and then measure every month and even if the scales say you aren't losing weight then if the inches are melting away then you are losing fat (which is really what you want isn't it?). I think that you are eating a sensible amount and would resist pressure to cut your calories and 'go on a diet'.0 -
To those who are saying that 1700 is high for a 5'8" woman...
I am a 5'3" woman, and I eat around 1900 each day with an average net of about 1700. Over the last four weeks I've lost just under 6lbs, nearly half a stone. You don't have to eat next to nothing to lose weight.
To the OP...
I wouldn't lower your calorie count, but I would suggest that you do try to weigh and measure your food whenever possible. It seems like a pain to begin with, but it really does help. I was surprised by how much I was underestimating how much I was eating when I first started. I really didn't have any clue how big serving sizes of foods were.0 -
It doesn't sound like your doing everything right to be honest..
Guessing calories, not weighing food accurately, going over your calorie goal to over 2000 sometimes, doesn''t sound like your sure what your calorie goal is supposed to be either.,0 -
I think a 1750 intake is reasonable.
If you're guesstimating calories though, those estimates are all too often too low.
Either a) More accurately estimate intake (better option) or b) reduce your target intake and continue guesstimating; assume you're underestimating calories (easier option)0 -
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Wow....thank you...
methinks i need a digital scale0 -
I saw some 2500+ days in there. Maybe these are occasional? Stick to your 1750 goal. It's nice to stay you eat 1750 but your diary indicates otherwise.
There is nothing wrong with carbs, but I noticed lunch one day was a hamburger bun with margarine. That's not doing you any favors- no fiber, protein. Eat nutrient dense food instead.
Good luck!0 -
Many great responces but I went back and looked at your food log. From Sunday through Saturday last week. You ended up with a 1612 calorie surplus.Thats enough to add a 1/2 pound to your weight. certainly not any loss. I also added all the cupcakes and cheesecake and it was 1746 calories. I think maybe the problem is food choices. How much good food could you consume for those empty calories. My guess is by making smarter choices you will fill up easier and stay under your calorie goals.
Stay with it, its a learning curve of one. Only you can figure out what will work for the long run for you.
Good luck on your goals0 -
BTW, I lost 5.6 lbs in 2 weeks netting 1700... that's about 2100/day gross. I'm now netting 1850 to slow down the losses. I'm 5'7", 158-ish lbs and 37 years old. Everyone is indeed different. Maybe she also doesn't have her goal set to 2 lbs/week, which is insane for some people.0
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Many great responces but I went back and looked at your food log. From Sunday through Saturday last week. You ended up with a 1612 calorie surplus.Thats enough to add a 1/2 pound to your weight. certainly not any loss. I also added all the cupcakes and cheesecake and it was 1746 calories. I think maybe the problem is food choices. How much good food could you consume for those empty calories. My guess is by making smarter choices you will fill up easier and stay under your calorie goals.
Stay with it, its a learning curve of one. Only you can figure out what will work for the long run for you.
Good luck on your goals
That's not true. A 1612 surplus is enough to "not lose" 1/2 a pound her goal had her set to lose. If her goal was to lose 1 lb/week, and she had a 1612 surplus, she would still have a weekly deficit of a little over half a pound loss.0 -
Wow....thank you...
methinks i need a digital scale
Added to my list of top advice. When I don't ave access to a scale I'll try t round up a little. Except on the protein scoops which are always weighing less when I check.0 -
That seems like a lot of calories if you're trying to lose weight. You say you don't eat processed foods, but you do. Anything that is made commercially (like restaurant or store bought) is processed. You don't have any control over what is in it. Unless you are six feet tall, I don't understand why your calorie count is set so high. Maybe you should recalculate your weight loss goals. Try upping your vegetable intake and lowering your carb intake. As the person before me said, you're going to get lots and lots of advice.
I'm 5' 3" 142 pounds, and just had to bump my calories up to 1990 a day, because I was losing to quickly. :huh:0 -
cut down your sugar intake!!! you know what i'm talking about - muffins, cupcakes, cheesecakes, cookies...etc. looks like you eat them every single day.0
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I set it for MFP's lose a pound a week. do you think I should lower it? I had it at 1200 once upon a time but that was just too low. I was always miserable. but 1750 does feel quite roomy! I just blindly trusted MFP... but maybe 1500? do you think that would make a difference?
I'm no where near 6 feet!! 5'8"
I'm 5' tall and eat around 1760 for maintenance. I don't think you're eating too much. Sure, your weight loss progress will be slower.. but at least you're not miserable. Invest in a food scale to ensure you're logging correctly. Remember, little things can add up quickly.0 -
I too a look at your diary, I think you need to increase your protein and decrease your carbs, being vegan, this is some info I found, do you eat eggs or any dairy products??
The highest sources of leucine containing foods are animal and dairy. Cottage cheese and red meat top the list; other sources include milk, cheese, eggs, pork, fish, chicken, legumes, peanuts, nuts, and seeds. If you avoid red meat and dairy products, it is harder to get leucine containing foods in higher amounts, though not impossible. Using whey protein makes it easy. I always recommend individuals stay away from processed soy protein (like soy protein drinks), as it is anti-thyroid in higher amounts.0
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