I can't see what I am doing wrong
Replies
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BMR - imagine you are lying in a hospital bed with coma. your body needs this much to keep up organ function.
That you would be 1384 calories for you.
They would pretty much tube feed you this much and you would not gain or lose.
Now, obviously as you are not in a coma (thank goodness), you get up every day and do your chores so your body needs more energy than 1384 to function.
Like you brush your teeth and probably go shopping, etc etc so you burn more.
Add up everything you do: here comes your TDEE.
So if your TDEE is around 1700 calories, that means if you ate 1700 every day your weight would not move. Because that is exactly how much you need a day normally.
You see the conclusion now? If you are eating "aroundish" 1600 calories and your TDEE is "aroundish" 1700 it is not really going to get you anywhere - or maybe on a very long run (and you should not go over 1600 at all).
My opinion: you up the exercise (>> raises you TDEE) or you down the calories. Either way, the deficit would change from 100-150 that you have now to 200-400. Now 200-400 would bring visible changes faster.
(you decide how you do it. generally it is agreed that more exercise and more calories are better. unless you hate to exercise or have injuries or that sort.)0 -
First thing I would do is get a food scale and a measuring cup. It's tooooooo easy to miscalculate. Do that for a week and I bet you'll figure it out. Once you get the portions securely figured out, then I would work on what you do for exercise. I would limit your exercise number to 250-300 per half hour. Estimates and even HRMs can be wildly different.
All these recommended daily intakes are also estimates. I find them too high on MFP, others find them too low. What matters is that you pick a number, watch your portions carefully, and be regular about your cardio/strength.
I didn't quit caffeine, but I do limit it two 2 cups a day for other reasons. I doubt that ti the problem.0 -
I agree with the caffeine thing - I drink like 6 espressos a day and I am losing. (But no milk and sugar goes in my coffee though!)0
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I'm going to suggest something that probably goes against what everyone else here is saying.
You are paying good money to see a nutritionalist. Why not trust them and try EXACTLY what they suggest. i.e. don't count calories. Give it four weeks (anything less does not give you body time to adjust in my opinion). What they are suggesting is already having positive results (such as the better sleep), so they cannot be talking complete rubbish!
I assume you are seeing the nutritionalist regularly? So if weight loss does not happen seek their advice on why not. You are paying for help with weight loss and if you do as they say and don't lose they have a responsibility to help you get to the bottom of the problem.
Because it is not an exact science. A nutritionist can help you choose better foods, work on portion control, make suggestions which there are counter arguments for.
Not arguing - the point is to be consistent for long enough to see if it is working.0 -
Are you weighing your food? I was going by measuring cups for a while and the measurements are so much more accurate when you weight. For some things I wasn't eating enough and others too much. Messed with my calories.0
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You don't have much of a deficit, so it's going to take a long time for the weight to come off. Plus, your body doesn't lose weight the way your math says it should. You might stay the same weight for weeks, then suddenly drop a few pounds, or it might come off steadily for weeks and then stall for a bit before picking up again.
I would take the advice of an above poster who said to up your exercise. And if you're looking for faster results, make sure that exercise is intense. Get your heart rate up a bit and start sweating. When you put a little stress on your body, you'll start to see changes.0 -
I was in exactly the same position as you this time last year - told to eat this and that and cut back on this and that. My daughter introduced me to MFP in July having followed the 'expert' advice til then. As you can see I am losing nicely and feeling fab! Never lost anything for the previous 7 months via expert!
It's not rocket science, weigh EVERYTHING never GUESS, up your exercise to 3/4 sessions ( I only do 20mins high impact) and eat more veg than ever before! Ladies of a certain age have hormone or lack of issues to cope with too Weight training too will really help and not just tone you but make you feel much better too
God luck, its early days, be patient it will happen if you follow all the advice the other posters have given you.
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I cannot say enough as this does seem to be being missed a lot - I weigh and measure everything I eat and drink - my nutritionist said not to count calories but i can't do that - it was her recommendation that I have chosen not to follow. I am not guessing my food intake what I log is exactly what I eat therefore I know the cals going in are correct. What seems to be the problems is exactly how many cals should be going in0
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You can't just eye ball your food. People greatly underestimate how many calories they consume and portion sizes. Count your calories.
a study showed that the average non-nutritionist underreported their consumed calories by 450 (on average) while people who were nutritionists or had a history of counting calories STILL UNDERREPORTED by 250 calories.
pretty damning evidence for most people.
i'd say weigh and measure everything and then still add 100-200 calories at the end of the day to adjust for human error.0 -
Ok. So then experiment. Eat more for a week or two. If that does;t work eat less for a week or two.
Mix things up - eat different foods
Drink more water
Once you get back into your exercise routine try and do something different or push yourself harder.
One tip I was once given was to change your meals around - have breakfast at tea time, or lunch at breakfast time. Weird at first but now I love porridge for supper!0 -
You have to do the calories food is the most important part of losing. Life does get in the way of exercise but use a pedometer 10000 steps a day u can walk around the house to get the steps in stairs at home walk in place. And if u don't lose cut calorie count done if your not exercising 1500 is a lot of calories0
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Is it possible you have overestimated your activity level? If so, MFP will tell you that you may have more calories than you should. I made this mistake.0
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What seems to be the problems is exactly how many cals should be going in
That's what I told you. You use up between 1650-1700 a day but you eat up almost the same. You need lesser calories OR more exercise.
I strongly believe that your problem is as follows: the reason we get fat in the first place is because we are USED TO eating between 2000 to 3000 for years, or even decades... Now that you are eating only 1600-1700, it feels like you are on a strict diet - even though you are currently consuming just about how much you normally need.
This is a fact that is hard to get over. Both for the body and the mind.
It often feels like you cannot get any lower in terms of eating - but if your weight does not move for 4-6 weeks you are eating enough to maintain the weight. But not enough to lose. So something needs to be changed there.0 -
Like this answerBMR - imagine you are lying in a hospital bed with coma. your body needs this much to keep up organ function.
That you would be 1384 calories for you.
They would pretty much tube feed you this much and you would not gain or lose.
Now, obviously as you are not in a coma (thank goodness), you get up every day and do your chores so your body needs more energy than 1384 to function.
Like you brush your teeth and probably go shopping, etc etc so you burn more.
Add up everything you do: here comes your TDEE.
So if your TDEE is around 1700 calories, that means if you ate 1700 every day your weight would not move. Because that is exactly how much you need a day normally.
You see the conclusion now? If you are eating "aroundish" 1600 calories and your TDEE is "aroundish" 1700 it is not really going to get you anywhere - or maybe on a very long run (and you should not go over 1600 at all).
My opinion: you up the exercise (>> raises you TDEE) or you down the calories. Either way, the deficit would change from 100-150 that you have now to 200-400. Now 200-400 would bring visible changes faster.
(you decide how you do it. generally it is agreed that more exercise and more calories are better. unless you hate to exercise or have injuries or that sort.)0 -
What seems to be the problems is exactly how many cals should be going in
That's what I told you. You use up between 1650-1700 a day but you eat up almost the same. You need lesser calories OR more exercise.
I strongly believe that your problem is as follows: the reason we get fat in the first place is because we are USED TO eating between 2000 to 3000 for years, or even decades... Now that you are eating only 1600-1700, it feels like you are on a strict diet - even though you are currently consuming just about how much you normally need.
This is a fact that is hard to get over. Both for the body and the mind.
It often feels like you cannot get any lower in terms of eating - but if your weight does not move for 4-6 weeks you are eating enough to maintain the weight. But not enough to lose. So something needs to be changed there.
I agree. And I would add that, I believe, the secret to consuming those seemingly fee calories and being satisfied is to have as few as possible junk calories in your diet. I never could have believed that I could live on so few calories till I knuckled down and watched the amount of and the quality of the calories I consume. I'm oftentimes full and don't want to stuff myself but am not yet at my daily intake goal.0 -
How long have you been on your current calories?0
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You stated you just started exercising last week. Is this when the weight gain started? If so, it's likely just fluid retention from exercise.0
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What seems to be the problems is exactly how many cals should be going in
That's what I told you. You use up between 1650-1700 a day but you eat up almost the same. You need lesser calories OR more exercise.
I strongly believe that your problem is as follows: the reason we get fat in the first place is because we are USED TO eating between 2000 to 3000 for years, or even decades... Now that you are eating only 1600-1700, it feels like you are on a strict diet - even though you are currently consuming just about how much you normally need.
This is a fact that is hard to get over. Both for the body and the mind.
It often feels like you cannot get any lower in terms of eating - but if your weight does not move for 4-6 weeks you are eating enough to maintain the weight. But not enough to lose. So something needs to be changed there.
Thanks for this - so how does this lie with eating or not eating back exercise calories? Recommendation is to eat them back but then I will be back to minimal deficit so should I not eat them back? I am quite happy to exercise more as I do enjoy it but then if I also have to eat those calories when I am struggling to eat 1550 a day already i will still not lose in theory.0 -
Do you weigh your food? I use a food scale everyday to measure the ounces or grams that I should be consuming. I also try to do my food planning in advance so that I know exactly what I am suppose to have for that day and the portion amount. My food dairy (is essential) is set for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. You also need to find out what foods just do not work for you. I know that a lot of bread does not work for me, so I limit this even though I only eat whole wheat rounds that's 100 calories. Also, I do cardio at least 5-6 days a week for 30 minutes. Another thought do you have water retention? Do you have swelling in your ankles, feet or hands? This could be a sign of water retention. Mines is in my ankles especially if I miss taking my prescribed water pill along with my high blood pressure pill. Also, if I eat things with a high salt content. I stopped using salt and use othjer seasoning for my food. Trying to figure this all out is not easy but eventually you do get it right. I hope this helps.0
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Caz,
I see you are perplexed, and all the people advising you think you are doing something wrong.
But I checked your age, and you are in a metabolic minefield,just like me if you are in or around menopause time.
Our body's don't work like we were in our twenties,no longer efficient machines with calorie deficits and exercise having any effect.
Just relax, follow what feels right to you. EVENTUALLY, SLOOOOOOWLY you will lose weight .Yes two weeks is NOT enough. I lose at the rate of ounces per week,not pounds. Sorry but that's the menopause way for some.
Patience, stay the course!0 -
You stated you just started exercising last week. Is this when the weight gain started? If so, it's likely just fluid retention from exercise.
Hi, up until two weeks ago I went to the gym twice a week and did lots of walking on other days and had been doing pretty consistently since the middle of last year. This stopped when one of my pets got sick and I basically had to come straight home from work to care for him. As of last week he was well enough that I could resume going to the gym - so managed that once last week and then have done two walks over the weekend (2 1/2 miles yesterday & 3 1/2 miles today)0 -
I didnt notice anyone mentioning this but something else might be your sodium intake. You have some days very very low which is almost impossible to be under 500mg/day believe me I know as I aim for 1000mg/day. A vegetable stock cube which you had zero for probably has around 500mg. Maybe you are taking the food from the MFP database that works for you diet. ie: if there is more than one of an item in there you pick the one that has the least calories or sodium or sugar which isnt always correct. Try to be sure to use what's on your label I was super suprised to see that pastrami 4 slices only has 72 calories.. Seems like to me it ought to be more.. just a thought! Good luck!0
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Are you exercising every day to the point where you are getting sweaty and out of breath? This is the only way that you will get your body out of stagnation in terms of metabolism. Food is not the only answer to weight loss.0
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The human body is a complex machine and if you change your diet to fewer calories it can think its going into 'famine' mode and start to metabolise fat which means initially you can put weight on. Generally it takes about 3 days for a stomach to shrink to expect less food and about two weeks for your body to metabolise/demetabolise fat so it is I'm afraid a case of just being patient.
I wouldn't weigh yourself any more than once a month and if you have bathroom scales which also measure body fat they can help as well. That way you can see what your body fat weight is in comparison to your body weight.
I also do know how you feel. Although I have been a triathlete for 22 years (well apart from 5 years after I had meningitis and had to let the after effects settle down, they didn't!) I struggled with my weight even though I was training for a half ironman last summer it didn't go down much. Clearly I was eating too many calories even with the exercise I was doing (I took 6 weeks off work to train and also volunteer at the Olympics) and it really got me down.
So be patient, if you want to friend invite me for some moral support then please feel free to do so, and you will get there but everyone is different and whilst there are some basics around calories, food and exercise, your body will try and fight to stay at the weight it is so it might be a bit of a roller coaster for a few weeks. Good luck0 -
I didnt notice anyone mentioning this but something else might be your sodium intake. You have some days very very low which is almost impossible to be under 500mg/day believe me I know as I aim for 1000mg/day. A vegetable stock cube which you had zero for probably has around 500mg. Maybe you are taking the food from the MFP database that works for you diet. ie: if there is more than one of an item in there you pick the one that has the least calories or sodium or sugar which isnt always correct. Try to be sure to use what's on your label I was super suprised to see that pastrami 4 slices only has 72 calories.. Seems like to me it ought to be more.. just a thought! Good luck!
nope 4 pastrami is 72 cals - checked against the packet - that's why I like it high protein low cals I don't always use a full stock cube and most things I make I only have a portion of so by the time you get to 1/5th of a stock cube the sodium is minimal. I do check some things that the database has because some of them seem a bit unreal - I have seen many things with no sodium in them when they do contain it & I have gone in and edited the food to correct it. When using the database I pick the food I am eating I don't check to see which has the lowest cals, if its not there I create it rather than use something similar because all foods are slightly different. But will keep a better eye out on the sodium contents now :-)0 -
Are you exercising every day to the point where you are getting sweaty and out of breath? This is the only way that you will get your body out of stagnation in terms of metabolism. Food is not the only answer to weight loss.
yup definitely sweaty and out of breath!!! Not an attractive creature when I exercise ;-)0 -
Caz,
I see you are perplexed, and all the people advising you think you are doing something wrong.
But I checked your age, and you are in a metabolic minefield,just like me if you are in or around menopause time.
Our body's don't work like we were in our twenties,no longer efficient machines with calorie deficits and exercise having any effect.
Just relax, follow what feels right to you. EVENTUALLY, SLOOOOOOWLY you will lose weight .Yes two weeks is NOT enough. I lose at the rate of ounces per week,not pounds. Sorry but that's the menopause way for some.
Patience, stay the course!
Yay menopause another one to look forward to!!!! ;-D0 -
Thanks for this - so how does this lie with eating or not eating back exercise calories? Recommendation is to eat them back but then I will be back to minimal deficit so should I not eat them back? I am quite happy to exercise more as I do enjoy it but then if I also have to eat those calories when I am struggling to eat 1550 a day already i will still not lose in theory.
Can I just be honest with you? It seems to me that for some reason you avoided all the questions that come to facts, like how tall you are, what you weigh, what weight you would like to get to
(there is nothing on your profile either)
and especially, how long it's been like you felt like you were a failure (=the scale doesn't move)... we asked like 3 times
I totally understand the shyness and the fear of critisism but remember everyone on this portal is here for the same reason: w are ALL overweight and made the wrong choices through years and now have this problem. I may have given you some smart looking advice and I may have lost 19 lb but I am still another overweight woman looking for a way out.
So many may not agree with me but I feel first of all there is a psychological barrier that needs to be opened here. You don't need to hide how you ate, what you weigh, how old you are or what you did for many years, there are people here over 300+ lb, over 65 years, whatever, teens admitting to triple McDonalds binges or whatnot...
I hope I am not sounding harsh. Just wish you open up. Share your numbers, it's not shameful, we're all here for a change.0 -
Just about any woman can lose at 1600 without exercise if all things are in line metabolically.
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Taking it off without exercise is probably doable, but how long will you keep it off once you return to your regular eating habits? Eating right is just half your journey....0 -
I wear a fitbit one and have noticed that with driving to and from work and sitting at a desk and other than that just waling to and from the car park and through the building and up and down a couple of flights of stairs my activity ranks as sedentary. According to my fitbit I was covering 2 miles so I wouldn't think your 2 miles is lightly active if mine isn't. I do my calcs off that premise and slice off 750 for a 1.5lb per week deficit.
I then account for workout exercise separately. Which is just over 300 cals worth for me.
In theory I should then eat back the cals of the exercise so I am still at a 750cal deficit, but a lot of the time I don't and am luck to eat back 1/2 of them on a good day.
In 3 weeks I dropped 8lbs.
The first week was with no exercise and weight dropped off rapidly as it can do.
The 2nd week I started the exercise and the weight loss stopped or was very slow.
In the 3rd week I was initially not losing weight then it dropped 0.5lb one day (I weight every day which is not a good idea in terms of seeing progress, but I know I tend not to weight myself when I know Ive been naughty so do it every day regardless).
See how you go for another week. If it still doesn't start to drop then I'd question your sums. Namely your burn is probably not what you think it is if you're honestly counting the cals.
Good luck, it must be very frustrating!0
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