What am I doing wrong?!

dede307
dede307 Posts: 21 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm wondering what I am doing wrong! I joined mfp over a month ago and have only lost 4lbs, but I gained 2 of those back. I would love any suggestions concerning what I could do differently. I work out at least 5 days a week, usually cardio for 45mins to an hour. I try to add light weights in there at least once during the week. My stats are below and my diary is open! Any advice would be great. My food log does not look great today b/c my husband and I celebrated Valentines Day!

start weight 148
current weight 146
height 5'8
calories 1480
Bmr 1459

Replies

  • Xiaolongbao
    Xiaolongbao Posts: 854 Member
    Well I can't know for sure but if I ate like you do I'd be permanently starving and simultaneously on a sugar high. Maybe you could try eating less processed stuff and see if that helps.
  • DragonflyF15
    DragonflyF15 Posts: 437 Member
    I looked only at the past week and I would say while you are within calories, you do have a lot of sugary items, a few processed high sodium items too. Start first with cutting back on the treats this week, then maybe start cutting back on the processed foods a bit the following week and see if that helps. Sugar does all kinds of crazy things to the hormones which does crazy things to the body.


    Just went back further and geesh, you definitely need to lay off the sugar! Add some fresh veggies and fruits instead!
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
    It looks to me like you are starving yourself. Your net calories are WAAAAAY below your BMR all the time. EAT up to your calorie goal. That goal already includes a deficit for weight loss. Eat, eat, EAT!
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    You should probably get more than 7, 9, or 11 grams of fiber per day. It might help.
  • lovelifehealth
    lovelifehealth Posts: 71 Member
    You can add Sugar to you list of tracked nutrients by clicking on the Settings tab.

    Sugar is only suppose to be 10% of your nutritional intake. I think the MFP lets it be a little higher. You can adjust your sugar value by clicking on the Goals tab and click on custom goals. The formula is (your calorie goal)/40 = grams of sugar for your calorie goal.

    Sugar and processed foods are probably the greatest food culprit to losing weight, being toned, and being healthy.

    Good luck and don't give up. :happy:
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member
    Are you weighing and measuring your food? If not, that's what you're doing wrong.
  • Cynclancurrie
    Cynclancurrie Posts: 73
    Remember that a couple pounds up and down in a short time are usually water weight.
  • martywarner5
    martywarner5 Posts: 1 Member
    One thing I noticed is that you are not drinking water. Your body needs the water to function. I have tried many times to lose weight and when I add in drinking water it seems to help.
  • purplepaisley7
    purplepaisley7 Posts: 19
    I also noticed you were not getting in 8 glasses of water a day. I have heard that will help! Also, I would recommend giving away any Girl Scout Cookies you might have left in the home. Too many years my good intentions have been blown away during Girl Scout Cookie time!
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    I'm wondering what I am doing wrong! I joined mfp over a month ago and have only lost 4lbs, but I gained 2 of those back. I would love any suggestions concerning what I could do differently. I work out at least 5 days a week, usually cardio for 45mins to an hour. I try to add light weights in there at least once during the week. My stats are below and my diary is open! Any advice would be great. My food log does not look great today b/c my husband and I celebrated Valentines Day!

    start weight 148
    current weight 146
    height 5'8
    calories 1480
    Bmr 1459

    You're already a healthy weight for your height so if you're just looking to lose a few 'vanity pounds' then you should be looking to lose the fat slowly. You are eating pretty low and by doing so at a healthy weight you stand to lose valuable LBM. Set your goal to lose no more than 1lb per week, and eat back ALL your exercise calories.
  • dede307
    dede307 Posts: 21 Member
    Thanks everyone for the suggestions and I'm going to work on implementing some of these changes and see how it goes.
  • khall86790
    khall86790 Posts: 1,100 Member
    Have you taken measurements?
    You can't go by weight if you have been exercising because muscle weighs more than fat.
  • dede307
    dede307 Posts: 21 Member
    I took measurements when I first started but have not taken any since. I'll do that this week and see where I am.
  • wahmx3
    wahmx3 Posts: 633 Member
    You got some good advice so far but here are some suggestions....track more than what you are currently, especially sodium.... I think you will be quite surprised at how high that number will be for you almost every day! Drink your water....it is your best friend! Eat girl, stop trying to starve yourself, eat back at least half of your exercise calories. You don't have a lot to lose so it will be harder and the less junk and sugary treats you have, the better it will be.
  • dede307
    dede307 Posts: 21 Member
    Thank you for the advice. I really do try to eat but I struggle to net over 1400. Today I've exercised for about 45mins and so far my net is 799 and I'm completely stuff. I'm really going to start tracking my sugar and sodium and see how that goes. I just can't eat if I'm not hungry. I'm going to try smaller meals every 2-3 hours for this week and see if I can add calories.
  • Alta2000
    Alta2000 Posts: 655 Member
    Eat a tb of peanut butter, olive oil.
  • mullymullzo
    mullymullzo Posts: 9
    try adjusting your macronutrient ratios. I suggest around 0.8grams protein per lbs. of bodyweight. This will help retain muscle. But a good trick, if your diet is consistent is to have a refeed day once a week if you are consistent with your diet. This will increase your leptin hormone and allow for greater fat burn during the week. To do this simply add extra carbs during this day for example a 20-30 gram surplus, and keep the rest of your macros the same. Remember that macro ratios are extremely important over just calories as your body will utilize each source differently. After that I would suggest strategic cardio, ie fasted in the morn or after a weights session. Also aim for fat loss instead of weight loss.
    This is what works for me and i find it prevents metabolic damage.
    Hope some of that info helps, goodluck :)
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Are you weighing and measuring your food? If not, that's what you're doing wrong.

    Yeah I'd say this is the single most effective tool for me. I'd be lost without my scale and measuring cups
  • dede307
    dede307 Posts: 21 Member
    I could most definitely weigh things a lot better than what I'm doing now. I weigh 50% of the time but if I'm in a hurry I'll just eyeball it. I need to work on that.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    I'm wondering what I am doing wrong! I joined mfp over a month ago and have only lost 4lbs, but I gained 2 of those back. I would love any suggestions concerning what I could do differently. I work out at least 5 days a week, usually cardio for 45mins to an hour. I try to add light weights in there at least once during the week. My stats are below and my diary is open! Any advice would be great. My food log does not look great today b/c my husband and I celebrated Valentines Day!

    start weight 148
    current weight 146
    height 5'8
    calories 1480
    Bmr 1459

    Two pounds a month is a pretty respectable weight loss for someone who is so close to goal weight. Are you working out? If you start building muscle, you probably wouldn't want to go below about 135. Once you get to within 10-15 pounds from your goal weight, MFP says you should change your macros to losing only 1/2 pound per week. You're doing fine--you just have to be patient. If you start lifting heavy weights, you will be amazed at how much better you look at a higher weight than you ever thought possible.

    p.s. I would lay off of some of the cardio too. Cardio tends to reduce muscle mass when it is done anymore than about 3 hours a week,
  • dede307
    dede307 Posts: 21 Member
    Thank you. I'm not sure what all this means but I'll try it. I'm always curious as to why I can't seem to gain any muscle. I'm not as defined as I want to be. I think that if I was more defined and a little stronger it would help a great deal with energy. I have no idea how to gain muscle but I just purchased some at home weight lifting DVD's and I'll start there.
  • mullymullzo
    mullymullzo Posts: 9
    gaining muscle requires a surplus of calories which would be utilized by the muscles to rebuild themselves after breakdown by weighlifting (excercising with heavy weights). Definition comes with a caloric deficit. I would recommend doing some research of macronutrient (protein, fats, carbs) ratios that will help you achieve your goals.
    measurement is key! and eating healthy helps a lot

    goodluck with all your fitness endevours :)
  • dede307
    dede307 Posts: 21 Member
    Thank you so much. I'll definitely do some research on my own.

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