Frustrated all around

KelBelz22
KelBelz22 Posts: 95 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm accurately logging my foods and I'm exercising, yet the weight isn't coming off. Obviously I'm doing something wrong. Having a frustrating day. And on top of things I have to go grocery shopping after work and I have NO idea what I'm going to get for lunches at work. What do you guys eat for lunches at work with no access to a kitchen?

Replies

  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    Can you make your diary public? Something is going wrong because if you log accurately, eat within your calories, and exercise, you should be losing. We can't help you without more info.

    As for no lunch kitchen: does that mean no microwave? They make little crockpot things for homemade soups and chili:
    http://www.amazon.com/Crock-Pot-SCCPLC200-BL-20-Ounce-Lunch-Warmer/dp/B006H5V8RG

    Or you can buy a thermos:
    http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Foogo-Proof-Stainless-Steel/dp/B0025Y6742/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1361906775&sr=1-2&keywords=thermos+food+jar

    Or bring a cooler/lunch sack with ice packs for cold stuff.
  • KelBelz22
    KelBelz22 Posts: 95 Member
    I do have a small mini fridge and a microwave. But no sink, stove, etc. Other than making sandwiches I'm stuck with microwavable lunches which can sometimes be very high in sodium. I will make my diary public.
  • gammols
    gammols Posts: 12
    feeling the same way. im reading alot of blogs and sounds like im not eating enough. which soudns completely crazy to me but i'm gonna try to get this right.
  • hockeywife91
    hockeywife91 Posts: 31 Member
    I eat tuna mixed with light mayo on top of crackers or with celery. I do the same with chicken salad. And usually have a fruit or greek yogurt. Sometimes I make a big salad for dinner, and bring the leftover salad for lunch.
  • marilynt44
    marilynt44 Posts: 5
    With just a mini fridge, you could easily have a nice salad (top it with some shredded/pulled chicken for protein if you want), fruits, cheese and crackers (not too many, but within reason anything is fine!), yogurt (my favorite is the Yoplait Greek 100). Lots of possibilities. You could bring things to make a sandwich, too. I love yogurt and fruit for lunch, a good salad is always nice too!
  • cynfy16
    cynfy16 Posts: 35
    Not sure if you are a salad person or not but spinach is AWESOME for you, and if you use a light balsamic or iltalian dresing ( just the serving sizes) And add other veggies and some protien its a pretty slamming lunch, without going over board on calories or sodium.
  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
    Are you seriously eating 1100 calories or less a day? That's likely your problem.
  • DeeOnAMission
    DeeOnAMission Posts: 36 Member
    I have tuna salad (ceviche style): cilantro,tomato, onion,lettuce, lime and avocado (in lieu of mayo) and I sneak in some pepper flakes. East this with saltines. I eat this at least 3 times per week. If you don't love tuna, Iike I do, you can always replace with chicken.

    Also bring your dinner left overs from home and or make your own soups.

    Good luck
  • tinak33
    tinak33 Posts: 9,883 Member
    Are you seriously eating 1100 calories or less a day? That's likely your problem.


    ^^^ This.
  • IronMan_DuhamNC
    IronMan_DuhamNC Posts: 52
    I understand your frustration. Just remember that exercise will only help you loose 10-20 % of your weight loss. So getting the diet balanced in a way that will take the weight off is a must-have. Start by planning your meals with some fat burning foods. Look them up on the web. Then stick to them for a few days and check your results. Once you see things working then incorporate exercise, and the scale will start moving rapidly. I have lost 50 pounds with this method. Next you might want to go to FreeDieting. com for more help.
  • itgeekwoman
    itgeekwoman Posts: 804 Member
    I pack salads and my own salad dressings. A kitchen isn't required if you can get grilled chicken and throw it on your salad. Eat enough to ensure that you have an appropriate deficit.
    I often pack a can of tuna and some wasa rye bread and mix it with some olive oil and vinegar dressing and have that with celery. No kitchen required. There's lots of options, get creative.
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    I was reading just this morning on Livestrong that the most common cause of not losing weight on a calorie deficit is too small of a muscle mass. Muscles burn calories, so the less muscular you are, the fewer calories you will burn.

    Plus if you're eating less than required for your baseline metabolic rate (the number of calories that you need to stay alive if you lay around all day), you metabolize muscle tissue instead of fat. This is because the body wants to hang onto fat as the fuel source of last resort, and if you don't have much muscle, you won't burn too much fat.

    What a vicious cycle!
  • psych0kitty
    psych0kitty Posts: 313
    Are you seriously eating 1100 calories or less a day? That's likely your problem.

    Yeah your intake is WAAAAAY too low. See this thread to figure out how much you should eat. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • KelBelz22
    KelBelz22 Posts: 95 Member
    Are you seriously eating 1100 calories or less a day? That's likely your problem.

    MFP set my calorie goal at 1330 so by eating 1100 I'm only missing by 200 calories give or take on a normal day. I prelog so todays total is going to change because I haven't eaten an afternoon snack or dinner yet.
  • MissHLJ
    MissHLJ Posts: 3 Member
    Hi, I eat the instant porridge pots at work for breakfast (you just need to add water) and also lots of soup with Pitta bread. When you order chinese takeaway soup they usually bring it in a small plastic pot. i've kept mine and use it to transport homemade soup (less sodium) to work which can be microwaved without needing to transfer it. jacket potatoes are also great (I bake mine the night before & reheat it in the microwave the day after. Likewise I make rice and vegetable stew things which can be reheated over the course of a week (i make them on the sunday so its less hassle).
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Salad: we buy mixed greens by the pound and add in veggies, cheese and protein - tuna fish, today.

    Nuts and fruit or cheese and fruit or veggies

    Hummus and veggies

    Sandwiches made on sandwich thins

    Leftovers to throw in the microwave
  • TheDarlingOne
    TheDarlingOne Posts: 255 Member
    Baby spinach! Put that stuff on EVERYTHING lol. For several work lunches in January - I had turkey burgers, with baby spinach on top, and sweet potato fries. We only have a fridge, microwave, and a sink - so anything I eat, either has to be cold too - or something I can heat up in the microwave.
    LOVE LOVE some baby spinach on anything! 'specially in any kind of sandwich - or burger - it tricks the mind into thinking the sandwich is thicker - when you pull it away from your face your mind's like, "WOAH! That's a big sandwich!" ... or least, worked for me lol.
    Also - the fabulous CRUNCH that fresh baby spinach on the sandwich makes - woooooohoooooo! lol

    After a bit though - the spinach with lunch burned me out - BUT I'm still keeping it in the mix because man it just works so well! - So, now I make Green smoothies that i can sip on at my desk til the lunch hour - handful of spinach, 1 frozen banana, 1 cup diet green tea, 1 tbsp pbutter, 1 cup of healthy choice greek frozen yogurt - HITS THE SPOT!

    Hope this helps. :)
  • cals83
    cals83 Posts: 131
    A lot of times when I make dinner, I will make extra for lunch the next day. I just put it in a container and then stick it in the microwave to heat it up. Some things also freeze very well so sometimes it helps to make 3 or 4 extra servings and stick a few in the freezer.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    I'm accurately logging my foods and I'm exercising, yet the weight isn't coming off. Obviously I'm doing something wrong. Having a frustrating day. And on top of things I have to go grocery shopping after work and I have NO idea what I'm going to get for lunches at work. What do you guys eat for lunches at work with no access to a kitchen?

    You say the weight isn't coming off but your ticker shows 11lbs lost?
  • d3nise
    d3nise Posts: 25 Member
    Soups are good and some you can find in low sodium. Question are you not drinking water? Unfortunately, I prefer salty foods over sweets, so I drink lots of water to combat that.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    MFP didn't give you 1300, you gave MFP information and it came back with 1300 which is probably way too low to start with and then you don't eat any exercise back so you're in a huge deficit. You also tend to eat foods like a 5 year old (except for the wine) and an apple and a coffee isn't breakfast nor is corn dogs supper. Up your calorie budget to a reasonable amount (at least your BMR + 200) and consider eating less processed food.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I typically bring leftovers, but some lunches I like that don't need heated are:

    Wraps - high fiber wrap/tortilla stuffed with leafy greens (arugula, kale, spinach, etc.), chopped crunchy vegetables and some form of protein (leftover meat/fish, eggs, hummus, refried beans, etc.) and a little vinaigrette, mustard or hot sauce.

    Bed of leafy greens with cottage cheese and tomato.

    Bean or grain & bean salads. (I'm having quinoa/bean salad today).

    If you really just started this month, give it some time. It took me almost a month to start losing, but when I did, it came off at a steady pace.
  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
    MFPs estimates are not accurate at all, even if you input your stats correctly, which most people don't. As a logging tool, MFP is invaluable, but as a guide, it's awful. Go here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 and read the first post.
  • KelBelz22
    KelBelz22 Posts: 95 Member
    MFPs estimates are not accurate at all, even if you input your stats correctly, which most people don't. As a logging tool, MFP is invaluable, but as a guide, it's awful. Go here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 and read the first post.

    Thank you for the link. I read it. I followed the steps and I have adjusted my daily calories to a more suitable amount. I did not realize how important it was to eat back the burnt calories and try to eat more balanced meals and really try to make it to the amount calories daily.

    Thank you everyone for your help. Hopefully the pounds will start to come off now.
  • NicoleR1980
    NicoleR1980 Posts: 66 Member
    i eat a tuna salad sandwich (comes premade in pouch) on sandwich thins along with baby carrots and some fresh celery and some kind of rice chips
  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
    Good luck. Don't get too disheartened if the scale fluctuates for the first few weeks; your body will take time to adjust.
  • americangirlok
    americangirlok Posts: 228 Member
    I try to take my lunch to work 3 times a week- I figure that's more than half and it saves me money. I do a lot of my prep work on Sunday and cook like some beans or rice and make up a big salad. Sometimes I grill up some chicken to put on it. But lately I make a casserole or a soup on Sunday- and log all the ingredients in the recipe builder. If I get 8 cups of soup that and a salad and maybe a block of cheese could be lunch for the whole week and a few dinners.

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