Anyone want to be honest with me?

The last two days you were way over sodium.. could be an issue.

Also, I don't see a lot of fresh whole foods... you eat a lot of processed foods. I find I retain water when I eat far too much processed foods.

DOn't use quick add calories... don't use generic entries.

Are you weighing all your food? Measuring cups/spoons for all liquids? You would be surprised as how much a serving of something really is. Always weigh you food. My oatmeal for example has a serving size listed as 1/3 cup with a grams listing beside it. 1/3 cup actually weighs more than it should.

I would reevalutate what you are eating. A few days ago you had no real food for any of your meals. 6 cheese sticks and a popsicle is not a proper dinner. Neither is strawberries and rice cakes. You really need to look at what you are eating and eat much better. You are eatg all crap processed foods with very little if any fruits and veggies. Stop eating snack foods for meals and eat real food instead.

You are not giving your body the nutrients it needs. Really sit down and think about things. You really need to change your diet. While you can lose weight eating all crap foods it won't make for a healthy body.

I thought my sodium was fine. =[ I looked it up online and it said it was. I am not good at "making" good meals. Everything has to be quick and almost like "grab and go". Guess I am going to have to really start putting in some actual effort with my food.

Some days your sodium is ok but some days you are well over the max.

It really doesn't take much time to make real meals. I didn't see one real meal in your diary. It was all bars, cheese strings (I can't keep those in the house I love them so much!), rice cakes and such. Your days seem to be filled with snack foods. While I understand it can be tough to make time to make real foods you have to if you want to succeed. What does your daughter eat? I don't mean to sound rude or mean or anything like that but I really hope she doesn't eat like you. I am sure you want her to grow up with healthy eating habits and not reaching for snack foods all day.

Do you work or stay at home with your daughter? Either option you can make healthy meals. Cook in batches so you don't always have to spend a ton of time. Get a slow cooker if you don't have one. Pop in some chicken breast, a ton of veggies, a bit of water or broth and some spices. Set it and a few hours later dinner is ready. Put in much more than you need and than you have lunch or dinner for the next day (or freeze the extras for future meals). Spend an hour or two cutting up tons of fruits and veggies. Portion them out and pop into the fridge. Not only will you have tons of great snacks ready (and you have precut veggies to add to meals) your daughter will have tons of good food ready for her to eat. Spend a day a week if you have to and cook up and prepare a ton of food and meals. That you are set for the week. It's what i used to do when I worked a lot and didn't have much time at home.

A few things....

DO NOT weigh yourself daily. It is going to fluctuate ESPECIALLY if you are working out.

Be consistent in your calories and exercise.

Make sure you are being absolutely accurate in counting your calories. Log EVERYTHING condiments, crystal light, etc. etc. EVERYTHING! Weigh your food if possible.

Realize that weight loss is NOT linear. I will lose 4 pounds in one week and wont lose ANYTHING for 3 weeks. Than i'll lose 2 pounds. That's just the way it works.


Most importantly realized that this isn't going to be easy and will take a while... keep at it!

Are you drinking a lot of water? Do you drink soda? Once I gave up soda -I noticed things seemed to move along more consistently. I'm not as bloated - not as tired & not as achy.

I'm glad you mentioned the soda. I'd almost forgotten I'd given up soda, and I was a 6-pack-a-day diet soda drinker. I have some iced tea now, but no artificial sweeteners. I really believe it is making a big difference. Those things mess with you.

Cheese equals sodium equals water retention. I thought I was doing myself a huge favor by eating no fat sliced cheese on my sandwiches and did not pay attention to the sodium content in them. Well, I was consuming @6,000 mg of sodium because of this. I would also say that alcohol (not that you are using any) is another diet sabateur. Not only does that add hidden calories (@100 calories per shot/per beer/per wine glass) but also completely destroys metabolism. Just another thing to consider. It was messing me up so I added it to my comment.

I have cheese and alcohol nearly diaily and have dropped 7 pounds in 5 weeks.

To the OP you are NOT eating enough. I am 5'2" age 46 now in the 170's and am now eating 1650.

Up your Calories, Up your Protein, Up your Fiber and Up your Fluids.
Eat More to Move More and You WILL Lose More.

So okay. I was doing quite well and then BAM! here I am today at 220. WTF! That's me gaining! I am eating my calories and I even started exercise this week. My calories are set to 1380 a day. I eat them. I will eat a little more IF I exercise and IF I am hungry. I am 5'7 and I started MFP about a week ago. Boo. I am so pissed off. The only thing I can assume is maybe because I actually exercised my body may be retaining water or maybe I am building muscle lol. I am not sure.

You DO NOT have to handle me with kid gloves. I just want some ideas as to why this is happening. Shouldn't I have lost a little weight?

I am also thinking maybe it could be the cheese. I love my string cheese but it might be time to cut it out of the ole' diet plan.

Anyway if anyone has time could they take a look and tell me what they think?

Honestly here (sorry I didn't read all the comments so I don't know if somebody already posted this); in my opinion:

1) Too much sugar (ditch the bars and the cereals)
2) Too much sodium
3) No enough fresh fruits and vegetables
4) Did it take you one week to gain all the weight? Probably not. So please don’t expect to see immediate results. It takes time, be consistent, eat healthy, and exercise. You will get there.

Most diets you end up with a little gain at the beginning.

I don't see any lean protein in your diary? Is there any reason you aren't eating lean beef cuts, chicken, eggs,etc? Your body needs more than Kashi bars and string cheese. Honestly.

BTW I'm 220 and eat 1500-1700 cals and still lose.

You may be overestimating your burned calories if you don't have a hrm. I constantly see people on my list saying they burned 1200 calories from walking like 2hrs or something crazy. Try not eating all your cals back. If you are underestimating you may be eating too many back. Eat some back if you feel like it. Eating all mine back did not work for me and I do have a hrm.

It took a long time to put on the weight and it's going to take a long time to get rid of it. Persevere and you will see results.

I'm also pretty confident that this can be partially attributed to sodium bloat. You had lower sodium levels in the beginning of the week, and they steadily rose to well over your limit toward the end. That alone would effectively mask any loss you had. Bloating sucks.

I would also check out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013?hl=in+place+of+a+road+map

For your height, weight and activity level, your calorie intake is really low. I'm basically a pygmy person (5'1" 110) and I eat more than that by a few hundred calories. I really think you'll be happier and more successful with a more customized, higher intake.

I was having the same problem. MFP had me at 1400 calories, plus I was exercising almost daily, but still gaining weight. Once I upped my calories to 1800 (I'll eat between 1800-2000), I started losing weight! So, now that you're exercising, I would change your settings so that you're eating more calories. I know it sounds crazy. I was hesitant to try it for a while, but so glad I did. And the best thing? I never feel hungry, like I was at only 1400.

Before you comment on this , view her diary! I'm new on here, but I clearly see its all the processed foods.

I just started on HERE a week ago. I have been trying to lose weight for far longer unfortunately.

NO way my daughter doesn't eat those things. I make her food. I stay home with her. Your post made me realize I am being LAZY. I don't know how to put together healthy meals. Plus I like snacking and didn't think it was hurting me.

I just don't want to cook several different things. I cook her food which is kid friendly and healthy. I cook my fiancé's meals which are not healthy at all. He is skinny and refuses to eat healthier (I have tried to change his mind, he has made a few small sacrifices but not many. That's not an issue with me though). So I end up at the tail end with a Kashi bar as a meal. I just assumed that was okay.

You have to do what works best for you.

Why can't your daughter eat what you make for you? It's best to instill healthy eating habits in children when they are young. Kid food is ok now and again but shouldn't be an all the time thing.

How it works in my house is ... I am the one who cooks. I take into account what my husband likes and what he doesn't. I will not make two separate meals unless I want something i know he hates (for example, today I wanted sushi, which he hates.. so I made myself sushi and will make him something else). He will normally eat it. If your fiancee doesn't want to eat your healthy foods why can't he make his own meals? You need to do what is going ot help you on your path with weight loss and not worry about others. WHy should YOU suffer because he doesn't want to eat healthy? If this is really that important to you, you will make yourself a priority... which i know if tough when you have a child and fiancee. The way I see it is kids shouldn't always be eating "kid foods" ... kid foods are not healthy. A friend of mine has two boys. She made the switch to healthy eating. They now either eat what she makes and serves them or they don't eat. Kids will eat when they are hungry. If they don't want to eat dinner she wraps it up, puts it in the fridge until they come to her and say they are hungry. Than she pulls out dinner and reheats it.

Personally, I would have your daughter eating what you eat .. healthy meals. She shoudl learn now to eat healthy as it's much harder to change the habits when they are older and I know you wouldn't want her to have weight issues in the future. If you are the cook in the house sit down with your fiancee and inform him that you will be cooking healthy meals for the family. If he doesn't want to eat it than he knows where the kitchen is. That's my view on it. No sense in you suffering because he doesn't want to eat healthy.