I have no idea what I'm doing...

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IvyBeitner
IvyBeitner Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
I am new to MFP, I have been using the lose it! app on my phone to keep my eating habits in perspective for the past year or so and I am trying to become more health conscious and more physically active. I have never been more than 50 pounds overweight in my life but like any other woman I want to be lean, fairly thin and healthy. I have been trying to get to my goal weight of 130LBS for the last 10 weeks now and I LITERALLY haven't lost a single pound. I have fluctuated to what seems like a pretty extreme degree in the last 10 weeks going from losing 13 pounds in one week to weighing myself then next day and being back to 155lbs!! I lost 6 pounds last week and am again back up to 155lbs. I haven't gained any weight over the 155 pound mark thank goodness but I am wondering if I am sabotaging myself without realizing it?

With everything I have been researching in the last few months in an attempt to become more health conscious, I have come to the conclusion that I must have no idea what I'm doing. I have days were I will think "wow, I am really doing a good job this week, eating right and staying active" but with my weight fluctuating like it is I am really starting to wonder if I'm doing this correctly.

AGE 27
WEIGHT 155LBS
HEIGHT 5'6"
BMR 1512
TDEE 2335
BMI 25%
LBM 39LBS fat & 116LBS Lean
RMR 1489


I have been exercising more vigorously than usual for roughly 10 weeks with a frequency increase from 2-3 days per week to 5-7 days per week each 1 hour long burning roughly 700-900 calories. I have included my workouts into my activity level so I do not eat back my calories. I net between 1,100 and 1,300 calories each day (this is before I knew what my BMR and TDEE are) I have a difficult time eating over the 1,100 calorie mark. My diet consists mostly of raw, organic fruits and vegetables, lean meats and low carb/sugar. I use a juicer every morning and use a syntha-6 protein isolate after every workout. I do not eat junk food on a regular basis at all, no chips, soda, ice cream, candy ect. I will have a low calorie beer every now and again or make some sugar free jello for a dessert. I drink a lot of coffee during the day, I don't drink as much water as I should but I am trying to increase that.

Replies

  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Are you sure your scale is accurate? Sounds like it might be low on batteries or something.


    Do you weigh your food and log everything you eat? Enter your own recipes?
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
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    Probably need more calories if you are working out that much.
  • Jasmine_James
    Jasmine_James Posts: 188 Member
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    Hi there -- it is hard to say at this point because it doesn't look like you've been tracking your food and exercise until today. So that is where I would start. Use MFP to log every bite and sip of food throughout the day -- and to record your calorie burn for each day.

    I will say from today's entry, it looks to me like you're eating way more carbs than fat or protein. I'm working with a nutritionist who really believes the flip side of that -- i.e., you should be eating less carbs (like under 50 g) and more healthy fats (coconut oil, avocado, etc.) and more protein.

    That is just my opinion and my own experience. When in doubt, I say find a professional. A lot of health insurances actually cover the cost of meeting with a nutrition specialist. so it's totally worth it IMO.

    Hope that helps!
  • IvyBeitner
    IvyBeitner Posts: 7
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    I've been tracking my food for the last year or so using a different program. I just started MFP yesterday but I keep track of my calorie intake and what I burn off. I measure my food by cups and tablespoons ect. I don't have an actual food scale or anything. I am going to the gym later this afternoon and I will plan to use the scale there to see if maybe mine is not functioning properly. I will do things like make my own tortilla chips and just use whatever tortilla chip brand they have available to account for those calories instead of figuring out what my (probably healthier) chips are. I will look into my average carb intake. I know it should be on the low side of things.

    Thank you for all your suggestions and help!!
  • IvyBeitner
    IvyBeitner Posts: 7
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    I know it's not perfect but MFP suggests around 200 carbs for me. I looked around online and it says the average for someone my weight and age should consume between 100-200g per day with being as active as I am. What will the benefits of going to 50g be? Thanks again for your suggestion :)
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    I've been tracking my food for the last year or so using a different program. I just started MFP yesterday but I keep track of my calorie intake and what I burn off. I measure my food by cups and tablespoons ect. I don't have an actual food scale or anything. I am going to the gym later this afternoon and I will plan to use the scale there to see if maybe mine is not functioning properly. I will do things like make my own tortilla chips and just use whatever tortilla chip brand they have available to account for those calories instead of figuring out what my (probably healthier) chips are. I will look into my average carb intake. I know it should be on the low side of things.

    Thank you for all your suggestions and help!!

    Watching this video may change your mind about how you measure your food.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

    And a good post about food inaccuracies:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
  • IvyBeitner
    IvyBeitner Posts: 7
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    Wow, I'm really glad you posted that. That could very well be part of my problem.....

    EDIT: I'm literally going to get a scale right now, even if it isn't the whole problem, getting one will help me tighten up my measuring. Thanks again for posting this, it was extremely helpful!!
  • rfuchs
    rfuchs Posts: 55 Member
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    I would guess you are probably overestimating the amount you are burning per hour as well. 900 in an hour is awfully high.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    Your BMR and RMR are the same thing? So one of those is not right.

    If you are not losing and do not have a medical problem i would look at the following-
    1.) how accurately are you measuring your food? Food scale?
    2.) are you logging EVERYTHING? Including drinks, condiments, etc.
    3.) are you eating back exercise calories? Why/why not? How are you tracking your calorie burn?
  • IvyBeitner
    IvyBeitner Posts: 7
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    I am using the exercise defaults in MFP and/or loseit.com I don't know of a more accurate way of tracking?
  • IvyBeitner
    IvyBeitner Posts: 7
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    Your BMR and RMR are the same thing? So one of those is not right.

    If you are not losing and do not have a medical problem i would look at the following-
    1.) how accurately are you measuring your food? Food scale?
    2.) are you logging EVERYTHING? Including drinks, condiments, etc.
    3.) are you eating back exercise calories? Why/why not? How are you tracking your calorie burn?

    I used a website that you enter your stats into in order to get those numbers so they could very well be completely wrong.

    1. I got a food scale and yes that was a portion of the issue, my idea of a proper portion was a little bit off for things like peanut butter ect.
    2. I do log everything, I don't use condiments so that's why you wont ever see any on my logs (other than creamer in my coffee or some apple cider vinegar in my salads)
    3. I will eat and exercise enough to net 1200 calories. I'm obviously still new to this whole concept but from what I understand 1200 is a good range for someone trying to lose 2lbs a week without cutting an extreme amount of calories.
  • IvyBeitner
    IvyBeitner Posts: 7
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    I would guess you are probably overestimating the amount you are burning per hour as well. 900 in an hour is awfully high.

    I didn't see burning 900 calories in an hour on my logs, the only day I burned close to that was 1008 calories and that was ten minutes short of 2 hours. Maybe you saw a typo? Burning that many isn't typical for me, I had a good dose of amino-x that day and felt like I could run for days....
  • RatherBeInTheShire
    RatherBeInTheShire Posts: 561 Member
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    I don't think you are eating nearly enough calories for all the working out you are doing.

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