I've tried it all, but I cannot lose any weight!

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  • RobynDCrossman
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    If you don't like calorie counting - work out harder.
    A job standing around/walking around and two days of running (don't know what distance or pace you're running) and a few days of lifting - won't be enough to rocket you out and make a calorie deficit.
    Since you seem adamant about not logging food, I'd say shoot for more cardiovascular activity and for longer times.
  • lm0703
    lm0703 Posts: 1
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    Yes, it DOES work. I have lost approximately 40 lbs by doing it. No, it's not fun. Yes, it is tedious. No, it doesn't work if you are not honest or willing to make corrections along the way. In fact, Jillian Michaels finally said that counting calories is the only way to lose the weight and keep it off.

    Of course, it is possible you are eating at a maintenance level which will not take the pounds off. And, there is the matter of age as well. If you are older (40+) then the weight will not come off as easily.
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Stop using the word "diet". It implies short term. What we're doing is LIFE LONG, so we have to find what we can incorporate into our lives for the rest of our life. Every single piece of literature I've ever read says count calories for the best results. At the end it's a numbers game and we can't win unless we know the numbers. The most recent book I read really all we have to do is log about 2 weeks because we are creatures of habit and eat the same foods (I know I do, I can tell you every calorie in my breakfast and most my lunches). Once we do that we have an idea of what we're consuming.

    The other piece of the puzzle is not eating out so much (if that's something you do). Cook as much at home as possible, no matter what. It can be done in a busy schedule, I've taken one day on the weekend and cooked for the week.

    Good luck

    di·et1 [dahy-it] Show IPA noun, verb, di·et·ed, di·et·ing, adjective
    noun
    1.
    food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health: Milk is a wholesome article of diet.
    2.
    a particular selection of food, especially as designed or prescribed to improve a person's physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease: a diet low in sugar.
    3.
    such a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight: No pie for me, I'm on a diet.
    4.
    the foods eaten, as by a particular person or group: The native diet consists of fish and fruit.
    5.
    food or feed habitually eaten or provided: The rabbits were fed a diet of carrots and lettuce.

    Sugar coat it all you want it is diet related. In order to lose weight you must monitor your diet. Some call it lifestyle change some call it getting healthy...wtf does it matter at the end of the day it all goes right back to your diet lol let ppl call it whatever they want.

    That was really rude and sarcastic for someone that was offering genuine advice.
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
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    Stop trying and start doing. You've been given much good advice, now get to it. It isn't going to happen overnight. Make life changes.
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
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    You could always try raspberry ketones.. Or green coffee beans. You know, if you're into the miracle fix, no real work required, snake oil sort of thing.

    Coffee beans UNroasted are green. Just saying.....And there is no miracle fix. It all requires effort and work. Please, I pray, you are just being humorous.
  • melina_bea
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    Whatever the dictionary definition of DIET, the fact is that in colloquial terms, it does imply something temporary. Something you go on... And then go OFF (and pile all the weight back on). The words we use matter, if only in small ways.
  • Sparlingo
    Sparlingo Posts: 938 Member
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    I see that the OP is starting to take a closer look at what people are saying, and she's logged a few things today, so I'm happy that we're moving in the right direction :).

    My suggestion would be to start your dedicated logging on the smart phone application. That way, as you start to type things in, after a while when most of the foods that you regularly eat have been entered, you'll find that you're being auto-prompted with the correct foods. Logging a meal goes from a 3-minute process to a 10-second process.

    Also, some encouragement if logging foods seems tedious:

    I had my daughter in June of last year. I knew that I was out of shape and unhappy in my body, so 3 weeks after she was born I started going to the gym 4 times a week and tried making better food choices. I only lost 2 lbs over the next five MONTHS!

    I was desperate, I thought I was broken. I was trying SO hard! I thought the rules of physics somehow didn't apply to me, because how could I possibly not be losing weight?

    So, fast forward to November of last year, and I started MFP... I logged faithfully, bought a food scale, measured everything I ate. I got a heart rate monitor to make sure I knew what I was burning when I exercised. It was tedious, yes, but less and less so the more I used the application.

    And it worked.

    I still stall out from time to time, but I've been losing 5-6 lbs per month ever since I started. And, remember, I already thought I was exercising hard, eating better and less. Truth was I had no idea how big my portions had become!

    I will challenge you --- do it accurately and completely every day for one full month! Just try it, what would it hurt? It will give you a much better picture of what's going on.

    A last piece of advice, if you try the logging and still honestly can't say that you'll keep it up:

    Buy a heart rate monitor and start committing to workouts. Aim to keep your heart rate elevated, and just do something you enjoy and do it hard. It'll become a game for you to try to burn a bit more each time, give a bit more each time. That starts to add up fast :).
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,453 Member
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    I forgot to mention the 5:2 diet, or similar! It's one I've tried a couple of times, but it doesn't seem to suit me, so I can't personally recommend it. However, some people swear by it. It DOES involve calorie counting, but only two days a week, and you don't get many calories to count (500 for women, 600 for men). The idea is that it's supposed to be sustainable, something that you can stick to for life. It might be worth a try if you don't want to do full calorie counting.

    There's some information here http://thefastdiet.co.uk/ .
  • LittleMissRainey
    LittleMissRainey Posts: 440 Member
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    If you give up after only 2 weeks or a month, you'll never see the results you want. It took more than that to gain the weight, it'll take more than that to lose it.

    cartoon-determination-diamonds-dig-Favim.com-649941.jpg
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    If that is how you look now in your photo you don't need to drop weight. You look pretty well perfect in your bikini. If you just need to be firmer then do weights, yoga, pilates or similar stuff. You aren't fat, it's in your head if you think you are.
  • MrsBozz1
    MrsBozz1 Posts: 248 Member
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    Its kind of like noone read my post. I HAVE tried counting calories a while back. That did not work.
    I was always left hungry. And even when I was able to follow through, the results weren't significant.
    And its not just as easy as typing something in and logging it. I don't always know how many calories the food at my University has so I tried to log in something but it was most likely incorrect.



    If it was "most likely incorrect" then you weren't doing it correctly. I'm not trying to be mean but you just answered your own question. You can't say you tried counting calories and then say it was most likely incorrect. Try doing it correctly and see what happens. I agree calorie counting can be annoying and difficult but it is worth it. Don't know what's in the food? Make your own! More work, yes but do you really want to lose weight or not? I wish you the best!
  • sally_jeffswife
    sally_jeffswife Posts: 766 Member
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    First of all I think you look great. So don't worry it is paying off its just a slow tedious process. My first question would be how much water are you drinking? Maybe upping how much water you are drinking will help some if you are retaining water weight it takes drinking alot of it to lose that. Some of the more successful ones I have found as far as just toning your body alot are the Kettlebell ones like Kettlenetics or any of the Jari Love workouts are really great. If you want a more advanced cardio type one Tae Bo Advanced will burn alot off. If its abs you wanna work on Billy Blanks Sr Ab Bootcamp is really good or Madonna Grimes has a new one you gotta find it on her personal website but its called Sexy Fit Abs that one is really good.
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
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    If that is how you look now in your photo you don't need to drop weight. You look pretty well perfect in your bikini. If you just need to be firmer then do weights, yoga, pilates or similar stuff. You aren't fat, it's in your head if you think you are.

    I agree about your photo. Lift weights, track your food intake, and eat at a MODEST caloric deficit if you don't like the composition of your body.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I don't usually log here. And I've tried counting calories in the past. Its ridiculous, tedious, unrealistic and didn't work anyway.

    Have only read the first page, but while calorie counting can get boring, it's not unrealistic and it will work. If it does not work, your only other option, honestly and in all seriousness, is to consult a doctor. Calorie counting works for anyone with no medical condition impairing them. Once you have the medical condition under control, if one exists, you'll probably need to do some calorie counting or meal planning to get a sense of what your deficit calories would be.

    It won't be possible to estimate every calorie perfectly if you eat out a lot or someone else cooks for you, but anything is better than nothing if you aren't losing. If you figure out your issue and lose without counting, awesome!
  • acarter72
    acarter72 Posts: 117 Member
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    Have you checked your thyroid?
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Read quickly through the rest of the thread and see that you are on a college campus. There's a reason people gain the freshman 15. Cafeteria food, alcohol, dining out with friends. All of that is surmountable, but it will require you to be truly honest with yourself about what you're taking in, how much your body needs, and whether you are making the choices that will keep you full, energized, AND satisfied.

    Check out foods that are known to increase satiety and educate yourself on the average calories of foods you find yourself taking in a lot. You mentioned swapping out a turkey burger for a cheeseburger. I don't know if that swap helped or not, I'm a vegetarian and have no idea about the calories. But foods perceived as health foods like turkey burgers get a "health halo" which means that people underestimate the caloric impact they have on them. Foods labeled as fat free do this too. The bun alone for a turkey burger is probably 150-200 calories or more. You might have taken yourself out of "gain" territory but stayed in the maintenance zone.

    I hope you don't get offended, but I would recommend going to your university's dietician or nutritionist, or going to some reputable health websites and learning the basics of nutrition and weight management.
  • cleback
    cleback Posts: 261 Member
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    You're a student. Imagine that you're not doing so well in a class. You go to a professor/teaching assistant asking for advice. S/he asks you how much you're currently studying. You say you have no idea. You think you're studying "just the right amount" doing "all the right things" but, really, you don't keep track and don't know. You tell him/her you've tried studying in an organized way with keeping track of notes, assignments, etc but it just doesn't work.

    What advice can you expect that professor or teaching assistant to give? You really have no idea what you're currently doing. All they can give you generic advice, which you probably already know.

    How can you expect people to give you advice on making improvements? You need to get data, a baseline of what you're currently doing (even if it's not working) to get the best advice, tailored to you. Otherwise, all you'll get is pointless, generic drivel about what you already know-- eat a healthy balanced diet, exercise, drink water.
  • PrettyPearl88
    PrettyPearl88 Posts: 368 Member
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    You say you've tried counting calories. Okay, but...

    Did you do it correctly? You said yourself probably not. So if you haven't tried counting calories correctly, then that's something new to try, isn't it?

    Also, for how long did you try counting calories? Was it a few days, a week, or even 2-3 weeks? Honestly, if it was for any less than one month, that's probably why you didn't see results. When you do calorie counting the right way (which ISN'T starving yourself, you're supposed to feel mostly satisfied when you do it correctly) it takes some time to really see results. It's going to take more than a couple weeks and at least a month (maybe more). You just have to be patient and trust the system. And all of us here are living proof that calorie counting works!

    Good luck on your weight loss journey! :D
  • Casstevens133
    Casstevens133 Posts: 142 Member
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    Not trying o be funny but 150lbs at 5 feet 5 inches ... Do you really think you're overweight??
  • PhearlessPhreaks
    PhearlessPhreaks Posts: 890 Member
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    I don't always know how many calories the food at my University has so I tried to log in something but it was most likely incorrect.

    OP, right there is your answer. You weren't truly counting the calories you were putting in your body. You were estimating as opposed to truly eating at a calorie deficit (less than you Total Daily Energy Expenditure). THAT is why it didn't work.

    As Quirky and many others have said, it's simple physics- calories in v. calories out. Science doesn't lie or discriminate, so if there is an error, it's a human one.

    My advice? Try calorie counting *again*- every single bite of food that goes in your mouth. Bring your own food to school and work. Making your own meals and taking them with you (how hard is it to make up a salad or a sandwich to go?) gives you complete control over what you eat and your ability to log it.

    Do you know what your Basal Metabolic Rate is? Do you know what your Total Daily Energy Expenditure is? If so, use those numbers to your advantage. If not, how can you possibly know if you're eating too much or too little?