What am I doing wrong?!?!?!

nykkat
nykkat Posts: 30
in Health and Weight Loss
I know I just started this website today, and looking at my food diary I see major flaws. However, most days are not as caloric as this one and I usually exercise 3-4 times a week, each time is over an hour combining cardio, weights, classes, etc.

What am I doing wrong? I know a lot of it has to do with food. In august of 2012, I was 158. Now I'm 170. This is unacceptable and gross to me, but I don't see what I'm eating as THAT terrible, but I guess I'm mistaken :/.

Any tips?
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Replies

  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
    LOG!!! we eat more calories than we think... measure and log EVERYTHING!!!
  • nykkat
    nykkat Posts: 30
    Measuring is so inconvenient! How do I measure when I'm in a restaurant?
  • jadams1650
    jadams1650 Posts: 139 Member
    You need to open your diary to get any useful comments. Hard to say what is wrong without any information. Having said that, you might want to log for several weeks and then ask the question. If you just started today there will be very little information to go on...
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    I follow an intermittent fasting protocol that allows me to eat more at social settings.
  • daniellealys
    daniellealys Posts: 301 Member
    easiest way to loose weight: eat clean. stick to meat, fruit, vegetables and healthy fats (nuts, oils, etc) you will loose weight like crazy. and its very simple to follow! helped me loose 50lbs in 6 months....
    I follow that clean eating about 90% of the time....
  • nykkat
    nykkat Posts: 30
    easiest way to loose weight: eat clean. stick to meat, fruit, vegetables and healthy fats (nuts, oils, etc) you will loose weight like crazy. and its very simple to follow! helped me loose 50lbs in 6 months....
    I follow that clean eating about 90% of the time....

    Did you just not eat carbs?
  • nykkat
    nykkat Posts: 30
    You need to open your diary to get any useful comments. Hard to say what is wrong without any information. Having said that, you might want to log for several weeks and then ask the question. If you just started today there will be very little information to go on...

    Just made my food/exercise diary public! thanks.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    Seriously, first day and a what am I doing wrong post?

    You want a tip? How about some patience?
  • Live4theLift
    Live4theLift Posts: 329
    Most restaurants now have an under x calories meal. When i go i can usually find something simmilar to what i ate such as an 10oz steak. I know it sucks, but you will thank yourself later. Weigh your food and measure your portions.
  • nykkat
    nykkat Posts: 30
    Seriously, first day and a what am I doing wrong post?

    You want a tip? How about some patience?

    It's not my first day trying to lose weight. It's just my first day on this website. How about some support?
  • nykkat
    nykkat Posts: 30
    Most restaurants now have an under x calories meal. When i go i can usually find something simmilar to what i ate such as an 10oz steak. I know it sucks, but you will thank yourself later. Weigh your food and measure your portions.

    I noticed this in many chain restaurants! I live in New York City, so most restaurants here are independent and don't list the calories. Luckily, they do list calories in chains such as starbucks and panera, etc.
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
    Your diary is not open. Try it again.
  • CharRicho
    CharRicho Posts: 389 Member
    Measuring is so inconvenient! How do I measure when I'm in a restaurant?

    Measuring at a restaurant is difficult. You just have to do your best guestimate.

    However, I will say, restaurants that offer their nutritional information for you to view tend to be healthier than those that don't. Also, if you are eating out a lot, that might be where you're going wrong. Restaurants care about making their food taste good, not making it healthy, and usually have tons of added sugar, added salt, and hidden calories.

    If you make your own food more often, you'll know what you're eating and be much more successful. I suggest investing in a food scale.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
    I know a lot of it has to do with food.

    actually, when it comes to weight loss, its mostly about food. you could sit on the couch all day long, but if you ate the right number of calories, you'd lose weight.

    as for what to do when going to restaurants... most people find the most success in weight loss when they prepare most of their meals themselves. It's the only real way to know exactly how much and what you are eating. That's not to say you can't ever go out, but logging everything you eat is the only way to know what you are doing right/wrong, and restaurant food is hard to count and typically uses a LOT more oils and salt than you would at home.

    Yes, counting calories can be tedious, but it gets a LOT easier when you've been doing it for a while. Not everyone finds calorie counting necessary for weight loss, but for many of us, its the only way to track what we are doing so we can adjust it to achieve the results we want.

    ETA: you mention that you don't think what you are eating is that bad, but you can eat the healthiest stuff in the world, and if you eat too much of it, you will put on weight. measuring/weighing your food is the only way to see if your portion sizes are really appropriate. Most people, when they begin, see that they have been seriously underestimating how much they were eating.
  • flutterbye811
    flutterbye811 Posts: 86 Member
    It'll probably be best to start cooking more than worrying as much about restaurant calories- you are then in more control of what your portions are, what goes into your food, etc. I know it can be difficult depending on your work/whatever schedule, but in order to really see a difference it is probably best. Also, if time is a factor making bigger meals at the beginning of the week so you can portion things out as you need them really helps.
  • sarabeth120
    sarabeth120 Posts: 172 Member
    Measuring is so inconvenient! How do I measure when I'm in a restaurant?

    Measuring isn't that inconvenient. It takes me like five minutes to serve out one serving portion of everything that I am eating.

    As for logging when you are in a restaurant, here's what I suggest:

    If you're going to a chain restaurant you can usually get the nutritional information of all their dishes and plan your meal before you even get to the restaurant. If you go in with a plan, you are less likely to change and get something that is not as healthy for you.

    It's easier to plan ahead if it's a chain restaurant though since most of them post their nutrition information on their website. But, if you're not going to a chain restaurant, you can always check their website and see if they at least have a menu on there and you can always ask if they have a nutritional menu (some do, some don't you just have to ask) when you get there, but here are some suggestions if they don't:

    1. Pick something that is grilled or blackened (those are two ways to cook that have FAR less calories, but still have a lot of flavor!). Poached and broiled are good too, but I don't think they're as flavorful as the other two.

    2. Avoid anything that is fried, smothered or stuffed.

    3. If you get a salad, make sure the dressing comes on the side and if you're like me, and have to have a calorie rich dressing like ranch or something, dip the salad pieces into it as opposed to drenching the entire bowl. This will easily save you 50 -100 calories depending on the type of dressing used.

    4. Always choose vegetables as your sides (most places will let you substitute sides). So, even if the meal comes with fries you can swap those out for something healthier.

    5. If bread comes before the meal, avoid it or better yet, ask them not to bring it. But, if if whoever you're with wants bread so badly then have them bring only enough for them, so you won't be tempted! :). This will not work at Red Lobster because the biscuits are just too addicting! :)

    6. Make sure you ask for the lunch portion of a meal; some places give you the dinner portion unless you ask otherwise.

    I hope my tips helped! :smile:
  • fatfrost
    fatfrost Posts: 367 Member
    Measuring is so inconvenient! How do I measure when I'm in a restaurant?

    I use my smartphone. Remember, you don't need to be completely precise in terms of measuring and whatnot, but you do *need* to be consistent. If you log consistently, you will undoubtedly begin to make slightly different choices. Over time, these choices add up to get you to your goals (at least they did for me).
  • nykkat
    nykkat Posts: 30
    Your diary is not open. Try it again.

    What about now?
  • onedayatatime410
    onedayatatime410 Posts: 42 Member
    Most times when I'm going out to party or with friends, I save my calories for the end of the day. Also, you'd be suprised how much calories are in drinks of the alcoholic variety. I wouldn't cut out those pleasures, I try to MAKE ROOM for them.

    Add me if that's cool :)
  • nykkat
    nykkat Posts: 30
    I hope my tips helped! :smile:


    Extremely helpful! Thank you so much :D
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Give calorie counting a chance to work. Log honestly and as accurately as possible, with a food scale. At least then we'll be able to help you tweak if you're not making progress. Right now we have no way of knowing what you're doing wrong. Weight loss is about calories.

    Read this for easy info about setting up your calorie goal:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/963088-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy?hl=leveling+obstacles

    For restaurants choose the closest equivalent in the database. If I'm eating at a local place I pick a similar chain restaurant and log a similar meal.
  • onedayatatime410
    onedayatatime410 Posts: 42 Member
    Just read your diary... see how the LITTLE things add up :)
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    easiest way to loose weight: eat clean. stick to meat, fruit, vegetables and healthy fats (nuts, oils, etc) you will loose weight like crazy. and its very simple to follow! helped me loose 50lbs in 6 months....
    I follow that clean eating about 90% of the time....

    Did you just not eat carbs?

    Eating clean is not necessary to lose weight. A lot of people choose that route because they find that it's easier to create a calorie deficit without counting that way, but personally I find it unnecessarily restrictive.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    dont expect overnight results
    strenth training wont help u lose weight
    work out everyday for 60 minutes
    stay under calories
  • Live4theLift
    Live4theLift Posts: 329
    I will agree 1000% with that. I eat pretty much what i want when i want and as long as im under or not to far over im good.
  • nykkat
    nykkat Posts: 30
    dont expect overnight results
    strenth training wont help u lose weight
    work out everyday for 60 minutes
    stay under calories

    working out every day for an hour is just not realistic for me! And I know enough to know that strength training builds muscle which helps burn calories!
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
    Measuring is so inconvenient! How do I measure when I'm in a restaurant?

    if you dont know your portions, then your logging will be off. you have to know your portions. guessing will not be accurate. i hate measuring too, but i found out that by measuring, i was over estimating by double most of the time.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Stay within your calories. Log EVERYTHING. Don't eat too low. Have a cheat meal once in awhile. Work out, but don't burn yourself out by overdoing it. Take measurements along with weighing. Combine cardio and strength training. You can eat crap or you can eat healthy, but you'll feel better if you eat healthier. Don't give up everything you love. Carbs are perfectly fine.
  • astrovivi
    astrovivi Posts: 183 Member
    HI there,

    if Tuesday was anything to go by, I'd say you need to eat better quality food...looks like a lot of take away and snacky stuff.
    Now, you don't need to eat clean 100% of the time, but you probably need to get a better set of macros that you can stick to.

    If you are looking for more fat loss, remember that we respond to different foods differently (some people do better with lower carbs if carb sensitive, others do better with higher fat and lower carbs if fat sensitive and for others it makes no difference).

    Best thing is to start by

    1. Work out your BMR and TDEE (try here: http://iifym.com/calculators/ )

    2. To lose fat, try subtracting about 10-15% from your TDEE and set that as your daily goal (you can cycle up and down each day so long as your weekly average comes out around your setpoint daily kcals). Stick to this number for a few weeks to see how you go. If you lose too quickly, increase your kcals a bit or vice versa if progress is not happening. Be patient.

    3. Work out some basic macros. Aim for around 2 x BW or 2 x LBM in grams of protein per day. Aim for a min fat requirement (mostly healthy ok) of about 0.8g per kg BW or LBM. You can set it at your current BW or use your target BW. That works for a lot of people. The rest is carbs. These are not hard and fast numbers. Just guidelines.

    You could also try a typical P/C/F ratio of 30/40/30 % as a start point (moderate carbs and fats) and then reset carbs and fats up or down as you need and learn more about how you respond with progress.

    Logging every day is a good way to a) get a better understanding of how much you eat and the quality of that intake as well as b) giving you a wealth of data on your own body and how you respond.

    Whatever you do, do not restrict kcals too much or you risk eating away (pardon the pun) at your metabolic capcity ... you don't want to starve yourself lean. You want to be able to get lean with as many kcals as you can.

    hope that helps a bit.
  • nykkat
    nykkat Posts: 30
    Measuring is so inconvenient! How do I measure when I'm in a restaurant?

    if you dont know your portions, then your logging will be off. you have to know your portions. guessing will not be accurate. i hate measuring too, but i found out that by measuring, i was over estimating by double most of the time.

    do i literally bring measuring utensils to the restaurant?

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