Having Trouble

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quantumdynamo
quantumdynamo Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi-
I lost about 40 pounds after I had my kid 9 1/2 years ago, by starting a good exercise routine. My diet has always been fairly good, but I do like food.

Despite stepping up my exercise routine over the years, my weight crept back up. I've been doing an hour of cardio (elliptical machine, at a good pace) for about two years. I started out at 1/2 hour, and that's how I lost the weight. I also do a lot of backpacking, walking, and bicycling to work and just for fun, as well as yoga for my back and core strength

I got super tired of the weight about a month ago, so decided to go on an actual diet, cutting portions and limiting snacks. I also started switching up my cardio routine, doing jogging as well as elliptical. After two weeks, I'd lost no weight- I gained a pound. I thought I must be miscalculating, so I started using this site to track calories (and I'm as honest as I can be, within the parameters of the program). I come in under the calorie goal every day for losing one pound a week, sometimes by more than 1,000 calories. Why the hell am I not losing weight? I know my diet isn't perfect, but I seem like I'm healthy enough. Has anyone else had this problem?

Also, does anyone else have the problem of just grabbing a processed snack instead of a healthy one when using this program, because it's so much easier to enter? That's the only thing I don't like about it.

Replies

  • heyitsedgar
    heyitsedgar Posts: 7
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    You could be gaining muscle and still losing fat. From the foods that you eat, you could be just replenishing your muscles and actually building them. What you could always do to track progress more efficiently is stop relying on a scale for progress. It can lead you to be easily discouraged and blind you from whats really going on in your body.

    Try to get a measuring take (or even better a skinfold caliper) and measure yourself every week along with the scale. Measure yourself in the same spots once a week around the same time. Better in the morning, after you go to the bathroom and before you eat.

    Try measuring yourself at :
    your bellybutton line all the way around your body
    Mid thigh (measure out the halfway point between your knee and hipbone)
    the widest part of your forearm
    Wrist
    neck
    bicep
    chest/bust
    at the hips on the widest part around the butt
    widest part of the calf

    Same with the skinfold caliper. this would be the most accurate way to track your progress. you could probably find one at amazon for pretty cheap but make sure you HAVE SOMEONE MEASURE FOR YOU. and you could find several resources online to see how and where to measure to obtain your BMI and see it slowly change from week to week.


    My own weight started to plateau or go up and I measured myself and realized I was staying the same size in my waist and legs, but my chest, back and arms were getting larger from weight lifting. (My legs are already very toned from cycling and triathlons)

    You could also try adding weight lifting into your workouts. Lighter (not super light) weights and higher repetitions.


    Nutrition wise, you could be cutting out the wrong macronutrients in your diet. what do you normally eat on your diet?
  • mdraper60
    mdraper60 Posts: 101 Member
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    What is your calorie goal? If you are eating below that by 1000 calories, you are probably eating too little as you are quite active.
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    What is your calorie goal? If you are eating below that by 1000 calories, you are probably eating too little as you are quite active.
    I agree with this - you're SUPPOSED to eat the extra calories you burn through exercise so you end the day with the number of calories MFP suggested as your NET calories, otherwise you're eating too little.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
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    If you want a totally honest appraisal of your eating and losing weight, then you would have to make your diary public?

    It really is difficult for anyone to suggest how to help or where you are going wrong unless people can see what you eat?

    But bear in mind you will get comments that you do not want to read, based on your diary?
  • quantumdynamo
    quantumdynamo Posts: 6
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    I may try this, just so I don't get discouraged- I do feel better, and I seem less squishy to pinch. I've been coming in over on my sugars a little on some days, and maybe I should pay more attention to my nutrients. My problem is that I just end up buying power bars or whatever for snacks, since they're easy to enter, instead of eating what I usually do, because I feel more iffy about my calories that way.
  • quantumdynamo
    quantumdynamo Posts: 6
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    It's putting my calories quite high, because it says I burn so much exercising. I am definitely not starving myself. I made my diary public, I think. It's a little embarrassing, because I just ate a cookie, but oh well.
  • mdraper60
    mdraper60 Posts: 101 Member
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    I just looked at your diary and you are burning quite a few calories every day. Weight loss isn't a one-size-fits-all deal so what works for some doesn't work for others but you could try eating back at least some of your exercise calories and see if that helps. I don't always eat back my exercise calories but sometimes I do. It all depends on how my body is feeling. If I am hungry and have burned off extra calories, I will eat something. But, if I'm not hungry I don't. If I have a day where I burn a high amount of calories, I try to eat back about half just so I don't create too big of a deficit. You have to find what works for you.

    And, don't be embarassed about a cookie! Everything in moderation!! :flowerforyou:
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    It's putting my calories quite high, because it says I burn so much exercising. I am definitely not starving myself. I made my diary public, I think. It's a little embarrassing, because I just ate a cookie, but oh well.

    Looking just at today's intake I'd say you NEEDED that cookie!! You've still got over 600 calories left to eat!! You obviously burn a heck of a lot of cals through exercise, you need to eat more proper meals :-)
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    Options
    You could be gaining muscle and still losing fat. From the foods that you eat, you could be just replenishing your muscles and actually building them. What you could always do to track progress more efficiently is stop relying on a scale for progress. It can lead you to be easily discouraged and blind you from whats really going on in your body.

    Try to get a measuring take (or even better a skinfold caliper) and measure yourself every week along with the scale. Measure yourself in the same spots once a week around the same time. Better in the morning, after you go to the bathroom and before you eat.

    Try measuring yourself at :
    your bellybutton line all the way around your body
    Mid thigh (measure out the halfway point between your knee and hipbone)
    the widest part of your forearm
    Wrist
    neck
    bicep
    chest/bust
    at the hips on the widest part around the butt
    widest part of the calf

    Same with the skinfold caliper. this would be the most accurate way to track your progress. you could probably find one at amazon for pretty cheap but make sure you HAVE SOMEONE MEASURE FOR YOU. and you could find several resources online to see how and where to measure to obtain your BMI and see it slowly change from week to week.


    My own weight started to plateau or go up and I measured myself and realized I was staying the same size in my waist and legs, but my chest, back and arms were getting larger from weight lifting. (My legs are already very toned from cycling and triathlons)

    You could also try adding weight lifting into your workouts. Lighter (not super light) weights and higher repetitions.


    Nutrition wise, you could be cutting out the wrong macronutrients in your diet. what do you normally eat on your diet?

    Cardio and calorie deficit does not promote muscle growth. Calorie surplus and a good weight training programme promotes muscle growth. Lets break the myth's not continue them :flowerforyou:
  • quantumdynamo
    quantumdynamo Posts: 6
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    I was surprised to see how much I was burning, to the point where I stopped putting in my walking and stuff because I figured it was overestimating. Maybe I'll try eating more calories, but fewer cookies and such. It seems counterintuitive. Thanks for the help! I don't want to get discouraged.
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    Have you only been tracking what you eat since Tuesday? Maybe you had a break, but I couldn't find anything before then. Having looked back at what you have logged, I reckon you're undereating by quite a large margin. If you don't want to eat all your exercise calories back, eat at least half of them. Some people exercise so that they can have wine, chocolate, ice cream, whatever floats their boat. I think you need to get in enough nutrition first, then add in a bit of the things you like - you can "afford" them, calorie-wise.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    My goodness, eat more. Wednesday you ate about 1000 calories but you burnt 914 in exercise. That means your body is trying to survive on next to nothing for the day.

    The daily goal in green is what you are suppose to be eating to fuel your body. There is already a deficit built into your baseline calories.
  • quantumdynamo
    quantumdynamo Posts: 6
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    Yeah, I've only been tracking since Tuesday, but I've been on the diet for about a month...but before I started cutting calories and stepping up my workout routine, I was still doing at least an hour of cardio 6-7 days a week, and I don't feel like I was eating so much more. Most of the advice here seems to be to eat more. Maybe I was eating more than I realized before I started dieting...
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
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    You need a lot more varied veggies. I only saw salad on a couple of days.
    Eat veggies, beans, nut butters, eggs, fish, chicken and some beef.
    It seems to me you are really low on nutrients. Eat oranges, apples etc.
    How about avocado? Spinach, kale, broccoli, carrots.
    Real. Whole. Food.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Yeah, I've only been tracking since Tuesday, but I've been on the diet for about a month...but before I started cutting calories and stepping up my workout routine, I was still doing at least an hour of cardio 6-7 days a week, and I don't feel like I was eating so much more. Most of the advice here seems to be to eat more. Maybe I was eating more than I realized before I started dieting...

    What you have to remember is food is not your enemy, it is just keeping it friendly x

    We all (IMO) thought we were not eating too much before we decided that we were overweight.unfit.a little bit on the big side.

    My advice is use the search tool on here, ask any question you want and you will find lots of answers...also the success stories can be a big motivation, especially when you wake up one day and think you can not be bothered.

    There is not one size fits all with the whole losing weight/toning/building muscles...but you are in a good community with lots of help and advice x

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