Why am I not losing?

124

Replies

  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    Grinds my gears that people say I am not logging everything I eat.

    Because you're not. huh, I wonder why we would think that?
    OH, and one more very important thing, sometimes I just log calories as fast food because its already there and I am too lazy to search for the actual one. I usually go by calories/sodium more than anything else. On weekends I admit I eat fast food quite often, but some days on there I swear lol I just log them because they are close to accurate. I actually baked a pizza hear at home today but in diary it says "Little Caesars" lol [/b]

    Some days I go over, hell ya, but if its over its usually 100 calories or so, not including some weekends lol even so I will go over like 800 calories putting me at 2.8k. But this isn't an every day problem.

    Saturday, June 8 - Over 571 calories
    Sunday, June 9 - Over 1,199 calories
    Thursday, June 13 - No logging at all.
    Friday, June 14 - Over 785 calories. And no other meals logged.
    Saturday June 15 - Over 1,163 calories
    Sunday June 16 - Over 305 calories
    Tuesday June 18 - Over 335 calories

    It's not an everyday problem... but when it is a problem, it's a PROBLEM. And it's bigger than you think it is.

    Sure, you're under on other days. You're feeding your body JUNK, and you're expecting results. Well, you're getting JUNK results.

    I suppose if you ate lead... you'd expect to *kitten* gold? That's not the way it works.
    .


    Sooo should I listen to people telling me to eat more or less? lol because someone else just said to eat more....

    I said to eat more based on the figures you gave in the original post.. not based on the figures in your diary.. The two appear to be quite different :)

    Ya I didn't quite mention in OP that I have been eating 2k or so lately, on weekends more, lol I tried upping my calories from 1600 since I wasn't losing before. ^_^ so it shows over but idk how to custom set calorie goals, only by inputting the weight u wanna lose a week.
  • iceqieen
    iceqieen Posts: 862 Member
    Hmmm how about:

    #1 Stop blaming your parents for what you eat. You are 20 years old! That means grownup. That means you make your own decisions. If you are not in control of your own finances then ask for allowance to buy groceries for yourself instead of joining them out to eat.. or, le gasp! offer to cook so that when they get home from a long day at work they get a homemade meal and can relax instead of having to go out for food.

    #2 Log consistenty and HONESTLY! Its ok to use something similar once in a while, but if you are doing it more than 10% of the time you could just as well not log! There is a bigger difference than you think between various foodstuff.

    #3 Keep up with the exercise and focus on health goals instead of scale goals.

    People have already told you your intake according to the numbers you gave (ca 2200 cal) so try sticking with that AND logging CORRECTLY!

    (on a sidenote, dont call someone who works a long day like that lazy!)
  • Totally peeked through your diary through the last 3 days. You eat fast food once, sometimes twice a day. Junk food is consistently nonstop as well.

    ...What do you expect with that sort of food? Like, I'm not saying give up fast food. It's all about moderation, though.

    Incorporate more fruits and vegetables. Prepare more food at home. When eating out, choose the healthier options. So on and so forth.

    I lost my 30lbs eating fast food 3x per day while travelling.

    All burgers, fries, dressings, condiments, potato cakes and pizza, too?

    I looked further back. Nearly EVERY DAY is a trend of the same foods above.

    I eat out a fair amount. I most definitely wouldn't be upset about no weight loss if I lived on cheeseburgers though. Just sayin'.

    It wouldn't matter if the OP was eating a deficit. She would still lose weight. You can lose weight eating whatever you want....just eat less than you burn. You may not feel great or be full after eating but if you have a deficit you will have weight loss.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    Grinds my gears that people say I am not logging everything I eat. Because I dooooo if I didn't why would I have a weekend day with 2.8k calories, way over my limit? If I really wanted to lie about what I was eating I wouldn't have logged me eating at a steakhouse last week. ^_^ I wouldn't log my hot Cheetos or my burgers and fries either lol think about it really. It's summer and I wake up at 4PM on some days eat a big dinner for breakfast lunch that I I didn't eat, I will go to a steakhouse and eat a 2k calorie meal go home exercise, go about with my day and night, and not eat again up until the next day. If I really wanted to lie I wouldn't be posting all these burgers and fries and pizza lol sure its not as nutritious but I try and keep my calories under control. Some days I go over, hell ya, but if its over its usually 100 calories or so, not including some weekends lol even so I will go over like 800 calories putting me at 2.8k. But this isn't an every day problem. Sure the fast food is and some of you may not understand but yes my parents are lazy *kitten* Americans that work Monday-Friday 7am-6Pm and just want a quick and easy meal. I can cook but there is no food to cook the last week and a half of the month! :D they rather go out to eat than give me money to buy groceries, yes they are that kind of people. :D either way though, I log what I eat, when I eat to best as MFP and nutrional labels can. If I was lying I would try and put a little more effort into it at least ^_^

    Btw- I don't think sodium makes u retain weight for months lol it makes me fluctuate sometimes but yeaaaaaaa.

    And I think I need to lower my calorie intake again even though I had hired it because people said I wasn't losing because I was eating too little before. ~_~ trial and error. I will cook home food when my parents buy mor groceries, I scavenged today to make a soup lol I will try my best to eat more at home but I really can't until my parents decide to go shop again which is usually at the first f the month. Right now I have 1 loaf of moldy bread, 1 loaf of hard bread. Chicken legs, umm ham. Onions. A tooooon of pasta goods but no ingredients to make. Some chips and tomatoes..... Oh and frozen corn dogs. I have a hard time getting parents to buy healthy food cuz it's expensive lol
    Why do your parents have to buy your food and dictate what you eat? Have you tried talking to them about your goals. Maybe they would be more supportive than you think. It would be cheaper too, for all of you to cook at hone! And it doesn't have to take a lot of time. I work and so does my hubby (a lot) but we eat out maybe a couple times a month! It's too expensive and Honestly not all that great tasting. I would eat less and def less fast food.
  • babydiego87
    babydiego87 Posts: 905 Member
    so you answered your question. You gave your body a mixture of nutrients and crap, and you lost. Now you are just giving it crap, and you aren't losing. I say the work crap, because that's what fast food and junk food is. Little to no nutritional value.

    What are your bones reliant on? Calcium. What do you need to absorb calcium? Vitamin D. What helps your skin regenerate? Vitamin E. What do you lose every month in your cycle? Iron. What kills energy levels? Lack of potassium for one.

    If you want so fast jump to losing weight, then starve yourself and live off a few fried chips or burgers and use excuses that that is just what university students do. I live away from home, I cook most of my meals from breakfast to dinner. I pack lunches and snacks, I order the healthier options, I allow for chocolate cake and am sure to stay in my allowance.

    I am sounding rude and blunt, but there is no way to fluff this up - you're an adult.

    Respect your body and you health a bit more

    I have the exacccct same diet basically as when I lost the 22 pounds. Junk food and home food, I intensified my exercise too. Also its not easy to cook when there is no food at home~~~~ And I am also in my daily allowance o.O I ate homemade breakfast/lunch/dinner today along with some chips and a frozen pizza, for about 1650 calories.

    No, you're not. If you were, you'd be losing. YOU'RE NOT LOSING BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT MAINTAINING A DEFICIT.

    Log better. Log what you ACTUALLY eat. the right foods, the right portions.

    THEN come back and tell us you're not losing weight.

    Okay. I'm lying every day about what I eat every day and I do not do cardio and heavy lifting every day. Believe what you like. ^^
    I'm obviously eating 4k calories in a day by eating once slice of pizza that is currently logged on my diary. And obviously I lied about doing my exercise today too and every other day for that matter.

    You're either lying to us, or lying to yourself, or both. You've already said in this thread that you don't actually log what you are really putting in your mouth. There's days missing. You have many days that are over your calorie goals. Do you see the pattern yet?


    If you were actually, truly, in a deficit (not just making the math add up on MFP) you would be losing weight.

    The chorus of voices is loud here: you need to change something, what you're doing is not working. Don't get MAD at us... listen to us. Don't ask us why you're not losing, and then get huffy when we tell you EXACTLY why you're not losing.

    That ground beef you cooked? Log it. NOW, go back and dig the package out of the trash, and look at the weight on the package. Does it match what you logged? Yes? GREAT. No? MAKE IT MATCH. Now, do that OVER and OVER.

    You're in the "General Diet and Weight Loss Help" section. That's what you're getting.

    The "Oh, honey, you just hang in there, I'm sure you're doing fine" is over in the Motivation and Support section.
    Boom!
  • rachb26
    rachb26 Posts: 7
    I am new to the forums here but no stranger to the mystery which is 'weight loss' ...lol

    Anyway, I have read through this entire thread. And looked at your diary....there is A LOT of processed food in there.

    Now yes it is true that a deficit - regardless of what food is eaten - will result in 'weight' loss. However, if all that food is primarily highly processed junk then it can affect you in other ways. For example; a person who eats mainly fast food, would likely be more sluggish, tired, suffer from aches and pains and maybe depressed from the constant highs and lows of sugar crashes. This possibly could mean that person doesn't move around much in general. Most of our TDEE or calories burned, doesn't come through exercise (in most cases) it comes from our daily living ...walking around, working, cooking, cleaning. A person who is sluggish/tired likely would be sitting down for most of the day and in this case - and not burning as many calories as they'd like to think they are! Even MPF will calculate for things like cooking and cleaning on sedentary. I mean you say you get up at 4.00pm in the afternoon? That's a big chunk of the day that's you haven't been moving! Even to go sit at a desk job, your still burning more.

    On the other side, a person whose diet primarily consists of fruit, veg, healthy fats and carbs hopefully will maintain a more steady blood sugar level which in turn will make the individual feel better, move more and in turn burn more calories.

    So, aside from water retention etc. a calorie is NOT just a calorie. It's a cliche but you are what you eat. Good food choices > increased energy > more calories burned.

    And this I can speak from experience....before I went vegetarian I used to live off fast food...I had constant headaches, was always getting/feeling ill. Only 3 - 4 days of cutting out the junk, I felt soooo much better. I moved more and without even trying, started to lose weight. Even now I'm actually trying to lose, I am losing inches and not actual 'weight'. Which is the whole point lol.

    My advice to you, is on 1st of the month before your folks go shopping. Speak with them and ask them if YOU can do the monthly shop. Then YOU cook your family evening meal. You can make tasty nutritious meals very cheaply if you buy in bulk. You have plenty of time to plan a simple menu. Not only will your body get more nutrients it needs, you will also be burning more calories preparing the healthy meals! So a nice little bonus!

    Anyway good luck :)
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    I am new to the forums here but no stranger to the mystery which is 'weight loss' ...lol

    Anyway, I have read through this entire thread. And looked at your diary....there is A LOT of processed food in there.

    Now yes it is true that a deficit - regardless of what food is eaten - will result in 'weight' loss. However, if all that food is primarily highly processed junk then it can affect you in other ways. For example; a person who eats mainly fast food, would likely be more sluggish, tired, suffer from aches and pains and maybe depressed from the constant highs and lows of sugar crashes. This possibly could mean that person doesn't move around much in general. Most of our TDEE or calories burned, doesn't come through exercise (in most cases) it comes from our daily living ...walking around, working, cooking, cleaning. A person who is sluggish/tired likely would be sitting down for most of the day and in this case - and not burning as many calories as they'd like to think they are! Even MPF will calculate for things like cooking and cleaning on sedentary. I mean you say you get up at 4.00pm in the afternoon? That's a big chunk of the day that's you haven't been moving! Even to go sit at a desk job, your still burning more.

    On the other side, a person whose diet primarily consists of fruit, veg, healthy fats and carbs hopefully will maintain a more steady blood sugar level which in turn will make the individual feel better, move more and in turn burn more calories.

    So, aside from water retention etc. a calorie is NOT just a calorie. It's a cliche but you are what you eat. Good food choices > increased energy > more calories burned.

    And this I can speak from experience....before I went vegetarian I used to live off fast food...I had constant headaches, was always getting/feeling ill. Only 3 - 4 days of cutting out the junk, I felt soooo much better. I moved more and without even trying, started to lose weight. Even now I'm actually trying to lose, I am losing inches and not actual 'weight'. Which is the whole point lol.

    My advice to you, is on 1st of the month before your folks go shopping. Speak with them and ask them if YOU can do the monthly shop. Then YOU cook your family evening meal. You can make tasty nutritious meals very cheaply if you buy in bulk. You have plenty of time to plan a simple menu. Not only will your body get more nutrients it needs, you will also be burning more calories preparing the healthy meals! So a nice little bonus!

    Anyway good luck :)

    I'm really active usually, up at 8AM and mornings and I move alot because my campus is huge. But it's summer right now x.x enjoying it while I can. Example usually I log potato and egg which is homemade as taco cabana taco because I cannot correctly find potatoes that are kinda fried... They aren't deep fried lol but you get it ^_^ last time I went healthy shopping I got this from my mom. Direct quote "go shopping but don't buy healthy food, its too expensive, just buy real food." I can make do with what we get but I would still like healtheirrrr. As for getting sick/depressed or any of the sort, I've never really had a problem with that before. I do alot of moving most of the year with school which is usually Monday-Friday 9AM to mid day or later, not including my daily exercises. Thanks for the help. ^_^ there are things that are hard to find/log and I am not sure what to put at times. This morning I put 2 eggs, and half an order of homemade French fries, which I am not exactly sure is accurate lol it was potato and egg D:


    I do shop/cook as long as there is food at home ^_^ I do not always log correctly because some stuff is hard to find lol example: putting tac cabana tacos instead of homemade ones lol

    And the sodas, normally I don't drink them unless my boyfriend is here. For the life of me he will not drink diets/teas/water. So sometimes we go out and share drinks because its cheaper but he always wants soda lol
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,659 Member
    Eating about 1500-2000 calories a day and was doing about an hour cardio (roughly 700 calories burned) and weight lifting 5 days a week. I did this for about this December-March and lost 20 pounds. Since March, I have been losing extremely slow. I took a break in May but started back up June 1st. 1500-2000ish calories a day and just started the 30 day shred on Monday and am not doing the usual cardio/lifting, just the 30 day shred. And by slow I mean like little to no progress since late March. >.< Someone please halp
    Oh my BMR is 1,991 and my TDEE is roughly 2,980 calories
    Weight: 259
    Height: 5'8
    Female
    20 years

    Your BMR and TDEE are extraordinarily high, how do you know those figures are correct, especially the BMR?
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    Eating about 1500-2000 calories a day and was doing about an hour cardio (roughly 700 calories burned) and weight lifting 5 days a week. I did this for about this December-March and lost 20 pounds. Since March, I have been losing extremely slow. I took a break in May but started back up June 1st. 1500-2000ish calories a day and just started the 30 day shred on Monday and am not doing the usual cardio/lifting, just the 30 day shred. And by slow I mean like little to no progress since late March. >.< Someone please halp
    Oh my BMR is 1,991 and my TDEE is roughly 2,980 calories
    Weight: 259
    Height: 5'8
    Female
    20 years

    Your BMR and TDEE are extraordinarily high, how do you know those figures are correct, especially the BMR?

    I am not, but almost all calculators give me around this estimate so far. Idk if it helps but I started at 283 and body fat was at 47%. I re entered my losses and now these are the numbers I get. I've seen alot of people with the same, why is it abnormal?
  • PepperWorm
    PepperWorm Posts: 1,206
    You're 20, in college and have no job? Not even a summer job? Okay, maybe I'm being judgemental, but staying up all night and sleeping in until 4 PM is kind of counter productive to weight loss.

    You said yourself you aren't working as hard as you used to. 30 Day Shred is only like...25 minutes? Most people add cardio or lifting on top of 30 Day Shred to see results. You burn *maybe* 120-200 calories in that 30 minutes.

    It sounds like the OP is willing to create excuse after excuse. You are in denial if you honestly think what you are doing is the proper thing. As I've said, fast food is not inherently wrong. But you know in your heart of hearts that a Big Mac isn't doing you any favors over maybe a chicken wrap or a nice salad. A cheeseburger every once in awhile won't kill you.

    Just because the dietician told you that a calorie is a calorie doesn't mean that we're giving you the green light to eat the crappiest foods available to you. Just sayin'. And if you're not logging ACCURATELY, you won't get ACCURATE results. That is *technically* lying to your diary and yourself. You can lie to your diary, but you can't lie to your body and it'll show you the results you're going to get, like 'em or not.

    This isn't your parents' responsibility. This isn't the dietician's responsibility. This is your responsibility. If you're not willing to put forth 100% of the effort, you will go nowhere.

    Instead of getting defensive and prideful, you could always LISTEN to other people around you.
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    You're 20, in college and have no job? Not even a summer job? Okay, maybe I'm being judgemental, but staying up all night and sleeping in until 4 PM is kind of counter productive to weight loss.

    You said yourself you aren't working as hard as you used to. 30 Day Shred is only like...25 minutes? Most people add cardio or lifting on top of 30 Day Shred to see results. You burn *maybe* 120-200 calories in that 30 minutes.

    It sounds like the OP is willing to create excuse after excuse. You are in denial if you honestly think what you are doing is the proper thing. As I've said, fast food is not inherently wrong. But you know in your heart of hearts that a Big Mac isn't doing you any favors over maybe a chicken wrap or a nice salad. A cheeseburger every once in awhile won't kill you.

    Just because the dietician told you that a calorie is a calorie doesn't mean that we're giving you the green light to eat the crappiest foods available to you. Just sayin'. And if you're not logging ACCURATELY, you won't get ACCURATE results. That is *technically* lying to your diary and yourself. You can lie to your diary, but you can't lie to your body and it'll show you the results you're going to get, like 'em or not.

    This isn't your parents' responsibility. This isn't the dietician's responsibility. This is your responsibility. If you're not willing to put forth 100% of the effort, you will go nowhere.

    Instead of getting defensive and prideful, you could always LISTEN to other people around you.

    I was told before thati was doing too much cardio and eating too little. I understand the fast food is a habit though. And I wake up at 4PM when I go to sleep at 7AM lol it's summer time. It's not like I wake up at 4PM every day of my life ^_^
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    If exercising every day, and cooking at home when I can is not the right thing, then I have nothing more to say. ^_^ I exercise 5 days a week and just lowered my hour cardio and weight lifting to the 30 day shed. First too much cardio and now not enough. ~_~

    People look at my diary and only see the fast food and not the homemade meals it seems. :( I'd say my eating at home and fast food is 50/50 excluding some weekends lol but people see 100% fast food. Like I said I know it's not the best of choices. But I cook at home quite a bit too.
  • babydiego87
    babydiego87 Posts: 905 Member
    I looked at your diary earlier and it had burger king and chik fila a listed for today and now theyre gone. looks like youre actually paying attention to this thread well done
  • ThinLizzie0802
    ThinLizzie0802 Posts: 863 Member
    Totally peeked through your diary through the last 3 days. You eat fast food once, sometimes twice a day. Junk food is consistently nonstop as well.

    ...What do you expect with that sort of food? Like, I'm not saying give up fast food. It's all about moderation, though.

    Incorporate more fruits and vegetables. Prepare more food at home. When eating out, choose the healthier options. So on and so forth.

    I lost my 30lbs eating fast food 3x per day while travelling.

    All burgers, fries, dressings, condiments, potato cakes and pizza, too?

    I looked further back. Nearly EVERY DAY is a trend of the same foods above.

    I eat out a fair amount. I most definitely wouldn't be upset about no weight loss if I lived on cheeseburgers though. Just sayin'.

    All that? No, but fries and grilled chicken sandwiches daily, and pizza twice per week.



    Your ability to eat fast food consistently and lose weight has no bearing on her ability to do it. Your a man with a different build and metabolism. Clearly, it isn't working for her and is more than likely preventing her from losing the weight she wants. And just because you lost weight while eating fast food doesn't mean your biometric numbers wouldn't still be high.-blood sugar, cholesterol, etc. Skinny people have heart attacks too.
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    I looked at your diary earlier and it had burger king and chik fila a listed for today and now theyre gone. looks like youre actually paying attention to this thread well done

    It had Chick fil a.....and only chick fil a lol don't get too dramatic here.
  • babydiego87
    babydiego87 Posts: 905 Member
    I looked at your diary earlier and it had burger king and chik fila a listed for today and now theyre gone. looks like youre actually paying attention to this thread well done

    It had Chick fil a.....and only chick fil a lol don't get too dramatic here.
    im not the one being dramatic, just telling it how it is. good luck
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    Case closed. Eat more...home food, less fast food. Will do that to best I can. But for the record I will argue to the pits of hell that I do log everything I eat. Fast food and home food. Maybe as some of you say I'm lying to myself eating fast food, but if there's one thing I know, it's that I log every single thing I eat. Healthy or unhealthy. I know that myself and no one can change my mind about that. If I eat it, I log it. Spinach or chips.
  • Heather032190
    Heather032190 Posts: 138 Member
    I do not mean to sound rude and just by skimming what everyone has said I have yet to see this...Do you have a job? Do you plan on it? A part time/summer job? Something, I have been working since I was 15...maybe if YOU personally had extra money then go to the store YOURSELF and BUY what YOU WANT and go home and COOK it then things would be easier for you...idk just a thought.

    My apologies if I sound rude but truly something to consider. Also great job on the 20+ so far.
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    I do not mean to sound rude and just by skimming what everyone has said I have yet to see this...Do you have a job? Do you plan on it? A part time/summer job? Something, I have been working since I was 15...maybe if YOU personally had extra money then go to the store YOURSELF and BUY what YOU WANT and go home and COOK it then things would be easier for you...idk just a thought.

    My apologies if I sound rude but truly something to consider. Also great job on the 20+ so far.

    I have been looking for a job since April* so far, no luck yet. ^_^ but case closed :D
  • shimmer615
    shimmer615 Posts: 55
    Hiyomi I'm 10 years older than you, but when I was your age I worked. You mention that you can't find a job, but almost always people can find jobs in the restaurant/retail industry. You just have to WANT to find one.

    I can sympathize about you wondering what is going on, but the answer is with YOU. You lost 20 lbs to start, and that is great. But I'm being honest when I say you throw out excuse after excuse about not changing habits.

    Does your school schedule allow you to cook dinner for you and your parents? My suggestion is to bring it up to your parents that you want to be healthier in your eating habits and volunteer to do the grocery shopping and food preparing for them. Get the full amount of money and go to the store every week or every 2 weeks. Meal plan. This will help out with running out of food at the end of the month.

    Otherwise, you need to take some responsibility and get a job to buy the food that you need and stop making those excuses.
  • ramonafrincu
    ramonafrincu Posts: 160 Member
    Hiyomi I'm 10 years older than you, but when I was your age I worked. You mention that you can't find a job, but almost always people can find jobs in the restaurant/retail industry. You just have to WANT to find one.

    I can sympathize about you wondering what is going on, but the answer is with YOU. You lost 20 lbs to start, and that is great. But I'm being honest when I say you throw out excuse after excuse about not changing habits.

    Does your school schedule allow you to cook dinner for you and your parents? My suggestion is to bring it up to your parents that you want to be healthier in your eating habits and volunteer to do the grocery shopping and food preparing for them. Get the full amount of money and go to the store every week or every 2 weeks. Meal plan. This will help out with running out of food at the end of the month.

    Otherwise, you need to take some responsibility and get a job to buy the food that you need and stop making those excuses.

    Is nobody's business why the OP doesn't have a job. If you eat less than you burn you loose weight, fast food or no fast food.
  • JanAlyssa825
    JanAlyssa825 Posts: 43 Member
    I actually find it easier to log home-cooked foods than restaurant ones, because who knows who accurate the restaurants' calorie counts are, or how heavy-handed the cook is?

    If the potatoes are out of a bag (like the frozen hashbrown kind), measure out your serving with a scale and add in any oil or butter you might use. Measure the butter or oil. You can also scan the barcode of the butter/bag of hashbrowns on your smartphone to make it easy to get the calorie count. If you used real potatoes, even better! Just make sure to weigh out the portion and search for "raw potato" in the MFP food database. Either add the elements separately, or you can use the recipe function to make it easy to access things you make frequently! I use the recipe function almost daily and input all the ingredients I'm using, then divide by servings. It has made weight loss a lot easier. Hope that helps!
  • shimmer615
    shimmer615 Posts: 55
    I'm sorry, but I don't think that my post is any worse than someone flat out telling her she's lying. She posted all kinds of things about how she HAS to eat fast food but wants to eat differently. I provided some suggestions, some a little "softer" so to speak, than others.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    I think my favorite part is the implication that sodium prevents fat loss. For months at a time. Either that or you've lost 25 pounds of fat but are somehow retaining that much water because of sodium. Do people think that water retention caused by sodium is cumulative or something?

    higher sodium content generally comes from more calorie dense and nutritient poor foods (fast food). I also know on a personal level on days I eat higher sodium i am puffier (and heavier) the following day or so and require more water and better food choices for a few days. If eating high sodium on MULTIPLE days I assume it would be multiple days worth of puffiness and heavier weight.
    Since March.
    Have you looked at her food log?
    Have you ever known anyone to gain 20, 50, or 100 lbs of water weight from sodium consumption?
    when you look at the source of the sodium, yes, I have known ppl to gain excess amounts of weight from fast food which is high in sodium.
    Wow, nice cover story. Hope you didn't pull anything by reaching so far.
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
    I'm not gonna comment on the fast food--that's all been said. I agree with some of the fast food comments, while I think others are over the top and kind of ridiculous. I think more importantly you need to log everything really accurately. Do you have a digital scale that you're weighing your food on? That's been a must for me. Measuring cups and spoons, and going by generic measurements (one apple, etc.) are not nearly as accurate as a scale. Don't forget to track all the little nibbles and spoon licking that goes on throughout the day as well. That stuff adds up. Condiments and oils, too. If you drink alcohol, that should also be logged--tons of calories there.

    Getting your sleeping habits normalised would probably help you out a bit. I know it's summer and you're young and want to stay up all night, but getting enough uninterrupted, deep sleep is really important for weight loss. My weight loss will stall out if I'm not sleeping enough, or am keeping strange hours.

    The calorie range you mentioned in your first post is pretty huge. I'd get that nailed down to something more reasonable. Maybe something like a 100 calorie range rather than whatever you had (I think it was like 500 calories, can't recall). On a similar note, you may need to run your numbers again. What you were able to lose on when you started out is probably different than what it should be now, since you've lost a bunch of weight.

    Are you healthy apart from being overweight? No PCOS, diabetes, hypothyroid or other issues that might affect your metabolism? Any meds you're on? I think you mentioned somewhere that you're on birth control pills....but I can't recall if you mentioned anything else. Certain meds can make weight loss a bit tricky.

    Hang in there--you can get this stuff figured out and lose the weight.
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    My blood pressure/diabetes check all came back normal. Health wise, besides being overweight lol I'm doing pretty well. No aches or pains or problems. When I was younger they thought I had a thyroid issue but I was checked for it all and was fine. Thanks for the info and suggestions ^_^ I need a home food scale for sure. The birth control, I've had it for quite awhile and never had problems before, I am on the shot! :D

    Case closed. Eat more...home food, less fast food. Will do that to best I can. But for the record I will argue to the pits of hell that I do log everything I eat. Fast food and home food. Maybe as some of you say I'm lying to myself eating fast food, but if there's one thing I know, it's that I log every single thing I eat. Healthy or unhealthy. I know that myself and no one can change my mind about that. If I eat it, I log it. Spinach or chips. Thanks to all who made suggestions. ^_^
  • rachb26
    rachb26 Posts: 7
    I actually find it easier to log home-cooked foods than restaurant ones, because who knows who accurate the restaurants' calorie counts are, or how heavy-handed the cook is?

    If the potatoes are out of a bag (like the frozen hashbrown kind), measure out your serving with a scale and add in any oil or butter you might use. Measure the butter or oil. You can also scan the barcode of the butter/bag of hashbrowns on your smartphone to make it easy to get the calorie count. If you used real potatoes, even better! Just make sure to weigh out the portion and search for "raw potato" in the MFP food database. Either add the elements separately, or you can use the recipe function to make it easy to access things you make frequently! I use the recipe function almost daily and input all the ingredients I'm using, then divide by servings. It has made weight loss a lot easier. Hope that helps!

    I agree with this. There is also the create your own recipe option, which I think is handy to create for dishes that you have regularly. The OP said she is a little slack/cant find the CORRECT foods stuffs she eats in the database. So pre- making them for easy adding will help I think.

    Also OP: if it was ME....I would do this; stick to 2100 cals on non workout days and 2300 every other time. I would be looking to log my food consistently. If i eat fast food, i would add 15% cals onto their calorie estimate total. I would up my water intake. And I would be getting up earlier than 4pm (however nice it is lol). I would then track for 2 weeks and if I STILL wasn't losing...I'd lower my intake by 200 on both non-and workout days, if I still wasn't losing after 2 weeks - I'd do the same again until I found my REAL TDEE. because at the end of the day, MPF only gives you an ESTIMATE. And judging by your lack of losses lately, it's got to be either you're eating too much or not moving as much as you think.

    Good luck (again :P)
  • morkiemama
    morkiemama Posts: 894 Member
    Grinds my gears that people say I am not logging everything I eat.

    Because you're not. huh, I wonder why we would think that?
    OH, and one more very important thing, sometimes I just log calories as fast food because its already there and I am too lazy to search for the actual one. I usually go by calories/sodium more than anything else. On weekends I admit I eat fast food quite often, but some days on there I swear lol I just log them because they are close to accurate. I actually baked a pizza hear at home today but in diary it says "Little Caesars" lol [/b]

    Some days I go over, hell ya, but if its over its usually 100 calories or so, not including some weekends lol even so I will go over like 800 calories putting me at 2.8k. But this isn't an every day problem.

    Saturday, June 8 - Over 571 calories
    Sunday, June 9 - Over 1,199 calories
    Thursday, June 13 - No logging at all.
    Friday, June 14 - Over 785 calories. And no other meals logged.
    Saturday June 15 - Over 1,163 calories
    Sunday June 16 - Over 305 calories
    Tuesday June 18 - Over 335 calories

    It's not an everyday problem... but when it is a problem, it's a PROBLEM. And it's bigger than you think it is.

    Sure, you're under on other days. You're feeding your body JUNK, and you're expecting results. Well, you're getting JUNK results.

    I suppose if you ate lead... you'd expect to *kitten* gold? That's not the way it works.
    .


    Sooo should I listen to people telling me to eat more or less? lol because someone else just said to eat more....

    I said to eat more based on the figures you gave in the original post.. not based on the figures in your diary.. The two appear to be quite different :)

    This is inherently the problem. You need to log accurately and stick to your goals. You are doing neither at the moment. Actually log the food/products you are consuming and not substitutes. Also, stick to your calorie goal. You are going over consistently.

    You need to be consistent before you can say it isn't working.

    Edited for typo.
  • missshyeviolett
    missshyeviolett Posts: 310 Member
    I'd really look at investing in a $50 fitbit. I'm really questioning your TDEE. I get that heavier people burn more, but I've only hit 2900 ONCE and that was when I worked out for 2 hours (intensely) and walked/ran nearly 8 miles as well as being generally active the rest of the day.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    There is absolutely no way to know if you should eat more or less until you track accurately for at least a month and see what results you get. Start there.