Tracking everything everyday, but not losing!

laurahamm96
laurahamm96 Posts: 46 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I track all the time, everyday. I track everything. Sugar and cream in my coffee, the half asleep banana bread my body says is a good idea before my brain can stop me, everything. I am still not losing. I do cardo 4 (now 5) times a week. I dont understand and I feel so discouraged :(
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Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    How did you arrive at your calorie budget? Almost 2,000 calories a day before exercise is a pretty healthy amount. If you've been eating at that with no lose I'd consider knocking a few hundred off and see what happens. Are you weighing and measuring food or going by eyeballing portions and using numbers from the database? Also your exercise calories look super high for 40 minutes of exercise. It's pretty hard to burn close to 900 calories doing 40 minutes of anything.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    First and foremost - diet is far more important than exercise.

    Calories consumed are often underestimated. Do you use a food scale to measure your food?
    Calories burned are often overestimated. How are you tracking calories burned?

    ETA: Exercise is important, but diet has a far greater impact on weight loss than exercise. I don't want to discourage anyone from exercising.
  • laurahamm96
    laurahamm96 Posts: 46 Member
    How did you arrive at your calorie budget? Almost 2,000 calories a day before exercise is a pretty healthy amount. If you've been eating at that with no lose I'd consider knocking a few hundred off and see what happens. Are you weighing and measuring food or going by eyeballing portions and using numbers from the database? Also your exercise calories look super high for 40 minutes of exercise. It's pretty hard to burn close to 900 calories doing 40 minutes of anything.

    I am using the budget myfitnesspal gave me. I am weight and measuring food, I have 4 sets of measuring cups so I always am able to measure my food. I am basing the calories burned off what my bodymedia armband tells me.

    I will try and lower my budget see what happens. Thank you!
  • GnosisGnosis
    GnosisGnosis Posts: 148
    You've been tracking since July 23rd. Keep going. This isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. Keep doing what you're doing.
  • laurahamm96
    laurahamm96 Posts: 46 Member
    First and foremost - diet is far more important than exercise.

    Calories consumed are often underestimated. Do you use a food scale to measure your food?
    Calories burned are often overestimated. How are you tracking calories burned?

    ETA: Exercise is important, but diet has a far greater impact on weight loss than exercise. I don't want to discourage anyone from exercising.

    I know what I can never out exercise my diet, I dont ever expect to. I love my exercise, and it has made me want to diet to be better able to exercise
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Measuring cups are not accurate. You really need to get a food scale and use it to weigh food. You can get a scale for under $20 and you'd be surprised how much difference there is in what you can get in a cup and what the weight actually is especially with meats (weigh before cooking) and things like rice, pasta and cereals.
  • shandlynrobinson
    shandlynrobinson Posts: 4
    I know how discouraging that can be, it happened to me for the first two weeks before I lost any weight! I do notice that you mention lots of cardio, but no strength training? As soon as I started to reduce my cardio to 3 days a week and add 3 days of strength training, I began losing inches. Keep it up, you'll do great. =)
  • GnosisGnosis
    GnosisGnosis Posts: 148
    Measuring cups are not accurate. You really need to get a food scale and use it to weigh food. You can get a scale for under $20 and you'd be surprised how much difference there is in what you can get in a cup and what the weight actually is especially with meats (weigh before cooking) and things like rice, pasta and cereals.

    Darling, measuring cups measure volume, scales measure weight. They're two different things. A cup = 1 fluid ounce.
  • laurahamm96
    laurahamm96 Posts: 46 Member
    I know how discouraging that can be, it happened to me for the first two weeks before I lost any weight! I do notice that you mention lots of cardio, but no strength training? As soon as I started to reduce my cardio to 3 days a week and add 3 days of strength training, I began losing inches. Keep it up, you'll do great. =)

    I have lost a ton of inches, I went down from a size 24 pants to a size 18. I do push ups and squats and such, but for the next few months I can not afford a gym and my jumpfit classes. :(
  • emc916
    emc916 Posts: 77
    Last couple of days your sodium was quite high so you could still be holding water weight. If your hrm isn't accurate and you're eating a lot of cals back you may be overeating.

    What I agree with the most is above ^^. This isn't a sprint, it's a marathon.
  • laurahamm96
    laurahamm96 Posts: 46 Member
    I know that the weight will not melt off, I have been packing it on for 20+ years, I had just hoped the scale would move some.
  • shandlynrobinson
    shandlynrobinson Posts: 4

    I have lost a ton of inches, I went down from a size 24 pants to a size 18. I do push ups and squats and such, but for the next few months I can not afford a gym and my jumpfit classes. :(

    That's amazing! You're going to need a whole new wardrobe! =D I'm fortunate enough to have a gym membership be included in my tuition, but I muuuuch prefer working out at home with free weights or body weight exercises, so squats, planks, lunges etc. are totally my jam. =)
  • ILoveBreakfast671
    ILoveBreakfast671 Posts: 76 Member
    Measuring cups are not accurate. You really need to get a food scale and use it to weigh food. You can get a scale for under $20 and you'd be surprised how much difference there is in what you can get in a cup and what the weight actually is especially with meats (weigh before cooking) and things like rice, pasta and cereals.

    Darling, measuring cups measure volume, scales measure weight. They're two different things. A cup = 1 fluid ounce.

    What that person is saying is that it's not accurate. 1/2 cup of fiber one is supposed to be 30 grams, but if I scoop half a cup and put it on my scale, its going to be off.

    It may pack itself differently into the measuring cup depending on the shape or other factors.
  • sharonfoustmills
    sharonfoustmills Posts: 519 Member
    Measuring cups are not accurate. You really need to get a food scale and use it to weigh food. You can get a scale for under $20 and you'd be surprised how much difference there is in what you can get in a cup and what the weight actually is especially with meats (weigh before cooking) and things like rice, pasta and cereals.

    Darling, measuring cups measure volume, scales measure weight. They're two different things. A cup = 1 fluid ounce.

    actually, Darling, a cup equals 8 fluid ounces- and there are also dry measuring cups made to measure other dry substances like flour and sugar

    ETA: buy a good scale and it will measure fluid ounces as well as dry weight and a plethora of other things (30 bucks at target, bamboo digital scale)
  • cadaverousbones
    cadaverousbones Posts: 421 Member
    I used this website to figure out how many calories I should be eating, instead of what MFP recommended. So far it has been working a lot better for me!

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/


    Message me if you need any help figuring it out! I can also take a look at your diary if you want and maybe give you some suggestions?


    *** I took a look at your diary and noticed you go over on sugar pretty much every day, I would take that into consideration and try to get that lower. Also it might help to eat more home cooked meals instead of packaged/boxed stuff.. and well as less processed food. When eating bread/pasta go for the whole grain, have veggies and lean proteins like chicken and fish for dinner. If you want you can view my diary for some ideas. Also I noticed that sometimes you go over a lot on sodium which could be causing you to retain water weight. Make sure you are getting your 8+ cups of water and try to lower the sodium! If you eat more home cooked meals with fresh veggies/meats etc you will probably see that go down.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Measuring cups are not accurate. You really need to get a food scale and use it to weigh food. You can get a scale for under $20 and you'd be surprised how much difference there is in what you can get in a cup and what the weight actually is especially with meats (weigh before cooking) and things like rice, pasta and cereals.

    Darling, measuring cups measure volume, scales measure weight. They're two different things. A cup = 1 fluid ounce.

    What that person is saying is that it's not accurate. 1/2 cup of fiber one is supposed to be 30 grams, but if I scoop half a cup and put it on my scale, its going to be off.

    It may pack itself differently into the measuring cup depending on the shape or other factors.

    Thank you for clarifying what I was trying to say : ) Cereal is a big culprit for differences in how many calories it says a cup is worth and the weight they say is equal to a cup.
  • Fithealthyforlife
    Fithealthyforlife Posts: 866 Member
    It can take from 2 to even 8 weeks in some cases, to see a weight change after modifying dietary intake. Be patient. You should start seeing something happen in another couple of weeks. Keep doing what you're doing.
  • GnosisGnosis
    GnosisGnosis Posts: 148

    actually, Darling, a cup equals 8 fluid ounces- and there are also dry measuring cups made to measure other dry substances like flour and sugar

    ETA: buy a good scale and it will measure fluid ounces as well as dry weight and a plethora of other things (30 bucks at target, bamboo digital scale)

    You're right, I'm wrong. I digress. Still think cups are a good tool for measuring fluid, but scales are a great thing to have around for measuring weight. I use both.
  • laurahamm96
    laurahamm96 Posts: 46 Member
    Thanks everyone. I will start using my scale more, and I will give it more time.
  • mjpTennis
    mjpTennis Posts: 6,165 Member
    The changes that you have seen are such a great sign. The scale will fall in line soon. Keep working hard and make the healthy food choices that are mentioned above. This sounds so similar to my initial changes as well. For me, I find it easier to change one thing at a time and just be patient. Making too many changes at once become unmanageable and changed my daily rituals too much. Over my course, the biggest impact was when I dropped my sugar intake all along maintaining a good cardio routine. Continued success to you.

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