Why am I not losing weight?!

Lisaraige
Lisaraige Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Umm...maybe because I consistently go over my daily calories!!! I feel like an idiot. I'm just glad I'm being honest with tracking because now I know why I haven't lost anything. I have to actually create a deficit to see results, who knew?

How did you stay strict and consistent? I'm way too lenient with myself and I then I think I'm doing "good". There's nothing like being in the red for a reality check! I'm determined to end the week below the line!
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Replies

  • rage032
    rage032 Posts: 36
    Plan your whole week of eating. Buy only those things. Get rid of all the rubbish stuff from your house if you can. That's how I stay strict at least.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    When I was starting out I bought myself a calendar and gave myself a sticker every day that I met my calorie goals. It was a silly little reward but it also let me see at a glance if I was taking too many cheat days.
  • Lisaraige
    Lisaraige Posts: 9 Member
    Thanks! I like the reward system, I can implement that!
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    I weigh myself several times a week, if not every day if I'm in full weight loss mode.
  • Krista916
    Krista916 Posts: 258
    I track the night before for the next day. I like to have the road map of what I will be having for meals and snacks. It's OK if I stray a little. I can add or delete but I like having the basic idea of knowing my day ahead of time.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    You're on the right track with logging everything. That was key for me - log it all, no matter how far over the day might be, because it was a learning process. I could look back over my days and weeks and see what foods were putting me over, and decide whether or not it was worth it to me to eat that food, or if I could make a better choice, smaller portion, or whatever.

    Honest and accurate logging has been a huge help for me. :smile:
  • JustAnotherGirlSuzanne
    JustAnotherGirlSuzanne Posts: 932 Member
    I log my dinner ahead of time so I can see how many calories I have to "spend" on snacks and lunch/breakfast. For example, if I'm going out to eat at night I'll figure out what I'll eat beforehand and decide that for lunch today I'd better have a salad. :) It works for me! I'm almost a full month into not being over once!

    I weigh myself every day too. :)
  • bound4beauty
    bound4beauty Posts: 274 Member
    Like other posters have said, pre-planning and being organized is key. Make a list of breakfast, lunch & dinner meals that fit within your calorie and macro goals. Do the same with 100 - 200 calorie snacks. Then all you have to do is mix and match those meals. If you do this the majority of the time, you'll be consistent and you'll see consistent results. Of course you can't plan for everything so on occasions where you're going to eat out or go to a party, try and plan ahead as much as possible by leaving room in your day for indulging a little bit.

    I have my standard, go to meals. Most I make at home but yesterday was a busy day so I had lunch from subway and a double cheese burger from McDonalds for dinner. I still hit my macro and calorie goals. It just takes practice, effort and planning.

    Feel free to look at my diary for some ideas. You'll see I eat a lot of the same things over and over again.
  • imp8tient1
    imp8tient1 Posts: 25
    HI, are you exercising? That is the only way I lose weight anymore. Also, sounds weird, but since I am exercising, if I don't eat enough calories each day, I gain weight. I weigh everyday....yesterday I didn't eat enough calories and well, I weighed 1.5 heavier. Also, I had lost 25 lbs, then went to nothing lost, nothing gained for 5 weeks! I wasn't eating enough calories then, too, about 400 deficit. Just a thought.
  • ValerieJean
    ValerieJean Posts: 35 Member
    I log my dinner ahead of time so I can see how many calories I have to "spend" on snacks and lunch/breakfast. For example, if I'm going out to eat at night I'll figure out what I'll eat beforehand and decide that for lunch today I'd better have a salad. :) It works for me! I'm almost a full month into not being over once!

    I weigh myself every day too. :)

    I do the same thing, i try to log my dinner in so i know how much i have to use versus eating what i want then going back and finding out you went over or in my case under. i am breastfeeding so i need to make sure i try my best to hit my goals but not go over. ESPECIALLY if i am going to a restaurant or having take out... so much calories in restaurants! :)
  • NSMustanggirl
    NSMustanggirl Posts: 70 Member
    If you simply let yourself go over, it becomes easier and easier to simply let yourself go over! I plan on treats, but ONLY if I am under calories and the rest of the macros look good. If I'm going to go over with said treat, I make sure I do something to exercise it off - not a good strategy to use all of the time, but I don't think it hurts once in a while!

    It takes discipline and saying NO to yourself when you want that extra treat that you really shouldn't have. On the flipside, the more you say no to yourself, the easier it gets - for me anyway!
  • imp8tient1
    imp8tient1 Posts: 25
    Amy, I LOVE your quote!

    "I'm not on a diet, this is my lifestyle. You can't make temporary changes and expect permanent results."
  • ValerieJean
    ValerieJean Posts: 35 Member
    HI, are you exercising? That is the only way I lose weight anymore. Also, sounds weird, but since I am exercising, if I don't eat enough calories each day, I gain weight. I weigh everyday....yesterday I didn't eat enough calories and well, I weighed 1.5 heavier. Also, I had lost 25 lbs, then went to nothing lost, nothing gained for 5 weeks! I wasn't eating enough calories then, too, about 400 deficit. Just a thought.

    I have this same problem.. ugh so annoying... i go long time at weight, every time same weight, i am exercising AND breastfeeding so it makes it so difficult to eat more calories when you are trying to lose weight. I feel guilty eating and eating. i am trying to only do 25 minutes of exercise (because i am addicted to exercise at the moment) and trying to eat snacks in the evening. Losing weight for the most part is easy. But once you hit a plateau or have trouble eating your calories, it becomes difficult because your mindset is in weight loss mode. lol or at least thats what its like for me.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,708 Member
    I plan my meals, stick to them and most of all have nothing in the home that could throw me off my plan. In the beginning I got really anxious thinking that there was nothing to eat if I got hungry at 11pm, but now I eat in a way that that cannot happen and I am doing quite well.
    So far I lost 34 pounds since April 10th.
  • janatarnhem
    janatarnhem Posts: 669 Member
    Plan your whole week of eating. Buy only those things. Get rid of all the rubbish stuff from your house if you can. That's how I stay strict at least.


    absolutely this^^^
  • howardheilweil
    howardheilweil Posts: 604 Member
    Umm...maybe because I consistently go over my daily calories!!! I feel like an idiot. I'm just glad I'm being honest with tracking because now I know why I haven't lost anything. I have to actually create a deficit to see results, who knew?

    How did you stay strict and consistent? I'm way too lenient with myself and I then I think I'm doing "good". There's nothing like being in the red for a reality check! I'm determined to end the week below the line!
    It's not a problem. If you want to eat more, just exercise more to compensate. Good luck!
  • YvonneCT
    YvonneCT Posts: 41 Member
    Like other posters have said, pre-planning and being organized is key. Make a list of breakfast, lunch & dinner meals that fit within your calorie and macro goals. Do the same with 100 - 200 calorie snacks. Then all you have to do is mix and match those meals. If you do this the majority of the time, you'll be consistent and you'll see consistent results. Of course you can't plan for everything so on occasions where you're going to eat out or go to a party, try and plan ahead as much as possible by leaving room in your day for indulging a little bit.

    I have my standard, go to meals. Most I make at home but yesterday was a busy day so I had lunch from subway and a double cheese burger from McDonalds for dinner. I still hit my macro and calorie goals. It just takes practice, effort and planning.

    Feel free to look at my diary for some ideas. You'll see I eat a lot of the same things over and over again.
  • YvonneCT
    YvonneCT Posts: 41 Member
    I really, really like that idea. I think I have been doing a version of that in my head. I should start doing some pre-tracking.
  • adnamalegna
    adnamalegna Posts: 203 Member
    Meal planning, regular exercise, adequate calorie intake, lots and lots of water(I ONLY drink water except for the occasional tomato juice or diet coke). Positive outlook. I also only shoot for weighing once a month. I know myself, and I get discouraged if I have no loss even if I am building muscle. I don't own a scale, so I set aside a day a month to weigh. I also got rid of any junk food. Anyhting that comes in my house is good. And I have two children. They don't eat junk either. We rarely eat prepackaged food of any kind. Most is raw or you have to prepare it. They love it, and don't miss little debbies and ramen noodles.
  • lucybarnes9822
    lucybarnes9822 Posts: 10
    I think it's defiantly good you are logging everything. At the moment I can have 1450 calories a day so I'm thinking I should be having roughly 350 for breakfast, 400 for lunch, 500 for dinner and 2 100 cal snacks. If on any off your meals you are going massively over then try to look for lower calorie recipes. Also once I have finished my dinner I either go for a run/walk or do an exercise dvd so if I have gone over my a few that gets me back in credit
  • Lisaraige
    Lisaraige Posts: 9 Member
    I'm definitely going to start pre-tracking my day. That's awesome advice and then I won't feel pressured to make decisions when I'm hungry. Baby steps for sure.
  • trackmyday1973
    trackmyday1973 Posts: 393 Member
    Umm...maybe because I consistently go over my daily calories!!! I feel like an idiot. I'm just glad I'm being honest with tracking because now I know why I haven't lost anything. I have to actually create a deficit to see results, who knew?

    How did you stay strict and consistent? I'm way too lenient with myself and I then I think I'm doing "good". There's nothing like being in the red for a reality check! I'm determined to end the week below the line!

    What keeps me consistent is the daily reminder I give myself of why I originally came here.
  • Armyantzzz
    Armyantzzz Posts: 214 Member
    you've provided the answer to your question... self determination !! It's up to you..:wink: Good luck.:wink:
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    Pre-tracking for sure ;)

    Though I eat mostly the same things every day for breakfast and snacks during the week. Lunch is normally leftovers from the night before and always under 400 cal. I can look at my day and know instantly how much I have left for dinner and then if I have to go for a walk at noon I do it so that I can eat :P
  • lolsauce
    lolsauce Posts: 36 Member
    wow what a great tip! I'll definitely try that
  • arains89
    arains89 Posts: 442 Member
    I plan my days well in advance. Also helps with creating your grocery list!!
  • aarar
    aarar Posts: 684 Member
    Umm...maybe because I consistently go over my daily calories!!! I feel like an idiot. I'm just glad I'm being honest with tracking because now I know why I haven't lost anything. I have to actually create a deficit to see results, who knew?

    How did you stay strict and consistent? I'm way too lenient with myself and I then I think I'm doing "good". There's nothing like being in the red for a reality check! I'm determined to end the week below the line!

    I go through waves where I'm really consistent at staying within my calories and other times where I'm always 200-300 (or more) over (such as the past 2 weeks!). I find the best way to get back on track is to pre log my foods for the day which is what I used to do when I first started. Even after doing MFP for nearly a year it's still very easy to get lazy and eat over my calorie allowance.
  • SkinnyMsFitness
    SkinnyMsFitness Posts: 389 Member
    Umm...maybe because I consistently go over my daily calories!!! I feel like an idiot. I'm just glad I'm being honest with tracking because now I know why I haven't lost anything. I have to actually create a deficit to see results, who knew?

    How did you stay strict and consistent? I'm way too lenient with myself and I then I think I'm doing "good". There's nothing like being in the red for a reality check! I'm determined to end the week below the line!

    This hits close to home. I did good at staying with MFP cal recommendations for a while at 1200/day. Now, I've been binging every day for 2 weeks!!! I just figured my TDEE and set my cals at 1960...striving to net 1500 (ish) a day. That's still 1000 less than maintenance.

    I really feel too few cals in allowance makes me binge. Good luck to you...and to myself! lol
  • Allyoopadoop
    Allyoopadoop Posts: 30 Member
    . I could look back over my days and weeks and see what foods were putting me over, and decide whether or not it was worth it to me to eat that food, or if I could make a better choice, smaller portion, or whatever.

    Logging my food has been critical for me. If I can't see the numbers, they are invisible to me. When I log everything I eat, I know what I am putting in my body and then I can make informed decisions.
  • PlayboyMickey81
    PlayboyMickey81 Posts: 10
    Well the thing for me is not to weigh myself for at least a month because I will probably lose hope in not seeing the scale go down that much. I do cardio 7 times a week and lift weight 5 times a week and it's been a month I'm doing this and I lost 10 lbs already. Of course I wish I lost more but I see it in the mirror that I'm becoming a different person (not personality) haha but look wise and my clothes fit so good now compare to a month ago and people have noticing it also.

    As to eating, you can check out my diary if you want to. I stick mostly to chicken 5 times out of the week and the other 2 days. I eat healthy but I let myself eat beef and other treats if I want to. Every person is obviously different but for me, I lost weight the most by counting my daily calories :)

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