Am I just a whiny *B*?

13

Replies

  • Melissa22G
    Melissa22G Posts: 847 Member


    Weight loss is not linear .


    So true. You'll get there :)
  • MsLindaH
    MsLindaH Posts: 8 Member
    The same thing happened to me. Lost quick and easy at first, then it was at least 2 weeks of the ' up and down but not below my lowest' But the 3rd week the scale moved again. I acutally was eating far less than my calorie goal during those couple of weeks trying to get the scale to move,, When I started eating close to the goal, it came off. I know there is controversy about the 'starvation' mode.. but it sure looked like that is what happened. My goal is set to lose 2 pounds a week. I surpassed it those first couple of weeks, and with were I am now, it averages out to be about 2 pounds a week. I still see a lot of up and down.
    So hang in there. It will happen. :-)
    (I try NOT to eat back all the calories I earn through exercise)
  • srslybritt
    srslybritt Posts: 1,618 Member
    It's taken me 3 months to lose 12lbs. I'm honestly impressed. :) Keep at it, make sure you weigh/measure everything, and just stick with it. Your body eventually will adjust and things will start to change.

    Also, buy a tape measure. Don't trust the scale, trust the measurements. If you ask most people around here, they'll tell you the scale is a liar!
  • Mommybug2
    Mommybug2 Posts: 149 Member
    I agree that MFP calorie burns can be greatly overestimated. I do 45-60 minutes on the elliptical at the gym - the elliptical tells me I burn 400-700 calories as does MFP but my HRM is telling me closer to 200-350. I log the lowest number which is from the HRM then I still don't eat back ALL my calories.
    Also if you are going to eat back any calories you want to mark your diary as sedentary - if you set it at active because you workout then MFP is already calculating in your burns and you end up double counting them. At 5'6" With my diary set to sedentary MFP tells me I only need 1700 calories to maintain my weight so cutting down 100 calories a day (1600) would only be 700 calories a week - it would then take 5 weeks to lose 1lb.

    And Yes Log EVERYTHING - EVERYDAY. Small calories add up in a big way, omitting just 50 calories per day would lead to an extra 350 calories per week. Think about this if you are overestimating burn and necessary calories to leave a deficit of only 700 calories a week then underestimating intake by 350 calories a week - your deficit is now only 350 calories a week in which case it would take 10 weeks to lose 1lb.

    If your unsure you should always overestimate intake and underestimate burn.

    Remember before switching up too much give your body a couple of weeks to adjust. Just because you aren't seeing immediate or even weekly results doesn't mean your body isn't changing. I also go a week or so with no apparent loss then suddenly the scale is down 2-4 lbs. So the loss isn't an exact science.
  • DannyPeligro
    DannyPeligro Posts: 10 Member
    do you actually weigh your food????with a scale???

    As well I see a lot of big calorie burns like 1000 where is that coming from??? HRM??? MFP Database?

    And you calorie goal is 1210???? eek how much do you want to lose??? and how fast????

    Hey Stephanie - I'm usually around 1600. When I go to the gym I do 45 mins on the elliptical and an hour of yoga. MFP database calculates the burn.

    I do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a combat sport that is fairly strenuous. I once plugged in an hour of BJJ into my tracker and it gave some ridiculous calorie burn like 1000 cals or something. There is absolutely no way that could be true unless I was fighting for my life with some monster for the whole hour, so I no longer log BJJ sessions.
  • MuseofSong
    MuseofSong Posts: 322 Member
    Started all this on 8-5. Literally dropped 12 lbs in the first 2 weeks - I'm sure a lot of water. Here it is 9-5 and the scale has not moved in over 2 solid weeks. In fact, I go up 1 and down 1 over and over and over. I'm exercising like a lunatic, drinking more than my fair share of water, and making super food choices and staying within the 1260-1600 calorie range. I'm 5'3", 39 and started at 259 lbs. Isn't it supposed to come off easier in the beginning? It used to. I'm not quitting - just ticked. Maybe I need an attitude adjustment. Go ahead, give it to me, I can take it...

    First, I want to say thank you for posting this. I don't think youre a whiny B at all. I feel the same way sometimes. I watch some people, lose so quickly. Like nearly a pound a day for the last month, and I lost like 7 pounds almost immediately and then water weight, wait a few days for that to drift away, then a little loss, little loss, water weight again >_< And more days waiting for that to go away. Little losses and then TOM, bloated ~again~. But, the whole time, staying with the calories goals, (lightly active) TDEE - 20%, logging everything, pre-planning meals, and exercising even when I don't really feel like it.

    I think some of us just lose slower. Even when we have a lot to lose, it doesn't just melt off like it does for some.

    *hugs* Just hang in there and don't give up.
  • JazminGowdy
    JazminGowdy Posts: 31
    You could just be stagnating for a while. That happens a lot. You lose a fair amount of weight and then don't see any changes for a while. I would suggest changing up your workout routines. Even if you are doing more reps, your body can get used to doing certain workouts. Trying a different routine or modifying your existing ones so they are harder might help. It also doesn't hurt to be a little anal about the calories you count. Taking in consideration not just the food, but how it is prepared, what other ingredients are included in your meal, portion size, etc. can make a difference.

    Patience is always helpful, for me at least. Know that you WILL reach your goal eventually; it will just take time. I do mini goals so I keep up my motivation up. Instead of focusing on my ultimate goal of losing 27 pounds, right now I am just working on losing 3. When I reach that goal, I will work on losing another 3, and so on. It is less daunting to focus on losing a minimal amount of weight at a time. Before you know it, all those pounds add up and you've reached your goal!

    Acceptance is another thing that I find helpful. Accept your CURRENT weight, no matter what it is. It is okay to have a goal and work towards it, but if you are just focusing on the size you WANT to be and are lamenting over the size you currently ARE, that could make it easier to become discouraged and lead to you wanting to give up. Nevermind what anyone else says. What you weigh right now IS acceptable. Amazing even. And you will be even more amazing when you when you achieve your goal.
  • ChangingAmanda
    ChangingAmanda Posts: 486 Member
    I'm gong to second several things others have said:
    -make sure you're logging your food every day, even weekends. If you're out and about on weekends, eating things you didn't prepare, look through the database and make the best possible guess. Mom & Pop restaurants usually don't have nutritional information but you could pull something from a chain that's similar. Yeah, not as accurate, but it'll be better than making something up or not logging.

    -I think you need to up your calories. I started with similar stats: 5'4", 249, 34 yo and found that netting 1200-1300 was too low,and this was before I started exercising heavily. I upped my calories by netting 1600 per day. I do a combo of -20% and eating back exercise calories. I used the BMR calculator at fat2fitradio.com and found my TDEE for sedentary. I took 20% from that and add back my exercise calories based on my HRM. For me this is the best because my exercise burn ranges from 250-450 depnding on the workout and there are weeks where I dont get my normal 5 days in.

    -Make sure you're weighing yourself consistantly. Our weight can fluctuate a lot during the day so if you weigh in the AM one week and in the PM the next, any weight loss could be masked by the normal daily fluctuation. For me I weigh Saturday AM after I've woken up, used the toilet and stripped down.

    -The scale can be the devil and sould only be one tool used to judge progress. Also incorporate tape measuring, and overall observations of how you're feeling and how you're clothes are fitting, and changes in pictures. There was one week where I gained over a pound but the jeans that were a touch tight the week before fit perfectly the day I logged my gain. Also, high sodium meals/water rention, your menstrual cycle, when you last ate in relation to when you weigh, will all mask fat loss.

    For any changes you make, give yourself 2-3 weeks to see progress before making other changes. Good luck!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    What you're supposed to do, it's easy

    1) set a reasonable goal, using MFP's 'lose 1lb a week' setting. It's not a race.
    2) log your food
    3) weigh everything before you log it
    4) find a good estimate of your calorie burns. Yoga probably doesn't count at all, elliptical I would get a HRM but if you can't, count 75% of what the machine tells you or something
    5) eat back the calories from exercise that you log.

    This works. The only reason people plateau and don't lose weight is because they don't log properly.

    In your case, your goal is too low, you're not logging your food, it's just not going to work.
  • kristy_n0831
    kristy_n0831 Posts: 108 Member
    took a look at your diary, on the days that you log, your sodium is always very very high. Sodium makes human body contain water, so it might be water weight you are holding? Just a personal input.

    ^This.
  • nilbogger
    nilbogger Posts: 870 Member
    It could be as simply as getting a funky reading on your scale in those first two weeks.
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    There is no way 45 minutes of elliptical and 45 minutes of yoga is burning 1000 calories.

    It takes me 2 1/2 hours of HARD bike riding to hit over 700
  • justanotherloser007
    justanotherloser007 Posts: 578 Member
    I had some similar type issues 5'4 at the time 277 lbs. I went to my Dr. because I am on prednisone (which is a true weight killer). He told me 50% carbs 50% protein and 1200 calories a day. This is not something I would have done on my own (1200 calories sounds anorexic to me; I was just trying to lose a pound or less a week). Worked like a charm, I have no idea if it was the 50-50 or the 1200. But I will see him in three months, he is a general practitioner who usually just tracks my thyroid, allergies, and hives.

    It might be worthwhile to get the whole picture health checkup and see what your Dr. has to say. Good luck and good times to you my friend. Also, PMS and Sharkweek I get fluctuations - so that can kinda make it hard to track as well.
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
    lolwut?

    Which part would you like clarification on?


    It's too much of a broscience ****storm to even begin!
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
    What exercise are you doing to burn 750-1000 cals??? For me that is 1.5-2 hrs of continuous running 9-10 min/mile pace. I'm thinking you are overestimating exercise burns and eating too much of it back.

    45 mins of elliptical and 60 mins yoga. MFP gives me the calories.

    It's very likely that MFP is overestimating your calorie burns. For a 45-minute elliptical exercise to burn about 480 calories you need to move pretty vigorously. I'd say don't eat back more than three quarters of your exercise calories if you use MFP calculation.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
    You know what else I love about the TDEE method...I don't have to worry about how many calories burned. I log it on here so I can track my exercise but I log it as 1 calorie.
  • emjean76
    emjean76 Posts: 116 Member
    Persistence pays off! Keep at it and the scale will catch up. Actually, disregard that scale and start taking your measurements. Take a picture today and another one 30 days from now and then compare them. Even though the scale might not be budging, are your clothes fitting better, does your body feel tighter? Sounds like you are doing all the right things, so just keep on truckin'!
  • EsqDreams
    EsqDreams Posts: 8 Member
    I saw that another person posted a comment about your sodium intake. My body hates sodium and sugar and I have to exclude both to see any weight loss. I also ride my bicycle for fitness. If I allow myself a treat of a couple of cookies at any one time during a week, my weight loss for that week will be either the same or I will gain weight. My body is fighting me to stay fat!! Seriously. I also had to stop taking a prescription contraceptive.

    I hope this helps.
  • emirror
    emirror Posts: 842 Member
    lolwut?

    Which part would you like clarification on?


    It's too much of a broscience ****storm to even begin!

    LOL! No, it's not. It is a bit over-simplified in the carb, protein, fat paragraph. Go google some medical journals and inform yourself.
  • egh1974
    egh1974 Posts: 147
    lolwut?

    Which part would you like clarification on?


    It's too much of a broscience ****storm to even begin!

    Don't be a poopie-head! :huh:
  • suziepoo1984
    suziepoo1984 Posts: 915 Member
    Weight loss does not always go as your predict/plan. It is sometimes a mystery. But keep doing everything right and you should see results, unless there is some other problem.
    Taking my example, i was stuck at the same weight up and down for around 1.5-2 months. Went off to vacation and ate a lot of yummy junk food and came back and weighed the same (after water weight loss) after that. LOL

    So keep doing what you are doing, eat well..Track calories burnt using HRM and eat it back if you are using MFP method(maybe 70% of it if you are not too sure). Include all kind of food in your diet, concentrate on macros(i am too bad in this, i know i should improve here).

    Good luck
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    I think some of you are right though. I actually may not be eating enough, which is so hard for me to wrap my head around. I think for the next week I'll try the TDEE - 20% thing. I used this website to come up with that. Is this a pretty good one?

    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
    I would not eat more. Some will disagree, but when you are inconsistent in logging I'm guessing you are eating more than you think, especially on weekends, and this is why your loss has stalled.

    Technically the TDEE - 20% would be basically the same as the MFP approach with eating back exercise calories to lose 1 lb a week. It's not really eating more food, it just takes the highs and lows out of the eating back exercise calories thing since they're already figured in.
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
    When the only response someone can give to a well-written and comprehensive suggestion is "lolwut," you can probably safely ignore anything else they have to say on the topic.
  • MsWallwoman
    MsWallwoman Posts: 161
    Hi,

    I agree with watching our sodium intake. This is something that often gets over looked but can make a big difference. :wink:

    You said you weight your food and are good about tracking everything. So great job on that. :drinker:
    How's your water intake? Are you drinking lots of water daily?

    One thing I really recommend is a heat rate monitor. I find the the app is super great, but not at estimating my burned cals. Since you are being so great at logging your foods, maybe invest in a heart rate monitor. This will insure your burned cals are as accurate as possible. :glasses:

    I also agree with a lot of comments to not be too stressed or focused on weight as it does fluctuate a lot depending on a great number of factors. For me, I like to track my body measurements and use Body TrackIt to do that. It helps me track my inches, BMI, body weight, body fat, companies pictures, it's motivating and fun. Maybe look into something like that. :smile:

    Either way, whatever you do, hang in there. Getting healthy, dropping weight, sculpting your body and life... it's a lifestyle change. these changes it take time, patience and dedication. It looks like you are on the right track, so keep going, think positive and you will succeed. :flowerforyou:

    Good luck and best wishes on this great journey you are on. :flowerforyou:
  • MsWallwoman
    MsWallwoman Posts: 161
    Don't be a poopie-head! :huh:
    [/quote]

    Lol. Good for you! Lol.
  • Isakizza
    Isakizza Posts: 754 Member
    First off, I personally would eat at least 300 more calories than what you stated, especially since you workout.

    I'm 5'3 and 184 now, I eat anywhere between 1700-1900 every single day and still lose. Also... you can for sure give yourself more time. Be patient & Be consistent.

    I spent 4 months at a stall, but didn't give up. Now losing again and super happy.
    Just make some adjustments and hang in there.
    :wink:

    21525558.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • egh1974
    egh1974 Posts: 147
    When the only response someone can give to a well-written and comprehensive suggestion is "lolwut," you can probably safely ignore anything else they have to say on the topic.

    Indeed
  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member
    Started all this on 8-5. Literally dropped 12 lbs in the first 2 weeks - I'm sure a lot of water. Here it is 9-5 and the scale has not moved in over 2 solid weeks. In fact, I go up 1 and down 1 over and over and over. I'm exercising like a lunatic, drinking more than my fair share of water, and making super food choices and staying within the 1260-1600 calorie range. I'm 5'3", 39 and started at 259 lbs. Isn't it supposed to come off easier in the beginning? It used to. I'm not quitting - just ticked. Maybe I need an attitude adjustment. Go ahead, give it to me, I can take it...

    This is why you're not losing
    > http://youtu.be/JVjWPclrWVY


    Period.


    .
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
    lolwut?

    Which part would you like clarification on?


    It's too much of a broscience ****storm to even begin!

    LOL! No, it's not. It is a bit over-simplified in the carb, protein, fat paragraph. Go google some medical journals and inform yourself.

    Stop counting the yoga. MFP really over-estimates those calories. Track that you went by giving yourself, say 10 minutes in the log.

    Go ahead and count your elliptical, but use the heart rate monitor on it to tell you what your calories are. I stay on until it says I have burned 300 calories according to the built-in monitor, and then log it as 30 minutes (MFP says that is 300 calories worth).

    I also suggest cutting down on the sodium. I try to stay well below my suggested amount. Every once in a while I want some pickles, but I stay away from foods like that on a daily basis. Mrs. Dash makes some great, salt-free seasonings. Also, lemons can trick the tongue into thinking you've salted something. Instead of sprinkling salt on with a shaker, put the salt in your hand first and physically pinch out a bit at a time onto your food. Once you are used to not eating as much salt, you will become more sensitive to the taste of it. Since I have been low-sodium for a while now, it burns my tongue when there is a lot of salt in something. Anyway, it will help you with water weight, too.

    Add more water. Just an extra glass or two. If I'm not getting up at least once in the night to go to the restroom, I know I am not drinking enough. Water is needed to help flush out the byproducts of the body using fat.

    BigCed had a great idea of bumping up the protein. Try fish, it'll really keep you full.

    If you want to eat back your calories, I would add in some heavy weight lifting to your routine. Fat doesn't need fat to maintain itself, it needs food (protein and carbohydrates). Muscle needs fat, protein, and carbohydrates to maintain itself. So, when you do exercise, and are eating at a calorie deficiency, you are making your body use up the food you have eaten that day, and then it starts using up fat. It uses carbs first, then protein, then fat. If you eat back calories used in cardio, this is going to decrease the amount of fat your body can use in the day (because it wants to use the food first). Now, if you build muscle too, the body uses food for the cardio, the weight lifting, and maintaining the muscle. Once it runs out of food, it starts burning fat. The more muscle you have, the more food and fat the body needs to maintain that muscle. So, adding more muscle is going to speed up the weight loss. Do keep in mind that while you will visually shrink when weight lifting, the scale will move more slowly (muscle has greater density per pound than fat; think of the size of a 1-pound block of lead vs. a 1-pound block of feathers - the feather block will be a lot larger, but both weigh the same).

    Not oversimplified. It's just that you read some articles, didn't understand the details, and gave this garbled mess as a result. It's full of non-sequitur and untruth. Sorry to be harsh, but some details are worth getting right. It's a deficit, not a deficiency, and fat stores get used up whenever you burn more energy than you take in. Period.

    Please explain to me why you think protein and carbs are food, but fat is not? Food is the material you eat when you eat. Inside of food you will find your macronutrients, which are fat, protein, and carbs, and you micronutrients. Some are essential. Incidentally, carbs are not essential, but fat is.

    And sodium, I'm sorry, does not make a lick of a difference to your body composition. Going too low on sodium is not a good idea, and in any case it's only relevant to someone who needs to get their body weight down for some reason, not someone hoping to stop being fat. It's also just not true from a culinary perspective that you can substitute lemon (sour) for salt. As a foodie, I think that part offended me the most, although using Mrs. Dash for anything is a close second.

    Further, drinking so much water that you interrupt your sleep is not going to help your weight loss. Good sleeping habits will help you recover from workouts though. That includes not overdoing the water.

    Which brings me to water - if you actually READ any science on that, you would know that drinking when you are thirsty is just fine. The oft repeated 8-10 glasses a day actually has no basis in research whatsoever.
  • egh1974
    egh1974 Posts: 147
    Started all this on 8-5. Literally dropped 12 lbs in the first 2 weeks - I'm sure a lot of water. Here it is 9-5 and the scale has not moved in over 2 solid weeks. In fact, I go up 1 and down 1 over and over and over. I'm exercising like a lunatic, drinking more than my fair share of water, and making super food choices and staying within the 1260-1600 calorie range. I'm 5'3", 39 and started at 259 lbs. Isn't it supposed to come off easier in the beginning? It used to. I'm not quitting - just ticked. Maybe I need an attitude adjustment. Go ahead, give it to me, I can take it...

    This is why you're not losing
    > http://youtu.be/JVjWPclrWVY


    Period.


    .

    That is fantastic! Thanks!

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