program not working for me :(

First off, if you think 5lbs is pathetic your mind is not in the right place.
2nd, if you're only eating 1200 calories and working out 5x a week, you are almost certainly not getting enough calories and can actually cause your body to fight the loss and try to store fat. Your are looking for a quick out and that's certainly not the way to do it. If you want to lose and keep it off be patient and make sure you eat enough. Without seeing your weight and height I don't know what your BMI or TDEE are but If you are like most, the 1200 calories diet is not a long term solution. You also need to adjust the macros for carbs/fat/protein and commit to not going over on fat and carbs. You only get out what you put into it.

hey thanks for the support you are awesome and by the way I didn't give up I already lost 130 lbs so in my book I am not a quitter, just looking for support but I guess you never needed it so u don't know how to give it, have a lovely day

:huh: :huh: :huh:

Hi
5lb is a great loss, it took a long time for the weight to go on and its going to take a while to come off. Using MFP is a way of you tracing what you put into your mouth, and what you do to burn off calories. It is a wonderful tool, and people use all sorts of different ways to get healthy / lose weight. Depends what works for you.

Please don't go down the lab band or shakes road - it can be done just by sensible eating and exercise - go and read the success stories. See what worked for them - most ate well and plenty of calories, got some exercise, and took time and perseverance.

I looked at your diary and to be honest it looks pretty damn good! Maybe instead of fat free yoghurt you could try low fat, that will give you some more calories without trying to stuff more food in. A lot of those "low fat" etc type foods are actually loaded with sugar or sodium instead. Read labels!

This is a learning curve and for life, you will learn what suits you, what is better for you, what works, what doesn't.

Make sure you put in all your statistics properly - height, age, current weight, activity level - and good on you getting into exercise, that's great! and aim for a weight loss of say 1 lb a week. Sometimes you will find your fat etc goes over, but whilst you are getting used to this I would worry more about the total calories, and tinker with "macros" once you know more. One thing I watch is sodium - if I have too much my weight shoots up so I have that as one of my tracking things. I guess what you could do is just turn them off and just have calories for a while if the other things bother you?? You can fiddle around and have a lot of fun!

Maybe check out these threads, these have a lot of information and it can be overwhelming, but try and get your head around it.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy

Good luck!

All of this! I workout 5-7 days a week, so I took the average of my TDEE from moderate and heavy activity, and subtracted 10% (I only have another 12 to lose - at 80 lbs to go you can try to safely cut 15-20%). I'm at 1950 cals/day. It was a very surprising number for me, but it's working! Best of luck!!!

You may be eating too few calories especially if you are gong to the gym. Also ensure you are eating enough protein and enough complex carbs. When I was on WW, I went 1 1/2 years only losing a few lbs. Since being on MFP and tracking my protein and carbs, I have lost 8 lbs. I would try changing up your calories and your protein and carbs before going back to WW.

Okay thanks I was eating more protein until I came on this program in fact I removed the protein off my menu because I was eating too little amount in the beginning had horrible headache for 14 days, but was trying to follow this to a tee. Okay maybe I will keep trying this because I really do like it and don't want to give it up I'm just so discouraged. And this is the first time in my life that I actually exercised I lost alot of weight without it but now I really like going to the gym. Okay I will give it more time and I will eat more protein Thanks

So MFP isn't a program so much as a tool. There are a lot of people here who utilize this tool in very different ways and have success. Some are strictly counting calories. Some are IIFYM. Some are clean eaters. Some are here to gain or maintain, rather than lose. But there are some guiding principals as to how your body deals with fuel and it's usage and MFP is a good way to track how you're doing in relation to those things. There is a lot of good advice in this thread, so I hope you give it a chance before you move on for the wrong reasons.

I personally am primarily tracking calories, but am moving toward more and more of an IIFYM approach. I also eat much healthier than I used to. Although I am by NO means a "clean" eater, I do appreciate the benefits of a bigger variety of nutrient-dence, calorie-moderate foods. My goals are to lose weight and be healthier. I've just BARELY started to incorporate some strength training in addition to walking and just moving more. I've lost 45 pounds since June. Another part of my "program" (if I have one) is that I refuse to beat myself up (I've done plenty of that over my weight - not going to do it over weight loss too). However, I am open to education and to making adjustments.

I did WW once (the only time I ever tried to lose weight up until now). I thought it was a generally good, well-balanced program, but this works better for my lifestyle. Totally a personal thing. I also like seeing the mechanics of the calorie use, etc, myself rather than having it calculated for me - I just feel like it's more sustainable for me. But the most important thing I learned there (other that the obvious portion control) was to "eat my points." If I went slightly over on occasion or ate some of my bonus points, I would still lose, but slower. If I went significantly under, I usually didn't lose. There was definitely a sweet spot.

That principal applies here as well. The calories assigned to you based on your goals do not include workout calories burned, but only represent the fuel your body needs to function at your normal activity level, but with enough of a deficit to lose at a safe, effective rate. You should be eating as close to that goal as you can. Eat your calories...fuel your body.

The workouts that you're doing are logged separately and you should consider eating back a portion of those calories as well. I like to leave some for cushion in case I've missed something or in case the calories burned aren't calculated exactly correctly, but don't be afraid to take back in some of what you've used up so that your net calories aren't too low.

I would definitely eat more lean protein. The recommended amount for protein is a minimum. Especially with the exercise you're doing (good job!), protein is your friend. Protein, fat, and fiber are also going to keep you the most satisfied.

I personally like to bulk up my food volume with lots of veggies and other calorie-moderate foods so I can work in plenty of those satisfying proteins and fats and fiber and still be able to eat a lot, with room for pizza and whiskey when I choose. But that's maybe just me.

It isn't ideal in the big picture to go over on your carbs and fats, but as long as you are still eating at a moderate deficit, it's not going to keep you from losing weight. You'll get better at dialing that in as you go along if that's what you choose to do.

You can also, as some have suggested, look up your own TDEE and set you own calorie goal and/or even macros to custom levels (as opposed to the default MFP goals). I would, however, make sure I was educating myself about what specific personal circumstances might warrant changes, rather than just choosing arbitrary or comfort-zone levels. For myself, the assigned goals are working well, so I haven't felt the need to do anything different. My TDEE-% is actually a little higher, but I'm losing well and feeling good, so I'm okay with that for now.

The slight gain you saw over this week may be water and glucose retention given that your workout routine is new and you're using different muscles; could be hormone fluctuation. These things will level back out. I had a bigger gain than that over the past ten days or so (hormonal) and then ended up losing well over the normal weekly amount (4.6 pounds under where I started in under two weeks). You just have to stick it out and make sure you're logging accurately. It'll come.

I think you said you're measuring food. You might consider weighing, as it's more accurate. Can't wait til I'm back to work so I can get a digital scale myself. For the time being, I actually under-measure just a tiny bit on calorie-dense foods, just to be safe.

You have made tremendous progress to this point! There is bound to be a learning curve when you move into something new - you are experiencing that now. It is also to be expected that your weight loss will slow as you approach your goal. It is not sustainable or recommended (even by Weight Watchers) to lose a regular four or five pounds per week. Your goal should be to get healthier and develop a long-term, sustainable lifestyle change - not to see a specific number on a specific date.

You may see as you continue to work out that you don't lose pounds as quickly but your clothes start to fit differently. You may notice that you can move easier, lift more, walk further, eat more easily within your goals, understand more, even on weeks when the scale doesn't show a great loss. You may notice that you legitimately crave beets instead of a cheeseburger - oh, no, wait! That was me, sorry!

The thing is, all of these are also markers that you are moving closer to being not only slimmer, but healthier. Embrace them, too. Keep up your steadfastness, be open to learning, and make adjustments as you need to - it's part of the process, no matter what "program" you're on. The scale is not your only (or even your greatest) indicator of success; nor, certainly, is the calendar....they are just other, rather limited tools. Use them and appreciate them as such, but don't miss this opportunity to transition into something bigger.

~~~~ From Mrsfowler1069~~~~~

The thing is, all of these are also markers that you are moving closer to being not only slimmer, but healthier. Embrace them, too. Keep up your steadfastness, be open to learning, and make adjustments as you need to - it's part of the process, no matter what "program" you're on. The scale is not your only (or even your greatest) indicator of success; nor, certainly, is the calendar....they are just other, rather limited tools. Use them and appreciate them as such, but don't miss this opportunity to transition into something bigger.

^^^ This is wonderful, positive, and constructive. ....

I am constantly amazed at the people here on MFP who will go out of their way to help!

~~~~ From Mrsfowler1069~~~~~

The thing is, all of these are also markers that you are moving closer to being not only slimmer, but healthier. Embrace them, too. Keep up your steadfastness, be open to learning, and make adjustments as you need to - it's part of the process, no matter what "program" you're on. The scale is not your only (or even your greatest) indicator of success; nor, certainly, is the calendar....they are just other, rather limited tools. Use them and appreciate them as such, but don't miss this opportunity to transition into something bigger.

^^^ This is wonderful, positive, and constructive. ....

I am constantly amazed at the people here on MFP who will go out of their way to help!

Well, that was just a nice thing to say. Thanks.

don't forget that going to gym 5 plus times a week actually puts on muscle size which weighs more!! I would be tempted to go by the tape measure and not the scales for a while you will be surprised of the transformation of body shape etc.. don't give up it WILL happen ... good luck and keep yer chin up xx...............carbs and protein should be eaten together as one works with the other to make it more beneficial hope this helps .......

Muscle does not weigh more. And fat would need to be lost while muscle being gained for that to show up on the scale anyway.

Bump

Okay Thanks but why did MFP give me a 1200 cal diet to follow now I know why I had a headache for a week when I first started I was just following what the numbers said. If I only lose a 1 lb a week it will take me forever to lose 80 lbs uuggh there has to be a faster way, my co worker went on a crash diet didn't eat and only lived on protein shakes and she def didn't get 1200 cal a day and she never exercised she is now too thin lost 40 lbs in about 2 months now she starved herself so how is it different with me we are the same age.

Did you tell the MFP that you were sedentary? And are you short? If so you'd be set to 1200 but you can change that as already suggested, TDEE -20% works for a lot of people on this site.

You need all macros to be fit and healthy protein, fats, and carbs. Stick to the complex carbs, limit the simple carbs.
Your diary kinda shows you all over the place, under 1200, over for several days. Find out what works with your body. As I have gotten older, I can't handle as many carbs, I need more healthy fats and protein to lose. I was a vegetarian in my younger life but no more.

You have been doing good, congrats on the 120 already removed. And stick to your current plan, and lose the other 80 lbs. because even if you get surgery, they have you eat less and exercise, which is exactly what you are doing here only it doesn't cost as much as the surgery does and remember surgery is not always effective. I have friends who did great after surgery and some who have failed miserably, in fact one person gained even more weight. And even lapband surgery has issues. getting the lapband adjusted and if you don't eat exactly right you will be throwing up with those.

Really your name is "naturallyme36" and you want someone you do not really know well to go to a surgery when she is trying her best to do this naturally?
Please do not take this advice from this person. She sounds very angry and confused.:huh:

I lost a vast majority of my weight before finding this tool. I feel better since I started here. There is one thing I was not willing to give up unless I absolutely had to. Coffee with sugar. I changed to fat free half and half, but could not deal with other sweeteners. I find I am happier with MFP when I plan instead of reactively using the tool. If there is something I want to eat, that I use to eat frequently, I put it in MFP the night before, or that morning, and plan around it so that I don't find out at 2 in the afternoon that I can have celery sticks for the rest of the day. When I started, I tried watching everything, and was miserable. This tool gives options of many good (vitamins, minerals) to track, and bad (calories, carbs, fats, etc.), pick one or two, and stay with those. I chose calories. The others will stay paralleled with that, although I don't feel that I need to stay under on every option.

don't forget that going to gym 5 plus times a week actually puts on muscle size which weighs more!! I would be tempted to go by the tape measure and not the scales for a while you will be surprised of the transformation of body shape etc.. don't give up it WILL happen ... good luck and keep yer chin up xx...............carbs and protein should be eaten together as one works with the other to make it more beneficial hope this helps .......

You cant put on muscle mass if you're under eating on your daily allowance