This is what I never wanted

hi

Good luck sweetie...there is a LOT of info on the forums so have a good read...if you open your food diary then people can help you adjust your macros (protein, carbs etc)

MFP does work and helps promote a healthy life not a restricted diet.

martyx

Hi, I used to go to S/W too and did very well for a time, but since counting cals with MFP and watching my macros I came to realise that in fact S/W isn't really a healthy way to lose weight! It promotes over eating in a big way with all its 'free food' and some of those free foods can contain a lot of salt, and when you consume too much salt it causes water retention there fore you gain weight one week and then maybe lose some the next. I also found a lot of processed foods that it claims are 'free' contain lots of sugar or salt. To be honest I am baffled as to how anyone ever really lose weight on it at all. Give this a try and hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised and you may also have your eyes opened to S/W as I have. Best of luck..if you need a friend for help and support feel free to add me. :-)

OP, you may not be eating enough to fuel your workouts.

Want some tips?

Here ya go.

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
Take the tips, links, and info above and make the cart more manageable to stay on.

I never wanted to count calories either. I would just eat less and exercise. Well, after that not panning out so well for me over the years, I found this website. Decided I would try. First try, I got tired of counting calories. Why did weight watchers give you all fruits and veggies free, but not MFP? I eat a lot of those and hated that it took away from the other foods I could eat. So I stopped doing MFP.
Fast forward, I decided that I had to do something serious if I wanted to be healthier, lose weight, and ease my arthritic joints. So, got back on MFP. I have not been doing it that long this time, but realized it opened my eyes to what I was eating, how much I was eating. I am logging everything, and am finding myself making better choices so I can eat more and not feel hungry.
It keeps me honest. I love it, it's easy, and there is so much support and information on here that I never feel like I am doing this alone.
Good luck and don't give up!
Feel free to add me if you need the support

I did Weight Watchers for years. I also always told myself that counting calories was something I never wanted to do. I thought people who counted calories were the type who are scared of an apple.

I quit WW and meanwhile I've been on MFP for over 2 months. I'm counting calories. It's not about eating as little as possible. It's about eating the max amount of calories for your body and STILL lose weight!

It pays off to figure out your TDEE (search the forums for specific info) which is the amount of calories your body needs to maintain. There are calculators for this as a starting point. You eat a little below your TDEE (-10% to -20%) and you'll lose weight. I found that I'm eating much more than I did on WW.

OP, you may not be eating enough to fuel your workouts.

Want some tips?

Here ya go.

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
Take the tips, links, and info above and make the cart more manageable to stay on.

Everything this guy said... Just look at his ticker!

^ I agree with that fantastic long post up there.

And I especially want to emphasize the bit about finding what works for you. People can recommend you eat x calories, x grams of this, x cups of that. But you won't know what works for you until you've been at this for a while. It took me months to get into the swing of things, and I still have my off days. Just stay positive, reward yourself for every tiny success (even just recognizing you can climb the stairs without breathing heavily, run an extra 30 seconds and tighten your belt a bit more is a reward in itself), and don't give up on yourself. Remind yourself why you want this.

Good luck, and have fun! Exercise and eating right shouldn't be dreaded!

OP, you may not be eating enough to fuel your workouts.

Want some tips?

Here ya go.

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
Take the tips, links, and info above and make the cart more manageable to stay on.

Trogalicious speaks sense, the only thing I would add to everything everyone has said is remember to drink plenty of water, not exercise drinks, unless you are an elite athlete you don't need what they supply.

When you think you fell hungry have a glass of water unless you tummy rumbles you are not really hungry, read the link below, I thought it made sense!

http://www.menshealth.co.uk/lose-weight/motivation/are-you-ireallyi-hungry-492862?click=main_sr

Good luck, its a mind field of what you should and shouldn't do, just make your self happy, and enjoy what ever you do, otherwise what is the point.

I just don't know where I'm going wrong. I've had people say I'm exercising too much, must be putting on muscle. People saying I'm eating too little. I don't know but I'm fed up.

Yes, it is possible to exercise too much.

Yes, it is possible that your weight gains are actually muscle.

Yes, it is possible that you aren't eating enough.

You might want to be looking more at Body Fat % than pure body weight too.

I think you might find "In Place Of A Road Map" very helpful: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

Welcome to MFP glad to have you here... best of success! You can do it!

Are you counting calories? And if so, are you weighing your food?

The 2224 calories you said was your maintenace level (your TDEE) so you need to knock 15-20% off that to find how many calories you need to eat. If you eat 2224 calories you will not lose. So that would be 1780 for 20% or 1891 calories for 15%.

Good luck