Frustrated!!

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tracikinder
tracikinder Posts: 4
in Motivation and Support
II have been on MFP for 30 days and i haven't lost a pound. Instead i have gained! I been exercising 3 - 5 times a week and eating 1200-1400 cals. I sometimes eat the calories that MFP gives me back for exercise and sometimes i don't i have been drinking 8-12 cups of water a day. I am getting very frustrated!!
Please help! Thanks!

Replies

  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    Can you give us a few more details?

    Height, starting weight, current weight, goal weight, exercise routine, any medical conditions? Oh, and if you make your diary public that would help us give bertter advcice too!
  • tracikinder
    tracikinder Posts: 4
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    II am 44years old, i am 5'4". starting weight 170.4. Now I am 171.7 pounds, goal weight is 135-140 pounds. I have been on MFP for 0ver a year now. I started at 187 pounds and i lost 30 pounds. I fell off the wagon and put some weight back on. So this time around i am exercising, which i was not doing it before. I either go on the elliptical for 33 min or do jillian michaels 30 day shred. No health issues.
  • refinedredbird
    refinedredbird Posts: 209 Member
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    I can't see your diary to know what you are eating exactly, but if you are exercising as much as you say, 1200-1400 calories is too low. 1,200 calories is the minimum you should be eating, but if you are burning calories, you need to eat those calories burned back. Also, it may seem like 30 days is a long time to be working on your new lifestyle, but I know from experience I was a little unsure in the beginning too and my body was not losing. It just takes patience. Consider the fact that you are gaining muscle (especially with Jillian workouts), you may be retaining water and you might be losing inches on your body that will not show on the scale.

    Just keep going, eat lots of protein. Do strength training and stay patient. Make sure you are accounting for ALL food you intake during the day at correct measurements and hide the scale for a while.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    I'm not too familiar with some of the foods you're eating - what is caramel corn and why are you eating 4 cups of it a day?
  • jenmdalton
    jenmdalton Posts: 4
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    No judgment, but since you asked... I checked out the last few days of your diary and it seems like you are eating 3-4 times the amount of sugar per day than the recommended amount. Also, you have quite a bit of snacks and meals that seem to be pre-packaged. Try switching out some of these snacks for fresh vegetables and fruits. Also, focus on lean proteins. I think this might help you with your frustrations. Trust me, I used to feel the same way as you but once I took a look at what I was ACTUALLY eating, I found the problems and fixed them. Now I'm down almost 30 lbs and it seems second nature to avoid the foods that I was making a regular part of my diet. Good luck!
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,306 Member
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    it could be taking you body time to get with the program...just stick with it.. take the advice given.. eat more whole foods and raw vegetables..and eat back your exercise caloires... I bet you see a drop in two weeks.
  • tracikinder
    tracikinder Posts: 4
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    Thanks for the addvice! I won' t give up and i willl try to make some changes!
  • cgpaulhus
    cgpaulhus Posts: 1
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    I agree with one of the other girls: I think one of the problems is you're not eating enough, as odd as that sounds. The amount of exercise combined with a low-calorie diet can sometimes work against you -- you're burning muscle, not fat. That, plus the high amount of sugar AND sodium that's in all those pre-packaged meals could be making you bloated and the sugar ultimately turns into carbs. Definitely try some fresh, homemade meals, cut back on the amount of fat, sugar and sodium and you'll probably see a difference within a few weeks. The other tip I would recommend, in light of the fact you've been at this for a while without any results: Get a BodyBugg by BodyMedia. If you're a 24Hour Fitness member you can get one at a discount (you can also look on eBay). This is a fantastic tool for weight loss! I've owned one since 2009, bought a new one in Jan of this year since my older one was getting quirky. It's an arm band that calculates how many calories you're burning so you know how many calories to eat to lose weight; you need to have a daily deficit between 500 -1000 calories to lose weight; the closer to 1000, the faster you'll shed pounds -- it's pure science. But if you have a daily deficit over 1000 calories, you won't burn fat, which is what it sounds like you're doing. I bought the BodyBugg after having surgery and needed to fit into my wedding gown; lost 13 lbs in four weeks, exercising and eating healthier foods and following the BodyBugg. After the birth of both children, I also put the BB back on, took me 5 weeks each time to get back to my pre-baby weight/body (I gained between 23-27 lbs with each pregnancy). If you can afford the BodyBugg, it is incredibly useful -- takes the guesswork out of dieting. And, you can pair your MyFitnessPal to your BodyMedia account so it's very easy to monitor what you're eating once you link the two apps. :)
    http://www.bodymedia.com/ (I don't work for the brand, I'm just a very satisfied customer!)
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
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    i think you are eating more than you think. if you are at a deficit, you will lose.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    Over the past week of food that you have entered I see the following:

    01/10
    Quick Added Calories, 80 calories
    Quick Added Calories, 90 calories
    Quick Added Calories, 150 calories
    02/10
    Quick Added Calories, 70 calories
    Quick Added Calories, 80 calories
    Quick Added Calories, 150 calories
    03/10
    Quick Added Calories, 70 calories
    05/10
    Homemade - Doughnut With Cinnamon and Sugar, 1 doughnut
    (where is this from, is this your recipe? how big? that's a very little calories for a cinnamon sugar doughnut unless it was very tiny)
    07/10
    Generic - Fried Egg - Over Easy/medium/hard, 1 egg (How big? what's it fried in? that count is off)

    There are no weights at all in your diary so I assume you do not weigh portions. Between this and the 'quick add' I am going to bet that you are eating much more than you think. MFP notoriously overestimates exercise calories burned also. Between these 2 things I will bet that you are not actually eating at a deficit.

    You need to get a scale and start weighing things, I'd also suggest trying to move away from 4 cups of caramel corn a day to something more filling and food like.. I'd suggest more protein. Either way you need to be a little more accurate with your intake.
  • LishieFruit89
    LishieFruit89 Posts: 1,956 Member
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    The whole/real foods you eat - like broccoli, apples, chicken, etc, have multiple entries in the database.
    Pick the ones WITHOUT the stars as that info have be added by MFP from the USDA nutritional database and is actually correct.

    So "Fruit - Apple, 150g" should be "Apples - raw, skin on, 150g".
    Same with eggs, if you eat a fried egg, enter the RAW egg plus whatever you fried it in. It'll be far more accurate.

    And your snacks remind me of what my 6 yr old cousin eats...
    I'm not anti-candy and jazz but real/whole food needs to make up the bulk of what you eat and then one treat a day - not 5
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
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    Like others have said, what you eat is important (I know other threads say otherwise). However, the weeks I eat fairly clean - chicken, salads, veggies and some fruits I seem to go down, the weeks I'm eating more pre packaged foods, or eat out the scale seems to tilt up. -And this is with working out 6 days a week and staying under my calories. -So, yes, it does matter what you eat.

    Also, think about switching up your workouts and possibly pushing harder (if possible). For me, I notice bigger changes happening when I'm pushing until I'm out of breath or muscles feeling fatigued.
  • Sarag78
    Sarag78 Posts: 84 Member
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    I am so glad you posted this! I am in your boat with you. I have (for the past 6 weeks) been working out in a bootcamp setting, as well as cardio 4-5 days a week. In addition, I have cut out all "white" foods (breads, pastas, rices, potatoes, etc) as well as limiting my added sugars to 10 g per serving. I have been drinking 12-15 cups of water a day as well as staying at a NET cal intake of 1230 cals. The first two weeks i saw an impressive 7 lb loss on the scale. After that...NOTHING! In fact the day after my bootcamp workouts the scale is up 2-3 lbs, then take all week just to get back down to where I started the week before. This has been consistent for the last 4 weeks. Start out on Monday weigh in, Tuesday am up 2-3 lbs, fluxuate around W-SU and by Monday am right back to where I started the previous Monday! I have no explainations. But, after 4 weeks of this push and pull to get NOWHERE is making me crazy! I was so frustrated at the end of last week, that this week has not started out great at all. I haven't gone to the gym at all, and have gotten really lax on my eating. I'm starting to feel like what's the point. Not giving up, but if anyone has any advice, I would be grateful!
  • Alisontheice
    Alisontheice Posts: 9,624 Member
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    I know when I first started I was always over on sugars and your diary looks similar. Once I was able to start getting that category under my goal I found the weight started melting away. So I would say try to limit your sugars. Probably been said already but just wanted you to know similar had happened to me.

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