3 months, ZERO PROGRESS
Replies
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What kinds of protein are you eating?0
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Thanks, Flax. (I keep reading your name as Flex, hah.) I appreciate all the time you've put in to help here.
I will return to measuring. I can't do anything if my chest strap is lying to me about what I am burning - that is my only way I currently have of knowing if I am burning anything at all or not. I am trying to do things to get my heart rate up and keep it there for periods of time. All I can do is go by what it tells me.
Oh, and the ravioli is a steamer by Lean Cuisine. Not the best choice ever, but it was quick and easy for lunch at work and pretty darn good. Higher in sodium than I would like, but it is what it is.0 -
I try to stick with chicken or fish. I know beef of any kind is higher in calories and fats.0
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And this is helpful, HOW? Seriously, why do people feel the need to do this? I am not pulling numbers out of my butt or lying about what I am doing - I am being 100% honest or I wouldn't have come here with my denial. Please, PLEASE just don't bother if you want to make me feel like an idiot.
I believe that you are being 100% honest, but due to human error, I don't think you are being 100% accurate. Studies show that almost all of us underestimate our intake and portion sizes, and that weight loss is greatly increased by keeping an accurate food log. (I'm not at all trying to be mean to you or accuse you of lying, I promise. I myself pay a lot of attention to my intake and cannot lose weight or even stay at maintenance without logging. It's not a personal failing, 90% of us are like that.)0 -
7. Can you post the sample day? This was yesterday:
Special K - 2/3 cup, 100 calories (this I do measure, with an actual measuring cup, because it's easy to pour)
Coconut milk - 45
20 oz coffee - 6
Hazelnut liquid creamer - 35
Riccota and spinach ravioli and chicken - 244
Chips - 130
Two hamburger patties, homemade, lean - 488
Ketchup - 20
Lettuce - 10
Tomato - 16
Clif bar - 240
Circuit training - 183 (this was pretty darn close to my chest strap, which showed 180)
Water - 12 cups
My suggestions:
1) Ditched processed junk. Special K is chemical junk in a box. It will keep you hungry and fat. If it has ingredients you cannot pronounce or know how it's made - don't eat it! I'm guessing the ravioli is a frozen meal, right? JUNK.
2) Eat whole foods! WHOLE eggs, veggies, meats, fruits (not too much), etc. And ideal breakfast would be 2 eggs scrambled with some roasted vegetables and 2 slices of REAL bacon. It will keep you full and happy for hours and is full of nutrition.
3) Half of your plate should be vegetables! No joke...at least 5 servings per day.
4) Don't use BMR to calculate how much you eat. Go here and calculate your TDEE and pick -15% or -20% and eat that EVERY DAY - even non-workout days.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
5) Try to eat clean for at least 30 days. Your body has had junk in it through boxed meals, bars, fast food, etc. Give it a tried and true 30 days with the stuff above, and you'll see a big difference.
I'm not trying to be mean at all. I want to give you the real world sense of what needs to be done. This low calorie, 1200 per day and junk food that's on TV is garbage and will set you up to fail. You have to ask yourself, do you want to lose for NOW or for LIFE?0 -
I agree with this. I try to go with things that are already measured or are easy to measure (a measuring cup is my friend), but maybe I am missing something. I am ok with going back to measuring. I just don't want this to consume my life.0
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Not to be rude or anything but the further we get into this the more you are divulging information and it's changing from the beginning.
You were asked if you log everything...you said yes...later you said no that you fell off the bandwagon...then you say you do not count your cheat meal.
You need to be honest with yourself in this lifestyle to succeed.
That being said...I recommend that you take a few weeks and just log everything every day to get a serious look at what you really are eating. To include your cheat meal. IMO you cannot discount a meal especially a cheat meal. You can have a cheat meal but you should make up the deficit in another way e.g., during the week...on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, you burn an extra 100 calories, on Wednesday you have your cheat meal....that cheat meal becomes 600 calories over your daily calories....you now have a 200 calorie deficit you need to make up for the remainder of the week...Friday and Sunday you burn an additional 200 calories....calorie deficit gone...you are now even for the week and still working on your overall deficit.
PS...I have never changed any of the foods I eat...just better choices on the portions.0 -
ITS VERY SIMPLE REALLY.
there are 2 options.
1) you are not eating at a deficit, you can say you are, think you are, and believe you are, but your not... you are measuring wrong, or estimating wrong, or forgetting to log things, or logging the wrong things, or lying to yourself when you log. either your eating at a deficit, or your not. thats it.
or
2) somethings wrong with you and you should see a dr. maybe you have a underlying health condition, but thats very rare... chances are, number 1 is correct.0 -
For those eating at TDEE -20%, do you eat that amount of calories even on the days that you are not exercising? For example, I am starting TDEE -20% tomorrow 10/16. Scooby states I should be eating 1571 cal per day. On my non-workout days should I eat at 1200 calories?
No, eat as close to 1571 as you can EVERYDAY, regardless of exercise. What I have found that works is to eat within 50-100 calorie of that, either way, EVERYDAY. Consistancy really pays off.
Thanks for anwering my question! I feel a lot better now about starting this method tomorrow!
This! I even eat at my TDEE on days I don't work out, still losing.0 -
And this is helpful, HOW? Seriously, why do people feel the need to do this? I am not pulling numbers out of my butt or lying about what I am doing - I am being 100% honest or I wouldn't have come here with my denial. Please, PLEASE just don't bother if you want to make me feel like an idiot.
You're not lying and you're not being treated like an idiot. You asked for help or suggestions while giving very limiting information (no food diary to go off of), and you're unhappy with the answers. Human error is a big part of non-weight loss. Take that part out of it, be consistent for a while on your food diary, and see how it works.
In the meantime, instead of focusing on losing weight (since that is frustrating you), set yourself some fitness goals. That way, you will still feel like you are achieving something if you aren't losing weight.0 -
And this is helpful, HOW? Seriously, why do people feel the need to do this? I am not pulling numbers out of my butt or lying about what I am doing - I am being 100% honest or I wouldn't have come here with my denial. Please, PLEASE just don't bother if you want to make me feel like an idiot.
You should be proud that you made the decision to eat better & exercise more. and more importantly, that you're following thru with your decision and you're actually doing it, ie walk the talk. Congrats !!
I hear you. you are frustrated with 3 months of hard work and not much resutls.
I hear you. you are frustrated with our replies.
.... many of us have worked hard and didn't get the results we wanted at first... until we treaked things abit. there's a lot of great people on MFP with much experience.
we seriously want to be supportive, and kind, open-minded. that's why we take time out of our day and read someone else's post and try to give some good info & insight. otherwise we'd be all about ourselves, and not help.
are you open to trying something different & possibly getting better results? let us know.0 -
Thanks for the advice. Like I mentioned before, I WAS clean - 100%. It sucked up so much of my time and showed so little results - plus it was expensive as hell, I am the only one in my house eating like this and so it was like buying groceries twice - I got discouraged. If I had two extra hours in my day and $200 more a paycheck, I could go back to being clean. I'm not trying to make excuses for myself (damn it sounds like I am), but not everyone can go clean. I am trying to do my best with what I have.0
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Not trying to be rude, but OP could you quote the post you are talking about? It is really difficult trying to figure out who/what you are responding to.0
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I think my thread has proved that it DOESN'T work the same for everyone.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but, nope not even a little bit. Yes each person has a metabolic rate that is different than the next persons but the simple fact remains the same! You want to lose weight/inches. Work hard in the gym, HIIT cardio, lift heavy stuff and put it back down and do that over and over and over again, or lift moderately heavy stuff and put it back down a bunch of times with little to no rest between sets and eat in no more than a 500 cal deficit and you will lose weight, put on muscle (which will raise your BMR) and readjust your weight.
I know you want to believe that somehow your body does not work like 100% of the rest of people living and breathing but it is not true! You have to have the mindset that this is it, cheating doesnt help you attain your goals! You have to be on point at all times until you begin to achieve goals that make you know what you are doing is working.
The answer is not difficult, it actually is really easy to drop weight or put on muscle but it takes unbelievably hard work! I was 31% body fat 95 days ago, today I am 18.5% body fat. I work out 6 days a week, I do 20 to 30 minutes of HIIT cardio 6 days a week and do weight/resistance training 6 days a week. On my rest day I walk 2 - 3 miles at a family style pace so I am not leaving my wife and 7 year old in my dust.
Do these things for 4 weeks and reassess the situation. If that isn't working than change to something else, DO NOT under any circumstance wait 3 months to recognize that what you are doing is not working. You will lose interest in it and give up! Reassess and make new goals q30 days.0 -
Thanks, Flax. (I keep reading your name as Flex, hah.) I appreciate all the time you've put in to help here.
I will return to measuring. I can't do anything if my chest strap is lying to me about what I am burning - that is my only way I currently have of knowing if I am burning anything at all or not. I am trying to do things to get my heart rate up and keep it there for periods of time. All I can do is go by what it tells me.
Oh, and the ravioli is a steamer by Lean Cuisine. Not the best choice ever, but it was quick and easy for lunch at work and pretty darn good. Higher in sodium than I would like, but it is what it is.
No problem at all! I know the measuring/logging can be a PITA, so I hope it helps. (The Lean Cuisine answer makes sense.) Don't worry about defending your food choices--you really can eat anything you want as long as it falls within your calorie needs to lose weight. To start, try just focusing on calories and see how you do for a couple of weeks. Once you know if everything is ok with that variable, you can begin focusing on the other things if you like (for good nutrition-protein, healthy fats, fruits and veggies, etc.) Everyone's priorities are slightly different, too. My main priorities are calories, protein, satiety, and healthy fats. Everything else falls where it falls. I am always trying to increase my veggie intake, but this is a perpetual goal. You'll figure out how to approach this in a way that works for you as you go.0 -
Thanks for the advice. Like I mentioned before, I WAS clean - 100%. It sucked up so much of my time and showed so little results - plus it was expensive as hell, I am the only one in my house eating like this and so it was like buying groceries twice - I got discouraged. If I had two extra hours in my day and $200 more a paycheck, I could go back to being clean. I'm not trying to make excuses for myself (damn it sounds like I am), but not everyone can go clean. I am trying to do my best with what I have.
why do you need to eat "clean?" i dont eat clean, many people dont eat clean. to lose fat,. eat at a deficit. for body comp, worry about your macros. very simple, your just not in a deficit.0 -
Why is my reply button not working? I just noticed it hasn't in this entire thread. Sigh.
I DO want help. I wouldn't have come here otherwise. I guess I was hoping for something different than everyone kept saying - eat less, workout more. Really, I am not trying to be in denial about anything. I am doing what is my absolute best, and all it's doing is upsetting me when it isn't working. I'm tired.0 -
I would really appreciate some help, guys. Please read the whole thing first, if you have the time.
I have been on my healthy journey for three months now. I work out at least 5 days a week (sometimes more), lifting weights and doing cardio. I have a calorie tracker similar to the Polar watches that lets me know I am burning at least 300 calories in a half hour.
I eat healthy. I started off clean, but that is ridiculously expensive and time-consuming, so now I do allow some processed food in my diet that is low calorie, low sodium, high protein. I intake 1500 calories currently, over 100 ounces of water a day. Very little sugar, one cheat meal a week. Really, I am doing all the right things here, and I have researched this daily since I began to make sure I was doing what I needed to.
I HAVE ZERO CHANGE. My clothes fit the same, the scale flucuates in a 4-5 pound range and is never, ever consistent.
To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. I don't know what else to do here.
First off congrats to you for wanting to live a healthier lifestyle! I'm sorry you are having such trouble trying to figure this all out. I do not have any advice for you except to keep on keeping on and don't give up. I just started my journey a few weeks ago, lost a few lbs and now Im at a stop with over 80 lbs to lose. I would love to see the positive responses that you get from this but whatever you do, keep yourself and your goals first. Best of luck to you!0 -
Also, FORGET that BS clean stuff!!!!! Fit your intake into your macro account and make it as wholesome as you can.
I hate salad and most veggies, so guess what. I take several different types of complex vitamins daily along with added fiber to make my goals.
I eat asparagus and broccoli but otherwise I really don't like many veg.
You are wasting your time if you think your body gives a ratsA$$ about white rice vs. brown rice, or wheat bread vs. white bread. Just log your stuff and stop when you achieve the max.0 -
7. Can you post the sample day? This was yesterday:
Special K - 2/3 cup, 100 calories (this I do measure, with an actual measuring cup, because it's easy to pour)
Coconut milk - 45
20 oz coffee - 6
Hazelnut liquid creamer - 35
Riccota and spinach ravioli and chicken - 244
Chips - 130
Two hamburger patties, homemade, lean - 488
Ketchup - 20
Lettuce - 10
Tomato - 16
Clif bar - 240
Circuit training - 183 (this was pretty darn close to my chest strap, which showed 180)
Water - 12 cups
My suggestions:
1) Ditched processed junk. Special K is chemical junk in a box. It will keep you hungry and fat. If it has ingredients you cannot pronounce or know how it's made - don't eat it! I'm guessing the ravioli is a frozen meal, right? JUNK.
2) Eat whole foods! WHOLE eggs, veggies, meats, fruits (not too much), etc. And ideal breakfast would be 2 eggs scrambled with some roasted vegetables and 2 slices of REAL bacon. It will keep you full and happy for hours and is full of nutrition.
3) Half of your plate should be vegetables! No joke...at least 5 servings per day.
4) Don't use BMR to calculate how much you eat. Go here and calculate your TDEE and pick -15% or -20% and eat that EVERY DAY - even non-workout days.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
5) Try to eat clean for at least 30 days. Your body has had junk in it through boxed meals, bars, fast food, etc. Give it a tried and true 30 days with the stuff above, and you'll see a big difference.
I'm not trying to be mean at all. I want to give you the real world sense of what needs to be done. This low calorie, 1200 per day and junk food that's on TV is garbage and will set you up to fail. You have to ask yourself, do you want to lose for NOW or for LIFE?
1) No....Calories in vs Calories Out.
2) You can still mis judge portions and over-eat on "whole foods" (see 1)
3) Eh...sure
4) Ya
5) (see 1)0 -
Thanks for the advice. Like I mentioned before, I WAS clean - 100%. It sucked up so much of my time and showed so little results - plus it was expensive as hell, I am the only one in my house eating like this and so it was like buying groceries twice - I got discouraged. If I had two extra hours in my day and $200 more a paycheck, I could go back to being clean. I'm not trying to make excuses for myself (damn it sounds like I am), but not everyone can go clean. I am trying to do my best with what I have.
If you don't pay the $$ to eat clean and get healthy now, then you will just pay it on the back end with Doctor's visits, Medicine, surgeries, etc.
Either way - the money is going somewhere. That's why we see a lot of Type-II diabetics in the U.S. that spend $200 or more a month on medication and buy Value Meals at Mc Donald's. If they didn't eat the MC Donald's, they wouldn't need the medication.0 -
7. Can you post the sample day? This was yesterday:
Special K - 2/3 cup, 100 calories (this I do measure, with an actual measuring cup, because it's easy to pour)
Coconut milk - 45
20 oz coffee - 6
Hazelnut liquid creamer - 35
Riccota and spinach ravioli and chicken - 244
Chips - 130
Two hamburger patties, homemade, lean - 488
Ketchup - 20
Lettuce - 10
Tomato - 16
Clif bar - 240
Circuit training - 183 (this was pretty darn close to my chest strap, which showed 180)
Water - 12 cups
My suggestions:
1) Ditched processed junk. Special K is chemical junk in a box. It will keep you hungry and fat. If it has ingredients you cannot pronounce or know how it's made - don't eat it! I'm guessing the ravioli is a frozen meal, right? JUNK.
2) Eat whole foods! WHOLE eggs, veggies, meats, fruits (not too much), etc. And ideal breakfast would be 2 eggs scrambled with some roasted vegetables and 2 slices of REAL bacon. It will keep you full and happy for hours and is full of nutrition.
3) Half of your plate should be vegetables! No joke...at least 5 servings per day.
4) Don't use BMR to calculate how much you eat. Go here and calculate your TDEE and pick -15% or -20% and eat that EVERY DAY - even non-workout days.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
5) Try to eat clean for at least 30 days. Your body has had junk in it through boxed meals, bars, fast food, etc. Give it a tried and true 30 days with the stuff above, and you'll see a big difference.
I'm not trying to be mean at all. I want to give you the real world sense of what needs to be done. This low calorie, 1200 per day and junk food that's on TV is garbage and will set you up to fail. You have to ask yourself, do you want to lose for NOW or for LIFE?
lawlz. If only you knew how much Chocolate Special K I ate in a day. I should probably be 300 pounds by your standards.0 -
... Special K is chemical junk in a box. It will keep you hungry and fat. If it has ingredients you cannot pronounce or know how it's made - don't eat it! I'm guessing the ravioli is a frozen meal, right? JUNK....
Um. No. The nutritional quality of an individual piece of food doesn't really matter; the nutritional quality of your overall diet does. Special K does not have any magical, evil properties that will keep you "hungry and fat." Neither do frozen meals. If it fits within your calorie and macro/micronutrient goals, enjoy.0 -
No problem at all! I know the measuring/logging can be a PITA, so I hope it helps. (The Lean Cuisine answer makes sense.) Don't worry about defending your food choices--you really can eat anything you want as long as it falls within your calorie needs to lose weight. To start, try just focusing on calories and see how you do for a couple of weeks. Once you know if everything is ok with that variable, you can begin focusing on the other things if you like (for good nutrition-protein, healthy fats, fruits and veggies, etc.) Everyone's priorities are slightly different, too. My main priorities are calories, protein, satiety, and healthy fats. Everything else falls where it falls. I am always trying to increase my veggie intake, but this is a perpetual goal. You'll figure out how to approach this in a way that works for you as you go.
THIS !!
:smooched: :drinker: :flowerforyou: 0 -
I agree with most of the others - you should be losing but that one cheat meal can sabotage your week (especially the french fries - lol). Something has to change whether its bumping up the water or adding more weights or reps or adding more minutes to your walking - just changing one little thing can make a difference. Good luck on your journey 0
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Thanks for the advice. Like I mentioned before, I WAS clean - 100%. It sucked up so much of my time and showed so little results - plus it was expensive as hell, I am the only one in my house eating like this and so it was like buying groceries twice - I got discouraged. If I had two extra hours in my day and $200 more a paycheck, I could go back to being clean. I'm not trying to make excuses for myself (damn it sounds like I am), but not everyone can go clean. I am trying to do my best with what I have.
If you don't pay the $$ to eat clean and get healthy now, then you will just pay it on the back end with Doctor's visits, Medicine, surgeries, etc.
Either way - the money is going somewhere. That's why we see a lot of Type-II diabetics in the U.S. that spend $200 or more a month on medication and buy Value Meals at Mc Donald's. If they didn't eat the MC Donald's, they wouldn't need the medication.
:huh:0 -
1. Do you log every single day, without fail? No. I used to, but fell off that bandwagon. Since my days are pretty much identical during the work week, they are close enough. Mostly I discovered that being OCD about it was making me feel worse.
2. What foods and portions do you eat in your cheat meal? (There is no off limit food, but depending on portions, you could be eliminating deficit.) My cheat meal is almost always a sandwich of some kind and fries. Sometimes I go without the bread just to make it better, but my cheat meal is that for a reason - I don't count calories for it. It's a treat so I don't hate everything else all week. I know I decimate my calories that day in one meal. French fries, chicken sandwich. Favorite is homemade, but sometimes takeout.
3. Are there any foods or liquids you count as "free" and don't account for? (Condiments, liquid calories, fruits or vegetables) No, I even count my coffee and water.
4. Are you preparing your own food or does someone cook for you? Most is done by me, some is done by family when I pick up my son from my dads in the evening. He is taking my needs into consideration, so what he makes is not all that different than what I make.
5. Are you on any medications? No.
6. Do you have any medical conditions? No. Just chub.
7. Can you post the sample day? This was yesterday:
Special K - 2/3 cup, 100 calories (this I do measure, with an actual measuring cup, because it's easy to pour)
Coconut milk - 45
20 oz coffee - 6
Hazelnut liquid creamer - 35
Riccota and spinach ravioli and chicken - 244
Chips - 130
Two hamburger patties, homemade, lean - 488
Ketchup - 20
Lettuce - 10
Tomato - 16
Clif bar - 240
Circuit training - 183 (this was pretty darn close to my chest strap, which showed 180)
Water - 12 cups
Not being able to see you diary, and only a guesstimation, I think that you really need to start measuring your food again, in grams or oz. , not in cups or tablespoons. The reason will be apparent once I illustrate. I love almonds and was measuring it by measuring cup even though the gram amount was listed on the label on the bag. The calorie difference is enormous, almost double my measuring cup. If you are only eyeballing, then you could be eating 200-300 calories more per day than you think.
I see that you listed hamburger patties--are you weighing it before or after cooking--it makes a difference I ate 7.2 oz of hamburger (measured before cooking) yesterday, and it really shrunk after cooking, and it was about 540 cals, not including the bun, which was 140 cals.
If you are eyeballing the amount of chips, you could be way off and that will add up also. If you eyeballed lettuce or broccoli--that would be a different story because there is not many calories there.
Also if you are eating foods with a lot of salt, you will see a lot of water weight.
Hopefully you will open your diary, and we will really be able to help you.0 -
Why is my reply button not working? I just noticed it hasn't in this entire thread. Sigh.
I DO want help. I wouldn't have come here otherwise. I guess I was hoping for something different than everyone kept saying - eat less, workout more. Really, I am not trying to be in denial about anything. I am doing what is my absolute best, and all it's doing is upsetting me when it isn't working. I'm tired.
You have to hit quote, not reply, to include the post you are responding to.0 -
Sorry that it's frustrating at the moment! Plateaus do happen, though three months does seem long. Any change since you got so much interesting advice?0
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Why is my reply button not working? I just noticed it hasn't in this entire thread. Sigh.
I DO want help. I wouldn't have come here otherwise. I guess I was hoping for something different than everyone kept saying - eat less, workout more. Really, I am not trying to be in denial about anything. I am doing what is my absolute best, and all it's doing is upsetting me when it isn't working. I'm tired.
You have to hit quote, not reply, to include the post you are responding to.
...oops. Now I do feel stupid. Thank you.0
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