PLEASE HELP I AM STARTING TO FEEL DEFEATED

Hi All and thank you for even reading my post. 58 days ago I began my weight loss journey, 1370 cals a day. I also started going to Zumba, and according to my Nike Fuel band I am burning close to 800 cals a day at Zumba alone. I havent lost anything. My diet is good, low cal, low carb, i put everything into mfp. what am I doing wrong? My diary is open please help!
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Replies

  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    Overestimating your calorie burn.. Unless your Zumba class is 2 hours long, cut that back.. way back.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    If your goal is 1370 and you burn 800 calories, you should be eating 2170 calories total. Your body probably just needs more food.. Also, do you weigh your foods? I do agree with green that your band might be over estimating but I see a lot of days of only 600-800 calories which is a bit worrisome.

    On a side note, i would add a lot more protein.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Hi All and thank you for even reading my post. 58 days ago I began my weight loss journey, 1370 cals a day. I also started going to Zumba, and according to my Nike Fuel band I am burning close to 800 cals a day at Zumba alone. I havent lost anything. My diet is good, low cal, low carb, i put everything into mfp. what am I doing wrong? My diary is open please help!

    I went back one week in your diary and this is what I see...

    Quick add calories..
    Not logging everything or you skip meals.
    You don't use a kitchen scale
    Your calories burned is high...I would have to do 4 hours of circut training to get those burns
    Days under 1200 calories (unless you aren't logging)
    Your goal is 1710 not 1370

    So it's a classic over estimating burns and under estimating calories.

    ETA: I have found days where nothing was logged.
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    i went through about a week's worth of your diary.

    Two thoughts -
    one, you are eating a LOT of prepared/take out/fast food and having a LOT of sodium. that may be impacting your weight loss - you may not be drinking enough, the numbers from the fast food web sites may be inaccurate etc.
    two - you don't seem to be logging consistently. are you eating correctly (enough? not too much?)? are you weighing your foods?
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    Hi All and thank you for even reading my post. 58 days ago I began my weight loss journey, 1370 cals a day. I also started going to Zumba, and according to my Nike Fuel band I am burning close to 800 cals a day at Zumba alone. I havent lost anything. My diet is good, low cal, low carb, i put everything into mfp. what am I doing wrong? My diary is open please help!

    I went back one week in your diary and this is what I see...

    Quick add calories..
    Not logging everything or you skip meals.
    You don't use a kitchen scale
    Your calories burned is high...I would have to do 4 hours of circut training to get those burns
    Days under 1200 calories (unless you aren't logging)
    Your goal is 1710 not 1370

    So it's a classic over estimating burns and under estimating calories.

    This is everything I was about to post as well. You either aren't logging accurately or aren't eating consistently, you don't appear to weigh your food (though that's just an assumption), it looks like you're severely overestimating your burn (I don't burn that much RUNNING for that amount of time), and your calories are well over 1370 most days.

    I am honestly not trying to sound judgmental or harsh, but the first thing you have to do is get honest and consistent about logging what you eat. I'm betting that will pretty much solve your issue right there.
  • elleloch
    elleloch Posts: 739 Member
    If you're doing Zumba and only eating 1370 calories... you need to be eating more food.
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
    Hey Amy,

    It might be an idea to focus on your logging now - log consistently (you have quite a few gaps at the mo) and weigh every little thing you eat instead of using measuring cups/quick added calories.

    Keep going, you'll get there! :smile:
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I also started going to Zumba, and according to my Nike Fuel band I am burning close to 800 cals a day at Zumba alone.

    That is almost certainly not happening, I'm sorry to say. Are you eating back all those reported exercise calories?

    Hang in there, the MFP community will help you get this sorted. :)
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member

    I am honestly not trying to sound judgmental or harsh, but the first thing you have to do is get honest and consistent about logging what you eat. I'm betting that will pretty much solve your issue right there.

    Yes. Honesty and accuracy is the best policy. It's alot of hard work and diligence, but it will pay off in the end.

    As for the Nike Fuelband, I've actually heard it's not very accurate. The way it calculates calorie burn is completely different from a normal HRM. I would highly suggest getting a HRM with a chest strap. I have a Polar FT4 and I love it.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    An HRM will also be highly inaccurate for the OP.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    Suggestions:

    Reach your calorie goal. It has a deficit for loss built in before you add in exercise.

    Weigh your food and measure liquids. Estimating is killer.

    Double check your entries. On Thursday you have listed 2 cups of chinese sesame chicken at 421 calories and only 165 mg of sodium. If it was a Chinese restaurant and not home cooked I'd be shocked if 2 cups is less than 700-800 calories with at least 1,000mg of sodium. Some entries are not correct and if they seem too good to be true a lot of times they are.

    Avoid quick add calories when you can and enter the item yourself.
  • It sounds like you have received a lot of great advice already. Please don't feel defeated. Reevaluate what you are eating and drinking as suggested by others. I also noticed that some days your sodium intake is very high almost double. This causes you to retain water and thus you don't lose weight. Also, if you are logging everything I noticed that you go too long between meals (on some days). This causes your body to go into starvation mode and also causes you to retain weight. Your body doesn't know when it will get food next so doesn't burn fat.

    I started at 303 pounds and have lost 86 pounds in 2 years. I joined a program with Kaiser called Weight Management and they taught me how to eat more balanced meals. This program worked for me personally and I know for everyone there is a different program that works. I eat 6 times a day but smaller meals. I'm never hungry. I am still losing weight and I exercise 5 days a week. I drink a lot of water (nothing else). I prepare my own foods and don't eat fast food. I eat out occassionally and TRY to make healthy choices.

    Good luck. Don't give up. It's worth it.
  • amygoldstein23
    amygoldstein23 Posts: 22 Member
    thanks all for your input. My quick ads for for 100 cal packs which with the diet I am following i am supposed to have 3 a day. The Zumba on mfp says 987 calories, which I also thought was insane, however when I wore my fuel band for just Zumba alone was showing 770-820 during a 6 day period of time. I did in fact go back to change my status on mfp from sedentary to active which increased my caloric intake. I will be sure to log a little bit more accurately, at least I am logging, and at least I am exercising. I am not making excuses, and certainly not lying to myself (thx for the support to the person who said I needed to be more honest).
    RE: Zumba i went and also double checked 60 minutes of even low impact zumba at my weight and the min number on 3 different sites is 765 for 60 minutes.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    An HRM will also be highly inaccurate for the OP.

    Highly inaccurate is an overstatement. Sure a HRM will be just an estimate, but it's much more accurate than the Nike. I've read reviews on it where it was nearly 2x more than a HRM. Just saying.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    As a starting point, divide those numbers by four and use that.

    EDIT: I strongly suggest not changing your settings to "Active". That category isn't defined by how hard it feels you're working, it's defined by how well your body burns calories. You'll have to get reasonably fit first.
  • I think that you're overestimating how many calories you burn in Zumba. Cut that in half (or even less) and I bet you'll see more results.
  • Why do you not eat dinner. You body requires calories to burn fat and if you only eat two meals a day your body metabolism reduces due to lack of fuel. If you eat 1370 of calories per day and are really burning 800 it could be unhealthy. Also you Zumba calories I feel are too high.
  • thanks all for your input. My quick ads for for 100 cal packs which with the diet I am following i am supposed to have 3 a day. The Zumba on mfp says 987 calories, which I also thought was insane, however when I wore my fuel band for just Zumba alone was showing 770-820 during a 6 day period of time. I did in fact go back to change my status on mfp from sedentary to active which increased my caloric intake. I will be sure to log a little bit more accurately, at least I am logging, and at least I am exercising. I am not making excuses, and certainly not lying to myself (thx for the support to the person who said I needed to be more honest).
    RE: Zumba i went and also double checked 60 minutes of even low impact zumba at my weight and the min number on 3 different sites is 765 for 60 minutes.

    Chances are you are NOT considered active. After months of data collection from my three high-tech weight-management tools (fitbit, smart scale, and HRM, all of which I use consistently), I am barely burning at "lightly active" daily rate and that's doing circuit training 6 days a week + walking 3-5 miles a day. I keep mine set to sedentary and just eat back whatever extra calories I burn through exercise.

    EDT to correct typo.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Why do you not eat dinner. You body requires calories to burn fat and if you only eat two meals a day your body metabolism reduces due to lack of fuel. If you eat 1370 of calories per day and are really burning 800 it could be unhealthy. Also you Zumba calories I feel are too high.
    Completely false. Your metabolism does not change if you eat two meals a day instead of 3, that's an old myth. Calories matter, not how many meals you eat.
  • iechick
    iechick Posts: 352 Member
    Why do you not eat dinner. You body requires calories to burn fat and if you only eat two meals a day your body metabolism reduces due to lack of fuel. If you eat 1370 of calories per day and are really burning 800 it could be unhealthy. Also you Zumba calories I feel are too high.

    There's nothing wrong with only eating two meals a day, as long as the right amount of calories are being consumed. Meal frequency is a preference thing and nothing more. Op is not getting in enough calories, so she needs to add more, but she could up the calories in her two meals and be fine, if she prefers eating less meals.
  • silken555
    silken555 Posts: 478 Member
    Why do you not eat dinner. You body requires calories to burn fat and if you only eat two meals a day your body metabolism reduces due to lack of fuel. If you eat 1370 of calories per day and are really burning 800 it could be unhealthy. Also you Zumba calories I feel are too high.

    How many times a day one eats doesn't matter at all so long as they are eating the amount of calories they are supposed to. She could eat once a day and be perfectly fine.
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
    There's another method apart from MFP, Amy, - using TDEE - 20% and that way you don't have to log exercise and you have a constant daily calorie goal. Something to think about anyway.

    You're doing great, stick with!
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Second to Hildy's comment - personally I found the TDEE method much less error prone and the consistency made it easier to live with, without question.

    It's classic YMMV territory, of course, but something worth considering.
  • amygoldstein23
    amygoldstein23 Posts: 22 Member
    I am curious, do any of you who posted re Zumba actually do Zumba?
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
    I tried Zumba for a couple of months - I have some questions:

    a. Why is the room so crowded - how is this conducive to exercise/dance?
    b. Why does everyone else in the room know the steps except me?
    c. Why is the woman on a LOUDSPEAKER? This just raises my stress levels!
  • I do Zumba!! I really think you are overestimating how many calories you burn. I burn between 400-600 in a good class. Plus, look at other message boards about eating your exercise calories, I don't eat any of mine. I see a nutritionist and try to stick with a 1500 calorie target, plus no more than 50g of fat a day.

    Think of food as fuel for your body, I know how difficult Zumba is so you're probably needing more protein and complex carbs. I haven't looked at your diary but fast food is detrimental no matter how well you track it. Look into some healthy meals you can create for your week for easy on the goal meals!!

    Also, I keep my sodium to 1500mg a day and it has helped TREMENDOUSLY!!

    Don't get discouraged, EVERY body is different. Some of these comments have been harsh and that's the last thing you need!! Please feel to add me so we can share tips and diary entries!
  • amygoldstein23
    amygoldstein23 Posts: 22 Member
    Hildy: to answer your ??? Maybe try a new studio. Where I go, the room is large and there are a set amount of people allowed in each class. The dance moves are repetitive, and a good instructor will go over them before and during.. I dont blame you about not wanting to hear anyone over a loud speaker, my instructors are on a stage and not mic'ed. Also my studio (Studio X) is black lit and disco balled. All who are telling me how many calories I am burning are false, may not know all aspects of my work out, considering how much I weigh currently. Tonight I will wear my husbands fidit and post results. As far as fast food goes, i didnt understand what anyone meant, due to the fact that I do not eat fast food, however I do add comparable items available on mfp to give me an idea of say a grilled fish sandwich i make at home. My guilty pleasure is in fact Chinese take out, and thankfully it was come to a considerable halt. in fairness, i posted for positive vibes, we are all here for a reason.. But I will put this out there, until you've done 60 minutes of Zumba high intensity, I wouldn't doubt the caloric loss..
  • Artaxia
    Artaxia Posts: 185
    You're definitely not eating enough, if what you added in your diary is true. Eat more!