Dieting/Exercising and Putting ON Weight

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  • LouiseTaylor__
    LouiseTaylor__ Posts: 14 Member
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    I do weigh and measure it's just I don't put it into My Fitness Pal as I only very very recently came back here
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    Thanks for the advice guys I really do appreciate it, but I really don't think my calorie intake is the problem. I haven't been logging in my diary on here as I haven't used my fitness pal for a while, but in general this is what I eat on a daily basis, hope it helps:
    I will agree that if you just began a new challenging exercise program, you may gain a few pounds at the start...but that will level off, so, if your weight continues to rise...then you're eating too much. Period.

    If you are not weighing/measuring and logging, then no one will be able to give you proper advice. Most people vastly underestimate when guessing their portion size. I mean, one serving of cheese is the size of 3 dice?!?! In the past I'd have eaten at least double that and thought it was one serving. The difference is 100 cals vs 200 cals and those kinds of things really add up.

    Yep...
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    Completely understand where you guys are coming from about counting calories BUT I basically eat the same, or very similar things everyday and I used to count them all the time for months on end so I know I'm not going over and basically know the calories in everything I'm eating. I'd say I eat a maximum of 1500 calories a day and I burn off at least 320 on the running machine.

    To answer some of your questions:
    - Always use skimmed milk
    - Slim fast shakes are 230 calories
    - Medium sliced wholegrain bread (but if I'm honest hardly eat bread anyway, tend to go for salads or slimfast, if I buy a sandwich I tend to go for wraps as these usually have less calories)
    - Nope I don't add a load of mayonnaise or lards of butter to anything, promise! - Sometime I might add a cheese slice or something but again, nothing overly unhealthy

    The weirdest thing is about a year ago I had pretty much exactly the same diet and was constantly losing the weight. My diet changed when I went to university which is when I put on weight (about 7lbs altogether), I think the main culprit for this was large portion sizes in catered accommodation (impossible to count calories) and the amount of alcohol I drank as a student, although I did still exercise daily.

    Now I'm BACK to being healthy and the old diet isn't working in the same way even though I know it used to (of course it's only been 2 weeks, just really surprised I've gained)

    You should be adding good fats. Instead of promising you aren't adding them, promise you will start to add them for the sake of your health. Full fat milk and yoghurt. EVOO on your salads. Avo or butter on your sandwiches. A handful of nuts. Eggs. Fattier meats/fish. You need it.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    Completely understand where you guys are coming from about counting calories BUT I basically eat the same, or very similar things everyday and I used to count them all the time for months on end so I know I'm not going over and basically know the calories in everything I'm eating. I'd say I eat a maximum of 1500 calories a day and I burn off at least 320 on the running machine.
    Most people who stop measuring/weighing experience "portion creep". We think we know what the right portion looks like, so we begin to eyeball it. But after a while, if you don't confirm the actual size of your portion...it gets a little more....and a little more....and a little more. We don't notice it because it looks kinda the same size as last time...but in reality, we're eating a larger portion than we think.
  • maegmez
    maegmez Posts: 341 Member
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    I agree that you need to weigh and track everything you eat. You can say it's the same but it could weigh more or you can easily mis guess the weights. Also, if you are trying to keep your cals at 1500, I wouldn't have a shake, it's better to eat your calories.

    You are probably holding water. Check your salt intake. Also, that time of the month and/or ovulation times can cause you to retain water.

    After running, are your legs sore? If so, you need a rest day. As mentioned above, when you work your muscles, they retain water and depending how hard you ran, it may take a few days to repair. I speak from experience, I run too.
  • LouiseTaylor__
    LouiseTaylor__ Posts: 14 Member
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    Okay listened to everything you've said and will take everything into account :) better start taking my calorie counting seriously!

    However, one BIG problem.

    I'm going back to university in 2 weeks and I'm in CATERED accommodation meaning it's IMPOSSIBLE for me to know the calories in what I'm eating. I'm only catered for dinner so I can still weigh everything at breakfast/lunch and know the calories in my snacks, but any advice for the evening? The food is fine, it tends to be some sort of protein, carbs, veg and salad but what I find is that they cover a lot in unnecessary sauces and portions are definitely bigger than average - what do I do?!
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    Thanks for the advice guys I really do appreciate it, but I really don't think my calorie intake is the problem. I haven't been logging in my diary on here as I haven't used my fitness pal for a while, but in general this is what I eat on a daily basis, hope it helps:

    Breakfast: 30g bowl of cereal, usually cornflakes

    Snacks throughout the day: 1 Banana, either an apple or kiwi fruit, wholegrain cracker with low fat hummus, sometimes a low fat yoghurt in the evening

    Lunch: Either 1 piece of bread (open sandwich) with tomatoes, salad OR Slimfast shake OR Salad OR Bought sandwich but ALWAYS check all the traffic lights are green (not sure if you have the traffic light system in America but it shows that every part of the food is healthy e.g. low fat/salt/carb etc)

    Dinner: Nothing particularly interesting just the same sort of thing everyone eats! Some sort of protein e.g. meat/fish, veg, salad, some sort of carb. Nothing particularly unhealthy that is recommended to avoid and not huge portions

    Drinks: Lots of green tea!

    There is your problem, start logging your food and get a digital food scale and weigh everything.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Thanks for the advice guys I really do appreciate it, but I really don't think my calorie intake is the problem. I haven't been logging in my diary on here as I haven't used my fitness pal for a while, but in general this is what I eat on a daily basis, hope it helps:

    Breakfast: 30g bowl of cereal, usually cornflakes

    Snacks throughout the day: 1 Banana, either an apple or kiwi fruit, wholegrain cracker with low fat hummus, sometimes a low fat yoghurt in the evening

    Lunch: Either 1 piece of bread (open sandwich) with tomatoes, salad OR Slimfast shake OR Salad OR Bought sandwich but ALWAYS check all the traffic lights are green (not sure if you have the traffic light system in America but it shows that every part of the food is healthy e.g. low fat/salt/carb etc)

    Dinner: Nothing particularly interesting just the same sort of thing everyone eats! Some sort of protein e.g. meat/fish, veg, salad, some sort of carb. Nothing particularly unhealthy that is recommended to avoid and not huge portions

    Drinks: Lots of green tea!

    I'm starving. Where's the food?!? Protein and fat seem extremely low, if not non existent. You need plenty of both!
    What? That's a perfectly healthy way of eating.

    OP - I would suggest you log, you will be surprised at how the calories can add up. Also, time of the month?

    And buy a food scale. The one that struck me was the hummus. Can be VERY calorie dense.

    There is no replacement for accurate logging. I was dismayed by how many calories I was eating in salad every night (most of the calories were coming from the dressing).
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
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    this link should help you clear up any barriers to measuring a great deal of the food in the catered environment.

    http://bit.ly/Kq3VCo
  • LouiseTaylor__
    LouiseTaylor__ Posts: 14 Member
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    this link should help you clear up any barriers to measuring a great deal of the food in the catered environment.

    http://bit.ly/Kq3VCo

    It's not self-served, you're served by someone else in a queue of people, kind of like in school.
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
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    this link should help you clear up any barriers to measuring a great deal of the food in the catered environment.

    http://bit.ly/Kq3VCo

    It's not self-served, you're served by someone else in a queue of people, kind of like in school.

    you'll have to get crazy strategic then. maybe ask for ingredient lists, or for all you know they may even have ready made calorie estimates AND macros. then you just use your nifty scale to correct their portions.
  • glreim21
    glreim21 Posts: 206 Member
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    Ask the cooks/chefs, they should be able to provide you with a nutritional breakdown.
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
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    Completely understand where you guys are coming from about counting calories BUT I basically eat the same, or very similar things everyday and I used to count them all the time for months on end so I know I'm not going over and basically know the calories in everything I'm eating. I'd say I eat a maximum of 1500 calories a day and I burn off at least 320 on the running machine.

    To answer some of your questions:
    - Always use skimmed milk
    - Slim fast shakes are 230 calories
    - Medium sliced wholegrain bread (but if I'm honest hardly eat bread anyway, tend to go for salads or slimfast, if I buy a sandwich I tend to go for wraps as these usually have less calories)
    - Nope I don't add a load of mayonnaise or lards of butter to anything, promise! - Sometime I might add a cheese slice or something but again, nothing overly unhealthy

    The weirdest thing is about a year ago I had pretty much exactly the same diet and was constantly losing the weight. My diet changed when I went to university which is when I put on weight (about 7lbs altogether), I think the main culprit for this was large portion sizes in catered accommodation (impossible to count calories) and the amount of alcohol I drank as a student, although I did still exercise daily.

    Now I'm BACK to being healthy and the old diet isn't working in the same way even though I know it used to (of course it's only been 2 weeks, just really surprised I've gained)

    Until you're accurately measuring out portion sizes and keeping an accurate food diary then you do not in fact know how many calories you're consuming. Keep a food diary for a couple weeks and then you'll have something to go off of. Also, you can gain weight eating 'healthy' foods, if you're over on calories. One slice of cheese is 80+ calories. I can easily make a 500 calorie salad. My bowl of oats can easily hit 500+ calories depending how many almonds and raisins I add. Keeping a food diary is really the first place to start.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    Ask the cooks/chefs, they should be able to provide you with a nutritional breakdown.
    I don't know about where the OP is, but in the US I think it's actually required that school cafeterias be able to provide nutritional info. Also, they may have lower calorie, or "without sauce" or other options on the menu for people with medical issues. (Ie: diabetics may need lower carb options) it's worth checking into for sure.

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