just started and really struggling~someone please help

armmh · January 2014

So I started with the new year and at first tried the cabbage soup diet. Since I thought that was gross I went back to what I *know* is right~eat less and exercise more.

The last time I really lost weight was 9 years ago after a pregnancy, using WW

I am 45 and for as long as I can remember I was 145 pounds give or take a pound or two. In Oct 2011-Feb 2012 I was sick and on a soft food, liqued diet and went to 133#. When I got better in Feb I couldnt wait to eat everything I hadnt eaten in 5 months so of course I went right back to 145. Then in Sep of 2012 I hit menopause, my cycles stopped and I instantly gained 10#, so sat at 155 untl now. (Just wanted to give some back story)

So I have been doing MFP since Jan 2 and have worked out more than I ever have in my life, with circuit training every other day and cardio or Jillian 30 day shred on others. For some unknown reason I did not record a starting weight. But last Friday I was 152.8 (I think I started at 153) then this last Friday I was 152.6!!

The frustrating part is I am logging every. thing. (except gum). I am using fit bit and a HRM for my workouts, but MFP deducts what isnt counted in fitbit so I know I am actually buring a little more than what MFP records. Here are the numbers from my last 2 weeks:
calories in=8298 and 8317
calories out= 13367 and 14207
calorie deficit= 5069 and 5890

and with that I lost 2 ounces....

I am highly motivated right now because I am in a contest but also going on a cruise in April, but I dont know that I can maintain a deficit if I am only seeing changes in OUNCES.

I have read enought that I dont believe in the starvation mode thing, but I did try not working out at all for a couple of days to give my "unfamiliar to exercise" body a rest.

I dont stick to the nutrient part because I dont think I could maintain long term by cutting down my carbs. I would like to stick with "eat whatever in smaller portions as long as it doesnt go over you dailing calories"

I dont know what else to do. I would be happy to open up my diary if anyone can help me. I am really sad and struggling!!

Thanks

Meredith0710 · January 2014

Im really new. But my advice would be to give it another week.

Did you say how tall you are? From what I've read on here, sometimes shorter girls lose weight slower.

It sounds like you are doing the right things! Keep it up and you are sure to see results!

If you are exercising a lot, you could have some water weight masking your fat loss too.

djxil · January 2014

Since you sound like you are doing all the right things, I will say this, when you are close to your goal weight, it seems to get more difficult to lose the weight to get there. I started really heavy and had the weight to give up, I should be 180 but started at 258.

Here is what I did...

I gave up fast food and candy, day 0. I gave up energy drinks and soda by the third day - ohh the comedown sucked, the headaches were killer. I lost a lot of weight that first week.

I started exercising a little in the second week and have worked up to a 12 minute mile over my 2 months here.

Logging has been the key to my success, it made me recognize what I was putting in my body was just not that good. Now, I cook all my meals from scratch and avoid processed foods when I can. I drink a ton of water a day too.

I don't have any advice for why your journey has been so difficult so far but I am happy to help you in any way I can, moving forward.

armmh · January 2014

Thanks Meredith, I am 5'5" so not really short

mkteach · January 2014

It sounds like you are trading fat loss for muscle and muscle weighs more so you wouldn't see an actual loss of weight. Try looking at how your clothes fit rather than the number on the scale. Take measurements and see how your body is changing:-)

AmyRhubarb · January 2014

Yes, opening your diary would be helpful.

In the meantime, you've got good tools - My Fitness Pal, a heart rate monitor and a Fitbit - that's good! And sounds like you've got the motivation, and have seen from past experience how the fad diets don't work.

But it's only been a little over two weeks. Your body is adjusting to new exercise and calorie intake, you've got to give it time. Also remember that weight loss isn't linear - you won't always drop a consistent pound a week. Sometimes you'll go up a couple of pounds, or have no change, and suddenly drop 2-3 lbs.

It doesn't sound like you have a lot of weight to lose, so hopefully you didn't set your weekly loss goal to 2lbs a week. If you did, change it to a half or one pound at the most. And make sure you are eating your calories - you've got the Fitbit and the HRM - make sure you're eating the proper amount and not leaving your body with a HUGE calorie deficit - a small deficit is best for fat loss.

And have patience - it will happen, but it takes some time. But it's worth it. You're making changes you can stick with, no temporary diet this time, right? Changing habits, developing a healthy lifestyle that will last, resulting in continuous improvements in your health and fitness from here on out. Hang in there.

Awesomers · January 2014

From the numbers you posted, you're averaging a little less than 1200 calories a day. If you're working out regularly, you might try eating back your calories (or even half your calories). Eating less than 1200 calories is not good for anyone. This is what I used to calculate mine: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

armmh · January 2014

Since you sound like you are doing all the right things, I will say this, when you are close to your goal weight, it seems to get more difficult to lose the weight to get there. I started really heavy and had the weight to give up, I should be 180 but started at 258.

Here is what I did...

I gave up fast food and candy, day 0. I gave up energy drinks and soda by the third day - ohh the comedown sucked, the headaches were killer. I lost a lot of weight that first week.

I started exercising a little in the second week and have worked up to a 12 minute mile over my 2 months here.

Logging has been the key to my success, it made me recognize what I was putting in my body was just not that good. Now, I cook all my meals from scratch and avoid processed foods when I can. I drink a ton of water a day too.

I don't have any advice for why your journey has been so difficult so far but I am happy to help you in any way I can, moving forward.

Thanks! Those are all great things and I know I am doing a lot of the right things
I rarely eat fast food with the exception of pizza. But I just discovered 116 calorie thin crust!! Occasionally I eat a taco at Taco Bell but not much more than that.
I dont drink soda, didnt really even before I started. Not a big candy eater but I struggle with baked goods (donughts, cookies etc) however since Jan 2 I have logged them if I have eaten them. Another down fall for me can be creamer in my coffee. I have limited it to 1 TBS but definitely not as good!

I do eat a lot of processed food. They make life easier after working all day and trying to make dinner, lunches etc for the family. I too have increased my water.

I appreciate any help and accepted your friend request and opened up my diary. So if you see anything glaring let me know

THANK YOU for your support, everyone!

armmh · January 2014

My clothes arent fitting better either......which is why I am struggling so much. I could live with the numbers if I could start to fit back into my clothes

normdot · January 2014

Nutritious foods are the key. Too many carbs, even though you are counting calories are calories that increase your insulin and therefore, increase your appetie. Try dried apples or other fruit. You can use your oven or a hydrator. You need to chew and feel and taste to get the apple into your stomach. You feel as if you are eating something and fruit, veggies and protein tend to reduce belly fat. Be careful about buying dried fruit as it is usually coated in sugar.

armmh · January 2014

From the numbers you posted, you're averaging a little less than 1200 calories a day. If you're working out regularly, you might try eating back your calories (or even half your calories). Eating less than 1200 calories is not good for anyone. This is what I used to calculate mine: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

Yes, that is accurate. I try to get to 1200 but if I dont know ahead of time what I am eating for dinner I try to save them. Then after dinner if I have some left over, I want to eat sweet stuff and know that's not a good way to use them so I choose nothing since Im not really hungry at that point. I did just up it to 1300 but Im not sure that will help me. I guess its going to take some time to get the food routine down.

I have to say, this is the first time ever that I have gone this long without some kind of binge! I had 4 pieces of pizza the other night but they were 116 calories slices and I had the room, I was still under that day I think, if not I was only just over. It's exciting when you discover those finds though

I love pizza!!

Xiaolongbao · January 2014

It might sound scary but have you considered upping your calories?

You're a few inches taller than me and I can easily lose weight if I can stick under 2000 calories as long as I'm exercising a reasonable amount (think half an hour of swimming, half an hour of running) each day. If I dropped down to the levels you're talking about I'd be unbearably grumpy and I suspect my body would freak out and hold onto every ounce.

Xiaolongbao · January 2014

Oops just noticed you said you already upped the calories. I'd go a bit higher and don't be afraid to actually eat them.

Amiwil · January 2014

[Thanks! Those are all great things and I know I am doing a lot of the right things
I rarely eat fast food with the exception of pizza. But I just discovered 116 calorie thin crust!! Occasionally I eat a taco at Taco Bell but not much more than that.
I dont drink soda, didnt really even before I started. Not a big candy eater but I struggle with baked goods (donughts, cookies etc) however since Jan 2 I have logged them if I have eaten them. Another down fall for me can be creamer in my coffee. I have limited it to 1 TBS but definitely not as good!

I do eat a lot of processed food. They make life easier after working all day and trying to make dinner, lunches etc for the family. I too have increased my water.

I appreciate any help and accepted your friend request and opened up my diary. So if you see anything glaring let me know

THANK YOU for your support, everyone!]
[/quote]

I'm sorry you are having a roughy time! Well let's see...Taco Bell is the devil! Did you know that they can't call their beef "meat" due to it being less than 30% beef! What is their beef you ask? It's a filler created in a factory that is soaked in ammonia in order to kill the deadly and rare strain of E. Coli the cows create. Why do the cows they use create a deadly strain of E. Coli you ask? Because cows aren't meant to be fed a corn diet, they're meant to eat grass.

Watch the movie Food Inc. if you want to know about the toxic foods you're putting into you and your kids. One woman lost her healthy 2 year old boy to a fast food chain burger, in 12 days! He died! My daughter is 2. I immediately went upstairs and through all of that crap out and have since been only shopping at whole foods and preparing all of my meals.

So watch the movie, and try to find some better alternatives to your craving for a taco. Also, try your best to adhere to the goals MFP dictates for a couple of weeks. All you can do is try. See how it works!

ottersmommie · January 2014

Yes, that is accurate. I try to get to 1200 but if I dont know ahead of time what I am eating for dinner I try to save them. Then after dinner if I have some left over, I want to eat sweet stuff and know that's not a good way to use them so I choose nothing since Im not really hungry at that point. I did just up it to 1300 but Im not sure that will help me. I guess its going to take some time to get the food routine down.

I am also recently starting over...but something that helped with my sweet tooth for after dinner was substituting. I keep chocolate rice cakes, caramel corn rice cakes, and dole fruit dippers that are in the freezer (they have chocolate covered strawberries or banana slices). That way I get my "sweet", don't restrict myself, and don't go on a binge. BTW: know the pain for cutting back on coffee creamer...1 TBS is just not the same. lol

LovingLifeInCalifornia · January 2014

There are controversial topics that get discussed here on MFP...and here's one of them...

Your body needs more nutrients/food.

Some will say calories in/calories out - doesn't matter what you eat. And that may be true in the beginning, but once you get toward the last 10-15 lbs, it's that much harder to lose it.

THere's also the theory that if you don't eat enough and work out too hard, you are actually starving your body, so it keeps as much as the weight on as possible....

What I have found (at least for me) is that body responds best when I start eating more healthy foods (vegetables, fruits). When I first started on MFP, I didn't change any of my food immediately, I just worked out like crazy. I lost 25 lbs. in 6 months. Toward the end, the progess was slower and only got better when I started eating more "real" foods and less packaged foods. I lost an additional 10 (total 35 lbs). Once I started slacking (and eating cookies, bars, etc. again), the 10 came back on.

So, I'm back here and trying to take the 10 back off...

QuietBloom · January 2014

So I started with the new year and at first tried the cabbage soup diet. Since I thought that was gross I went back to what I *know* is right~eat less and exercise more.

The last time I really lost weight was 9 years ago after a pregnancy, using WW

I am 45 and for as long as I can remember I was 145 pounds give or take a pound or two. In Oct 2011-Feb 2012 I was sick and on a soft food, liqued diet and went to 133#. When I got better in Feb I couldnt wait to eat everything I hadnt eaten in 5 months so of course I went right back to 145. Then in Sep of 2012 I hit menopause, my cycles stopped and I instantly gained 10#, so sat at 155 untl now. (Just wanted to give some back story)

So I have been doing MFP since Jan 2 and have worked out more than I ever have in my life, with circuit training every other day and cardio or Jillian 30 day shred on others. For some unknown reason I did not record a starting weight. But last Friday I was 152.8 (I think I started at 153) then this last Friday I was 152.6!!

The frustrating part is I am logging every. thing. (except gum). I am using fit bit and a HRM for my workouts, but MFP deducts what isnt counted in fitbit so I know I am actually buring a little more than what MFP records. Here are the numbers from my last 2 weeks:
calories in=8298 and 8317
calories out= 13367 and 14207
calorie deficit= 5069 and 5890

and with that I lost 2 ounces....

I am highly motivated right now because I am in a contest but also going on a cruise in April, but I dont know that I can maintain a deficit if I am only seeing changes in OUNCES.

I have read enought that I dont believe in the starvation mode thing, but I did try not working out at all for a couple of days to give my "unfamiliar to exercise" body a rest.

I dont stick to the nutrient part because I dont think I could maintain long term by cutting down my carbs. I would like to stick with "eat whatever in smaller portions as long as it doesnt go over you dailing calories"

I dont know what else to do. I would be happy to open up my diary if anyone can help me. I am really sad and struggling!!

Thanks

Your calories out look extremely high. Are you sure you are not double logging them (i.e. entering them in MFP in ADDITION to getting them from the FitBit?)

armmh · January 2014

Your calories out look extremely high. Are you sure you are not double logging them (i.e. entering them in MFP in ADDITION to getting them from the FitBit?)

No, I am not sure. My fitbit syncs with MFP so when I log my HRM # in, MFP usually deducts 200-300 in accordance with Fitbit, that is the number I am using. So if I just go through fitbit, those are the "calories burned" numbers.
Am I doing it wrong??

My fitbit calories burned for last week were: 1999, 2184, 2660, 1636, 1734, 1903, 2091= 14207 for the week
I took 3 days off from working out but I had 2 days where I hit 10,000 steps
PLEASE let me know if this is inaccurate!!

ETA: actually I just looked again and yes, I inaccurately logged them by 347 so a total of 13,863 last week according to fitbit

I do wonder if my "resting" rate is right since it calculates it based on my age. Most 45 year old women are not in menopause. I wonder if it would be lower taking menopause into consideration.

970Mikaela1 · January 2014

Are you weighing and measuring your intake?

armmh · January 2014

Are you weighing and measuring your intake?

Yep

I know its not the best but most of my food is packaged so its easier. When it isn't, yes I weigh and measure.

jcorpern · January 2014

It sounds like you are trading fat loss for muscle and muscle weighs more so you wouldn't see an actual loss of weight. Try looking at how your clothes fit rather than the number on the scale. Take measurements and see how your body is changing:-)

Not true. You can not add lean muscle mass at anywhere near the rate that you can lose fat. 0.25 pound/week would be a super gain of muscle, but is not going to happen whilst you're eating at a deficit. This is not the reason that the scales aren't moving.

970Mikaela1 · January 2014

Are you weighing and measuring your intake?

Yep
I know its not the best but most of my food is packaged so its easier. When it isn't, yes I weigh and measure.

According to your ticker you are trying to lose 6 lbs? Those will be the slowest ones. Patience and accuracy will be your best friend. With only 1300 I would be sure to eat most of my exercise calories back.

Mr_Knight · January 2014

calories in=8298 and 8317
calories out= 13367 and 14207
calorie deficit= 5069 and 5890

and with that I lost 2 ounces....

It can often take 3-4 weeks for the numbers to start piling up. The thing is, your scale is only going to be accurate to ~5%, which is +/- 3 pounds at your weight. Between that and natural fluctuations in water retention, its difficult to know exactly what is happening on a short time frame like 2 weeks.

What we do know is that if you maintain your 1200 cal/day intake, you will lose weight, guaranteed. You're on the right track, just need to stick with it.

jcorpern · January 2014

calories in=8298 and 8317
calories out= 13367 and 14207
calorie deficit= 5069 and 5890

and with that I lost 2 ounces....

It can often take 3-4 weeks for the numbers to start piling up. The thing is, your scale is only going to be accurate to ~5%, which is +/- 3 pounds at your weight. Between that and natural fluctuations in water retention, its difficult to know exactly what is happening on a short time frame like 2 weeks.

What we do know is that if you maintain your 1200 cal/day intake, you will lose weight, guaranteed. You're on the right track, just need to stick with it.

This

If you've just started that fitness routine, it's very likely that you're retaining water. The body does that to help enable muscle repair when we start any new activity that breaks muscle down. As you are accurately logging your calories and your activity, you WILL see a weight loss if you continue at a deficit.

I'd warn against the temptation to eat more to weigh less. Many people will try to tell you that the body will go into "starvation mode" and hoard calories and prevent weight loss if you aren't eating enough. Try out this article:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/761810-the-starvation-mode-myth-again

Increasing your calories will only make it more unlikely for you to lose weight.

Keep up the good work and good luck!

Xiaolongbao · January 2014

Also just be aware that calories on packaged food can be significantly lower than is actually in the packet. There's lots of information about it if you google. Here's one article to get you started...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/health/12calo.html?_r=0

Xiaolongbao · January 2014

This

If you've just started that fitness routine, it's very likely that you're retaining water. The body does that to help enable muscle repair when we start any new activity that breaks muscle down. As you are accurately logging your calories and your activity, you WILL see a weight loss if you continue at a deficit.

I'd warn against the temptation to eat more to weigh less. Many people will try to tell you that the body will go into "starvation mode" and hoard calories and prevent weight loss if you aren't eating enough. Try out this article:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/761810-the-starvation-mode-myth-again

Increasing your calories will only make it more unlikely for you to lose weight.

Keep up the good work and good luck!

We'll agree to disagree. My recommendation to try eating more has nothing to do with "starvation mode" I just think that when my body is "happier" it does a better job of losing weight. Maybe I just subconsciously move more. Maybe I fixate on food less and eat less than I think. I just know that, like many on this site, I upped my calorie allowance by a few hundred calories and saw a corresponding loss in weight.

You can't know for sure that she'll lose weight at 1200 calories and I can't know for sure that upping her calories will work but there's no harm in experimenting, especially since she's got such a small amount to lose.

Mr_Knight · January 2014

My recommendation to try eating more...

If the OP was looking to put more weight on, the advice would be "try eating more".

Since the OP is looking to drop weight, the same advice cannot hold.

You can't know for sure that she'll lose weight at 1200 calories...

Yeah, we pretty much can.

Put another way - if she can't lose on 1200 calories/day, she for damn sure can't lose on more than 1200 calories/day.

armmh · January 2014

Also just be aware that calories on packaged food can be significantly lower than is actually in the packet. There's lots of information about it if you google. Here's one article to get you started...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/health/12calo.html?_r=0

UGH:sad:

SunofaBeach14 · January 2014

You're logging but are you weighing all of your food?

ETA: Never mind. Asked and answered.

Keep at it, OP, and be patient. You have only been at this a very short time. Watch your weekly weight changes and don't forget that this is a long process. The quick diet ideas have really screwed up peoples' thinking in this area.

armmh · January 2014

You're logging but are you weighing all of your food?

Yes, I weigh/measure/count to be sure I am getting a serving.
12 cheesepuffs

SugarLou57 · January 2014

Increase your green vegetable intake, knock out those baked goods and bread/pasta for a few days see if that doesn't make a difference.

just started and really struggling~someone please help

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