Not losing and even gaining!

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bac219
bac219 Posts: 16 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am sticking to my calorie intake...MFP says to eat 1330 cals to lose 2lbs a week (goal is 70lbs this year) or 1570 cals to lose 1.5lbs/. I have been going no lower and no higher than those two numbers. Lost 3lbs first 10 days. Weighed myself today and I am up 4lbs?????? I know water weight, sodium, time of day, etc...can all factor in but with the decrease in calories I thought the scale would at least maintain NOT go up.

Very discouraged. Other than eating like a rabit or eating nothing but protein all day...I simply can't seem to lose any significant weight.
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Replies

  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    If you aren't losing, you're eating too much. Watch your portions. You may need to invest in a food scale if you aren't losing. "1 sandwich" is not going to give you an accurate calorie count. Maybe add some workouts to increase (or create) your deficit.
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
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    Yep. What she said^.
  • bac219
    bac219 Posts: 16 Member
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    I have been using a scale and scanning bar codes. I thought I was being very thorough. I don't eat anything past 7pm and I walk about 45 minutes 3 days a week.
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
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    I know water weight, sodium, time of day, etc...can all factor in but with the decrease in calories I thought the scale would at least maintain NOT go up.

    All of those factors CAN cause the scale to go up. We all wish the scale would steadily go down. Weight loss would be so much less frustrating.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    I have been using a scale and scanning bar codes. I thought I was being very thorough. I don't eat anything past 7pm and I walk about 45 minutes 3 days a week.

    Well if you truly feel that your logging is accurate, then give it a little more time. It looks like you've only been logging since the 7th.
  • R3dVamp
    R3dVamp Posts: 18
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    I have been using a scale and scanning bar codes. I thought I was being very thorough. I don't eat anything past 7pm and I walk about 45 minutes 3 days a week.

    It sounds like your diet is under control. Perhaps changing one of you walks for some weights one day a week. You don't even need to be a gym member, there are plenty of ideas and suggestions on the internet, some as simple as carrying two full water bottels with walking and swinging your arms with them, or shortening you walk with adding some ankle weights.
    Some sound silly, but I have found including weights one day a week to be more beneficial than endless cardio, which can get pretty boring.
  • betreich
    betreich Posts: 51 Member
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    Had a bit of a look at your food diary, and note you go over your target Kjs more often than not, way over your fat macro (although that seems to be set quite low?) and over on sodium - lots of processed food. A combination of all of this is probably having a negative effect on your efforts, sadly.
  • Zoejohnse91
    Zoejohnse91 Posts: 227 Member
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    Time of the month?

    A whole stone goes on when its my time :/ terrifying and it will only last a few days then slowly back to where I was.

    I only officially weigh every other week to accommodate my T.O.M and my Ovulation.

    4lbs will come back off if your as vigilante as you say you are :)
  • SkaterGirl704
    SkaterGirl704 Posts: 37 Member
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    Drop cardio and do strength training. That is what worked for me. If youu have to do cardio do only 15-20 minutes each.
    Trust me lifting weight really helps, it did for me. Plus side makes you look toned and you burn calories while sitting around. It ups your metabolism. Try cooking more. I found out that when I cooked more at home and not eat boxed, cans, or restaurant foods I saw a difference. I try not to cook with any butter or oils, I also avoid frying of foods.
  • Debbie_Ferr
    Debbie_Ferr Posts: 582 Member
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    Be sure to log everything: all drinks, snacks, desserts, nibbling while cooking dinner for others, etc.
    Even butter/oil when cooking.
    they do add up !
    btw ~ I noticed Sunday you skipped lunch.

    Weigh / measure accurately. Monday's cereal was 1/2 cup. If you're eye-balling/guestimating, you might be off. A 1/2 of a measuring cup of cereal is a pretty small amount.

    Also, fiber is absolutely wonderful ~ it moves things along, and absorbs cholestrol in your food. It helps you feel full/satisfied.

    My suggesion is if not diabetic/pre-diabetic ~ stop tracking sugar.
    And track fiber instead.

    Looks like you've got some good habits. Keep it up & you'll see progress soon enough.

    btw~ One's weight can fluctuate 2-3 pounds during any given day, so don't freak out with the scale.
    Heck, if you just drank a pint of water, it's a pound. And if you haven't peed or pooped much, that could easily be another pound. Add onto that sodium/water retention... well, you get the picture.

    My suggestion is weigh yourself at the same time of day (no clothes).

    And be sure to do measurements, too.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    2 things:

    firstly weight does fluctuates during your monthly cycle. I started weighing myself daily and logging it in an app and it has done wonders for my self-esteem, because I realised that my weight goes up 1-2 lbs during ovulation and 3-4lbs during TOM, but overall I am losing.

    secondly it might be good if you actually start weighing everything, measuring only the liquids to get a better ideas of your calorie intake, double check the entries, itemised logging etc etc
  • bac219
    bac219 Posts: 16 Member
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    Everyone's suggestions have been wonderful. I truly appreciate it. Sadly, I always thought I knew a lot about healthy eating and exercise. I was a healthy weight, even underweight according to some people, most of my adult life. 7 yrs ago I went off birth control and even though my doctors say its not to blame, that's when everything changed for me. I gained 30lbs in 2yrs. 5 more years later and another 45lbs were added. I am now 244lbs when I was 167 before I stopped the pill. My eating habits didn't change much. I don't eat a lot of bad foods (although I could less processed foods). I always exercised (sometimes more, sometimes less but I always get in at least 3 days). But for whatever reason, no matter what, I just have gained and gained these past few years. I tried Medifast in desperation, will NEVER do that again as it is VERY LOW on the calories. Yes, I lost 32lbs but gained it ALL BACK and then some when I stopped.

    I had all the blood work done...I am not pre-diabetic, not PCOS, etc...I set my goals to watch carbs but find it hard to get a lot more protein in. I think carbs may what I need to watch...I set it for 100grams. Maybe I need to do less? but then that kicks up the fat and protein percentages. I get confused as to if I should watch sugars more or fat more. Seems to be varying 'studies' out there.

    I know I am older. I know metabolism changes. I know I was bound to put on a few as time crept along. BUT...to gain as much as I did, WHEN EXERCISING AND WATCHING WHAT I EAT, I couldn't even MAINTAIN my weight. It was and is very confusing to me. After punching in the numbers and seeing I need to do 1320 to lose 2lbs, 1570 to lose 1lb and 1850 to lose 1lb per week...I have set myself to do no less than 1320 and no more than 1570. Do I need to stick to ONE number and stick with it? Meaning always do 1320 OR always do 1570 or can I fluctuate between the two?
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
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    I have been using a scale and scanning bar codes. I thought I was being very thorough. I don't eat anything past 7pm and I walk about 45 minutes 3 days a week.

    Underneath your calorie goal AND doing exercise? You would be losing weight then. Time to get tough I think.
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
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    Do I need to stick to ONE number and stick with it? Meaning always do 1320 OR always do 1570 or can I fluctuate between the two?

    Sticking to one specific number everyday can be pretty tough and not necessary anyway. A range is fine. You could even go up to 1800 once a week for a mental break from dieting and to eat something you might feel is off limits if you're eating 1300-1500 calories.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I am sticking to my calorie intake...MFP says to eat 1330 cals to lose 2lbs a week (goal is 70lbs this year) or 1570 cals to lose 1.5lbs/. I have been going no lower and no higher than those two numbers. Lost 3lbs first 10 days. Weighed myself today and I am up 4lbs?????? I know water weight, sodium, time of day, etc...can all factor in but with the decrease in calories I thought the scale would at least maintain NOT go up.

    Very discouraged. Other than eating like a rabit or eating nothing but protein all day...I simply can't seem to lose any significant weight.

    - You need to make sure you're weighing in on the same day, same time, and roughly the same conditions. It makes a huge difference if you're comparing a weigh in that occurred first thing in the morning to an afternoon weigh in. When you take in food and beverage, those things have weight...if you eat a pound of food, you're going to weigh roughly a pound more on the scale.

    - Water retention can absolutely mask losses. You also have to consider other waste in your system...you may have more or less waste in your system than your last weigh in, etc. Both of these things are huge factors in normal weight fluctuations and can mask any scale loss. When you think about safe weight loss being anywhere from 0.5 to 2 Lbs per week...and daily, natural fluctuations on average being 3-5 Lbs per week...well, you do the math. It's pretty easy to see how those fluctuations can mask fat loss.

    - Remember, this isn't linear...you don't lose exactly X Lbs per week. Your weight loss is a general trend over a much longer period of time. You will have weeks with larger losses, smaller losses, no losses, and even small gains like this due to natural body weight fluctuations. You really have to get your head into the long view...big picture....get out of the minutia of day to day and week to week. This is about months and months and ultimately years, not a handful of days or weeks.

    - make sure you're being as precise as possible with your intake. I highly recommend a foods scale. You don't have to carry it around every where you go, but I would recommend weighing out most things and using measuring cups/spoons for anything else. I would also suggest limiting your dining out while you're trying to lose. In my experience, it is much harder to be accurate when you're dining out a lot.
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
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    I would be careful with the items you are selecting from the database. There are a ton of inaccurate numbers in there. I've even found that when I've done a bar scan it might show up differently than what's printed on the packaging. As tempting as it might be to pick the one that gives us the least amount of calories the inaccuracies can really add up. For this reason I generally eat under my calories for the day to allow some wiggle room. Beware of just selecting generic this or generic that. If you are having a salad that you made then take the time to really measure and log all the ingredients in the salad. Are you using measuring spoons for your butter and salad dressing? I weigh and measure absolutely everything. My family laughs at me because I've started eating things from my measuring cups instead of bowls. :smile:

    We're practically the same age and I'm not on birth control, and haven't been in a very very long time. My weight gain was from over eating/drinking. I'm not a very energetic person so I'm only walking for a 1/2 hour three times a week. I do find that my weight fluctuates through out the month and I really only have one good weigh in a month which ultimately results on average to about 4 lbs. I'm okay with a slow steady loss.

    Good luck and don't give up!
  • theavey421
    theavey421 Posts: 1 Member
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    Can anyone recommend a reliable food scale? i think that will help my weight loss.
  • bac219
    bac219 Posts: 16 Member
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    Thank you again everyone. It is a little frustrating because I feel (other than some processed items) that I am eating within my limit and that my measuring has been pretty accurate. I sometimes even log a higher serving amount if I am not 100% sure. Maybe I need to really focus on carbs and protein. Not sure what to set my fats and sugars at. I know I shouldn't obsess over daily or weekly weigh ins but rather the overall result after consistent weeks and even months but if the scale would budge just a little more it might be more encouraging. Right now, I feel unless I do something like NS or JG (which I don't want to do) I might not have any success.
  • laney4818
    laney4818 Posts: 73 Member
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    Thank you again everyone. It is a little frustrating because I feel (other than some processed items) that I am eating within my limit and that my measuring has been pretty accurate. I sometimes even log a higher serving amount if I am not 100% sure. Maybe I need to really focus on carbs and protein. Not sure what to set my fats and sugars at. I know I shouldn't obsess over daily or weekly weigh ins but rather the overall result after consistent weeks and even months but if the scale would budge just a little more it might be more encouraging. Right now, I feel unless I do something like NS or JG (which I don't want to do) I might not have any success.

    I know exactly how you feel. I get to where I think I can only lose if I do NS or something like that. Deep inside, I know It's really not true!

    I've come to the realization that it's 1) going to come off very slowly, 2) going to show a gain from time to time even when I'm trying to lose, 3) going to take effort to truely count every single little calorie I put in my mouth; and 4) going to take effort to move more!

    Just keep at it. Try not to be so impatient and don't let one or two weigh ins ruin your day or your resolve to keep at it! East healthy foods most of the time.
  • KetosisTina
    KetosisTina Posts: 197 Member
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    Looking at your food diary my biggest suggestion would be to cut the carbs. My husband was 305 and is now 220. He removed sugar and grains from his diet. It was hard at first but now we are very use to eating this way. We do not have to count calories. We eat as much eggs meat and cheese as we like. We eat healthy fats (avocados, coconut oil etc) We do not eat bread, pasta, or sugar. We will have occasional fruit but only berries or citrus. Low carb works. Hubby lost 85 lbs and has kept it off for years.

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