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  • Anthem76
    Anthem76 Posts: 81 Member
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    Solutions:
    1) get the food scale...I paid about $10 at amazon.com
    2) weigh and record everything
    3)Limit restaurant eating. I always eat too many calories when I eat out
    4)if you do eat out, plan ahead what you will eat. Check out menus online and plan exactly what you will order.
    5)At the restaurant, speak up about your needs. No dressing, switch out a cream sauce for marinara, etc, say no to the chips at a Mexican restaurant, etc. Split an entree. Eat half on Saturday and half on Sunday. Add a salad or light soup.
    6)Get in some type of movement every single day.
    7) Rent exercise DVDs for free at the library!
    8)Sign up for a class...cheaper than a gym membership...plus I find that when I shell out the bucks to do something, it makes me more accountable about going. Ask around, there are classes at churches, schools, community centers. Some provide childcare. This is no joke, my local public library has a FREE weekly yoga class.
    9)Grab a friend and go play tennis or basketball at a local public school or park. It doesn't matter if you suck-it's fun. How old is your daughter? If she's little, bring a playpen and some toys. If she's older, she can bring toys or her bike.
    10) Go for a walk. If little, put daughter in stroller. If older, walk with your daughter. Use this time to talk about her day. Or just observe nature together.
    11)Poor-man's stairmaster = STAIRS! Climb as many as you can. The next day, climb more!

    Birth Control increases the appetite in some women, which may cause you to eat more than you realize.
  • Wiseandcurious
    Wiseandcurious Posts: 730 Member
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    don't restrict yourself to the point of failure

    This should be written at the top of the food diary pages with huge bright blinking letters.
  • jstout365
    jstout365 Posts: 1,686 Member
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    PLEASE stop with all the calories in calories out. It just doesn't work that way. Please go grab a copy of the Calorie Myth by

    Jonathan Bailor.

    I know MFP is all about the NUMBER of calorie... but more important is the quality of calories. My husband lost 85 lbs and

    NEVER counted a single calorie not one. Yes he logged his food but more to keep track of macro nutrients. NOT calories.

    Weigh your food. Please. Yeah sure weigh 200 calories of spinach. (that's like 28 cups folks) What is weighing it going to tell

    you?

    I mean your body will not treat 200 calories of donuts the same as 200 calories of spinach. The donuts will spike your blood

    sugar and cause insulin to be released and cause you to be hungry again in just a short time. 200 calories of spinach would not

    do this. Plus I am guessing it would be difficult to finish off 28 cups of spinach.

    So many folks on here say to eat at a deficit to lose weight. It's better to each large quantities of healthier SANE food so

    you don't have room for the bad stuff.

    Yes eating healthier DOES work you just have to know what healthier eating is. Hint, it isn't healthy whole grains.

    Lower the sugar (or things that turn to sugar in your body), more non starchy veggies, more heathy fat (butter, avocados,

    coconut oil) quality protein, grass fed beef, seafood.

    Eat real food and stay away from the processed junk.

    This works people.

    Abs are made in the kitchen, muscle is made during exercise. You need both.

    Check out my hubby's before and after pics on my profile.

    So.....let me get this right. I can eat a whole organic chicken, 4 butternut squash, 2 avocado, 4 ounces of almonds, 20 ounces of grass fed beef, all the veggies I want cooked in coconut oil or any other healthy fat, and 3 packs of sardines and I will STILL lose weight? I'm eating healthy at that point and have no concern for calories so I will lose eating like that.

    Um. NO. No way, no how. That food, as "healthy" as you claim it is still has calories....calories which contribute to the calorie balance. It may have worked for your husband but he was still tracking his macros which will play a mathematical role in eating at a deficit. The calories consumed versus calories out is not a myth. It's not some magical unicorn laying glitter fart bombs around. Eating healthy helps people lose weight because the foods are not as calorie dense as other foods. You can eat twinkies and lose weight as long as you don't eat so many that you eat more calories than you burn. You will feel like crap and probably be hungry, but you will lose.
  • mereditheve
    mereditheve Posts: 142 Member
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    First of all, good for you for being willing to try again!

    I've read the other comments, and I have to add my disclaimer. I have never owned or used a food scale. You don't "need" one in order to lose weight.

    Here are some tips:
    1 - It is difficult to lose weight if you are sedentary. When you are eating less, you may also subconsciously be less active, you may feel cold, you may feel less energetic. You can start small -- walk for 5 minutes every other hour, for example.

    2 - Don't eat at restaurants. Portions are often oversized, and calorie counts can vary significantly depending on how the food is prepared. Eat food you make at home.

    3 - Be patient. Your weight will vary. Sometimes you'll gain weight but lose fat. Sometimes your particular diet doesn't work as well as you'd like. Don't give up.

    4 - Focus on being healthy, first and foremost. Don't become overly focused on weight alone. Even if you don't lose a single pound, eating the right types of food, exercising and getting the rest your body needs will be worth it.

    5 - Decide what your daily calorie limit will be. Stick to it for a few weeks and see if it works. If not, you may need to adjust. There's no "magic constant" number of calories, and it varies from person to person.

    Remember, there is no magic to weight loss. It's work, self-discipline, and patience.
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,124 Member
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    First of all, good for you for being willing to try again!

    I've read the other comments, and I have to add my disclaimer. I have never owned or used a food scale. You don't "need" one in order to lose weight.

    Here are some tips:
    1 - It is difficult to lose weight if you are sedentary. When you are eating less, you may also subconsciously be less active, you may feel cold, you may feel less energetic. You can start small -- walk for 5 minutes every other hour, for example.

    2 - Don't eat at restaurants. Portions are often oversized, and calorie counts can vary significantly depending on how the food is prepared. Eat food you make at home.

    3 - Be patient. Your weight will vary. Sometimes you'll gain weight but lose fat. Sometimes your particular diet doesn't work as well as you'd like. Don't give up.

    4 - Focus on being healthy, first and foremost. Don't become overly focused on weight alone. Even if you don't lose a single pound, eating the right types of food, exercising and getting the rest your body needs will be worth it.

    5 - Decide what your daily calorie limit will be. Stick to it for a few weeks and see if it works. If not, you may need to adjust. There's no "magic constant" number of calories, and it varies from person to person.

    Remember, there is no magic to weight loss. It's work, self-discipline, and patience.

    THANK YOU. Geez. Enough with the "get a scale" mantra. I have known TONS of people that have successfully lost weight without weighing every morsel of food that goes in their mouth. Making yourself SUPER maniacal about what you're putting in your mouth... what you're burning... to the very last calorie is ridiculous and setting yourself up for failure (or a very unpleasant relationship with food). Don't start anything today YOU WON'T DO FOREVER! Are you really going to measure and weigh everything for the rest of your life? Probably not.
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    I think everyone kind of does what works for them. If I have a calorie burn of 200 calories I may not eat them back but if I have a big burn, like 600 calories I might eat back some of them. If I don't I tend to binge the next day because my body is trying to play "catch up" I don't have a problem with leaving 200 calories on the book though as that works for me. For others it may not. Just pay attention to your body. You don't want to starve it of calories so that it starts to store fat (go into starvation mode) so be aware of how you feel. I always have a good high protein snack after a workout and that helps me. (protein bar etc).

    also I think MFP overestimates exercise calories. If you really want an accurate burn you can get a heart rate monitor and wear it. Do be aware though that the more you weigh the more calories you burn for the same amount of exercise.... a 200 lb. person will burn more calories walking 10 minutes than a 125 lb person so what someone else may show as a calorie burn is not accurate for your weight. Don't compare to others but be realistic about how much effort you put out. If you walk slow that is fine, you are walking, just don't claim moderate speed if you aren't doing it.

    Thanks for your response. What you said makes sense about the big burn vs low burn in deciding whether or not to eat back the calories. Will a heart rate monitor tell me how many calories I have burned or just my heart rate and then I need some sort of equation to find how many calories I've burned? I don't think I was really overestimating on my effort. I could feel my heart pumping in my chest and only claimed to go 1.5 mph. when I was doing walking. Or maybe that is an overestimation. I don't know. I am so confused right now. :(
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    The only way to ensure success this time is trying harder and longer! :) One month might not have been enough. Maybe you were losing some weight, and putting it back because of other factors (period, etc) so you might not have noticed a loss. I'd suggest you to definitely try again, I know that birth control pills can make you bloated but I thought it was just water? So you shouldn't worry about it if you eat at a deficit. Exercise is also important, track your food carefully, ensure you're eating enough (but not too much) and if you feel like you're not having any result, you might need to ask a dietician because of your thyroid. I don't know much about it, but I know that people with hypotyroidism usually find it harder to lose weight, but still lose a lot if eating less and working out constantly :) try to be as careful as possible and give yourself some time. It's going to work!

    I was on the depo shot. I have asked in so many forums, and almost everyone responds with a statement that they gained a ton of weight. :( I have the paragard IUD now so NO hormones to mess with my body, thankfully. I am really hoping it makes a difference, because if I try all this again and it doesn't work, I don't know what I am going to do. I get what you are saying about not giving up too soon. But at what point does a person say ok.. this is not working. I have to try something new. ??
  • WonderCort
    WonderCort Posts: 128 Member
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    Firstly, I know I never WANTED to be over weight and unhealthy. That was never my goal. I am going to assume that MANY of us here have felt that way including the poster. There were times that I really was not knowledgeable enough to realize I wasn't do all that I needed to and, so in turn, I was believing I was doing all I could. Then I really didn't understand why I wasn't losing weight.

    Secondly, it took me a very long time to really get honest with myself. I think one of the hardest parts about this is truly learning about self honesty. It's hard, especially at first, to be precise and accurate. I know I pushed and pushed myself and I was surprised to learn how much it really took to be enough.

    Thirdly, this is a lesson in self taught perseverance. I, of course, wished I could see results FAST. Realistically I read enough to know that I would not really see results for 6 months...not 6 weeks. The big key is not giving up.

    Read, read, read, and revisit what you are reading to make sure you are acquiring it. I had to learn how to read labels. I had to learn about the effects sugars and salt were having on my body. I had to learn that I must document EVERYTHING. A teaspoon of oil I used to saute vegetables, the less then quarter cup of milk I used to swallow down a vitamin, even the vitamin. This taught me the truth about portion control. I had portions all confused at one time. Also, I had to learn that despite the dripping sweat running down my face and the ache I had in some of my muscles and in my head and the pounding I felt in my chest did not always equal the amount of calories I thought I had burned. So I had to learn how to appropriately document those numbers and the importance of not only eating those calories back, but choosing foods packed with nutrients to sustain me. I had to learn, especially in the beginning, that on the weeks I did the most exercise and the toughest exercise were weeks I usually didn't see weight loss because my body was retaining water to repair my muscles. I also had to learn that my pay off was coming. I also had to learn not to hurt myself exercising. Funny right? But when I began, there were days I would push myself so hard and want it so badly that I would strain muscles and pop joints. So I had to learn to listen to my body. I had to learn to take criticism and learn from it. The beginning of this journey was a huge blow to my self esteem.

    Lastly, I had to accept this. I had to accept that I did this to my own body. Accept that I was not educated enough yet to fix it . Accept that some of the rude things people were saying were still rude but held truth. I had to accept that this is a way of life that takes months and even years to develop. I'm doing much better now.

    OP, I hope you don't give up and find yourself in a place of "much better" someday too.
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    a food scale costs $20-25. You dont need to spend a fortune on one for it to work. Not having $20 for a food scale is just another excuse. I am sure there is something that you are buying that lacks nutritional value and is calorie dense. Stop buying that for a while and get a food scale. 2-3 fast food meals will take care of the cost of a food scale, if you are eating that regularly.

    As for restaurants and weighing. You can ask the server what the portion size is or ask for the nutrition menu. Chain places will have this info online and until you are adept at figuring out those cals, you should avoid restaurants or go to places with known cals available to you. eventually you make better choices when eating out and get a good idea of what the food weighs the more you practice at home.

    Weight loss takes a crap load of desire to acheive. I desired to be thinner and more fit than I desired to be fat. I have lost 67 lbs so far. Its hard work. I never gave up because I know that this is not a diet, this is the way I live my life. And how I plan on living my life from here on out.

    ETA: read the sexy pants link you were given. read it twice. That has all the info you need to get the weigh off.

    Weigh the food. I get that now. I said that in an earlier response to someone else, too. I wasn't trying to make an excuse. I know that it is hard work, and I commend you on your weight loss so far. How long would you work hard doing it a certain way, getting no results? How long before you tried to do things a different way?
  • rdeysher
    rdeysher Posts: 22
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    I find with myself, that if I eat too little, like setting the calories to be loose 1lb a week, I don't loose anything (for months)! But if I set it to maintain and allow myself to eat to that level I do loose weight. I just learned that this year. I have been on MFP for years without seeing great results and then I started again for the new year. I have set my calories to maintain and I allow myself to eat to that level (plus any exercise calories I earn) and I have actually lost quite a bit of weight already.
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    First off, congrats on coming back. Now is the time to really arm yourself with information and knowledge about this so you can make it longer and work through the points that don't give you the results you would expect. You are correct in thinking that what you did last time was somehow wrong. There really isn't a way to determine WHAT was wrong. So now you need to start over and move forward. Here are a few more links that will help you look at tracking food, why some people seem mean with their advice, and then even more info that goes into things like TDEE/BMR, exercise plans, and a boat load of other topics.

    in line with the sexypants link:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think?hl=eat+more+than+you+think

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1088600-dear-mean-people-of-mfp?hl=mean+people

    And an uber link to yet more helpful links:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read

    Thank you so very much for all the resources. I read the one "dear mean people" first. ;) I get where the person is coming from and all, but people should realize that some people are coming here.. already down to their last straw.. already beaten down with depression.. and really don't need that extra push. You know what I mean? If I didn't want help, I wouldn't ask for it. But with this, as in all things, I feel there is a right and a wrong way to do it. Thank you for offering support in one of the kindest ways possible. :)
  • Dawn810511
    Dawn810511 Posts: 98 Member
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    #1 rule : don't ever give up! It takes a while to lose the weight. A month is such a short amount of time. I've been doing this for a month and I have only lost 6 lbs, that's it. And for the past two weeks, I've been stuck on 159 lbs. And there's been a couple times where I have wanted to give up too. I know it's hard. It really is. But you have to keep pushing through. You can do it!!! I know everyone says this but this is the honest truth and I promise you, I would not lie to you:noway: . If I can do it, anyone can do it!

    #2 rule: Log everything and anything every single day. Be honest and don't ever leave anything out. Even if you went to McDonald's and ate everything there, which I don't encourage, but just for example, log it!! Logging food has taught me a lot! Also logging the unhealthy food (fast food especially) has made my mind look at the food and the calories, sodium, fat, etc. , and think OMG did I really just put that in my body?!?!:sad: This process is going to have its ups and downs, trust me, oh how I have had mine. :ohwell:

    I hope this is a few encouraging words for you. I'm on here everyday. Send me a friend request. We can help each other. :bigsmile:
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    Consistency is the key to your success. Start over, eat within your caloric deficit, exercise, monitor your caloric intake like an MFP nazi, and give it more than 30 days.

    By the way, how much cardio and resistance training did you accomplish when you worked out 5x a week?

    I don't really know anything about resistance training. I was doing what I could with an 18-month old by my side.... exercise videos from youtube. Usually it was the 5 mile workout, 45 minutes a day. I'm somewhat limited by a bad shoulder from an injury in a car wreck, had a c- section and hernia operation in the past 18 months, and have arthritis in my knees. Stair-stepping exercises are REALLY bad on my knees. What would you suggest as an exercise routine I could do from home?
  • SwedishMel
    SwedishMel Posts: 95 Member
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    difficult to say went went "wrong". did you log your food? did you weigh your food? were you honest about what you were eating. were you eating 1200 calories then exercising and not eating back those calories? a MONTH is nothing. i didn't loose any weight for the first 3-4 weeks. if you don't have much to loose it takes much longer to lose it. m

    can't help you with gaining 25 pounds if you're honest with yourself you certainly were not eating healthy. yes you can eat all the healthy foods you want but if you're eating them in excess how "healthy" is that.

    what to do? give yourself time. don't restrict yourself to the point of failure. we're our worst enemies. eat your calories, exercise, eat those calories. be kind to yourself. don't beat yourself up after a MONTH if nothing happens. keep on pushing you'll loose the weight.

    it's a marathon not a sprint.

    Good advice here.
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    Hey there! Hopefully I am not repeated what others have said too much but here is my take on it: part of it could be you need a food scale to use at home. I am looking into buying one myself, because I know it is more accurate than measuring. Also, since it would be silly to take that to a restaurant, you can always have a look at their menu before you go and pre-plan your meal. but when you eat out, you really should always only eat half the serving and take the rest home--restaurant portions are grossly oversized. And is your thyroid over active/under active? I had a friend in college with an over active thyroid and he had weight problems constantly if he didn't take his medicine. So it may not be a bad idea to speak with your doctor about how that is related to controlling your weight. And lastly, I know it can be hard to find time to exercise! I used to go run every single day in college, but after graduation I haven't had the time because I started working. But I found a GREAT website you can use to workout. It's pop sugar fitness, fitsugar.com, and they have all kinds of 10 minute workouts on video you can watch and workout along with. it's great! they are designed to burn lots of calories in 10 minutes and that fits into almost any schedule! Trust me just try it one time, you will love it, I use it every day. :) hope that helps!

    Thanks for your response. Yeah, the general consensus is that I need a food scale..lol. And I guess I need a heart monitor, too, according to some. I have never had my thyroid checked. If I try for a solid month this time with absolutely no results, I guess I will be looking into seeing a doctor soon about that. I can't afford insurance, so things like that are difficult sometimes. Thanks for the website links!! I am definitely going to check those out! How do you know your calories burned when you do the videos?
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    I have been at this for about 10 months.... I just hit 8lbs lost. I lost a few... gained a few back... finally losing again and just came off of a 2 week plateau. Your body is weird sometimes. Sometimes you can do EVERYTHING "right" and the scale just won't budge. It happens. You have to look at this of more than "losing weight". You have to look at it as... well I didn't lose weight this week but I did have a healthy week. Then healthy weeks will turn into months will turn into years. Eventually the weight will come off.... like you said.... atleast while you were not losing you weren't gaining. I look at it like that alot these days. Those 2 weeks I didn't lose.... atleast I didn't gain. Some days... when I just don't feel like only eating 1500 calories.... I let myself eat all the way up to maintenance.. just never over. It's OK... this is a LONG process. (Note: I only lost 8lbs... but I also lost 8inches.... inches matter too)

    As for weighing and measuring.... yeah... that's great and all... but I don't want this to be a tedious thing. I don't want to have a love hate relationship with food. Sure I'd probaby be alot farther along in my weightloss... but i'd be more likely to quit too because its too much of a hassle. Sometimes I measure.... i'll even count how many chips I eat, etc... but I don't let this weightloss "project" I call it... to take over my entire life. Hang in there... take one step at a time... make good choices as often as you can.... and as long as you're not GAINING... you're winning :) Good luck!

    It DID take over my life. It was SO much of a hassle doing all that and with no results at all. And here I am.. doing it again..lol. Measuring my ketchup, counting crackers, measuring inches on a celery stalk. It's ridiculous sometimes. People are telling me to buy a food scale and a heart monitor and I can see it overshadowing my life .. and not necessarily in a good way. But I'm tired of being fat. I am just so so tired. I've lost weight before but I didn't want to do it the way I did last time. I basically starved myself, but I want to set a good example for my daughter and I feel that's the wrong way to go this time.
  • pmur
    pmur Posts: 223 Member
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    It's good you came back. I used to be on the patch a long time ago and lost a lot of weight. When I got off it, the weight loss stopped. I thought the hormones in the patch made me less hungry. When I went off it, I was ravenous. So it can happen.
    Btw, when I started here, I kept thinking I was logging right, measuring right etc. I ate back exercise cals, tried TDEE but nothing seemed to work. I kept going back and forth, trying for a few months and then giving up. Then I read a blog about weight loss. I tried to actually measure everything while cooking. Especially oil. I also gave up on eating cereal bars/ Special K drinks for b'fast and started eating oatmeal with yogurt and fruits. I stopped taking refined sugars. I used a lot of sugar in everything I ate and even though I thought I was within cal goals I probably was not. I also bought a food scale but thought I would start weighing if these changes didn't show results. I also reduced my carbs and increased my protein intake. Being a vegetarian this was hard but I found good things to eat. I also started tracking my exercise cals with my hrm. I try to eat back all of it but i generally look at weekly averages instead of daily goals. If you are using the MFP cals beware. My actual burns were half of the mfp database.
    After I made the changes, the weight started coming off. I'm yet to plateau. When I do, I'll use the food scale but I think I won't need it. I'm 8lbs away from goal weight and plan to start trying to lose only 1/2lb a week now on.

    Btw, the Leslie Sansone walking videos on you tube are great exercises. She even has strength exercises included in them. It's something you can do at home. I breakout into a sweat each time I try one of the videos and I regularly run/Zumba so the workouts are good.

    *Added -At 5'3", 138 MFP gave me 1200 cals to work with. I just changed it to 1300 and ate most of my exercise cals back. Now, after reviewing and tabulating weeks and weeks of data I know that 1600-1700 cals a day with workouts 5/week(running, Zumba and some weights) gives me a 1 lb loss per week.
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    Just in case MFP has my calorie range screwed up, what calorie range would all of you suggest for me? I am 39 years old, female, 5'3", mostly sedentary at the present time, and I weigh 200 pounds.

    I am 36, female, 5'2" started at 205 - was eating 1400-1600 a day. My exercise at the time consisted of a morning walk - about 4K, took me about 45-50 minutes to do that at the time. I was losing for the first couple of weeks, then stalled for 3 weeks, then consistently lost 1.5-2 lbs for the next month.

    Weigh your food - a food scale is $10 at Walmart - they really are NOT that expensive. Be honest, consistent and push forward.

    Last thought - MFP overestimates the calorie burn quiet a bit - if a heart rate monitor is out of bounds financially I would suggest eating back half to two thirds of the calorie burn that MFP suggests.

    Good luck.

    But see you were losing for the first few weeks and then stalled.. which is what I would expect. I had zero loss for the entire 1st month. Thanks for your support and I'm taking all you said into consideration.
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    It took me almost 6 weeks to lose my first pound and then in those 6 weeks I gained about 2. I started working out and walking/running and was very careful with my daily calories. It takes time, but I didn't give up. It had the opposite effect on me. I was determined to see that stupid scale go down after all the hard work I was putting in. Once it started moving, I got to my goal weight in almost 3-4 months time. I lost 21 lbs.
    Don't give up! It will happen. You have to have patience. I'm 45 and I went from 136 to 115 lbs.

    Thank you!! That gives me alot of hope!
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    Ok.. I resent that people think I have come for advice and I'm not being honest with you guys or myself. That's not very encouraging at all. I have a sneaky suspicion that my failure has something to do with the birth control I was taking at the time.. as it's notorious for helping women pack on the pounds. But just in case that wasn't the problem, I wanted to see others' ideas about what could have went wrong and what I can do differently this time. I didn't come here to be told I am a liar.
    Susie, nobody is suggesting your are lying, but rather suggesting you are possibly unintentionally underestimating your calories intake. This is soooo common, and a food scale really does help.

    Did you know that 2 tablespoons of peanut butter generally weighs more than 32 grams, as indicated on the package? One banana is supposed to be 110 calories, but if you weight that one banana it usually comes out to more than just the grams. Yesterday one banana was 133 grams and today it was 122. Both of those are over 110 calories.

    See where i"m going with this? It's about accuracy not lying.

    Thanks for clarifying.

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