no weight loss for weeks

same situation, I can't loose weight for about 2 months. I have a lot of stress at work and do not have time to count my calories or take lunch from home.help me please, I need to loose at least 20 mote pounds.

Hi
This is another one of those poor me I just can't lose weight threads, but hopefully I can get some tips. I have been using MFP for 1 month now. Always under my calories. Cut out cakes, sweets, biscuits etc. Initial weight loss was good but last 3 weeks or more 0. Any pointers?
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/ryan_tcb

Well, looking at your food diary, you haven't really. A lot of what you are eating over-processed and full of sugar and empty carbs. And like Kmuree has already pointed out - where are the fresh fruit and veggies? And lean meat, wholegrains, seeds, good saturated fats to make you feel full (eggs, full fat dairy, oily fish, coconut oil etc etc). Try cutting out all the processed junk and replacing it with fresh, unprocessed food and see how you go. At the least you will gain a lot more valuable micronutrients by cutting out the processed crap you are eating.

Keep some calories spare for the occasional treat by all means, but to me, it seems you want to lose weight on a diet of sugary processed food which will be quite difficult.

Just my opinion mind and I'm sure plenty will disagree but IMO you don't see many people gaining weight by eating salad and steamed veggies...

I think we were typing our replies at the same time as I didn't see your post when I typed mine. I wasn't disagreeing with you either regarding the need for a calorie deficit. I am a firm believer in clean eating for a variety of reasons, but recognise that there are many people who successfully lose weight without eating only healthy foods.

IMO. the OP's diet is atrocious though and he could really benefit from a good dose of micronutrients.

How accurate is your food counting?

While better food choices can help for health, energy, and feeling full and satisfied, they have little to do with fat loss. It is a matter of eating less calories than you burn in a day. Based on your sex and calorie goal you would either need to be severely underestimating what you are consuming or have a major metabolic issue to be eating too many calories. It is possible, and getting a food scale to measure solid foods and using measuring cups and spoons for the others will help make sure what you log in your diary is what you are actually eating.

Having said that, weight loss, as distinguished from fat loss, is a different story. There are a bunch of things other than a calorie deficit that can cause the weight to not come off, even for weeks. Things like water retention can make the scale stay the same or go up. This especially happens when one eats a lot more sodium than they normally do in a day. Also, there is something called whooshes (sp?) where a person will not lose weight for a long time, sometimes weeks, then suddenly over a day or two a bunch of weight will come off. There are various possible things proposed for this, the one that seems to be gaining traction is that the fat cells that have released their fat into the body for energy have had some of that space in them filled with water. Then at some point they let that water loose all at once making the fat loss that has occurred though those weeks of no weight loss visible. In other words keep at it.

Also, if you are only using your weight to measure your progress you need to add other things. Get a tailors tape measure and measure yourself (chest, waist, hips at the very least). Tracking measurements can often show fat loss even when the scale does not move. Also, take pictures of yourself. Again, they can show losses that the scale will not.

I fell into the habit of eating a lot of processed food and restaurant food for my meals for a couple of years. I used to eat primarily whole grains, veggies, lean protein. Now, I'm back to those good habits and aim to eat 11-1200 a day. Sometimes I'm under because what I eat is so filling. Processed food means that the whole ingredients have been broken down. Your body should be doing that!

Instead of a breakfast cracker/cookie/bar, try an egg white sandwich (3 egg whites scrambled) with spinach and dried cranberries on whole wheat? It won't be more than around 250 calories, but it'll fill you up and add a lot of good protein. I eat a fiber one bar about once a day, but it also has a lot of protein and helps fill me up with the fiber.

I rarely eat a lot for dinner also, but I tend to eat a good lunch and a late afternoon snack before I hit the gym. Sometimes a can of tuna with some capers, mustard/low fat mayo, and cucumbers is a great dinner. Quick, can be pre made, and still has only around 250 calories.

Your 1st mistake is thinking your calorie GOAL is a goal to come under. The deficit is already built in...you are supposed to eat that much and ANY workout calories you burn.

I hope this helps

First red flag for me went up when I looked at what you've logged in your food diary today - SUBWAY sandwich! 53g of carbs all packed into one little torpedo of death. Don't believe the Jared hype and cut out MORE of the refined junk, like bread of any kind. My motto: Dough through the lips=dough on the hips.

In looking over your food diary since January 1st I have two BIG HUGE recommendations that will make an enormous difference in your progress: Throw away every freakin' weetabix you have and never eat another one for breakfast! Make your breakfast meaningful - I eat between 18-24g protein for breakfast whenever I can. If I'm crunched for time I at least get some good fat in me for breakfast and that keeps me going for 3-4 hours.

Second, stop eating so many subway sandwiches. Like I said, death torpedoes.

I can't help but be harsh when i see someone pile their day with junk food and then wonder why they can't lose weight.

Go calculate your BMR, then tailor you daily food intake to that. Then - DO SOME EXERCISE! I looked through your exercise diary and in the last month I found only two significant cardio sessions. I saw some leisurely walking, but unless that was something you specifically did as a focused exercise routine I wouldn't even log it. We all have to walk every day, that's already figured into your BMR. Unless you do something over and above what you have to do to function in society then it isn't exercise.

I also see a large proportion of "diet foods". These are poison! Have you read the ingredients on some of those things? Start eating regular food. Veggies, lean meats, good fats. Cut your refined carbs down to about 100g per day max. And as hard as it sounds, cut out the beer. That was the hardest one for me, but I've only had two pints since Dec 26th. Do I miss it? Hell yes! But now they are only used for rewards. The two pints I had were my reward for jogging/walking a half-marathon - and I had them within two hours of the event so my metabolism was so stoked that it made not a drop of difference.

I'm just now getting back into using MFP and so don't know how to find your height/weight etc. But I'd guess that you're not getting enough protein either.

I'm not as eloquent or well formatted as other people here, because my anger usually keeps me from writing sweet "you can do it" messages.

Bottom line: Calculate your BMR. Reduce your dough intake. Eat REAL food, not processed "diet" food. EXERCISE.

Sometimes though with the myFitness pal app I get the your under x calories and you can enter starvation mode blah blah. So I eat something else even though I'm not hungry just to take it over the 1200 mark. The app also post on your wall to friends that you completed the food diary and was under your calorie goal making that sound like the aim and an achievement to be under.

1200 calories for a 35 year old male is way too little unless you are like 4 feet tall. Baring metabolic illnesses like diabetes you should be able to eat about 2000 calories and still lose weight.

This might help as well http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

And this posted by another person who you would do very well to pay attention to here on MFP:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants