Not lost for a week now.

Woodster83 · February 2014

Hi everyone,

Not really a question, more of a moan.. I've not lost for a week now but I think it's my own fault.

I've not been sure whether to go as Sedentry or Lightly Active, so have been skipping between the two, but then not really exercising, apart from 1 hour snowboarding at the weekend.

I'm also overeating at the weekend, probably by 1,500 over the 2 days? I feel like I'm stuck in a cycle already and it's only 3 weeks in.

I find it easy to stick to my diet on my own but as soon as I'm out with my partner at the weekends I seem to overeat and he seems to give me the go-ahead for some reason, despite knowing how much I need to lose and despite me trying to say no, he encourages me to eat it, mostly because he wants to... but he's slim!

I managed to stop myself getting McDonald's chicken nuggets last night, he really wanted some and wanted me to have it to, he was even going to go out and get it.. then seemed in a mood with me, he could have had it still!

So, can anyone look at my diary and make a suggestion?

I'm 18st 10lbs (262lbs), female, 5ft 6.5", eating between 1430 and 1760 cals a day..

DemoraFairy · February 2014

Firstly, weight loss isn't linear. Some weeks we lose, some we stay the same, some we gain. It happens, don't let one week get you down. Also if you're weighing once a week, there's a chance you have lost weight, but just fluctuated on the day that you weighed. For example, today I'm 114.6lbs. Yesterday I was 112.8. If I only weighed every Monday, I wouldn't have known how far I'd got yesterday. Just keep at it.

Sounds like you need to talk to your partner and tell him that you really need to lose this weight. Tell him you need him to support you, it's for your health, all that sort of stuff.

megsmom2 · February 2014

Weight loss isn't simple linear mathematics....way too many variables. Stay on track, do what you need to do...it will happen. And stop weighing yourself so much! That way lies madness. Seriously...once a week is more than sufficient.

DemoraFairy · February 2014

Weight loss isn't simple linear mathematics....way too many variables. Stay on track, do what you need to do...it will happen. And stop weighing yourself so much! That way lies madness. Seriously...once a week is more than sufficient.

I'd disagree with not weighing everyday, once a week for me would drive me mad! I wouldn't know if I was fluctuating, what effects different foods were having, or, effectively, what my actual weight was. And weighing once a week puts so much more emphasis on it and it becomes so much more of a big event than when it's just a boring, mundane, everyday thing. Some people don't like weighing everyday, some people do. You have to find what works for you.

Nikiki · February 2014

as the others have said, weight loss isn't linear and all sorts of things can make your weight jump. For me its weekends eating out and drinking more. I started weighing in on Wednesdays because it gave me a couple days of better eating to flush out all the extra sodium I took in from restaurant meal. There is sometimes a 2 lb difference in my Monday & Wednesday weight!!

You can also try fitting in a little more fitness throughout the week to help make up for your weekend eating, even just a 30 minute daily walk will make a difference. You can also add in squats, lunges, crunches etc...

auddii · February 2014

Weight loss isn't simple linear mathematics....way too many variables. Stay on track, do what you need to do...it will happen. And stop weighing yourself so much! That way lies madness. Seriously...once a week is more than sufficient.

I'd disagree with not weighing everyday, once a week for me would drive me mad! I wouldn't know if I was fluctuating, what effects different foods were having, or, effectively, what my actual weight was. And weighing once a week puts so much more emphasis on it and it becomes so much more of a big event than when it's just a boring, mundane, everyday thing. Some people don't like weighing everyday, some people do. You have to find what works for you.

Agreed. I weigh daily, which works for me. There are times on my "official weigh-in day" I'm up 5lbs, but because I've weighed in other days, I can realize that it's water because it's been lower before that. However, the 5lbs jumps don't bother me. If you get very emotional about what the scale says and use all the little changes to adjust your calorie intake, then you should probably put the scale away.

I also take montly pictures and measure myself with a tape measure once a week. Together they can give a better idea of progress (along with how your clothes are fitting) than just the scale alone.

But as others have said, there are ups and downs; don't let every change effect you emotionally. Just look for the overall trend over several weeks.

wilsoje74 · February 2014

I don't see any fruits or vegetables in your diary

Francl27 · February 2014

Like people said, weight loss isn't linear. You won't lose every week. Heck some weeks you will gain... which is why I'm in the 'weigh every day' club too... that was you see a pattern. Overeating on the week end will slow you down a little bit but shouldn't matter as long as you're in a deficit overall.

The bottom line is that as long as you eat at a deficit, you will lose weight... it might just stall sometimes. You seem to weigh your food, so it's good, remember it takes 3500 calories to gain or lose one pound of fat... so if you eat at a deficit, you WILL lose. Just make sure you don't overestimate your calorie burns or you could make your deficit too small.

Woodster83 · February 2014

Thanks everyone, just a bit frustrated I guess.. I know I've gone over at the weekend, but not enough to stop losing, maybe it's high salt? I usually eat a fairly low sodium diet, so that could be part of it.

Anyhow, I shall continue, my motivation is still very high, just wish the scales would be kinder

I do eat lots of fruit and veg, just not usually at the weekend much, during the week I get most of the healthy stuff in, weekends are more whatever is convenient, especially if we are out.

I weigh everything yes, so I'll just keep going and try to be more strict with sticking to the numbers.

Still unsure about whether I'm sedentry or lightly active.

Woodster83 · February 2014

Meant to add, I do weigh most days, but my log in day is Saturdays.

Woodster83 · February 2014

Also, I've not been drinking enough.. can this cause such a problem?

qtgonewild · February 2014

join the club. i've been bouncing between 216 and 213 for over a month now. it is what it is. im trying to mix things up now to see what is going to get the weight dropping again, even eating way over last night to see if that did it. nope not yet at least. all we can do is keep doing what we are doing.

lauren3101 · February 2014

What is your typical daily routine? Do you do any exercise?

You should always try and drink plenty. It shouldn't prevent weight loss as such, but the best way to get rid of water retention is to drink plenty of water, so if you are eating a lot of sodium and not drinking much, that may stall your weight loss temporarily.

As for your daily calories, this is the estimation for your TDEE:

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 2359
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2703
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 3047
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 3391
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 3735

As a starting point, you would need to deduct 500 calories from those figures to lose 1lb, so even at a sedentary setting, you should be eating around 1800 cals a day. Trying to stick to 1430 is probably going to be quite difficult for you. A slower weight loss that you can stick to is much better.

As for your boyfriend, I think you need to have an adult conversation with him about what you want to do and how much it means to you. He probably doesn't realise what he's doing.

vslnrunner · February 2014

Hi everyone,

Not really a question, more of a moan.. I've not lost for a week now but I think it's my own fault.

I've not been sure whether to go as Sedentry or Lightly Active, so have been skipping between the two, but then not really exercising, apart from 1 hour snowboarding at the weekend.

I'm also overeating at the weekend, probably by 1,500 over the 2 days? I feel like I'm stuck in a cycle already and it's only 3 weeks in.

I find it easy to stick to my diet on my own but as soon as I'm out with my partner at the weekends I seem to overeat and he seems to give me the go-ahead for some reason, despite knowing how much I need to lose and despite me trying to say no, he encourages me to eat it, mostly because he wants to... but he's slim!

I managed to stop myself getting McDonald's chicken nuggets last night, he really wanted some and wanted me to have it to, he was even going to go out and get it.. then seemed in a mood with me, he could have had it still!

So, can anyone look at my diary and make a suggestion?

I'm 18st 10lbs (262lbs), female, 5ft 6.5", eating between 1430 and 1760 cals a day..

Don't use your partner as an excuse. Own your choices.

knra_grl · February 2014

If weekend overeating is an issue because you are out and doing social things, I would suggest eating something healthy before you go then when you are ordering food you can say that you aren't that hungry because you ate before you left and just order a smaller, healthier item from the menu - when he wants chicken nuggets tell him you're good and would rather have a piece of fruit but by all mean go and get some for himself (maybe have something he likes on hand and he won't feel like going out to get junk). Once you make it a habit to limit these kinds of treats maybe he will clue in and just have the junk when he is out with the boys or on his own. If you go out for pizza it is okay to have a slice or two (make sure you log them). If eating this stuff sends you over your limit and it upsets you, open up your diary and show him how much this stuff affects your diet. He is slim and can eat what he wants but he has to realize that it does not mean you can.

cshouston81 · February 2014

Trendweight.com might help ease some of your anxiety. You input your daily weight, but it performs a trend analysis for your and gives you a smoothed trend curve instead of the up/down that can happen from day to day (due to water weight or whatever else).

edit: I forgot to mention that it requires a network connected scale, but you can just use Fitbit and manually input your weight every day. That's how I do it and it works perfectly.

Woodster83 · February 2014

Thanks again for the replies.. I don't do daily exercise at the moment, just snowboarding once a week and some walking.. I've got a mental block on doing anything, despite enjoying exercise, I just don't seem to be getting up and doing it!

Calories, okay, so maybe 1500-1600 a day. I've been ok with 1430 in the week, but weekends are harder as I'm not eating high fibre foods, so feeling hungrier than normal.

My partner isn't to blame, but at my weight it's clear I have issues with food and I feel like he's adding to my difficulty for no reason. You wouldn't do it to an alcoholic or drug addict.

I might be getting a fit bit, got another device at the weekend to track my activity a bit closer but it wasn't what I wanted so I'm taking it back to the Apple shop. Thanks for the web link cshouston!

Okay, moving forward and trying 1500 cals a day, I would like 2lbs a week if possible.

Woodster83 · February 2014

What is your typical daily routine? Do you do any exercise?

You should always try and drink plenty. It shouldn't prevent weight loss as such, but the best way to get rid of water retention is to drink plenty of water, so if you are eating a lot of sodium and not drinking much, that may stall your weight loss temporarily.

As for your daily calories, this is the estimation for your TDEE:

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 2359
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2703
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 3047
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 3391
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 3735

As a starting point, you would need to deduct 500 calories from those figures to lose 1lb, so even at a sedentary setting, you should be eating around 1800 cals a day. Trying to stick to 1430 is probably going to be quite difficult for you. A slower weight loss that you can stick to is much better.

As for your boyfriend, I think you need to have an adult conversation with him about what you want to do and how much it means to you. He probably doesn't realise what he's doing.

Thanks very much for this! X

nigelwood3 · February 2014

I'm also overeating at the weekend, probably by 1,500 over the 2 days

Suggestion one: Talk to your boyfriend and decide upfront what and where you'll eat next weekend.

Suggestion two: You're sporty and active despite your weight. 300 cals a day of exercise on weekdays would let you splurge at the weekend.

Woodster83 · February 2014

Good points Nigel!

I am sporty yes, I love squash, football, badminton, anything like that, and of course snowboarding

I need to get myself into gear with it.

The boyfriend I'll just have to work on I guess, I don't think he's doing it on purpose, he just wants me to he happy and doesn't realise how much it will affect my losses, I'll show him my diary more so he can see.

Exercise DVD planned for the morning.

Not lost for a week now.

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