What could I be doing wrong?

kaaaaylee
kaaaaylee Posts: 398
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone,
I'm sure there's lots of these posted, but I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

I started crossfit 2 months ago and within 3 weeks lost 10 lbs.. and the last 5 weeks I have been stuck at the same weight.

I'm eating a (mostly) clean, 1400calorie diet and doing crossfit 4x a week and cardio once a week.

I am shrinking a bit, but even that has slowed down. I know I'm probably building muscle, but the fat on top of the muscle doesn't seem to be going away.

What am I doing wrong? (I am sleeping at least 7 hours a night and drink a ton of water).

Thanks for any help.

Replies

  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    Can you open your diary please?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Opening your diary would be a great help so that we can see what's really going on. You can do that by going to Settings > Diary Settings > Public and then Save Changes.

    Some more questions, just to make sure we're all working from the same baseline:

    How much do you want to lose?
    Are you logging accurately?
    Are you using a food scale, measuring cups, or eyeballing portion sizes?
    Are you eating any of your earned exercise calories?
    If so, are you using MFP/gym machine estimates or a heart rate monitor?
    Could you give us your height, weight, and age?
  • kaaaaylee
    kaaaaylee Posts: 398
    I feel weird about opening my diary because I have friends on here who I know in real life and this just seems a bit personal. I know it's irrational, but it's how I feel.


    How much do you want to lose? I'd like to lose 20 more lbs to get to where my doctor and a dietician told me to be.
    Are you logging accurately? I am logging accurately. Every morsel of food.
    Are you using a food scale, measuring cups, or eyeballing portion sizes? Measuring cups sometimes, eyeballing mostly.
    Are you eating any of your earned exercise calories? Nope.
    If so, are you using MFP/gym machine estimates or a heart rate monitor? Neither. I got too obsessive with a HRM, so I just don't use one and work out as hard as I can.
    Could you give us your height, weight, and age? 5'5", 160, age 24.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Are you using a food scale, measuring cups, or eyeballing portion sizes? Measuring cups sometimes, eyeballing mostly

    This is the first thing that is going to stand out for most of us. Some people are very good about eyeballing a portion size, but most are not. The inaccuracies add up and they add up faster with eyeballing. Even using measuring cups can be inaccurate enough to wipe out a small deficit.
  • rayraex
    rayraex Posts: 50
    Try switching up your workouts, your muscles could have gotten used to your current routine. Try something new.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    it's your food.
  • CMoeDee
    CMoeDee Posts: 102 Member
    Are you using a food scale, measuring cups, or eyeballing portion sizes? Measuring cups sometimes, eyeballing mostly

    This is the first thing that is going to stand out for most of us. Some people are very good about eyeballing a portion size, but most are not. The inaccuracies add up and they add up faster with eyeballing. Even using measuring cups can be inaccurate enough to wipe out a small deficit.

    This. You're probably going to get a lot of stories about how people were upwards of 300 calories off of their goals through incorrect food measuring. And I am one of them.
  • thatgirlkellib
    thatgirlkellib Posts: 150 Member
    This happened to me, just Keep at it and in a week or so, you'll drop more weight you body is in reconfiguring stage...building mass, losing weight/fat and readjusting to hormones and all...just go hard and love results as they show up! they WILL SHOW UP!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    Try switching up your workouts, your muscles could have gotten used to your current routine. Try something new.

    you don't know what crossfit is, do you?
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    Try switching up your workouts, your muscles could have gotten used to your current routine. Try something new.

    She mentioned Crossfit, which I think involves a different workout every day.

    Plus if you're hinting at the whole "muscle confusion" thing - it's not real.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    you aren't gaining muscle if you are at a deficet.

    you are probably eating more than you think esp if you don't weigh your food.

    If you aren't losing weight and have no medical issues it is all in your diet...calories in vs calories out.
  • Momto4minions
    Momto4minions Posts: 173 Member
    Spend the money on a food scale. Weigh everything. Example of why, peanut butter servings say tbsp and grams. They will give very different results doing a metal sppon, vs a measuring spoon vs a scale. It can be a WHOLE serving different!

    A platue is normal, but measuing is the absolute way go to count calories.

    I can easily eyeball meat weight. I am never more than 1/2 oz off, but items like dried oats, peanut butter, etc are not so easy.

    Weigh the food more diligently than you weigh YOURSELF!
  • _Calypso_
    _Calypso_ Posts: 1,074 Member
    Are you using a food scale, measuring cups, or eyeballing portion sizes? Measuring cups sometimes, eyeballing mostly

    This is the first thing that is going to stand out for most of us. Some people are very good about eyeballing a portion size, but most are not. The inaccuracies add up and they add up faster with eyeballing. Even using measuring cups can be inaccurate enough to wipe out a small deficit.

    ^^ THIS for sure.
    You'd be amazed to find out that our eyes play tricks on us. I used to put creamer in my coffee with the eyeball method. I'd enter only 1 serrving.. hahaha - jokes on me; I was actually having 2-3 servings. That is an extra 140 cal. AND more sugar! I eat a handful of chips - one serving. But 7 tortilla chips is one serving... who eats 7 chips?!! Seriously - start weighing and measuring everything.
    Also I agree with changing up your workout. Take 2-3 day break and start something new. YOu can still do crossfit and cardio, but throw in a day or two of only strength training.
    Also...keep measuring yoruself - weight may not come off as quickly, but inches will!!

    Don't lose hope - you're doing great!!
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    It's your food. I'll put $10 bucks on the fact that you're eating more than you think you are. The only way to really monitor intake is to measure by weight. Only liquids should go in measuring cups. Everything else gets measured on the scale.

    Amazon has cheap digital ones, like in the $15 to $20 range.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    I don't want to come across as "one of those MFP bullies", but that fact that you are unwilling to open your diary implies to me that there is something there you want to hide and therefore, already know what you are doing wrong. You can't expect to solicit advice from a bunch of strangers if you are not willing to give them complete and honest information. In a nut shell, it really and truly starts with being completely honest with yourself.
  • kaaaaylee
    kaaaaylee Posts: 398
    I don't want to come across as "one of those MFP bullies", but that fact that you are unwilling to open your diary implies to me that there is something there you want to hide and therefore, already know what you are doing wrong. You can't expect to solicit advice from a bunch of strangers if you are not willing to give them complete and honest information. In a nut shell, it really and truly starts with being completely honest with yourself.

    That's not the case at all. I just don't want someone I went to high school with to know what I eat for breakfast. It's not a guilt thing, it's a personal privacy thing. I just have a strange relationship with food, and I feel very secretive about it. I had a salad with baked chicken today for lunch, but I feel weird letting people I went to high school with see that, because it's none of their business. I understand where you're coming from, though.
  • irjeffb
    irjeffb Posts: 275 Member
    I don't want to come across as "one of those MFP bullies", but that fact that you are unwilling to open your diary implies to me that there is something there you want to hide and therefore, already know what you are doing wrong. You can't expect to solicit advice from a bunch of strangers if you are not willing to give them complete and honest information. In a nut shell, it really and truly starts with being completely honest with yourself.

    That's not the case at all. I just don't want someone I went to high school with to know what I eat for breakfast. It's not a guilt thing, it's a personal privacy thing. I just have a strange relationship with food, and I feel very secretive about it. I had a salad with baked chicken today for lunch, but I feel weird letting people I went to high school with see that, because it's none of their business. I understand where you're coming from, though.
    If you don't want them to see your diary for fear they'd do anything other than support you, just drop them from your friends.
  • mrsbeck
    mrsbeck Posts: 234 Member
    I would be a bit more concerned about not eating your exercise calories than I would be about whether you're logging accurately. Crossfit and cardio is a LOT of high-intensity exercise. If you're actually only eating 1400 calories a day, and then burning off 400-800 in your workouts, which is not an unreasonable amount for that type of workout, you're not eating enough.

    Also, I'm not usually the bullying type either, but yeah...you can't ask for advice and then not give people the information they need to draw conclusions. Well, you can, but you're gonna end up with comments like this. It also makes me suspect that you aren't being honest about what you're eating. There's no reason to have that level of fear and shame about your diet, unless you're trying to keep people from finding out something, whether it's just a couple of bad days or a chocolate binge, or something more serious like disordered eating behaviors. Whatever your motivation, it makes people less interested in helping you. FYI
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,103 Member

    Weigh the food more diligently than you weigh YOURSELF!

    This ^^ is great. It should probably be the first response to 90% of the "what am I doing wrong?" threads. And maybe 90% of the "how often should I weigh myself?" and the "HELP! I GAINED FOUR LBS IN ONE DAY" posts.
  • Momto4minions
    Momto4minions Posts: 173 Member

    Weigh the food more diligently than you weigh YOURSELF!

    This ^^ is great. It should probably be the first response to 90% of the "what am I doing wrong?" threads. And maybe 90% of the "how often should I weigh myself?" and the "HELP! I GAINED FOUR LBS IN ONE DAY" posts.

    Yes, it was the first thing I learned here and has NEVER led me astray. I also have a weird relationship with food, so I get it. I also know, that for me, this means i like to not write it down, or I pretend a little bite wont matter. It does. It all does. So, my new attitude is i Weigh Food more than I ever weigh myself!

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