Tell me what I am doing wrong!

amieosia
amieosia Posts: 20
in Motivation and Support
I have been working out for about 3 months now, and am seeing almost zero results. I circuit train for 45 minutes three times a week and strength train twice a week. I come in under my calories, usually, which I actually have set at 1500. I am a big girl and have at least 60 lbs to lose. Was hoping someone could take a look at my diary and tell me where I am going wrong?
Also, keep in mind that I DO drink mostly water but I never log it.
Thanks!

Replies

  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    You could start by logging accurately and weighing everything.
  • Chezzie84
    Chezzie84 Posts: 873 Member
    You could start by logging accurately and weighing everything.

    ^ This

    You are either a) not eating enough or b) not logging correctly.
    This is fundamentally what you are doing wrong.
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    You could start by logging accurately and weighing everything.

    ^ This

    You are either a) not eating enough or b) not logging correctly.
    This is fundamentally what you are doing wrong.

    A lot of your days are blank - I never went through the entire thing but lots of empty days with no logging - you eat a lot of fast food or take out by the look of your diary so your sodium could be high causing some water retention - but accurate logging is important to the whole process - what did you set your weight loss goals at? also your activity level? maybe revisit your original settings and enter a lower activity level if you set it higher due to your workouts - then log in your calories burned working out that way your cal goal without exercise will be lower and logging the exercise will up them appropriately
  • amysgottadothisthang
    amysgottadothisthang Posts: 116 Member
    Your sodium intake on many days is just way too high.
    You do not log in daily
    Some days are just too low in calories!
    **There is NOTHING good at McDonalds**

    These are the things that I see......and things that I have struggled with as well! :wink:
    So just try to be more consistent and watch that sodium intake!

    BTW.....You are not a "BIG" girl! I think you need to learn to love yourself more than you need a diet plan! You are beautiful:flowerforyou:
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    You could start by logging accurately and weighing everything.

    This. There's alooooooooooooooooot of blanks in your diary.

    Also, eat more protein.
  • amandarunning
    amandarunning Posts: 306 Member
    Not logging more than you log - how do you judge your nett calories without that?? Then when you do log, to be frank, you eat way too much processed junk.

    Log every day, everything, accurately and start to make healthy choices and stop eating take away processed junk every day.
  • 19TaraLynn84
    19TaraLynn84 Posts: 739 Member
    Hi! I looked at about a week and a half of your entries. You have a couple of blank days and one that looked incomplete. It may just be inconsistency. But it is very likely that you're logging incorrectly and going over your cals more than you think. You really have to weigh your food to know exactly how many calories you're consuming. There's nothing wrong with McDonalds and Subway, but since you seem to eat so much of it, that could be the problem. McD's doesn't weigh out the french fries or the amount of sauce they put on a sandwich. Subway doesn't weigh the bread or the meat and condiments they give you. If you were eating that just one day a week, it wouldn't be a big deal at all. But having it consistently could have you going over your calories on a consistent basis.
  • ahviendha
    ahviendha Posts: 1,291 Member
    i agree with others. if you're not losing weight, you aren't logging correctly.

    a scale could help you a lot, i lost 50lbs by eyeballing portions and then i got a scale because i plateaued for a year.

    i was SO WRONG on portion sizes. being off by 200 calories a day on logging adds up.

    agree with reduce your sodium intake, or up your potassium intake. water retention masks weight loss.

    abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.
  • Tabithas_Transformation
    Tabithas_Transformation Posts: 93 Member
    You could start by logging accurately and weighing everything.

    ^ Enough said. A lot of blank days in your diary, and when you do log, you almost always go over your grams of fat allowance.
  • djflowerz
    djflowerz Posts: 23 Member
    You are not eating enough vegetables, protein, or fiber. Increase your intake of vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains. Replace some of your bananas with fruits that are lower in sugar or replace with plain nuts or low-sugar greek yogurt. Cook and prepare more foods at home rather than eating out. Google "beige diet".
  • amieosia
    amieosia Posts: 20
    Yes, there are days that I don't log...that's just my laziness. But they're pretty much the same as the others. I eat lots of Subway because that's where I work! But I DO log everything, the days I remember. Honestly I slacked for awhile but am trying to keep at it this time. But log or not, with that much exercise shouldn't I be seeing results? Is it really just as basic as eating less sodium and more protein?
  • DPernet
    DPernet Posts: 481 Member
    Nope, it's as simple as logging your calories accurately

    :flowerforyou:
  • amieosia
    amieosia Posts: 20
    I thought I had my settings to show calories burned, its possible I did something wrong though. I don't underestimate calories because I use the scanner or research the cals, and make sure I am eating only one serving. Scarily enough I actually think I have gained a couple of pounds back! :-(
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    Calorie deficit=weight loss
    You could do all of the exercise in the world, but if you are not at a deficit, you will not lose weight. Log accurately and weigh everything. Start there.
  • amieosia
    amieosia Posts: 20
    What am I doing wrong, as far as logging calories? I can't sabotage myself by doing it incorrectly.
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    If you're not weighing and logging your food and your not losing, then you're eating more than you realise.
  • Soccermavrick
    Soccermavrick Posts: 405 Member
    OK, this is a quick and dirty tree top overview. And maybe someone else might see something I missed, but

    A) We cannot comment on something not logged. But more importantly logging makes you more aware of what you are eating. And if you are anything like me, it was easy for me to forget little snacks that added up. Also are you weighing and measuring your food? Portion differ, and MFP is a general count.

    B) Weight is not an end all be all. Take a few starting pictures. (You do not have to post them, they are for you to compare to yourself in a month, or two...) And think about taking measurements.

    C) Looking at what was there your sodium (mine is too) appears high, (Sodium tends to have you retain extra water in your body,) Fat border line high, but protein is WAY low. My first thought would be see if you can get higher protein foods, 1) they will fill you up more, and 2) protein is not converted to fat as quickly as carbs.

    D) What is the intensity of the training? I have good days and I have bad, but they are not the same burn.
  • amieosia
    amieosia Posts: 20
    Yes, I could definitely do more protein. I keep my heart rate around 145, it's about the best I can do currently. But when I started I was nowhere near 45 minutes, so I know there is improvement there. And absolutely, I should buy a tape measure. I feel more toned but not skinnier.
  • markjackson3979
    markjackson3979 Posts: 3 Member
    Your diet is atrocious,way too many carbs.Add more protein and less sugar.try a 40 40 20 macro ratio.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    1) Start logging, everythign, every day. Most days, you do not log anything, or clearly do not log everything. There is no point in using MFP and not logging. So start really using the site. This is the easy part.
    2) And the hard one: Change your habits. It is impossible to stay under the calorie limit, fill full and be healthy, while eating mainly junk food. The days you have logged, it is like the negative example of what people should not do to be fit and healthy: mcdonalds and then some sandwich and all topped with some chips. You know that whatever your goals are regarding being fit, this is not how you will get there.
    3) Because of the type of exercising you do, I would not trust calories personally. I have seen people work side by side in circuit training and put in completely different effort, or different programs called circuit training, some being seriously intensive exercise, others were you can get away with minimum effort. Aim for a set number of calories per day, based on TDEE, and do not eat calories back.
  • amieosia
    amieosia Posts: 20
    Thanks everyone I will take all of your advice. Something has to change before I get so frustrated I just give up!
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    OP:
    Read this link and all of the links in it. (it will take you awhile, but it is worth it)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?page=1#posts-16625920
  • amieosia
    amieosia Posts: 20
    :-)
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    But log or not, with that much exercise shouldn't I be seeing results? Is it really just as basic as eating less sodium and more protein?

    You can't outrun a bad diet. You get fit in the gym, but you lose weight in the kitchen. (Not my own aphorisms, I hasten to add; they circulate online.)

    Case in point: in 2012, I bicycled over 2,400 miles - about 50 miles a week on average. At my cycling speed, that was about 3.5-4 hours a week. I also walked a lot. And I gained 10 pounds.

    Exercise is great for improving your strength, stamina, and mood. However, it also makes you hungry - part of our biological feedback system. Think about it - a typical person consumes between half a million and a million calories a year, yet most people put on weight very slowly--a pound or two a year. That means that our bodies self-regulate so that we eat just a tiny bit over what we need - far less than 1% of the total - unless our hunger and satiety signals are out of whack, as with those of us who gain weight quickly.
  • amieosia
    amieosia Posts: 20
    Feeling frustrated because I am the worlds pickiest eater and have to find things to substitute my favorites. I just honestly thought that as long as I was under on calories it didn't matter.
  • 19TaraLynn84
    19TaraLynn84 Posts: 739 Member
    For weight loss, it really is as simple as having a calorie deficit. Don't let all the macro talk throw you off. If you're not losing weight, then there is a problem with the deficit.

Categories