Please tell me what I'm doing wrong here!!
breakyoface
Posts: 160 Member
Ok so I am a 30yo female, 5'8 and 218lbs. I started this whole process 3 weeks ago this Thursday and was 224lbs. As soon as I started I was losing lbs and oz daily, now all the sudden I have stopped losing and just gaining ounces. For the past 3 days or so it has been a few ounces up a few ounces down but it won't go down from 217-218. My nutritionist put me at 1800cals for the day and MFP put me at 1720 and I have been staying well under that. 1500-1650 or so. I do drink 700cals a day in coffee but still stay under the calories for the day. I measure and count and overestimate on everything. I am very OCD about it because I want to lose weight so badly. I haven't been able to work out due to a back injury but thought it would be fine as long as I'm under my range. Can you please give me any advice or insight to what I am doing wrong here? I never expected a stand still after only 3 weeks. It's depressing!!
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Replies
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Weight loss is not linear, so take photos & measurements, too.
Your diary is closed, but if I had to guess I'd say you're underestimating your food &/or overestimating your burns. Log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Weigh your food.
Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
Edited to add after looking at your diary:
#1. Weigh everything.
#2. MFP's protein goal is a minimum, and you're way under.
#3. Some days you're drinking 1,000 calories of sugary iced coffee?! Follow the 80/20 rule: eat "healthy" (whatever that means to you) 80% of the time. Real food (especially protein & fiber) will keep you feeling full longer. Don't deprive yourself. Have one iced coffee a day (not three!), and enjoy the hell out of it.0 -
I just opened my diary.0
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The only thing you're doing wrong is being impatient and setting your expectations way too high. Pretty much anyone who starts watching what they eat will lose quickly in the beginning but it tapers off after a few weeks. Your weight will fluctuation up to 5 pounds daily so a few ounces here and there isn't really that big of a deal. Water weight can wreak havoc on weigh ins due to high sodium intake, monthly hormone cycle, etc.
Take a deep breath, pat yourself on the bck and be happy that you're having such great success so far! Two pounds per week is right on track!0 -
You also had a fair amount of salt the last couple of days; is it possible you're retaining water?
Go for the long term, and do weigh everything.
Good luck!0 -
I just took a quick peek at your diary after reading your post, and the one thing that stands out is that you are taking in (according to your post) 700 cal A DAY in coffee drinks? Fat, sugar, sodium…these are nothing more than dessert. Even if you are staying within your caloric guidelines, that stuff is not nutrition. First impression: that's too much coffee or a lot of sugar/creamer in your coffee drinks. I'm thinking it's the latter…either way, you've got to get that under control if you want to lose weight. Just changing that one habit would make a big difference in reaching your goals.0
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From what I see it appears as if you are taking in too much sugar. Probably more that what is even reported on your log. I would suggest to try to cut the coffee to maybe 1 a day or try making them yourself using stevia or splenda. Also you haven't recorded water but if you are taking in a lot of sodium you're going to want to drink lots of water to help flush it out of your system. It takes time but I can only suggest more clean eating and making food at home. I have a food prep day once or twice a week where I prepare my meals so that I can take them with me. It's really helpful during busy days. Good luck0
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Yes, Starbucks addict. I thought though that if you stay under your calories that you will still lose weight. I am going to cut back on that though..but I want to drink my coffee everyday. Will drinking sugary coffees but still being under my caloric goals really keep me from losing weight!?0
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It you want it so bad eliminate those fancy coffees. There is your solution. Make your own coffee and add some store bought creamer. Saves you $$ too.0
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First of all...weight loss is crazy fast in the first few weeks. Then it's down to the nitty gritty. So what you were doing when you started was good enough then. It's not now.
Second...you're not drinking 700 calories in coffee a day. You're drinking 700 calories in the sweets & cream that is added to your coffee each day. In just 2 coffees. It's killing you! It's not good enough to just allow for that many calories in your daily intake by cutting elsewhere. When it's that many calories, you are missing on nutrition. You need to start thinking in terms of getting "the most bang for your buck" with each calorie. Start weaning yourself off the crazy caramels & mochas. Oh, gawd, I know they're good! But they're not good for you. (Or your wallet, am I right here?)
I love coffee as much as the next. I have a Tassimo machine at home, and I couldn't live without my lattes. But I went from about 400 calories in lattes way back to just 70 calories a day now. I didn't do it overnight, and every time & stepped down to a less-tasteful latte, I wasn't happy. But I got used to it. And I enjoy my 35 calorie lattes now.
As far as the rest of your diary...your food items are good. How are you preparing them?
Edited to add: throw some exercising in too. Even walking. Every little bit counts.0 -
Starbucks lover here too! 0 -
Yes, Starbucks addict. I thought though that if you stay under your calories that you will still lose weight. I am going to cut back on that though..but I want to drink my coffee everyday. Will drinking sugary coffees but still being under my caloric goals really keep me from losing weight!?
How much do you spend a day in coffee? Yikes!! Those should be a treat, like weekly, and not the big sugary fatty ones. Not worth the calories.0 -
If its near "that time of the month", that may be a factor too.0
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If you stay within your calorie goal, you will lose weight. But you're not eating at a deficit—you're guesstimating your food, and severely underestimating your calories.Yes, Starbucks addict. I thought though that if you stay under your calories that you will still lose weight. I am going to cut back on that though..but I want to drink my coffee everyday. Will drinking sugary coffees but still being under my caloric goals really keep me from losing weight!?
Everybody's pounced on your Iced coffee intake, but as I said above, you need to buy a food scale. Trust me, you're in for a shock when you see how much you're really eating! So you need to cut calories, and since you're not meeting your protein goal the easiest way for you to cut calories is fewer sugary coffees.
Please, get a food scale & read the Sexypants link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants0 -
Don't measure and count and overestimate - weigh everything.0
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Only thing wrong is you're expecting weight loss to be linear and it's not. Continue on and see what happens in a full month's time.Ok so I am a 3yo female, 5'8 and 218lbs. I started this whole process 3 weeks ago this Thursday and was 224lbs. As soon as I started I was losing lbs and oz daily, now all the sudden I have stopped losing and just gaining ounces. For the past 3 days or so it has been a few ounces up a few ounces down but it won't go down from 217-218. My nutritionist put me at 1800cals for the day and MFP put me at 1720 and I have been staying well under that. 1500-1650 or so. I do drink 700cals a day in coffee but still stay under the calories for the day. I measure and count and overestimate on everything. I am very OCD about it because I want to lose weight so badly. I haven't been able to work out due to a back injury but thought it would be fine as long as I'm under my range. Can you please give me any advice or insight to what I am doing wrong here? I never expected a stand still after only 3 weeks. It's depressing!!
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
i would get a scale and weigh and measure everything!! and be honest and accurate. I think if you do that for a while, you'll start to see results. I recently read an article about calories from restaurants for food and also drinks, and it said that it's usually not accurate at all and it depends on how the person prepared the drink/foods. So the website could say that drink is 700 Cal but it could really be 870 Cal depending on how it was prepared, like one person could add in more sugar or cream then the next person, so it's hard to be accurate when relying on restaurants. I'm not saying you can't go have a treat sometimes, but a few times per day can really add up!!!0
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Try not to be so obsessive about weighing yourself constantly. Because of mitigating factors (like water retention) it is near impossible to observe actual weight loss on a day-to-day basis. Weigh yourself the same time and day, once a week and allow your body to adjust to the diet before freaking out. If you are eating below your maintenance, you will lose weight regardless of what you are eating.
But, as has been mentioned, cutting out 700 cal/day worth of coffee would be huge. Those calculations are also just averages, so it's possible that you are consuming even more than that many days, especially if you are adding things to the standard recipe and calculating on your own.
It's not for everyone, but I've switched to black coffee and have zero regrets. Even a little creamer of sugar is fine but 700 calories a day is obscene. You are getting an entire meal's worth of calories from your beverages alone.0 -
You most certainly can lose weight while enjoying your coffee! But you will need to make cutbacks on HOW MUCH coffee you drink if it is the sweetness of the coffee you like!
I love my coffee in the morning. And I like my Heath flavor coffee creamer, A LOT! Butter pecan is pretty darn good too! But I use to take my container of liquid sugar and pour mindlessly. My hubby always said that stuff would be the death of me someday (joking of course), but it was adding calories to my day. So I started measuring out my tablespoons of creamer. One tablespoon is 35 calories and a lot of carbs/sugars. I know I needed more than one, so I tried two. Two was still not sweet enough, but three was doable. So I am still using 100+ calories just in my drink, but it is worth it to me because I am getting to enjoy something I love while not having to give up too much! And because I am not adding what I probably used to add (guessing 6 or 7 tablespoons), I have those extra calories to enjoy a cookie or my strawberry shortcake at night.
Just another thought: If you can give up one drink a day, put the money you save in a jar for a new top or a pedi or something fun to reward yourself with when you hit 10 lb milestones
You can do this!!! 0 -
I actually measure my food with a scale daily and use measuring cups/spoons ALWAYS. I never just guess what I'm eating. I read the labels and eat exactly what is said for the amount and what I log. I log EVERYTHING I eat. I don't even take bites of other peoples food because then I would have to add it. Seriously..I measure everything lol0
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i think people are saying your drink calories could be off depending on how it's made. You have to know deep down that 700-1000 cal per day on sugary fatty coffees is not healthy.I actually measure my food with a scale daily and use measuring cups/spoons ALWAYS. I never just guess what I'm eating. I read the labels and eat exactly what is said for the amount and what I log. I log EVERYTHING I eat. I don't even take bites of other peoples food because then I would have to add it. Seriously..I measure everything lol0 -
You are probably eating more than you think.0
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But, as has been mentioned, cutting out 700 cal/day worth of coffee would be huge. Those calculations are also just averages, so it's possible that you are consuming even more than that many days, especially if you are adding things to the standard recipe and calculating on your own.
It's not for everyone, but I've switched to black coffee and have zero regrets. Even a little creamer of sugar is fine but 700 calories a day is obscene. You are getting an entire meal's worth of calories from your beverages alone.
^This. I used to drink 6-8 cups of coffee a day, 7 days a week, with a lot of half-and-half and splenda or sugar in each cup. I'd also get whatever sugary drink I wanted from Starbuck's every Friday morning on my way to work as a treat. Last September, I quit all of the coffee cold turkey, and now only drink 1 cup of coffee in the morning, with one quick splash of unsweetened almond milk (though black is fine too), and no sweeteners or anything else. I went through a miserable caffeine withdrawal for about a week, and then was okay after that. It cut hundreds of calories a day from my food diary, and I can eat lots of other things for the same amount of calories that I was drinking out of a cup. I find that I have more energy now than I used to, because I used to rely on getting my next cup of coffee every hour or so throughout the work day to keep me awake, and would crash after work at the end of the day and had no energy to work out.
If cutting the sugary coffee drinks is something you want to do, it is totally possible. Save the drinks for once a week, or cut down to a small sized one once a day, something like that to start out. Passing on whipped cream, opting for skim milk, and asking for only 2 or 3 pumps of flavoring also cuts the calories, fat, and sugar of the drink.0 -
This might help you to see the financial cost of that Starbucks addiction: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/demotivator/
You could apply the same methodology to the calorie cost to you too. 700 cals per day is 4900 per week. 254,800 per year, which is equivalent to approximately 72.8lbs of fat per year. I'm not suggesting you cut it out, and don't replace it with real food as you really need to replace it with real (nutritious) food. But, I think it might help you to realise how much it's 'costing' you.0 -
Since everyone else has basically nailed the rest, I will chime in on weighing yourself so often. You're bound to go up and down ounces if you are checking daily just by simple water weight. You're only going to stress yourself out more by stepping on the scale every day. I know you want to lose weight badly but you should try to resist and limit yourself to one weight per week to give you a realistic idea of what you are actually losing.0
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1. Water retention happens.
2. Some days you just carry more poop.
3. By week 3 muscle is starting to replace fat.
4. If you can check your blood sugar before you eat. A high fasting blood sugar 90-110 can be what is slowing you down.0 -
A couple of things:
Outside prepared foods rarely equal exactly the calorie counts on their websites. For example, the SB drinks are only an estimate because they don't measure everything each and every time. One barista may do an extra pump where another doesn't. One may give an extra 1/2 milk, one may not. One may add more caramel or chocolate. Since an abundance of your cals come from these types of drinks, you could be going over plan without meaning too.
I am also seeing entries in you log that are like "Subway, 3 slices tomato" for 5 cals. Find the database entry that is by weight. I see a few of those that are with cup measurements versus the weight in grams or ounces. Unfortunately a cup isn't a cup when it comes to food since you may pack your cup tighter than mine or vice versa. Which is why measuring in ozs or grams is a better way to go.0 -
When is your period? I always go up 3-5 pounds during. If you've stayed within ounces, you may find a quick drop after you are off your period. I never weigh during TOM, because it ALWAYS goes up!0
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Deep breaths! I agree with the other posters.....your sugar intake is not helping in the weight loss department. Its completely normal to lose a bunch in the beginning and then slow down. I am one of those "weigh every day" kind of people too, can't help it, but I basically do it to see if the meals I had the day before effected me too much....ex to much salt etc. I try not to take it to heart too much until my actual weigh day. Try to get some exercise in...even if its just a walk. It will make you feel so much better. I will say tho, that I didn't exercise for about 2 weeks, due to being on vacation and then not feeling well....and I lost consistently both weeks. Exercise however will help you lose inches and make your body look better...regardless of what the scale says. Just do a little tweeking and you will be back to losing again.......good luck!0
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Even though you're at a deficit you have to also consider the nutritional value of what you're eating. If you're drinking 700 calories in coffee and only eating 900 calories in real food then you're body is probably still in some form of starvation and that could be a reason why your weight loss has stalled. I think that you would lose for a while but eventually plateau due to an insufficient diet. I believe that you should strive to eat 1300-1500 calories of good solid food and then consider the coffee in the excess calories that you're allotted and after working out.0
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Yes!0
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