Need help fixing my diet; not loosing despite best efforts.

tkawertz
tkawertz Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello!

I am new to the My Fitness Pal world. I started exercising in December of 2013 to help me loose some weight from when I had my baby in February of 2013. Fast forward to April 2014, and I am still exercising and going strong.

Good, right?

Not so much... Despite my best efforts I am having trouble loosing any weight. I am thinking I would like to loose about 15lbs, but am going more by how I feel than the scale.

I eat fairly well. I like to eat salads, green smoothies, lean meats, etc. I never use dressing (sometimes oil & vinegar), and never drink soda, don't like sweets, eat tons of veggies, I love fruits...... but when it all comes down to it, there's just something off. I tried Weight Watchers but I don't think it was letting me eat enough... I always felt light headed and dizzy and miserable.

My Fitness Pal is estimating that I need 1370 calories per day.

I guess my question is, for someone like me where it seems very hard for me to loose body fat, does it matter where those calories come from? MFP is recommends 50% Carb, 30% Fat, and 20% protein. I keep hearing that for my body type, I should maybe be eating less carbs and more protein. I believe, based on the characteristics, that I am an Endomorph. My body loves to store and hold on to fat. I also seem to go into "starvation mode" easily, so cutting back on calories isn't as easy as it seems.

Since December 2013, this is as far as I've gotten as far as progress. I've lost 0 (yes, 0) pounds. I weigh the same in the before picture as the after picture. I am starting to get discouraged, but I'm not giving up.

Front:

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Side:

c61109a3-7853-4284-8f64-37878d107ef3_zps2125e7d4.jpg

Back:

56dbf289-e5d4-4f51-b774-86bf587b31af_zpsa821203f.jpg

Thanks for your help!

Replies

  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    How long have you been eating at 1370? How consistently do you weigh your food - using a digital food scale? If you don't weigh, how can you be sure how many calories you are consuming?

    It may take trial & error to figure out what works for you as to macro portions. I don't think the key there is solely weight loss, but how it makes you feel. If eating one way makes you feel lethargic, that is not not going to help you lead a healthy, active lifestyle.

    Could there be factors that are influencing your weight loss? After my 2nd I went on 2 rounds of the depo provera shot. (14+ years ago, not sure if its still in use.) I'm positive this was at least a contributing factor to my not losing any 'baby weight'. That, and my inactive lifestyle was catching up to me as I aged and my metabolism naturally slowed down!
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    You may weigh the same, but I can definitely see progress. Your tummy is a lot flatter in the second picture, and a lot more defined in the first picture. I would keep going, if you do not have much weight to lose, its always harder to lose weight. But there is definitely 100% progress in those pictures, even if its not by weight loss. You look a lot better. :)
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Looking at your diary, I think you just started tracking yesterday unless you were logging elsewhere before. If you were not counting calories to eat in a reduced range previously, that is likely the reason you've not lost weight since December. You increased your activity, and there are certainly health benefits to that, but if you were not eating at a deficit: its natural that you didn't lose weight.

    Give yourself a range of 4 weeks to eat at a deficit. Perhaps even aim for 2-3 days a month to eat at maintenance. (If you selected a 1 pound per week loss goal, that would mean eating 500 calories higher for the day.) Look for results in time, don't get frustrated if the scale doesn't move down each & every day. Stress, hormomes, sodium, etc. can mask the results.
  • tkawertz
    tkawertz Posts: 9
    How long have you been eating at 1370? How consistently do you weigh your food - using a digital food scale? If you don't weigh, how can you be sure how many calories you are consuming?

    It may take trial & error to figure out what works for you as to macro portions. I don't think the key there is solely weight loss, but how it makes you feel. If eating one way makes you feel lethargic, that is not not going to help you lead a healthy, active lifestyle.

    Could there be factors that are influencing your weight loss? After my 2nd I went on 2 rounds of the depo provera shot. (14+ years ago, not sure if its still in use.) I'm positive this was at least a contributing factor to my not losing any 'baby weight'. That, and my inactive lifestyle was catching up to me as I aged and my metabolism naturally slowed down!

    Thanks for your reply!

    I am not on any medications or anything, so I don't think there are other factors.

    With weight watchers, I wasn't weighing my food. I started tracking calories, and after 2 weeks, decided to start on MFP because it made it easier (silly me doing it on paper).

    I just started tracking via weight. I have a kitchen scale. I found that I was overestimating (yes, over) a lot of my calories because since I didn't have a scale at the time, I would just add some extra to make up for if I was off. I think by doing this all day, I was much farther under my calorie goals than I should have been, and might have been in "starvation mode".

    I have been eating 1370 calories for 4 days now. I am still hungry most of the day and have found that it works best if I break it up into more frequent mini meals.

    I guess I'll just stick with the MFP recommendations for macros until I can figure out what works best, and just change it up in a week if I don't see anything changing.

    Do you weigh all food? Even fresh veggies? Like should I be weighing my lettuce?

    (I am sorry for the silly questions, I am fairly new to weighing food.)
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I personally weigh all my solids, measure my liquids. Yes even my lettuce...

    Are you eating your exercise calories back??? at least some of them?

    As well if you find you are hungry try to get in more protien. It helps keep you fuller longer. Things like skim milk, low fat cheese, greek yogurt with fresh fruit, substitute sour cream with greek yogurt and even mayo.

    For lean protiens lots of fish, seafood, pork and chicken.
  • tkawertz
    tkawertz Posts: 9
    You may weigh the same, but I can definitely see progress. Your tummy is a lot flatter in the second picture, and a lot more defined in the first picture. I would keep going, if you do not have much weight to lose, its always harder to lose weight. But there is definitely 100% progress in those pictures, even if its not by weight loss. You look a lot better. :)

    Thank you! I just felt a bit discouraged thinking I should have seen more progress after all the time! But I'll just have to try harder :)
  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    Log everything. 100%. Every day. I weigh all my food, always have. Every little thing. Congrats on your baby, btw! . I had mine June of 2013 :D. The only way you'll know if a certain calorie amount is proper is by logging consistently. Read the link too, it was monumentally helpful to me when I started out and clarified a lot.
  • tkawertz
    tkawertz Posts: 9
    Looking at your diary, I think you just started tracking yesterday unless you were logging elsewhere before. If you were not counting calories to eat in a reduced range previously, that is likely the reason you've not lost weight since December. You increased your activity, and there are certainly health benefits to that, but if you were not eating at a deficit: its natural that you didn't lose weight.

    Give yourself a range of 4 weeks to eat at a deficit. Perhaps even aim for 2-3 days a month to eat at maintenance. (If you selected a 1 pound per week loss goal, that would mean eating 500 calories higher for the day.) Look for results in time, don't get frustrated if the scale doesn't move down each & every day. Stress, hormomes, sodium, etc. can mask the results.

    I was logging on paper before... yes, a person with a smartphone logging on paper... silly me!

    This is much easier! I will keep at it and hit it hard for the next month, and then adjust accordingly.
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    If what you're saying is accurate, I would have a talk with your GP about this. Perhaps some thyroid testing is in order.

    I would also start adding some exercise.

    Regarding weighing food: I don't weigh things with negligible calories like lettuce, celery, low glycemic veggies. I always, always, always weigh things like oil, meat, cheese, pasta. That's where I'm pretty bad at estimating portions.

    Only good things can come from increased accuracy.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Some may beat me up about this but NO I don't weigh all lettuce, etc. The grocery store near where I work has a salad bar. I throw in lettuce, spinach, other greens. I add in cherry tomatoes (which I log by #) and some cucumbers. The greens and cucumbers are low cal. If I'm off I figure its a +/- 10-25 calories at most. I then take that back to the office and use the postage scale which shows grams to add my 2% cheese and dressing.

    I actually estimate on broccoli, cauliflower also. But for anything more calorie dense I weigh.

    If you're feeling hungry, you may need more calories. Or may just need to adjust & get used to eating less. I've always heard if you think you're hungry trying drinking water. Give it 20 minutes. If you still think you're hungry, have a snack. Other things to try are changing when you have the bulk of your calories. Some eat small breakfast, medium lunch, large dinner w/ misc. snacks. Others are the opposite. Try eating more protein & fiber as they can help you feel full longer.

    Note the way MFP is set up, when you log cardio it earns you extra 'exercise' calories. Since your deficit should be built into your non-exercise calorie burn, use your discretion in whether or not to eat the extra. Maybe aim for 50-50. That way if your burn estimate is high, you're erring on the side of caution. But working more means you need more fuel.
  • tkawertz
    tkawertz Posts: 9
    If what you're saying is accurate, I would have a talk with your GP about this. Perhaps some thyroid testing is in order.

    I would also start adding some exercise.

    Regarding weighing food: I don't weigh things with negligible calories like lettuce, celery, low glycemic veggies. I always, always, always weigh things like oil, meat, cheese, pasta. That's where I'm pretty bad at estimating portions.

    Only good things can come from increased accuracy.

    I exercise 4 or 5 days a week and have since December of 2013. I did 30 days of exercise without any diet changes, then started watching calories in January/February. I did weight watchers for a month with no results, and then that brings me to starting to use MFP about 2 days ago. I am hope MFP will be the changing point; I am fairly certain I do not have a thyroid issue, but will not count out the possibility if I don't see any weight loss after a couple months of strictly dieting.

    I will probably start off weighing everything just so I can get an idea of portion sizes, and then after I get a feel for it, I'll continue to weigh meats, oil, cheese, etc, just to be sure.
    `
    Thanks!
  • tkawertz
    tkawertz Posts: 9
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    Log everything. 100%. Every day. I weigh all my food, always have. Every little thing. Congrats on your baby, btw! . I had mine June of 2013 :D. The only way you'll know if a certain calorie amount is proper is by logging consistently. Read the link too, it was monumentally helpful to me when I started out and clarified a lot.

    That post helps a LOT! Thank you for sharing!!
  • frhlyn
    frhlyn Posts: 4
    Still interested? :)
  • tracylrg
    tracylrg Posts: 1
    Hi I use fitness pal to keep track of my calories, but am actually doing the 5:2diet. I have between 1200-1700 calories 5 days a week, and 400-500 cals 2 days a week. Progress is steady and it's very easy to stick to, it stops your body going into starvation mode, and only feels like you are dieting for 2 days. Try looking at this as an option, I too had trouble losing weight on just cal counting, it works for me it may for you. Good luck.
  • MikeC692000
    MikeC692000 Posts: 4 Member
    What kind of exercise are you doing? Kudos for working out so often! What may be happening is that you are gaining greater muscle tone (which is good). Muscle is denser and can actually weigh more than fat. You may be expecting to see weight loss, but you are replacing it with more well-toned muscle. If you are happy with your appearance, I wouldn't stress about it too much.:smile:

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