Can someone tell me if i'm doing something wrong?

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Replies

  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
    ps if you're logging from a us label next to the serving size in cups there will be a mass or volume in g/oz/ml/fl.oz use this when logging, and weigh the packet as most labels show minimum content weight not actual
  • jgodman1011
    jgodman1011 Posts: 16
    Are you weighing all your solid food and measuring your liquids? Do you log everything you eat? I am trying as much as possible to put everything into my food intake. I put in cheeses, mayo's, etc. i measure them with a measuring spoon or a measuring cup.

    Are you logging your exercise calories and do you eat them back? Where do you get your exercise calorie estimations from? The exercise calculations came from fitness pal, i didn't know of any other way to calculate them, but no i dont eat the extra calories back.

    How long have you been off the appetite suppressant? I was taking it 2x a day now i take it maybe 3x a week.

    Do you have any thyroid problems? if not, have you had it checked? i am on thyroid medication - my levels are typically low

    I do have a kitchen scale which i use for meats, etc....thanks again
    Jenn
  • KMasz
    KMasz Posts: 2,720 Member
    how many grams does 2 cups of cantaloupe weigh? what about 1/8 cup of sauce?
    what about the "Homemade - Broccoli-Quinoa Casserole, 3/4 cup cooked"

    Can someone tell me what this means? what is the difference in grams and cups? now i'm really confused about putting in my calories......thanks

    Grams is a measurement of weight, Cups is a measurement of volume. if you have two cups of cantaloupe, it's obviously a guestimation and it's not an accurate measurement because the cantaloupe (even if you "filled" up two measuring cups of canteloupe) doesn't properly fit the measuring container. it's something that needs to be weighed to accurately log what you are eating.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

    this post is really helpful when learning how to log accurately; it's long but worth the read. hope that helps.
  • jgodman1011
    jgodman1011 Posts: 16
    based on everyones suggestions, my next step is to check the weights in grams instead of cups, i'll use the kitchen scale more. I was doing alot on fitness pal based on the convenience, i'm thinking that even if my calorie intake is a bit off, i can't be consuming 500+ more calories than i think i am?
    Maybe i'll get a heart monitor like someone else suggested, i would just like to figure out if it is ME doing something wrong in calculations or my body is extra slow.
    I did the 1200 calories based on the fitness pal recommendations, i'll try to bump them up on workout days and see if that helps.

    I do thank everyone for your suggestions and comments, i think i may be a little more confused than ever, but will watch the videos and also read the links people provided.
    THanks
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    i'm thinking that even if my calorie intake is a bit off, i can't be consuming 500+ more calories than i think i am?

    yes. especially with generic entries in the food diary.

    that's why I listed those items from your diary and asked if you created the recipes. If not, then you have absolutely no idea how many calories were in the "1 slice of banana bread" or the "2/3 cup of quinoa casserole"
  • jgodman1011
    jgodman1011 Posts: 16
    oh those ones i did the calculations on, those were my recipes - both the banana bread and the quinoa casserole......so those should be right?
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
    My guess is that the appetite suppressant acted as an amphetamine, getting your heart rate up enough to burn more calories than you would not taking them.

    My advice is to ditch the pills completely, set your goals to lose between .5 and 1 pound a week, weigh all food, log all food and exercise, eat only about half of the exercise calories back because most internet sources way overestimate, including MFP, and eat more than 1200 calories while staying within you calorie goal. The reason I say to eat more than 1200 while staying within a deficit is to properly fuel your body, not because eating more helps you lose weight. If you properly fuel your body you have more energy to do what you need to do.

    The best of luck to you. :smile:

    This.
    It sounds like you're making this experience more miserable than it needs to be by not eating enough or giving yourself the time to lose in a healthy manner.
    25 lbs. is not a lot to have to lose (although it seems like a lot when you're starting out). At a healthy 1bl/week rate, you're in this for the long haul (25 weeks or more). Hang in there and you will make this happen. It just needs time and commitment. If you want the weight to stay off, you'll need to do this slowly and in a healthy manner.
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
    i'm thinking that even if my calorie intake is a bit off, i can't be consuming 500+ more calories than i think i am?

    sure you can: a study [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160] of nutritionists and other adults whose only goal was accurately recording their calories (rather than reaching a given target) found that on average they under-estimated their consumption by between 223(nutritionists) and 429(everyone else) kcal/day.

    now they were trying to be as accurate as possible including weighing

    so if you weren't weighing then you could easily we well over, especially as you were targetting a given goal rather than accuracy
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
    oh those ones i did the calculations on, those were my recipes - both the banana bread and the quinoa casserole......so those should be right?

    sure if you weighed (grams not cups) every ingredient you cooked with including the cooking oils and entered them into the log correctly and selected the appropriate database entry

    but they would be *more* accurate if you had weighed (grams) the final weight of all the food you cooked and weighed the serving you gave yourself

    (calories of all the ingredient sin the recipe)/(final weight of the cooked food)*(weight of the food you served yourself)=(calories of your serving)
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    oh those ones i did the calculations on, those were my recipes - both the banana bread and the quinoa casserole......so those should be right?

    sure if you weighed (grams not cups) every ingredient you cooked with including the cooking oils and enteres and entered them into the database correctly and seected the appropriate database entry

    but they would be *more* accurate if you had weighed (grams) the final weight of all the food you cooked and weighed the serving you gave yourself

    (calories of all the ingredient sin the recipe)/(final weight of the cooekd food)*(weight of the food you served yourself)=(calories of your serving)
    exactly.
    how many grams was 1 slice of the banana bread, for example.
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
    People are suggesting OP is not eating enough and others are suggesting she's eating more than she thinks. Which is it? I looked at her diary, and even if she is underestimating her food by using measuring cups, it's still not going to be more than her 1200 + exercise goal.

    Honestly, I think 14 pounds in 8 weeks is fantastic. Consider that weight comes off fast in the first couple of weeks due to water weight; maybe your body is just catching up. Take your measurements and judge progress that way. You're doing great. The pounds will start to drop again. We are about the same age, and it can be slooooooooooow.

    Edit to add: A two week stall does NOT mean she's not eating at a deficit. It means she's a normal human with a normal body that sometimes holds on to things like water and such.
  • jgodman1011
    jgodman1011 Posts: 16
    after all of this, i'm about ready to give up trying to calorie count all together.........but thanks - it give me some more to think about.
  • pspenc90
    pspenc90 Posts: 15 Member
    I went through a 2-3 month plateau. Just stick with it!
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
    People are suggesting OP is not eating enough and others are suggesting she's eating more than she thinks. Which is it? I looked at her diary, and even if she is underestimating her food by using measuring cups, it's still not going to be more than her 1200 + exercise goal.

    so on balance your're eating more than you think, but you should be eating more than you think, just maybe not as much as you are eating

    start being more accurate
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
    after all of this, i'm about ready to give up trying to calorie count all together.........but thanks - it give me some more to think about.

    don't give up - this is simple (conceptually) but it isn't easy to get right

    it takes patience and effort

    many people start, then stall, and it tends to be accuracy at fault
    you are not alone

    we are telling you these things because getting our logging accuracy right is what has helped us lose weight
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    after all of this, i'm about ready to give up trying to calorie count all together.........but thanks - it give me some more to think about.
    there was another thread about this this morning. I'll give you the same advice I gave there.

    you don't have to count calories to lose weight. You can just eat intuitively if you want, but if you aren't losing, the reason could be that you're just not at a calorie deficit. The only way to know whether or not that's the issue, is to count... and count accurately.

    Do yourself the favor if you want to, it'll give you a solid set of data to work with. Weigh / Measure ACCURATELY.. everything... for at least 6 weeks. Every... single... bite. Not "1500 quick add calories" on sunday, since those count too.
    If you have lost at the end of those 6 weeks, you're at a deficit.
    If you haven't lost, but haven't gained, then you found your maintenance calories and could lose if you ate a little less.
    If you gained, do some math to find out how much you gained versus how much you ate... and then subtract and start the 6 week process over again.

    BARRING ANY MEDICAL ISSUES, it should work.

    You can quit counting and hope for the best if you want, but if you aren't logging... and logging accurately at this point... none of us are going to be able to help you other than just giving you a pat on the shoulder.
  • alettep
    alettep Posts: 56 Member
    I met with a dietician & you do need to eat some of the work-out calories back. The goal is 1200 net calories at the end of the day. For example if you eat 1200 calories, earned another 300 through exercise but did not eat them back, your net is only 900 calories which is too low. The 1200 net calories is already calculated for weight loss. Hope that makes sense!
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
    i'm thinking that even if my calorie intake is a bit off, i can't be consuming 500+ more calories than i think i am?

    sure you can: a study [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160] of nutritionists and other adults whose only goal was accurately recording their calories (rather than reaching a given target) found that on average they under-estimated their consumption by between 223(nutritionists) and 429(everyone else) kcal/day.

    now they were trying to be as accurate as possible including weighing

    so if you weren't weighing then you could easily we well over, especially as you were targetting a given goal rather than accuracy

    So in this post http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1270280-food-weighing-scale-miracles
    the user has found that they were under-estimating by 300 cal a day just on coffee and peanuts which they were still logging, but not accurately
    add in all the cooking oils, fruit juices, vegetables, and fruits that we forget becasue they're good for us or becasue we can't be bothered and it can really add up

    also don't forget the 0-cal cooking sprays do contain calories, they just don't show up on the label becasue the serving size is so tiny that they are allowed to round down!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    after all of this, i'm about ready to give up trying to calorie count all together.........but thanks - it give me some more to think about.

    Don't give up. You can eliminate one possible reason for the stall by confirming your calories are accurate. Everyone should aim for being able to eat the most calories they can and still lose weight (this will help you to retain lean body mass which is beneficial, and it will help by not lowering your metabolism too much which could be a result of eating too little). But as has been demonstrated, you don't really know how much you are eating. If you put in this little bit of effort to weigh/log accurately, you will be able to really nail down where you are at and what is the best range for you to eat in to lose weight. And this will be beneficial when you reach your goal weight, you will know where "maintenance" calories is so you won't gain weight back after you stop dieting.

    Remember, MFP does not include exercise in its calculations for how many calories you need to lose weight, when you do exercise, you need to eat more.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
    after all of this, i'm about ready to give up trying to calorie count all together.........but thanks - it give me some more to think about.

    Don't give up. You can eliminate one possible reason for the stall by confirming your calories are accurate. Everyone should aim for being able to eat the most calories they can and still lose weight (this will help you to retain lean body mass which is beneficial, and it will help by not lowering your metabolism too much which could be a result of eating too little). But as has been demonstrated, you don't really know how much you are eating. If you put in this little bit of effort to weigh/log accurately, you will be able to really nail down where you are at and what is the best range for you to eat in to lose weight. And this will be beneficial when you reach your goal weight, you will know where "maintenance" calories is so you won't gain weight back after you stop dieting.

    Remember, MFP does not include exercise in its calculations for how many calories you need to lose weight, when you do exercise, you need to eat more.

    THIS!!!
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    I'm surprised you lost that much in that short of time! That's awesome, but give your body a chance to "recuperate". 0-2 pounds a week is healthy so anything in that direction is a good loss.

    Make sure you're logging Everything, and make sure that you're getting enough nutrition in for the workout's you're doing....if you work out too much and don't have enough caloric intake, your body will go into starvation mode and hang onto everything.

    It's really hard to be patient when you're trying to lose weight, but it's worth it.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    People are suggesting OP is not eating enough and others are suggesting she's eating more than she thinks. Which is it? I looked at her diary, and even if she is underestimating her food by using measuring cups, it's still not going to be more than her 1200 + exercise goal.

    Honestly, I think 14 pounds in 8 weeks is fantastic. Consider that weight comes off fast in the first couple of weeks due to water weight; maybe your body is just catching up. Take your measurements and judge progress that way. You're doing great. The pounds will start to drop again. We are about the same age, and it can be slooooooooooow.

    Edit to add: A two week stall does NOT mean she's not eating at a deficit. It means she's a normal human with a normal body that sometimes holds on to things like water and such.

    Exactly, especially the highlighted. Even though the average person can underestimate, it's not going to be by a 1000 calories, especially when the stuff she isn't measuring is cantaloupe and veggies. Like I suggested, 2 weeks isn't enough to track anything. It should be 4-6 or more.


    Everyone is so quick to jump on the few entries that aren't weighed (as opposed to measured) as opposed to it's been about two weeks and water retention can prevent or mask weight loss.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    People are suggesting OP is not eating enough and others are suggesting she's eating more than she thinks. Which is it? I looked at her diary, and even if she is underestimating her food by using measuring cups, it's still not going to be more than her 1200 + exercise goal.

    Honestly, I think 14 pounds in 8 weeks is fantastic. Consider that weight comes off fast in the first couple of weeks due to water weight; maybe your body is just catching up. Take your measurements and judge progress that way. You're doing great. The pounds will start to drop again. We are about the same age, and it can be slooooooooooow.

    Edit to add: A two week stall does NOT mean she's not eating at a deficit. It means she's a normal human with a normal body that sometimes holds on to things like water and such.

    Exactly, especially the highlighted. Even though the average person can underestimate, it's not going to be by a 1000 calories, especially when the stuff she isn't measuring is cantaloupe and veggies. Like I suggested, 2 weeks isn't enough to track anything. It should be 4-6 or more.


    Everyone is so quick to jump on the few entries that aren't weighed (as opposed to measured) as opposed to it's been about two weeks and water retention can prevent or mask weight loss.

    You can control accuracy. You can't control a temporary fluctuation (which had already been mentioned anyway). I feel sympathetic too that the OP is getting discouraged, but it's not doing her any favors to tell her she's doing everything right and to just wait when there's something she can be doing to help with her accuracy in the meantime.

    Don't get me, accuracy is important and should be improved (it's why I always suggest a food scale), but even then, water weight is the more likely scenario here and the OP shouldn't be discouraged over a couple of "not as accurate" inputs.
  • kaj5410
    kaj5410 Posts: 1 Member
    You have probably hit a plateau; you might increase your protein. Maybe add an egg white omelet to you daily diet.

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