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

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  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
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    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
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    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
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    I went through a 2-3 month plateau. Just stick with it!
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    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: 38,401 MFP Moderator
    Options
    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
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    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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