Meanies of MFP - Bring it On

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  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    OP, you have been around enough to know what's wrong, you're eating to much. But I'm glad you invited me to be a meanie, most prove are mad when they call me that! As for advice, double down on your logging accuracy, weigh and measure EVERYTHING at least for a little while until you are back on track. Good luck!

    Honestly this, although vague, is the best and really only advice we can give. Probably doesn't feel that helpful but honestly it probably does come down to accurate logging.

    If your current diet is difficult for you to log accurately perhaps, as I suggested earlier, you could change your diet at least temporarily to something that you could actually track accurately without much difficulty.
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
    Agree with everyone on the "you're eating more than you think team".

    I also agree with Aaron in that if you don't want to weigh foods, lower calorie goal to make up the error. Right now you are basically eating maintenance in reality (not that 1670 cals is your maintenance).
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    n

    oh thanks time to go check back on that thread.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    OP do you think that at least temporarily you would be willing to stick to home-prepared meals of whole foods? Not because I think eating "clean" is necessary for weight loss but it would allow you to easily and more to the point accurately track your intake using a food scale.

    If you ate chicken breast and broccoli and other whole foods where the nutritional content is a known entity and you did that for about a month or two you could really nail down what your maintenance and weight loss calories are. After that you could maybe relax that and just be rigorous about estimating calories in things where the values are not so clear cut.

    Its a learning process but it might be easier to learn if you pick foods whose values are fully known.

    Examples would be:

    Chicken breast
    Tuna
    Protein powder
    Vegetables
    Fruits
    rice
    beans
    etc etc

    ....basically anything you prepare at home from whole ingredients rather than prepackaged.

    Just to be clear I don't think so called "Clean" eating is necessary for weight loss but it can make accurate calorie logging a whole lot easier.

    OP, with the fact that you are clearly underestimating your intake I think the idea that Aaron gave you above is a nice one. For nothing more than consistency and accuracy which is what you are lacking right now. Think about it. You have spent months making no progress as you call it so what harm would it do to sacrifice 3 weeks of your life to run this test to see what your numbers really are.

    It doesn't mean you have to be super restrictive but you should make choices you can track properly without guessing. Then let's say you do eat 1600 and lose weight then it would confirm what you and everyone already suspects. You're eating to much.

    Basically just sit down with a spreadsheet and a web browser with nutrition info make yourself a meal plan using whole foods you can get at your local grocery store. Plan some meals and do some cooking. You might have to eat in a rut for a while (similar things every day) but if you stick with it for a month you could get a real honest read on your intake that can help you set your goals for the foreseeable future. Think of it as a commitment that invests in your future ability to diet properly.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    n

    Oh my, did SunofaBeach actually self-censor? I would never have thought that would happen. :-)
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    So, intake weigh more of your foods. So each day maybe have 50 calories leftover

    Walk 3 days a week for 45 minutes(roughly at 20 minute pace you pick up 650 calories each week)

    So 50 x7=350 and 650 gives you 1,000 calories each week. Over the next 7 months you ought to drop about 28000 calories or 7 pounds. Damn mean people; so buy a scale, use it and start walking. Oh and :P
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Whoops forgot to be mean. That thing you said that one time OP....that was stupid and totally wrong and you should be ashamed. There hope that qualifies.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,266 Member
    Most calorie counters eat 200-400 more calories a day than they think. Get a scale and don't lie to yourself.:flowerforyou:
  • scorpiophoenix
    scorpiophoenix Posts: 222 Member
    The way I see it, 1670 with your current exercise habits is your maintinance for 185 lbs. Drop your calories a little, increase your workout intensity or time a little and you should see a budge. Gooid luck. Oh an of course make sur you weigh/log accurately etc

    ^^this I started two months ago at 185 (and I'm only 5'6" so you're up on me there) and to lose a pound a week my goal was 1430. I still eat out and have sweets, but I track my exercise and calories and make sure to only eat back about half of my exercise calories. Give or take. I've lost 10lbs so far using the site to keep track of everything. It really does help. Good luck getting out of your rut! :flowerforyou:
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    dat gum it...roughly 8 pounds lost. see previous post
  • wendylala1
    wendylala1 Posts: 1 Member
    I have a question or three: are you sure that you're being honest with yourself when you log (good, bad, or ugly)? Could it be that during the times that you've just added calories w/o saying what the food was, that you didn't want to admit to yourself or allow anyone else to look at what you ate? Are you prone to binging when you're stressed or down?
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
    I'm just here because I'm obviously a meanie and I agree with the other users. I think Aaron's idea of eating at home for a few weeks is good just to make sure you are eating at goal and you have more control over the calories you're consuming.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    Okay - I need a smack down. I like to think I am doing everything right, but clearly I am not. I know I need to eat less and move more. I just looked at my progress chart. I've been losing and gaining the same couple pounds since NOVEMBER!! That's absolutely zero progress in 7 months. That's ridiculous.

    My calorie goal is 1670 (obviously too high - need to figure out what to lower it to - I follow IIFYM so I don't track exercise) - I go to kickboxing twice a week, see a trainer once a week and go to the gym one additional day (obviously not enough).

    I have a scale and I use it. I've cut back on eating out (not enough obviously). If I don't start seeing some progress on the scale soon I'm going to lose it. I've been steadily gaining weight this month and the whole situation is just making me miserable. I want to quit - but then I'll just be more fat so that's not an option.

    I'm 5'8 - 185lbs (ugh - did I just admit that) and 41 yrs old. I do NOT want to have to eat only 1200 calories a day or do any ridiculous fad diets, but I am desperate to see some progress. Oh and I've not lost ANY inches - not a single clothing size - so noooo I don't need to throw out the scale and just measure myself.

    You are in the same place I am except I've been fuxxing with the same 5 lbs since December of last year. I know what my problem is - it looks a lot like yours. I have decided that I just don't care as much as I should and I'm happy losing WAY slower because I am not willing to give up doing what is causing the issue for me..

    Looking at your diary for the last 2 weeks, at least half of those days included some form of 'take out' (ie. Starbucks, Pappa Johns, Quick Calories) So half the time you are relying on someone else to make your food. I guarantee that the calorie counts on every one of those items is off - by at least 10%. Your tiny deficit, is disappearing every week to the take out. I have the same problem. So even though you are weighing food, you are still eating food that isn't weighed and trusting that the source of the food really cares about you enough to make the calories equal what they tell you.. they don't. Trust NO ONE but yourself.

    The suggestion given earlier to stop eating out will work - it works for me too, I just don't do it :p If you want to keep eating out then drop your intake by 200 calories / day and keep doing what you're doing OR add another workout. If you don't already have a spreadsheet for tracking your daily intake, starting one might help you see the problem.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    OP - I would suggest that you really tighten up your logging and weigh/measure/log every single morsel of food that you eat for two to three weeks and see if you start losing again. Also, I looked over your diary and you have a lot of days where you are over by aby about 75 to 100 calories….if you are over 75 calories a day for seven days straight that is an extra 525 calories a week ..

    I would suggest that you try coming in under your 1670 mark say 1650 and see how it goes….
  • catruledquilter
    catruledquilter Posts: 48 Member
    MyChocolate: at least I'll never have to worry about a pregnancy test...I'm 62 & had a hysterectomy when I was 28. :laugh: I do love your general suggestions, though...and, like you said, OP said anything goes for suggestions!!

    BTW, I'm 62, 5'2" and at 192...that is down 11#. I weigh everything in metric (including myself) and sometimes have to convert when I can't find an exact measurement match. I don't have a problem with that at all.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    So not preggo - no one wants a big old lady!! :laugh: I could only wish that would be an option....

    Thanks for all the advice and for confirming what I should already know! Going to get back to logging EVERYTHING and being as accurate as possible. I think I'll start by dropping my calories by 200 tomorrow and see how that goes. That should also force me to make better choices - hard to stay under the smaller the goal is. No room for junk! And definitely need to stop the "oh it's just a little in the red I'll be fine" mindset.

    Someone asked about Quick Adds. Yesterday we went out for Mother's Day. I had a couple bites of something Kid ordered - and it wasn't in the nutritional information and a couple bites of my Mom's potatoes. I probably could have found some numbers for the potatoes. Last week at a work function they severed light appetizers - like a meatball and a bite-sized piece of chicken and pita cracker - I just used quick add because I have no idea how to log that accurately. I don't care if anyone is looking at my dairy and sees what I eat. Not trying to hide - just either can't figure out how to log it, accounting for some nibbles or I logged something that I think isn't enough calories and needs a buffer.

    I feel so much better now. I've been so down for the last few days and wanting to quit, but I got this. You all confirmed what I needed to know. Get my act together and it will all come together. :flowerforyou:
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    Maybe it is time for a heart rate monitor and eating calories from exercise back? You metabolism could be needing a bit more input to feel comfortable eating fat instead of storing it.

    No, there is NO way that the reason you are not losing weight is that you are not eating enough.

    BMR is 1600 which she is at. If I eat at BMR and don't eat exercise back I don't loose crap.

    If this was physiologically possible than there would be no such thing as death by starvation.

    Ergo, you are wrong.

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