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How are you calculating your calories? Are you eyeballing your portions? Measuring with cups and spoons? If so, this can prove to be very inaccurate. Do you log absolutely everything? Are you finding items that are similar to what you've eaten in the database, or are you adding the items yourself? It's likely due to logging errors. Or you haven't given it enough time. So I second this question:

How long have you been at it?

Are you using a food scale? Such as was the 3/4 cereal yesterday by weight or by using a measuring cup? Same for the chips, dip, etc. (I scan UPC codes and things sometimes show in MFP as the cup amount, but I know I weighed it. Don't want to assume you're using a cup just because that is what the listing has.)

For the lunch Monday, was this a dish you made (your recipe) or something you found in the database? Same for the cranberry chicken dinner on Sunday. If using other people's recipes, keep in mind you won't know how it compares to your own. And you won't really know how much is in '1 serving'.

Some days you are very low on protein. Should not matter if you have a deficit but can impact how you feel throughout the day.

Did you skip dinner on Monday or not log?
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As to the fresh fruits & veggies, shop around. Some things are lower cost than others. Bananas tend to be about $.25 each at most. A bag of apples can be $2-3. If there is an Aldi near you, check them out. Great for meat & produce.

For 3 weeks in, perhaps just give it more time.

Frozen veggies are fine, just get the ones without sauces. Also, try to cut out the chips... While you have the calories for them, that's definitely contributing to your sodium intake. Try alternatives like eating fruit or veggie sticks instead. Try to make things more homemade and rely less on packaged food. Pretty much anythiing out of a box or can or bag is going to be loaded with sodium.

Are you logging everything? I noticed no dinner on Monday...

Are you checking items you're logging? Weighing and measuring?

Here's things that have helped me immensely:

*Make sure you're accurately measuring, weighing, and logging your food - even down to the condiments.

*Make sure you're drinking your water.

*Upgrade your settings from sedentary to likely active.

*Make sure you eat enough to hit your numbers - otherwise your body will go into starvation mode &hold onto EVERY BITE.

*Focus on protein and the fats/carbs will take care of themselves.


I log everything in MFP, and convert to Weight Watcher points. It really does help me focus more on getting in more appropriate nutritional values.

Starvation mode as its thought of is a myth, but the reality is your body doesn't function properly if you're not giving it enough nutrients. And when it doesn't function properly, you won't necessarily get the anticipated results.

Feel free to browse thru my diary. I eat a lot of chicken - its cheap, high in protein. I do focus on trying to get enough protein and 5 or so fruits/veggies a day - and then let the fat, carbs fall into place. I eat 1400-1600. I don't 'eat clean' and though I try not to overdo processed food, I also don't try to avoid it. I eat fast food as my schedule sometimes dictates. I'm not an ideal example, but browsing thru various diaries can give you ideas.

I've looked VERY quickly over your food diary and it just seems like you're eating a ton of CRAP. Captain Crunch...ice cream...chips... If you can afford all that junk then I'm sure you can afford some lean protein and fruits and vegetables. Tuna fish is cheap...a bag of salad...fruit... Also your sodium is sky rocket high.
I just suggest adding in some exercise...a nice walk...some cardio...weigh lifiting... Stop eating total crap and make sure you log everything you eat...
It takes time and hard work. You can do it!

Eating what you consider "CRAP" isn't going to hinder her weight loss as long as she's in a calorie deficit. Now if she's not logging said "CRAP" properly, it can be a problem.

I'm in the broke-can't-afford-stuff boat as well. We're trying to make a conscious effort for it though. For example buying a thing of bananas or getting veggies on sale is less than some of the bigger brand name cereals like Captain Crunch. Its tough but the quality of food plays a huge effect on whats going on with ya. Frozen can work, and I've even stooped low enough to eat canned just avoid the sauces or veggies canned in syrup.

Chicken can be cheap and beef when its on sale. You could also go for the less ideal types of meat like gizzards. Also trying to get in fish is a great choice! Hell, I'm getting myself a rod and my fishing license so I can just go fishing for my meat rather than buy it from the store and I'd love to go small game hunting but I'm not sure if I can afford that this year. Come this fall I'll be hunting for my meat and I'm hoping some good venison will last through much of the year. Especially since your a fellow Michigander we have wonderful hunting/fishing resources here =]

Eggs are one of my biggest ways to get in my protein because I usually can't afford much meat but eggs are cheap. So are beans. Tomorrow I'll be making a mixed bean soup which cost me only $2 for a bag with seasoning. We don't have any meat to throw in with it but with a lot of seasoning hopefully it'll taste good and last me for a couple days. Plus beans will give you a good amount of fiber. =]

Really the types of food that you're eating plays a huge effect not just if its under a calorie limit. I'm guilty of that too! Haha.

Hope that helps some! Feel free to add too! =3

I started at your weight a little over a year ago. I'm vegetarian so I don't eat meat at all, and I don't eat much dairy except for yogurt and an occasional egg. or a little cheese. I tend to make big batches of stuff I can eat all week, like soups & chili, and now that the weather is warmer I eat lots of salads. A big box of organic baby salad greens is less than $5 and can last me 5 or 6 meals with veggies and beans, and just apple cider or red wine vinegar for dressing. Changing what you eat is a huge part of losing the weight & keeping it off forever. One serving of chips is probably only 14 chips and the dip is maybe a tablespoon... I can have a huge salad for the same cost and calories & it keeps me full longer. It's tough to make the changes at first, but it becomes habit when you do it regularly. Here is a link to my 1 year progress post with more tips:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1246548-1-year-progress-with-lots-of-pics

Feel free to check out my diary for ideas & send me a friend request if you'd like. Good luck to you!

Your husband might balk a little about the change - different foods than he's used to. But ultimately he'll probably be thrilled. More flavor. I'm not creative/talented when it comes to cooking. Things must be simple for me to even try. If you have a slow cooker, then getting some cheap ground beef and using it to make a pot of chili is a great meal and low cost. Browning, draining the fat off the ground beef removes much of the fat and reduces the calories. Google an article on ground beef by the Hillbilly Housewife, for detailed calorie info. $3-6 for ground beef (depending on how big a batch you want to make), $3-6 for a few cans of beans, tomatoes. Store brand is fine though I do pick up the reduced sodium varieties. A couple packs of seasoning or make your own w/ chili powder, garlic powder, etc.

If you can experiment a little and find a few meals where you can both eat - it will make the whole process easier. Some days I eat one thing and let the kids & hubby fend for themselves, but in general I'm not going to make 2 different meals. I control my calories by portions. I typically take about 1/2 of what Hubby has. Even though he's working to lose weight also, he needs more calories than I do. I honestly don't do much cooking these days - crazy schedule where Hubby works Mon-Thur evenings, I get home at 6-6:30pm and with various errands I'm only cooking 1-2 of those nights.

@SarahMS79: I eat what you call junk food. Chips, Ice Cream, Cerea, fast food and I have lost 77lbs. So do I need to stop eating total crap?

Your food choices aren't spectacular, and honestly getting healthy non processed food is cheaper than buying processed food.

You should look into weekly meal prep. There are a lot of articles on it online to help you get started. Basically you go food shopping and buy meat, veggies, eggs etc. No processed crap, it will save you a ton of money and you'll feel fantastic after a while.

Then you cook it all and prepare it all on 1 day of the week of your choice, I do sunday. Put it in tupperware and freeze some of it, store some of it in the fridge for easy access.

By doing this I cut my food bill in half, and I don't have to buy lunches while I'm out at work so that's even more money saved. Because the food is already prepped and ready to be eaten or reheated I don't find myself snacking on bad things like chips and dip etc, if I want a snack I have fruits and veggies ready to go and if I really don't feel like that I'll eat a hardboiled egg.

For an example of what I got last time I went shopping:
Chicken breast, ground turkey, ground beef, mushrooms, oranges, belle peppers, sweet potatoes, grapes, bananas, eggs, carrots and some greek yogurt.

I spent less then 50 bucks, have enough food to feed me and my boyfriend for at least a week and I won't spend any extra on food while I'm at work because I prepped and can pack a lunch.

Don't even worry so much about counting calories at first, just completely cut out the processed food and you will see the weight start to drop, once you hit a plateau from that you can worry about counting calories.

Totally agree with this - especially that buying healthy IS cheaper than buying processed, less healthy choices. Before my partner and I moved in together, we spent a lot of money on easy, cheap foods because we were on our own and didn't have that "combined" income. However, I realized now in living together buying whole, non-processed foods our grocery bill is less than what it was on our own.

However, I do agree meal prep is the way to go. And, I can vouch for having a partner who eats way differently than you do. I am with someone who can pretty much eat whatever (and usually does) and has the same weight all the time. I do my meal prep on Sundays - I make 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 5 days worth of snacks. I don't always make dinners because we like to eat together so I portion out what I am eating based on what is enough for me. I no longer feel like I have to eat, or keep eating, just because he is. And he snacks constantly, especially at night. I have learned to just not do it or have fresh snacks around the house so if I get hungry I have something other than the chips or cookies he is eating.

I noticed in your diary you have a fair amount of eating out meals, sometimes two in a day. From experience, cutting out eating out will more than give enough money to buy whole foods. It may be a hit now, but over time, it all adds up!

Also, WEIGHT LIFTING! As a bigger girl (I was about 309 when I started, at 5'9) I did cardio to begin with because I was so, so, so out of shape. But now, I do heavy lifting and I will be honest my weight isn't dropped nearly as much but my body composition is and the inches from my body are dropping too. A lot of women are afraid of weight lifting because they don't want to bulk but I am telling you you won't, unless you want to. Building muscle is the best thing because if you're only doing cardio when you stop, the calorie burn stops really quickly too. However, if you are building muscle then it takes energy to repair those muscles AND the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn at rest.

Finally, I don't use these calories as the end all, be all. I use them as a guide and stay within them most days. I find counting every calorie drives me absolutely crazy but I still like to know, and track, what I've put in my body.

Good Luck! And, OP, feel free to message me if you'd like to start meal prepping!