So, I must be logging or doing something wrong.

I also have hypothyroidism. The thing is, I have never been a huge eater, and generally only eat one meal a day to begin with, so the 1200 is probably close to what I used to eat to begin with.

ON the sugar, I don't know if it is correct, an online converter told me a 53 cc scoop is equal to 10.6 tsps of sugar, so that is what i put. Really trying to be honest in my logging.

Even with hypothyroidism, it's unlikely that you were eating around 1200 calories if you are currently 220 lbs. Most of us underestimate how much we eat.

Buy yourself a food scale or some measuring utensils. It's the only way out of your current dilemma short of just eliminating the drinks.

Yep yep!

If you were eating 1200 calories per day everyday you'd be quite thin. It's not a lot of food!

Here is an excellent thread on logging accurately using a *food* scale:

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

You mentioned your scale sucks and you have a new one coming in. I just wasn't sure if this was a scale for weighing yourself (good to have) or a food scale for weighing your food - critical, for knowing how much you're consuming when things start to get confusing.

I plugged your numbers/stats in the tool:

0.5 lb per week loss - 1790 calories
1 lb per week - 1540
1.5 - 1290
2 - 1200

Pick a different number if the 2 lb per week goal is coming up too challenging. Also if you can exercise, note that these goals are daily meal goals plus you get to eat (some of) your exercise calories. So if you were exercising even now, you could eat more than 1200 calories per day

What qualifies for exercise for me. Like I cant walk yet, would something like leg lifts or a few sit ups do anything? For anybody who has injuries, what exercises do you do that don't cause pain? I will figure some exercise out.

I picked the 2 pounds per week so that i would lose like 20 pounds rather quickly and then could possibly exercise more and then planned to lessen that 2 pounds.

Even if it will take you longer, six months one year etc WILL come around. Where do you want to be? You didn't put it on overnight, it is not necessary to rush it

With exercise I think what you said about figuring something out is best. Do you have a doctor that you can work with on exercise you can do? I could say try swimming or something else low impact but that wouldn't necessarily work. You may need to post details of your condition on the fitness forum perhaps people with the same issues could suggest something

As for the diet shakes , could you return them and get some money back? :bigsmile: You just need a calorie deficit to lose weight, not diet shakes

I do a lot of shopping online. The prices can be great, you find items you sometimes can't find in stores, and I don't have to wait in line at Walmart. And yes, delivery to your door step can't be beat!

You are 220, 5'5"... I started out at 229, 5'4".
I eat between 1400-1600 most days, some days I eat 1800-2000 (about twice a month).
I do not do any scheduled exercise.
I have lost 33 lbs since Jan 19.

Up your calorie goal, stop drinking your calories, make better choices.

You can do this.

Also:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

If you aren't already using one, get and use a food scale. Weigh all solids. Measuring cups/spoons are not accurate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
Neither is guessing:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1270280-food-weighing-scale-miracles

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Congratulations and thanks. Did it seem like how am i gonna do this when you started? I have spent so much moolah in past 2 weeks on scale, diet shakes, food that i don't usually buy, etc., so food scale is next, but still have to pay bills. Not to mention the fam-damily thinks I am nuts for doing this at all. Children say I am too old to care. Hubby just looks at the money and says I am taking it too far, but really these are their issues.

I know this sounds like excuses, but we have one car, and hubby has it 20/7, pretty much. Right now he is camping with son and have no way to get to store till he gets back, but generally, he calls home before leaving work, asks for list, and he picks it up. So, anything i need i have to put on a list. There really is only 1 day a week I myself can get to stores and shop, but even those days, he has a part time job he goes to. It's hard to shop, is all I am saying. I buy things i can online.

I spent far too much money in the beginning on things that are now gathering dust. I thought I'd do protein shakes, thought I'd use various exercise equipment, thought thought thought... and then realized I was over thinking.

All I truly use are my digital food scale, my body weight scale, a tape measure.. and the weight bench is a handy clothing rack.

I went crazy with "health food", quinoa, almond flour, etc etc etc...

I then realized that it isn't that complicated. I do use unsweetened almond milk because it's only got 30 calories per cup and I still buy a lot in the produce section for salads along with fruits.. I buy leaner meats, egg whites but, otherwise, I eat what I want, just not as much of it. Instead of three heavy meals in a single day, I only have one if there is something I really want. Yesterday, for instance.. I wanted fried chicken, I ate it. But I had a bowl of popcorn for supper (could have been a salad or something else lower in calories than a full meal)

My diary is open if you want to browse through.

Until you get a food scale, use measuring cups. They're not as accurate, but they're way better than estimating. I'm always surprised how little 1/2 cup of something actually is when it's sitting on a plate.

I used to only drink sweetened tea. I now buy flavored but unsweetened teas, brew them hot, then drink them iced. I like the Tazo brand for tea bags (I will mix 5 or 6 different flavors in a big pitcher), and I also use loose leaf tea from Teavana. Now I can't bring myself to drink sweetened teas anymore.

The commercials for Teavana (is it Starbucks) lately look so yummy.

Yeah Starbucks bought out Teavana last year sometime, I think. I bought an infusion pitcher at Starbucks last summer - there's a basket-type thing in the middle of the pitcher where I can put tea bags or loose tea while the tea is brewing. You can use the Teavana tea 2 or 3 times before having to use fresh tea, so when I pull the basket out of the pitcher when it's done brewing I tilt it sideways to spread out the tea in there to let it dry out (so it doesn't clump together and get moldy).

You mentioned you work nights. You can change your diary setting labels to whatever you want if it makes it easier for you. You can put Midnight-6:00 am instead of "breakfast," etc. You can also include calorie targets in there. It might help you portion out your calories better if you have a set goal that's actually listed in your diary. So one caption might be "Midnight to 6:00am - 300 calories." I've been using MFP for a year and a half and have changed my diary captions a few times to best fit with whatever's going on in my life at the moment. Right now I'm training for a half marathon and consume a lot of calories on my long runs, so I list the calories I take in during those runs in a separate category so it doesn't look like I had 1000 calories for lunch when 700 of those were fuel sources during my run. I'm still taking in those calories, of course, but psychologically that's less discouraging for me.