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melfish22 · May 2014

Hi everyone,

My name is Melissa. I am a student at the University of Michigan and am currently 5'6, 160 pounds and am 21 years old. Although I can not say I have ever been morbidly obese, I have struggled with my weight ever since I can remember. About 4 years ago I was at my lowest weight of 130 (although i was eating the same thing everyday and had quite a few vitamin deficiencies). Regardless, I am now 30 pounds heavier and everyday find myself unhappy with the person I see in the mirror. I feel like I am eating good and do Crossfit 4-5 days a week and cannot lose a pound for the life of me. If there is anyone out there who has an inspiring story or words, It would be appreciated more than you could ever imagine.

theJTfitness · May 2014

Are you tracking your calories or just trying to "eat good?"

Branstin · May 2014

You have to do more than feel like you are eating good. Eating good doesn't equal eating at a calorie deficiency which is needed to lose weight. Here is a great and free place to start:

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

BigT555 · May 2014

if you want inspiration go to the success stories/motivation board, there are a ton of people there who post their stories of losing 100+ pounds and whatnot. just know that you can do it, all it takes is the right drive

as for your predicament, as others above have said i suspect that you are eating more than you think. it is much harder to burn a calorie than to abstain from eating it in the first place.

melfish22 · May 2014

Hi everyone,

First off, thank you for the responses! I am somewhat tracking my calories, although i suppose i need to be more strict with it. To be honest, the tracking kind of goes downhill after 6pm. Regardless, I know that there is no way that i am eating more than 1500 a day and just felt that i should be losing something given the fact that i am doing cross fit 4-5 times a week and building muscle (which in turn should eventually decrease the my weight granted I'm not gaining even more muscle).

dmenchac · May 2014

I am somewhat tracking my calories- To be honest, the tracking kind of goes downhill after 6pm, but I know that there is no way that i am eating more than 1500 a day! Thank you for the post!

How would you know this if you don't log everything?

You know that half a tub of Peanut Butter you polished off at 7PM? Yeah that was 1900 calories itself.

madhatter2013 · May 2014

This

I am somewhat tracking my calories- To be honest, the tracking kind of goes downhill after 6pm

means this

but I know that there is no way that i am eating more than 1500 a day!

isn't true

dmenchac · May 2014

Hi everyone,

First off, thank you for the responses! I am somewhat tracking my calories, although i suppose i need to be more strict with it. To be honest, the tracking kind of goes downhill after 6pm. Regardless, I know that there is no way that i am eating more than 1500 a day and just felt that i should be losing something given the fact that i am doing cross fit 4-5 times a week and building muscle (which in turn should eventually decrease the my weight granted I'm not gaining even more muscle).

Generally speaking, you aren't building muscle on a deficit.

leggup · May 2014

I think that if you're very very 'strict' with your tracking for a week even, you'll be shocked. Eating and tracking immaculately until 6 pm is not enough. I do Stronglifts 3X per week and walk/jog 3-6 miles a week and I am still 3 mouthfuls of cheese a day away from maintaining my weight. I eat right up to my calories for the day and lose 1 lb a week because I weigh everything I eat.

You are not out of options. You have one option that takes a little work. Get the MFP app if you don't have it and a food scale and you'll see exactly how much you're eating.

williams969 · May 2014

I was at the same weight (and I'm 5' 6", too) at the beginning of May. I said all the same things as you (there's NO WAY I'm eating too much, given my level of activity--I'm a college student, too, albeit a bit older, oops!). This was my eye-opening, kick in the pants, gut-wrenching reality-check (very no bull-crap, tough love article, but important for everyone to read): http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/

Get a scale (yes, I resisted this oft-mentioned advice for a good 3 weeks, so glad I have it now--WOW, I totally had it all wrong), use the MFP app, and log EVERYTHING (licked the spoon, ate that extra bit of crumb of someone's cookie, stuffed a few grams of shredded cheese in your mouth before putting some on your salad? Log it--or measure it first then put it on your plate and log it, yeah, really). Nearly every one of is connected to our phones constantly, so it's not too much to punch it into the app as soon as we can.

YOU can do this. It will be weird and "obsessive" feeling at first; then it will be second nature, and you'll wonder why you didn't start sooner.

meltedsno · May 2014

. Regardless, I know that there is no way that i am eating more than 1500 a day

Here's a challenge for you -- diligently track EVERYTHING that goes in your mouth for a day/two days/ a week... regardless of what it is -- "good" food, "bad" food... whatever... if you take vitamin supplements, check to see if they have any calories and log those as well.

I did this when I first started MFP -- uh.. yeah, that "little sprinkle" of powdered creamer I was adding to my 3-4 cups of coffee a day??? well, 1 tsp has like 10 cal in.... but 1/4c 3-4 times a day adds up to a heck of alot of calories... something I wasn't considering... plus, I take a multivitamin and calcium supplement every day... totals 45 calories which I wasn't considering.... it just goes on from there --- you will be amazed to see exactly how much you are ingesting without realizing it.

fwiw -- I about fell over when I realized that I was drinking close to 800 calories a day of bad office coffee! I learned to dump the creamer and drink it black. If I am going to splurge on coffee (which I do about 2-3 times a month) you can bet it will be a GOOD cup of coffee (non-fat latte venti size from Starbucks = 160 cal.... MUCH better than icky office coffee and generic white powder!!!)

Francl27 · May 2014

You're most certainly eating more than you think. Start tracking everything, and you'll be surprised.

srv524 · May 2014

You're most certainly eating more than you think. Start tracking everything, and you'll be surprised.

+1

DrJenO · May 2014

I wish I could reach back in time and tell my 5'6", 160 pound, 21 year old self to be happy with the way she looked.

Ahem.

Anyway, I second what the above posters said about tracking your intake. It's easier than you think to eat more than you should if you want to be in a calorie deficit.

erickirb · May 2014

If you are not weighing solid foods and measuring liquids there is a good chance you are actually eating 10-50% more than you think you are.

Holly_Roman_Empire · May 2014

You're most certainly eating more than you think. Start tracking everything, and you'll be surprised.

everything.

ebabcock2014 · May 2014

For what it's worth, here is my story. I spent my entire life trying every "diet" out there - you name it, I've tried it. Nothing worked until I logged into this website and began tracking my food - EVERY DAY. Even on vacation when I blow it, I log it. Portion control and calorie intake is the only way to lose weight. Of course exercise is important, but you will not lose anything unless you know exactly what you are putting into your mouth. I also weigh my meat/fish portions - you'd be surprised what you think a portion of steak vs. what it actually is. That's why there are so many obese people in this country. So log and weigh/measure everything for a few weeks and see what happens!

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