Work & weight loss?

Trollprinzessin
Trollprinzessin Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I'm a 27yr old female and just recently started using MFP and trying to get to some normal measurements. When I began, I had also just started my three week summer holiday so it was easy keeping track of the food and I had enough time for exercise, too. All in all, I lost short of two kilos during that time.

However, now that I started working again, my weight is going totally crazy. I weigh myself every morning and already on the first day of work it just went up over half a kilo, same thing on the second day. I guess it might have to do something with it being very early in the morning (around 5:45); whereas during holiday I weighed myself mostly around 10 or 11.
Additionally, I am totally having trouble sticking to my calorie goal. I'm mostly working long shifts (12 hours, 7-19), get home around eight in the evening - and I'm just so hungry all the time! I try make it through the day with small (healthy) snacks additionally to the normal meals and in the end of the day I'm still hungry and have no calories left.

I don't want to raise my calories or lower my weekly weight loss goal because I've been stuck at the present weight for over a week already. I finally wanna get rid off all that excess crap I'm carrying around with me!

So please, any advice / ideas / tricks are welcome :)

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Transition periods are tricky. Weigh yourself only once a week and even then keep and mind that the scale is not linear -- it bounces a around. Pay attention to the long picture -- like what the weight is each month. Are you getting enough sleep?

    If you want help from people here, open up your diary. You can always close it again in a few days.
    If we can see what you are eating, we can make suggestions.
  • Cerakoala
    Cerakoala Posts: 2,547 Member
    Hello Nice to meet you :) I am a 30 y/o female and I work 12-24 hour days also. This is what I do it is the only way it allows me to stay on track without grabbing something quick. I made all my meals on the weekend and freeze them :) I usually make a soup some chicken breasts or some pot type dinner like a casserole thats healthy or a stir fry etc :) I portion them out and freeze them. I also by some steamable veggie bags for the freezer. Then before work I grab 2 containers one for lunch one for dinner, a big of veggies to go with dinner and maybe a couple hard boiled eggs for breakfast. For snacks I do applesauce or yogurt or light string cheese :) I find with such a busy schedule during the week that is what works for me. And since i home cook everything I can control the calorie content etc and I feel like I can have more snacks to keep me fuller as a soup I make at home for lunch is 200-250 calories compared to a fast food salad for 400-600 :)
  • Trollprinzessin
    Trollprinzessin Posts: 7 Member
    Diary is opened up, thanks for mentioning that. Getting enough sleep might be a problem. Even though I'm going to bed early enough, I'm not sleeping too well. I wake up often during the night.
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
    I know you've stated that you don't want to raise your calories but if you are constantly feeling hungry after eating your alloted calories, the chances are you are not eating enough to make this sustainable. Make sure you have your activity level set correctly. Are you moving around much at work? Are you more active at work than when you were on holiday? This will make a big difference.

    As many will tell you, it's a lot to do with being prepared. As I write this from my desk at work I brought in my breakfast, lunch and snacks to have with me throughout the day. As well as being econimically beneficial I can control what I'm eating.
  • Trollprinzessin
    Trollprinzessin Posts: 7 Member
    Well, of course I'm moving around more at work (I'm a nurse) than I do during the holiday. At the moment I just don't feel that it justifies moving up the activity level - especially not with my weight staying the same. Might be also that it is difficult for me to compare the different activity levels and my work.

    I do cook my meals and only rarely have something ready from the store. I'm eating lunch at the canteen at work, that's the only time when I do not exactly know what's in the food.
    But yeah, maybe as cerakoala suggested, I might try to cook / portion all my meals beforehand.
  • logg1e
    logg1e Posts: 1,208 Member
    Having looked at your diary I have a couple of questions.

    1) You appear to be hitting 1900 calories a day. How is your calorie goal calculated? It seems quite high.
    2) Where are you getting the values for food calories from? 300g of generic spaghetti bolognese comes in at 240 which seems low.
  • Snip8241
    Snip8241 Posts: 767 Member
    When you say normal meals....are you preparing them. I also cook for the week on Sunday. If I am preparing one meal I do three or for. It saves time during the week and I know what I am eating
    I was in healthcare 38 years. I am back at MFP because I gained back my weight supervising a very busy hospital lab. Stress also causes problems. Healthcare now is stressful. No matter what dept you are in and hospital food isn't always as healthy as it should be.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    Planning ahead of time is an excellent method to make sure you meet your macors (carbs, fat, protein) and not go over your calories limit. Populate your food diary for a few days and see it that works for you.
  • Fit_Fox88
    Fit_Fox88 Posts: 410 Member
    Are you weighing your food or are you just using entries from the database? If you're not weighing it, then there's really no telling how much you're really eating. Also, don't use the generic entries from the database. If there's not something in there, enter it manually or create a recipe if you will be using it often. As far as your activity level, if you're active and on your feet all day that definitely plays a role in your calorie intake and you should try and adjust it accordingly. Continue where you're at for maybe another week and if you're still feeling hungry and unsatisfied try raising your activity level and see if that helps. Most of all, stick with it. It's going to take some time to get into a groove that works for you. Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • GothyFaery
    GothyFaery Posts: 762 Member
    Well, of course I'm moving around more at work (I'm a nurse) than I do during the holiday. At the moment I just don't feel that it justifies moving up the activity level - especially not with my weight staying the same. Might be also that it is difficult for me to compare the different activity levels and my work.

    I suggest you get some kind of activity tracker like a fitbit, jawbone up, or even just a pedometer that calculates calories. What's great about the fitbit or the jawbone is they both link to MFP so if you burn more calories (by walking a lot more) you automatically get those calories back. If you burn less, you can set MFP to take those away. That way you get a more accurate account of your calories on a day to day basis and you can eat more!
  • Trollprinzessin
    Trollprinzessin Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks a lot for your answers so far; I'll try to stick your advice.

    @logg1e: 1900 calories? My daily goal is 1660 according to MFP. It comes from lightly active and 0.75kg desired weight loss a week; I guess. I did go over that sometimes but 98% I'm staying within that goal. May I ask where you get the 1900 from?
    Nutritional values usually come from the packages. The spaghetti thing was a ready-made meal from the store (shame on me for eating that; I know ;) ) If I cook something, I usually count together all the calories from the ingredients I used and just divide them according to how much I ate.

    @Snip8241: I usually prepare meals myself and try to use healthy stuff and as much unprocessed food as possible. As to the stress: I don't feel like my work is particularly stressful at the moment; I think the shift work may be more of a problem.

    @bike317: I do not weigh my food and use entries from the database as well put my own stuff there (from the ingredients I used). I also check the nutritional facts from the already existing entries before adding them. Buying a food scale is on my to-do list, though, because I read about that in other topics already. As to the generic stuff: I usually those these only when I have no idea about the food; f.e. fruits. I simply do not know how much calories are in an apple or plum, etc :(

    @GothyFaery: The activity tracker sounds interesting. Only problem I see is that I'm not allowed to have anything on my wrist during work. Might have to look for something that fits my upper arm f.e. (if is still working properly, that is?)

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