need advice on losing weight

ive been intaking less than 1200 calories most days,and ive been working out 3 times a week at least , my workout usually consist of 30 minutes of cardio, and 20-25 minutes of weight training, such as squats with weights, arms and abs, but i cant seem to lose weight. Do i need to work out more often or for longer periods of time?

Replies

  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
    Hello! Can you open your food diary?
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,268 Member
    open your diary for real help, less than 1200 is too low, what does your cardio consist of? , do more cardio and do it more often for better results, are you weighing and measuring your foods and being completely honest as you log? are you drinking water? its hard to say what is going wrong for you if we cant see the logging.
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
    I know you already mentioned to me that you haven't logged your food for about a week. Step #1 toward success is consistent logging. To know how many calories you're really taking in on a daily and weekly basis, you have to log everything you eat, every day.

    Step #2 is accurate logging, which means you want to be as specific as possible about the type and quantity of food you're eating. I notice a lot of homemade entries in your diary. Are these recipes that you've actually added to MFP yourself, or are they generic entries that you're pulling out of the database? There can be a huge difference between a generic entry in the database and the food you're making at home, especially when ingredients are combined. Things like "tilapia fried in olive oil - fish, 4 oz." and "homemade - toasted bagel with cream cheese, 1 bagel" are very unlikely to be accurate unless you've created the recipe yourself. For the sake of accuracy, each food item should be logged separately, by brand and by weight (using a food scale). You should search the database for the brand of bagel you're eating, log how large of serving you're having, and weigh and log the cream cheese as a separate entry. The same goes for the tilapia. You should weigh the fish and measure and log the olive oil on its own (a tablespoon of olive oil is about 120 calories on its own, so it's really easy to consume extra calories without realizing it).

    As another example, for the beef taco you logged on the 12th, each ingredient in that taco should be its own separate food entry unless you've entered it as your own recipe. So you'll want to log the tortilla, the beef, and anything else you put in the taco, all separately.

    My guess is that you're eating more than you think you are. Once you've got the accuracy and consistency down, you'll have a much more realistic picture of what your caloric intake is and can make educated changes to your diet and exercise routine based on that information. You'll also want to make sure that you're eating to MEET the calorie goal that MFP gives you. :smile:

    This might explain it better: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
  • chilly1470
    chilly1470 Posts: 178 Member
    It sounds like you are not eating enough. With all you are doing your body becomes scared and holds onto the fat for energy, thus you don't lose. In my opinion you should at least add 400 healthy calories, like protein and good carbs. What does your diary look like?
  • The first two responders are on point. You're eating more than you think you're eating.
    It sounds like you are not eating enough. With all you are doing your body becomes scared and holds onto the fat for energy, thus you don't lose. In my opinion you should at least add 400 healthy calories, like protein and good carbs. What does your diary look like?

    That's a pervasive myth that is not rooted in fact. Adding more calories to your daily intake will make weight loss harder, not easier.
  • you are right, most times i make something at home, since im new to MFP i have been adding other peoples homemade entries similar to mine. how do you add a meal of your own to your food entry? i havent been able to figure that out yet
  • i havent been eating hardly at all most days, ive been having light breakfast such as a nutri-grain bar or bagel, and healthy snacks (trail mix bar) or non fat yogurt and homemade turkey sandwich for lunch and chicken salads for dinner. if thats overeating, i must not know what is
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    you are right, most times i make something at home, since im new to MFP i have been adding other peoples homemade entries similar to mine. how do you add a meal of your own to your food entry? i havent been able to figure that out yet

    You'll need to log each ingredient separately or build a recipe with the exact ingredients that you use.
  • Lollicollins
    Lollicollins Posts: 2 Member
    "i havent been eating hardly at all most days, ive been having light breakfast such as a nutri-grain bar or bagel, and healthy snacks (trail mix bar) or non fat yogurt and homemade turkey sandwich for lunch and chicken salads for dinner. if thats overeating, i must not know what is"

    That actually sounds like a lot of calories if you not careful. Bagels and cream cheese can have a lot of cals, mayo and cheese add up quick on sandwhichs, and depending on the bread you could already be at 300 cals without them, and chicken salads can also be high cal if you add in high fat dressings, cheese, croutons, eggs ect
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    you are right, most times i make something at home, since im new to MFP i have been adding other peoples homemade entries similar to mine. how do you add a meal of your own to your food entry? i havent been able to figure that out yet

    Use the recipe builder.

    http://www.organizeyourselfskinny.com/2013/06/01/how-to-use-my-fitness-pal-to-figure-out-nutritional-information-in-recipes/
  • you are right, most times i make something at home, since im new to MFP i have been adding other peoples homemade entries similar to mine. how do you add a meal of your own to your food entry? i havent been able to figure that out yet

    Use the recipe builder.

    http://www.organizeyourselfskinny.com/2013/06/01/how-to-use-my-fitness-pal-to-figure-out-nutritional-information-in-recipes/


    Thank you, i finally figured that out and made a couple recipes, i think it will help alot