Nothing works!

Options
1234579

Replies

  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
    Options
    I believe in the science of it all. That's what helped me a couple years ago.

    I am at 1230 calories a day now. We'll see how that goes. I had been at 1400 for about 5 months and nothing was happening.

    OP didn't leave forever!! Yay!

    Hey That_Girl, do you own a digital scale? It is your BEST friend. I weigh everything.

    I don't have a digital one...would be a good idea.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
    Options
    I believe in the science of it all. That's what helped me a couple years ago.

    I am at 1230 calories a day now. We'll see how that goes. I had been at 1400 for about 5 months and nothing was happening.

    OP didn't leave forever!! Yay!

    Hey That_Girl, do you own a digital scale? It is your BEST friend. I weigh everything.
    she refuses to weigh anything that isn't fish. She has magical cups and plates for portion control and weighing.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
    Options
    Okay, you had a tumor removed and an ovary. Glad you made a doctor's appt. Again, you can PM if you'd like to hear my own personal situation with female medical issues. Your missing ovary very well may be the key here. And if you can make a doctor's appointment directly with and endocrinologist, I recommend bypassing the family doctor for hormone evaluation. In my experience, if it's in range, "it's fine".

    Yes. I get so frustrated with my endometriosis specialist telling me if's "fine" when I easily gain about 8 pounds during my TOM. Over 2 days I go up about 6-8 pounds...and I think, for a while, I was so happy not to have 24/7 chronic pain in that area that I overlooked the fact that my body stopped losing weight. Now it's just frustrating. I mean, I'm glad I'm still here to be frustrated, but yea.

    Your body can fluctuate +/- 5 lbs on any day. TOM is special, every woman gains a good amount of water weight during their TOM.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
    Options
    Closed diary. No details about what you're doing that's not working. There's really no way for us to tell what you may or may not need to do.

    How long has it been since you last saw a drop on the scale? Some people go a few weeks without seeing a loss on the scale because of water weight from exercise, sodium, hormones, etc. which can mask any fat loss that's still going on. If it's been less than three weeks or so, there may not be anything to worry about.

    You're logging everything you eat? Including condiments, cooking oils, veggies, cheat days, etc? Are you using a food scale, measuring cups, or eyeballing your portion sizes? Most people can be off in their estimates by several hundred calories when they eyeball portions. Measuring cups are better, but a food scale is going to be the most accurate.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1290491-how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale

    And make sure that you've calculated your calorie goals appropriately. Remember that these are just estimates. You may need to play around a little to find what works best for you.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    If you're exercising and eating back your earned exercise calories, be sure that you're using accurate estimates of your burn. MFP and gym machines have a tendency to overestimate certain activities, which can cause you to eat back more calories than you need to. Even a heart rate monitor isn't 100% accurate. If you're eating those extra earned calories it might be a good idea to eat only 50-75% of those.

    Just requoting for emphasis.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Options
    I believe in the science of it all. That's what helped me a couple years ago.

    I am at 1230 calories a day now. We'll see how that goes. I had been at 1400 for about 5 months and nothing was happening.

    OP didn't leave forever!! Yay!

    Hey That_Girl, do you own a digital scale? It is your BEST friend. I weigh everything.

    I don't have a digital one...would be a good idea.

    They're like $12. TOTALLY worth it! I weight most liquids, too. Especially things like olive oil and full fat milk.
  • rileyleigh
    rileyleigh Posts: 106 Member
    Options
    I believe in the science of it all. That's what helped me a couple years ago.

    I am at 1230 calories a day now. We'll see how that goes. I had been at 1400 for about 5 months and nothing was happening.

    OP didn't leave forever!! Yay!

    Hey That_Girl, do you own a digital scale? It is your BEST friend. I weigh everything.

    I don't have a digital one...would be a good idea.

    Yea that could help as well. I don't have a digital scale, and i don't particularly trust the accuracy of my current scale, so i always overestimate the weight to compensate. I also don't eat my exercise calories to make up for my inaccurate logging. Definitely not saying my way is the best way, but it does work for me.
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
    Options
    It is really, really, REALLY easy to put more than you think in a measuring cup, even if you're not packing food in and scooping to level. You're almost definitely underestimating your intake by hundreds of calories a day if you're relying on cups.

    Weigh.

    EVERYTHING.

    Seriously, everything.

    Log for a month doing that, see what your weight does, then adjust your intake as necessary. Even if you have some medical condition that's making your maintenance intake requirements lower than average, the only way to counter it is to eat less than whatever that maintenance level happens to be. And the only way you can accurately determine your intake, and how effective any modifications you might make are, is to weight your food. Period.
  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
    Options
    Okay, you had a tumor removed and an ovary. Glad you made a doctor's appt. Again, you can PM if you'd like to hear my own personal situation with female medical issues. Your missing ovary very well may be the key here. And if you can make a doctor's appointment directly with and endocrinologist, I recommend bypassing the family doctor for hormone evaluation. In my experience, if it's in range, "it's fine".

    Yes. I get so frustrated with my endometriosis specialist telling me if's "fine" when I easily gain about 8 pounds during my TOM. Over 2 days I go up about 6-8 pounds...and I think, for a while, I was so happy not to have 24/7 chronic pain in that area that I overlooked the fact that my body stopped losing weight. Now it's just frustrating. I mean, I'm glad I'm still here to be frustrated, but yea.

    Your body can fluctuate +/- 5 lbs on any day. TOM is special, every woman gains a good amount of water weight during their TOM.

    Oh yes. But for me, 8 isn't normal. It was always about 3-4 pounds. Now, I actually keep a bit of each 8 pounds every month :( So then I stopped really eating during my TOM but that didn't matter. So then I ate more, and gained. lol!

    I am googling digital scales...and will become a measuring cop. I just hope I don't have to measure and weigh everything forever. I want to live life and with the weighing and measuring that I do now, it really takes a toll on a lot around here. Eating is stressful and I hate that.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
    Options
    so six pages later and now you're taking advice from page one...


    but we're the problem.
  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
    Options
    So then, the big, stupid question is: Once I start back at the gym religiously like I do during the school year and we're not on vacations, etc...do I eat those calories back? (don't stone me!) Because honestly, I read so much about yes and no. When I don't eat them back, MFP tells me i'm not eating enough...but when I do eat some of them back, I don't lose.
  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
    Options
    so six pages later and now you're taking advice from page one...


    but we're the problem.

    OK :) What do you want me to do? Stop reading and commenting then.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Options
    I believe in the science of it all. That's what helped me a couple years ago.

    I am at 1230 calories a day now. We'll see how that goes. I had been at 1400 for about 5 months and nothing was happening.

    OP didn't leave forever!! Yay!

    Hey That_Girl, do you own a digital scale? It is your BEST friend. I weigh everything.

    I don't have a digital one...would be a good idea.

    I've been in maintenance for over a year, and I still use mine every single damn day. And it is the butt of all jokes when I have guests over :)
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
    Options
    See what your weight does once you start exercising. If you're losing weight too fast, eat more than what you were eating before you started exercising. If you're losing at a good rate (0.5-1lb/week), then leave your intake where it is (don't eat back, or just eat some back).

    Figuring out your "correct" intake level takes a lot of trial and error and careful monitoring - both of calories in and calories out. It's not an exact science, and takes time. There's rarely a one-size-fits-all solution.
  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
    Options
    I believe in the science of it all. That's what helped me a couple years ago.

    I am at 1230 calories a day now. We'll see how that goes. I had been at 1400 for about 5 months and nothing was happening.

    OP didn't leave forever!! Yay!

    Hey That_Girl, do you own a digital scale? It is your BEST friend. I weigh everything.

    I don't have a digital one...would be a good idea.

    I've been in maintenance for over a year, and I still use mine every single damn day. And it is the butt of all jokes when I have guests over :)

    Sounds like something i'd be like too. I once lived with an obsession about food intake and it almost ruined my life. I think that holds me back from getting "nazi" about it now.

    I will be more diligent about it...and thank you to cmeiron for the response about eating calories back. I have read about that until my eyes hurt and I guess it's a case by case issue even though everyone thinks they know what is best.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
    Options
    so six pages later and now you're taking advice from page one...


    but we're the problem.

    OK :) What do you want me to do? Stop reading and commenting then.

    Since you asked....

    What I want you to do is go back and read all of the posts that made you so butthurt back at the first because for some reason you thought people were criticizing you.

    Once you've read and absorbed the information in those threads, and really... really taken all of that in to effect... then make those changes as applicable.

    Seriously. Go back. Read.

    Separate whatever emotions you have towards the advice and the people giving it. All the answers to all of the questions, outside of your medical issues, are already in this thread.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Options
    So then, the big, stupid question is: Once I start back at the gym religiously like I do during the school year and we're not on vacations, etc...do I eat those calories back? (don't stone me!) Because honestly, I read so much about yes and no. When I don't eat them back, MFP tells me i'm not eating enough...but when I do eat some of them back, I don't lose.

    That's a whole other can of worms right there too. Lots of cardio machines overestimate, MFP overestimates, muscular water retention, etc. You have a ton of links in this thread that are topics of those same questions you are asking. Take some time and read them. They help, seriously.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Options
    I am googling digital scales...and will become a measuring cop. I just hope I don't have to measure and weigh everything forever. I want to live life and with the weighing and measuring that I do now, it really takes a toll on a lot around here. Eating is stressful and I hate that.

    I will be weighing (digital scale) and keeping tract of my calories for the rest of my life. Why??? Because I don't want to go through this again and it's to easy to gain weight when you are not in control of what you are eating.
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
    Options
    So then, the big, stupid question is: Once I start back at the gym religiously like I do during the school year and we're not on vacations, etc...do I eat those calories back? (don't stone me!) Because honestly, I read so much about yes and no. When I don't eat them back, MFP tells me i'm not eating enough...but when I do eat some of them back, I don't lose.

    When determining your calorie amounts you need to take your activity into account. This takes trial and error. Right now you're not very active so a lower calorie amount would be more appropriate. Depending on your activity level when you go back to school this will need to change.

    Should you eat your calories back, that largely depends on you. If you are consistent with your activity each week I recommend not eating your exercise calories back and assume a larger calorie goal that gets you the results you want. If you are inconsistent with exercise week to week then I would track exercise separately and chose your activity level based on what you do outside of the gym. If you're a student who sits at a desk all day, that might count as sedentary (no idea how big your college campus is and how much walking you do.
  • That_Girl
    That_Girl Posts: 1,324 Member
    Options
    So then, the big, stupid question is: Once I start back at the gym religiously like I do during the school year and we're not on vacations, etc...do I eat those calories back? (don't stone me!) Because honestly, I read so much about yes and no. When I don't eat them back, MFP tells me i'm not eating enough...but when I do eat some of them back, I don't lose.

    When determining your calorie amounts you need to take your activity into account. This takes trial and error. Right now you're not very active so a lower calorie amount would be more appropriate. Depending on your activity level when you go back to school this will need to change.

    Should you eat your calories back, that largely depends on you. If you are consistent with your activity each week I recommend not eating your exercise calories back and assume a larger calorie goal that gets you the results you want. If you are inconsistent with exercise week to week then I would track exercise separately and chose your activity level based on what you do outside of the gym. If you're a student who sits at a desk all day, that might count as sedentary (no idea how big your college campus is and how much walking you do.

    I'm a teacher :) I'll be on my feet most of the day starting in a week.

    Thank you for the rest of your input. Makes sense.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Options
    I am googling digital scales...and will become a measuring cop. I just hope I don't have to measure and weigh everything forever. I want to live life and with the weighing and measuring that I do now, it really takes a toll on a lot around here. Eating is stressful and I hate that.


    Well, when you get to maintenance mode, you'll probably have a range of 5-10 lbs (or whatever you choose) for your "normal" weight - meaning you know your weight at TOM will go up, so don't worry tooooo much then. At that point, keep weighing foods for six months or so. You should get a pretty good idea of how much to eat. Then you can experiment with not weighing foods. Still keep track of your weight. And if you start to see a trend where your weight is increasing, then you know you'll have to start weighing foods again.

Categories