Insight on not losing weight for a year, vegan. LONG POST.

My advice is to turn to the experts:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read

I'd say that the two most important posts there are "the basics" and "you're probably eating more than you think."ç

Important food for thought (food that won't make you fat!).

If the information you have provided is accurate, I would highly suggest you discuss this with your primary care physician and ask him/her to refer you to a registered dietitian. MFP is great for opinions, but remember, they are just opinions. And kudos on the feeling healthier, hang on to that feeling and keep that as your focus.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

long story short?

If you aren't losing, you're not at a calorie deficit. Doesn't matter if you're a baconator, vegan diet, or a lactoovoeggotarian.

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. If you ask a question on the forum, give as much information as you can ("yes, I have a food scale and weigh my food" is worlds better than "I eat a palm full of miscellaneous boiled chicken parts..sometimes.")
17. Be honest with yourself and honest with us.
18. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

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

...and here's another approach.

Block off 6 weeks. log EXACTLY what you eat for those six weeks, weigh at the beginning, weight at the end. If you've lost, you're eating under your TDEE. If you haven't lost, congrats.. you found your TDEE, if you've gained... then you're above TDEE.

From there, look at how much you lost or gained and you have a rough estimate of how to shift your intake to balance it out.

Online calculators are great, but they're just estimates. They give you decent ideas for starting points. From there, it's on you to fine tune it.

@trog

Hi, thanks for all the great reply I got a little new information, the only thing I can think of that is wrong really is maybe not eating enough calories and protein based on your response.
I'll try the 6 week block and see how that works for me, thanks again, it's much appreciated !

if you're not losing weight, you're not at a calorie deficit. You're eating more than you need to be, and more than you think you are.
weight loss is calorie in VS calorie out. Protein won't make you lose weight, nor will fats... or carbs.

how much you eat decides how much you weigh. what you eat can play a part in how full you feel, or if you're getting enough protein to maintain lean body bass while losing.

Take a deeper look at your food logging.

@trog
Isn't it possible to slow down your metabolism dramatically by not eating enough? I was also sure protein had an impact on how much you lost.
I see your point and I'll try to make more of a deficit but I feel like I eat very little already so I'm quite hesitant to do that.

are you weighing and logging everything you eat? everything?

your diary is closed, so it's going to be really hard to give any other advice without more information.

@trog

Yes, if I don't log onto online trackers I write it down, I only just opened this MFP account basically for the forum section so I haven't logged food onto it yet, I was using another website for that plus writing it down when I wasn't online.

A basic day of what I eat would be like:

Breakfast- organic gluten free cornflakes with 1 tbsp of stevia and almond milk, 1-3 pieces of fruit, soy yoghurt

Snack- organic oat crackers with 20g of 100% nut butter

Dinner- Vegan chicken nuggets ( high protein, fibre) cooked in either 1 cal spray or rapeseed oil , organic tomato ketchup (1-2 tbsp)

Snack- Nuts / fruit /soy yoghurt

try logging everything here for those 6 weeks and reassess

Wow, what an awesome post (referring to Trogalicious)! Thanks for all that advice - it should even help seasoned folks here .