Can't lose weight eating healthy?
VaporeonSugar
Posts: 117 Member
I've been trying hard to lose for about a year now and the healthier I eat, the more weight I put on. Even if I lowered my calorie intake. I recently said screw it two weeks ago and started eating nothing but what I'd eat when I got my first house, which is basically just fast food and junk. Lost a total of 5 pounds without really tracking what I eat and I've decided I'm done with healthy eating.
I still want to better my overall health, so I was wondering if anyone else has this issue? Any suggestions?
I still want to better my overall health, so I was wondering if anyone else has this issue? Any suggestions?
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Replies
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What amount of calories were you eating then compared to how many you're eating now?0
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I've been trying hard to lose for about a year now and the healthier I eat, the more weight I put on. Even if I lowered my calorie intake. I recently said screw it two weeks ago and started eating nothing but what I'd eat when I got my first house, which is basically just fast food and junk. Lost a total of 5 pounds without really tracking what I eat and I've decided I'm done with healthy eating.
I still want to better my overall health, so I was wondering if anyone else has this issue? Any suggestions?
It just means you weren't tracking correctly. Track better and you'll be able to lose eating anything, "good" or "bad".0 -
Do you weigh/measure everything you eat and then log accordingly? Chances are you're not tracking things correctly. Just because something's "healthy" doesn't mean it won't cause you to gain weight. If you're not eating at a deficit, it doesn't really matter what you eat; the weight gain will happen.0
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What amount of calories were you eating then compared to how many you're eating now?
Then as in when I was eating healthy or when I ate whatever before?
Healthy I did 1600 - 1800 : dietary guidelines
Back when I got my first house, no idea. I'd eat fast food for almost all my meals because my then husband worked at McDonald's and Long John Silver's and would get me free food from Mc and brought all the leftovers home from the other. That and I was a sugar addict and loved soda with a passion, but everyone I knew agreed that was the skinniest they ever saw me. I also ate lots of chips, prepared food and pastries. I didn't own a scale, but I was probably around 120 because I was way smaller than in high school which I weighed 164 in and was the same height.0 -
User hasn't been logging completely, so she'll never know how much she was actually eating.0
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Do you weigh/measure everything you eat and then log accordingly? Chances are you're not tracking things correctly. Just because something's "healthy" doesn't mean it won't cause you to gain weight. If you're not eating at a deficit, it doesn't really matter what you eat; the weight gain will happen.
I weighed anything that wasn't premade and jotted it down in my weight watchers journal I still have. Just put cals instead of points. I always kept track in a book or journal or would carry a piece of paper around with me if I misplaced those for any amount of time.0 -
User hasn't been logging completely, so she'll never know how much she was actually eating.
I said in my original post that I gave up tracking two weeks ago. Please read at least that before commenting. I do not own a computer anyways so I go on here to post or track very rarely. I only logged todays food online because I wanted to see if I've been eating more calories now that I eat whatever I want to and my mom is letting me use her laptop while I'm in her area.
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That's why I looked back as far as June.I said in my original post that I gave up tracking two weeks ago. Please read at least that before commenting.
If you weren't tracking, you don't know what you were eating. You have no data from which to analyze performance, basal or otherwise.0 -
I weighed anything that wasn't premade and jotted it down in my weight watchers journal I still have. Just put cals instead of points. I always kept track in a book or journal or would carry a piece of paper around with me if I misplaced those for any amount of time.
I would encourage you to weigh/measure EVERYTHING - even the premade stuff, and log it here on MFP instead of paper. If you do that for a few weeks and continue to see zero movement on the scale, then maybe talk to your doctor or a nutritionist and find out if you have any sort of metabolic dysfunction. Although, what I've seen more often than not is that people are just inconsistent about their logging. There are always exceptions; some people have thyroid issues or what not, but most of the time, those people are in the rare minority. Most people on this site who don't see progress are experiencing those issues because they're not honest about how they're logging their food. Then when they get honest, they're shocked by how much they're actually consuming.0 -
That's why I looked back as far as June.I said in my original post that I gave up tracking two weeks ago. Please read at least that before commenting.
If you weren't tracking, you don't know what you were eating. You have no data from which to analyze performance, basal or otherwise.
No computer. Track on paper.0 -
Really, it comes down to numbers.
Many "healthy" foods can be quite calorie dense, conversely, you may get satisfied on a smaller amount of "junk" food and so end up consuming less calories. Without an accurate count of what you ate when you were "healthy" and what you're eating now (and losing on) it's hard to say.
It won't be the fact that the food is "healthy" - it will be how many calories you're consuming. Nuts, for example, are widely regarded as "healthy" (and they are) but they are very calorie dense and a couple handfuls are a hell of a lot of calories.
The last few days my hubster has been in hospital and I've been home to sleep and that's it. I've been eating hospital cafe food, or popping down to McDonalds. You think it would have blown my calories out of the water, but instead I've been quite under every day.0 -
That's why I looked back as far as June.I said in my original post that I gave up tracking two weeks ago. Please read at least that before commenting.
If you weren't tracking, you don't know what you were eating. You have no data from which to analyze performance, basal or otherwise.
No computer. Track on paper.
Without a computer where do you get your nutritional information and calorie counts from? Genuinely curious here, not getting you or anything. Do you have like a book with info? How accurate is that source...that's what I'm sort of asking here. Excuse my indirect rambling!0 -
I weighed anything that wasn't premade and jotted it down in my weight watchers journal I still have. Just put cals instead of points. I always kept track in a book or journal or would carry a piece of paper around with me if I misplaced those for any amount of time.
I would encourage you to weigh/measure EVERYTHING - even the premade stuff, and log it here on MFP instead of paper. If you do that for a few weeks and continue to see zero movement on the scale, then maybe talk to your doctor or a nutritionist and find out if you have any sort of metabolic dysfunction. Although, what I've seen more often than not is that people are just inconsistent about their logging. There are always exceptions; some people have thyroid issues or what not, but most of the time, those people are in the rare minority. Most people on this site who don't see progress are experiencing those issues because they're not honest about how they're logging their food. Then when they get honest, they're shocked by how much they're actually consuming.
I don't have a computer to log every day or I would, but I like journaling on paper best. I don't get what you mean by being honest. I don't leave out things. I'm the only one who reads it and it's not like I'd attempt to lie to myself to feel better about my diet. I always make sure to write down every lick, sip, nibble and taste. Besides, I don't think attempting to lie would really help me with anything.0 -
That's why I looked back as far as June.I said in my original post that I gave up tracking two weeks ago. Please read at least that before commenting.
If you weren't tracking, you don't know what you were eating. You have no data from which to analyze performance, basal or otherwise.
No computer. Track on paper.
Without a computer where do you get your nutritional information and calorie counts from? Genuinely curious here, not getting you or anything. Do you have like a book with info? How accurate is that source...that's what I'm sort of asking here. Excuse my indirect rambling!
Oh no, it's cool. If I ate out, which was rare, I'd have my mom get the restaurant nutrition pdf and print it for me. Everything else I eat has a nutritional lable on it. Even lettuce is wrapped in plastic with the info on it and most of my veggies were frozen. Sprouts, the store I shop at, also has the info on all the bulk and deli items containets. And fast food has it on wrappers or the tray liner.
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I don't think the honesty comment meant you're being deceitful or anything, maybe just misled or inaccurate about calorie content. For example when I measure out a "handful" of nuts this can vary between 35g and 55g depending on how big my hand grasps. That difference looks small when on the bowl but in calorie difference is actually massive. Even weighing prepacked stuff you will be surprised to see how much variation and inconsistency there is.
ETA: What alatariel75 said is very accurate. My advice is be fastidious about weighing & logging everything that goes into your mouth, every scrape of oil and spices, every sliver of lettuce. Be really pedantic for a few weeks and you will have a baseline data set to inform future choices.0 -
I weighed anything that wasn't premade and jotted it down in my weight watchers journal I still have. Just put cals instead of points. I always kept track in a book or journal or would carry a piece of paper around with me if I misplaced those for any amount of time.
I would encourage you to weigh/measure EVERYTHING - even the premade stuff, and log it here on MFP instead of paper. If you do that for a few weeks and continue to see zero movement on the scale, then maybe talk to your doctor or a nutritionist and find out if you have any sort of metabolic dysfunction. Although, what I've seen more often than not is that people are just inconsistent about their logging. There are always exceptions; some people have thyroid issues or what not, but most of the time, those people are in the rare minority. Most people on this site who don't see progress are experiencing those issues because they're not honest about how they're logging their food. Then when they get honest, they're shocked by how much they're actually consuming.
I don't have a computer to log every day or I would, but I like journaling on paper best. I don't get what you mean by being honest. I don't leave out things. I'm the only one who reads it and it's not like I'd attempt to lie to myself to feel better about my diet. I always make sure to write down every lick, sip, nibble and taste. Besides, I don't think attempting to lie would really help me with anything.
I mean honest in terms of amounts. I'm not implying that you meant to be dishonest - it's just what happens when we guess what we're consuming.
If you prefer to keep track on paper, that's up to you...but it's probably going to take more work to track that way because you will have to do the math yourself. But if that's the method you prefer, then go for it. Just make sure you're actually writing and calculating everything accurately. Because, as someone already said, at the end of the day, it all comes down to numbers.0 -
I don't think the honesty comment meant you're being deceitful or anything, maybe just misled or inaccurate about calorie content. For example when I measure out a "handful" of nuts this can vary between 35g and 55g depending on how big my hand grasps. That difference looks small when on the bowl but in calorie difference is actually massive. Even weighing prepacked stuff you will be surprised to see how much variation and inconsistency there is.
I guess that makes sense... I have seemed to be jipped on tv dinners before, or maybe those were proper and the others were over stuffed. I've never really thought to weigh something if I eat the whole package or if it's a tv dinner, bottle, or packaged supermarket lunch.0 -
I weighed anything that wasn't premade and jotted it down in my weight watchers journal I still have. Just put cals instead of points. I always kept track in a book or journal or would carry a piece of paper around with me if I misplaced those for any amount of time.
I would encourage you to weigh/measure EVERYTHING - even the premade stuff, and log it here on MFP instead of paper. If you do that for a few weeks and continue to see zero movement on the scale, then maybe talk to your doctor or a nutritionist and find out if you have any sort of metabolic dysfunction. Although, what I've seen more often than not is that people are just inconsistent about their logging. There are always exceptions; some people have thyroid issues or what not, but most of the time, those people are in the rare minority. Most people on this site who don't see progress are experiencing those issues because they're not honest about how they're logging their food. Then when they get honest, they're shocked by how much they're actually consuming.
I don't have a computer to log every day or I would, but I like journaling on paper best. I don't get what you mean by being honest. I don't leave out things. I'm the only one who reads it and it's not like I'd attempt to lie to myself to feel better about my diet. I always make sure to write down every lick, sip, nibble and taste. Besides, I don't think attempting to lie would really help me with anything.
I mean honest in terms of amounts. I'm not implying that you meant to be dishonest - it's just what happens when we guess what we're consuming.
If you prefer to keep track on paper, that's up to you...but it's probably going to take more work to track that way because you will have to do the math yourself. But if that's the method you prefer, then go for it. Just make sure you're actually writing and calculating everything accurately. Because, as someone already said, at the end of the day, it all comes down to numbers.
Ditto to my comment I just made. I didn't think much about packaged food being inaccurate. I always thought that they weighed it at the factory or something...0 -
There are tons of people here who eat less than healthy and still lose weight. There are several kinds of healthy foods that I can't eat because they give me heartburn or make me bloat or sick to my stomach. Whatever works best for you is great. I don't weigh my food and I still lose weight but I do eat healthier and smaller portions.(I've lost and kept off 30lbs for 3 years) Of course it's always better to feed your body quality food over sweets and super processed stuff. Maybe your body is craving more of a balance between the different types of foods. Maybe you are allergic to something you were eating or wasn't being processed correctly in your system. Lots of things can leave you stagnant. Congrats on the renewed weight loss and as long as it's working for you keep it up!0
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Factory weights are averages and can be out by up to 20% which means if it says 100 cals it could be 80 cals or 120 in reality. That 40 cal difference adds up over time, even within the course of one day. Even machine sliced bread can vary. My current loaf days 83g for 2 slices but in reality it's almost always over 90g for 2 slices.0
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There are tons of people here who eat less than healthy and still lose weight. There are several kinds of healthy foods that I can't eat because they give me heartburn or make me bloat or sick to my stomach. Whatever works best for you is great. I don't weigh my food and I still lose weight but I do eat healthier and smaller portions.(I've lost and kept off 30lbs for 3 years) Of course it's always better to feed your body quality food over sweets and super processed stuff. Maybe your body is craving more of a balance between the different types of foods. Maybe you are allergic to something you were eating or wasn't being processed correctly in your system. Lots of things can leave you stagnant. Congrats on the renewed weight loss and as long as it's working for you keep it up!
Thanks. I'm really wanting to be healthier as well as lose weight, but I honestly feel better eating mcdoubles and ice cream than I did eating tofu, fish, veggies or drinking tons of water...0 -
Factory weights are averages and can be out by up to 20% which means if it says 100 cals it could be 80 cals or 120 in reality. That 40 cal difference adds up over time, even within the course of one day. Even machine sliced bread can vary. My current loaf days 83g for 2 slices but in reality it's almost always over 90g for 2 slices.
Wow. That's super weird. I seriously thought since they had grams next to it that it was already weighed. Some of mu stuff says 'about' like popcorn and my green giant packages, which I understand needs to be measured, but most of my stuff doesn't say about.0 -
Its simple, well nothings simple when it comes to dieting, but there is a science to it... "if your dieting and still gaining weight then you are taking in more calories then you are burning" the answer is exactly what you dont want to hear you need to cut more calories. Id say start with carbs cut more then half the cabs you are eating out now and say no to soda or any sugar for that matter and you will be shocked by your weight lose by the end of two weeks, I promise it will work but you have to stick to it and dont give up when it gets hard.
PS if your not weight training START weight training will burn more calories then cardio good luck!0 -
Its simple, well nothings simple when it comes to dieting, but there is a science to it... "if your dieting and still gaining weight then you are taking in more calories then you are burning" the answer is exactly what you dont want to hear you need to cut more calories. Id say start with carbs cut more then half the cabs you are eating out now and say no to soda or any sugar for that matter and you will be shocked by your weight lose by the end of two weeks, I promise it will work but you have to stick to it and dont give up when it gets hard.
PS if your not weight training START weight training will burn more calories then cardio good luck!
I didn't drink anything but water while I was eating healthy. Now that I'm drinking soda, I'm losing. Also eating mostly carbs now.
I also went to the gym with my roommate and he helped me with curls, bench press and we did treadmill and bikes for 40 minutes. I even walked for about an hour to two hours a day depending on if I had to actually go anywhere or not. I gained 30lbs over 4 months and did not lose inches anywhere on my body, but gained 2 on my waist. That's why I say healthy isn't working much...
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I've gone through long periods where I've not eaten anything prepackaged or fast foods.. I even lived in third world countries where these things are not even options where our meals consisted of fruits and veggies we grew, goats our neighbors raised, dairy products we processed ourselves (yogurt and "village cheese") grains we bought in bulk and divided among family and olive oil we pressed ourselves and I didn't lose any weight eating this way. If you're eating like a horse, it doesn't matter WHAT it is. Sure it's a lot easier to gain/maintain on fast foods and junk foods, but I assure you that even eating healthy, locally grown and raised natural whole foods, you're not guaranteed to lose weight.0
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I wish that there was a like button on here... Not sure how to reply to that, but I get what you're saying.0
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What's your height, what to do you weigh, and how much do you want to lose?
Could you write down what kind of things you'd eat while eating healthily, just a typical day.
I do wonder if some people can read...she did state no computer! You might be able to track calories and weigh food but some people are lacking basic comprehension skills
Before I knew MFP existed, I used to do a food diary on paper. I don't know about in the US, but in England all food in tins/packets etc has calories data and ingredients listed. So your bread, tuna, ham, cheese, cereal etc. I think even egg boxes have that info on them. Veggies don't, but you can get books with list of calorie info in them. I'm sure WW or Slimming World provide a little book with points/calorie data.
Anyway, my point is I lost weight while keeping a paper diary.
Obviously tracking on here is better, and also weighing food is better, but weight loss can be done without doing that.0 -
I am 5'3 and 220 right now. I've never been this big and it's been getting worse the better I eat.
I was 195 about a year ago and I ate anything. I'd even blow through buffets. Now that I eat less and actually exercise, I gained a crap load. It seems like the more I eat what I want when I want, the healthier and less I way. When I was 120 I think the only vegetables I ate were with pot roast, mashed potatoes, corn or deep fried. I'd eat cake for breakfast too. Now I have a couple eggs and I'm a fatty. 0 -
You were probably eating too much. It's very easy to underestimate your food intake unfortunately. You have to weigh everything with a scale to be really accurate.
But yeah your maximum calories will go down as you lose weight and get older. I could eat what I wanted when I was 200 pounds and hardly gain anything it seemed, now if I don't weigh everything and make 100% sure of my calories intake, I gain weight.
Also make sure to get your thyroid checked.0 -
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