It doesnt make sense

tcld
tcld Posts: 8
edited September 24 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been counting every calorie and logging every workout and havent lost an ounce!!!!! My gross calorie intake is from 1200 to 1900 depending on my exercise for the day, leaving my net at about 400 to 1000. I know I am prob going to hear I am not eating enough calories. I dont get it though, how come people who have gastric bypass lose weight when their calorie intake is so low, anorexics, or even people placed on extreme low cal diets by their docs? Its seriously frustrating cause Im working my butt off......so whats up with this? ANY help or advice will be greatly appreciated ! Thanks, Tory

Feel free to scrutinize my page to look for what I am doing wrong!

Replies

  • I am one of (possibly few) who believes you don't eat you calories burned. MFP has me on 1400 cals/day and thats it. Judging by your picture, you're lighter than I am so you should probably be eating less.

    I hope this helps. Make a point to let me know if it doesn't work for you, please.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
    The one thought i have, after looking at your diary: maybe cut your intake of carbohydrates to about 90 grams/day, and up your protein intake to well over a 100
  • udallmom101
    udallmom101 Posts: 564 Member
    Just from a quick glance at your diary I would say SODIUM SODIUM SODIUM! Looks like you had chips, bacon, processed lunch meat. That is very high in SODIUM!
    I say measure yourself instead of weigh yourself. For me, if I am keeping my sodium in check I do better with the weight loss because my body is retaining all that water.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    How did you manage to set your daily limit to 730 cals? I thought MFPs minimum was 1200?

    Instead of 2 big meals a day I'd try for 4 smaller ones.
  • sarahliftsUP
    sarahliftsUP Posts: 752 Member
    You already know what you are doing wrong. You need to eat more, it's that simply. If you are working out frequently you need to give your body the extra 'fuel' you are burning by exercising.

    Try upping your calories so your net is at least 1200 a day.

    Gastric bypass is so that people can't over-eat, they still eat frequently, just smaller meals.

    I only looked at three days of your food diary. As someone mentioned, it looks like a lot of processed foods which have high sodium and will retain water. I also noticed a big lack of vegetables..

    Try eating more clean.. Vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, dairy, fruit, etc.
  • thektturner
    thektturner Posts: 228 Member
    Have you tried measuring yourself? One month I only lost 3 pounds (yes, all month) but I lost a good 2" round my belly that month alone.
    Muscle weighs more than fat. You cannot go by the scale alone. Plus it says you signed up in February? You haven't been at it long enough to be that fed up. :)
  • Looking at your diary I see that you go over your fat intake almost daily and by the food you eat, I can tell that you probably go over suar too. You should really add sugar in because you would be surprised how much is in the food we eat. I dont eat back my exercise calories. The only time I will eat some of them(very small portion) is of I get hungry after a hard work out. I would say your consumtion is too much.
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    Bypass patients stomach are the size of like a pea ...lol (not literally, but very small) You can't compare yourself to them.
    When you add circumstances into to weightloss, its a different scenario. Anorexics don't get small because they eat healthy, they get small because they're body has no other choice.
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
    It could be a few things. First, it looks like your sodium level is high. You should add sodium to your food diary and track it. If you're like me, MFP will set the limit at 2,500mg but that is too high. Aim for 2,000mg or less.

    Second, you're not tracking your water. Since you're working out, you need to drink at least 10 glasses every day, but the more the better.

    Third, do you use a heart rate monitor to make sure your excercise calories are correct? Many people say MFP overstates the exercise calories. Everyone is different and will burn calories at a different rate based on many, many variables.

    Fourth, do you use a food scale to make sure your food diary is accurate? Most people underestimate their food portions.

    Hang in there. You will see results if you stick with it. Good luck hon.
  • GoChips333
    GoChips333 Posts: 12 Member
    I would try not eating your exercise calories for a week or two and see if there is any weight loss, and if it works keep it up.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Lodro and willpower, Please stop preaching about eating less. If you do it by all means that is your business but please stop trying to get other users to follow your unhealthy low calorie diets.

    MFP is set up for users to lose their goal amount of weight in a healthy manner, if you don't like the way MFP does this you don't have to be here, and willpower 1400 cals for a man even without working out is not enough, you are going to burn off a lot of muscle along with the fat if you don't eat more on days you workout.

    MFP is set up with a goal caloric deficit and you must eat 100% of your calories (including exercise ones) to meet this target. Not doing that and belonging to MFP would be like going to WW and not bothering to count points, these are fundamental in the programs you choose, so why would you ignore this.

    OP please eat more, much much more, change your goal to lose 1 lb/week, unless you have over 75 lbs to lose then maybe try 1.5/week, and eat your exercise calories, slow and steady wins the race
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I would try not eating your exercise calories for a week or two and see if there is any weight loss, and if it works keep it up.

    She is not eating enough with eating them, this is bad advice.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    OP you should be spreading your calories throughout the day, some days you only eat 2 meals and they are large ones. Try eating 5-6 times/day 200-400 calories per meal/snack, this will give you more energy and makes it easier to eat more calories.
  • louiseei
    louiseei Posts: 254 Member
    I think you probably need to eat more fresh fruit and veg, personally. You look to be getting very little.
  • runningneo122
    runningneo122 Posts: 6,962 Member
    I agree with erickirb. How did you set your goal cals to 700? Thst is way too little to start with. Read this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    And some of the links in this post:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again
  • MistyMtnMan
    MistyMtnMan Posts: 527 Member
    I TOTALLY agree with ERICKIRB. You gotta spread your calories out all day so you are never eating a big meal. Think of your body as a furnace. Food is the wood and fire is your metabolism. If you are consistently loading small amounts of wood you will keep the fire burning, which is your body burning calories steady all day. If you throw a big log on it 2 or 3 times a day, the fire will burn poorly or even go out.

    Exercise is also key. You cannot have diet without exercise for it all to work. This increases your metabolism even more and the more lean muscle you build, the more calories you burn when you aren't doing anything. You definitely have to eat your calories back to keep that fire burning good. Your body needs the calories it lost to run efficiently. Good luck.

    One more thing, try and eat as clean as you can so that if you do go over on calories once in a while, it will be from fresh, whole foods, not fatty processed ones.
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
    First off you have you daily intake set at 730 without any exercise??? You are definitely blowing your metabolism from the jump and then you burn a 1000 calories from exercise. Why are you trying to starve yourself? I'm not even talking about starvation mode. I want to know why you don't want to eat period. You aren't doing your body any favors. You see what you've been doing...calorie restriction isn't working. So lets try something different. I will warn you that you probably will gain about 2 to 5 lbs because you haven't been eating properly and your body will need to adjust. But it will come off quickly.

    Set your MFP diary back to the minimum 1200 daily calorie consumption. Remove all the processed meats and other high sodium foods. Eat some roasted/baked chicken breast, lean beef, fish, frozen/fresh veggies, fresh fruits & nuts. Your sodium intake should be 2000 or less. You can reset that in the MFP. Shoot for 80 to 120 protein since you are really active. Stop eating huge meals and start breaking them up to 3 med meals with 2 to 3 healthy snacks. So you should be eating 5 to 6 times a day. Try to eat every 2 and a half to 3 hours.

    Also you need to be drinking water and tracking it. The rule of thumb is to drink at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces.

    Retrain your way of thinking about weight loss and the way to do it. Make the changes and you should see an improvement.
  • tcld
    tcld Posts: 8
    Thanks for the advice. I guess I was just going with the thought process of meeting a certain calorie deficit. My goal was to lose 3 pounds a week which would be a caloric deficit of 10500 per week so after doing all the math yadda yadda this is what I came up with. Clearly I need to change it and am willing to. I def dont want to starve myself as I am very happy with myself I think it is just fear of failure when your working so hard toward something, but its a lifestyle change I am trying to achieve not a diet so thanks again for everything!
  • tcld
    tcld Posts: 8
    Thanks for all the advice and I will definately change it up to do all of that. Also I do exercise, with high intensity 5 days a week and I track my calorie loss based on an average mile for myself...about 110 calories per mile on the treadmill, I dont just randomly use MFP calorie estimates. As for water I drink about a gallon a day out of pure habit, I literally keep this old gallon jug with me everywhere I go, I just havent been tracking it. Again however thank you for the advice and I will definately heed it.
  • tcld
    tcld Posts: 8
    Thanks so much, I didnt even think of my sodium. I am relatively new to trying to watch what I eat and really have only been concerned with calories and not looking at all aspects so thank you.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Thanks for the advice. I guess I was just going with the thought process of meeting a certain calorie deficit. My goal was to lose 3 pounds a week which would be a caloric deficit of 10500 per week so after doing all the math yadda yadda this is what I came up with. Clearly I need to change it and am willing to. I def dont want to starve myself as I am very happy with myself I think it is just fear of failure when your working so hard toward something, but its a lifestyle change I am trying to achieve not a diet so thanks again for everything!

    trying for 3lbs per week is considered unhealthy. MFP recommends 1 lb/week but says 2 can be safe if you have a lot to lose.
  • You're right Eric. I'm sorry I have not read the program and I was offering advice based on m personal experience. I came here to gain knowledge and I will stop giving advice.
  • tcld
    tcld Posts: 8
    Thanks for all the great advice, and considering what I am doing isnt working I am going to change. I went back in and changed the setting to lose 2 lbs a week and allowed MFP to guide the settings so I will definately follow it more closely, but in the meantime I appreciate you taking the time to look it over and advise me!
  • MistyMtnMan
    MistyMtnMan Posts: 527 Member
    Thanks for all the great advice, and considering what I am doing isnt working I am going to change. I went back in and changed the setting to lose 2 lbs a week and allowed MFP to guide the settings so I will definately follow it more closely, but in the meantime I appreciate you taking the time to look it over and advise me!

    You got it and just a little success story from this site, I was using Weight Watchers and didn't lose anything for like a month! I went on this, I was eating more calories and I lost 4lbs in less than a week. Hang it there and good luck on your changes.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
    Lodro and willpower, Please stop preaching about eating less. If you do it by all means that is your business but please stop trying to get other users to follow your unhealthy low calorie diets.

    MFP is set up for users to lose their goal amount of weight in a healthy manner, if you don't like the way MFP does this you don't have to be here, and willpower 1400 cals for a man even without working out is not enough, you are going to burn off a lot of muscle along with the fat if you don't eat more on days you workout.

    MFP is set up with a goal caloric deficit and you must eat 100% of your calories (including exercise ones) to meet this target. Not doing that and belonging to MFP would be like going to WW and not bothering to count points, these are fundamental in the programs you choose, so why would you ignore this.

    OP please eat more, much much more, change your goal to lose 1 lb/week, unless you have over 75 lbs to lose then maybe try 1.5/week, and eat your exercise calories, slow and steady wins the race

    Excuse me? Please read what I wrote: i merely suggested she reverse the ratio of carbohydrates to proteins. I didn't mention caloric intake at all.

    I also want to point out to you, as I have several times elsewhere, that I am restricting calories because I am in a trial that tries to find out if calorie restriction and/or fasting has any influence on the formation of glioblastoma multiple brain tumors (which I have, in stage 3). Not everyone is here to lose weight. I'm not.
  • boognish1972
    boognish1972 Posts: 83 Member
    You don't eat dinner? My guess is that you're probably underestimating the portion sizes of the food you eat and overestimating the amount of exercise. It's human nature and I've seen myself, my wife and my friends all do it. One of the best things you can do is to have a kitchen scale and some measuring cups and make sure that you are only eating the portions that you are reporting in your food journal. You may be surprised.
  • tcld
    tcld Posts: 8
    Haha, no I do eat dinner! I just went in and changed the settings today so that I could focus on eating small meals throughout the day so it went back and changed all my previous entries. I definately watch and track everything I eat so I am guessing that it has got to be too few calories.....we shall see!
  • tcld
    tcld Posts: 8
    Just know that I take ALL advice with a grain of salt, and your advice was very much appreciated! Sorry about what your going through but I find it quite selfless that in the midst of it all you are doing a clinical trial that may or may not benefit you for the sake of medical advancement. Wow, thanks again.
  • runningneo122
    runningneo122 Posts: 6,962 Member
    Haha, no I do eat dinner! I just went in and changed the settings today so that I could focus on eating small meals throughout the day so it went back and changed all my previous entries. I definately watch and track everything I eat so I am guessing that it has got to be too few calories.....we shall see!

    Try to keep your protein up on each meal as well. It has a higher thermic value so it ups the metabo a little and keeps the insulin from spiking and crashing which will make you feel hungry later and usually wanting carbs. The recommended ratio is 1g of protein for every 20 cals of the whole meal. 400 cals meal - 20g of protein which is abt 3 oz. of fish or 4 oz. of chicken or thereabouts.
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