I know I know but HELP!!
TiffanyW1014
Posts: 599 Member
I'm am at a gaining/stand still and I need help( thinking i might be taking in 2 many calories???). Currently I am down 70 lbs since June and I am very happy with that but this numbers crap is driving me nuts. I WANT to lose 2 + lbs a weeks so all input is needed. I am 5'8 and weigh 190. I want to know what I need to do to get this weight off. PLEASE HELP!! I need to know calories in, calories out in english lol! For some reason I just can not get this concept. Thanks in advance!!
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Replies
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You want any kind of useful help I would say open your food diary- even if its just for the next hour or two- We can't see what or how much you are eating to be able to tell if it's enough/too much without that.0
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At 190 lbs, you probably need to adjust your goals to 1 pound per week. loss. It gets harder to lose weight the lighter you get and having too large of a calorie deficit will stifle your results over time.0
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You may however be getting to a point where 2+ lbs per week is just not realistic. I started as high as 182, and I never lost more than 2lbs in a week and averaged 1.50
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Maybe you are taking in too much carbs? Use the Goals feature under My Home and use the Custom Change Goals option to possibly modify your percentage of Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat intake. I would suggest setting carbs to 50%, protein 30% and fat 20% as a good start for weight loss. You could keep your total net calories at the same level, but more calories will be from protein instead of carbs. Of course, you must maintain an exercise routine when making this type of shift. After reaching your weight loss goal then recalibrate the percentages to something closer to what is recommended by the Dietary Guidelines:
45% to 65% carbohydrates.
10% to 35% protein.
20% to 35% fat.0 -
Tiffany...can't see your food diary, and you don't mention your activity/exercise level, so I can't really say. Basic formula is calories in-calories out=weight lost/gained. Something may be askew with your calculations. Are you logging EVERYTHING you eat? Remember MFP's numbers for calories burned for exercise are a bit generous. Good luck0
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Maybe 2 lbs is a bit out of reach. But I have to do/change something and I just am not quite sure what to do at this point..0
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Quite simply, you're at the point now where 2lb+ a week isn't realistic.0
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What are you doing for exercises? If you are in a routine you might want to step it up or change to a more aerobic form.0
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Diary is now open!! Thanks0
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Tiffany...can't see your food diary, and you don't mention your activity/exercise level, so I can't really say. Basic formula is calories in-calories out=weight lost/gained. Something may be askew with your calculations. Are you logging EVERYTHING you eat? Remember MFP's numbers for calories burned for exercise are a bit generous. Good luck
I do log everything I am very honest. Even the bad food which you will find if you look. I exercise somehow everyday mybe taking Sunday off. I also wear a HRM so the calories are a bit more acurate.0 -
Quite simply, you're at the point now where 2lb+ a week isn't realistic.
Kinda figured but I guess I just don't want to hear it or face it since I am still like 50 lbs away from my goal...0 -
Maybe 2 lbs is a bit out of reach. But I have to do/change something and I just am not quite sure what to do at this point..
Have you changed your exercise routine up? I know my husband lost 110lbs and stopped loosing, it took him adding in a few classes a week that was not his normal stuff to start losing again...
Also go over your diary from back when you started and where losing.. see if there are any changes? even little ones like sodium count make a difference.
I have to agree with others though, maybe 2lbs a week is a bit unrealistic at this point, you've come so far.0 -
what is the "normal" weight range for a 5'8" inch person *supposed* to be?0
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way too much sodium, not enough protein and fiber, too many pills that are not working, skipping meals is not a good thing and above all, not enough real food. you need to eat real food that is not processed. I'm not trying to be mean or anything but you have to eat food. Vitamins and supplements are good to a point but it really all boils down to what you eat. take a look at my diary and tell me what you think. I eat very little processed food and if I'm going to be really busy during the week, i cook most of my meals on the weekend, portion them out and freeze them. Then when i get home i just pull out what i want to eat and warm it up.0
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Ever find a really awesome Shampoo? One you fell in love with cause it worked sooooo well on your hair and made it look so good? But a few weeks or months later, it just doesn't have that vada-voom appeal it used to?
If you've ever had this happen, you've learned that it's best to switch your shampoo ever few weeks, otherwise your hair GETS USED TO IT, and doesn't look it's best.
The rest of your body gets used to things, too!!!
When you hit a stand still like that, it's more than likely cause your body has adjusted (become used to) the healthy eating and exercise habits that once produced weight-loss sucess for you in the past. The answer is simple, though... You need to SHOCK YOUR SYSTEM. Shake things up, wake up your fat burners and put them back to work. Eat Veggies, Fruit and Fish for a week, or switch-up your exercise routine to something totally different, or go off sugar completely all week long and let yourself go for 1 hour every week-end, or do a 3 day apple cleanse (which really works... but the key is at the end of day 3, it two spoonfuls of Olive Oil. The sudden burst of fat causes the body to release it's toxins easier). HOW you SHOCK your body back into FAT BURNING mode is up to you, and there are lots of ways to do it.
Hope this helps!
GOOD LUCK0 -
Looking at your diary, you seem to be under calories, which is great in most cases, but you might need to lower your sodium to around 1,500 mg. I lowered mine, cut out as many processed and fast foods as possible (I do live a little and still treat myself once in a while). The first week that I lowered my sodium and started the "clean eating" habits, I busted my pleteau and saw a 3 pound loss. Also, many of my friends lowered their sodium and have seen better results.
Just remember that everyone is different and your body may respond to more or less carbs (there are good and bad cabs, complex, etc.) Your body may also respond to less fat, more protein, etc.
Congrats on your accomplishment thus far and good luck in figuring things out!0 -
A couple of things that might help:
eat more real food. you're doing these shake things, and then eating a lot more crap than you should consider ideal the rest of the time.
Fruit and veges. I looked through the last 5 days and only saw two, TWO entries of fruit/veg. You should be aiming for 5+ a day
It's about the right sort of calories, as much as it is about the amount of calories, if that makes sense. lean meat, fruit and veg, wholegrains, with the odd treat so you don't go crazy.
1lb a week goal, you may still find you have weeks where you lose more if you look after your body. But even still, that's only a year. A year seems a lot when you're looking forward, but not looking back. Imagine if, before you started, someone said you could be 50lb lighter this time next year! that would seem awesome.0 -
what is the "normal" weight range for a 5'8" inch person *supposed* to be?
I do believe it is like 125-152 or close to that.0 -
According to BMI, 5"8 should be between 120-165, baring in mind that this chart doesn't consider skeletal frame size, or body fat levels, take it with a pinch of salt. Obviously people with more muscle mass or larger frames should be higher, less muscle mass or smaller frames lower.
I'm 5"7, medium frame, about 24% BF, and I look scary at 120. My cousin's 5"9, 125-130, and looks perfect. Lean, but not skeletal by any means.
Back to topic, Tiffany, I peaked at your food diet and congrats on being so honest with your diary! It's really good because when a little plateau does come along, it's so much easier to pinpoint what you could change. It does look like you eat a LOT of sodium, so that could be one of the reasons why you're not seeing the results you want on the scale. ( nothing some extra water and cutting it down for a bit won't cure.)
If that doesn't help though I'd suggest lowering your calories, and trying to limit the processed food. It looks like you're eating about 1800-2000 a day, so it's pretty awesome that you've managed to lose steadily this far. Maybe try cutting down to 1400-1500 net a day? Just be sure to eat all of your exercise cals back!
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I would definitely agree that 2lbs/week is no longer safely attainable for you (congratulations! you're too thin to lose a lot of weight at a time!). I'm 5'10 and 169, and I'm lucky if I get 0.5/lb a week.
That said, I did look at your diary (no judgement here...I keep mine closed for a reason :ohwell:)
Do you have your MFP set to calculate a 2lb/wk loss? 1800-ish calories seems kind of high for a daily intake with loss figured - unless that's a net which includes your workout burns. Are you using a HRM for your exercise calories?
I notice your diet consists of a lot of fast food and herbalife. I hate to cook, so I understand the convenience of fast food, but you may want to try some fresh food and scale back the 800+ calorie meals. What your body can't use right away, it stores - so when you eat huge meals like that, there's more to store. I'm personally a fan of eat a little bit every couple hours. You can drop the herbalife and save yourself a lot of money and a couple hundred calories per day.
For convenient foods, I like the Bistro Ready Pac salads - ready to go with everything included and only 270-290 calories. Great for a lunch. And for dinner, maybe try some of the Healthy Choice meals - even Marie Callendar's has some yummy < 400 calorie meals. The Bertoli bag meals are pretty good and reasonable for dinner too - but I should mention I don't watch my sodium because i have low blood pressure and actually have to have more sodium in my diet so I don't get dizzy.
Are you absolutely sure you're entering your portions correctly? A cup of cereal, for example, barely fills the bottom of the bowl, so most people underestimate it. Every once in a while, I'll go back and start measuring everything again to make sure my visual cues on portions haven't distorted over time.0 -
According to BMI, 5"8 should be between 120-165, baring in mind that this chart doesn't consider skeletal frame size, or body fat levels, take it with a pinch of salt. Obviously people with more muscle mass or larger frames should be higher, less muscle mass or smaller frames lower.
I'm 5"7, medium frame, about 24% BF, and I look scary at 120. My cousin's 5"9, 125-130, and looks perfect. Lean, but not skeletal by any means.
Back to topic, Tiffany, I peaked at your food diet and congrats on being so honest with your diary! It's really good because when a little plateau does come along, it's so much easier to pinpoint what you could change. It does look like you eat a LOT of sodium, so that could be one of the reasons why you're not seeing the results you want on the scale. ( nothing some extra water and cutting it down for a bit won't cure.)
If that doesn't help though I'd suggest lowering your calories, and trying to limit the processed food. It looks like you're eating about 1800-2000 a day, so it's pretty awesome that you've managed to lose steadily this far. Maybe try cutting down to 1400-1500 net a day? Just be sure to eat all of your exercise cals back!
I was thinking a net of 1200-1300 or do you think that is to low! Right now I'm at 1600 and eat my exercise cals back on most days but I really try not to drop below 1200.0 -
I would definitely agree that 2lbs/week is no longer safely attainable for you (congratulations! you're too thin to lose a lot of weight at a time!). I'm 5'10 and 169, and I'm lucky if I get 0.5/lb a week.
That said, I did look at your diary (no judgement here...I keep mine closed for a reason :ohwell:)
Do you have your MFP set to calculate a 2lb/wk loss? 1800-ish calories seems kind of high for a daily intake with loss figured - unless that's a net which includes your workout burns. Are you using a HRM for your exercise calories?
I notice your diet consists of a lot of fast food and herbalife. I hate to cook, so I understand the convenience of fast food, but you may want to try some fresh food and scale back the 800+ calorie meals. What your body can't use right away, it stores - so when you eat huge meals like that, there's more to store. I'm personally a fan of eat a little bit every couple hours. You can drop the herbalife and save yourself a lot of money and a couple hundred calories per day.
For convenient foods, I like the Bistro Ready Pac salads - ready to go with everything included and only 270-290 calories. Great for a lunch. And for dinner, maybe try some of the Healthy Choice meals - even Marie Callendar's has some yummy < 400 calorie meals. The Bertoli bag meals are pretty good and reasonable for dinner too - but I should mention I don't watch my sodium because i have low blood pressure and actually have to have more sodium in my diet so I don't get dizzy.
Are you absolutely sure you're entering your portions correctly? A cup of cereal, for example, barely fills the bottom of the bowl, so most people underestimate it. Every once in a while, I'll go back and start measuring everything again to make sure my visual cues on portions haven't distorted over time.
Thanks for the help and you are right I do need to cut out the "fat foods" but you are also right in the lines of it is easy. Looks like I need to reevaluate everything and start over. Guess its back to the drawing board for me.0 -
Well I reset my goals and it lowered me to 1200 cals/day. So that means I have to eat back all my exercise calories correct??? I set my exercise at 0 (good idea?) I'm still going for 2 lbs a week but we will see I'm going to give this 2 weeks and see what happens. Wish me luck!! Now the only other thing getting in my way is ME and we all know the only person to fix that is also ME. This is so much harder than I thought but I really feel like I am letting alot of people down (including myself) since i'm not putting up such big numbers week after week.0
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Congrats on your weight loss thus far! I am by no means an expert here, but I just wanted to add that as we lose weight, our bodies need fewer calories. You have lost over 70 pounds. You will now require less calories than when you started your weight-loss journey. Have you adjusted your calorie requirements for your current lower weight? Just a thought....0
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Congrats on your weight loss thus far! I am by no means an expert here, but I just wanted to add that as we lose weight, our bodies need fewer calories. You have lost over 70 pounds. You will now require less calories than when you started your weight-loss journey. Have you adjusted your calorie requirements for your current lower weight? Just a thought....
Just did that tonight and it lowered me to 1200/day. That is alot different from the 16-1700 I had before. I also put 0 exercise calories so I figure any time I exercise is a bonus. I think!!!!0 -
Well I reset my goals and it lowered me to 1200 cals/day. So that means I have to eat back all my exercise calories correct??? I set my exercise at 0 (good idea?) I'm still going for 2 lbs a week but we will see I'm going to give this 2 weeks and see what happens. Wish me luck!! Now the only other thing getting in my way is ME and we all know the only person to fix that is also ME. This is so much harder than I thought but I really feel like I am letting alot of people down (including myself) since i'm not putting up such big numbers week after week.
Yes, you will absolutely need to eat your exercise calories. 1200 should be your absolute lowest net (net = burn - eat). Setting your exercise to 0 on this site doesn't really affect your calorie counts. The exercise goals are just so you can track them. You can set it to whatever you want. Just make sure you log your cardio workouts, and it will adjust your total calories then.
Don't be hard on yourself if you don't lose a lot each week anymore. At this level, it's not safe, and barely possible, to lose multiple pounds per week without starving yourself. All those "diet" products that claim otherwise are misleading or flat out lying and typically defend themselves by using a massive water weight loss in the first week as a baseline. That's why they use soft terms like "lose UP TO x pounds per week".
Slow and steady, girl. You'll get there! Remember, if you want it to last, we're working on lifestyle changes, not quick fixes.0 -
Well I reset my goals and it lowered me to 1200 cals/day. So that means I have to eat back all my exercise calories correct??? I set my exercise at 0 (good idea?) I'm still going for 2 lbs a week but we will see I'm going to give this 2 weeks and see what happens. Wish me luck!! Now the only other thing getting in my way is ME and we all know the only person to fix that is also ME. This is so much harder than I thought but I really feel like I am letting alot of people down (including myself) since i'm not putting up such big numbers week after week.
Yes, you will absolutely need to eat your exercise calories. 1200 should be your absolute lowest net (net = burn - eat). Setting your exercise to 0 on this site doesn't really affect your calorie counts. The exercise goals are just so you can track them. You can set it to whatever you want. Just make sure you log your cardio workouts, and it will adjust your total calories then.
Don't be hard on yourself if you don't lose a lot each week anymore. At this level, it's not safe, and barely possible, to lose multiple pounds per week without starving yourself. All those "diet" products that claim otherwise are misleading or flat out lying and typically defend themselves by using a massive water weight loss in the first week as a baseline. That's why they use soft terms like "lose UP TO x pounds per week".
Slow and steady, girl. You'll get there! Remember, if you want it to last, we're working on lifestyle changes, not quick fixes.
Thank you so much. Like I said i'll give this a few weeks and see. I do feel that 1200 is low but I better kick my butt in gear with the exercise so i can eat just a bit more;)0 -
1200 IS low- Try manually adjusting it to 1300. That should give you a decent deficit and give you some wiggle room in your calories (so your NET number can be between 1200 and 1300 without giving you those angry red numbers for going over)0
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1200 IS low- Try manually adjusting it to 1300. That should give you a decent deficit and give you some wiggle room in your calories (so your NET number can be between 1200 and 1300 without giving you those angry red numbers for going over)
Ok 1300 sounds good to me!!0
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