Eating clean, daily exercise, not losing. help?
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Well with an apple the difference can be negligible. With something like peanut butter the difference can be as high as double the calories! My guess is that you simply need to tighten up your calorie tracking a bit and have more patience. Weigh loss is not always linear and sometimes it takes weeks for losses to show on the scale, especially if you are close to goal weight.haircuttergirl wrote: »
Cups and tablespoons.This is pretty normal. Once you get close to goal weight, several weeks can go by with nothing showing on the scale. Also when you say you typically measure, is that with a food scale or with cups and tablespoons. The difference is actually HUGE. Also what does typically mean? 90% of the time? 60% of the time? These are all VERY significant variables.
I figured when it comes to an apple, for instance, even if I'm off some on calories, I'm eating so few calories already that surely it wouldn't make a huge difference, yeah? A medium sized jonagold apple is in mfp as 100 cals. My son usually has some of it too and I just log the 100. But even if its bigger and is actually 120 cals, I didnt think it would matter much. Especially lately when I've only been hitting 800-900.0 -
I don't go by the bmi anymore because according to that, I am just shy of obese. In reality, I'm a size 6/8. I'm not looking to get my weight down as low as 130, just want to lose the few lbs more.Going by BMI, a healthy weight range is 105 - 130.
http://www.shapeup.org/bmi/bmi6.pdf
To get there, eat 10x your healthy goal weight in calories (1300).
Eating "clean" has nothing to do with weight loss, though having a lower intake of processed foods (if that's what you mean by "clean") and a higher intake of whole, natural foods is good for health.
The closer you get to a healthy weight, the slower weight loss will be.
With only 25 lb to go, it's reasonable to lose 0.5 lb per week.
Have you been weighing / measuring your foods? If you've come to a standstill, that would be a reasonable step, because often people eat more than they think.
Warning: thanks to the new setup, these links are not currently working. (08OCT14)
Hopefully that will change soon!
Here are some helpful threads:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read
(I've been that weight and I constantly had people asking if I was sick. I didnt look or feel good.)
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Buy a food scale, it's worth it. Also, you're probably retaining water and not eating is exacerbating the problem. Stress really does play havoc on our systems.0
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That makes sense. The first 50 came off pretty easily for me. So it seemed like the last few should too.
This can make stalls worse. While your body doesn't stop losing fat from eating to low, such low levels of calorie intake are a stress to the body and can cause water retention. So in effect, you are making the stall last longer. Just try and eat a very consistent, very accurately counted number of calories and have a great deal of patience. It took me just as long to lose the last 10 lbs as it did to lose the first 40!haircuttergirl wrote: »These past couple of weeks I haven't been eating much because I have been pretty discouraged about not being able to shed the last few. Yesterday I barely hit 600 calories
Maybe it's just harder today because I've been resisting the urge to eat pizza for weeks now. Ha.
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WOW!!! That's amazing. I too am 5'2 and I started at 220 and got down to 148. The way I did it the first time is just the way you're doing it but when I would get in a rut, I would stop for about 2 weeks. I wouldn't really work out or eat right for 2-3 weeks. Then I would start back at it hard and lose the weight again. That's just how I boost my metabolism to start burning again. Also, I would start exercising differently. I'm a cardio queen but I'm not fond of lifting weights so I would only do 30 minutes of cardio and the other 30 minutes doing interval training. Very helpful indeed and my body is getting more firm....GOOD LUCK!0
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Glad to know I am not the only oneI feel the same way!! Im 5'1 and "stuck" between 154 and 155. im new to the tracking process(I did ww since January and they focused on eating cleaner) but I work with a dietician and she did mention she feels I need more calories than the 1200, especially if im exercising 6 days a week (of course not with junk foods) this convo was just this week so ill have to see if it works for me! good luck
Oh and I don't measure my foods-I totally guesstimate unless im following a recipe. ill try that too!
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This is very encouraging. Thank you for sharing. In the past, I've taken a break like you mentioned and it worked well. But I have been scared to this time because it is hard enough for me to get started, even though I know I will feel much better once I do. And being right at the end of my goal, I thought it should be easier.nonisimmons wrote: »WOW!!! That's amazing. I too am 5'2 and I started at 220 and got down to 148. The way I did it the first time is just the way you're doing it but when I would get in a rut, I would stop for about 2 weeks. I wouldn't really work out or eat right for 2-3 weeks. Then I would start back at it hard and lose the weight again. That's just how I boost my metabolism to start burning again. Also, I would start exercising differently. I'm a cardio queen but I'm not fond of lifting weights so I would only do 30 minutes of cardio and the other 30 minutes doing interval training. Very helpful indeed and my body is getting more firm....GOOD LUCK!
I start half marathon training Monday and that has me doing strength several times a week and one day of cardio that isn't running- maybe that will be just what I need!
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Find out what your calorie goal for your TDEE is and take about 5 percent of that off to lose .5 pounds a week. It's the last five pounds so it'll come off slowly.
Weigh your solid food and measure liquids and record everything that goes into your mouth. With the TDEE method, you do not eat your calories back because it's figured into your activity level.
If you were truly eating 1,000-2,000 calories a day you would lose weight, so it stands to reason you are probably eating more than you think. Otherwise, you have a medical issue that needs attention. <-- Just wanted to try out the new smilies on the updated forum.
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I do have PCOS, and have been told it is why I struggle so much with weight loss. Basically, the doctors said if I could lose weight, it would help with the pcos but the pcos is what is preventing me from losing. I did some research and discovered a low-glycemic diet method is the best bet for my problem, so that's how I lost the first bit of weight. However, I was completely inactive back then. Now I am extremely active so I need the extra carbs and such. I have problems with my blood sugar and kept passing out when I tried to go back to low-glycemic ways with my higher activity level.Find out what your calorie goal for your TDEE is and take about 5 percent of that off to lose .5 pounds a week. It's the last five pounds so it'll come off slowly.
Weigh your solid food and measure liquids and record everything that goes into your mouth. With the TDEE method, you do not eat your calories back because it's figured into your activity level.
If you were truly eating 1,000-2,000 calories a day you would lose weight, so it stands to reason you are probably eating more than you think. Otherwise, you have a medical issue that needs attention. <-- Just wanted to try out the new smilies on the updated forum.
But now I don't seem to be losing well. Pretty sure most people would have weight melting off of them if they ate and exercised like I am.
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The glycemic index is really a very misleading thing. It measures how quickly a certain carb source is absorbed by the body IF, and this is a huge if, the food is eaten alone! The GI of foods can change dramatically if you consume them in the context of a mixed meal (along with protein and fat sources), as most of us do. It's not something really even worth paying attention to unless you never mix your foods.0
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haircuttergirl wrote: »
I do have PCOS, and have been told it is why I struggle so much with weight loss. Basically, the doctors said if I could lose weight, it would help with the pcos but the pcos is what is preventing me from losing. I did some research and discovered a low-glycemic diet method is the best bet for my problem, so that's how I lost the first bit of weight. However, I was completely inactive back then. Now I am extremely active so I need the extra carbs and such. I have problems with my blood sugar and kept passing out when I tried to go back to low-glycemic ways with my higher activity level.Find out what your calorie goal for your TDEE is and take about 5 percent of that off to lose .5 pounds a week. It's the last five pounds so it'll come off slowly.
Weigh your solid food and measure liquids and record everything that goes into your mouth. With the TDEE method, you do not eat your calories back because it's figured into your activity level.
If you were truly eating 1,000-2,000 calories a day you would lose weight, so it stands to reason you are probably eating more than you think. Otherwise, you have a medical issue that needs attention. <-- Just wanted to try out the new smilies on the updated forum.
But now I don't seem to be losing well. Pretty sure most people would have weight melting off of them if they ate and exercised like I am.
Can you do a modified low glycemic diet? Such as just mixing your macros to about 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 calories from carbs, fats, and protein. I have pre-diabetes and it has helped push the scale down. 1200 calories is the minimum that MFP will allow your caloric count to be, so you definitely should eat at least this much. Since you are so active, there is no reason for you to be going under your BMR. BTW, has your BMR been calculated?
Kudos to you about not following the BMI chart. I'm in the same boat. The chart just doesn't work for medium to large framed people or muscular people.0 -
Agreed about the bmi. And I actually just had to google bmr to know what that is. Hahahaircuttergirl wrote: »
I do have PCOS, and have been told it is why I struggle so much with weight loss. Basically, the doctors said if I could lose weight, it would help with the pcos but the pcos is what is preventing me from losing. I did some research and discovered a low-glycemic diet method is the best bet for my problem, so that's how I lost the first bit of weight. However, I was completely inactive back then. Now I am extremely active so I need the extra carbs and such. I have problems with my blood sugar and kept passing out when I tried to go back to low-glycemic ways with my higher activity level.Find out what your calorie goal for your TDEE is and take about 5 percent of that off to lose .5 pounds a week. It's the last five pounds so it'll come off slowly.
Weigh your solid food and measure liquids and record everything that goes into your mouth. With the TDEE method, you do not eat your calories back because it's figured into your activity level.
If you were truly eating 1,000-2,000 calories a day you would lose weight, so it stands to reason you are probably eating more than you think. Otherwise, you have a medical issue that needs attention. <-- Just wanted to try out the new smilies on the updated forum.
But now I don't seem to be losing well. Pretty sure most people would have weight melting off of them if they ate and exercised like I am.
Can you do a modified low glycemic diet? Such as just mixing your macros to about 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 calories from carbs, fats, and protein. I have pre-diabetes and it has helped push the scale down. 1200 calories is the minimum that MFP will allow your caloric count to be, so you definitely should eat at least this much. Since you are so active, there is no reason for you to be going under your BMR. BTW, has your BMR been calculated?
Kudos to you about not following the BMI chart. I'm in the same boat. The chart just doesn't work for medium to large framed people or muscular people.
I just calculated that and did the Harris Benedict equation to see what it said, for the heck of it. According to that I should be eating 2,300 cals a day?! I must have done something wrong. That's so many calories!
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The glycemic index is really a very misleading thing. It measures how quickly a certain carb source is absorbed by the body IF, and this is a huge if, the food is eaten alone! The GI of foods can change dramatically if you consume them in the context of a mixed meal (along with protein and fat sources), as most of us do. It's not something really even worth paying attention to unless you never mix your foods.
GI is a great tool for PCOS sufferers to have an idea how fast sugar metabolizes in their system. Sure we may not always eat every food alone but, how about watermelon for example? Very high GI, often thought a healthy snack, but can totally derail weight loss. Sure things aren't as cut and dried as a GI table might make them seem but information is power! And when your body instantly stalls all weight loss because you had something that spiked your blood sugar and subsequently your insulin levels, it's very important to know that information. I practice food combining with low GI, as well as a moderate "total" carbs and I find it very successful for me. But I don't think GI as a tool should be discounted.
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My knowledge of the technical aspect isn't very great, but what you are saying sounds like what I have been doing.The glycemic index is really a very misleading thing. It measures how quickly a certain carb source is absorbed by the body IF, and this is a huge if, the food is eaten alone! The GI of foods can change dramatically if you consume them in the context of a mixed meal (along with protein and fat sources), as most of us do. It's not something really even worth paying attention to unless you never mix your foods.
GI is a great tool for PCOS sufferers to have an idea how fast sugar metabolizes in their system. Sure we may not always eat every food alone but, how about watermelon for example? Very high GI, often thought a healthy snack, but can totally derail weight loss. Sure things aren't as cut and dried as a GI table might make them seem but information is power! And when your body instantly stalls all weight loss because you had something that spiked your blood sugar and subsequently your insulin levels, it's very important to know that information. I practice food combining with low GI, as well as a moderate "total" carbs and I find it very successful for me. But I don't think GI as a tool should be discounted.
I've done well with pretty much eliminating bread and pasta (and other high starches) from my diet in the past, but I am struggling now that I am very active and need some carbs.0 -
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My knowledge of the technical aspect isn't very great, but what you are saying sounds like what I have been doing.
I've done well with pretty much eliminating bread and pasta (and other high starches) from my diet in the past, but I am struggling now that I am very active and need some carbs.[/quote]
I just looked through your food diary, I think what you need is more protein. I get the fear of eating too much food, I'm like that too. But if you try to eat some protein at every meal (even snacks, can be a piece of cheese or handful of nuts) you'll up your calories a bit (some days they are crazy low) and you'll won't spike your blood sugars when you're eating your carbs. Other than that I'd stick with it
you'll get there!
My diary is open so take a peak if you want or PM me if you need a few more pointers on food combining while keeping your carbs moderate.
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My knowledge of the technical aspect isn't very great, but what you are saying sounds like what I have been doing.
I've done well with pretty much eliminating bread and pasta (and other high starches) from my diet in the past, but I am struggling now that I am very active and need some carbs.[/quote]
I just looked through your food diary, I think what you need is more protein. I get the fear of eating too much food, I'm like that too. But if you try to eat some protein at every meal (even snacks, can be a piece of cheese or handful of nuts) you'll up your calories a bit (some days they are crazy low) and you'll won't spike your blood sugars when you're eating your carbs. Other than that I'd stick with it you'll get there!
My diary is open so take a peak if you want or PM me if you need a few more pointers on food combining while keeping your carbs moderate.
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Thanks! This is encouraging.
I usually would do a protein shake and piece of fruit in the morning and a protein bar somewhere during the day between meals. It's in these last couple weeks I have slacked on those, trying to eliminate the extra calories. Shame on me. Haha
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