Looking for some guidance on my weight loss, or lack thereof....

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jifejacobs
jifejacobs Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So a few weeks ago I began an eight-week weight loss challenge. I'm about 5'3 and my starting weight was 163. I was pretty much sedentary, although I had been walking about 3 miles a day from about the end of April to the end of June/beginning of July.

I'm not necessarily athletic, but when I work out, I work out hard. I've been logging my food and workouts faithfully and am getting extremely discouraged because I'm finding that I'll lose and then gain two or three pounds in a week. Now when I was in my 30's and working out religiously, I never had these issues. I'm not sure if it's because I'm 40 now that things are not quite working out the way I expect them to.

I'm using the info in MFP or labels to help judge my calories intake and how many calories I'm burning. Because I'm not sure how accurate the calories burned are, I tend to eat about 500-600 calories less than my goal calories, just in case and I'm working out consistently from 4-6 days a week. Bootcamp 3 days, Zumba 1 day, and walking/or home video (Tae-Bo/TurboFire/Jillian Michaels) the other day.

What am I doing wrong??? I'm starting to feel very discouraged.

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
    edited October 2014
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    Do you use a food scale? And given your sedentary nature, they days you are very high in calories, it might be eating up your deficit. Also, consider that you need to give something 4-6 weeks to determine if it's actually working. A body will naturally fluctuate and water weight will hide fat loss
  • jifejacobs
    jifejacobs Posts: 6 Member
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    I haven't been, although I have thought about purchasing one.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    Looking at your diary, your calorie intake is all over the place.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    Sorry I updated my post. What I do see if you tend to eat out a lot which can lead to inaccuracies in your calorie count. If possible, I would limit going out in favor of home cooked meals where you can be more accurate. And pick up a food scale. Do that for a month and we can evaluate again.
  • HollyMustLoseWeightNow
    HollyMustLoseWeightNow Posts: 9
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    How long have you been exercising for? Sometimes when you first start a heavy routine your body will retain water to protect the muscles and you will gain and maintain until your body gets used to the new workouts. The scale should catch up but I highly suggest doing measurements.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    I looked over your diary and I noticed a few things:

    1. Your sodium levels are high. Excess sodium could be causing water retention and masking your weight loss.
    2. Regular alcohol intake could also be masking your loss.
    3. Are you weighing and measuring your food?
    4. I see a lot of entries for "homemade" - are these recipes you are entering or are you choosing items from the database? Those types of entries are hard to quantify and could lead to incorrect counting.
  • joyceshane
    joyceshane Posts: 3 Member
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    I hear you!!!! I been doing the following for over a year now cardio/strength training 2x's a week for an hour, and added the high intense water Aerobics 3x's a week for an hour 8 weeks ago. I still haven't lost any weight. Frustrated.
  • jifejacobs
    jifejacobs Posts: 6 Member
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    I will purchase a scale for food today. I've been exercising for exactly six weeks now and I will say there is a definite change in my body. I guess I'm just frustrated that I'm not seeing the scale go down like it has in the past. My body almost always responds to working out very quickly and I've been lucky enough to see it not only in the shape of my body, but the scale as well. I guess my body just is reacting slower now that I'm older. Blech.
  • jifejacobs
    jifejacobs Posts: 6 Member
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    LoraF83, I will start to watch more of my sodium intake. Some of the entries are database and some are mine. That's part of the reason I sometimes leave 500-600 calories open each day. I'm always concerned that something is not calculating correctly. As far as eating out, with my job, it's not always feasible for me to bring my lunch and I try to make up for what I ate by eating less for dinner. I just try to make healthier choices when I eat out. Normally breakfast and dinner I have the most control over.

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    If you want, you can always eat a large breakfast, bring snacks/quick meals for lunch and then have a big dinner.... that might help you get your calories under control more.
  • petefromguelph
    petefromguelph Posts: 84 Member
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    I think you will notice a huge difference when you get into weighing etc with the scale. Definitely makes things more specific. I find if I am not using the food scale and just eye balling... I stall or the weight goes up! Makes a big diff :) Also, what others have mentioned above is spot on. Sodium can definitely make you retain etc. Good advice here
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    jifejacobs wrote: »
    LoraF83, I will start to watch more of my sodium intake. Some of the entries are database and some are mine. That's part of the reason I sometimes leave 500-600 calories open each day. I'm always concerned that something is not calculating correctly. As far as eating out, with my job, it's not always feasible for me to bring my lunch and I try to make up for what I ate by eating less for dinner. I just try to make healthier choices when I eat out. Normally breakfast and dinner I have the most control over.

    I would try to avoid using the "homemade" database entries. They are entirely inaccurate for what you're eating. They may have worked for the first person who entered them....but their "turkey leg" does not equal your turkey leg.

    Also, you're doing a lot of guessing. Guessing how much you're eating. Guessing how many calories you've burned. Leaving a lot of wiggle room just in case. Try to eliminate the guesswork and be more accurate and you'll see the results you are looking for. A food scale will help with that. You can also prep food one day a week and have it weighed and measured and ready to go. If time is an issue, meal replacement bars and protein shakes might be a good tool for you during your work day. Make a plan, be accurate, and stick to it.
  • jifejacobs
    jifejacobs Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks everyone for all the info. I will definitely try some of your suggestions to see if I can see the difference. One last question - anyway to get a better idea of how many calories I'm burning? I was looking at a fitbit or jawbone 24, but I'm not sure how well they gauge calorie burn. I'm hoping I only have to be super watchful for the next few months and after that I'll have a better idea of how my body works on it's own.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    jifejacobs wrote: »
    Thanks everyone for all the info. I will definitely try some of your suggestions to see if I can see the difference. One last question - anyway to get a better idea of how many calories I'm burning? I was looking at a fitbit or jawbone 24, but I'm not sure how well they gauge calorie burn. I'm hoping I only have to be super watchful for the next few months and after that I'll have a better idea of how my body works on it's own.

    I have a fitbit and I really like it. It keeps me moving, since I want to see that calorie burn climb a bit. Activity trackers can be great tools, but you can't rely on them to do everything.

    I'd really recommend that you read this thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants#latest

    It will lay out the info you need to make sure you're setting yourself up for success.

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