Frustrated!

... why is your husband trying to control how or whether you measure your food? It's YOUR body. Get the scale and if he doesn't like it he doesn't have to use it. And the other measurement is, of course, with measuring cups and spoons. It depends on what you are measuring. You can't put a steak in a measuring cup; you need the scale.

The easiest thing for you to do is to set your calorie goal lower (don't go below 1200 net though). Try that for a week and see how your weight goes.

FitFitzy331 wrote: »

If you had a 12oz can of coke each day, that is about 220cals, then an 8oz glass of juice is another 100+ calories, thats over 300 right there that you aren't logging. Everything that enters your mouth, you need to log. Get a food scale, if you want to snack on an apple, weigh the apple. If you cook frozen vegetables, measure/weigh them, there's 60 calories in 2/3 cup bird's eye frozen mixed vegetables without any sauce. So example, you have 1 can of soda, 1 glass of juice, and 2/3 cup of frozen vegetables that you didn't log, that's over 400 calories that you consumed that you didn't take into account. It's very easy to go over your daily limit if you don't track every single thing you put into your mouth.

100% this! You have to count everything! Did you not know that they have calories? It's right on the label....

Poofersgrl wrote: »

How can I estimate without weighing. I cannot afford a scale at moment.

You can get a kitchen scale for the price of a value meal... they run from $10-$50. Very affordable.

You really do have to weigh your servings. Did you know that, by law, packaged foods can be as much as 20% off? Food manufacturers get less flak from regulators if the packages are overfilled rather than underfilled. Remember that: you *could* be eating up to 20% more than you think you are.

You can always get a cheap, $13 scale at Walmart/Target. Make sure you tare (reset) the weight when you put your plate or bowl on it. It's also easy to do with the container of butter, and the negative number shown is how much you removed and the number you log. If it's tough to keep track of the numbers until you can log them, just keep a pad of paper nearby.

I've also challenged myself to see whether I can make do with a half-serving of butter, PB, etc. It's surprising how much I was using before!

Poofersgrl wrote: »

MFP says 1530. Please check out my page (look for poofersgrl) to see what I mean. I start at 1530, my food today is 1270 and exercise is 161. Which leaves 421 left. So should I leave about 100-300 left or less?

Think of your calorie goal like it's a game on The Price Is Right. You want to get as close to the number as possible without going over. MFP gave you a calorie goal with a deficit already built in.

The problem that you are having though is that you are not logging everything and what you do log isn't very accurate. A food scale is your best bet because you need to be as accurate as possible since you have a smaller deficit. Even with measuring cups it can be easy to go over without knowing it.

And for the one saying that the food scale advice isn't helpful while the macro advice is, how is she supposed to know if she's hitting her macros if she's not measuring her food accurately?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

You don't have to stop eating! Just go for a walk and earn some more calories. Moving around makes you feel good about yourself, get some fresh air, and you get to eat MORE FOOD. Starving yourself is the fastest way to make yourself quit or binge.

As far as logging veggies: I use lazy measurements with something that has almost no calories, like a cucumber, but very precise when it comes to everything else. You can save a lot of money by buying a large package of almonds, for example, then measuring and pre-portioning into snack-size baggies or tiny containers so they're ready to grab and go.

For whatever barriers you have, find solutions. If you can't seem to keep on top of refilling and cleaning out your water bottles and your water tastes terrible (my issues), then buy and recycle. I started being able to drink TONS more water by using the sugar-free water flavoring drops and the cheap bottled water from Costco. Staying hydrated is crucial to weight loss!

To address the calories/health issue: look, we'd all like to do it all perfectly, but don't put so much pressure on yourself to get it all right from the beginning. That's where we fail. So at first, just make sure you're drinking enough water and logging everything you eat accurately. Work on staying within your calories. Get all of that down, and eventually you can start finding ways to add more healthy stuff into your diet.