Hello, I am relatively new here and need some advice

capricorn122978
capricorn122978 Posts: 28
edited November 8 in Introduce Yourself
Hello:
I have been tracking my calories for about 3-4 weeks daily on My Fitness Pal. For the past 3+ years, I was doing Cardio Kickboxing with Heavybags (CKO if you are familiar). I did get toned and put on muscle, however, I did not lose an ounce the entire time, nor did my proportions change. I do not like to use a scale because its fluctuations drive me insane; rather i use my clothes and tape measure to guide my losses. I never really lost much throughout all of this training. I also, for a few months, supplemented these workouts with some weight training and light cardio (20 min on elliptical). Again, no losses.
SO I decided to track my calories on here. For the past 4 months I have done ZERO exercise due to my mother being very ill since July and myself being the only child. However, I set my food diary to reflect the fact that I do not workout currently. My allocated calories are set to 1350/day. I have been at or near this relatively consistently for 3-4 weeks with a few days here and there over. I am not a soda drinker. I cut out night time snacking. Still, I have NOT lost a single pound. I have had thyroid tested and it is normal.
I weigh a lot for my height. I am 5'3 and 145. Most people think I am about 130 because I do not look as if I weigh that much. I am in a size 6 sometimes 4. How is it possible for me to weigh this much at my height? Why aren't I able to lose any weight? I understand I am currently not working out, but even when I did hardcore workouts I was around the same size, just a bit more solid. And I was not watching my food intake like I try to do now. I opened up my diary to public if anyone has any suggestions that I may be missing. Thank you very much
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Replies

  • csever82
    csever82 Posts: 17 Member
    Hi capricorn!

    I took a look at your diary and here's what I see...

    Two things stick out on your diary:

    1) you may have mixed up your numbers - it looks like your goal is set at 1530 instead of the 1350 you mentioned. At your weight and height, 1530 calories is only very slightly lower than your maintenance level of 1580 or so. If you are consistently around 1350, you should be losing 1/4 to 1/2 pound a week.

    2) you are consuming too many calories, period. In the past 29 days, your average intake is 1616 calories per day, which is technically about 36 calories more than maintenance, so you've either stayed the same or maybe even gained a tenth of a pound.

    I noticed that when you do go over your limit, you tend to go WAY over. One entry was 3324 calories, which is more than double than what you should be eating. Having a cheat day seems to work well for me because I think it tricks my metabolism a little. But that doesn't mean you have to go all-out. Think of it more as a cheat meal rather than a whole day. Allow yourself maybe 300 more calories than normal, no more than that. And ONLY once a week.

    Since you're also at the lower end of the calorie range as far as what you need to do to lose weight, I would say you're going to need to do the following:

    1) eat foods that are naturally low in calories. I can give some suggestions if you want.

    2) find a way to incorporate exercise a few times a week. You don't really want to cut calories below 1200 on any day, so adding in some exercise can go a long way.

    Again, please make sure you change your setting to be 1350 calories. That will help. Let me know if you want tips on food!

    Charlie
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    Thank you for your help! I honestly did not notice any days where i was at 3300+ calories? Are you sure?
  • csever82
    csever82 Posts: 17 Member
    edited November 2014
    Yep! October 21. A few other days have been 2000+.
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    I am looking through my diary and on my view it does show 1,350 is my daily goal. are we seeing the same things here?
    for instance, most days resemble this one:
    ke0w5addxn1h.jpg
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    Im so foolish!!!! With a Master's Degree in Biology you would think I would see this stuff. Even still, does one day really have a huge impact? Does being 36 calories over really impede weight loss? I was eating far more sugary stuff and snacking after dinner too; i no longer do this now.
  • refuseresist
    refuseresist Posts: 934 Member
    I look at October 21 and it says 1,027, with a target of 1350.
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    My diary says Tuesday October 21st was 323 calories UNDER, at 1027... so confused now
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    ok, thank god, i thought i was losing my mind here :)
  • csever82
    csever82 Posts: 17 Member
    Here's what I was looking at. It actually says your calorie goal is set at 1570. xjsihn6pben3.png
  • refuseresist
    refuseresist Posts: 934 Member
    Dude are you sure that's not Your diary?
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    thats odd because my page shows daily goal is 1350; regardless its usually under 1570 most days
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    Are you weighing and logging all your food?
  • csever82
    csever82 Posts: 17 Member
    Uh oh is it mine? If so, I feel stupid now.
  • refuseresist
    refuseresist Posts: 934 Member
    Aww don't feel stupid
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    edited November 2014
    I haven't looked as far back as October, and I doubt if eating that much on Oct. 21 would have thrown things off that much. One bad cheat day a month won't keep you heavy. You may be losing slowly for a couple of reasons. First, 145 is not that heavy for 5'3", only just over the overweight category, and you might not have that much to lose. As a smaller person, you have a smaller calorie requirement and therefore smaller deficit. Someone your height who weighs 180, for instance, could probably lose quickly because the difference between what her body requires to maintain that high weight vs. 1350 calories is quite a bit; for you, that's not the case. As the above poster said, you may be eating close to maintenance, so your weight would stay the same. At this point, it gets harder to lose, and you have to be very accurate in your tracking. I also noticed that you eat very few vegetables and have some "loose" tracking for things like "Shrimp pasta" 1 serving. You do eat candy bars and fast food. Fast food has lots of sodium, which makes you retain water, and therefore weight. You might focus on eating more low calorie, but dense foods, such as salads, lean protein (fish, chicken, etc.) that fill you up, but provide a lot of nutrients.
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    LOL it definitely isnt mine lol
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    ok, IN LIGHT of the misconception, now that you can see my intake, why am i having a hard time? I was consistently exercising for 3+ years...yes i got firm, very toned, but not smaller....now it has been 4 months since i worked out consistently...but i dropped my intake
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    csever82 wrote: »
    Uh oh is it mine? If so, I feel stupid now.
    Oh dont m8 that just made me really LOL. Your first post was good if you were looking at the correct diary.
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    999tiger, I measure most things, but I do not have a scale for things like cheese, meats, etc. I measure out whatever can be measured in cups, teaspoons, exact quantities...most meals logged are my own recipes that i typed in here to get the stats
  • csever82
    csever82 Posts: 17 Member
    Well, at least I would have been giving the right advice if that HAD been her diary...? :\

    capricorn - in that case, are you measuring/estimating and tracking accurately? I see that you had some pizza yesterday. Did you really only use 0.17 cups (less than 1/4 cup) of sauce? Little inaccuracies can be huge when counting calories. I've now proven that :\
  • TeddyCharlton
    TeddyCharlton Posts: 46 Member
    Hi, I'm only on the faintest return....so my opinion should not weigh as much. I am attempting small protein and veggie or fruit add mini meals every two hours. Keeps the metabolism revved....I literally feel my body warmer and do Pilates, regularly which this site doesn't give a lot of credence to....but I beg to differ, then whatever comes my way for exercise in our daily life is what it is. This I need to focus on more and will get there. I have feet that are a pain...literally. But they are getting better. The cool thing here is you log and get to see it all, proud of you for taking the time and logging so you can adjust here and there and approach it in a science type method as appose to emotional. I also meditate. To food science! Have a great Tuesday. Oh and drink water, I can tell a difference on my days.
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    As much as 145 for 5'3 may just be overweight in a size chart, I am a size 6, i have a lot of muscle on my thighs especially. i just want to be smaller ;/
  • refuseresist
    refuseresist Posts: 934 Member
    Yeah, do you think you might not be logging accurately?
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    there are no "loose trackings" these are my home cooked meals that I added manually into my recipes, the exact amounts of each ingredient and then MFP calculates the calories per serving...i am trying to be as precise as possible with this
  • refuseresist
    refuseresist Posts: 934 Member
    Sorry I cross posted the above
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    I try to be as accurate as possible it takes me a great deal of time to log all the foods i personally cook for myself; i can understand why "shrimp pasta" or "beef short ribs" may seem vague to those looking in my diary, but there are exact measurements and amounts logged in just as a recipe would be. i save them as my recipes and log them in as my meals, hoping MFP calculates properly.
  • ntdrive
    ntdrive Posts: 105 Member
    How are you tracking calories burned while exercising? You're probably ending daily with a large caloric deficit.
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    csever82, i had 1/4 cup pizza sauce on the 2 slices i prepared for myself, yes. the whole recipe had 1 cup of sauce....
  • TeddyCharlton
    TeddyCharlton Posts: 46 Member
    Then I would definitely try Pilates. It makes you feel elongated and works your body in a different many. I am soon to return to Hot Yoga, which did the same for me. My Winter's typically find me at the swimming pool, as they have a gym there and a sauna. I alternate cycling fast and slow. I struggle with thighs and buttocks, if you find something let me know! You look incredibly fit, so losing those final one's will take determination and patience. In my early 20's I started and ended my day's in exercise and that maybe what it takes for your final 5 to leave or whatever your goal maybe. Don't give up, someone will have the right answer's for you.
  • capricorn122978
    capricorn122978 Posts: 28
    ntdrive wrote: »
    How are you tracking calories burned while exercising? You're probably ending daily with a large caloric deficit.
    i havent worked out in few months because my mother is very ill andi am the only child, with 2 kids of my own. when i was working out, it was usually kickboxing 5 days a week and on those days i was allowed on MFP to have 2000 calories or so
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