help, haven't lost any weight!!

jkampouris
jkampouris Posts: 4 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
It's been about two weeks since I've stopped eating fried foods, stopped soda, and stopped going out to eat. And I've been walking about a mile a day . What should I do?

Replies

  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    jkampouris wrote: »
    It's been about two weeks since I've stopped eating fried foods, stopped soda, and stopped going out to eat. And I've been walking about a mile a day . What should I do?

    Buy a food scale and measuring cups and begin accurately tracking what you eat.

    Do that for about 6 weeks, log everything, then adjust your calories a bit if you are not losing.
  • jkampouris
    jkampouris Posts: 4 Member
    Thank you!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    jkampouris wrote: »
    It's been about two weeks since I've stopped eating fried foods, stopped soda, and stopped going out to eat. And I've been walking about a mile a day . What should I do?

    1. Two weeks isn't enough time to assess whether or not a plan is working. Our bodies tend to freak out a little when we make changes to our routine and sometimes you have to let things even out before you know what's really going on.

    2. You've only been logging your food for 5 days and one of those days seems to be only partially logged. Log consistently and accurately and see what happens in a couple of weeks.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1290491/how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale

  • ciacyrus29
    ciacyrus29 Posts: 109 Member
    I must agree - you do have to give yourself time. Two weeks really isn't long enough - no matter what the tv says.
    - Log what your eating, be consistent and as accurate as you can. If you can measure then do so, but if you can't or you just can't get into that - then be honest with what your eating. The only person you hurt is yourself.
    - The next is get in something more than just walking - perhaps a bit of strength training.
    - Nothing happens overnight or in a couple weeks - give it several weeks or even a few months and you'll see it will pay off in the end.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    jkampouris wrote: »
    It's been about two weeks since I've stopped eating fried foods, stopped soda, and stopped going out to eat. And I've been walking about a mile a day . What should I do?

    It doesn't matter one bit what you stopped (or even started).

    You need these two bits of information: (1) How many calories are you taking in? (2) What's your daily burn in terms of calories?

    I don't see either of those.

  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,706 Member
    jkampouris wrote: »
    It's been about two weeks since I've stopped eating fried foods, stopped soda, and stopped going out to eat. And I've been walking about a mile a day . What should I do?

    With all due respect, checking your food log I believe that you have a very poor diet. Not one single piece of fruit, not one single serving of vegetables, lots of processed carbs, way under in beneficial protein ( except one day when you had steak & crab legs ) and to few calories , unless you are short....and I mean very short and old.
    I am almost 70, am under five feet, eat more than you do and have lost 55 pounds.
    Since the kind of food you eat actually plays as good as no role in weight loss, since that is achieved through calorie deficit, I would suggest you weigh and measure everything and log accurately, because eating just over 1000 calories almost anyone should lose weight....of course endocrinological problems being the exception....and even then according to statistics it's only 3 people out of 1000 dieters who have those problems.
    There is something you are not doing right and I suspect it's a mix of eating more than you think and water retention, because of all the processed food you eat....and yes, even if you make a sandwich at home, using normal bread, store bought mayo, ham and other ingredients may cause you to retain water. The same is true for a lot of the other stuff you eat.
    I think looking seriously at you diet and eating more complex carbs and a wider variety of healthier foods might help you to feel better and if one feels better calorie restriction ( but not as low as you go ) is much easier then.
    Good Luck !

  • kenmiller75
    kenmiller75 Posts: 89 Member
    Try to work your way up to at least 2 miles. That would be about a 35-40 minute walk depending on your pace. You don't have to do it all at once either. You can break it up and walk in the morning before you start your day and in the evening after dinner. I bought a fitbit flex to track my steps and to motivate me to try and get my daily goal of 10,000 steps in. It's cold out because of winter but I still try and get out for 30-60 minutes every day. On the days when it's too cold or yucky out I've been climbing my stairs for 15-30 mins 2-4 times a day to try and hit 60 mins. I prefer doing 15 mins 4 times a day because it seems easier to spare 15 mins here and there.

    Weighing and measuring your food is also very important. When you don't have a barcode to scan for the nutritional data, do some research on the foods you're logging and don't just assume the user entered data for the foods you're logging are accurate. There can be a huge difference in calories and other nutritional data for the same items because of user error or misinformation. I try to Google the nutritional information on the foods I'm eating when I don't have the data from the package available and then find entries that are similar in MFP to log. If I can't find anything then I'll manually enter the data based on what I find online. When I'm at a restaurant and I eat something that I didn't weigh or I'm not sure how many calories are in it, then I'll log more than I think I ate or go with an entry that has a higher calorie entry than other entries so I'm not underestimating my calorie intake.

    Good luck! Stay focused and motivated and you'll achieve the results and goals you want.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    The minimum standard for an active person is 10,000 steps per day, which is 5 miles. You need to be moving a LOT more.

    I think that if you do that and keep working on your diet (more fruit and veggies!) over time that you will see success.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,596 Member
    azulvioleta6 wrote: »
    The minimum standard for an active person is 10,000 steps per day, which is 5 miles. You need to be moving a LOT more.

    A few things about this post:
    • There's nothing magic about the 10,000 step number. It's not a bad number to aim for, sure, but its origins were not in science but in a Japanese ad campaign.
    • 10,000 steps could be different distances for different people. It depends on your leg length, stride length, and a whole host of other factors. For me as a 5'1" woman, for instance 10,000 steps is roughly 4 miles, not 5. For a tall man, it's probably more like 6 miles. YMMV (literally!)
    • Most importantly, weight is lost in the kitchen, not at the gym or via exercise. Cardio exercise is good for overall health and can give you a higher calorie total within the same deficit... BUT you can eat less than you burn regardless of the amount of cardio you do. You can't outwalk (or outrun) a bad diet.

    OP, log everything you eat, and make sure you're eating at the MFP-recommended number of calories... not just sometimes, but all the time. Stick to the calorie deficit and you'll lose weight.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    Here's a newbie help post I made which compiles links to useful information, including sexypants, how to measure & log your food accurately, goal setting (weight, calories, macros)...
    Go read sexypants, then come back here. :smile:

    "Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake.
    However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity."
    http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html

    To _maintain_ weight, be active 30 minutes per day.
    To lose weight, you might need twice that. Or more. Work your way up to at least an hour of walking.

    Since there's some question of nutrition, you might benefit from this calculator.
    It will tell you not only your BMI, but how many servings of various foods to eat to maintain that weight.
    If you enter your healthy goal weight from this BMI chart (something in the middle to upper end of the green range), this will help you plan your food intake in order to lose weight to get there.
    https://www.bcm.edu/cnrc-apps/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.html

    •Underweight: BMI below 18.5
    •Normal weight: 18.5 to 24.9
    •Overweight: 25.0 to 29.9
    •Obese: 30.0 and above

    Here's one tool to help start figuring out how much you should be eating.
    http://www.mayoclinic.org/calorie-calculator/itt-20084939

    And here's more help with nutrition.
    http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

    51637601.png
  • jkampouris
    jkampouris Posts: 4 Member
    Thank you all. I guess I wasn't being very specific. I am a waitress and work 5 days a week for 8 hour shifts so I get a lot of walking in. Also I have logged in for about 18 days straight I don't know why it's not showing. Also I've been taking in salads, fruits, and vegetables every day. When I tried to post the original post it would only let me type what I posted. But thanks everyone.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    jkampouris wrote: »
    It's been about two weeks since I've stopped eating fried foods, stopped soda, and stopped going out to eat. And I've been walking about a mile a day . What should I do?

    Cutting out certain foods and activities is not the answer to losing weight, but eating foods you love at a calorie deficit is. All it takes to lose weight is to eat less calories than you burn.

    What works for me is weighing my good, taking steps to ensure I choose correct entries for foods I eat, and log all my food and exercise.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    JK,

    I just looked at your diary and your entries look very generic, therefore I suspect you do not weigh your food. When it comes to accuracy, there is no such things a 1 medium apple, or one sandwich, or a half cup of peas (theses are just examples, not saying you used these entries). Do some research on the foods to ensure caloric accuracy, and weigh you food. It does make a difference.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    segacs wrote: »
    azulvioleta6 wrote: »
    The minimum standard for an active person is 10,000 steps per day, which is 5 miles. You need to be moving a LOT more.

    A few things about this post:
    • There's nothing magic about the 10,000 step number. It's not a bad number to aim for, sure, but its origins were not in science but in a Japanese ad campaign.
    • 10,000 steps could be different distances for different people. It depends on your leg length, stride length, and a whole host of other factors. For me as a 5'1" woman, for instance 10,000 steps is roughly 4 miles, not 5. For a tall man, it's probably more like 6 miles. YMMV (literally!)
    • Most importantly, weight is lost in the kitchen, not at the gym or via exercise. Cardio exercise is good for overall health and can give you a higher calorie total within the same deficit... BUT you can eat less than you burn regardless of the amount of cardio you do. You can't outwalk (or outrun) a bad diet.

    OP, log everything you eat, and make sure you're eating at the MFP-recommended number of calories... not just sometimes, but all the time. Stick to the calorie deficit and you'll lose weight.

    So what? It's still not very much exercise. If you are doing less than a quarter of that, you need to work up to moving more.

    I get 12,000-19,000 steps most days.
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