i just don't get it, why am i not seeing results.......
fitkoc
Posts: 21 Member
ok, I had total hysterectomy surgury sept 9 2014, got the green light by DR to resume my life in full including exercise and diet oct 21 2014, 189 lbs I started tracking in fitness pal and didn't get results then I hired a trainer on nov 17/14 to get me started with a weight program slowly, obviously with abdominal surgery I had to be careful at first, but the sweat was pouring off. have been watching what I eat, mainly whole grains, cook my own food as I live out of town and restaurants aren't usually a problem, even then I usually order sweet potato fries as I love them! I drink the lemon water each day, I drink 4 L of water daily, fruit in the morning, veggies in the afternoon, I weight train 3 days a week now and off days doing HIIT for 20 mins and weekends tons of walking with the dog and housecleaning of course! I am set for 1500 cal a day, however I still have a hard time filling that some days, i'm not hungry, I force a few carrots here and there, I do protein shakes within half hour of my weight training for muscle recovery including flax or hemp with it for extra nutrition, I have been sleeping really well and feeling generally excellent since I started this. my problem is I haven't been able to loose weight, I am down a bit but I would like to see more results, my trainer says i'm doing great and keep it up, I understand I must make this a lifestyle and for the most part I eat this way anyways, my only vice is wine on occasion, we live in cottage country and are very social atmosphere, I combat that with drinking water between glasses of wine to keep hydrated. I do feel a bit stronger and tighter, but when I step on the scale - nada......what else can I do to help this along I want to be at my goal weight by summertime currently 181 lbs 5"11 45 years old non smoker
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help fitness pals.....
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help fitness pals.....
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Replies
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So you haven't lost weight since October last year, right? Are you weighing everything you eat with a digital scale? Are you eating back your exercise calories?
Also making your diary public will make it easier for people to give specific advice.0 -
correct, I use measuring cups to measure, I don't generally eat back calories as weight training isn't really measured in mfp, but the HIIT is, depends on the day, I try and mix it up a bit, I made my diary public...I appreciate your help!!!0
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correct, I use measuring cups to measure, I don't generally eat back calories as weight training isn't really measured in mfp, but the HIIT is, depends on the day, I try and mix it up a bit, I made my diary public...I appreciate your help!!!
I personally had my weight loss take off when I stopped using measuring cups and began weighing. It turned out that I was eating way more than I thought of certain calorie-dense foods.0 -
correct, I use measuring cups to measure, I don't generally eat back calories as weight training isn't really measured in mfp, but the HIIT is, depends on the day, I try and mix it up a bit, I made my diary public...I appreciate your help!!!
The measuring cups is probably the problem, depending on things like how you level it off and how tightly you pack the food you could be eating way more than you think. Definitely get a food scale! There's a video round here somewhere showing how different a cup of something and what that cup should be in grams is. I can't find it right now as YouTube is blocked here, but I'm sure someone else can link it.
If you're eating back your exercise calories sometimes then that's probably fine. If you were eating them all back I was going to say to be careful not to overestimate, but eating some back is fine.0 -
You are eating more than you think and you are burning less than you think.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101#latest
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think#latest
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Try taking your body measurements usually you will lose inches before losing lbs.0
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Sadly measuring cups for non liquids are pretty useless. A digital scale is very helpful in making sure you are not eating more than you think you are. I know what sold me on it was a tablespoon of peanut butter. I put the tablespoon on the scale, zeroed it out, filled it with a level tablespoon and returned it to the scale. It weighed a fair amount more, which when dealing with something calorie dense like peanut butter (or nut, or cheese, or butter) will over time result in calorie numbers being incorrect, usually higher than a person thinks.
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so I need to measure and eat less then?0
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I would buy a food scale. You should only being measuring cups for liquids.0
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so I need to measure and eat less then?
You possibly don't need to eat less - when you start weighing things you may find that you were actually eating way more than you thought (do make sure to measure out what you would have eaten using cups then put it on the scale to see what you were actually eating).
If it turns out you were actually pretty accurate with the cups then yeah, you should probably try reducing your calories a bit.0 -
Start with a digital scale and toss the cups and spoons, you can be off by quite a bit.
I just grabbed my Plain Quaker Instant Oats and standard cups that I used to used. I got them from Target or Walmart. 1 serving is 1/2 cup or 40 grams @ 150 calories. A level scoop turned out to be 48 grams or >174 calories. It's a little more than 16% more calories. If you're consuming 1,500 calories a day @ 16% more, that's 240 calories unrecorded. 240 calories * 7 days = 1,680 extra calories a week that you ate without realizing it.
Try it yourself or check youtube, you may be suprised. I couldn't find the one I wanted, but this will give you the visual: https://youtube.com/watch?v=XpHykP6e_Uk
I paid $7 for mine ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1311.R1.TR11.TRC1.A0.H0.Xdigital+kitch.TRS0&_nkw=digital+kitchen+scale&ghostText=&_sacat=00 -
so I need to measure and eat less then?
You need to measure your food so that you have an accurate understanding of what you are eating. Weighing your food will ensure you are actually eating at a deficit.
Another question -- are the entries for "homemade" foods recipes that you created or are you choosing those from the database? I try to never use entries that others have made for foods I cook at home -- you can't know what they used or if they are truly accurate. Another thing -- you mentioned drinking wine (which is fine), but when I was looking through your diary I didn't see wine listed (Edit: never mind, I found it). Are you logging your alcohol?
Edit: You seem to have a lot of entries that aren't very exact -- "1 slice" of cheesecake, 1 avocado (how big was it -- avocados come in different sizes and they're a very calorie dense food), "1 dish" of Chinese food for 300 calories. I understand that life can be crazy and we can't perfectly log everything, but you need to tighten up your logging before you can know if you are hitting a calorie deficit or not.0 -
I agree with eating more than you think and burning less than you think. Sweet potato fries still aren't the best thing. Going out to eat you can easily eat 600 cals without even realizing it. I don't go out to eat for that reason. Try grilled pork tenderloin (4 oz is only 126 cals) cut your starch and your carbs. Try salmon, grilled chicken, and salads. It's really hard but you can do this! It's definitely a lifestyle change for sure. Someone told me that it's 10% what you burn and 90% of what you eat that helps you lose weight. Ever since I've had that mentality I've been losing. Good luck!0
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so I need to measure and eat less then?
You need to measure and make sure you are meeting your calorie goals. If you are measuring incorrectly and the 1400 calories you think you are eating is really say 1800 (completely made up numbers) because of incorrect measurements, then the issue is not your calorie goal, but the fact that you, unknowingly, are exceeding it. That means the first thing you need to do is make sure you are really eating the calories you think you are by measuring very carefully solids with a scale, and liquids with cups.0 -
Rev'd above.
Agree and wholeheartedly concur with transitioning to a food scale. You'll have greater control and then be able to be accurate in your logging.
As I type this I realize that these are concepts/methods: scale vs.weight but in the end, "control".
So after perusing your diary for about a week and a half back I notice your protein is ranging from lower to high, same with the fats. I could not locate any of the "wine" and I'm a Jacks Honey Whiskey man myself so it's easy to get lost and they do count. (Its there i'm sure
) Alcohol counts CICO and all that goodness.
My humble 2 cents: scale over cups.
Track and provide intake appropriate to your needs/activity level.
These are all variables, and the quicker you can start to eliminate some then the "solution" comes rather quickly. You have your activity down, but now what? Now the diet comes into play
I'll leave with this from N.Cheadle Fitness " Guessing as to how much protein, carbohydrates & dietary fat your consuming means you'll ultimately be guessing as to how your results will turn out"
Best of luck OP, you got this and you'll have plenty of info given to you!0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »so I need to measure and eat less then?
You need to measure your food so that you have an accurate understanding of what you are eating. Weighing your food will ensure you are actually eating at a deficit.
Another question -- are the entries for "homemade" foods recipes that you created or are you choosing those from the database? I try to never use entries that others have made for foods I cook at home -- you can't know what they used or if they are truly accurate. Another thing -- you mentioned drinking wine (which is fine), but when I was looking through your diary I didn't see wine listed (Edit: never mind, I found it). Are you logging your alcohol?
Edit: You seem to have a lot of entries that aren't very exact -- "1 slice" of cheesecake, 1 avocado (how big was it -- avocados come in different sizes and they're a very calorie dense food), "1 dish" of Chinese food for 300 calories. I understand that life can be crazy and we can't perfectly log everything, but you need to tighten up your logging before you can know if you are hitting a calorie deficit or not.
yes I log it as a snack! lol and yes homemade was the closest I could find in mfp to my own creation0 -
1500 calories seems very low calories for you. When I plug your numbers into the calculator on Scooby's site I get 1500 calories for your BMR. Seems to me like you are not properly fueling your body. I keep seeing this on MFP; people eating below their BMR. Am I incorrect or is this not something we want to do? I was doing this too, unfortunately, because MFP told me to eat 1200 calories. I do Stronglifts 5x5 3x a week and some cardio and was not losing. I did some research, used some online calculators to better determine what my BMR was and made sure to eat over it but still at a deficit. My weight began to slowly go down instead of bouncing up/down/up again like it had for months.0
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janejellyroll wrote: »so I need to measure and eat less then?
You need to measure your food so that you have an accurate understanding of what you are eating. Weighing your food will ensure you are actually eating at a deficit.
Another question -- are the entries for "homemade" foods recipes that you created or are you choosing those from the database? I try to never use entries that others have made for foods I cook at home -- you can't know what they used or if they are truly accurate. Another thing -- you mentioned drinking wine (which is fine), but when I was looking through your diary I didn't see wine listed (Edit: never mind, I found it). Are you logging your alcohol?
Edit: You seem to have a lot of entries that aren't very exact -- "1 slice" of cheesecake, 1 avocado (how big was it -- avocados come in different sizes and they're a very calorie dense food), "1 dish" of Chinese food for 300 calories. I understand that life can be crazy and we can't perfectly log everything, but you need to tighten up your logging before you can know if you are hitting a calorie deficit or not.
yes I log it as a snack! lol and yes homemade was the closest I could find in mfp to my own creation
In order to understand how many calories you're eating, I would use the "Recipe" tool to input your recipe and then log that instead of someone else's entry. You can't know if the person who created that made it the way you did or not.0 -
Depending on your build, you may already be at a good weight for your height.
Do you really need to lose any weight?
What goal weight would your doctors like to see you at?0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »so I need to measure and eat less then?
You need to measure your food so that you have an accurate understanding of what you are eating. Weighing your food will ensure you are actually eating at a deficit.
Another question -- are the entries for "homemade" foods recipes that you created or are you choosing those from the database? I try to never use entries that others have made for foods I cook at home -- you can't know what they used or if they are truly accurate. Another thing -- you mentioned drinking wine (which is fine), but when I was looking through your diary I didn't see wine listed (Edit: never mind, I found it). Are you logging your alcohol?
Edit: You seem to have a lot of entries that aren't very exact -- "1 slice" of cheesecake, 1 avocado (how big was it -- avocados come in different sizes and they're a very calorie dense food), "1 dish" of Chinese food for 300 calories. I understand that life can be crazy and we can't perfectly log everything, but you need to tighten up your logging before you can know if you are hitting a calorie deficit or not.
yes I log it as a snack! lol and yes homemade was the closest I could find in mfp to my own creation
Try making your own recipes using the recipe builder, it's not a good idea to always go by someone else's entry in the database. They could be using completely different ingredients and have a completely different level of calories. Definitely weigh every ingredient you use so that you know exactly what you're eating!0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »Depending on your build, you may already be at a good weight for your height.
Do you really need to lose any weight?
What goal weight would your doctors like to see you at?
my DR has never told me to loose weight, its that i'm not comfortable with rolls around midsection and it affects my confidence level, for three years prior to the surgery I dealt with the pain etc, now that is all fixed and I need to get back to myself, at 160lbs I would be back to myself, that is what I strive for. I am 5"11 have broad sholders not tiny build at all, very strong, however I do office work and drive a lot so it caught up with me last few years dealing with this illness. when measuring meat etc I was using palm for measuring, should I be hungry all the time? when building muscle and loosing fat which I have been somewhat successful doing I can't drink protein shakes to replenish my body all the time, although it would be easier to track lol!
I am enjoying not having to take any medications any more, my health has never been in this much control....enjoying that definately0 -
Try eating less grains (calorie dense even if whole grains) and more veggies. Also lose the sweet potato fries. They are not a healthy alternative to french fries. Try eating a whole plain sweet potato instead.0
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If what you are doing isn't resulting in weight loss, then you're eating too much to see weight loss. By whatever method you use to determine how much you're eating, reduce your calorie intake and you'll see results.0
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thanks for all the posts guys, so if I get this right, I am to weight my food, eat less but don't eat so little I put myself into starvation mode, this is not easy, so should I be hungry all the time then? maybe just water and veggies and protein for a month and see what happens, i'm sorry i'm loosing faith in this journey, it's taking too long, sad today sorry0
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Don't eat less necessarily. Start weighing your food using a digital scale as opposed to using measuring cups. Enter and track your intake, and evaluate as you go. Also, be patient. This is not a sprint. 0
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thanks for all the posts guys, so if I get this right, I am to weight my food, eat less but don't eat so little I put myself into starvation mode, this is not easy, so should I be hungry all the time then? maybe just water and veggies and protein for a month and see what happens, i'm sorry i'm loosing faith in this journey, it's taking too long, sad today sorry
You shouldn't be hungry all the time. You don't necessarily need to eat less if you find that you were eating a lot more than you thought you were once you start using scales. If you are still not losing weight after a month or so of using the scales and weighing EVERYTHING accurately (so not using other people's recipes in the database) then you should consider lowing your calories. I also wouldn't recommend just trying to stick to water, veggies and protein, it's not necessary. CICO (calories in calories out) is all that matters.
You're not going to put yourself into starvation mode, but you don't want to be eating so little it's unhealthy. Try not to net below 1200 a day on a regular basis.
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thanks for all the posts guys, so if I get this right, I am to weight my food, eat less but don't eat so little I put myself into starvation mode, this is not easy, so should I be hungry all the time then? maybe just water and veggies and protein for a month and see what happens, i'm sorry i'm loosing faith in this journey, it's taking too long, sad today sorry
Everybody is different. You will need to play with the numbers to figure out what works for you. And yup, it can take a long long time. I've been doing this since August...have lost 30lbs...plateaued for a month and a half and in the past would have given up. You have to be diligent. You have to be on track. And you have to want the end results. Some days are hard. Some days are less hard. But in the end, I believe (my opinion only), you get out what you put into it. Hope your day gets better.0 -
thanks so much 0
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weigh your food. ON A SCALE. eat back half your exercise calories.
log all your food. even the bad food. even cheat days or meals. at least until you know your body and food a little better.0
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