Been tracking for 1 month and haven't lost 1 pound, ugh so frustrated

13

Replies

  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    Just a note for people coming in quoting your exercise burns... please remember that they are relative to your weight, and ideally other factors. What you burn has no bearing on what the OP burns unless you have similar stats.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    Just a note for people coming in quoting your exercise burns... please remember that they are relative to your weight, and ideally other factors. What you burn has no bearing on what the OP burns unless you have similar stats.

    You and your quest for accuracy. Just stop. It's not real. Nothing is real. Not even science.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    Just a note for people coming in quoting your exercise burns... please remember that they are relative to your weight, and ideally other factors. What you burn has no bearing on what the OP burns unless you have similar stats.

    You and your quest for accuracy. Just stop. It's not real. Nothing is real. Not even science.

    You're right. Science is doing what other people do. Silly me. How could I forget.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    You're still arguing points that the OP has no knowledge about unless she read your other, closed by mods post, to understand the background and undertones.
  • slucki01
    slucki01 Posts: 284 Member
    Start accurately logging, proceed from there.

    agree -- and weigh/measure and log every thing you put in your mouth. I bet you're eating more than you think.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    Who says scales in a lab are correct?

    The technicians doing regular calibrations on them, for starters. Because - here's a shock - accuracy does actually matter.

    This is even worse than your other threads - you are burying assumptions in your logic you clearly don't understand.


  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,246 Member
    edited March 2015
    >"running for 35 minutes does burn 350 calories, I run 9/10 minute miles.
    >Actually, that is inaccurate. MFP and internet databases have overestimated calorie burns,
    > as do the treadmills."

    Let's put this to rest. http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

    The OP is giving a figure slightly below the NET calorie burn for this activity assuming zero grade and 10'00" miles, i.e. 6.0 mph.

    If all her activities are calculated in an equally conservative fashion, and if she is basing her eating on MFP's sedentary calculation, the she should eat back 100% of her exercise calories.

    If she is not estimating her exercise speed or distance correctly... that's a whole other ballgame!
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    Who says scales in a lab are correct?

    The technicians doing regular calibrations on them, for starters. Because - here's a shock - accuracy does actually matter.

    This is even worse than your other threads - you are burying assumptions in your logic you clearly don't understand.

    Our scales get calibrated once per semester, or maybe it's once a year... all that time before they get recalibrate it's unknown how accurate they are. I never said accuracy doesn't matter in lab, there are times when it is important and times when it's not important.

    This thread isn't about you. Just... stop.

    For most people not losing weight, tightening up their logging by striving for accuracy works wonders.

    OP, weigh your food.

  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    I put on about 13 pounds this past year and am trying my hardest to lose it but the numbers are just not budging. I exercise regularly and have been for about 10 years so this is not my issue, I don't even believe it's my caloric intake because I always have a surplus so I'm not sure what's going on? Ive had my thyroid checked recently and it's perfect, I'm slightly vitamin D insufficient but that's it. Please help as I'm becoming stressed out and sad about this.

    You're not logging consistently, that's a big problem. log more consistently and go from there.

    I thought inconsistency didn't matter -- just eat less. Right.

    Moving on...

    As others have said, OP -- weigh and measure everything.
    If you find that your food intake isn't the issue, only eat half your exercise calories.

    Measure yourself. Take pictures. Keep going.

    So true that pictures tell a story too, and weighing food is important.

    However, as to the bold part: if we don't log consistently, we don't know how much we're eating. If we don't know how much we're eating, then we tend to overestimate portions, which kills a calorie deficit.

    You are missing out on a thread in which the person I quoted was suggesting that accuracy in logging didn't matter. For instance, if you aren't seeing a loss, just adjust your calorie target down and continue to log the same because habits.

    For that person to roll in and suggest consistently logging is just humorous. Because without an attempt at accuracy in what she logging, OP will see no result.

    Part of accuracy is consistency. I advocate both and see them as interrelated and vital to success.

    Question, how do you know you're not off by 500 calories a day compared to what you're estimating?

    Don't hijack the thread and bring it back to a discussion that has already been locked by the mods. Against the TOS

    I am not the one who is hijacking, people bring up stuff from other topics are the one who is hijacking are...

    You. You forgot to mention 'is hijacking are. . . you'. See how that works? Works as is successful. Successful because accurate and wait for it. . . .consistent.

  • loselbsnow2015
    loselbsnow2015 Posts: 11 Member
    edited March 2015
    All I'm interested in is losing weight and none of this other BS that's going on. This is starting to sound like the high school kids I teach, lol.....Most people have agreed that accuracy and consistency makes sense and I agree. Of course not all scales and trackers are the same but I believe most are fairly close and consistent. The great thing about MFP is it forces us all to be aware and cognizant of ourselves and our lives which in my book is fantastic and a whole lot more than lots of other folks out there. Obesity is an epidemic in the US so kudos to all of us for striving to be better.

    Quick question, I just finished a stair workout and according to the machine, I burned 500 calories in 40 minutes. Do you all think this is accurate and should I log this accordingly?
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    I can't quote you because some image doohickey is in the way but no, I don't think 500 for the stair machine is accurate. Those machines are notorious for giving inflated calorie burns. I'd log half that if you're going to eat the calories.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    I use a google excel document from a user here named @heybales (I think there is a link on his profile) that you need to copy before you edit and save to your own google drive. Part of it includes a calorie burn calculator based on all of your stats. If you know your heart rate while working on each machine, that's what I would use. Otherwise, I would just log the lower of what MFP or the machine reading said, and only eat back what I needed to based on hunger, and try to make sure I didn't eat back more than 50%. The other 50% I leave for margin of error on logging, and as a bonus to lose weight faster than expected.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Quick question, I just finished a stair workout and according to the machine, I burned 500 calories in 40 minutes. Do you all think this is accurate and should I log this accordingly?

    Definitely only log half. I used to take the exact calories my treadmill gave me as Gospel! I found out quick smart that it was very inflated :disappointed:
  • loselbsnow2015
    loselbsnow2015 Posts: 11 Member
    edited March 2015
    I do exercise at maximum intensity so I've always figured the numbers were close to accurate. Going to start logging only half though. Thank you!!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited March 2015
    500 on stair machine - depends on fast you were doing it and the mass you were pulling up those stairs.

    Entirely possible, and possibly very easy too.

    The problem with stair climber compared to walking or running which has a defined pace and incline, and that's about the only variables and you can pick the entry that matches what you did, stair climber doesn't have that.
    Plus the way you do stairs can make it easier or harder depending on type of workout going for - much like elliptical.

    The database is actually decently accurate on things that have an intensity that is qualified like pace or speed. Even easy, moderate, vigorous is better than nothing.

    It's the nothing entries that are possibly off - either direction.

    But also being honest with the workout time. Really 60 min walking 4 mph, or rather half the time to get up to 4 mph, other half to slow down, so the real avg was only 3.3 mph say?
    Or Spin class really 50 min long, or 5 min stretching at end, and 5 min easy warmup at start, so really only 40 min long?

    And yes, that spreadsheet on my profile page uses a Polar funded study formula for calorie burn, where you can tweak with your best estimated values. Then you merely need your avgHR for the session and the duration.
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,722 Member
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    I put on about 13 pounds this past year and am trying my hardest to lose it but the numbers are just not budging. I exercise regularly and have been for about 10 years so this is not my issue, I don't even believe it's my caloric intake because I always have a surplus so I'm not sure what's going on? Ive had my thyroid checked recently and it's perfect, I'm slightly vitamin D insufficient but that's it. Please help as I'm becoming stressed out and sad about this.

    You're not logging consistently, that's a big problem. log more consistently and go from there.

    I thought inconsistency didn't matter -- just eat less. Right.

    Moving on...

    As others have said, OP -- weigh and measure everything.
    If you find that your food intake isn't the issue, only eat half your exercise calories.

    Measure yourself. Take pictures. Keep going.

    So true that pictures tell a story too, and weighing food is important.

    However, as to the bold part: if we don't log consistently, we don't know how much we're eating. If we don't know how much we're eating, then we tend to overestimate portions, which kills a calorie deficit.

    You are missing out on a thread in which the person I quoted was suggesting that accuracy in logging didn't matter. For instance, if you aren't seeing a loss, just adjust your calorie target down and continue to log the same because habits.

    For that person to roll in and suggest consistently logging is just humorous. Because without an attempt at accuracy in what she logging, OP will see no result.

    Part of accuracy is consistency. I advocate both and see them as interrelated and vital to success.

    Question, how do you know you're not off by 500 calories a day compared to what you're estimating?

    ETA: you don't, you're estimating TDEE, you're estimating your calorie consumption your estimating your calorie burned and you're estimating your weight. Ever notice how some scales say you weigh a few lbs more or less? If you don't know the exact answer to any of them, you're estimating, you're being inaccurate.

    And obviously it never worked for me -rolls eyes-

    I would think that means that the scales aren't properly zeroed. Correctly maintained- scales are correct in your weight at that time.

    Yes since this goes back to the op's post about accuracy recommendations. I will elaborate. The scale is a good example, my scale is off compared to my doctors. I would say about 5lbs. Does that mean I should go out and buy a new one, or the doctor should go out and buy a new one? Does it mean I should be more "accurate"? No, accuracy makes no difference in this case. I have a number and that's my reference point. If I lose weight on my scale i am losing weight which is my goal. It doesn't matter if it's off or not.

    How can you call yourself a scientist and not care if your scale is off? I don't' know that you science very well.

    Since you have no experience in a lab, as many other people on the forums. You know how people go around posting studies which some of them i believe are absolutely non sense, yet everyone sits there and argues with me because they believe the study is correct, yet they don't know the errors that can pop up in studies after they read the methods/procedures.

    I'll explain it to you, sometimes we use acid. Acid is neutralized with sodium bicarbonates which many of you know as baking soda. If I have 500ml of an acid hydrocholoric(HCl) that's 6M(this is a unit of concentration) to neutralize this acid i need exactly 261.021g of sodium bicarbonates. I could go get a beaker add 261.021g of sodium bicarbonate add some water, then add the acid for it to be neutralized. This is accurate and precise.

    Or, I can get a beaker, add a ton of sodium bicarbonate, and add the acid to it so it gets neutralized. How much sodium bicarbonate did i use? How much water did i used for the sodium bicarbonate?(if any at all) Who knows? Who cares, the "GOAL" is achieved.

    Who says scales in a lab are correct? Each scale has a number on it, we write down the number in our scale and we use the same scale(there is quiet a few of them in lab). I can weigh my beaker, lets say it's 120g(but actually is 150g). Put stuff in it, do a reaction in it. and weigh my beaker again, it might weigh 130g(and actually it's 160g). I write down in my note book i made 10g of product. DESPITE the scale being "inaccurate"

    You are my new favorite poster :)
  • rawmama232
    rawmama232 Posts: 12 Member
    edited March 2015
    The tip that I have found consistently works quickly is eating a lot, and I mean a lot, of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Basically the raw food diet. And making sure you definitely eat over 1200 calories up to 2000 or above, which does take a bit of effort because the calorie count is lower on the foods except if you are eating too many of nuts, seeds, avocados. FYI Avocados help me to stay full feeling for a long time, they definitely help, and I do lose weight when I eat 1-3 of them in a day's time. If I incorporate coconut water into the mix, I would lose weight more easily. Eating cooked vegetables and fruits will cause weight loss also, at least it did for me in the past. Avoiding all grains helps bigtime. What do farmers use to fatten up the livestock? Grains. Try it for a week, see how you feel. Do not skimp on how much you eat, you exercise a lot, so your calorie count should be higher and you will lose weight. For raw food, at least in my case, the less I'd eat, the less I'd lose. So eating 1 banana for breakfast is not a meal, aim for 300-700 calories each meal. I like to make a 32 oz healthy smoothie in the morning, made without dairy. I use water, fruits, spinach, lemon, add ground flax or almond butter, flavor with Kal Stevia, or a flavored stevia, or raw honey. Dr Oz had a 3 day smoothie routine for weightloss and everyone I knew that did it lost weight and felt great. His breakfast smoothie recipe was my favorite. There are a lot of great recipes out there. Another suggestion is Intermittent fasting. You can read about this and it's benefits from Dr Mercola's website, or others on the web. Fresh juices (not store bought processed ones), and smoothies do help get extra nutrients into you, fill you up, and give you some extra calories you might be lacking. Maybe that is the reason why you are not losing, too few calories, OR the wrong foods? Great time to form some new habits, but baby steps are helpful and stick well, so maybe doing a large, healthy smoothie or juice per day in place of a meal? Or snack on fresh fruits or vegetables, or a handful of raw (not roasted or salted) nuts/seeds. The enzymes in the raw food will help to speed up the process of digestion and weight regulating.

    I wish you well on this adventure :) It's nice having a group of people to bounce ideas around. We all have to find what works for ourselves...
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    I put on about 13 pounds this past year and am trying my hardest to lose it but the numbers are just not budging. I exercise regularly and have been for about 10 years so this is not my issue, I don't even believe it's my caloric intake because I always have a surplus so I'm not sure what's going on? Ive had my thyroid checked recently and it's perfect, I'm slightly vitamin D insufficient but that's it. Please help as I'm becoming stressed out and sad about this.

    You're not logging consistently, that's a big problem. log more consistently and go from there.

    I thought inconsistency didn't matter -- just eat less. Right.

    Moving on...

    As others have said, OP -- weigh and measure everything.
    If you find that your food intake isn't the issue, only eat half your exercise calories.

    Measure yourself. Take pictures. Keep going.

    So true that pictures tell a story too, and weighing food is important.

    However, as to the bold part: if we don't log consistently, we don't know how much we're eating. If we don't know how much we're eating, then we tend to overestimate portions, which kills a calorie deficit.

    You are missing out on a thread in which the person I quoted was suggesting that accuracy in logging didn't matter. For instance, if you aren't seeing a loss, just adjust your calorie target down and continue to log the same because habits.

    For that person to roll in and suggest consistently logging is just humorous. Because without an attempt at accuracy in what she logging, OP will see no result.

    Part of accuracy is consistency. I advocate both and see them as interrelated and vital to success.

    Oh, thank you. Yes, accuracy and consistency are interrelated.. :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    Thanks for the advice! I'll buy the food scale but yes, I'm logging everything I eat as accurately as I can. As far as my goals, it's 1300 daily calories but my running and other exercise adds to my daily intake and yes, running for 35 minutes does burn 350 calories, I run 9/10 minute miles. I have the mfp app synced with my running app, map my run and it calculates everything. I just want to loose 13 lbs. by June

    Actually, that is inaccurate. MFP and internet databases have overestimated calorie burns, as do the treadmills.

    I am a few years older than you, 5 ft 5, weight 139 pounds, and 30 minutes of running according to my heart rate monitor is about 250 or less. The treadmill gives me a good 350-400 for the 30 minutes. :)

    I am 40 years old, almost 6 ft tall and weigh 181. For me, I burn just about 100 cals per 10 minutes consistently via HRM and the Treadmill. (which agree, btw).

    We can't all be burning the same, because we're very different size people. I just run my full hour (just over 6 miles and log it at 600). I don't eat them back, though

    Right. But, from what I've gleaned, the OP is female, around my height (maybe an inch shorter), about my weight, and much younger than me. She also takes her numbers from the exercise machine, which always overestimate, I use a heart rate monitor.

    I am maintaining after a 44 pound loss, but she is not losing any weight.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    rawmama232 wrote: »
    Dr Oz had a 3 day smoothie routine for weightloss and everyone I knew that did it lost weight and felt great. His breakfast smoothie recipe was my favorite. There are a lot of great recipes out there. Another suggestion is Intermittent fasting. You can read about this and it's benefits from Dr Mercola's website, or others on the web. Fresh juices (not store bought processed ones), and smoothies do help get extra nutrients into you, fill you up, and give you some extra calories you might be lacking. Maybe that is the reason why you are not losing, too few calories, OR the wrong foods?

    I would be very careful about accepting anything that I read on Dr. Mercola's website unless it was backed up by independent and reputable sources. He's is a well-known promoter of pseudo-science and quack medicine. He doesn't believe that HIV is the cause of AIDS, for example. He opposes immunizations. He believes that microwave ovens are harmful (a viewpoint for which there is no scientific support). He opposes the use of sunscreen. He has also received multiple FDA warning letters over the years for the way in which he markets his supplements. Dr. Oz is another dubious source for accurate information.

    Eating too few calories will not stop weight loss. Eating the wrong foods will not stop weight loss.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    peacemom wrote: »
    I run 9/10 min. mile and can easily burn 350 in 35 minutes. I try to underestimate my exercise and overestimate my calorie intake. Agree with the others...log everything you eat.

    How tall are you?

    How much do you weigh?

    Where do you get exercise burn numbers from?

    Why would you try to overestimate calorie intake?

    Why do you underestimate exercise?
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Just a note for people coming in quoting your exercise burns... please remember that they are relative to your weight, and ideally other factors. What you burn has no bearing on what the OP burns unless you have similar stats.

    You and your quest for accuracy. Just stop. It's not real. Nothing is real. Not even science.

    Wait a minute. I beg to differ that science is not real.

    The rest is your opinion. Nobody has to stop doing anything.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    >"running for 35 minutes does burn 350 calories, I run 9/10 minute miles.
    >Actually, that is inaccurate. MFP and internet databases have overestimated calorie burns,
    > as do the treadmills."

    Let's put this to rest. http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

    The OP is giving a figure slightly below the NET calorie burn for this activity assuming zero grade and 10'00" miles, i.e. 6.0 mph.

    If all her activities are calculated in an equally conservative fashion, and if she is basing her eating on MFP's sedentary calculation, the she should eat back 100% of her exercise calories.

    If she is not estimating her exercise speed or distance correctly... that's a whole other ballgame!
    An online calculator? LOL.

    Most are inaccurate, and that particular one is so wrong. It says I burn 451 calories running 6 mph for 40 minutes. Riiigggght. My heart rate monitor gives me about 330 or so, and I've been maintaining my weight for well over a year.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited March 2015
    Quick question, I just finished a stair workout and according to the machine, I burned 500 calories in 40 minutes. Do you all think this is accurate and should I log this accordingly?
    I suggest taking about 200 calories off of that amount. Others suggested half. It's trial and error.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    No, Mercola believes microwaves do bad things to the food heated in them.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/774337-how-to-test-hrm-for-how-accurate-calorie-burn-is

    I see several comments that HRM is the end all and be all of calorie burn.
    It's a calculation too, and depending on how nice/expensive a model, could be making several big bad assumptions to estimate required stats to calculate calorie burn with.

    But even the nice/expensive models with self-test and/or ability to input best known stats, could leave much to be desired.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/459580-polar-hrm-calorie-burn-estimate-accuracy-study

    Considering exercise is only 1 of 4 categories of calorie burn normally used, and the other 3 are perhaps not estimated anywhere near close, one indeed may balance the other and appear to be accurate.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    heybales wrote: »
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/774337-how-to-test-hrm-for-how-accurate-calorie-burn-is

    I see several comments that HRM is the end all and be all of calorie burn.
    It's a calculation too, and depending on how nice/expensive a model, could be making several big bad assumptions to estimate required stats to calculate calorie burn with.

    But even the nice/expensive models with self-test and/or ability to input best known stats, could leave much to be desired.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/459580-polar-hrm-calorie-burn-estimate-accuracy-study

    Considering exercise is only 1 of 4 categories of calorie burn normally used, and the other 3 are perhaps not estimated anywhere near close, one indeed may balance the other and appear to be accurate.

    So bales, are you saying that we all are making assumptions with our caloric intake and caloric burn?

    Why do you keep bringing this subject up?
  • Bubbalicious1101
    Bubbalicious1101 Posts: 3 Member
    I feel like im doing everything right, but my scale says otherwise...smh so frustrating.!
  • Bubbalicious1101
    Bubbalicious1101 Posts: 3 Member
    Has anyone tried using the portion control plate? Wondering how successful you've been since using it. I recently purchased one from Amazon.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Pu_239 wrote: »
    heybales wrote: »
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/774337-how-to-test-hrm-for-how-accurate-calorie-burn-is

    I see several comments that HRM is the end all and be all of calorie burn.
    It's a calculation too, and depending on how nice/expensive a model, could be making several big bad assumptions to estimate required stats to calculate calorie burn with.

    But even the nice/expensive models with self-test and/or ability to input best known stats, could leave much to be desired.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/459580-polar-hrm-calorie-burn-estimate-accuracy-study

    Considering exercise is only 1 of 4 categories of calorie burn normally used, and the other 3 are perhaps not estimated anywhere near close, one indeed may balance the other and appear to be accurate.

    So bales, are you saying that we all are making assumptions with our caloric intake and caloric burn?

    Let's say over the course of a month you increase calories enough and don't lose or gain weight.
    Let's say your accurate as possible food logging showed you ate 2500 calories.

    So that is TDEE - 2500.

    Let's say you have an RMR test done, and it shows 1600 RMR.

    That just means the TEF, EAT, and NEAT are 900 combined, but unless you have some more tests, you can't accurately say what one of those is.

    Or perhaps you have a HRM that is dead on accurate, and you burn on average daily 500 in exercise.

    That just means the BMR, TEF, and NEAT are 2000 combined. But you can't break that out.

    Or your results based TDEE is 2500 and you have a HRM reporting 500 burn but you really don't know for sure, but you also don't know the other categories either.
    Doesn't mean the HRM is the dead on correct one, since you have no values of the others to separate them.

    Now, go a month with no exercise maintaining weight, then go a month doing exercise and eating back those HRM calories - and still maintain weight.
    Now you got something to go on.
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