Help!

Kris122981
Kris122981 Posts: 7 Member
edited November 17 in Health and Weight Loss
I've lost 14lbs since August total. I gained some back over holidays then lost those again. My problem is for the last 3 going on 4 weeks I have been maintaining my weight and not losing. I have been keeping track of my food and went from 30 minutes to 60 minutes of workout time. I'm still not losing. I have alot left to loose. Does anyone know how I can break this cycle and start loosing agin?

Replies

  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    There are a lot of threads where people ask this same question. The usual suggestions are to weigh your food so it's really accurate, as even measuring is good, but can be misleading. Also, are you eating enough, and at what has been calculated (instead of just guessing how many calories you want to eat)?
  • Kris122981
    Kris122981 Posts: 7 Member
    I try to count everything including condiments and drinks. Although I only count half my workout time. Could that be the problem?
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    Are you using a food scale? What is your starting weight, current weight, and goal weight, and height, and daily calorie goal. Thanks!
  • amphilion
    amphilion Posts: 89 Member
    Often when you hit a plateau, means you are due to change your nutrition, and your work outs. Your body has gotten used to what you have been doing to it, or giving it. Using a nutritionnist or trainer can help you with the changes you need!

    It happened to me two months ago, and I completly changed the what I eat at what times, and I have lost another 12 pounds since!

    Good luck
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    You count, but do you weigh? There can be a huge difference between 1/4c of cheese and the 85g (or however much it is). For the longest time I thought I was doing great measuring, but the scale is far far more accurate in the sizing (especially things like meats that can be any size).
    And the same rest of the questions girlviernes said :smiley:
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    amphilion wrote: »
    Often when you hit a plateau, means you are due to change your nutrition, and your work outs. Your body has gotten used to what you have been doing to it, or giving it. Using a nutritionnist or trainer can help you with the changes you need!

    It happened to me two months ago, and I completly changed the what I eat at what times, and I have lost another 12 pounds since!

    Good luck

    nope and nope...

    a plateau means you haven't lost weight in 6-8 weeks and it means you are eating at maintenance not at a deficit.

    Changing "stuff" up doesn't mean you will lose weight..the only thing to change is your calorie intake vs output that's what makes you lose weight.

  • Kris122981
    Kris122981 Posts: 7 Member
    I'm 5'5 and I started out at 234. Now I'm at 220 but my goal weight is 130. So like I said a long ways to go. I'm a mother of 3 and don't have the money for a trainer or nutritionist, but its a great thought. My calorie goal right now is 1420. Any and all suggestions would be helpful and I will try what I can. Thanks.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited April 2015
    Kris122981 wrote: »
    I'm 5'5 and I started out at 234. Now I'm at 220 but my goal weight is 130. So like I said a long ways to go. I'm a mother of 3 and don't have the money for a trainer or nutritionist, but its a great thought. My calorie goal right now is 1420. Any and all suggestions would be helpful and I will try what I can. Thanks.

    The best thing to do (not try) is buy a food scale and start weighing as much of your food as possible. You can find one for $20-30 at Wal-mart or Target and it's the best investment you can make for your weight loss goals.

    The simple fact is, unless you have some sort of underlying medical condition, if you aren't losing weight then you aren't eating as few calories as you think you are. Something you are doing is causing your net calorie intake each day to be higher than the goal that MFP has set for you. It will be up to you to figure out what it is but here's a list of the usual culprits:

    1. Eating more calories than you think - if you are eyeballing portions or inaccurately measuring. Measuring cups can get you close but how much you're really eating can depend on the size of the food you are measuring (smaller pieces means more food in the cup) or whether you're laying the food or packing it in. A kitchen scale will solve this problem.
    2. Neglecting to log accurately - forgetting or refusing to log some food or choosing entries in MFP which are inaccurate can throw off your calorie totals for the day. You should be logging everything that has calories. There are no "free" foods and even gum and some vitamins have calories. Log absolutely everything.
    3. Overestimating calories burned in exercise - If using MFP or an exercise machine to calculate calories burned the numbers can be pretty far off. The most accurate way to measure exercise calories is with a heart rate monitor but even that is just a pretty good guess. MFP doesn't know your level of effort and exercise machines can be inaccurate especially if they don't have you input your weight, age and gender in. In addition, for long sessions you should be factoring out the calories you would have burned just sitting around since MFP is already giving you credit for those. I know you said you are only eating back half of them but if the method you're using to calculate them is very inaccurate you may still be eating too many calories as a result.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    If you are accurately staying near 1420 calories, there's no reason why you shouldn't be losing weight. I'm at 220 and I'm eating more than you, but I'm still losing weight. It is likely that you are eating more than you think.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Are you using a food scale?
    Can you open your diary?
  • Kris122981
    Kris122981 Posts: 7 Member
    No offense Timothy Fish but your a man and men lose quicker and are able to eat more than a women. Its just how men are built verses women. Not as easy for women. So of course your losing weight. Not wanting to be judged just wanting some advice.

    To the rest, thank you for ideas. I will look into getting a food scale and heart rate monitor. So far I have been relying on MFP system for caculations. Again thank you!
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    I think the food scale will help you a lot. I agree that 1420 is a fairly low amount for your current weight, and you should be able to lose steadily at that number. If you're not, it is probably due to eating more than you realize (which is basically the case with all of us if we aren't using a food scale).
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited April 2015
    Kris122981 wrote: »
    No offense Timothy Fish but your a man and men lose quicker and are able to eat more than a women. Its just how men are built verses women. Not as easy for women. So of course your losing weight. Not wanting to be judged just wanting some advice.

    To the rest, thank you for ideas. I will look into getting a food scale and heart rate monitor. So far I have been relying on MFP system for caculations. Again thank you!

    You're right, men have it much easier than women (darn them!).

    You'll find over time as you're using the scale that you'll get much better at eyeballing your food portions since you'll then have a better idea of what 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or 4 ounces of chicken "really looks like." Until then use it for as much of your food as you can. If you look on the food labels and see a serving size listed in grams then weighing is always the best option. I use it for things like peanut butter and salad dressing. They'll usually have serving sizes like 2 tablespoons (30 grams).

    Your new scale should have a Tare function which zeroes out the scale. You can find almost every food with an entry in MFP that is in grams. All of the entries without an asterisk (*) are from the USDA website and those have a 100 grams option in the drop down. Just use the decimal point in MFP so that 28 grams is .28 servings of 100 grams. I almost always have my scale set to grams (rather than ounces) because it's more precise (28 grams to the ounce). The exception is heavier items like meats which make my head hurt from trying to do the conversion (4 ounces = 112 grams). :smile:

    To weigh everything going into a salad, for example...
    • Put the bowl on the scale then turn it on so weight shows 0.
    • Add lettuce. Find lettuce entry in MFP and choose proper amount of weight. Hit the Tare button to reset to 0.
    • Add the next ingredient into the bowl, enter into MFP then hit the Tare button.
    • Repeat for the rest of the ingredients
    • After taring for the last time, add appropriate amount of salad dressing, enter calories into MFP.
    • Eat and enjoy your salad for which you now know almost the exact calories and nutrition.
    • Enjoy even more not having to wash a bunch of dirty measuring cups and spoons!

    I use this method all of the time for sandwiches, recipes I'm cooking, etc.

    Best wishes for your success!
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