In need of help, my scale isn't moving

sissy60504
sissy60504 Posts: 21 Member
edited November 17 in Health and Weight Loss
I am new to tracking consistently, and have done so for the past month. I have decreased my caloric intake, and upped my activity. However, my scale keeps fluctuating between the same 2-3 pounds. What am I doing wrong?

Replies

  • lesliewalker108
    lesliewalker108 Posts: 61 Member
    I wish I could tell you , Im having the same problem. I cant seem to stay on 199 and it keeps going up to 200-203.I heard if you dont eat enough you could gain, so Im eating my 1200calories and better.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    Are you weighing your food, or measuring? There can be a great deal of difference. Are you eating the calories that have been calculated for you, or did you put in a # that you thought was right?
  • sissy60504
    sissy60504 Posts: 21 Member
    I am measuring my food. I originally was using their numbers which was 1200 per day but found that a bit too extreme for me so I reduced my goal and it changed my calories so now it's at 1450.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    Can you open your diary? If you do exercise, do you eat back your exercise calories?
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
    it is a myth that if u don't eat enough u gain. it is in no way true. if u believe u are accurately measuring then opening your diary is the best way to see what is happening
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    Food weighing/measuring could help you. Also you should look into body measuring instead of soley relying on the scale.
  • sissy60504
    sissy60504 Posts: 21 Member
    I don't know how to open my diary. I thought it was open
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
    its under settings on your own page
  • sissy60504
    sissy60504 Posts: 21 Member
    Thanks. I found it.
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
    If you have not already, go the the "Getting Started" section of the message boards and read the topics posted at the top of the page.
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
    so what i am noticing is alot of generalized recipes. probably not your own spaghetti and meat sauce. nothing is weighed. for dinner portions are u just eyeballing? for snacks are u actually accurately portioning them out? a half a cup of popcorn is like 15 kernels
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
    also i will take this morning as an example. cosco bacon 3 slices for 135 cals? did u get that off the package? seems low my bacon is 120 cals a single slice. biscuit for 90........ is that accurate?
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    jenncornelsen wrote: »
    so what i am noticing is alot of generalized recipes. probably not your own spaghetti and meat sauce. nothing is weighed. for dinner portions are u just eyeballing? for snacks are u actually accurately portioning them out? a half a cup of popcorn is like 15 kernels

    All of this. Most of your entries seem to be logged in cups. When people asked if you're weighing your food, they meant weighing. With a food scale. If you're not weighing stuff already start doing so, but for a few days measure out what you would have eaten first then weigh it to see if it actually was the portion you thought it was. You may be surprised.
  • sissy60504
    sissy60504 Posts: 21 Member
    I do not weigh. I simply measure with measuring cups. Also I do use a lot of the generalized items. For example this morning I snagged a biscuit with 3 half strips bacon from cafeteria so I don't have packaged values in those.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    sissy60504 wrote: »
    I do not weigh. I simply measure with measuring cups. Also I do use a lot of the generalized items. For example this morning I snagged a biscuit with 3 half strips bacon from cafeteria so I don't have packaged values in those.

    For things that you can't know for sure (like from a cafeteria) then fair enough, but for everything you can definitely weigh it.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    I'd definitely start weighing, it can be a pain to get into the habit of, but it's an eye opener. You can't always weigh, but when you can, do. Even that fiber one bar that swears it's a certain size...might not be.
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
    sissy60504 wrote: »
    I do not weigh. I simply measure with measuring cups. Also I do use a lot of the generalized items. For example this morning I snagged a biscuit with 3 half strips bacon from cafeteria so I don't have packaged values in those.

    i will just give a quick example of what your breakfast might have been if u knew what u were eating- 3 strips of bacon from my package is 360 cals. 1 biscuit is 200. was there butter on that biscuit? add another 100. plus the coke for 160 is a total of 820 cals. u have it logged as i think 460. thats a huge difference for just one meal. if u are going to guess, because sometimes u have to, pick the higher calorie enteries. its more likely to be accurate
  • katsmo
    katsmo Posts: 219 Member
    I never got all the food-scale hype until I saw it explained.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    You're not weighing your food accurately.

    thats the problem.
  • JenniferIsLosingIt
    JenniferIsLosingIt Posts: 595 Member
    I dont weigh my food, I have lost 112 pounds....ijs. I did in the beginning to be in "compliance" but found it was time consuming and annoying. Im not saying to not measure, I just don't.
  • sissy60504
    sissy60504 Posts: 21 Member
    I will definitely have to invest in a food scale because I assumed that measuring was good enough. Sigh I will get this all down one day
  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
    What everyone said about weighing your food is the best advice. I especially recommend you weigh the fruit you eat - I see a lot of generic “cup” entries (a cup of grapes? hard to get an accurate measure of that). One thing that surprised me a lot when I started using a food scale is how many calories there really were in fruit.

    Don’t worry though, I’m sure you’ll start seeing results once you get a scale. They’re really cheap (see amazon) and a very good way to get a more accurate idea of portion sizes and all that. Best of luck!
  • redzgal
    redzgal Posts: 255 Member
    Yes..weighing is key. And when you do, weigh in grams..not cups. More accurate that way. You'll be surprised how much you were eating and you should weigh everything! Amazon is a good place to get one cheap. Good luck!
  • nersteve
    nersteve Posts: 12 Member
    sissy60504 wrote: »
    I do not weigh. I simply measure with measuring cups. Also I do use a lot of the generalized items. For example this morning I snagged a biscuit with 3 half strips bacon from cafeteria so I don't have packaged values in those.
    For now... I think this is the biggest issue. Stop snagging. Let me try to put a positive spin on this.... the less you "sang something" the more control you have over what's going on in your body.

    Case and point..for me. Last night on the way home form work I was getting hungry (Good, body is feeding off itself rather than what I put in it) I have come to like this "hunger feeling" lately...motivation. But last night I just didn't want to deal with it. I was going to snag a sub...no maybe a small pizza... ooh no! A burger with fries AND onion rings! It's easy... less cleanup... quicker in that I don't have to prepare it, just call it in and then eat it. I thought of how disgusted I would be with myself in the morning when I jumped on that $150 scale I bought that auto updates here... (there's that accountability I personally needed, anyone on my friend list would see it).

    So... I opted for a 2 egg sandwich that I made at home. Already feeling hungry I had a glass of water while making dinner. Instantly the "craving" for that sub was gone.

    I could have snagged an egg sandwich somewhere... but for me, right now, I want to know exactly what I'm putting in my mouth. I just started this so I am on the learning curve. I lost 2.9 lbs cuz I made the choice not to snag takeout.

    Hope my example helps you. Good luck and stay strong, stay the course. You can win.
  • chriscolh
    chriscolh Posts: 127 Member
    Just want to add my 2cents on getting a scale. I got a digital one at Walmart and it works great. Since I started using it regularly, the scale finally started going down. Some things are just hard to measure. Like spinach. I mean, really... The difference between a lightly filled cup and a packed cup of spinach could be 4 times its weight. I use measuring cups for liquids, but for everything else I use my scale. It has made a huge difference.

    Another thing - I finally broke down and entered my recipes that I use regularly into the "my recipe" section here. It surprised me how inaccurate some of the guestimations were in the database. It took some time, but now I've got a pretty good list of calories in the food that I make at home. When you don't have a lot of room to guess (I'm pretty short, so my calorie goal to lose weight doesn't give me a lot of room for mistakes), accuracy really is the key.

    Good luck!
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