i dobt understand

jessica1983junit
jessica1983junit Posts: 4 Member
edited November 17 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been counting my calories, exercising 3-4 days or more a week, for about 4 months now. Only to tone my legs and loose 3 lbs. Why can't I loose weight? What am I doing wrong?

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    If you haven't lost any weight in 4 months it's because you're not eating at a deficit.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    You're probably eating more than you realize. Do you weigh your portions?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    The most common problems we see come from underestimating calories eaten and overestimating calories burned.

    Opening your diary might help to get you more specific advice if you're comfortable doing so.

    You're logging everything you eat? Including condiments, cooking oils, veggies, cheat days, etc? Are you using a food scale, measuring cups, or eyeballing your portion sizes? Most people can be off in their estimates by several hundred calories when they eyeball portions. Measuring cups are better, but a food scale is going to be the most accurate.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1290491-how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale

    And make sure that you've calculated your calorie goals appropriately. Remember that these are just estimates. You may need to play around a little to find what works best for you.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    If you're exercising and eating back your earned exercise calories, be sure that you're using accurate estimates of your burn. MFP and gym machines have a tendency to overestimate certain activities, which can cause you to eat back more calories than you need to. Even a heart rate monitor isn't 100% accurate. If you're eating those extra earned calories it might be a good idea to eat only 50-75% of those.

    And there's something to be said for the fact that some people just burn fewer calories than the generic equations predict. If that's the case for you, you may need to adjust your calories a little lower until you start losing again.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    You're eating too much.
  • jessica1983junit
    jessica1983junit Posts: 4 Member
    I probably am eating more then I need to. I've thought about that and I'm going to work on it. I eyeball my portions so that might effect things also. I'm afraid of going on a diet I love food. I'm 148 lbs and 5'3. And this calorie counting is weird. Thank you for your feed back.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    You're not in a deficit.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    Eat less, move more. Works every time.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Nothing wrong with eyeballing your portions, just eyeball them smaller than you have been.
  • jessica1983junit
    jessica1983junit Posts: 4 Member
    What do you mean by deficit? I do move more every day. And I even eat under my calorie goal sometimes. Mabe the calories I intake isn't good calories?
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    Calorie counting is not weird.

    There are no good calories or bad calories just calories. And if you're not accurately counting them ....then how would you know if you're eating too many or not?

    If you're not losing weight...then..you're eating too many calories.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited May 2015
    jessica1983junit wrote: »
    I probably am eating more then I need to. I've thought about that and I'm going to work on it. I eyeball my portions so that might effect things also. I'm afraid of going on a diet I love food. I'm 148 lbs and 5'3. And this calorie counting is weird. Thank you for your feed back.

    You're afraid of going on a diet? You can't have everything... You can't lose weight but eat what you like. Pick one or the other. Eat less calories than you need everyday. Not some days. Log accurately. There aren't good and bad foods - make nutritious choices most of the time for good health, but don't deprive yourself completely of things you really enjoy that aren't so nutritious
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    we've told you what you're doing wrong. you are eating more than you think.

    read the links Dianne provided.
  • Chewitz
    Chewitz Posts: 217 Member
    Weighing food is a good step

    Packets lie.... my 100g so called steak when I weighed it was over 130g
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    jessica1983junit wrote: »
    What do you mean by deficit? I do move more every day. And I even eat under my calorie goal sometimes. Mabe the calories I intake isn't good calories?

    It's not the type of calories you eat it's the amount.

    As everyone said you are eating too much to lose weight.

    Eyeballing is fine if you are good at it (you are not)...if you are not get a food scale...
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    While I agree that a calorie is a calorie, there are some foods that, effectively, increase you BMR because it takes more energy to digest them and pass them through your system.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    While I agree that a calorie is a calorie, there are some foods that, effectively, increase you BMR because it takes more energy to digest them and pass them through your system.

    Not really. The amount of calories needed to digest food does vary based on what you eat but that variance is too small to make an appreciable difference.
  • princesscupcake15
    princesscupcake15 Posts: 18 Member
    jessica1983junit wrote: »
    I probably am eating more then I need to. I've thought about that and I'm going to work on it. I eyeball my portions so that might effect things also. I'm afraid of going on a diet I love food. I'm 148 lbs and 5'3. And this calorie counting is weird. Thank you for your feed back.

    doh. i have to say, i'm surprised it's taken you this long to notice tbh. invest in some scales and weigh EVERYTHING. make sure everything is accurately logged. good luck.
  • mjffey
    mjffey Posts: 72 Member
    Just start weighing everything you eat and log it, and also log your exercises. The system gives you the daily calories you can eat. Don't eat to few and think with eating less cals, and sport like mad, you loose weight. Your body goes in survival mode and you won't loose, and might even gain. Your body is like a car. It needs fuel to exist. Good luck.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    Why is it weird? You havent been counting properly. Read some of the links on Diannes post to educate yourself on where you have been going wrong.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    brianpperkins wrote: »
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    While I agree that a calorie is a calorie, there are some foods that, effectively, increase you BMR because it takes more energy to digest them and pass them through your system.

    Not really. The amount of calories needed to digest food does vary based on what you eat but that variance is too small to make an appreciable difference.

    The thermic effect of food ranges from 5% for highly processed carbohydrates to 35% for some proteins. For a 2000 calorie diet, that is a difference of as much as 600 per day, depending on food choices. Realistically, we aren't going to eat everything at the 5% level or everything at the 35% level, if we pay no attention to the thermic effect, but even if the difference is only 15% for a person who is eating a lot of processed foods verse a person who is preparing their own meals, 300 calories is an "appreciable difference".
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    brianpperkins wrote: »
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    While I agree that a calorie is a calorie, there are some foods that, effectively, increase you BMR because it takes more energy to digest them and pass them through your system.

    Not really. The amount of calories needed to digest food does vary based on what you eat but that variance is too small to make an appreciable difference.

    The thermic effect of food ranges from 5% for highly processed carbohydrates to 35% for some proteins. For a 2000 calorie diet, that is a difference of as much as 600 per day, depending on food choices. Realistically, we aren't going to eat everything at the 5% level or everything at the 35% level, if we pay no attention to the thermic effect, but even if the difference is only 15% for a person who is eating a lot of processed foods verse a person who is preparing their own meals, 300 calories is an "appreciable difference".

    really and what food would that be...seriously I want the list.

    Mainly because imo you are way over estimating that...and I want to check...cause I prepare my own foods 95% of the time and it didn't stop me from being fat in the first place...
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    There are reasons why the most common reply to your posts are the scores of people telling OPs to not pay attention to you. Even your flawed example here depends on reductio ad abusurdum in the assumption that a person would eat just one macro while completely avoiding the other two, and the one chosen would be at the far end of the spectrum compared to the others ... the highest TEF imaginable compared to the lowest ever observed.

    TEF accounts for around 10% of a person's daily calorie expenditure. The TEF variances in testing come out to single digits during testing.
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