Weight Chart - Comments, Suggestions, Advice on Weight Loss

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Hello All,

I attached my weight loss chart (hopefully, you will be able to see it). I have been trying to lose weight (this time) since March of 2014. I joined MFP around July of 2014. For the first 6-7 months I lost about 16 pounds. Then, for the next 6 months (October 2014 to March 2015) I pretty much lost nothing. Just up and down around 190 lbs. Got a Fitbit in December.

In April I had had enough and adjusted my calorie goal to 1920 calories a day (set to lose 1/2 a week), stared walking to meet 10,000 steps daily, sometimes more, and stared swimming 3 days a week (I'm taking a swim class, plus practice). Since April 1, in about 7 weeks, I have lost an additional 5 pounds.

I should say that I weigh everything I can in grams, some in ounces. I don't drink anything that has calories in it, sometimes milk though. A side question, since one millimeter of water weighs one gram, can you measure milk in grams?

My possible down fall is eating out. Once a week we eat out at someones home. And I get to guess at how much I'm actually eating. We also eat out at restaurants. I try to pre-log what I'm going to eat. But most every time after we eat out, my weight goes up the next day, and it takes a while to come back down.

I have to say since I started exercising, eating out has not been that much of a factor, I still lost more than the set 1/2 lbs.

Can you look at my diary and let me know how I'm doing? Every time my weight goes up, my mind goes back to the time I lost nothing for 6 months. I just want some other knowledgeable folks to tell me if I'm on the right track.

Thanks in advance


Stats:
Age: 42
Female
Starting Weight 206.4 lbs
Current Weight 185.4 lbs
Goal Weight 158 lbs
Wanting to loose 1/2 lbs a week
Height 5' 7"


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Replies

  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    It looks like your weight is trending downward, so you appear to be on the right track. My weight goes up a little for a couple days after eating restaurant food, too. It's likely from the high sodium content.
  • subversive99
    subversive99 Posts: 273 Member
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    I haven't looked at your diary or anything, but I would say it sounds like you are on the right track. Check out trendweight.com, it's really good for removing the noise around weight bouncing around and helping you see the true trend line. This is what mine looks like, FYI, just to give you an idea. You can see the trend is very healthy downward, but there was almost a month in there where I hardly lost anything. Weight loss is not linear. :smile:

    6m.png

    Regarding milk, you'll want to use a measuring cup for any true liquids. Everything else, weigh it. The only one I find annoying is ice cream.

    Anyway, if your goal is set to .5 pound a week and you are hitting that, I'd say great job! If you're not meeting your goal, adjust and adapt (either your activity level or your intake level).
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    It's trial-and-error, right? You may have seen an initial rapid drop at first, partly due to water weight. And now your weight loss is slower.

    If you're unhappy with the rate of loss, you can always drop those calories by another 100 or so. But it seems like you're on the right track.
  • vaniacpmarques
    vaniacpmarques Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm no expert but after seeing your diary I believe I can give you a few tips, on at least things that I've seen work with me and other people.
    Firstly, your breakfast. I really am not familiar with breakfast eating habbits besides Portuguese ones, but those protein bars are something you should try to change, that amount of Sodium will not let drop the weight and 500+ Kcal at breakfast is a bit much.
    Egg whites are wonderful for breakfast even with a slice of bread on the side, and you would still be eating less calories. (if you don't like the flavour of egg whites alone, I usually mix one egg and 2 egg whites apx)

    For dressings at lunch/dinner, mayo is always the best option, specially if you make it yourself its super simple.
    plus, protein is good for you! avoid fat meat as you've been doing, but you can still eat pretty much as much as you want. Even more considering you are doing a lot of exercise.

    I would say also, to try to eat the most calories before 6pm, since it's more unlikely you will waste them after that time. After dinner/close to bed time, cut most of those things. If you are hungry, popocorn (make your own! don't buy it pre-made), nuts (as you do) are great, if in need of chocolate, prefer dark chocolate (and eat nuts with it! will at least be similar to a ferrero :smile: ) Still hungry? Snack on fruit. that sugar will disolve faster on your organism.

    You're doing good! Just don't trust to much on the supposed "healthy alternatives".
  • vaniacpmarques
    vaniacpmarques Posts: 6 Member
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    and btw, yes milk weights pretty much the same as water.
  • AnnaBellQ14
    AnnaBellQ14 Posts: 109 Member
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    and btw, yes milk weights pretty much the same as water.
    Thanks, I always wondered about that!
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
    edited May 2015
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    and btw, yes milk weights pretty much the same as water.

    That depends on fat content

    edit: see below
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
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    I'm no expert but after seeing your diary I believe I can give you a few tips, on at least things that I've seen work with me and other people.
    Firstly, your breakfast. I really am not familiar with breakfast eating habbits besides Portuguese ones, but those protein bars are something you should try to change, that amount of Sodium will not let drop the weight and 500+ Kcal at breakfast is a bit much.
    Egg whites are wonderful for breakfast even with a slice of bread on the side, and you would still be eating less calories. (if you don't like the flavour of egg whites alone, I usually mix one egg and 2 egg whites apx)

    For dressings at lunch/dinner, mayo is always the best option, specially if you make it yourself its super simple.
    plus, protein is good for you! avoid fat meat as you've been doing, but you can still eat pretty much as much as you want. Even more considering you are doing a lot of exercise.

    I would say also, to try to eat the most calories before 6pm, since it's more unlikely you will waste them after that time. After dinner/close to bed time, cut most of those things. If you are hungry, popocorn (make your own! don't buy it pre-made), nuts (as you do) are great, if in need of chocolate, prefer dark chocolate (and eat nuts with it! will at least be similar to a ferrero :smile: ) Still hungry? Snack on fruit. that sugar will disolve faster on your organism.

    You're doing good! Just don't trust to much on the supposed "healthy alternatives".

    The human body runs 24/7 and she will not "waste" calories consumed after a certain time.
  • AnnaBellQ14
    AnnaBellQ14 Posts: 109 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the encouraging replies. As far as protein bars, I love them. I eat them because they taste great. As far as breakfast, I sometimes don't eat untill noon, and I eat over a period of time, like an hour today, 2 hours yesterday. I just log it all for breakfast since it's my first meal. I also eat late into the night, always have, as in between 9 and 10. I eat my lunch late too. Dinner is probably the only meal I eat at a regurar time.
  • AnnaBellQ14
    AnnaBellQ14 Posts: 109 Member
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    and btw, yes milk weights pretty much the same as water.

    That depends on fat content

    I was thinking skim milk.
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
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    and btw, yes milk weights pretty much the same as water.

    That depends on fat content

    I was thinking skim milk.

    Skim milk is roughly 8.6 pounds/gallon, compared to 8 for water. It's also more dense than whole milk.
  • AnnaBellQ14
    AnnaBellQ14 Posts: 109 Member
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    and btw, yes milk weights pretty much the same as water.

    That depends on fat content

    I was thinking skim milk.

    Skim milk is roughly 8.6 pounds/gallon, compared to 8 for water. It's also more dense than whole milk.

    That's interesting. So would whole milk weigh less? I would have thought skim milk.
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
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    and btw, yes milk weights pretty much the same as water.

    That depends on fat content

    I was thinking skim milk.

    Skim milk is roughly 8.6 pounds/gallon, compared to 8 for water. It's also more dense than whole milk.

    That's interesting. So would whole milk weigh less? I would have thought skim milk.

    Well, I suspect the reason is that skim milk doesn't have the fat buoying up the dissolved minerals. (This is why the sodium content of skim milk is greater than that of whole milk).

    For practical purposes, though, a cup of whole milk is 244 grams and skim is 245. Water has a mass of 236.588237 grams/cup.
  • mirrim52
    mirrim52 Posts: 763 Member
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    Specific gravity of skim milk is about 1.03-1.04 kg/L, so it is pretty close.
    100 mL = 103 g I sometimes weigh my milk so that I don't have to dirty a measuring cup :p . Also, since measuring cups aren't super precise (the angle you look at it and whether your counter is completely level will affect it), I figure it is close enough.

    Fat has a lower specific gravity than water, that is why it floats to the top, and why whole milk weighs less. The fat is taking up space, but not weighing as much.
  • wanttobefit300
    wanttobefit300 Posts: 157 Member
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    l millimeter is NOT l gram. The original definition of the gram is 1 cubic centimeter of water. 1 cc is the same as 1 milliliter. So 1000 cubic centimeters is 1 liter (slightly more than a quart).
  • AnnaBellQ14
    AnnaBellQ14 Posts: 109 Member
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    l millimeter is NOT l gram. The original definition of the gram is 1 cubic centimeter of water. 1 cc is the same as 1 milliliter. So 1000 cubic centimeters is 1 liter (slightly more than a quart).

    Meant to say milliliter, not millimeter. Any more comments about my diary? Or weight loss in general?
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    l millimeter is NOT l gram. The original definition of the gram is 1 cubic centimeter of water. 1 cc is the same as 1 milliliter. So 1000 cubic centimeters is 1 liter (slightly more than a quart).

    Meant to say milliliter, not millimeter. Any more comments about my diary? Or weight loss in general?
    1 liter of water weighs 1000.028 grams. For me, that's plenty close enough to say that 1 ml of water weighs 1 gram.
  • AnnaBellQ14
    AnnaBellQ14 Posts: 109 Member
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    Anyone else want to comment on my diary or weight loss?
  • greaseswabber
    greaseswabber Posts: 238 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Anyone else want to comment on my diary or weight loss?

    It looks like you have a downward trend again, so keep doing what you're doing.

    I have the same issue with eating out and estimating. I nearly always eat only half and take home the rest. Sometimes I'll even weigh the restaurant leftovers if it's something that can be separated down to its ingredients like burgers, steaks, French fries. That helps with estimating in the restaurant in the future.

    You are using Libra to track your weight. Do you have the smoothing option turned on? If so, that can help manage the emotional part of weight fluctuations. If the dot is under the line, then the measurement will bring the trend down. So the goal is to be under the line most of the time. I use Libra too and even though I understand fluctuations and trends, there is still a small tinge of emotional something when I weigh in high. The trend line helps me stay firmly on the side of rationality.

  • AnnaBellQ14
    AnnaBellQ14 Posts: 109 Member
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    Anyone else want to comment on my diary or weight loss?

    It looks like you have a downward trend again, so keep doing what you're doing.

    I have the same issue with eating out and estimating. I nearly always eat only half and take home the rest. Sometimes I'll even weigh the restaurant leftovers if it's something that can be separated down to its ingredients like burgers, steaks, French fries. That helps with estimating in the restaurant in the future.

    You are using Libra to track your weight. Do you have the smoothing option turned on? If so, that can help manage the emotional part of weight fluctuations. If the dot is under the line, then the measurement will bring the trend down. So the goal is to be under the line most of the time. I use Libra too and even though I understand fluctuations and trends, there is still a small tinge of emotional something when I weigh in high. The trend line helps me stay firmly on the side of rationality.

    My downfall is that I love eating. So given good food, I don't want to stop eating it. I should try eating only half of it, since the portions are so big anyway.

    I do use Libra to track my weight. I think I do have smoothing turned on. It says smoothing days 7.