I really am lost

According to all the calculators I should be eating 1700 calories day to loose weight to my ideal goal. I eat that much and I haven't moved an inch up 3 lbs down 3lbs.

I'm told don't run as it does nothing for weightloss or do run for weightloss.

What do I do, where do I go from here?

I am
Male
5,9"
224 lbs

Replies

  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    How are you measuring your caloric intake?
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    This flowchart that lemonlionheart created is a really good guide when troubleshooting why you might not be losing any weight. If it doesn't help, feel free to open up your diary so we can help you troubleshoot.

    a37btb7mxb3t.jpg
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I love flowcharts. Bravo to @lemonlionheart .
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  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    Just checked out your diary. You're eating a lot more than you think you are.

    Almost every single entry over the last 2-3 days (that's as far back as I went) was things like "1 banana", "1 salad", "1 plate".

    You need to weigh and measure each and every thing you put into your mouth.

    For example, your one banana that you log as 105 calories - I've seen 80 calorie bananas, and I've seen 160 calorie bananas. 1 tuna sandwich at subway...the info they put on their website is strictly for meat & bread. Any other toppings would also add calories, etc etc.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    slyzxx wrote: »
    According to all the calculators I should be eating 1700 calories day to loose weight to my ideal goal. I eat that much and I haven't moved an inch up 3 lbs down 3lbs.

    I'm told don't run as it does nothing for weightloss or do run for weightloss.

    What do I do, where do I go from here?

    I am
    Male
    5,9"
    224 lbs

    How long have you been eating at this calorie level?

    Pfft to the no running idea. Weight loss comes down to calories in versus calories out--you need to eat fewer calories than you burn in a day. Some people achieve their caloric deficit by simply reducing how much they eat. Some people do it by increasing their activity levels. Some people do a combo. Running burns calories so running increases your calories out, which can help with weight loss.

    Note, however, that MFP is set up so that your calorie goal doesn't count exercise. By that, I mean that if you eat at the goal given to you and do no exercise at all, you will lose, on average (approximately) the amount of weight per week that you chose during the set up. That is on average, not every single week BTW. When you log exercise, those calories will be added to your goal. The idea is to eat those calories because you'll still have the caloric deficit from your original number. Some people feel like the exercise calories calculated by MFP are overstated so they eat only a portion of them. You'll have to use trial and error to determine how many to use but I *strongly* encourage you to eat at least a portion of them in order to fuel your body sufficiently.
  • triciab79
    triciab79 Posts: 1,713 Member
    That is a awesome flow chart.
  • healthy_life2015
    healthy_life2015 Posts: 215 Member
    I'm sorry you are frustrated!

    If this is a short-term problem, I'm sure that by sticking to your program, things will start moving in the right direction. If this is a longer term problem, here are my thoughts:

    If you are not losing weight or are gaining weight, it is probably because you are not tracking accurately. My guess is you are underestimating the calories you consume and overestimating the calories you burn (similar to what the flow chart says). You have a lot of generic entries in your diary and quite a bit of restaurant food. It is so hard to be accurate with calories when you go to restaurants and the nutrition info they publish often underestimates the actual calories. So you need to be careful with that. It also looks like you are eating back all your exercise calories. MFP's estimate is usually too high, so by eating back all your exercise calories you will be going above your calorie goal.

    To address your comment on running: In order to lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than your body burns. There are different ways to get there. For you, based on the calculator I used and your stats, you would maintain your weight if you eat 2300 calories a day and do not exercise. So if you eat fewer than 2300 a day, you'll lose weight. Or if you eat 2300 and burn some extra calories through exercise, you will lose. It really is that simple.

    I have some questions / comments / observations / suggestions:

    1. How long have you been on your current program? How long has your weight loss been stalled?
    2. According to your profile, you have lost 21 lbs. Have you changed something? How long did it take to lose that?
    3. How much weight are you trying to lose per week? 1700 calories seems pretty low for a man your age and weight. You could certainly eat more and still lose (I do realize that is not your question though - don't mean to get off topic!)
    4. What exercise are you doing? Your diary shows a couple days with 6 hours of walking - really???
  • GeekdGirl
    GeekdGirl Posts: 218 Member
    abatonfan wrote: »
    This flowchart that lemonlionheart created is a really good guide when troubleshooting why you might not be losing any weight. If it doesn't help, feel free to open up your diary so we can help you troubleshoot.

    a37btb7mxb3t.jpg

    This made me cry tears of joy <3
  • slyzxx
    slyzxx Posts: 6 Member
    More than two yrs, the first round was 6 months fell off the wagon then stayed at my current weight, per week at 2 lbs

    I walk 6-8 hrs a day at work nonstop it's retail and I sit down maybe 10 min out of that time
    I'm sorry you are frustrated!

    If this is a short-term problem, I'm sure that by sticking to your program, things will start moving in the right direction. If this is a longer term problem, here are my thoughts:

    If you are not losing weight or are gaining weight, it is probably because you are not tracking accurately. My guess is you are underestimating the calories you consume and overestimating the calories you burn (similar to what the flow chart says). You have a lot of generic entries in your diary and quite a bit of restaurant food. It is so hard to be accurate with calories when you go to restaurants and the nutrition info they publish often underestimates the actual calories. So you need to be careful with that. It also looks like you are eating back all your exercise calories. MFP's estimate is usually too high, so by eating back all your exercise calories you will be going above your calorie goal.

    To address your comment on running: In order to lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than your body burns. There are different ways to get there. For you, based on the calculator I used and your stats, you would maintain your weight if you eat 2300 calories a day and do not exercise. So if you eat fewer than 2300 a day, you'll lose weight. Or if you eat 2300 and burn some extra calories through exercise, you will lose. It really is that simple.

    I have some questions / comments / observations / suggestions:

    1. How long have you been on your current program? How long has your weight loss been stalled?
    2. According to your profile, you have lost 21 lbs. Have you changed something? How long did it take to lose that?
    3. How much weight are you trying to lose per week? 1700 calories seems pretty low for a man your age and weight. You could certainly eat more and still lose (I do realize that is not your question though - don't mean to get off topic!)
    4. What exercise are you doing? Your diary shows a couple days with 6 hours of walking - really???

  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
    slyzxx wrote: »
    More than two yrs, the first round was 6 months fell off the wagon then stayed at my current weight, per week at 2 lbs

    I walk 6-8 hrs a day at work nonstop it's retail and I sit down maybe 10 min out of that time
    I'm sorry you are frustrated!

    If this is a short-term problem, I'm sure that by sticking to your program, things will start moving in the right direction. If this is a longer term problem, here are my thoughts:

    If you are not losing weight or are gaining weight, it is probably because you are not tracking accurately. My guess is you are underestimating the calories you consume and overestimating the calories you burn (similar to what the flow chart says). You have a lot of generic entries in your diary and quite a bit of restaurant food. It is so hard to be accurate with calories when you go to restaurants and the nutrition info they publish often underestimates the actual calories. So you need to be careful with that. It also looks like you are eating back all your exercise calories. MFP's estimate is usually too high, so by eating back all your exercise calories you will be going above your calorie goal.

    To address your comment on running: In order to lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than your body burns. There are different ways to get there. For you, based on the calculator I used and your stats, you would maintain your weight if you eat 2300 calories a day and do not exercise. So if you eat fewer than 2300 a day, you'll lose weight. Or if you eat 2300 and burn some extra calories through exercise, you will lose. It really is that simple.

    I have some questions / comments / observations / suggestions:

    1. How long have you been on your current program? How long has your weight loss been stalled?
    2. According to your profile, you have lost 21 lbs. Have you changed something? How long did it take to lose that?
    3. How much weight are you trying to lose per week? 1700 calories seems pretty low for a man your age and weight. You could certainly eat more and still lose (I do realize that is not your question though - don't mean to get off topic!)
    4. What exercise are you doing? Your diary shows a couple days with 6 hours of walking - really???

    You need to set your activity level to active, rather than including walking as exercise. Only count purposeful exercise.
  • Agathokakological
    Agathokakological Posts: 136 Member
    Like other people suggested, get a scale and weigh everything, and I mean everything. I thought I was eating the right portion sizes and was shocked when I began weighing things out. I was eating twice as much as I thought. I started weighing things and it made a huge difference.

    As for running... If you enjoy it, then keep doing it. If it feels like work to you right now, maybe stop. You're walking a lot while at work, so you're getting in some activity. I found that focusing primarily on my eating has been beneficial to me. I set a goal weight for myself of 240 where I will begin incorporating exercise. I began at 280 and am currently at 264. I'm no expert, but I personally feel that by dropping some weight before adding activites, it'll be less stressful on my body. After dropping the weight I have so far, I feel better physically, so when I hit that first big goal, I'll feel even better.

    Sorry for rambling. In short, weigh everything, even dressings, ketchup, etc... and listen to your body, do what feels right.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Bookmarking lemonlionheart's awesome flowchart.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited June 2015
    GeekdGirl wrote: »
    abatonfan wrote: »
    This flowchart that lemonlionheart created is a really good guide when troubleshooting why you might not be losing any weight. If it doesn't help, feel free to open up your diary so we can help you troubleshoot.

    a37btb7mxb3t.jpg

    This made me cry tears of joy <3

    I saw lemonlionheart post this the other day and nearly did, too. Looks like my suggestion was already incorporated. I need to grab the image location for later use. I know I'm going to use this a lot!
  • grantkozy
    grantkozy Posts: 1 Member
    GeekdGirl wrote: »
    abatonfan wrote: »
    This flowchart that lemonlionheart created is a really good guide when troubleshooting why you might not be losing any weight. If it doesn't help, feel free to open up your diary so we can help you troubleshoot.

    a37btb7mxb3t.jpg

    This made me cry tears of joy <3