Not losing weight after over 3 months, yada yada (please help though)

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  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    Looking at your actual loss and not being sure of your goal deficit, it looks to me like you're 20% or so off. Like, you THINK you're eating 1200, buy you actually ate 1450 or so.

    If you truly can't afford a scale, you could log everything as 1.2 of itself. Yes, some of your packaged things must surely be logged correctly, but you're far enough off on other things that overall you COULD overlog log each item. So let's say you have a granola bar, you'd change the servings from 1 to 1.2.

    I REALLY think you should weigh things.
  • drivenbonkers
    drivenbonkers Posts: 33 Member
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    are you drinking enough water?

    drinking the recommended amount of water (8 x eight ounces) per day really does help with weight loss (and constipation)

  • LiftAndBalance
    LiftAndBalance Posts: 960 Member
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    Another tip might be double-checking that your entries really are correct, against either the package information or the USDA site. I frequently get wrong data when I use the scanner (sometimes completely different items, sometimes the correct item but with wrong data).

    Beyond that, I'd also suggest checking thrift stores for a scale or asking someone to give one to you for your birthday/Christmas/just because they love you ;) I'm joining the crowds who are still terrible at eyeballing food even after a few years of weighing and logging.
  • LacednLace
    LacednLace Posts: 480 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Just adding to the post: A food scale drastically helps. And if you can set aside even 10$ at some point I would highly recommend this scale:

    http://www.walmart.com/ip/39520484

    I didn't have 20-50$ to spare for a food scale either when I started but this scale cost 7-8$, had free shipping, and is a true gem!

    Think about a small apple vs large apple. Everyone has a different perspective. So using the exact grams or oz of fruit, veggies, meat, cheese, peanut butter makes a huge overall difference and I learned quickly after buying a food scale that I was underestimating my peanut butter and fruit by at least a couple hundred calories.

    And don't even get me started on nuts (cashews, almonds, etc). Those bad boys are such a calorie killer. Good for you, but watch how much. They add up VERY fast.

    Good luck with law school and with all your other endeavors (whether they be weight, strength, etc)
  • hartmamp
    hartmamp Posts: 80 Member
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    I was willing from the very beginning to weigh things that seemed "obvious" - dressings, sauces, fruits, nuts etc. But when I finally caved to the "weigh EVERYTHING" advice, I realized that bagels, wraps, all that packaged stuff is almost never the weight the package says it is.
  • LacednLace
    LacednLace Posts: 480 Member
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    hartmamp wrote: »
    I was willing from the very beginning to weigh things that seemed "obvious" - dressings, sauces, fruits, nuts etc. But when I finally caved to the "weigh EVERYTHING" advice, I realized that bagels, wraps, all that packaged stuff is almost never the weight the package says it is.

    This soooo true. Prime example, I just had a can of Starkist tuna (in water) which the label claims has 5oz. I weighed and it only had 3oz. Had I counted the entire container without weighing I would've been saying I ate more than I did. Usually this is a reverse but it still makes a difference (whether good or bad) to your counts.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    I had a similar experience with chicken where I realized I could eat more than I was thinking
  • viafire
    viafire Posts: 7 Member
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    It's really all about macros, women and men differ in requirements, but it's the key to diet and weight loss. Here's a good article...
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macro-math-3-keys-to-dialing-in-your-macro-ratios.html

    Eat 6 times a day, about every 2 1/2 hours to keep your metabolism cranking. 30-45 min of cardio and weight training if you can and don't measure by pounds, measure by inches.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    I would use a GPS based app to log exercise. I use Runtastic for running and walking. The app monitors speed, distance, and elevation. It can sync directly into MFP so it is one less thing to enter. If you are stuck at a weight change one thing, anything, and watch what happens.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    viafire wrote: »
    It's really all about macros, women and men differ in requirements, but it's the key to diet and weight loss. Here's a good article...
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macro-math-3-keys-to-dialing-in-your-macro-ratios.html

    Article fail.

    Body types? In 2015? Seriously?

  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
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    viafire wrote: »
    It's really all about macros, women and men differ in requirements, but it's the key to diet and weight loss. Here's a good article...
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macro-math-3-keys-to-dialing-in-your-macro-ratios.html

    Eat 6 times a day, about every 2 1/2 hours to keep your metabolism cranking. 30-45 min of cardio and weight training if you can and don't measure by pounds, measure by inches.

    So much nope. Nope. Nope.
  • viafire
    viafire Posts: 7 Member
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    I know a lot of men and women training for physique and body building shows and they live by macros. Me personally, I've been bulking for the last year and started my cutting diet 8 weeks ago and have dropped 6% body fat while maintaining muscle mass. Believe what you want, but results don't lie.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
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    viafire wrote: »
    I know a lot of men and women training for physique and body building shows and they live by macros. Me personally, I've been bulking for the last year and started my cutting diet 8 weeks ago and have dropped 6% body fat while maintaining muscle mass. Believe what you want, but results don't lie.

    Correlation does not equal causation.

    I am mostly referring to your metabolism statement. I agree with measuring by inches.
  • slinke2014
    slinke2014 Posts: 149 Member
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    So many people saying that he has to get a food scale and that they are not that expensive. I think a lot of you have never been that broke. Like you have to choose between paying your electric bill or phone bill kind of broke. Sometimes 20 bucks is all you have to get you to your next paycheck and that includes gas and food. I feel for you, dude!!! You can lose weight by measuring and eyeballing. I do it and with practice it gets easier to figure out what you are eating. I just try to overestimate my food a little and underestimate my exercise a little to give my self a buffer.
  • slinke2014
    slinke2014 Posts: 149 Member
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    Oh and also, you mentioned that you are getting in on some Miralax action. Not to be gross but that can seriously stall your weight loss. Hard to lose weight when your body won't let you poop on a regular schedule. All that waste is just sitting around taking up valuable real estate.
  • LacednLace
    LacednLace Posts: 480 Member
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    slinke2014 wrote: »
    So many people saying that he has to get a food scale and that they are not that expensive. I think a lot of you have never been that broke. Like you have to choose between paying your electric bill or phone bill kind of broke. Sometimes 20 bucks is all you have to get you to your next paycheck and that includes gas and food. I feel for you, dude!!! You can lose weight by measuring and eyeballing. I do it and with practice it gets easier to figure out what you are eating. I just try to overestimate my food a little and underestimate my exercise a little to give my self a buffer.

    With all due respect, I have been in that position. I didn't say go out and blow rent or bill money on a scale. What I mentioned was an 8$ scale that is well worth the money whenever they can afford it. Even if that's six months from now.

    Also try cutting out processed foods (its easier said than done), try to get at least 25g of fiber to help with the regular bowel movement, get plenty of water (to stay hydrated), and try switching up your nutritional or exercise routines. Sometimes something as simple as changing up your routine a little will help a lot.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,945 Member
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    A suggestion ...

    If you cannot afford a scale for now (I would suggest getting one as soon as you can) ... don't eat back your exercise calories.

    Normally, I aim to eat approx. half my exercise calories back, but in your case, you're burning less than 200 cal with exercise (from the glance I had at a few days on your diary), and since you're not losing much weight, and aren't weighing your food, I'd venture to guess that you might be overeating by about the amount you're burning with exercise.

    So for now, don't eat your exercise calories.
  • slinke2014
    slinke2014 Posts: 149 Member
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    LacednLace wrote: »
    slinke2014 wrote: »
    So many people saying that he has to get a food scale and that they are not that expensive. I think a lot of you have never been that broke. Like you have to choose between paying your electric bill or phone bill kind of broke. Sometimes 20 bucks is all you have to get you to your next paycheck and that includes gas and food. I feel for you, dude!!! You can lose weight by measuring and eyeballing. I do it and with practice it gets easier to figure out what you are eating. I just try to overestimate my food a little and underestimate my exercise a little to give my self a buffer.

    With all due respect, I have been in that position. I didn't say go out and blow rent or bill money on a scale. What I mentioned was an 8$ scale that is well worth the money whenever they can afford it. Even if that's six months from now.

    Also try cutting out processed foods (its easier said than done), try to get at least 25g of fiber to help with the regular bowel movement, get plenty of water (to stay hydrated), and try switching up your nutritional or exercise routines. Sometimes something as simple as changing up your routine a little will help a lot.

    I get that. It was just irking me that people were seeming to minimizing his financial struggle. Its a personal topic to me so I get a little testy about it.
  • bbontheb
    bbontheb Posts: 718 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »

    I have been eating cottage cheese lately. It's not the same, but at least it's sort of cheese-like. I carefully weigh out 100 grams and eat it with cucumbers for an after-work snack, and that works out to about 100 cal.

    My fave is cottage cheese with cut up red peppers and tomatoes with some black pepper. Yum.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    My suggestion is cut what you think of as "normal" serving sizes of peanut butter, nuts, cereal, rice, pasta by about 25% and log as usual.

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