Frustrated

Ckwhitney88
Ckwhitney88 Posts: 13 Member
edited November 22 in Health and Weight Loss
I've never been on a fitness forum so pretty nervous. I've been a petite size 0-2 my whole life. I'm 27 and this past year my weight sky rocketed.. I went from a size 1 last April to a size 9 now. My thighs are big (saddle bags) and love handles. I just want to get back in a size 3 but I feel like no matter what I do I stay the same. Any suggestions about mixing it up or how you lost weight? I'm at a total loss how to get out of this plateau.
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Replies

  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    How long have you been in a plateau?

    Are you weighing you food? Logging all your food every day?

    Eating back all, some or none of your exercise calories?
  • Ckwhitney88
    Ckwhitney88 Posts: 13 Member
    I keep track of calories with the lose it app. Some days are better than others. Weighing food? No, I never really heard of that.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    I keep track of calories with the lose it app. Some days are better than others. Weighing food? No, I never really heard of that.

    The key to losing weight is calorie counting so you are at a consistent calorific deficit, which will mean eating less ,moving more or both. Weighing food with a scale is the most reliable way to knowing how much you are actuallu eating. Have a look at these guides.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I keep track of calories with the lose it app. Some days are better than others. Weighing food? No, I never really heard of that.

    You're not in a deficit. Weigh your food and eat less
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    I keep track of calories with the lose it app. Some days are better than others. Weighing food? No, I never really heard of that.

    Say you eat a banana, how do you know how many calories you have eaten?

    Was it a small, medium or large banana? Did it have thick skin? Etc

    Weighing it gives the most accurate measurement.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    What happened in the past year for your weight to go up so much? Have you changed your eating habits at all?

    It seems like a huge change if you haven't eaten more/suddenly changed to a sedentary job/been ill etc. First I'd get checked by a doctor to rule out any thyroid issues.

    Then I'd work out how many calories you should eat, eat at a deficit, and do some exercise.
  • amr32r
    amr32r Posts: 245 Member
    I agree with weighing everything..example: yesterday i looked at an apple and thought hey this is a medium apple but i weighed it and it was 160 g which is twice the calories i would of logged it as..youd be surprised .i picked up my scale for 15 bucks at walmart best thing i bought myself ever.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    A food scale will be your best friend in this. No need to be nervous. It is totally doable and not so hard really. Everyone here is here for the same reasons and the forums have lots of great information that can help you to have success. Just be reasonable about your expectations and honest with yourself and others about your goals and what you are eating.

    WElcome to MFP. :)
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
    First step is to calculate what your calorie requirement is at this age. It's a fact of life, as we age, the weight doesn't fly off and stay off anymore. It will take some getting used to, but you need to be at the right starting point of what your calories required are. Then you can start to say to yourself "I'd like to lose some weight". From there, you can calculate how much you want to lose and get a proper deficit. Getting the accurate calories you eat a day will help you to keep that deficit, thus, losing weight. Don't fret too much right now, just take steps towards the healthier you.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    A food scale is used to have a more accurate count of calories.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    Recently I was surprised by sustagen. The serving size is like 3 teaspoons I believe or 15g

    15g is a lot more than 3 teaspoons. Or at least a lot more than what I thought a teaspoon is
  • 123user456
    123user456 Posts: 68 Member
    I keep track of calories with the lose it app. Some days are better than others. Weighing food? No, I never really heard of that.

    When I first started logging my food, I used both MFP and loseit. I found the assumed activity level in loseit much too high for me. My daily loseit calorie budget was 350 calories higher than MFP at sedentary. As others have suggested, I do recommend using a food scale. But, it is possible that loseit is assuming you're more active than you actually are. This can be further exaggerated if you are logging inflated exercise estimates on top of that.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    I've never been on a fitness forum so pretty nervous. I've been a petite size 0-2 my whole life. I'm 27 and this past year my weight sky rocketed.. I went from a size 1 last April to a size 9 now. My thighs are big (saddle bags) and love handles. I just want to get back in a size 3 but I feel like no matter what I do I stay the same. Any suggestions about mixing it up or how you lost weight? I'm at a total loss how to get out of this plateau.

    buy a digital food scale. Weigh all of your solid foods, and measure all liquids. Log them and stick you to your calorie deficit. This is how you lose weight.
    Also read the first post in this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Start weighing your food, you will see a huge difference.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    Seriously, am I the only one wondering how someone can be small for 27 years then suddenly go up 8 sizes in one year?
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    123user456 wrote: »
    I keep track of calories with the lose it app. Some days are better than others. Weighing food? No, I never really heard of that.

    When I first started logging my food, I used both MFP and loseit. I found the assumed activity level in loseit much too high for me. My daily loseit calorie budget was 350 calories higher than MFP at sedentary. As others have suggested, I do recommend using a food scale. But, it is possible that loseit is assuming you're more active than you actually are. This can be further exaggerated if you are logging inflated exercise estimates on top of that.

    So it was 1550 with Lose It? I think that's a great target. IMO MFP's target for sedentary activity, which is the minimum amount doctors think a human should eat, is too aggressive for those who are not either extremely short or morbidly obese.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    I've never been on a fitness forum so pretty nervous. I've been a petite size 0-2 my whole life. I'm 27 and this past year my weight sky rocketed.. I went from a size 1 last April to a size 9 now. My thighs are big (saddle bags) and love handles. I just want to get back in a size 3 but I feel like no matter what I do I stay the same. Any suggestions about mixing it up or how you lost weight? I'm at a total loss how to get out of this plateau.

    MFP%20Flowchart%20lemonlionheart_zps3s3xqead.jpg
  • GetThatRunnersHigh
    GetThatRunnersHigh Posts: 112 Member
    In addition to what others are saying here you might want to try even numbered clothing sizes. Odd numbered labels are usually Junior's, which means they are cut for teens with less pronounced waist/hip ratios. I need a 7 in Junior's, but a Women's 2/4. Same waist but different hip measurements.
  • 123user456
    123user456 Posts: 68 Member
    tomatoey wrote: »
    123user456 wrote: »
    I keep track of calories with the lose it app. Some days are better than others. Weighing food? No, I never really heard of that.

    When I first started logging my food, I used both MFP and loseit. I found the assumed activity level in loseit much too high for me. My daily loseit calorie budget was 350 calories higher than MFP at sedentary. As others have suggested, I do recommend using a food scale. But, it is possible that loseit is assuming you're more active than you actually are. This can be further exaggerated if you are logging inflated exercise estimates on top of that.

    So it was 1550 with Lose It? I think that's a great target. IMO MFP's target for sedentary activity, which is the minimum amount doctors think a human should eat, is too aggressive for those who are not either extremely short or morbidly obese.

    It was about 1700 in loseit. Once I got a Fitbit, I discovered I needed about 8,000 steps daily to earn loseit's budget (which I was not getting). On top of that I was logging my purposeful exercise, so I was wiping out my deficit.
  • kk_inprogress
    kk_inprogress Posts: 3,077 Member
    In addition to what others are saying here you might want to try even numbered clothing sizes. Odd numbered labels are usually Junior's, which means they are cut for teens with less pronounced waist/hip ratios. I need a 7 in Junior's, but a Women's 2/4. Same waist but different hip measurements.

    I was thinking the same...
  • Ckwhitney88
    Ckwhitney88 Posts: 13 Member
    What happened in the past year for your weight to go up so much? Have you changed your eating habits at all?

    It seems like a huge change if you haven't eaten more/suddenly changed to a sedentary job/been ill etc. First I'd get checked by a doctor to rule out any thyroid issues.

    Then I'd work out how many calories you should eat, eat at a deficit, and do some exercise.

    I got a job as an accounting specialist. That could be why. I didn't work and just went to school for a while and I wasn't super active, but probably more so. Before that I always worked at warehouses stocking
  • Love2Rappel
    Love2Rappel Posts: 449 Member
    To be honest, focus on clean eating and ramping up your activity. Oh, throw away the scale - it means nothing dear. You are already a beautiful woman, the tone will come before you know it...
  • Ckwhitney88
    Ckwhitney88 Posts: 13 Member
    edited July 2015
    In addition to what others are saying here you might want to try even numbered clothing sizes. Odd numbered labels are usually Junior's, which means they are cut for teens with less pronounced waist/hip ratios. I need a 7 in Junior's, but a Women's 2/4. Same waist but different hip measurements.

    I did notice that. Maybe it's because I was wearing Juniors... I'm also clothes size ignorant. I bought shorts in the womens section and they were size 4. My waist, I believe, gained about 3-4 inches. It's just crazy. I hadn't been eating any different than what I had. Thinking of ruling out any health stuff at the doctors, to be sure.
  • Ckwhitney88
    Ckwhitney88 Posts: 13 Member
    Do y'all use a HRM or anything to more accurately keep track of the calories you burn exercising? Hard to calculate lifting weights, machines, etc.
  • Ckwhitney88
    Ckwhitney88 Posts: 13 Member
    Orphia wrote: »
    I've never been on a fitness forum so pretty nervous. I've been a petite size 0-2 my whole life. I'm 27 and this past year my weight sky rocketed.. I went from a size 1 last April to a size 9 now. My thighs are big (saddle bags) and love handles. I just want to get back in a size 3 but I feel like no matter what I do I stay the same. Any suggestions about mixing it up or how you lost weight? I'm at a total loss how to get out of this plateau.

    MFP%20Flowchart%20lemonlionheart_zps3s3xqead.jpg

    I love this! Thanks for posting the chart
  • JamieNudelman
    JamieNudelman Posts: 2 Member
    You can invest in all these heart rate tracking devices, but it isn't required and are over doing it.

    Your first step is to actually go ahead with the suggestions to check with your doctor for any thyroid related issues. I have a couple friends who are dealing with thyroid problems which in return makes losing/gaining weight difficult.

    Second, weigh and track your food more closely like others have suggested. From there you can decide after 2-4 weeks what you have noticed, jot it down for reference and think about how you feel physically/mentally before you adjust calories.

    Third, eating in a caloric deficit is also the main contributor to weight loss which was already stated from others. So to go a little deeper, a 500 caloric deficit below your maintenance (Maintenance is your current body weight calories) to produce a 1 pound of weight loss a week if 500 x 7 = 3,500 calories (1 pound of body fat).

    Fourth, if you are following a specific macronutrient break down (Protein, carbs and fats), consider adjusting those numbers to allow weight loss with your specific body type. I don't currently know your macro numbers. I also don't know if you are following a low fat or carbohydrate diet and if you are a vegetarian or vegan.

    Hopefully this helps.
  • Ckwhitney88
    Ckwhitney88 Posts: 13 Member
    To be honest, focus on clean eating and ramping up your activity. Oh, throw away the scale - it means nothing dear. You are already a beautiful woman, the tone will come before you know it...

    Thank you :) I'm trying to ignore weight scales and focus on measurements. It's a body change I'm not used to and not a fan of... so I'd like to be back in good toned physical shape.
  • Ckwhitney88
    Ckwhitney88 Posts: 13 Member
    You can invest in all these heart rate tracking devices, but it isn't required and are over doing it.

    Your first step is to actually go ahead with the suggestions to check with your doctor for any thyroid related issues. I have a couple friends who are dealing with thyroid problems which in return makes losing/gaining weight difficult.

    Second, weigh and track your food more closely like others have suggested. From there you can decide after 2-4 weeks what you have noticed, jot it down for reference and think about how you feel physically/mentally before you adjust calories.

    Third, eating in a caloric deficit is also the main contributor to weight loss which was already stated from others. So to go a little deeper, a 500 caloric deficit below your maintenance (Maintenance is your current body weight calories) to produce a 1 pound of weight loss a week if 500 x 7 = 3,500 calories (1 pound of body fat).

    Fourth, if you are following a specific macronutrient break down (Protein, carbs and fats), consider adjusting those numbers to allow weight loss with your specific body type. I don't currently know your macro numbers. I also don't know if you are following a low fat or carbohydrate diet and if you are a vegetarian or vegan.

    Hopefully this helps.

    I'm not on a diet per-se, just trying to clean eat. Cutting out soda, sugar, junk food, etc. I'm an omnivore :) I'm definitely a meat eater. Thank you for the calorie deficit breakdown, that really helps. I'm not sure what a macronutrient breakdown is?
  • JamieNudelman
    JamieNudelman Posts: 2 Member
    [/quote]I'm not on a diet per-se, just trying to clean eat. Cutting out soda, sugar, junk food, etc. I'm an omnivore :) I'm definitely a meat eater. Thank you for the calorie deficit breakdown, that really helps. I'm not sure what a macronutrient breakdown is? [/quote]

    Clean eating is totally acceptable. When I say "macronutrient breakdown" I refer to your total protein, carbohydrates and fat for a day. MyFitnessPal always sets this up for you under the goals section when you first use the application. I have never used the Lose It application, but I'm sure it uses a similar calorie counting system like MyFitnessPal.

    Everything has been laid out for you, so now it is just a matter of time and tracking weekly in order to make sure your ideal goal is being obtained! You will find your way.

  • nifer1029
    nifer1029 Posts: 28 Member
    What happened in the past year for your weight to go up so much? Have you changed your eating habits at all?

    It seems like a huge change if you haven't eaten more/suddenly changed to a sedentary job/been ill etc. First I'd get checked by a doctor to rule out any thyroid issues.

    Then I'd work out how many calories you should eat, eat at a deficit, and do some exercise.

    THIS. All of this. Talk to your doctor and decide if it is a medical issue or a lifestyle issue and go from there. Be healthy and safe!
This discussion has been closed.