Extremely slow weight loss
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janejellyroll wrote: »coolcoci_115 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Sorry I couldn't read your whole post but made it through most. My advice: weigh your food, if you're losing .5 lbs per week, you are overestimating your calorie burn, underestimating your caloric intake, and only in a deficit of about 250 calories per day. You need to tighten up.
I would also stop trying to get that 250 calorie burn from exercise and create your whole deficit with diet. If you exercise, eat back half the calories burned.
I have actually been underestimating my calorie burn for most of my workouts up until the last week because the gym machines didn't base it off my heart rate. I know all forms of measuring calorie expenditure except through direct measurement of oxygen consumption will be a bit off, but with my heart rate monitor i lose 400+ calories, compared to 260ish according to the machine. I didnt get the monitor until recently.
On days that I'm religiously logging, I log everything! A starburst I might have had, those two peanuts I ate, the tablespoon of coffemate I used, etc.
But where I agree might need a change is weighing, since everything is an estimation. My biggest problem is what happens if you go out somewhere and eat food that you have no idea how to record. You can't weigh because you can't carry a scale everywhere and sometimes you just have no idea how it was prepared. You try to look stuff up on MFP but it comes up with a hundred different options all with different calorie counts.
For example, friends went out to an all you can eat wings place. I wanted to join them but not eat 30 wings so I order a single plate of 10 wings. I have no idea how to determine what is the nutritional value of each wing?? It can vary so much on how it is prepared. So how many do I eat? I dont know. I knew not to add the bleu cheese dressing on the side, and avoiding the skin but then what? Another time I'm at a party with ethnic food and that is really tough to figure out cause you can't even search an equivalent. Do I stand around hungry, or say I'm not going to celebrate this event with you just because I have to find somewhere else to get food?
The entire point (for me) of logging as accurately as possible when I can is to make it matter less on those occasions when I am using an educated guess. When I eat at a party, I don't have to worry about whether or not it is going to throw me off too much because I feel very confident that the rest of the food I ate that day is accurately logged.
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coolcoci_115 wrote: »sunandmoons wrote: »I look at it this way...Its not a race. I didn't lose the first week and a half. Then boom at the end of five weeks I lost 8 pounds. Everyone is different. Keep up the good work. It will happen if you count every single calorie oh and condiments are crazy high..count them too.. Dont drink your calories.. keep your weight loss goals low. It will work. Keep it up!!!
That's what I thought. I might be one of those people that don't see a change and then "boom" lose a bunch. That's what I was told before... be patient. It may take a couple weeks. I stuck it out, week after week after week.... I do not drink any of my calories. Only diet cokes, nothing with actual sugar, no juices, no added sugar to coffee, nothing.
Exactly! :0)0 -
arditarose wrote: »The entire point (for me) of logging as accurately as possible when I can is to make it matter less on those occasions when I am using an educated guess. When I eat at a party, I don't have to worry about whether or not it is going to throw me off too much because I feel very confident that the rest of the food I ate that day is accurately logged.
So I do log the rest of the food for a day when I eat at a party. But i have no way of determining if I've gone over 500-1000 calories from just one meal.
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coolcoci_115 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »The entire point (for me) of logging as accurately as possible when I can is to make it matter less on those occasions when I am using an educated guess. When I eat at a party, I don't have to worry about whether or not it is going to throw me off too much because I feel very confident that the rest of the food I ate that day is accurately logged.
So I do log the rest of the food for a day when I eat at a party. But i have no way of determining if I've gone over 500-1000 calories from just one meal.
If you are solid with the rest of your logging, occasions where you may be off won't be as big of a deal.0 -
Just a few points:
- Weigh everything you can (I know you've accepted this but worth repeating).
- Don't go by prepackaged weights/serving sizes, weigh those items too.
- Regarding eating out and estimating, this should be the only area that estimating should be allowed, but you still need to log it. Most restaurants have nutrition information available online. If you're not sure or the information isn't easily available use an similar item. Ten wings from Wings-to-Go or the local bar may not be exactly the same but should get you in the ballpark.
- Your ticker indicates you only have 13 lbs to lose. Weight loss is slower as you get closer to your ideal weight.
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coolcoci_115 wrote: »Thinking maybe I was not working out hard enough, I purchased a heart rate monitor to keep track. I average a heart rate of 170-175 which is 86& to 88% of my maximum heart rate which falls underneath high intensity. I max out my heart rate for bout3-4 minutes total. So I maintain high intensity for about 20+ minutes of the workout. Some guy at an Orange Theory when I joined a free trial class told me that this is wrong and I should be in the fat burning zone, something like 60-70% of my heart rate. Well the problem is that within maybe 1-2 minutes of beginning to run I'm past this zone easily. So what am I supposed to walk at a comfortable pace for 30 minutes?? That doesn't feel like a workout.
Walk as fast as you need to go to keep your heart rate in the zone, if it isn't high enough do short jogs periodically to elevate it. 3.5 mph might be high enough. It doesn't have to "feel like a workout" if you increase your use of fat as a fuel for 30 minutes that's weight loss in action. Most people struggle to get rid of more than a gram of fat a minute so exercise is of constrained value.0 -
Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going. You can't just get in shape in the next 9 months and then give it up. While you still have some time, make the choice to weigh everything, learn healthier ways to eat, pre-package everything healthy you can for when there's no time to weigh and pack meals, etc., etc. Develop the habits now because at some point you will lose motivation - everyone does - and those habits will be all that will keep you going.
Just an afterthought - diet sodas are very unhealthy. True they have no calories, but do a little research into what artificial sweeteners do to your brain and your body.0 -
coolcoci_115 wrote: »shadowfax_c11 wrote: »Have you been using a food scale?
No I do not own a food scale but most of what I eat is prepackaged. The only thing that would probably do some good weighing is the chicken or shrimp. The way I have gotten around this is when I purchase the frozen pre-cooked chicken I utilize the weight of the entire bag, count the number of pieces of chicken inside and then divide the entire weight by the number of pieces. While some pieces are bigger than others, over time it adds up tto the weight of the bag.
theres your problem0 -
coolcoci_115 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »The entire point (for me) of logging as accurately as possible when I can is to make it matter less on those occasions when I am using an educated guess. When I eat at a party, I don't have to worry about whether or not it is going to throw me off too much because I feel very confident that the rest of the food I ate that day is accurately logged.
So I do log the rest of the food for a day when I eat at a party. But i have no way of determining if I've gone over 500-1000 calories from just one meal.
If you're weighing your food at home, and are very accurate there, you become even more accurate at guesstimating when you're out. I can guess pretty well down to the amount of GRAMS and ounces are in a meal when I'm out, add a tablespoon of olive oil, be generous with the dressing portions you log.0 -
coolcoci_115 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Sorry I couldn't read your whole post but made it through most. My advice: weigh your food, if you're losing .5 lbs per week, you are overestimating your calorie burn, underestimating your caloric intake, and only in a deficit of about 250 calories per day. You need to tighten up.
I would also stop trying to get that 250 calorie burn from exercise and create your whole deficit with diet. If you exercise, eat back half the calories burned.
I have actually been underestimating my calorie burn for most of my workouts up until the last week because the gym machines didn't base it off my heart rate. I know all forms of measuring calorie expenditure except through direct measurement of oxygen consumption will be a bit off, but with my heart rate monitor i lose 400+ calories, compared to 260ish according to the machine. I didnt get the monitor until recently.
On days that I'm religiously logging, I log everything! A starburst I might have had, those two peanuts I ate, the tablespoon of coffemate I used, etc.
But where I agree might need a change is weighing, since everything is an estimation. My biggest problem is what happens if you go out somewhere and eat food that you have no idea how to record. You can't weigh because you can't carry a scale everywhere and sometimes you just have no idea how it was prepared. You try to look stuff up on MFP but it comes up with a hundred different options all with different calorie counts.
For example, friends went out to an all you can eat wings place. I wanted to join them but not eat 30 wings so I order a single plate of 10 wings. I have no idea how to determine what is the nutritional value of each wing?? It can vary so much on how it is prepared. So how many do I eat? I dont know. I knew not to add the bleu cheese dressing on the side, and avoiding the skin but then what? Another time I'm at a party with ethnic food and that is really tough to figure out cause you can't even search an equivalent. Do I stand around hungry, or say I'm not going to celebrate this event with you just because I have to find somewhere else to get food?
Many restaurants can give you the nutrition info if you ask for it. That can help get you close. When I am estimating something that I don't have the info for and there are lots of entries, I try to pick a mid-high one figuring that at least if it is underestimating, it will be underestimating less than if I picked the lowest one there.0 -
I started in April 2013 and aimed for .5 pounds a week loss. It has not been a major battle , even though I have no thyroid, have RA for more than 50 years and now also have active Lupus. In April I had two heart attacks caused by Lupus ( and not by an unhealthy lifestyle ) and through all this I lost .5 pounds a week and now have lost over 65 pounds and feel confident that I can keep it off. I would not feel the same had I lost the weight the " fast " way .
Also, I am not tall and young enough to get a lot of calories to begin with, so a 500 calorie deficit is the best I can do. But what counts is that I did it, even though it took time. You will also have to accept that it will take the time your body needs, unless you want to give up, which should not be an option.
Patience and good Luck !0 -
arditarose wrote: »coolcoci_115 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »The entire point (for me) of logging as accurately as possible when I can is to make it matter less on those occasions when I am using an educated guess. When I eat at a party, I don't have to worry about whether or not it is going to throw me off too much because I feel very confident that the rest of the food I ate that day is accurately logged.
So I do log the rest of the food for a day when I eat at a party. But i have no way of determining if I've gone over 500-1000 calories from just one meal.
If you're weighing your food at home, and are very accurate there, you become even more accurate at guesstimating when you're out. I can guess pretty well down to the amount of GRAMS and ounces are in a meal when I'm out, add a tablespoon of olive oil, be generous with the dressing portions you log.
So true. Condiments are loaded with calories. I always add a few extra calories to everything when dining out. Its hard to believe some of the calorie content that is provided to be true as serving sizes are not always the same. Most of the time I just eat half of it anyway. Not a big fan of dining out....although its nice not having to wash the dinner dishes!0 -
The first few weeks you're a resident, you're going to lose like crazy as you get used to that adjustment. When I went from being a student to being on the floor, I swear it was like 15lbs that month.
Aside, take this time to learn how to do it right, so when you don't have time to do it right, the habit is already ingrained. In 9 months, logging, counting, meal prep, all of this can be second nature if you just commit to it.
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coolcoci_115 wrote: »
I have actually been underestimating my calorie burn for most of my workouts up until the last week because the gym machines didn't base it off my heart rate. I know all forms of measuring calorie expenditure except through direct measurement of oxygen consumption will be a bit off, but with my heart rate monitor i lose 400+ calories, compared to 260ish according to the machine. I didnt get the monitor until recently.
On days that I'm religiously logging, I log everything! A starburst I might have had, those two peanuts I ate, the tablespoon of coffemate I used, etc.
But where I agree might need a change is weighing, since everything is an estimation. My biggest problem is what happens if you go out somewhere and eat food that you have no idea how to record. You can't weigh because you can't carry a scale everywhere and sometimes you just have no idea how it was prepared. You try to look stuff up on MFP but it comes up with a hundred different options all with different calorie counts.
For example, friends went out to an all you can eat wings place. I wanted to join them but not eat 30 wings so I order a single plate of 10 wings. I have no idea how to determine what is the nutritional value of each wing?? It can vary so much on how it is prepared. So how many do I eat? I dont know. I knew not to add the bleu cheese dressing on the side, and avoiding the skin but then what? Another time I'm at a party with ethnic food and that is really tough to figure out cause you can't even search an equivalent. Do I stand around hungry, or say I'm not going to celebrate this event with you just because I have to find somewhere else to get food?
I thought it was fairly evident biggest issues were that you were eating out lunch every single day and basically not logging weekends.
Go through Chili's/Outback/whatever nutritional information and it is JARRING. That "Chicken Salad" has 1600 calories and two days worth of sodium, and a family's worth of sat fat. Eating out a meal every day takes the power you have and gives it away. Do you really think there is nothing else but pure grilled chicken and veggies on that plate? I would be shocked if you could find a decent meal out for 400 calories (I would bet you are under by more than half). But toss some known quantities in a bag and bring it with you and you have certainty back and your numbers remain true. And giving yourself freedom on weekends is one thing. Not considering the impact of those calories is another. I find keeping myself honest during a "cheat occasion" is far more important that having an extra 100 calories for a late night snack. Because when you are around bad foods and not worrying about calories the variances can skyrocket.
For me it was more about learning my "leaks" and patching them along the way. The farther along you get the harder it gets to reach the necessary deficits. I still indulge periodically but when I do I am careful not to let it get out of hand and I have certainty in what is going into my belly.0 -
I didn't have fast weight loss when I first started. But then, I started slow.
Here's the thing: you're in the process of retraining your brain and body to what a proper portion of food is. THAT is what will make you succeed long term. Yes, it's slow. It's taken me 3 years to lose 48lbs, but in that time I've gotten used to eating smaller portions of things, not eating full meals at restaurants, learned how to portion out my favorite foods, and in general balance my calories better. I still screw up, and I still log because if I don't, I start losing track, but I'm finding that I'm usually under my calorie goal for the day now and I'm not hungry, even with estimating.
When you're starting out, though, you do need to weigh EVERYTHING you eat. Yes, it's a pain in the *kitten*! But you have to be accurate so you can see where you're coming from and what adjustments you need to make. Yes, it will take a few weeks to start making adjustments that will work for you. So yes, it is slow. But you're making changes to your eating habits that will make sure the weight STAYS off in the future, and changing habits takes a long time.
Also exercise? Not needed for weight loss. At all. I didn't lose weight from exercise. I HATE exercising, I would much rather be doing other things, and not just because I'm lazy! So I controlled my calories just by what I ate and left exercise alone. Now, it's good for other things, and I have started walking with an app I like because I want to get my asthma under control, but I only end up burning 200-300 calories with my walks, which is simply an extra snack on days I do it. Or an extra breadstick. XD So if you don't like exercise, don't do it right now. Focus on controlling your food intake, and you can add in exercise slowly later on down the road for it's other benefits.Coolhandkid wrote: »For me it was more about learning my "leaks" and patching them along the way. The farther along you get the harder it gets to reach the necessary deficits. I still indulge periodically but when I do I am careful not to let it get out of hand and I have certainty in what is going into my belly.
This is exactly what I'm talking about. Learn your eating patterns and find ways to adjust them so that your calorie intake lowers.0 -
Coolhandkid wrote: »
I thought it was fairly evident biggest issues were that you were eating out lunch every single day and basically not logging weekends.
Go through Chili's/Outback/whatever nutritional information and it is JARRING. That "Chicken Salad" has 1600 calories and two days worth of sodium, and a family's worth of sat fat. Eating out a meal every day takes the power you have and gives it away. Do you really think there is nothing else but pure grilled chicken and veggies on that plate? I would be shocked if you could find a decent meal out for 400 calories (I would bet you are under by more than half). But toss some known quantities in a bag and bring it with you and you have certainty back and your numbers remain true. And giving yourself freedom on weekends is one thing. Not considering the impact of those calories is another. I find keeping myself honest during a "cheat occasion" is far more important that having an extra 100 calories for a late night snack. Because when you are around bad foods and not worrying about calories the variances can skyrocket.
For me it was more about learning my "leaks" and patching them along the way. The farther along you get the harder it gets to reach the necessary deficits. I still indulge periodically but when I do I am careful not to let it get out of hand and I have certainty in what is going into my belly.
I think I being a little misinterpreted about the whole weekend thing. I never have consciously told myself " I can cheat on the weekend" or for any meal for that mater. Anytime I ever eat out at a restaurant with nutritional information available I always look up before choosing my meal. Example: I frequent Panera Bread and learned not to get the side order of french baguette to stick with the 1/2 apple chicken salad + 1/2 lemon chicken orzo which amounts to something like 450 calories. I was on the road recently, driving long distance, and needed to find food. I did stop at a McDonald's and ordered a Grilled Chicken Sandwich that was 350 calories. Now what the sodium content in that is a whole another story. I never blindly go in a restaurant and just binge. And if I'm at a sit down for the most part I only eat half of my meal. That is not because of calorie counting though, I've always had a small stomach I just can't fit that much food all at once.
But I have come across multiple local restaurants that do not publish nutritional information and for which i have no way of figuring out how to measure. Example: fancy downtown place I ordered quail cooked over a bed of strangely sweet beans with peach crisps. There is no way of figuring that one out. Maybe it was a little, maybe it was a lot. The quail was tiny but who knows.
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I have a couple of questions for you:
(1) You acknowledge some sources for possible error in your calorie counting -- like going to restaurants. How often is this happening? If it's only once a week or less, you're probably okay, but if it's several times per week, this could be the source of your issue. Calorie counts in restaurants are notoriously inaccurate (sometimes up to 30%), so you could be killing your deficit you've created the rest of the week right there.
(2) If you're pretty confident in your calorie counting and the potential sources of error are few, what are your numbers? From what I was able to gather from your initial post is that you believe you're eating at an average daily deficit of about 750 cals but only seeing weight loss in terms of 250 cals. Is that accurate? If so, do you know your macro break down approximately? It's possible that you may see better results from a shift in macros (but cals staying the same), but before I suggest anything, it would be helpful to see your cals and macros generally.
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Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going. You can't just get in shape in the next 9 months and then give it up. While you still have some time, make the choice to weigh everything, learn healthier ways to eat, pre-package everything healthy you can for when there's no time to weigh and pack meals, etc., etc. Develop the habits now because at some point you will lose motivation - everyone does - and those habits will be all that will keep you going.
Just an afterthought - diet sodas are very unhealthy. True they have no calories, but do a little research into what artificial sweeteners do to your brain and your body.
This!!!0 -
Also exercise? Not needed for weight loss. At all. I didn't lose weight from exercise. So if you don't like exercise, don't do it right now. Focus on controlling your food intake, and you can add in exercise slowly later on down the road for it's other benefits.
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This. I spent almost a year losing 1 pound a month while I educated myself and developed the necessary habits to change my eating. Now the habits are finally ingrained and I've lost 7 pounds in the past month. Without any exercise. I have a health problem that restricts my breathing and I can't exercise right now. I'm going to try to incorporate it very, very slowly into my lifestyle strictly for its other benefits.
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Sounds pretty good to me, you get to live life, enjoy birthdays and weddings as well as weekends away, dinners out and still losing half a pound a week.....not sure what the problem is exactly
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