confused ;;

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Hey everyone :>
So.. I've been logging @ 1200- 1400 calories a day for a week now.
And instead of losing any weight I actually gained a pound. >:U
I know some people will say that's too little calories but, given I've gained
a pound on this, wouldn't it be even more if I had higher calorie limit?
That's how I was doing my calories when I went from 280 to 180lbs but,
I gained back some this year(severe depression issues) and now I'm at 220 again.
But now I'm starting again on my first week and having this familiar issue that always gets me
when I first start.. Whats going on? I forgot how I got past this before.. ;~;
I haven't done any exercises yet, but I plan to start that today. Any advice?
;~;
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Replies

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    First question, are you weighing your food?
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
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    Here's a great chart from lemonlionheart:
    thhv8maywd9c.jpg
  • accioavocado
    accioavocado Posts: 13 Member
    edited October 2015
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    First question, are you weighing your food?

    oo... I havent ever done that.. does that change things a lot?
    hmm.. Maybe I should eat a smaller volume of food then?
    I dont eat much at one time though...
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    You might be eating a little more than you think. Eyeballing food can be deceiving.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    acioskinny wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    First question, are you weighing your food?

    oo... I havent ever done that.. does that change things a lot?
    hmm.. Maybe I should eat a smaller volume of food then?

    If your not weighing your food, you are probably consuming more calories than you think.
    Food scales are pretty inexpensive and require less clean up than measuring cups.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    If you are at 220 and not losing weight, you're eating more than 1200-1400 a day.

    A properly used food scale would be very helpful
  • Virkati
    Virkati Posts: 679 Member
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    Weighing your food on a digital food scale can, and probably will, make all the difference in the world about how many calories you are actually consuming. Most foods can be weighed using grams instead of ounces. You can fudge an ounce, fudging grams is much more difficult.
  • accioavocado
    accioavocado Posts: 13 Member
    edited October 2015
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    ... does everyone here weigh their food? xD
    I guess i'll look into it.. things I eat are veg/fruit/protien stuff.
    or a vegie tv dinner(280 cal) and a plum. that sort of thing..
    I have IBS so I dont eat much diary, or carbs.. or meat at all..
    I read all the calories on things too.. is there a guide to how much
    each meal is supposed to weigh, that you guys found helpful?
    I have no clue about weighing stuff.. thank you guys for the replies! ;~;
  • accioavocado
    accioavocado Posts: 13 Member
    edited October 2015
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    srry
  • accioavocado
    accioavocado Posts: 13 Member
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    what about like tv dinners and protien bars that specify the cals?
    or like a raw apple or half a cucumber type thing?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited October 2015
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    acioskinny wrote: »
    ... does everyone here weigh their food? xD
    I guess i'll look into it.. things I eat are veg/fruit/protien stuff.
    or a vegie tv dinner(280 cal) and a plum. that sort of thing..
    I have IBS so I dont eat much diary, or carbs.. or meat at all..
    I read all the calories on things too.. is there a guide to how much
    each meal is supposed to weigh, that you guys found helpful?
    I have no clue about weighing stuff.. thank you guys for the replies! ;~;

    Not everyone no, but a lot of us do yes.

    There isn't a specific weight for a meal. However, most foods tell you on the package how much a serving should weigh. Example:
    my son's box of honey graham crackers
    Serving size: 2 Crackers ( 32g )
    Calories: 130

    What it says is that a serving size should weigh 32 g for 130 calories. If it weighs less, then it would be less than 130 calories and if it weighs more, than it's more than 130 calories.

    For fresh fruits and veggies, the usda gives calorie information per 100 g. Frozen fruits and veggies will have a weight on the bag for a serving size with the calories. Bagged lettuce is usually like 88 g a serving, but if you don't buy it bagged then you'd just weigh out how much you want to eat and log it by the USDA information for it.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    No, you wouldn't have lost more if you'd eaten more. Yes, eating less is the key to losing more.

    Give it some time.

    When you begin exercising, you may put on a couple pounds. That's natural. So don't freak out next week if you get on the scale and go up another pound. :)
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    acioskinny wrote: »
    what about like tv dinners and protien bars that specify the cals?
    or like a raw apple or half a cucumber type thing?

    I typically get protein bars that weigh more than they should. I don't eat tv dinners enough to worry about it.

    I weigh all fruits and veggies. Half an apple will vary in calories because not all apples are the same size. Half of a 150 g apple is going to be more calories than half of a 100 g apple. Same goes for cucumbers or any other fruit/veggie.
  • Virkati
    Virkati Posts: 679 Member
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    acioskinny wrote: »
    what about like tv dinners and protien bars that specify the cals?
    or like a raw apple or half a cucumber type thing?

    A raw apple that is weighed on a scale, according to the USDA nutrient database, has a specific calorie content along with all the other nutritional information you need. Same with half a cucumber. *A cucumber that looks the same as another, feels like it weighs the same as another, most likely doesn't weigh the same as the other. In which case, the calories for each half of each cucumber will be different* The only way you'll know for sure is to weigh it on a food scale.
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
    edited October 2015
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    I didn't weigh food at first. When I read all the forum posts of people who wanted help because they were not losing or worse yet gaining, it became clear how important weighing food was to weight loss. I play a game where I guess what a serving is and then weigh. I suck at eyeballing. I was almost always wrong, which lead to underestimating the calories I was consuming. The same thing with exercise burns, I was guessing I had walked faster and farther than I really walked before my Fitbit.
  • accioavocado
    accioavocado Posts: 13 Member
    edited October 2015
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    Thank you guys for your advice :> It helps me a lot to rethink things and
    be more accurate. and I guess more patience..

  • accioavocado
    accioavocado Posts: 13 Member
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    Kalikel wrote: »
    No, you wouldn't have lost more if you'd eaten more. Yes, eating less is the key to losing more.

    Give it some time.

    When you begin exercising, you may put on a couple pounds. That's natural. So don't freak out next week if you get on the scale and go up another pound. :)

    :>