Getting frustrated

pierson_lauren · January 2016

I've been on a weight loss since Jan 1. I know new year new me. Not nessesarliy but I guess that works lol. So I've been eating under calorie goal everyday. I completly changed my eating habits meaning making my meals and cutting out processed food and sweets and fizzy drinks (minus sugar free red bull I have every now and thwn) I started at 190.. I have not budged at all. I am exactly where I started. I know it's not been very long but still. I completly changed. Went from eating absolute cap to this and still nothibg. I excersise almost everyday. Usually 20-30 min on the elpitical, then some other varies. What am I doing wrong or am I just being silly?
I am 20 years old.
I am 5'6
Currently 190 lbs
Female

Please help

zoeysasha37 · January 2016

Weight loss comes down to calories. It makes no difference what foods you ate or didn't eat. In order to lose weight a calorie deficit is needed.
How many calories are you eating ? Have you used a food scale to weigh ALL YOUR SOLIDS and a measuring cup to measure your liquids ?

mbellot05 · January 2016

I am not an expert by any stretch, but I would say maybe have your DR. check your thyroid. Also, if you are already using a food scale great, but if not I would suggest it. I used to not have a scale, and my results were spotty because a lot of foods that you "measure" really need to be weighed.

Also, some light weights may help add a bit of muscle, but since you're a woman you will not bulk up. Believe me I have some college friends they lift weights, but don't bulk up.

Sounds like you are off to a good start from a process stand point. Don't get discouraged the answer and results are out there even if it does not seem like it.

Best of luck

Suzanne106 · January 2016

It sounds like you're not eating enough. You need food for fuel and it sounds like because you are under the recommended caloric intake your body is hanging on to the fat. I had the same problem and kicked up the caloric intake to the recommended calories and dropped 12 lbs along with exercise of course. Give that a try

pierson_lauren · January 2016

I don't have a scale no. I use mea sure cups. I realize I should get a scale but still.. I should've budged. My mom went on weight watchers which is very similar to this and has already lost 7 lbs since the 1st. And she eats whatever she wants within her goal and barley works out ever.

pierson_lauren · January 2016

I am at my recommendation. After putting my info it's at a 1200 calorie diet. I usually eat between 1000 and 1300. And excersise

BioQueen · January 2016

I would vote for trying to use a scale. I changed and my logging got MUCH more accurate. I started at 181 and I'm down to 140. Also if you just started exercising too that might mask some weight loss. I tend to hold water when I start a new type of exercise.

diannethegeek · January 2016

1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

pierson_lauren · January 2016

diannethegeek wrote: »

1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

Thank you. Lots on insightful things! Let's hope nothing is like wrong with me. The weirdest thing is my clothes don't fit as well as they did. I have seen people say I've lost weight but my problem is are they just saying that because they know I'm trying to lose weight? Or maybe my clothes fit the same but for some reason I feel like I'm losing weight because of all the "progress" I'm making??

amy_j28 · January 2016

I looked back through your diary and there are numerous days that you haven't logged a single thing. The first step is to make sure you are logging everything you eat. A food scale really does come in handy!

kcelin · January 2016

Talk to your Doctor first, but what is your Macro nutrient breakdown? For women, unfortunately, the protein recommendation is around 30-40 grams/day. This is not even close to what you should have when trying to lose weight and gain muscle. This is my aim every day and it has really helped me:

>100 gm protein/day
</100 gm of carbs/day
>25 grams of fiber (I use AdvoCare's fiber drink supplement to add additional in a day)

When you cut out processed carbs (breads, pastas, grains) and only get them from produce sources, it is really easy to drop the count in a day. Add in a baked sweet potato as they are a fantastic and nutritious source of all kinds of stuff and it offers a bit of sweetness and carb. Fat grams/day is nothing I pay attention to since I'm getting quality food throughout my day. Fat is not the enemy in our diets - it's the low protein and high carb/"whole grain" crap.

By no means am I a physician, but try to increase protein, fiber and minimize carbs. You will see a change and remember the H2O!! The amount of water you need in a day is equal in ounces to your body weight divided by 2.

Keep going!! You may not see much change on the outside yet, but I guarantee your body is healthier on the inside!! The outside will follow suit soon!

pierson_lauren · January 2016

Ya.. I did not log some days that's true.. it'll either be too under where it won't let me post or I forgot. But I eat almost the same everyday! Honestly yes I ate carp but I only ate maybe 2 meals a day??this extra eating is killing me. This 1200 calorie diet and the food I chose to eat have me stuffed and then it says I need more? Idk I'm just a mess

amy_j28 · January 2016

I used this website to figure out my calorie goals : http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ -MFP set me at 1200 originally, it was much too low and there was no way I could eat that little. For some, 1200 calories is sustainable, but for others we need to up our calories to lose weight - you have to find what works for you. I tend to go on binges if I don't eat enough throughout the week (which ruins any progress I may have made, frustrating cycle!).

pierson_lauren · January 2016

amy_j28 wrote: »

I used this website to figure out my calorie goals : http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ -MFP set me at 1200 originally, it was much too low and there was no way I could eat that little. For some, 1200 calories is sustainable, but for others we need to up our calories to lose weight - you have to find what works for you. I tend to go on binges if I don't eat enough throughout the week (which ruins any progress I may have made, frustrating cycle!).

I feel like I'm eating fine. Almost as if it's too much.

seska422 · January 2016

pierson_lauren wrote: »

amy_j28 wrote: »

I used this website to figure out my calorie goals : http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ -MFP set me at 1200 originally, it was much too low and there was no way I could eat that little. For some, 1200 calories is sustainable, but for others we need to up our calories to lose weight - you have to find what works for you. I tend to go on binges if I don't eat enough throughout the week (which ruins any progress I may have made, frustrating cycle!).

I feel like I'm eating fine. Almost as if it's too much.

"Feel" isn't data. You need data from accurately logging all of your calorie intake so that you can look back through it and look for where you want to make adjustments if you aren't getting the results you expect.

Getting frustrated

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