My weight loss/protein problem. Please Help!
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ironette
Posts: 21 Member
Hi, my name is Stacie. Approximately a month ago I started to exercise and calorie count again. A week into this change I overhauled the extent of my diet and geared it towards high protein, low fat, and moderate carbs. Myfitnesspal has my goal protein 60g a day. I am regularly exceeding that goal at 20g+ or more, most days. My carbs are generally under or at goal range, as is my fat. I exercise daily (currently one month into the Beachbody PiYo program) and run on that program's rest day. I also bowl once a week on a team. My daily routine is commonly a cookie dough quest bar in the morning, a snack (banana, apple, or chips and salsa, etc.), then an entree and side for lunch (usually a sandwich and greek yogurt or chips), and then dinner is a shakeology shake and maybe a small meal depending on my day. I do have a 12oz can of diet coke in the morning and drink water the rest of the day. I exercise at 9-11pm most nights (I am a night-shift RN. I don't do mornings well). I drink 60-70oz or more of water a day which is frequently flavored with lipton tea&honey. My sleep is somewhat sporadic in relation to working night shift but I tend to get 5-6 straight hours of sleep with a few other hours throughout the day though I get 8+hours of sleep going to into my days off. I have an 18 month old which sometimes makes sleeping complicated. I have newly purchased a fitbit ChargeHR.
I tell you all this to communicate that my weight loss has been slow this time around. Despite putting my goal at 2lb loss per week I have only lost approximately 5lbs since starting a month ago. I was wondering if there was something I'm missing like: maybe I'm losing inches instead of weight? I didn't take starting measurements so I can only guess here) or maybe I'm lacking in fruit and vegetables? (I like my vegetables cooked and am generally not a vegetable eater) but I don't know. My goal is to be 140-130 by late May and I was hoping someone with experience could assist me in maximizing my results.
I tell you all this to communicate that my weight loss has been slow this time around. Despite putting my goal at 2lb loss per week I have only lost approximately 5lbs since starting a month ago. I was wondering if there was something I'm missing like: maybe I'm losing inches instead of weight? I didn't take starting measurements so I can only guess here) or maybe I'm lacking in fruit and vegetables? (I like my vegetables cooked and am generally not a vegetable eater) but I don't know. My goal is to be 140-130 by late May and I was hoping someone with experience could assist me in maximizing my results.
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Replies
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From your 60 g goal for protein, it looks like you are set for 1200 calories. That's the lowest female goal that MFP will give. If you are close to goal, you won't be able to lose 2 pounds per week because a 1000 calorie deficit would put you under 1200 calories. Five pounds lost in one month is great! That's a victory! Don't be disappointed by it. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.
80 grams of protein is fine. 100 grams would be fine. Macro goals have ranges and you need to tweak them to work for your way of eating while you get enough protein, fat, and overall nutrients.
Dietary Reference Intakes: Macronutrients0 -
Starting up an exercise routine after a long time off can cause your body to retain more fluids ( part of the repair needs ). Other water retention factors to consider are carb and salt intake, which will cause retention.
Additionally, normal changes during your cycle will cause your weight to vary drastically due to retention.
Other factors to consider are accuracy of loging as well as accuracy of measurements. If you dont have a food scale, get one. Make weighing yourself a ritual ( same time, same conditions ), like right after you wake up on Sat.
Make sure you are loging everything, accurately.
Realize also that the recommendations are only guidelines, not hard facts/figures. And lastly, MFP wont recommend < 1200 kcal/day for a female, regardless of what you enter as your goal. Without knowing your current stats, dont know if you are being limited by safety features or not, but you may be.0 -
You are losing weight but this has good advice so you might want to read through it:
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From your 60 g goal for protein, it looks like you are set for 1200 calories. That's the lowest female goal that MFP will give. If you are close to goal, you won't be able to lose 2 pounds per week because a 1000 calorie deficit would put you under 1200 calories. Five pounds lost in one month is great! That's a victory! Don't be disappointed by it. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.
80 grams of protein is fine. 100 grams would be fine. Macro goals have ranges and you need to tweak them to work for your way of eating while you get enough protein, fat, and overall nutrients.
Dietary Reference Intakes: Macronutrients
Im not sure i understand the first part of your post0 -
Starting up an exercise routine after a long time off can cause your body to retain more fluids ( part of the repair needs ). Other water retention factors to consider are carb and salt intake, which will cause retention.
Additionally, normal changes during your cycle will cause your weight to vary drastically due to retention.
Other factors to consider are accuracy of loging as well as accuracy of measurements. If you dont have a food scale, get one. Make weighing yourself a ritual ( same time, same conditions ), like right after you wake up on Sat.
Make sure you are loging everything, accurately.
Realize also that the recommendations are only guidelines, not hard facts/figures. And lastly, MFP wont recommend < 1200 kcal/day for a female, regardless of what you enter as your goal. Without knowing your current stats, dont know if you are being limited by safety features or not, but you may be.
What stats do you need to know0 -
From your 60 g goal for protein, it looks like you are set for 1200 calories. That's the lowest female goal that MFP will give. If you are close to goal, you won't be able to lose 2 pounds per week because a 1000 calorie deficit would put you under 1200 calories. Five pounds lost in one month is great! That's a victory! Don't be disappointed by it. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.
80 grams of protein is fine. 100 grams would be fine. Macro goals have ranges and you need to tweak them to work for your way of eating while you get enough protein, fat, and overall nutrients.
Dietary Reference Intakes: Macronutrients
Im not sure i understand the first part of your post
The default MFP macros for 1200 calories are 150 g carbs, 60 g protein, and 40 g fat since they split the calories 50%C-20%P-30%F. You can adjust those percentages in 5% increments if you want to customize your macros on the free version of MFP. You can adjust by grams if you enroll in the premium version.
You can choose two pounds per week and MFP still not give you a calorie goal that will actually result in a two pound per week loss. Let's say that your maintenance calorie level (how much you need to eat to stay at your current weight) is 1900 calories. In order to lose two pounds per week, you would need to eat 1000 fewer calories per day (7000 per week) than your maintenance calories since it takes about 3500 calories of deficit to lose a pound. That would leave you 900 calories per day. However, that's not a safe goal. The minimum goal for women is 1200 calories and that's the lowest goal that MFP will give you. That would give you a 700 calorie per day deficit which is just under 1.5 pounds per week. Plus, that's just an average because weight loss isn't linear and the numbers are estimates.0 -
Stacie, a few questions, and I promise a substantial reply if you answer them.
1. What are your current stats and what are your goal stats? Age, bodyweight, height, waist or hip circumference, bodyfat % (if you had it taken with a reliable measurement technique)
2. How long have you been dieting without at least a 2 month break?
3. How many calories do you estrimate you were eating before you started counting a month ago and how many calories are you eating now?
4. When you say high protein, low fat, moderate carb, how high and how low as a % of calories? Are you at 50% protein, 10% fat, 40% carb? 1/3 each?0 -
giantwisdom wrote: »Stacie, a few questions, and I promise a substantial reply if you answer them.
1. What are your current stats and what are your goal stats? Age, bodyweight, height, waist or hip circumference, bodyfat % (if you had it taken with a reliable measurement technique)
2. How long have you been dieting without at least a 2 month break?
3. How many calories do you estrimate you were eating before you started counting a month ago and how many calories are you eating now?
4. When you say high protein, low fat, moderate carb, how high and how low as a % of calories? Are you at 50% protein, 10% fat, 40% carb? 1/3 each?
Im 25. 5'3" 150.8 lbs. Don't have other stats. I have been dieting about 4-5 weeks. I was eating fast food regularly and junk food and soda so approximately alot lol. I'm eating about 1000-1300 a day. I'm generally hitting the macros set up by mfp.0 -
giantwisdom wrote: »Stacie, a few questions, and I promise a substantial reply if you answer them.
1. What are your current stats and what are your goal stats? Age, bodyweight, height, waist or hip circumference, bodyfat % (if you had it taken with a reliable measurement technique)
2. How long have you been dieting without at least a 2 month break?
3. How many calories do you estrimate you were eating before you started counting a month ago and how many calories are you eating now?
4. When you say high protein, low fat, moderate carb, how high and how low as a % of calories? Are you at 50% protein, 10% fat, 40% carb? 1/3 each?
Im 25. 5'3" 150.8 lbs. Don't have other stats. I have been dieting about 4-5 weeks. I was eating fast food regularly and junk food and soda so approximately alot lol. I'm eating about 1000-1300 a day. I'm generally hitting the macros set up by mfp.
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From your 60 g goal for protein, it looks like you are set for 1200 calories. That's the lowest female goal that MFP will give. If you are close to goal, you won't be able to lose 2 pounds per week because a 1000 calorie deficit would put you under 1200 calories. Five pounds lost in one month is great! That's a victory! Don't be disappointed by it. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.
80 grams of protein is fine. 100 grams would be fine. Macro goals have ranges and you need to tweak them to work for your way of eating while you get enough protein, fat, and overall nutrients.
Dietary Reference Intakes: Macronutrients
Im not sure i understand the first part of your post
The default MFP macros for 1200 calories are 150 g carbs, 60 g protein, and 40 g fat since they split the calories 50%C-20%P-30%F. You can adjust those percentages in 5% increments if you want to customize your macros on the free version of MFP. You can adjust by grams if you enroll in the premium version.
You can choose two pounds per week and MFP still not give you a calorie goal that will actually result in a two pound per week loss. Let's say that your maintenance calorie level (how much you need to eat to stay at your current weight) is 1900 calories. In order to lose two pounds per week, you would need to eat 1000 fewer calories per day (7000 per week) than your maintenance calories since it takes about 3500 calories of deficit to lose a pound. That would leave you 900 calories per day. However, that's not a safe goal. The minimum goal for women is 1200 calories and that's the lowest goal that MFP will give you. That would give you a 700 calorie per day deficit which is just under 1.5 pounds per week. Plus, that's just an average because weight loss isn't linear and the numbers are estimates.
So should i adjust my goal 1.5 loss a week and change my macros somehow?0 -
You take measurements and not just rely on the scale. The scale is only one indicator for a transformation. The mirror and before and after pics work well also. Anyone feel free to add me.0
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From your 60 g goal for protein, it looks like you are set for 1200 calories. That's the lowest female goal that MFP will give. If you are close to goal, you won't be able to lose 2 pounds per week because a 1000 calorie deficit would put you under 1200 calories. Five pounds lost in one month is great! That's a victory! Don't be disappointed by it. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.
80 grams of protein is fine. 100 grams would be fine. Macro goals have ranges and you need to tweak them to work for your way of eating while you get enough protein, fat, and overall nutrients.
Dietary Reference Intakes: Macronutrients
Im not sure i understand the first part of your post
The default MFP macros for 1200 calories are 150 g carbs, 60 g protein, and 40 g fat since they split the calories 50%C-20%P-30%F. You can adjust those percentages in 5% increments if you want to customize your macros on the free version of MFP. You can adjust by grams if you enroll in the premium version.
You can choose two pounds per week and MFP still not give you a calorie goal that will actually result in a two pound per week loss. Let's say that your maintenance calorie level (how much you need to eat to stay at your current weight) is 1900 calories. In order to lose two pounds per week, you would need to eat 1000 fewer calories per day (7000 per week) than your maintenance calories since it takes about 3500 calories of deficit to lose a pound. That would leave you 900 calories per day. However, that's not a safe goal. The minimum goal for women is 1200 calories and that's the lowest goal that MFP will give you. That would give you a 700 calorie per day deficit which is just under 1.5 pounds per week. Plus, that's just an average because weight loss isn't linear and the numbers are estimates.
So should i adjust my goal 1.5 loss a week and change my macros somehow?
You said you weigh 150 so your goal should be either 0.5 or 1 pound per week. The smaller you are, the slower the weight loss.
You don't need to adjust the macros if you don't want to do so. If you want to bump up your protein percentage (since you tend to go over on that) you can make adjustments to your goals on the website through My Home > Goals and then click Edit beside Daily Nutrition Goals. You might like 45%C-30%F-25%P better than the default.0 -
The smaller you are, the slower the weight loss will be; but you should notice your body changing. And 5 pounds in 4 weeks is great! Good job! Don't be so hard on yourself - you did well!
I would encourage you to eat AT LEAST 1200 calories per day. I'm worried that you're not getting enough calories, especially since you're exercising.
How long do you exercise for and what do you do? Do you know how many calories you burn when exercising?
If you are burning more than 200 calories per day, you need to bump your calories up so that you still have 1200 calories minimum after subtracting the exercise calories.
A couple years ago, I was 20 pounds above your weight and exercising 1.5 hours/day and eating 1400-1600 calories. I had very slow weight loss but I saw my body changing. My went down from a 16 to a 6, even though I didn't see much weight drop. My friend lost weight faster than I did but she didn't see as much of a change in her overall size as quickly as I did. So give it time since everyone's body is different. I think that you could definitely lose 12 pounds by the end of May.0 -
If you don't have bodyfat %, please estimate it visually using these pictures: http://www.ruled.me/visually-estimate-body-fat-percentage/giantwisdom wrote: »Stacie, a few questions, and I promise a substantial reply if you answer them.
1. What are your current stats and what are your goal stats? Age, bodyweight, height, waist or hip circumference, bodyfat % (if you had it taken with a reliable measurement technique)
2. How long have you been dieting without at least a 2 month break?
3. How many calories do you estrimate you were eating before you started counting a month ago and how many calories are you eating now?
4. When you say high protein, low fat, moderate carb, how high and how low as a % of calories? Are you at 50% protein, 10% fat, 40% carb? 1/3 each?
Im 25. 5'3" 150.8 lbs. Don't have other stats. I have been dieting about 4-5 weeks. I was eating fast food regularly and junk food and soda so approximately alot lol. I'm eating about 1000-1300 a day. I'm generally hitting the macros set up by mfp.
This is actually quite important, because your answer is relevant to how much you should be eating and how well your body is able to process carbs (i.e. how sensitive you are to insulin).
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giantwisdom wrote: »
If you don't have bodyfat %, please estimate it visually using these pictures: http://www.ruled.me/visually-estimate-body-fat-percentage/giantwisdom wrote: »Stacie, a few questions, and I promise a substantial reply if you answer them.
1. What are your current stats and what are your goal stats? Age, bodyweight, height, waist or hip circumference, bodyfat % (if you had it taken with a reliable measurement technique)
2. How long have you been dieting without at least a 2 month break?
3. How many calories do you estrimate you were eating before you started counting a month ago and how many calories are you eating now?
4. When you say high protein, low fat, moderate carb, how high and how low as a % of calories? Are you at 50% protein, 10% fat, 40% carb? 1/3 each?
Im 25. 5'3" 150.8 lbs. Don't have other stats. I have been dieting about 4-5 weeks. I was eating fast food regularly and junk food and soda so approximately alot lol. I'm eating about 1000-1300 a day. I'm generally hitting the macros set up by mfp.
This is actually quite important, because your answer is relevant to how much you should be eating and how well your body is able to process carbs (i.e. how sensitive you are to insulin).
I think I'm closest to 34-35% body fat. My ww scale "calculates" it too but i don't know how reliable that is.0 -
BrandyGanus wrote: »The smaller you are, the slower the weight loss will be; but you should notice your body changing. And 5 pounds in 4 weeks is great! Good job! Don't be so hard on yourself - you did well!
I would encourage you to eat AT LEAST 1200 calories per day. I'm worried that you're not getting enough calories, especially since you're exercising.
How long do you exercise for and what do you do? Do you know how many calories you burn when exercising?
If you are burning more than 200 calories per day, you need to bump your calories up so that you still have 1200 calories minimum after subtracting the exercise calories.
A couple years ago, I was 20 pounds above your weight and exercising 1.5 hours/day and eating 1400-1600 calories. I had very slow weight loss but I saw my body changing. My went down from a 16 to a 6, even though I didn't see much weight drop. My friend lost weight faster than I did but she didn't see as much of a change in her overall size as quickly as I did. So give it time since everyone's body is different. I think that you could definitely lose 12 pounds by the end of May.
I usually eat 1200 calories and burn about 200-400 cals a day though i just got the fit bit so i don't have a good sample yet.0 -
PiYo really doesn't burn that many calories, for what it's worth.
But 5 pounds in a month is great. You're probably just eating more than you think.0 -
Be careful eating too little... I did that and it stagnated my weight loss! I was eating 1200 calories and believe it or not, as soon as I started eating 1600 calories and adjusted my macros, I started noticing a body difference. Not necessarily weight loss (only lost 2 lbs) but I lost 1.3% body fat (gained 2lb muscle) and I look way better. The scale means nothing if you are working out and doing strength training. I haven't had much weight loss mostly due to some meds I'm on, but read up on eating too little... find out your TDEE and go from there!!!0
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As a nurse with a baby, obviously your relationship to sleep is going to affect every aspect of your body. Also, I found when I upped my protein (at first) - I reallllly downed my fiber, this led be to um....hold on to some of my waste...I got away from the bars and started doing veggies (sauteed or salads) with egg whites or cut up turkey breast or chicken, and have whooshed a lot of weight since (could be incidentally, could be correlated, who knows!)0
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IMHO, you don't seem to be eating enough, based on what you wrote in your original post.
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