Not losing

melindad62
melindad62 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started on myfitnesspal the second week of January. My goal and calories are set to lose 1.5 to 2 pounds per week, plus I am exercising 5 days of aerobic with T25. I am 53 years old and although I am glad to have 7 pounds, every post I've read and done BMI and calorie calculations say I should be losing more. I have stopped sodas and drink only water, I went off breads for the most part and every now and again MAY have something sweet. Anyone have some suggestions? I have had many friends that have done well. I'm not giving up, I'm just a little frustrated!

Replies

  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
    and are you logging your food?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    k0pplcov8bqy.jpg
  • melindad62
    melindad62 Posts: 4 Member
    Tom: I have logged my food every day. I stay within the calories, usually around 1200 even when I can eat more with the exercise, but I'm not hungry. I have also looked at my carb intake and lowered it to 100. I was told not to lower it more than that because I need energy to work out.
  • sanfromny
    sanfromny Posts: 770 Member
    Not sure how you are logging. may want to open your food diary. You may be overeating your calories or overestimating you calories burned
  • melindad62
    melindad62 Posts: 4 Member
    Sanfromny: I log the portions and keep track of the food portions I'm eating usually from the labels. I also just checked the website of T25 and I am actually not placing as many exercise calories in as I should be. So....:) I will just keep going along. I'm thinking my metabolism is just not working as quickly as I would like and I should have done this sooner! However, I'm going to up the exercise to an hour 3 days a week starting next week and see if that helps. All in all, it's just slow going, but I'm still losing....
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
    so for weight loss the type of food doesn't have much impact other than some foods like lean protein and veggies you can eat more of vs homemade Italian bread, pasta and a couple glasses of wine which could get your to your cal goal in a single meal.

    Do you weigh your food? and you log everything? condiments, butters etc? especially the calorie dense items like protein and things like peanut butter etc? Package labels can be off so if you use their serving your cal intake could be off. Plus, ensure you are not over estimating your cal burn which can throw off your calcs as well.
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
    melindad62 wrote: »
    Sanfromny: I log the portions and keep track of the food portions I'm eating usually from the labels. I also just checked the website of T25 and I am actually not placing as many exercise calories in as I should be. So....:) I will just keep going along. I'm thinking my metabolism is just not working as quickly as I would like and I should have done this sooner! However, I'm going to up the exercise to an hour 3 days a week starting next week and see if that helps. All in all, it's just slow going, but I'm still losing....

    I've heard it said here numerous times that there is a myth that our metabolism "slows" or isn't working as you mention. I've personally not reasearched that, but perhaps you would want to google some reputable sources on how our metabolism works to see if what you believe is in fact true. we have to be diligent in debunking our preconceived ideas (or proving to ourselves what we believe is true) so that we can truly understand how this all works.
  • katsmo
    katsmo Posts: 219 Member
    Hi there. It sounds like you've lost seven pounds since January, which is nothing to sneeze it. It will not fly off easily. You do not need to eliminate foods you enjoy like breads, soda, or sweets. Restricting your diet severely and expecting to do so for the long term is a recipe for disaster. I would recommend getting a digital food scale ($15 or so) and accurately weighing your foods. Do not estimate or rely solely on measuring cups, as this can throw you off a couple hundred calories per day. Then eat what you enjoy, but just stay within your calorie goal. I am losing weight eating a candy bar each day and often drinking diet soda and a glass of wine. Be good to yourself.
  • LivLovLrn
    LivLovLrn Posts: 580 Member
    that's a great chart queenliz! melindad, there are so very many variables to all this. Are you new to eating right and exercising? It can take the body a while to "catch up" with you. I think you said you aren't eating back your exercise calories? Your body could be holding on to everything because it feels like it isn't getting enough of what it needs; particularly if you are jumping in to this quickly. I'm glad you have decided to stick with it, but remember to treat your body like it is a precious possession, not like it is an annoyance to be punished until it obeys.
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
    katsmo wrote: »
    Hi there. It sounds like you've lost seven pounds since January, which is nothing to sneeze it. It will not fly off easily. You do not need to eliminate foods you enjoy like breads, soda, or sweets. Restricting your diet severely and expecting to do so for the long term is a recipe for disaster. I would recommend getting a digital food scale ($15 or so) and accurately weighing your foods. Do not estimate or rely solely on measuring cups, as this can throw you off a couple hundred calories per day. Then eat what you enjoy, but just stay within your calorie goal. I am losing weight eating a candy bar each day and often drinking diet soda and a glass of wine. Be good to yourself.

    +1. for me diet soda is a kick of sweetness that hits the spot sometimes.
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
    LivLovLrn wrote: »
    that's a great chart queenliz! melindad, there are so very many variables to all this. Are you new to eating right and exercising? It can take the body a while to "catch up" with you. I think you said you aren't eating back your exercise calories? Your body could be holding on to everything because it feels like it isn't getting enough of what it needs; particularly if you are jumping in to this quickly. I'm glad you have decided to stick with it, but remember to treat your body like it is a precious possession, not like it is an annoyance to be punished until it obeys.

    please don't take this personally.... our body doesn't "hang" on to anything. if we are in a calorie deficit you will lose weight. don't make it more difficult or obscure when its really not. if its not working, then we have to evaluate if we are being accurate first and foremost. Then slowly adjust. its not a quick thing to determine. just takes time and you will learn your body and whats going on so you can intelligently adjust your intake and/or exercise.
  • melindad62
    melindad62 Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks everyone for your input. I will take under advisement the suggestions and reevaluate! Thanks for encouragement at well.
  • WendyLaubach
    WendyLaubach Posts: 518 Member
    Are you eating 1200 calories a day or netting 1200?
  • katsmo
    katsmo Posts: 219 Member
    Agreed, Tomk. "Starvation mode" or hanging onto calories from eating too little isn't a thing. Otherwise starving people in third-world countries and anorexics wouldn't exist. CI<CO is a simple scientific equation. If you're eating less than you burn in a day, you WILL lose weight. No need to trick your body or kickstart your metabolism or do a cleanse or anything of that nature. Just work the numbers and make sure they're accurate. That means precisely calculating both your food intake and your exercise output. Good luck!
  • FGTisme
    FGTisme Posts: 87 Member
    7 pounds in 2 months is pretty darn normal, I'd say. At our age (I'm not too far behind you!) it is a much slower process. Log as accurately as possible, making sure your entries and grams/ounces are correct. Verify your entry choices with other online sources to make sure your list of foods is reliable. (Just with chicken alone, I swear there are 100 different entries on MFP, each showing a different calorie amount). Stay strong and keep going!

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