Fighting to lose weight

I'm afraid I'd have to agree with Mapalicious here... I used to think I didn't really eat very much too (it was a complete mystery where all the extra pounds came from! ), until I started counting and realised how much it actually was and how oversized my portions were!

Unfortunately, thinking that we're eating little enough and/or exercising enough to lose weight doesn't mean that we actually are. There's no way to know for sure without weighing, counting and logging everything for a while.

Also, I've read many times on this site that only having a few pounds to lose means it'll be a very slow process (as little as 0.5lb per week or less), so it may be that you do lose a bit but just don't notice it before it goes up again.

Eating more than your maintenance calories would be the first thing to rule out, before you start digging deeper into whether there's something odd going on.

I am trying to lose weight! I am counting calories and daily weigh ins in the morning. I also watching what I eat. But I am limited on exercises I can do because of back issues with pain down my legs. In 21 days I have only lost 1 lb 4 oz. What can I do to burn more calories?

OP,

You are probably eating more than you think. And since you are trying to get lean, you will probably need a food scale to ensure accuracy.

wanderingrat wrote: »

You may want to log the food to check for what you eat as well. Make sure you get all the nutrients you need and don't overdo with fat and simple carbs.

Eating less doesn't always mean loosing weight. If you mess up your metabolism with your diet and make your body think this is an emergency time with too little nutrients available, you're metabolism will go to the slow burner to save energy and store whatever it can, losing fat will become much harder. Don't go below your BMR, if you work that hard, you'll burn enough calories to lose weight. It might also help you to eat more regularly and have a small healthy snack to keep your blood sugar from dropping too much.
(Of course if you eat too much healthy food and exeed the calories you'd need you will gain with healthy food, too.)

Also, don't focus too much on a certain number. Your body has its own ideal, perhaps that's just a little above the numbers you want to see. It's more important how you feel when it comes to energy and health.

There is nothing wrong with fats or simple carbs. Fats regulate hormone production, can lower cholesterol (mono and poly unsaturated fats) and can satiety people. Simple carbs can help replenish glycogen post strenuous workouts and provide energy.

Blood sugar isn't a concern for those who do not have medical conditions, so meal frequency is personal preference. I eat large meals because it keeps me full. 6 meals just makes me hungry.

And messing up the metabolism is a gross over-generalization of adaptive thermogenesis (metabolic adaptation), which naturally occurs during weight loss. Yes, you can increase metabolic adaptation through high calorie deficits and inadequate nutrition (especially low protein and no weight training) but we aren't talking a ton of calories.


Typically, the biggest areas of concern, at least on MFP, for why people aren't losing is they aren't tracking their calories consistently or accuracy. And when a person, who is lean, wants to become more lean (like myself), you then have a much smaller window for error in your tracking.

psulemon wrote: »

OP,

You are probably eating more than you think. And since you are trying to get lean, you will probably need a food scale to ensure accuracy.

wanderingrat wrote: »

You may want to log the food to check for what you eat as well. Make sure you get all the nutrients you need and don't overdo with fat and simple carbs.

Eating less doesn't always mean loosing weight. If you mess up your metabolism with your diet and make your body think this is an emergency time with too little nutrients available, you're metabolism will go to the slow burner to save energy and store whatever it can, losing fat will become much harder. Don't go below your BMR, if you work that hard, you'll burn enough calories to lose weight. It might also help you to eat more regularly and have a small healthy snack to keep your blood sugar from dropping too much.
(Of course if you eat too much healthy food and exeed the calories you'd need you will gain with healthy food, too.)

Also, don't focus too much on a certain number. Your body has its own ideal, perhaps that's just a little above the numbers you want to see. It's more important how you feel when it comes to energy and health.

There is nothing wrong with fats or simple carbs. Fats regulate hormone production, can lower cholesterol (mono and poly unsaturated fats) and can satiety people. Simple carbs can help replenish glycogen post strenuous workouts and provide energy.

Blood sugar isn't a concern for those who do not have medical conditions, so meal frequency is personal preference. I eat large meals because it keeps me full. 6 meals just makes me hungry.

And messing up the metabolism is a gross over-generalization of adaptive thermogenesis (metabolic adaptation), which naturally occurs during weight loss. Yes, you can increase metabolic adaptation through high calorie deficits and inadequate nutrition (especially low protein and no weight training) but we aren't talking a ton of calories.


Typically, the biggest areas of concern, at least on MFP, for why people aren't losing is they aren't tracking their calories consistently or accuracy. And when a person, who is lean, wants to become more lean (like myself), you then have a much smaller window for error in your tracking.

Right on as always.