Am I delirious or is this really how it works?
sammy_c_read
Posts: 22 Member
Hey everyone so I have been trying to lose around 30 pounds for a year now but can't seem to do it. I eat well in the week and stay within in my calorie budget monday, tuesday, wednesday, and most thursdays but most of the weekends I go over my budget. I work out almost everyday but have never really been consistent on eating perfect every day and working out everyday. Is it normal that I have stayed at completely the same weight 164-166 and not moved up or down? or is something wrong? maybe im just delirious on how hard this really is and its a 24/7 eating right commitment. Starting to get extremely frustrated with myself and this process.
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Replies
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That is, indeed, how it works.9
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What is your calorie budget? if you try to eat 1200 calories it is probably not enough - therefore the weekend binges....
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Set your goal .5 per week, it will be slower but you will get more calories per day. If you eat a little lighter during the week you can have more calories for the weekend.0
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I can honestly say it needs to be a 24/7 commitment. I know because I have done the same things you have "eat correctly monday-friday" and go over Saturdays and Sundays. Believe it or not, doing this or eating well "most of the time" is enough to throw you off your goals and stall weight loss or even make you gain. At 164 lbs, you do not weigh that much either which means its easier to maintain your weight on less calories as well. So let's say your body needs 1800 calories to maintain, but you eat 2000k+ calories on the weekend on a daily basis. Its enough to make you stay at your current weight. Again I know this because I used to do this ALL the time. Its a hard habit to break, but I am now doing well on the weekends and my weightloss hasn't stopped and keeps going
If you know and say you are doing it "most of the time, almost every day, and never consistent" then you should try for always and majority of the time. Once you have tried that, you may see results. 6 -
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Not meaning to hijack the OP but will it still work if you stay under Cal limit Monday to Friday and stay on maintenance on Sat and Sun?
I know eat under my calorie goal on Monday-Friday and eat enough to maintain on Saturdays and Sunday. I have been able to lose weight this way just fine. But if I eat more than maintenance on weekends, I always stall on my weightloss temporarily 
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It only takes 15 mins to ruin your calorie deficit for the week. By your own admission, you "blow it" at least 3 days a week.
Only way your going to make steady progress and lose the weight you desire, is to maintain a weekly caloric deficit.
Every day doesn't have to be perfect, but your "good days" have to outweigh the negative impact of your bad ones, or your wasting your time.12 -
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scjamieson644 wrote: »Hey everyone so I have been trying to lose around 30 pounds for a year now but can't seem to do it. I eat well in the week and stay within in my calorie budget monday, tuesday, wednesday, and most thursdays but most of the weekends I go over my budget. I work out almost everyday but have never really been consistent on eating perfect every day and working out everyday. Is it normal that I have stayed at completely the same weight 164-166 and not moved up or down? or is something wrong? maybe im just delirious on how hard this really is and its a 24/7 eating right commitment. Starting to get extremely frustrated with myself and this process.
You don't really need a 24/7 eating "right" commitment, you need a 24/7 eating the right amount commitment. Stay within your calories and you'll be okay, even if you eat food you consider "junk food". You don't need a great diet, you need a consistent one.
And it doesn't need to be perfectly 24/7 but it should be pretty close. I've been doing this for around 280 days, and in that time I think I've had about 10 or 11 "special occasion" days where I didn't set a calorie goal. That isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things. On the other hand, 10 or 11 "special occasion" days within a month is likely to derail all your progress, depending on just how far above your maintenance you go on those days.11 -
I would log the weekends honestly for a couple weeks and see how much you're actually eating on the days you "go over budget". You may be surprised. I logged a cheat Chinese meal right before I ate it the other day..1190 cals!!! Holy cow! I only ate 1/3 after seeing the calorie count but that day would've cancelled my deficit for the week if I'd have eaten the whole thing:(5
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Say you eat at a 250 calorie deficit 4 days of the week, that's a 1000 cal deficit or just under 1/3 of a lb. Then say you go over your maintenance calories by 250 for the other 3 days. That's 750 Cals subtracted from your deficit which means you only get a 250 cal deficit for the whole week. It would take you 14.4 weeks just to lose a pound. The math doesn't lie.
You sound like me where by the end of the week I kind of get a '*kitten* it' attitude and am not strict with myself. After I'm done breast feeding, I'm going to do intermittent fasting. My way will be 3 days of 500 Cals and 4 days of 2200 Cals (so I can still indulge a bit) interspersed. So one day 500, the next 2200. Might be worth looking into for you as well. Good luck :-)2 -
scjamieson644 wrote: »Hey everyone so I have been trying to lose around 30 pounds for a year now but can't seem to do it. I eat well in the week and stay within in my calorie budget monday, tuesday, wednesday, and most thursdays but most of the weekends I go over my budget. I work out almost everyday but have never really been consistent on eating perfect every day and working out everyday. Is it normal that I have stayed at completely the same weight 164-166 and not moved up or down? or is something wrong? maybe im just delirious on how hard this really is and its a 24/7 eating right commitment. Starting to get extremely frustrated with myself and this process.
As you have found, your weekends erased the deficit you created during the week.
I was able to lose 30 pounds in the past year because I set very reasonable weekly weight loss goals and therefore felt no urge to overeat on the weekends. I started with losing 1 pound per week and recently decreased it to a half pound per week. I didn't find it hard at all. I do eat a little more on the weekends, but I also exercise more on those days.
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If I were you, I would make a budget of my calories where I "bank" a few every day, and then on Saturday, you eat your regular meals (still tracking) and then you have your regular calories along with whatever you've saved up.
For example: I used to eat at 1,250 calories per day six days a week faithfully. Then on the seventh day, I would eat up to 800 calories and I would have about 2,000-2,500 to spend for a huge meal and drinks. It always worked and I managed to lose a lot of weight doing that.
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I pay more attention to weekly totals than daily.
I'd recommend you lower your expectations and be happy with a slower weight loss. If you consistently lost 1-2 pounds a month, you would be down 12-24 pounds this year. You wouldn't feel the need to binge on weekends. My guess is that you are severely undereating 4 days a week leading to overeating 3 days and wiping out any deficit.0 -
This is a great post. I'm struggling with the same thing and have made it my goal (for now) to just log EVERYTHING. Even if it's embarrassing and over maintenance. This way, I you can actually see how much you're really eating and accept the flubs, learn and move on.
I like the idea of saving up a "bank" for the weekend splurge. But it's still important to count.
Add me as a friend and I'll be happy to keep you accountable:)0 -
scjamieson644 wrote: »Hey everyone so I have been trying to lose around 30 pounds for a year now but can't seem to do it. I eat well in the week and stay within in my calorie budget monday, tuesday, wednesday, and most thursdays but most of the weekends I go over my budget. I work out almost everyday but have never really been consistent on eating perfect every day and working out everyday. Is it normal that I have stayed at completely the same weight 164-166 and not moved up or down? or is something wrong? maybe im just delirious on how hard this really is and its a 24/7 eating right commitment. Starting to get extremely frustrated with myself and this process.
That's exactly how I got here in the first place. I was doing pretty much what you are doing and would remain the same for weeks or even a month or two ... and then I'd gain a tiny bit. Then I'd remain there for quite a while ... and then I'd gain a tiny bit.
The whole thing was so slow and subtle I didn't really pay attention to what was happening. And then one day ... I was overweight.
In order to lose weight (and I've lost 55 lbs ... back down to a weight I never imagined I would reach), I had to weigh and measure and log everything, and stick to the diet like glue 7 days a week. I did that for 16 weeks straight, and lost about 33 lbs in that time. Then I took a 1-month break while I decided what I wanted to do next ... and then resumed at a slightly higher calorie level for another 16 weeks and lost 22 lbs more.
And for me, it's not about "eating right" ... I eat whatever I want, I just keep it within my calorie limit.
Also, if I want to eat more (like pizza and cheesecake on the weekend), I exercise for it. I enjoy exercise so I get the best of both worlds that way.
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Eat right only on the days you want to lose weight6
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This depends on:
1. What is your "budget" Monday through Thursday? Is it well under maintenance, or just slightly below maintenance?
2. How much do you go "over" on the weekends? Is it just a slight bit, or are you binging on pizza and beer every day and going 1,000+ over maintenance?
The higher both numbers are, the more likely you won't lose weight (and may even gain).
Budget yourself less calories on weekdays so you can have a bit more on the weekends. As long as your weekly deficit is high, you'll lose weight, even if your daily deficits vary and you go over on a couple days.0 -
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Let's say you eat at a 1000 calories deficit 4 days a week because you set MFP for 2 lbs per week. You could easily negate that in the other 3 days. You would have to overeat by only 1500 or so per day, which isn't that hard to do.0
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I can't speak for anyone else, but I can easily wipe out an entire week's calorie deficit in a single day. Your body logs everything you eat, whether you record and it or not.3
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Don't eat your exercise calories back during the week…and allow yourself only one cheat day on the weekend..and I bet you lose doing that. You obviously don't want to live being strictly on a diet all week long..so don't.0
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Try changing up your workout routine to something your body isn't used to. I recommend swimming0
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Keep in mind that MFP overestimates the calories you burn!0
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Just like you I wanted to loose weight but could not seem to do it! Once I followed the advice that others are sharing here about making sure I had a weekly calorie deficit the weight steadily started to come off (I am down 18lbs). I measure and weigh everything!2
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I took a glance at your diary. You log things like exactly 4 oz. vodka, 3 oz. chicken breast, 0.5 cups mashed potatoes etc. Either you're super-picky about portioning or you're estimating... and my guess would be that you estimate, a lot. Odds are that you're eating a lot more calories than you think you are, even on the days you're being careful. I think a kitchen scale would benefit you enormously.
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Measuring and logging is 24/7. You can eat more but you have to know how much more exactly.0
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