Sooooo frustrated! Help!
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lisaishere wrote: »I actually DO weigh my food and measure it when possible. At work in the office - if I grab a banana from the deli I do not. But that's a good point. Maybe I will skip fruits and get pre-measured things like a simply 100.
Or you could bring your premeasured food to work.
Yes! I have done this in the past. I am sure that would help. Just have to start setting aside more time on the weekends for food prep!1 -
Krissi1330 wrote: »ljashley1952 wrote: »I'm 5'2" also, and I find losing hard. I'm only down 3-4 pounds too, but I think I know why. The MFP program could not create a calculation for me to lose weight unless I worked out twice a week. I try to make that happen, but sometimes I fall short. That makes my weight loss stagnant. I don't know how many calories you eat or burn in a day, but I pretty much have to eliminate carbs to get the scale to move. I hate it, but it has always been hard for me to lose much. Losing the extra weight on diet alone doesn't work for me.
I'll second this. I'm 5'2" and I have to mostly eliminate carbs to reach/maintain weight goals. I'm sure the CICO argument is valid, but honestly I can eat a ton of calories from high fat/high protein/low carb and still lose weight, yet gain too much on calorie restricted higher carb diets. That's along with exercise - weight lifting and running.ljashley1952 wrote: »I'm 5'2" also, and I find losing hard. I'm only down 3-4 pounds too, but I think I know why. The MFP program could not create a calculation for me to lose weight unless I worked out twice a week. I try to make that happen, but sometimes I fall short. That makes my weight loss stagnant. I don't know how many calories you eat or burn in a day, but I pretty much have to eliminate carbs to get the scale to move. I hate it, but it has always been hard for me to lose much. Losing the extra weight on diet alone doesn't work for me. Working out is difficult because I have knee issues. I just have to do the best I can and if I see any loss at all, I feel like it's progress. You are right, though. I will probably be dead before I reach my goal.
Maybe I will give the low-carb thing a try for a bit to see if I can swing the scale.... anything at this point! I don't eat a ton of carbs or processed food to begin with, but maybe a specific effort to cute them out completely will make the difference. Do you do ATKINS when you go low-carb?0 -
For most of us, we've taken on a new lifestyle that doesn't begin and end with a number on a scale. Having more energy, less pain, better sleep, improved mood are all things that have no connection to a number on a machine. Refocus on things that have improved and you can be a winner without a dramatic weight loss.
Amazingly actual weight loss will sneak up on you while you're living a better life.5 -
lisaishere wrote: »Perhaps you should cut out the fruit and cheese. Replace with broccoli and protein shake.
I could give that a try... cheese is my absolute favorite food... so I try to keep in a slice of low-fat cheese in my day, so that I don't feel totally deprived. Deprivation diets have always backfired on me in the past.
I wouldn't worry about the sliced cheese in the morning or a mini babybel, but skip the cheese at Chipotle, and keep that to a minimum in general...like once a week. When food is prepared in a restaurant, especially in a free hand line type situation like Chipotle, it isn't likely to be in line with the nutrition info that is published. So skip the cheese, stick w/chicken mostly and get any dressing on the side. You can check out a serving of shredded cheese on your food scale at home...see what you get for about 110 calories...then think about how much cheese they put on that salad that is supposed to be only 345 calories.2 -
lisaishere wrote: »Perhaps you should cut out the fruit and cheese. Replace with broccoli and protein shake.
I could give that a try... cheese is my absolute favorite food... so I try to keep in a slice of low-fat cheese in my day, so that I don't feel totally deprived. Deprivation diets have always backfired on me in the past.
I wouldn't worry about the sliced cheese in the morning or a mini babybel, but skip the cheese at Chipotle, and keep that to a minimum in general...like once a week. When food is prepared in a restaurant, especially in a free hand line type situation like Chipotle, it isn't likely to be in line with the nutrition info that is published. So skip the cheese, stick w/chicken mostly and get any dressing on the side. You can check out a serving of shredded cheese on your food scale at home...see what you get for about 110 calories...then think about how much cheese they put on that salad that is supposed to be only 345 calories.
No need at all to give up cheese and fruit. It's all about calories, not where you get them from (for weight loss). But ilex70 has a good point about Chipotle or other fast food restaurants. If I do get fast food and want the cheese, I order it without, bring it home, and put on my own cheese so I can control the portion. Alternatively, order the cheese on the side and weigh it at home.2 -
lisaishere wrote: »Perhaps you should cut out the fruit and cheese. Replace with broccoli and protein shake.
I could give that a try... cheese is my absolute favorite food... so I try to keep in a slice of low-fat cheese in my day, so that I don't feel totally deprived. Deprivation diets have always backfired on me in the past.
I wouldn't worry about the sliced cheese in the morning or a mini babybel, but skip the cheese at Chipotle, and keep that to a minimum in general...like once a week. When food is prepared in a restaurant, especially in a free hand line type situation like Chipotle, it isn't likely to be in line with the nutrition info that is published. So skip the cheese, stick w/chicken mostly and get any dressing on the side. You can check out a serving of shredded cheese on your food scale at home...see what you get for about 110 calories...then think about how much cheese they put on that salad that is supposed to be only 345 calories.
That is a really good point. They probably load it on much thicker than what is published. I am sure there are calories snuck in everywhere. It gives me anxiety every-time I eat away from home!0 -
Krissi1330 wrote: »ljashley1952 wrote: »I'm 5'2" also, and I find losing hard. I'm only down 3-4 pounds too, but I think I know why. The MFP program could not create a calculation for me to lose weight unless I worked out twice a week. I try to make that happen, but sometimes I fall short. That makes my weight loss stagnant. I don't know how many calories you eat or burn in a day, but I pretty much have to eliminate carbs to get the scale to move. I hate it, but it has always been hard for me to lose much. Losing the extra weight on diet alone doesn't work for me.
I'll second this. I'm 5'2" and I have to mostly eliminate carbs to reach/maintain weight goals. I'm sure the CICO argument is valid, but honestly I can eat a ton of calories from high fat/high protein/low carb and still lose weight, yet gain too much on calorie restricted higher carb diets. That's along with exercise - weight lifting and running.
Calorie is a calorie. Body doesn't care if it's from fat, protein or carbs really. Only difference is that low carb can make you lose some water weight... which comes back. And also carb high diet can make you feel hungrier in general. CICO works. Being short doesn't change anything. The only reason to avoid some food group is health issues or personal preference... but it won't have effect on weight loss. If you eat under your TDEE you will be losing weight. And OP is losing weight, only slowly. Which suggests she's eating close to her maintenance calories. There are several possibilities: inaccurate logging, overestimating exercise calories, lower TDEE than calculator assumes for a person of her age and size (health problems- thyroid etc.). For 5'2 sedentary person TDEE can be around 1500... so if there is issue with logging it could easily wipe out exercise deficit. I'm also 5'2, started at 149 now at 132 lbs (in 15 weeks), doing usually 11-13 k steps a day and eat between 1200-1400 kcal a day. If weight is not coming off:
1. Tighten food logging
2. Move more
3. Rule out health issues if you are sure your logging is correct
4. Be patient...4 lbs loss is better than nothing
Good luck!2 -
kmbrooks15 wrote: »What calorie limit are you trying to sustain? Sometimes weight loss can stall if you're not eating enough (sounds weird, I know!).
MFP tells me 1200 net calories to lose 1 pound a week. If I go to sites basedon my BMR, they say that 1200 calories is more like .8 pounds a week. I am finding it to be more like .25 pounds a week! It's soooooo painfully slow!0 -
Stalls happen. If your period is due soon, you could just be retaining water.
And yeah, they frequently give you more food at Chipotle, so I'd try to pack your own lunch as much as possible.1 -
ljashley1952 wrote: »Body doesn't care if it's from fat, protein or carbs really. Only difference is that low carb can make you lose some water weight... which comes back. And also carb high diet can make you feel hungrier in general. CICO works. Being short doesn't change anything. The only reason to avoid some food group is health issues or personal preference... but it won't have effect on weight loss. If you eat under your TDEE you will be losing weight. And OP is losing weight, only slowly. Which suggests she's eating close to her maintenance calories. There are several possibilities: inaccurate logging, overestimating exercise calories, lower TDEE than calculator assumes for a person of her age and size (health problems- thyroid etc.). For 5'2 sedentary person TDEE can be around 1500... so if there is issue with logging it could easily wipe out exercise deficit. I'm also 5'2, started at 149 now at 132 lbs (in 15 weeks), doing usually 11-13 k steps a day and eat between 1200-1400 kcal a day. If weight is not coming off:
1. Tighten food logging
2. Move more
3. Rule out health issues if you are sure your logging is correct
4. Be patient...4 lbs loss is better than nothing
Good luck!
OMG - That alone is motivating! i don thin it's harder for short people... we have less bone mass to moeve around, so less BMR! That amazing for you thought... motivating to hear that it can be done.
I am going to go and get my thyroid checked... hypothyroidism runs in my family. I really feel like I am doing everything right, but the process is painfully slow. But it's true that at least the scale is going in the right direction, even it's been stubbornly slow for the past FOUR WEEKS.1 -
Stalls happen. If your period is due soon, you could just be retaining water.
And yeah, they frequently give you more food at Chipotle, so I'd try to pack your own lunch as much as possible.
This may be an issue too. I just changed birth control pills and haven't had a period in 6 weeks as a result! Maybe I'm just backed up! Lol.0 -
I would suspect that the chipotle salad might be a place you're unknowingly picking up extra calories. They will often give you more than what the calculator says, which can bump the calories significantly.lisaishere wrote: »Lunch at work: Usually
1) A salad from Chipotle: Grilled Chicken, peppers, Salsa, Lettuce, cheese (according to their website calculator, this is a 345 calorie lunch.
For example, the serving size for the calculator on the cheese is 1oz. They could very easily double or even triple that.
My rule of thumb is that whatever their calculator says I bump it up by at least 25% (or even 50% or more depending on how heavy handed they are making it)
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lisaishere wrote: »Krissi1330 wrote: »ljashley1952 wrote: »I'm 5'2" also, and I find losing hard. I'm only down 3-4 pounds too, but I think I know why. The MFP program could not create a calculation for me to lose weight unless I worked out twice a week. I try to make that happen, but sometimes I fall short. That makes my weight loss stagnant. I don't know how many calories you eat or burn in a day, but I pretty much have to eliminate carbs to get the scale to move. I hate it, but it has always been hard for me to lose much. Losing the extra weight on diet alone doesn't work for me.
I'll second this. I'm 5'2" and I have to mostly eliminate carbs to reach/maintain weight goals. I'm sure the CICO argument is valid, but honestly I can eat a ton of calories from high fat/high protein/low carb and still lose weight, yet gain too much on calorie restricted higher carb diets. That's along with exercise - weight lifting and running.ljashley1952 wrote: »I'm 5'2" also, and I find losing hard. I'm only down 3-4 pounds too, but I think I know why. The MFP program could not create a calculation for me to lose weight unless I worked out twice a week. I try to make that happen, but sometimes I fall short. That makes my weight loss stagnant. I don't know how many calories you eat or burn in a day, but I pretty much have to eliminate carbs to get the scale to move. I hate it, but it has always been hard for me to lose much. Losing the extra weight on diet alone doesn't work for me. Working out is difficult because I have knee issues. I just have to do the best I can and if I see any loss at all, I feel like it's progress. You are right, though. I will probably be dead before I reach my goal.
Maybe I will give the low-carb thing a try for a bit to see if I can swing the scale.... anything at this point! I don't eat a ton of carbs or processed food to begin with, but maybe a specific effort to cute them out completely will make the difference. Do you do ATKINS when you go low-carb?
When I first did low-carb, I followed the primal blueprint diet. Tons of vegetables, meat, full-fat dairy, nuts, minimal fruit except berries. My energy was through the roof and I could fast without craving food. Obviously there's plenty to argue against that diet too, but I'm just sharing personal experience. My weight dropped to 108. I stopped exercising because of a major surgery, started eating like crap again, and gained, so I'm back to experimenting.0 -
I'm 5'2" and have no problem losing weight. How tall/short you are doesn't mean you have to go low carb or do VLCD. Either tighten up your logging and/or move more. Though I would bring a scale to work to weigh my lunch, you don't have to. If you're getting take-out, stick to eating half of it (especially from Chipotle).1
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KorvapuustiPossu wrote: »Krissi1330 wrote: »ljashley1952 wrote: »I'm 5'2" also, and I find losing hard. I'm only down 3-4 pounds too, but I think I know why. The MFP program could not create a calculation for me to lose weight unless I worked out twice a week. I try to make that happen, but sometimes I fall short. That makes my weight loss stagnant. I don't know how many calories you eat or burn in a day, but I pretty much have to eliminate carbs to get the scale to move. I hate it, but it has always been hard for me to lose much. Losing the extra weight on diet alone doesn't work for me.
I'll second this. I'm 5'2" and I have to mostly eliminate carbs to reach/maintain weight goals. I'm sure the CICO argument is valid, but honestly I can eat a ton of calories from high fat/high protein/low carb and still lose weight, yet gain too much on calorie restricted higher carb diets. That's along with exercise - weight lifting and running.
Calorie is a calorie. Body doesn't care if it's from fat, protein or carbs really. Only difference is that low carb can make you lose some water weight... which comes back. And also carb high diet can make you feel hungrier in general. CICO works. Being short doesn't change anything. The only reason to avoid some food group is health issues or personal preference... but it won't have effect on weight loss. If you eat under your TDEE you will be losing weight. And OP is losing weight, only slowly. Which suggests she's eating close to her maintenance calories. There are several possibilities: inaccurate logging, overestimating exercise calories, lower TDEE than calculator assumes for a person of her age and size (health problems- thyroid etc.). For 5'2 sedentary person TDEE can be around 1500... so if there is issue with logging it could easily wipe out exercise deficit. I'm also 5'2, started at 149 now at 132 lbs (in 15 weeks), doing usually 11-13 k steps a day and eat between 1200-1400 kcal a day. If weight is not coming off:
1. Tighten food logging
2. Move more
3. Rule out health issues if you are sure your logging is correct
4. Be patient...4 lbs loss is better than nothing
Good luck!
I'm not arguing against CICO, and no, height isn't the issue - my mother is 4'11", eats a high-carb vegan diet, and weighs 90 lbs. Just an anecdotal "me too." But I realized reading this that a major problem for me is my workouts suffer when I eat carbs. They make me feel sluggish and cause notable energy/blood sugar fluctuations - I don't run as hard or lift as much when I'm blah, so it's possible that I burn more calories through exercise when I'm more energetic from low-carb.0 -
I am going to try an cut the carbs for a bit. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are not really an issue. Even the Chipotle, I get that usually once a week.
Looking back at my food diary, I think dinners are the issue. I have to come up with a better strategy.
Right now, my sitter cooks for us while I am at work (I don't get home from work until around 7:30 - so the kids usually eat before I get home, or are anxiously waiting for me to get home). She's a better much better child-care provider than healthy-chef though! We have four hungry, active, growing kids, none with a weight problem at all.... and they eat a LOT!
I'm so happy to have dinner cooked and cleaned, and the kids fed that I don't get too fussy about what she makes. I try and dole out a small portion for myself of whatever she makes, but there is always a LOT of food! Sometimes it's healthy, with good low-carb options, and sometimes it's not (like she'll make a big casserole with chicken, noodles and cheesy broccoli or something). I'm so hungry by then, that I'll just eat whatever she makes. I try to keep the portions small, but I don't really know how many calories are in those things.
I need to have some other easy to heat-up options in the house for myself on those nights.0 -
I'm 5'3 and while we don't have the luxury of a slightly higher TDEE in comparison to a sedentary taller person, it would only make a hundred or so calorie difference.
The real deal is tightening up your logging. A small deficit can be easily wiped out with meals you can't determine the calories for- often they contain a lot more than you think! Trust in foods you make yourself.
If you want a treat, don't deny yourself it. Just make it fit! Go for an extra walk. Don't just eat it, earn it
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I'm 5'3 and while we don't have the luxury of a slightly higher TDEE in comparison to a sedentary taller person, it would only make a hundred or so calorie difference.
The real deal is tightening up your logging. A small deficit can be easily wiped out with meals you can't determine the calories for- often they contain a lot more than you think! Trust in foods you make yourself.
If you want a treat, don't deny yourself it. Just make it fit! Go for an extra walk. Don't just eat it, earn it
Just did a TDEE from http://mytdee.com/:
It says: 1920 is my TDEE, and
We suggest the following for your goal to Lose Fat
1536 Calories per day
Your goal weight of 125 lbs can be reached by:
Sun, Jan 15, 2017
Or, 36 weeks 4 days from today
I'm confused now? Maybe eating 1500 calories a day is better than eating 1200?? Which is what I am trying to do? MFP - put me at a 1200 per day net calories goal.0 -
Eating more won't help lose weight faster. You are already eating almost at maintenance since your weight loss is quite slow. Your problem is in inaccuracy of food logging. When calculating TDEE you probably put some exercise in...that's why it's higher than MFP number - but MFP doesn't include exercise-only basic everyday activity. If you actual TDEE is 1920 and you ate 1200 a day you'd have 720 deficit a day and would lose just under 1.5 lbs/week. Since you are not losing that much you are quite likely overeating by a good amount (those dinners that are guesstimated) and also TDEE might be a bit lower than what calculator suggests (they are not 100% accurate for everyone).1
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lisaishere wrote: »kmbrooks15 wrote: »What calorie limit are you trying to sustain? Sometimes weight loss can stall if you're not eating enough (sounds weird, I know!).
MFP tells me 1200 net calories to lose 1 pound a week. If I go to sites basedon my BMR, they say that 1200 calories is more like .8 pounds a week. I am finding it to be more like .25 pounds a week! It's soooooo painfully slow!
In case you are not aware, MFP will not assign anything lower than 1200 for a female. If you chose to lose 1 lb per week, and the calculation came out less than 1200, it is going to give you 1200, period. I would check on what it gives you for .5 lb a week. If it still comes out 1200 or only slightly higher, then 1 lb per week is too aggressive for your stats.0
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