Doing something wrong?

Ive been dieting and working out 5-6 days a week. Watching calories, eating healthy, everything!!! I do fine and lose 2-4 lbs in two weeks then I will gain three lbs! I'm not understanding where I went wrong? Any advise?

Replies

  • OyGeeBiv
    OyGeeBiv Posts: 733 Member
    If you open your diary, we can try to figure it out.
  • mvasquez1414
    mvasquez1414 Posts: 11 Member
    Not sure how to do that? I'm new to mfp
  • mvasquez1414
    mvasquez1414 Posts: 11 Member
    I've made my diary public if thats what you mean. I'm not going to lie. This past week hadn't been very good for me.. I think I've been somewhat discouraged.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    Is the gain over the course of a week? If so, it's natural fluctuation that could be caused by a number of factors: excess sodium intake, hormones (especially related to a woman's cycle), new or increased exercise, stress, sleep.
  • mvasquez1414
    mvasquez1414 Posts: 11 Member
    No, it's over a months time.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    could be just a fluctuation due to hormones or higher sodium... the main thing is that as the months go on you see the overall trend going downward.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    edited May 2016
    So your current logging looks good, but going back to the beginning of the month there are either missing entries or days when you only eat 1-2 meals to early April when there were days with no entries. If it's missing entries, that could be part of the problem, not accurately logging.
    The other thing can be that some of the foods are the generic entries, which happens for places like fast food. The thing to keep in mind with that is that calories can vary greatly depending on things like the oil, how much breading, did they put extra cheese or mayo on it than the standard. And I'm not knocking what you're eating, or that you're eating out. Just something to keep in mind.
    Sodium also continues to run a little high in some meals and that can cause some water retention. Just make sure you're getting enough liquids to help offset it.
  • mvasquez1414
    mvasquez1414 Posts: 11 Member
    I've just started using mfp a little over a month. Prior I was only tracking through my Fitbit. I probably did miss a few logs starting out with mfp. I do eat out but try to eat salads. If I have had a burger it's only one if that and I make sure I'm working out that day. (Not saying that makes it right..)
  • mvasquez1414
    mvasquez1414 Posts: 11 Member
    edited May 2016
    One more thing to add. I'm a 3rd shifter. So I'm typically hungry after work and try to eat healthy and light at least two hours before I go to bed
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
    edited May 2016
    I've just started using mfp a little over a month. Prior I was only tracking through my Fitbit. I probably did miss a few logs starting out with mfp. I do eat out but try to eat salads. If I have had a burger it's only one if that and I make sure I'm working out that day. (Not saying that makes it right..)

    This is one of the biggest misconceptions about eating out. So generally "salads" are considered to be a healthier option but if you're eating salad from a fast food restaurant then you might as well just eat the burger in most cases unless you're eating salad without any kind of dressing. The salad itself isn't horrible - usually contains veggies and some kind of protein like chicken but the salad dressing they have can put you at, or even over, the amount of calories in a burger. If you're eating out because you're on the go and busy - which we all are!! - seriously weigh the calories, carbs and fat content in not only the salad but the burger too. You might just find that you aren't eating as "healthy" as you thought you were.

    There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating a burger . . . in fact, eat the whole burger! It's all about your calories: if you're burning more than you consume your body will lose weight.

    I would suspect, and this is just from personal experience, you're still actually eating more than you think you are. To lose weight you have to eat less than you burn, but it's so incredibly easy to eat more than you think. So maybe take another look at the measurements of what you're eating, how much mayo or cheese you put on something. Small under estimations can, over the course of a day, lead to extra calories sometimes in excess of 300+ more than you think you're eating. And if you're small framed, or don't have a lot to lose, those 300 calories can make a big difference to your day.
  • mvasquez1414
    mvasquez1414 Posts: 11 Member
    When I do eat a salad. I use lemon as my dressing, my own low cal dressing or no dressing at all. If I take a bite of my kids burger, i log that as well. I try to log every single bit of food that enters my mouth. Including dressings, condiments, sweets, ect..
  • shanna_wainwright
    shanna_wainwright Posts: 35 Member
    Are you drinking enough water?
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
    edited May 2016
    When I do eat a salad. I use lemon as my dressing, my own low cal dressing or no dressing at all. If I take a bite of my kids burger, i log that as well. I try to log every single bit of food that enters my mouth. Including dressings, condiments, sweets, ect..

    So I went as far back as mid-April in your diary . . . and here's the thing

    You have more than one occurrence of logging a Kraft-type salad dressing (most common: Cucumber Ranch) Again there is nothing wrong with this, but be honest. There is also a couple entries for a caesar salad . . .but no dressing. Did you eat a caesar salad without dressing? Because according to you diary you did . . . but maybe you didn't and this kind of dressing can be heavy in calories. Also . . . I love caesar salad but if someone made me eat it without any kind of dressing I'd just rather not. I love, love, love caesar salad and its calorie-loaded dressing :) but that's just me.

    Next, there wasn't a single occurrence of a "bite" of a burger. Maybe I didn't go back far enough, but there wasn't one that I could see at all.

    Next point: you have a lot of "Generic" and "Home Made" entries. There's a few issues with this: are these your home made recipes?? If not, you have no idea what actually went into these dishes and they could be waaaaaaaay off in the calorie count per serving vs. what you had. Biggest example: entry for a 'generic - pineapple shake' What is this? Do you actually know what went into it? You have it at 1/2 serving for 135 calories when shakes/smoothies can have upwards of 600 calories in them as a meal replacement. It's things like this that seriously add up over time. Or home made spanish rice. I know what I put in my spanish rice but that is probably world's different than what my neighbour puts in it. And maybe hers is less (or more) calories than mine. The only way to know is really to input your own recipes so you know exactly what you're eating.

    Further in your entries from restaurants you often have 'China One' for one item and then something like 'China Palace for the next item. Are these brands in the US that I just don't know about, or are they restaurants. If they are take out places are you really going to 3 different take out places for one meal??? Again, I think this falls into the previous point of not picking the correct entry for what you're eating. If they're brands of things from the grocery store and I'm not aware of them then disregard. Or for entries where you have Husson's Chicken Fingers with Sonic French Fries, Heb Cole Slaw and a generic pineapple shake. That's 4 different sources of food for one meal.

    You don't log everything - there are days you logged 2 taco bell gourdita crunches and a banana split from dairy queen . . . is this seriously all you ate in a day? I would be so hangry all day I would seriously hurt someone if that's all I ate in a day.

    Technically you can eat anything and lose weight as long as your calories in are less than calories out. But there's a few things with your logging that I noticed which could be causing issues:

    1) the foods your choosing, while there's technically nothing wrong with choosing them, tend to be foods where satiety does not last very long and so you feel hungry sooner and tend to eat more. They are quick foods where the bang for your buck is relatively low (IE little quantity of food for high caloric intake)

    2) your protein content is low and sodium intake is very high. Foods that are high in protein tend to leave you feeling fuller longer and therefore you will feel less hungry less often and will not tend to over eat.

    3) your exercise log for a couple days says you earned 1,200+ calories from exercise: this may be true but for some perspective I weigh in at 250lbs and when I work out for 2 hours doing a spin class + weight lifting I only get about 950 - 1,000 calories burned. Do you weigh more than 250lbs? I think the burn might be a little over estimated and leading down a path of thinking you burned more than you did so you end up eating more and erasing any deficit you may have had from that day.

    It's really not easy . . . but being honest with yourself, while it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do, will help you leaps and bounds with weight loss. I'm not saying any of this to be mean . . . I'm just trying to give some outside perspective. You can take it or leave it, but if you aren't honest with yourself about what you're actually eating you will be in the same place in 1, 5, 10 years wondering why you didn't lose any weight.

    Edited because apparently I can't spell :(
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    Your food from restaurants are high in sodium. Your diet is low in fiber. That's two things right there that can confound the readings you get on the scale with additional pounds of "not you". Your monthly cycle also adds water weight for a few days. You can still lose weight this way. Just accurately record your food and stay on the plan. It will work.
  • mvasquez1414
    mvasquez1414 Posts: 11 Member
    There's so much I don't know about and I am still learning something new everyday! I'm glad i asked and am glad you are being honest with me about my journey and I will consider everything being said and I know what to look for more. Great information!!! Great advise!! Much appreciation!!!! Thank you!!