Help with weight loss

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divyatew
divyatew Posts: 28 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi people!

So I've been trying to lose weight for a while now and I've been NETTING 1400 calories a day, probably eating an average of 1700-1800 per day and burning 300-400. I have not seen results after 6 weeks of consistent logging and constant working out. I think I've actually gained weight and now I don't know what to do. I've been dieting and counting calories on and off (mostly on) for 6 years now and I don't know if I can do it anymore. Any advice?

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  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    Do you weigh all your food on a food scale? You are likely eating more than you think if you are not.
  • divyatew
    divyatew Posts: 28 Member
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    @elphie754 I do not! I do use measuring cups and spoons though. I don't want to get super obsessive over measuring because I don't think its sustainable in the long run and I can't measure everything, but it's worth a shot.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
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    Play with your numbers? Reduce calories?
    Eat only 1/2 of your exercise calories back?
    And yes, a food scale is a must. Cereals, avocados, steak and meats.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    If you do not want to weigh your food you could drop your calories by 100. This may help.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    Weighing your food is a real eye opener and it will not make you obsessive. Meats especially.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    I would also mention, the way I use a food scale is that I preplan my meals, and just use the scale to measure out the amount I already chose. I don't bother to correct my log to be exact unless the calorie difference would be significant.

    I do plan to keep this up for my whole life. It's just part of my routine now.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    divyatew wrote: »
    @elphie754 I do not! I do use measuring cups and spoons though. I don't want to get super obsessive over measuring because I don't think its sustainable in the long run and I can't measure everything, but it's worth a shot.

    Unfortunately that is where the problem is. Measuring cups and spoons can be significantly off, leading you to think you are consuming less than you are.
  • UncaToddly
    UncaToddly Posts: 146 Member
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    Using a scale is indeed an eye opener and as time goes on, it really does help you get to simply eyeball things better. It isn't about being obsessive so much as it is learning to recognize how much is how much. I weigh most things I can at home just to be accurate.

    I am going to have some popcorn? One serving on the bag is 28g. Depending on the flavorings and such, that may be anywhere from 2-1/2 cups to 3-3/4 cups. I can eyeball it or simply place the bowl on the scale, zero it out and pour 28g in.

    Doing burgers on the grill? I can look at the package and see that it was 1 pound and we are making 4 burgers and can simply say, "OK, then one is 4 ounces or 113g." Or I can take 10 seconds to pull the scale out, throw a plate on it and see that the burger I am going to eat is actually a large one and weighs 5-1/2 ounces or 155 grams. The difference? About 60 calories and it took me seconds to do it. It takes little time but the mistake can add up. :)
  • zugunruhey
    zugunruhey Posts: 31 Member
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    Unless you're exercising with a heart rate monitor you may actually be overestimating your calories burned by exercise. The general advice I've heard is to not eat back more than half of the calories you burn through exercise, just to have some good leeway in case you overestimate.
  • HavtaLose
    HavtaLose Posts: 59 Member
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    You're not losing weight means you're eating at maintainence. You can continue to do this and be discouraged OR buy a scale ($15) and start weighing so you can pinpoint if that is where you were going wrong. Weighing is actually more easier than using measuring cups and spoons, not to mention the washing that comes with it.

    Example: Want to eat Peanut Butter toast? Place the Jar on the scale, hit Tare so it reads 0, then dish out 1 serving (or your choice) which is 28 gr=180 calories. SO MUCH easier than squeezing it all into a tablespoon and then transferring to the toast.

    Also 3-400 in exercise calories seems a bit much. How are you finding out those numbers?
  • Etsar73
    Etsar73 Posts: 260 Member
    edited May 2016
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    Would you call someone who was short on money, trying to save money and using a budget carefully... obsessive or smart? Counting calories and using a scale is smart and is no different than someone budgeting carefully to save money. Some people can guesstimate how much they are spending but some need to record everything to the dollar.... especially when money is tight (like your calories are tight) and guesstimating is not working our for them (like in your case).

    It doesn't have to be obsessive. Get a scale and see if it helps. It's just a tool.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,426 Member
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    Your exercise calories might be way overestimated. even HR monitors don't tell the true story, and this website grossly exaggerates sport calorie burn. Why not use half your sport calories and see where you go from there, apart from using a food scale of course. Just to give you a perspective: to burn 500kcal from running I'd need to run over 6 miles. Of course your calorie burn is higher if you are heavier, but really, sport doesn't burn as many calories as people often think.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    divyatew wrote: »
    @elphie754 I do not! I do use measuring cups and spoons though. I don't want to get super obsessive over measuring because I don't think its sustainable in the long run and I can't measure everything, but it's worth a shot.

    You only have to do this for a while until you get a feel for portion size - otherwise you really don't know how many calories you are consuming.
    When people don't lose weight it usually is because they are eating more than they think.
  • divyatew
    divyatew Posts: 28 Member
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    Thanks guys!!! I'll try using a food scale and eating back half of my exercise calories from now on! I appreciate the feedback!
  • indiacaitlin
    indiacaitlin Posts: 691 Member
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    Biggest tips I can give is 1) weigh your food - this has already been said but I'll say it again because it is super important!

    And 2) consider how you are calculating the amount of calories you burn. MFP estimates and the numbers that treadmills etc give out are very rough. I use a reliable heart rate monitor to get an accurate representation of calories burned. For example, today I did 45 minutes of cardio which burned 490 calories according to my HRM, but the treadmill had it at around 1500 - that's 3 x what I actually burned.

    May be worth investing in a HRM and some scales just to really tighten up your knowledge of what you're eating and burning :smile: you can do it!

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