Help! I'm desperate!
chazznittt
Posts: 28 Member
Hello! I have been using MFP since January 2015, I have lost 3st 12lbs. But since January 2016, it seems to have not really been working, I have been putting weight back on even though I have been dieting and exercising. One week I will lose a couple of pounds, the next I'll have put it back on and the next it won't have changed. I have upped my exercise, lowered my carbs, changed all sorts around to try and sort it out but nothing is working. I even saw a dietician and she said I'm doing everything right to lose weight but it's just not happening. I would be very very grateful if someone could help or give me some advice.
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
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Replies
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are you weighing food on a digital kitchen scale and making sure the entries you're using from the database are correct?5
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are you weighing food on a digital kitchen scale and making sure the entries you're using from the database are correct?
Yes, I weigh everything, if I think something is not correct in the database I research on the Internet to find the right one or I'll input it myself from food labels.3 -
You're eating more calories that you need.
Give us some stats (current weight, height, details of exercise and activity, age) and open your diary.1 -
StealthHealth wrote: »You're eating more calories that you need.
Give us some stats (current weight, height, details of exercise and activity, age) and open your diary.
My weight is 16st bang on. I'm 5ft 6. I try to walk for an hour once or twice a week, I go to an hours Zumba class every week, I try to go to the gym 1-3 times a week and when I'm there I tend to spend an hour to an hour and a half there. I'm 25 and my diary is open for friends to see. I eat between 1,200 and 1,500 calories a day.0 -
TDEE is about 2450 cals per day. So a loss of 1lb per week should be about 1950 cals per day and 2lb per week about 1450 per day.
At 224lbs you are safe to aim for the 2lb per week.
Your diary is not open: Home > Settings > Diary Settings. Set Diary Sharing to Public.2 -
1200-1500 NET? or total?1
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got it now
It's a good diary - I'll be honest: I can't see much wrong in there. There is the odd weekend day not logged but generally everything looks good. I'd say:- Tighten up on the tablespoons type entries and check weigh those pre-packaged foods like a Young's Breaded fish portion type stuff, they can be as much as 50% out.
- Weigh everything - I know it's a pain in the *kitten* but when you're struggling small differences in portions can make the difference between loss and gain.
- Monitor weight and body measurements (waist, bust, hips)
Your cals target looks about right but if you;ve not seen a change in the right direction after implementing the above then you're going to have to face the fact that you need to shave another 100 or 200 cals off that target (or add in that equivalent in activity).2 -
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Do you have any medical conditions?
Side note. In the past 3 weeks, i saw 4 unlogged days. It's possible you are using up your deficit on those days.
Also, in that year of dieting, have you taken any diet breaks?2 -
chazznittt wrote: »
Not necessary, I just wondered.
Honestly, my recommendation is to not change ANYTHING for 6 weeks. Don't change your exercise. Don't change your intake or foods. Keep everything the same for 6 weeks. Log religiously. Take measurements of your waist/hips/chest/thighs/etc.
In general what you're doing IS IN FACT WORKING, just you're mildly sick or extra stressed right now for some reason, causing some blips. Try to be patient. And try not changing anything for a few weeks. Ok?
You're doing a great job. Look how far you've come.2 -
StealthHealth wrote: »got it now
It's a good diary - I'll be honest: I can't see much wrong in there. There is the odd weekend day not logged but generally everything looks good. I'd say:- Tighten up on the tablespoons type entries and check weigh those pre-packaged foods like a Young's Breaded fish portion type stuff, they can be as much as 50% out.
- Weigh everything - I know it's a pain in the *kitten* but when you're struggling small differences in portions can make the difference between loss and gain.
- Monitor weight and body measurements (waist, bust, hips)
Your cals target looks about right but if you;ve not seen a change in the right direction after implementing the above then you're going to have to face the fact that you need to shave another 100 or 200 cals off that target (or add in that equivalent in activity).
The days where I haven't logged are days where I've had a day off haha.
I have done measurements but I have only lost 1 inch in months. I don't understand at all.
I was only eating 1,200 calories and thought maybe I wasn't having enough so I upped it and it still not made a difference.0 -
Day off? day off work or day off logging?1
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chazznittt wrote: »
Not necessary, I just wondered.
Honestly, my recommendation is to not change ANYTHING for 6 weeks. Don't change your exercise. Don't change your intake or foods. Keep everything the same for 6 weeks. Log religiously. Take measurements of your waist/hips/chest/thighs/etc.
In general what you're doing IS IN FACT WORKING, just you're mildly sick or extra stressed right now for some reason, causing some blips. Try to be patient. And try not changing anything for a few weeks. Ok?
You're doing a great job. Look how far you've come.
Thanks so much!
I have done my measurements and only lost an inch in months!
You don't think there could be some sort of hormone imbalance or something do you?
My doctor was saying its a plateau but surely it wouldn't last 6 months..0 -
OK, thatcould be it, if you upped your calories from 1200 recently your body is just geting readjustd and you should settle down into losing again. Keep up your great work.0
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OK, thatcould be it, if you upped your calories from 1200 recently your body is just geting readjustd and you should settle down into losing again. Keep up your great work.
I know but it's been since January. Surely that's not right. It's like no matter how many calories I eat I still don't lose.0 -
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...but are you gaining inches in the right places? At quick glance your doing ALOT of exercising.chazznittt wrote: »...I have done my measurements and only lost an inch in months! ..0 -
chazznittt wrote: »StealthHealth wrote: »Day off? day off work or day off logging?
Sorry, I mean like a cheat day.
Cheat days can use up an entire weeks worth of calorie deficit. That is probably the issue. I would scale back or track those.2 -
2011rocket3touring wrote: »
...but are you gaining inches in the right places? At quick glance your doing ALOT of exercising.chazznittt wrote: »...I have done my measurements and only lost an inch in months! ..
I'm not gaining inches, just not losing them haha0 -
chazznittt wrote: »OK, thatcould be it, if you upped your calories from 1200 recently your body is just geting readjustd and you should settle down into losing again. Keep up your great work.
I know but it's been since January. Surely that's not right. It's like no matter how many calories I eat I still don't lose.
It isn't right. Something is off with your approach. There's no evidence to suggest that banging your head against a brick wall will achieve any other result than the one you are currently getting.
As referenced above if you haven't had a diet break then I would suggest you take one now. Maybe two weeks or so. Expect a little weight gain but don't go off the rails. Par exercise and activity down to doing it just for the enjoyments you get from it.
When you get back to it log ruthlessly for at least six weeks. No missed days. Keep diet quality as high as possible.
When you work out properly again work out with intensity and with a purpose.
See how you go.0 -
Eek! How bad were the cheat days?0
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eveandqsmom wrote: »Eek! How bad were the cheat days?
Not crazy, I don't drink alcohol and a cheat day is generally a day where I can have something I don't normally have, like fish and chips or a Chinese for tea.0 -
chazznittt wrote: »OK, thatcould be it, if you upped your calories from 1200 recently your body is just geting readjustd and you should settle down into losing again. Keep up your great work.
I know but it's been since January. Surely that's not right. It's like no matter how many calories I eat I still don't lose.
It isn't right. Something is off with your approach. There's no evidence to suggest that banging your head against a brick wall will achieve any other result than the one you are currently getting.
As referenced above if you haven't had a diet break then I would suggest you take one now. Maybe two weeks or so. Expect a little weight gain but don't go off the rails. Par exercise and activity down to doing it just for the enjoyments you get from it.
When you get back to it log ruthlessly for at least six weeks. No missed days. Keep diet quality as high as possible.
When you work out properly again work out with intensity and with a purpose.
See how you go.
I actually did that every couple of months last year and it actually worked. But I've been so determined to start losing weight again I just thought if I keep going and going it will eventually start again but even after 6 months, nothing. It's so so disheartening, especially when I want it so much.0 -
Try to log your cheat days and see how many calories they are. Even without drinking, i can easily use up my deficit with a cheat meal.0
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chazznittt wrote: »chazznittt wrote: »OK, thatcould be it, if you upped your calories from 1200 recently your body is just geting readjustd and you should settle down into losing again. Keep up your great work.
I know but it's been since January. Surely that's not right. It's like no matter how many calories I eat I still don't lose.
It isn't right. Something is off with your approach. There's no evidence to suggest that banging your head against a brick wall will achieve any other result than the one you are currently getting.
As referenced above if you haven't had a diet break then I would suggest you take one now. Maybe two weeks or so. Expect a little weight gain but don't go off the rails. Par exercise and activity down to doing it just for the enjoyments you get from it.
When you get back to it log ruthlessly for at least six weeks. No missed days. Keep diet quality as high as possible.
When you work out properly again work out with intensity and with a purpose.
See how you go.
I actually did that every couple of months last year and it actually worked.
If it ain't broke...
As @psulemon said it could well be your cheat day unwittingly derailing any deficit you have or reducing to to such a level that discernible weight loss isn't evident. It could also be secret eating / food seeking behaviours creeping in which is quite common when you place a lot of pressure on yourself.
I know it really, really sucks but you need to relax, take it easy and then get back at it with all guns blazing. You could try to ride it out by tightening your logging up and so on but sometimes you need to open the release valve on accumulated stress.
Be kind to yourself. It does work
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chazznittt wrote: »StealthHealth wrote: »Day off? day off work or day off logging?
Sorry, I mean like a cheat day.
They may be the cause of your problem losing. I'm not sure where this idea of cheat days when "dieting" comes from - possibly the body building community* but if you're struggling then this is the first thing I would ditch. Sorry.
* The "epic cheat meals" that I've seen body builders eating tend to be after a competition or during a bulk. Body builders do tend to have strategic re-feeds during cuts but rest assured that these tend to be well controlled, are calorie and macro "esti-counted", and specifically designed to give the competitor a break from the lower carb diet and fill out carb depleted muscles. None of these options are applicable to dieters aiming to get to normal BMI.
But, it's not all doom and gloom - you can enjoy your favourite foods in moderation on a regular basis, but you need to be smart and plan them in.
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Careful, fish and chips, or chinese can easily wipe out a complete week worth of eating in a deficit. The fries, if not done properly are soaked in fat, the fish batter is soaked in fat, and the remoulade (pickle? what is it called?) is not light either. Maybe additional mayonnaise with the fries. Think of it this way: a table spoon of oil can easily be 10-15 grams, 1 gram is 9kcal, thus a normal table spoon of oil could be 90-135kcal. How many of those might there be in the fries and fish? A tablespoon of good mayonnaise adds an almost similar amount as it contains a lot of oil.
What might have happened: you lost weight and the amount of calories your body needs went down. it always happens as a lighter body needs less energy to run. Now it might have reached a level where your cheat meals are too big for losing weight. Did you ever recalculate your calorie allowance, btw?3 -
StealthHealth wrote: »chazznittt wrote: »StealthHealth wrote: »Day off? day off work or day off logging?
Sorry, I mean like a cheat day.
They may be the cause of your problem losing. I'm not sure where this idea of cheat days when "dieting" comes from - possibly the body building community* but if you're struggling then this is the first thing I would ditch. Sorry.
I have no idea where it comes from either and it does seem counter productive in many instances.
Back in the day it used to be a cheat meal to offset cravings and so on in a week of strict dieting where total cals for that day would not exceed maintenance or if it did then by a relatively modest amount (say 250 cals over at most.)
There would also be planned refeeds as you said but even then that had specific parameters (raising carbs but keeping fat intake strictly controlled - it wasn't an opportunity to get as much ice cream down your gullet as possible.)
OP - if you are interested in flexible dieting strategies I suggest you read Lyle McDonald's " A Guide To Flexible Dieting" for solid info.
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StealthHealth wrote: »chazznittt wrote: »StealthHealth wrote: »Day off? day off work or day off logging?
Sorry, I mean like a cheat day.
They may be the cause of your problem losing. I'm not sure where this idea of cheat days when "dieting" comes from - possibly the body building community* but if you're struggling then this is the first thing I would ditch. Sorry.
* The "epic cheat meals" that I've seen body builders eating tend to be after a competition or during a bulk. Body builders do tend to have strategic re-feeds during cuts but rest assured that these tend to be well controlled, are calorie and macro "esti-counted", and specifically designed to give the competitor a break from the lower carb diet and fill out carb depleted muscles. None of these options are applicable to dieters aiming to get to normal BMI.
But, it's not all doom and gloom - you can enjoy your favourite foods in moderation on a regular basis, but you need to be smart and plan them in.
I tried a few weeks without a cheat day and it still didn't make a difference though.0 -
I don't think you can look at weight loss on a weekly basis - it's non-linear and the changes can come in lumps and bumps.1
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