Frustrated

Do you weigh everything you eat? Are you eating back all your excercise calories? Are you eating at a deficit?

Reassess the accuracy of your food logging to be as sure as possible that you're creating a caloric deficit (which needs to be significant if you want ostensible results relatively fast). We all have slipped there. While water weight can definitely mask fat-loss, not losing generally means we are not creating a caloric deficit. Best of luck!

Hi, have you looked up the HCLF (high carb low fat) vegan way of eating? I know it sounds scary...alot of carbs but its healthy carbs that you should be eating. Stay away from any processed oils and eat fat in its natural state like that found in avocados, coconut, seeds and nuts. Me and my husband just started doing this and I'm feeling/looking so much better. I found out about on youtube just do a search on HCLF Vegan...also I recommend you watch Nutritionfacts.org on youtube with Dr. Michael Greger, he's very informative about any vegan questions you might have. Good luck...dont give up

It honestly sounds like you're not eating the right combo of foods. I was stuck for so long and then I started high fat low carb and input 1500 calories in MFP and that is exactly what I eat give or take a few more or less. I used to compete years ago and was on a very high protein diet, but now that that's over with, I have had terrific success with high fat low carb, because ideally when your carbs are low, your healthy fats should be increased this making you less hungry! I lose at least 2-3 pounds a week AND also incorporate a treat meal 1x a week. Best thing I did and now my hormones are no longer off, I'm sleeping like a baby and have tons of energy

You say you are measuring, but how? Are you using a food scale?

sj1sunshine wrote: »

Let me ask you this - if MyFitnessPal tells me to eat 1200 calories a day, and I exercise and burn 500 calories, so it tells me I can eat 1700 calories that day, I really shouldn't eat 1700 calories, right? If I want to lose weight, I should maybe stick to the 1200 calories? Maybe I was eating too close to the total number with the additional calories from exercise.

Try eating only 25-50% of your exercise calories for a few weeks and see what happens. The calories MFP gives for exercise is an estimate, and it's entirely possible that you're not actually burnun as many calories as it says you are...personally I aim to never eat more than half of my exercise calories.

You need about 50 grams of protein a day. You should have no problem getting that if you eat a healthy vegan diet. But eating a healthy diet won't make you lose weight, vegan or not. As others have said, you have to be in a calorie deficient. One poster mentioned that it's more than CICO. This is not true, exactly. What is true is that the numbers don't add up for everyone. Your rate of metabolism affects everything about your weight loss. Do you have a history of yo-yo dieting? If you do, it can have long-lasting effects on how your body burns calories.

As for MFP giving you 1,200 calories, this means you've set your loss at 2 lbs. per week. I cannot tell you how often I read these posts where women are trying to lose eating 1,200 and just aren't losing. Is this because they are eating more than they think, or is it possible to eat too little? Who knows for sure? But I do know that if you don't eat enough you are less likely to stick to an eating plan. You are already frustrated. I would be, too. I've lost 89 lbs and I've never eaten less than 1,600 calories a day.

The experts, most of the studies, the films, the commentary, the testimonials--all these point to one simple thing--weight loss should be SLOW, steady. A new food plan should not be a "diet." It should be a sustainable way of eating that you can maintain FOREVER. If you lose quickly, you are more likely to gain the weight back. If you deprive yourself of foods you love, you are more likely to break down and eat those foods and gain weight. If you get into a habit of yo-yo dieting you can mess up your metabolism and it may not bounce back when you've lost the weight and you will be more likely to gain the weight back. If you don't make real, sustainable lifestyle changes, you will likely gain the weight back.

When I quit smoking I put on almost 10 lbs in two months. I didn't change anything else, just quit smoking and BAM! It was pretty much water weight I think but it took a few more months for it to really go away...I just felt like an inflated balloon for that time, my feet wouldn't even fit in my shoes! Hang it there and congrats on the big quit! Just keep counting your calories correctly and you will see change.

I didn't read every post so not sure if anyone else suggested this, but...weigh yourself every morning (hopefully after using the bathroom and before eating), don't pay much attention to what the scale says, just log it. Reasoning for this first thing is so that you don't get discouraged and/or frustrated. Your body is freaking out a bit right now as you are making it do something it isn't used to. Quitting smoking alone is enough to freak it out. Add exercise and diet change...you get the idea. Be as calm as you can, and as patient as you can. So-bullet points:
-Weigh in each morning, and think of what you see in the scale as a little cloud you can blow away initially.
-Accurately log your caloric intake - can't stress this enough. It's taxing at first, but pays off in the long run.
-Eat a balance of foods for at least a month before you start tweaking macros. My suggestion is to eat how you've been eating (unless it's garbage or artificial sweeteners, but it doesn't sound like it is) so you know what your body is used to. I typically tend toward a higher protein, lower fat and carb than MFP suggests, but it works for me. I am just now starting to tweak the macros a bit to see how my body responds.
-Exercise - Mix in compound movements and some cardio (personally can't stand machines and prefer a tabada HIIT for cardio (pick up the tabata app for iPhone or android). If you haven't been exercising for long, move into it slowly, don't try to jump in and kill 1k calories on a treadmill or other cardio machine, or lifting for that matter, right out of the gate. Using MFP, don't eat back your calories from exercise.
-Invest in a heart rate monitor that you will use and enjoy. I suggest using a chest strap model (I have used both, but the chest strap is very consistent)
-Sleep as well as you can. If you have problems sleeping, try to remedy it.
-Remember, this is something that requires a lot of patience. When I first started in 2010, I weighed in at 220 @ 6'1". It was a month at least before my body settled in and the fat started dropping off. When it did, I was dropping 1lb a week. After several months of truly accurate caloric monitoring I started dropping fat at about 2 lbs per week. At that point I felt like I was running at too much of a deficit (I had set my own limit at 1700 cal per day), so I bumped it up a bit since I was also lifting heavy. I hit 180 before I started adding back even more calories and started lifting a bit heavier. My goal is only to sculpt and build a little so I have maintained at about 185 to 195, but the bigger picture for me is my body fat percentage stays between 14&17%.

-Look at quiksyler296's flowchart, it's great.
-Never give up!