Confused - am I eating too much?
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chnphillips wrote: »4 days is not enough time to see a weight loss. Also there is a lot of sodium in frozen meals. You might be retaining water.
I wouldn't obsess over the caloric accuracy in pre- packaged foods just yet. Worrying about that so soon can scare you right out of counting calories.
Yes, keep a close eye on your sodium, Frozen ready meals are usually loaded with it which will = water retention which will = the scale to not budge or go up.0 -
ConfusedDieter wrote: »OK I will wait more time I guess...I know it's only been 4 days BUT I thought that it takes 3500 extra calories to gain 1 pound. I have not been going over the 1500 calories so how is that possible? I don't get it. So you think it might be sodium?
Don't feel discouraged. Personally, my weight can fluctuate up to 5-7 lbs in a day. This is why I weigh myself weekly, IF that. I normally won't for up to a month. If you're on the plan to lose 1 lb per week, I suggest weighing yourself less frequently to prevent from being discouraged. If you are inputting everything correctly every day (food and proportion along with exercise per day, lifestyle setting for your account, etc.) you know you will be losing the weight even if you don't check. You can do this, don't get discouraged.
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you didnt gain the weight in 4 days so you arent going to lose it in 4 days,weight loss takes time and sometimes you will lose inches before it shows on the scale. get a tape measure and measure yourself about once a month. write it down or you can enter those things into mfp as well. 4 days is not enough to notice much of a difference. the other day I was due for TOM(that time of the month) I was also retaining water altogether I was retaining 7-8lbs of water,some of it was from TOM and the other was due to high sodium foods the past few days. if you gained weight in a few days its water retention. drink more water to help flush some of it out(sounds counter productive I know but it helps).weight also fluctuates from hr to hr,day to day,etc.If you are new to exercise you will retain some water as well.dont give up,give it a month or two. then if you dont lose anything then you may have to figure out whats going on and reassess things.0
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Like everyone else said that's assuredly water fluctuation/retention. Weighing once a week helps average the swings in weight and after a couple of weeks you'll start seeing the gradual decline.0
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Thanks for the explanations guys. I think I simply had the wrong idea. Someone once told me something like the calories from food get absorbed in 20 minutes so I assumed that if I created a deficit, I would be able to see it right away. I think I'm going to lower my expectations though, like losing 1 lb a month, so that I won't get disappointed.1
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It's the sodium! I had hibachi the other night and the chef used a lot of soy sauce. I woke up next morning terribly bloated, my fingers and face. Sure enough I gained 4 pounds and It was definitely water retention. It took 4 days to go away and I'm back to the weight I was before I had hibachi dinner. Take a look at the sodium content in your frozen meals. If it is indeed high then you should really reconsider eating them. I know that I won't be consuming soy sauce any time soon. Good luck on your journey and don't let this derail you. You just started. You have a bunch of folks here in the same boat as you1
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ConfusedDieter wrote: »Thanks for the explanations guys. I think I simply had the wrong idea. Someone once told me something like the calories from food get absorbed in 20 minutes so I assumed that if I created a deficit, I would be able to see it right away. I think I'm going to lower my expectations though, like losing 1 lb a month, so that I won't get disappointed.
This is a much better idea. Focus on the positive changes you can make... and over time you will see results.
And bear in mind that the scale is only one measure - your clothes, your energy, your ability to walk, or climb stairs or get up from the floor or even your mood are likely to show changes as you get healthier.
Don't feel you only have to eat packaged food that has a bar code though - fruit and veggies don't usually have bar codes but are great for you, and the MFP recipe builder (though it has its flaws) lets you enter your own favourite meals and know what the calorie count is.1 -
I'm pretty sure that pre packaged food's calorie info on their boxes are an estimate and as long as they're within 20% either way, they fall into the guidelines. Which means that a frozen meal that says its 400 calories could actually be 480.
It's a pain but cooking your meals will seriously help you out in the long run.0 -
ConfusedDieter wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »ConfusedDieter wrote: »Redwineandmuscles wrote: »No you are not eating too much. Keep doing EXACTLY what you are doing (if you like your plan). As I lost weight the scale went up and down daily, but over two months the trend was down. Also, if you eat too much one day, it won't really make you gain a pound, even if the scale makes it seem like you did. Just pull up your socks and detour back to your plan again. You've got this.
Thanks. Can anyone relate to how I'm feeling emotionally right now? I'm such a wreck. I woke up this morning feeling so optimistic, feeling like I was finally on my way to a healthy weight. My attitude was there is no deadline, as long as I am maintaining a caloric deficit every day. And I was totally crushed and shocked when I saw the weight go up because I thought it would be like 199.9 or something you know?
I think many of us can relate to how you're feeling. You do everything right and the reward is seeing a lower number when you step on the scale, and it sucks when it doesn't show you what you want to see. I must have a dozen different looks of disgust, frustration and disappointment that come across my face when i see the scale number not move or go up lol But it is what it is, it would be so much easier to give up, but i want this weight loss, i want it baaad
Luckily for you, it's only been 4 days, so way too early to start panicking just yet. Some people don't start to lose until 4-6 weeks in and then poof, weight loss finally starts happening on a regular basis.
Keep doing what you're doing and be patient. Keep your logging tight and as accurate as possible, so you can remove any doubt that you're eating too much (more than 1500 calories), second guessing will do your head in.
Thank you for understanding how I feel
I admire you for keeping at it.
I just weighed myself again and my weight was literally 206 lb, I'm not joking. So I gained 5 lb in one day. I will admit I had a lot of junk food. However I went back and counted the calories of everything and it was 3,000 calories. I thought it took 3,500 calories OVEREATING to gain 1 pound. I can't do this any more. I keep gaining weight arbitrarily. Either that or there is something wrong with me and my metabolism is really low like 300 calories a day or something. I have had it. I tried to get to a healthy weight but my weight keeps going up arbitrarily.
It takes 3500 calories above maintenance (approximately) to gain 1 pound OF FAT. Changes in fat are not the only thing that registers on the scale. Changes in water weight show up, and given that you started eating frozen meals (which are typically high sodium), it's likely that water weight increase caused your first half-pound gain. Then you got discouraged and proceeded to overeat on the fifth day, which means you have a lot more food transiting your digestive system than you've had since you started on MFP. Plus, the extra calories allowed your body to top off your glycogen stores, and your body needs extra water to store glycogen. So the five pounds in one day is food weight and more water weight, and a tiny bit of fat from overeating.
The weight changes aren't arbitrary. Your expectations for results are unreasonable, and you're being too impatient.4 -
bethannien wrote: »I'm pretty sure that pre packaged food's calorie info on their boxes are an estimate and as long as they're within 20% either way, they fall into the guidelines. Which means that a frozen meal that says its 400 calories could actually be 480.
It's a pain but cooking your meals will seriously help you out in the long run.
Yep, i never thought to weigh packaged food before reading it on here.
My "60g" Quest bar weighed 65g today. 2 slices of bread say 72g on the label, but when i weigh them it's usually more like 85g. I think I'd fall over from shock if a food actually weighed what it said on the label.. Do not blindly trust anything, it always pays to do a quick double check.
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Also it was briefly mentioned, but you said you started walking 2 hours a day (1 in morning and 1 in evening). This is a pretty significant jump in activity level and that can trigger water weight gain as well because our muscles attract water while repairing themselves.
Weight loss is a frustrating process sometimes (most of the time). You have to have a thick skin, patience and trust in the process. Trust that if you are accurately logging and in a deficit you WILL lose fat, but the water weight fluctuations wont always allow that to show on the scale. You just have to keep it up loooong term (like forever) and the scale will eventually move down.
Good luck, add me if you want 0 -
ConfusedDieter wrote: »Thanks for the explanations guys. I think I simply had the wrong idea. Someone once told me something like the calories from food get absorbed in 20 minutes so I assumed that if I created a deficit, I would be able to see it right away. I think I'm going to lower my expectations though, like losing 1 lb a month, so that I won't get disappointed.
Slow down a bit and take a step back. If you weigh your food and continue with your exercise that you are doing you will lose a bunch more weight than 1lb a month.
You have asked about sodium so here's a prime example. I made fajitas the other week, 5 dinners to be exact and I used two packages of seasoning when I made them. They were fantastic but extremely high in sodium. For 5 days straight I gained a pound, and this is with intense cardio and very strict calorie counting. I was even drinking 2-3 liters of water a day, but for 5 days in a row I gained a pound. Then I went to low sodium for two days, still keeping the same amount of calories in and still drinking the same amount of water. I ended up losing 7 pounds in the next two days of strictly water weight.
Sodium 100% plays with your head and if you are only eating prepackaged food they will be loaded with the stuff. How do you think they get them to taste so good when there is minimal calories, low sugar and low fat in them?
So it has been four days now on a new eating plan as well as four days of two hours of cardio per day. As mentioned above, there will be some water retention in your muscles at the start just because they aren't used to that much exercise yet.
Some tips, only weigh yourself in the morning after you go to the bathroom and before you eat or drink anything. That is the most accurate way to do it. Many people will advocate weighing in once per week but I am an every morning kind of person. This allows me to look back at what I ate and if something isn't working over a period I have an idea as to what would need to change. Weighing in every day also taught me a lot about how my body holds onto water when I eat lots of salt. I physically didn't feel like I gained 5 pounds but the scale didn't lie.
Don't change your exercise, and don't change your calorie count. Give it a couple of weeks starting from today because of your binge. One pound of fat does indeed have 3500 calories in it but there is much more to body weight then just fat. Weigh in today, and each morning at the same time for 7 days. Look at how the scale is moving, even write it down. At 1500 calories and that amount of exercise you WILL lose weight, there's no way around it.
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Oh my gosh! Honestly woman. I really want to be supportive but what you're saying is rediculous. Honestly. If you are going to weigh yourself every 2 seconds then get all crazy as *kitten* after each weigh in expecting weight loss you might as well pack it in.
Go do research in HOW THE BODY WORKS.0 -
ConfusedDieter wrote: »Thanks for the explanations guys. I think I simply had the wrong idea. Someone once told me something like the calories from food get absorbed in 20 minutes so I assumed that if I created a deficit, I would be able to see it right away. I think I'm going to lower my expectations though, like losing 1 lb a month, so that I won't get disappointed.
Slow down a bit and take a step back. If you weigh your food and continue with your exercise that you are doing you will lose a bunch more weight than 1lb a month.
You have asked about sodium so here's a prime example. I made fajitas the other week, 5 dinners to be exact and I used two packages of seasoning when I made them. They were fantastic but extremely high in sodium. For 5 days straight I gained a pound, and this is with intense cardio and very strict calorie counting. I was even drinking 2-3 liters of water a day, but for 5 days in a row I gained a pound. Then I went to low sodium for two days, still keeping the same amount of calories in and still drinking the same amount of water. I ended up losing 7 pounds in the next two days of strictly water weight.
Sodium 100% plays with your head and if you are only eating prepackaged food they will be loaded with the stuff. How do you think they get them to taste so good when there is minimal calories, low sugar and low fat in them?
So it has been four days now on a new eating plan as well as four days of two hours of cardio per day. As mentioned above, there will be some water retention in your muscles at the start just because they aren't used to that much exercise yet.
Some tips, only weigh yourself in the morning after you go to the bathroom and before you eat or drink anything. That is the most accurate way to do it. Many people will advocate weighing in once per week but I am an every morning kind of person. This allows me to look back at what I ate and if something isn't working over a period I have an idea as to what would need to change. Weighing in every day also taught me a lot about how my body holds onto water when I eat lots of salt. I physically didn't feel like I gained 5 pounds but the scale didn't lie.
Don't change your exercise, and don't change your calorie count. Give it a couple of weeks starting from today because of your binge. One pound of fat does indeed have 3500 calories in it but there is much more to body weight then just fat. Weigh in today, and each morning at the same time for 7 days. Look at how the scale is moving, even write it down. At 1500 calories and that amount of exercise you WILL lose weight, there's no way around it.
Thank you so much for taking the time to describe the thing about fajitas - you've got me convinced Also thank you for putting it that way "you WILL lose weight, there's no way around it" - I feel better now. Thank you to everyone who responded to me for explaining. Now I can see that there are more factors than simply the calories. 0 -
Ultimately there is nothing more than calories in vs calories out for fat loss. Its just science and mathematics. But body weight has many more variables. I swear to you that if you faithfully log 1500 calories for the next 7 days, continue the walking like you have been and drink lots of water you will show a loss next week.
Someone pointed out earlier in this post but completely changing your body does not happen overnight. It takes time and there will be MANY times throughout the journey where you will get pissed off that it is not happening fast enough. There will be times where the scale isn't showing a loss even though you are doing everything right. There will also be times where you get into a funk and it seems like its not worth it and you might as well just quit.
This takes a long time but in the end its all worth it.2 -
Ultimately there is nothing more than calories in vs calories out for fat loss. Its just science and mathematics. But body weight has many more variables. I swear to you that if you faithfully log 1500 calories for the next 7 days, continue the walking like you have been and drink lots of water you will show a loss next week.
Someone pointed out earlier in this post but completely changing your body does not happen overnight. It takes time and there will be MANY times throughout the journey where you will get pissed off that it is not happening fast enough. There will be times where the scale isn't showing a loss even though you are doing everything right. There will also be times where you get into a funk and it seems like its not worth it and you might as well just quit.
This takes a long time but in the end its all worth it.
Agreed with the post above. You can't let your mood each day be dictated by the scale. Some days it will be up and some days it will be down. You can't go on a binge each time it arbitrarily goes up because you are upset, you will never get results if you binge often enough to undo your deficit from the days before. Just follow the program consistently and overtime the numbers will be going down.
Read some of the stickies in this forum. They will explain a lot about how to track calories, how weight loss is not linear, what reasonable expectations are, etc.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest
You could definitely lose more than 1 pound a month if you log 1500 calories accurately and consistently and keep up with your walking. Set a reasonable goal for the month and work towards that mini goal this month. When you accomplish that goal, set another one. Your goals can be something other than weight loss too, such as building good habits (this month I will walk X times a week, or eat X vegetables a day, or stop drinking full sugar sodas, etc.) Each time you are able to accomplish one of your mini goals, you will feel empowered and realize you do have the willpower and determination to accomplish anything you want.1 -
Its been FOUR DAYS.
On the subject of stressing over changes of less than 2-3 pounds:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/how-to-weigh ... ccurately/
Your weight can vary by over a pound in either direction on a SINGLE day. Your scale can vary by over a pound based on room temperature, position, or just sheer bloodymindedness.
Wait. Watch for an overall trend over WEEKS. Only then can you say "what I"m doing isn't working." This isn't a lab experiment where you get to take measurements hourly and plot them out on a little graph. Life is messier than that.
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Op has been banned. I guess they won't be taking this advice0
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Our bodies are not efficient. What I mean by this: the beneficial things you do NOW may not show immediately. Some effects may happen sooner than others, but water retention (from sodium, stress, muscle fatigue, TOM) can be quick to show up.
The science that says 3500 calories = 1 pound refers to what it takes to lose fat and/or muscle. (If you eat at a deficit, your body takes what it needs from your fat/muscle stores.) But you also have blood, bone, water, solid waste in you at any given time. If I get on the scale, then eat 5 pounds of salad, and get on the scale again - my weight should be up 5 pounds. But that does not mean I have actually gained 5 pounds.
If the scale number drives you crazy, then check it only ever 2-3 weeks. If you do weigh in more often, keep in mind the # on the scale is only one factor in this process. You also want to consider that you are doing good things for your health/fitness, and building a better you. Trust the science, and know that by eating at a deficit over time - you will lose weight. The key is to be patient and wait for the 'over time' to show itself.1 -
singingflutelady wrote: »Op has been banned. I guess they won't be taking this advice
How can you possibly get yourself banned with 11 posts!?!?
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