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I'm losing my mind...:(

13

Replies

  • Posts: 1,403 Member

    When I go out to eat, if it's a restaurant with nutrition info I go by that and log it. If it's a place that doesn't have nutrition info, I then have to guesstimate based on comparable restaurants that do have nutrition info OR I break down the food I ate into MFP. As for alcohol I don't drink, like very very rarely, maybe one or two glasses of wine a MONTH. I'm very very strict about beverages, I don't drink booze and I don't drink soda, just plain boring water or La Croix sparkling water.

    That's not measuring your food. I know it feels like it is, but it's not.
  • Posts: 16,049 Member
    leejoyce31 wrote: »

    Oh dear, if I had to do all that, I would have not lost weight. I lost over 80 pounds not measuring. However, now that I am in maintenance, I weigh everything with a food scale using grams, except my butter cooking spray. :)

    Now that I am maintaining, I am a huge proponent of measuring but people can lose without it. With that said, if she does not have a medical issue, I would agree that she is eating too much and not accurately counting calories.

    Weighing every little thing we eat is definitely not a prerequisite for losing weight, millions of people lose weight without weighing and logging. However if someone has plateaued/stalled or is gaining it would be the very first thing i'd look into doing.
  • Posts: 15 Member
    OP: I feel you. I have been going through the same thing for years. All of my thyroid tests have come back within the normal range. I, like you, am probably eating more than I think. BUT, I am still eating much LESS than I was before and working out much MORE than ever. There should be a deficit regardless. I have been lifting 3 times a week and doing met con 2x a week and hiking a 3,000-4,000 foot mountain almost every weekend! My journal is open but I haven't really logged correctly in awhile. I needed a "head break". Enjoy my Jane's Addiction concert beer binge entry from the other day!

    I am going to be vigilant with my weighing and see what happens in the next month.

    TLDR: I can relate.

    SAME HERE. I used to hate exercising, but then on June 11, 2015 I joined Orange Theory and even though I haven't lost weight, I feel 10X better after each workout. So I've been more active physically then I have ever been in my entire life. The problem is that I also weigh more than I ever have. :(

    Between Fitbit, Myfitnesspal and my short lived run with WW app, I feel like jumping off the metaphorical cliff sometimes. But I don't want to get worse, so I won't give up.

    As for everyone asking me about HOW I measure everything when I cook. I use an electric scale, and measuring devices like measuring cups and spoons etc. I even have a special measuring cup just for liquids. So please, stop asking about how I measure, I know how much I'm eating when I'm home. When I go out to eat, I skip rice, I skip potatoes, and bread. I usually will eat a protein like steak or grilled chicken with veggies or salad or sweet potato. I avoid fried food completely, and if I'm really jonesing for dessert I either order a cappuccino or I wait till I get home and have a sugar free jello or sugar free pudding. That's about it. I don't eat fast food either, and I avoid eating sandwiches for lunches.

    My days look something like this:
    Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs with 1/4 cup of cheese
    Lunch - I go to Orange Theory often during my lunch break (about 3x a week) and then I have one slice of natures own double fiber bread with unsalted natural peanut butter (1 tablespoon) and one large banana

    Snacks- a low fat cheese stick or almonds and a sugar free cherry jello

    Dinner - this varies and depends on whether I go out or not. But usually it's protein with a side of veggies or black beans. If I eat at home it's usually broiled salmon with 2 tablespoons of lemon butter sauce baked on top and a side of French green beans and a few slices of cut up sweet potato (baked). For dessert I'll have a sugar free chocolate Popsicle or pudding or jello.




  • Posts: 794 Member
    jemhh wrote: »

    Of course people can lose without measuring. Nobody has stated otherwise. I lost 30 lbs that way. But then I stopped losing and needed to be more accurate. That's what the OP needs to do or she just needs to eat less, period.

    I never said anyone stated otherwise.
  • Posts: 794 Member
    jemhh wrote: »

    Of course people can lose without measuring. Nobody has stated otherwise. I lost 30 lbs that way. But then I stopped losing and needed to be more accurate. That's what the OP needs to do or she just needs to eat less, period.

    I was speaking of my own personal experience saying that I would not have been able to do so. Great that you did. Good for you. :)
  • Posts: 794 Member

    Weighing every little thing we eat is definitely not a prerequisite for losing weight, millions of people lose weight without weighing and logging. However if someone has plateaued/stalled or is gaining it would be the very first thing i'd look into doing.

    I understand. I was only saying that I could not do that. Just speaking about my own personal experience. I know that I couldn't measure all that. Not discouraging anyone from taking the posters advice.

  • Posts: 1,403 Member
    I've lost almost 30 pounds without measuring but if I came to a point where I couldn't, I'd buy a scale.
  • Posts: 129 Member
    I don't want to profess to know everything or anything... and like they say opinions are like a holes... everyone has one... so let me tell you what worked for me. A year ago I was T2 Diabetic... the doctor started throwing meds at me... I had a " degenerative disc " problem in my back that would keep me out of work for weeks at a time... I made some changes... I stopped listening to the docs and started listening to my body ( and read everything on nutrition I could find ). I changed my diet and started walking, then riding, and finally running... I am now running half marathons ( against the doctors advice ) in under 2 hours and I have never felt better. Remember doctors only exist to create clients - I know that sounds extreme but ultimately if a doctor " cures " your problem there is no source of income for him... so the doctor prescribes this pill which fixes one problem but creates another one... so he prescribes another which solves that problem but creates another one... and the cycle continues. Bottom line is I switched to a whole food / plant based diet and am off ALL meds and have never felt better, I haven't even had a headache in as long as I can remember. Do the research and decide for yourself but try and break the cycle... if someone had told me a year and 100lbs ago that I would be eating plants ( and enjoying it ) AND running 13.1 miles for fun - I would have told them they had lost their damn mind... but there comes a time when you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Best of luck to you! If you have any questions I am always available.
  • Posts: 16,049 Member
    leejoyce31 wrote: »

    I understand. I was only saying that I could not do that. Just speaking about my own personal experience. I know that I couldn't measure all that. Not discouraging anyone from taking the posters advice.

    I get what you're saying, it does look incredibly overwhelming when reading it here in so much detail. It took me months to start using a food scale because "I was not NOT going to be one of those obsessive people who weigh every morsel that passes their lips", but i eventually caved, and here i am now preaching what i used to be so dead against doing lol
  • Posts: 538 Member
    Think about low carb high fat (LCHF) eating. Check out dietdoctor.com. I have been doing it since January and have lost 80 pounds without exercise and have not been hungry
  • Posts: 156 Member

    When I go out to eat, if it's a restaurant with nutrition info I go by that and log it. If it's a place that doesn't have nutrition info, I then have to guesstimate based on comparable restaurants that do have nutrition info OR I break down the food I ate into MFP. As for alcohol I don't drink, like very very rarely, maybe one or two glasses of wine a MONTH. I'm very very strict about beverages, I don't drink booze and I don't drink soda, just plain boring water or La Croix sparkling water.

    In regard to LCHF, my diary is open to friends, you can send me a request if you want and take a look at what I eat, and I'll be glad to answer what questions I can via PM, so as not to hijack the thread. I haven't braved the restaurant scene yet, but my basic plan is to focus on the meat and basic garden salad (the carbs in fancy restaurant salads can be appalling), skip the bread and potatoes, don't eat anything battered. You'll want to drink even more water, though, because you'll be losing it. If people ask rude nosy questions about what you're eating, just shrug and say it's what you like.

    My brother travels for work quite a bit, and only eats at restaurants when he is meeting clients or colleagues at one, OR when he is in the area of a restaurant he saw on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (because he is a weirdo and loves Guy Fieri, LOL). Otherwise he brings stuff from home (he's a great cook) not just because of staying fit but also because he's cheap and wants to keep more of his per diem, heh. Also he says he gets in a lot of activity playing golf, of all things. I guess from the walking. Then I call him a yuppie and we laugh.
  • Posts: 14,776 Member
    sleepyhero wrote: »
    oh, i know how it feels
    Work hard, don't give up. my friend was ready to give up half way to weight loss, but this [redacted] helped him, and of course, training in the gym :blush:

    ^^Please don't listen to this. The link is spammy spam spam.
  • Posts: 8,736 Member
    And she has posted it on many threads in the last hour
  • Posts: 14,776 Member
    And she has posted it on many threads in the last hour

    Yep. And just keeps going. Plus the title page of the link misspells "lose." It's a trifecta of DO NOT WANT.
  • Posts: 3,177 Member

    SAME HERE. I used to hate exercising, but then on June 11, 2015 I joined Orange Theory and even though I haven't lost weight, I feel 10X better after each workout. So I've been more active physically then I have ever been in my entire life. The problem is that I also weigh more than I ever have. :(

    Between Fitbit, Myfitnesspal and my short lived run with WW app, I feel like jumping off the metaphorical cliff sometimes. But I don't want to get worse, so I won't give up.

    As for everyone asking me about HOW I measure everything when I cook. I use an electric scale, and measuring devices like measuring cups and spoons etc. I even have a special measuring cup just for liquids. So please, stop asking about how I measure, I know how much I'm eating when I'm home. When I go out to eat, I skip rice, I skip potatoes, and bread. I usually will eat a protein like steak or grilled chicken with veggies or salad or sweet potato. I avoid fried food completely, and if I'm really jonesing for dessert I either order a cappuccino or I wait till I get home and have a sugar free jello or sugar free pudding. That's about it. I don't eat fast food either, and I avoid eating sandwiches for lunches.

    My days look something like this:
    Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs with 1/4 cup of cheese
    Lunch - I go to Orange Theory often during my lunch break (about 3x a week) and then I have one slice of natures own double fiber bread with unsalted natural peanut butter (1 tablespoon) and one large banana

    Snacks- a low fat cheese stick or almonds and a sugar free cherry jello

    Dinner - this varies and depends on whether I go out or not. But usually it's protein with a side of veggies or black beans. If I eat at home it's usually broiled salmon with 2 tablespoons of lemon butter sauce baked on top and a side of French green beans and a few slices of cut up sweet potato (baked). For dessert I'll have a sugar free chocolate Popsicle or pudding or jello.




    What about using other ways to mark successes? Measurements, exercise landmarks? I'm not sure what Orange Theory is, but with most exercise you can lift more, do more reps, go longer, go faster or some combination of the above. I also use heart rate.

    Of course you want to be at a healthy weight. But it's also not the only measure of progress.

    I'd also look into a weight trending app like Happy Scale (iPhone) or Libra (Android). I think Trendweight is the web one. I used to dread "weigh-in day." Now I weigh daily and know the few pounds up and down don't mean anything because it's normal for me.

    Restaurants, especially sit down ones are notorious for adding fat for appearance and sugar and fat for taste. They usually coat most steaks coming out with a layer of butter. Says my cousin the chef who teaches at Le Cordon Bleu. If you eat out a lot, stick to salad with shrimp cocktail or tuna or tofu (grilled meats can be a land mine) and greens with cheese and dressing on the side. No croutons. Even grilled veggies are often coated in butter. :disappointed:
  • Posts: 31 Member
    Omg, seriously, this thread is killing me!!! How many different ways can all of these people NOT listen to the OP?
    Enough with all of the experts on the food weighing, good grief, how many of you read the last twelve posters who said the exact same thing and STILL felt the need to say
    it again?
    OP, do not leave your doctor's office without an answer. The weight in your face and neck could be a clue, we call it Moon Face and Buffalo Hump, and they could point to cortisol imbalances, among other things.
    Yes, I am a medical professional, and the number of self- proclaimed experts in this thread is amazing... Just wow.
    I believe you, good luck. Hang in there, there has to be an answer, because you don't sound like the idiot they are making you out to be!!!!
  • Posts: 4,796 Member
    Did you not notice the many people who said "IF your tests don't show anything..."?

    I don't believe anyone has called the OP an idiot; they're just trying to point out things that MAY be helpful based on the information she's shared... and IF her medical team find no cause for her weight gain, then her eating habits (and the difficulty logging her meals out) are quite likely culprits.
  • Posts: 339 Member
    edited July 2016
    Maxematics wrote: »

    Exactly. I know people here are trying to be helpful, but it's not about LCHF or PCOS, it's not about a thyroid, it's not about RMR, it's about underestimating calorie intake due to eating out a lot. I'd start by eating half of what I usually eat, then bag the rest up and take it home. You said a lot of the restaurants are Latin based, so I know that one meal can easily be over 1000+ calories on its own, especially if you're eating rice and beans. That in and of itself can easily add 600+ calories to a meal.

    ^^^ This

    I have PCOS that is currently got my body and hormones all out of whack, yet I am still losing consistantly. I am 29 years old, 5'3" and currently 244.5 lbs. I started out at 258.9 and have lost a majority of the 14 lbs the past three weeks since I started consistantly weighing and logging everything. I don't do LCHF, I didn't do anything special. I just make sure I stay under my calorie goal for the day.

    As soon as I read you eat out a lot for work I instantly knew that was the culprit. There is o way to know how many calories you are eating. Even if a place has nutrition info, I can guarantee that they are not back there measuring each and every portion of chicken, rice, vegetable and using the same every time. I would suggest not eating out as much to be honest. If you have to eat out, leave some calories left over for the day as a just in case.
  • Posts: 1,071 Member
    edited July 2016

    SAME HERE. I used to hate exercising, but then on June 11, 2015 I joined Orange Theory and even though I haven't lost weight, I feel 10X better after each workout. So I've been more active physically then I have ever been in my entire life. The problem is that I also weigh more than I ever have. :(

    Between Fitbit, Myfitnesspal and my short lived run with WW app, I feel like jumping off the metaphorical cliff sometimes. But I don't want to get worse, so I won't give up.

    As for everyone asking me about HOW I measure everything when I cook. I use an electric scale, and measuring devices like measuring cups and spoons etc. I even have a special measuring cup just for liquids. So please, stop asking about how I measure, I know how much I'm eating when I'm home. When I go out to eat, I skip rice, I skip potatoes, and bread. I usually will eat a protein like steak or grilled chicken with veggies or salad or sweet potato. I avoid fried food completely, and if I'm really jonesing for dessert I either order a cappuccino or I wait till I get home and have a sugar free jello or sugar free pudding. That's about it. I don't eat fast food either, and I avoid eating sandwiches for lunches.

    My days look something like this:
    Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs with 1/4 cup of cheese
    Lunch - I go to Orange Theory often during my lunch break (about 3x a week) and then I have one slice of natures own double fiber bread with unsalted natural peanut butter (1 tablespoon) and one large banana

    Snacks- a low fat cheese stick or almonds and a sugar free cherry jello

    Dinner - this varies and depends on whether I go out or not. But usually it's protein with a side of veggies or black beans. If I eat at home it's usually broiled salmon with 2 tablespoons of lemon butter sauce baked on top and a side of French green beans and a few slices of cut up sweet potato (baked). For dessert I'll have a sugar free chocolate Popsicle or pudding or jello.




    The bolded should be weighed not measured, basically everything you eat should be. Cups should not be used.
  • Posts: 10,179 Member
    The key is your frequent business dinners and lunches. Start by eschewing the bread and salad dressing. From there avoid anything with pasta and potatoes. Dessert is not suitable for daily or weekly consumption. As an example of a truly low calorie lunch that will fit your weight loss goal, you can have a McDonalds McChicken for lunch and an OG bowl of Minestrone for dinner. If you must have an entree, leave 2/3 of it on the plate.

  • Posts: 339 Member
    edited July 2016
    schwich13 wrote: »
    Omg, seriously, this thread is killing me!!! How many different ways can all of these people NOT listen to the OP?
    Enough with all of the experts on the food weighing, good grief, how many of you read the last twelve posters who said the exact same thing and STILL felt the need to say
    it again?
    OP, do not leave your doctor's office without an answer. The weight in your face and neck could be a clue, we call it Moon Face and Buffalo Hump, and they could point to cortisol imbalances, among other things.
    Yes, I am a medical professional, and the number of self- proclaimed experts in this thread is amazing... Just wow.
    I believe you, good luck. Hang in there, there has to be an answer, because you don't sound like the idiot they are making you out to be!!!!

    No one is claiming to be an expert or professional here... Well except you :). Most people said IF the tests come back fine then check logging. That means that everyone is encouraging her to get testing medically first. I pointed out that I do have confirmed PCOS and am losing fine because OP mentioned possiblyhaving that. I was letting her know that it is possible to have it and still lose. I still stand by my opinion that it is restaurant food causing it. There is no way to accurately log it.
  • Posts: 4,658 Member
    Unless you have been diagnosed with a medical condition (thyroid etc.) then you are lying to yourself about what you eat or how active you are. If you eat in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight.
  • Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited July 2016
    a "medical professional" covers a vast range of professions

    May I ask what are your qualifications, specifically in relation to obesity, weight loss, nutrition or physical training and your personal experiences?

    When one makes a call to authority, there should be a rationale for it

  • Posts: 1,179 Member
    Unless you have been diagnosed with a medical condition (thyroid etc.) then you are lying to yourself about what you eat or how active you are. If you eat in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight.

    Even people with metabolic disorders are able to lose weight once they get a diagnosis and go on the right meds.
This discussion has been closed.