LOOKING FOR ADVICE, PLEASE

ByOldMe
ByOldMe Posts: 5
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
okay...so it's now been a little over two weeks since i started using myfitnesspal.
i'm having a real HARD time trying to shed pounds. i don't get it. i think i'm eating well and mostly staying below my recommended cal intake for my weight loss goal that myfitnesspal computed for me but, NOTHING. i work out A LOT and stay active. i AM lifting weights and i understand that adds to my "Weight" but really? i keep bouncing back between 173-175. this is really frustrating b/c i feel like i'm working so hard, and staying active constantly, yet my scale isn't showing me that this hard work is paying off. am i/should i, up my cal in take? i'm just really confused on this and not sure how to get my weight loss going anymore then i am already. should i eat less carbs or what? i have a friend who started weight watchers about the same time i started this and she's already lost 20 pounds. get this...they don't even step foot in to a gym AT ALL! yet i head to the gym A LOT and do cardio for 55 minutues and weights for 30 and oh...i hike on the weekends 12+ miles.
i'd appreciate any and ALL advice and encouragement and suggestions etc.

Replies

  • Jenscan
    Jenscan Posts: 694 Member
    Give us access to your food diary so we can give you a hand.
  • kjjm08
    kjjm08 Posts: 217 Member
    I can definitely recommend opening up your diet. I was having the same issues, working my butt off and gaining. BUT I had some people look at my diary and they gave me some advice. It really helps!
  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
    are you monitoring your heart rate when you work out, is it getting high enough.
    I have the same problem though, and I don't think I was eating enough either. I am trying this zig zag idea of eating under two days and then making up the calories the third day. I think its harder when your body is used to a lot of exercise.
  • HotMamaByVday
    HotMamaByVday Posts: 343 Member
    Are you drinking enough water?
    Is it that time of the month?
    Are you watching your sodium intake?
    Do you eat a lot of processed foods (sodium and sugar are generally too high in these)?
    Personally, I need a high intake of protein to lose weight and not starve. I usually only eat half my carbs but go over on protein. You might want to play around with the balance of what you are eating.

    Like Jenscan said, if we can see your diary, we may be able to help better.
  • ByOldMe
    ByOldMe Posts: 5
    I'd be happy to open up my diary. how do i do that?
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    I'd be happy to open up my diary. how do i do that?

    settings
    diary
    at the bottom switch to public (private is default).
  • hill2302
    hill2302 Posts: 139 Member
    Click setting at the very top of the page. You'll see account settings there which will allow you to change your privacy settings. Make your diary public, then everyone can see it.
  • ByOldMe
    ByOldMe Posts: 5
    OKAY I FIGURED OUT HOW TO GIVE YOU GUYS ACCESS. THERE YOU GO. I DON'T LOG MY WATER OR THE WEIGHTS I'M DOING. I TRY MY HARDEST TO DRINK 64 OUNCES OF WATER EVERYDAY. SOME DAYS I DO, SOME DAYS I DONT :/
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Log your water
    Eat more veggies, fruit, and whole grains (the closer to the farm the better you will process it), and lean protiens
    Eat less processed foods (stay away from the aisles in the grocery store and shop on the parameter, just not at the bakery)
    Track your salt intake (you can do this in your settings)
    Eat more in general, you should never eat below 1200 calories in a day and need to get more in your system on days you're exercising. It's impossible to get an extra 3000 calories in food, but really take those numbers up some days.
  • hill2302
    hill2302 Posts: 139 Member
    Wow. You're starving yourself. You earn alot of extra calories through exercise and then are barely hitting 1200 calories for the day. You look like you're over doing it and your body is saving every bit of fat it can because it think's your starving it.

    Eat more. You need to NET about 1200 calories a day. You gross 1200 a day, but then when you take off the exercise calories, you're sometime in negative calories for the day. You need to fuel your body right for it to work right. If you're going to eat so little, then you need to stop exercising for the time being. Otherwise, eat more food.
  • tsaenz09
    tsaenz09 Posts: 30
    When working out make sure that your heart rate is getting high enough. Make sure that you are drinking enough water. One average, a person should drink eight 8-ounce galsses (3 to 4 bottles) every day. However, an overweight person needs one additional galss for ever 25 pounds of excess weight. Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits. Just remember that everyone's body changes at a different pace and the scale can LIE! Don't give up! Good luck!
  • VeganGal84
    VeganGal84 Posts: 938 Member
    My only advice is to weight yourself less frequently. Try once a week, under the same conditions (for example, I weigh in Saturday mornings, after using the toilet, before eating anything, naked).

    If you've only been using MFP for two weeks and have weighed youself more than twice, you're weighing in too often and could drive yourself crazy with the daily fluctuations.

    (of course, the above is entirely my opinion)
  • ByOldMe
    ByOldMe Posts: 5
    thanks for all the advice everyone!!
    ya i wasn't sure if i should be eating MORE then 1200 cals a day when i'm working out or not. i've read mixed messages about it online and asked a trainer at my gym. the trainer said that just b/c i'm working out, doesn't mean i should eat more b/c that won't help me lose weight, it will just take longs. i've lost 60 pounds in the past by doing the whole akins diet, but i don't want to go completely off carbs you know? i know i need to up my protein and eat more chicken, which is fine by me b/c i love meat. i really need to get on this whole, drinking more water thing. it's always been hard. when i do drink enough water, it doesn't seem like i'm peeing out nearly as much as i put in. i weigh myself everyday to remind myself to be good, but i'm not going to lie, it's depressing seeing the scale go up and down only by a few pounds when you're working out like crazy!!!
    *sigh* i'm just ready to shed my pounds! and it's aggravating to see other people barely doing anything (active wise) and they are dropping weight like no other :(
  • Rage_Phish
    Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member
    I would also track sugar and sodium on your diary
  • hill2302
    hill2302 Posts: 139 Member
    ya i wasn't sure if i should be eating MORE then 1200 cals a day when i'm working out or not. i've read mixed messages about it online and asked a trainer at my gym. the trainer said that just b/c i'm working out, doesn't mean i should eat more b/c that won't help me lose weight, it will just take longs.

    That may be true for some. If I worked out and burned 400 calories and didn't eat them back, I'd still be at a net well over 1200 calories for the day. No problem. That's because I eat about 1800 a day.

    You should just try to make a concerted effort to make sure your NET calories for the day are at or at least close to 1200. I think your over exuberance is actually working against you here. Being under 1200 net for more than a few days in a row is no bueno.

    BTW, did you set your daily goal to 1200 or did MFP do that based on your size and goals? I presume you must be a smallish person if MFP set it that low.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Unless your trainer is also a nutritionist they're only telling you what they think works, there's no science behind it. On here (mfp) they suggest that you net your 1200 calories (so on days you don't workout you eat 1200, or days where you burn 300 calories you eat 1500 calories, and so forth) on a daily basis. It may not work for everyone, but it helped me shed 25 pounds in record time! To be fair, however, when I first started I was doing daily 1500 calorie burns and just couldn't get my intake up high enough.
  • ByOldMe
    ByOldMe Posts: 5
    i'm pretty sure MFP set that to be my cal intake when i put in my current weight and what i want to lose. i should look in to it and see if it will recalculate it to more? so if i'm eating a lot of sodium, does that just mean i'm going to retain more water which then makes me weigh more? or what...i really need to figure all of this out ha ha. i do feel exhausted with the amount i'm working out and still not getting results. it makes me feel like, what the f is the point? you know? but i don't want to stop b/c i'm worried i'd keep gaining weigh. i really dont think i eat much in general...*sigh* i'm nervous about upping my cal in take cause i'm scared i'm going to start gaining more weight
  • hill2302
    hill2302 Posts: 139 Member
    Go to the top of the page and hit search.

    type in "starvation mode"

    Read some of the exhaustive threads on the subject.

    I know it seems counterintuitive (eat more to lose weight) but so many people have done and will attest to just that. Besides, you said what you've been doing hasn't been working, so what do you have to lose by following the advice of the people who's been there.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    i'm pretty sure MFP set that to be my cal intake when i put in my current weight and what i want to lose. i should look in to it and see if it will recalculate it to more? so if i'm eating a lot of sodium, does that just mean i'm going to retain more water which then makes me weigh more? or what...i really need to figure all of this out ha ha. i do feel exhausted with the amount i'm working out and still not getting results. it makes me feel like, what the f is the point? you know? but i don't want to stop b/c i'm worried i'd keep gaining weigh. i really dont think i eat much in general...*sigh* i'm nervous about upping my cal in take cause i'm scared i'm going to start gaining more weight

    You need to find a really good balance for you, what works for diet, food, and exercise. Were you exercising before or is this new? Are you using a hrm? If not you may not be getting an accurate calorie burn for you and may want to think about investing in one to get a better idea of what you are actually burning. Sodium adds water weight, that's why even lean or diet processed foods won't give you the results as fresh foods with identical calories (not all calories are created equal). I know that the thought of adding calorie consumption seems counter intuative, but trust me it works, if it didn't there wouldn't be as many success stories on here.
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