More plateau advice
Replies
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eveandqsmom wrote: »I don't know. The op was successful for quite a significant period of time...I find it difficult to believe that all of a sudden she wasn't and didn't notice what changed. I do suspect portion creep because as they say 'when you hear hooves, think horses, not zebras' but...the idea that she can't pinpoint it does make me question, could it be medication, hormones, anything that leads to water retention?
That's why I thought a good walk every day. Get your blood pumping, up your deficit without lowering your intake, feel better in general. Assuming everything said here is correct and not wishful thinking, a doctor's appointment is definitely in order (sorry I'd you already mentioned it this thread is a little long now).
I mentioned it but it's fine. This thread is huge. To reiterate: I'm not on any medication and I've had blood work/hormones checked (I went because of this problem to make sure everything was okay and it was, everything came back fine).
I never changed a thing in terms of even -what- I am eating either. Introducing new foods, etc. I've been eating the same things and types of meals for the two years I've been at this. That includes portion sizes.
A walk is still good advice, regardless of what the issue actually is. Any further exercise is good.0 -
The most important "trick," once you have the CICO math right, is to stay the course. Just because you didn't lose weight today, or this week, doesn't mean you have to change something that you're doing. Just keep following the plan that has worked to date and the losses will come. This is a "trick" because so many people don't follow this one simple thing.
For most people, it's a simple formula of burning more calories than you eat. For others, it's more complicated. Whether it's hormonal, prescription pills related or something else, no matter how hard they try, they run into a wall. The thing is to rule out any health issues, and finding what works for them. For some people coming on here seeking advice, all I hear is "are you weighing your food?", and "are you logging correctly?", People should try to be a bit more understanding and realize that there are others who may not lose weight as easily as them.
Agree very much with this! (I don't think I will be coming back here for any plateau advice, to be honest!)0 -
carnivalnights wrote: »On the days I eat out, I plan for them. I eat less during the day so that I don't go over my calories. I eat at the same few places all the time (boring, I know) and use their nutritional data on their website. When I say not too extreme, I mean I am eating something around 600-700 calories as opposed to 300-400. Frankly, I usually get salads even when I eat out (which can be high depending on where you go but not usually the restaurants I frequent). But this all matters very little because I am still within my calories because I plan ahead and I track those meals out. I'm not cheating myself out of weight loss by not being honest with myself, believe me. No point after coming this far.
Restaurant website nutritional info can be off, especially as no two chefs will make a meal the exact same way. But their info can just be off anyway. I had breakfast at Ricky's on Sunday and looked it up on their site - they claimed something like 700 calories for a "Two by Five", which was two each of pancakes, bacon strips, breakfast sausages, eggs and toast. There is no way that lot was only 700 cals, and adding up the individual items (as sides) on their list came to more than that. (And apparently their pancakes are completely calorie-free...) It really is hard to log restaurant meals accurately!
You mentioned up-thread that you often go to Swiss Chalet. I haven't looked at their nutritional info, but I'd guess their food is pretty high in calories. They cook the chicken in its skin for a start, and who knows what else they add to their meals and sides. It's delicious, but it could also be a fair bit higher in calories than you think.
(I do realise you're trying your best to be honest and accurate in your logging, so I'm not trying to put you down... just pointing out that those meals might well be affecting your intake.)
I only eat white meat/chicken breast and I do not eat chicken skin. I usually get their chicken salads (skinless breast). It's nothing alarming. Anything I get out at a restaurant is nothing I'd be concerned about calorie-wise, especially considering I eat lighter during the day. I never should have mentioned it obviously. Lol. It's funny how some people here said I should not eat out at all (not you - other people in this thread), meanwhile I am quite sure they also go to restaurants. I'm not going to "diet" unrealistically, like those people on Biggest Loser who lose weight in unrealistic ways they cannot maintain and then gain it all back when they start eating "normally." I know people who eat out every day, forget just once a week like me. I also don't snack and eat virtually no sweets or desserts. I'd say I'm doing pretty well.
Restaurant sites can be inaccurate, I agree, but I am recording as best I can and with what information I am given. That's all anyone can do. But as I said, I am not concerned about one take-out causing any issues, especially since I still eat fairly healthy when I am out. I know what you're saying though, and I agree. Still doing the best I can. 0 -
carnivalnights wrote: »The most important "trick," once you have the CICO math right, is to stay the course. Just because you didn't lose weight today, or this week, doesn't mean you have to change something that you're doing. Just keep following the plan that has worked to date and the losses will come. This is a "trick" because so many people don't follow this one simple thing.
For most people, it's a simple formula of burning more calories than you eat. For others, it's more complicated. Whether it's hormonal, prescription pills related or something else, no matter how hard they try, they run into a wall. The thing is to rule out any health issues, and finding what works for them. For some people coming on here seeking advice, all I hear is "are you weighing your food?", and "are you logging correctly?", People should try to be a bit more understanding and realize that there are others who may not lose weight as easily as them.
Agree very much with this! (I don't think I will be coming back here for any plateau advice, to be honest!)
I'm sorry if anyone, including myself, came off rude in this thread but I want you to try to understand our perspective a bit here.
Say you're a chef and someone comes into your restaurant and says to you "I want you to cook me a meal that's not on your menu because I'm a picky eater." You're like "Okay, I'm up to the challenge. What would you like?" and they respond with "Food". So then you say "Okay, well what kind of food do you want?" and they respond "Something with chicken". You think to yourself, okay that's a bit more to work with, so then you ask them "What kind of flavors are you looking for? What kind of side dish? How would you like the chicken cooked?" and they say "I'm not telling you any of that. I just want you to make me a dish with chicken and I'll decide if I like it or not". Do you see how exhausting that can get? That's kind of what posting here has been like for many of us.
Everyone here wants to help you. Some are more blunt and straightforward than others, yes, but in the end everyone wants to help. Nobody gets their rocks off by seeing you struggle; we all have our own journeys to deal with. Nobody wants to judge you for your weight, either. The majority of people asked about your logging first because, statistically, that is what is normally off. I cannot tell you how many times someone has posted about a plateau and has sworn up and down that they weigh everything, yet their diary shows that they weigh nothing or don't even log. That's when the excuses roll in "Well, I wasn't losing so I stopped logging. Well, I only weigh some stuff but not fruits, meat, packaged items, etc. Well, I log everything but my cheat day once per week". The basics have to be addressed first. After that, people will ask the person's calorie allotment, height, weight, age, etc. to get a bigger picture of things. All of this is information that you refuse to provide which is well within your right to do, but you can't expect tailored advice when we have no information to go by. It's a bit awkward to deal with the secrecy and hard to navigate around it. It seems like you may be searching for a certain response or answer that people haven't landed upon and it would be improbable to do so by shooting in the dark.
That's what I meant when I said earlier that it seemed like you shot down everything. "Do you weigh your food?" Yes. "All of it?" Yes. "Do you weigh meat raw?" I'll work on that and later it was a no but that you know it's accurate. It's really hard to try to help you solve this when you say you know all of these things are accurate but there really is no way for you to know that. The only thing you apparently know is that you have 100+ pounds to lose and cannot lose weight on your reported 1500 calories. The only thing we know is the science of weight loss and that you would literally be a statistical anomaly if you could not lose on that amount with 100+ pounds to lose, especially given no health issues which you specifically said off the bat you did not have. Given the information you have provided, you should be in the hospital right now and they should be running various tests on you because you are a statistical outlier. I'm not even being facetious or trying to make a joke at your expense, either.
@melissa6771 gave you great advice that pretty much compiles what everyone here has been saying; you need a hard reset on MFP because something clearly is not adding up. I truly do wish you the best of luck and success with this. I hope you eventually find a solution to your issue.10 -
melissa6771 wrote: »Reading this whole thread was like watching a train wreck, didn't want to keep looking but couldn't stop. It's a who's on first scenario.
@carnivalnights
Here's the thing. You won't let anyone see your diary, or know your height and weight. You are making it difficult for anyone to give you serious help. I would think that here, in the forums, where you are basically truly anonymous other than a screen name, would be the safest place to do these things. This requires a little self confidence and letting go of the fear of being judged. And even if you are, who cares? You don't know any of these people. Why do you care what they think of you?
That said, I would reevaluate your diet and exercise. Take a break and eat at maintenance, which although you are not losing, you are not eating at maintenance at 1500 calories with 100 pounds still to lose. There is no way 1500 calories is a true maintenance level for you. Your body probably needs a small break from a large deficit. especially since you were not eating any exercise calories back and not eating what MFP recommended for you to lose because you thought it was too much. Your metabolism, although it won't go into starvation mode, it can adapt to what you're doing. Up your calories 100/day, a week at a time, until your weight is holding steady. Do that for a month or so and then get back into the weight loss phase without going too extreme too fast. Your body is smarter than some people want to give it credit for.
Also, I would definitely do cardio and weights, maybe get into a gym and get a program going. It will help you tremendously in the long run. It will help you keep your lean mass and eventually, hopefully, help you have a better metabolism when all is said and done.
Weigh All foods uncooked, meats, grains, etc. even if you are using the cooked entry, you don't know how much cooking changed that particular item. Different cooking methods will change it by different amounts. Just try it, it can't hurt.
Measure yourself and keep track of inches lost every month. The scale does not always reflect what's going on.
Everyone is basically telling you the same things in different ways, what you do with it is up to you. In the end, you are responsible for yourself.
Regardless of what information I did or did not give aside, the fact that this turned into a "trainwreck" is sad and does not speak very highly of these forums or the people in them. I should have been able to ask a question without being disrespected and without people getting short with me. (Clearly other people agreed because they were sticking up for me.) You're right - I don't know these people. But when people speak to me disrespectfully, especially when I came here with a real struggle that is causing me stress, that's going to give me even less reason to want to open up to them if I already had reservations. And the reason I had these reservations is because of how I have previously been treated here. I guess I should learn my lesson and stop asking for help here. My concern is not even about people judging me when it comes to the diary. I just have personal notes in there and have not had it open since day one. End of story. I am allowed to have it closed. There is an option for that. I should not be ridiculed or commanded to open it. Other people here have their diaries closed as well. It's like these people telling me not to eat at a restaurant once a week who probably eat out every day. Senseless and hypocritical. (And also bad advice. Don't tell me to start an unrealistic diet because then when I go back to eating normally I'm just going to gain.)
That being said, there have been quite a few nice and helpful comments. So I am thankful for that. It made me care less about all the rude ones.
When you were saying I was not eating at maintenance, did you mean my calories for maintenance should be more? I'm assuming so since you are talking about increasing by 100/day each week. Thanks for the advice on that. It is something I can try. 100/week doesn't seem as scary as what some were suggesting. :P I currently do cardio and weights at home and will continue to do that (I don't have a gym membership). I lost all my current weight at home so I'm sure that will continue to work for me, at some point.
I will also try switching to weighing everything uncooked. I started taking measurements a while ago and will keep that up.0 -
Maxematics wrote: »carnivalnights wrote: »The most important "trick," once you have the CICO math right, is to stay the course. Just because you didn't lose weight today, or this week, doesn't mean you have to change something that you're doing. Just keep following the plan that has worked to date and the losses will come. This is a "trick" because so many people don't follow this one simple thing.
For most people, it's a simple formula of burning more calories than you eat. For others, it's more complicated. Whether it's hormonal, prescription pills related or something else, no matter how hard they try, they run into a wall. The thing is to rule out any health issues, and finding what works for them. For some people coming on here seeking advice, all I hear is "are you weighing your food?", and "are you logging correctly?", People should try to be a bit more understanding and realize that there are others who may not lose weight as easily as them.
Agree very much with this! (I don't think I will be coming back here for any plateau advice, to be honest!)
I'm sorry if anyone, including myself, came off rude in this thread but I want you to try to understand our perspective a bit here.
Say you're a chef and someone comes into your restaurant and says to you "I want you to cook me a meal that's not on your menu because I'm a picky eater." You're like "Okay, I'm up to the challenge. What would you like?" and they respond with "Food". So then you say "Okay, well what kind of food do you want?" and they respond "Something with chicken". You think to yourself, okay that's a bit more to work with, so then you ask them "What kind of flavors are you looking for? What kind of side dish? How would you like the chicken cooked?" and they say "I'm not telling you any of that. I just want you to make me a dish with chicken and I'll decide if I like it or not". Do you see how exhausting that can get? That's kind of what posting here has been like for many of us.
Everyone here wants to help you. Some are more blunt and straightforward than others, yes, but in the end everyone wants to help. Nobody gets their rocks off by seeing you struggle; we all have our own journeys to deal with. Nobody wants to judge you for your weight, either. The majority of people asked about your logging first because, statistically, that is what is normally off. I cannot tell you how many times someone has posted about a plateau and has sworn up and down that they weigh everything, yet their diary shows that they weigh nothing or don't even log. That's when the excuses roll in "Well, I wasn't losing so I stopped logging. Well, I only weigh some stuff but not fruits, meat, packaged items, etc. Well, I log everything but my cheat day once per week". The basics have to be addressed first. After that, people will ask the person's calorie allotment, height, weight, age, etc. to get a bigger picture of things. All of this is information that you refuse to provide which is well within your right to do, but you can't expect tailored advice when we have no information to go by. It's a bit awkward to deal with the secrecy and hard to navigate around it. It seems like you may be searching for a certain response or answer that people haven't landed upon and it would be improbable to do so by shooting in the dark.
That's what I meant when I said earlier that it seemed like you shot down everything. "Do you weigh your food?" Yes. "All of it?" Yes. "Do you weigh meat raw?" I'll work on that and later it was a no but that you know it's accurate. It's really hard to try to help you solve this when you say you know all of these things are accurate but there really is no way for you to know that. The only thing you apparently know is that you have 100+ pounds to lose and cannot lose weight on your reported 1500 calories. The only thing we know is the science of weight loss and that you would literally be a statistical anomaly if you could not lose on that amount with 100+ pounds to lose, especially given no health issues which you specifically said off the bat you did not have. Given the information you have provided, you should be in the hospital right now and they should be running various tests on you because you are a statistical outlier. I'm not even being facetious or trying to make a joke at your expense, either.
@melissa6771 gave you great advice that pretty much compiles what everyone here has been saying; you need a hard reset on MFP because something clearly is not adding up. I truly do wish you the best of luck and success with this. I hope you eventually find a solution to your issue.
"All of this information you refuse to provide..." Oy. ALL of this information? One thing?
When I said I was not willing to open my diary, anyone who thought they needed it to offer me any advice should have moved on instead of ridiculing me. That's really the bottom line. Go help someone else who has opened their diary then. No worries. Move on. I didn't withhold any other information and I'm sorry that so many people decided the diary was the be all, end all to advice-giving. Others found a way to give me advice without it, so those people could have too. Or, if not, as I said, they should have closed this window and stopped hounding me. The way I was treated here with that particular issue is unacceptable. Other people have their diaries closed too. I have personal notes in mine and it has never been open since the beginning. It's fine that people think that is the end of the world and nothing can be done to help me unless I am willing to do so. We can agree to disagree. But don't make me feel bad or hound me about it saying I cannot be helped unless I do A, B and C. It's unnecessary.
I weigh everything and I do log. Every single day for 671 days. And I have lost 70lbs, which is a lot. So maybe people should take a look at the other facts before assuming I'm lying about anything or hiding something just because I have not opened my diary. I clearly do know what I am doing, otherwise I wouldn't have lost any weight at all and certainly not so much. Just because what I said about the weighing raw/cooked was confusing does not mean I don't know anything or don't know what I'm talking about. What I said was that I use a cooked entry to weigh cooked meat. That is not complicated. And at no time did I go back and say actually no, I don't weigh all my food. I do. What I said was that SOME non-meat entries do not say raw or cooked and that I will pay more attention to that in the future. The majority of food I am having cooked is meat anyway.
There's nothing wrong with my health despite the weight I have to lose. There are other reasons this could be happening, not just some underlying health issue.0 -
carnivalnights wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »carnivalnights wrote: »The most important "trick," once you have the CICO math right, is to stay the course. Just because you didn't lose weight today, or this week, doesn't mean you have to change something that you're doing. Just keep following the plan that has worked to date and the losses will come. This is a "trick" because so many people don't follow this one simple thing.
For most people, it's a simple formula of burning more calories than you eat. For others, it's more complicated. Whether it's hormonal, prescription pills related or something else, no matter how hard they try, they run into a wall. The thing is to rule out any health issues, and finding what works for them. For some people coming on here seeking advice, all I hear is "are you weighing your food?", and "are you logging correctly?", People should try to be a bit more understanding and realize that there are others who may not lose weight as easily as them.
Agree very much with this! (I don't think I will be coming back here for any plateau advice, to be honest!)
I'm sorry if anyone, including myself, came off rude in this thread but I want you to try to understand our perspective a bit here.
Say you're a chef and someone comes into your restaurant and says to you "I want you to cook me a meal that's not on your menu because I'm a picky eater." You're like "Okay, I'm up to the challenge. What would you like?" and they respond with "Food". So then you say "Okay, well what kind of food do you want?" and they respond "Something with chicken". You think to yourself, okay that's a bit more to work with, so then you ask them "What kind of flavors are you looking for? What kind of side dish? How would you like the chicken cooked?" and they say "I'm not telling you any of that. I just want you to make me a dish with chicken and I'll decide if I like it or not". Do you see how exhausting that can get? That's kind of what posting here has been like for many of us.
Everyone here wants to help you. Some are more blunt and straightforward than others, yes, but in the end everyone wants to help. Nobody gets their rocks off by seeing you struggle; we all have our own journeys to deal with. Nobody wants to judge you for your weight, either. The majority of people asked about your logging first because, statistically, that is what is normally off. I cannot tell you how many times someone has posted about a plateau and has sworn up and down that they weigh everything, yet their diary shows that they weigh nothing or don't even log. That's when the excuses roll in "Well, I wasn't losing so I stopped logging. Well, I only weigh some stuff but not fruits, meat, packaged items, etc. Well, I log everything but my cheat day once per week". The basics have to be addressed first. After that, people will ask the person's calorie allotment, height, weight, age, etc. to get a bigger picture of things. All of this is information that you refuse to provide which is well within your right to do, but you can't expect tailored advice when we have no information to go by. It's a bit awkward to deal with the secrecy and hard to navigate around it. It seems like you may be searching for a certain response or answer that people haven't landed upon and it would be improbable to do so by shooting in the dark.
That's what I meant when I said earlier that it seemed like you shot down everything. "Do you weigh your food?" Yes. "All of it?" Yes. "Do you weigh meat raw?" I'll work on that and later it was a no but that you know it's accurate. It's really hard to try to help you solve this when you say you know all of these things are accurate but there really is no way for you to know that. The only thing you apparently know is that you have 100+ pounds to lose and cannot lose weight on your reported 1500 calories. The only thing we know is the science of weight loss and that you would literally be a statistical anomaly if you could not lose on that amount with 100+ pounds to lose, especially given no health issues which you specifically said off the bat you did not have. Given the information you have provided, you should be in the hospital right now and they should be running various tests on you because you are a statistical outlier. I'm not even being facetious or trying to make a joke at your expense, either.
@melissa6771 gave you great advice that pretty much compiles what everyone here has been saying; you need a hard reset on MFP because something clearly is not adding up. I truly do wish you the best of luck and success with this. I hope you eventually find a solution to your issue.
"All of this information you refuse to provide..." Oy. ALL of this information? One thing?
When I said I was not willing to open my diary, anyone who thought they needed it to offer me any advice should have moved on instead of ridiculing me. That's really the bottom line. Go help someone else who has opened their diary then. No worries. Move on. I didn't withhold any other information and I'm sorry that so many people decided the diary was the be all, end all to advice-giving. Others found a way to give me advice without it, so those people could have too. Or, if not, as I said, they should have closed this window and stopped hounding me. The way I was treated here with that particular issue is unacceptable. Other people have their diaries closed too. I have personal notes in mine and it has never been open since the beginning. It's fine that people think that is the end of the world and nothing can be done to help me unless I am willing to do so. We can agree to disagree. But don't make me feel bad or hound me about it saying I cannot be helped unless I do A, B and C. It's unnecessary.
I weigh everything and I do log. Every single day for 671 days. And I have lost 70lbs, which is a lot. So maybe people should take a look at the other facts before assuming I'm lying about anything or hiding something just because I have not opened my diary. I clearly do know what I am doing, otherwise I wouldn't have lost any weight at all and certainly not so much. Just because what I said about the weighing raw/cooked was confusing does not mean I don't know anything or don't know what I'm talking about. What I said was that I use a cooked entry to weigh cooked meat. That is not complicated. And at no time did I go back and say actually no, I don't weigh all my food. I do. What I said was that SOME non-meat entries do not say raw or cooked and that I will pay more attention to that in the future. The majority of food I am having cooked is meat anyway.
There's nothing wrong with my health despite the weight I have to lose. There are other reasons this could be happening, not just some underlying health issue.
It's not even about the diary. It's not just one thing at all. If I recall correctly, you also were not willing to disclose your starting weight, current weight, rate of loss when you were losing, etc. If I am misunderstanding you and any of that was actually provided within the thread, then I apologize.0 -
LaceyBirds wrote: »carnivalnights wrote: »LaceyBirds wrote: »In case you missed my question:LaceyBirds wrote: »OP, how tall are you and what is your current weight? I'm asking because the calories given by MFP to lose weight are based on height and current weight. Your 1500 calories may be too much depending on your height.
Had to leave the forums yesterday for a period; was not ignoring you, sorry. Not comfortable posting my weight here. The calorie intake numbers were derived from a registered dietician based on her calculations. I've stated elsewhere in this thread, when using a regular weight loss calculator, the calories for my height and weight say to eat something obscene like 2000-3000 calories, which I am obviously not going to be doing for weight loss. So I have never been able to go by the average any sites calculate for me, including MFP. I saw a nutritionist fairly soon after I started using MFP and we changed the calories and macros after my first session because she said they were off. That's how I arrived at 1500, not from a calculator or MFP.
However, after everything in this thread, despite having negative results lowering my calories before, I am going to try that again and see what happens. The timing of this plateau is when I lowered my calories before, shortly after - that's when my weight loss got to a standstill. So I am hesitant but at this point it doesn't matter because the weight loss isn't happening now either!
How tall are you though? It matters.
I'll just say that whatever your nutritionist is telling you is obviously not working at all. So, in my opinion, you should throw out what she told you and start anew here. I cannot believe that MFP would give you anything like 2 to 3 thousand calories to eat. Plug your numbers in here, and go with what MFP tells you. Do what everybody suggested, weigh, not measure, all your foods, all of them. Log every single bite and sip every single day. No cheat days - plan for and incorporate a treat into your daily calorie goal. By now, you should have a pretty good handle on what you can eat at that restaurant you go to weekly - pick the one that appears to be the lowest calorie choice, pre-log it and adjust your calories that day to accommodate it. This has worked for me, and it's worked for many, many others - it should work for you. Best of luck.
5'3".
If you don't believe me, test it out. Any weight loss calculator will give you those calories if you put in a higher number. It was one of the first things I asked people when I started my journey. Who on earth can lose weight eating 3000 calories a day? I'm obviously not a bodybuilder and burning that many lifting at a gym either.
I don't agree with the cheat days. As I stated to someone else, telling someone to eat unrealistically will only lead to weight gain. Believe me, I was one of those people. No take-out, no cheat days, nothing. It was a big mistake. I still want to enjoy my life and that includes eating at a restaurant once in a while. Compared to everyone I know, I eat out VERY little. I stated that I do plan ahead for it and I do not go over my calories even on the days I eat out (which isn't hard when you are getting something like a chicken salad anyway) - so it is not even really a cheat day to begin with. That being said, I still disagree with telling people not to have those days (and the people here who said don't eat out). It's unrealistic.
I will keep doing what I am doing with the restaurant meals, planning ahead as you said. It's worked for me too.0 -
Maxematics wrote: »carnivalnights wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »carnivalnights wrote: »The most important "trick," once you have the CICO math right, is to stay the course. Just because you didn't lose weight today, or this week, doesn't mean you have to change something that you're doing. Just keep following the plan that has worked to date and the losses will come. This is a "trick" because so many people don't follow this one simple thing.
For most people, it's a simple formula of burning more calories than you eat. For others, it's more complicated. Whether it's hormonal, prescription pills related or something else, no matter how hard they try, they run into a wall. The thing is to rule out any health issues, and finding what works for them. For some people coming on here seeking advice, all I hear is "are you weighing your food?", and "are you logging correctly?", People should try to be a bit more understanding and realize that there are others who may not lose weight as easily as them.
Agree very much with this! (I don't think I will be coming back here for any plateau advice, to be honest!)
I'm sorry if anyone, including myself, came off rude in this thread but I want you to try to understand our perspective a bit here.
Say you're a chef and someone comes into your restaurant and says to you "I want you to cook me a meal that's not on your menu because I'm a picky eater." You're like "Okay, I'm up to the challenge. What would you like?" and they respond with "Food". So then you say "Okay, well what kind of food do you want?" and they respond "Something with chicken". You think to yourself, okay that's a bit more to work with, so then you ask them "What kind of flavors are you looking for? What kind of side dish? How would you like the chicken cooked?" and they say "I'm not telling you any of that. I just want you to make me a dish with chicken and I'll decide if I like it or not". Do you see how exhausting that can get? That's kind of what posting here has been like for many of us.
Everyone here wants to help you. Some are more blunt and straightforward than others, yes, but in the end everyone wants to help. Nobody gets their rocks off by seeing you struggle; we all have our own journeys to deal with. Nobody wants to judge you for your weight, either. The majority of people asked about your logging first because, statistically, that is what is normally off. I cannot tell you how many times someone has posted about a plateau and has sworn up and down that they weigh everything, yet their diary shows that they weigh nothing or don't even log. That's when the excuses roll in "Well, I wasn't losing so I stopped logging. Well, I only weigh some stuff but not fruits, meat, packaged items, etc. Well, I log everything but my cheat day once per week". The basics have to be addressed first. After that, people will ask the person's calorie allotment, height, weight, age, etc. to get a bigger picture of things. All of this is information that you refuse to provide which is well within your right to do, but you can't expect tailored advice when we have no information to go by. It's a bit awkward to deal with the secrecy and hard to navigate around it. It seems like you may be searching for a certain response or answer that people haven't landed upon and it would be improbable to do so by shooting in the dark.
That's what I meant when I said earlier that it seemed like you shot down everything. "Do you weigh your food?" Yes. "All of it?" Yes. "Do you weigh meat raw?" I'll work on that and later it was a no but that you know it's accurate. It's really hard to try to help you solve this when you say you know all of these things are accurate but there really is no way for you to know that. The only thing you apparently know is that you have 100+ pounds to lose and cannot lose weight on your reported 1500 calories. The only thing we know is the science of weight loss and that you would literally be a statistical anomaly if you could not lose on that amount with 100+ pounds to lose, especially given no health issues which you specifically said off the bat you did not have. Given the information you have provided, you should be in the hospital right now and they should be running various tests on you because you are a statistical outlier. I'm not even being facetious or trying to make a joke at your expense, either.
@melissa6771 gave you great advice that pretty much compiles what everyone here has been saying; you need a hard reset on MFP because something clearly is not adding up. I truly do wish you the best of luck and success with this. I hope you eventually find a solution to your issue.
"All of this information you refuse to provide..." Oy. ALL of this information? One thing?
When I said I was not willing to open my diary, anyone who thought they needed it to offer me any advice should have moved on instead of ridiculing me. That's really the bottom line. Go help someone else who has opened their diary then. No worries. Move on. I didn't withhold any other information and I'm sorry that so many people decided the diary was the be all, end all to advice-giving. Others found a way to give me advice without it, so those people could have too. Or, if not, as I said, they should have closed this window and stopped hounding me. The way I was treated here with that particular issue is unacceptable. Other people have their diaries closed too. I have personal notes in mine and it has never been open since the beginning. It's fine that people think that is the end of the world and nothing can be done to help me unless I am willing to do so. We can agree to disagree. But don't make me feel bad or hound me about it saying I cannot be helped unless I do A, B and C. It's unnecessary.
I weigh everything and I do log. Every single day for 671 days. And I have lost 70lbs, which is a lot. So maybe people should take a look at the other facts before assuming I'm lying about anything or hiding something just because I have not opened my diary. I clearly do know what I am doing, otherwise I wouldn't have lost any weight at all and certainly not so much. Just because what I said about the weighing raw/cooked was confusing does not mean I don't know anything or don't know what I'm talking about. What I said was that I use a cooked entry to weigh cooked meat. That is not complicated. And at no time did I go back and say actually no, I don't weigh all my food. I do. What I said was that SOME non-meat entries do not say raw or cooked and that I will pay more attention to that in the future. The majority of food I am having cooked is meat anyway.
There's nothing wrong with my health despite the weight I have to lose. There are other reasons this could be happening, not just some underlying health issue.
It's not even about the diary. It's not just one thing at all. If I recall correctly, you also were not willing to disclose your starting weight, current weight, rate of loss when you were losing, etc. If I am misunderstanding you and any of that was actually provided within the thread, then I apologize.
No one asked my starting weight. And I said I couldn't tell them the rate of loss because MFP would not let me go that far back (at least on my phone). Misinformation.0 -
The most likely answer is that you are eating more than you think you are. Even if you are a "special snowflake" in that your metabolism is lower than average for your weight/height from long term dieting or a medical condition, it is highly highly unlikely that 1500 is your maintenance level calories if you have 100 pounds to lose. That is why most people want you to open your diary, we may see some mistakes that add up to several hundred calories a day. I understand that is private for you because of your notes, but that is the reason people are harping on it. That is the most likely scenario but we can't look behind the curtain and find any mistakes you may be making.
For example, if you were making logging mistakes this whole time and eating 2,000 calories instead of 1,500 calories, you would still have been able to lose 70 lbs because you said an online calculators gave you 2,000 calories as a weight loss range. Now that you have lost 70 lbs, that 2,000 calories you are eating is not working anymore. But you assume that your logging MUST be right at 1,500 calories because you lost 70 lbs.
We also don't know your height or weight. So there is not way for us to help you with an appropriate calorie range. We basically have no information except that you say your logging is 99% perfect, you are eating 1,500 and not losing, and even at 1,200 you barely lost anything. A person with 100 lbs to lose should be losing weight at 1200, period.
Hence, everyone thinks it must be a logging error. But we can't see your diary. So we don't know how to help. I think the idea of a diet break is a good one, as you most likely do have metabolic adaptation from long term dieting. However, your logging must still be on point during a diet break so you don't go way over on calories. AND for a diet break to work and reverse metabolic adaptations, you have to actually be at your maintenance calories or slightly above. We can't tell you what those calories are because we have no information.
ETA: If you do take a diet break, you should be prepared to gain a few pounds. You will always gain some weight when you increase your calories (more water, waste, etc.), even if you are at or below maintenance. So if you increase your calories by 100, 200 etc and see a small jump on the scale, don't automatically assume that means you are eating above maintenance. You will see a jump on the scale each time you increase, but it will level out after several pounds and stay relatively stable if you are at maintenance (within a normal range of daily fluctuations).4 -
carnivalnights wrote: »How did you adjust your macros? I would up protein significantly, cut out any foods that could lead to inflammation to see if they have that effect on you (I cut out dairy, gluten, added sugar - I also cut out most packaged foods because I'm allergic to a preservative in many of them). And weight train. I'm down about 80 pounds depending on the day.
I was told by my nutritionist to decrease carbs and up protein, but that didn't seem to help. I have done that for about a month or so with no difference in loss. Because I don't eat red meat, I actually can't cut out something like dairy because it's where I get a lot of my protein (eggs, yogurt, etc.) but thank you for the tip. I could try gluten! You never know. I don't eat any packaged foods either. Congrats on your 80!
Could there be any chance that you could be drinking some of your calories? I know some people can drink adult beverages while dieting, but it can cause others to stall.0 -
carnivalnights wrote: »LaceyBirds wrote: »carnivalnights wrote: »LaceyBirds wrote: »In case you missed my question:LaceyBirds wrote: »OP, how tall are you and what is your current weight? I'm asking because the calories given by MFP to lose weight are based on height and current weight. Your 1500 calories may be too much depending on your height.
Had to leave the forums yesterday for a period; was not ignoring you, sorry. Not comfortable posting my weight here. The calorie intake numbers were derived from a registered dietician based on her calculations. I've stated elsewhere in this thread, when using a regular weight loss calculator, the calories for my height and weight say to eat something obscene like 2000-3000 calories, which I am obviously not going to be doing for weight loss. So I have never been able to go by the average any sites calculate for me, including MFP. I saw a nutritionist fairly soon after I started using MFP and we changed the calories and macros after my first session because she said they were off. That's how I arrived at 1500, not from a calculator or MFP.
However, after everything in this thread, despite having negative results lowering my calories before, I am going to try that again and see what happens. The timing of this plateau is when I lowered my calories before, shortly after - that's when my weight loss got to a standstill. So I am hesitant but at this point it doesn't matter because the weight loss isn't happening now either!
How tall are you though? It matters.
I'll just say that whatever your nutritionist is telling you is obviously not working at all. So, in my opinion, you should throw out what she told you and start anew here. I cannot believe that MFP would give you anything like 2 to 3 thousand calories to eat. Plug your numbers in here, and go with what MFP tells you. Do what everybody suggested, weigh, not measure, all your foods, all of them. Log every single bite and sip every single day. No cheat days - plan for and incorporate a treat into your daily calorie goal. By now, you should have a pretty good handle on what you can eat at that restaurant you go to weekly - pick the one that appears to be the lowest calorie choice, pre-log it and adjust your calories that day to accommodate it. This has worked for me, and it's worked for many, many others - it should work for you. Best of luck.
5'3".
If you don't believe me, test it out. Any weight loss calculator will give you those calories if you put in a higher number. It was one of the first things I asked people when I started my journey. Who on earth can lose weight eating 3000 calories a day? I'm obviously not a bodybuilder and burning that many lifting at a gym either.
I don't agree with the cheat days. As I stated to someone else, telling someone to eat unrealistically will only lead to weight gain. Believe me, I was one of those people. No take-out, no cheat days, nothing. It was a big mistake. I still want to enjoy my life and that includes eating at a restaurant once in a while. Compared to everyone I know, I eat out VERY little. I stated that I do plan ahead for it and I do not go over my calories even on the days I eat out (which isn't hard when you are getting something like a chicken salad anyway) - so it is not even really a cheat day to begin with. That being said, I still disagree with telling people not to have those days (and the people here who said don't eat out). It's unrealistic.
I will keep doing what I am doing with the restaurant meals, planning ahead as you said. It's worked for me too.
Thanks for telling me your height. I did what you said and input a higher number into MFP and I see what you mean. But, if that is the number it gives you, then I have no idea how you can not be losing weight at 1500 calories. Very odd.
I also don't open my diary because I keep a lot of personal info in it. That said, I haven't asked anybody to help me with my weight loss - if I did, and didn't open my diary, I would understand that people might get frustrated with me.
I usually don't tell people not to do cheat days, but the reason is that I don't agree with calling it "cheating." I think it sets up a bad mindset having to do with "bad" food, which I don't agree with either - I don't think there are bad foods. I too have been eating at restaurants, about once a week or every two weeks - I don't do it that often mainly because I don't have the money to spend. My thought is that it has helped me tremendously to know that I can eat ice cream, pizza and fast food as long as I count it in my daily calories. I have been eating this way most of the time since I joined MFP in April 2015, due to what I've read here, and therefor don't feel hungry or deprived. I agree that you have to do this in a way that is sustainable, and this has worked for me. I just had ice cream last night. I'll have chocolate later on tonight.
Sorry, carnival, that I haven't anything else to add to help you. True, some people can be short on here, but most of those people take a lot of time out of their day to help others here, and meet with resistance a lot, so I understand their position (most of them). You've gotten a lot of good advice here, so I hope that some of it may help you. Who knows, maybe tomorrow you'll wake up and you'll have dropped a pound or two, and the plateau will be over. I'll keep my fingers crossed. 4 -
Is your weight loss goal set for 2 lbs a week? If so, try changing it to 1 lb and see if that might be more beneficial to you.
Also, I'm not sure what your macros look like, so maybe try to increase your protein and reduce your carbs. Try changing your macros to 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fat. Try these 2 things for 2-3 weeks and see what happens.0 -
You can try getting a more accurate body fat percentage estimate. Getting a DEXA scan is pretty expensive but the BOD POD is within a reasonable margin of error for body composition. Most of the major universities that have an exercise physiology program will have a BOD POD that can be accessed by the public (the one in my state will do a scan for $50).
The scan will be able to give you a more accurate reading of your fat percentage compared to handheld devices, electrical impedance, and scales. Your estimated TDEE will be assessed from a sedentary standpoint based on your muscle and fat composition.
That will give you far more accuracy for what YOUR calorie intake should be everyday then just the Harris-Benedict equation and MFP calculations. I thought I read you were doing low impact exercises so while you have lost an awesome 70 pounds, you may not have built up much more muscle mass with the exercise routine and your TDEE might be lower than the calculations.0 -
Firstly, it must be very frustrating so well done on sticking with it and don't give up.
I read this recently and found it very interesting (link below).A study on Biggest Loser contestants found that their metabolism after losing weight is significantly lower than might be expected even years after losing weight, which means to maintain they need less calories than usual for someone their size.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html
It may be that for you what MFP sets as a deficit is actually your maintenance level.
Maybe try setting your goal to be maintenance for a few weeks if you start to gain then you'll know that your levels of maintenance/ deficit are lower than MFP calculates (sorry)
I'd also suggest that you take a break from rigid dieting (I'm not saying give up) but maybe set yourself some non-diet goals, like C25K/ 10k/ half marathon or whatever your exercise of choice and make that the focus rather than weight. Keep eating well, and don't go crazy but maybe give yourself (body and mind) some time off from focusing on the scales and set some goals in other areas.
Anyway, hope some of this helps!
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@carnivalnights
just to clarify, I meant 100 calories per day, a week at a time. For instance, if you are eating 1300 now, eat 1400 a day for a week, then 1500 a day for a week, then 1600 a day for a week, etc. you will find your maintenance calories this way, or find your TDEE and do that until you reach it, stay stable for a few weeks or a month and then start dieting again. Please look up reverse dieting and although it refers a lot to bodybuilding, you can use that method to slowly up your calories and let your body have time to adjust as you do it instead of jumping around hundreds of calories a day at a time. As I said your body is smarter than you realize.
As for your current weight, someone did ask, and you did say no to telling them, said you weren't comfortable telling people your weight. In a way, that's understandable, who wants to tell people about something they are not even happy with themselves. It sucks! But... It's also part of getting past this and moving forward. It's part of who you are right now, like it or not. Being as open and honest as possible will help you achieve the best help and the best results. That's just a simple fact. While I don't feel that people on these forums always use the best approach, with this thread I do feel some of the responsibility lies with you. People are guessing and grasping at straws with the little information they have, and I understand why both they and you are feeling frustrated.
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To the OP, I concur with the poster @melissa6771 . Your body likely has settled into a point of Adaptive Thermogenesis. You said you have not now nor ever eaten back any of your exercise calories.
What you've essentially done is lowered your metabolism due to under fueling your body with an excessive calorie deficit. Now I'm not talking about any starvation mode mumbo jumbo.
However you need to look into reverse dieting to increase your bmr. Your body has responded to this very large deficit you have created overtime by being in homeostasis. By not eating back your exercise calories you have probably been eating below your bmr.
You should probably increase your weight lifting exercises and slightly cut back on the cardio, just slightly.
The weight lifting will at least help you keep what muscle you have along with adequate protein intake daily.
By taking a diet break and upping your calories by 100 for a week at a time, along with the strength training you are telling your body to burn more calories at rest.
This process will not happen overnight but if you stay with it you should see the scale move again. Good luck.
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carnivalnights wrote: »How did your nutritionist/RD come up with 1500 calories for you?
It was a long time ago; I can't remember (it did involve my weight, height and I believe my level of activity [desk job] if I am not mistaken). But it was a lot of math! She briefly showed it to me. And she did explain it, I just can't remember because it was complicated. But that is what my program started with and she gave me menu plans, etc. that followed that calorie count (and were in line with the macros we set as well).
This is a long thread, and I keep trying to get to the bottom. If 1500 was the start of your program, and you said you lost lost about 70lbs. Your eating 1500 now then are you sure your calories have been recalculated every 20 or 25 lbs? 0 -
carnivalnights wrote: »How did your nutritionist/RD come up with 1500 calories for you?
It was a long time ago; I can't remember (it did involve my weight, height and I believe my level of activity [desk job] if I am not mistaken). But it was a lot of math! She briefly showed it to me. And she did explain it, I just can't remember because it was complicated. But that is what my program started with and she gave me menu plans, etc. that followed that calorie count (and were in line with the macros we set as well).
This is a long thread, and I keep trying to get to the bottom. If 1500 was the start of your program, and you said you lost lost about 70lbs. Your eating 1500 now then are you sure your calories have been recalculated every 20 or 25 lbs?
Yes but she's got 100lbs left to lose, regardless of anything else she should be losing at 1500 calories. I'm 147lbs and I'm losing eating 1640 cals plus some exercise calories.0 -
I know you've been getting a hard time in here. Sorry about that. That is not helpful.
For me, I stalled out for half of May and June. It was frustrating. I knew I hadn't been getting enough sleep and I was missing something in my diet because I was feeling . . . off. Not sure what it was. May and June had been very stressful. I pushed through, not changing anything and also not seeing results.
So I'm July I backed off. I gave myself a week of doing only what my body felt up to for exercise and eating only what I really wanted. I also made sure I was back to getting 7.5 hours of sleep. Cortisol, that crazy stress hormone, was messing me up and when I slowed down and let things get back to calm, things started moving again.
I'm not saying this is the case for you. But our bodies are so good at protecting us from harm that they'll do anything they can. Maybe somewhere in your routine of the last while, your body has decided it's time to protect you. Maybe it's time to take a step back, take a look at what other healthy thing you can add to your life (a massage? meditation? yoga? a weekend away? more time to read? whatever it looks like) and try resetting things.
I don't know if any of this will help but I sure hope you get what you need to help you move forward. Cheering for you!1 -
Christine_72 wrote: »carnivalnights wrote: »How did your nutritionist/RD come up with 1500 calories for you?
It was a long time ago; I can't remember (it did involve my weight, height and I believe my level of activity [desk job] if I am not mistaken). But it was a lot of math! She briefly showed it to me. And she did explain it, I just can't remember because it was complicated. But that is what my program started with and she gave me menu plans, etc. that followed that calorie count (and were in line with the macros we set as well).
This is a long thread, and I keep trying to get to the bottom. If 1500 was the start of your program, and you said you lost lost about 70lbs. Your eating 1500 now then are you sure your calories have been recalculated every 20 or 25 lbs?
Yes but she's got 100lbs left to lose, regardless of anything else she should be losing at 1500 calories. I'm 147lbs and I'm losing eating 1640 cals plus some exercise calories.
That's true 1500 does sound like a number she should be able to loose with.
Well then the only thing can suggest OP is to try walking during your lunch break, that may help shed some extra calories. Good luck!
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melissa6771 wrote: »@carnivalnights
just to clarify, I meant 100 calories per day, a week at a time. For instance, if you are eating 1300 now, eat 1400 a day for a week, then 1500 a day for a week, then 1600 a day for a week, etc. you will find your maintenance calories this way, or find your TDEE and do that until you reach it, stay stable for a few weeks or a month and then start dieting again. Please look up reverse dieting and although it refers a lot to bodybuilding, you can use that method to slowly up your calories and let your body have time to adjust as you do it instead of jumping around hundreds of calories a day at a time. As I said your body is smarter than you realize.
As for your current weight, someone did ask, and you did say no to telling them, said you weren't comfortable telling people your weight. In a way, that's understandable, who wants to tell people about something they are not even happy with themselves. It sucks! But... It's also part of getting past this and moving forward. It's part of who you are right now, like it or not. Being as open and honest as possible will help you achieve the best help and the best results. That's just a simple fact. While I don't feel that people on these forums always use the best approach, with this thread I do feel some of the responsibility lies with you. People are guessing and grasping at straws with the little information they have, and I understand why both they and you are feeling frustrated.
If the OP is not losing weight, what good does it do to raise her calories? You don't lose weight be increasing calories, you decrease the calories.
She needs to find and correct he logging errors, stay in a deficit, and then she will start losing again.4 -
OP, don't give up. You are doing a great thing with the plateau because you have kept the weight off. I have read articles that suggest that a plateau every 5 or 6 months is good for your body so it can adust to the changes. Your body will likely surprise you with a drop again soon.
You will need to accurately figure out your TDEE for your current height, age, and weight so you don't gain weight back. You may have to watch, input, and weigh everything carefully while in active weight loss. Logging really highlights any problem areas.
Before intermittent fasting (in my case eating within an 8 hour window 11am-7pm) I could see from my previous logs that if I started eating when I first woke up that I was ravenous all day. It started the carb cravings early. Dropping the sugar and flour products by trial and error helped me incredibly. I did have withdrawal-like symptoms for a week, and then soon after that I got a breakthrough.
This may or may not help in your case, but if you have trouble with trigger foods or crave sweets it could help you to try cutting them out and see what happens. It is difficult at first but worth it, IMO.
Edited typo0 -
OP I feel your pain. I stalled out in May after 10 months and a 42-pound loss (181 - 139). I am a little over 5'3." I thought that with summer and my increased activity, less stress, and more sleep (I'm a HS teacher) weight loss would restart....wrong! I'm not as meticulous as you, but I'm still diligent with my logging and deficit on Fitbit. I went on a two-week holiday overseas in June, and I only gained water weight which took a week to rid. Last month I took a 4-day trip to NYC with fit adult daughter with no gain even though I relaxed the diet (no bingeing and had more alcohol than I usually have. I decided to stay "off" the diet when I got back for a total of twelve days, dining out three times. I allowed more pasta and whole grain bread than I normally do and I had two small desserts. My weight has gone up four pounds...mostly water. I dropped 1.5 lb of water weight after one day of my version of clean eating. There is scientific research to support adaptive thermogenesis, although it is scarce. I'll let you know if the weight continues to drop past my previous low.
A work friend of mine had a similar problem to yours and finally changed doctors that finally ran some more specific tests and found that she indeed had a major hormone imbalance even though previous tests showed she was normal. I don't exactly what kind of therapy she was given but she was able to get to her goal weight (she lost 100 lbs).
I normally don't post on this forum (just read), but felt I needed to chime in and lift you up. I really do think your body needs a break....eating at maintenance or even a little more to keep dropping. When I looked back at my food log over the months I found that I inadvertently took short breaks....four emergency flights to FL ...... Where I had to eat a lot of meals out. Amazing thing was I didn't gain and went right on losing when I got back home and the stress subsided.
Don't give up, just take a break. But remember, you need to stay in control on a break as well.
Cheers1 -
^^^ Almost forgot...during my stall I've actually lost inches and comfortably wear a size 6 US in most brands. I can pull off 4s in jeans from a couple of stores.0
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Is your weight loss goal set for 2 lbs a week? If so, try changing it to 1 lb and see if that might be more beneficial to you.
Also, I'm not sure what your macros look like, so maybe try to increase your protein and reduce your carbs. Try changing your macros to 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fat. Try these 2 things for 2-3 weeks and see what happens.
Nope, it's currently set to 1lb. Macros are set at (respectively as you've typed them) 35, 35, 30. Thanks for the tip! I will try changing them up.0 -
carnivalnights wrote: »How did you adjust your macros? I would up protein significantly, cut out any foods that could lead to inflammation to see if they have that effect on you (I cut out dairy, gluten, added sugar - I also cut out most packaged foods because I'm allergic to a preservative in many of them). And weight train. I'm down about 80 pounds depending on the day.
I was told by my nutritionist to decrease carbs and up protein, but that didn't seem to help. I have done that for about a month or so with no difference in loss. Because I don't eat red meat, I actually can't cut out something like dairy because it's where I get a lot of my protein (eggs, yogurt, etc.) but thank you for the tip. I could try gluten! You never know. I don't eat any packaged foods either. Congrats on your 80!
Could there be any chance that you could be drinking some of your calories? I know some people can drink adult beverages while dieting, but it can cause others to stall.
I drink nothing aside from water and the odd Diet Coke, so I don't think so. I also record anything I do drink. I haven't had a sugared beverage in 20 years or so and I don't drink coffee or alcohol. That's probably an easy thing to forget to record though, especially if you're out!0 -
Sorry OP, but I never got an answer to what your specific exercise regimen (daily) is?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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LaceyBirds wrote: »carnivalnights wrote: »LaceyBirds wrote: »carnivalnights wrote: »LaceyBirds wrote: »In case you missed my question:LaceyBirds wrote: »OP, how tall are you and what is your current weight? I'm asking because the calories given by MFP to lose weight are based on height and current weight. Your 1500 calories may be too much depending on your height.
Had to leave the forums yesterday for a period; was not ignoring you, sorry. Not comfortable posting my weight here. The calorie intake numbers were derived from a registered dietician based on her calculations. I've stated elsewhere in this thread, when using a regular weight loss calculator, the calories for my height and weight say to eat something obscene like 2000-3000 calories, which I am obviously not going to be doing for weight loss. So I have never been able to go by the average any sites calculate for me, including MFP. I saw a nutritionist fairly soon after I started using MFP and we changed the calories and macros after my first session because she said they were off. That's how I arrived at 1500, not from a calculator or MFP.
However, after everything in this thread, despite having negative results lowering my calories before, I am going to try that again and see what happens. The timing of this plateau is when I lowered my calories before, shortly after - that's when my weight loss got to a standstill. So I am hesitant but at this point it doesn't matter because the weight loss isn't happening now either!
How tall are you though? It matters.
I'll just say that whatever your nutritionist is telling you is obviously not working at all. So, in my opinion, you should throw out what she told you and start anew here. I cannot believe that MFP would give you anything like 2 to 3 thousand calories to eat. Plug your numbers in here, and go with what MFP tells you. Do what everybody suggested, weigh, not measure, all your foods, all of them. Log every single bite and sip every single day. No cheat days - plan for and incorporate a treat into your daily calorie goal. By now, you should have a pretty good handle on what you can eat at that restaurant you go to weekly - pick the one that appears to be the lowest calorie choice, pre-log it and adjust your calories that day to accommodate it. This has worked for me, and it's worked for many, many others - it should work for you. Best of luck.
5'3".
If you don't believe me, test it out. Any weight loss calculator will give you those calories if you put in a higher number. It was one of the first things I asked people when I started my journey. Who on earth can lose weight eating 3000 calories a day? I'm obviously not a bodybuilder and burning that many lifting at a gym either.
I don't agree with the cheat days. As I stated to someone else, telling someone to eat unrealistically will only lead to weight gain. Believe me, I was one of those people. No take-out, no cheat days, nothing. It was a big mistake. I still want to enjoy my life and that includes eating at a restaurant once in a while. Compared to everyone I know, I eat out VERY little. I stated that I do plan ahead for it and I do not go over my calories even on the days I eat out (which isn't hard when you are getting something like a chicken salad anyway) - so it is not even really a cheat day to begin with. That being said, I still disagree with telling people not to have those days (and the people here who said don't eat out). It's unrealistic.
I will keep doing what I am doing with the restaurant meals, planning ahead as you said. It's worked for me too.
Thanks for telling me your height. I did what you said and input a higher number into MFP and I see what you mean. But, if that is the number it gives you, then I have no idea how you can not be losing weight at 1500 calories. Very odd.
I also don't open my diary because I keep a lot of personal info in it. That said, I haven't asked anybody to help me with my weight loss - if I did, and didn't open my diary, I would understand that people might get frustrated with me.
I usually don't tell people not to do cheat days, but the reason is that I don't agree with calling it "cheating." I think it sets up a bad mindset having to do with "bad" food, which I don't agree with either - I don't think there are bad foods. I too have been eating at restaurants, about once a week or every two weeks - I don't do it that often mainly because I don't have the money to spend. My thought is that it has helped me tremendously to know that I can eat ice cream, pizza and fast food as long as I count it in my daily calories. I have been eating this way most of the time since I joined MFP in April 2015, due to what I've read here, and therefor don't feel hungry or deprived. I agree that you have to do this in a way that is sustainable, and this has worked for me. I just had ice cream last night. I'll have chocolate later on tonight.
Sorry, carnival, that I haven't anything else to add to help you. True, some people can be short on here, but most of those people take a lot of time out of their day to help others here, and meet with resistance a lot, so I understand their position (most of them). You've gotten a lot of good advice here, so I hope that some of it may help you. Who knows, maybe tomorrow you'll wake up and you'll have dropped a pound or two, and the plateau will be over. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
I certainly agree with your stance on restaurants! Not only do I not have the money to spend, but the idea of spending money on something that is not as good for me as something I can make irks me. It's a nice treat but the guilt gets to me. I understand what you're saying about 'bad foods' though and why we shouldn't call them cheat days. And I'm of the same mind when it comes to allowing yourself those things once in a while and you just have to do it in a way that works for you.
Ironically I dropped .4lbs yesterday (hey, it's something). Haha. It must have been all the exercising from typing tons of replies on this thread.
I agree, I've gotten a lot of good advice here too. Not discounting that. I just hope I see some results sooner rather than later. It is extremely frustrating putting so much effort into something and seeing no results. It almost feels like a bad relationship! I remember when I was losing all the weight that is EXACTLY what kept me going - not the actual weight loss but that I was getting out exactly what I was putting in. It was a perfect give-and-take relationship I had with my body. I'd work hard and I'd get results. I miss that.
Thanks for all your help and multiple replies! I appreciate it. Fingers crossed it's only down from here. 4 -
carnivalnights wrote: »Ironically I dropped .4lbs yesterday (hey, it's something).
Hahaha, that's too funny.
Congratulations, and also congrats on the weight you've already lost - that's a wonderful accomplishment. I hope that .4 pounds (I count those, yes I do, every ounce counts) is the sound of that plateau going buh-bye. Typing as a weight-loss strategy . . . I could do that!
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