Grrrr! Not loosing and trying so hard!

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kristinaserrano23
kristinaserrano23 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I have been on this weight loss journey since mid March of this year. Down 43 lbs and started exercising over the past month and a half. Charting my food, drinking water, and what happens....no weight loss. Can anyone please help? I have about 60 more lbs to go. I am in no way close to a healthy weight. I would appreciate any advise.

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    How long has it been since you lost weight? When was the last time you recalculated your intake? How are you measuring your intake (food scale, measuring cups, eyeballing portions)?
  • abitofbliss
    abitofbliss Posts: 198 Member
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    Hello! Congratulations on your weight loss so far!

    Couple of suggestions...
    • Adjust your calories/goals based on your current weight if you haven't already.
    • Have patience! There was a point I stayed within the same 10lbs but I fit into old pants that were 3-4 sizes smaller
    • Weigh your food to make sure it is as accurate as possible if you aren't already
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    Anytime you start a new exercise plan (or increase one you're already doing), you may see short-term water retention that can mask weight loss, although you'd expect to see that normalize after 4-6 weeks. Are you eating back your exercise calories? If so, how are you calculating those calories, and are you eating back all of them?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited August 2016
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    If you aren't losing weight it's usually a simple case of eating more than you think you are. You may simply need to recalculate your calorie goal. As you lose weight you burn less calories every day just moving around. It's one of the reasons the last 5-10 pounds are so difficult.

    Are you using a food scale to validate your calories for your food entries? Are you using a heart rate monitor for calorie burns? Are you eating back your exercise calories? All or some?

    This chart created by @lemonlionheart may help:

    a37btb7mxb3t.jpg

    Here's a great post about keeping a food diary that might offer some insight: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10191216/the-most-important-thing-you-can-do-to-lose-weight

    If you still have questions, please ask.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited August 2016
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    All of the above, plus I would add the following questions:
    Are you double checking each entry in your MFP diary against the nutritional information on your packages? The MFP database is user maintained, so calorie amounts are often incorrect. This also includes the barcode scanning and the green checkmarked "verified" entries. Double check everything!
    Are you using the recipe builder for things you make at home, or just guessing and using pre made entries?
    Do you have regular unlogged "cheat" meals?
    How are you calculating your calorie burms through exercise?
    Are you weighing food, or just eyeballing portion sizes?
    Do you log everything you eat, including fruits, vegetables, condiments, cooking oils, etc..?
  • kristinaserrano23
    kristinaserrano23 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. Just what I need. I am wondering if I am consuming too little calories? Before you all laugh at that statement, I have been trying to stay between 1,000-1,200 a day. I am exercising 3x week, maybe 4, but not usually. I am thinking that my body is holding on to the current weight because I am eating too little? (Not trying to be funny or stupid!) I am going to go get a food scale today. Also, how do I track heart rates? I was thinking of getting a fitness tracker but have no idea which one. To answer some of the questions, I am entering food content directly from packages and calorie charts, no cheating (I swear). I am also wondering what is the real calorie content I should be eating.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    kristinaserrano23 wrote: »
    Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. Just what I need. I am wondering if I am consuming too little calories? Before you all laugh at that statement, I have been trying to stay between 1,000-1,200 a day. I am exercising 3x week, maybe 4, but not usually. I am thinking that my body is holding on to the current weight because I am eating too little? (Not trying to be funny or stupid!) I am going to go get a food scale today. Also, how do I track heart rates? I was thinking of getting a fitness tracker but have no idea which one. To answer some of the questions, I am entering food content directly from packages and calorie charts, no cheating (I swear). I am also wondering what is the real calorie content I should be eating.

    No. That won't happen.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    kristinaserrano23 wrote: »
    Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. Just what I need. I am wondering if I am consuming too little calories? Before you all laugh at that statement, I have been trying to stay between 1,000-1,200 a day. I am exercising 3x week, maybe 4, but not usually. I am thinking that my body is holding on to the current weight because I am eating too little? (Not trying to be funny or stupid!) I am going to go get a food scale today. Also, how do I track heart rates? I was thinking of getting a fitness tracker but have no idea which one. To answer some of the questions, I am entering food content directly from packages and calorie charts, no cheating (I swear). I am also wondering what is the real calorie content I should be eating.

    No. That won't happen.

    ^^^this

    Sorry for my barrage of questions..it was kind of a brain dump trying to think of the usual problem spots I tend to notice on here.
    Anyway, if you're truly eating 1000- 1200 calories, especially with exercise, you would be losing weight. Starvation mode, as you've described it here, is a myth. Sounds like you're probably eating more than you think you are.
    How long has it been since the scale has moved? If it's only been about 3 weeks or less, you're probably ok.
    Also, I track my exercise using a Polar M400. It''s pricy, but I love it! :)
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited August 2016
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    kristinaserrano23 wrote: »
    Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. Just what I need. I am wondering if I am consuming too little calories? Before you all laugh at that statement, I have been trying to stay between 1,000-1,200 a day. I am exercising 3x week, maybe 4, but not usually. I am thinking that my body is holding on to the current weight because I am eating too little? (Not trying to be funny or stupid!) I am going to go get a food scale today. Also, how do I track heart rates? I was thinking of getting a fitness tracker but have no idea which one. To answer some of the questions, I am entering food content directly from packages and calorie charts, no cheating (I swear). I am also wondering what is the real calorie content I should be eating.

    Your body doesn't hold onto weight when you undereat; that's a myth. If it really worked like that no one would ever die of starvation. :wink: Why not ensure you really are eating so little first by getting a food scale and tightening up your logging? You'll be greatly surprised how different food packaging info, and the actual calorie content of what you're eating can be; the size of a "serving" and the size of what they have packaged as a serving can be quite different. After a week or so of that you'll be in a better position to judge whether or not you need to make any changes.

    Plug your current stats back into your goals and it'll give you a new calorie goal to meet. You may also need to revise your weight loss per week goal. With 60 pounds to go you shouldn't be aiming at more than 1.5 pounds per week and might be happier at 1 pound. If MFP is telling you 1200 calories you are probably trying to lose too quickly.

    MFP's calorie numbers for walking and running are actually not bad as long as you are using the entries that match how fast you were going. A heart rate monitor is the best device to give you a calorie goal for steady state cardio exercises like biking, the elliptical, etc. As far as which one, that's really up to you and what you're doing. Since I run outside I have a Garmin Forerunner with GPS; you may not need anything so fancy. I've heard some people in here swear by Polar brand monitors but I haven't tried one myself. Look at reviews on Amazon and you'll get a good idea of which ones are the most reliable.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    kristinaserrano23 wrote: »
    Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. Just what I need. I am wondering if I am consuming too little calories? Before you all laugh at that statement, I have been trying to stay between 1,000-1,200 a day. I am exercising 3x week, maybe 4, but not usually. I am thinking that my body is holding on to the current weight because I am eating too little? (Not trying to be funny or stupid!) I am going to go get a food scale today. Also, how do I track heart rates? I was thinking of getting a fitness tracker but have no idea which one. To answer some of the questions, I am entering food content directly from packages and calorie charts, no cheating (I swear). I am also wondering what is the real calorie content I should be eating.

    Nope. It's impossible to not lose by consuming too few calories. It's highly likely you're eating too many calories (as in more than you're logging. When you start weighing food, you'll see.)
  • beatyfamily1
    beatyfamily1 Posts: 257 Member
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    What I did was I got a Fitbit tracker. I wanted to see how many calories I was actually burning on a daily basis. This helped me see what I can actually eat for that day in order to stay under my calories. As others have suggested, weighing your food accurately will help determine what you are actually consuming. I also had a problem with sodium and carbs. My weight was all over the place and would not budge below a certain number. I started taking potassium supplements and this has helped me manage my sodium levels as well as helping with converting carbs in to energy. Now my weight doesn't fluctuate all over the place. If you do decide to try potassium supplements make sure to take magnesium with it. Otherwise, potassium cannot get through the cell membrane to do its job. Too much sodium could be a problem for you if your diet mainly consists of packaged food items.
  • kristinaserrano23
    kristinaserrano23 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you all for your wisdom and advise. I am grateful for the feedback and guidance!
  • kristinaserrano23
    kristinaserrano23 Posts: 9 Member
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    Got a fitbit, and have so far enjoyed the extra data, steps, calorie info. Thanks for the suggestions.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    kristinaserrano23 wrote: »
    Got a fitbit, and have so far enjoyed the extra data, steps, calorie info. Thanks for the suggestions.

    My fitbit is motivating, but my digital food scale is key to weight loss. It's far more accurate than cups.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    kristinaserrano23 wrote: »
    Got a fitbit, and have so far enjoyed the extra data, steps, calorie info. Thanks for the suggestions.

    My fitbit is motivating, but my digital food scale is key to weight loss. It's far more accurate than cups.

    Indeed. Weigh everything that isn't liquid. Even weigh peanut butter, cream cheese and butter....

  • kristinaserrano23
    kristinaserrano23 Posts: 9 Member
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    Got a digital scale and ready to use it!
  • dustedwithsugar
    dustedwithsugar Posts: 179 Member
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    Getting food scale will make all the difference for you :smile:

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