What can I do?! [Please be constructive:)]

More fiber!!! That helps your body process what you're eating.

You are right, you could eat cleaner. I'm trying to look at many days so I get a good idea of how you're doing. You seem to be over your fat goal every day. It's important to look at carbs, protein, and fat, not just calories. Not all calories are created equal. You will benefit from eating more protein and less fat and carbs. In my opinion, MFP sets their carb goal too high. You can change this in your goal settings. My ratio is 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat.

If you eat cleaner and get a good ratio of different types of calories, you should see better results. If you'd like to take a look at my diary, it's open.

okay.

Work out hard.

Eat clean.

Relax.

hi honey, I've been on this site for about 80 days now and lost about 16lbs. not a lot I know but it's been a steady weight loss.
I really think if you keep to the calorie goals and exercise more, (and log the exercise) you really will lose weight. You have to weigh all your food so that you know you aren't overestimating stuff, believe me, it's really easy to do that!!!
Just persevere, you'll do it if you want to.

Try to eat small meals every 3 to 4 hours. It helps boost your metabolism but depending on your caloric intake a day you need to decide what you calorie intake should be per meal. It will also help you feel less hungry so you will be less likely to cheat!

I think maybe you need to increase your exercise a bit or do it on more days per week and also by looking at your diary I see that it is not so much the amount of food you eat but the type. Try to add more fruits and vegetables to the day and less pre-packaged foods. I know it can be hard to afford fresh produce these days but it is worth the investment and you will probably feel better too. I have noticed eating fruits and veggies and nuts added in with my cheese and fried chicken indulgences that I feel much better. I also gain more weight the less I eat. I assume it is a metabolism thing. Eat small meals more often and that will keep your metabolism up and you will burn more calories. Good luck!

It's not just the total calories. If your body is not getting the nutrition it needs you are still starving it. I highly recommend working in some fresh fruits and vegetables and you will start feeling better and start seeing more results. Good Luck!

First, I have to say congratulations on the 7 pounds. A lot of your friends would be very happy to be seven pounds lighter, and second, my hat is off to you for sticking with it even thought your results are a little discouraging. Perseverance is half the battle, and you haven't given up!

You've been given lots of great advice by the other members about diet and exercise, and it never hurts to take a good honest look at how dedicated you are to that aspect of the program. There is nearly always somewhere we can improve.

Your thought about going to see the doctor is not a bad idea, if nothing else to rule out some biological reason you're not getting the results you're expecting. There are lots of those possibilities. Print off some of your food/exercise diary when you go, so he can really see what you've been doing. You might consider asking for a referral to a nutritionist too - someone who can help you find those adjustments in your diet that will help you break through and achieve your goals.

Stay strong!

I don't know how much you weight, your height and age etc to know what your caloric intake should be, but it seems like you are eating enough if you are around 1500+++. I would say:

- Be careful eating all your exercise extra calories, some HR monitors are not super accurate, and the reason for exercising is to burn extra calories so you are in a bigger deficit!

- I would definitely say if you want to see an improvement you should raise the bar with exercise, and not only cardio. Strength training will cause you to have more lean muscles which then will raise your metabolism. Your body will need more energy to function! Also pay attention at intensity of workouts! I could help you with some options if you would like!

- Another thing is the quality of the fuel (food) you are putting into your body. Some folks wonder why people on weight watchers drop weight..... It is because their point system is created around a balance among protein, carbs, fat, sugar etc. If for a snack you have a bar your body would definitely have less nutrients to absorb for fuel than if you had an apple and some nuts. A good way to clean it up a bit is to avoid:
- sugar
- simple carbs (white bread, white rice, white pasta, etc.)
- alcohol
- overly processed foods (if you buy something and look at ingredients and most of them sound foreign, that means that food has a lot of additives, things your body was not made to absorb)
- eat complex carbs ( whole grains, fruits and vegetables)
- Eat lean proteins (fish, chicken, bison, turkey, beans, tofu, yogurt, nuts, cottage cheese, etc)
- Drink plenty of water, this way your body will not retain it. I know it sounds crazy, but when we eat salt our bodies need to dilute it, by drinking lots of water our bodies reach a balance and we eliminate water, when we are dehydrated, our bodies will hold on to the liquids for dear life. (bloated)
- Eat 5/6 small meals a day, rather than just 3 big ones, this way your metabolism will be fired up the whole day.
- Eat Breakfast!!! This way your metabolism is working full force since the time you get up!
- Your biggest meals should be in the first part of the day and as the days goes get lighter. (you don't want to have a huge dinner, because most often we are not active enough to burn the calories off.)

Don't get discouraged, I know that when you feel like you are putting in the work and not seeing the results you want the feeling of "what's the point" kick in. But sometimes we just have to take time to sit down and evaluate what we have been doing. I have lost 106 pounds and had to sit down and re-evaluate my routine, b/c it's getting harder to see results. Sometimes we just need to step out of our comfort zone for a bit and try something different to see the changes again!

I know you CAN do this! If you ever need any help my email is coachligia@gmail.com

At 2lbs its 1200, at 1.5 its 1220, and at 1lb its 1500. I always eat back the majority of my exercise calories, if not all. I use an HRM so I believe my calorie burns are pretty accurate. I exercise some where between 2 and 4 times a week for 20-45 minutes. I know I could use some consistency but I figure that if even at my worst I am ziz-zagging my base maintenance calories so I should maintain the weight drops, not gain them back right?

When I first started, I had my settings set on sedentary and was exercising 60 minutes 3-4x per week - and I wasn't losing! I struggled for a long time with it. Once I found the below link, I set them to active AND started eating most of my exercise calories, the weight started to fall off!!! I truly believe (now) that you really need to feed/fuel your body!

**That being said, plan ahead. Eat healthy and try to stay away from fast food. But, if you have to eat it, log it and don't worry about it - do realize the sodium will probably make you retain water weight.

Here's the link I found which changed everything:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit


This is just a part of it! please read the link above

***activity level isn't as mysterious as it sounds.

If you have a desk job, and do very little walking throughout the day and don't really perform any sports or physical activities, then you are sedentary.

If you do some walking every day (or at least 4 days a week) or other light activity for at least 30 minutes cumulative at least 4 times a week, you are lightly active. (THIS WOULD BE YOU!)

If you do 60 minutes of light activity 5 days a week or do some kind of sport that requires walking or light jogging (say swimming or mailman or warehouse employee) then you are active.

If you do a physically demanding activity (one that makes you sweat) for 4 days a week or more and for more than 1 hour a day, you are very active (like a coach that runs drills or you play volleyball).

When in doubt, go down 1 level, you'd rather burn more than you think than less.

~ ~ ~

Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)

not sure what your water intake is like..but i have found if i get anything LESS than 12 glasses a day my weight loss slows. *S*
need lots of water for your body to function well and process the food/move it out *S*

When you eat better you will feel better and the weight will certainly come off. I wish you luck with your journey. Also, try not to eat back the exercise calories you gain.

When you eat better you will feel better and the weight will certainly come off. I wish you luck with your journey. Also, try not to eat back the exercise calories you gain.

Some might but for others eating back some is important for fueling our bodies. Since MFP sets a calorie deficit when we join it does make a difference and does help some adding them back. For others if they find that doesn't help by all means the best thing we can do for ourselves is what works for US as individuals.:drinker: