When does it start happening where you notice a weight loss?
catleego
Posts: 5 Member
Almost a month in and sticking to 1200 calories or below. Struggling with hunger a little which I guess is due to the lower carb diet I am now on so fueling the hunger with a boiled egg or a mandarin when absolutely desperate. I don't get it....nothing has changed! Totally revamped my eating habits, veges, salads, no bread, Weightwatcher meals if I don't feel like cooking, smaller portions, wholewheat pasta once a week instead of at least four, no sweet stuff, no yummy sauces, read every goddamned packet at the supermarket to check the Nutrition Info list, and have been fastidious in keeping within my counts which I admit I am finding super difficult (surely it gets easier).
Not doing a huge amount of physical exercise...concentrating on exercises to focus around the tummy area which I also do daily (morning and evening). Lost no weight! Nothing! Do feel better healthwise though but, just not noticing a difference in weight or shape. Feeling very despondent and disappointed. I thought it would happen faster.
Not doing a huge amount of physical exercise...concentrating on exercises to focus around the tummy area which I also do daily (morning and evening). Lost no weight! Nothing! Do feel better healthwise though but, just not noticing a difference in weight or shape. Feeling very despondent and disappointed. I thought it would happen faster.
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Are you weighing your food and picking accurate entries from the database?2
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you need to work out your TDEE. bellow 1200 is normally too low. your body will start going into starvation mode if its too low. myfitnesspal should generate your TDEE/calories by default. but it dose need a fair few weeks to see any changes.1
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I'm down 25 kg (55 lbs). It took me 10 days on MFP before I lost anything ... and a good 16 weeks before anyone else noticed ... and there are still days when I look in the mirror and wonder if I've lost anything.3
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AlabamaMama224 wrote: »Are you weighing your food and picking accurate entries from the database?
This. Weighing and logging your food is the most important part of this new lifestyle imho.
Before I started doing this, I was "watching" what I ate, reading nutrition labels, blah, blah. Pretty much what you said you are doing. Here's the problem with that. We take their word for it, and they are often wrong with their serving size. And we are often wrong with both our guesstimates, and measuring.
And log every darn thing you swallow. I had a twizzler stick on Thursday, was surprised at how many calories were in that thing. Yesterday I was babysitting and ran out of my drink, so had some grape juice. Yup, I logged it. If it's takeout where I don't know the count, I'll pick the entry with the most consistent calorie count in the database.
I've lost 6 lbs this month since I started actually weighing my food on a digital food scale. And I've had 5 different people say to me "have you lost weight, you look really good".3 -
For starters, 1200 is the lowest you can go on calorie intake and be within the healthy and safe weight loss recommendations. Should never eat below 1200. Under eating if you will, only compounds stress you are putting on the body.
Next, are you using food scale to weigh all of the 1200 calories you consume (no measuring cups and spoons, a real digital scale?)
It can take upwards of 3 - 4 weeks before real fat loss can be noticed on the scale. And upwards and downwards in water weight during these weeks can attribute to scale movement, but once you are down in weight for at least 4 -5 days you can assume you have lost real weight (accumulation of fat, muscle and water). Muscle sparing can be done through getting ample protein and following a strength training program.
Know that plateaus really do not exist as long as you are 100% in a calorie deficit daily to lose weight. Weight loss in not linear as well, so once you start losing, there may be a week or two when no loss or you may get a drop all at once, it depends on how you lose weight.
So if the scale is not moving after 3 -4 weeks, you need to reassess the calorie intake from a logging standpoint. SInce you do not exercise much, eating back exercise calories is not in your situation thus it has to be all calories in so check the logging.
If you are a daily weigher, know there are varying fluctuations that occur and water retention can be masking fat loss. For daily weighers I recommend using a weight trending app and use the scale for this particular reason, so use the scale to your benefit and work with the scale instead of the scale working against yo per se.0 -
No I'm not weighing at all but cut my portions right back and log every food detail no matter how small. I google to check all the food details because I find there is too much variation if I search on here. I'm not doing takeaways at all and TOTALLY changed the type of food I eat...steamed veges, salads, no dairy, no bread, and plain meats. According to MFP I should be at 1200 calories per day and I usually hit that or slightly below. I'm starting to feel like my day is revolving around what I can eat next that is going to keep me within the data limits. Maybe I am just being a little too impatient.
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No I'm not weighing at all but cut my portions right back and log every food detail no matter how small. I google to check all the food details because I find there is too much variation if I search on here. I'm not doing takeaways at all and TOTALLY changed the type of food I eat...steamed veges, salads, no dairy, no bread, and plain meats. According to MFP I should be at 1200 calories per day and I usually hit that or slightly below. I'm starting to feel like my day is revolving around what I can eat next that is going to keep me within the data limits. Maybe I am just being a little too impatient.
If you are NOT weighing those 1200 calories, then I can say absolutely from 100% experience you are eating more than you think, even with this being a short period of time since you started MFP and all the things I described in my post above.
You want to follow the MFP method to lose weight, use the MFP app + food scale. 1200 calories is not very many calories and can easily underestimate how much you log through "cutting back portions".6 -
No I'm not weighing at all but cut my portions right back and log every food detail no matter how small. I google to check all the food details because I find there is too much variation if I search on here. I'm not doing takeaways at all and TOTALLY changed the type of food I eat...steamed veges, salads, no dairy, no bread, and plain meats. According to MFP I should be at 1200 calories per day and I usually hit that or slightly below. I'm starting to feel like my day is revolving around what I can eat next that is going to keep me within the data limits. Maybe I am just being a little too impatient.
But if you aren't weighing your food, how do you know? You have gone a solid month eating 1200 calories a day and lost no weight at all? Not one pound?
You might be eating more than you think, that's where weighing comes in.
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How long have you been doing this?
On August 15, which was 20 days ago, I started a spreadsheet in which I simply recorded my net calories each day.
In another column I calculate and sum my calorie deficit for each day and previous days. In another column I record my weight each day and in another column I calculate my expected weight by dividing my calorie deficit by 3500 and subtracting that from my weight of August 15. My actual weight and my expected weight differ, but never yet by as much as 1%. I weigh, today, 199.2 1% of that is still nearly 2 lb. It's not unusual for the inaccuracy and uncertainty of my logging, and I'm fastidious about logging everything, to be 'wrong' by nearly 2 lb. There's nothing wrong with the science behind weight loss as expressed by mfp. The inaccuracy and uncertainty of our logging food and exercise are the sources of our disappointed expectations.3 -
I am at day 25. I did initially think that I had lost a little however, I went out several days ago and purchased new digital scales (I was using the older style with the needle). The digital scales weigh me as heavier than what I thought I was and I'm guessing the old scales were more prone to inaccuracy and much harder to read. Every day I seem to be getting heavier than the last (according to my new scales) and yet the food I am eating is no longer crap and in excess like I used to eat. Go figure!1
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If you are really hungry and not loosing I think you need to start getting more leafy greens like spinach and kale into your diet and cutting back SLIGHTLY on carbs... People have different reactions to carbs even though there is low cal bread and other things the increase in carbs can stall ppl...
Honestly I'm 6'3 285 and because of the amount of greens and vegetables I eat I actually have a hard time even hitting 2k cals a day because I'm so full...And when I cut back on my carbs that is when I saw a massive loss on the scale.... ppl have different bodies...cals in vs cals out works but so do the amount of carbs ...some ppl just need to cut back further.1 -
I am at day 25. I did initially think that I had lost a little however, I went out several days ago and purchased new digital scales (I was using the older style with the needle). The digital scales weigh me as heavier than what I thought I was and I'm guessing the old scales were more prone to inaccuracy and much harder to read. Every day I seem to be getting heavier than the last (according to my new scales) and yet the food I am eating is no longer crap and in excess like I used to eat. Go figure!
Ok new scales... That changes things. You can have 5 different scales and weigh somethings different on every single one.
But still, buy a food scale, they're inexpensive and really handy to have around. And they make logging foods on MFP oh so much easier!
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violet0ann wrote: »you need to work out your TDEE. bellow 1200 is normally too low. your body will start going into starvation mode if its too low. myfitnesspal should generate your TDEE/calories by default. but it dose need a fair few weeks to see any changes.
Starvation mode is a myth, and MyFitnessPal doesn't use the TDEE method.3 -
OP, you sound unhappy with the way you are eating. Especially when you mention eliminating "yummy" foods and describe the time and effort you put in to remake your whole diet. Maybe your previous way of eating was atrocious but it may not be necessary to change everything all at once.
I tried doing what you are when I started and I didn't last more than two weeks. I now eat exactly as I did before but with smaller portions. As a result, the volume of food I consume is smaller, but I don't really get all that hungry. I also stick to 1200 base calories (because I'm old) but I get some exercise so I can eat a little more than that. I'm losing well enough.
I know none of my comments address your disappointment with the amount of weight you are losing, but I figure the wise ones have covered that well enough. My concern is that you may give up if you don't see better results for all your effort and sacrifice. Just know that this process doesn't need to feel like punishment.8 -
Starvation mode IS a myth...your body will actually go into a fat burning mode because you have used all your stored glucose.Actually you burn the most fat while you are fasting... You body really only starts using your own muscle after 24 hours of fasting.Like I said before...if u are truly keeping your cals below you limit then I believe you need to cut back SLIGHTLY on your carb intake especially if you are not doing any kind of lifting or cardio....even 50 grams of carbs and be converted into fat if you don't burn them off by either cardio or weight training.2
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thatboyjosh73 wrote: »Starvation mode IS a myth...your body will actually go into a fat burning mode because you have used all your stored glucose.Actually you burn the most fat while you are fasting... You body really only starts using your own muscle after 24 hours of fasting.Like I said before...if u are truly keeping your cals below you limit then I believe you need to cut back SLIGHTLY on your carb intake especially if you are not doing any kind of lifting or cardio....even 50 grams of carbs and be converted into fat if you don't burn them off by either cardio or weight training.
If you are in a caloric deficit, there is no net conversion to fat regardless of the macro composition.2 -
thatboyjosh73 wrote: »If you are really hungry and not loosing I think you need to start getting more leafy greens like spinach and kale into your diet and cutting back SLIGHTLY on carbs... People have different reactions to carbs even though there is low cal bread and other things the increase in carbs can stall ppl...
Honestly I'm 6'3 285 and because of the amount of greens and vegetables I eat I actually have a hard time even hitting 2k cals a day because I'm so full...And when I cut back on my carbs that is when I saw a massive loss on the scale.... ppl have different bodies...cals in vs cals out works but so do the amount of carbs ...some ppl just need to cut back further.
Thanks. Yep been doing the spinach and kale for the past week and my daily carb goal calculated by MFP is 150. Looking back over the past few weeks I am averaging a count of 100 per day. I would hazard a guess and say that prior to starting to change my diet and listing my daily food intake, I would have been three times that. Hopefully the next week or so may start to show some changes :-)1 -
thatboyjosh73 wrote: »If you are really hungry and not loosing I think you need to start getting more leafy greens like spinach and kale into your diet and cutting back SLIGHTLY on carbs... People have different reactions to carbs even though there is low cal bread and other things the increase in carbs can stall ppl...
Honestly I'm 6'3 285 and because of the amount of greens and vegetables I eat I actually have a hard time even hitting 2k cals a day because I'm so full...And when I cut back on my carbs that is when I saw a massive loss on the scale.... ppl have different bodies...cals in vs cals out works but so do the amount of carbs ...some ppl just need to cut back further.
Thanks. Yep been doing the spinach and kale for the past week and my daily carb goal calculated by MFP is 150. Looking back over the past few weeks I am averaging a count of 100 per day. I would hazard a guess and say that prior to starting to change my diet and listing my daily food intake, I would have been three times that. Hopefully the next week or so may start to show some changes :-)
You do not NOT lose weight because of carbs. You do not lose weight because you are not sticking to a calorie deficit. In all seriousness, you are not using a food scale to weigh your portions out to make sure 1200 calories is in deed 1200 calories or moreover sticking to your calorie deficit.
I see some strange posts about this carb intake and how you need to lower them and how carbs are converted to fat if you do not do what sounds like "right away" go and exercise/burn off what you eat. This is ludicrous information.
The information or recommendations on how you will get results as been posted by others on the food scale, it is so easy to underestimate portion control on 1200 calories.6 -
I am at day 25. I did initially think that I had lost a little however, I went out several days ago and purchased new digital scales (I was using the older style with the needle). The digital scales weigh me as heavier than what I thought I was and I'm guessing the old scales were more prone to inaccuracy and much harder to read. Every day I seem to be getting heavier than the last (according to my new scales) and yet the food I am eating is no longer crap and in excess like I used to eat. Go figure!
OK, so not only do you not weigh your food, so you really don't know how many calories you're eating, but you don't know whether or not you lost weight because you've changed the scales you use to weigh yourself. Different scales will not show the same weight, and you're comparing the weight shown on the new scale now to the weight your old scale showed a month ago. It's meaningless.
Do you still have the old scales to check what your actual weight loss is? How much had you lost before you switched scales?3 -
It's so funny how ppl on MFP community think that just BC she may be off and that I recommend she cut her carbs automatically think I'm wrong...it has been PROVEN that it IS what you eat and not just how much....I have seen ppl eat 3 to 4 k cals a day and STILL drop weight like crazy...it is NOT always cals in cals out...ppl process fats and carbs at different rates...I promise you ,you cannot be so far off on your cal count that it is making THAT big of a difference...if everyone that comes on MFP is all of a sudden a pro at weight loss they would not be on here ......dang I am new to MFP and I feel like everyone is so critical of other ppl just simply suggestions things to try but then everyone thinks they know everything about weight loss...crazy...1
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thatboyjosh73 wrote: »It's so funny how ppl on MFP community think that just BC she may be off and that I recommend she cut her carbs automatically think I'm wrong...it has been PROVEN that it IS what you eat and not just how much....I have seen ppl eat 3 to 4 k cals a day and STILL drop weight like crazy...it is NOT always cals in cals out...ppl process fats and carbs at different rates...I promise you ,you cannot be so far off on your cal count that it is making THAT big of a difference...if everyone that comes on MFP is all of a sudden a pro at weight loss they would not be on here ......dang I am new to MFP and I feel like everyone is so critical of other ppl just simply suggestions things to try but then everyone thinks they know everything about weight loss...crazy...
No, it has NOT been proven that it's what you eat and not the calories. NO, people can not eat 3 to 4 K calories, burn less and drop weight like crazy. There is at least one guy out there that documented himself eating nothing but Twinkies (in a deficit) and guess what, he lost weight. And you don't think their calorie count could be that far off? You might wanna watch this.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU2 -
ok..I had lost 8 # counting calories, using a scale to weigh food, walking etc..Then went 2 months and lost nada! Im over 40. Someone suggested a fat burner from GNC and I started losing again 5 # in 2 weeks.0
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OP, you need to definitely go out and get a food scale asap and start weighing everything you put in your mouth. You do not need to cut out all the good things in your life. There is no reason to give up breads, junk, etc. I still eat bread, candy, and all the things you have given up and I've lost a decent amount of weight (31 lbs as of today) the past few months I have been logging. You have to balance these things into your calories per day. I had some leftover steak today. I just weighed it on the food scale and logged it in by weight. That is the most accurate way to do it. I had around 250 calories left over for the day so what did I choose to use it on??? The two pack of Reese's peanut butter cups. I can promise you that me eating that will have no negative effect on my weight loss and I will still lose this week just fine. There is no need to make this process miserable. If you do that you are guaranteeing that you will not be able to keep off any weight lost. I tried to eyeball my portions before and let's just say I had about the same results you have had. I way over estimated on everything.
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So help me to understand.Basically, what I enter into the system in terms of weight will calculate the calories because what I am currently entering based off the search list or back of the packets are presumed widely incorrect? How do I know what the carbs, sugar, fat content etc are as well? Total newbie at this and appreciate all the advice I am receiving but I quite obviously, don't know what I'm doing and I'm very keen to do the right thing. My aim obviously is to lose the excess weight so I'm very serious about this (as I know everyone else is). I am completely eating foods based around achieving at or below the Food Diary Goals which was set according to MFP.0
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thatboyjosh73 wrote: »It's so funny how ppl on MFP community think that just BC she may be off and that I recommend she cut her carbs automatically think I'm wrong...it has been PROVEN that it IS what you eat and not just how much....I have seen ppl eat 3 to 4 k cals a day and STILL drop weight like crazy...it is NOT always cals in cals out...ppl process fats and carbs at different rates...I promise you ,you cannot be so far off on your cal count that it is making THAT big of a difference...if everyone that comes on MFP is all of a sudden a pro at weight loss they would not be on here ......dang I am new to MFP and I feel like everyone is so critical of other ppl just simply suggestions things to try but then everyone thinks they know everything about weight loss...crazy...
Would love to see some links to peer reviewed studies backing your assertions. Because in regards to established science, they're all demonstrably false. Do you work in a metabolic ward, where you've meticulously tracked these people's calorie intake and weight day after day to substantiate that they're losing weight while eating 3000 to 4000 calories per day, or is it just anecdotal observations of your buddies having a couple burgers at Mickey D's once in a while? The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.3 -
So help me to understand.Basically, what I enter into the system in terms of weight will calculate the calories because what I am currently entering based off the search list or back of the packets are presumed widely incorrect? How do I know what the carbs, sugar, fat content etc are as well? Total newbie at this and appreciate all the advice I am receiving but I quite obviously, don't know what I'm doing and I'm very keen to do the right thing. My aim obviously is to lose the excess weight so I'm very serious about this (as I know everyone else is). I am completely eating foods based around achieving at or below the Food Diary Goals which was set according to MFP.
So what people are suggesting you do with a food scale is this, OP: Say you have a packet of pasta, and the back of the pack says a serving is "1 1/2 cups (85g)". The 1 1/2 cup part is an estimate of the amount of pasta you can have that weighs 85 grams (the weight is what the calorie count is based on). If you try to put that into a measuring cup, though, it'll usually not settle right and will weigh more or less than an actual serving, so you wind up having a different number of calories than you think you are.
So if you weigh out 85 grams worth of your particular pasta, and then look on MFP for that brand of pasta and make sure you're picking an entry that matches the information on the pack, then you're most likely to get an accurate count of calories (and everything else) for your pasta. Does that make sense?2
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