I can't keep comitted

rileywbenton · October 2016

I start I'll lose 5-10 lbs and then I crack and gain it back. Im currently at 192 and my goal is 170. My closest I came to was 179. My other problem is when I am still on it I can't keep track of everything I eat, I can't measure it all or I can't find an accurate food in the directory that represents the amount I ate. I also find myself still being hungry after I eat all of my calories. I am limited to 1500 in order two lose two lbs per week. I am not a small guy, I have muscle along with my fat and I figure that is why I continue to get hungry.

Rant aside, any tips to just use this whole app better?

ogtmama · October 2016

I suspect your nemesis is salt. With such quick up and downs it can't be fat...it has to be water retention.

Gena575 · October 2016

First set your goal to 1lb per week at max

Second you can alter serving sizes vs searching out one for exactly the amount you ate the ounce or gram section has a drop down menu for this purpose

cerise_noir · October 2016

Can you open your diary for us?

courtneyfabulous · October 2016

Your calories sound really low for a male- how tall are you? Eating too low of calories will make it almost impossible not to "crack".

jennifer_417 · October 2016

2 lbs/week is probably too aggressive. Set your goal to 1 lb per week, that'll give you more calories, which drastically increases your chances of sticking with it. You may also want to consider what you're eating. All you need for weight loss is to have a calorie deficit, but the fact is, for the same amount of calories you're gonna usually get a lot more chicken than you are pop tarts. As far as accuracy, sometimes logging is as much art as it is science. Make the best estimates you can when you don't have choices as precise as you would prefer.

Firefly0606 · October 2016

Why can't you keep track of everything you eat or find an accurate food in what might be one of the largest food databases in the world? That's exactly what this app is designed for.
Why can't you measure everything you eat? Weigh it with a food scale or use the nutritional info on the back of the package.

Being hungry is not fun at all. While you might lose weight faster, setting your calorie goal too low makes you hungry, cranky, and requires more will power than most people have. Why starve? Slow your weight loss down to 1-0.5 lbs per week, eat enough. You didn't say how tall you were - just not small - I'm guessing 1500 cal per day is simply too aggressive for you. Hence the short term success for as long as your will power holds out, followed by your starving body demanding it be fed - so you over eat.

In your post, you typed the word 'can't' 4 times. You can. You have to want to, though. Do you want to?

Sued0nim · October 2016

rileywbenton wrote: »

I start I'll lose 5-10 lbs and then I crack and gain it back. Im currently at 192 and my goal is 170. My closest I came to was 179. My other problem is when I am still on it I can't keep track of everything I eat, I can't measure it all or I can't find an accurate food in the directory that represents the amount I ate. I also find myself still being hungry after I eat all of my calories. I am limited to 1500 in order two lose two lbs per week. I am not a small guy, I have muscle along with my fat and I figure that is why I continue to get hungry.

Rant aside, any tips to just use this whole app better?

Each morning stand in front of a mirror naked then jump

There's your commitment

1500 is a minimum for a man, reset your goals to maximum 1lb a week and move more. You should be able to lose at 2000 which should be easier for you to find satiating foods

Stop making excuses, weigh your food, enter your own food if you can't find it

Or stay overweight

It's a choice only you can make and only affects you

xbrains · October 2016

I honestly just Google Image Search 1 ounce or 6 ounces or whatever to find out how much of something I ate. If it looks like how much I ate then I pick that. It seems accurate to eyeball it and log that guesstimate because I've lost weight that way when not drinking all my calories before.

StealthHealth · October 2016

Sued0nim wrote: »

Stop making excuses, weigh your food, enter your own food if you can't find it

Or stay overweight

It's a choice only you can make and only affects you

Quoted for brilliance - it's a tough love message but bang on the money.

trigden1991 · October 2016

At 192lbs you are a "small guy" compared to some people. That aside, you should not be eating 1500 cals unless you have a very high body fat percentage.

Chilli7777 · October 2016

Maybe try sticking to just maintenance calories for a week and then do a very slow loss so that you don't feel too deprived. It doesnt matter if it takes a whole year. The time will pass anyway.

kommodevaran · October 2016

Can't or won't?

All you have to do to lose weight, is have a sustained calorie deficit. Sustained - that means "keeping at it". Getting enough food is crucial to survival. So eating too little, when food is available, is not going to work, you won't be able to keep at it. Set yourself up for success. You don't have to count calories. You just have to stop eating too much. Counting calories can help you stop eating too much. But you have to use the program as it is designed - weigh and log everything using the right entries - or find another method. At any rate, excuses are not going to help you.

maidengirl_ · October 2016

The want for change must outweigh the want to give up. And until you've reach that level...it's going to be an endless cycling of serial starting. Best of luck.

RoxieDawn · October 2016

I have to echo @Sued0nim...

You can't or you won't? Your OP is full of cant's..

courtneyfabulous · October 2016

Agree with the comments about "can't". All the things you claim you can't do the rest of us manage to do. It takes a bit of effort and wanting to do it is all.

You can't keep track- why not? Just enter everything you eat into your food diary.

You can't measure everything you eat- why not? Get a digital scale for home and for work too if you need to. If you can't measure because you eat out a lot then maybe you need to stop that and bring your own lunches and cook your own dinners, but even most restaurant food calories can be found somehow.

You can't find an accurate food in the database- why not? There are a few inaccurate entries but those get pretty easy to spot and generally a correct one is in there. Try using the bar code scanning feature, searching for the specific brand, using entries marked with a green check mark... I can usually find an entry that works.

Make a bit more effort and find ways around the obstacles that you face.

nosebag1212 · October 2016

Change your goal to 1 lb per week, 2 lbs per week is too aggressive and only really suitable for obese people, 1500 calories is not a lot for a male.

theGarinator · October 2016

I have the same issue. 1700C/day. I lost 10lbs the first what, two weeks, then put on 12 lbs then that fell off now I'm slowly reducing. I've lost 17lbs so far. I'm very heavy set as well, very large bones and just turned 64. My weight loss is not dramatic, but my clothes are getting looser and looser. I'm 67 days into MFP and I exercise, what I consider to be hard, 5 days a week. I'm not giving up. I HATE being obese. Hang in there!! (we have to be in calorie deficit of 3000C/week to lose one pound of fat so I understand.)

Lounmoun · October 2016

rileywbenton wrote: »

I start I'll lose 5-10 lbs and then I crack and gain it back. Im currently at 192 and my goal is 170. My closest I came to was 179. My other problem is when I am still on it I can't keep track of everything I eat, I can't measure it all or I can't find an accurate food in the directory that represents the amount I ate. I also find myself still being hungry after I eat all of my calories. I am limited to 1500 in order two lose two lbs per week. I am not a small guy, I have muscle along with my fat and I figure that is why I continue to get hungry.

Rant aside, any tips to just use this whole app better?

Set your goal to 1 lb a week. Eat about half your exercise calories.
Eat food you would normally eat just smaller portions of higher calorie stuff. Add more vegetables to your day.
Protein, fats and fiber usually help people to feel full. You might increase your intake of those and see how you feel.
Plan meals and prelog your food for the day. Prep food in advance if you like. Eat what you logged.
You can change the amount when you log a food.
If you log every day soon you will have a bunch of food in your recent/frequent foods so you don't have to search the database so much.

Some people can lose without logging food at all. The food log is a good tool. A food scale is a good tool. If you have trouble losing weight and keeping it off get serious about using these tools.

cqbkaju · October 2016

(1) If you cannot find the exact food to log, find the version highest in calories and log that one.
(2) If you are gaining the weight right back that makes me think you are not doing enough "heavy" weight training.
Weight training is "more important" than cardio, at least until you hit around 10% body fat. *
(3) Always do cardio after you lift or on days that you do not lift at all
(4) Try a different calculator for your BMR/TDEE for a few months.
Most calculators over-estimate the calorie expenditure from exercise.
Search for "This Is the Best Macronutrient Calculator on the Net". I like that one and it is easy to use.
(5) Experiment with changing your macros for a few months. 40% carbs, 40% Protein, 20% Fat is a starting point.
Around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight is a good target, as others have said.
(6) Be consistent and mentally remind yourself when you are making food choices
(7) Do HIIT instead of Steady-State cardio
(8) Aim for around 1 lb per week. Much more will threaten your LBM.
Stop thinking about getting results "soon" and start thinking "long term".
(9) Find a solid weight training program (Wendler's 5/3/1 [531], Starting Strength [SS], StrongLifts 5x5 [SL5x5], Bigger Leaner Stronger [BLS]) and stick to it.
If you want to cut body fat then BLS might be your best starting point.
I like 5/3/1 for overall strength and simplicity, but the later workouts can be grueling if you are cutting; great for bulking phases though.
Wendler's 5/3/1 is deceptive because the beginning workouts seem too easy.
SL5x5 workouts can run "long" and it basically turns into Starting Strength after a while.
Starting Strength requires you to eat and eat like you are a 18 year old kid on the football team every day and is not really meant for people who are pushing 40 years old.
BLS has a bit more focus on "aesthetics" -looking good, ripped and buff- with overall strength being somewhat secondary.
All of these lifting programs are designed for free weights and focus on big, compound lifts - squat, deadlift, press, bench, etc.
(10) Avoid "body building" or "bro science" workouts until you have a solid foundation of actual strength.
(11) Do not change your workout / calories / macros and expect to see any real results for at least 3 weeks.

* I know some people may disagree with this. It is not my intention to start a debate but adding muscle mass will have a larger effect on your body fat percentage than simply "cutting fat".
Even presuming you could always manage to "cut fat" without losing any muscle at all, simple math demonstrates that weight training is often a better "bang for your buck" than cardio.
Additional muscle mass also raises your BMR, making "fat loss" somewhat easier.

By the way, all of this goes for women as well. Feel free to check out "Thinner, Leaner Stronger", it is BLS but re-written for women.

I am not an expert but I was a certified personal trainer in the 90's (for whatever that means) and I have used all of the programs I mentioned here - with the exception of TLS. These recommendations are what have worked best for me.

YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary

I can't keep comitted

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