Please review my food diary

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NotGoddess
NotGoddess Posts: 1,198 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've only got about a week's worth in here, but I'd really love some feedback. I was logging 'elsewhere' since 6/18 and netting around 900 cal/day, and losing, slowly but steadily (3lb in 3 weeks). My BMR is 1322. Starting here, I wanted to do things 'right' and make sure I wasn't starving myself. But I'm also pretty short (5"2') and I know the 1200 calorie goal isn't right for everyone.

I wake up hungry, and get hungry about every 3-4hrs-not ravenous just knowing I should eat something. I can't properly log the times but the snacks category is the aggregate of morning, afternoon and late afternoon snacks (I work late so supper comes around 8pm). I was trying to be gluten free until this Monday, when I got the news that I'd have to retake the tests so have to add some gluten back in (hence the pancakes).

For exercise I walk during lunch, mow with my reel mower most days and just started the 30 day shred.

Since starting here I've stalled on weight loss (153 +/- 1lb morning weight, pre-meals) and the scale shows the same body fat %. Measurements have fluctuated within a half inch or so but are about the same. So.... am I still not eating enough? Eating wrong? Eating too much? Or should I just keep on as I have for a while longer.

I know weight isn't the be-all/end-all but I really really don't want to start myself back on an upward trend if it's not going to resolve itself and trend back down as my body adjusts.

Replies

  • lalalazzz
    lalalazzz Posts: 131 Member
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    You are not eating NEARLY enough, which puts your body into starvation mode. You will do wonders for your body and metabolism by eating more. Slowly increase to a net of at least 1200.
  • veganjeanie
    veganjeanie Posts: 158 Member
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    I think that at this point you 1200 net may be right for you, your body may have been in starvation mode. I do 1000 net, I'm 5'4" and 122, but with a small frame so I still have more to lose. I'm not a really healthy eater (I'm a vegan, that helps enormously, but I eat too many processed foods) so I'm not in a position to comment on anyone's food diary, but I've definitely experienced the starvation-mode plateau and it can be frustrating.

    -jeanie
  • natekorpusik
    natekorpusik Posts: 176 Member
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    I might consider upping your protein after looking at your diary. MFP has it set really low. You will be less hungry throughout the day and it will help build muscle during exercise. Also, as you get further along in your journey your metabolism will start to ramp up. Especially with more exercise. So it may take some time at first, but it will all become self fullfilling. Good luck.
  • maserati185
    maserati185 Posts: 263 Member
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    If you are looking for results, I would say drop the prunes (high sugar) and go for vegetables high in fiber (lower sugars) and/or fiber supplements. Drop the chocolate milk, juices, candies, so on and go for lower-sugar replacements. Almond milk, water with juice flavoring and berries with truvia are some examples. Find creative ways to lower your sugar. Some programs base their weight loss off of the glycemic index. Take your sugars high = store fat, feel more hungry. Here's an article to check out. http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_sugar.php
  • TessaL221
    TessaL221 Posts: 106 Member
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    I noticed you are getting more than 100 g of protein per day... You said you are exercising, so I was curious, do you measure? It is possible that you are building muscle. It was recommended to me that even though I'm exercising, I need to keep my protein under 100g in order to slim instead of bulk. Also, keep your sodium, fat, and carbs low. I read an article about cutting carbs by 5% if you are not losing. Cut 5%, wait a week, and if you are still not losing cut it by another 5%. Just a few ideas.... and make sure you are measuring and not just weighing... that's especially important for us ladies because the lbs just don't come off as quickly.
  • NotGoddess
    NotGoddess Posts: 1,198 Member
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    Thank you to those who have commented so far-I really appreciate it.
    A few responses. Reasons but not excuses...if I'm thinking wrong then I need to fix it!

    Sugar/Fat:
    The snack size butterfingers were on days where I was finding it hard to get close to the 1200 net.
    The prunes were added for the reason people usually eat prunes. Ditto on the apple juice. I didn't want to take a supplement because I wasn't sure which were gluten-free and wanted to do something more natural first. That's done now tho, and I've just a couple left to eat from the package.
    I hadn't been tracking my sugar intake, thinking I'm eating enough veggies that the higher sugar items wouldn't make too much of an impact but you're right-I've been having too much sugar. I'll swap out the fiber for a while and watch my sugar intake. I wish we could show more than 6 nutrients in the daily log!
    I've added raw almonds to the snack side instead for the calories. They are high in fat too tho, but hopefully it's a better fat.
    The other high sugar item is my rice pudding. It is my gluten-free alternative that seemed to have a good mix of the macros, plus calcium. But it is higher sugar. I've found a few recipes for a brown rice variety. I'll try making my own so I can control the sugar content better.

    Protein:
    My bodyfat is 37%- so that's roughly 100lb of lean muscle. So 80-100g of protein to maintain muscle through a calorie deficit, according to various websites. I'm almost always in that range, usually more. I'm not worried about bulking up-more muscle=more calories burned at rest, plus I doubt I'll build much on a deficit.

    I do measure-I was doing well for a while-lost avg of an inch all around, but since I've starting trying to ensure ~1200 net I've not moved much at all. My chest measurement has gone up an inch. This may be because I've started the RT and my muscles are retaining more water-I doubt I've gotten any muscle growth at this point, tho it would be nice to think so.

    Carbs:
    I'm eating a lot more 'good' carbs than I used to, but bad ones too. I'm almost always under the recce. on that tho because I think MFP's macro ratios are a little skewed. But I've kept them as is for now til I can find a balance that suits me rather than manually adjust them right away and mess myself up.

    Calories:
    More? I'm finding it hard to meet this goal. Can you suggest other foods I could add to help? Again-I'm eating some gluten because I have to get retested but I'm pretty sure I'll end up having to be gluten free so any whole grains can't include wheat/barley/rye if I'm going to enjoy them for the long term. I've already tried Quinoa and I'm just not a fan of it (yet...I'll keep trying).

    I do weigh my food. I was using an old spring scale but I purchased a digital scale this week and I've found out Kraft is a liar. Their cheese slices are -never- 21g.

    You've all given me a lot to think about so far. Thank you. I'll be greedy and say keep it coming-the more advice the better.

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