Crossfit, counting calories, no weight loss!

24

Replies

  • TheSkyBlushed
    TheSkyBlushed Posts: 153 Member
    Have you been keeping an eye on your sodium levels? I saw that you noted soup and crackers, some of those can be really high in sodium. I find that I get puffy in my hands and face the day after I've had too much sodium, and usually either gain a bit or stay the same weight wise. A lot of processed (boxed, canned, bottled) have crazy high amounts. I used a bit of organic pasta sauce the other night on some meatballs and logged it in. It wasn't until I saw my daily totals that I realized it had almost half of my daily sodium in 1/2 c of the stuff. YIKES!

    I do agree with everyone about accurately tracking your food by measuring and weighing with a scale. I know it's a bummer but it really does help sometimes.

    :)
  • elizabethmcopeland
    elizabethmcopeland Posts: 167 Member
    matchbox_girl, what would you consider a "good" day and what would you consider a "bad" day in your diary?

    I started crossfit in 2013 and GAINED weight. i started eating whatever i felt like, told myself that because i was stronger, it was ok to do so, and the scale reflected it.

    after a while, i realized that i needed to focus on getting my food from quality sources (whole grains, vegetables, lean meats, nuts) and that i needed to be aware of the nutritional breakdown of those foods. i started by eating 0.75-1gram of protein per pound of body weight. research says it's a good rule of thumb.

    i also gave myself a 20g protein rule: i could eat whatever snack i wanted, but i needed to have 20g protein first.

    from there, i started to lose weight. i began focusing on losing fat instead of generic weight so i started looking at nutrient timing and macro tracking...but that's all fluff.

    1.) look at a tdee calculator like this one: https://tdeecalculator.net/
    2.) take a gander at the numbers under macronutrient section. specifically protein.
    3.) start trying to hit that number of protein grams in what you eat for the day.
    4.) focus on feeding your body and taking care of it with whole, quality foods.
    5.) drink water
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
    I recently started a beginner crossfit class once a week. Some workouts are intense, but the intensity is so short. Maybe it's different at your gym, but our WODs never take more then 15-20 minutes. A lot of times they are less than 10min. Even if it's all out for 20 minutes I just don't see that I'm burning that many calories. I'm no expert though. I'm sure the advanced classes burn way more calories. But seeing as you just started...

    It just may be a reason why you are not losing as much weight as you think you should. It really comes down to what goes on in the kitchen. You can easily wipe out a deficit created by exercising in a few minutes. Crackers, pop tarts, etc. - those calories add up fast!
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    CMNVA wrote: »
    matchbox_girl wrote: »
    Thanks all. I'm impatient but I know I can't be in this journey.

    Sugar really gets me. Sugar and carbs is probably what's hindering me. I just don't want to admit it.

    But I just did.

    Sugar and carbs won't hinder your weight loss, only calories. But sugar and simple carbs can definitely make you crave and overeat foods in general and up your calorie intake.

    I know that in my first weeks of dieting, I had to just cut that crap. I know that *they* say that no food is a bad food and it's all about calories. That's true. But you know yourself. If eating a Pop-Tart is going to make you continue with bad choices or overeat, you need to cut those out of your diet at this point. For me, ALL treats went out. I have now added them back in now that I am in more control of things. Treats for me were Greek yogurt with fruit. It was summer so fruit it was. Still sweet, but got me off my monster cravings for junk.

    I'm the same way...certain foods I have no self control with and, if I eat a little, I just want MORE. I don't buy those anymore at the grocery. If I'm at a potluck and they are there, I will eat them; or I will stop at the bodega after a run and buy 1 serving; but I never bring multiple servings home.
  • mikepicher
    mikepicher Posts: 23 Member
    In looking at your log, I'd say you've still got some things that you can tweak further. Good for you for getting off the fast food! Now work on that 'fast to grab' food. Specially those weekend binges on 6 pastries!

    I was doing no-carb for a long time with Crossfit and that's just the wrong thing to do. I started losing weight when I started with 40% carb, 40% protein, 20% fat. No sugar, no dairy, low sodium (1700mg or lower). Don't count your calorie deficit from Crossfit or other activities, just bank it.

    It's time to ditch the toaster pastries and turn to Apples / Oranges and other foods that are better for you yet that are still sweet.

    The mobile app does a good job of giving you the percentages of carb, protein and fat...

    And like others have said, weigh everything. Doing what I said led me to a 70lb loss in one year. 1 to 2 lbs / week... more at first of course. Just set shorter term goals that are achievable. Once you see pounds start to come off it really motivates you to lose more and be even more careful about what you you eat (or as I say, what I shove in my pie hole).
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    zdyb23456 wrote: »
    I recently started a beginner crossfit class once a week. Some workouts are intense, but the intensity is so short. Maybe it's different at your gym, but our WODs never take more then 15-20 minutes. A lot of times they are less than 10min. Even if it's all out for 20 minutes I just don't see that I'm burning that many calories. I'm no expert though. I'm sure the advanced classes burn way more calories. But seeing as you just started...

    It just may be a reason why you are not losing as much weight as you think you should. It really comes down to what goes on in the kitchen. You can easily wipe out a deficit created by exercising in a few minutes. Crackers, pop tarts, etc. - those calories add up fast!

    Our classes are an hour long and they don't separate beginners from advance, you just scale what you can't do 100%. I think it's definitely the food.
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    Thanks everyone. This is tough. I feel like giving up fast food and eating at home was pointless and less enjoyable at this point haha
  • mikepicher
    mikepicher Posts: 23 Member
    Yes, it's not easy. But if you want to be around as long as you can for that little bundle of joy you're holding in your picture, the hard thing to do is the right thing to do. Let your child be your motivation (your long term / life goal) to be a healthier. Then just make shorter term goals that are achievable... I did that all last year. I want to be XXX by my birthday. I want to be XYY by Thanksgiving... Just make them achievable goals, so you feel like you have forward progress.
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    I always thought I was doing great with logging. I thought twenty crackers was logged as twenty crackers and six pop tarts was six pop tarts haha. I don't understand I guess. I log everything if I can and the things I can't scan in I do just guess (my mistake). Slim fast, soup and crackers, and dinner didn't seem like I was eating too much most days but apparently I am.....yeesh. Might have to stop eating all together
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    matchbox_girl wrote: »
    I always thought I was doing great with logging. I thought twenty crackers was logged as twenty crackers and six pop tarts was six pop tarts haha. I don't understand I guess. I log everything if I can and the things I can't scan in I do just guess (my mistake). Slim fast, soup and crackers, and dinner didn't seem like I was eating too much most days but apparently I am.....yeesh. Might have to stop eating all together

    look at my diary if you want...you will see what I eat...I am not actively trying to lose so my logging is a bit loose atm but during my loss I ate a chocolate bar every night...because I had the calories to do it...because I logged accurately....and I ate a lot of food.
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    I tried to turn off my exercise calories so I wouldn't be tempted, but I think you have to be a premium member to do that. So instead I put in "extremely sedentary" and went from there. Still not enough.
  • mikepicher
    mikepicher Posts: 23 Member
    hahaha... don't do that, because that won't help either! :-)

    i don't agree with others that you can eat whatever you want as long as you stay in your macros / calorie goals. sugar is the devil. if you're getting it from fruits and vegetables, great... pop tarts? no.
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    I'm still confused, I'm sorry. Everyone says I'm not tracking correctly but how else do I track the calories in, say, 20 saltine crackers? A serving is five, and there are a certain amount of calories in that serving. Therefore, I add four servings to my diary. I leave nothing out, ever. 15 pop tart binges and all....
  • CafeRacer808
    CafeRacer808 Posts: 2,396 Member
    matchbox_girl wrote: »
    I'm still confused, I'm sorry. Everyone says I'm not tracking correctly but how else do I track the calories in, say, 20 saltine crackers? A serving is five, and there are a certain amount of calories in that serving. Therefore, I add four servings to my diary. I leave nothing out, ever. 15 pop tart binges and all....

    The nutrition label on your box of crackers should specify how much that 5 cracker serving weighs. Weigh the crackers you're going to eat and use that as the entry in your diary. Ditto all packaged foods.
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    Honestly? I think you're eating out too much when you don't have a handle on portion sizes. Guesstimating how much of something you've eaten is fine if you're good at it or are only doing it now and again but when you're doing it for most of your meals it's going to be a problem.

    When you do log things you're obviously eating at home you don't appear to be weighing them, or are using cups for solids. Neither of those are accurate. If you're not even using cups and are just eyeballing it makes it even harder to have any clue if you're actually eating what you think you are. Your results suggest you don't have reliable eyes at this point (which is very very common, none of us got overweight eating reasonable portions!).

    On top of this is the inconsistency of what you think your intake is. Some days you are way over, others way under but with what looks like a tiny amount of food for the items logged.

    So I suggest dramatically reducing the eating out. Don't ever use a generic recipe from the database, use the recipe builder and start using a food scale for all solids and cups for all liquids. Be consistent for 4-6 weeks and reassess.

    Some days I actually don't eat much. Not because I wasn't tracking, but because some days I just don't eat very much at all. Others not so much. I track everything and if I'm guessing I try to overestimate it the best I can so that doesn't happen.

    Example: a crock pot steak last night should have been about 400 cals, if that. Nothing was on it. Even in a case like that, I try to double the serving in my diary so I don't underestimate.

    Some days I have slim fast and half a bowl of soup and that's it. Not because I'm tracking wrong, but because that's what I'm putting in my mouth.
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
    I'd say it's the guessing when there isn't nutrition information. So when you make dinner how do you calculate the calories? Do you use the recipe builder? Do you weigh out your portion after you've cooked it?
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    zdyb23456 wrote: »
    I'd say it's the guessing when there isn't nutrition information. So when you make dinner how do you calculate the calories? Do you use the recipe builder? Do you weigh out your portion after you've cooked it?

    Recipe builder. I find the recipe I make online and caclculate it with the ingredients from there.
  • MDChesler
    MDChesler Posts: 48 Member
    Food scale and weigh solids in grams, not ounces. You must be hyper accurate with logging. Also use a chest strap heart rate monitor for your workouts, NOT a wrist strap one. it yields a more accurate result of calorie burns than anything else. Drink plenty of water. The average woman should consume roughly 2.2l of water per day. Food has water in it also. The average man requires about 3l per day. Also don't get discouraged! You got this!
  • NEOHgirl
    NEOHgirl Posts: 237 Member
    edited February 2017
    matchbox_girl wrote: »
    I'm still confused, I'm sorry. Everyone says I'm not tracking correctly but how else do I track the calories in, say, 20 saltine crackers? A serving is five, and there are a certain amount of calories in that serving. Therefore, I add four servings to my diary. I leave nothing out, ever. 15 pop tart binges and all....

    What they are suggesting to make sure it's accurate is to weigh those 20 crackers in grams, and compare it to the grams listing for a serving size on the box. There could be a discrepancy between the listed grams in 5 crackers and the ACTUAL # of grams in 5 crackers. In this case, x 4, so if it is off, the difference gets bigger witch each added serving.

    Also, have you been taking body measurements? Sometimes you can lose inches before you lose pounds, particularly if you are doing some strength-building exercised. If you haven't started taking body measurements yet, please do. If you DID take them at the start, have you remeasured yourself recently? As others have said, be honest with your tracking, and like you did with the poptarts, review them to see how different things affect you. Someone can work fast food into their diet, but good for you eliminating it for now until you get a better handle on where you need to be. Good luck!

    Edited only to correct a spelling error.
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    Thanks everyone! I'm going to invest in a scale. I had no idea what a pain in the butt tracking food really is.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    matchbox_girl wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! I'm going to invest in a scale. I had no idea what a pain in the butt tracking food really is.

    So many people feel overwhelmed at first, but my experience is that after the first couple of weeks to adjust it gets *way* easier. You got this and we're pulling for you!

    I was like "There's no way I can weigh everything" and here I am a couple of years later at goal weight, still throwing stuff on the scale. It only takes a couple of seconds from my day. And lots of people don't even continue to weigh once they hit goal -- it was just something I decided to do because I like being accurate. So don't get discouraged and think you'll necessarily have to do it forever. You can decide later on what works best for you.



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