Crossfit, counting calories, no weight loss!
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I guess I was confused because half of you are simply counting calories and swear by it and half of you are weighing your food by grams and swear by it, and I assume both ways are working.....?0
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matchbox_girl 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.
I saw 1,312 calories from exercise yesterday. No way I'd get this from CrossFit. Yes, the classes last an hour, but you are not full out working out for an hour. There's a 15 minute warmup, strength training, and then the WOD. Only count the WOD. I do 12 calories per minute for the length of the workout. And that may be a little high, but it works since I don't count the warmup and strength training. 20 minute WOD = 240. 10 minutes = only 120. Unless you ran a half marathon, I don't think 1,312 is correct.5 -
We are weighing food so we can accurately count our calories. There's no differentiation in the methods, we're weighing things to find out the accurate calorie count for them.
Have a look at this: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p113 -
Definitely weigh the food and then underestimate the calories burned from exercise.0
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matchbox_girl wrote: »I guess I was confused because half of you are simply counting calories and swear by it and half of you are weighing your food by grams and swear by it, and I assume both ways are working.....?
Weighing is just a way to be more accurate with counting calories. They're not different systems. It's a way to get more accurate for people who notice they aren't losing weight counting calories when they feel as if they should be.7 -
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....
Well 15 poptarts is roughly 3000 calories, depending on what kind you're eating. That one binge and your not so good tracking the other days of the week are likely putting you at maintenance instead of in a deficit. You could do Crossfit til you drop...if your diet sucks, your scale will not move in the direction you want.6 -
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.
It really doesn't take any longer to count out 20 crackers and log them as it does to dump a bunch of crackers on the scale get a weight and log them. And using a scale rather than 10 different measuring cups you need to drag out then try and get the food in and out and then wash later is way easier. You've got this idea in your head that it's so complex and so much work but once you start doing it you'll see the scale is quicker, easier, less messy and way more accurate.
You've got a lot of stinkin' thinking going on - you can't eat this, you can't eat that, this is too complicated... Embrace trying new things and think how great it will be when you see that scale moving in a direction you like.7 -
So for example, you log what you think is a 200g steak. Or 4oz (arbitrary numbers I've picked from thin air). But if you've never actually put a steak on a scale, how do you know what either of those look like in reality? A medium potato might seem like a good fit when you're having a baked potato. But what is a medium baked potato. Your medium might be my large and vice versa. A scale takes away all that guess work.
And by making smarter food choices, you will get to eat plenty. Fewer calorie dense items, more nutrient dense ones to keep you fuller and satisfied and it will help you fit in treats too. It's a sharp learning curve but worth it.8 -
matchbox_girl 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.
I saw 1,312 calories from exercise yesterday. No way I'd get this from CrossFit. Yes, the classes last an hour, but you are not full out working out for an hour. There's a 15 minute warmup, strength training, and then the WOD. Only count the WOD. I do 12 calories per minute for the length of the workout. And that may be a little high, but it works since I don't count the warmup and strength training. 20 minute WOD = 240. 10 minutes = only 120. Unless you ran a half marathon, I don't think 1,312 is correct.
Yes, I don't log it, my fitbit does and I already assume it's off most the time. Hence why I still try to stay under 2,000 regardless of "exercise calories." It also logs when I'm on my feet all day as well, so that was an entire day's worth of exercise cals.0 -
matchbox_girl wrote: »I guess I was confused because half of you are simply counting calories and swear by it and half of you are weighing your food by grams and swear by it, and I assume both ways are working.....?
For most of us, weighing is calorie counting.8 -
VintageFeline wrote: »So for example, you log what you think is a 200g steak. Or 4oz (arbitrary numbers I've picked from thin air). But if you've never actually put a steak on a scale, how do you know what either of those look like in reality? A medium potato might seem like a good fit when you're having a baked potato. But what is a medium baked potato. Your medium might be my large and vice versa. A scale takes away all that guess work.
And by making smarter food choices, you will get to eat plenty. Fewer calorie dense items, more nutrient dense ones to keep you fuller and satisfied and it will help you fit in treats too. It's a sharp learning curve but worth it.
True! Thank you.0 -
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 most accurate thing to do would be to weigh them. Also, are you verifying your database choices with the packaging? There are numerous erroneous entries in the database. Are you accounting for any and all cooking oils...beverages, etc...
You have to remember that the difference between maintaining your weight and losing weight is a mere handful of calories...If I want to lose 1 Lb per week, a 2 oz serving of almonds that goes unaccounted for would cut my deficit by roughly 2/3...so instead of a 500 calorie deficit I would have a 180 calorie deficit...
Beyond that, it is difficult to be 100% accurate...even registered dietitians have logging issues...ultimately it comes down to real world results...if you're eating XXXX (or think you are) but not losing...time to cut back on XXXX because the real world data tells you so.3 -
matchbox_girl wrote: »I guess I was confused because half of you are simply counting calories and swear by it and half of you are weighing your food by grams and swear by it, and I assume both ways are working.....?
Counting calories when done correctly = weighing food4 -
To accurately count calories you need to weigh the food. Its kind of like guessing how much $ you have in the bank and hoping your debit card works each time you swipe it.
I have bagels I eat in the morning. They're precut, so 1 bagel is a top half and bottom half. I typically eat one 'half' and a banana in the morning. The package says 1 bagel = 250 calories, 90 grams. When I weigh my 'half' sometimes it is 43 and sometimes it is 60. It varies. If I log 1/2 bagel =125 calories, my log is only accurate if the bagel half actually weighed 45. If its 60, its more like 167 calories. This morning's banana was 111 grams. Sunday I had a huge banana, where I had about half of it: for 88 grams. If I assume they are always the same, it won't be accurate.
If you are guessing/estimating and not losing weight then one thing you can do is improve your accuracy.matchbox_girl wrote: »I guess I was confused because half of you are simply counting calories and swear by it and half of you are weighing your food by grams and swear by it, and I assume both ways are working.....?
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You all rock, thanks guys for the helpful comments. Getting a food scale!7
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matchbox_girl wrote: »You all rock, thanks guys for the helpful comments. Getting a food scale!
Yah for you. Make sure it has a tare button..that way you can put a plate on it turn it on goes to zero...add your 125 grams of chicken "tare" it to zero, add in 200 grams of carrots etc...
That way you have room for those treats you think you can't have like chocolate and ice cream and gelato...5 -
And seriously, once you get your scale and get the hang of things...it becomes easier. And you build a database of your commonly used foods and to get to your pop tarts, you can type in 'pop' in the search function and it comes up (on the app).
Also, if you're going to weigh your meat cooked, use a cooked entry. I like to weigh raw and log raw, but that's a whole other topic.
Good luck, @matchbox_girl. It's a learning experience but a good one.5 -
Carbs make me hungry. Back when I was desperate to gain weight, I ate saltines and drank Slim Fast, because both are packed with calories, and have plenty of carbs to keep me wanting to eat more.
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matchbox_girl wrote: »I guess I was confused because half of you are simply counting calories and swear by it and half of you are weighing your food by grams and swear by it, and I assume both ways are working.....?
It's the same thing! You only know what calories are in something when you can accurately quantify how much of the thing you are looking at. I'll take my bread and the pack says "serving size 2 slices (2oz) 140 cals" and I'll toss the two piece of bread on the scale to make sure those particular 2 slices are indeed 2oz. I know it sounds really anal and difficult but once you sort of get into it and get control it becomes a tool you are happy to use instead. I have a little mechanical scale and use the ounces measurement which are not as fine as grams but this is the scale I have and so far so good. I also even sometimes use cups to measure. I'm sure both of these are considered a but loosey goosey but I am making progress and will get a new scale and go to grams if I have to as evidenced by stalled loss.2 -
I just wanted to add something that wasn't mentioned - in addition to getting a kitchen scale also get a tape measure. Both of you measure your chest, waist, and hips regularly every 2 or 4 weeks. (hint for women wear a bra when measuring chest). If you are both exercising consistently you should be toning up. A tape measure is a better tracker of progress than a bathroom scale IMO.
MFP allows you to track these measurements along with your weight but so few take advantage of it. Personally I like having these measurements handy when online clothes shopping. Losing pounds is nice but losing inches is freaking fantastic!3 -
The thing you have to understand is that you did not reach your current weight by eating reasonable portions. You got there because your perception of what is a large portion or a small portion is incorrect. So when you say "I didn't eat much", you are probably wrong about that.
I know this may sound harsh, but it's not coming from a cruel place - it's coming from experience. We've been where you are now and we know how badly skewed our ideas of proper portions were, how we would eat twice or three times what we needed just because we didn't know better.
The only way out of this is to weigh your food accurately. You may not need to weigh it forever, but you need to keep doing it for long enough that you really see how inflated your portions were, and really start to learn the proper portion sizes. Some of them will shock you. I know a lot of people on here were shocked by how small an ounce of cheese really is, or a portion of cereal, how many calories are really in a slice of bread or a bowl of ice cream.
It is hard. It's a tough process. But it's the only way to get the weight off, and you can absolutely do it.2 -
Getting back on track...
OP, I think you will find using a food scale to be very helpful...I know I did. Some people do fine with just guestimating portions...I wasn't one of those. The good news is that over time I did develop a pretty good knack for estimating my portions so 4.5 years later I don't weigh all the thingz...just the calorie dense ones that get me in trouble...and most meats.
It's an eye opener for a lot of people.7 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Getting back on track...
OP, I think you will find using a food scale to be very helpful...I know I did. Some people do fine with just guestimating portions...I wasn't one of those. The good news is that over time I did develop a pretty good knack for estimating my portions so 4.5 years later I don't weigh all the thingz...just the calorie dense ones that get me in trouble...and most meats.
It's an eye opener for a lot of people.
Agree. OP, it sounds like you're buying a food scale soon, so good on you. I suggest you use it religiously and reassess your progress in a month. If your weight loss is still stalled out at that point, let us know and we'll give you some guidance on other possible causes.0 -
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I think someone already said this, but I'd just like to echo the idea that keeping your food simple will help with logging also!
It can get boring to eat the same things all the time, but when you first start out it's nice to know exactly what you're consuming so that you know for sure whether your MFP-prescribed calorie goal is accurate and working for you.
Hang in there, don't give up!0 -
Besides the possible water retention..... first month, you've got to be building some muscle. Muscle wieghs more than fat... give it some time. Also track your measurements.... you may wiegh the same, but are you losing inches?1
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matchbox_girl wrote: »I guess I was confused because half of you are simply counting calories and swear by it and half of you are weighing your food by grams and swear by it, and I assume both ways are working.....?
Accurately counting calories means weighing and measuring your food. So it's really only one way. Counting calories is NOT a guessing game.
You also may want to double check your MFP recommended calories. We are close to the same size and MFP has me at 1200 at a (not quite) 2 lb. per week lose rate. I don't plan on eating back any exercise calories. Also look at your nutrition. I find that I lose much more weight eating lean meat, veggies, and fruit than I do eating processed foods.
You may also want to set your goals in 20-25 lb. increments. I've done this and it has really helped me - down over 150 lbs so far!1 -
Besides keeping track of your food more accurately and measuring progress with a tape measure rather than a scale, you may want to consider the side effects of your medication. Weight gain or difficulty losing weight is a side effect of Zoloft. Constipation is a common side effect for all three medications you track daily. If you're not pooping regularly, you might not necessarily not be losing weight, it might just be stuck in your intestines.0
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Lots of great advice above...accuracy, food reality (restaurant, estimates, weighing), etc.
Apologies if these are duplicate but I didn't see them (exactly)...
Specific to water retention, to help combat it (and sodium), intake needs to very high, more water than you've ever consumed. If you aren't complaining about how many times you've got to pop into the ladies room/day, you probably aren't drinking enough water...especially with new exercise.
In various forms, folks covered it above but to make it simple, once you really are logging accurately, keep this in mind "weight loss is not linear". You can go weeks without losing and then bam, 2 lbs (or whatever) down. Keep it up!
You may want to have a body measurement log too, if you are switching out fat for muscle this is a better way to tell if you are making progress. (myfitnesspal has an area to track these and a myo body tape is only $7.00)0 -
matchbox_girl wrote: »sammyliftsandeats wrote: »matchbox_girl wrote: »Okay, try the diary again. Thanks for your help everyone.
Ok first glance...
Using 'cups' and 'crackers' for serving sizes is gonna yield inaccuracy.
Food packaging is allowed to be 20% off. By not weighing your crackers, you are taking the manufacturer's word for it and likely overeating.
Do you use a ruler to measure out your banana? Weigh it and log it using a USDA entry.
Pop tarts are fine...so are crackers but you need to accurately track them. Which is not what you are doing.
I had a granola bar a few days ago that said the bar was 140 calories for one bar (45g). I weighed it and the bar was 50g. That bumped my calorie count up.
You do that multiple times a day and there goes your deficit.
Oh wow. Yeah, that would explain it. I had no idea it was so complex
Hey OP, don't get discouraged though it's all a learning journey
I have tried to lose weight for a year, running 5 times a week, and eating healthy but not losing anything (in fact I gained some) it's only after I consulted with a nutritionist friend of mine and joined MFP that I realised I need to tweak a few things in the way I eat and exercise that the weight started dropping. I don't think the year was wasted though, I did get fitter and it put me in the right mindset to get those results I wanted. Just keep at it, don't give up, change up your routine from time to time and you will get there! 1
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