I have a stupid CICO question

I'm no expert but I'd say that,although it won't make any difference to weight loss,it could make a difference to your overall health and energy. So if you only have a limited amount of calories to play around with,it would make sense for those calories to be mostly made up with nutrient dense foods.

I'd recommend weighing package goods just to be accurate - for example, I made a sandwich this weekend, but when I weighed my 2 slices - it was closer to 2.5 servings - which I accounted for in my logging.

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I would suggest trying to pay more attention to your macros. I've been trying it this past week - it is hard to meet both macros and calories for sure. But I'm aiming to eat 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. I think upping your protein and decreasing fat will help. Someone said monitoring your macros has no influence but I disagree. Sure every body is going to react differently but it works for me. Also, 200 calories of something high in protein and low in fat is much better for you than a 200 calories worth of cookies or something fattening. Yes, calories are calories - but try and focus on eating clean, whole foods more than processed foods.

Do you drink any protein powder? If I need to add some more protein, I'll have a quick protein drink (just the protein powder mixed with water) to boost my protein intake. It is also great to help your body recover from exercise! I personally am using herbalife right now and am completely hooked because it is so delicious. In the past, I have also used gnc wheybolic extreme and have also used just a cheap kind of whey protein from walmart. I'm not saying one is better than the other - try different kinds and brands and see which one you like. You wont drink it if you think it's disgusting so it helps if you find one that you think taste amazing then it feels like a treat!

Also, what helps me see more weightloss sometimes is zigzagging calories. One day eat 100 or 200 more calories (high protein healthy choices, not saying go eat donuts or anything) and the next day eat 100-200 less calories. do this back and forth through the week. This helps me sometimes when I get stuck.

My fitbit automatically syncs to myfitnesspal so I never add my exercises but I also never eat back my exercise calories.

This is just my opinion on what has worked for me. Stay strong and motivated. Also think beyond the scale. Take progress photos and measurements and also think about the non-scale victories. Sometimes you need to ignore the scale. I know you are trying so hard and you are doing amazing! Keep up the hard work!

I would highly suggest weighing pre-packaged food as well. For instance, I can grab 2 slices of bread and when I weigh them it usually works out to 2.2 slices or sometime 1.8 slices. Even granola bars rarely come to 1 serving. I usually get 1.1 or 1.2 bars. Which for some items can make a big difference. Add up 4 or 5, 25 calorie misses a day and over time it makes a difference. But like everyone says, it is patience that will help the most. Just remember that it took years to put the weight on. Might take a while to take it all off.

StevieFishwick wrote: »

What you're eating doesn't matter. If you're in a deficit you're going to lose weight, end of story. You may need a diet break depending on how long you've been dieting, but you're in a very big deficit and could even raise calories and keep losing weight. Your best option is to determine calories taking into activity level and not logging exercise at all.

esneer1 wrote: »

I would suggest trying to pay more attention to your macros. I've been trying it this past week - it is hard to meet both macros and calories for sure. But I'm aiming to eat 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. I think upping your protein and decreasing fat will help. Someone sad monitoring your macros has no influence but I disagree. Sure every body is going to react differently but it works for me. Also, 200 calories of something high in protein and low in fat is much better for you than a 200 calories worth of cookies or something fattening. Yes, calories are calories - but try and focus on eating clean, whole foods more than processed foods.

I strongly strongly disagree with this comment. You don't need to "eat clean" to lose weight. Also macronutrient values are determined on very personal statistics therefore percentages will NOT do anything to help you at all. Protein is set to maintain muscle, fat is set to maintain hormone function, and carbs make up the rest. Like I said, you do NOT need to eat "clean". Check out iifym, it'll explain much more about the eating clean myth. If I eat 1400 calories of cake or 1400 calories of chicken and broccoli, I'm going to lose the same amount of weight. Promise.

Thanks for reminding me why I never post on these boards. People are so damn up tight- get over yourself. As I stated multiple times I was sharing what works for me.

You said your fiber was low, try upping this with more veggies or maybe a fiber supplement. It may not help you lose fat, you you will lose some weight to feel unstuck.