I can't lose it.

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lizzerd2895
lizzerd2895 Posts: 26 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been working on losing weight on and off my whole life. Last year I lost 20 lbs within the first couple months then nothing for the rest of the year. Now I'm working out 3-5 times a week, drinking at least 50 oz of water a day (most of the time more), and trying to eat better. Since I'm in college and live on campus with no stove I do the best I can with what we have at school and my picky self. I just can't lose weight no matter how much I try. I lost maybe 5 lbs in 4 or so months but gained it back after I went home for spring break because I didn't work out and I was ridiculously hungry most of the time (even after I got back). I just don't know what to do, it's getting discouraging to keep getting on the scale and see it go up not down. I've even downloaded another food tracker and a hypnotic app to see it that helps. Any assistance or advice would be wonderful. Thank you. :'(

Replies

  • kq1981
    kq1981 Posts: 1,098 Member
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    Browse these forums. Learn about calorie deficit. You can do it!!!
  • sparkle12016
    sparkle12016 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thanks I'm going to try that I haven't lost although trin 5 times a week I've stopped logging the excise in order to reduce the calorie intake, is it wise to say look at the inches that I have lost. I've tracked to 10 days gutted when I got on the scale, should I stop weighing myself.
  • pamfgil
    pamfgil Posts: 449 Member
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    If your size has reduced, that's what your 're aiming for by trying to lose weight, so yes inches matter
  • kq1981
    kq1981 Posts: 1,098 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Yep, stop weighing yrself for a bit. Don't try for an aggressive weight loss per week at first until you understand exactly what calorie in vs calorie out is about. Learn what will fit into your calories, log everything correctly (excersise included) and keep browsing these forums, people here have a wealth of knowledge. Slowly and surely. Inches or kgs/lbs, a loss is a loss. You got this.
  • zarik_khan
    zarik_khan Posts: 1 Member
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    You may be not losing weight, but you are drinking a lot of water some of the weight is water weight, and yes true dont weight yourself excessively. If you feel really really Hungry eat a lot of fiber eg fruits it helps fill you up for longer. Track a day of normal healthy eating see what calories work for you. Dont stress enjoy your journey.
  • kq1981
    kq1981 Posts: 1,098 Member
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    Water will only make you gain weight within a few hrs of drinking it. After 24 hours your body eliminates it through sweat, breathing and waste. You can although get hyponateremia from drinking excessive amounts of water in VERY rare cases.
    zarik_khan wrote: »
    You may be not losing weight, but you are drinking a lot of water some of the weight is water weight,
  • lizzerd2895
    lizzerd2895 Posts: 26 Member
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    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    My advice is - what you eat is the key. Exercising 3-5 times a week and drinking water is all good but won't lead to weight loss unless you're eating less calories than you burn. You say you try to eat better - what does that actually mean? Do you weigh your food and log it? Count the calories?
    Like I said I live in campus so I don't really have the ability to weigh my food unless I want to carry a mini scale around with me. And I'm a broke college kid so I can't really afford much outside of what I can get here
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
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    Can you bring the food to your room and weigh it there?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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  • wellthenwhat
    wellthenwhat Posts: 526 Member
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    I'm a broke parent, lol. I use a measuring spoon as a serving spoon when I'm being lazy and not weighing.
  • dietstokes
    dietstokes Posts: 216 Member
    edited March 2017
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    I bought this little travel scale on amazon. Less than 10 bucks! Might bee good for bringing too and from the dinning hall. You don't have to weigh while in line, if that bothers you. Bring food back to the table, and then you can weigh it out. Just grab an extra empty plate. You might have a little wast when you are first figuring out serving sizes though. You can try to mitigate this by bringing your own 1 cup measuring cup. Spoon it into your measuring cup (don't scoop directly with it), and then place on you plate. You can then weigh it back at the table to see if your amounts are correct.

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O37TDO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  • dovnkels
    dovnkels Posts: 25 Member
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    I totally understand your inability to use a food scale (I wouldn't be walking my cafeteria lunch back to my dorm just to weigh it!) Look up the real life equivalent of estimated portion sizes (ex: a deck of cards is about the same size as 3oz of meat) and stay off the scale for 2 weeks. If you don't see a difference, you can start trying some other suggestions. One thing at a time, right? Start with just examining your portion sizes.
  • lizzerd2895
    lizzerd2895 Posts: 26 Member
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    cerise_noir wrote: »
    Can you bring the food to your room and weigh it there?

    I don't have time in between classes to run back to my room really so realistically no.
  • yellingkimber
    yellingkimber Posts: 229 Member
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    Your college likely allows you to use a George Foreman grill or crock pot in your room. It doesn't really take care of lunch, but you can leave things cooking in a crock pot and come back from classes to a healthy dinner! My 2 quart crock pot that I had in the dorms was $20 from Walmart. If I had leftovers I wouldn't be able to finish in time, I sold them to people that lived near me.
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
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    If you are that sincere in trying to lose weight and that frustrated in your earlier, and not so successful attempts, then I would definitely get a small scale, carry it around with you and start weighing food, because it appears you are eating more than you think.. if people look at you funny, say you are doing an experiment. Or dont say anything - its none of their business anyway, and who gives a s**t what anyone else thinks.
  • wellthenwhat
    wellthenwhat Posts: 526 Member
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    I second the idea of saying its an experiment
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    If what you've been doing is not working, then something needs to change. Eat smaller portions. Or change what you're eating. Grilled/baked lean meat and veggies are going to be lower calorie content than breaded/fried food or starchy sides. So decrease the portions you eat of breaded/fried/starchy and increase the quantity of lean meat/veggies.

    Avoid things that are higher in calorie content, or at least use them sparingly. Do you use mayo on sandwiches? Switch to light mayo, use less, or use mustard. Do you put sugar in tea/coffee? Use less or switch to a calorie free sweetener. If you eat a salad in the cafeteria then use a light dressing option. Avoid things with thick/creamy sauces. SUch as alfredo sauce is bound to be higher calorie content than tomato pasta sauce.

    It will be impossible to know the exact calorie content of things made in a school cafeteria, but you can educate yourself to know the lighter options and then cut back on the higher calorie content foods.
  • donteatgoahead
    donteatgoahead Posts: 4 Member
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    zarik_khan wrote: »
    You may be not losing weight, but you are drinking a lot of water some of the weight is water weight, and yes true dont weight yourself excessively. If you feel really really Hungry eat a lot of fiber eg fruits it helps fill you up for longer. Track a day of normal healthy eating see what calories work for you. Dont stress enjoy your journey.

    Actually the concept of "water weight" is where you have more water and fluid outside the cells of your tissues (extracellular fluid). This is actually increased by not drinking enough water. This is because when you don't drink enough water for the amount of salt your eating, the saltiness (or osmolarity) of this extracellular fluid goes up. The way that the kidney deals with blood when deciding how much water to excrete means that it wants to first and foremost decrease the saltiness of this fluid so it reabsorbs more water, meaning you have more water weight. Drinking water actually reduces the reabsorption of water (which is why you pee so much) and as a result you have less water weight. Of course what you are talking about here is water weight from what you are drinking but this is quickly excreted and left behind when you next visit the toilet.

    What you are saying is a very common misconception but if you want to get rid of water weight (such as around the face making it bloated looking) drink MORE water.

    (What I'm saying isn't pseudoscience either. I have learnt the exact mechanisms of water excretion in university last term)
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    OP maybe I missed this, but are you actually logging your food now, and just not using a food scale? Or are you not logging consistently, even with estimates?

    Also, did you say it's only been 10 days since you started again? That's not long at all, you need to be patient!

    Lastly, can you share your stats from when you set up your profile?
    Height
    Weight
    Goal weight
    Rate of loss selected
    Calorie goal MFP provided

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