I'm getting very discouraged
gabriellax92
Posts: 65 Member
I have been eating decent and going to the gym for the past 2 weeks straight. I haven't been seeing much results and keep fluctuating between 1-2 pounds. I have my calories set around 1200 a day. I sometimes go over a couple hundred calories but I have MFP synced with my Fitbit and I'm burning 700-1000 calories a day. I do some weight before cardio at the gym. I run as much as I can on the treadmill for 15 minutes then spend about 20-30 minutes on the elliptical. I work a desk job so this is really the only form of exercise I get. I try to get up and move around throughout the day as much as possible but I'm not seeing any results right now.
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Open your diary
There are some very inaccurate entries in the database and this could easily have you eating way more than you think.7 -
Are you actually eating 1200 calories or are you netting that amount after exercise. What is the total number of calories that you put in your mouth, in other words?3
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I'm actually eating roughly 1200 calories or more.0
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I opened my diary to public0
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^^LOL yes, i'm impatient but at my weight I expected to lose something by now. I'm 5'3 and 250 pounds. I went from sitting and doing nothing everyday to forcing myself into the gym every morning.0
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The bad: why are you aiming for under 1000 calories a day?
The good news: you're eating WAY more than you think. Not a single entry in your diary yesterday was logged properly. It was full of stuff like "1 shake" "1 wrap" "40 fries".
It's only bee two weeks and you're also likely retaining water from the sudden exercise increase, too.8 -
How am I supposed to log 1 shake? I use the scanner for it. 1 premier protein shake is 160 calories, that's what it says in my diary too. I overshot more fries then I actually ate because I didn't feel they were that low on calories. And I'm eating over 1000 calories a day, not under?0
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Welcome to the world of portion control! It's hard at first, but rewarding. It has worked for many people here and it can work for you!
My suggestion is to keep your diary private: You choose what you eat and how you log and are ultimately only beholden to yourself. People aren't always nice on this forum. If you have or make a close friend that you want to diet with, you can share it with them.
Take it slow, avoid injury (which will put you behind), shoot for around a pound a week (that should put you at around 1500kcals without exercise), underestimate exercise cals, and weigh and measure everything. The weight will come off.
Diet is more important than exercise for weight loss, but exercise keeps you healthy overall. Despite the fad of workouts that are "insane," starting easy is best to avoid injury which also allows you to keep exercising.
Things go slowly, but slow improvements give continual rewards, so there is that!11 -
I have discovered that I need to stay under the carbohydrate goal, but be sure to meet the protein, fiber and fat goal. Orginally , I wasn't paying any attention to the carbohydrates just the fiber and protein and my weight loss was very slow, even though I was excersing 5 times a week. So try that and good luck.1
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"Homemade - " - avoid these. You don't know how much or even what ingredients were used. On top of that what you used could be twice the calories or half...you just don't know
(Same issue with your coleslaw entry and sweet potato fries entry)
Califlower pizza = what toppings, how much sauce, how much cheese....this information can create huge calorie variations
8 oz raw chicken is 272 calories and would weigh less once cooked....you have logged 8 oz cooked as 220
8 oz grilled chicken is about 342 calories according to the usda
You also have 1 day with only a protien shake logged and 1 with nothing.5 -
What are you doing to rack up that many exercise calories in a day? Seems really high, granted you are not eating them back.
Anyway, give it a couple more weeks. Weight loss comes in whooshes and your TOM will also cause water retention. You should make sure to eat you non-exercise calories plus probably 1/2 your exercise calories.
This does take patience.2 -
You're not logging accurately. In the past 22 days you've not logged 3 days and have one day logged as 160 calories, which to me is as good as not logging. Skipping 4 out of 22 days is 18% no logging at all. You're also not weighing everything, which I can tell by the fact that all of your avocados are logged as 234 calories or 117 calories for a half.7
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I think you might benefit from this thread about logging accuracy:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p14 -
gabriellax92 wrote: »How am I supposed to log 1 shake? I use the scanner for it. 1 premier protein shake is 160 calories, that's what it says in my diary too. I overshot more fries then I actually ate because I didn't feel they were that low on calories. And I'm eating over 1000 calories a day, not under?
I'd be more concerned about the entries marked "generic" or "homemade." Are those entries you created yourself? If not, you have no way of knowing what went into those recipes and it will not be the same as what you are eating. If you are making the food yourself, create your own recipes with the ingredients in the amounts you use rather than relying on other user entries. If you are eating out and trying to guess the calories, try to find a restaurant with nutrition info posted online that has a similar dish to the one your eating and see if there is a MFP entry for it. Or, when trying to pick an entry while guessing, be sure to choose one on the higher calorie side.
You also have a day or two where it looks like you may not have logged everything you ate that day (for instance, last Friday you logged just a shake - I hope that's not all you ate). Be sure to log everything you are consuming to be as accurate as possible.
Finally, it's only been two weeks. Give it more time. If what you're doing is not working after a few more weeks, you'll know you need to make some changes.1 -
I just wanted to say, in encouragement to the OP, that I'm pretty sure I have been logging inaccurately too. I have selected some things from the database. It seems that I need to enter each item in myself and individually. So you aren't alone. We can figure this out. Don't be discouraged. Thank you for the link to the proper logging information and for all the tips!5
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I'll use the 'homemade' for guesstimating if I'm going to dinner at someone's house and they serve, for example, a mushroom soup. I'll check the database for mushroom soups, realizing that I can't get the actual recipe, but feeling that someone's homemade version is probably going to have less sodium than, say, Campbell's.6
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Thank you everyone! I promise the day only logged 1 shake that wasn't all I ate lol. It was my fiance's birthday and I just didn't finish my logging that day(went well over my calories also). I will be more mindful and start weighing my portions and entering my recipes... And more patient5
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gabriellax92 wrote: »Thank you everyone! I promise the day only logged 1 shake that wasn't all I ate lol. It was my fiance's birthday and I just didn't finish my logging that day(went well over my calories also). I will be more mindful and start weighing my portions and entering my recipes... And more patient
I am glad that you have taken the responses well. Many people get upset when we tell them that they need to be more exact
I think of it this way--I ended up overweight because I was bad at judging how much I needed to eat on a regular basis (plus there was a bit of "I don't care, I'm eating this" in there too.) When I decided to lose weight, I had to make a very deliberate choice to be completely honest with myself about how much I was eating. I didn't start out by counting calories but I did log every single bite that went into my mouth and then I worked to decrease the overall quantity of what I was eating. Whether you log calories or just log food, you have to work toward decreasing what you eat. You have to remember that even if you play the "lalala that bite doesn't count" game, your body is counting it.
Best of luck to you, OP!4 -
gabriellax92 wrote: »Thank you everyone! I promise the day only logged 1 shake that wasn't all I ate lol. It was my fiance's birthday and I just didn't finish my logging that day(went well over my calories also). I will be more mindful and start weighing my portions and entering my recipes... And more patient
One crazy day can wipe out a whole week's deficit. That's why it's important to log even when you know you're going to go way over. At the end of the month, if you want to know why you aren't progressing, you can look back and see how a couple of really wild days can blow the whole month...4 -
I have run into similar issues before on myfitnesspal sometimes it is easy to become hyperfocused on staying under your calories but the biggest changes come when you look at what is making up your calories. Also 1200 calories sounds like waaaaay to low a number. I would suggest looking at your macros as well. You don't have to commit fully to an IIFYM plan but if you looking at the percentages under the nutrition tab of myfitnesspal it can help you to make wise food choice along the way which could jump start your weight loss. But I hope everything goes well!! Don't get discouraged!!2
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gabriellax92 wrote: »I have been eating decent and going to the gym for the past 2 weeks straight. I haven't been seeing much results and keep fluctuating between 1-2 pounds. I have my calories set around 1200 a day. I sometimes go over a couple hundred calories but I have MFP synced with my Fitbit and I'm burning 700-1000 calories a day. I do some weight before cardio at the gym. I run as much as I can on the treadmill for 15 minutes then spend about 20-30 minutes on the elliptical. I work a desk job so this is really the only form of exercise I get. I try to get up and move around throughout the day as much as possible but I'm not seeing any results right now.
Well done for getting out there & doing something about it!! That's often the biggest step, & kudos to you for that!!
You said that you've been "going to the gym for the past 2 weeks straight" - is that without any day off? A rest day at least once a week is very important so that you don't burn out. Also, you can't expect to see fast results. You said that you "haven't been seeing much results" - does this mean that there have been some? Every little positive result is a good thing, & at first you might not even see any weight loss. If you build muscle, as you will if you keep on working out, you have to remember that muscle weighs more than fat. At first, as you build muscle, you won't notice much of a loss, if any. But it will come as you keep on with it.
Please, please, please don't get discouraged! Especially since you're just at the beginning of your journey. You said that you're impatient for your weight to be lost, & that's understandable. But please don't give up. Take a day or two a week to rest & don't push yourself too much. If you don't, you'll just end up with injuries or become super tired, & that'll set you back more than if you make sure to pamper yourself once in a while.
Again, well done for getting started on the road to weight loss - you won't regret any steps you take towards improved health & well being.
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gabriellax92 wrote: »Thank you everyone! I promise the day only logged 1 shake that wasn't all I ate lol. It was my fiance's birthday and I just didn't finish my logging that day(went well over my calories also). I will be more mindful and start weighing my portions and entering my recipes... And more patient
One crazy day can wipe out a whole week's deficit. That's why it's important to log even when you know you're going to go way over. At the end of the month, if you want to know why you aren't progressing, you can look back and see how a couple of really wild days can blow the whole month...
But some days you do just need to wing it. There is an entry on MFP called "Superbowl - One Belly Full" for 2000 calories. I used it on Superbowl day. Key is to put in a best guess and not fuss with 100% accuracy on those days. It does make it easier to go back and review if things are not going right.
But your 2 weeks in. Give it some time before getting discouraged making changes.1 -
Right now the diary is opened so we can look and give opinions since it's hard to ask someone to write out their entire meals for several days. Most people I don't think are intentionally mean, it just comes out that way when you're trying to point out stuff.Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »My suggestion is to keep your diary private: You choose what you eat and how you log and are ultimately only beholden to yourself. People aren't always nice on this forum. If you have or make a close friend that you want to diet with, you can share it with them.
OP - Agreed with many of the other comments. Tighten up the logging is the most important thing for many of us.
Unless you have a recipe set up, don't use the generic entries - and even if that double check where you can (because these are user-created entries, they are inaccurate at times, even chain places). It's a pain, and I have so many recipes listed I won't ever use again, but for logging they were important to make sure I got it right.
Sadly, you can't 100% trust restaurant nutrition either, as they may add more dressing, a large slice of cheese, etc. remember with those it's a general estimate.
Weigh your solids, measure your liquids - it's the best way to be as accurate as possible, those hard boiled eggs can vary in weight even if they are both 'large' or 'medium' (btw, I love that coconut mocha from starbucks). Some of your entries have gram/oz options, I'm not pointing fingers either way if you do or not, but remember weighing every time is vastly more accurate. Especially on your calorie dense foods.
One day can train wreck the week, if not in calories sometimes the sodium has you retaining water for a few days (on my birthday I blew both. But mmm hush puppies).1 -
MichelleNRgzed wrote: »gabriellax92 wrote: »I have been eating decent and going to the gym for the past 2 weeks straight. I haven't been seeing much results and keep fluctuating between 1-2 pounds. I have my calories set around 1200 a day. I sometimes go over a couple hundred calories but I have MFP synced with my Fitbit and I'm burning 700-1000 calories a day. I do some weight before cardio at the gym. I run as much as I can on the treadmill for 15 minutes then spend about 20-30 minutes on the elliptical. I work a desk job so this is really the only form of exercise I get. I try to get up and move around throughout the day as much as possible but I'm not seeing any results right now.
Well done for getting out there & doing something about it!! That's often the biggest step, & kudos to you for that!!
You said that you've been "going to the gym for the past 2 weeks straight" - is that without any day off? A rest day at least once a week is very important so that you don't burn out. Also, you can't expect to see fast results. You said that you "haven't been seeing much results" - does this mean that there have been some? Every little positive result is a good thing, & at first you might not even see any weight loss. If you build muscle, as you will if you keep on working out, you have to remember that muscle weighs more than fat. At first, as you build muscle, you won't notice much of a loss, if any. But it will come as you keep on with it.
Please, please, please don't get discouraged! Especially since you're just at the beginning of your journey. You said that you're impatient for your weight to be lost, & that's understandable. But please don't give up. Take a day or two a week to rest & don't push yourself too much. If you don't, you'll just end up with injuries or become super tired, & that'll set you back more than if you make sure to pamper yourself once in a while.
Again, well done for getting started on the road to weight loss - you won't regret any steps you take towards improved health & well being.
Yes, I usually workout 5 days a week with 2 days of rest. I'm not giving up, I have many times before but this time I won't. I've noticed that my legs seem to be toning more and I am building a bit of muscle in my arms. Plus sooooo much more energy then before. The energy alone is keeping me motivated. I hated how sluggish and tired I felt everyday before I started working out.2 -
Use accurate entries, log everything (if you can, get a food scale). When you don't eat homemade food, use higher value entries from the database. I even log my bad days, because at least it's more obvious why I'm not losing weight if I have a 4000 calorie day, you know?
40 fries is way more than 240 calories as well. 1 cup of coleslaw? It can be 200 calories+ with mayo. Also 2 eggs is 140 calories, not 156, and 16oz of black coffee is 5 calories, not 66...
It's not uncommon not to lose in the first 2 weeks though because of water retention when you start to exercise, but yeah, you need to tighten your logging.0 -
gabriellax92 wrote: »Thank you everyone! I promise the day only logged 1 shake that wasn't all I ate lol. It was my fiance's birthday and I just didn't finish my logging that day(went well over my calories also). I will be more mindful and start weighing my portions and entering my recipes... And more patient
One crazy day can wipe out a whole week's deficit. That's why it's important to log even when you know you're going to go way over. At the end of the month, if you want to know why you aren't progressing, you can look back and see how a couple of really wild days can blow the whole month...
Not logging your crazy days because you feel guilty about how much you ate is not a healthy mindset, either, and is a slippery slope--you start not logging this snack here and that snack there... but you are only cheating yourself. Log everything, the good, the bad, the ugly...1
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