Frustrated - no progress

jademflynn wrote: »

Wynterbourne wrote: »

jademflynn wrote: »

Wynterbourne wrote: »

jademflynn wrote: »

cerise_noir wrote: »

jademflynn wrote: »

• Quit the alcohol, completely. It's empty calories.
• Calculate your BMR and TDEE to create your custom daily calorie and macro-nutrient goals.
• Cut out all pre-packaged meals/snacks and processed food.
• Create a weekly meal plan of healthy homemade meals, with all ingredients weighed in the recipe. Add these meals to your MFP app so you can log them daily.
• Log every single thing you consume, 80% of the time isn't good enough.
• Log a food or drink just before you consume it.
• If you wish to exercise, allocate a specific time each day to commit yourself to it.

I know this looks tough but it sounds like you need to work on self-discipline when it comes to calorie counting and exercise.

1. Not necessary to quit alcohol if it is logged correctly and doesn't cause munchies.
2. Not necessary to create custom TDEE. MFP has done the work. MFP is designed so that exercise calories are added and a portion are consumed.
3. No need to cut out processed or prepackaged foods if they're weighed and logged correctly
4. One can log the day before (pre plan) if they wish. Just as long as the food is logged, then that's okay. Sometimes I log just as I am eating something, but I mostly long a week in advance.
5. No need to exercise at a specific time of day every day. If OP wants to exercise, it's all good just as long as they stick to it

1. I disagree. Calories consumed should be nutritious and be conducive towards weight loss. Alcohol decreases inhibitions and provides no sensation of satiety, increasing the likelihood an individual will eat impulsively. The liver has to process the alcohol, rather than doing its regular job of metabolising fat, causing the body to seek energy from the alcoholic beverage rather than using its own fat stores. Sure, people can choose to drink alcohol "in moderation" whilst losing weight, but cutting out the alcohol removes one weight-gain variable.
2. MFP does not do the work, as it creates very generic calorie and macro goals.
3. I think in this case she should as she can then become more aware of what she is consuming. It is vey easy to rip open a packet and not really think about what you're eating. Plus, a calorie is not just a calorie. The body tends to absorb more calories from processed foods, as it requires less energy to process these items. Unprocessed foods tend to require more energy from the body to break them down. Cooking and preparing meals from scratch means she has to think about exactly what is going into her body and discourages mindless eating.
4. If she logs everything before she eats it, then it means temptations outside of her meal plan will require her to make a more informed decision. It also means if she logs a treat item she can then decide whether she wants to eat all of it.
5. Every person should be engaging in some for of exercise each day to maintain good health.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-reveals-why-calorie-counts-are-all-wrong/

How you have to deal with alcohol is not the hard and fast rule for how everyone else has to deal with alcohol. I've lost over 125 lbs still drinking alcohol. New Year's Party, I planned for it and drank. Halloween, planned and drank. My birthday... planned for. Ever heard the term "Discretionary Calories"? Just because someone else wants 100% of their calories to be perfect little nutritional bombs doesn't mean I have to do the same. Once I've met my nutritional needs, if I have calories left, it's up to me how I decide to use them. You find what works for you, I'll find want works for me. It might be the same thing, it might not.

The brain derives pleasure from consuming a psychoactive substance due to its temporary altering of mental state, the body is left to process the toxins present in alcohol and its normal level of functioning is impaired (fat metabolism). Yes, it is your choice if you wish to consume alcohol as it is a legal substance, but lets be perfectly clear here: you consume alcohol because you are enjoying the side-effects of a drug, not because you are trying to improve your physical wellbeing by drinking it. As I stated above, people can still lose weight drinking alcohol in moderation, but abstaining from alcohol removes one influential variable towards weight loss. I offered a list of things that would contribute towards the desired outcome (weight loss) and there's nothing wrong with pointing out that alcohol impacts this.

So even though you don't know me. You know why I drink?? Really? Did I say, I drank until I was trashed. Woohoo!?? You don't think anyone in this entire world drinks because they like the way something tastes?? I enjoy the taste of my Limoncello. I enjoy the taste of my Amaretto. You know when I can't enjoy the taste of it? When I'm trashed. Did I say I was slamming an Everclear to get wasted? As I stated above, I've lost 125 lbs while including alcohol as an occasional planned part of my discretionary calories. And in my personal case, alcohol as NOT impacted it. Again, please don't make assumptions and blanket statements as if they are the only hard and fast rule that exists. Consuming alcohol is one variable that MAY affect some people, but it is NOT guaranteed to affect everyone. Again, everyone has to find what works for them. *Your* opinions and *your* experiences aren't the law of the land.

Alcohol does not have to be consumed until "trashed" in order to have an effect.
Chill out.