Need some help, please

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cfilos7
cfilos7 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone!

This is my first time posting on this site, or any weight loss site for that matter. As a matter of background, I am a 23 year old, 5 foot 8 male (waist size of 32-34) who has been trying to lose weight for the past 4 years. I just graduated college in may of 2016 and now have a standard desk job in accounting. Throughout all of school I lost weight consistently and graduated in May of 2016 around 173 pounds. I have a large, muscular build and wide shoulders. However, ever since graduation my weight loss has stopped and I have gained weight. In the span of about 3 months after graduation I gained 20 pounds, the majority of which I believe to be fat, and I haven't been able to make a budge at this since. I eat around 1800 calories a day and try to exercise 3-4 days a week, mix of cardio and weights. In school I mostly did weights and exercised more but I have had to make due with my work schedule. At this point I am lost as to what else to do to get back down to 173...i do struggle with chronic stress and anxiety which I worry may be playing a factor.

Any advice? Anything would be appreciated. Thanks!

Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • beatyfamily1
    beatyfamily1 Posts: 257 Member
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    It sounds like you burned more calories while you were in school. You probably just need to lower your calorie consumption a bit more. You could be overestimating how much you're actually eating. Unless you tend to overeat or binge on junk food because of stress, stress isn't really a factor.
  • MommaGem2017
    MommaGem2017 Posts: 405 Member
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    I recommend entering your stats and goals into MFP, then start logging your food (if you haven't already). To bring it up a step, measure your food before you eat it. Just to make sure you're not underestimating how much you're eating.
  • cfilos7
    cfilos7 Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks for the reply's! I am not great at logging but when I do I am consistently at or below 1800. I know this because my breakfast is the same every day and then at work I may have 2 snacks during the day and then lunch. I was considering eating fewer calories but everything I have read says that someone or my age and weight has a BMR of 2000 at least, so I feel like I should be creating a deficit with my current intake, especially since I do get some exercise in.
  • amyr271
    amyr271 Posts: 343 Member
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    How are you measuring what you are eating?
  • cfilos7
    cfilos7 Posts: 5 Member
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    Breakfast in the morning is 3 eggs so that is easy to measure. Snacks are usually out of a small package so also easy to measure. Lunch and dinner are harder but I usually just make a guesstimate, I try to overestimate but of course I may be off.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    cfilos7 wrote: »
    Breakfast in the morning is 3 eggs so that is easy to measure. Snacks are usually out of a small package so also easy to measure. Lunch and dinner are harder but I usually just make a guesstimate, I try to overestimate but of course I may be off.

    Even if food is coming from a package, there may be more in the package than is listed (companies do this to avoid selling people less than is on the package, which is illegal). This is why a scale is so helpful. Some people are naturally good at guessing how many calories are in a meal, but most of us are terrible at it (including me). Studies have shown that it's just not a skill that most people have and even when we thinking we're over-estimating, we may be eating much more than we think. Improving your logging may help you get the results that you're looking for.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Improve your logging accuracy. We are human, and as such: we are better at making mistakes than accurately judging how much something weighs from the looks of it.


    Accurate and honest food logging are the keys to weight loss. When you were a student, your estimating worked because you were more active. More active means you were moving more, burning more. Now that your activity has decreased with the desk job, the same level of food intake is no longer working.
  • kokonani
    kokonani Posts: 507 Member
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    I don't use scales either. Logging us enough work for me and I don't want to become obsessive with measuring, having had ED in the past. I also "guestimate" and sometimes I over, sometimes I under.. I think it keeps me from going nuts about accuracy. Just relax, people.. some people don't want to obsess over a few ounces of accuracy! Also the science about calories in calories are sometimes b.s. I eat way more and lose, than when I'm restricting my calories at 20% deficit!
  • ThatFrigginGuy99
    ThatFrigginGuy99 Posts: 46 Member
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    From personal experience; stress and anxiety can and will wreck you. They can change how your body processes things, funcions, they can even cause your immune system to target your own cells (autoimmune diseases). Find your triggers and change them. If its work, find a new job (seriously, you were looking for one when yoi found this one that gives you anxiety) if it's something in your home life, change or fix it before it causes chronic issues. Lifes too short for that crap. Eat right, excersize, have fun, love life. Good luck.
  • cfilos7
    cfilos7 Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks for the advice. I will work on improving my logging. I worry about eating fewer calories because I already feel like I lack energy when working out so I worry that will be worse if I eat less. I am working on reducing my stress and anxiety with my therapist but it is a slow process.

    Overall I just find it hard to believe that someone of my age, weight, activity, and calorie intake would not be losing weight at 1800 calories a day. My metabolism just seems so slow and sluggish.
  • cfilos7
    cfilos7 Posts: 5 Member
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    Also one more thing to note: I was actually eating more calories per day at school and losing weight. Probably at least 2200-2300 a day.

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