Can't lose weight

s_petkauskaite
s_petkauskaite Posts: 12 Member
edited November 21 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all. I am very confused and I think need help to keep me motivated on this journey. I had a baby 9 weeks ago, and lost all baby weight in about 3 weeks, after that I started to look what I am eating. Can't go to gym yet, as still recovering, but will start soon. My days usually look like that 3 eggs with brown bread, 100g chicken 30g rice 200g veg, tuna with olives and crisp bread, brown bread with 30g soft cheese and cucumber, avocado smoothie.. pretty much same every day, fitness pal suggest 1500kcal so that's what I eat, nothing more. I have one cheat day where I let myself eat anything I want, as it keeps me on track, otherwise I don't think I would be able to stick to the diet. Yet in 4 weeks I probably lost 1kg which was week 1, now weight loss dropped and I don't seem to lose anything. What am I doing wrong? Ps I'm 24 weight 85.3kg height 1.74, not breastfeeding. Thank you for any advice

Replies

  • jayemes
    jayemes Posts: 865 Member
    We are about the same height and weight (I'm 5'7" and currently weigh 183)
    Without exercise I need to eat 1430 when I'm set to lose one pound a week.
    If I do a lot of walking it can go up to 1700 (over 10k steps)
    Are you weighing your food and logging it? Things can add up if you're just estimating how much you're eating.
    Your body is also probably still healing so try to be kind to yourself!
  • s_petkauskaite
    s_petkauskaite Posts: 12 Member
    Yes I weight every single think and log in, except cheat days, as I let myself to be lazy and don't think about food that much. You doing something right! Thank you
  • s_petkauskaite
    s_petkauskaite Posts: 12 Member
    Thank CMNVA, I will start logging my cheat days as well, is there any calories that I should aim for those days?
    I eat that 90kcal brown bread, probably 3-4 times a day
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
    You might need to change up your regular days a bit. For instance, I do 1650 calories a day but your breakfast is MUCH larger than mine. I only do two eggs, cooked in a bit of olive oil, and some tea with some sugar. If I ate 3 eggs and then bread, I would have very little left to play with for my lunch and dinner. For me that would never work as my hunger cues are very strong in the mid-day and evening. If those meals are smaller, as your's must be, I would be having a very difficult time also.

    As to your "cheat" days, I probably wouldn't do anymore than 500 calories over your daily goal of 1500 (so 2,000). If you want to do more than that, then your other days need to shrink down to about 1400.
  • Famof72015
    Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
    Also mind you, you just had a baby. I've had 5 kiddos and my hormones and just the puffiness and water retention from carrying a child for 9 months takes up to 6 months to come down. Give yourself some time. I started watching what I ate and working out two months PP too, and I think that's great you have the ambition and energy to do it, keep it up and give yourself time. Remember this is forever well as long as we have here on earth!! You're doing great!
  • s_petkauskaite
    s_petkauskaite Posts: 12 Member
    Thank you all. It's just weird because before I started eating 1500kcal I had 7 days a week diet like my cheat days now, so it's hard that changing 6 days to a better meals and 1 bad, I don't lose weight. I agree with changing foods a bit as I have pretty much the same every single day, just not sure of what to eat. It's really difficult as by the looks of it my knowledge of foods is very poor. Thanks all for your comment, I will try and take all advices on board
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    You have to stick to your total calorie goal for the week, you can spread them out like you want.

    I would really really advice eating more varied. Eat differerent foods throughout the day and from day to day. Maybe if you do that, you won't feel the need to cheat. The cheating is what stops you from losing weight.

    This. So much this.

    Weight loss is all about calories, not about foods you should/shouldn't eat. You don't have to eat foods you're not fond of (for me, that means eating white bread/rice instead of the brown varieties).

    I follow the 80/20 rule which is basically 80% nutritious and 20% treats. A treat day would decrease or even wipe out my weekly deficit making my deficit days a waste of effort. I include the foods that I enjoy (ice cream, chips, cookies, chocolate, etc) in my daily food "plan" as a part of the 20%.... sometimes that 20% can be more like 30 or even 40% thanks to TOM, but it works.

    If you include the foods that you love everyday, you will not feel deprived and will have no need for the cheat day.

    Eat the foods that you truly enjoy and fit them in your daily calories. There is no fattening food unless you eat over you maintenance calories.

    Use a food scale and weigh in grams for absolutely every solid food (even single serve, prepackaged and deli foods) and semi solids (butters, mayo, etc) and cups/spoons for liquid only. Choose database entries that reflect the food packaging, and use usda entries for fruits, vegetables, seafoods and meats.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    s_petkauskaite wrote: »
    Thank you all. It's just weird because before I started eating 1500kcal I had 7 days a week diet like my cheat days now, so it's hard that changing 6 days to a better meals and 1 bad
    It's no surprise it's hard to change habits, but in reality you aren't eating much better, you are only eating less on the daily, and with your cheat day, you're hardly eating less weekly.
    I don't lose weight.
    You have to stop the cheating, and you have to log more accurately, and you have to be more patient. 1500 real calories per day will give you an average weekly loss of 1.5 - 2 pounds. Whatever you think is 1500 calories, can even make you gain weight.
    I agree with changing foods a bit as I have pretty much the same every single day, just not sure of what to eat. It's really difficult as by the looks of it my knowledge of foods is very poor. Thanks all for your comment, I will try and take all advices on board
    You can eat anything you want. It's healthy to eat a balanced and varied diet. A varied diet is composed of foods from all the food groups, different things from every group every day, and different things from day to day. A balanced diet is a little bit of everything. Balanced meals tend to look normal, like meals you would serve yourself if you weren't scared of messing it up and afraid you wouldn't get enough. I think people have more knowledge of nutrition than they give themselves credit for.
  • s_petkauskaite
    s_petkauskaite Posts: 12 Member
    Thank you I will try eliminate that cheat day, but to do that I will have to start eating different foods, cuz if I carry on with tuna chicken and olives every day I will have a breakdown lol I think I struggle psychologically cuz If I want to lose weight and on my normal day I would have something that seems fattier like a pizza or something like that I feel like I will put weight on straight away.
    On your comment about 1500 and weight gain you are spot on, as 3rd week on that 'diet' i put 1,5kg, it drives me bonkers, but I thought maybe being on antibiotics made that happen, but I was wrong! Anyways, not thought losing weight would be such a challenge. Thanks a lot for your insight, appreciated
  • bribucks
    bribucks Posts: 431 Member
    If MFP suggested 1500cal for you, and you are eating 1500 on normal days AND having a cheat day, then you are easily blowing over your calories.

    If you feel like you need to do a cheat day, then consider this: 1500cal x 7 days = 10,500 for the week.

    If you went down to 1450 for 6 days, that would leave you 1800 for a cheat day. Or if you go down to 1400 for 6 days, that would leave you 2,100 for a cheat day.

    But, if you continue to eat 1500 for 6 days and then eat let's say 2500 on your cheat day, that would be equivalent to you eating 1642cal for 7 days.
  • s_petkauskaite
    s_petkauskaite Posts: 12 Member
    Make sense! Can't believe I have not thought of that! I thought if mfp says 1500 I will lose weight! Thanks so much guys! I saw too many blogs where they eat well all week and then they cheat all day and copied that without thinking it through!
  • bribucks
    bribucks Posts: 431 Member
    Just reread through some of the earlier posts and you are right, it does take some adjusting to learn how to eat less, eat healthier, make better decisions.

    Take your breakfast, for example. 3 eggs isn't bad, but to save on calories you could mix 2 whole eggs and 1 egg white, for instance. (I wouldn't switch to 100% egg white because whole eggs do have good properties, plus they're tastier!) And don't forget to count any milk you add to the eggs, butter/oil in the pan, etc. You could consider adding spinach or tomatoes to your eggs.

    Also, personally I find that while I always crave carbs (bread), it doesn't keep me feeling full. I personally am kept fuller by protein and healthy fats. However every person is different, so you have to find what works for you.

    I have also gotten into the habit of not letting myself snack on anything that doesn't have good nutritional value. So no more Cheez-it's or pretzels like I used to do before - now I will grab fruit, a Greek yogurt, or make a small salad.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited September 2017
    s_petkauskaite wrote: »
    Thank you I will try eliminate that cheat day, but to do that I will have to start eating different foods, cuz if I carry on with tuna chicken and olives every day I will have a breakdown lol I think I struggle psychologically cuz If I want to lose weight and on my normal day I would have something that seems fattier like a pizza or something like that I feel like I will put weight on straight away.
    On your comment about 1500 and weight gain you are spot on, as 3rd week on that 'diet' i put 1,5kg, it drives me bonkers, but I thought maybe being on antibiotics made that happen, but I was wrong! Anyways, not thought losing weight would be such a challenge. Thanks a lot for your insight, appreciated

    Don't go by feeling alone. Weigh and log. You can indeed have pizza. Maybe not a whole pizza if it's big, but a few slices. You need dietary fat.

    Weightloss is often only as hard as you make it. You don't have to suffer to lose weight. You will have to make an effort, to pay more attention, to implement and stick to some boundaries. But you are not going to starve, you can eat food you like, you don't have to eat strange foods, you don't have to kill yourself in the gym. In fact, it's when you suffer, that you don't lose. Weightloss is a slow process, and we can't go on suffering forever, when we don't have to (and losing weight is optional).

    Next time you're in the grocery store, look around. Look at all the fruits, have some of them, all the vegetables in different colors, pick up a few, look at the meat from different animals, what looks interesting, do you like fish? Look at the display of nuts and seeds, go to the dairy section, look at what you can choose from - milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, pick up some rice and pasta, a new kind of bread, or some wraps, get a bottle of olive oil for salads and another oil for cooking.

    Or you can start with recipes - if you have favorite recipes, you just need to shop for those ingredients. If not, get a cookbook and find recipes you want to try. Write down all the ingredients you don't have. Bring that list to the store. Now the challenge is to follow that list and not buy anything else. If you say no at the store, you can say no once - if you bring it home, you will have to say no repeatedly, and most likely cave in the end anyway.
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