Scale not moving despite trying EVERYTHING! HELP!!!
EllyAHJ
Posts: 27 Member
Hey folks,
I am getting really frustrated: my weight will not shift.
I track every day (have done consistently since March), I exercize 4/5 times a week (running, strength, and yoga), I average about 7-12k steps a day, and I have been generally low carb.
Not. A. Pound. Has. Shifted.
I am currently about 30 pounds over weight (according to my doctor), but, honestly, I would be happy to lose 10 and keep it off. I am 5'5" and currently 176lbs. I don't know my BMI. My BMR is 1537 calories/day.
CAN ANYONE HELP?!
Gratefully,
E
I am getting really frustrated: my weight will not shift.
I track every day (have done consistently since March), I exercize 4/5 times a week (running, strength, and yoga), I average about 7-12k steps a day, and I have been generally low carb.
Not. A. Pound. Has. Shifted.
I am currently about 30 pounds over weight (according to my doctor), but, honestly, I would be happy to lose 10 and keep it off. I am 5'5" and currently 176lbs. I don't know my BMI. My BMR is 1537 calories/day.
CAN ANYONE HELP?!
Gratefully,
E
0
Replies
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Do you use a digital food scale, and are you weighing/measuring your food in grams and millilitres?
Have you read the Most Helpful Posts?
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads
If you make your diary Public we can have a look and see if you need any help with calorie counting.
A lot of times, people log things like "1 avocado" which can vary by hundreds of calories.9 -
How long have you not lost weight for?
How many calories are you eating per day?3 -
Do you use a digital food scale, and are you weighing/measuring your food in grams and millilitres?
Have you read the Most Helpful Posts?
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads
If you make your diary Public we can have a look and see if you need any help with calorie counting.
A lot of times, people log things like "1 avocado" which can vary by hundreds of calories.
Yeah, that is a really good point...I think I have gotten complacent in my exact measurement.
Is there a better/worse digital scale you'd recommend/avoid?1 -
TavistockToad wrote: »How long have you not lost weight for?
How many calories are you eating per day?
It's been since May...completely stalled.
I eat between 1300-1800/day, I think.0 -
elizabethahj wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »How long have you not lost weight for?
How many calories are you eating per day?
It's been since May...completely stalled.
I eat between 1300-1800/day, I think.
That's a big range, do you weigh everything you eat with scales?3 -
elizabethahj wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »How long have you not lost weight for?
How many calories are you eating per day?
It's been since May...completely stalled.
I eat between 1300-1800/day, I think.
The bolded is the issue.
As for type of food scale, no need to get too fancy with them. One that has a tare button and has a grams option (more accurate than ounces) would be the main things I would look for.5 -
elizabethahj wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »How long have you not lost weight for?
How many calories are you eating per day?
It's been since May...completely stalled.
I eat between 1300-1800/day, I think.
And this is why you are not losing weight. Good thing is that it can be easily fixed by weighing all solids that you eat and using measuring cups and spoons for all liquids.
Good luck.2 -
You have received really great answers - now you can stop trying everything, and just do what works: eat less, for real, and consistently. To do it for real, you have to know how much you are eating, and a food scale is necessary for that. To do it consistently, you have to muster patience and maybe tweak some habits. Exercise is good for your health, but makes but a minor contribution to your calorie deficit.
I was just going to tell you abut BMI - it's your weight (in kilograms), divided by your height (in meters) squared. Or you can use an online calculator, one is here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmi-calculator
About the scale - buy one that displays both ounces and grams, and 1 gram increments, and has a tare function. It should hold 2 kilos. Do not pay extra for any functions beyond that - some scales claim to "measure" fluids, but they can't - volume is not the same as weight, and they just display "ml" instead of "gram" - water is the only fluid that has "1 gram = 1 ml"; other fluids can come close, and it's usually accurate enough for the purpose (losing weight), but it's not correct. (You can indeed weight liquids, but if you do, use calories per gram, not per ml.) Also avoid "intelligent" scales that will "calculate" calories for whatever you put on it - you have MFP and food labels for that.1 -
I measure with cups and measuring spoons already. But sounds like a digital scale for greater accuracy is necessary.
The calorie range is due to the fluctuation in my 'earned' exercise calories for each day, hence this "I think". I track everything, and have done for months.1 -
It's no use tracking if you don't log the amounts you actually eat, and you don't know what amounts of the items you eat unless you weigh them.2
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Thanks. These BMI calculators are always relatively inaccurate for me. I think I need to have it done properly with body fat/lean mass, as I am very muscular and don't actually have much to 'pinch'.
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kommodevaran wrote: »It's no use tracking if you don't log the amounts you actually eat, and you don't know what amounts of the items you eat unless you weigh them.
Yeah, I never thought of how significant the difference between cups/spoons measurement and a scale could be.
I think a scale may unlock a lot! Thanks.3 -
elizabethahj wrote: »I measure with cups and measuring spoons already. But sounds like a digital scale for greater accuracy is necessary.
The calorie range is due to the fluctuation in my 'earned' exercise calories for each day, hence this "I think". I track everything, and have done for months.
The general piece of advice I give to anybody wearing an activity tracker, myself included, is that you set your MFP activity level to sedentary to make sure you are not "double dipping" on your activity calories as well as enabling negative calorie adjustments. That is the way you can make sure you are being as accurate as possible in your calorie tracking
Now if you want to up your game when it comes to activity tracking, I recommend Polar products which have continuous 24/7 heart rate monitoring so you get the most accurate activity tracking possible. Others may prefer different brands, but I have used polar for years and couldn't be happier. YMMV
3 -
MatthewRuch wrote: »elizabethahj wrote: »I measure with cups and measuring spoons already. But sounds like a digital scale for greater accuracy is necessary.
The calorie range is due to the fluctuation in my 'earned' exercise calories for each day, hence this "I think". I track everything, and have done for months.
The general piece of advice I give to anybody wearing an activity tracker, myself included, is that you set your MFP activity level to sedentary to make sure you are not "double dipping" on your activity calories as well as enabling negative calorie adjustments. That is the way you can make sure you are being as accurate as possible in your calorie tracking
Now if you want to up your game when it comes to activity tracking, I recommend Polar products which have continuous 24/7 heart rate monitoring so you get the most accurate activity tracking possible. Others may prefer different brands, but I have used polar for years and couldn't be happier. YMMV
That's really helpful about the 'double dipping'. That's been my sense, but I hadn't been able to find any consistent views on calorie counts in this way.0 -
Thanks everyone! Really helpful already. Here's to making some minor but major tweaks I hope!
1 -
Minor but major tweaks
My kinda gal! You too want maximum results from minimal effort
2 -
I am a big fan of Polar products as well. I have H7 heart monitor and M400 activity tracker. The watch only comes off to charge and the H7 only comes off for bathing and bed. Another tip is to turn off the exercise calories. It's just confusing. Hit your macros. If you burn 500 calories more than you eat per day for seven days, you should lose at least 1 pound. Good luck. It's hard work.1
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I was amazed at how inaccurate my measuring cups were when I made the move over to a digital scale. I would put my half cup of rice in to the measuring cup then weigh it to see the difference. Sometimes, it was almost 3/4 cup in weight!3
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MatthewRuch wrote: »elizabethahj wrote: »I measure with cups and measuring spoons already. But sounds like a digital scale for greater accuracy is necessary.
The calorie range is due to the fluctuation in my 'earned' exercise calories for each day, hence this "I think". I track everything, and have done for months.
The general piece of advice I give to anybody wearing an activity tracker, myself included, is that you set your MFP activity level to sedentary to make sure you are not "double dipping" on your activity calories as well as enabling negative calorie adjustments. That is the way you can make sure you are being as accurate as possible in your calorie tracking
Now if you want to up your game when it comes to activity tracking, I recommend Polar products which have continuous 24/7 heart rate monitoring so you get the most accurate activity tracking possible. Others may prefer different brands, but I have used polar for years and couldn't be happier. YMMV
MFP won't double-dip even if you are at a higher activity level. People with a higher activity level begin "earning" adjustments after more movement that people at a lower level. This is specifically to prevent double-dipping. MFP only begin adding adjustments after someone has moved more than their activity level setting would have predicted for the day. So someone at "active" has to move a lot more than someone at "sedentary" to begin earning adjustments.7 -
janejellyroll wrote: »MatthewRuch wrote: »elizabethahj wrote: »I measure with cups and measuring spoons already. But sounds like a digital scale for greater accuracy is necessary.
The calorie range is due to the fluctuation in my 'earned' exercise calories for each day, hence this "I think". I track everything, and have done for months.
The general piece of advice I give to anybody wearing an activity tracker, myself included, is that you set your MFP activity level to sedentary to make sure you are not "double dipping" on your activity calories as well as enabling negative calorie adjustments. That is the way you can make sure you are being as accurate as possible in your calorie tracking
Now if you want to up your game when it comes to activity tracking, I recommend Polar products which have continuous 24/7 heart rate monitoring so you get the most accurate activity tracking possible. Others may prefer different brands, but I have used polar for years and couldn't be happier. YMMV
MFP won't double-dip even if you are at a higher activity level. People with a higher activity level begin "earning" adjustments after more movement that people at a lower level. This is specifically to prevent double-dipping. MFP only begin adding adjustments after someone has moved more than their activity level setting would have predicted for the day. So someone at "active" has to move a lot more than someone at "sedentary" to begin earning adjustments.
The only way you'll double dip us if you are logging your exercise on both Fit bit and MFP.3 -
Come on, scale(s)! I am after you now!0
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Sometimes it's just not possible to weigh everything you eat - particularly if you have a social/work life that involves eating out quite often. You can make all the healthy choices in the world, but if you're 'eyeballing' and guessing calories, it can still be a problem. Short of taking the scale to the cafe/restaurant with you (some people would happily do that, I'm not one of them!), it is does leave quite a bit of possibility for error.
What I have been doing, and it seems to be working, is on days when I need to do this (not even always 'need', but want - I like actually living my life whilst losing weight), I just leave 100-200 extra calories free for that day to allow for a margin of error. I have a really awesome Middle Eastern salad cafe that I visit at least once a week for lunch. It's really healthy food, but they are always changing their salads an ingredients up. I have a look at the plate, make my best guess and enter it into MFP and then shoot for 100 calories less that day (I reduce it by more if I'm having a higher calorie meal).
I'm logging accurately 85-90% of the time and giving myself this margin of error a few times a week and I've been losing. It might not be the ideal solution for everyone, but if this helps someone else then happy days.
1 -
Im curious, are you saying youve been dieting and exercising since may and haven't lost a pound? Or have you been losing and plateau?0
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janejellyroll wrote: »MatthewRuch wrote: »elizabethahj wrote: »I measure with cups and measuring spoons already. But sounds like a digital scale for greater accuracy is necessary.
The calorie range is due to the fluctuation in my 'earned' exercise calories for each day, hence this "I think". I track everything, and have done for months.
The general piece of advice I give to anybody wearing an activity tracker, myself included, is that you set your MFP activity level to sedentary to make sure you are not "double dipping" on your activity calories as well as enabling negative calorie adjustments. That is the way you can make sure you are being as accurate as possible in your calorie tracking
Now if you want to up your game when it comes to activity tracking, I recommend Polar products which have continuous 24/7 heart rate monitoring so you get the most accurate activity tracking possible. Others may prefer different brands, but I have used polar for years and couldn't be happier. YMMV
MFP won't double-dip even if you are at a higher activity level. People with a higher activity level begin "earning" adjustments after more movement that people at a lower level. This is specifically to prevent double-dipping. MFP only begin adding adjustments after someone has moved more than their activity level setting would have predicted for the day. So someone at "active" has to move a lot more than someone at "sedentary" to begin earning adjustments.
Just thought I should add that you still have to enable negative calorie adjustments when using a tracker, no matter what activity level you're on.1 -
dustinjbrock wrote: »Im curious, are you saying youve been dieting and exercising since may and haven't lost a pound? Or have you been losing and plateau?
Haven't lost a pound since May...0 -
elizabethahj wrote: »dustinjbrock wrote: »Im curious, are you saying youve been dieting and exercising since may and haven't lost a pound? Or have you been losing and plateau?
Haven't lost a pound since May...
If you are strength training and running, you will be building muscle and muscle weighs more than fat so paying attention to the mirror rather then the scale may be your best bet.
As far as diet goes, there must be something your missing. Dieting doesn't work if you sabotage it at all. I.e. sweets, breads.
I'm not sure on the diet you follow but challenge yourself to go 10 days strict, just 10 days. No sugar at all, no diet pop, absolutely no bread or dairy.
I justified little treats here and there as I thought I was doing so good..... nope, they completely sabotaged my weight loss.28 -
dustinjbrock wrote: »elizabethahj wrote: »dustinjbrock wrote: »Im curious, are you saying youve been dieting and exercising since may and haven't lost a pound? Or have you been losing and plateau?
Haven't lost a pound since May...
If you are strength training and running, you will be building muscle and muscle weighs more than fat so paying attention to the mirror rather then the scale may be your best bet.
As far as diet goes, there must be something your missing. Dieting doesn't work if you sabotage it at all. I.e. sweets, breads.
I'm not sure on the diet you follow but challenge yourself to go 10 days strict, just 10 days. No sugar at all, no diet pop, absolutely no bread or dairy.
I justified little treats here and there as I thought I was doing so good..... nope, they completely sabotaged my weight loss.
there is so much no in this post... :noway:
14 -
dustinjbrock wrote: »elizabethahj wrote: »dustinjbrock wrote: »Im curious, are you saying youve been dieting and exercising since may and haven't lost a pound? Or have you been losing and plateau?
Haven't lost a pound since May...
If you are strength training and running, you will be building muscle and muscle weighs more than fat so paying attention to the mirror rather then the scale may be your best bet.
As far as diet goes, there must be something your missing. Dieting doesn't work if you sabotage it at all. I.e. sweets, breads.
I'm not sure on the diet you follow but challenge yourself to go 10 days strict, just 10 days. No sugar at all, no diet pop, absolutely no bread or dairy.
I justified little treats here and there as I thought I was doing so good..... nope, they completely sabotaged my weight loss.
OP, please disregard this post.8 -
janejellyroll wrote: »dustinjbrock wrote: »elizabethahj wrote: »dustinjbrock wrote: »Im curious, are you saying youve been dieting and exercising since may and haven't lost a pound? Or have you been losing and plateau?
Haven't lost a pound since May...
If you are strength training and running, you will be building muscle and muscle weighs more than fat so paying attention to the mirror rather then the scale may be your best bet.
As far as diet goes, there must be something your missing. Dieting doesn't work if you sabotage it at all. I.e. sweets, breads.
I'm not sure on the diet you follow but challenge yourself to go 10 days strict, just 10 days. No sugar at all, no diet pop, absolutely no bread or dairy.
I justified little treats here and there as I thought I was doing so good..... nope, they completely sabotaged my weight loss.
OP, please disregard this post.
Could you please explain why?0 -
Because it's full of wrong information. You can't build muscle on a calorie deficit. Sweets and breads won't make you gain weight themselves if you are maintaining a calorie deficit. There's no advantage to cutting out bread, sugar, and dairy, and there sure as hell is no benefit to cutting out diet drinks. Literally everything you said was wrong.16
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