HELP
klkc2005
Posts: 41 Member
Hi, I am getting so frustrated. I had lost over 40 pounds and then went off track for a while-moved, daughter started college, general depression, etc... So i've been back at it for almost 4 weeks. I track everything I eat, I exercise (mostly walking and walking videos-but it's pretty high intensity), and I stay within my target almost every day. I always burn more calories than what I take in. In the almost 4 weeks, I have not lost an ounce. NOT ONE!!!! I feel good and clothes fit good but about the same as they were fitting. I'm not quitting or giving up but I'm getting very frustrated. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!
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Replies
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Are you weighing your solid food and measuring liquids? Gotta' track accurately to see results. Will you open your diary so we can get more information?0
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I don't weigh my food. I've never done that but I do watch my portions and I have all but given up snacking. I do occasionally have cake and/or ice cream but I always make up for it by either eating less during the day or exercising more. I've never had this problem before.0
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When is the last time you recalibrated your calories? I usually re-run MFP every 10 pounds or so. After losing 40 pounds, you prior "deficit" may be putting you closer to maintenance.
Aim for closer to 1 lb/week and keep in mind that you'll stall out some weeks. I'm just coming off a 6 week plateau, and "whooshed" like 8 pounds this week. But it's only because I kept working out, kept eating at a deficit, and didn't give up.
Keep your expectations realistic and you'll succeed!!0 -
and I stay within my target almost every day.
"Almost"...if you go over once or twice it's pretty easy to wipe out the whole week's deficit.I don't weigh my food. I've never done that but I do watch my portions and I have all but given up snacking. I do occasionally have cake and/or ice cream but I always make up for it by either eating less during the day or exercising more. I've never had this problem before.
"Watch portions." Yeah, that doesn't always work. If you're having trouble you're eating more than you think.
Do you at least log everything?1 -
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Digital food scale, only eat back half your exercise calories. But I strongly emphasize a digital food scale.2
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I log everything i eat. When i do go over on my eating, i never completely lose control and I know I'm at a deficit for the week every week. I know i'm eating a lot less than I was eating 4 weeks ago. I was eating a lot and not even getting in my steps. I'm going to keep at it because i do feel good at least and I'm going to focus on watching my portions to make sure I'm counting everything correctly.0
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I log everything i eat. When i do go over on my eating, i never completely lose control and I know I'm at a deficit for the week every week. I know i'm eating a lot less than I was eating 4 weeks ago. I was eating a lot and not even getting in my steps. I'm going to keep at it because i do feel good at least and I'm going to focus on watching my portions to make sure I'm counting everything correctly.
A food scale HELPS you focus on your portions.
That is the best and ONLY advice you will need in the long run.1 -
you asked for help. the community has given you the answer. its up to you now.0
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Any suggestions on a food scale? I've never used one and i'm not even really sure how to incorporate it?0
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Ozeri Pronto has worked well for me. Just make sure you have it on the right units, that you figure out how to use the tare button, etc. Pretty straightforward. For most liquids you can use a measure of weight / mass using the scale, unless the liquid is notably denser than water in which case you'll want to do a volumetric measurement.0
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I log everything i eat. When i do go over on my eating, i never completely lose control and I know I'm at a deficit for the week every week. I know i'm eating a lot less than I was eating 4 weeks ago. I was eating a lot and not even getting in my steps. I'm going to keep at it because i do feel good at least and I'm going to focus on watching my portions to make sure I'm counting everything correctly.
How are you logging if you're not weighing?
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i go by what a serving size is. if a serving is a cup, that's what I count it as. If i have a slice of bread or fruit or whatever I see what a serving size is and that's what I enter the number of servings I have.0
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i go by what a serving size is. if a serving is a cup, that's what I count it as. If i have a slice of bread or fruit or whatever I see what a serving size is and that's what I enter the number of servings I have.
Measuring in cups and spoons can cause your actual calories to be off by hundreds a day. Someone have that youtube video handy?0 -
Most bananas have more than one serving. Most "cups" end up being too much when you weigh.
Any food scale from walmart will do the trick. Just make sure it has oz AND grams. You'll be surprised how many things ONLY give one or the other per serving.
Measuring cups are for liquids (or weighing in grams. One mL is a gram. LOVE the metric system!!). Weights are for solids.
I think you'll be surprised at how much you're overeating.0 -
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004164SRA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I've had this one for almost a year, easy to use, has different units, which is nice. I've gotten more meticulous about weighing, measuring, and logging and it's made a difference for me.
Additionally, it sounds like your only exercise is walking. I have found the MFP database to be notoriously generous for activities, especially those at lower intensity. YMMV, but I wouldn't log walking as exercise. There are many threads discussing this in much greater depth with much hurling of insults and platitudes so I won't turn this into a "is exercise for health or for a caloric deficit?" debate. However, in general, it's easier to create your deficit with nutrition rather than exercise.0 -
I found a cheep digital scale in the local supermarket its good for knowing precisely what you are doing. Mine works in ounces and grams there is a button to suit the situation, I find grams are easier, for all there are 28 grams per ounce I find I understand the gram numbers rather than the fractional ounce. Cups were too free for me when I was trying to achieve a deficit. I even weighed liquids.0
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Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions. I am now feeling more overwhelmed and frustrated-thinking how hard I've been working to lose this weight and to think that I may be eating way more than I think I am. UGH! Very disheartening. I never wanted to be tied down to a scale but I think i'm going to bite the bullet and get one to use at least until I figure out what serving sizes really are. So much to learn.0
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Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions. I am now feeling more overwhelmed and frustrated-thinking how hard I've been working to lose this weight and to think that I may be eating way more than I think I am. UGH! Very disheartening. I never wanted to be tied down to a scale but I think i'm going to bite the bullet and get one to use at least until I figure out what serving sizes really are. So much to learn.
Don't feel overwhelmed! Using a food scale is super quick once you get the hang of it. It will add an extra minute or two onto my day. And if I make large recipes to have throughout the week it's really easy to calculate a large batch and then divide by servings. I write the serving gram # on the tupperware lid for easy reference the next day when I weigh out my portion.2 -
Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions. I am now feeling more overwhelmed and frustrated-thinking how hard I've been working to lose this weight and to think that I may be eating way more than I think I am. UGH! Very disheartening. I never wanted to be tied down to a scale but I think i'm going to bite the bullet and get one to use at least until I figure out what serving sizes really are. So much to learn.
Don't feel overwhelmed! Using a food scale is super quick once you get the hang of it. It will add an extra minute or two onto my day. And if I make large recipes to have throughout the week it's really easy to calculate a large batch and then divide by servings. I write the serving gram # on the tupperware lid for easy reference the next day when I weigh out my portion.
I do the same thing when buying meat. We shop at meijer, whenever pork loin is on sale we'll have the meat counter cut one up for us, when I get it home I divide them all up into freezer bags and write the total oz on the bag, easy to defrost one dinner's worth of meat at a time.0 -
I find i have a lot less dishes using a scale than when i did cups and spoons. That itself is worth the cost..and i have an expensive scale...so worth it.0
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