Stalled for weeks and I'd just gotten started! Diary public. Advice?

2

Replies

  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    GB333 wrote: »
    So should you weigh a potato or sweet potato before or after cooking it? I imagine that could make a difference....?

    as long as you are consistent and find the right entry - i weigh mine raw
  • GB333
    GB333 Posts: 261 Member
    Let's PRETEND that I weigh everything, even my La Croix :p , and I am eating exactly 1200 calories a day, each and every day. In pretend world, NOW what would you think the issue could be?
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    GB333 wrote: »
    Let's PRETEND that I weigh everything, even my La Croix :p , and I am eating exactly 1200 calories a day, each and every day. In pretend world, NOW what would you think the issue could be?

    In your pretend world, it would be time to visit your doctor to rule out medical issues, such as thyroid.
  • GB333
    GB333 Posts: 261 Member
    pinuplove wrote: »
    In your pretend world, it would be time to visit your doctor to rule out medical issues, such as thyroid.

    I agree. I actually did that in December and thyroid was normal. I had a bunch of bloodwork done as part of a checkup - only issue was low B12 but I've been on a supplement for a few months now.

  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    slossia wrote: »
    Go on you tube and watch, forks over knives, the starch solution, what the health, the China study. That’s my advice.only advice, I’m not a nutritionist, or an expert on weight loss. Just works for me, that’s all.

    Aren't all 4 of these documentaries that have serious flaws that've been pointed out repeatedly by dietitians? Why recommend biased information instead of balanced information?

    i also think they are fairly contradictory, right? (i haven't watched any of them but i'm broadly familiar with the doctrines)
  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    slossia wrote: »
    Go on you tube and watch, forks over knives, the starch solution, what the health, the China study. That’s my advice.only advice, I’m not a nutritionist, or an expert on weight loss. Just works for me, that’s all.

    Forks over Knives = woo
    The Starch Solution = likely woo
    What the Health = debunked
    The China Study = super debunked
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    edited February 2018
    GB333 wrote: »
    pinuplove wrote: »
    In your pretend world, it would be time to visit your doctor to rule out medical issues, such as thyroid.

    I agree. I actually did that in December and thyroid was normal. I had a bunch of bloodwork done as part of a checkup - only issue was low B12 but I've been on a supplement for a few months now.

    I've had 3 weeks of no/negligible losses before that at the time felt completely unexplainable. Looking back, it's pretty clear it was a perfect storm of hormones, activity-related water retention, and probably some logging inaccuracies coupled with days I went over because I just wanted to eat ALL THE THINGS (I was sort of perma-hungry from so long in a deficit).

    I just finished a 2-week diet break in which I lost .8 pounds. Probably some water shed from earlier in my cycle there. I was as accurate as possible with my logging (I didn't want to gain!) I'm confident that what I actually ate was as close as possible to what I logged, and the numbers more or less bear that out. Don't discount the value of precise logging - it makes a big difference!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    slossia wrote: »
    Go on you tube and watch, forks over knives, the starch solution, what the health, the China study. That’s my advice.only advice, I’m not a nutritionist, or an expert on weight loss. Just works for me, that’s all.

    Aren't all 4 of these documentaries that have serious flaws that've been pointed out repeatedly by dietitians? Why recommend biased information instead of balanced information?

    i also think they are fairly contradictory, right? (i haven't watched any of them but i'm broadly familiar with the doctrines)

    I think they can all broadly be described as anti-animal product, low fat/anti-oil regimes. They may have some minor differences, but they're all kinda in that same camp.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited February 2018
    slossia wrote: »
    The poster wrote. Advice? This is my advice.. hopes she gives it a try!

    But why tho?

    These woo/debunked videos to watch is terrible advice to recommend someone take time out of their schedule that is neither helpful or beneficial. :smirk:

    OP don't waste your time.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    slossia wrote: »
    Go on you tube and watch, forks over knives, the starch solution, what the health, the China study. That’s my advice.only advice, I’m not a nutritionist, or an expert on weight loss. Just works for me, that’s all.

    Aren't all 4 of these documentaries that have serious flaws that've been pointed out repeatedly by dietitians? Why recommend biased information instead of balanced information?

    i also think they are fairly contradictory, right? (i haven't watched any of them but i'm broadly familiar with the doctrines)

    I think they can all broadly be described as anti-animal product, low fat/anti-oil regimes. They may have some minor differences, but they're all kinda in that same camp.

    They can all be broadly described as shoddy, biased, agenda-driven hack pieces full of hyperbole, cherry-picking, pseudo/junk science and outright lies.

    There's also that . . .
  • GB333
    GB333 Posts: 261 Member
    I hope it's ok to employ a little tough love here. I really do want to see you succeed and you seem genuinely interested in doing so.

    Two thoughts I have besides what's already been pointed out multiple time by others:

    1) Your stats are fairly close to mine and I know I could never NOT be hungry on so few calories. It's not possible. That leads me to think you're eating considerably more than you think. I'm even more sure of this based on the fact that a good 200-350 of those meager calories go to sweets and/or alcohol which does zero to help you feel full.

    2) You acknowledged that your maintenance is near 1800 calories and you seem to understand the math of weight loss. So you must get that you can't possibly be eating as little as you're logging over time if you're not seeing any weight loss.

    I recommend you get real with yourself about what you're really doing so you can make the progress you desire.

    Again, I hope this isn't too harsh (tone is so difficult to convey in writing). Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

    I appreciate this greatly, and I don't mind the tough love!! :) I've done this before - and I lost 25 pounds quite easily with zero exercise. I did the same things then that I'm doing now except: 1. Now I'm 7 years older, and 2. This time around I'm not eating Lean Cuisine and other crappy, prepackaged foods! I'm eating actual fruits and veggies this time around, albeit not weighing them. I was starving by 3pm when I ate Lean Cuisine for lunch - now, eating chicken and veggies instead, I'm not.

    I sooooooooo appreciate all of the advice here and I did weigh my stupid apple this morning, but I know that's not it. (I'll do it to eliminate the possibility, though.) I know you can't look at someone's diary and really know much about them - but I know ME, and I know what is going into my mouth, and I KNOW it is not significantly more than what I log. If I cheat and eat a piece of chocolate (which I have next to zero willpower to resist) I LOG IT! If I get the munchies and eat one little piece of beef jerky, I LOG IT. Last night I ate 2 olives, so I logged them! I don't munch or graze and not log it. Not weighing a "large banana" is not the issue. Being that that seems to be the only real thing people here see as a problem leads me to believe I should see my doctor again. Even if I'm 25% off on EVERYTHING I log, most days are STILL right at about 1200 calories. It just doesn't add up (no pun intended!).

    On the flipside, another group I'm in says I'm not eating enough and need to bring UP my calories. Meanwhile most here think I'm eating way too much in secret. So I'm just going to continue to beat my head against the wall until I figure out what the problem is. :'( I'm having a major pitty party for myself today (scale still did not move today), so please forgive me.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    GB333 wrote: »
    I hope it's ok to employ a little tough love here. I really do want to see you succeed and you seem genuinely interested in doing so.

    Two thoughts I have besides what's already been pointed out multiple time by others:

    1) Your stats are fairly close to mine and I know I could never NOT be hungry on so few calories. It's not possible. That leads me to think you're eating considerably more than you think. I'm even more sure of this based on the fact that a good 200-350 of those meager calories go to sweets and/or alcohol which does zero to help you feel full.

    2) You acknowledged that your maintenance is near 1800 calories and you seem to understand the math of weight loss. So you must get that you can't possibly be eating as little as you're logging over time if you're not seeing any weight loss.

    I recommend you get real with yourself about what you're really doing so you can make the progress you desire.

    Again, I hope this isn't too harsh (tone is so difficult to convey in writing). Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

    I appreciate this greatly, and I don't mind the tough love!! :) I've done this before - and I lost 25 pounds quite easily with zero exercise. I did the same things then that I'm doing now except: 1. Now I'm 7 years older, and 2. This time around I'm not eating Lean Cuisine and other crappy, prepackaged foods! I'm eating actual fruits and veggies this time around, albeit not weighing them. I was starving by 3pm when I ate Lean Cuisine for lunch - now, eating chicken and veggies instead, I'm not.

    I sooooooooo appreciate all of the advice here and I did weigh my stupid apple this morning, but I know that's not it. (I'll do it to eliminate the possibility, though.) I know you can't look at someone's diary and really know much about them - but I know ME, and I know what is going into my mouth, and I KNOW it is not significantly more than what I log. If I cheat and eat a piece of chocolate (which I have next to zero willpower to resist) I LOG IT! If I get the munchies and eat one little piece of beef jerky, I LOG IT. Last night I ate 2 olives, so I logged them! I don't munch or graze and not log it. Not weighing a "large banana" is not the issue. Being that that seems to be the only real thing people here see as a problem leads me to believe I should see my doctor again. Even if I'm 25% off on EVERYTHING I log, most days are STILL right at about 1200 calories. It just doesn't add up (no pun intended!).

    On the flipside, another group I'm in says I'm not eating enough and need to bring UP my calories. Meanwhile most here think I'm eating way too much in secret. So I'm just going to continue to beat my head against the wall until I figure out what the problem is. :'( I'm having a major pitty party for myself today (scale still did not move today), so please forgive me.

    Genuinely not trying to be snarky, but if you're not sure how much you're eating due to estimating your portion size, how can you be so sure it isn't what you're eating?

    Nobody is accusing you of failing to log items you're eating or intentionally underestimating serving sizes. I know -- from personal experience -- how much regular food items like bananas can vary in calorie content according to the weight. Even actual fruits and vegetables can vary.
  • GB333
    GB333 Posts: 261 Member
    Genuinely not trying to be snarky, but if you're not sure how much you're eating due to estimating your portion size, how can you be so sure it isn't what you're eating?

    I don't take it that way, thank you for taking the time to help me talk this out!! :)

    So how do I know? Because it's ONE banana, HALF a bell pepper, or ONE zucchini. You can DOUBLE the calories I have supposedly so incorrectly listed for these items on the days that I ate them and I will STILL be right around 1200 calories. Triple them and I'm still under 1500! Go crazy and add 25% to EVERYTHING I eat, even those items that I did weigh, and it STILL keeps me well below 1500 a day. I know what is going in my mouth. I know how I ate when I gained this weight. I know how I ate the last time I LOST this weight. I know what went into my mouth the first 4 weeks of this "weightloss journey" when I lost 11 pounds. The produce that I am estimating my portion size on is not the problem.

    BUT please know I still greatly appreciate all of the input!! This definitely makes me think and dissect what is going on. And I am going to weigh every dang banana from now on just to rule it out. I even bought a second food scale to keep at the office. ;)


  • GB333
    GB333 Posts: 261 Member
    edited February 2018
    Wait... from this youtube discussion, I've learned that "woo" is bad? So if someone clicks the reaction "woo" that means they don't believe you? I think I've clicked it a time or two thinking it was like "Woooooo!!!! GO YOU!!!!" OOPS!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    GB333 wrote: »
    Wait... from this youtube discussion, I've learned that "woo" is bad? So if someone clicks the reaction "woo" that means they don't believe you? I think I've clicked it a time or two thinking it was like "Woooooo!!!! GO YOU!!!!" OOPS!

    People use it for both. It's inherently confusing!
  • GB333
    GB333 Posts: 261 Member
    GB333 wrote: »
    Wait... from this youtube discussion, I've learned that "woo" is bad? So if someone clicks the reaction "woo" that means they don't believe you? I think I've clicked it a time or two thinking it was like "Woooooo!!!! GO YOU!!!!" OOPS!

    People use it for both. It's inherently confusing!

    LOL! Well I'm glad I'm not the only one!!!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    GB333 wrote: »
    Genuinely not trying to be snarky, but if you're not sure how much you're eating due to estimating your portion size, how can you be so sure it isn't what you're eating?

    I don't take it that way, thank you for taking the time to help me talk this out!! :)

    So how do I know? Because it's ONE banana, HALF a bell pepper, or ONE zucchini. You can DOUBLE the calories I have supposedly so incorrectly listed for these items on the days that I ate them and I will STILL be right around 1200 calories. Triple them and I'm still under 1500! Go crazy and add 25% to EVERYTHING I eat, even those items that I did weigh, and it STILL keeps me well below 1500 a day. I know what is going in my mouth. I know how I ate when I gained this weight. I know how I ate the last time I LOST this weight. I know what went into my mouth the first 4 weeks of this "weightloss journey" when I lost 11 pounds. The produce that I am estimating my portion size on is not the problem.

    BUT please know I still greatly appreciate all of the input!! This definitely makes me think and dissect what is going on. And I am going to weigh every dang banana from now on just to rule it out. I even bought a second food scale to keep at the office. ;)


    I completely believe that you're a careful logger with a good understanding of what goes into your mouth. When I got here, frustrated from losing and regaining the same five pounds over and over again, I was the same way. I counted out my tortilla chips, for heaven's sake! But like many people here, I found that a scale was a very useful tool to help me see where I had been completely inadvertently underestimating my calorie intake.

    It's not that any one particular food is going to throw you off -- if it was just zucchini, you're right, it wouldn't be a big deal. It's just that all the tiny differences can add up over multiple days and cancel out a deficit for a week (especially if you're also occasionally forgetting to log a drink).

    So one of two things will happen here, either you'll figure out that you were like many people here and a scale can help you get a better idea of what you're actually eating or you'll figure out that your estimation of your calories in is right and you need to figure out what is going on with your calories out.

    Either way, I know it's so frustrating to not see what you want. :(

  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    edited February 2018
    GB333 wrote: »
    I hope it's ok to employ a little tough love here. I really do want to see you succeed and you seem genuinely interested in doing so.

    Two thoughts I have besides what's already been pointed out multiple time by others:

    1) Your stats are fairly close to mine and I know I could never NOT be hungry on so few calories. It's not possible. That leads me to think you're eating considerably more than you think. I'm even more sure of this based on the fact that a good 200-350 of those meager calories go to sweets and/or alcohol which does zero to help you feel full.

    2) You acknowledged that your maintenance is near 1800 calories and you seem to understand the math of weight loss. So you must get that you can't possibly be eating as little as you're logging over time if you're not seeing any weight loss.

    I recommend you get real with yourself about what you're really doing so you can make the progress you desire.

    Again, I hope this isn't too harsh (tone is so difficult to convey in writing). Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

    I appreciate this greatly, and I don't mind the tough love!! :) I've done this before - and I lost 25 pounds quite easily with zero exercise. I did the same things then that I'm doing now except: 1. Now I'm 7 years older, and 2. This time around I'm not eating Lean Cuisine and other crappy, prepackaged foods! I'm eating actual fruits and veggies this time around, albeit not weighing them. I was starving by 3pm when I ate Lean Cuisine for lunch - now, eating chicken and veggies instead, I'm not.

    I sooooooooo appreciate all of the advice here and I did weigh my stupid apple this morning, but I know that's not it. (I'll do it to eliminate the possibility, though.) I know you can't look at someone's diary and really know much about them - but I know ME, and I know what is going into my mouth, and I KNOW it is not significantly more than what I log. If I cheat and eat a piece of chocolate (which I have next to zero willpower to resist) I LOG IT! If I get the munchies and eat one little piece of beef jerky, I LOG IT. Last night I ate 2 olives, so I logged them! I don't munch or graze and not log it. Not weighing a "large banana" is not the issue. Being that that seems to be the only real thing people here see as a problem leads me to believe I should see my doctor again. Even if I'm 25% off on EVERYTHING I log, most days are STILL right at about 1200 calories. It just doesn't add up (no pun intended!).

    On the flipside, another group I'm in says I'm not eating enough and need to bring UP my calories. Meanwhile most here think I'm eating way too much in secret. So I'm just going to continue to beat my head against the wall until I figure out what the problem is. :'( I'm having a major pitty party for myself today (scale still did not move today), so please forgive me.

    It sounds like you really know what you're talking about and that's good. I just thought of something else you might try since you've already been to the doctor and ruled out the obvious health stuff. It will require a little patience though because it's not an overnight thing.

    You could set your goal to maintenance and eat what it says to eat daily. Don't change the way you're logging, tracking or eating because the idea is to hold everything else fixed so you can see how this single change affects your results.

    Eat this way for 4-6 weeks (to include a full menstrual cycle) and see what results you get at the end.

    Keep in mind that these calculators are only estimating your needs based on a formula. It's not really YOUR numbers. By doing the above experiment you can figure out your actual numbers. Then you'll have better data to work with to make a decision. And you will have ruled out the largest (by far) reason people don't lose weight when they think they should be. It would also be helpful to have this information when you go back to your doctor if you need to.

    And FWIW, I also love sweets and good whiskey and wine. I have no intention of cutting them out of life forever, so I'm working on incorporating them into my life now. Some things just aren't worth giving up :drinker:
  • GB333
    GB333 Posts: 261 Member
    Did I fail to mention that I bought a size 8 dress for a wedding that I am in at the end of April? It's non-returnable, so it HAS to fit. *Where is the "beating myself in the head" emoticon?*