6 weeks on MFP and have lost and gainef 1 kilo

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annieb3525
annieb3525 Posts: 2 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi I’m feeling really despondent. I am 61 years old 163cm and currently weigh 72kgs. For the past 6 weeks I have religiously tracked my food on MFP eating between 800 to 1000 calories per day. I know this is lower than I should be eating but I’m feeling desperate and trying anything. In the 6 weeks I have lost and gained 1kg over and over again. I didn’t even lose the traditional water weight that most people lose in the first week. I am so careful with everything that I eat and am not cheating because I don’t want to sabotage my efforts. Two years ago I lost 16 kgs on Weight Watchers and then put on 10 kgs after a year of maintaining. So I know I can lose weight. So I can’t understand why this time nothing is working. Any ideas?

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  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Weightloss happens when you're in a consistent calorie deficit. It's that simple - but not easy, because we like to eat. 1000 calories is almost nothing, you should be losing like crazy, and feel like sh1t, too.

    So tell us how you use your food scale, and how you make sure the database entries you pick, are valid?
  • annieb3525
    annieb3525 Posts: 2 Member
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    I mostly scan using the barcode scanner. It’s amazing how many foods are already in the database. I measure/weigh everything. I’m very confident that I am tracking accurately. I actually don’t feel too bad eating the amount I am. I’m just SO frustrated that I am not losing. I spoke to my doctor yesterday and she didn’t have any suggestions other than to keep trying! Any more ideas?
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,484 Member
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    Unfortunately not all scans are accurate.
    Get yourself a food scale, weigh everything, slices of bread, peanut butter, eggs, veg, meat, packaged goods, even single serving, etc. Measure in cups and spoons liquids. oil, and dressings.
    If in doubt, double check against the package, mfg website, or the USDA data base.

    It takes time, patience, and practice to get things correctly entered in your data base, but once you have everything in there logging is easier.

    Please, eat at least 1200 cals, you need this to hit the minimum nutritional goals as a woman. If you are active and exercise, log and eat those calories too. You need to fuel yourself for energy.

    As an older woman I would recommend you do some form of exercise if possible. Walking for cardio, body moves for muscle and bone density retention.

    You are at greater risk of losing muscle and bone density at your age when under nourished.

    I would, as a 65yo, advise you to set yourself to lose between 0.5 and 1lbs a week, at 5'4 and 158 lbs you don't have enough weight to lose to lose faster.

    Cheers, h.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    annieb3525 wrote: »
    I mostly scan using the barcode scanner. It’s amazing how many foods are already in the database. I measure/weigh everything. I’m very confident that I am tracking accurately. I actually don’t feel too bad eating the amount I am. I’m just SO frustrated that I am not losing. I spoke to my doctor yesterday and she didn’t have any suggestions other than to keep trying! Any more ideas?
    I have lots of ideas.
    If you're not feeling "too bad", and not losing weight, and think you've eaten 1000 calories per day on average for six weeks - you can be sure you're not tracking accurately.
    Number of items in database is irrelevant, what you want is entries that match the exact item you're eating.
    The barcode scanner leads to the same database and thus the same issue.
    You need to verify the entries yourself, with the food label, the manufacturer's website, or the USDA database for produce.
    Cups and spoons are inaccurate for anything but liquids. Weigh everything that isn't a liquid; you can even weigh liquids, if you use correct entires that have values in weight.
    Your doctor's suggestion was very bad. You have to eat in a calorie deficit, and for real, consistently and for a long time.
  • blobby10
    blobby10 Posts: 357 Member
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    In my experience the bar code scanners can be very inaccurate as they often dont take into account the portion size - so the scanner shows 300 calories for 100g but the portion size is twice that!!!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,049 Member
    edited September 2018
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    If in fact you are weighing and measuring everything and eating the amount you say and not losing weight after six weeks, then it has to be the entries you are using.

    Check each entry against a reputable database, such as the manufacturer's site or the USDA food database. Check to make sure you are entering the correct portion amount in relation to the scanned portion.

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