What am I doing wrong?
jamiekidby
Posts: 11 Member
I'm fairly knowledgeable about nutrition and fitness, but I am looking for some input. On January 1, I began tracking my calories, logging all food, logging all exercise, etc. Based on Myfitnesspal's recommendation, I have been eating 1330 calories or less each day. I typically hit right at 1330 - could be under or over by 50 calories. I've been eating zero processed food - mostly nutrient rich fruits/vegetables and chicken/turkey burger and lots of eggs for protein. I've been doing light cardio (incline speed walk or light jog) for roughly 30 minutes each morning, and then hitting the gym nearly every day for a fitness class for a minimum of 60 minutes. On Jan. 1, I weighed 206. On Jan. 3 I weighed 199. I'm certain that was water weight. I was eating seriously like crap prior. Here I am on Jan. 21 and I've not lost a pound. What can I do differently?? I do not eat back my calories because I believe I'm eating plenty of calories to sustain. It's not like my workouts are so intense or like I'm lifting so heavy that I need to increase calories. Please keep in mind that I DO realize that it has only been 3 weeks. My question is simply, in your opinion, should I change things up in order to see results quicker? I have a hard time remaining consistent when I don't see results. Any feedback is appreciated! I would love to hear stories if anyone struggled at first with weight loss but then began losing after just hanging in.
4
Replies
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I'd ask about your change in exercise.... I'm notorious for gaining water weight when I work out really hard. Sometimes if I fall off track for a little while and then get back on, it takes me 3-4 weeks before I see a loss on the scale. When you work out, your muscles need water to repair themselves. I wouldn't start changing things right away.6
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Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?13
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Are you using a food scale? Check out these threads when you get a chance:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p17 -
breefoshee wrote: »I'd ask about your change in exercise.... I'm notorious for gaining water weight when I work out really hard. Sometimes if I fall off track for a little while and then get back on, it takes me 3-4 weeks before I see a loss on the scale. When you work out, your muscles need water to repair themselves. I wouldn't start changing things right away.
This is my first discussion post, so hopefully I'm replying correctly! Thank you for the post. I do really seem to go up and down in water weight. I appreciate your feedback!1 -
RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
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You've acknowledged that its only been three weeks so I don't think anyone can tell you whether or not you should change anything. It sounds like a pretty good plan to me, but as with any other plan only time can tell. If after a few months you are losing too quickly or not enough then you can adjust. However I certainly would not recommend going any lower with your calories considering your activity. Additionally, MFP is designed for you to eat back exercise calories so I would recommend at least eating back a portion. With only 1330 calories your activity (and I'm just estimating the calorie burn here of around 200) could put you under the 1200 minimum and while you may feel like that is enough to sustain you and your activities it can catch up. As others have mentioned, you should also be using a food scale and weight loss is not linear. Good luck!6
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jamiekidby wrote: »RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
That's great you have a food scale already and you have weighed your food previously. There is a difference, and sometimes is can be a very eye opening experience to some. You'd be surprised what items are getting measured with cups/tablespoons, etc..and logged are vastly different vs weighing.
I recommend taking a look at the links @kimny72 has posted. There is some really great information inside. Relating to the food scale, definitely look at the link she posted here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
Best of luck to you!9 -
1) Eating "healthy" or "clean" has no impact on weight loss. It can play a roll in water weight fluctuations but that is it. Be careful denying yourself some treat food because it can backfire.
2) 1330 is not much if you are exercising too. This will not cause your weight to stall but it can cause problems over time with malnutrition. I doubt you have much to worry about in 3 weeks unless you have been exercising really hard.
3) If you are logging correctly (see @kimny72's post) you are losing weight even if it does not show up on the bathroom scale. This is common. It will often take me 3 weeks of hovering around the same weight before I see a new low weight. A woman can take longer since there are other hormone fluctuations to deal with during the month.11 -
RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »jamiekidby wrote: »RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
That's great you have a food scale already and you have weighed your food previously. There is a difference, and sometimes is can be a very eye opening experience to some. You'd be surprised what items are getting measured with cups/tablespoons, etc..and logged are vastly different vs weighing.
I recommend taking a look at the links @kimny72 has posted. There is some really great information inside. Relating to the food scale, definitely look at the link she posted here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
Best of luck to you!
Ok - awesome, that makes sense. I get it now. I looked and read some on the link, and I'll continue reading. It didn't occur to me that just logging a 'medium banana' may not actually be precise enough. Along with other things.
Thanks for taking the time to help!15 -
Teabythesea_ wrote: »You've acknowledged that its only been three weeks so I don't think anyone can tell you whether or not you should change anything. It sounds like a pretty good plan to me, but as with any other plan only time can tell. If after a few months you are losing too quickly or not enough then you can adjust. However I certainly would not recommend going any lower with your calories considering your activity. Additionally, MFP is designed for you to eat back exercise calories so I would recommend at least eating back a portion. With only 1330 calories your activity (and I'm just estimating the calorie burn here of around 200) could put you under the 1200 minimum and while you may feel like that is enough to sustain you and your activities it can catch up. As others have mentioned, you should also be using a food scale and weight loss is not linear. Good luck!
Thank you for the feedback - I appreciate it!0 -
Are you using a food scale? Check out these threads when you get a chance:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
Thank you for the response - I'll be checking out these posts! Someone explained a little below about how a scale will make a difference, and I do have one, so I'm on the right track.1 -
jamiekidby wrote: »Are you using a food scale? Check out these threads when you get a chance:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
Thank you for the response - I'll be checking out these posts! Someone explained a little below about how a scale will make a difference, and I do have one, so I'm on the right track.
Just for extra, here's a thread with tips about using a food scale (once you know some tricks, it's not only more accurate than eyeballing, it's quicker and easier than cups/spoons).
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10498882/weighing-food-takes-too-long-and-is-obsessive
P.S. I'm betting that not all of that 6 pounds you lost was water weight. Some, maybe. But not all.5 -
jamiekidby wrote: »RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.
Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.2 -
If you're not weighing and measuring everything you eat, then you could no joke be off 500 calories or more from what you think you're consuming7
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One more idea... You say you had a big water weight loss? What I find sometimes is people lose water then continue low calorie eating but don't see a loss for a while. Often the water has come back as the body processing the idea that eating has changed. Now as the fat is lost and the water comes back it appears the diet isn't working. Be patient. Also you may well be one of those people who loses in gushes. Some call it a woosh.
Definately make sure you are weighing your food and logging by weight (not small, medium, cup). Watch the tastes and snacks you forget to log. If that applies to you it can really derail your efforts. Also be sure you aren't having cheat days. One big cheat day can cancel out a week of dieting.
Good luck.4 -
jamiekidby wrote: »RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.
Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.
I started weighing eggs when I was getting them from a local farmer, and could clearly see the difference in size. Then I started weighing supermarket eggs, and learned that there is a difference in size there as well.3 -
jamiekidby wrote: »RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
If you log 4 oz chicken thighs and didn't weigh it, how do you know it was 4 oz and not 6 or 8, etc? Can be even worse for calorie dense things like nuts, etc.
I never weighed every little thing, but when I was having trouble, that's the first thing I did. turns out I was logging 4 oz chicken breast because that is the standard serving size...but I was eating a whole chicken breast which is typically more in the neighborhood of 8-10 oz. Nuts were a big one for me too...I was eating about double what I was logging. With those two items along I was under-reporting my calories by almost 300 calories and I only had a 500 calorie deficit to work with.7 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »jamiekidby wrote: »RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
If you log 4 oz chicken thighs and didn't weigh it, how do you know it was 4 oz and not 6 or 8, etc? Can be even worse for calorie dense things like nuts, etc.
I never weighed every little thing, but when I was having trouble, that's the first thing I did. turns out I was logging 4 oz chicken breast because that is the standard serving size...but I was eating a whole chicken breast which is typically more in the neighborhood of 8-10 oz. Nuts were a big one for me too...I was eating about double what I was logging. With those two items along I was under-reporting my calories by almost 300 calories and I only had a 500 calorie deficit to work with.
I've been either going off of serving size, cups, small, medium, one fillet (salmon), etc. It didn't occur to me until yesterday that it would vary so much. But now that I'm aware, I will start weighing all of it. It definitely makes sense.7 -
jamiekidby wrote: »RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.
Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.
Really?! I guess weighing will be very eye opening!5 -
jamiekidby wrote: »jamiekidby wrote: »RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.
Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.
Really?! I guess weighing will be very eye opening!
No doubt it will be. Weighing food is what made me realize that almost all of the frozen sides I use for lazy dinners consisted of about a quarter more product than what the packaging said. Also, bags of frozen chicken breast... I have yet to get one that is even remotely close to the 113 grams that's on the label. Most are around 200.3 -
jamiekidby wrote: »jamiekidby wrote: »RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.
Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.
Really?! I guess weighing will be very eye opening!
I know this. My typical breakfast is a cup of seedless grapes, topped by a 6oz container of Greek yogurt and 1 bar out a 2-bar envelope of Nature Valley granola bars (calories vary by flavor). Initially, I was logging the cup of grapes using the database entry: Grapes - Raw, 1 cup which valued them at 62 calories. Then one day, I tared my bowl on the scale, measured out my cup of grapes, and tossed them into the bowl. And got something rather like today's entry: Grapes - Raw, 176 g valued at 118 calories, i.e. just under DOUBLE the measuring cup value. And those were grapes. Now 60-odd calories aren't making any kind of difference. But if I mess up on the grapes and I mess up on the mashed potatoes and I mess up on the peanut butter, it's totally possible for me to accidentally wipe out my deficit.
11 -
estherdragonbat wrote: »jamiekidby wrote: »jamiekidby wrote: »RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.
Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.
Really?! I guess weighing will be very eye opening!
I know this. My typical breakfast is a cup of seedless grapes, topped by a 6oz container of Greek yogurt and 1 bar out a 2-bar envelope of Nature Valley granola bars (calories vary by flavor). Initially, I was logging the cup of grapes using the database entry: Grapes - Raw, 1 cup which valued them at 62 calories. Then one day, I tared my bowl on the scale, measured out my cup of grapes, and tossed them into the bowl. And got something rather like today's entry: Grapes - Raw, 176 g valued at 118 calories, i.e. just under DOUBLE the measuring cup value. And those were grapes. Now 60-odd calories aren't making any kind of difference. But if I mess up on the grapes and I mess up on the mashed potatoes and I mess up on the peanut butter, it's totally possible for me to accidentally wipe out my deficit.
I'm a little scared!4 -
jamiekidby wrote: »estherdragonbat wrote: »jamiekidby wrote: »jamiekidby wrote: »RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.
Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.
Really?! I guess weighing will be very eye opening!
I know this. My typical breakfast is a cup of seedless grapes, topped by a 6oz container of Greek yogurt and 1 bar out a 2-bar envelope of Nature Valley granola bars (calories vary by flavor). Initially, I was logging the cup of grapes using the database entry: Grapes - Raw, 1 cup which valued them at 62 calories. Then one day, I tared my bowl on the scale, measured out my cup of grapes, and tossed them into the bowl. And got something rather like today's entry: Grapes - Raw, 176 g valued at 118 calories, i.e. just under DOUBLE the measuring cup value. And those were grapes. Now 60-odd calories aren't making any kind of difference. But if I mess up on the grapes and I mess up on the mashed potatoes and I mess up on the peanut butter, it's totally possible for me to accidentally wipe out my deficit.
I'm a little scared!
Don't be scared. Having knowledge is power and gives you more control over your journey.8 -
I agree on the use of a digital scale. You could easily wipe out a deficit by having inaccurate logs throughout the day. I also think that 1300 is way too low for you. As you cut calories, your metabolic rate lowers and can adapt. If you start a cut at 1300, you don’t have much wiggle room once you hit a platue.
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I agree on the use of a digital scale. You could easily wipe out a deficit by having inaccurate logs throughout the day. I also think that 1300 is way too low for you. As you cut calories, your metabolic rate lowers and can adapt. If you start a cut at 1300, you don’t have much wiggle room once you hit a platue.
Your metabolic rate doesn't lower as a result of lower calories, it lowers as a result of losing weight.12 -
jamiekidby wrote: »estherdragonbat wrote: »jamiekidby wrote: »jamiekidby wrote: »RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »Do you have a food scale and weighing all your food?
I do have a food scale. When I am following "The Zone" which tends to work well for me, I do weigh and measure all of my food. It's just a lot of work and I am not sure I can make that committment to food prep right now. I figured tracking my calories would be sufficient. Does weighing the food that you are tracking calories with make a difference somehow?
Ahhh, food scales and eggs. How upset I was to find out how much those freakin’ eggs could vary. And it was rarely under one serving of “egg.” My record was one egg equaling 3.6 servings of egg.
Weigh ALL solid foods, including pre-packaged ones like yogurt and frozen meals and things that seem to be in their own packaging like eggs, slices of bread, and pieces of cheese. If your calorie goal is set correctly, you really don’t have a lot of wiggle room.
Really?! I guess weighing will be very eye opening!
I know this. My typical breakfast is a cup of seedless grapes, topped by a 6oz container of Greek yogurt and 1 bar out a 2-bar envelope of Nature Valley granola bars (calories vary by flavor). Initially, I was logging the cup of grapes using the database entry: Grapes - Raw, 1 cup which valued them at 62 calories. Then one day, I tared my bowl on the scale, measured out my cup of grapes, and tossed them into the bowl. And got something rather like today's entry: Grapes - Raw, 176 g valued at 118 calories, i.e. just under DOUBLE the measuring cup value. And those were grapes. Now 60-odd calories aren't making any kind of difference. But if I mess up on the grapes and I mess up on the mashed potatoes and I mess up on the peanut butter, it's totally possible for me to accidentally wipe out my deficit.
I'm a little scared!
yeah you will be surprised and also packaged food can be off by up to 20% PER SERVING!. you will be shocked when you weigh everything(solids/semi solids in grams) only use measuring cups/spoons for liquids .It was an eye opener for me too when I came here and was told to weigh EVERYTHING. I am still shocked some days what something can weigh vs eyeballing it.0 -
Teabythesea_ wrote: »I agree on the use of a digital scale. You could easily wipe out a deficit by having inaccurate logs throughout the day. I also think that 1300 is way too low for you. As you cut calories, your metabolic rate lowers and can adapt. If you start a cut at 1300, you don’t have much wiggle room once you hit a platue.
Your metabolic rate doesn't lower as a result of lower calories, it lowers as a result of losing weight.
Adaptive thermogenesis does occur in a prolonged calorie restriction.6 -
Teabythesea_ wrote: »I agree on the use of a digital scale. You could easily wipe out a deficit by having inaccurate logs throughout the day. I also think that 1300 is way too low for you. As you cut calories, your metabolic rate lowers and can adapt. If you start a cut at 1300, you don’t have much wiggle room once you hit a platue.
Your metabolic rate doesn't lower as a result of lower calories, it lowers as a result of losing weight.
Adaptive thermogenesis does occur in a prolonged calorie restriction.
Yes, because the calorie restriction causes you to lose weight.5 -
Adaptive thermogenesis, explained by a well-researched thread here from a PhD.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1077746/starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss/p110 -
I think you are doing great! Keep it up! Add in the food scale and look into tracking your macros also and you probably need to eat a few more calories. If you are too restrictive it could steal your weight. Remember carbs, protein and fat are all processed differently in the body. Look into adjusting your daily intake.
https://www.iifym.com/macro-calculator/
Good luck!12
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