someone please tell me where I'm going wrong
amandakel2003
Posts: 10
I started on here over 40 days ago. In that time, I've only lost 4 lb,which was in the first week. I seem to fluctuate between being up and down 1-2 lbs per week. I am definately eating much healthier than I was before. Granted I still eat a little junk just to keep me sane but i've cut out a huge amount compared to what I used to eat. I've started to do aerobic excercise DVD'S for between 20 and 45 mins per day about 3 times per week. I know its not alot but its all I have time to do at the moment. This is also more activity than I have EVER done before, so I thought the weight would be dropping off. ITS NOT. I track everything I eat and I have almost never gone into Red figures. I just don't know whats wrong. Its very disheartening and I'm starting to wonder is it worth constantly thinking about what i can and cannot have to eat if the weight is never going to come off. I currently weigh 224 lb, heaviest I've ever been and am really making an effort this time, having previously tried weight watchers and not having much success either. I've spoken to my Doctor, who has done tests to rule out Thyroid problems, Came back negetive. I also have high blood pressure.Doctor basically told to just get on with it and he has never seen a thin person starve to death! Can anyone suggest anything that I should be doing or tell me where I'm going wrong. Thanks
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Replies
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I took a quick glance at your food diary - you aren't eating enough. The goal of this website is to get your calorie goal as close to zero as possible. You have days where you have 400, 500 and even 600 calories leftover. This website builds in a deficit already - so work on eating more and getting that number closer to zero each day. Too big of a deficit will send your body into starvation mode - which results in slow weight loss or no weight loss at all.
And you aren't logging water. Make sure you are drinking your water everyday too.0 -
How many calories are you eating a day? Are you eating back your exercise calories?
Are you drinking enough water?
Getting enough sleep?0 -
I also agree with eating more.
I would also start watching your sodium (you can add that to your diary), drink more water and see how that works for ya. Everyday you have to constantly remind yourself, that it took time for us to gain the weight and it's going to take time to get it off.0 -
You are not eating enough and your not eating all that healthy. Yes you stay under cals but it is not a healthy choice of foods0
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I know for me personally, I have a very hard time losing weight through diet alone, so I'm glad you've picked up those exercise DVDs. How long have you been doing those? It's very common for the body to retain extra water after starting an exercise regime, and that can artificially bloat the scale. If it's only a week or two, that could be contributing.
Also, I personally find that quality of calories counts for a lot. Flipping back through your diary, I don't see a lot of veggies recorded -- I seem to lose a lot more when I'm eating a lot of veggies and whole grains and all that good stuff.
Chatting with your doctor to rule out medical conditions was definitely the right step. I'm not sure what else to suggest -- hopefully others will pitch in with their suggestions!
Hope you figure out what's going on. Good luck!0 -
I was having the same problem until this week. Finally this week the scale has started to budge, and the only thing I've done differently is increase my water intake. Once I started drinking 10 glasses of water per day, the scale started to move. That and I increased my exercise to 30 min at least 5 times a week, but I try to do something to increase my heart rate and sweat every day. Don't give up!0
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What seems to be working the best for me is eating more fruits and vegetables and skipping regular sodas. Also, I try to check food on the database before I eat it so I will know what size portion is appropriate for me.
Good luck! We're all working at it too, don't give up.0 -
Eat more! And try and incorporate some more fruit and veggies into your diet. I had a glance and went back ten days and on at least five of those days you didn't manage any fruit/veggies/unprocessed food. Try maybe cutting down on the ready made meals and use some more fresh produce?0
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I'm so sorry to hear you are struggling! Please know that there are many, many out there struggling too. I understand your frustrations completely. The only advice I can give, because it is what has helped me in the past, is to make sure your water intake is at a kind-of crazy amount. Water intake is incredibly important in weight loss. Also, exercise is another main point. 3 days a week is awesome. Just be sure there is cardio in your weekly workout somewhere. That's where most of the weight loss happens. As far as food, a diet full of veggies, fruit, and lean meats is the best way to go. Cheating every once in awhile is bound to happen and never be too hard on yourself when it does.
I hope this is somewhat helpful. (: Feel free to add me as a friend, cause that's what we're here for! Support, ideas, and help along the way.
Best of luck! :flowerforyou:0 -
I'd get a new Dr. Maybe see a nutritionist too.
Loosing weight at it's very basic level always comes down to Calories in must be less than Calories out.
Maybe invest in a Heart Rate Monitor to get a more accurate reading of how many calories you burn doing your workouts.
Edited: Just realized you're way under your calorie goals sometimes...You should try eating more. If your body think's it's starving it will try to hold on to your fat to survive. If you eat more you will probably loose weight...I agree that you should have more fruit and veggies
You can do it! 0 -
Doctor basically told to just get on with it and he has never seen a thin person starve to death!
Hahaha I'm sorry but that's kind of funny. As for what you may be doing wrong I would recommend taking a look at your sodium and upping your water intake. You may be retaining water which would keep you from droping the lbs. Also be careful that you're not eating too little or not enough of the "right" foods. I can have 1 bigmac and meet my daily requirements for the day but it doesn't mean I'm eating healthy. Lots of veggies, lean proteins, small amounts of good fats and good quality carbs will get you on your way and keep you feeling fuller longer. Just stick with it, it'll come off.0 -
Just took a look at your diary -- you are not eating enough. Do not ever eat less than 1200 a day. And you are not getting anywhere near the protein your body needs. Aim for 100-130g a day.
How tall are you?0 -
I'm in the same boat as you - have started to do tons of exercise from doing nothing at all (real couch potato) and am trying to watch what I eat - but still the weight is not moving that quickly!!
I've lost half a stone - but just the pure fact of going from nothing to loads of exercise you would think it would fall off eh?0 -
I know for me personally, I have a very hard time losing weight through diet alone, so I'm glad you've picked up those exercise DVDs. How long have you been doing those? It's very common for the body to retain extra water after starting an exercise regime, and that can artificially bloat the scale. If it's only a week or two, that could be contributing.
Also, I personally find that quality of calories counts for a lot. Flipping back through your diary, I don't see a lot of veggies recorded -- I seem to lose a lot more when I'm eating a lot of veggies and whole grains and all that good stuff.
Chatting with your doctor to rule out medical conditions was definitely the right step. I'm not sure what else to suggest -- hopefully others will pitch in with their suggestions!
Hope you figure out what's going on. Good luck!
Thanks. I have really only been using the dvds for about 2 weeks now so maybe that is a factor. I'll try add more veg too0 -
Hi! Just wanted to say I have been in your exact shoes before!! Honestly the thing you have to keep remembering is that weight loss SHOULD be slow and over the course of a longer period of time. That's how you keep it off. With that being said, I can't tell you how many times I've fluctuated between the same number on the scale for probably months. What really helped me is changing it up - keeping my body guessing - especially when it comes to exercising. And this is coming from someone who is very into having daily routines and likes doing the same thing every day. I used to run the same 5 miles at the same pace (10 minute mile) everyday and wasn't seeing any difference in my weight. It was only until one day I decided to run the same miles, but increase my pace for 2 of those miles. or up my mileage, but make each mile at a different setting (incline and pace). Of course it's going to be different for everyone, but i think changing up the things you eat every day (some days having way under your calories and some days being over) and changing up what exercises you do everyday will really help. It worked for me at least! Oh - and surprisngly - eating breakfast. I used to always just drink coffee for breakfast - thinking less is better, right? well it wasn't until i started eating breakfast every morning along with the above things that really helped!0
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Try eating healthier foods.
i took a look at your diary.
Not to be rude, but I do think you are eating a good amount of calories because of your weight right now.0 -
You're not eating enough protein, and to some extent, fats. Eating way too many carbs. Eat "whole" foods, unprocessed, as much as possible. Add veggies and lean meats. You're way carb-heavy, and often don't eat enough calories total.0
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Yup, you are DEFINITELY not eating enough. Get the green calorie number as close to 0 as possible. And I would look at eating different foods -- cereal/milk or eggs/fruit for breakfast for example. Add more fruits, veggies, and whole foods in there.
Losing weight is 80% diet, 20% exercise.0 -
Are you weighing and measuring your food? If you are guessing or estimating, you could be completely obliterating your deficit via errors. Even though I still weigh and measure and log everything, I'm off about 150 calories a day somehow (based on my loss projections). Before I got extremely precise, I wasn't losing at all and it was totally due to my inaccurate guesses at portion sizes.
Weigh that pasta before you eat it (2 oz dry = serving). Measure the slaw with a real measuring spoon. Weigh the biscuits on a food scale. Measure the oil before you cook with it. Pour the milk into a measuring cup before it goes into your cereal. Sneak a fry or potato chip from someone's plate? Log it. Everything you eat needs to be logged accurately.
Also, I highly suggest you eat more veggies and fruit. Limit sweets to 1 per day, limit bread to once per day, serve yourself 3x as much veggies as you have protein and carbs. I often have 2 veggies plus a salad with my chicken breast. HUGE plate of food for very little calories.
And then, when you are absolutely sure your food intake is under control, be patient. Just hang in there and do not cheat...just trust that the weight WILL have to come off eventually.0 -
If you can, try to increase your exercise frequency to 5 days a week. I also agree that you need to drink more water and eat more (if you eat too little your metabolism will slow down). Also, try to become generally more active throughout the day. Park further away when you go shopping. Take the stairs. Maybe get a pedometer and try to just get your everyday activity level up even when you aren't exercising (a BodyBug or Philip's DirectLife Activity Monitor are great ways to increase your overall activity levels). Most importantly, believe in yourself and stay strong. I really believe a positive outlook really helps when it comes to anything that seems difficult in life.0
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I have been at a stand still as well (on the scale) but I can honestly say my clothes are looser. I still need to work on toning, though.
Last time I did calorie counting (and did excellent), I made SURE to eat in between meals. I made a list of 300-400 calorie foods that I like. My list had columns (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). I would write down several food options under each category and those were the things I pretty much ate during the week. In between each meal would be a 150-200 calorie snack. When I was doing this, the weight literally melted off....it was amazing, I couldn't believe how well I was doing with weight loss.
Definitely don't give up!!! Do you feel a change in your clothes?
Just to give you an idea, here were some of the food items I had on my list (when I was doing it....I need to get back to it and I bet I can lose these last 10 lbs easily):
Breakfast -
-oatmeal and piece of fruit
-cereal w/ skim milk
-whole wheat waffles
-1 egg/1 egg white on toasted english muffin
Lunch-
-turkey sandwich on wheat bread w/ veggies
-tortilla roll up (turkey, ham, avocado) w/veggies
- smart ones/lean cuisine (limit to twice weekly)
-mixed salad greens w/ grilled chicken or shrimp
-soup/crackers and veggies
Dinner -
I usually chose a sensible dinner. Nothing fried or too fatty.
Snacks-
-cereal bar, protein bars
-light yogurt w/ granola
-fruit
-apple w/ peanut butter
-handful of nuts (almonds usually)0 -
i'm 5" 60
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I took a quick glance at your food diary - you aren't eating enough. The goal of this website is to get your calorie goal as close to zero as possible. You have days where you have 400, 500 and even 600 calories leftover. This website builds in a deficit already - so work on eating more and getting that number closer to zero each day. Too big of a deficit will send your body into starvation mode - which results in slow weight loss or no weight loss at all.
Completely agree, you aren't eating enough. I know it is a hard concept when you "diet" but the website does the work for you so eat! 0 -
I looked at your food diary for the past week. While your calories are within the goal, the food itself is not helping you. I noticed a lot of refined carbs. Now, I am not a fan of low carb diets, and I don't believe all carbs are bad for you, but refined and white carbs tend to be more calorie dense and nutritionally deficit that many other foods.
I saw very little in the way of fruits and vegetables. You should be eating 2-3 servings of fruit a day and 4-5 of vegetables. These foods will fill you up with fewer calories, and will add a LOT of nutrients to your system. When you go for carbs, try to find whole grains as much as possible. My favorite breakfasts are cereals: Cheerios, Wheat Chex, cracked wheat (a hot cereal, like oatmeal but wheat), oatmeal, etc. But look for the ones that have whole grain and not a lot of sugar. I cut a fresh peach or banana or toss berries into my cereal for extra taste without adding processed sugar. Add a vegetable in to your lunch - a carrot, some broccoli, sugar snap peas, even a salad are great options. I don't count white potatoes as veggies, or anything that has been fried - that leeches most of the vitamins right out. I try to have fruits and veggies for my snacks, too. I snack often, but eat less at meals. Maybe that would help you feel fuller throughout the day.
Some lean proteins and healthy fats can help you too. Lean cuts of meat, olive oil, nuts, avocado, etc - in small portions.
If you don't already take a multivitamin, you might want to add that in. It helps make sure you get enough nutrients. Look for one formulated for women, with iron and vitamin D. But don't view it as a substitute for eating a variety of nutritious food.
IMO, when a body isn't getting enough vitamins, etc, it is going to want to hold on to everything it has. Plus, when your diet is full of the stuff that is good for you, you'll be able to feel satisfied with how much you're eating and not feel like you're punishing yourself. It's okay to treat yourself once in a while (I'm a sucker for chocolate), but you can also retrain yourself to enjoy eating more healthy, and at some point some of those treats just don't look good any more.0 -
It has taken me 6 months to lose 12 pounds. I look at it as it is a lifestyle chance. It will happen but you can't give up. Keep working out because the inches will come off. I have lost more inches then weight. I also gave myself a year to lose my weight. If you lose to fast it will just come back.0
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Thanks all for your suggestion. I'll try drinking more water. As for the Fruit and Veg, i'll start tracking. I do add salad and veg to my meals but as a former Weight Watcher, I forget to track them as they are classed as FREE on weight Watchers programme. I never fry food and I will try to be more prepared with my meals to cut out the processed stuff. Its hard when you work full time to always have a proper meal ready but more effort is required.. As for the excercise, every little helps. I've found myself dancing around the room every time the radio is on just to be more active. Hopefully my efforts will start to pay off soon.0
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Some good advice above! I think if you add tracking sodium you will be shocked at the amount consumed! Also, I'd go easy on the bread, especially white bread. If you can, switch to whole wheat/whole grain bread. I forgot to look at your macro's, but I would change those to at least 40/30/30 (carbs, protein, fat). Try that for a few weeks and then tweak from there. I looked at August 2nd for a good example of how little you are eating and still took in 1,764 calories. If you eat better, good for you food, you could eat a whole heck of alot for that many calories! Make the adjustments where you can handle them, because once the weight starts to come off it is great motivation to try even harder! Above ALL, never ever give up! You can do this! :flowerforyou:0
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I can understand the whole working thing and wanting to rely on processed food. It's very convenient! I will admit that I LOVE to cook...so I realize what I do is not everyone's cup of tea but maybe it will help you!
I do all or most of my food shopping on Sunday. (I'm a couponer which is why Sunday for me, because I like to have that week's coupons if I need them). Anyway, As I'm getting my list together coupons organized I have www.myrecipes.com (for cooking light magazine recipes) open and foodnetwork.com open and also my fav. recipes that I save on my computer open.
I then Come up with a meal plan for the entire week, Sunday-Saturday. Mostly I just worry about dinner's as my husband and I do leftovers for lunches most of the time, and I just keep the standard breakfast stuff on hand at all times. I write the week's menu down on a piece of paper and I keep it on my fridge. I buy all my ingredients that I don't already have on hand for my meals on my big shopping trip so that I have everything on hand when I get home from work during the weekdays. I try to keep it to easy meals that won't take more than 30-45 minutes to prepare. I buy 1 or 2 types of fruit in a volumn large enough to cover snacks for myself and my husband Monday-Fri at work. I always get salad ingredients as well and sometimes on that Sunday I will chop it all up and have the salad ready, just add dressing when it's time to eat
I'm not going to pretend it's easy...it's not. A good chunk of my sundays are dedicated to this....although because of the couponing it makes the day longer, if you don't coupon it won't take nearly as long lol, as I go to several different stores. I've only been on this site since last thursday, but you can look at my food diary and see the type of meals I make...it's nothing diffucult by any means, it's just a matter of commiting to organizing your menu for the week and commiting 30-45 minutes after work to cooking.0 -
I am certainly no expert but I agree that there is alot of processed foods.
The "free" weight watchers food still have calories-so you should log them to confirm you are eating enough.
I would exchange the chocolate chip cake for some oatmeal with peanut butter and fruit (maybe sprinkle 1/2 T of chocolate chips?).
Best of luck!0 -
Hi there,
I had a quick look at your diary and you are not eating enough and not enoug of the right stuff.
My diary is open if you want to take a look. I'm living in meath BTW, hi!
Breakfast should be your biggest meal as it sets you up for the day. My food isn't 100% clean but I am ok and I lose min 1lb a week.0
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