Not sure what I’m doing wrong...

meredithsloane
meredithsloane Posts: 31 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hello! I’ll try to kee this short:) I began my weight loss journey 4 years ago and I started out at 200 lbs. fast forward to this past summer (2018) and I hit a low of 131. I am an expat and have moved around the world for the past 5 years but always had a pretty flexible schedule so I could exercise in the mornings, when I wanted. I moved to Beijing in August 2018 and now have a set schedule. I went from 131 (which was honestly a bit too low for my frame) to 145 over the course of the year. I know why I gained the weight but I have been using MFP again religiously for the past 45 days and the scale hasn’t budged much. I am fairly active with steps and walking, but my exercise time has been sporadic. Food wise, I try to stay sure thing! The 1 lb per week goal which is 1300 calories for me. I have gone down to 141 but then I have one “off” meal and it all comes back! Sodium? Not sure... I would be very happy to be 135-138 so not too much to lose but my body has changed for the worse. I am also working on being more diligent with gym time (3 times a week now). What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions are welcome! Thank you!
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Replies

  • meredithsloane
    meredithsloane Posts: 31 Member
    Sorry for the typos! Darn autocorrect!!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,931 Member
    How are you calculating your food eaten?

    Here:


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  • meredithsloane
    meredithsloane Posts: 31 Member
    Thank you for the chart! I am logging everything I eat. I eat almost the same thing every day and use the bar scanner for any new foods to make sure it’s accurate. I get hungry at night and usually have 1-2 cups of cereal as a snack (still within my calories). Could that be the problem? Is it counterproductive to eat the same things every day (snacks, breakfast mainly)?
  • TerriRichardson112
    TerriRichardson112 Posts: 18,022 Member
    That about covers it. Hope you can get a handle on it.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    @meredithsloane The questions you asked seem to be detailed. To answer those, these ladies will benefit from seeing your food diary. Please consider opening it to public viewing.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    Get a food scale. Weigh everything.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    meredithsloane wrote: »
    Thank you for the chart! I am logging everything I eat. I eat almost the same thing every day and use the bar scanner for any new foods to make sure it’s accurate. I get hungry at night and usually have 1-2 cups of cereal as a snack (still within my calories). Could that be the problem? Is it counterproductive to eat the same things every day (snacks, breakfast mainly)?

    There are two parts to accurate logging: knowing what you eat and knowing how much of it you eat. The barcode scanner only helps with the first half (and is just as fallible as the rest of the database - be sure you're double checking those entries). The second half - how you measure your portions - is just as important though. What measures have you put in place to be sure you're tracking that as well as possible?
  • thanos5
    thanos5 Posts: 513 Member
    just a heads up on the scans. i've seen things completely wrong. just tonight, i scanned my rye bread and it came up as some type of sweet raisin bread with icing.
  • meredithsloane
    meredithsloane Posts: 31 Member
    How do I share my food diary? I’m sorry, I am challenged technologically! Lol! Thank you for the heads up about the scanner- I didn’t know it could be so inaccurate. To be 100% honest, I don’t weigh or measure food- I eyeball it (I don’t want to fib). Do you think I could be THAT off base? I’m happy to share my food diary if I can figure it out. Thanks for caring enough to respond!! I want to fix this!
  • jljshoe1979
    jljshoe1979 Posts: 325 Member
    **hugs** scale fluctuations can be very frustrating...fwiw - u may not be doing anything "wrong" and your body is just doing its thing (for example bloating, slower metabolism, or your body still adjusting to a different environment/schedule/stress could all be factors)

    do you have non-scale victories (nsv) you can chart too (a pair of jeans getting looser or measuring your waist size)? You could possibly still be losing fat and gaining muscle, which can result in an overall weight gain.
  • thanos5
    thanos5 Posts: 513 Member
    meredithsloane wrote: »
    How do I share my food diary? I’m sorry, I am challenged technologically! Lol! Thank you for the heads up about the scanner- I didn’t know it could be so inaccurate. To be 100% honest, I don’t weigh or measure food- I eyeball it (I don’t want to fib). Do you think I could be THAT off base? I’m happy to share my food diary if I can figure it out. Thanks for caring enough to respond!! I want to fix this!

    yes, i absolutely believe it could be that off base :smile:

    on the app, go to your diary and click the 3 dots to get to diary settings. there should be an option for diary sharing and you can make it public.
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 6,526 Member
    meredithsloane wrote: »
    How do I share my food diary? I’m sorry, I am challenged technologically! Lol! Thank you for the heads up about the scanner- I didn’t know it could be so inaccurate. To be 100% honest, I don’t weigh or measure food- I eyeball it (I don’t want to fib). Do you think I could be THAT off base? I’m happy to share my food diary if I can figure it out. Thanks for caring enough to respond!! I want to fix this!

    You would be surprised at how many things are higher than you think. My "small" apples count as an apple and a half, and peanut butter is notorious for being off! Meat was eye-opening too.Every little bit counts when you're getting closer to goal weight.
  • meredithsloane
    meredithsloane Posts: 31 Member
    Thank you! Ok, I made my food diary public. I will go to the store after work and buy measuring cups - is it the same measuring device for dry foods (like rice or cereal) as for things like meat?
  • meredithsloane
    meredithsloane Posts: 31 Member
    Also, unfortunately my “non-scale” measurable shave gone in the wrong direction. Clothing is tighter and I feel bloated. I might need to cut down on carbs but I can’t eliminate them totally. I will try to be stricter with my night time eating because I am quite upset that I am over 140 again when I worked so hard to get down into the 130s. As a reference, I am 5’4 and 42 years old. I lost the 60 pounds by training to climb Mt Kilimanjaro and just recently finished (barely) a half marathon. Thank you!
  • tequila5000
    tequila5000 Posts: 128 Member
    I would recommend a digital food scale, so u can measure and log your food in grams. That is the most accurate method. It is more accurate than measuring cups.
  • meredithsloane
    meredithsloane Posts: 31 Member
    Thank you! I will order a digital scale today and try to be more accurate with measuring. Hopefully that will make a difference!
  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
    I think if you get a scale and start weighing all of your solid food it will be very eye opening.
  • meredithsloane
    meredithsloane Posts: 31 Member
    Just ordered a digital scale and new measuring cups. I think you all helped me by focusing on something I might be doing wrong- thank you!
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,286 Member
    could be all the exercise after not exercising for a long time...give it more time.. your body will drop the false weight from working out at the gym and you'll lose the 10 you want.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    meredithsloane wrote: »
    Just ordered a digital scale and new measuring cups. I think you all helped me by focusing on something I might be doing wrong- thank you!

    awesome this will be a game changer I bet :) weigh everything :)

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