6 weeks in - no weight shifted - please help!
lizw1xx
Posts: 3 Member
Hi guys
So it's been 6 weeks since I started calorie counting. I've only just started trying to lose weight and I've got 1 stone to lose. I figured calorie counting was the best way.
I weigh 140 pounds/10 stone and want to get to around 126 pounds/9 stone. I'm 5'3.
I currently do 45 minutes on the exercise bike 5 times a week. Lift some light dumbbells twice a week. I do around 3000-4000 steps a day according to my tracker. I know I need to up this too.
I eat around 1300-1600 calories every day, I check packages and also weigh things to calculate the calories properly.
I do eat a lot of carbs and I have one small (fun size bar) chocolate every day (major sweet tooth). Could this be the reason why I haven't lost any weight yet? I seem to be maintaining every week.
I also drink 2L of water a day.
Any tips or advice would be really appreciated as I'm really starting to lose motivation.
Does anyone know whether apple cider vinegar helps with weigh loss?
So it's been 6 weeks since I started calorie counting. I've only just started trying to lose weight and I've got 1 stone to lose. I figured calorie counting was the best way.
I weigh 140 pounds/10 stone and want to get to around 126 pounds/9 stone. I'm 5'3.
I currently do 45 minutes on the exercise bike 5 times a week. Lift some light dumbbells twice a week. I do around 3000-4000 steps a day according to my tracker. I know I need to up this too.
I eat around 1300-1600 calories every day, I check packages and also weigh things to calculate the calories properly.
I do eat a lot of carbs and I have one small (fun size bar) chocolate every day (major sweet tooth). Could this be the reason why I haven't lost any weight yet? I seem to be maintaining every week.
I also drink 2L of water a day.
Any tips or advice would be really appreciated as I'm really starting to lose motivation.
Does anyone know whether apple cider vinegar helps with weigh loss?
2
Replies
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I’m by no means a pro. In fact, I just started my journey two months ago..
But could you still be consuming too much some days? Maybe 1600 is a bit much. Also I’ve read in multiple places now that simple carbs retain water.. sugar also isn’t good. Im not sure what kind of carbs you’re eating, but what if you try cutting out, or at least greatly limiting simple carbs? White flour products, white rice, etc. also try avoiding any food intake 3 hrs before bedtime, especially carbs. Same with sugar. And watch salt content. You’re not terribly overweight, so I’m sure that also makes it harder to drop the lbs..
Again, like I said I’m not a pro and don’t know too much.. but I started out at 190, down to 176, “plateau’ed” at 180, and the above is what seemed to make a difference for me. Oh and I’m 5’6”. My daily calorie max is 1230.. I try to do elliptical for 40-50 min 6 days a week, but only started that maybe 2-3 wks ago.
Additionally I would suggest taking measurements of your body.. arms, waist, thighs, etc. I wish I did that from the beginning, because although my weight loss isn’t much since I started on March 1st, I totally notice a difference in how I look, and also how some clothing fits.3 -
Hi guys
So it's been 6 weeks since I started calorie counting. I've only just started trying to lose weight and I've got 1 stone to lose. I figured calorie counting was the best way.
I weigh 140 pounds/10 stone and want to get to around 126 pounds/9 stone. I'm 5'3.
I currently do 45 minutes on the exercise bike 5 times a week. Lift some light dumbbells twice a week. I do around 3000-4000 steps a day according to my tracker. I know I need to up this too.
I eat around 1300-1600 calories every day, I check packages and also weigh things to calculate the calories properly.
I do eat a lot of carbs and I have one small (fun size bar) chocolate every day (major sweet tooth). Could this be the reason why I haven't lost any weight yet? I seem to be maintaining every week.
I also drink 2L of water a day.
Any tips or advice would be really appreciated as I'm really starting to lose motivation.
Does anyone know whether apple cider vinegar helps with weigh loss?
That's your problem right there. Try to lower your total carb intake to 20-50 grams a day. Water weight loves carbs.2 -
Apple Cider Vinegar will do absolutely nothing to aid in weight loss. Its calories just like everything else, not a magic weight loss elixir.
As far as your current journey, the number of carbs really shouldn't be a problem as far as weight loss goes as long as you are logging them accurately. Some folks don't like to overdo the carbs because they can lead to water retention.
Being smaller in height and not having a lot of weight to lose will mean that your loss will be slower and harder. Your logging and accuracy in weighing/measuring EVERYTHING will be even more important as you get closer and closer to goal weight.
Maybe up your activity to burn additional calories and see if that makes a difference? Take a 30 minute "power walk" each day? Get your heart rate up for a while? See if that helps. Whenever I reach a plateau or seem stuck I try to mix up my routine to jolt my system into responding.
Good luck!14 -
Hi guys
So it's been 6 weeks since I started calorie counting. I've only just started trying to lose weight and I've got 1 stone to lose. I figured calorie counting was the best way.
I weigh 140 pounds/10 stone and want to get to around 126 pounds/9 stone. I'm 5'3.
I currently do 45 minutes on the exercise bike 5 times a week. Lift some light dumbbells twice a week. I do around 3000-4000 steps a day according to my tracker. I know I need to up this too.
I eat around 1300-1600 calories every day, I check packages and also weigh things to calculate the calories properly.
I do eat a lot of carbs and I have one small (fun size bar) chocolate every day (major sweet tooth). Could this be the reason why I haven't lost any weight yet? I seem to be maintaining every week.
I also drink 2L of water a day.
Any tips or advice would be really appreciated as I'm really starting to lose motivation.
Does anyone know whether apple cider vinegar helps with weigh loss?
That's your problem right there. Try to lower your total carb intake to 20-50 grams a day. Water weight loves carbs.
No it's not. Shes not losing simply because shes got 14 pounds to lose and it's a slow slow process. Shes got a small margin between maintenance and the 1200 she needs to eat for health. While its true that carbs can hold water, I eat almost 200g of carbs and know tons of others who do.
She does not need to eat 20 to 50g a day.
OP how did you get a goal of 1600?20 -
I’m by no means a pro. In fact, I just started my journey two months ago..
But could you still be consuming too much some days? Maybe 1600 is a bit much. Also I’ve read in multiple places now that simple carbs retain water.. sugar also isn’t good. Im not sure what kind of carbs you’re eating, but what if you try cutting out, or at least greatly limiting simple carbs? White flour products, white rice, etc. also try avoiding any food intake 3 hrs before bedtime, especially carbs. Same with sugar. And watch salt content. You’re not terribly overweight, so I’m sure that also makes it harder to drop the lbs..
Again, like I said I’m not a pro and don’t know too much.. but I started out at 190, down to 176, “plateau’ed” at 180, and the above is what seemed to make a difference for me. Oh and I’m 5’6”. My daily calorie max is 1230.. I try to do elliptical for 40-50 min 6 days a week, but only started that maybe 2-3 wks ago.
Additionally I would suggest taking measurements of your body.. arms, waist, thighs, etc. I wish I did that from the beginning, because although my weight loss isn’t much since I started on March 1st, I totally notice a difference in how I look, and also how some clothing fits.
There is no reason she has to not eat 3 hours before bed, and avoid sugars and carbs, this is a myth, you can eat all your calories at anytime of the day and still lose, carbs do not make you fat, too many calories do20 -
I was just going through my past week's calorie intake this morning with the same issue...I noticed that, regardless of whether I stayed around the same amount of calories each day, I gained weight on the days I ate mostly carbs and sweets (the sweets I choose also being carbs.)1
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I was just going through my past week's calorie intake this morning with the same issue...I noticed that, regardless of whether I stayed around the same amount of calories each day, I gained weight on the days I ate mostly carbs and sweets (the sweets I choose also being carbs.)
Again. Carbs do not make you fat.
If you're eating significantly low carbs and up your carbs on certain days, yes water weight will appear..
But that's not real and the problem isnt that she ate MORE carbs and gained some water weight. She said she eats around the same amount of carbs daily.14 -
It seems like you are active enough, maybe try and double your daily steps as that will burn a few extra few calories.
If you are not losing any weight it is to do with calories in vs calories burnt, you are not losing because your calories in match the amount your body is using in a day.
I can't be sure how meticulous you are with your tracking but you probably need to have a day of weighing everything out and add that up, it may make you realize that it is just the portion sizes you are misjudging.
It may not be by much but if it's 100 calories more a meal that's 300 calories a day your out by. Which makes a difference over the course of a week, or in your case 6 weeks.1 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »
There is no reason she has to not eat 3 hours before bed, and avoid sugars and carbs, this is a myth, you can eat all your calories at anytime of the day and still lose, carbs do not make you fat, too many calories do
She asked for advice and I gave her advice on what worked on me. Clearly I said I’m not a pro, but these things worked, regardless of if it’s a “myth”. Didn’t say carbs make you fat. I said I read that carbs can cause water retention = water weight. This is also why I mentioned that measurements are a more accurate assessment of progress than actual weight.....4 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »
There is no reason she has to not eat 3 hours before bed, and avoid sugars and carbs, this is a myth, you can eat all your calories at anytime of the day and still lose, carbs do not make you fat, too many calories do
She asked for advice and I gave her advice on what worked on me. Clearly I said I’m not a pro, but these things worked, regardless of if it’s a “myth”. Didn’t say carbs make you fat. I said I read that carbs can cause water retention = water weight.
And I am clearing up that she does not have to do that because the issue is calories not carbs. If you wanna not eat sugars and carbs and not do so 3 hours before bed, fill your boots, but that doesnt mean I cant come back and tell her that it's not necessary, because it isnt.16 -
As a small female, the line between losing and maintaining your weight isn't that far apart. As an older female, mostly sedentary, I was given 1200 calories to lose weight, but my maintenance is supposedly 1400. That gives no margin for error. Fortunately for me, I get enough exercise as a runner that I have a lot more leeway in my diet and my metabolism is a bit higher than average. For you, you will need to weigh everything and be careful about what data entries you use. Some are more accurate than others. When in doubt, pick the higher calorie option rather than the lower.4
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I’m by no means a pro. In fact, I just started my journey two months ago..
But could you still be consuming too much some days? Maybe 1600 is a bit much. Also I’ve read in multiple places now that simple carbs retain water.. sugar also isn’t good. Im not sure what kind of carbs you’re eating, but what if you try cutting out, or at least greatly limiting simple carbs? White flour products, white rice, etc. also try avoiding any food intake 3 hrs before bedtime, especially carbs. Same with sugar. And watch salt content. You’re not terribly overweight, so I’m sure that also makes it harder to drop the lbs..
Again, like I said I’m not a pro and don’t know too much.. but I started out at 190, down to 176, “plateau’ed” at 180, and the above is what seemed to make a difference for me. Oh and I’m 5’6”. My daily calorie max is 1230.. I try to do elliptical for 40-50 min 6 days a week, but only started that maybe 2-3 wks ago.
Additionally I would suggest taking measurements of your body.. arms, waist, thighs, etc. I wish I did that from the beginning, because although my weight loss isn’t much since I started on March 1st, I totally notice a difference in how I look, and also how some clothing fits.
OP isn't overweight at all. She's within a normal weight right now. Carbs don't make you fat, neither does eating close to bedtime.
OP set your weight loss to .5 lbs a week, keep tracking and weighing your food, remember to eat back your exercise calories, and the results will come.
Weight loss isn't linear, and it's all about being in a calorie deficit which is harder when you have less to lose.
Best of luck!10 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »
And I am clearing up that she does not have to do that because the issue is calories not carbs. If you wanna not eat sugars and carbs and not do so 3 hours before bed, fill your boots, but that doesnt mean I cant come back and tell her that it's not necessary, because it isnt.
Hm, okay. 👏🏼1 -
No it's not carbs.
No vinegar doesn't help weight loss.
Despite some really poor advice from a couple of posters there is absolutely no need to try and manipulate water weight by going low carb - your aim is really fat loss and not simply gaming the number on your scales by trying to shed water weight.
Fat is an energy store and you simply have to tip your energy balance to use some of that energy store. No special foods required, no weird and wonderful potions or supplements need to be forced down, no specific amount of water to drink, no specific foods or food groups need to be excluded, you don't need to avoid food because it's white (wow!!!), no limits required on what time of day you eat......
It really is as simple as making sure you are in a calorie deficit over an extended period of time.
Making your diary open to public would help people maybe spot some common logging errors which can be as simple as picking a bad database entry.
I wonder if your activity level (not just steps) has fallen due to the lockdown or if you are under a lot of stress because of it?19 -
Sorry guys, if you completely misunderstood my post.. it wasn’t my intent to go in that direction.
OP I just wanted to clarify that by no means anything I said was a hard and fast rule. First time posting on here, and I didn’t realize how absolutely awful my advice was...
I will not delete my original comment. But I wanted to add that I am not strict in limiting anything, and firmly believe that calories are what matters. But when my scale stopped moving after the first 10 lbs two weeks ago, the above things helped to make it move.. I don’t think it was actual true fat loss, more water weight (as stated repeatedly!🤦🏻♀️ and obviously I lost weight before that just on the basis of calorie counting.) But it also made me feel better physically.
Also I was quite sarcastic in saying “not terribly overweight”. Clearly anyone can tell with her numbers that she is in a healthy BMI range....
And as a side point, whereas carbs don’t make you gain weight, simple carbs (yes the “white flour” containing products, not “white foods”) are not great, neither is an abundance of sugar. Better to increase complex carbs in your diet overall, and minimize the other stuff. And that’s true for anyone...4 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »
And I am clearing up that she does not have to do that because the issue is calories not carbs. If you wanna not eat sugars and carbs and not do so 3 hours before bed, fill your boots, but that doesnt mean I cant come back and tell her that it's not necessary, because it isnt.
Hm, okay. 👏🏼
I just want to explain something to the OP because you said so yourself that you are new to this and dont know much.
Here is a quote from your first post
"I started out at 190, down to 176, “plateau’ed” at 180, and the above is what seemed to make a difference for me. Oh and I’m 5’6”. My daily calorie max is 1230.. I try to do elliptical for 40-50 min 6 days a week, but only started that maybe 2-3 wks ago."
By this part alone, it looks to me that your eating well below what you need to be eating, and since weight loss isnt linear, no matter how big or small you are, weight loss can stall on the scale, even when you remain in a deficit and it can last for weeks.
You say you made all these changes and the results were that it broke your plateau and you continued losing again, but in actuality, it just started on it's own because weight loss isnt linear, and you are eating the bare min of calories. It had nothing to do with what time you stopped eating or what color the food was.
If you are working out as much as you say you are, I really hope that you are eating more then 1200 calories max and that 1200 is your net calories... even tho I think 1200 is still unnecessary.. but for your health and well being, you maintaining muscle mass and not burning out, I really hope its 1200 net calories.
The body does not function in a downward line consistently every week , and as long as calories in is less then calories out and it's done so in a safe healthy rate, the trend over time is down..13 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »I just want to explain something to the OP
Oof, I’m sorry.. I should’ve clarified that 1230 is my minimum set goal on MFP, the days I exercise I do take in more.. 🙈
And maybe you’re right about the plateau ending simply because it ended. And not because of anything else I did different! You’re right about wt loss not being linear. THANK YOU for that constructive criticism. I’ll restrain from sharing any more “advice”, given how new I am at this compared to the rest of you, (and esp after the responses on here), but please know that I am grateful to you for taking the time to actually explain this to me! ❤️ it makes me feel much better.
6 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »I just want to explain something to the OP
Oof, I’m sorry.. I should’ve clarified that 1230 is my minimum set goal on MFP, the days I exercise I do take in more.. 🙈
And maybe you’re right about the plateau ending simply because it ended. And not because of anything else I did different! You’re right about wt loss not being linear. THANK YOU for that constructive criticism. I’ll restrain from sharing any more “advice”, given how new I am at this compared to the rest of you, (and esp after the responses on here), but please know that I am grateful to you for taking the time to actually explain this to me! ❤️ it makes me feel much better.
Dont refrain from commenting tho, because we all learn as we go, even I get corrected from time to time, and that's great because I desire to know more so I can in turn help others, the goal here is to help others, it's great that you want to help people too, it's what makes this community a good resource for good information, because we all get a chance to learn.5 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »Dont refrain from commenting tho, because we all learn as we go, even I get corrected from time to time, and that's great because I desire to know more so I can in turn help others, the goal here is to help others, it's great that you want to help people too, it's what makes this community a good resource for good information, because we all get a chance to learn.
Thank you ❤️❤️❤️4 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »I just want to explain something to the OP
Oof, I’m sorry.. I should’ve clarified that 1230 is my minimum set goal on MFP, the days I exercise I do take in more.. 🙈
And maybe you’re right about the plateau ending simply because it ended. And not because of anything else I did different! You’re right about wt loss not being linear. THANK YOU for that constructive criticism. I’ll restrain from sharing any more “advice”, given how new I am at this compared to the rest of you, (and esp after the responses on here), but please know that I am grateful to you for taking the time to actually explain this to me! ❤️ it makes me feel much better.
Another observation: You seem concerned by water weight. Eating too few calories (trying to lose too fast) can, in some people at least, lead to larger and more unpredictable water weight fluctuations (for reasons having to do with a big calorie deficit being a physical stressor, and a relationship between stress hormones and water retention).
Lots of things cause water retention. Personally, I think the best route is to understand it, including accumulating an intuitive understanding about how it works in your own personal body . . . then ignore it, and not be stressed by it, because it's part of how a normal, healthy body is supposed to work, and fat loss is the part most of us really care about anyway, isn't it? :flowerforyou:
This is a really good article to read:
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
Welcome to MFP, by the way, and congrats on your losses so far!
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KrissCanDoThis wrote: »I just want to explain something to the OP
Oof, I’m sorry.. I should’ve clarified that 1230 is my minimum set goal on MFP, the days I exercise I do take in more.. 🙈
And maybe you’re right about the plateau ending simply because it ended. And not because of anything else I did different! You’re right about wt loss not being linear. THANK YOU for that constructive criticism. I’ll restrain from sharing any more “advice”, given how new I am at this compared to the rest of you, (and esp after the responses on here), but please know that I am grateful to you for taking the time to actually explain this to me! ❤️ it makes me feel much better.
Another observation: You seem concerned by water weight.
This is a really good article to read:
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
Welcome to MFP, by the way, and congrats on your losses so far!
Thank you! You’re right.. I think I’m fixated on the water weight to try to explain the stubborn scale, but that is not the right thing to focus on. Very helpful article. Thank you! It does reiterate some of my points, but bottom line is, consistency is key, as is gradual, slower loss.
I think I just got too excited with my progress, and wanted to share, without seeing the overall bigger picture here... so all this is much appreciated!!
Thank you for your kind words and the encouragement! ☺️5 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »
There is no reason she has to not eat 3 hours before bed, and avoid sugars and carbs, this is a myth, you can eat all your calories at anytime of the day and still lose, carbs do not make you fat, too many calories do
She asked for advice and I gave her advice on what worked on me. Clearly I said I’m not a pro, but these things worked, regardless of if it’s a “myth”. Didn’t say carbs make you fat. I said I read that carbs can cause water retention = water weight. This is also why I mentioned that measurements are a more accurate assessment of progress than actual weight.....
Well as far as your n=1...
ETA ok i see you have listened to others, sorry for jumping in. But I'm going to leave my comment anyway because CARBS ARE NOT THE ENEMY. Nothing is. No single food makes you gain or lose weight. It's simply Ci vs Co.
I usually aim for more protein than carbs. So probably get around 140/150g carbs per day most days. But towards the end of last week I carb loaded - so closer to 300g of carbs per day. All simple carbs. Bread, rice, sugar. I was still in deficit though.
Guess what, I lost weight every day - I track daily and use a trend app)
So yes carbs like water, but if you are in deficit you will still lose weight, even if you eat almost 100% carbs.4 -
I was just going through my past week's calorie intake this morning with the same issue...I noticed that, regardless of whether I stayed around the same amount of calories each day, I gained weight on the days I ate mostly carbs and sweets (the sweets I choose also being carbs.)
Most days, most of us eat around some normal, average number of carb grams each day, especially when counting calories to try to lose weight.
Then, maybe once in a while, we diverge from our usual routine, and eat a few more carb grams (or extra sodium, or both) - maybe still a perfectly reasonable number of carb grams, but just noticeably more than usual.
It's normal for the human body to retain something like 3-4g of water for each carb gram we eat, as part of the digestion/metabolization process.
That means that if I usually eat 250g carbs (and I do, in maintenance), I always have around 750-1000g of water in my body attached to those carbs, part of my normal weight. Let's say I suddenly go to a birthday party, and have those cute finger sandwiches (mostly bread, so plenty carbs), some potato salad (various nutrients, but plenty more carbs), a glass of punch (wooooo sugar!), and a nice slice of birthday cake with ice cream (yum, fat and carbs!).
Let's further imagine that I banked some calories on the days before to cover this extravagance, as well as eating lightly the rest of that day, and getting in an extra workout, so my calories were around my normal level after taking all of that into account. Let's speculate (fairly realistically) that if I ate anything the rest of the day (which I said I did), I've probably about doubled my carb intake to 500g, compared to my usual 250.
Next day, I will expect my scale weight to be up by at least 750-1000 g (around 2 pounds +/-) just because of the water involved in metabolizing those carbs. If the sandwiches & potato salad were on the salty side, I may retain more water on top of that, to balance my electrolytes. I could be up 2-3 or more pounds on the scale just from water weight. I may also have more food in transit in my digestive system than average, adding to that scale weight (that potato salad weighs the same sitting in my stomach as it did sitting on the plate, until it's digested and the residue eliminated).
Y'know what? I don't care. It's not fat. It's water and digestive contents. It will drop off over the next few days, without my doing anything special, as my eating returns to normal. I'll be back at my maintenance weight quite soon. I know this. I've done the equivalent over and over, during over 5+ years of logging (1 year loss, 4 years maintenance).
Here's my philosophy:
We don't have a true current weight. Instead, what we have is a current weight range, and a long-term weight trend.
Over a day to a few days, up to a week or few, my weight (whether gaining, losing or maintaining body fat) is going to fluctuate meaninglessly up and down because of water weight changes, and temporary differences in digestive system contents. Last few days, that's been around 129-132 poiuinds, mostly. That's my current weight range.
Over multiple weeks to months and even years, that range of weight is going to be higher numbers than now (I gained fat), lower than now (I lost fat), or about the same (I maintained). For example, last year (2019) at this time, my weight was fluctuating around 135-138 pounds, more or less. I've lost weight (intentionally, wanting to lose a few vanity pounds in maintenance very slowly). Based on just those two points, my long-term weight trend is down: Losing fat.
No matter how you think of it, I'd encourage you not to feel fussed about the water weight that shows up on the scale after you eat an unusual amount of carbs, withihn calorie goal. It's not fat, so not worth a moment's concern.
Watch the trend, over time - weeks to months. That's the important thing.
Best wishes!
Just gonna link this again, because it's that good:
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations10 -
5
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P.S. to the OP:
I drank apple cider vinegar (the raw kind) daily for weeks at a time while losing weight (for reasons unrelated to weight loss). For other weeks at a time, I drank none (also unrelated to weight loss). I logged eating, exercise, and weight changes as carefully as possible during both times.
There was zero observable change in my weight loss rate, with or without apple cider vinegar. It was the same rate of loss.
I noticed no change in my appetite, cravings, or any other subjective factors related to weight loss or the ease of doing it, whether drinking the vinegar, or not drinking it.
There may be reasons to consume apple cider vinegar (even if one just enjoys it . . . though there are some speculative benefits to certain people beyond that, maybe). But my experience was that it didn't help weight loss in any way whatsoever.7 -
ETA ok i see you have listened to others, sorry for jumping in. But I'm going to leave my comment anyway because CARBS ARE NOT THE ENEMY. Nothing is. No single food makes you gain or lose weight. It's simply Ci vs Co.
I usually aim for more protein than carbs. So probably get around 140/150g carbs per day most days. But towards the end of last week I carb loaded - so closer to 300g of carbs per day. All simple carbs. Bread, rice, sugar. I was still in deficit though.
Guess what, I lost weight every day - I track daily and use a trend app)
So yes carbs like water, but if you are in deficit you will still lose weight, even if you eat almost 100% carbs.
Thank you for still leaving your comment, because in all honestly, whereas I repeatedly had stated I was new to this, what I posted was labeled as “poor advice” and that was basically it. So I was a bit disheartened to see that what seemed to work for me was quickly shut down as being wrong. Therefore I am very grateful to those of you who later followed up to explain that perhaps my plateau resolved simply because it’s part of the process, and maybe I am fixated on the wrong thing, and also what you noted about carbs and your personal experience!
Thank you all! I learned some valuable things today! (Hopefully the person who started this thread did too! 🙈😃)7 -
Hi everyone! Thank you so for the tips and advice. I've still not lost any weight, even after upping the exercise more.
I'm thinking I might have to try having carb free or less carbs after all. What do you guys have for breakfast and lunch that is filling? My dinner usually consists of pasta with mince (all calorie counted) or chicken, potatoes and salad, or chicken and vegetable stir-fry. So it's really the breakfast I normally have one slice of toast, and lunch a bowel of cereal or Jacobs crackers. Not that much option with lockdown at the moment!
Hope you're well 2 -
Hi everyone! Thank you so for the tips and advice. I've still not lost any weight, even after upping the exercise more.
I'm thinking I might have to try having carb free or less carbs after all. What do you guys have for breakfast and lunch that is filling? My dinner usually consists of pasta with mince (all calorie counted) or chicken, potatoes and salad, or chicken and vegetable stir-fry. So it's really the breakfast I normally have one slice of toast, and lunch a bowel of cereal or Jacobs crackers. Not that much option with lockdown at the moment
Hi there!
I think if you try to answer in detail some of the questions that a few of the posters asked above, perhaps someone can help provide more advice?
I’ve been reading quite a bit of posts on MFP, and everything boils down to (as posters above suggested) calories in = calories out. Regardless of the diet, in the end a caloric deficit is what’s really the key.. hence why people said that all these specifics suggested (low carb, etc.,) don’t actually matter.
The other thing I’ve been noting is to ensure that you are eating enough protein.
As people also mentioned, it’ll be harder for you since you have little to lose and are at a healthy BMI.
Going back to what you noted for your daily intake, as someone mentioned, perhaps make your diary public so people can review it and give you more focused recommendations?
ETA: for breakfast I typically will have two eggs, pan fried in a small amount of butter, and also I’ve been loving chia pudding (30g in 1/2cup sweetened almond milk set overnight) and a cup of coffee. Total about 380-400 calories for all of that. I work long shifts in a busy hospital so this keeps me quite full till lunch.
Lunch varies greatly. I always try to make sure it includes about 3-3.5 ounces of lean protein.5 -
Hi everyone! Thank you so for the tips and advice. I've still not lost any weight, even after upping the exercise more.
I'm thinking I might have to try having carb free or less carbs after all. What do you guys have for breakfast and lunch that is filling? My dinner usually consists of pasta with mince (all calorie counted) or chicken, potatoes and salad, or chicken and vegetable stir-fry. So it's really the breakfast I normally have one slice of toast, and lunch a bowel of cereal or Jacobs crackers. Not that much option with lockdown at the moment!
Hope you're well
Breakfast: Oatmeal with plain Greek yogurt, thawed frozen mixed berries, walnuts, hemp seed, flax seed, blackstrap molasses, cinnamon; 2 x coffee with hot skim milk; iced matcha. Same thing I ate during 50+ pounds weight loss most of the time, except I think I added the hemp/flax when I got close to maintenance, and switched from a tablespoon of all-fruit spread to same amount of blackstrap molasses later. That's 80.3g of carbs, though (more importantly for me, 37.9g protein). During loss, without the swaps, about 11g fewer carbs, 6g less protein.
Lunch in lockdown: Apple with peanut butter, or Ezekiel pita with peanut butter, possible with a big cracker thingie with about an ounce of goat cheese on it. (Weird, right?) Around 27g carbs, 20g protein.
I think you maybe low-balling protein, for best satiation.
No opinion about whether you should cut carbs: I never did, except to the extent needed to reduce calories. If you do it, expect a nice rewarding scale drop at first from reduced water weight, which is psychologically rewarding . . . but not fat, which is usually the main thing we want to lose.
You seem to have been on MFP only for about a week? Have you been calorie-counting (accurately) longer than that?
Advice: If you keep switching up what you're doing, it's going to be hard to tell what really works. Results lag multiple days behind eating (not show up in the very next day), and get averaged over multiple days, besides. You can end up thinking that X is your magic solution, when it was really the thing that you did right before X that was the more productive route.
Are you eating back your exercise calories? If so, how many calories do you believe you burn, for what specific lengths/types of exercise? Didn't see where you'd said, if you did.
Are you including any cheat meals/days (I'm not talking about the candy bar)? If so, how often, and what's their nature?
And +1 to the suggestion that you temporarily make your diary public, so we can help you find any new-user logging issues you may not be aware of.
Best wishes!4 -
Hi!
Thanks for your replies
I've been using other apps for calorie counting, so sharing my diary won't be of much help, I mainly joined because of the forums. I'll definitely try and fill out my diary more on here as well.
I never eat back my calories, it's hard to tell what I really burn calorie wise. My stationary exercise bike says 400 calories for 40 minutes though I feel like that might be a bit too high.
I also tend to have a cheat day once a week on a Saturday (after I've had my weigh day), I won't be so strict on calorie counting and have a couple of slices of pizza, or have a nice dessert instead. Is once a week too often? Probably! I'll probably be more around the 1800-2000 calories on those days.
I'm thinking of having 1 boiled egg and maybe one ryvita for breakfast instead of a toast or cereal. Do you guys reckon that would make a difference? Xx1
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