Eating healthy, exercising and still fat!

J72FIT · October 2020

tabilw wrote: »

So I'm really on the struggle bus lately. I feel like my diet has been a lot better, and I'm exercising 5 days a week including cardio 3 days a week and strength training twice a week. I'm really watching my calorie intake..... But I'm not making any headway! I don't really look at the scale as much to determine if I'm making progress, I really look more at the way my body looks and how my clothes fit. But I feel like nothing is changing, in fact I feel like things are getting worse! My belly feels fat!! Anyone else dealing with this? any suggestions? Any diets or programs that have worked really well for you? HELP!!

Yes. Patience...

kshama2001 · October 2020

tabilw wrote: »

So I'm really on the struggle bus lately. I feel like my diet has been a lot better, and I'm exercising 5 days a week including cardio 3 days a week and strength training twice a week. I'm really watching my calorie intake..... But I'm not making any headway! I don't really look at the scale as much to determine if I'm making progress, I really look more at the way my body looks and how my clothes fit. But I feel like nothing is changing, in fact I feel like things are getting worse! My belly feels fat!! Anyone else dealing with this? any suggestions? Any diets or programs that have worked really well for you? HELP!!

I took a look at your food diary and see a lot of days where you didn't log anything and also a lot of one plate, pieces, tablespoons, and other measurements that are not terribly accurate.

So, you are not losing weight because you are eating more than you think. I suggest you get a food scale.

A bathroom scale would be useful as well. If you have a valid reason for not wanting to use one, you can indeed go by your clothes. I'd suggest using the same pair of non-stretchy jeans. But you will get better data from a scale.

Another thing you can do is take pictures and measurements. Our eyes can often deceive us. "I feel" is not a great way to measure.

kimny72 · October 2020

tabilw wrote: »

So I'm really on the struggle bus lately. I feel like my diet has been a lot better, and I'm exercising 5 days a week including cardio 3 days a week and strength training twice a week. I'm really watching my calorie intake..... But I'm not making any headway! I don't really look at the scale as much to determine if I'm making progress, I really look more at the way my body looks and how my clothes fit. But I feel like nothing is changing, in fact I feel like things are getting worse! My belly feels fat!! Anyone else dealing with this? any suggestions? Any diets or programs that have worked really well for you? HELP!!

I had about 20 lbs to lose. I followed all sorts of workout programs, tried to stay active, and eyeballed servings trying to eat less and less for years with no success. I felt like I ate next to nothing and was really active and there must be something wrong with me. Then I started logging my food and using a food scale. I also got a step tracker. I found that outside of my workouts, I was a couch potato, and I was shocked by how many calories I was eating. Once I started legit eating the right amount of calories, I started losing around 2-3 lbs per month.

Get a food scale. Weigh everything you possibly can. Log every damn thing - meals, snacks, condiments, cooking oil, late night snacks, cooking nibbles, everything. I bet if you commit to that for a month or two you will start to see real results. Our perception of what we eat and what we do can be tragically off, sometimes you just need to get all exact and scientific for a little while to reset your perception. For me, it's something I continue to have to rely on in maintenance, I just lose sight of what I'm really consuming without that helping hand.

Check out the Most Helpful Posts threads pinned to the top of each sub-forum - lots of great info there too.

Strength training is a great idea, but if you are eating too much, you will not lose much if any fat. Getting your calories in line should be priority #1.

dragon_girl26 · October 2020

As someone else mentioned, lots of "I feels" in your statement without much actual solid information. You can "feel" like you're eating better, but are you sticking with a calorie goal and tracking/weighing everything to ensure you're meeting that calorie goal fairly accurately? Exercise is great as a tool, but you can't outrun a bad diet. If you're still eating too many calories, it won't help with the scale. Generally, exercise is for fitness and diet is for weight loss. You "feel" like nothing is changing, but did you get a starting weight and body measurements, and check back with them periodically to see if you are actually, in fact, losing? Right now you don't really know...sounds like you're just doing a lot of feeling and guessing. I'd start by getting some solid facts so you know what you're really working with.

EmilyEnough · October 2020

Lietchi wrote: »

Your post contains a lot of 'I feel like' and 'really watching' your calorie intake doesn't give us much detail either.

Are you weighing your food, checking that you are using the right database entries?

What stats and goals did you enter in MFP and what calorie goal did that give you? Are you following that goal? Are you eating back exercise calories?

Not weighing is fine, though it wouldn't be my choice. But are you measuring yourself?

And how long have you been doing this?

I'd also suggest taking measurements every 4 weeks.

I used to work with weight loss clients..... body fat DOES move around as you lose. Keep going.💗

TwistedSassette · October 2020

I had a look at your diary, but it does seem like you're only tracking sporadically. Most days there is either one meal tracked or nothing at all. Without the data of a fully tracked diary, it's honestly hard to see where it's going wrong.
I would start by just measuring and tracking everything you eat & drink. Don't worry about restricting anything, just eat what you've been eating and track it. That gives you somewhere to start - you'll soon see whether you're eating a bit too much or underestimating your serving sizes etc. From there you can start to make some changes when you're ready. But the first step is collecting that data and giving yourself time to build the habits.

charmmeth · October 2020

When I first joined mfp I thought I was eating well and moving well, but I was still gaining weight. That's why I joined. Then I started logging... I learned that what I believed my calorie intake to be and what it was were two different things! I lost weight steadily once I started tracking properly.

Eating healthy, exercising and still fat!

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