Strict calories deficit: not losing weight!!!!!
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At 5’7” and 156 lbs, 2 lbs a week is NOT AT ALL REALISTIC.
.5 lbs - 1 lb tops is what you should be set at. Eating fewer calories is NOT the answer since you already don’t eat exercise calories back.
Since your diary is private, I can’t say for sure, but maybe you are greatly overestimating your calories burned during said exercise. Or double dipping. For example, if you have your settings at active and then you add in exercise, you are telling MFP that you are burning twice as many calories as you really are.
I set mine to sedentary (desk job) and then add my exercise calories in separately to avoid double dipping.11 -
Dogmom1978 wrote: »At 5’7” and 156 lbs, 2 lbs a week is NOT AT ALL REALISTIC.
.5 lbs - 1 lb tops is what you should be set at. Eating fewer calories is NOT the answer since you already don’t eat exercise calories back.
Since your diary is private, I can’t say for sure, but maybe you are greatly overestimating your calories burned during said exercise. Or double dipping. For example, if you have your settings at active and then you add in exercise, you are telling MFP that you are burning twice as many calories as you really are.
I set mine to sedentary (desk job) and then add my exercise calories in separately to avoid double dipping.
No, I do the exact same, I am almost certain I set mine as sedentary (do you know if there is a way I can double check this?). I am not really completely aiming to lose 2 lbs but .5 lbs gave me a large calorie goal which I knew I could eat under and be satiated so that's why I lowered it further
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I track things in my diary that are private so I won't be making it public. Maybe I will find a way to share it through screen shots with someone encouraging in the future. Thanks for all the responses and suggestions!
🤔 trying to figure out what foods are so naughty they can’t be seen. The torture is real.11 -
psychod787 wrote: »I just posted this same issue and basically got told that I'm logging my calories wrong... I do think being older, especially as a woman, can complicate things. I'm having to workout harder, eat less and be hungrier. I will tell you, years ago, when I had an autoimmune disease and some food allergies diagnosed, as soon as I quit those foods I lost an immediate ten pounds. Look into an anti-inflammatory, blue zone, or plant based (not vegan) diet. Also think about getting your thyroid tested, having a hormonal panel run, and getting tested for allergies. I also lost weight after having my hormones run by Dr who did a whole panel run multiple times during my luteal phase. I was very imbalanced and some supplementation for a few months helped me lose weight and get back in balance. Right now though I'm in the same boat as you. Going up and down a pound despite herculean efforts. I'm going back to the doctor soon. I'm sick of it and tired of being told I don't know how to count my calories 🙄
I dont understand why some many people don't understand how much hormones a can affect a woman's weight. They acknowledge that women hold onto it often during their periods but not that the same could be true if hormones are out of whack all month long.
Hormones I have little doubt can lead to weight gain. Not so much on the calories out side. There are a few conditions that might have a marginal effect, but I think the greatest impact of hormones is calories in. Certain hormones can raise appetite no doubt, but that will not slow weight loss unless one is logging accurately and at the right deficit. I find it odd that many folks who feel too "embarrassed" to open their diaries feel they are on point. One quick look at the research suggest that people under report "bad" foods. I don't think they are "bad", but probably easy to over eat on. The folks with the highest under reporting were overweight and obese women.
Actually, imbalances in your estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, androgen, cortisol, thyroid, or insulin hormones can very definitely cause someone to not lose weight despite the supposed CI/CO being right. It's hard for people who've never experienced it to understand. Yes, science is real, but calorie science isn't the only science there is. People can have real health issues and imbalances that affect how their metabolism works, and they don't have to feel awful to be experiencing it either. It happens. But it's fixable too. But just repeating to someone "count your calories" isn't going to help someone figure out where their imbalances are.
However, looking back at the OP's original post and a PP's comment, I think the OP's goals might be a little agressive and that is why nothing is working...4 -
msalicia07 wrote: »I track things in my diary that are private so I won't be making it public. Maybe I will find a way to share it through screen shots with someone encouraging in the future. Thanks for all the responses and suggestions!
🤔 trying to figure out what foods are so naughty they can’t be seen. The torture is real.
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bethanyjxx wrote: »So OP a couple of very simple questions without you having to open your diary.
1) do you weigh everything, or use measuring cups? And by everything, we mean everything. If you take a couple of slices of bread, do you weigh them? Do you weigh packaged food? Or just go by what's stated on the packet. You said you measure milk and butter, that's good. Again, do you weigh these or cups/spoons?
2) what sort of calories from exercise do you get each day, and what exercises are you doing, for how long? How are you working out the calories?
3) are you eating all those exercise calories?
4) whats your deficit set to?
1. i use weighing scales - i don't tend to weigh things like bread, but if i was to eat anything out of a packet it'd be weighed (i even weigh minor minor minor things like broccoli and lettuce, which barely take up my calories). i do weigh as much as possible.
2. i tend to walk an average of 10k steps a day (some days its a little less, some days its a lot more, it really depends) and then i have a 1 hour weight session comprising of legs (glute dominant days and quad dominant days), push days and pull days. usually i go the gym 4 times a week, but sometimes more/less depending on how busy i am. never less than 3 though.
3. i don't eat back exercise calories, and have only went over my calories (by roughly 200) on a handful of days
4. my setting is set to lose 2 pounds a week, which gives me a deficit of 1410.
OK so a few things jump out immediately.
1) you need to weight EVERYTHING. packaged food can be as much as 10% out, and it's usually over. 10% additional calories can be a lot in a day. Especially if you have anything that's high calories like chocolate (nothing wrong with anything high calorie, but important to know). So weigh everything.
2)10k steps is good, but doesn't give you a lot of extra calories generally depending what your set to, based on your height and deficit, I think you must have it set to very active.
3) weightlifting isn't going to give you many calories. Possibly around 200 for 45mins. And those 200 you go over on a few days can be enough to derail you.
4) too too aggressive. Far too aggressive. You need to slow down.
I would suggest a month of tightening your logging - weigh absolutely everything. Even bread. Have a smaller deficit. You should be aiming for half a pound a week at your weight. You do not want to be anorexic (this is a condition where you experience muscle loss, and your heart is a muscle. you can be anorexic and normal weight).5 -
Today is my eight year anniversary with MFP. I am in maintenance, trying to recomp. I STILL find errors in my logging! Recipes change, pre-packaged foods don't always weigh what you would expect. Bread slices vary. Protein bars! Don't even get me started on how much protein bars can vary from package to package! Weigh your foods. All of them. Even the embarrassing ones.
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psychod787 wrote: »I just posted this same issue and basically got told that I'm logging my calories wrong... I do think being older, especially as a woman, can complicate things. I'm having to workout harder, eat less and be hungrier. I will tell you, years ago, when I had an autoimmune disease and some food allergies diagnosed, as soon as I quit those foods I lost an immediate ten pounds. Look into an anti-inflammatory, blue zone, or plant based (not vegan) diet. Also think about getting your thyroid tested, having a hormonal panel run, and getting tested for allergies. I also lost weight after having my hormones run by Dr who did a whole panel run multiple times during my luteal phase. I was very imbalanced and some supplementation for a few months helped me lose weight and get back in balance. Right now though I'm in the same boat as you. Going up and down a pound despite herculean efforts. I'm going back to the doctor soon. I'm sick of it and tired of being told I don't know how to count my calories 🙄
I dont understand why some many people don't understand how much hormones a can affect a woman's weight. They acknowledge that women hold onto it often during their periods but not that the same could be true if hormones are out of whack all month long.
Hormones I have little doubt can lead to weight gain. Not so much on the calories out side. There are a few conditions that might have a marginal effect, but I think the greatest impact of hormones is calories in. Certain hormones can raise appetite no doubt, but that will not slow weight loss unless one is logging accurately and at the right deficit. I find it odd that many folks who feel too "embarrassed" to open their diaries feel they are on point. One quick look at the research suggest that people under report "bad" foods. I don't think they are "bad", but probably easy to over eat on. The folks with the highest under reporting were overweight and obese women.
Actually, imbalances in your estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, androgen, cortisol, thyroid, or insulin hormones can very definitely cause someone to not lose weight despite the supposed CI/CO being right. It's hard for people who've never experienced it to understand. Yes, science is real, but calorie science isn't the only science there is. People can have real health issues and imbalances that affect how their metabolism works, and they don't have to feel awful to be experiencing it either. It happens. But it's fixable too. But just repeating to someone "count your calories" isn't going to help someone figure out where their imbalances are.
However, looking back at the OP's original post and a PP's comment, I think the OP's goals might be a little agressive and that is why nothing is working...
Insulin slowing metabolism? Ok anyways. I will give you that hypothyroidism can effect metabolic rate , but from what I have read that its about an 8% deviation from the median. Ok, the other hormones... tell a natural competition bodybuilder that low, low estrogen, cortisol, cause them not to lose weight until they are peeled. Stage lean 4-7% for men and low teens for ladies. They get there despite have hormones that are messed up. CICO works for them. So, you are eating too much not to lose weight. Aka... counting calories wrong.9 -
Mouse_Potato wrote: »Today is my eight year anniversary with MFP. I am in maintenance, trying to recomp. I STILL find errors in my logging! Recipes change, pre-packaged foods don't always weigh what you would expect. Bread slices vary. Protein bars! Don't even get me started on how much protein bars can vary from package to package! Weigh your foods. All of them. Even the embarrassing ones.
Yes, I've been here 8 years as well and also still find errors in my food logging.
I was sad when I got a food scale and realized just how small 2T of peanut butter really is and when I learned the weight lifting entry I was using provided WAY too many calories. But I'd rather proceed with accurate info, no matter how sad it makes me.
I'm just not willing to spend a lot of time speculating on what could be causing an OP to not lose weight when there is an easy way for me to rule out the obvious things - the person asking for help makes their diary public.
If they feel strongly that they are not making any errors, then they have an issue for an endocrinologist or other specialist they pay, not free advice on MFP.8 -
psychod787 wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »I track things in my diary that are private so I won't be making it public. Maybe I will find a way to share it through screen shots with someone encouraging in the future. Thanks for all the responses and suggestions!
🤔 trying to figure out what foods are so naughty they can’t be seen. The torture is real.
82 calories per 20 grams- just checked my diary 😉8 -
msalicia07 wrote: »psychod787 wrote: »msalicia07 wrote: »I track things in my diary that are private so I won't be making it public. Maybe I will find a way to share it through screen shots with someone encouraging in the future. Thanks for all the responses and suggestions!
🤔 trying to figure out what foods are so naughty they can’t be seen. The torture is real.
82 calories per 20 grams- just checked my diary 😉
Uhh...🤔 ummmm.....😏
Marry me?😍8 -
[quote=
You asked for help but seem not to want it enough to take any steps to resolve your problem.
Venting is fine but in the end it's not going to resolve your problem.
[/quote]
Hey, thanks again for your input! I meticulously measure food and calories and don't need to be told the obvious. I asked, in my original post, for any *non obvious* things I might be missing. I have been using this app and tracking food and exercise for years. I guess it was my mistake for asking for creative responses from people who seem so set in their dogma. Since the only answer from you is that I must be counting my calories wrong, I know that I need to see someone with more answers and more resources to help. I have exhausted every solution and variable I know to be under my control. The issue is not me not wanting to solve my problem, the issue is that I can't, and the responses I got in my post were mostly, as usual, very basic. So like I said, I'll be seeing my physician.
There's your answer. [/quote]
The simple thing: when your dog is overweight, your vet tells you to give your dog less food. When it comes to ourself, it alwais thousand reasons to explain why we could eat more and try to loose weight at the same time. We just had few of those like water retention, stress, exercise, muscle gain, undersleep, undercount of calories...
Let apply the same tactics what we use for dogs feeding: eat L E S S C A L O R I E S! ! ! !
Limit carbs, take longer breaks between meals, have sometime fasting, exercise on empty stomach6 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »Today is my eight year anniversary with MFP. I am in maintenance, trying to recomp. I STILL find errors in my logging! Recipes change, pre-packaged foods don't always weigh what you would expect. Bread slices vary. Protein bars! Don't even get me started on how much protein bars can vary from package to package! Weigh your foods. All of them. Even the embarrassing ones.
Yes, I've been here 8 years as well and also still find errors in my food logging.
I was sad when I got a food scale and realized just how small 2T of peanut butter really is and when I learned the weight lifting entry I was using provided WAY too many calories. But I'd rather proceed with accurate info, no matter how sad it makes me.
I'm just not willing to spend a lot of time speculating on what could be causing an OP to not lose weight when there is an easy way for me to rule out the obvious things - the person asking for help makes their diary public.
If they feel strongly that they are not making any errors, then they have an issue for an endocrinologist or other specialist they pay, not free advice on MFP.
Exactly. People think they are being "attacked" because of food choices. Hell, I'll judge no person for what they eat. I might suggest that they eat less of it or consider it a non tolerated food. The Dunning Kruger effect is strong with some folks. Damn, I'm guilty of it, but at least I can admit it. .6 -
psychod787 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »Today is my eight year anniversary with MFP. I am in maintenance, trying to recomp. I STILL find errors in my logging! Recipes change, pre-packaged foods don't always weigh what you would expect. Bread slices vary. Protein bars! Don't even get me started on how much protein bars can vary from package to package! Weigh your foods. All of them. Even the embarrassing ones.
Yes, I've been here 8 years as well and also still find errors in my food logging.
I was sad when I got a food scale and realized just how small 2T of peanut butter really is and when I learned the weight lifting entry I was using provided WAY too many calories. But I'd rather proceed with accurate info, no matter how sad it makes me.
I'm just not willing to spend a lot of time speculating on what could be causing an OP to not lose weight when there is an easy way for me to rule out the obvious things - the person asking for help makes their diary public.
If they feel strongly that they are not making any errors, then they have an issue for an endocrinologist or other specialist they pay, not free advice on MFP.
Exactly. People think they are being "attacked" because of food choices. Hell, I'll judge no person for what they eat. I might suggest that they eat less of it or consider it a non tolerated food. The Dunning Kruger effect is strong with some folks. Damn, I'm guilty of it, but at least I can admit it. .
Please explain this effect. I googled but don’t really understand. Dumb it down for me. TY. You’re a peach. Lol4 -
L1zardQueen wrote: »psychod787 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »Today is my eight year anniversary with MFP. I am in maintenance, trying to recomp. I STILL find errors in my logging! Recipes change, pre-packaged foods don't always weigh what you would expect. Bread slices vary. Protein bars! Don't even get me started on how much protein bars can vary from package to package! Weigh your foods. All of them. Even the embarrassing ones.
Yes, I've been here 8 years as well and also still find errors in my food logging.
I was sad when I got a food scale and realized just how small 2T of peanut butter really is and when I learned the weight lifting entry I was using provided WAY too many calories. But I'd rather proceed with accurate info, no matter how sad it makes me.
I'm just not willing to spend a lot of time speculating on what could be causing an OP to not lose weight when there is an easy way for me to rule out the obvious things - the person asking for help makes their diary public.
If they feel strongly that they are not making any errors, then they have an issue for an endocrinologist or other specialist they pay, not free advice on MFP.
Exactly. People think they are being "attacked" because of food choices. Hell, I'll judge no person for what they eat. I might suggest that they eat less of it or consider it a non tolerated food. The Dunning Kruger effect is strong with some folks. Damn, I'm guilty of it, but at least I can admit it. .
Please explain this effect. I googled but don’t really understand. Dumb it down for me. TY. You’re a peach. Lol
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect#:~:text=In the field of psychology,recognize their lack of ability.
Basically people think they are better at something than they are...6 -
Essentially, it is impossible to objectively assess yourself because you a priori overestimate your abilities.3
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psychod787 wrote: »L1zardQueen wrote: »psychod787 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »Today is my eight year anniversary with MFP. I am in maintenance, trying to recomp. I STILL find errors in my logging! Recipes change, pre-packaged foods don't always weigh what you would expect. Bread slices vary. Protein bars! Don't even get me started on how much protein bars can vary from package to package! Weigh your foods. All of them. Even the embarrassing ones.
Yes, I've been here 8 years as well and also still find errors in my food logging.
I was sad when I got a food scale and realized just how small 2T of peanut butter really is and when I learned the weight lifting entry I was using provided WAY too many calories. But I'd rather proceed with accurate info, no matter how sad it makes me.
I'm just not willing to spend a lot of time speculating on what could be causing an OP to not lose weight when there is an easy way for me to rule out the obvious things - the person asking for help makes their diary public.
If they feel strongly that they are not making any errors, then they have an issue for an endocrinologist or other specialist they pay, not free advice on MFP.
Exactly. People think they are being "attacked" because of food choices. Hell, I'll judge no person for what they eat. I might suggest that they eat less of it or consider it a non tolerated food. The Dunning Kruger effect is strong with some folks. Damn, I'm guilty of it, but at least I can admit it. .
Please explain this effect. I googled but don’t really understand. Dumb it down for me. TY. You’re a peach. Lol
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect#:~:text=In the field of psychology,recognize their lack of ability.
Basically people think they are better at something than they are...
Guilty.
I read the wiki explanation. I like your explanation better. Ty2 -
L1zardQueen wrote: »psychod787 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »Mouse_Potato wrote: »Today is my eight year anniversary with MFP. I am in maintenance, trying to recomp. I STILL find errors in my logging! Recipes change, pre-packaged foods don't always weigh what you would expect. Bread slices vary. Protein bars! Don't even get me started on how much protein bars can vary from package to package! Weigh your foods. All of them. Even the embarrassing ones.
Yes, I've been here 8 years as well and also still find errors in my food logging.
I was sad when I got a food scale and realized just how small 2T of peanut butter really is and when I learned the weight lifting entry I was using provided WAY too many calories. But I'd rather proceed with accurate info, no matter how sad it makes me.
I'm just not willing to spend a lot of time speculating on what could be causing an OP to not lose weight when there is an easy way for me to rule out the obvious things - the person asking for help makes their diary public.
If they feel strongly that they are not making any errors, then they have an issue for an endocrinologist or other specialist they pay, not free advice on MFP.
Exactly. People think they are being "attacked" because of food choices. Hell, I'll judge no person for what they eat. I might suggest that they eat less of it or consider it a non tolerated food. The Dunning Kruger effect is strong with some folks. Damn, I'm guilty of it, but at least I can admit it. .
Please explain this effect. I googled but don’t really understand. Dumb it down for me. TY. You’re a peach. Lol
Read the first two sentences of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect and apply it to ... anyone ... who thinks they are doing a great job when in fact they are doing the worst job in history.6 -
bethanyjxx wrote: »Dogmom1978 wrote: »At 5’7” and 156 lbs, 2 lbs a week is NOT AT ALL REALISTIC.
.5 lbs - 1 lb tops is what you should be set at. Eating fewer calories is NOT the answer since you already don’t eat exercise calories back.
Since your diary is private, I can’t say for sure, but maybe you are greatly overestimating your calories burned during said exercise. Or double dipping. For example, if you have your settings at active and then you add in exercise, you are telling MFP that you are burning twice as many calories as you really are.
I set mine to sedentary (desk job) and then add my exercise calories in separately to avoid double dipping.
No, I do the exact same, I am almost certain I set mine as sedentary (do you know if there is a way I can double check this?). I am not really completely aiming to lose 2 lbs but .5 lbs gave me a large calorie goal which I knew I could eat under and be satiated so that's why I lowered it further
I don't know how you are accessing MFP, but I'm on an Android, using the app, and I found it this way:
In the left top corner of the screen are three horizontal lines
Click on that, and then on your profile image at the top.
The first info I see are my current weight and goal weight, and my pounds per week setting. Under that is an 'Update Goals' button. Click on that.
From there, you should see your activity settings.3 -
I just posted this same issue and basically got told that I'm logging my calories wrong... I do think being older, especially as a woman, can complicate things. I'm having to workout harder, eat less and be hungrier. I will tell you, years ago, when I had an autoimmune disease and some food allergies diagnosed, as soon as I quit those foods I lost an immediate ten pounds. Look into an anti-inflammatory, blue zone, or plant based (not vegan) diet. Also think about getting your thyroid tested, having a hormonal panel run, and getting tested for allergies. I also lost weight after having my hormones run by Dr who did a whole panel run multiple times during my luteal phase. I was very imbalanced and some supplementation for a few months helped me lose weight and get back in balance. Right now though I'm in the same boat as you. Going up and down a pound despite herculean efforts. I'm going back to the doctor soon. I'm sick of it and tired of being told I don't know how to count my calories 🙄
When someone reports results out of line with expectations and has a private diary and repeatedly avoids answering the very simple question "do you accurately weigh and log your food?" what do you think people are going to assume?
You asked for help but seem not to want it enough to take any steps to resolve your problem.
Venting is fine but in the end it's not going to resolve your problem.
Hey, thanks again for your input! I meticulously measure food and calories and don't need to be told the obvious. I asked, in my original post, for any *non obvious* things I might be missing. I have been using this app and tracking food and exercise for years. I guess it was my mistake for asking for creative responses from people who seem so set in their dogma. Since the only answer from you is that I must be counting my calories wrong, I know that I need to see someone with more answers and more resources to help. I have exhausted every solution and variable I know to be under my control. The issue is not me not wanting to solve my problem, the issue is that I can't, and the responses I got in my post were mostly, as usual, very basic. So like I said, I'll be seeing my physician.
There's your answer.
No one on the Internet can diagnose some "non-obvious" health condition you might have. Anybody who tries is likely just projecting their own experience. If you're convinced you're in a calorie deficit and aren't losing weight over a significant period of time, you should go see a doctor.5
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