The Struggle is REAL!

IsabellaShoshana · January 29

Hello everyone!
My name is Izzie!

I've been using MFP on and off for about a year now but for the last few months I have logged every single day (except holidays where I can't go on my phone). I was eating balanced meals (30% fat/carb and 40% protein) and reaching about 1000-1200 calories per day for about a month and my weight was just going up and down... Like I was losing weight but I also wasn't because it was a zig zag with a very very slight tilt downwards.

Now, I wanted to "speed up" the process and started eating between 500-800 calories per day. Of course this is difficult for me since I am so used to eating more and going out daily to events that always have food. And here is the kicker, my weight literally zig zags here as well.

At the same time I started this "diet" I also started doing zumba every single night for 30min minimum and currently doing 1 hour daily. This isn't really reflecting properly on the scale... Now, I have people telling me it is because muscle weighs more and I am gaining muscle since I am going from never working out to daily... I don't know if that is the case but it really could be. Sometimes I am so exhausted at night that I have to push myself to do it and so my moves are sloppier but at least I am moving. I also bought 2lb weights that I hold whilst I do zumba which I started doing 2 days into my daily dance.

Running makes me tired after about 5 seconds, can't do a push up to save my life, proper sit ups are like Mars to me... Zumba happens to be the one thing that makes me not unhappy.

I am hoping for some tips from people with experience or nutritionists/dietitions that can tell me what to do. I started the dieting at almost reaching 170lbs as a 5'3, 20 y/o woman and am currently zig zagging between 168.8 and 169.4. The goal is 100-110lbs (or when I feel like I look the way I want to.

Side note: I want to consider going on ozempic... Not sure what it entails yet but I am thinking on it. I want an "easy fix" and alongside that, I have binge eating disorder and the ED where you cannot go to sleep without eating. All I can think about is food food food all the time, even when I am not hungry. But recently I stopped bingeing about 1-2 months ago once I started logging. I have more control now, but I am also endlessly hungry. I was told ozempic makes you lose everything fast and you can eat as much as you want. IDK if that is true or not but if it is, I want it!! I was told though that it might affect fertility and in which case I would not use it...

Please share your thoughts!

ddsb1111 · January 29

Hi Isabella, can you share your diary with us? You said you were eating 1000-1200 for a month and zig-zagging, and then reduced to 500-800 with the same results. We’d be happy to help! We just need to see the diary entries for that 2 months and can pinpoint the issue so you don’t feel like you’re running in place. I’m sure once we verify the problems you’ll start seeing results.

csplatt · January 30

You cannot gain muscle on 800-1000 calories per day. So that’s out. A zig zag with a slight downward trend is success. That’s realistic weight loss because our bodies are composed of lots of things that “have weight” and fluctuate (food in our system, water, waste, etc).

I also think a peek at your diary could be helpful to see what entries you are using and see just how accurate those entries may be.

robertw486 · January 30

Hey Izzie,

I'd listen to the ladies above.

There are a lot of reasons weight loss isn't linear, and exercise is one of them, especially if it's something new you have added. More muscle use usually creates more water retention in the muscles, since glycogen (glucose) is carried by water essentially. It's doubtful you have actually added any muscle, but your muscles might weigh more with the water weight factor.

But to emphasize this point.....

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

Great job on overcoming your BED, the longer you do the more confident you will be in controlling it. Look at that as a positive and move towards your goal.

As for Ozempic or any other weight loss drugs, I think for most people they are a temporary and often somewhat expensive solution. Unless you intend to use them for life at some point you have to figure out for yourself what works to satisfy your hunger within a reasonable calorie level. I think that money would be much better spent on new food choices, a gym membership, or some other activity that helps you stay active and not think about food as much.

PAV8888 · January 30

Glad you're reaching out. This does not sound like a long term viable situation.

My personal opinion, in part based on my own experiences and in part based on your narrative is that you're thinking dreams of fast because you're pushing far too much and creating too big of a deficit.

The answer is to find something that you can sustain, literally for years (not months, not even just one year). Something that provides you first with a downward weight curve and then with a flat(ish) weight maintenance curve.

It will, for sure, involve eating more than you're eating now even if the scale doesn't move as fast as you want.

The zig zag means nothing because fluctuations are normal. The long term trend of your weight is what matters, not the short term fluctuations.

Especially with eating later in the day and exercising late (ask me how I know) you introduce even more variables that can influence your morning weight measurement.

The good news is that multiple measurements over a long enough period of time can be made to show a more true picture. (Weight trend apps)

I don't know what you think is success. But for me success were years where I lost more than 1lb a week, years where I lost 1lb a month, years where I stopped gaining 1lb a month and managed to lose no more than 0.5lb a MONTH.

They are all success because direction matters more than speed though I do understand that while having 50+lbs to lose some speed would be good.

That said, I don't know what speed means to you, but to me 50lbs is a multi year thing between losing, stabilizing , and maintaining. It's not a few month thing. Especially not if you've had indications of potential issues that are known to be negatively affected by larger deficits, I.e.the deficit itself being a risk factor for several EDs.

Regardless of the accuracy of your log right now. You probably need to modify your food vs activity balance towards something more sustainable.

Re your log. Everything does count (some of it, what you do consistently, does count more. some of it, what you only do sometimes, does affect things a bit less: but it still affects them) and this remains true whether you've written things down or you haven't! Vacations written or not are not free. Days where I've lost track or stopped logging are not free either. When consulting your log and considering whether it shows the full picture it does matter whether it does actually show the full picture.

That said: people can lose weight with or without accurate logs. But they can't lose 50lbs by eating nothing and exercising till they drop---not if they want to be healthy at the end of it.

csplatt · January 31

Can you make your diary public?

poodle_whisper · February 1

1. there is no way you are only eating 500 to800 calories a day and not losing weight 2. Zumba is cardio. and even at 60 minutes per day, you are not building muscle doing cardio esp if you are in a calorie deficit. esp if you are a woman. even lifting weights, this is not possible at the calorie intake you are saying you are at. 3. no. on ozempic, you can't eat everything you want and still lose weight. that is not how it works.

IsabellaShoshana · February 2

@csplatt I opened the diary.

KiwiAlexP · February 2

If you have a diagnosed eating disorder in the past then my advice would be to see a registered dietician.

Looking at your diary (as a non professional) there is a lot of candy and of concern to me is the number of laxatives. Can you look at bulking up your meals with high fibre foods instead?

Alatariel75 · February 3

KiwiAlexP wrote: »

If you have a diagnosed eating disorder in the past then my advice would be to see a registered dietician.

Looking at your diary (as a non professional) there is a lot of candy and of concern to me is the number of laxatives. Can you look at bulking up your meals with high fibre foods instead?

Whether or not it's been diagnosed in the past, you need to see a professional now, Isabella. Your diary is a massively concerning ED red flag. You are abusing laxatives and have set your calorie goal at a starvation level.

csplatt · February 4

Yeah, I don't think anyone here should be helping you eat less, if your logging is accurate.

briscogun · February 4

A few observations @IsabellaShoshana,

1. After looking at your diary, it appears you are not weighing anything. For breakfast you logged a generic entry for cheese pizza. You can't just pick a random entry in the database and apply it to your calorie intake. The whole idea of MFP is that you log your actual calorie intake and the only way to do that is to weigh your food. Every single thing that goes in your mouth needs to be weighed/measured. This is where most people struggle.
2. Ozempic works for weight loss by making you feel full so you don't eat, not letting you eat whatever you want. And its an expensive drug. The MFP app works for free and doesn't stress your body with chemicals/drugs.
3. By having a history of ED and now really limiting your food intake you might be setting yourself up for another issue. You said yourself all you think about is "food food food". You might want to refer to a professional/dietician that can help you come up with a plan that won't trigger your prior tendencies.

Once you start weighing things, making your own recipes in the database, and getting used to the system, it becomes much easier to navigate. You don't have to work as hard. I tend to eat a lot of the same things because I know what they are made of so its very easy for me now (similar breakfasts and lunches every day). It's boring but it works!

It's not difficult, but it takes some initial work and time to get used to it just like anything worth doing is! Good luck! You can do it!

danielablazej · February 5

Hi Izzie, please give your body some love, you are worth it! 500-800 cal a day, intense exercising, not having enough energy during the day, that's all extreme, and it signals an eating disorder. You are harming yourself. Please seek professional help. With so few calories eaten, your body is likely thinking you are starving and tries to keep all the fat reserves, in order to sustain you. Against intuition, eating more will give you more stable weight loss, and more happiness when doing a physical activity. Try reducing to 85% of your body's calory needs, thats about 1500 cal. Good luck and wishing you a lot of patience on your journey.

SafariGalNYC · February 5

@IsabellaShoshana - full disclaimer - I don't know anything about ED's, meds or anything like that - I do know accurate logging though and I learned that the hard way.

The most accurate way of knowing the legit calories is to create your own MFP foods or recipes or verify the calories in the items in your diary. Don't trust the diary entries on MFP, they are open sourced and many contain errors. For instance - I peeked at your diary quickly and found 2 items I would have logged differently -

-a salmon avocado roll - you have listed 8 pieces as 181 cals.. I would have done that at almost 400 calories.
-a slice of pizza from the pizza pizza chain - online it states 580 calories. I think you have less than half of that listed for calories.

So it seems you are logging diligently, but the entries you are choosing have very low erroneous calorie numbers.. so I can see why it is frustrating. That being said - no need to go so low calorie to lose weight, log accurately and it will come off.

Also, see above - I know nothing re EDs and it would be advantage to see a dietician about good nutrition.

You stated you always think about food, one of the things many users here do is consider "volume eating" for instance- you can eat large amounts of broccoli, cauliflower, squash or filling foods, etc for little calories and feel full.

csplatt · February 6

SafariGalNYC wrote: »

@IsabellaShoshana - full disclaimer - I don't know anything about ED's, meds or anything like that - I do know accurate logging though and I learned that the hard way.

The most accurate way of knowing the legit calories is to create your own MFP foods or recipes or verify the calories in the items in your diary. Don't trust the diary entries on MFP, they are open sourced and many contain errors. For instance - I peeked at your diary quickly and found 2 items I would have logged differently -

-a salmon avocado roll - you have listed 8 pieces as 181 cals.. I would have done that at almost 400 calories.
-a slice of pizza from the pizza pizza chain - online it states 580 calories. I think you have less than half of that listed for calories.

So it seems you are logging diligently, but the entries you are choosing have very low erroneous calorie numbers.. so I can see why it is frustrating. That being said - no need to go so low calorie to lose weight, log accurately and it will come off.

Also, see above - I know nothing re EDs and it would be advantage to see a dietician about good nutrition.

You stated you always think about food, one of the things many users here do is consider "volume eating" for instance- you can eat large amounts of broccoli, cauliflower, squash or filling foods, etc for little calories and feel full.

I noticed all these too. I'm curious about the fact that you don't seem to be cooking at all. Grilled / shredded chicken, vegetables roasted with some olive oil, fruit, etc. I pop my sliced apples, peeled bananas, grape tomatoes, grapes, sliced cheese, nuts, etc. onto a digital food scale to weigh them in grams. I like the entries we have available to us for zucchini, carrots, etc. in MFP. You can eat a serving of pasta (200 cals) with parmesan and a link of sausage (I like Johnsonville). There are so many options of ways to eat and meet your goals!

However, if the root of the issue here is this use of laxatives, that has to be handled first.

ddsb1111 · February 9

Your food diary holds the answers to your questions. Here’s what it reveals:
1. You don’t know exactly how many calories you’re consuming, which means you’re likely not eating just 500–800 calories a day. The only way to be sure is through accurate tracking- using a food scale, measuring portions, and logging everything properly, as others have explained.
2. You are caught in a cycle of restricting and then eating in response to hunger. This pattern trying to eat less, getting overly hungry, giving in to cravings, feeling guilty, and restricting again- is why food is constantly on your mind.
3. To lose weight and feel good, you need to meet your body’s calorie and nutrition requirements. Your app provides the necessary calorie guidelines, and your food diary is a tool to help you stay on track. Log consistently and accurately, and you’ll achieve your goals while feeling better.
4. Prioritize filling, nutritious foods first, and save treats for whatever calories you have left for the day. Alternatively, if you plan on eating a high calorie meal, adjust the rest of your day’s intake accordingly to prevent excessive hunger later. This approach makes it easier to stay on track.
5. “Starvation mode” is a myth, so you can disregard that idea. There’s nothing inherently wrong with you that would prevent progress. Stick to a logical, patient plan, and you’ll start seeing results.

Laxatives are covering the symptoms to your problem, a poor diet. Fix that and everything will fall in place.

The Struggle is REAL!

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