Frustrating! Diary check?

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graysmom2005
graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I see so many people on here who are at my goal weight or even lower, and they seem to be eating the exact same as me, if not more. How is it they reached their goal and I haven't? I had my wisdom teeth out last week, and Halloween is spattered all over my diary lately (not the norm) but if anyone can look at my diary and see what I may be doing wrong..please let me know! Sodium was nuts this past week from soup (teeth) I'm 5ft 6 and around 154lbs. Been trying to lose the last 10 pounds for almost two years. I just go up and down the same 3. I'm an instructor and I use a HRM so yes those calories are accurate and LARGE. LOL! I measure my food. I'm at slightly active with .5lbs a week...but I then put all my exercises calories in the log. I drink gobs of water. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
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Replies

  • meg7399
    meg7399 Posts: 672 Member
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    All I can say is everyone is different. I have read plenty of times that your body becomes used to routine after awhile...maybe you need to mix things up a bit to kick it back into gear.
  • jenfactor
    jenfactor Posts: 124
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    Not sure I can offer any solid advice... just wanted to say... cake batter flavored protein powder? yes please!
  • aochoa123
    aochoa123 Posts: 299 Member
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    I would suggest watching the sodium. Sodium is not your friend. LOL
  • hummingbird71
    hummingbird71 Posts: 298 Member
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    Well I didn't see any water on your diary... are you drinking water daily? The sodium was high and if you are not getting enough water to flush this out you could actually have a "water gain". I found this out to be true for me a couple of weeks ago! I had 2 high sodium days and didn't drink enough water and felt bloated. I drank 10-12 cups of water the next couple of days and it seemed to fix itself. Now I don't get less then 10 glasses of water daily, and I stay UNDER my sodium amount.
  • sarah_ep
    sarah_ep Posts: 580 Member
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    What about your body fat %?
  • inspiration345
    inspiration345 Posts: 218 Member
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    Your numbers are awesome. Maybe you are all muscles and you can't lose them unless you are starving. You should get your body fat checked then you will feel better.
  • getfitdiva
    getfitdiva Posts: 1,148 Member
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    Watch your sugar and sodium (you look good today), do not eat your exercise calories, cut out snacking (unless it's lean protein), cut out large amounts of carbs, fruit, dairy (yogurt/anything w/ a lot of sugar/breads/rice etc.), eat at your BMR (calculate this in "Tools").

    It's super strict but try it for at least 3 days. You will see a drop :flowerforyou: . Many people will dislike me for this.
  • ceeceesmom
    ceeceesmom Posts: 9
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    It looks like you really hit the workouts, so likely you carry more muscle than the average girl - not a bad thing. I suggest you get your body fat tested at the gym or such, it might put a smile on your face to see that while the scale is up, your body fat could be right on...

    I've struggled with the same thing, i never seem to move on the scale, but my fat has come down about 7% so that's a good sign.
  • RMinVA
    RMinVA Posts: 1,085 Member
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    Unfortunately it often becomes more about WHAT you eat. So yes, someone can eat the same foods and calories as you and lose weight, while you "bobble" around.

    I used to be able to eat pasta w/no problem and still lose weight. I can't do it anymore. I can eat the same amount of calories, all from healthy sources, but get different results depending on what specific foods I am eating. You don't have "sugar" visible in your diary, but based on what I saw, It looks like it might be kind of high. It actually can have a similar effect as sodium, and cause water retention. You just have to play around with it and see what works for you.
  • H_Factor
    H_Factor Posts: 1,722 Member
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    4 ideas. one or more of these might help get you going again:

    1. I went back 2 weeks on your diary. I understand the candy thing, but you have a lot of other processed carbs sprinkled in there. try to cut out the processed carbs for 2 weeks....and otherwise limit your carbs to 125-150 grams per day (by now means, low carb by the way).

    2. You may be exercising too much. I saw that some days are not as high as others and you do take the occasional rest day, but try to do no more than 3 intense exercise days per week (those would be your 1,000ish calorie days)....or, alternatively, choose one thing to do each day. so, instead of body pump, walking and spinning all in the same day...do just one. I think your body isn't getting enough time to recover from all of the exercise and its retaliating to some degree.

    3. change up your exercise routine. replace spinning with sprint intervals or other HIIT. I've recommended sprint intervals to a few folks and they have told me it helped them get past a plateau. Here's a blog about different types of sprint interval training I do: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/H_Factor/view/short-and-efficient-work-out-ideas-156906

    4. for at least 2 weeks, fast for 24 hours once per week. pick whatever 24 hours you want to use during the week. eat as you normally would the rest of the week (except, possibly, reducing your processed carbs...see above).

    good luck. let me know if one of those ideas works for you.
  • hails62
    hails62 Posts: 16 Member
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    As the others said your muscle could be adding to your weight, u shouldnt go by weight, go by your measurements, you prob havent anything to loose wen u look at it that way!
    If your still stuck why not cut down on the carbs, from yor diary nearly every day your over on ur carbs, if cut down carbs and up your protein to counteract. Plus eatn plenty protein and exercising the way u do will be great! Iv tried a two week stint on low carbs and high proteins to give me a kickstart out of a plateau and its really working....no bread/pasta/potatos/cereals.
  • dewgirl321
    dewgirl321 Posts: 296 Member
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    Sorry if this is a dumb question, but are you backing out your BMR calories from your exercise calories? If you are counting your BMR for 24 hours plus adding the full amount of calories burned during exercies (BMR plus exertion), you would be double counting any BMR calories burned during the times that you exercise.

    Other than that, I think comparing body composition changes rather than scale weight (as others suggested) may be the way to go.
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    Thanks everyone. The sodium has been CRAZY from the soups! I had to drink my meals for the week after my teeth extraction and I couldn't get over it. The Whole Food's one was the worst! Go figure! The candy was a problem...because I never eat candy...but boy did I eat some this Halloween. LOL! This has been going on way before that...so I will digress. LOL!

    H_factor Totally great ideas and I wish I could do them. ;-) I'm a fitness instructor so those classes are ones I teach. I've been doing a lot of extra stuff lately but to no avail. I wish I could switch my routine up. It's the curse of the profession!

    I have been trying to drink at least 4 32oz jugs of water a day. Is that enough? Depending on the mechanism used to check it, I'm around 20-23% body fat? I have quite a bit of muscle from work...but there is definitely room for improvement. I know this is the tricky area when it's vanity pounds you want to lose...but finding the right way to lose them has not become apparent yet. It has been an uphill battle for months and months.
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
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    I agree with others about if you are exercising and eating right your body may be at the point where it is stable. You can not go by weight on the scale as everyone's body type is different and two people can weight the same but LOOK miles different...I have been working out, eating clean and have only lost a few lbs but my body composition is vastly different - I have a friend that weighs 10 lbs less than me but she wears 2 sizes bigger than me.

    But you asked for suggestions about your diary - so here are mine

    cut out processed foods - even the "diet" ones - full of sodium and other stuff that could be hindering weight loss
    cut down sodium - which should happen if you cut out the processed foods you eat

    eat as close to clean as possible - cut down on all sugars - this includes fruits (limit to 1-2 servings a day) and ramp up veggies.

    add some healthy fats to your diet - a serving of almonds, add a serving of cold pressed virgin coconut oil to your morning shake - yes you are taking in about 150 in calories - but those are GOOD calories and will enrich your body with good Omega 3's
  • Paige1108
    Paige1108 Posts: 432 Member
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    Okay I'm going to say something kind of crazy....I think you need to eat more. Your very close to an ideal weight for your height, when I got really close to my goal weight, I had to eat every single calorie and exercise calorie, or I would stop losing weight.

    You are doing these very intense workouts, your body needs that fuel, and if you don't eat it your body will save it, in the form of body fat. You are actually eating at a 500 calorie deficit, which is 1lbs per week, I say this because it seemed to me you were leaving about 250 to 350 calories behind a day and you have a .5lbs a day deficit which is 250. So together your looking at 500 calories or more. That's to great a deficit for these intense workouts and you new tiny size.

    It is my, albeit crazy, opinion that with these very long workout your body just can't feel comfortable shedding those last few pounds without you eating all the calories it needs for a day.

    I know, Crazy but that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Good luck on your journey. You look kick *kitten* by the way, just the way you are.
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    Thanks Paige. I saw you were like 115 pounds or so? How much do you eat/exercise to be that teeny? ;-) I have tried eating ALL my exercise calories, but I never lost. I'd love to get a Bodymedia and really see what I'm burning.
  • Paige1108
    Paige1108 Posts: 432 Member
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    Thanks Paige. I saw you were like 115 pounds or so? How much do you eat/exercise to be that teeny? ;-) I have tried eating ALL my exercise calories, but I never lost. I'd love to get a Bodymedia and really see what I'm burning.

    I didn'tt really exercise like crazy, I biked to work ( 6.5 miles each way when I was losing, so 35 minutes each way) and tried to use the bike for all my errands and I walked my dog everyday. But I still got about 1800 calories a day on average. I had to eat all and I mean, I made myself eat no matter what, every one of my calories at the end (during the last 5lbs especially) or I wouldn't drop at all. Also every once in a while, maybe every 8 to 10 weeks, I would have an event or a visitor and I would really go calorie crazy for a couple of days and I would always see a loss after one of those episodes. Not now, now if I'm bad I see it the other way, but when I was on my deficit, calorie spiking worked for me a couple times. I'm a big believer that you have to eat a lot to lose those last 5 to 10lbs.

    I have a friend who is 5'1" she went from 115 to 99 with this advice, not believing it the whole time. She just kept calling me and saying I can't believe I lost another .5lbs, I really can't believe this is working. She's 65 and she did it without exercise.

    That's just my story, you may find a very different way, but I hope you find one that works for you. You have already accomplished so much and like I said before you truly look just stunning right now. Good luck on your journey.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
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    I would suggest changing your activity level to active and not add back exercise calories. Even though you are using a HRM for those, your body still reacts differently to exercise, than those of us who are not instructors. Because of this you may not be eating enough or eating too much. I would try that for a week or two and see where you are at. The other thing is make sure you are set to lose only .5lb a week. You are on your last ten pounds, they should be slower, but that also means there is less room for error. Make sure you log everything that you eat.

    Best wishes.
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    I would suggest changing your activity level to active and not add back exercise calories. Even though you are using a HRM for those, your body still reacts differently to exercise, than those of us who are not instructors. Because of this you may not be eating enough or eating too much. I would try that for a week or two and see where you are at. The other thing is make sure you are set to lose only .5lb a week. You are on your last ten pounds, they should be slower, but that also means there is less room for error. Make sure you log everything that you eat.

    Best wishes.
    Thanks for your advice! I actually did that a few weeks back. I put extremely active and didn't count exercise, but that only gave me like 1900 calories. So I could end up with almost 1000 calorie deficits some days. I did go down a couple of pounds...but the same ones I keep gaining and losing. I never went past that point which was frustrating! My body is definitely used to the exercise. That is totally spot on. I'm on .5 a week, but I haven't lost anything. For months and months and months. I give myself a little buffer room for error, but I log everything carefully. I think I'm maybe a good candidate for a Bodymedia or Bodybugg. The straws I'm grasping at aren't working. Like today I teach two spin classes and a 30 minute core class. I'll probably burn between 1100-1200 calories today. These days are super tricky.
  • hottottie11
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
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    You look pretty lean, are you sure you need to lose those last 10 lbs? I would check your Body Fat Percentage. Look for a Bod-Pod or Hydro-static weighing in your area.

    My goal weight was originally 135, at 155 I'm 20lb away. Then I got my BF checked and found out my lean body mass was 119. Being at 135 would have had me under 14% BF, which is considered "underfat". I only have 3-4% Body left until I reach my goal.

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