I think sometimes you're not losing

chicklidell
chicklidell Posts: 275
edited October 7 in Health and Weight Loss
It seems to be that some problems that some people here encounter is simply that you are "guesstimating" how many calories you've burned and you're doing the same for the foods you are eating. You need to be accurate. 4 oz is actually 4 oz, get a scale, measure your food. Make sure you actually burned 1000 calories in Zumba, which is highly unlikely unlessyou weigh 300+lbs, get a heart rate monitor, don't rely on the website or a machine at the gym to be accurate. One hour of high impact aerobics on MFP suggests I burned 622 calories, yet in reality according to my HRM I burned 486, big difference over the course of a week if i'm consistently logging in calories I haven't earned or eyeballing my portions here and there.....it all adds up and can be the reason you're not losing the weight.

Replies

  • km47
    km47 Posts: 34
    I think it is a good point. I did buy a scale and was shocked at how much 4 oz of chicken looks compared with the amount I thought it was. I always had one skinless, boneless chicken breast was a serving, but in reality it was more like 1 3/4. ! Same for bagels at say Au Bon Pain. They are way larger than one serving size. I have started dividing up the food into serving sizes and putting them in baggies or containers right away. It helps to keep you honest!
  • kit_katty
    kit_katty Posts: 992 Member
    I think you're totally correct. Personally I'm still guestimating but I'm still loosing, but if I start to gain or maintain when I feel I should still be loosing, that's when I'll invest in a scale. But definitely a very good point!

    For me, I was shocked at how much 1 cup of orange juice was compared to what I was actually drinking... while logging just the 1 cup. It definitely adds up!
  • fitaliciag
    fitaliciag Posts: 373
    true. and FYI, I got better results with a bodybugg than a HRM
  • brit49
    brit49 Posts: 461 Member
    I do own a scale, I don't use it all the time. What really helped me was I use a smaller plate. I agree with what your saying a scale is important. and make sure you really are burning all those calories!
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Agreed. I get kind of annoyed with the "Burned 1600 calories doing 45 minutes of housework, vigorous effort".
  • sirihermine
    sirihermine Posts: 123 Member
    My HRM shows a higher calorie burn than MFP does though. So I am just very confused on what to log... Have a Polar 4 something, should be a good HRM, but I just don't trust it too much... ;)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    My HRM shows a higher calorie burn than MFP does though. So I am just very confused on what to log... Have a Polar 4 something, should be a good HRM, but I just don't trust it too much... ;)

    Well, depending on what kind of exercise you are doing, your HRM may or may not be accurate. It is meant to be used for intense cardio. The following blog post is by someone in the fitness industry for many years:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472


    I take an average between three sources if I'm thinking it is way off.
  • BethanyMasters
    BethanyMasters Posts: 519 Member
    true. and FYI, I got better results with a bodybugg than a HRM

    What's the difference. I thought a body bugg was just and over priced HRM
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    Agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Maggie_Pie1
    Maggie_Pie1 Posts: 322 Member
    It seems to be that some problems that some people here encounter is simply that you are "guesstimating" how many calories you've burned and you're doing the same for the foods you are eating. You need to be accurate. 4 oz is actually 4 oz, get a scale, measure your food. Make sure you actually burned 1000 calories in Zumba, which is highly unlikely unlessyou weigh 300+lbs, get a heart rate monitor, don't rely on the website or a machine at the gym to be accurate. One hour of high impact aerobics on MFP suggests I burned 622 calories, yet in reality according to my HRM I burned 486, big difference over the course of a week if i'm consistently logging in calories I haven't earned or eyeballing my portions here and there.....it all adds up and can be the reason you're not losing the weight.

    I agree. So many people are quick to assume they are going into starvation mode and immediately up their calories, (or are told to do so by other posters), but if you don't do an inventory on what you are logging and how accurate your data is, then upping calories would make the problem worse.

    I diligently weigh everything I eat so I know I'm accurate there. For my exercise, I started to take what MFP says I burned and divided it by two, figuring that would conservatively underestimate my calories burned, and that seems to work for me.
  • chicklidell
    chicklidell Posts: 275
    I own both a body bug and a Polar F6 as well as some NIKE gadget thing my kids got me...they will all give me a different read. Whichever one I decide to use I always deduct 10% if my burn is 100 calories, i'll log 90..just to be safe and it really is amazing just how small 4 oz of chicken is! lol
  • kittyninja
    kittyninja Posts: 118
    I'm SO happy that I got a kitchen scale for Christmas. I've used it daily since then, and it's extremely helpful! Guesstimating just doesn't cut it.
    Heart rate monitor is next on my to-buy list, because I'm still using this site's guesstimates for calories burned in exercise.
  • Jess5825
    Jess5825 Posts: 228
    I think it is a good point. I did buy a scale and was shocked at how much 4 oz of chicken looks compared with the amount I thought it was. I always had one skinless, boneless chicken breast was a serving, but in reality it was more like 1 3/4. ! Same for bagels at say Au Bon Pain. They are way larger than one serving size. I have started dividing up the food into serving sizes and putting them in baggies or containers right away. It helps to keep you honest!

    I do the same. I don't like to cook, so when I do, I'll make a large amount, then pull out the scale and tupperware and portion it out and stick it in the freezer, this way I can just pull out exactly what I need.

    And I use my BMF for calories burned (or in the past my polar HRM), the only calories burned that come close to what I actually burn according to my BMF vs MFP, is the elliptical, they are actually very close (not dead on) but very close in numbers.

    Unfortunately I'm not losing lately. I'm thinking it is because my deficits are to high and I'm going to try to work on this. Yesterday my deficit from my BMF to my intake was like 1700 calories (which is abnormally high, but it is still usually over 1000). I'm going to try to keep my workouts a little lower (only do one kickboxing class instead of 1.5-2)
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