New and slightly discouraged

BecksFit88 · February 2012

I'm a sparkpeople convert- I was on SP several years ago when I was actively competing in collegiate athletics and lost roughly 60 pounds effortlessly. Unfortunately, I packed on close to 90 pounds when my grandparents, mother in law, and best friend died in a 6 month span. Over the last 18 months I've been completely sedentary (I'm talking complaining about walking at the grocery store) and eating like a cow (hey depression eating!)

When I signed up for MFP, I set my daily exercise to 5x a week at 60 minutes. I've been falling short of that due to crunch time at work. I've been getting in roughly 35-45 minutes a day (a bit more on the weekends). I also use the calories burned from the machines at the gym in my log (vs the MFP suggestion) , and err on the side of underestimating calories burned.

I've been eating fairly well and logging my calories faithfully (except for last Wednesday- I don't know what happened!)

This is day 10 of my "getting healthy again". I weighed in again (same scale, same time of day, etc) and I've only lost 1.3 pounds. I know I had a few "bad days" of eating, but my average net calorie intake over the past 10 days has been roughly 1380.

I've gone into my settings and set the "exercise goals" to 0 minutes/0 calories to see if that would make a difference.

I'm not body stupid, but this one has me stumped.

Help a n00b?

rebecca_d35 · February 2012

Well, 1.3 pounds in 10 days actually sounds pretty great to me. Think about the long term and keep doing what you're doing. Make sure your goals (calories and exercise) are realistic. You don't want to look at your log every day and see you're under your exercise goal when you are doing all you can!

My schedule is extremely tight, so I run for exercise. It's pretty much the only free way I can get a meaningful workout in less than an hour.

Good luck, and don't give up.

mjstallworth · February 2012

I'm not understanding why you are discouraged: You've lost a little over 1 lb. in a little over one week. That is exactly what is recommended!

I'm a sparkpeople convert- I was on SP several years ago when I was actively competing in collegiate athletics and lost roughly 60 pounds effortlessly. Unfortunately, I packed on close to 90 pounds when my grandparents, mother in law, and best friend died in a 6 month span. Over the last 18 months I've been completely sedentary (I'm talking complaining about walking at the grocery store) and eating like a cow (hey depression eating!)

When I signed up for MFP, I set my daily exercise to 5x a week at 60 minutes. I've been falling short of that due to crunch time at work. I've been getting in roughly 35-45 minutes a day (a bit more on the weekends). I also use the calories burned from the machines at the gym in my log (vs the MFP suggestion) , and err on the side of underestimating calories burned.

I've been eating fairly well and logging my calories faithfully (except for last Wednesday- I don't know what happened!)

This is day 10 of my "getting healthy again". I weighed in again (same scale, same time of day, etc) and I've only lost 1.3 pounds. I know I had a few "bad days" of eating, but my average net calorie intake over the past 10 days has been roughly 1380.

I've gone into my settings and set the "exercise goals" to 0 minutes/0 calories to see if that would make a difference.

I'm not body stupid, but this one has me stumped.

Help a n00b?

BecksFit88 · February 2012

Because according to MFP and the deficit I'm carrying (1,000 from my daily energy need) I should be losing 2/week. With my current weight and BMI, it's not a stretch to be losing 2+ a week.

I'm not understanding why you are discouraged: You've lost a little over 1 lb. in a little over one week. That is exactly what is recommended!

I'm a sparkpeople convert- I was on SP several years ago when I was actively competing in collegiate athletics and lost roughly 60 pounds effortlessly. Unfortunately, I packed on close to 90 pounds when my grandparents, mother in law, and best friend died in a 6 month span. Over the last 18 months I've been completely sedentary (I'm talking complaining about walking at the grocery store) and eating like a cow (hey depression eating!)

When I signed up for MFP, I set my daily exercise to 5x a week at 60 minutes. I've been falling short of that due to crunch time at work. I've been getting in roughly 35-45 minutes a day (a bit more on the weekends). I also use the calories burned from the machines at the gym in my log (vs the MFP suggestion) , and err on the side of underestimating calories burned.

I've been eating fairly well and logging my calories faithfully (except for last Wednesday- I don't know what happened!)

This is day 10 of my "getting healthy again". I weighed in again (same scale, same time of day, etc) and I've only lost 1.3 pounds. I know I had a few "bad days" of eating, but my average net calorie intake over the past 10 days has been roughly 1380.

I've gone into my settings and set the "exercise goals" to 0 minutes/0 calories to see if that would make a difference.

I'm not body stupid, but this one has me stumped.

Help a n00b?

ArroganceInStep · February 2012

If you had a couple 'bad days' and still lost 0.9 lbs a week that's pretty good. Remember that the number that get spit out are just estimates (estimates of estimates actually) on top of the fact that your caloric burn and caloric intake are also estimates. It's not an exact science. Good luck to you!

EDIT: Sorry just reread and saw that you were looking at your average net intake. Assuming you're taking total calorie intake and dividing by number of days then that's actually a really good indicator. If you still aren't seeing a change, unfortunately you may have to reduce your net intake either through less calories or more exercise. It's possible that you have a slower metabolism than what was calculated by MFP or that the readings you're getting for exercise are inflated (or both).

rileysowner · February 2012

Also realize that for some people the start of weight loss is slow. Keep going and see what happens as the weeks go by. I'm guessing the average will eventually turn into 2/week, although I could be wrong on that. The other thing is how carefully are you measuring your portions? It is helpful for those who want to assist you if you have your diary open.

BecksFit88 · February 2012

Also realize that for some people the start of weight loss is slow. Keep going and see what happens as the weeks go by. I'm guessing the average will eventually turn into 2/week, although I could be wrong on that. The other thing is how carefully are you measuring your portions? It is helpful for those who want to assist you if you have your diary open.

I've been using a kitchen scale for portion control. I'm mobile right now, but I do plan on changing my settings when I get home.

New and slightly discouraged

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