What am I doing wrong??

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2

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  • garita93
    garita93 Posts: 276 Member
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    Everyone, thank you so much!! I will adjust my estimated Zumba calories burned and drink more water and see where that gets me this week. And I guess I will stop eating my high sodium soup for lunch, I guess I didn't realized how many processed foods were sneaking in either. I can't afford much and I don't have the resources at work to do much for lunch. :ohwell:

    Again, thank you everyone for the words of encouragement and help! I love MFP!!
  • shalomabeth
    shalomabeth Posts: 63 Member
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    hang in there as im not gaining for say just not losing my problem is i cant lose it just stays the same. i just want to lose 1-4 lb this week and ill be happy
  • emmaruns
    emmaruns Posts: 189 Member
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    I agree with others about sodium. Try adding it to the "things you track" section. I was consistently getting well over 2000 mg/day and noticed water retention big time. I try to keep it at/below 1500 and have noticed more consistency this way. Just know it's not "real" gaining.
  • zmzmzm19
    zmzmzm19 Posts: 155 Member
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    All I can say is................I know how you feel! I just had this discussion last week with a few MFP friends....I was getting so discouraged, then for whatever reason....it kicked in. I've lost a couple pounds now, and am noticing a change in clothing, as I am toning up. It is alot of hard work and PATIENCE! Hang in there and whatever you do, don't give up!! It does take time. I wish you the best!! :happy:
  • Lynnhealthpro
    Lynnhealthpro Posts: 17
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    Wrong? Absolutely nothing.... Keep working out and remember that the scale is only one source of measurement. How do you feel? Are you clothes getting loose? As women we retain water. Maybe there was a consumption of more salt for that day? There are tons of reasons. My suggestion keep it moving. Don't give up! If anything give yourself a pat on the back. As for the scale, submerge it in boiling hot water then smash it with a sledge hammer. :-)
  • Shelby814
    Shelby814 Posts: 273 Member
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    It truly is about more than just staying under your calorie goal. It is about WHAT you're eating & when as well. If you'd really like help, please add me & I will help you in any way I can. I have made some huge lifestyle changes & have had fairly good success. I'd love to pass on what I've learned in the past 6-7 months. Shelli
  • Jennyisbusy
    Jennyisbusy Posts: 1,294 Member
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    Ok, this is taking a lot of courage because I am usually very closed off to personal things but I need help. I gained 4lbs in the last week and I exercised more. Looked through my food diary and I did slip on Saturday but not terribly. Last week I did Zumba Monday, Wednesday and Friday. No exercise on Tuesday. Thursday and yesterday did the Last Chance workout and treadmill on Saturday. My calorie goal that MFP set up is 1480. My diary is public any help would be greatly appreciated, just please try not to be to terribly mean, I am trying my hardest here. :cry:

    Are your muscles sore? When you really push your muscles they can retain a LOT of water. Soreness would almost be a guarantee that you are retaining, although you could be without the soreness.

    One slip up does not = 4 lbs. If this is a routine you enjoy then stick to it and your body will adjust. You also need to fuel your workouts consider eating back all of your exercise calories and or zig zagging :flowerforyou: with lots of nutrient rich real foods.
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
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    Keep on keeping on. Give any new changes 3 weeks for your body to adjust. Extra exercise, new exercise, weights, sodium etc are all causes for temporary gain. You know you're doing it right, let your body catch up :flowerforyou:
  • howeclectic
    howeclectic Posts: 121 Member
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    Looking at your diary... I see a lot of room for miss measurement. Do you weigh your food? For instance... i see you list 1 serving of parmesan on one of your meals. You'd be surprised how little 1 serving of parmesan is. Its very easy to poor on something closer to 3. Same with peanutbutter. I saw at one point, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter. 1 tablespoon is a VERY small amount and its VERY easy to go overboard without realizing it. If you dont own a food scale... i'd start there.

    Second... The exercise. You have to be VERY careful with your estimations. A heart rate monitor might help you really determine how hard you are working. The calorie listings that MFP lists for exercise INCLUDE calories burned doing nothing. (in essence, this causes double counting and a vast over estimation of *additional* calories burned). burning 600 calories in an hour requires a LOT of effort. The problem with Zumba is its SO subjective. Two people can do the same class, be the same weight, and be of the same fitness and burn VASTLY different calories. People who don't have athletic backgrounds have a tendency to really over estimate their effort level.

    I weight my food for accuracy, and watch how my weight falls with exercise to tweak the "real" numbers. So... if i aim for a 2 pound average loss and only hit consistently 1... i know chances are im either over reporting exercise or under reporting food and make adjustments. Keep it up... if things dont change... make small adjustments. It takes a few months to dial things in.
  • mangozulu
    mangozulu Posts: 90 Member
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    So now I think we are getting close to it.

    I think it very unlikely that you are burning that level of calories in an hour of Zumba. It's probably more like 400. It's a medium intensity exercise with pause periods inbetween. I'd be surprised if you could burn that much running 10k in an hour.

    Most exercise caloric burn estimates are heavily inflated to appeal to the consumer.

    I think when you are dilligently following advice from these forums about eating back your exercise calories you are actually eating more and possibly putting your intake for that day back up to near maintenance levels.

    It's your call, but I would suggest you assume 400 Cals only for that workout and try it for a week.

    This is very good logic:) I've thought that the calorie burn estimates for Zumba are a bit high. The problem is.... where to find good stats? People wear their fit HMR and Fit bit and some come back with figures like 700 - 1000 calories. It just seems overly optimistic and if you eat those calories back when you haven't really burned them, that's a problem. Does anyone have any credible resources for calories burned during typical exercise?
  • BlessedShauna777
    BlessedShauna777 Posts: 118 Member
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    Hello :) Are you taking chest, waist and hip measurements also? you could have gained muscle and only taking measurements will confirm whether you lost or gained FAT. for example, i weighed in yesterday and gained two pounds but my waist went from 36 to 34 inches :) I hope this helps.
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    You didn't ask for lunch suggestions, but I switched from cardboard meals (Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Smart Ones,and Healthy CHoice) to a healthier sandwich.

    I use Fold-It's (whole grain), but used to use La Tortilla low-carb tortilla also, all natural turkey or ham deli meat (Hormel), sliced cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, mustard. It's a filling meal for only about 250 calories and about 25g of protein. For variety, you can switch from ham and swiss to turkey and cheddar. The cost is pretty reasonable as well, $5 for meat, $5 for cheese, $5 for bread, and $2-3 for the veggies. Total of $17 or so for a week's worth of lunches.

    Sometimes, I'll bring leftovers or a salad, as well.

    Speaking of lunch...I'm hungry!! :laugh:
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
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    the other thing i notice is the quality of the foods youre eating doesn't look that great... (not criticizing) but there's a lot of packaged stuff as opposed to fresh. Also, try upping your protein. I aim for at least 100g of protein a day, it really does help with weight loss. A lot of folks will say that it doesn't matter what you eat as long as you are under calorie goal, but I disagree. You have to feed your body right in order to keep it working properly and lose weight.

    Also, do you strength train? that helps with weight loss too. Additionally, if you've been doing zumba three days a week for a year, your caloric burn for that activity probably isn't what you think it is because your body is used to that activity and therefore, you are burning calories more efficiently (i.e. burning less calories in the same amount of time) -- ever heard of muscle confusion? You have to change it up to keep burning a lot of calories.

    Good luck!!
    sw 303.4 (1/1/11)
    cw 198.4 (105lbs down)
    gw 160
  • howeclectic
    howeclectic Posts: 121 Member
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    This is very good logic:) I've thought that the calorie burn estimates for Zumba are a bit high. The problem is.... where to find good stats? People wear their fit HMR and Fit bit and some come back with figures like 700 - 1000 calories. It just seems overly optimistic and if you eat those calories back when you haven't really burned them, that's a problem. Does anyone have any credible resources for calories burned during typical exercise?


    Your Total Calorie Burn/Mile
    Your Net Calorie Burn/Mile
    Running
    .75 x your weight (in lbs.)
    .63 x your weight
    Walking
    .53 x your weight
    .30 x your weight

    Adapted from "Energy Expenditure of Walking and Running," Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise, Cameron et al, Dec. 2004.


    (top number is total, bottom is Net. Since your BMR is already calculated in your calorie count- you worry about net). So.. if you are 200 pounds and run 5 miles per hour.. you would burn 125 calories per mile for a total of 600 calories in an hour. Use the equation above and your knowledge of your running abilities to help you gauge generally what effort levels are required for calorie burns.
  • lorenzoinlr
    lorenzoinlr Posts: 338 Member
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    First, you did the right thing asking for help. It's why we're all here. Let me try and inspire you. I could never have had a successful weight loss without finding a place like this. I've had my bumps in the road going through exactly what you're going through among other issues. I can remember feeling discouraged and at a loss and I imagine I'll continue to encounter that from time to time. This journey is a process. If you continue to seek help and learn from the resources here and elsewhere on the web, you will succeed even if it doesn't feel that way during this very brief moment in our life. Just follow the instinct that brought you here and trust that success will be there for you. Exhilaration awaits. Congratulations on showing up!!!

    Others have pointed out things that I might reiterate and add to. Water is really important. I was a camel when I got here. Now I'm a fish. Exercise calories were and continue to be one of the most challenging things for me. I haven't found a substitute for trial and error. My heart rate monitor (HRM) is a guide, both the ones on my wrist and on the machine, both of which read off the same chest belt and produce very different results! One was higher than the other early in my workout experience and have since flip flopped. Check a number of different sources on the web to get a range and then adjust based on weight loss and experience. I now take 60% of one reading and 110% of the other.

    Your carbs have been low and your sugar high. I was consuming less than half my recommended carbs and found it plateaud me by messing with my metabolism. If you can reduce your sugar that will also help. The less processed foods the better and the more you can use this resource for food ideas the easier this will get. GOOD LUCK, YOU CAN DO IT!!!
  • garita93
    garita93 Posts: 276 Member
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    I think I have been pretty accurate on my water intake. As far as measuring my food, I have driven my kids and husband nuts with my measuring my food. I do have a scale and I have been using measuring cups, spoons, etc.
    As far as lunch, I don't eat pork or certain types of fish so switching from ham to turkey to chicken isn't an option but I will try changing to eating sandwiches. I just figured eating the bread wouldn't be all that great, even though we buy whole wheat.

    As far as strength training, yes, that is what I had started last week, Thursday to be exact and it wasn't until Sunday morning that I could walk up my stairs without cringing. So yes very sore for strength training.

    Here is the additional problem I have, yes I do eat a far amount of processed foods but the reason being is because I can eat anything fruits or vegetables or nuts unless they are processed in some way otherwise my throat swells shut and my mouth swells and my lips get...well....huge. My mom says it is the mold content and the processing of it takes care of the mold. I don't really know.

    I would love to have a banana for breakfast, or an apple with my lunch but I can't unless I want to die basically. lol
  • Smuterella
    Smuterella Posts: 1,623 Member
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    your Mom says that....what about a Doctor?
  • paulo500
    paulo500 Posts: 1
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    The sure way to lose weight, and keep it off for life, is to STOP eating wheat, vegetable oils and SUGAR!
    You might be "slightly" eating better than SAD (Standard American diet).
    A quick search on wheat and the toxic cereal grain will shed light on the seriousness of it. I GUARANTEE you will drop serious weight when you ditch cereal grains and processed sugars.
    Refined sugar needs to stop. Fructose goes straight to your liver which can't be absorbed. Your liver does the only thing it can do with fructose and creates fat around itself. The same (or worse) than what alcoholics suffer from.

    Last, but not least, stay away from fast food like the plague. Most use so called "healthy" vegetable oils which are in actual fact, killing man kind. VO is high in omega 6 and blowing our ratio of o3 to o6 out of portion.


    What's foreign to most people, is eat "healthy fat" will help you lose fat! Saturated and monounsaturated should be your main focus and intake.(Coconut oil, real butter, etc) These are the optimum fat that our body needs for fuel. It is the most efficient fuel for our bodies. Yep you will hear the critics on this i guarantee it now. But research yourself and it will change your life and probably save others when you spread the word. The health benefits cannot be ignored. Chronic pain and inflammation will disappear. You will feel incredible once you change your diet.

    My diet is based on high fat, low carb/protein. 65-20-15% respectively. I was already a tall skinny guy, but i lost 15 lbs just by dropping sugar and wheat in the first couple weeks.

    To get you started. Research the high fat, low carb diets...ie.Paleo diet.

    Good luck.
  • garita93
    garita93 Posts: 276 Member
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    When I was younger I was taken to a doctor for allergy testing and they said that I tested positive for everything that they tested me for except sugar. Go figure, had it retested by a different allergy doctor and they said the same thing.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,695 Member
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    I have measured myself but haven't lost any inches. I have been doing Zumba for a year now 3 days a week. the only thing I have changed since joining MFP is my calorie intake and trying to exercise more. I only lost 6lbs prior to joining MFP doing Zumba. My daily activity level is very low, I have a full time desk job and then I do the Zumba and other workouts for exercise plus house work (which I don't log).
    So more water I should be drinking? That will make all the difference? I drink at least 4 glasses everyday, more when I am at home.

    According to the zumbacalories.com website for my weight it shows burning 712 for 60min for moderate, which I do higher then that but didn't want to over shoot the estimate.
    Need more than Zumba now. If it's been a year, then your body is totally acclimated to the workout. Try lifting some heavy *kitten* weights to increase your RMR. Deadlifts, squats and bench to start.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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