Why no weight loss?

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2

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  • Spankymonkey79
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    I think the weekends might be your Achilles heal. I too like a drink but I'm always mindful to include it into my calorific intake for that day. For example one weekend I had a bottle of wine with the intention of having a takeaway. However after I had drunk the wine and input it in MFP I found that I couldn't eat the takeaway and still achieve my daily target. My solution was to forgo the takeaway. I was hungry but my Cal limit for that day was still within bounds. Unfortunately sacrifice and discipline is the key.
  • ArtemisMoon
    ArtemisMoon Posts: 144
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    Listen to your body. I find it helpful to use something like the Wii fit that you can weigh every day and it will track it for you. Look at patterns over time as you try different things. Increase your food a little and give it several weeks to a month. Any difference in average weight over time? Or try decreasing. Pick a tactic, but just pick one and be patient so you can see if it is working. Then revise as needed by changing up that tactic or choosing a new one until you find what your body responds to. By testing your body, you'll learn to listen to it and find out what works for you and not anyone else. It takes patience, but it will be great in the long run.

    And hydrate. half of body weight in oz. I wasn't doing that and I regret it!
  • jenluvsushi
    jenluvsushi Posts: 933 Member
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    I have had several plateaus during my 54 pound loss.... It can be very frustrating when the numbers just don't add up. I have had my RMR tested, all of my hormones levels, etc...sometimes there isn't an answer. I do know this is what has worked for me....I got a bodymedia and it has helped me a ton....I eat 5-7 serving of fruits and veggies a day and try to limit fruit to one or two servings a day. I drink a gallon of water a day. I eat 2-3 servings a day of comlex carbs like sprouted bread, quinoa or similar up until lunch and then I stop for the day (normally)....I make sure I get close to 70 grams of fat and I try to make it healthy fat. I also eat my lean body mass in protein which is close to 150 grams a day for me. I am not always perfect...but i try. The thing that really helps me is to keep my sodium at or below 1800 and my potassium as close to 3500 as possible. I don't hardly ever drink anymore or eat out....it is almost impossible to know what that restaurant is putting in your food no matter what they claim. I have weeks where I don't see anything but gains and then the next week or so I will have a big loss. Try not to get discouraged or to weigh yourself too often....it makes me want to throw in the towel. The weekends used to ruin it for me....once I stopped drinking and cheating all weekend, it really changed. I still have fun...I just know that I have to kill it in the gym if I want that glass of wine or whatever it may be. There is no cheat meal for me....it has to fit in my macros.
  • i_miss_donuts
    i_miss_donuts Posts: 180 Member
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    So frustrating! Looking through a few weeks of entries in your food and exercise diaries I would suggest getting more and more vigorous cardio like the hill intervals you were doing on the treadmill (I wouldn't consider the dog walking cardio - it is more of bonus exercise) and flip flopping your protein and carb ratios. If you are getting more lean protein at every meal and limit your carbs to high fiber veggies and fruits (the tortillas and orzo should probably go) it may be enough to move the needle.

    I also agree with other posters that you need to be drinking more water and really watching the alcohol. As others have pointed out, being good all week won't help if you blow the weekends. For anyone trying to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle - figuring out how to have a social life and not derail your progress is critical.

    Good luck - whatever you do, don't give up - your health is too important!
  • torygirl79
    torygirl79 Posts: 307 Member
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    There is so much different (and conflicting) advice on this thread I was almost reluctant to post.

    All I would say is three things.

    1). Always log. No matter how bad it is
    2). Watch the carbs - too many figures in the red
    3). Be careful of overestimating excercise calories unless you're using a HRM

    Good luck :-)
  • barbcouperus
    barbcouperus Posts: 49 Member
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    u clearly need to eat more
    really? I'm not hungry with what I've been eating...do I force myself to eat more?
  • barbcouperus
    barbcouperus Posts: 49 Member
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    I. Try eating back your exercise calories, or at least the bigger part of them, MFP already substracts the necessary amount.

    II. As suggested by the others, try getting a HRM. Kickboxing is an intense sport, but sometimes MFP's estimations are over the top.

    III. Caffeine and alcohol might be problematic, although I don't know how much of that you take in every day exactly. Alcohol can be especially bad for the muscles, even if it's just one glass of vodka.

    IV. As mentioned before: log the weekends.

    V. Try fixing more on strength? I only saw push-ups and kick boxing in the entries I looked at, you might want to try lifting or something similar. Every pound of muscles burns addition calories.

    VI. I read something about your doctor not knowing what the problem is, but did you get checked for allergies? Perhaps you don't react well to some of the things you eat....

    That's all I can think of right now~
    thanks for your comments...
    re: lifting...I lift weights 2 x per week, but don't log them because they don't show calories burned, so I didn't think it was useful to do so? And the alcohol is never during the week, just a glass or two of wine or beer on Saturday nights. and coffee is only one a day...
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
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    probably not eating enough. period. Every time I've hit plateaus I've had to up my calories. try upping to 1600-1700 a day.

    and don't eat starchy carbs in the evening.
  • barbcouperus
    barbcouperus Posts: 49 Member
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    thanks everyone...
    this is the consensus I get from all the comments:

    1-eat less carbs
    2-eat more protein
    3-eat more of my exercise calories back
    4-get an HR monitor
    5-track the weekends too

    I'll keep plugging away and try and get this thing right. :drinker:
  • juwan24
    juwan24 Posts: 27
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    if youre good with excell, make a spreadsheet that shows you waht you should lose in a week based on bmr, exercise, eating, etc...and keep your net around where MFP says it should be. One of the big things is seeing that you're only supposed to lose .4 pounds based on your week, and knowing you're on track helps
  • barbcouperus
    barbcouperus Posts: 49 Member
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    probably not eating enough. period. Every time I've hit plateaus I've had to up my calories. try upping to 1600-1700 a day.

    and don't eat starchy carbs in the evening.

    thanks and WOW on your weight loss!!
    I'm always hesitant to try eating more...it goes against years of being told to eat less to lose weight, but I've heard that a few times now...
  • DeniseB0711
    DeniseB0711 Posts: 294 Member
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    You'l hear 999 reasons why are you aren't losing weight.....just hang in there at some point things will change.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    From one of my old posts from a similar topic:

    OK. I'm gonna give this a shot. I am an avid lifelong athlete. I have never been overweight, however, I used to eat too few calories (without knowing it), and a couple years ago, I actually GAINED weight bc of having slowed my metabolism to the point that every little extra treat I ate caused a weight gain, even though overall my calories were too low. THIS DOES HAPPEN.

    It is also the reason so many fat people stay fat. They restrict their calories so low, slow their metabolisms, binge (even a little), gain weight, restrict more . . . . and so on and so on. But they are still fat.

    It is also the reason most people can't lose that last 10-20 lbs. For real.

    1. MFP has a deficit built in. Let's say you're trying to lose 1 lb/ week. That is a 500/day deficit from your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs to complete basic functions.

    2. You exercise and burn 500 calories. Now you are at a 1000 deficit. If you eat back those 500 exercise calories, you refuel your body and you still have a 500 deficit for that 1 lb loss. If you DON'T eat back those calories, you have too little fuel. This is bad. This is too much of a deficit for basic functions. If you do this for a long time, you will STOP LOSING WEIGHT. Why? bc your metabolism will slow down -- it's like a brownout--not quite enough electricity to make the whole city (your body) run, so it has to slow down some things. You will probably start being tired a lot, your skin and hair might start to look worse, and you might even gain weight. But you might NOT be hungry -- your body is getting used to fewer calories. That's bad.


    That's when you start to gain weight. Let's say you're running along, eating 1200 calories a day, and exercising 400 calories a day, so net is 800. You're losing, you think this is great. You keep doing it, but after a while you stop losing. hmmmmm. One weekend you go out to a special event and have a slice of pizza and a beer. 1 slice of pizza and 1 beer. So you ate maybe 2000 calories that day and exercised off 400, so net 1600. BOOM! You gain 3 lbs! What?!

    Next, you freak out and restrict yourself down to 1000 calories a day and work out extra hard, burning 500 calories. Great, netting 500 now. You don't lose any weight, but you sure feel tired. Better get some red bull.

    Are you getting the picture?

    EDIT: When you work out, you need fuel. Food is fuel. If you don't eat back those exercise calories, you will not only have a big calorie deficit, you will have an ENERGY deficit. Remember, the calorie deficit for weight loss is built in when you use MFP. Exercising basically earns you more calories because you must refuel.
    --

    There are many people who will tell you not to eat exercise calories. Before you take their advice, you might want to see whether they are at goal, have EVER been at goal, or have ever been able to maintain at goal. If anyone says to you 'THE LAST TIME I LOST WEIGHT", just stop listening right there.

    Ask some athletes whether or not they replenish their bodies with food equal to the calories they burn. Ask people who are fit and have achieved and maintained a healthy weight for some years. Don't ask people who count walking across a parking lot as exercise.

    Here's an interesting case study about how to stay fat while consuming only 700 calories a day. Take a moment, you'll be glad you did:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    blessings.
  • barbcouperus
    barbcouperus Posts: 49 Member
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    There is so much different (and conflicting) advice on this thread I was almost reluctant to post.

    All I would say is three things.

    1). Always log. No matter how bad it is
    2). Watch the carbs - too many figures in the red
    3). Be careful of overestimating excercise calories unless you're using a HRM

    Good luck :-)

    Yeah, I always wonder about the calories they say I burn for things like the kickboxing classes...it seems really high. I often even put in that the class was only 45 minutes instead of the full hour because I don't believe the calories burnt is correct. I still don't eat over the baseline of calories that MFP gives me (1550)...
  • rodneyderrick
    rodneyderrick Posts: 483 Member
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    Quit drinking alcoholic beverages.
    Just stop totally.
    Let's see how that helps in 3 months.

    Just drink plain water. I noticed that a lot of people like to slam down pitchers of that Crystal Light stuff, and that has like 5 calories a serving. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, and then there's the sugar too. In addition, I've been doing MFP for two years, so it's not something to do for a little bit, and then quit. Weight Watchers is an excellent way to lose weight too, but you have to stick with it.
  • ammatzner
    ammatzner Posts: 11
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    Hey... I've looked at your diary and it looks like you eat really healthy during the week. You probably should start logging your weekends because otherwise they get out of hand. I also noticed that you aren't logging on some Fridays. Eating healthy 4 out of 7 days might not be cutting it. Maybe just splurge on one or two meals on the weekends.
  • itsjustdawn
    itsjustdawn Posts: 1,073 Member
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    found the settings..it should be public now...
    try changing the 1% milk to fat free.... thats all i can say lol

    Negative. That isn't going to make or break your weight loss. Definitely track your weekends. You may find that you're consuming more than you thought. As for completely giving up anything, you really don't have to, but you should do the "bad" foods/beverages in moderation. Definitely drink your water. Make sure you're eating enough protein. But as another person wrote, and I am not quoting, 4 out of 7 days isn't enough. Also, calculate your TDEE and BMR to make sure your calorie intake isn't too low (this is why I said that changing your milk to FF wasn't going to make or break it).
  • fbichick
    fbichick Posts: 9 Member
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    I've had the same issue as you. I was eating the stricter side of 1200 calories and hardly eating back any exercise calories or if I did, it wasn't very many. I stopped losing pounds and was losing only inches. I went into MFP and started reading what other ladies had put on the community board about the same struggle I was having. Utlimately, it all came down to I wasn't eating enough calories. My body was storing everything because it was in starvation mode from the calories I was expending on exercise and not eating enough to compensate. You DON'T have to give up your alcohol either! You can have A glass of wine or A beer but I wouldn't waste the calories on more than one drink - too many carbs and sugars to worry over. I learned a few things about Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) on the community board on MFP. I google searched on the internet "What is TDEE" and found several sites that will figure out what your BMR/TDEE is. This will tell you how many calories you should be eating for the fitness your are performing. I did mine and I went from eating only 1200 a day (which is what MFP suggested) to eating between 1700 and 2400 a day. I'm averaging about 1600-1800 a day and I'm back to losing weight. It's weird science because we are conditioned and told all of our lives that you eat less and move more, you'll lose weight. NOT TRUE! I'm no expert by any means but I'm in the same boat as you, I've struggle all my life, I'm a large girl and I've done very diet out there. This is the one program that has been a huge help for me and keeps me focused. I don't skip one day, NO MATTER HOW BAD, journaling my food/drink. It keeps me more accountable to me. The weekends are where I struggle the most so I have to track it or I'll blow it. If you are performing cardio 3-4 times a week and strength training 3-4 times a week, you're fine in the exercise area - adjust your food intake and the amount you consume and you should go back to losing. I hope this advice helps.
  • itsjustdawn
    itsjustdawn Posts: 1,073 Member
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    thanks everyone...
    this is the consensus I get from all the comments:

    1-eat less carbs
    2-eat more protein
    3-eat more of my exercise calories back
    4-get an HR monitor
    5-track the weekends too

    I'll keep plugging away and try and get this thing right. :drinker:

    It may take weeks of tweaking :-)
  • barbcouperus
    barbcouperus Posts: 49 Member
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    From one of my old posts from a similar topic:

    OK. I'm gonna give this a shot. I am an avid lifelong athlete. I have never been overweight, however, I used to eat too few calories (without knowing it), and a couple years ago, I actually GAINED weight bc of having slowed my metabolism to the point that every little extra treat I ate caused a weight gain, even though overall my calories were too low. THIS DOES HAPPEN.

    It is also the reason so many fat people stay fat. They restrict their calories so low, slow their metabolisms, binge (even a little), gain weight, restrict more . . . . and so on and so on. But they are still fat.

    It is also the reason most people can't lose that last 10-20 lbs. For real.

    1. MFP has a deficit built in. Let's say you're trying to lose 1 lb/ week. That is a 500/day deficit from your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs to complete basic functions.

    2. You exercise and burn 500 calories. Now you are at a 1000 deficit. If you eat back those 500 exercise calories, you refuel your body and you still have a 500 deficit for that 1 lb loss. If you DON'T eat back those calories, you have too little fuel. This is bad. This is too much of a deficit for basic functions. If you do this for a long time, you will STOP LOSING WEIGHT. Why? bc your metabolism will slow down -- it's like a brownout--not quite enough electricity to make the whole city (your body) run, so it has to slow down some things. You will probably start being tired a lot, your skin and hair might start to look worse, and you might even gain weight. But you might NOT be hungry -- your body is getting used to fewer calories. That's bad.


    That's when you start to gain weight. Let's say you're running along, eating 1200 calories a day, and exercising 400 calories a day, so net is 800. You're losing, you think this is great. You keep doing it, but after a while you stop losing. hmmmmm. One weekend you go out to a special event and have a slice of pizza and a beer. 1 slice of pizza and 1 beer. So you ate maybe 2000 calories that day and exercised off 400, so net 1600. BOOM! You gain 3 lbs! What?!

    Next, you freak out and restrict yourself down to 1000 calories a day and work out extra hard, burning 500 calories. Great, netting 500 now. You don't lose any weight, but you sure feel tired. Better get some red bull.

    Are you getting the picture?

    EDIT: When you work out, you need fuel. Food is fuel. If you don't eat back those exercise calories, you will not only have a big calorie deficit, you will have an ENERGY deficit. Remember, the calorie deficit for weight loss is built in when you use MFP. Exercising basically earns you more calories because you must refuel.
    --

    There are many people who will tell you not to eat exercise calories. Before you take their advice, you might want to see whether they are at goal, have EVER been at goal, or have ever been able to maintain at goal. If anyone says to you 'THE LAST TIME I LOST WEIGHT", just stop listening right there.

    Ask some athletes whether or not they replenish their bodies with food equal to the calories they burn. Ask people who are fit and have achieved and maintained a healthy weight for some years. Don't ask people who count walking across a parking lot as exercise.

    Here's an interesting case study about how to stay fat while consuming only 700 calories a day. Take a moment, you'll be glad you did:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    blessings.
    thank you so much, I really, really appreciate it.