Help! too many options which to do....nothing working

Hi all I have been here on MFP for a while now and nothing is working, I started with 1200 cals a day and walking 3 times a week. Nothing changed after a month of trying.. Then I found the "eat more to weigh less" group, it made sense so I took that up and joined the gym at the same time. 5 weeks later and I have gained 2 kg's and lost no inches... so confused and no idea what to do now.

Stats are 36 yrs old female, 86 kg's and around 5.5 height. Should I just eat at BMR around 1600 and keep going to the gym? I workout 4-6 times a week, 30mins cardio and 30 mins weights.

Any advice or how it worked for others would be great!
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Replies

  • Xamybrynx
    Xamybrynx Posts: 18
    Hi Hun just a thought but have you measured yourself? You maybe losing inches with all that exercise also are you eating bk your calories? Xcx
  • cjhart81
    cjhart81 Posts: 200 Member
    She said she has gained 2 kg's and lost no inches :P

    Are you drinking water? how much?
  • thebigcb
    thebigcb Posts: 2,210 Member
    are you being totally honest with your calorie counting? Counting every single thing? I'm terrilbe for conviently forgetting the glass of wine :-)
  • richx83
    richx83 Posts: 334 Member
    It is a most annoying place to be in and one which would cause alot of people to quit (myself included). When i started it took around a year to lose 28lbs and i then upped my game, increased the cardio and lost over 84lbs the following year.

    Battle through it, improve your fitness etc. and increase effort as you improve and you should start to see the changes you want to see, just not as fast as you would probably like.
  • bettyzing
    bettyzing Posts: 48
    [Nope no inches, not even a cm!

    quote]
    Hi Hun just a thought but have you measured yourself? You maybe losing inches with all that exercise also are you eating bk your calories? Xcx
    [/quote]
  • bettyzing
    bettyzing Posts: 48
    Around 1.5 litres a day
    She said she has gained 2 kg's and lost no inches :P

    Are you drinking water? how much?
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
    Maybe track sodium & sugar they seem to be quite high in your diet?
  • bettyzing
    bettyzing Posts: 48
    Been counting the many glasses... but like I said my cals have been around 1900 I just am starting to think its too many

    are you being totally honest with your calorie counting? Counting every single thing? I'm terrilbe for conviently forgetting the glass of wine :-)
  • bettyzing
    bettyzing Posts: 48
    Been counting the many glasses... but like I said my cals have been around 1900 I just am starting to think its too many

    are you being totally honest with your calorie counting? Counting every single thing? I'm terrilbe for conviently forgetting the glass of wine :-)
  • Xamybrynx
    Xamybrynx Posts: 18
    Well I guess someone had to correct me eh, if I were you Hun I would look into exactly how much exercise you are doing your body could be in starvation mode I have been in the same place as you are and as soon as I started eating bk the calories it was moving again hope this helps xcx
  • bettyzing
    bettyzing Posts: 48
    Thanks all I just cant figure out where I should set my cals too now. I burn around 300 cals per workout so not heaps. I go by what the machine says then assume around 100 cals for strength training.
  • Xamybrynx
    Xamybrynx Posts: 18
    Is this the only exercise you do daily? Maybe try eating speed foods xcx
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
    Maybe track sodium and sugar in your diet they seem to be quite high?
  • bettyzing
    bettyzing Posts: 48
    Sure could be worth a go.

    quote]
    Maybe track sodium and sugar in your diet they seem to be quite high?
    [/quote]
  • bettyzing
    bettyzing Posts: 48
    ? I go to the gym 5 -6 times a week for an hr.
    Is this the only exercise you do daily? Maybe try eating speed foods xcx
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
    counting cals does nothing for me either.
    once i started low carb, the weight started dropping off of me.

    good luck to whatever you decide!
  • bettyzing
    bettyzing Posts: 48
    Yeah but i would miss my wine too much!
    counting cals does nothing for me either.
    once i started low carb, the weight started dropping off of me.

    good luck to whatever you decide!
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Try using MFP as designed.

    Go into your settings and set yourself to lose 1lb a week - no more no less. This will give you a deficit of 500 calories a day. If you are totally honest with everything you track, this works by the sheer laws of thermodynamics and won't leave you feeling deprived.

    Do exercise you love, but preferably a mix of cardio and strength, five or six days a week. Eat back 80% of your exercise calories to allow a margin of error.

    Make healthy food choices most of the time, but when you don't at least make sure you hit your calorie target. For at least one week, weigh everything and double-check portion sizes until you can eyeball them accurately. Log everything, even that bite of someone else's cake.

    Don't keep changing programmes when something doesn't work after a week or two. Stick with it and you'll get results.

    I notice you haven't filled in your profile. Set yourself some goals for the next week, month and six months. Get your MFP friends to support you.

    You've got this! :flowerforyou:
  • MrsLong1980
    MrsLong1980 Posts: 181 Member
    Try using MFP as designed.

    Go into your settings and set yourself to lose 1lb a week - no more no less. This will give you a deficit of 500 calories a day. If you are totally honest with everything you track, this works by the sheer laws of thermodynamics and won't leave you feeling deprived.

    Do exercise you love, but preferably a mix of cardio and strength, five or six days a week. Eat back 80% of your exercise calories to allow a margin of error.

    Make healthy food choices most of the time, but when you don't at least make sure you hit your calorie target. For at least one week, weigh everything and double-check portion sizes until you can eyeball them accurately. Log everything, even that bite of someone else's cake.

    Don't keep changing programmes when something doesn't work after a week or two. Stick with it and you'll get results.

    I notice you haven't filled in your profile. Set yourself some goals for the next week, month and six months. Get your MFP friends to support you.

    You've got this! :flowerforyou:

    This - what's the point of coming to MFP if you're not going to do what it suggests when you input your own details in? You can't just pluck calorie numbers from the air! And the weight didn't go on quickly so it's not going to come off quickly, you need to allow your body time to adjust first, then start working the way you want it to.
  • bettyzing
    bettyzing Posts: 48
    Thank you, I reckon you are bang on. I am going to go into settings and enter info now. I love going to the gym so will keep doing that. Thanks again.
    Try using MFP as designed.

    Go into your settings and set yourself to lose 1lb a week - no more no less. This will give you a deficit of 500 calories a day. If you are totally honest with everything you track, this works by the sheer laws of thermodynamics and won't leave you feeling deprived.

    Do exercise you love, but preferably a mix of cardio and strength, five or six days a week. Eat back 80% of your exercise calories to allow a margin of error.

    Make healthy food choices most of the time, but when you don't at least make sure you hit your calorie target. For at least one week, weigh everything and double-check portion sizes until you can eyeball them accurately. Log everything, even that bite of someone else's cake.

    Don't keep changing programmes when something doesn't work after a week or two. Stick with it and you'll get results.

    I notice you haven't filled in your profile. Set yourself some goals for the next week, month and six months. Get your MFP friends to support you.

    You've got this! :flowerforyou:
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    Weigh your food. Measure liquids. Add EVERYTHING that passes your lips to your food diary. Take the "calories burned" figure on gym equipment with a very large pinch of salt unless at a minimum the machine asks for gender age and weight.

    Seriously, if you're just starting out and you're eating 1200 a day and exercising and not losing weight or inches for over a month, you're not eating 1200 a day. Period.

    Unless of course you've got a thyroid condition or similar, but it's far more likely you're eating too much.
  • Xamybrynx
    Xamybrynx Posts: 18
    The reason I ask about how much exercise you do daily was because if you did it twice and only consumed 100 calls bk that could be the reason but you do it once on certain days so I dout that's it,maybe getting bk to basics with mfp might be an idea sorry I can't help more xcx
  • bettyzing
    bettyzing Posts: 48
    Got ya, yep just went back in and changed my settings to what the site suggests, here goes!
    The reason I ask about how much exercise you do daily was because if you did it twice and only consumed 100 calls bk that could be the reason but you do it once on certain days so I dout that's it,maybe getting bk to basics with mfp might be an idea sorry I can't help more xcx
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
    You are not in STARVATION MODE, for goodness sakes.

    If you are actually *gaining* weight, I think I know the problem: you are just eating too many calories. Stop this. If you want to "eat more to lose weight," you had better exercise a heck of a lot more to get rid of those extra calories.

    Set a reasonable calorie limit, based on MFP suggestions. LOG EVERYTHING ACCURATELY. EVERYTHING. Exercise doing whatever you like, but do it regularly. Stay at your recommended net calorie level each day as best you can. Ignore everything else. Do this for a month and see where you are. Oh, and don't forget, LOG EVERYTHING.

    --P
  • bettyzing
    bettyzing Posts: 48
    Agree, doing it from now.
    You are not in STARVATION MODE, for goodness sakes.

    If you are actually *gaining* weight, I think I know the problem: you are just eating too many calories. Stop this. If you want to "eat more to lose weight," you had better exercise a heck of a lot more to get rid of those extra calories.

    Set a reasonable calorie limit, based on MFP suggestions. LOG EVERYTHING ACCURATELY. EVERYTHING. Exercise doing whatever you like, but do it regularly. Stay at your recommended net calorie level each day as best you can. Ignore everything else. Do this for a month and see where you are. Oh, and don't forget, LOG EVERYTHING.

    --P
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
    Youre consistently going over your calories and DEFINITELY eating all of your exercise calories back. Maybe try sticking to maintaining a deficit and eating some healthier snacks such as nuts and fruit :)
  • brneydgrlie
    brneydgrlie Posts: 464 Member
    Looking at your diary, I see the following:

    1) Your diet has been really high in sugars and starchy carbs.
    2) You have been eating almost no vegetables.
    3) You do not eat a substantial breakfast.
    4) You are not drinking enough water.

    Change these things, and you should see the scale begin moving in the right direction.
  • thebigcb
    thebigcb Posts: 2,210 Member
    Can I suggest maybe going to a dietian or something. Maybe ask them for qualified advice
  • MicaMurphy
    MicaMurphy Posts: 23 Member
    I would suggest very seriously logging your calories accurately. If you're not sure, overestimate how many calories you've had. Going to the gym is great, but it'll be quite hard to lose weight if you're diet stays as it it. As people have mentioned before, you're eating a lot of starchy carbs, etc. Try finding something to have as an alternative. If you like carbs so much, go for wholewheat ones, brown pasta, rice, bread, etc. Try and find substitutes for chocolate, sweets, etc. I personally have found I much prefer cherries to chocolate, so I've almost replaced chocolate entirely with fruit.

    Fruit has natural sugars which are much better than the processed ones. Someone also mentioned breakfast. Eating a guideline portion of cereal with milk is a great way to kick start your metabolism every day. If you're finding it hard to eat fruit, put half a banana in your cereal. Tastes awesome and will keep you fuller for longer. Also, try and eat small meals more often. I tend to have breakfast at 8.30, a light snack (cherries, strawberries, etc) at 11.15, lunch at 12.30, another snack (toast, with olive spread or something) and then dinner at 7pm.

    I hope some of these options seem viable for you to try. I know how down-heartening it can be when you don't see results.

    Good luck! x
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    I agree with Berry 100%. Use MFP as designed. Set it to lose 1 lb per week. And be honest and as accurate as possible with your calorie counts.

    As far as what has happened in the last couple of months, I'm going to make a lot of assumptions here based on what you have posted. I've looked at your diary for the last couple of weeks.

    Based on what I have calculated as your BMR, you are just barely eating to lose .25 - .5 lb per week. That is only 250 calories per day. There is nothing wrong with that. That is good. Nice and slow wins the race. So based on that, for two months you are on track to have lost 4 lbs in the last two months. Give or take some of the days that you went over.

    What makes it bad though, is that your sodium intake is way way high. I know myself that if I have a couple of bad high sodium days that I can gain 5 lbs over night. If this is the case with you, then you are masking the fat loss with water retention. The cure for that is to make sure you are drinking enough water to flush the sodium out.

    Lets look at your diet now. You really need to cut out the processed foods and take outs. You really need to sit down and get serious with yourself and your goals. You need to decide if weight loss is going to be a short term goal or a long term way of life. I prefer the latter because the former leads to yo yo dieting and morbid obesity. And it messes with your self esteem. Until you get to know how to lose weight and what your body is capable of and how it reacts, you need to cut out the KFC.

    Eat lots of fruits and veggies and lean proteins. A great start would be to start cooking at home. At least then you are fully aware of what calories are going into your food, which is going into your body. Restaurant counts are just guesstimates at best. If you only have a few hundred calories to work with a day, you don't want to be messing up a good day with a take out.

    And finally your exercise. How are you measuring your calorie burn? If you are using the MFP counts, they tend to be on the high side. If you are using an HRM, than awesome.

    It's great that you have incorporated weight training into your exercise. Keep that up.

    It really sounds like you have a good knowledge base to get the job done, you just need to refine your techniques a little.
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