i think i just need a nutrionist - feel defeated

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it has been a month and no loss..some inches lost but not much..i am trying to bump up caloric intake but keep going over the daily sugar, etc...i think i am just going to go to a nutrionist...

planned on starting protein shakes for breakfast tomorrow - to make an effort at having breakfast - but i really don't think i know what i'm doing..

went to the gym last nite for zumba class and was worked into a healthy sweat 9 minutes into the class really giving it my all

just defeated:cry:
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Replies

  • MadeInDR022
    MadeInDR022 Posts: 260
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    I'm no professional, but are you eating enough? I know some firends that have had a bit of difficulty losing, and they ended up adding a bit more cals and started losing. If you haven't done so, figure out your TDEE and BMR and go from there. A nutritionist is a great idea, but try to save yourself the money first..good luck!
  • mamaomefo
    mamaomefo Posts: 418 Member
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    Burn calories . It has to be consistent and all foods logged exactly for this to work. And congratulations on the Zumba class and giving it your all. Regular exercise is a must!
  • lauralind5
    lauralind5 Posts: 133 Member
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    Just a quick peek at your diary, I see no veggies !

    Also where are you hormonal wise?

    I was stuck at 7 lbs for a while, but was losing inches. I had to start eating more, drinking more water for it to finally move.
  • marie_cressman
    marie_cressman Posts: 980 Member
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    more fruits/veggies (fresh preferably... they taste better and are better for ya!)
    whole grains
    lean protein
    water, water, water!

    my personal goal is to drink half my body weight in ounces of water a day. i weigh 183ish lbs so i drink 96oz (12cups) of water in a day MOST days. not all days because obviously i'm not perfect. :smile:

    i see a nutritionist (just started seeing her 2 weeks ago) and she took a look at my regular diet (when i'm not over indulging because i do that sometimes too... lol) and she said what i'm doing is fine and really there was no need for me to see her, but i choose to see her for the extra support.
  • mskimber99
    mskimber99 Posts: 30
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    i drink about a gallon of lemon water a day..and i was eating carrots, grapes, watermelon and going over my sugar everyday so i stopped.
  • nifer1029
    nifer1029 Posts: 28 Member
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    Breakfast can make all the difference in the world!
  • MizSaz
    MizSaz Posts: 445 Member
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    Having a quick peek at your diary, it seems as though even though the things you're eating aren't necessarily BAD for you, a lot of it isn't especially GOOD for you, either. You might want to consider adding more fresh fruit and veggies, and tons of water.
  • gretchenwb
    gretchenwb Posts: 70 Member
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    Check out the thread, excel spreadsheet for calculating TDEE BMR, and eat back your exercise calories. I spent 3 months starving myself, and am pushing now to eat ENOUGH (check out the eat more to weigh less group). I have been at this since January, and only lost 4 pounds, but I have lost inches, and feel great, and am jogging for the first time in 19 years! Don't throw in the towel yet!
  • marie_cressman
    marie_cressman Posts: 980 Member
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    i drink about a gallon of lemon water a day..and i was eating carrots, grapes, watermelon and going over my sugar everyday so i stopped.

    i don't worry so much about my sugar if i'm getting it from healthy things. i don't know if that's the right or wrong way to go about it, but i haven't been told otherwise. i eat plenty of fruit and my nutritionist hasn't said anything about sugars to me.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    Looking at your diary, you really need to EAT MORE. Especially more protein. So, yes, I would recommend a nutritionist if you are feeling lost.

    You know, I also say this very, very rarely, particularly on the American prepared food diet, but your sodium levels are ridiculously low. You need electrolytes to support exercise. If your diary is anywhere near accurate, you're not getting them.
  • BeantownSooner
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    Taking a look at your diary it seems you eat 100% processed foods and no breakfast at all. Now that doesn't mean they're all bad but they tend to strip out their natural nutrients and often add a lot of other stuff such as salt, sugar, etc. It would also appear that you're potentially under eating and it appears there no rhyme or reason to your macro nutrient levels/goals (carb, fat, protein).

    Here's what I would recommend you attempt:
    - Change your macro levels to either 50% Protein, 30% Carb and 20% fat or 40%, 40%, 20%. Do your best to hit that level. If higher protein you probably want to add Protein shakes into the mix.
    - Begin adding whole foods to your diet on a daily basis. Whole foods = foods with one or minimal ingredients. Basically, stuff that doesn't come in a box or package. Fresh veggies, fruits, lean proteins like meat, fish and eggs, whole grain foods (rice, pasta, quinoa). That's not to say things in a package are all bad as Cottage Cheese does but there are not a lot of ingredients in it.
    - Focus on measuring and eating one serving. Your dinners are your heaviest meal it seems and probably because your very hungry by that time. If you space out smaller meals during the day you'll kick start your metabolism and eliminate the potential to eat a ton at the end of the day.
    - Start eating a healthy breakfast as it'll do wonders. For example, 2 egg whites + 1 whole egg plus 1 slice plan whole wheat toast is about 300 calories. 1c of 1% Cottage Cheese is about 180 + a slice of whole wheat will get you there as well. A good whole grain cereal with 1c 1% milk will get you to around 300 as well. Cut up fresh melons at the start of the week or grab an apple with your Cottage Cheese (or Yogurt/Greek Yogurt). It's pretty easy and doesn't have to be a chore.
    - Don't be afraid of good fats such as olive, coconut and sesame oil, nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts), avocados and nut butters (all natural is preferred). On those days when you're struggling to hit your calorie intake it's very easy to consume a handful of almonds or eat a banana (1 med is about 100 calories) w/ 2 tbsp of PB (~200 calories). Now don't go overboard of course but great little trick to close the gap. I find myself in the cabinet eating 2 tbsp of PB all the time!


    Take a look at the link below. Beachbody (makers of P90X and other workout programs) has a nutrition program called Michi's ladder. Basically, it's whole foods in layers. If you stay to the top 2 layers you'd have near perfect nutrition. Honestly, I try to stay to the top 3 as much as possible and it works. Mix and match as you see fit.

    http://www.teambeachbody.com/eat-smart/michis-ladder

    Now I'm not saying to just give up all of the foods your currently eating as some of them seem to be pretty good and you obviously like them. But if you can try to swap out a couple of meals per day (add Breakfast of whole foods) and perhaps dinner is lean meat, veggies and a single carb serving it will hopefully get you pointed in the right direction.

    Good luck!


    - Try to eat 5, 300 - 400 calorie meals per day. Start with 300 so you get 1,500 for the day. You could also do a couple 3 400's and 2 300's to hit the 1800 goal that your diary has.
  • marie_cressman
    marie_cressman Posts: 980 Member
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    - Try to eat 5, 300 - 400 calorie meals per day. Start with 300 so you get 1,500 for the day. You could also do a couple 3 400's and 2 300's to hit the 1800 goal that your diary has.

    this is what i try to do daily. i try to have 5 meals a day of about 300-400 calories (my daily goal is 1800). :)
  • BeantownSooner
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    i drink about a gallon of lemon water a day..and i was eating carrots, grapes, watermelon and going over my sugar everyday so i stopped.

    I wouldn't get to hung up on these sugars unless your diabetic. It's really almost impossible to stay under the "recommended" sugar level which I believe is around 30 for females and 40 for males.
  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
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    i don't worry so much about my sugar if i'm getting it from healthy things. i don't know if that's the right or wrong way to go about it, but i haven't been told otherwise. i eat plenty of fruit and my nutritionist hasn't said anything about sugars to me.
    I completely agree with this and rbrow01's above excellent suggestions for meals.
    The recommendations for sugar on here are a little unrealistic in my opinion. Added sugar should absolutely be limited, but MFP counts naturally occurring sugars the same as added sugars, making it impossible to eat any quantity of fruit and stay under the limit. If you avoid heavily processed foods, you will not be getting any added sugar. The naturally occurring sugar in fruits will give you energy for your workouts and comes with lots of filling fiber, plus tons of vitamins, antioxidants, and other substances in plants that will enhance your health and wellbeing. Don't be afraid to eat fruit.
  • LuckySar
    LuckySar Posts: 12
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    Definitely see a nutritionist. You are eating enough calories, but they are not nutritionally dense calories. You need to fuel your body, not just fill it. Veggies, fruits, lean protein, whole grains are all super important to a well fueled body.
  • kornmaiden
    kornmaiden Posts: 109
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    Do you have a hyvee grocery store near you - most of them have Registered dietitians, free of charge!
  • MonicaT1972
    MonicaT1972 Posts: 512
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    I wont repeat all the good advice you have already gotten as it's all excellent.

    From what I saw looking at your diary unfrtunately you do need some gidance on diet choices. My advice if you can afford to see a nutritionist it would be a great help to you to get you going and help you succeed.

    Good luck!!!
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    i drink about a gallon of lemon water a day..and i was eating carrots, grapes, watermelon and going over my sugar everyday so i stopped.

    You're struggling with this, and I know what that's like - trust me!, so it's time to simplify.

    1. Eliminate "sugar" from your tracking. Just make it go away. Stop thinking about it.
    2. Eliminate as much as possible of the sugary processed foods (M&M's, pop tarts, etc) as you can.
    3. Eat fruit. Enjoy it. Count the calories, don't worry about the sugars right now. You need nutrition more than you need to drop the sugars right now.
    4. Find a diet that will allow your carbohydrates, fats, and proteins to come into some sort of reasonable balance.
    5. Once you're in a groove with that, start tracking Iron, Calcium, and other nutrients, and make sure you're getting reasonable amounts of them.
    6. Once you've done that, just go with the flow for a few weeks and let your body adjust to being fed properly. Keep up the exercise, and I'm sure you'll see it improve in quality and become easier.

    I'm tempted to say "hide the scale", too. Your first and foremost focus needs to be to feed your body all the things it needs.
  • healthysew
    healthysew Posts: 105 Member
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    bump, good info on this thread!
  • NWCountryGal
    NWCountryGal Posts: 1,992 Member
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    Just viewed your diary, I am sorry I didn't try that before asking you to turn it on. You are logging and that is great! Is 51 your total calories burned for a day? What is your basal metabolic rate or resting metabolic rate? I've been taught that is what my body would burn if I were just lying in bed all day.

    Your sodium looks too high but many of us have had to adjust our food intake after seeing it in black and white. That's why those diaries are so important and wonderful help to us. We need to eat enough and enough of the right foods. Not that you can't fit in treats because you can. I promise you that;) By the way, I know a gal that doesn't eat breakfast, she starts her regular 1st meal around noon or something. She is progressing leaps and bounds and if you are hungry in the a.m. just have a little bite of something you like. Like a smoothee(I have a great recipe for a protein smoothee in my diary:)

    Keep in touch with us, people will be here for you every step of the way:) Anytime I need someone I login and someone is always around:) denise:)

    this was my first note before I realized I could already see your diary;) Sorry bout that:
    A nutritionist may be what you decide on but I believe that the direction and help you get from mfp can change your life for the good but you have to listen to folks that have succeeded with themselves as well as others. Can you allow us to look at your diary? Flip it on "members only" view I think it us and let us take a look so we can see your routine this far. I am so thrilled at just having others around me that each have something in common with me. Again, I know the answer may not be here for you, it's a personal thing and only you can decide. I hope you will give it a fair chance and not give up. I fight depression, worry and second guessing myself but no place have I found, even in the off-line world, for better support.

    I am losing weight on a fairly regular basis and I am about 2 months into it. I didn't log right away and I did not eat enough, whole, foods but reading to many of the winners here, I now am going for the Gold:) denise:drinker: :drinker:
    it has been a month and no loss..some inches lost but not much..i am trying to bump up caloric intake but keep going over the daily sugar, etc...i think i am just going to go to a nutrionist...

    planned on starting protein shakes for breakfast tomorrow - to make an effort at having breakfast - but i really don't think i know what i'm doing..

    went to the gym last nite for zumba class and was worked into a healthy sweat 9 minutes into the class really giving it my all

    just defeated:cry: