i think i just need a nutrionist - feel defeated

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!!

bump, good info on this thread!

Going to see a registered dietitian is a great idea! There are so many different approaches to weight loss and nutrition out there that it gets a little confusing. An accredited professional would be a big help to get things going in the right direction. You are not admitting defeat so much as discovering that weight management is hard work and perhaps a little more complicated than we like to admit. Good luck with reaching your health and fitness goals :happy:

Wooooooo, this is cool!!

Do you have a hyvee grocery store near you - most of them have Registered dietitians, free of charge!

I took a look at your profile and diary and it doesn't look so bad to me overall... You're losing about a pound a week which isn't bad ( I'm aiming for 1-3lbs a week). I do see a high number of days that you were well under your calorie goal, coupled with your exercise routine and your age group you metabolism is like a bit slow (you already seem to be addressing the calorie deficit but it will take some time for your body to re-adjust). I'm bad for skipping meals myself, especially in the summer (my appetite tends to die in the heat) but I force myself to eat breakfast and use the lunch as my skip. I think this starts up you metabolism earlier in the day and helps you burn those calories faster(I'm no expert mind you). Also if you're exercising hard enough (you are losing inches) you may be gaining muscle which is denser than the fat its replacing(again no expert but it seems to fit). I would try to go more for fresh and no processed foods and add the fiber column to your diary. Fiber regulates a lot of aspects of digestion and helps to aid weight loss.

Losing weight is easy, but it requires patience and dedication. There's some great advice on mfp, but there's also a lot of quackery.

In general - based on your diary - you seem to be doing OK. I do agree that you should improve the composition of your diet a bit. More fruits and veggies, especially veggies. More home cooked meals. Chicken and fish are winners, and can be prepared in bulk to be eaten later (especially chicken).

You need to get a digital scale (they're cheap) and weigh everything. You also need to be sure you include everything in your diary. Don't forget that tablespoon of virgin olive oil, or the melted butter, etc. These calories add up.

If you're going to eat more, make sure you exercise those additional calories off, so the net result is lower net calorie intake.

Look for NSV's in the beginning. Measure yourself really well. Any improvements should be highly motivational. Take whatever you can get!

If you can afford a nutritionist, great. But my guess is the quality varies tremendously. So caveat emptor.

--P

Some things I eat:

Fish(cod, steelhead, salmon, talapia)
Pork
chicken
salads
green giant frozen(in the little boxes)vegies
Jasmine Rice
Yukon Gold Potatos
protein smoothees
bacon
eggs
soy milk(vanilla)
yogurt with 5 live cultures
strawberrys, blueberries, rasberries, cranberry juice and pomegranite
walnuts, peanuts in shells(unsalted)
string cheese
Nabisco multi grain crackers
Ak mak crackers
Laughing Cow Cream cheese triangles
oatmeal w/br sugar and raisins(home made)
Stevia(w/tea or coffee)
Avocados
Franz Multi grain and Sweet Dark breads(just 2 of my faves)
WATER, :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

This is only the short list but basically my menus consist of these. I need more variety for sure but wanted to give you an idea as to what you can eat and still lose weight. I'm learning more everyday that losing fat is not about cutting calories, it's about eating more calories of healthy foods to fuel our bodies to burn up the fat.

denise PS I also use olive oil often and I do use spray butter(I can't believe it's butter) Oh, and I almost forgot Peanut Butter, Adams Crunchy!!