Hi! New here and getting discouraged :( - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

ammie805 · 02-08-2011, 08:19 PM

Hi everyone! My name is Ann Marie, 38 yo mom to 2 teens. I am 5'6" and start weight was 190. I recently joined a gym where I've been doing the elliptical (20 min) and treadmill (40 min..3 incline and speed from 3.2-3.4) daily. I have been eating right for 2 months (low carb..100% stone ground WW if I have carbs) and yet the scale has not moved more than 5 lbs. (currently 185) I have been going to the gym everyday! I thought I would have lost more lbs by now.

Also, how accurate are the machines? According to them I have been burning 530 calories total. I have read some old posts saying that I should up my calorie intake (I don't eat much I think?....2 hard boiled eggs in the AM, a chicken/cheese quesadilla on 2 stone ground wraps and for dinner I will either have steak with a side of green beans or broccoli or buffalo chicken wings (baked) and green beans/broccoli. I will snack on either a polly-o string cheese or cashews and I will have the occasional whipped cream for my sweet attack LOL.

I'd love to hear feedback on those who have had success in losing. Feel free to make corrections/suggestions to my diet LOL Thanks!

Ann Marie

fattymcfatty · 02-08-2011, 08:40 PM

I have read on here that machines grossly overestimate, but I don't think you are eating 1500 calories from what you listed. How many calories per day are you consuming, total? ( I could be wrong on this as far as the portions go, though).

ammie805 · 02-09-2011, 06:39 AM

160 cal for 2 hard boiled eggs, maybe 510 cal for the quesadilla, and the steak I am not sure about (according to a website, it's 880 cal for 16 oz). I know it's just over a lb but I don't eat the entire thing...I trim away all of the fat (pretty much just eat the middle of the steak) and leave behind a good outer fat layer LOL And this is not including 1-2 string cheeses and a handful of cashews sometimes....maybe I am close but not over what my caloric intake should be? I don't even know what that should be. This is all new to me.

Bac0s · 02-09-2011, 08:04 AM

I have had a lot of success with counting calories. Not just guesstimating, but measuring and weighing everything. Our eyeballs are remarkably inaccurate when it comes to measuring portion sizes. I would suggest trying that.

Mitza24 · 02-09-2011, 08:40 AM

I agree Use a site like FItDay.com or I like fatsecret.com even better actually for tracking food. Really log in everything you eat to the T to get the most accurate account of what you are eating each day. Steak has a lot of sat fat in it, not to mention a ton of calories. So you are better off eating chicken or fish for your protein choices and saving the red meat for special occasions. Same with buffalo wings....very fatty and not good for you.

What has helped for me is having plain oatmeal with cinnamon and fruit in the morning with an egg or some sort of protien, piece of fruit and cottage cheese for a moring snack, lean meat with some carbs and veggies for lunch, maybe some almonds and a piece of fruit or veggies for an afternoon snack and then meat and veggies, no carbs, for dinner. I can usually keep this all around 1300-1500 calories and have great results loosing weight this wayl

astrophe · 02-09-2011, 10:14 AM

The machine can be off. I prefer using a heart rate monitor for better burn accuracy.

I use FitdayPC for my food log. You may think about choosing a more accurate way of tracking that too. There's a lot of online trackers so see what fits you best.

GL!
A.

Jacki73 · 02-09-2011, 10:42 AM

Hi,

Let me get this straight, you have been on a healthier lifestyle for 2 months and you lost 5 lbs?

Looking at your meal plan. It doesn't look that great. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I think 2 eggs is not enough. Do you eat steak multiple times a week? I don't think you are getting the most out of your calories. Just my opinion. Can you give us a weekly meal sample? It is obvious you need some adjustment. Your workout plan looks great! Do you drink a lot of water? I agree with everyone else about the calorie counting sites, they are great! I feel you need to pick better options for your meals, you said your chicken and cheese quesadilla is 510 and steak is 880. That is a lot! You definitely need a larger breakfast. Sometimes I will make a BELT sandwich (turkey bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato on whole wheat toast w/ a little mayo). I love tacos, so I make a chicken taco that is 200 calories it is PACKED with grilled seasoned chicken, guacamole, tomatoes, romaine lettuce on a corn tortilla that I fry in a pan with pam. I will eat 2 of them for lunch, total of 400 calories for lunch. I am just posting this to compare. Your steak of 880 calories, I can have a feast with other options, but that would be too much food. Sorry if I am coming off in a negative way, I surely don't mean that, just wanted to let you know, you can get more for your calories. I hope you figure something out, and start losing more consistantly.

RinaMarie · 02-09-2011, 11:07 AM

I agree with what others have said, sometimes it's REALLY easy to think that I'm under my calories, but then if I sit down and actually count out what I've eaten all day, I'm way over!!! It's crazy how fast they add up! If I were you, I'd write down EVERYTHING you eat for the next couple of days and add up every single calorie. You might be surprised!

As for the scale, here is a blog post I like to reference back to whenever I'm getting discouraged about the scale not moving. Someone here posted it... I'm putting spaces in because I haven't yet posted often enough to include a link.

it's sparkpeople (dot) (com) (backslash) mypage (underscore) public (underscore) journal (underscore) individual (dot) asp?blog (underscore) id=3926473

Matilda08 · 02-09-2011, 01:00 PM

Welcome! I never go by what the machines say I just go in and enjoy my workout. I thnk that worrying about the numbers will get you down. Just change up your eating habits workout and continue and you WILL see results. Dont let things get you down there will be times when you wont lose for several weeks but you still have to keep going if you want to make goal. You can do it!!

LTs girl · 02-09-2011, 01:28 PM

I am 5'7" and started (again) at 185lbs. I am 35 so we are pretty close. It has taken 2 months of steady working out to start seeing the numbers going down consistenty. Don't forget, the scale does not show what is going on inside the body. It gives you how much you weigh, not how much fat vs muscle. You can be losing fat while gaining muscle. You should definitly measure yourself. My waist has gone down 2 inches but only showed a 7lb loss on the scale.

You should also add weights to your routine. I think if you added those, you would start seeing a bigger difference.

Whatever you do, don't give up. You WILL start seeing a difference. Good luck.

newvegetarian · 02-09-2011, 01:37 PM

Hi there!

I have a similar problem. About four months ago I went vegetarian and totally switched up my eating habits. I feel better but have only lost about 5 pounds. I work out 5 days a week doing intervals on the eliptical for 15-20 min and a good pace for 20-30 minutes on the treadmill. I really see no difference, and I have never been so committed to running every day as I have now. I stopped heavy drinking and only imbibe about once a week. The only thing I can think of is that maybe I'm not getting enough calories, but does this make sense? Isn't weight loss simply calorie deficit? FYI all of my meals are balanced and healthy, plus I take supplements to replace the vitamins I'm missing by being a vegetarian. Should I be more strict about my portions??