You DO sound like you're making a big effort. That's reminiscent of my situation 3 months ago when I joined 3FC. I was really freaking out because the weight just wasn't coming off. But thanks to the motivation and great weightloss ideas I got from the wonderful people on 3FC, I've been steadily losing and just hit 150 this morning! Before I joined, I was just yo yoing but then would end up losing about 1 pound per month (obviously WAY too slow). The ladies on here all said how eventually the scale WILL go down, and now I see they were right! I was so discouraged and frustrated that I really didn't believe them, but I tried their various recommendations and it's worked.
You're not really telling us enough to give some specific suggestions on what we believe might need tweaking. Maybe you can tell us your average daily calories, protein and fiber and your exercise plan. Are you lifting heavy weights? When I started working out again I think I put my muscle back on quickly so the scale didn't go up but I had really lost a lot of inches. Try taking your measurements periodically.
Hey Ready2Forget, alot of us (ME) have come here to 3FC at some sort of breaking point, totally frustrated, ready to give up...sound familiar?
That was me, not even a year ago. I came here so upset because I was trying so hard and nothing was working, I was eating right and exercising and wasn't losing.
Well look now, I have lost 50 pounds thanks to this website!
Remember2Forget, have you had regular blood work done recently? Your thyroid can totally be to blame for those annoying pounds that don't want to budge. There could also be some other health issues. The other advice you have gotten here is great, too!
Gotta watch that eating out (teriyaki lunch) - I can almost guarantee you that it wasn't 500 calories. Most restaurant portions nowadays are much closer to 650-760 calories (or more!) -
other things I've noticed (about my own diet failures)
* Until just recently, I never "counted" what I'm drinking (except sodas) My coffee in the morning? I drink a HUGE cup of coffee. It's more like 2 cups in one cupful. And I normally drink 2 cups. So that's FOUR cups of coffee. And with the Fat Free Half-n-Half & the two servings of French Vanilla creamer & the sugar...??? My 2 (4) cups of coffee each day is weighing in at around 300 calories!!!!!!! And that little tiny glass of orange juice? 110 calories! No wonder gaining weight is so easy...
* I try to fill my plate with mostly veggies. A little meat, and a tiny tiny tiny portion of a starch &/or dessert. After logging in one simple meal on FitDay, I found out that the "one simple meal" that I THOUGHT had roughly 450 calories was right at 800 calories!
* I get a craving for something & try to "deny it" by eating something healthy. Then later I give in to my craving anyway, so I have the "bad" calories right smack on top of some "good calories" - good yes! - but extra calories nonetheless!
If you really take notice of your habits, you'll find out why the pudge won't budge. Then once you know where your calories are really piling up, you can take the necessary steps to break it down & make it better.
You're not really telling us enough to give some specific suggestions on what we believe might need tweaking. Maybe you can tell us your average daily calories, protein and fiber and your exercise plan. Are you lifting heavy weights? When I started working out again I think I put my muscle back on quickly so the scale didn't go up but I had really lost a lot of inches. Try taking your measurements periodically.
I see a trainer about once every month/two months who does my program. Right now, we're working on very heavy amounts of weights with short sets to build muscle. I do this 2-3 times a week, while doing cardio as often as possible which is never less than 3 times a week. How long does it take to build a pound of muscle anyway?
While this weight could possibly be muscle mass, I doubt I've lost any inches. Because my pants aren't any looser...and my shirts are starting to get pretty tight latley *sigh*
And the terriyaki dish is prepared right in front of me, it's about a cup of white rice, steamed, with a little bit of chicken and a LOT of bean sprouts. I don't think it's that big of a deal, but again, I could be wrong...i'll stick to subway or something when I go out next time...sans cheese or sauce of course.
And I notice I tend to be a grazer. But I'm concious of what I graze, I guess you could say. It's goes something like 3 fruit loops here, 4 carrots there. But I could be under-estimating, right? And the calories that I DO count usually end up being around 1100-1200...so 100 extra calories for grazing, that's about 1300...argh.
As for bevrages, I don't drink alcohol. At all. I usually drink diet coke or crystal light during the day. And lots of tea with sweetner.
Courtney, I'm proud of you. I actually read your first post a long time ago when you were saying how u tried so hard to lose weight but it wasn't working. And now look where you are!
I'm proud of all you actually. To actually take a stand and fight this bulge. Thanks for all your suggestions and 'i know how you feel' stories!
And I notice I tend to be a grazer. But I'm concious of what I graze, I guess you could say. It's goes something like 3 fruit loops here, 4 carrots there. But I could be under-estimating, right? And the calories that I DO count usually end up being around 1100-1200...so 100 extra calories for grazing, that's about 1300...argh.
Are you sure that your grazing is only 100 extra calories? I know that is one of my problems. I tend to put everything in my mouth when fixing meals. And I don't count it. I know that's why my loss has stalled. I guess we ought to stop doing it. Maybe I should chew gum when fixing meals so I'm not tempted to put samples in my mouth!
Courtney, I'm proud of you. I actually read your first post a long time ago when you were saying how u tried so hard to lose weight but it wasn't working. And now look where you are!
If I can do it - so can you! I am serious!
As for the teriyaki so they cook in water or oil? that is a HUGE thing. There is a place in our mall, teriyaki expierence and they give you all the information and they cook with water, the chicken one is around 500.
Since you asked, if I go over 1500 cals more than once a week, I will gain. How much depends on how far over I go and how close together the days are.
Also, I can vary as much as 3 pounds in a day due to water weight or whatever it is--phases of the moon makes as much sense! LOL! So I try always to weigh at the same time, roughly.
All I can say is what I and others already said--keep careful track of what you eat and see what it really comes out to. A cup of steamed white rice has 200 calories right there--3 ounces of chicken breast, 166. Bean sprouts essentially nothin'. So the question is, the sauce. Teriyaki sauce has sugar in it as well as oil, so that could account for the rest of the calories.
This is why I would rather not eat oriental foods while trying to lose weight--too hard to measure calories. I love Thai foods, for example, but half a cup of coconut milk has 225 cals all by itself! And that's not counting any added sugar, meat, vegetables, the rice, oil....
I was having the same problem when I first started my journey. I ended up going to a nutritionist and was shocked when I had to log everything that went into my mouth, I thought I was staying around 1500 calories only to have the nutritionist figure it all up and I was averaging 2500 or more a day!!
She is the one who actually had me use FitDay and I have to take a weekly report into her. I have been watching my calories like a hawk and the pounds starting to move downward at a steady pace
I am amazed at how badly restaurants can mess up a food. If I compare a food I make at home (not "lightened or diet"- just a normal recipe) with a similar portion in a restaurant that reports nutritionals the difference is usually around 400 calories. Thats why if they dont publish nutrition, I take my best guess of how I would make it and then add "4T oil" to my fitday log.
Even "grilled chicken" - at home thats barely any more calories above chicken, but most restaurants marinate in oil and use a TON of oil on the grill
lol I rmember one morning at work I was getting scrambled eggbeaters. At home that is ~ 75cals and then I saw the cook pour a LADLE of oil on the grill before starting my eggs. I dont know how much went into my eggs, but she probably poured 1/4 -1/3 c on the grill
I am amazed at how badly restaurants can mess up a food. If I compare a food I make at home (not "lightened or diet"- just a normal recipe) with a similar portion in a restaurant that reports nutritionals the difference is usually around 400 calories. Thats why if they dont publish nutrition, I take my best guess of how I would make it and then add "4T oil" to my fitday log.
Even "grilled chicken" - at home thats barely any more calories above chicken, but most restaurants marinate in oil and use a TON of oil on the grill
lol I rmember one morning at work I was getting scrambled eggbeaters. At home that is ~ 75cals and then I saw the cook pour a LADLE of oil on the grill before starting my eggs. I dont know how much went into my eggs, but she probably poured 1/4 -1/3 c on the grill
IMHO, you may actually be getting too LITTLE calories rather than too much. To me it sounds like you have your calorie counting pretty well down pat and that you are very disciplined. If you've been eating that low in calories, and at the same time doing all that working out, for a whole year and a half, you're body may be in starvation mode and your metabolism is working very slowly.
You and I are around the same weight and height and both lift weights. My body has me hungry almost constantly so I eat an average of 1800 calories per day. Maybe 2 days a week I eat around 1500 and a few days I eat about 2000, the rest around 1750. This is not planned, but just that I'm hungrier after not eating as much for 2 days. After a few days of eating more, I chill out a bit to get the weight moving again. I think this is working well because my body is kept guessing. I know if I was somehow able to eat 1200 calories a day for more than a few days, my metabolism would slow down.
As far as the type of food, I would try a LOT of protein, about 30%. I feel like protein keeps your metabolism working because it seems hard to digest. Also, you need a lot of protein to build and retain your muscle while losing.
Have you actually measured yourself? I hadn't lost many pounds but was very surprised when I measured that I had lost a lot of inches. I have no idea how much my amount of muscle weighs, but when I first started lifting weights again (after about 1 1/2 years) I think I wasn't losing more than .5 a week because I was getting more muscle back. I realized this after doing the measurements and I went down 3 sizes after only losing about 13 pounds.
You're shirts may be getting tight from muscle tone. It honestly seems hard to believe you could be gaining fat with that calorie count (IF its accurate of course) and with all that working out.
I would be sure you've been accurately calorie counting, and if so, then I would increase the amount of calories maybe 200 more a few days a week, with at least one very high day (for you like 1900). Dont get upset when the scale goes up the day after you eat high, but it should come down again after your low day and then it will fluctuate the following week up and down but at a lower weight (meaning you lost at least 1 or 2 lbs).
I've tried to read through all your posts to think of something to add.
I've read that certain people are more prone to weight gain or lack-of-weight-loss when they eat certain foods. If you notice that your diet (according to fit day) is a certain percentage of carbs-fat-proteins, try just changing it up a little.
Like, try upping your protein and lowering your fat and carbs, or upping your veggie intake and lowering your dairy intake. It might take a while to find out what your body responds to. I'd give your body a month or so to get used to anything new you are doing.
I can't lose weight at 1200, but I can at 1500. Go figure. My body doesn't do well when I eat carbs, even whole grains. It prefers veggies and low-fat proteins. "South Beach" would work for me if I could actually stick to it. Since I don't like actual DIET diets, I just try to fill up on the things I know my body prefers, and keep my calories under 1500 (that is, when I'm not being bad...something I am working on!)
Anyway, don't give up. And don't feel sorry for yourself.... because when I feel sorry for myself, I tend to pig out to feel better. Just see yourself as a science experiment, and try some new things.
IMHO I think that you are underestimating your nibbles here and there, this is what happens to me, and when I really really REALLY journal and count every morcel that I put in my mouth I lose weight.
I notice too that it may not be the quantity of food you are eating but the quality of the food. Try to make sure that most of your food is as close to nature as possible with little to no additives and no proccessing ... For the longest time I was following WW points and was always trying to cheat points by eating my points in junk food or candies, as long as I had my aloted points for the day I figured I was ok... Then when I went more fresh foods and put asside processed stuff and ate as unproccessed as possible I started to lose weight on the same amount of calories... Another upside, other than losing weight, is that I also had a LOT more energy...
Hope all this advise helps you, because there sure are a LOT of helpful hints from everyon... Keep us posted on your progress...
And that little tiny glass of orange juice? 110 calories! No wonder gaining weight is so easy...
