Been at it for 3 weeks and weight going up!

[Sebani]

So i've been tracking my foods at myfitnesspal and for the most part i'm trying to be as accurate as possible. when I go out for meals i just guesstimate and I think I'm more on the high end than low end of estimates. Well for the most part my weight stayed steady, then it went down 1 lb and immediately, the following 3 days i shot up 1.5lbs. 

I can tell you that I am not over eating. I am basically starving myself cause all i think about is how hungry I am. Additionally I am the most active i have ever been thanks to the fitbit, yet I am STILL not losing, but gaining? what?

Please give me some advice. This is extremely discouraging since I'm hungry all the time. 

[SunsetRunner]

I know this may feel counter intuitive but if you're not eating enough you'll struggle to lose weight. Feeling hungry (despite having had enough to eat and drink) is not a 'normal' feeling of a diet, particularly after three weeks. You'd expect to struggle with hunger in the first couple of days of changing your lifestyle but not prolonged. 

When using MFP are you reaching your calorie intake each day? And did you auto set your calorie goal or manually enter it? 

[WendyB]

Also when eating out most places lsit on thier web site the Nutritional Infomation. Look it up before going and you can also make better choicesby doing so.

But I agree with @SunsetRunner you should not be starving your self. You really need to eat to lose weight

[Sebani]

@SunsetRunner @WendyB

Thanks for your replies. I am following the fitbit suggested caloric intake to lose 1 lb a week (so 500 caloric deficit a day) and I have the chargeHR so it shouild be accurately determining my calories burnt. Despite this I still feel hungry constantly. I eat 1400-1900 per day depending on my activity level but I shot up 1.5lbs in 3 days and i KNOW i am not eating enough in a day to gain that much so yes it can be water weight but still... I'd expect to see some loss by now...

[Rhythm]

One thing I would suggest is taking some time (for example this weekend) to understand EXACTLY how much you are eating. MyFitnessPal is great if you know the exact weight or volume of the food you are eating. Sometimes a small deviation in the measurements of your food can make a huge difference in your calorie intake.

It is pretty daunting at first, but if you are like most of us, there is a lot of food you will eat repeatedly, so take some time to measure out your food and record EVERYTHING you may be adding to it in cooking. For example, did you know that a tablespoon of olive oil holds 120 calories? Do you know how little a tablespoon of olive oil ACTUALLY comes to?

I have been tracking food for a long time and after a while you get the hang of it without having to weigh everything (as I mentioned, you tend to repeat a lot of food so you know the calories as long as you portions remain constant).

Another thing I would suggest, which is a much bigger deal than it sounds is sugar levels. I used to feel hungry (even though I was eating a lot more than I do now) because of sugar crashes. Take a look at some advice for diabetics - you may not have to follow it as strictly but one of the things you will understand is how to control those sugar spikes and lows, which will help you feel full. I noticed a HUGE improvement in my hunger and energy levels since discovering this.

[hapaman]

I'm no expert, but you might look at your sodium levels.  I know my weight has shot up as much as two pounds over the course of a weekend.  When I looked at my data for that weekend, it was certainly not the calories consumed, although the sodium level was really high (ate out for dinner Sat and Sun).  After focusing more on sodium levels, I have not seen any jumps in weight again.

[Raviv]

What kind of food are you eating?

If it's really high in carbs and really low in fats, protein and fiber, then you're going to feel hungry a lot due to blood sugar swings and not eating satiating foods in the first place.

Also, make sure you're really hungry and not just bored or thirsty, both of which can present as hunger to most people.

And don't try to starve yourself.  If you're not losing weight when you cut calories, don't automatically assume you need to cut calories even more.  It might not be the case.

[Rhythm]

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hapaman wrote:

I'm no expert, but you might look at your sodium levels.  I know my weight has shot up as much as two pounds over the course of a weekend.  When I looked at my data for that weekend, it was certainly not the calories consumed, although the sodium level was really high (ate out for dinner Sat and Sun).  After focusing more on sodium levels, I have not seen any jumps in weight again.

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You will find similar variations in weight depending on carb consumption. Both sodium and carbohydrates make your body retain water, so you can't focus on daily scale numbers. Or else just be conscious that if you eat more of those things on a particular day that your weight will spike up but if you eat less of those things it will jump down just as quickly. For me, it can easily be a difference of 3lbs.

[Morgan_anne]

Remember to not weigh yourself everyday. Just in a day your weight can flunctuate 5 pounds in either direction. Plus checking the scale every day can be a daunting task and can make you very discouraged. My advice is watch what you eat. Each week have a certain food goal. Maybe one week go without pop and then the next week add on to the list by not having pop and white bread. Also always aim for the healthy alternative. If you are wanting pasta, have pasta! Just have a tomato sauce instead of a creamy sauce. If you are craving chocolate you can have chocolate but aim for dark chocolate. There are soo many healthy alternatives! Don't let the scale determine your success. You can do this! Focus on how you feel after you eat a healthy meal compared to a fattening meal. Just give it time. I am here for you!

xoxo, 

Morgan Anne

[shimi91]

In the beginning, I once shot up like 5 lbs in 2 days and I was devastated. I went to a work holiday party and made some bad eating choices, so it turns out I was retaining a TON of water. In 2 days the weight was gone. I am thinking maybeits possible this happened to you?

Water weight is a crazy thing.

[josephz2va]

Careful on the "caloric deficit" program. I found that mostly inaccurate to me by eating too much or eating the incorrect kinds of foods. You want to be sure you're eating at a more accurate calorie range with the correct kinds of foods. Foods that aren't from McDonald's for example. Foods that build Lean Muscle. Most nutritionists usually recommend your limit from 1200 to 1700 calories varying on your current weight. Even though I burn up to 4,000 a day via Fitbit, everytime I consumed up to 3,500 calories a day (The -500) I gained lots of weight back. My "estimated BMR is: 1,769 calories/day*" which is -1800 deficit. But be sure to eat the correct kinds of foods or your fat percentage rises to replace the current weight from muscle development.

[LizziePooh]

Hi Sebani,

I had a similar problem when I tried losing weight a few years ago. Nothing more de-motivating than doing all this stuff and gaining weight! Sucks.

I had a personal trainer at the time and after a couple weeks I gained weight even though I was eating 1000 calories a day. 

My trainer put me on a regime of 60% carbs, 30% protein and 10% fat of total grams for each meal. For every meal, I needed 60% carbs, 30% protein and 10% fat. Once I did that, the weight dropped.

And it dropped off suddenly. I remember when I threw on my jeans and went to work. First time I wore my jeans in two months. Even with a belt, they were hanging off me. It was a great feeling.

I have since gained 40 pounds from a few years of indulging in whatever I wanted to eat. Ooops. All that work gone. This is my first day in trying to lose weight again. I am going to do the 60% carbs/30% protein/10% fat with every meal again. Hope it works as well as before.

You may want to try that. It really worked for me. Good luck and hang in there.

[LizziePooh]

Forgot to mention, when I switched to the 60/30/10 formula, I felt like I eat more than I ever have in my life and better tasting food.

Good luck. 🙂

[shimi91]

What is an example of a meal with those percentages?

[LizziePooh]

The thing to watch for is how many total grams of carbs, protein and fat for each meal. Also, you need to stay within your total calorie count you have given yourself for that meal.

Breakfast, I would do egg whites, asparagus, mushrooms, red onion scramble with plain english muffin. Lunch/dinner would be veggies, steamed white rice with just salt and pepper and grilled chicken. I don't have my old food log unfortunaly so I can't give you an exact example. 

I would log my meal before I ate and would look at the total calorie count to make sure it is within reason. Then I would look at my total gram for protein vs carb. It should be half the carb amount. Then look at your total gram of fat vs protein. It should be a third of the amount.

If my numbers were off, I would adjust my menu until they met what I needed. 

You will find just by making sure your fat is a third of your protein grams, it reduces how many calories you will consume. The sad part is, say good-bye to butter, cheese and milk. The three things I love. The fat is really high in all of these.

I got use to eating toast dry and not putting cheese on my scamble or sandwiches and not drinking milk, which I still love to have with my meals.

Once I get some meals logged with some actual numbers, I will share them.

Good luck to you. 🙂

[tine2]

I just got my fitbit charge 7 days ago and confused on the calorie in vs calorie out I guess I am not eating enough because Im under and not losing any weight meeting all the rest of activity goals.. You would think that if you were wanting to loose weight you would eat less and workout more who know discouraged..

[Raviv]

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@tine2 wrote:

I just got my fitbit charge 7 days ago and confused on the calorie in vs calorie out I guess I am not eating enough because Im under and not losing any weight meeting all the rest of activity goals.. You would think that if you were wanting to loose weight you would eat less and workout more who know discouraged..

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Depending on how much weight you have to lose, the calorie deficit you set will vary.

I have been losing on a 750 calorie deficit since I had 60 pounds to lose when I started.  When I get to about 30 pounds to go (which should be pretty soon), I will switch to a 500 calorie deficit.  The more weight you have to lose, the higher of a deficit you can have.  As you get closer to your goal weight, your body will start fighting you on it because you don't have the larger fat stores to rely on anymore.  The way to combat that is not to cut calories even more or exercise even harder, it's to give your body enough calories to function well and not give it a reason to preserve the fat stores.

How much of a calorie deficit do you have set in the Food Log area?  

How much weight do you want to lose?  

How many calories are you burning?  

And are you eating the amount your Fitbit says (until it says "You nailed it") or are you eating below the calories it says you have left?

[tine2]

I am wanting to lose 55 pounds my deficit is 1000 calories it seems to be a different number each day right now it says my dashboard says 719 left to eat 544 eaten and burn or my goal number is 1511 it just confusing

[Raviv]

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@tine2 wrote:
I am wanting to lose 55 pounds my deficit is 1000 calories it seems to be a different number each day right now it says my dashboard says 719 left to eat 544 eaten and burn or my goal number is 1511 it just confusing

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I would go with a 750 calorie deficit, but you're not far off either way.

The number of calories allowed is going to be different every day because it takes the amount of calories you burn just by breathing and existing, then allows more calories based on your activity.  For instance, Saturdays I'm a total slacker, barely getting off the couch, but Sundays I run 3 miles before breakfast, then go grocery shopping.  So Saturdays it will usually figure I can eat somewhere around 1200-1300 calories, but Sundays I end up with closer to 1600-1700.

I hate the dashboard, to be honest.  The only tiles I pay attention to are the number of calories I have left to eat and maybe the number of miles walked.  One of the best things I did was to delete the stupid fuel gauge tile because that one is the worst.

I don't remember how they determine your Calories Burned goal, but you can manually adjust it to whatever number you want.  I don't use it at all.

[tine2]

I guess the bottom line is the more you move the more your need to eat and I am moving thats not the problem Im under what I need to eat and I would prefer eating lunch and dinner to have a few glasses of wine a night