Weight Loss for Dummies

Parent Cafe
6601

I agree that tracking really does help. And I like the idea to write it down before I eat rather than try to remember or reconstruct it afterwords. I also like the ability of My Fitness Pal to scan the barcode of a food as it is easier and quicker at times to do that rather than search for the item. Works really well for yogurt, etc. Since it syncs with my Fitbit I can track what I’ve eaten and how much I have left. And I like the Fitbit tracking where I can see my weight on a weekly average. So even if I’m up (after dinner out with wine!) I can see that my weekly average is still down from the last week.

I’m getting there slowly but surely. Down 1-2 lbs a week and over halfway to my goal. And fitting into some clothes that haven’t fit in a couple of years! The combination of really watching what I eat and making sure I get my 10,000 steps in every day is key. Now I have to go get on the treadmill!

6602

I have been having problems with livestrong. Might switch back to my fitness pal. Didn’t know you can scan the barcode. That’s cool

6603

@VaBluebird, glad to hear that you are finding a system that is working for you. Since you are “math calculation” oriented, keep in mind that exercise calorie calculators on machines and online are frequently very inaccurate. MyFitnessPal’s estimated calorie burn for cardio work can be wildly overestimated, as much as 40% too high. In order to get an accurate calorie burn for cardio work, you need to be able to input age, gender, weight, a good estimate of max heart rate, resting heart rate and a factor measuring whether you are new or experienced in cardio training. And the algorithm used by the device must be accurate and heart rate based. The heart rate functions on most machines are not particularly good at this. Online guesstimate data bases are just that: guesses.

The risk, of course, is that if you use overstated calorie burns in calculating your daily caloric needs, you could end up undermining your desired outcomes. There are devices out there that do a pretty good job of measuring caloric burn. The Garmin devices that use the Firstbeat algorithm are among the best. The newer Polar devices are pretty good too. MyFitnessPal is pretty good at calculating your daily caloric needs based on generalized measures of your activity levels (my results, for example, are within 50 calories of what a nutritionist calculated for me) but if you add in your exercise calories based on its data base, you will be eating more than you are really burning.

6604

@jym626, MyFitnessPal is an excellent food tracker. Easy to use,very extensive data base including brands, stores and generic products, good macro and micro nutrient tracking as well as calories and it’s free! A lot of trainers recommend it to clients who are ready to start tracking nutrition.

6605

The other piece of food tracking/calorie tracking…be sure to be accurate and honest about serving size. If you scan a bar code make sure that you manually enter your actual serving size - this works both ways - if you only have a 1/2 serving of something you don’t want to be responsible for more calories than you ate, and, check out what a serving size is - in many cases what you are eating may indeed be more than what the product considers one serving.

6606

I am trying to link. My Fitbit and. Myfitnesspal. But the Fitbit just keeps “syncing” This happens all the time. Ugh

6607

Are you syncing it through your cell phone’s Bluetooth?

6608

The Bluetooth is on. Right now I am trying on the iPad. It says connected but it keeps trying to sync. This happens on the phone too. Is there another way to sync? iPad says “syncing” and phone says “looking”.

6609

Sounds like you should start over. Delete the Fitbit as a device on your phone and IPad Bluetooth. Using the Fitbit software, delete any settings to sync it with your phone or iPad. Delete any MyFitnessPal settings to sync with the Fitbit. Then make sure Bluetooth is turned on on your mobile devices and establish a new connection with the Fitbit. Then go into MyFitnessPal and reset the connection to the Fitbit. This type of process helped when I set up my Garmin Vivosmart. Good luck!

6610

I have had a lot of trouble with my Fitbit Charge HR syncing via my phone lately. I find myself doing this every couple of weeks - it does the trick:
https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/How-do-I-restart-my-tracker

6611

Agh. That requires me remembering all my log ins and passwords!! Uh oh…

6612

I might try that reset first. Thanks!

6613

The reset is easy and has worked for me every time - though I often have to repeat it every couple of weeks. Annoying, but it works.

6614

I sync my IPhone with MyFitnessPal. Obviously I’m not always attached to my phone so numbers aren’t as accurate as if I had a wrist fitness tracker. I don’t consider the added calories. I try to stick to my 1200 calories exercises regardless of whether I exercised or not.
I’m still not feeling great and not getting a lot of exercise in. Different foods are appealing but I’ve been able to stick to 1200. Lunch yesterday was a flour tortilla heated on the gas cooktop smeared with peanut butter and jelly. Weight is finally moving downward.
What foods appeal to you when you’re not feeling well?

6615

Still having technical challenges with both my fitness pal and the sync hiding. ANd I am not yet familiar with the logging H of the exercise so some of what I did today (didn’t do much) I couldn’t get to log in. It’s a bit frustrating.

6616

http://www.calorieking.com/interactive-tools/how-many-calories-should-you-eat/?ref=nav

6617

This autocorrect is so frustrating, No idea what. I meant to say above. ^^

6618

Whole 30 program update - again special thanks to @carachel2 who convinced me it was worth it!
Week 3 - haven’t been on scale, but wearing pants I hadn’t worn for two years and tried on 5 year old ski pants ( they don’t lie) no muffin roll. Wow!
Wearing sweaters which had “bra roll” and now fitting perfectly.
Bra’s needed extensions and not I don’t need extensions, wearing on second hooks ( this is biggest surprise.

Workout- no sweat on demand workout classes, variety of sculpting, walking, Pilates…and, increased out door walking ( using iPhone to track- 2-3. Miles a day four times a week. Trying to increase walking speed.
Have more pronounced quad muscles, and arms, too. Had minor lactic acid discomfort because I eased into the workouts- my bakers cyst knee also flared and had to attend to this. All is well now.

Diet- best thing I discovered are tasty roasted vegetables,
I roast a big tray almost daily (if husband likes the daily blend) -

This made having veggies, for breakfast, lunch and dinner so easy.
I add different spices and veggies for variety-
Montreal steak seasoning ( pioneer woman’s suggestion ) - or penzys- fox point or sunny Paris blend, or simple salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons of Olive oil- 400degrees 15 minutes
Usually a mix of brussel sprouts, sliced sweet potato,asparagus, red or yellow pepper, red onion, broccoli, cauliflower- baby bella mushrooms ( my favorite)

For little sweet treat- oven baked dried apples and pears.

Diet Discovery which worked for me-
Costco kirkland, meatballs ( not completely sure they are whole 30 compliant) but ate these often for breakfast- lunch. 5 have 17 grams protein. Microwave a dozen at a time 4,minutes high- and keep on counter to use throughout the day with veggies,

Sharing what has worked for me.
Disclaimer - ( keeping it real )The other little whole 30 cheat, is black coffee twice day with a little bit of sugar, which is a big huge violation of whole 30 ( NO ADDED sugar)
And, I put little bit of real butter on fish- salmon, cod when I baked it- ( butter is not allowed )

No sugar cravings, will continue past day 30- next week.

6619

@VaBluebird, I wouldn’t put great stock in that calculator for several reasons. First, when I put in the metrics for myself and selected “lose weight”, it set my caloric range at such a low level that a “starvation reflex” would be triggered resulting in a drastic reduction in metabolism and an increase in fat storage. Related to this, the weight loss rate was supposedly calculated at 1-2 lbs/week and for most people, if you are losing 2 lbs/week, you are probably losing a good bit of lean muscle tissue as well as fat. When I set the system to “weight gain”, it calculated an amount that was based on gaining 1-2 lbs/week. For most people, if you are gaining 2 lbs/week, most of that will be fat and not lean muscle tissue. Plus, the calculator does not account for exercise calorie expenditures. There are much better online calculators out there, including MyFitnessPal.

6620

@SouthJerseyChessMom I LOVE your update! Sounds like you are loving the food and reaping the rewards! Feels SO good to not have those bra rolls doesn’t it? We use those meatballs a lot…easy source of protein. I’m sure there is a chemical or two the Whole30 militants would get all crazy about but it works.

And with the slight bit of sugar in your coffee it makes the whole day seem doable and also makes this a program you can continue. What does your husband say? Is he doing it also?

If you REALLY were urgently curious about the effect on your A1C without having to wait for Dr’s orders for the labwork, you can go to Wal-Mart and get a box of the “A1C Now” tests. I think a whole box is like 50-75.00 but I’m pretty sure it would be even more motivating to you at this point and the tests are pretty accurate.