canadianwolverine's Journal, 24 Aug 20

What sort of calorie intake are you doing, what are your macros like, and are you weighing the food? Also, you need to count absolutely everything, oil in the frying pan, salad dressing, ketchup, etc. You probably know this but thought I'd ask. I went through the same thing until I got my diet/macros/calories sorted. 

You’re too kind, I really don’t know what you mean by that stuff, I have just been entering in whatever looks close enough using the Fat Secret search function or data found after a google search. Do I just use the bathroom scale for weighing the meals? 

It might be that you're gaining muscle with the excercises 💪 

Oh boy. No, no you need a food scale. I used to eyeball it too, be and man was I way off. We are talking grams here, but they all add up. Even fish oil pills are 40 cal each. I started at the same weight as you. Wasn't until I got the scale and cut to 1800 a day that I started to lose the weight. I actually gained some at the start too, no it wasn't muscle, it was too many chicken breast. 100g of chicken is roughly one half breast, but you could lay hands on one of them mutated ones and it's actually double. Get a little food scale, or mail scale, .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day, try to keep the fat 20-30 percent and make up the rest with complex carbs to get to 1800 (or less even). You are working out like a maniac so you need those carbs. I lost 30 pounds this way. 1 month from being 42  

And literally weigh everything. Vegetables, ketchup, mustard, lettuce (maybe not lettuce). Eyeballing the food will not work for you until you have weighed everything a few times and get a feel for it. I still weigh everything, even though I can cut that chicken almost at deadass 100gr on the first try these days. Complex carbs, but don't be afraid of bread or chips, just limit them. I still eat all that, just way less. Like not an entire pizza. Or two if there on sale. F'n Dominoes. 

Canadian Tire sells Starfrit food scales which are perfect little food scales. I agree with GiuseppeCarboner that weighing is the way to go to get portion size under control. Weigh calorie dense foods like meat, nuts, bread, potato, cheese but don't worry about celery, lettuce etc. Once you weigh stuff for awhile you'll get a feel for healthy quantities. A plastic lid, a small dish or a kleenex will keep your scale clean.  

I’m not sure what your time frame here is. Weighing and tracking all of your intake is perfect advice so I will note a couple things about exercise. Firstly a 2.6 lb gain on a person of your stature is probably inflammation not muscle gain. You will gain muscle, but when losing fat at the same time you will lose overall, but it might appear to be slower than you’d think. Remember, it took a long time to gain the weight, so we can’t take it all off very quickly and expect long term success. Find activity that you enjoy, and it will become a lifestyle. If you like the gym, great, if not, you are more likely to not maintain fitness. Lastly, many of us overestimate the amount of calories burned from exercise. The gym machines are typically at least 20% over reality. I often overate thinking I just burned a bunch of calories and deserved a treat. Slow and steady. You’ll get there. 

So much fantastic advice and encouragement, thanks a ton! I’ll look into the scale the next time I can get into town from our remote area and keeping up the activities regular, I am listening. Never had any formal teaching on this stuff, so I really appreciate all the kind words and patience with my ignorance. 

Glad to help. And I don't think any of us had formal training when we started either. No worries. 

I have had formal training and I still have a difficult time eating what I should. Lol 

This made me smile! F’n dominoes! Glad I’m not the only one who thought one good pizza deserves another ... 

I agree with what Guiseppe says too. I had never dieted and the food scale really helped for calorie dense portions. I don't weigh my cooking oils, but do count my salad dressings, etc. You'll get used to it and then don't have to depend on the scale anymore. I'm the lazy type who just mentally adds on an extra 200 calories a day for that milk in my coffee/ a spot of sugar/cooking oil. I was religious about using it for rice/healthy carbs/protein as i had to reduce my fat intake. Meat is an excellent source of protein, but it's also high in fat, so use the scale to get the serving size accurate and you're on your way!! And again it's calories in and calories out, but make those calories in healthy ones and you're all set. My weakness is those great value oversized /family sized chocolate bars, I mean $3.99 for a huge bar, what a bargain, lol!