I u just record my elliptical sessions under "Stair Step Machine." It may not be the most accurate, but it's worked for me for the past three years. Good luck with your workouts!

I use an eliptical trainer for part of my exercise. Where does that fit into as far as type of exercises listed?

Thanks

Hello denachew: Are you sure you are using the right term when you say BMI? BMI is simply calculated using your height and weight. If your weight goes down so does your BMI (assuming that you are not shrinking).

I'm in a contest at the gym and we have been losing weight. My daughter and I are a team. I have been losing weight, BUT my question is..how can my BMI get worse even though I'm losing weight. It seems like as the weight comes off my fat content would go down. Maybe I'm not giving it enough time.

Thanks for the advice!

to hmr.robbins - too few calories can add to your weight gain just as too many calories can add to it. Try increasing your daily calories,and remember it's calories in versus calories out!

Hi there. I had a thought . Couldnt you take some of those ensure shakes as part of your daily caloric intake at least once a day - it has calories yet has all the protiens and nutrients in it as well. Since when you ate the extra calories you got sick - maybe you can keep the liquid down better. i wish i knew how many calories - but you could maybe have 2 to get to your caloric intake goal each day. I wish you good luck on your journey. Take care !

I know I don't eat enough but I didn't realize just how little I ate until I began calorie counter yesterday. I documented what I ate yesterday and it came to only 565 cals. I forced myself to eat more than I wanted because I knew I needed to and then I felt sick. I have struggled with an eating disorder for about 5 years and I am actually trying to be healthy. I am the heaviest I have ever been but how can that be if I don't even eat enough? I could use some advice. Anyone out there have any??

Thanks ddhawkins for the article. I read it entireley. Seems like it makes sense; but very discouraging since I have a desk job. I think I will try the exercise ball at my desk and make an effort to get up and do some sort of exercise for 5 minutes each hour in addition to my 1/2 hour lunch and breaks.

Sounds like you are doing well. Just wanted to say Congratulations. I myself have been at a standstill but not gaining. Better than gaining that is for sure... Have a Great Day!!!

You could have gained a little bit of muscle? Are you working out? Muscle weighs more than fat so if you have been working out you could have really lost fat and gained that back in muscle!!

Love it...

I weighed in this morning and lost 2.5 more lbs only 17.5 to go!!!!!!

And when you drink tons of water, all the extra trips walking to and from the bathroom burns calories. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! (I just couldn't resist that one - Sorry!) Have a great day everyone!

Do you know that if you "FUDGE" on your diet that it will take you 3 days to get back on track? I have lost 40 lbs since last September and I always seem to set on a weight for 2 weeks and then drop down 3-4 all at once. DONT give up, just stay on track. And drink LOTS AND LOTS of water. I am well OVER 45!!!

I bought a kitchen scale like that and I love them...BUT USE THEM...:)

Picked up a kitchen scale yesterday and LOVE it! Thought I would share it with everyone. This scale is so cool. You can put your container on it and then hit reset, thus removing the container's weight. Then, add your food to the container and it weighs only the food.
Can also weigh in grams or ounces! Can weigh up to 6.6 pounds....not that I recommend eating 6.6 pounds of food. :)

http://www.target.com/Taylor-Digital-Food-Scale/dp

Do the calorie values used for exercise on this site represent net or gross calories burned?

When adding a 100 calorie bag of popcorn to my food diary, it comes out as 110 calories....does anyone know why this happens, it also happened with my SF Jello Pudding, it comes out at 59 and not 60.

If you are eating better and exercising, you are probably burning fat and gaining muscle. Since a given "volume" of muscle weighs more than the same "volume" of fat, you can be getting smaller (pants fitting better) but still weigh about the same. Congrats on your progress!

I have been dieting for 2 weeks, and I am still the same weight but my pants fit a little better....Any ideas??

Loved the link, ddhawkins1! I may have to replace the chair at my computer desk with an exercise ball. I've been looking for an excuse to get one, anyway. Thanks!

Julia, your trainer would certainly know better than I would, but I'll bet a 45-year-old woman who exercises regularly and watches what she eats has more lean muscle mass and a better level of cardiovascular fitness than a 45-year-old couch potato. I'm in a similar boat, with 5-6 hour-long workouts per week and a closely monitored (for calories and content) diet but no significant recent weight loss. I just feel so much better when I exercise and eat right than when I skip the gym and spend all of my calories on chips and cookies. Please don't give up!

hopefully this link comes thru OK:

Stand Up While You Read This!

Not sure what to do next. I've been losing and gaining the same 2 lbs. for a month now. The exercise isn't helping. My trainer changes my plan every week. I work out 5-6 days a week for an hour and it's not a light workout. I sweat and huff & puff the entire time. The fat isn't coming off. I tried upping the calories from 1200 to 1400 or 1500 because many suggested that I wasn't eating enough, but that has gotten me nowhere. I'm exhausted all the time and my body is always sore from the exercise. Someone at work told me that it's old age (I'm only 45) and that the weight probably just won't come off. I wouldn't have believed it a month ago but now I'm beginning to wonder.

I just wanted to let you know you are not alone. My Daughter and I are in LOVE with food too. In addition we are emotional eaters. We both weigh the same and are fighting this addiction daily. Right now were not losing or gaining and up and down with 5 measly pounds - but we are hopeful and when seeing posts like yours - it makes me smile too know we're not alone. thank you for that. Good luck on your journey!

I am trying once again to lose weight. I've entered a biggest loser contest with my daughter. We are a team. We have started counting calories on here. This is a nice way to keep everything like a journal without the paperwork. I hope it will work this time. I know I need to make LIFETIME changes instead of doing a diet. I just feel like I love food. I'm in love with food. OMG it's just so hard. But I'm sick of being fat and the limitations it has me strapped.

I wanted to swing by and thank you for sharing your weight loss tips. Their are some wonderful ideas for me here. Thanks again and have a Wonderful Day. I appreciate the help. Take Care and Good Luck

Started to count calories Dec. 30th Trying to be realistic I set a goal of 130 by vacation March 26th. Starting weight was 147. I weighed in today at 131. I lost 17 pds. My husband would love to see me get to 125. I negotiated a deal. If I get to 125 I get botox to take care of the 11's I have on my forehead. I am really hitting the treadmill. I walk a 13 min mile at 10% grade for 30 -40 minutes a day. It burns a ton of calories. I eat 100-200 calories under my BMR. I always put in No activity . It gives you less calories. It's working for me. Hope it helps someone. We can Do It!

I went from doing NO exercise at all to doing about 20 mins on the treadmill or the bike. I know it's not much, but is this even gonna make a difference in my weight loss?? It's not very strenuous and I don't sweat alot, like I said just light exercise. In 2008 I weighed 286, then lost 101 pounds in 8 months, but I have gained back 30 of it. I am trying to lose about 35 pounds, is this possible in 3 months?? Any support, answers, advice or motivation is appreciated!! Thanks everyone!!

Me after I lost 101lbs. :)

hey everyone! i just joined today. i've been on sort of a diet for the past couple days, been drinking the recommended amount of water every day for about a week. im really hoping i can stay motivated this time! hope everyone's having a great day!

Wow!
I just wanted to start by saying I am so impressed that this website is so helpful. When my mom told me about it I just knew there had to be some sort of fee! I have just entered a biggest loser competition at my gym and I am off to a good start! My mom and I both joined together as a team for support.

Love it!!!!!

IHOP is celebrating National Pancake Day today by giving away free short stacks of pancakes in the hopes that customers will make a donation to charity. If you have the calories, carbs, or whatever to spare in your eating plan, it's an opportunity to do something fun on a "blah" winter day. But my family decided to celebrate with homemade pancakes and eggs so I can control the sugar, butter, and salt.

However you celebrate, or even if you don't, have a great Tuesday!

2 lbs - nice! Don't give up Lalaleigh. I do the binge thing when I lose my focus. My weekly biggest loser contest helps me regain my focus at least each week now. Without the contest, my poor eating (and avoiding the scale) might go on for weeks. Additionally, I have a new focus to keep me going for a little bit. I had my cholesterol screening and got a bunch of literature on healthy eating. Here is what it said to improve/maintain HDL levels:
• Eat fish 3 times or more a week (I am also taking an omega-3 pill, + vitamin + baby aspirin)
• Include soy foods in diet (switching to soy milk)
• Use small to moderate amounts of olive and/or canola oil
• Include 2 TBSP of group flaxseed (I put 1 TBSP on my breakfast)
• Include 2-3 TBSP of walnuts, almonds or natural peanut butter per day (I eat natural pb)
• Increase exercise to 5 to 6 times per week (I am going to do this and track with a spreadsheet - I love spreadsheets)

I am going to get everything ready for the next day before I go to bed. I will make my lunch, pack my workout bag, and put my pills out. I am also going to brush my teeth right after dinner hoping this will reduce my late-night eating (because I don't want to brush my teeth again) -- Good luck

I received some MUCH NEEDED support from my FRIENDS on FB thru chat - so I am feeling confident again. I lost 2 lbs and am happy with this. I have been entering my calories faithfully and hope even though I binge here and there I will make it - I have to have hope - what else is there? Enjoy your day folks.

Hello Everyone. I am a little sad because I have been binge eating and going over my alloted calories by almost 1000 calories a day. I am still eating less then when I began this journey - and have basically gotten back to where I started at. I have been making myself accountable and keeping track of what I eat, and let me tell you - it is discouraging because it is such a VICIOUS circle - binge eating and depression that is. I am losing this battle and thought I would stop by and vent a little. I am also looking for an over eater's annonymous group in my area. I am hopeful that going here (if I make it to a meeting) will help me to stop binge eating. Any helpful words you can leave would be wonderful. Have a GREAT Weekend to yo all.

I can not complain - although I will anyway - because I live in Florida. This has been a miserable winter temperature-wise. Just makes me have zero motivation. Been in FL since 1995, and this is by far the coldest ever. It just seems to go on and on and on without a warm day in sight. At least it isn;t snowing I guess.

Calorie intake has been up since the cold started. Rather than get out there and exercise, it is easier to plop down under a blanket with a book or watch TV. I know I shouldn't, but with this comes the munchies and the "who gives a darn" attitude that eventually leads to calling the pizza delivery guy for a quick "calorie-fest". :(

On the bright (?) side...since August 2008 I have managed to lose and keep off a nasty 40 pounds. They say the last 20 are the hardest, so I guess that is where I am. It's taken me a long time to lose this weight. Probably longer than most due to me lack of willpower, but it is slow and staying off for the most part. I will be 125 again!! I stand 5'5" and I can't wait to see the end result. It sure has taken me long enough to get there.

This site has helped very much. Knowing that I have to enter the food usually helps...although there have been days where I just don't care. Oh well - Springtime should get here soon enough and maybe that will improve my mood and motivation. Let's hope! :)

I lost my password so I have not been tracking my calories - but I'm back in with a new username. I do much better when tracking calories on this site.

Week 4 we averaged a gain of 0.06% :-(
Week 5 we averages loss of 0.20%
Week 6 we averaged loss of 0.19%

After 6 weeks we are down an average of 2.83%, or 76.6 pounds. Three of eleven participants are on track to lose 7% over the 10-week contest.

I am in Ohio and we got alot of snow here. What are most of you putting snow shoveling under for exercise. I've been putting in under light gardening. I figure if I burn more it's a bonus. Gained two pounds back. It must be the snow, kids home and stress eating. Sure glad I don't live in the D.C. area

The after 40 battle - i am turning 42 this year and completely understand what you mean. I wish you the best of luck on your weight loss journey. Take Care.

Today, I will try again to start eating healthier and exercising. I have reached 40 and find that things do not come as easy as it did at 20. One day at a time. If I stumble, I WILL get up and keep going. That is the difference in me today verses a year ago!

Just popping in to tell everyone in the Clubhouse how happy I am with CalorieLookup. I have lost only 5 (gained 2 back) lbs at this point (I plan to lose and need to lose a helluva lot more) but wanted to stop by and say how wonderful this program is. It is simple and easy and you can enter your own food - I love it for it has made me accountable for what I eat - and when I do binge I do keep track of it and it is AMAZING to see how many calories oneself can put in their mouth without even realizing it - lol... I guess it is not a laughing matter - but if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at... My point being, the more aware you are - the easier it is to pass up a favorite binge item and go to a more healthy alternative - like fruit or salad! I hope everyone has a FANTABULOUS weekend - and keep the Calorie counts going - it really does help! Thanks for listening...

Yea - I am in the Midwest, we have not had as much snow as you - and my Hubby shovels - so I am missing out on that great work out... lol... Glad to hear you are doing well otherwise - have a wonderful weekend Mrs. T. Nice to hear from you...

Just wanted to stop by the Clubhouse and say hello to everrbody. How is everyone doing today. I am ok and just want to give a friendly shout out to everone and wish everyone happy calorie counting!!!! Good Luck All...

I didn't run my actual food journal by the trainer (because it's here online and I didn't want to print it), but I did tell her how many calories I've been consuming. I'll see her again on Monday, so I'll see what she thinks about this. Something is obviously wrong somewhere, I'm just not sure where yet.

No wonder you're discouraged! I'm jealous that you don't get hungry often and that you've got a trainer as a resource. Did you run your food journal by him/her? If your body thinks it's starving (too few calories or missing nutrients) it can burn muscle to fuel itself. Since muscle weighs more than fat, your body burning muscle would explain why you're losing weight but your BMI is moving in the wrong direction. (But I'd ask the trainer before I listened to me!)

Don't give up, Julia! Slow & steady will win in the end!

BTW, if anyone has an idea of how many calories/day I should be eating, I'd welcome your input. I'm 45. I weigh 175. I'm 5'2" and my BMI is 39%.

katcalla, I was counting my calories back then ecause I was trying to lose weight then as well. I did gain 10 pounds in 2-1/2 months (averaged about a pound a week). I went from eating approx. 1200 to eating approx. 14-1600.

Momshome, thanks for your support. I do work with a trainer and I never do the same workout for more than 3 days in a row. She measured my BMI last Sunday and it was up by 1% from when I joined the gym. It makes no sense. I lost a total of 10 lbs. but my BMI went up 1%. We even used two different devices in case one was defective.

I realize muscle weighs more than fat, but I really haven't noticed much change in my clothes either. I think I'll take your advice and increase my calories, but I think I'll try to make it very gradual and see if it makes a difference. It's weird, I don't feel like I'm starving myself. At 1200 calories I feel satisfied for the most part. I get the occasional stomach growl and then I eat a piece of fruit or a few crackers. But I don't feel ravenous. LOL!

Adding extra 200-300 calories will not make you gain 10 pound in 2 months. Were you counting your calories then? :)

Is there any way to add a different type of exercise to the list? I take boxing classes and I want to make sure I'm giving myself the right amount of credit for it.

Plateaus stink! Not knowing your whole story, my gut reaction is to agree with katcalla and your doctor. If you are eating that little, it's possible that you're missing some nutrients (MyPyramid link below). If you are, that plus the very high calorie deficit may be making your body think you're starving, causing your metabolism to slow down.

You've got to fuel all those workouts. It's also likely that your body is getting used to your exercise routine. You might try changing that up as well.

Please don't make yourself "skinny-fat" by being a slave to some number on a scale. Set up eating and exercise patterns that you can sustain for the rest of your life, then evaluate yourself not just with the scale but also by how strong you feel and how you can accomplish the fitness goals you've set for yourself.

BTW-muscle weighs more than fat. Losing fat and gaining muscle is a very good reason to have the number on the scale bump up a little bit. Why not get your body fat measured once a month so you can see the positive change? My gym does it free. Maybe you can find someplace, too?

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

I'm really nervous about UPPING my calories. The last time I hit a plateau like this, that's what my doctor told me to do. She told me to start eating between 1400-1600/day and stop weighing myself every day. I did that, along with exercise and I put 10 lbs on in 2-1/2 months. She tested my thyroid and the tests showed everything normal. I'm a bit baffled.