Losing weight, then gaining it back within a week. HELP!

bbylaura22

I've been looking all over online for some kind of help but maybe I just have a unique situation. Seriously ANY help/advice/stories would help me right now.

My dilemma is that I tried losing weight 4 months ago, the beginning of February. My goal was to lose 20 pounds by well... 3 days ago. I started at 173, and the lowest I got was to 165. Which is pretty good and I was able to keep my weight like that for about 2 hours.

So I lose the weight, and then a week later I'm saying "Okay. This is the week. I'm going to stick to it and get back down to 165!" Then I repeat that the next week, and the week after that. I find it extremely difficult to exercise everyday and eat right ALL the time. Going over my calorie budget by 100 makes my weight fluctuate. It's incredibly frustrating. My calorie budget when I first started was 1,500 and within two days I was gaining weight and so I went down to 1,200. I didn't lose any weight unless I burned 300-600 calories by running. I kept this up, eating 1,200 and running like crazy and that's how I got down to 165. I then told myself maybe I don't need to be as strict. So I stopped counting calories and the next week (still eating healthy though) I was back at 170.

Having around 700 calories a day in my diet NOT healthy. And I realize that. But that's the only way I found to lose weight! Is that normal? I'm not being dramatic here at all. In fact, I remember one week where I only ATE 500 calories and burned at least 200-300. That was a really good week. I lost a couple pounds but then gained them back. Last year I got down to 158 (the very lowest weight I've ever had) and I got there by skipping breakfast, lunch, and having a sandwich for dinner. Then playing volleyball for three hours after school.

Now I know what you're thinking. Anorexia. HAHAHAHA IF ONLY. I am not afraid to eat. At all. I love food with all my being. Sometimes, I think I'm a hobbit for I'd chose food over love any day. But I did what I had to do and by hardly eating and exercising was the way I lost weight. I'm at a complete loss on how to lose only 2 pounds a week. I'm used to using the military diet to shed a quick few pounds.

I'm so frustrated with losing 7 pounds over the course of a month and then gaining them all back in a week. I'd love to have a diet, that isn't so strict so I don't feel an immense amount of guilt when I eat a piece of toast, or have a bowl of cereal with 300 calories in it. Any advice or encouragement will be greatly appreciated.

grimendale

If you gained seven pounds in a week, much of it was probably water weight. Have you been checking your body measurements? I've found that to be a lot more accurate than the scale. There have been months where my weight was all over the place, but my waist size continued to drop steadily and my body fat percentage continued to do the same. Try not to focus on one number so exclusively, particularly given that it doesn't tell the whole story. You can lose weight by eating unhealthy (I've done it), but it isn't sustainable. You'll end up feeling tired and weak. Plus, once you go back to eating normally, you rocket back up (I've done that too). Slow, sustainable, long term losses are the only truly effective way to lose.

kelooki

Your weight is going to fluctuate during the course of a week depending on how much water you drank, salty foods you ate, etc.

You can only really measure weight loss over the course of a month as it can change drastically day to day. I don't know how tall/active you are but 1,500 calories a day sounds good. Make sure you are logging your calories correctly (often underestimating calories is a mistake people make) and stick with the calorie logging. You shouldn't be working out everyday if you already feel overwhelmed and have a hard time sticking to it. One step at a time, work on your eating first.

After you spend a few weeks working on your eating, start going to the gym 3-4 times a week. You don't have to go everyday. The most important thing for losing weight is to control your diet, healthy foods and under your caloric limit.

MyChocolateDiet

search button on MFP use it and find:

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tdee
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IIFYM
calorie goals

__Di__

I've been looking all over online for some kind of help but maybe I just have a unique situation. Seriously ANY help/advice/stories would help me right now.

My dilemma is that I tried losing weight 4 months ago, the beginning of February. My goal was to lose 20 pounds by well... 3 days ago. I started at 173, and the lowest I got was to 165. Which is pretty good and I was able to keep my weight like that for about 2 hours.

So I lose the weight, and then a week later I'm saying "Okay. This is the week. I'm going to stick to it and get back down to 165!" Then I repeat that the next week, and the week after that. I find it extremely difficult to exercise everyday and eat right ALL the time. Going over my calorie budget by 100 makes my weight fluctuate. It's incredibly frustrating. My calorie budget when I first started was 1,500 and within two days I was gaining weight and so I went down to 1,200. I didn't lose any weight unless I burned 300-600 calories by running. I kept this up, eating 1,200 and running like crazy and that's how I got down to 165. I then told myself maybe I don't need to be as strict. So I stopped counting calories and the next week (still eating healthy though) I was back at 170.

Having around 700 calories a day in my diet NOT healthy. And I realize that. But that's the only way I found to lose weight! Is that normal? I'm not being dramatic here at all. In fact, I remember one week where I only ATE 500 calories and burned at least 200-300. That was a really good week. I lost a couple pounds but then gained them back. Last year I got down to 158 (the very lowest weight I've ever had) and I got there by skipping breakfast, lunch, and having a sandwich for dinner. Then playing volleyball for three hours after school.

Now I know what you're thinking. Anorexia. HAHAHAHA IF ONLY. I am not afraid to eat. At all. I love food with all my being. Sometimes, I think I'm a hobbit for I'd chose food over love any day. But I did what I had to do and by hardly eating and exercising was the way I lost weight. I'm at a complete loss on how to lose only 2 pounds a week. I'm used to using the military diet to shed a quick few pounds.

I'm so frustrated with losing 7 pounds over the course of a month and then gaining them all back in a week. I'd love to have a diet, that isn't so strict so I don't feel an immense amount of guilt when I eat a piece of toast, or have a bowl of cereal with 300 calories in it. Any advice or encouragement will be greatly appreciated.

By going so low, you are depleting your Glycogen stores and then when you eat a little more, up it goes again.

You need to sort out your eating and be at a reasonable calories allowance, otherwise you will forever be yo-yoing with your weight.

DavPul

Weigh yourself once a week, not hourly. Once a month would be better, actually. You're reacting to water weight fluctuations and going into full scale panic over the normal daily changes we all experience. Go back to 1600 calories, don't weigh yourself for three weeks (random time period I just pulled of my *kitten*) and then start tracking on a weekly basis. Don't make changes to your eating plan until you have three weeks of data to see the trend. Adjust if needed, track three more weeks and adjust again if needed. Repeat till you hit GW

EvgeniZyntx

Since I see one of your goals is to run 5k - you should know that exercise, especially if inconsistent or early on, will make your weight vary significantly. Don't worry about this - follow Dave's advice. Eat consistently, train consistently and you'll achieve your goals.

Don't be a slave to the stupid scale.

kimosabe1

my weight fluctuates every day and that is lame.....

Voserichard

You also have to consider the fact that when you diet the first thing you lose is water. Which means that the initial weight loss comes from loss os water. After that eat lots of fruit and vegetables with whole grains and lean protein like fish and chicken. (Not fried) Just workout when you can. Weigh yourself just once a month, I do that thr first Saturday of every month. Make sure it's at about the same time of day as well. Preferably in the morning soon after you get up. That's the most accurate time. Another thing you can try which is also something I do; tape yourself with a body tape to see exactly what areas that you're either losing or gaining at. That will give you more information as where you are...

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Weigh yourself once a week, not hourly. Once a month would be better, actually. You're reacting to water weight fluctuations and going into full scale panic over the normal daily changes we all experience. Go back to 1600 calories, don't weigh yourself for three weeks (random time period I just pulled of my *kitten*) and then start tracking on a weekly basis. Don't make changes to your eating plan until you have three weeks of data to see the trend. Adjust if needed, track three more weeks and adjust again if needed. Repeat till you hit GW

Do this. You're shooting yourself in the foot by netting so few calories. Log accurately and completely for awhile. Don't change your calorie goal and don't weigh yourself. Check back in a few weeks and decide what needs to change.

Also read this:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

bbylaura22

Thanks! That article had some really good information on why I shouldn't stress myself. Also, I never thought about trying something for three weeks and not weighing myself THEN changing. It's normally, today I didn't lose weight so it's not working.

I'm a solid 5' 10" and currently 171 pounds. What do you suggest my calorie intake be? 1,500 seems really high for me since I'm used to 1,200. BUT if I do try 1,500 how much should I exercise? I've been in the routine of running 2 miles a day, and sometimes doing hills. I'm a sporty person but I wouldn't say extremely active. I'm only active when I work out.

DavPul

When making changes, I like to change one thing at a time. If I adjust my calories, exercise intensity and/or exercise frequency all at the same time it's hard to tell what was working and what wasn't. So my vote is for you to continue your current exercise plan, which sounds like it's running a couple miles per day. You should, however, start looking into some strength training programs right now and begin them as soon as possible. Strength training will help you burn much more fat than cardio or reduced calories alone. Join a gym or look for body weight programs on a site like nerdfitness.com

There's a chance that 1500 isn't enough calories, but if you've only been netting 700-1200 for a while 1500 is a good a place to start as any.