Despite eating healthier and exercising more I seem to be going backwards

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Laura_buthlay
Laura_buthlay Posts: 34 Member
edited May 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm looking for some advice / motivation on my mission for wanting to lose weight and tone up. When I finished uni a year ago I was 9 pounds lighter than I am now, I used to be able to eat bread, bagels, sandwiches filled with brie & cranberry for lunch and maintain my weight! Since going into full time work I have tried to maintain a healthier lifestyle, I have porridge for breakfast usually with 1 scoop of protein powder, frozen berries and a sprinkling of chia seeds, salad for lunch with lettuce, cucumber, celery, tomatoes, boiled eggs and cottage cheese OR avocado and then fruit or nuts as snacks and a healthy evening meal. I have also been exercising 2/3 times a week and recently upped it to 4/5 times a week. However I seem to be putting on weight rather than losing it, I know they say you start to gain muscle but I can't imagine I have gained 6 pounds of muscle as I haven't been doing my gym routine that long. Does anyone have any advice on what I can do better to lose half a stone and tone up? It's really disheartening seeing that my lifestyle changes seem to be making me gain weight rather than lose it :(

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  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    weigh and log your food accurately - scale weight loss is based on your calories consumed ... it depends what size portions you are eating and how many calories they add up to .. if it's over maintenance you will put on weight even on a restrictive diet (how dull though .. if you count accurately you can work in any food you like once you've hit your macros)

    you won't gain muscle easily, and particularly not in a defecit and should be following a progressive resistance programme (lifting heavy) .. you may see some newbie gains .. also scale weight shouldn't matter so much

    but things that can affect scale weight irrespective of body fat are change-up in exercise, hormones (ovulation and periods) and sodium in diet .. these all affect water weight

    to be honest with only a 9lb target that would easily be masked by natural water weight fluctuations ..and your goal weight loss should be set to 0.5lb per week

    and please know that you don't have a scale weight .. you have a scale weight range .. your weight naturally fluctuates by 3-5lbs roughly
  • Krystle1984
    Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
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    Do you use a scale to weigh your food? Do you eat back all your exercise calories? Are you drinking plenty of water?

    Weighing your food is the only way to be sure you aren't going over your calories without realising.

    I usually only eat back half the exercise calories logged, just in case they're overestimated.

    And you will be surprised how much difference drinking more water can make to your weight loss!

    Hope that helps! :)
  • Laura_buthlay
    Laura_buthlay Posts: 34 Member
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    Thank you both :) I do weigh my breakfast in the morning, I don't weigh my lunch or dinners though. I log everything in my fitness pal and don't eat back all the calories I have burned. If anything I think I eat very little in the day and then a big meal in the evening as I get really hungry, it's usually healthy but maybe it's the quantity. I also hardly drink any water, lots have people have said it makes a difference to your weight loss but I've never really believed it. I probably drink 1 glass a day and then some when I go to the gym and that's it! Does it honestly help? I was wondering if maybe the protein powder I am putting in my porridge was doing more damage than good? It's 91 cals a scoop.
  • Krystle1984
    Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
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    I lost 5 and a half stone... Water definitely helps! Especially if you're exercising regularly. I fill up a 2 litre bottle every morning and aim to drink it before I leave work. Anything else I drink through the day (usually black tea) is then a nice added bonus. :)
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Laura_buthlay wrote: »
    Thank you both :) I do weigh my breakfast in the morning, I don't weigh my lunch or dinners though. I log everything in my fitness pal and don't eat back all the calories I have burned. If anything I think I eat very little in the day and then a big meal in the evening as I get really hungry, it's usually healthy but maybe it's the quantity. I also hardly drink any water, lots have people have said it makes a difference to your weight loss but I've never really believed it. I probably drink 1 glass a day and then some when I go to the gym and that's it! Does it honestly help? I was wondering if maybe the protein powder I am putting in my porridge was doing more damage than good? It's 91 cals a scoop.


    you need to weigh all your food .. although you can get away with lettuce and cucumber

    water only matters if you're dehydrated so check the urine dehydration colour chart and drink more fluids if you're dehydrated .. yes this would cause you to retain water and hence scale weight increases

    can you meet your protein targets without adding the powder? if you can, and they are set sensibly as a minimum (eg 0.64g protein per lb bodyweight) then there's no specific reason to add it
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    Listen to the wise rabbitjb.

    My only contribution would be to ask, "Are you pregnant?"
  • Laura_buthlay
    Laura_buthlay Posts: 34 Member
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    I'm a vegetarian so was adding in the protein powder for extra protein and read that it was good for helping see results at the gym
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Since you aren't weighing the other meals, I don't see why you should bother weighing breakfast. I have had good success without weighing food. I could weigh breakfast and supper, but since weighing dinner isn't an option, why bother? Lack of progress is an indication that you are under estimating how large your portions are. Things that you've been entering as one serving, enter them as 1.5 servings, and see if staying within your calorie goal doesn't result in weight loss.
  • Laura_buthlay
    Laura_buthlay Posts: 34 Member
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    I only weigh my porridge as it's hard to estimate how much 40g is. I don't weigh lunch as it is just salad leaves and eggs and dinner is usually quorn which I know the calories for and veg which isn't too calorific. I will try drinking more water to see if that helps, can't think what else I am doing wrong
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Laura_buthlay wrote: »
    I only weigh my porridge as it's hard to estimate how much 40g is. I don't weigh lunch as it is just salad leaves and eggs and dinner is usually quorn which I know the calories for and veg which isn't too calorific. I will try drinking more water to see if that helps, can't think what else I am doing wrong

    so how many calories do you estimate you're consuming?
  • NoIdea101NoIdea
    NoIdea101NoIdea Posts: 659 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Laura_buthlay wrote: »
    I only weigh my porridge as it's hard to estimate how much 40g is. I don't weigh lunch as it is just salad leaves and eggs and dinner is usually quorn which I know the calories for and veg which isn't too calorific. I will try drinking more water to see if that helps, can't think what else I am doing wrong

    so how many calories do you estimate you're consuming?

    And how much weight have you lost through this? What is your activity level, is it super high so that you would really have to eat a ton to not exceed your TDEE?
  • Laura_buthlay
    Laura_buthlay Posts: 34 Member
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    About 1300 calories a day, I have lost NO weight through this at all. Activity level is gym classes / workouts 3-4 times a week for an hour a time
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    Laura_buthlay wrote: »
    About 1300 calories a day, I have lost NO weight through this at all. Activity level is gym classes / workouts 3-4 times a week for an hour a time

    Then you aren't eating only 1300 cals. Weigh your food.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Laura_buthlay wrote: »
    About 1300 calories a day, I have lost NO weight through this at all. Activity level is gym classes / workouts 3-4 times a week for an hour a time

    Over how long?
  • melissawhittaker490
    melissawhittaker490 Posts: 7 Member
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    Weighing you food isn't always possible if your working and buying lunch but you could prepare it before hand if you choose to but don't allow it to consume your day.

    If you have a desk job or a job with lots of sitting down it can be tricky. Perhaps go for a walk during your lunch break or try walking up and down the stairs just to try and increase activity levels a little.

    Yes there is the question that someone has mentioned - pregnancy? I gained quickly in the first trimester but if your not then don't let this upset you. Just do small achieveable changes to increase activity during the day.

    The only other possibility i can think if is water retention.

    I woulf likento say though that when I was younger, slimmer and fitter I must say - I did gain weight when I upped my exercise.

    Sometimes your body "panics" and actually makes it more difficult to loose weight if you up you activity so quickly - almost like a survival mechanism and yes increased muscle tone does impact upon your weight. I suspect you're fine.

    If you are happy with your body, exercising as you are and eating healthy then I shouldn't worry. It's probably increased muscle tone.
  • Laura_buthlay
    Laura_buthlay Posts: 34 Member
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    I am not pregnant, I suspect it may be water retention then - how do I avoid this? Drink lots of water? Also if I think about it what I have said above only tends to apply Mon-Fri and Fri night/Saturday night I tend to like my wine and the odd bit of bread (as I don't usually eat bread in the week) - so maybe that's it? Although I thought everything in moderation was ok, eating healthy during the week so I wouldn't have to worry as much at the weekends...
  • gypsyish
    gypsyish Posts: 78 Member
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    Laura_buthlay wrote: »
    Although I thought everything in moderation was ok, eating healthy during the week so I wouldn't have to worry as much at the weekends...

    This is why I wasn't losing weight when I was "eating healthy". I never realized how many "healthy" calories and alcohol calories I was consuming. Everything is fine in moderation as long as it fits your calories. Count everything (even the wine).
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    Laura_buthlay wrote: »
    I only weigh my porridge as it's hard to estimate how much 40g is. I don't weigh lunch as it is just salad leaves and eggs and dinner is usually quorn which I know the calories for and veg which isn't too calorific. I will try drinking more water to see if that helps, can't think what else I am doing wrong

    What about all of the nuts?

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