Something Im missing or doing wrong
VBnotbitter
Posts: 820 Member
I’m trying very hard not to get frustrated but I have now been on MFP since the beginning of March and am seeing a slow steady weight gain. I have just looked back over the past 90 days of logging and, apart from a brief hiatus in May when I spat the dummy, I have been netting less than 1500 calories consistently. I have been pouring over all the forums for advice and I have tried: - patience, slowly walking up my intake, introducing strength training, paying attention to macros and upping protein. I must be missing something.
A little history. Skinny as a teenager followed by a gain of about 20 kilos when I first left home. Lost this by changing to healthier ways of eating and exercising in a gym, which I maintained until 8 years ago and a pregnancy. At this point I got up to 85 kilos. At the age of 34 I went on my first ever low calorie diet which was Lite and Easy, an Australian company that delivers all your meals and snacks and I used their 1200 calorie programme. I got down to 70 kilos and then maintained at this for a few years. Lack of attention and lack of proper exercise meant another gradual creep until 2010 when at 74kg I went onto Weightwatchers. I got down to 67kg in about 6 months but then it crept back up to 74kg last year. In November I did another 6 weeks on Lite and Easy and got to 69kg but was straight back to 74kg by end of February this year when I joined MFP.
Provide your stats (height/weight/age/bodyfat% if you know it/etc) – 5’7”, 75.2kg, I have scales that say I’m 28% body fat but unsure as to accuracy of these.
What's your current gross intake of calories, on average? Around 1800 gross for last 3 weeks, 1600 for about 6 weeks before that.
What's your current average intake of protein, carbs, and fats, in grams? (GRAMS, not percent!) 180-200g carbs, 60g fats and 90g protein (I’m really trying with this but HATE protein shakes so trying to keep it to normal dietary sources, I know I can do better though)
Do you use a food scale and measure everything? Yes, although I may occasionally slip a bit with wine
Do you track all of your intake, daily? (Everything?) Yes, although I may occasionally slip a bit with wine (joking aside this would only be by a glass once or twice a week)
Do you take cheat days or days off? No, I may cheat with the quality of my food but always try and stay within my calorie range
How much weight have you lost so far and over what time period? None this year see above.
Describe your activity (exercise and non exercise) and did you change that activity within the last couple of months? I started strength training using NROL4W 5 weeks ago and I’m a week off completing stage one. I have also completed C25K since February and run for 20-30 minutes a couple of times a week. I also do yoga and have done for years – about two to three hours a week of this. As non-exercise I may spend a couple of hours a day at my desk the rest I am standing or walking around. Approximately 2-3 times a week I have to break out into a sprint to get to a medical emergency any where in the hospital I work and I do A LOT of CPR. At home I’m active with my kid and also gardening and dog walking with lots of hills.
How long have you been stalled and if it is not a complete stall please be very specific as to how much you have lost over the stalled period. I’m not sure if I can give any more information than I have already but basically all this year with a weight gain.
Are you breastfeeding? No
Do you have thyroid issues/risks or PCOS? Not that I am aware of and certainly don’t have any symptoms
I am going on a visit to the UK in December and am less bothered by the scale number than the fact that my clothes are all still tight. I was thinking if I stayed at 1800 cals for awhile I could cut from there a little but I’m getting very confused by the whole thing.
My diary is open and confess that last weekend I was a bit crap and had a carb frenzy with not enough protein.
A little history. Skinny as a teenager followed by a gain of about 20 kilos when I first left home. Lost this by changing to healthier ways of eating and exercising in a gym, which I maintained until 8 years ago and a pregnancy. At this point I got up to 85 kilos. At the age of 34 I went on my first ever low calorie diet which was Lite and Easy, an Australian company that delivers all your meals and snacks and I used their 1200 calorie programme. I got down to 70 kilos and then maintained at this for a few years. Lack of attention and lack of proper exercise meant another gradual creep until 2010 when at 74kg I went onto Weightwatchers. I got down to 67kg in about 6 months but then it crept back up to 74kg last year. In November I did another 6 weeks on Lite and Easy and got to 69kg but was straight back to 74kg by end of February this year when I joined MFP.
Provide your stats (height/weight/age/bodyfat% if you know it/etc) – 5’7”, 75.2kg, I have scales that say I’m 28% body fat but unsure as to accuracy of these.
What's your current gross intake of calories, on average? Around 1800 gross for last 3 weeks, 1600 for about 6 weeks before that.
What's your current average intake of protein, carbs, and fats, in grams? (GRAMS, not percent!) 180-200g carbs, 60g fats and 90g protein (I’m really trying with this but HATE protein shakes so trying to keep it to normal dietary sources, I know I can do better though)
Do you use a food scale and measure everything? Yes, although I may occasionally slip a bit with wine
Do you track all of your intake, daily? (Everything?) Yes, although I may occasionally slip a bit with wine (joking aside this would only be by a glass once or twice a week)
Do you take cheat days or days off? No, I may cheat with the quality of my food but always try and stay within my calorie range
How much weight have you lost so far and over what time period? None this year see above.
Describe your activity (exercise and non exercise) and did you change that activity within the last couple of months? I started strength training using NROL4W 5 weeks ago and I’m a week off completing stage one. I have also completed C25K since February and run for 20-30 minutes a couple of times a week. I also do yoga and have done for years – about two to three hours a week of this. As non-exercise I may spend a couple of hours a day at my desk the rest I am standing or walking around. Approximately 2-3 times a week I have to break out into a sprint to get to a medical emergency any where in the hospital I work and I do A LOT of CPR. At home I’m active with my kid and also gardening and dog walking with lots of hills.
How long have you been stalled and if it is not a complete stall please be very specific as to how much you have lost over the stalled period. I’m not sure if I can give any more information than I have already but basically all this year with a weight gain.
Are you breastfeeding? No
Do you have thyroid issues/risks or PCOS? Not that I am aware of and certainly don’t have any symptoms
I am going on a visit to the UK in December and am less bothered by the scale number than the fact that my clothes are all still tight. I was thinking if I stayed at 1800 cals for awhile I could cut from there a little but I’m getting very confused by the whole thing.
My diary is open and confess that last weekend I was a bit crap and had a carb frenzy with not enough protein.
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Tagging0
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Tagging.0
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Hi!
I had a skim of your diary and you have a lot of food that looks like is homemade. Do you use the recipe builder to log these or do you use something that you find already in the database? How accurately do you measure the servings?0 -
Hi yes I use the recipe builder and weigh everything with scales. I was taught to cook with scales not cups so it comes naturally.0
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Bumping not because I expect a reply today (happy Independence Day from Australia btw :drinker: ) but because after tomorrow I will be away and off the net so not logging etc for a few days0
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Thanks.
We are planning on getting caught up over the long weekend so will get back to you soon (hopefully today).0 -
Crap.....so sorry, missed this one.
As you have had some variability with your intake an activity could you lay out what your weight has done, in weekly increments if you have it, for the last 12 weeks.
What were you dong prior to NROL? Were you doing any resistance training?0 -
No worries, only got back from a weekend away with Internet so not being waiting on you.
I don't have accurate weekly weights but I was 73.3 kg on 29 jan, just as I was starting C25K. It gradually crept up over the 10 weeks it took me to complete that so I finished it at 74.8 kg. I was that same weight when I started new rules 5 weeks ago and was 75.5 kg on Friday last. I did take measurements back in January and as of Friday I have lost 2cm of my waist and 4cm off my hips. I would say this is since the lifting, but didn't measure prior to starting.
The only resistance training prior to that would be minimal body weight offered by yoga so not really0 -
Thanks. That helps We will get back to you soon re recommendations.0
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Hi!
Due to the fact that you restarted logging consistently at the end of May and started NROL at about that time, the trend is too hard to determine at the moment. You gained about 2lb over this period, however, when someone starts lifting there can be at least 4lb weight gain due to glycogen/water retention. So, you could well have been losing 'real' weight over this time.
We recommend that you keep your calories where they have averaged out over the last 4 weeks - 1,650. Also could you set your macros at:
Protein: 120g
Fats: 58g
as minimums, with the balance wherever based on preference, adherence and energy levels.
Please could you get back to us in 2 weeks with an update, or earlier if you have any questions. This will give us a good base for further recommendations.0 -
Will do, thanks Sara0
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Locking this one so we can keep track of active threads. Please PM me or SideSteel when you are ready to update us or if you want to ask anymore questions and we will unlock so you can. Please include a link to the thread in the PM.0
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Unlocking at OPs request.0
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Thank you.
Ok so it's been just over two weeks. Looking back Ive been fairly consistent with the calories you guys set, and getting much better at hitting protein targets. I can see Ive havent done so well on fats which I definetely need to address. Exercise wise, life got in the way last week and I went almost a week without any formal exercise, though back on to that. Im half way through stage 2 of new rules which states you should have a break after stage one anyway but I didnt even manage my normal yoga during last week. Anyways my weight hasnt done much (see below) and I havent lost inches but I do definetely look better.
5 July - 75.4 kg
10 July - 76.2 kg (after weekend away)
13 July - 75.2 kg
22 July - 76.9 kg (had chinese takeaway the night before so probably sodium related water weight?)
25 july - 75.3kg
Im just not sure whether to keep going the way I am for a bit longer or change intake up or down. Although I want this to be a permanent change I do have a shorter term goal. I am spending christmas with my family in the Uk for the first time in six years and, however much weight I have or havent lost by then, I want to be comfortably at maintenance so that I dont spend the holiday fixating on calorie intake. Now I could just accept that I will put on a bit of weight during that trip except that on our way home we are stopping in a resort in Borneo and I dont want to look like a christmas ham strung up in a bikini.
So should i keep plodding on and rely on the strength training for recomposition or should I cut slightly l to loose a bit more quickly and then gradually add back up reaching maintenance by December?
thanks for your help in advance, you are both gold0 -
sorry to butt in but that was such an awesome visual I had to try to find a picture of a ham wearing a bikini.
I failed, but this is perhaps even better.. http://a2.img.mobypicture.com/16a4d2346058626cab5b9058fb951ad9_view.jpg
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Oh thats hilariously gross!!!0
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I just realised there's a nip showing on the left hand side! pass the brain bleach!0
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Bumping feebly. Oh and please ignore last two days of tracking. Had a big road trip with a cocktail party at the end, so highly inaccurate and crappy looking0
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Moving this up.0
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Thanks0
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Crap....
This totally fell through the cracks. Can you give us your most recent weigh in so we have the most up to date data.
And sorry for he delay.0 -
That's ok I know you guys do this in your own time so I didn't want to pester.
Yesterday I weighed in at 75.6 kg (166lbs). My tracking and exercise for the last week has been lousy as I have been working very long days running courses that were catered. So I'm not sure what I ate in terms of calories or macros, though I didn't have time to eat much. Consequently this weekend is a diet and tracking break while I recover mentally and physically.
Ready to start afresh on Monday but I understand if this last weeks inconsistency makes it too hard for you to see where I'm at.0 -
Thank you.
Ok so it's been just over two weeks. Looking back Ive been fairly consistent with the calories you guys set, and getting much better at hitting protein targets. I can see Ive havent done so well on fats which I definetely need to address. Exercise wise, life got in the way last week and I went almost a week without any formal exercise, though back on to that. Im half way through stage 2 of new rules which states you should have a break after stage one anyway but I didnt even manage my normal yoga during last week. Anyways my weight hasnt done much (see below) and I havent lost inches but I do definetely look better.
5 July - 75.4 kg
10 July - 76.2 kg (after weekend away)
13 July - 75.2 kg
22 July - 76.9 kg (had chinese takeaway the night before so probably sodium related water weight?)
25 july - 75.3kg
Im just not sure whether to keep going the way I am for a bit longer or change intake up or down. Although I want this to be a permanent change I do have a shorter term goal. I am spending christmas with my family in the Uk for the first time in six years and, however much weight I have or havent lost by then, I want to be comfortably at maintenance so that I dont spend the holiday fixating on calorie intake. Now I could just accept that I will put on a bit of weight during that trip except that on our way home we are stopping in a resort in Borneo and I dont want to look like a christmas ham strung up in a bikini.
So should i keep plodding on and rely on the strength training for recomposition or should I cut slightly l to loose a bit more quickly and then gradually add back up reaching maintenance by December?
thanks for your help in advance, you are both gold
So if we ignore last week, and take you weight from when we gave you the suggested intake, you have lost 0.9kg or 2lb over 2 weeks. Not bad, at all. You mention that while you do not want to go too quick, you do want to cut enough to be at maintenance by the holidays (which means a few weeks of reversing).
With that in mind, I would set your calories at 1,600 (you actually averaged about that at 1,610 over the 2 week period in any event). Protein and fat minimums stay the same. You were pretty good at hitting your macros. Just keep focusing on the protein minimum of 120g.
If you can get back to us in 2 weeks after consistent logging, then we can take it from there.0 -
Will do, thanks Sara.0
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Locking so we can track active threads better. When you are ready to give an update, or if you have further questions, please PM me, and include a link to this thread and I will unlock.0
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Unlocked at OPs request.0
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Thank you.
So its been two week since I last checked in and I am depressed. I weighed in at 76.4kg the day after our last update, have stayed that way for most of the two weeks and then today I was 76.9 kg. Although my shape looks better since starting heavy lifting and my measurements show a loss of a cm or two here and there, my clothes are getting tighter and now even my fat jeans feel tight. Cant even fasten the skinny ones.
Now my husband, who has stacked on weight recently because he couldnt exercise with knee surgery is badgering to go back on the Lite and easy meal delivery programme for a while. Its hard to resist when I feel so podgy although I would have the 1500 cal meals rather than the 1200 I did in the past. I would rather try and sort out the right calories myself though, I dont want to go through life dieting.
I'm not sure if it makes a huge difference but I now purely lifting using New rules and have stopped running, as I discovered it flares my back injury up. I am lifting every other day at the moment.
Any ideas?0 -
Ok so I'm down a kilo since Monday so I'm thinking water retention. Also had a few days not watching much as I've been so busy, so that probably affected the water weight. Yesterday I saw a friend whose not seen me for a month and she thought I'd lost heaps of weight so it looks like the recomp might actually be working.
So this is a new question - how long do people normally get water weight and swollen muscles for? Really I don't care about the scale weight as much as my clothes not fitting. I really don't want to buy new ones if at some point in the next couple of months I'm likely to shrink.0 -
Sorry for the delay in responding. We will hopefully get to this shortly.0
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Just an update and thank you.
I just did my monthly measurements and I've lost a total of 23cm of my hips, thighs and waist since July when I first started this thread. My weight has held at 76kg but mainly due to your advice and the info in the stickies I've ignored that and held steady.
Now as the rest of my macros are filled I'm off to celebrate with garlic bread and chocolate pudding
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