My head is spinning...

Melissapaige1

I haven't eaten as well as I did when I first decided to loose weight. I also haven't been exercising as much as i did before. I lost 30 lbs in 3-4 months, eating 800-1,000 calories and going to the gym 2x a day sometimes. I know that's not realistic, and maybe very stupid. But I did it, and felt great to see my numbers drop 3 lbs each week. Now, i've increased my calories to 1200, sometimes 1500, and still go to the gym anywhere between 5-7 days a week. I also have a cookie here and there, or chips now and then. I feel like there is no balance, and since i haven't been as stricked with my diet, I have gained 6 lbs. I feel tired, and bloated. I'm in a bad mood, and sad because I feel like all i think about is what i've eaten and how much exercise i need and nothing seems to be happening these days in terms of weight loss. I decided to get a personal trainer to help me with my works outs, and my diet. Although i really can't afford the sessions. Anyways, im just tired of not being happy, not seeing results, and feeling like I need to restrict my diet, and spend hours at the gym each day, but yet im not seeing any weight loss.

malibu927

Are you weighing your food? It sounds like you're eating a lot more than 1200-1500 calories.

FaylinaMeir

you've gained weight because you probably lost a lot of water weight and you shocked your system... now it's rebounding. At the expensive of sounding like an *kitten*... what do you expect?
Try eating a sensible amount of food and getting moderate exercise. You don't need a personal trainer, just common sense.

Melissapaige1

malibu927 wrote: »

Are you weighing your food? It sounds like you're eating a lot more than 1200-1500 calories.

I plug everything into MFP and it says some days at 1200, some days, im below and other days im over 1200. I don't weigh my food. I will get a food scale and start weighing my food.

Melissapaige1

FaylinaMeir wrote: »

you've gained weight because you probably lost a lot of water weight and you shocked your system... now it's rebounding. At the expensive of sounding like an *kitten*... what do you expect?
Try eating a sensible amount of food and getting moderate exercise. You don't need a personal trainer, just common sense.

There is no way, someone can lose 30 lbs of water weight.

Melissapaige1

FaylinaMeir wrote: »

you've gained weight because you probably lost a lot of water weight and you shocked your system... now it's rebounding. At the expensive of sounding like an *kitten*... what do you expect?
Try eating a sensible amount of food and getting moderate exercise. You don't need a personal trainer, just common sense.

Just to add, im trying to eat a sensible amount of food now, and exercise. I love working out, and eating healthy. That's the problem, im doing that, and i've gone up in weight, or just fluctuate and maintain.

Kullerva

Melissapaige, you are right that it is not possible to lose 30 lbs of water. However I believe the poster was referring to the effect many overweight people experience in that the first, dramatic loss of weight is almost always mostly water. As weight loss slows and the body stabilizes, some of that lost water will return. It's part of the body's normal fluctuation pattern.

Melissapaige1

Kullerva wrote: »

Melissapaige, you are right that it is not possible to lose 30 lbs of water. However I believe the poster was referring to the effect many overweight people experience in that the first, dramatic loss of weight is almost always mostly water. As weight loss slows and the body stabilizes, some of that lost water will return. It's part of the body's normal fluctuation pattern.

I see, ok I understand that. So what can i do moving forward? How do i change my diet, so that im loosing weight again?

FaylinaMeir

Melissapaige1 wrote: »

FaylinaMeir wrote: »

you've gained weight because you probably lost a lot of water weight and you shocked your system... now it's rebounding. At the expensive of sounding like an *kitten*... what do you expect?
Try eating a sensible amount of food and getting moderate exercise. You don't need a personal trainer, just common sense.

There is no way, someone can lose 30 lbs of water weight.

I didn't say it was all water weight but you can easily lose 15-20 pounds of water weight depending on your previous diet/how big you are.

I'm speaking from experience on this one. You want to argue? Fine but you asked and I'm telling you. You upset your body by going extremely low calories with lots of exercise. Then you started eating a decent amount of calories (1500) and then it gained weight back. It's not the end of the world, but it should be a lesson to you to have realistic goals.

You might want to adjust your way of thinking now before it becomes an issue in the future. Like I said, maybe I'm a jerk, but I'm trying to help you. Hell the fact you're eating "chips and cookies" could be salty enough to gain weight back. I can go eat sushi and gain 8 pounds overnight (again.. experience here!) and yeah I feel puffy and bloated. The stomach issues could just be from poor food choices; I don't know in detail what you eat.

Real advice here: buy a DIGITAL scale and try to eat a good amount of fruits and vegetables and complex carbs to keep you full. Eggs are good. Try a fruit smoothie after a workout for example. Drink cold water often and stay hydrated. cookies and chips aren't going to kill you but try to be moderate with them (heck I just had a few oreos, no shame in it). Also stop obsessing over your weight: that number isn't everything. I'd also give your body like 30-90 days to balance back out. Everyone is different as rebounding. Seriously though, you need to pick a number of calories 1200-1500 and stick with it. Yo-Yo dieting isn't your friend.

Marilyn0924

Quite simply, you're eating more than you think you are. Get a digital scale, weigh all solids, measure all liquids, include all of those "cookies and chips here and there" in your logs, and set a reasonable loss goal for yourself. The rest will fall into place

Kullerva

Melissapaige1 wrote: »

Kullerva wrote: »

Melissapaige, you are right that it is not possible to lose 30 lbs of water. However I believe the poster was referring to the effect many overweight people experience in that the first, dramatic loss of weight is almost always mostly water. As weight loss slows and the body stabilizes, some of that lost water will return. It's part of the body's normal fluctuation pattern.

I see, ok I understand that. So what can i do moving forward? How do i change my diet, so that im loosing weight again?

As some other posters have said, you need to tighten up your logging. Weigh your food on a digital scale (they're only $10-$20) and choose foods that satiate you and support good nutrition and health. Starving yourself, overexercising and eating junk without logging it could easily get you into a rut.

As far as food and mood goes, I used to have similar problems. Before doing MFP, I wrote a food journal where I wrote down everything I ate (though not portions--I wasn't that far along yet!). After eating, I would do hourly check-ins: Am I still full? Do I have indigestion? Am I feeling ok, unhappy or hungry again? This is a fair amount of work, but it encourages mindfulness in eating and allows you to find out which foods cause the bad moods. Cinnamon, by the way, works wonders for keeping my mood even.

Melissapaige1

Thanks, i'm getting a food scale asap. And thank you for the cinnamon tip.

1Nana2many

While you're at it, if you have not yet taken your measurements, now would be a good time to do so. Sometimes, when you're working out a lot you don't lose as much weight as you do inches. Just another way to document changes in your body when the scale isn't moving.