Help! Trying so hard to lose but gaining instead

laurenkaymoore

I'm desperately needing some advice. I am 100 days out from my wedding and need to lose 20 pounds.
I am almost 60 days into counting, measuring, and logging my food-everything I eat. I have been staying around 1200 cals. I'm a female 32, 5'3" and 164. I run 4-5 days a week for 30 mins (burn 300 cals according to my HRM) and do another form of cardio one other day with 1 rest day per week.
I had initially lost 8 pounds and was down to 159 in the first month. But I have gained back 5 of those pounds! (I know it's probably not a true gain but it's still very disheartening when I'm working so hard) My measurements have barely gone down. What am I doing wrong?!? Am I eating too little? I'm going to bump my calories up to 1350 but I'm nervous to.

janejellyroll

Your diary is closed, but when you say you're "measuring" foods, do you mean with measuring cups?

laurenkaymoore

Yes, I use a food scale and measuring cups

janejellyroll

lksmith131 wrote: »

Yes, I use a food scale and measuring cups

Are you using the food scale for all solid food? Are you inputting your own recipes (not using "homemade" or "generic" entries from the database)? Are you having any days where you go over your calorie goal or days when you don't log?

ScaleIsLying

I have found for me that it is not helpful to consider calories only. What else comprises your day?

You are in a stressful time in your life. You are getting married soon. This means that you are getting up early, staying up late, running everywhere trying to get things coordinated. Maybe working a second job temporarily to help pay for your honeymoon? If your fiance is not helping you, this is especially true.

You need good sleep. Stress prevents weight loss. You are possibly fighting with family members to maintain control of your own wedding plans too.

Drink water, not tea-flavored water, or coffee-flavored water.

Keep an eye on your sodium levels in your meals. Are you eating microwaved meals because you are watching the calories so closely? You might be thinking that you don't have to measure portion sizes if it is already done for you, but there are high sodium levels in frozen foods and anything else in a box. Frozen foods and anything in a box are best left in the grocery store.

Think long term. Right now, your target is your wedding day. What happens after that? Do you return to your old habits? If so, you will not want to look at your wedding pictures in a year or two because they will remind you of how thin you once were. (I have gone through this with female family members.)

Your future husband already loves you like you are. Dial back your own stress and don't miss the joy of your wedding ramp up because you are always worried about your weight. There will be plenty of time for worry and stress after you have a couple of kids, of this I am absolutely certain.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. My best wishes for a long, happy life to follow.

quiksylver296

StaciMarie1974

Food scale is most accurate for solid foods. Measuring cups are bound to be off - it is confusing that there are cup measurements on solid food packaging. Ignore that and go with the grams indication.

kshama2001

lksmith131 wrote: »

I'm desperately needing some advice. I am 100 days out from my wedding and need to lose 20 pounds.
I am almost 60 days into counting, measuring, and logging my food-everything I eat. I have been staying around 1200 cals. I'm a female 32, 5'3" and 164. I run 4-5 days a week for 30 mins (burn 300 cals according to my HRM) and do another form of cardio one other day with 1 rest day per week.
I had initially lost 8 pounds and was down to 159 in the first month. But I have gained back 5 of those pounds! (I know it's probably not a true gain but it's still very disheartening when I'm working so hard) My measurements have barely gone down. What am I doing wrong?!? Am I eating too little? I'm going to bump my calories up to 1350 but I'm nervous to.

The only way eating too little can cause you to gain weight is if undereating triggers overeating which then wipes out your calorie deficit.

It's not possible for someone your height to not have lost weight on 1200 calories/day for two months. Studies have shown people are terrible at estimating how much they have eaten. This is why you will get numerous suggestions to weigh all your solid foods on a digital food scale and be very selective about what entries you use from the database. Don't take this personally - it's very common.

What are you doing with your exercise calories? Many here suggest you eat only 50% of them back.

mankars

Best way is to go on a very low carb diet, this way your body doesn't absorb and store water. Those five pounds you gained might have some water weight to it.

If you are exercising the way you described & the foods you eat should help you to lose weight.

It's simple science - for any healthy person, less calorie you eat than what your body needs to survive will make you lose weight... and vice versa.

Unless you have hormonal imbalance, check with your doctor if you have any thyroid issues that's increasing weight.

All the best.

ogtmama

Could you be drinking calories? Coffee, tea, protein shakes, alcohol, that you're forgetting about?

trigden1991

Don't use measuring cups, they are inaccurate and measurements can vary as much as 50% (made up statistic). Weigh everything that has calories in it!

Francl27

Is your period due? That would explain it.