I keep on losing weight

jenrak

Hi. I lost about 11 kgs since July by sticking into a healthy diet and regular exercise. Last month I started to maintain a weight of 50 kg by increasing my calorie intake but I notice I'm continuously dropping. I weigh myself today and it's 47 kg. It is still a healthy weight but I'm quite concerned that I may drop more. I realise that it is so difficult to stick to the weight that you want. I cannot force myself to eat more as everytime I try I get very bad heartburn at night and I need to take activate charcoal capsules. When I go to a party and eat more than my usual intake, I suffer severe heartburn, it's like my body's punishing me for eating a lot. I reduced my exercise sched from 4-5x a week to 2x a week now because of the fear of losing more.

tahxirez

I can't see your diary but heres some general advice: Instead of eating more volume try eating more calories. Add in some peanut butter or some cheese where you might not normally. Those calories add up quickly so be mindful of portions. If you're eating lowfat or nonfat anything its time to go full fat. For a personal anecdote: I struggled when I began maintaining to eat as much as I was required. That doesn't last forever (didn't for me) I still don't eat as much as when I was larger but I have noticed I can eat much more than before. Its possible that this is specific to me (and probably 99% mental) but be mindful as you add in higher calorie options.

griffinca2

I'm in the same boat you're in. Went to doc to make sure there weren't any issues (there wasn't any). But a friend (and trainer) at the gym I belong to explained that I was lifting weights and adding muscle. Muscle and fat are both metabolically active; muscle is just more so than fat and needs/uses more calories. So, the more muscle you have the more cals you will need to maintain your weight. I have been slowly adding cals so that I can put back on a little more weight then re-adjust so I stay within weight range I want. I do a full-body workout 3Xs a week with a short (15-20 min) cardio session when done w/weights. Exercising (w/weights?) 4-5Xs a week (especially if you're fairly young and male) will add quite a bit of muscle fairly quickly.

Seffell

Why are you taking active charcoal for heartburn? I'm pretty sure it is to absorb toxins in cases of diarrhoea. Did you had those prescribed?

jenrak

gebeziseva wrote: »

Why are you taking active charcoal for heartburn? I'm pretty sure it is to absorb toxins in cases of diarrhoea. Did you had those prescribed?

It was recommended by a friend and it helps effectively than otc medications for heartburn. No it is not prescribed, I bought it in a local pharmacy. But I will not suggest for you or anyone to take it, better to see your doctor.

jenrak

griffinca2 wrote: »

I'm in the same boat you're in. Went to doc to make sure there weren't any issues (there wasn't any). But a friend (and trainer) at the gym I belong to explained that I was lifting weights and adding muscle. Muscle and fat are both metabolically active; muscle is just more so than fat and needs/uses more calories. So, the more muscle you have the more cals you will need to maintain your weight. I have been slowly adding cals so that I can put back on a little more weight then re-adjust so I stay within weight range I want. I do a full-body workout 3Xs a week with a short (15-20 min) cardio session when done w/weights. Exercising (w/weights?) 4-5Xs a week (especially if you're fairly young and male) will add quite a bit of muscle fairly quickly.

I mainly weight lift now than doing cardio, probably that explains why I continually lose weight. I just need to increase my calorie intake not by volume as suggested by the commenter above. Thanks a lot.

jenrak

tahxirez wrote: »

I can't see your diary but heres some general advice: Instead of eating more volume try eating more calories. Add in some peanut butter or some cheese where you might not normally. Those calories add up quickly so be mindful of portions. If you're eating lowfat or nonfat anything its time to go full fat. For a personal anecdote: I struggled when I began maintaining to eat as much as I was required. That doesn't last forever (didn't for me) I still don't eat as much as when I was larger but I have noticed I can eat much more than before. Its possible that this is specific to me (and probably 99% mental) but be mindful as you add in higher calorie options.

This is helpful. You are right I have to increase my calories not by volume, I will try this. I hope it helps because my family is worried about my weight loss.

jenrak

jenrak wrote: »

tahxirez wrote: »

I can't see your diary but heres some general advice: Instead of eating more volume try eating more calories. Add in some peanut butter or some cheese where you might not normally. Those calories add up quickly so be mindful of portions. If you're eating lowfat or nonfat anything its time to go full fat. For a personal anecdote: I struggled when I began maintaining to eat as much as I was required. That doesn't last forever (didn't for me) I still don't eat as much as when I was larger but I have noticed I can eat much more than before. Its possible that this is specific to me (and probably 99% mental) but be mindful as you add in higher calorie options.

This is helpful. You are right I have to increase my calories not by volume, I will try this. I hope it helps because my family is worried about my weight loss.

Thank you.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

if you are having more heartburn,see a dr as you may have an underlying cause for it.just to rule anything out of course.

sijomial

@griffinca2
Adding more muscle makes a tiny, tiny difference to your TDEE - you are talking c. 12 cals per kg of muscle per day. You can add a further tiny amount of calorie burn as you may be able to produce more power during your exercise but again that's miniscule. And that is offset by simply losing weight as fat is also metabolically active (even lower amount though).
It simply can't be the reason for someone losing 3kg in weight in a month, assuming they can add any muscle in a significant deficit.

OP
You need to eat more calories so getting proper medical advice about your heartburn would be more than sensible. It's not a punishment, it's a medical condition.

Opening your food diary would help if you want advice abut food choices/substitutions.
Can you swap your eating pattern around so you eat more earlier in the day?

tahxirez

jenrak wrote: »

jenrak wrote: »

tahxirez wrote: »

I can't see your diary but heres some general advice: Instead of eating more volume try eating more calories. Add in some peanut butter or some cheese where you might not normally. Those calories add up quickly so be mindful of portions. If you're eating lowfat or nonfat anything its time to go full fat. For a personal anecdote: I struggled when I began maintaining to eat as much as I was required. That doesn't last forever (didn't for me) I still don't eat as much as when I was larger but I have noticed I can eat much more than before. Its possible that this is specific to me (and probably 99% mental) but be mindful as you add in higher calorie options.

This is helpful. You are right I have to increase my calories not by volume, I will try this. I hope it helps because my family is worried about my weight loss.

Thank you.

You are very welcome. Consistently hit your goals for a few weeks (4 to 6) and see if the losses stop. If they don't stop increase your calories slightly (maybe about 100 a day) basically just use your rate of loss to determine whether you are eating the appropriate amount for your body.