Any help with gaining weigh back after weighloss

tinakowalik

Hello community.

Back in 2013 I decided I needed to loose weight. It was a tough go until I found MFP. I then started losing 2 pounds a week. I felt great. It then became more about fitness and strength. I lost a total of 42 pounds. Winter seems to be a hard season for me to loose weight as well. I'd gain then loose in summer. This summer unfortunately I did not loose it again. Winter is back and more weight is adding on. I'm back up 26 pounds. I feel awful. My self esteem and confidence is gone. I feel what's the point of it if I can't seem to loose the weight. I feel my strength and cardio is gone as well. I do workouts to videos....gyms are too far and not a good choice for me. Cardio and weight training. Elliptical. Roughly 1/2 hour.

Reading through some posts here, I came across starvation mode threads. When I was losing that weight the first time, I did not know that I was supposed to eat back some of my workout calories. I'm now frightened I've destroyed my metabolism and will never recover from that. Is any of that true?

I find myself viewing all food as an enemy layely and think that it's only going to hinder me. I do admit I've started eating like crap again. High sugar drinks like pop have made it back into my life. I'm finding it hard to quit it again. I know that's part of my problem. I find that when I can't get enough protein, my sugar cravings are horrible. I feel almost sick..

Looking for any help and suggestions. Do I need to see a nutritionalist?

kommodevaran

You need to relax.

Your metabolism is fine.

If you are gaining weight, it's because you are consistently taking in too many calories.

You don't have to quit anything if you like it, but if you feel that pop is taking up too much space on the expence of real food, aim to get in more real food. Are you eating meals? If you plan meals you look forward to, it's easier to wait until your meal.

tinakowalik

Not really with the meals. Usually small items like an apple with peanut butter and yoghurt. I rarely cook meals anymore or plan ahead. I feel like I'm becoming desperate as well. I've even Gone as far as juicing diet that I know is not going to help me.

seska422

Consistently consume fewer calories than your body uses and have patience. Patience can be the hardest part but it's essential.

crosbylee

tinakowalik wrote: »

Not really with the meals. Usually small items like an apple with peanut butter and yoghurt. I rarely cook meals anymore or plan ahead. I feel like I'm becoming desperate as well. I've even Gone as far as juicing diet that I know is not going to help me.

This is a good starting point. This habit will help you be more successful and get that off again. I have the same problem. I fell out of planning and tracking, so I am pretty much starting from ground zero myself. I will be following my own advice and planning ahead. Good luck to you!

tinakowalik

Thank you

joemac1988

Metabolic damage is BS. No such thing. What IS true is that weight loss will stall if you're eating too FEW calories.

Weight loss is actually simple, calories in need to be less than calories out. You burn less calories in the winter (less activity and lower body temp) so calories need to be reduced. What you do need to figure out is what amount of calories you burn in a 24 hour period. Try the fitbit app or www.iifym.com This is also known as TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

Progress will be slow, don't stress. Weigh in once a week, at the same time of day as you fluctuate through the week. More importantly, take pictures. Weight can be a liar.

traskin5918

I know your struggle quite well. Most important thing to do is not to panic, honestly. Panic will absolutely gut every effort you will make to eat better ... you'll end up eating far too little until your body rebels and your primal rage drives you to rabidly consume, in the raw, an entire horse. I've dropped close to 40 pounds in the last 60 days or so, and every time I've hit a plateau and felt that raw, stinging disappointment of hopping on a scale and finding that my momentum has stalled, I've panicked. Finally I had a chat with a large, bone-headed muscle-head friend of mine and he quickly diagnosed my problem (I suppose even the thick necked among us have their areas of brilliance) .... he took one look at my food tracking and said EAT MORE.

I thought he was off his nut, as usual, but I decided to do this after an entire week of working out hard in the AM, eating under 1300 calories a day, taking workout supplements and generally just torturing myself. I loaded up with 500 to 600 calories per meal (chock full of decent foods of course - no junk foods, no processed foods, no fried foods, no crap food of any kind) and BOOM ! My weight began to drop once again, like butter off a hot knife.

Suffice to say that you need to affirm to yourself that little steps are ok, that slow progress is good progress, and that you don't have to torture your body to achieve your goals. Track your calories, don't eat junk and the weight will fall off - but you have to eat more, eat better. Be ok with yourself. Don't be angry with yourself. Be Zen. Chant with monks in the morning. Listen to nature sounds. Whatever tickles your fancy that also elevates your spirit. Stop fighting yourself. Get out in nature and exercise a bit. Be a kid (I've started playing this terribly silly game called Trove that makes me feel like I'm five, but it also keeps me occupied and away from the refrigerator in the late nights).

I wish you all the peace in the world. Feel better !

everher

First off, let's take a breath. . . .okay now exhale.

You seem stressed and there's no reason to be. Losing weight isn't complicated. You know this. You've done it before. It's just about consistently consuming fewer calories than you burn. Calories in < calories out.

It sounds like you've retreated into old eating habits which means the changes you made weren't sustainable. This go around make sure the changes you are making are sustainable. Give up pop if you want to, but make sure it's something you are willing to give up permanently. I've been on many a diet in my life time and sooner or later I would cave and go back to my old eating habits because dieting doesn't work. It has to be a lifestyle change. Sounds corny, but it's true.

If you can't give up soda try only drinking as much as you can fit into your daily calorie allotment after allotting calories for meals + snacks (if you eat snacks) or you could always switch to drinking diet soda which I know some people have done.

Eating and planning meals is important. The problem with constantly eating little things or snacks is that you never really get full so you are constantly snacking. It's easy to overeat that way and that's how I got so big in the first place. Constant snacking.

I would start by just getting into the routine of logging again. Accurately and consistently log every piece of food that goes into your mouth for a few weeks so you can find out how much you are actually consuming. Buy a food scale if you don't already have one and weigh your solids and measure your liquids. Be honest because the only person you would be lying to is yourself.

Once you have logging down I would set up MFP for a modest deficit. Maybe a pound a week. Nothing too extreme or else you'll constantly be hungry and eventually you'll cave and give up. You don't have to give up foods you love to lose weight either. Just eat fewer calories. I never tell myself "no" but sometimes I do tell myself "not today". If I want a treat and can't fit it into today's calories I eat it the next day or when I can make it fit into my daily calories.

Lastly, I would guess the reason you gain in winter versus losing in summer is like many people you aren't as active in winter as you are in summer. This is where accurately choosing your activity level will come into play. If you are sedentary in the winter you are sedentary and it's best to choose that activity level so as not to overeat. In summer, you are most likely more active so you burn more calories and can eat more. Also, the holidays in winter don't do people any favors.

TL:DR you've done this before you can do it again, be kind to yourself and honest with yourself, prelog and preplan meals if you have to, and don't be too restrictive or cut out foods you love.

SLLRunner

tinakowalik wrote: »

Hello community.

Back in 2013 I decided I needed to loose weight. It was a tough go until I found MFP. I then started losing 2 pounds a week. I felt great. It then became more about fitness and strength. I lost a total of 42 pounds. Winter seems to be a hard season for me to loose weight as well. I'd gain then loose in summer. This summer unfortunately I did not loose it again. Winter is back and more weight is adding on. I'm back up 26 pounds. I feel awful. My self esteem and confidence is gone. I feel what's the point of it if I can't seem to loose the weight. I feel my strength and cardio is gone as well. I do workouts to videos....gyms are too far and not a good choice for me. Cardio and weight training. Elliptical. Roughly 1/2 hour.

Reading through some posts here, I came across starvation mode threads. When I was losing that weight the first time, I did not know that I was supposed to eat back some of my workout calories. I'm now frightened I've destroyed my metabolism and will never recover from that. Is any of that true?

I find myself viewing all food as an enemy layely and think that it's only going to hinder me. I do admit I've started eating like crap again. High sugar drinks like pop have made it back into my life. I'm finding it hard to quit it again. I know that's part of my problem. I find that when I can't get enough protein, my sugar cravings are horrible. I feel almost sick..

Looking for any help and suggestions. Do I need to see a nutritionalist?

Stratton mode is a myth.

Eat less calories than you burn and you will lose weight every single time. Just eat real food but less of it.

Anybody can call themselves a nutritionist. Get a referral to a registered dietitian if you need someone to help you with your diety plan.