Weight gain at 1200cals? Panicking

ayesha639

Okay, so earlier this year, in August, I decided I wanted to lose weight properly. I was overweight, being 164lbs at 5"6 and I decided it had been making me miserable for too long.
I started counting calories and weighing and measuring everything, eating around 1000 calories a day.
I was losing weight, very quickly at first, and as it started to slow down, I lowered my calories to match, to the point where I was only eating around 600 a day to try and keep losing weight. I know this was really unhealthy but it became a bit obsessive.
I never had any energy for anything and my hair is falling out and I don't want to back to that at all.
At the start of December, with my mum's help I decided to ease up on the diet eating a little bit, having lost 27lbs and knowing the diet I was on was making me miserable.
I said I would eat around 1200cals a day because I still wanted to lose weight, but this way would be far healthier and I would hopefully have some energy.
It was nearly a month ago since I started eating more and I've gained 5lbs (138-143) since then.
I am active, and I eat mostly vegetables and lean meat at meal times with healthy snacks in between. I try not to eat too much salt and I don't eat white bread or rice. I thought I was trying all the traditional healthy advice that's supposed to work for everyone.
I don't know what to do. I've tried to research it, and some places say I was in starvation mode and so I automatically gained back weight when I ate more normally again. But most reputable sources say starvation mode doesn't exist and that it must be something else?
I don't want to go back to eating so little again, it was making me miserable and unable to do anything but sleep.
I also desperately don't want to gain back the weight I've just lost because it's the only good thing out of all of this. Particularly as it's Christmas and everywhere is full of food and I want to enjoy it but honestly the fact that I've gained weight is all I can think about.
Does anyone know what could be causing me to gain weight and whether I should change my diet to stop gainging weight again?

HellYeahItsKriss

I would like to see your food diary. Could you open it?

malibu927

It’s water weight. You were at such low calories that when you raised up to 1200 you refilled your glycogen stores, and that requires water.

Honestly I would take a break through the holidays to reset your body. When you resume, set your goal to lose half a pound a week, as you’re at a healthy weight now. Also you may want to speak with a professional.

PAV8888

How are you counting you low and high weights? Is the weight you're reporting your trending weight or your lowest low and highest high?

Eat more than 1200. You will not restore your hormones without going to maintenance. Read the first post and possibly summary on page 5 or 6 of the re-feed and diet break thread by @Nony_Mouse

If you can't wrap your brain around eating at maintenance for a bit while you're at a normal weight you may want to consider that you may have developed a problem worth addressing with someone.

By the same token eating at maintenance *may* help normalize neurotransmitter function all by itself...

By the way, 1200 is not maintenance....

Your current problem is not that you're gaining weight instead of losing.

Your current problem is that you're even considering the possibility of cutting calories when you have already seen that doing so kicks up a substantial degree of adaptive thermogenesis in your specific case... making you feel like **kitten** and sleep all day.

TavistockToad

PAV8888 wrote: »

How are you counting you low and high weights? Is the right you're reporting your trending weight or your lowest low and highest high?

Eat more than 1200. You will not restore your hormones without going to maintenance. Read the first post and possibly summary on page 6 of the refeed and diet break thread by @Nony_Mouse

If you can't wrap your brain around eating at maintenance for a bit while you're at a normal weight you may want to consider that you may have developed a problem worth addressing with someone. By the same token eating at maintenance *may* help normalize neurotransmitter function all by itself...

By the way, 1200 is not maintenance....

Your current problem is not that you're gaining weight instead of losing.

Your current problem is that you're even considering the possibility of cutting calories when you have already seen that doing so kicks up a substantial degree of adaptive thermogenesis in your specific case... making you feel like **kitten** and sleep all day.

QFT

Mithridites

I agree with the previous posters. Switching to maintenance for a while will help you catch your balance. You’ve not only been starving your body but your brain as well. Before you develop some serious health issues take a few weeks to track at maintenance and provide your body with all the nutrients it’s been missing. Take good care of yourself. Best wishes.

Good_Morning_Glory

I also agree. Taking some time at maintenance really helped me shift my disordered thinking. Also reading so much good advice given in these forums.

I read daily the struggles (and go through many of the same) and reset my thinking every day.

Blessings to you.

Francl27

First yes.. it's water weight. Second, you need to 'reset' your metabolism so you can lose on a healthy amount of calories. Go to http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/, figure out your maintenance calories, and eat that for 3 weeks (you might gain a bit of weight... don't even sweat it). Then you can cut back again to a small deficit (guessing you don't have much to lose so maybe a 300 calories deficit a day).

I don't know how active you are but I'm 39, 5'5", 150 lbs, and my maintenance is 2200 calories walking 10k steps a day. You should be able to eat way more than 1200 and still lose.

DebLaBounty

I also am 5' 6". I was eating 1200 calories a day plus eating back my exercise calories for about four months before I also started losing my hair and some muscle tone. I reached my goal weight and now bounce between 140 and 145 pounds. I'm eating between 1600 to 1800 calories a day before counting exercise calories. I have more energy now and stopped obsessing about the numbers on the scale. Don't be afraid of food! Good luck!

rsclause

Going from 1000 to 600 is insane. If you are logging correctly and eating 1200 you should lose. Key in your stats and see what you need for a 1 pound a week loss. follow that for a month and check your progress. Then make small adjustments as needed.

alondrakayy

I'm 5ft 7in and weighed 153 lbs at my heaviest (I weighed more back in my senior year of highschool for a short period time after a bad break up but that was so long ago). Anyways, I started off like you. Ate 1200 cals a day, lived on the treadmill, and lost so much weight .. and with it I lost my hair, strength, and happiness. You need to eat more. Log your info accurately and shoot for .5 a week. Treat your body with love.. what you're doing right now is damaging and will have you spinning your wheels because you can only eat so low for so long. If you want, add me and we can be MFP buddies! For healthy encouragement. Good luck!