Trying to lose weight but just keep gaining
amyteacake
Posts: 768 Member
I feel like I'm getting no where.
Every time I weight myself it feels like I just keep gaining weight instead of losing it. I try my best to watch what I'm eating and workout three times a week as well as go to college and work part time. I do weight training and then cardio afterwards. I still have no idea how many calories I'm suppose to be eating.
I was told by a pt 1,450, then told me 1,510 and now it's telling me 1,610 because I've put on the weight. I put my activity as lightly active since I'm on my feet during work - I'm a barista - but I'm usually sitting down in college since I'm mainly working on computers. I came off of medication recently that was causing me to gain weight but I'm not sure what to do now.
Does anyone have any advice? I would really appreciate it!
Every time I weight myself it feels like I just keep gaining weight instead of losing it. I try my best to watch what I'm eating and workout three times a week as well as go to college and work part time. I do weight training and then cardio afterwards. I still have no idea how many calories I'm suppose to be eating.
I was told by a pt 1,450, then told me 1,510 and now it's telling me 1,610 because I've put on the weight. I put my activity as lightly active since I'm on my feet during work - I'm a barista - but I'm usually sitting down in college since I'm mainly working on computers. I came off of medication recently that was causing me to gain weight but I'm not sure what to do now.
Does anyone have any advice? I would really appreciate it!
4
Replies
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what does 'watch what i eat' mean?
are you weighing and logging on MFP? how many calories for what time period and how much have you gained in that time?4 -
TavistockToad wrote: »what does 'watch what i eat' mean?
are you weighing and logging on MFP? how many calories for what time period and how much have you gained in that time?
Ah, here it means making sure I'm eating healthy, having veggies and things like that and not eating a lot of takeaways etc.
I've been weighing and logging on MFP for nearly 2 years now. When I first started gaining weight it was last year and I was eating around 1,400 calories in March and then in April it went down to 1,300 and for some reason in July it went to 1,450 until last month it MFP gave me 1,570. But it's been over the past year I've gained about a stone back (14 lbs). I know my calorie intake has been all over the place but I genuinely just don't know where to start anymore or what to do.
I used to eat 1,700 calories when I first started to lose weight and I feel like just going back to basics and starting all over again2 -
1. Weightloss is simple, eat less (and move more). This is something you do, not try. It's actually even simpler than that because it's basically something you don't do (eat too much).
2. You measure your weightloss on the scale - ARE you losng weight, or not?
3. Don't just "watch" what you eat, eat at a consistent calorie deficit.
4. Exercise is good for you, but relatively unimportant for weightloss.
5. You need a calorie deficit, exactly what calorie target you go for, is relatively unimportant. What's important is that it is a calorie defcit, and that you stick to it, for real, consistently and for a long time.
6. Medication doesn't cause weight gain, it might mess with your appetite; eating too much is what makes you gain weight.6 -
kommodevaran wrote: »1. Weightloss is simple, eat less (and move more). This is something you do, not try. It's actually even simpler than that because it's basically something you don't do (eat too much).
2. You measure your weightloss on the scale - ARE you losng weight, or not?
3. Don't just "watch" what you eat, eat at a consistent calorie deficit.
4. Exercise is good for you, but relatively unimportant for weightloss.
5. You need a calorie deficit, exactly what calorie target you go for, is relatively unimportant. What's important is that it is a calorie defcit, and that you stick to it, for real, consistently and for a long time.
6. Medication doesn't cause weight gain, it might mess with your appetite; eating too much is what makes you gain weight.
Yes I know all of this. My weight is going up and down on the scales. I lose 4lbs and then gain it back. I know exercise isn't important but I like doing it. I've always eaten in a calorie deficit but right now I have no idea what to put it as. I've been eating in a calorie deficit for 2 years.
My medication did mess with my appetite an awful lot. It made me feel hungry no matter what, even if I had just ate I was hungry.2 -
Eating in a calorie deficit is what makes you lose weight, so if you don't keep losing weight, you're not consistently in a calorie deficit. Don't worry about the exact number, just pick one. Are you using a food scale? Do you log everything? Are you hitting 1450-1610 calories per day, every day?amyteacake wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »1. Weightloss is simple, eat less (and move more). This is something you do, not try. It's actually even simpler than that because it's basically something you don't do (eat too much).
2. You measure your weightloss on the scale - ARE you losng weight, or not?
3. Don't just "watch" what you eat, eat at a consistent calorie deficit.
4. Exercise is good for you, but relatively unimportant for weightloss.
5. You need a calorie deficit, exactly what calorie target you go for, is relatively unimportant. What's important is that it is a calorie defcit, and that you stick to it, for real, consistently and for a long time.
6. Medication doesn't cause weight gain, it might mess with your appetite; eating too much is what makes you gain weight.
Yes I know all of this. My weight is going up and down on the scales. I lose 4lbs and then gain it back. I know exercise isn't important but I like doing it. I've always eaten in a calorie deficit but right now I have no idea what to put it as. I've been eating in a calorie deficit for 2 years.
My medication did mess with my appetite an awful lot. It made me feel hungry no matter what, even if I had just ate I was hungry.1 -
kommodevaran wrote: »
Eating in a calorie deficit is what makes you lose weight, so if you don't keep losing weight, you're not consistently in a calorie deficit. Don't worry about the exact number, just pick one. Are you using a food scale? Do you log everything? Are you hitting 1450-1610 calories per day, every day?amyteacake wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »1. Weightloss is simple, eat less (and move more). This is something you do, not try. It's actually even simpler than that because it's basically something you don't do (eat too much).
2. You measure your weightloss on the scale - ARE you losng weight, or not?
3. Don't just "watch" what you eat, eat at a consistent calorie deficit.
4. Exercise is good for you, but relatively unimportant for weightloss.
5. You need a calorie deficit, exactly what calorie target you go for, is relatively unimportant. What's important is that it is a calorie defcit, and that you stick to it, for real, consistently and for a long time.
6. Medication doesn't cause weight gain, it might mess with your appetite; eating too much is what makes you gain weight.
Yes I know all of this. My weight is going up and down on the scales. I lose 4lbs and then gain it back. I know exercise isn't important but I like doing it. I've always eaten in a calorie deficit but right now I have no idea what to put it as. I've been eating in a calorie deficit for 2 years.
My medication did mess with my appetite an awful lot. It made me feel hungry no matter what, even if I had just ate I was hungry.
I think I'm making myself worry about having to pick an exact number for some reason. I'm using a food scale and I log everything that I have. I'm usually a little bit under it2 -
I don't understand when you say you feel you are gaining weight - you weigh yourself so surely you know whether your weight is going up over time or going down?
Do you track it on here? (If yes you can view the report to see the trend.)
There's an impossible schism between saying you have been in a calorie deficit for two years and then saying you gained 14lbs last year. Unless you had an incredible amount of water gain (which you would have noticed) - you were in a calorie surplus.
Your diary isn't open, there's a very good chance that could reveal the divergence between thinking you are in a deficit and actually being in a deficit.3 -
It's easy to be hung up in an unimportant detail - and hard to let it go (I know).amyteacake wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »
Eating in a calorie deficit is what makes you lose weight, so if you don't keep losing weight, you're not consistently in a calorie deficit. Don't worry about the exact number, just pick one. Are you using a food scale? Do you log everything? Are you hitting 1450-1610 calories per day, every day?amyteacake wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »1. Weightloss is simple, eat less (and move more). This is something you do, not try. It's actually even simpler than that because it's basically something you don't do (eat too much).
2. You measure your weightloss on the scale - ARE you losng weight, or not?
3. Don't just "watch" what you eat, eat at a consistent calorie deficit.
4. Exercise is good for you, but relatively unimportant for weightloss.
5. You need a calorie deficit, exactly what calorie target you go for, is relatively unimportant. What's important is that it is a calorie defcit, and that you stick to it, for real, consistently and for a long time.
6. Medication doesn't cause weight gain, it might mess with your appetite; eating too much is what makes you gain weight.
Yes I know all of this. My weight is going up and down on the scales. I lose 4lbs and then gain it back. I know exercise isn't important but I like doing it. I've always eaten in a calorie deficit but right now I have no idea what to put it as. I've been eating in a calorie deficit for 2 years.
My medication did mess with my appetite an awful lot. It made me feel hungry no matter what, even if I had just ate I was hungry.
I think I'm making myself worry about having to pick an exact number for some reason. I'm using a food scale and I log everything that I have. I'm usually a little bit under it
If you are using a food scale, and consistently hitting 1450-1610, or less, calories per day, and not losing weight, then your logging is off. You have to do everything right - each error will add on into making your effort useless - use the scale correctly, pick correct database entries, use the recipe builder. No cheating, forgetting, guessing.1 -
I don't understand when you say you feel you are gaining weight - you weigh yourself so surely you know whether your weight is going up over time or going down?
Do you track it on here? (If yes you can view the report to see the trend.)
There's an impossible schism between saying you have been in a calorie deficit for two years and then saying you gained 14lbs last year. Unless you had an incredible amount of water gain (which you would have noticed) - you were in a calorie surplus.
Your diary isn't open, there's a very good chance that could reveal the divergence between thinking you are in a deficit and actually being in a deficit.
No, I AM gaining weight. I have been in a calorie deficit for two years. I've been losing weight for two years. As stated above I went on medication last year in March, the time I started to gain weight as the medication messed with my appetite. My weight has been going both up and down over time.1 -
kommodevaran wrote: »
It's easy to be hung up in an unimportant detail - and hard to let it go (I know).amyteacake wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »
Eating in a calorie deficit is what makes you lose weight, so if you don't keep losing weight, you're not consistently in a calorie deficit. Don't worry about the exact number, just pick one. Are you using a food scale? Do you log everything? Are you hitting 1450-1610 calories per day, every day?amyteacake wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »1. Weightloss is simple, eat less (and move more). This is something you do, not try. It's actually even simpler than that because it's basically something you don't do (eat too much).
2. You measure your weightloss on the scale - ARE you losng weight, or not?
3. Don't just "watch" what you eat, eat at a consistent calorie deficit.
4. Exercise is good for you, but relatively unimportant for weightloss.
5. You need a calorie deficit, exactly what calorie target you go for, is relatively unimportant. What's important is that it is a calorie defcit, and that you stick to it, for real, consistently and for a long time.
6. Medication doesn't cause weight gain, it might mess with your appetite; eating too much is what makes you gain weight.
Yes I know all of this. My weight is going up and down on the scales. I lose 4lbs and then gain it back. I know exercise isn't important but I like doing it. I've always eaten in a calorie deficit but right now I have no idea what to put it as. I've been eating in a calorie deficit for 2 years.
My medication did mess with my appetite an awful lot. It made me feel hungry no matter what, even if I had just ate I was hungry.
I think I'm making myself worry about having to pick an exact number for some reason. I'm using a food scale and I log everything that I have. I'm usually a little bit under it
If you are using a food scale, and consistently hitting 1450-1610, or less, calories per day, and not losing weight, then your logging is off. You have to do everything right - each error will add on into making your effort useless - use the scale correctly, pick correct database entries, use the recipe builder. No cheating, forgetting, guessing.
I keep worrying about it.
Thank you1 -
Tighten up your logging, be more disciplined, and stop using a 160 calorie range for food intake.
1 -
Sounds like you're maintaining at the moment? You say you're losing and gaining the same few pounds...?
You gained weight because your medication messed with your appetite and you ate more, so you may want a conversation with your doctor about that particular medication?
What are your stats?
Try sticking to 1500 net for 6 weeks and see what the scales do.0 -
amyteacake wrote: »I don't understand when you say you feel you are gaining weight - you weigh yourself so surely you know whether your weight is going up over time or going down?
Do you track it on here? (If yes you can view the report to see the trend.)
There's an impossible schism between saying you have been in a calorie deficit for two years and then saying you gained 14lbs last year. Unless you had an incredible amount of water gain (which you would have noticed) - you were in a calorie surplus.
Your diary isn't open, there's a very good chance that could reveal the divergence between thinking you are in a deficit and actually being in a deficit.
No, I AM gaining weight. I have been in a calorie deficit for two years. I've been losing weight for two years. As stated above I went on medication last year in March, the time I started to gain weight as the medication messed with my appetite. My weight has been going both up and down over time.
Sorry I'm really struggling to understand what you are saying!
So you are gaining weight now. (Before you seemed to be saying you were fluctuating up and down. "Up and down on the scales".)
You also gained weight last year.
I'm not able to correlate weight gain last year and this year with you also saying you "have been losing weight for two years". Do you mean trying to lose weight for two years?
Your medication and subsequent increased appetite doesn't negate the fact that you were in a surplus to gain weight, not a deficit. It may have been the catalyst but doesn't change the fact that to gain weight that excess has to come from somewhere.
The only really plausible reason for prolonged weight gain (without tons of obvious oedema...) is that you are simply eating more than you actually need to maintain or lose weight.
That might be an incorrect calorie goal but it's very likely your food logging is inaccurate. Opening your diary would help.
0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »Sounds like you're maintaining at the moment? You say you're losing and gaining the same few pounds...?
You gained weight because your medication messed with your appetite and you ate more, so you may want a conversation with your doctor about that particular medication?
What are your stats?
Try sticking to 1500 net for 6 weeks and see what the scales do.
I came off of my medication around the end of January/start of February with the advise of my doctor and I am currently not on any other forms of medication apart from the contraceptive implant in my arm.
I'm 5ft 4, weigh 11 stone 13lbs. I'm trying to get down to at least 10 stone and I've put my goal to lost 1 lbs a week.
I might give that a try, thank you0 -
What is your current weight?1
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Step back. It is always just a big experiment. The #1 weight loss skill is the ability to adapt.
The calculators are just based on averages. Read this board much and you find lots of folks driven crazy by what all the gadgets say “should” happen. Outside of a lab no one really knows what their base calorie number is to maintain right where they are. Conduct an experiment. Pick a number to work from.
You say you take medication that messes with your appetite. Can you plan a livable menu that hits the number you pick as a starting point? Livable means a plan you can live with, has enough food, enough food that you like, does not seem like deprivation or a big pain in the neck- something you can live with. Keep a food diary and record everything. It’s important for your experiment.
Set up a system for regular weigh ins, 1 or 2 times per week. Stick with this 3 or 4 weeks.
Then figure out where you are. You should have a good idea how your body reacts to your calorie number and what your life is like aimed at that number. If the number doesn’t result in losses, adjust it down and problem solve your menu.
Keep repeating the process.2 -
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Do you think it could be your medication?
I gained 40 pounds on antidepressants within a few months, even though I cut out most candy and began eating mainly healthy, natural foods.
I was able to get off 20 pounds while staying medicated, but went off to begin losing the rest of the weight (not that it wasn’t budging, but I wanted to make sure I got it off).
Hope things work out for you! I’m sure they will though so just keep trucking. As others said, counting your calories is a great idea. I’m convinced eating pancakes and bagels with cream cheese in place of 1/2 of 1 lb Trader Joe’s chocolate bars and salt and vinegar chips made me gain weight.
Best of luck. You can and will do this!!!1 -
5Months2fit wrote: »Do you think it could be your medication?
I gained 40 pounds on antidepressants within a few months, even though I cut out most candy and began eating mainly healthy, natural foods.
I was able to get off 20 pounds while staying medicated, but went off to begin losing the rest of the weight (not that it wasn’t budging, but I wanted to make sure I got it off).
Hope things work out for you! I’m sure they will though so just keep trucking. As others said, counting your calories is a great idea. I’m convinced eating pancakes and bagels with cream cheese in place of 1/2 of 1 lb Trader Joe’s chocolate bars and salt and vinegar chips made me gain weight.
Best of luck. You can and will do this!!!
I recently came off of my medication. It was antidepressants that I was on as well and I never made the connection until around December time - I had been on them for about 9 months at that point. I came off of them at the end of January/beginning of February time. I did begin to lose weight but now it's just still going up and down.
Thank you so much!3 -
Step back. It is always just a big experiment. The #1 weight loss skill is the ability to adapt.
The calculators are just based on averages. Read this board much and you find lots of folks driven crazy by what all the gadgets say “should” happen. Outside of a lab no one really knows what their base calorie number is to maintain right where they are. Conduct an experiment. Pick a number to work from.
You say you take medication that messes with your appetite. Can you plan a livable menu that hits the number you pick as a starting point? Livable means a plan you can live with, has enough food, enough food that you like, does not seem like deprivation or a big pain in the neck- something you can live with. Keep a food diary and record everything. It’s important for your experiment.
Set up a system for regular weigh ins, 1 or 2 times per week. Stick with this 3 or 4 weeks.
Then figure out where you are. You should have a good idea how your body reacts to your calorie number and what your life is like aimed at that number. If the number doesn’t result in losses, adjust it down and problem solve your menu.
Keep repeating the process.
This is great advice..... try starting at around 1600. Weigh everything and check portion sizes....stick on this for at least three weeks and see what happens. If you do excessive log it but don’t subtract the cals..... if the scales stay the same try cutting back 100 cals a day and see what happens. Unfortunately this requires patience, something I have difficulty with!
Also, find the food you like and can live with within the cal allowance, make meals, log all the ingredients and save as meals.... that way you build up your own personal diet book. I have 3-4 go to breakfasts and about 5 lunches and dinners that I use regularly. It also simplifies shopping and you save money as you impulse buy less often.... depressants made me put on weight too but I am off them now....
Best of luck!
1 -
Sorry meant exercise not “excessive”!0
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