Feeling like a Yo-Yo

mamaDaisyJ

OK, so even when I go over my calories, its only been by maybe a 100, so should still be a loss cause I'm set at 850 deficit for 2lbs a week, well technically I guess 1.6 lbs. My diary is open, feel free to view it. The first two weeks I had consistent loss. Since then though, I been back and forth across that dreaded 200. 199.8 then 200.4 then 199.4 and 201.2 Been going on the last two weeks. At first I thought it was a TOM thing... I have Mirena so don't realy have TOM, but there was some spotting (TMI sorry). But now thats long gone and I've gone back up again. the only change from the first couple weeks is that I started working out in the evening and my hours got late again. Could this be the cause? I am staying up till at least 2am with homework, sometimes as late as 4, but I get my workout in around 9 or 10. Maybe I need more calories that MFP thinks cause of these hours? I don't know, any suggestions would be awesome.

Nelski

I'm no expert but my opinion is that you could eat more. 1200 for a 200ish lb person that is exercising just seems too low to me. Also, your sodium is pretty high on most days. Eat less processed meals and add some fruits/veggies.

00trayn

I agree that you're definitely eating too little. Try to eat back all your exercise calories and on days that you don't work out to earn extra calories, get that 1200 in. I noticed some days were closer to 1000 or even lower. Your body needs fuel or else your metabolism shuts down.

antiadipose

i only looked at a few days of ur diary.... for one i do agree 1200 seems beyond too low for you. so don't forget about starvation mode.
another thing i noticed is ur almost always over on ur fat, sugars, sodium and even carbs.
so u might wanna try a different style of eating.
maybe increase ur calorie intake a couple of hundreds (1400 or 1500) for a week. while keeping the fat down (so maybe more veggies?!)
change it up a bit.

hawaiibound

i'm 5' and i weight 155-158 and my cal allowance is 1200...i think you should be eating more...but i know the feeling about feeling like a yo-yo...i wll drop down to 149 then back up into the 150's...i get super excited to be in the 140's only to be dissapointed the next day

antiadipose

ya im 120 lbs now and i eat 1200 - 1600 depending on how much calories a burn running.
when i was 135 i ate 1400

u certainly have to eat more to lose! because ur brain then tells ur body "I KNOW SHE'S GONNA EAT ANOTHER MEAL IN 2 HOURS... SO DONT STORE ANYTHING!!!"

with the way ur eating right now ur brain is telling ur body ""DONT DROP A SINGLE POUND, STORE ALL THAT COMES THROUGH BECAUSE SHE'S NOT GONNA EAT MUCH FOR THE REST OF THE DAY!""

sry for the childish explanation but it worked on my friends who were eating a tiny bit everyday and were astonished by how much i ate lol

mamaDaisyJ

Well, MFP allotted me the 1200, but I can try upping to 1400. I did forget one day I was quite a bit under on calories cause I spent the whole day in bed feeling sick. I had hoped all the water I drank would make the sodium levels ok, but I guess it don't work that way. I go shopping today, so I will be looking for lower sodium and fat. I think I am gonna make the move to fresh green beans instead of canned, and the family will just have to deal with it. Is that laughing cow cheese good on sodium? I'm not all that attached to Kraft.

Amber030583

You really need to take a look at your sodium intake. It is really high. That may be part of the problem. All the sodium is making you absorb more water weight. I just had people look at my journal recently(I just started with it) and they made a comment about so much processed food. (I had thought I was doing alright except for the taco johns part). However, I just went grocery shopping on Sunday and did not even touch the frozen section and got items that can be used as actual ingredients to make food! (a real revelation for me who does not like to cook)lol. You should try this I think it will help you. Best of luck!

maydianna

We've talked about sodium - and just a few other suggestions there - use frozen or fresh instead of canned products - and avoid eating out!! - challenge yourself for one week to eat nothing that you don't make yourself and i'd bet you see a difference.

Also, I would really watch your carb/sugar intakes and try to up your protein. All that working out wont build muscle if you're not giving your body enough protein. Carbs are not bad if you're eating healthy complex carbs - but your sugar levels are regularly over (at least the few days i peaked at) and that's no good. Eat more veggis and whole grains to get the good carbs you need. I also personally stack my carbs earlier in the day and avoid any carb heavy foods in the evening.

Hope this helps

mamaDaisyJ

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am gonna take the advice and up my calorie goal to 1400, restrict myself to less than 400mg of sodium per meal and eat all my exercise calories and see what that does for two weeks. No more canned veggies and processed lunch meats too. And, I will also attempt (this will be the hard part) to get to bed by 1am. My kids don't get up till 9, lucky me if I can get to bed earlier. I think I will try to prepare some chicken breast and rice for the nights my man wants his hamburger helper, thats alot of sodium too. Hopefully all that will also bring down my fat, sugar, and carbs. I was focusing on mainly calories, thought keeping an eye on the rest, I will attempt to keep it all even. Whew, there are some goals! Thanks again for looking it over for me and helping out I'm not giving up, just changing my approach~

Nelski

I'm not giving up, just changing my approach~

Good attitude!

Holton

AFter viewing your diary, I would strongly urge you to lower your sodium intake! And be sure to drink lots of water.

Luckymam

Did you know that if you're not getting enough sleep, it can affect your weightloss? It's something to do with a hormone that's released during sleep. Check it out - it might be called leptin? Also, when you're tired, you tend to crave more sugary/strachy things to boost your energy.

Get to bed, Mama!

mamaDaisyJ

I think I have done better planning for yesterday and today. I notcied something though and wondered how yall had your diaries set up. Apparently at one point I went in and changed my carb/fat/protein percentages. I was looking over my diary history and I had been consistently like 50 under on protein goal. So, I let MFP reset em, and now I start with like 150g of carbs, which sounds like alot. protein went down to 45 I think. Anyway, do you guys let MFP set the percentages or do you have a formula that works good for you?

Oh, and I made it to bed last night at 1:30, not quite at goal, but better than 4~