Eating crappy = losing weight

nesa98

Ok guys ... I’m so confused... when I eat good - portion controlled plus my daily water and tea... I gain weight ... I also workout - cardio 36-60 mins a day.... but when I eat like total crap and workout - I lose weight... I can’t figure it out... I do suffer from pcos and ibs-c... does anyone understand what is going on??? Thanks!!

TavistockToad

When you eat in a calorie deficit you lose weight... simple as that

Crafty_camper123

Are you tracking your calories on either of those eating plans? Weight loss occurs when you consume fewer calories then you burn. It does not matter where those calories come from. Be it whole, minimally processed foods, or fast and convenient foods. If you eat less then you burn, you lose weight. If you eat more then you burn, you gain weight.

pinuplove

How long at a stretch are you eating exclusively either way? Chances are you're just seeing normal scale fluctuations and assigning causation. Or, you simply eat more calories when you eat 'well' (however you define that).

nesa98

I set out to eat roughly 1600 calories per day - but most days I get about 1400 then calories burned from exercise is usually between 250-600 calories - I don’t usually eat over that unless I’m having one of my depressed days and I’ll eat about 2000 calories per day and that’s when I lose the weight ... I generally eat every 6 hours .... I used to be ok with eating like this and losing but lately I don’t get what I’m doing wrong

TavistockToad

nesa98 wrote: »

I set out to eat roughly 1600 calories per day - but most days I get about 1400 then calories burned from exercise is usually between 250-600 calories - I don’t usually eat over that unless I’m having one of my depressed days and I’ll eat about 2000 calories per day and that’s when I lose the weight ... I generally eat every 6 hours .... I used to be ok with eating like this and losing but lately I don’t get what I’m doing wrong

If you're losing weight overall, why is it 'doing something wrong'?

cwolfman13

I think you're just seeing normal fluctuations and don't understand them and thinking there's some tit for tat what you did yesterday correlating directly to what the scale says today. That's not how it works...

kami3006

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

AnnPT77

The above posts include some good advice. But watch what your energy level is doing, too - how energetic you are in daily life, how your workout intensity holds up.

You will never fail to lose fat if you are truly in a calorie deficit. Repeat: You will never fail to lose fat if you are truly in a calorie deficit. (You may retain some water weight, but that's different)

However, if you under-eat severely, to the point where you are fatigued, weak, resting more, doing less in daily life, phoning in workouts, sleeping more . . . you can reduce your daily calorie expenditure enough to slow your weight loss below what you'd seen previously.

Anecdotally (i.e., from people's self reports, not research data), some people are more sensitive to carb intake levels than others. While some people thrive on low carb diets, some seem to lose energy to the point of running out of steam.

Watch your behvior carefully. If your "eating good" leaves you feeling listless and less active after a time, and your "eating like total crap" has you more energetic/active, try to find a happy medium where you're getting solid nutrition, eating mostly nutrient dense foods you enjoy, but also sustaining a good energy level, active daily life, and solid workout intensity.

On the other hand, you want to be tough on yourself about your own perceptions. Don't spin yourself a fictional story about how you can't "eat good" and must "eat like total crap" to succeed and thrive. It's tempting to talk ourselves into an easy, self-indulgent path. Self honesty, though often less comfortable, is a better, more productive life skill.

And there's a lot of middle ground between "all good" and "all crappy". Think hard, be honest.

Best wishes!