Someone please talk me off the ledge

TimothyPhoenix

Over the last three weeks I have done the following

-Stopped eating fast food. I was doing so two or three times a week
-Eliminated soda. I was drinking three or four sodas a week
-Increased water intake from maybe 6 cups a day, to 10-12
-Went from not exercising in two months, to walking on the the treadmill for an hour a day, five times a week
-Started taking Gluccomanan for weight loss and L-arganine for energy

I haven't been eating great or charting my food, but I have definitely eaten better than I was. I got on the scale this morning expecting to have lost 2 or 3 pounds, and I GAINED 3.5 pounds.

How is this even possible, ugghh.

missysippy930

You’re eating more than you think. Are you weighing, measuring and logging everything you eat and drink accurately?

88olds

A gain following a new or increased exercise program is a fairly common complaint here. The short answer is stressed muscles retain water. Walking on a treadmill can be a lot of different things. You know how aggressive your program is or isn’t.
But an hour on a treadmill with an incline can demand a lot from the legs.

And do you see the benefit of keeping a food diary in this? There wouldn’t be the guess work with good record of your intake. Yeah, its a pain at first. But keep crunching numbers and recording them. Personally I found pen and paper to be easier than the computer at first. I used the computer for research and number crunching but my food diary was just a crude list of food and numbers. After a while you’ll just know a lot of the numbers. Stay with it, it gets easier.

Don’t kick yourself for struggling. No one was born counting calories. Like nearly everything, there’s a learning curve. Keep going. Losing a significant amount and keeping it gone takes a lot of persistence. Determination will take you farther than motivation. Never quit.

Last- a friend says- we eventually get the weigh in we deserve but not necessarily when we expect it.

TrishSeren

You mention a lot of things that have nothing to do with weight loss. Just because you eliminated soda and junk food doesn’t meant you’re in a calorie deficit. Do you weigh all your food you’re eating now? Are you logging accurately?

Secondly water intake has nothing to do with weight loss.

Thirdly supplements don’t help weight loss, save your money.

nighthawk584

Get a food scale and accurately log every piece of food & crumb you are eating. you must be eating at a deficit to lose. Give it a few more weeks and re-weigh. You WILL lose if you are honestly tracking everything..also, make sure you are eating enough fiber to keep the pipes clean!

Terytha

You're exercising more and taking in less caffeine. My guess? You started eating more generally. That combined with water retention would lead to scale increases.

None of what you did is particularly relevant to weight loss if you aren't keeping yourself in a calorie deficit. Your supplements are only helping your wallet lose weight.

Weigh and track your food, stay in a deficit. The rest is just extra.

glovepuppet

There's really no substitute for logging.

TimothyPhoenix

Thanks for the responses. Went back and thought of everything I ate over the last week and it has been worse than I realized. I still typically get a big bump from regular exercise when I go a while without doing it and it had been about 6 weeks without. Need to get back to daily logging and being more organized with an eating plan. Obviously the supplements did nothing. Almost said screw it this morning and stopped for mcdonalds breakfast but didn't, instead I took an hour long walk in the woods to get my head straight.

snickerscharlie

Do you own a food scale? If not, it's the best $20 you'll ever spend. Only then can you hope to be relatively accurate about the amount of calories you're eating every day.

And there's nothing wrong with a McDonald's breakfast now and then, btw. A bit calorically spendy, but there's decent macros in a sausage or bacon egg mcmuffin.

davisagolding

Timothy this is such a great post. Your inspiring me so much. THANK YOU.

TrishSeren

TimothyPhoenix wrote: »

Thanks for the responses. Went back and thought of everything I ate over the last week and it has been worse than I realized. I still typically get a big bump from regular exercise when I go a while without doing it and it had been about 6 weeks without. Need to get back to daily logging and being more organized with an eating plan. Obviously the supplements did nothing. Almost said screw it this morning and stopped for mcdonalds breakfast but didn't, instead I took an hour long walk in the woods to get my head straight.

An hour walk in the woods sounds amazing! I feel calm just thinking about it

thanos5

kudos. you identified the problem and instead of blaming external sources, you checked yourself first. and on top of realizing what the problem is, you took corrective action. i think you will be successful.

TimothyPhoenix

davisagolding wrote: »

Timothy this is such a great post. Your inspiring me so much. THANK YOU.

I'm glad something good could come of it. I'm struggling right now. The biggest problem is, even when I'm doing good and feel in control I am obsessing over food, my weight, etc so I actually have zero control. I was 308 pounds in 2012. I am currently at 262. The frustrating thing is over the last two-three years I have been up and down between 235-265 more times than I can count. I am 39 and this has been a life long battle since I was a child. I'm just tired of it but I'm not going to give up either. I feel like a mouse in one of those mazes with no way out.

TimothyPhoenix

thanos5 wrote: »

kudos. you identified the problem and instead of blaming external sources, you checked yourself first. and on top of realizing what the problem is, you took corrective action. i think you will be successful.

Thanks, I am going to keep fighting, as hard as it is right now.

Hollis100

Glad your day has turned out better.

My two cents:

Everybody's weight fluctuates during the day -- something to remember.

Logging food and tracking calories is the most important thing about losing weight.

This takes time. Lots of people, including me, have tried big bursts of exercise, but get discouraged when the weight doesn't pour off. You didn't put it on in a few weeks. It will take time to get it off.

Think like a thinner person. Involve yourself with activities that interest you that have nothing to do with food and make you happy or fulfilled.

Best wishes to you. You can definitely do this.

anniecave1

If you regularly log everything you eat and drink, then it does help. You can also amend what nutrients are tracked - I wanted to track how much sugar I have. If you are doing regular exercise then making sure you're getting enough protein is good. The numbers displayed aren't everything however - I try to eat more healthy fats like nuts and I know that natural sugars are better than refined sugars.

Keep going and keep motivated.

misskatieanne

Regardless of the weight, you are doing your health a massive favour by ditching the soda and fast food so be proud of that. I rarely weigh myself as I find a tape measure is a more accurate measure of my progress, it's worth doing measurements and recording those on the app even if you want to keep weighing as well.
Wishing you all the best with your journey & I hope you can stay kind to yourself and focus on your achievements throughout it.

TubbyTattle

I'm not eating McDonalds as regularly as I used to, I use a personal trainer twice a week, I made a point of eating healthier, on most weeks I was at the gym up to 4 times a week. I still haven't lost weight. I actually gained a few lbs. My trainer told me it will be difficult for me to lose weight if I don't consistently log my food.

Just piping in to tell you that you are not alone. I feel your exact frustrations. A lot of overweight people are mindless eaters-- we dig thru that tub of ice cream, we eat and eat while watching TV, we don't really realize how much we eat. If logging your food is too much, at least take pictures of your food so you are more conscious of your calorie intake.

TimothyPhoenix

Thanks for all of the kind responses. My mind is right again. I started logging my food again yesterday and I am sure that will make a significant difference. As someone mentioned above, by cutting out soda and fast food, and exercising regularly I am definitely getting healthier. Until I weighed myself my anxiety and overall mood was much better as well. I'm going to focus on the progress and log my food daily and I will be ok.