Frustrated!
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FitnessFreak1821
Posts: 242 Member
Ok so beginning of april I was 139.6 and all of March i was 138-139. Now today I'm 140.6 pounds! I work out 3-4 times a week for 45-60 mins. I do HIIT work outs and sometimes it includes light weights. i tried to stay within 1400-1500 calories but all week I ate between 1600-1900 I kept feeling hungry. One day this week I went over board cause i was stressed ate 2300 but I don't think any of this would cause real weight gain since you need 3500 to gain. I thought maybe water weight from just finishing my period but its day 4 past my last day of my period so I'm taking this weigh in as the real number. I weighed myself after I used the bathroom, not eaten and naked. My measurements seems to not have changed for months that hasn't moved either. Could this all just be muscle? I feel like I'm just stuck in high 139-140. I want to be 130.
I know I should look at big picture and be proud I lost 33-34 pounds in a year but I'm so close to my goal and its driving me nuts the scale isn't going down like it use too.
I know I should look at big picture and be proud I lost 33-34 pounds in a year but I'm so close to my goal and its driving me nuts the scale isn't going down like it use too.
6
Replies
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First of all, those three pounds you've been bouncing around are completely normal for anyone.
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
Second, if you are hungry at 1600-1900, it *may* be what you're eating. Are you eating a lot of sugary things? Are you getting enough protein and fat? How about fruits and vegetables? It's a balancing act...and for me it only works when I am eating a balanced plan.
How are you calculating your intake? Digital food scale? Checking all your food entries to make sure they're correct? If you open your FOOD diary to "Public" on the food settings, we can help you troubleshoot your food logging. A lot of the time people are making the same common mistakes.8 -
I usually eat whatever as long as it's in my calorie limit. I usually plan my meals best I can day before through this app. I did cut out sugary drinks and switched to whole wheat. I do eat out once to twice a week but make sure I don't over eat the rest of the day. I do need to eat more vegetables I know that and stop stress eating. The other day I was so stressed out I ate like 4 cookies and said screw lunch cause I ate those cookies and didn't want to go over my calorie intake I'll open up my diary. Thanks1
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Regardless of cico... If you eat out, you're almost guaranteed to see the scale go up the next day...
They over salt everything when you eat out and the sodium will get you every time... But it will go away after a few days...7 -
cmriverside wrote: »First of all, those three pounds you've been bouncing around are completely normal for anyone.
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
Second, if you are hungry at 1600-1900, it *may* be what you're eating. Are you eating a lot of sugary things? Are you getting enough protein and fat? How about fruits and vegetables? It's a balancing act...and for me it only works when I am eating a balanced plan.
How are you calculating your intake? Digital food scale? Checking all your food entries to make sure they're correct? If you open your FOOD diary to "Public" on the food settings, we can help you troubleshoot your food logging. A lot of the time people are making the same common mistakes.
My thoughts as well ma'am. Maybe I'm not the best to give advice, because I am just letting my weight drift up, but I have been studying what drives people to eat for the last 3 years. Ok, not research, obsess really, but anyhow. I am not here to judge your food choices at all. That is out of the way now, I will proceed. Some of your calorie choices through the day seem very energy dense. If you are not familiar with the idea of energy dense, do a little google research. A short lesson is that energy density is the amount of calories in a given weight of food. So, bread is very energy dense. The calories will vary between brands, but lets say 120 calories in a 40 gram slice. That means it has an energy density if 3 calories a gram. Lets take cooked oatmeal. It has 120 calories a bowl and weights 140 grams. It has a calorie density of .85 calories a gram. It has the same macro split as many breads, but takes more time to eat and fills the stomach better. Stretch reception is one piece of the satiety puzzle. There are many other pieces, but not really applicable to this thread. When ever you add fat to food, you increase the caloric density with no extra satiety. That's not to say fat is not filling. When it comes from whole energy sources, such as avocados, leanish meats, dairy, small amounts of seeds and nuts, it can be filling. In fact when you keep energy density equal, its just a filling as carbs in most people. The other "elephant" to me is protein. In most research protein is the most satiating macro per energy unit. Its slower to digest and seems to release GLP1, a satiety hormone that makes you feel fuller quicker and longer. While the RDA is .8 per KG of lean mass, I think 1.6 per kilo of lean mass might be better. I will be more than happy to post research links on the topic. Last one, you have to stop with the AVE, or abstinence violation effect. I call it the "screw it I ate a cookie effect, so now I should just go wild." effect. One cookie is not going to change adiposity to any measurable degree. Now, eating a box might. Best of luck ma'am. I would suggest learning something that I waited till I already lost weight to learn, find a lifestyle you can tolerate for the long term.
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Just to follow up after looking at your diary, ashleigh...
The main thing that jumps out at me on your food choices is the large percentage of your calories you are getting from grains. Psychod touched on this, and I'll just say that if I was eating that many grains (so, wheat, rice, cereal, waffles/pancakes, bread, corn) AND that much sugar - I'd be hungry all day.
Then, you manage to go over on carbs almost daily yet not get close to your protein goal. For one thing you're using an "egg" entry with zero protein, so look for another egg entry that has appropriate macros listed. Two eggs would be about 14g protein and your diary is listing eggs as 0.
Then, in the past week I saw maybe two vegetables listed and I didn't see a lot of fruit either. Your body needs them. NEEDS, not just, "Hey, eat a vegetable." If you don't give it what it needs, you'll always be looking to eat.
My two cents says: Plan your day in the morning. Enter your food. Focus on protein and fiber (fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes.) Try to keep your added sugars (table sugar, breads and cereals, syrups, jams, cookies) to under 60g.
Buy a digital food scale for $15 on Amazon.
Make this your JOB. You don't have a lot of weight to lose. When I got to the point in my weight that you are, I had to really be diligent. Food scale, PROTEIN, good nutrition, FIBER, exercise, logging, making 13 out of 14 meals every week at home for myself. It's not easy at the end.9 -
Thanks everyone! I'm definitely going to have to look into my eating and maybe incorporate a snack or two so I'm not so hungry. Eat more protein and just be more strict now. I'm not giving up I came way to far to give up
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Good. :flowerforyou:
To view your Fiber, (and sugars) you can click "View Full Report" - the green button at the bottom on your FOOD page. You could also change one of your columns if you'd like to focus on increasing it. Fiber = feeling full, plus it's good for your digestion.
Shoot for 20-30g daily of fiber.4 -
XoXashleighXoX wrote: »Thanks everyone! I'm definitely going to have to look into my eating and maybe incorporate a snack or two so I'm not so hungry. Eat more protein and just be more strict now. I'm not giving up I came way to far to give up
If you experiment with increasing your protein and more veggies, you likely won't need a snack. Snacking presents it's own series of calorie management challenges.
Personally, I find a diet high in protein, moderate in fat and high fiber fruits and veggies very satisfying. I only eat 2 meals a day, don't snack and have no hunger management issues. I experimented for a long time before settling on what works best for me.6 -
Another thing as well, weigh EVERYTHING.
Yes even those cookies.
The information on the pack is a guide and very few pre packaged items actually weigh what they say they do. Many can be over by 10% or more, so you are adding 10% to those calories. It doesn't sound like a lot but definitely adds up quickly5 -
Thanks everyone3
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After a long period of restricting it is harder not easier to continue restricting.
The 34 lbs you lost during a year is more important to your health than the 10lbs you need to lose to get to "goal".
Do you know why I am not saying that the 10 lbs is not unimportant? Not because it is your goal! But because by striving, SLOWLY, for them you have a better chance of not losing the true health benefit you have achieved and backsliding on the 34.
Forest/trees. Big win to protect is 34 and being hungry all the time signals danger.
So, slowly pursuing the next 10 is important because pushing so hard you break would be counter productive.
.
Furthermore you're now getting a 1-2 punch on your satiety. Both hormonal push back and by the looks of it possible suboptimal choices in terms of satiety.
Based on what other insightful MFPeops have said above you should probably start playing with your food combinations to find out the things that are satiating to you.
I think it is safer to be doing that while "trying" to lose than when trying to maintain.
You're also looking at, possibly, a good couple of years of being primed for regain and feeling unsettled and likely to want to eat more then you probably should if you want to continue to maintain. This is not unexpected after a large loss in a quick timespan
So again dialing in to long term eating patterns that serve you well will, well, serve your well!
I would also review where your actual maintenance currently is at and what the deficit you're applying is.
It is not uncommon for you to be able to maintain at slightly more calories than your most recent losses are implying (not a lot more, but a few)
Beyond that: nothing wrong with eating a cookie.
Absolutely nothing wrong when it comes to success in terms is weight control with not eating anything else after eating all the cookies.
Well, nutritionally it's wrong. but you're not going to die with one day of poor nutrition. OTOH eating food on top of the cookies *will* add weight. Doing this often? Not a great strategy.
Anyway. A cookie no problem. Writing off a complete meal or day? Cheating often? An excellent way to not achieve the 0.25 to 0.5 lb weight loss for the week. And an indication that you may be pushing beyond where your body and mind are currently able to tolerate.
Hey, from a guy who lost his next to last 11.2lbs over 12 months (to top of maintenance range)... and the last 3 over the next 12m months (well into the range), both years were most excellent preparation for continuing to maintain.
And invaluable experiences to draw on when I had to control and reverse an unwanted long term shift up to the very top of my desired maintenance range a year or two later.
Use your quest for 10 as preparation for maintenance regardless of how fast or whether you achieve that 10. Explore strength training. Explore activities and exercise that were not available to you when you were heavier! The world is your oyster and all that jazz!
The 10 are nice. But in the overall context they are useful as motivation to preserve the 34. And not important enough to risk the 34 to achieve the 10.
How's that for a different perspective!!!!
PS: 3.5 years after the 11.2; I have recently dropped another 2lbs and changed my maintenance range down to reflect that as a permanent drop.
Weight control is exactly that.
Your goal is not just dropping 10lbs...and then yeah, goal!
Your goal is being able to manage your weight successfully. Long term.
Can't do that when in IDGAF mode. Therefore you can't do that when hunger pushes you into IDGAF mode. Therefore avoiding that kind of hunger is necessary.4 -
After a long period of restricting it is harder not easier to continue restricting.
The 34 lbs you lost during a year is more important to your health than the 10lbs you need to lose to get to "goal".
Do you know why I am not saying that the 10 lbs is not unimportant? Not because it is your goal! But because by striving, SLOWLY, for them you have a better chance of not losing the true health benefit you have achieved and backsliding on the 34.
Forest/trees. Big win to protect is 34 and being hungry all the time signals danger.
So, slowly pursuing the next 10 is important because pushing so hard you break would be counter productive.
.
Furthermore you're now getting a 1-2 punch on your satiety. Both hormonal push back and by the looks of it possible suboptimal choices in terms of satiety.
Based on what other insightful MFPeops have said above you should probably start playing with your food combinations to find out the things that are satiating to you.
I think it is safer to be doing that while "trying" to lose than when trying to maintain.
You're also looking at, possibly, a good couple of years of being primed for regain and feeling unsettled and likely to want to eat more then you probably should if you want to continue to maintain. This is not unexpected after a large loss in a quick timespan
So again dialing in to long term eating patterns that serve you well will, well, serve your well!
I would also review where your actual maintenance currently is at and what the deficit you're applying is.
It is not uncommon for you to be able to maintain at slightly more calories than your most recent losses are implying (not a lot more, but a few)
Beyond that: nothing wrong with eating a cookie.
Absolutely nothing wrong when it comes to success in terms is weight control with not eating anything else after eating all the cookies.
Well, nutritionally it's wrong. but you're not going to die with one day of poor nutrition. OTOH eating food on top of the cookies *will* add weight. Doing this often? Not a great strategy.
Anyway. A cookie no problem. Writing off a complete meal or day? Cheating often? An excellent way to not achieve the 0.25 to 0.5 lb weight loss for the week. And an indication that you may be pushing beyond where your body and mind are currently able to tolerate.
Hey, from a guy who lost his next to last 11.2lbs over 12 months (to top of maintenance range)... and the last 3 over the next 12m months (well into the range), both years were most excellent preparation for continuing to maintain.
And invaluable experiences to draw on when I had to control and reverse an unwanted long term shift up to the very top of my desired maintenance range a year or two later.
Use your quest for 10 as preparation for maintenance regardless of how fast or whether you achieve that 10. Explore strength training. Explore activities and exercise that were not available to you when you were heavier! The world is your oyster and all that jazz!
The 10 are nice. But in the overall context they are useful as motivation to preserve the 34. And not important enough to risk the 34 to achieve the 10.
How's that for a different perspective!!!!
PS: 3.5 years after the 11.2; I have recently dropped another 2lbs and changed my maintenance range down to reflect that as a permanent drop.
Weight control is exactly that.
Your goal is not just dropping 10lbs...and then yeah, goal!
Your goal is being able to manage your weight successfully. Long term.
Can't do that when in IDGAF mode. Therefore you can't do that when hunger pushes you into IDGAF mode. Therefore avoiding that kind of hunger is necessary.
Thanks good advice.3 -
Agree that avoiding IDGAF mode is a key issue for me.
I’ve been a healthy weight for 10 plus years now. My weight has fluctuated up and down 10 to 15 pounds during that period but I would still consider myself a long term maintainer although my maintenance range is on the large side compared to some.
Diet breaks were a game changer for me when losing those last few pounds. Just something else for you to consider. Can someone link the diet break thread? It’s long but the key info is in the first few pages.
For me, having a week or 2 at maintenance calories every so often meant I didn’t go into IDGAF mode.2 -
Diet breaks were a game changer for me when losing those last few pounds. Just something else for you to consider. Can someone link the diet break thread? It’s long but the key info is in the first few pages.
Yes, ma'am!
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p10
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