What on earth?! I gained 4 pounds this week! *sob*

thatTOPSlady

I went to weigh in tonight and showed a 4 pound GAIN. What is up with that? Could it be my sodium? I did not eat very healthy (lots of processed stuff and sweets) but I stayed in calorie range. I'm sad Can you look at my food diary this past week and help steer me in the right direction? thanks

miqisha

Yes your sodium was way too high the last few days. Your sodium shouldnt exceed 2500 mg on any given day, and even if it goes over, it shouldnt be so many days in a row. So there is a possibility you have retained water due to your high sodium content and making the scale 5 pounds heavier.

Also, was it MFP that adviced you to be on a 2200 calorie plan? Seems kind of high to me

Do you eat in between meals, because you should be eating 5 meals per day. I see you eat after dinner, but its cookies and chocolate and thats quite a few nights, you may need to narrow that down to once a week or something like that

TabiHerbalifeCoach

Its not fat, likely water weight, from sodium. I haven't looked at your diary yet, but drink lots of water. It it near your cycle?

abyt42

So, I looked at your food diary to see if I could help. It looked to me like Monday and today were the closest to your calorie count, but your sodium seems way over most days. You're drinking lots of water (Yay, especially in the heat), so perhaps some of the weight is water retention because of the sodium?

(Of course, my BA is in English, so I would totally listen to a more credible source.... lol)

Jamiebee24

By looking at your diary, I see that you are taking in WAY too much sodium---and WAY too many calories every day for not exercising. If you're trying to loose weight, you need to decrease the amount of calories!!! Also, on most days you need to cut your sodium intake in half and AT LEAST double your water intake....I see a lot of sweets in your diary as well----STOP BUYING THEM!!! If you buy them, you're going to eat them, so just cut that out!!! Good luck!

fitterpam

I looked at your diary. What are your profile settings? I.e. how much per week, what lifestyle did you describe. Those things factor into your calorie allowance. I wasn't that far under where you are and I set mine to 2lbs a week at a sedentary lifestyle (I work in an office) and I'm allowed 1450 calories a day.

Also, over the course of a week, you exceeded the total calories by somewhere around 2800 calories. That is almost a pound in and of itself (3500 calories = pound). I would say the sodium and possibly the carbs/sugars also comes into play depending on your particular body chemistry - I know they do for me.

Check your goals on the main page (tab = goals) and make sure that your settings are right. Once that's done and you're keeping your diary, make sure you mark down all your water so you can start to see trends in what you eat and when you gain. It's a learning process. You learn what is good for you and what isn't - everyone is different and reacts to different things differently. That part might take a few weeks of experimenting

It looks like you're having a good week so far Keep it up! And I was happy to see the exercise on the diary, it gets fun after a while!!

zeala

I took a quick look at your diary. Overall I also think you take in a lot of sugar. I'd skip the bar in the morning, that's like eating dessert right there. The overall calorie intake per day seems pretty high too. I can't imagine that even someone who is 6 feet tall should really eat more than 1800 calories a day when they are not very active and trying to lose weight.

LittlePam

I do not want to sound rude but you are eating horribly! On Saturday you had a 1500+ calorie MEAL. You should eat more real food and stay away from the junk food. Your diary does not sound like a diet at all more like a free for all. Once again, I am NOT trying to be rude. Good luck to you!

Soon2Bfitmamaof3

I looked though you diary and saw lots of pizza and cookies. I love that stuff as well but you should try to go with a lean cuisine pizza for about 300 calories instead and don't eat it so often. My big thing is sweets and chips buy the 100 calorie packs, it is great portion control and only 100 calories. You can do the same with ice cream and such. Try to eat sandwhiches and stuff for lunch as well you can get 2 slices of orowheat light bread for 80 calories and add in lunch meat for under 100 calories. Add in chips and a fruit and you will be at a lower calorie intake than the pizza alone. Sorry if it seems a little harsh but that is what we all need. Add me as a friend and my diary will become visable as well.

alpha2omega

I agree with all the above. You are consuming too many calories and too much sodium which will cause you to retain water. This will keep you from seeing actual results on the scale. I also would like to see Carb intake on your diary as well as Fat and Sat Fat intake. Since the body metabolizes these differently I suspect your carb intake is also too high to see results. Alot of the carbs you are consuming are not the good carbs so they will negatively impact your goals. I would try to stay under the recommended carb amount and make sure they are good carbs( oats, whole grains, vegetables, fruits). You don't seem to be satisfying your appetite when you eat so definitely try to eat more protein and alot of fiber such as fruit. Aside from the nutritional value they add, the additional water intake will help keep you from retaining water. I like having a protein shake in between bigger meals since it is very low in carbs and obviously high in protein, allowing me to feel fuller longer. Just for reference, I eat about 225 gram of carbs each day its just that I eat them throughout the day and they are good carbs. Lastly, just like Jamiebee said get rid of the snacks. If they're in your house they will be eaten. Don't set yourself up for failure. Hopefully your family will embrace the positive things you are trying to do and join you in this life changing event by banning said snacks from the house. I promise you, you won't regret it! Best of luck!

babadee

I agree with all of the above. check your settings. Seems way to high. exercise everyday and eat more fruits and veggies,

hroush

I noticed you said you weighed in tonight. How soon before did you eat? The best time to weigh in is mornings right after using the restroom. I know that doesn't explain all of the 4 lbs, but a lot of the other people covered the rest of it.

Sharont213

I never weigh myself in the evening.. first thing in the morning after trip to bathroom. Same time way everyday.. more consistent.

thatTOPSlady

Thank you all for your responses. I will not try to justify myself I will try to do better! Although my emotions are all a wreck and I don't *feel* like it.

I did check to make sure I am supposed to be having that many calories. My weight (as of last week, when I made the profile) was 304.7. My height is 6'. My goal weight is 190. I put in sedentary. And that I am going to aim for losing one pound per week. It gave me 2,260 per day. I don't know why mine is higher than a lot of other people's. Perhaps because my starting weight is higher?

Thanks everyone...........here's to a better week!

thatTOPSlady

P.S. I weigh at 5 p.m. every Tuesday at TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly)

astridfeline

Actually your calorie intake sounds fine for your height and weight. As you lose weight, MFP will adjust your cals downward as it requires fewer cals to sustain smaller bodies. The weight gain could be sodium as mentioned by others, or (and there some threads on MFP) waste weight. As far as eating healthier, if you are just starting out on your weight loss journey, it can be a struggle just to chronicle all the foods eaten. Once you see trends from your diary, you adjust to eating gradually healthier foods. Not everyone can go cold turkey. Keep it up!

Jena_72

I see your a mom and believe me I know that a can of veggies feels like this "I need to get dinner onthe table RIGHT NOW" At least a CAN of beans is still beans! FYI I did a little playing around with the food tracker and 1 cup of canned beans had 800 mg of salt and freshly cooked green beans had are you ready 1mg frozen had 0mg!!! so right there if you hadn't eaten that cup of canned green beans your sodium would have been on target!! So in this case you would have been better off not having "green beans" at all tonight!
This is a balancing act don't get discouraged get determined!! You have to put real thought and planning into your meals. I try to log in my food before I eat it or even cook it for that matter if you did this you would see where your sodium is high and exchange it for something else(like fresh or frozen in this case!)

I also agree with the others you have got to give that pizza a rest babe!! It's obvious you love pizza and thats ok but you have to have it within reason within calorie range or not! Treat yourself to it once a week but you gat to ease up if you want to see a weight loss! Another thing I saw is that black forest ham is sooooo high in sodium! Remember not all fat free is a good thing!! Our bodies need fat too in order to lose weight they NEVER say that about sodium!!
Looking forward to your next weigh in Good Luck!!!

29bubbles

Be proud that at least you wrote it all down... even the cookies & pizza. At least you are owning up to those kids of foods.... When I first started MFP, I only wrote down the days where I didn't eat everything and anything... so there's only a few days filled out in the months of May, June and July - HA!

Now that you can see how that stuff works against you/us.... maybe change won't be so hard (?)

I"m still trying to figure out how to not crave/eat junk everyday. But this site is making me more accountable. But, it's not easy when the stress hits and when the plain ol'hunger sets in .

Watermellon is in season and very tasty around here.... maybe that would be a good subsitute for cookies??
Keep logging and keep trying... we'll figure this out eventually.

fitterpam

Thank you all for your responses. I will not try to justify myself I will try to do better! Although my emotions are all a wreck and I don't *feel* like it.

I did check to make sure I am supposed to be having that many calories. My weight (as of last week, when I made the profile) was 304.7. My height is 6'. My goal weight is 190. I put in sedentary. And that I am going to aim for losing one pound per week. It gave me 2,260 per day. I don't know why mine is higher than a lot of other people's. Perhaps because my starting weight is higher?

Thanks everyone...........here's to a better week!

Yep - I meant to come back and say I slightly adjusted my paramters and that's exactly right. With 1lb a week loss, you have to be careful to follow the calorie guidelines carefully, like I said 3500 a week will mean 1 lb plus anything else. That's 500 cals a day extra, which is about where you were averaging. That won't take it off, but put it on. I try to be within 100 cal one way or the other (some days you just gotta). Plan your meals out....it means less junk food. It's a learning process.

My MIL did Tops and it suited her really well - she took off 30 of her 60 pounds overweight and has kept it off for the last 3 years. I don't know that she's going to go anymore because of medical issues, but it is definitely something that works and works well. Keep up with it and eventually the scale will move in the right direction.

leanmass24

It is not the weight I weighed in at 305lbs and they only gave me 1870calories a day. but I am trying to lose 2 lbs a week so that is probably why they gave you extra calories.... definitely limit the sodium intake and of course the "junk" food. Like everyone else says fruits and veggies are the best for you. It is harder at first, but once you cut out the bad foods your body will start to crave the good foods and the bad food will make you feel like poo, which they are probably doing anyway.

bekylouisex3

I agree with all the comments above! You definitely need to cut back on the calories and sodium :noway: On August 8th you ate loads of pizza and cookies and your calorie intake was around double what it should be.

Remember this is a lifestyle change, if you want to lose weight you need to change your eating habits! Good luck for the future, I know it's hard when you first start out but bit-by-bit you can do it! :flowerforyou:

astridfeline

I've started another link where tall women can post their cal intake...this should give you an idea of your own cal intake. Your allowed cals WILL decrease as you lose weight, or if you decide to lose the weight more quickly.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/112325-tall-women-how-many-cals

zenzoes

I think It's fabulous that your really were true to writing your food in. Even if it wasn't a healthy choice, it's a HUGE step to getting it right! Being accountable is what makes my loss a success. Keep it up, you'll find your body will crave the healthy foods. My food input changed drastically the longer I logged in each day. You got this!