Stuck, Time to Adjust?

raquelfisher7

I've been logging for just over 75 days now and even with 25 lbs lost I'm so discouraged right now. I feel like I still don't know what I'm doing!

So far I've tried to stick around 1200 calories on days I don't work out and when I do work out, usually 5 times during the week, I eat back around 50-75% of my calories back. I'm burning around 500-700 most days. It's worked really well and obviously I've seen some great results this way but I'm not sure if it's time to adjust things just yet.

About a week and a half ago I was sick with the flu and got down to 168 but then, predictably I went back up to 170 as I started to eat normally again but my kids were sick, so I only got to workout DVDs during that time (burning around 300 instead) and my weight has crept up and sometime gone back down since then. As of last night and this morning I am 174. I had a bad weekend with all the Halloween events and a dinner out which is not the norm for me but there is NO WAY I ate enough to gain that much.

I THINK it may be time to change some things up, maybe it's time up my calories? I've lost half of what I want to and while I'm working out now, I feel less and less like I'm going to die (unless I push too hard) and notice that I don't sweat as much as I used to. Maybe my body has adjusted already? My diary should be public, so any advice you can offer is sooo appreciated! I still feel new to this so anyone who's been at this point before, you're knowledge can help me get out of this mental and weight funk! TIA!



Part of my problem is that I weigh myself everyday, sometimes multiple times. I have enough self control not to gorge myself everyday but not enough to stay off that scale! Ironic, right?! I know this is a problem, but I can't SEE a difference so I find that I am chained to the terrorist on the bathroom floor. I will have to badger my husband to hide it on me and hope he remembers. Working on it!

SLLRunner

Hi Raquel,

Congrats on your 25 pound loss!

You were sick and lost weight, which could have been from dehydration, but then gained it back once you got back on your feet. That's pretty normal, as it's doubtful it was actual weight loss.

You made the statement, "I had a bad weekend with all the Halloween events and a dinner out which is not the norm for me but there is NO WAY I ate enough to gain that much."

Usually those kind of statements indicate that we ate more than we thought we did. Did you weigh and measure all food you put into your mouth during this time and log everything? If not, chances are you took in more calories than you are aware of.

It's okay, though, because we all do this kind of stuff from time to time. It sounds like you are back on track now. I would just continue your good eating habits, measuring/weighing food, logging, and everything will fall back into place.

Lizzy622

Congratulations. You lost about 2.5 a week on average. That is pretty fast. You probably should increase calories but don't freak out if you gain a bit at first. Your body is just readjusting. I only weigh about every 2 weeks.

Ivey05131980

Change things up, more cals, exercise different, more water, less carbs. See what happens. I changed what I ate and kept cals close to the same, a little lower, and broke through with a 2 lb. loss that week. Keep the body guessing and keep on truckin'!

myleadutcher

I had the same issue with being stuck for several weeks at the same weight. I had consistantly been eating 1200 calories daily. I had even added walking 5 days a week without the scale moving. Last week I started calorie cycling and it has seemed to rejump start my metabilism. I ate 1200 for 4 days and then on the other 3 days I ate 1300, 1450, 1600. After one week of cycling I finally lost a little over a pound. I think if you try this for a few weeks you might see some resluts. Good Luck!

raquelfisher7

Thanks for the reply!

I agree, that makes sense about being dehydrated. Probably a huge part of the problem was feeling like I WAS that weight and having it taken away.

I always weigh and measure, but obviously I didn't when we were out to dinner. My estimates and calculations may have been off, but not that much. In order to have gained even three lbs I would have have to eaten a roughly 10,000 calorie excess right?

The weight has been coming off more slowly now and I would like a little kick start to get the passion back again (eating more and working out the same? I know there is a point at which you need to up to continue losing or your body will hang on to the weight because it doesn't have enough fuel) or identify what is causing the almost overnight weight gain so I can put an end to that (too much sodium, not enough water?).

cwolfman13

I would just keep on keepin' on...most likely your "bad weekend" resulted in replenishing glycogen stores and water retention...really, the human body is pretty good about using excess energy...a couple of days of overeating isn't going to cause your body to just store fat. For either weight loss or gain, it takes a sustained effort to override your body's ability to maintain itself.

cppeace

Theres no way you gained 4 pounds in a weekend. You may have overdone sodium and are retaining alot of water. It will pass in a few days and you should be back to 170 or below.
I reccommend not weighing so often. It can be very discouraging. If you still haven't lost any in a couple of fairly clean eating weeks then look at an adjustment. For now carry on.
Kimmie

raquelfisher7

Woah, thanks for the replies ladies (and cwolf)!

I'm doing a Salad a Day Challenge this week, so that should help. I will try increasing my calories for this week and see what happens, I really like the idea of trying calorie cycling. I would have to adjust calories on the over days because if I'm over my calories, I feel like I failed. Obviously I have some weird issues with this and the scale obsession!

I know 25 lbs is a huge accomplishment but sometimes I look at myself of see pictures and I still see no difference. My husband and I are going to Jamaica on November 21st and I had really hoped to be at, or close to 160 by that point. It's starting to look like that won't happen : (

raquelfisher7

CPPeace, the restaurant meal was pretty high in sodium! Saltiest pizza I have ever had in addition to the hot dog from the Halloween TOTing event earlier that day. I felt so badly! I feel like upping calories may be the right thing to do but I'm worried about the results if it was the wrong choice, especially since I feel full and satisfied eating 1200 or a little more with a workout.