Plateaued and am now gaining weight

lilymmeeow

Hi!
I started losing weight in August, and from August-October lost about 10 pounds. During October I lost about 1 or 2 pounds at first, and since then I haven't lost any. I stayed the same weight for a while, but now have gained about 2 pounds over the past week. I am still doing my same workout routine and eating sort of the same.
I workout 4-6 times a week, and 50% of the time I tend to run 2-4 miles, while the other 50% of the time I jog/sprint at 1 minute intervals for about 4 miles. After that I always use the AMT machine on intervals (I do one with a long stride and then one with a lot of resistance to imitate a stairmaster since there isn't one at my gym). I also use weight machines, I am not good with the names but generally use ones for my legs and abs. I also do home abs exercises maybe 4 times a week for about 20 minutes.
As for food, I was 80% paleo, then I heard about keto and switched to it. But I was eating a lot of dairy and eggs on keto, and those tend to not sit well with me, so I went back to paleo about a week ago. I am a female, 20 years old, about 5 ft and currently 126 lbs. I tend to eat 1200-1500 calories a day. The last thing to mention is that I was living at home (just for the summer) and working when I was losing weight successfully, but have since moved back into my own place and am in school so I tend to have to eat out a little bit more. but when I eat out I stick to things like salmon/chicken and steamed veggies, or I just get a salad.

Sorry for the novel, I don't know how much info to give. The summary: lost 10 pounds in a couple months, then plateaued and now seem to be gaining weight, but haven't changed anything about exercise and not much about diet.
Can you guys offer any tips as to why I may be plateauing/gaining weight? It's getting really really discouraging but I don't want to give up!

lilymmeeow

Opened my diary but I have only been really using it lately. I don't weigh my food, but I generally look up how much a typical portion would have and then eyeball it. I also always, ALWAYS overestimate. I'm afraid of underestimating so I always overestimate everything. Oh, also I don't put in my exercise all that often, don't know if that shows up in my diary though.

I_Will_End_You

Opened my diary but I have only been really using it lately. I don't weigh my food, but I generally look up how much a typical portion would have and then eyeball it. I also always, ALWAYS overestimate. I'm afraid of underestimating so I always overestimate everything. Oh, also I don't put in my exercise all that often, don't know if that shows up in my diary though.

This is your problem.


Read here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

lilymmeeow

Opened my diary but I have only been really using it lately. I don't weigh my food, but I generally look up how much a typical portion would have and then eyeball it. I also always, ALWAYS overestimate. I'm afraid of underestimating so I always overestimate everything. Oh, also I don't put in my exercise all that often, don't know if that shows up in my diary though.

This is your problem.


Read here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

Wait wouldn't that be opposite though? By overestimate I mean if it looks like I ate 1/2 a cup of rice I add in the entry that I ate1 cup of rice.

Mokey41

Opened my diary but I have only been really using it lately. I don't weigh my food, but I generally look up how much a typical portion would have and then eyeball it. I also always, ALWAYS overestimate. I'm afraid of underestimating so I always overestimate everything. Oh, also I don't put in my exercise all that often, don't know if that shows up in my diary though.

This is your problem.


Read here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

^^^ This. Eyeballs aren't very accurate!

I_Will_End_You

Opened my diary but I have only been really using it lately. I don't weigh my food, but I generally look up how much a typical portion would have and then eyeball it. I also always, ALWAYS overestimate. I'm afraid of underestimating so I always overestimate everything. Oh, also I don't put in my exercise all that often, don't know if that shows up in my diary though.

This is your problem.


Read here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

Wait wouldn't that be opposite though? By overestimate I mean if it looks like I ate 1/2 a cup of rice I add in the entry that I ate1 cup of rice.

If you're eyeballing portions (even if you feel like you're overestimating) then you really have no idea how much you're eating. Especially when it comes to sauces, condiments, oils used for cooking, etc..

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

Opened my diary but I have only been really using it lately. I don't weigh my food, but I generally look up how much a typical portion would have and then eyeball it. I also always, ALWAYS overestimate. I'm afraid of underestimating so I always overestimate everything. Oh, also I don't put in my exercise all that often, don't know if that shows up in my diary though.

This is your problem.


Read here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

Wait wouldn't that be opposite though? By overestimate I mean if it looks like I ate 1/2 a cup of rice I add in the entry that I ate1 cup of rice.

If you're eyeballing portions (even if you feel like you're overestimating) then you really have no idea how much you're eating. Especially when it comes to sauces, condiments, oils used for cooking, etc..

Yup, agree 100% with I_Will_End_You.

Your diet is sort of the same, you don't weigh or measure and your eating out has increased. 100% you are eating more than you think you are.

nomorebamboozles

How long have you plateaued? Sometimes it takes a few weeks to snap out of it for some reason if you truly are eating the amount of calories you are counting. If it's been more than 3 or 4 weeks then it's probably time to invest in a food scale just to see if that is the problem or not and then go from there.

Oh, also I wanted to add something. Since I've been eating out 2-3 times per week in the past month compared to 0 times per week before this month I've also plateaued. It is so difficult to count calories while eating out and the counts are so much less accurate because you have no idea what went into the meal, especially in restaurants where you aren't getting something super standard like a burger. I would suggest cutting down on eating out as much as possible, maybe 1 or 2 times per month. This will likely help the most... I can promise you it's the reason why I stopped losing! I need to cut down as well. Good luck!

Mokey41

Looking at your diary your estimating doesn't look very accurate. Who eats 1 oz of meat, 1/4 cup of milk, what is .25 of a bowl of soup? You need to actually weigh and measure and log honestly if you want to know how much you're eating.

lilymmeeow

Looking at your diary your estimating doesn't look very accurate. Who eats 1 oz of meat, 1/4 cup of milk, what is .25 of a bowl of soup? You need to actually weigh and measure and log honestly if you want to know how much you're eating.

If you're talking about the salmon, I just grabbed a bite of it when I was heading out the door the other day, and the 1/4 of milk is because I was making hot chocolate with mostly water and a little bit of coconut milk and ovaltine. The soup is because I was cooking with a quarter cup of chicken broth! But yeah I will start measuring and weighing more accurately

chantwizzle83

I find the scanning tool on this site really helpful too. I mean, .25 of a bowl of soup? If you put the whole can of say, Campbell's soup in a bowl thats like, 3 tbsp. Get some measuring cups from the dollar store. Thats a big help with rice, pasta, cereals, sauces etc. And learn what an ounce of meat really looks/feels like. You be surprised how small it actually is. And measure things consistently cooked or raw. If you're eating out, check the restaurant website before you go out. Most nowadays have nutritional info on them so you can plan ahead. And start lifting. You won't get big gross muscles. I promise. That doesn't happen to women (naturally). And you'll see the weight melt off.

lilymmeeow

How long have you plateaued? Sometimes it takes a few weeks to snap out of it for some reason if you truly are eating the amount of calories you are counting. If it's been more than 3 or 4 weeks then it's probably time to invest in a food scale just to see if that is the problem or not and then go from there.

Oh, also I wanted to add something. Since I've been eating out 2-3 times per week in the past month compared to 0 times per week before this month I've also plateaued. It is so difficult to count calories while eating out and the counts are so much less accurate because you have no idea what went into the meal, especially in restaurants where you aren't getting something super standard like a burger. I would suggest cutting down on eating out as much as possible, maybe 1 or 2 times per month. This will likely help the most... I can promise you it's the reason why I stopped losing! I need to cut down as well. Good luck!

It has been about a month or so since i have plateaued I would say. But I think I will have to look into buying a scale!

husseycd

I definitely recommend a scale. I bought a cheap one ($11 or $12) from ebay.

chantwizzle83

We have a digital scale and it's great. How come your daily goal changes day to day? I also pre make my meals for the week at home so I'm not tempted to go out out so often. My husband loves ordering in. So I try and keep a few home made "lean cuisines" on hand.

lilymmeeow

We have a digital scale and it's great. How come your daily goal changes day to day? I also pre make my meals for the week at home so I'm not tempted to go out out so often. My husband loves ordering in. So I try and keep a few home made "lean cuisines" on hand.

I'm not really sure why the daily goal changes day to day -- I've never changed it myself? I think it changes based on how much I log for exercise

tasha_1306

Your daily goal changes when you exercise because it adds the exercise onto it.

Siansonea

It's calories. Your workouts are immaterial. You don't exercise to lose weight, you CUT CALORIES. And to cut calories, you have to count them accurately. Start doing that religiously. You'll lose weight. Really, it's no mystery, and all your minutiae about your workout regimen just goes to show that you don't realize that weight loss starts and ends with the calorie deficit. I don't exercise AT ALL and I have lost 15 pounds without a single plateau. It's really just calories.

heybales

If you are going to do the Paleo or the keto, and doing that comparably low carb method, you better read those sites recommendations on how much and how intense for cardio exercise.

You are throwing a huge stress at your body on that mere fact alone, doing a cardio workout that is attempting to be mainly carb burn (sprints), but then not giving it what it needs.

That's why those diet methods talk about "chronic cardio" and "killer cardio" in their main programs. You'll have to search their site to adjust their diet if you really want to do more cardio than they recommend. And they know some people do, hence the change in diet to support it.

heybales

We have a digital scale and it's great. How come your daily goal changes day to day? I also pre make my meals for the week at home so I'm not tempted to go out out so often. My husband loves ordering in. So I try and keep a few home made "lean cuisines" on hand.

I'm not really sure why the daily goal changes day to day -- I've never changed it myself? I think it changes based on how much I log for exercise

Oh my, and so not doing the program right.

If you imagine a bigger deficit is better, why don't you just stop eating until you have lost the weight?

chantwizzle83

I know the site gives you more food allowance when you exercise. But the actual daily total should be the same. Like, mine is always 1200. If you look at her diary, the value changes.

chantwizzle83

But don't eat back your exercise. If your daily goal is 1230. Then thats all you should eat. No matter how much your exercising. Burn more than you eat. If you eat it all back it kind of defeats the purpose.