I can't seem to get this right… Help needed!

copselily

I joined MFP around January 2013 (so a year ago now) weighing 138 lbs. Now, a year later, I weigh 140 lbs and my weight has fluctuated between 135-140lb for the entire year. I'm feeling very stressed and confused and would appreciate some constructive criticism.

I'm 23 yrs old, female, 5'1 and mostly sedentary until recently (now I guess I'm lightly active). I started out on 1200 calories, and lost 5 lbs relatively quickly, but after reading about it on here and being swatted about a bit on the forums I upped my calories to 1400 and gained all the weight back. I continued to eat 1400-600 for about 6 months, I'd lose about 1-2lbs and then immediately put it back on if I had a 'bad' week. This is the problem - my weight loss was so slow that I'd get discouraged (I'm also bipolar and an emotional eater which probably doesn't help! ) and have about a week off eating whatever and then spend the next 3 weeks trying to get off what I'd put on. Lather, rinse, repeat!

So yes, now I'm back at square one again, have been eating 1300 for the past 2 weeks, and doing some relatively low impact exercise like yoga and pilates and some workouts with a barbell…and now I'm 5 lbs heavier? I know my body doesn't defy science but it feels so frustrating and I don't know what to do. Do I just stick at it and hope for the best? It's hard to be hopeful when the past year was a waste in terms of weight loss. I don't know what to do…

Thank you to anyone who reads this and I appreciate any feedback, even if it's tough.


Edit to add: I weighed around 120lbs before my depression got very bad, so I would just like to get down to the body I used to have.

danigriffiths86

I feel your pain! i cant weigh myself easily as I use a wheelchair, I too, am an emotional eater.
Take baby steps, and perhaps don't weigh every week.. sounds like it's just getting you down. Keep a close eye on your calories, MFP does that for you, drink as much water as you can, try drinking a glass before you eat... this sometimes helps me eat smaller portions.

If you have a bad day, as i did yesterday, try to avoid making it a bad week. Think of how much more down you'll feel after eating badly for 7 days, as oppose to one or even two.

I have a friend who has started walking, everyday. Even if just for half an hour and that is working for her. My plan is to keep visiting the gym and push myself in my chair as oppose to using my powered one.

Sounds cliched, but my aim is to make lifestyle changes, as oppose to 'dieting' - I'm hoping this will help me to want to eat healthier as I know how bloated I feel when I don't.

Hope this helps a little xx

tntjones2011

Watching calories is a good thing when trying to lose weight, but the type of calories are important. 500 calories of potato chips are not the same as 500 calories of lean mean and sodas kill a diet. If possible I would add exercise that was a little more intense. Yoga and Pilates are great but do not burn a lot of calories. Weight lifting/resistance training is good because it speeds up the metabolism. You may benefit from a program like insanity or T25. I am a BeachBody fitness coach and I spent 20 years in the military. I love helping people with fitness. If you have questions let me know.