Freaking OUT. I can't do this anymore. :-(

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graysmom2005
graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I feel so huge right now...I realize that's relative....but some of you know my story. I'm a plus girl turned fitness instructor. My lowest was around 146 pounds. After I started teaching Body Pump as well as spinning I went up to 150-153. Clothes felt the same...figured it was muscle...BUT for over a year no matter how much I watched what I ate and with ALL the classes I was teaching...around 9 a week, my weight would never budge except for a couple of months ago when I really pulled back on what I ate and for the first time in a long time hit 148. Well everyone who has seen my diary thought I wasn't eating nearly enough considering I teach 2 classes most days..and even though I usually STILL can't make 1200 net I've been trying to eat a bit more to see if it helps me break this plateau. 159 POUNDS THIS MORNING!! That is the heaviest I have been since I started losing weight 2 years ago. I don't what WHAT on Earth to do. I am so incredibly discouraged. I feel like I need to go back to my old ways of eating. My pants have felt snug around the waist this week...and now I know why. I'm seriously, seriously bummed out.
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Replies

  • losinfat4good
    losinfat4good Posts: 69
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    Calories cycling? Good luck u will get thru this!
  • blankcanvas
    blankcanvas Posts: 177
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    Have you had your thyroid checked lately?
  • QueenofCups
    QueenofCups Posts: 365 Member
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    I am so sorry you are going through this. Have you had your blood work checked with a Dr? Maybe it's thyroid related, or maybe it's just your body retaining water. Maybe you put your body into "starvation mode" when you cut back and were so active so now it's packing on the pounds. I hear that they will come back off eventually.
    But I know none of that helps how you feel right now. I hope you can find answers. I have been having similar issues over the last 8 mos or so, cannot lose weight no matter how little I eat or how much I exercise. I have given up, so to speak. For now. I am eating well and staying active, but I am not going to worry about the number for a little while. Maybe your numbers will fall again soon if you just take a breather and keep doing what you know works for your body.
  • GemmieNoWobbles
    GemmieNoWobbles Posts: 398 Member
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    Awww... I feel your pain, dont give up...

    My personal trainer says I need to eat 1500kcals per day, so on days I exercise I should eat more to counterbalance the calories I am burning. It sounds like you are alot more active than me so sounds like you should be eating more. I reckon your body is going into starvation mode. Try eating more, you need to fuel your body for the classes your doing.

    Dont give up though!!
  • AlwaysWanderer
    AlwaysWanderer Posts: 641 Member
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    Are you eating all your exercise calories back? If you are, that might be a problem if you arent using HMR. When your body gets used to certain exercise, it doesnt burn as many calories as it did before. so maybe you are overeating? just a thought :flowerforyou:
  • LushLoni
    LushLoni Posts: 161 Member
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    Talk to your doctor about this.

    it's okay to be bummed out.

    But get your doctor's all clear before you blame yourself/calories/exercise
  • RaeannePemberton
    RaeannePemberton Posts: 382 Member
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    i recommend you hide your scale. weight is a number.... and only one measurement of success. how do you feel? do you feel confident in your fitness? do you put good foods into your body? do your clothes fit? are you happy with your reflection in the mirror?

    i feel like as a society we get way to focused on numbers. the scale has too much power.... you have done outstanding and maybe it's time to give up the fight with numbers. weight fluctuates naturally... after a year of maintenance, i have seen my weight go from 138 to 156 and i HATED it and tortured myself.... but eventually i tried to let the scale's reading go and focus on being in the moment of my workouts, and feeling alive... being proud of what i had done and the quality foods i was putting into my body. i truly believe the added stress is something else that makes it difficult to "lose"....

    just my two cents. :-)
  • RaeannePemberton
    RaeannePemberton Posts: 382 Member
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    wooops double posted.
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    I had blood work done a few months ago and it came out fine. This weight gain has started since I started really trying to follow MFP. When I lost the 40lbs initially I had massive deficits all the time and dropped the weight. I wish I couuld fit different workouts in, to switch it up, but when I'm already working out 2 hours that day..fitting in something else isn't really an option. LOL! If it was "just the number" it would be annoying but not great...but my clothes felt different for the first time and I look "fuller" in the midsection. So basicallly for me to keep a 150 pound body frame I have to eat like I'm on a strict diet and burn over 1000 calories a day. That's awesome. :-(
  • hajjcomb
    hajjcomb Posts: 118 Member
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    There was a short piece in a recent tri magazine I read about the effects of calorie reduction on weight loss. A study at Rockefeller University found that people with lower calorie consumption lost more weight than moderate calorie reduction. No big surprise there. But the astounding thing was how they lost the weight- moderate calorie reduction lost 91% fat, 9% muscle. People who severely reduced their calories lost 48% fat, 42% muscle! They also mentioned another study where, over a 6 month period, people with a 200 calorie a day deficit lost as much weight as people running a 750 calorie per day deficit.

    Short version, not eating enough calories, especially for active people, is bad.
  • kirstyfromscotland
    kirstyfromscotland Posts: 555 Member
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    i would agree with the above comment about seeing ur doc, he can only help, but try not to get down about it, pick up ur spirits and use the negative and turn it into a positive, ur going to get it sorted out and get back on track. good luck. :bigsmile:
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    Are you eating all your exercise calories back? If you are, that might be a problem if you arent using HMR. When your body gets used to certain exercise, it doesnt burn as many calories as it did before. so maybe you are overeating? just a thought :flowerforyou:

    I have a Polar HRM. I love it! So the calories are accurate if not low. I put the number down immediately after class, but many times my body is still burning hard core for another hour or so and I'll burn 200 more calories in that hour. I don't count it though.
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    There was a short piece in a recent tri magazine I read about the effects of calorie reduction on weight loss. A study at Rockefeller University found that people with lower calorie consumption lost more weight than moderate calorie reduction. No big surprise there. But the astounding thing was how they lost the weight- moderate calorie reduction lost 91% fat, 9% muscle. People who severely reduced their calories lost 48% fat, 42% muscle! They also mentioned another study where, over a 6 month period, people with a 200 calorie a day deficit lost as much weight as people running a 750 calorie per day deficit.

    Short version, not eating enough calories, especially for active people, is bad.

    Thanks. The weird thing is though, is that muscle mass is NOT an issue for me. I am pretty toned from teaching Body Pump. My arms etc are very defined...in fact I don't WANT any more muscle mass as it would start looking weird. :-D So losing muscle mass isn't something I think/worry about.
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    There was a short piece in a recent tri magazine I read about the effects of calorie reduction on weight loss. A study at Rockefeller University found that people with lower calorie consumption lost more weight than moderate calorie reduction. No big surprise there. But the astounding thing was how they lost the weight- moderate calorie reduction lost 91% fat, 9% muscle. People who severely reduced their calories lost 48% fat, 42% muscle! They also mentioned another study where, over a 6 month period, people with a 200 calorie a day deficit lost as much weight as people running a 750 calorie per day deficit.

    Short version, not eating enough calories, especially for active people, is bad.

    Thanks. The weird thing is though, is that muscle mass is NOT an issue for me. I am pretty toned from teaching Body Pump. My arms etc are very defined...in fact I don't WANT any more muscle mass as it would start looking weird. :-D So losing muscle mass isn't something I think/worry about.
  • Mommyof3texans
    Mommyof3texans Posts: 347
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    It is probably hard for us average folks to really give you solid advice since your activity level is so high. Perhaps you could talk to some fellow instructors to get some tips. The only thing I can really think of that might work it to eat as clean as possible with a higher protein ratio and lower carb than MFP suggests.
  • Rloral
    Rloral Posts: 112 Member
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    I took a peek at your diary and on several days you were way over in sodium. You might be holding water. I understand where you're coming from. I lost eight pounds when I first started and have not lost anything since. I was very frustrated. I do not eat my exercise calories back so I decided to start eating some back to see if I was putting myself in starvation mode. Good Luck!
  • sarahspence91
    sarahspence91 Posts: 7
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    Have you ever tried measuring your body fat properly? I work in a sports centre, we have this little machine that you type in your height and weight (its different from BMI) And it gives you a body fat reading. See if somewhere you teach has one. It might just be that your gaining muscle, or your bodys gone into starvation mode from eating so little. Just go for the lean meats and veg as much as you can. When i started trying to loose weight i went on the machine, I havent lost much really but i've had comments saying i'm more toned so i'm gonna give it another week and see if my fat readings gone down any! :)

    Best of luck! x
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    Have you ever tried measuring your body fat properly? I work in a sports centre, we have this little machine that you type in your height and weight (its different from BMI) And it gives you a body fat reading. See if somewhere you teach has one. It might just be that your gaining muscle, or your bodys gone into starvation mode from eating so little. Just go for the lean meats and veg as much as you can. When i started trying to loose weight i went on the machine, I havent lost much really but i've had comments saying i'm more toned so i'm gonna give it another week and see if my fat readings gone down any! :)

    Best of luck! x

    One of the gyms I work for is Gold's, and they have that machine you hold and it gives you a reading. It was never accurate or consistent though. It would always say I was on the cusp of being overweight and I was nearly all muscle! LOL! Maybe the pinchy things would help??
  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
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    What are your macro ratios?
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    I'm wondering if what you are seeing is muscle gain and water retention. The scale is not your friend. It doesn't know the difference between fat, muscle or water gain/loss. As active as you are you are probably packing on lean muscle and retaining water off and on. I've read that some people's body will stop losing on its on when it gets to a certain point unless you start trying to lose unheathly. I think you may be at that point with the amount of lean muscle you have attained. Now if you weren't as in good of shape you probably could lose more because well you would have more fat to shed. But my guess thats not the case. Your pants are fitting tight around the waist...1} water retention from exercise. 2} water retention because your body is starting to prepare for your monthly.

    I suggest getting a dexa scan done. You will find out what your body fat % is and your muscle mass. Also take your measurements. When it comes to muscle the scale is ineffective.

    As a precaution you should get your blood work done. I suggest that everyone get that done once a year because it very beneficial to our health.

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