Unexplained Weight Gain - advice needed!

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Julie1572
Julie1572 Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello there!

I gained 50 lbs in the last three years, and started on MFP and workout routine to lose weight. The weight gain was somewhat unexplained becuase my eating and exercise habits havent changed.

I have been working out diligently for nine weeks, doing 1/2 hr of weights and 30-45 minutes of "sweaty" cardio each session.
I also keep my calories in check (for the most part) and stay between 1400-1700 calories a day.

I have lost only two pounds in nine weeks. What am I doing wrong? Am i missing something? I am trying so hard and nothing is working.

Please help!
Thank you!

Juliann

HT: 5'6"
SW: 194 Lbs
GW: 150
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Replies

  • JennaM222
    JennaM222 Posts: 1,996 Member
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    hmmm...dont eat back all your work out calries to begin with, and be patient. really take a look at what you are eating...Just becasue you are within your calories, doesnt always mean you will lose weight. you need to eat foods that are good for your body, and that will actually help is shed the extra lbs! good luck!
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    hard to say with your diary private..you could be consuming way to much sodium and maybe calculating calorie burn incorrectly
  • fcrisswell
    fcrisswell Posts: 234 Member
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    "for the most part"

    Got my attention right off.

    Keep track of EVERYTHING you are eating and be mindful of what you are drinking as well.

    Some people don't realize just how many calories they are consuming with the littlethings here and there. At the end of the day it ALL adds up.
  • es0torok
    es0torok Posts: 66 Member
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    Make your diary public so you think harder about what you are going to have to admit to. And, no matter how hard it is, log EVERYTHING you eat. No tweaking the data.
  • Alphastate
    Alphastate Posts: 295 Member
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    You also have more than likely gained muscle. Muscle weighs three times more than fat. You probably notice your clothes fitting better...in the beginning stages this can be common occurance.
  • angeljamin
    angeljamin Posts: 234 Member
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    Water! If I don't drink my 9 glasses a day I'm heavy the next day. May be the foods you are choosing, even if your within your calories.
  • fcrisswell
    fcrisswell Posts: 234 Member
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    Also if yo have not had a physical lately you may want to have your thyroid checked just to be on the safe side. If in fact you are not eating more your thyroid could be out of whack.
  • Mrs_TrimWaistFatWallet
    Mrs_TrimWaistFatWallet Posts: 486
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    I would suggest a BodyMedia - it tells you how many calories you're ACUTALLY burning on a daily basis + how much you burn from your workouts. They run ~$200 but the information you get from it would be worth it. Its possible your body needs more than what MFP thinks and you might need to eat more to lose more...if that makes sense :)
  • JDRBT
    JDRBT Posts: 264 Member
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    You've gotten some great advice. I would consider reducing your calories further and aiming more for the 1200-1300 categories.

    But some other food for thought here: Are you otherwise healthy? Hormonal difficulties, thyroid problems, and diabetes are just some of the culprits for keeping weight on.
  • bikerchick2
    bikerchick2 Posts: 15 Member
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    Are you weighing & measuring all your food? Instead of estimating the quantity? For me, that makes a huge difference.
  • shonasteele
    shonasteele Posts: 473
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    I'd suggest checking in with a doctor & maybe getting some blood tests. A 50 lb. gain over 3 years and now having a hard time losing raises a red flag that maybe something is wonky.
  • AngelicaDulas
    AngelicaDulas Posts: 196
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    Have you been to the Dr. recently and had any blood work done? I had the same thing (30 lbs in 6 months) and found that my Thyroid had dropped in the hormone production. i was tired all the time and my skin/hair/nails were dry flaky brittle and unattractive. I was sleeping 11+ hrs a night and still feeling tired. I take a low dose pill every morning now and I feel soo great! i didnt know what "normal" felt like until I fixed the problem. The most common condition associated with low thyroid is a slow metabolism and uncontrolled weight gain! Go get checked! You never know...
  • beckusjane
    beckusjane Posts: 112
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    Are you doing the exact same workout everyday? Because your body will get bored if you dont mix things up. I have been told that regardless of how hard you workout, your body wont feel like you're pushing it if you keep repeating the exact same thing. If you like to do workout videos, then do a different one everyday and dont stick with the same trainer. If you are doing machines, do a different machine everyday or if you are doing a few, make sure that you dont move in the same order each time.

    Hope this helps. I will also be sending you a list of things that I have done to help me lose 26#s.

    Becca
  • beckusjane
    beckusjane Posts: 112
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    You may have already seen this message. I put it as a blog on my page. I truly think this helps when people feel like they are stuck and not sure what to do to continue. I dont want you to give up. I KNOW you can do this:) I also know there is strength in numbers so feel free to message me anytime if you are having issues throughout the day. I can check in daily with you if you would like:)

    Just so you know, this may turn into a novel:) And dont go strictly by any of this. What works for one person may not work for someone else. We did a "Get Fit, Get Healthy" challenge at my work for 8 weeks. I lost about 22 lbs. and 5% of my body fat. We had to do certain things to get points for the challenge. These are the things we needed to do:

    *64 oz. of water each day. This does not include coffee, juices or kool-aid. Now you can have 64 oz. + juices but you must drink 64 oz. When you do drink juices, they have to be 100% juice. Easy enough right? Grape juice, apple juice, orange juice. Tomato juice too but the sodium is ridiculous in it. I'm sure if you want some of that it would be ok for a change. Just dont make it your only juice.

    *7 hours or more of sleep. This can be hard if you have small children or just a hectic schedule. If you are able to lie down for a nap during the day, you can count that, but it is much better if you can get 7 hrs straight.

    *Eat breakfast within 2 hrs of waking up. This is a hard one. Some people just cant stand eating first thing in the morning. I usually grab something quick like an apple or a banana.

    *5 servings of fruits/veggies a day. Pretty straight forward. Again this is where your juices come in. You can use 4 oz. of fruit juice as a serving of fruit. For the record, jelly beans are not a fruit even if they are fruit flavored. :)

    * 210 minutes of cardio a week. Now you can get this walking, biking, swimming, yardwork (raking and push mowing count) snow shoveling is a BIG one but obviously it will be a few months til we can do that again and I dont mind a bit!! Now it doesnt matter how you break this down as long as you do a minimum of 10 minutes for any time you are counting it. You can do more than 210 minutes of course if your schedule allows.

    *Toning with free weights or stretch bands 3 times a week for 10 minutes a piece. You can definitely do more than 3 times. That is only the minimum. Sometimes I will use my free weight and incorporate them into my aerobic routines.

    That's it. Those are the simple rules I am following and the weight is coming off. You dont want it to fall off all at once. If it does, then you're doing something drastic and the chances of sticking with it are slim. Working it off slowly is the best ticket. Making small changes makes it easier to become lifestyle changes not temporary fixes.

    Also, I tend to stay away from white flour. You can eat breads, potatoes and pasta in moderate amounts but it is much better for you if you eat whole wheat breads and pastas or sweet potatoes. Dont get worried about the fact that there are about as many carbs in whole wheat pasta as there is in the regular. It's better for you~trust me!!

    Another trick that helps? If you have time, measure out a serving of your snacks. Use ziplock baggies and have them ready to grab and go. I usually have pretzels, animal crackers stuff like that ready so that I dont have to think about it. If I just try to sit with a bag of pretzels, pretty soon Ive eaten half the bag but if I have a true serving size packaged, I know when to stop.

    If the idea of this process is overwhelming, dont try to change everything at once. Maybe work on 5 fruits/veggies and once you have that figured out, then try 64 oz of water. Keep adding a step to it til you are on your way to healthier choices.

    Good luck. Hope this helps:)

    Becca
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    If you aren't sure why you gained the wait in the first place, you have either been fooling yourself (sometimes this is by grabbing snacks that seem healthy, but are a lot of calories, sometimes we out and out lie to ourselves) or your metabolism has changed. As fcrisswell mentioned, this could be do to thyroid or other hormones, or it could be part of the natural aging process. If you are absolutely sure that you are being honest with yourself about calories in and out, you should probably go in for a thorough physical to rule out any medical issues.

    I am about the same weight as you and a only a couple of inches shorter. My calorie intake is 1200-1500 and it has been extremely slow going this time around, but not quite as slow as you are saying.

    Stick with it - being healthy is always better than not!
  • BECav0602
    BECav0602 Posts: 200 Member
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    I agree with other posters. My diary is private (except for friends) but I am sure to log everything. There are some days I know I will go over (example: date night tonight with 5 course tapas meal and then comedy club). Since I know I will be going over today I usually try to make sure I am within my limits every other day and drink a lot of water.

    Also, remember it takes time. Try switching up your workout. Sometimes I find that makes all the difference. Water,water, water. I drink about 10 or more glasses a day and it keeps me in check since I tend to go over my sodium a lot.
  • sculptandtone
    sculptandtone Posts: 300 Member
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    And don't believe the "calories burned" on MFP or any machines at the gym. They're generally much higher than is truly accurate. I'm doing about an hour of exercise a day (dripping sweat), but I'm not burning the 7 or 800 calories it says I am. Probably more like 4 or 500. I am not eating any of my exercise calories and sticking to 1200 (occasionally 1300 if i'm STARVING). But, if you're eating 1700 on any given day, maybe you're eating what you've ACTUALLY burned in exercise. Just a thought. I agree you should go to the doc and get thyroid and other things checked. A 50 pound weight gain if your habits didn't really change does suggest something is out of whack. Good Luck.
  • trud72
    trud72 Posts: 1,912 Member
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    try drinking more water too....
  • Ariyasnow1
    Ariyasnow1 Posts: 117
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    You could be within your calories range, but I think it really comes down to -what- you are eating. It is not always about the calorie content. I suggest be mindful of your carb and sugar intake as well as calories, and read your ingredients; look at what you are actually putting into your body.

    Good luck!
  • julieraeeager
    julieraeeager Posts: 3
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    Thank you for writing in...I am doing very similar. I am however diabetic also and have had my insulin raised which is making it very difficult. My endocrinologist says that women over 50 have to exercise and hour a day at least 5 times per week to maintain their weight, not even to lose. And happily, I have stopped gaining which was freaking me out. I have been trying to move more during the day.

    You probably have also gained muscle and lost fat which is good! I feel better, though i feel that I am still so heavy and don't like it.
    I asked the program "answer"....about my health issues and a doctor answers your questions. He recommended basically a vegan diet. So I am trying that. I have high cholesterol and triglycerides also. One daughter is a vegan and she is always skinny.

    Anyway....as we age it becomes more difficult......good job exercising as you have more muscle and less fat....and maybe try going vegan or eating at least most of your meals as vegan.

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