Feeling discouraged, working so hard and making so little pr

srenard

I've been at this for months (since the beginning of March), and where I wasn't exercising at all, I started biking 6 miles 2-4 times per week, walking (4mph) 2-4 times per week, and reducing my calories to what was recommended by MFP - which was like 1200. After several months of that without much progress (I had only lost maybe 5 pounds), I joined a gym and have been using the elliptical trainer burning 350 on average 4-5 times per week, and I've added to that swimming for about 1- 1.5 hours 2-3 times per week as well, plus I've started on the treadmill recently as well for a minimum of 20 minutes after the elliptical. I've been doing this for the past 2 weeks.

I stepped on the scale a few days ago and had gained a pound. Today I got on again (just to check) and to my horror had put on yet another pound. I went from couch potato to becoming 100% more active, watching my calories/fat/etc. and really sticking to this...and I GAIN WEIGHT? I don't even see how this is physically possible. The more I exercise and really eat good, the more weight I put on. I don't get it. Can anyone offer some advice? I don't have any disease or illness and as far as I know I'm generally healthy. What gives? This is really discouraging...

I had a Dr.'s appt yesterday and asked him how much I should be taking in calories and he said based on my amount of exercise like 2400. But he also said that I have to create a 500 per day deficit in calories. So now I'm more unclear than before. If my body needs 2400 based on my activity but I have to create a 500 deficit which seems to me that would be 1900 (+/-) but then I'm not taking in the number of calories to match my activity level. So what is right here? I just really want to lose weight in a regular, safe way but that shows progress equal to the work I'm putting into this.

Does anyone have any suggestions, advice, and/or help that will shed some light on what I should be doing.

Oh, by-the-way, the Doc said "if I knew the answers to your questions" I could sell that and really be rich...that helped me a lot, not!

charmednz

what do your measurements say?

you may "weigh" more but you may have more muscle than before.

All these months of exercise and healthy eating have ensured you are fit and healthy...

NatashaB40

I have been struggling with the same issues. I have noticed that when I submit food and exercise for the day, there is always a message on the screen that I am not consuming enough calories and putting my body into starvation mode. I thought that seemed ridiculous, but maybe there is something to it.

i would love to hear about others experiences.

melizerd

are you eating back your exercise calories? You might have too big of a deficit. I can't deal with 1200 calories a day, I don't lose weight and it makes me crazy. When you exercise you NEED to eat back exercise calories back too to fuel your body properly.

You should be NETTING 1200 calories minimum, not just eating 1200 and exercising like 1000 calories out otherwise you're only netting 200 calories.

barbiex3

don't get discouraged. this is a life long journey, not a destination. Don't expect results so fast. I bust my butt everyday, and I still am not 100% happy. It takes a long time! Just find a way to start enjoying it or it'll be hard for you to stick with it =/

ShellyMacchi

cannot see your diary so cannot tell, but the issue may be that you are not eating back your exercise calories? (or perhaps not enough of them?)

i stopped losing once i started exercising... until i started eating back at least 1/2 of my exercise calories.
In fact, i've found the closer to 'all' my exercise calories i eat, the more i lose per week.

another factor may be if you are not drinking enough water (8 glasses is not enough for me, i need at least 12 apparently for effective loss)

Six5

Working out builds muscle which weighs more than fat so pay less attention to the scale and more attention to how you feel, how your clothes fit, etc. Also if you are not eating enough, your body goes into "starvation mode" and will counteract all the hard work you are doing. Things to try:

wear a heart rate monitor during cardio to ensure you are getting into your "fat burning zone" (ask your doctor about this)
increase your caloric intake by 100 calories at a time and see if it makes a difference.

Don't give up and good luck!

janiepumphrey

You're probably gaining muscle - it's a good thing! Muscles at rest burn more calories so it will help you in the long term.
I like your doctor's calorie recommendation better than MFP's. 1200 seems insanely low for someone who exercises that much -even if it's net calories instead of total calories, it still seems really low.

janiepumphrey

PS. You can measure your hips and waist to track progress instead of using a scale, or in addition to it.
Even if you're gaining muscle you can still observe the measurements getting smaller. Progress will show on a measuring tape much sooner than it will show in the fit of your clothes - especially if your clothes are somewhat stretchy like mine.

safariwoman66

And a couple of pounds can be water weight, nothing to really stress about, just keep an eye on. I weigh first thing in the morning and 5 days out of 7 I am up a lb or 3. You really do have to eat enough to keep your body on track. A trick to help boost your metabolism would be to eat about what you have been doing for a couple of days and give yourself 2 or 3 days of a higher, say 1600. But make those extra calories really count with raw fruits and veggies: eat a lot of them. Another thing that helps some people who otherwise don't see a change is to eat a diet of 70% raw food. That would include unroasted nuts and things. Over the last few years I have lost 80 lbs. Recently I have cut all soy, wheat, corn, (gluten), sugar, and artificial sweeteners. I feel so much better than I have in a long time and sleep better, too. Sometimes an inability to handle some foods well can cause inflamation and make it feel like we are fighting a loosing battle. I hope things pick up for you. Good Luck!

srenard

Wow! very helpful and positive posts. Thanks. I'm feeling like I can do this now. Great suggestions too. I do check my measurements but not too often (I'm so neurotic about my exercise and diet that I'm trying to not be about the scale and the measurements-but I guess I should check them with some regularity). Also, I do feel like my clothes are better and in some cases bigger so that helps but I really am striving for a particular weight goal (and maybe I shouldn't do that) I feel so great though with all this exercise so I"m hoping that as many suggested my muscle weight is increasing, so that eventually (hopefully sometime soon) I'll notice weight going in the direction I'm hoping for.

Thank you so much again everyone. You encourage and insights have helped me more than my doctors appt. and thanks to MFP was cheaper. lol....