Feeling very discouraged...

austepants

I busted my *kitten* this week and ate the best I ever have and worked out the most I have ever done. I rode my horse Monday, on Tuesday and Thursday I did Jillian Michaels 30 DS and Wednesday I ran 25 minutes. I have upped my water intake to at least 10 cups a day and I don't drink anything else generally. I weighed in today to be completely blown away by a 2.3 pound weight gain!!! I am assuming this is due to water weight but could use some help figuring out why this happened. My diary is open so take a look. I also eat almost all of my exercise calories back which I track using my Polar F7 HRM. Please help I am feeling very defeated right now :sad:

anubis609

It's just the nature of how the body works. Don't get too stressed over it. Give it a month. If you aren't seeing the results you want, you can then decide if you should change up something in the routine.

eclecticdeb

I'm not a nutritionist, but at a glance, I think you need to add more greens and veggies to your diet. I'd also start tracking the FIBER (I think it's a setting) -- the more you eat the more "full" you'll feel. Cut out the cheese and nuts, those are high-fat, high calorie, and don't fill you up very much. (maybe a small handful of nuts before you workout, but that's all).

Do you wear a heart rate monitor? If so, you should be burning about 350-400 calories during a good 1-hour workout (i sometimes burn more if it's a heavy cardio day).

Try not to "eat" all of your exercise calories. It's hard, but if you put in a big salad with lunch and dinner (easy on the oil in the dressing!), it will help.

Good Luck, and keep it up.

hollyb9871

It's possible you're body is holding on to water to repair itself from the exercise. On paper it looks like what you're eating is reasonable as you aren't going over on calories, sugar or sodium. That being said you don't appear to be getting enough protein and at least one meal each day is predominantly liquid and a small yogurt. With the exercise you need to fuel your body with more protein, consider adding in a handful of nuts (assuming no allergies) or some whole grain bread with peanut butter, lean ham etc. Remember your weight will fluctuate several pounds with 24 hours let alone with in a couple of days. Women tend to have the The reality is that doesn't work. You didn't eat enough to put on 2 1/2 lbs. in a day so it's not a legitimate gain. Keep doing what you're doing, add in more protein and it will all work out.

AdAstra47

DON'T PANIC.

You are female, which means your body is on a month-long hormonal roller-coaster ride. Hormones have a *huge* influence on the scale. So don't stress about a gain over the course of a week. Go ahead and weigh yourself weekly or even daily if you like, but don't stress about anything until it's been at least a month. That lets you see the general trend. I generally eat & exercise very consistantly, don't switch it up much. Yet, most months, I'll have two weeks when it looks like I lose nothing, followed by a couple of weeks where it looks like I lost 3-4 lbs. I'm pretty sure I'm really losing 1 or 1.5 lbs a week steadily, but that's not what the scale tells me.

Also, the following things can make you retain water: excess sodium, recent exercise (sore muscles retain water), lack of sleep (yes, that affects your hormone levels & can throw things off), the humidity & temperature outside.

Finally, if you are burning fat but gaining muscle, your scale number may go up. Take your measurements, and then take them again in a month or two months & see whether you've lost inches. Muscle is more dense than fat, so if you're replacing fat with muscle, your weight can actually go up while your inches go down & your body becomes more toned & firm. By the way, if that's what is happening, congrats, you're doing it right! The more muscle you have, the easier it is to lose the rest of your fat!

Good luck to you!

AdAstra47

I'm not a nutritionist, but at a glance, I think you need to add more greens and veggies to your diet. I'd also start tracking the FIBER (I think it's a setting) -- the more you eat the more "full" you'll feel. Cut out the cheese and nuts, those are high-fat, high calorie, and don't fill you up very much. (maybe a small handful of nuts before you workout, but that's all).

Sorry, gotta disagree with this advice. It is protein that makes you feel full: protein provides long-lasting energy, as opposed to carbohydrates that provide quick bursts of energy. Protein also digests more slowly to start with, so you'll feel fuller longer.
The chemical reaction that burns fatty acids in your body also requires amino acids, which the body gets from protein. So it's important to eat enough protein. Cheese and nuts are both great snacks to get in a little extra protein.
It's also great that you're starting your day with a couple of eggs. My only suggestion to you, after looking at your diary, is to try to stay under your carbs & fat allowances but try to go over the protein allowance, especially if you're working out a lot. Grill or bake a fish filet, shrimp kabobs, a chicken breast, a pork chop, or a steak.

janiebeth

It's just the nature of how the body works. Don't get too stressed over it. Give it a month. If you aren't seeing the results you want, you can then decide if you should change up something in the routine.

^^ This, my friend.

For all sorts of reasons, my weight jumps up and down during the course of a month. It is particularly hard when I know I've worked hard and eaten correctly, but it is just that kind of week.

Do similar to what you did this past week and try again for weekly weigh in - I bet you get a much better result..

JB

CarlydogsMom

What AdAstra47 says. Reduce your carbs, and add more protein. You'll be amazed. And, if you really want to better understand how your body manages carbs/proteins/fats and how best to lose weight, listen to the podcasts from "Cut the Fat Weightloss" (google them). Those podcasts are unbelieveable, you really need to listen to the first 3 or 4 which lays the groundwork for understanding food/body/nutrition, but all of them have been excellet. It is an excellent resource that, in combination with MFP, helped me lose 55 lbs in 6 months, and a total of 72 lbs in 10 months. I am already beyond my goal and still losing. I would recommend that podcast to anyone.

Crowhorse

It's possible you're body is holding on to water to repair itself from the exercise.

I have to agree with this. I'm struggling with this as well. The number on the scale is so psychological. I've started doing weight sessions and it tends to increase that number temporarily.

What counts is recomposition.

KiyaK

save for the podcast name

eclecticdeb

I'm not a nutritionist, but at a glance, I think you need to add more greens and veggies to your diet. I'd also start tracking the FIBER (I think it's a setting) -- the more you eat the more "full" you'll feel. Cut out the cheese and nuts, those are high-fat, high calorie, and don't fill you up very much. (maybe a small handful of nuts before you workout, but that's all).

Sorry, gotta disagree with this advice. It is protein that makes you feel full: protein provides long-lasting energy, as opposed to carbohydrates that provide quick bursts of energy. Protein also digests more slowly to start with, so you'll feel fuller longer.
The chemical reaction that burns fatty acids in your body also requires amino acids, which the body gets from protein. So it's important to eat enough protein. Cheese and nuts are both great snacks to get in a little extra protein.
It's also great that you're starting your day with a couple of eggs. My only suggestion to you, after looking at your diary, is to try to stay under your carbs & fat allowances but try to go over the protein allowance, especially if you're working out a lot. Grill or bake a fish filet, shrimp kabobs, a chicken breast, a pork chop, or a steak.

You're absolutely correct -- protein does help with feeling fuller. However eating too cheese and nuts (to get the protein) also provides too much fat and lot's of calories (for the little bit of "space" in the stomach it takes up). So while it's great to eat a LITTLE bit of cheese and nuts as a SNACK, portion control is key (I may eat 1/2 ounce of sharp cheddar when I get home, to tide me over while I'm cooking dinner). The OP is woefully low on leafy green veggies -- eating more of these will increase her fiber intake and help her get other important nutrients.

Maryfullofgrace

Don't feel discouraged, you worked your little heart out!!! Had you not stepped on the scale, you would still feel great for all you accomplished. While yes, your goal is to lose weight, enjoy the accomplishment of the victory of exercise you made for yourself this week! I've been walking like a crazy woman all week to try to bust a plateau, I took it easy yesterday and the scale moved. Go figure.