Gaining weight?

Marll

Just taking a look at your diary it seems like you are taking in a lot of sugar and processed foods high in carbohydrates. I personally don't think that your sodium intake is the culprit, but rather the combination of processed foods and sugar/carbs.

I sypmathize being on a budget, but know first hand that you can buy better natural foods while staying on a budget, as you cut out the purchase of all the boxed, processed foods and replace it with produce and meats it sort of balances out. My grocery bill is actually $100-200 less a month after switching to a lower carb, no grain, no processed foods diet and I eat primarily meat, cheese, eggs, all kinds of vegtables and some fruits.

Ditch all the nonsense and get back to natural whole food as much as possible and you'll start loosing again. And remember whole grains are NOT = whole natural foods

firesoforion

Eating processed foods is actually significantly more expensive than non processed ones, it's just that it seems more expensive to buy all the individual ingredients you'd use to make something similar. The thing is, though, that if you buy individual ingredients, they last longer, so it becomes much cheaper very quickly. Frozen pre-prepared meals, like a lean cuisine, or digiorno pizza for example, is cheaper than say buying a whole bunch of chicken and vegetables, or all the ingredients to make a pizza, but the difference is that with the chicken and vegetables, that will feed you multiple meals, whereas the lean cuisine is barely one, same with the pizza ingredients. Per gram, the processed stuff is significantly more expensive, but the fact that it portions it out, and you don't have to buy every individual ingredient, makes it seem cheaper. Staying away from the processed stuff you'll almost necessarily be eating healthier and less sodium too, so double win. For example:

The texas toast from wal mart, 150 calories a slice, one gram of fiber, 44 carbs and 340 sodium. Instead you can take a piece of whole wheat bread and spread it with some butter you've mixed with fresh garlic. You then control the amount of butter (and therefore the calories), and get less sodium and more fiber. As it is, GV texas toast is just empty calories, and because you buy them in packs premade, you're pretty much paying by the slice.

Yogurt! Instead of the individual yogurt parfaits, get a big tub of low fat unsweetened greek yogurt, add your own fruit and nuts or granola. It will be way, way cheaper and you will get way more health benefits (lowered calories, lowered sugar, and probiotics which you may or may not be getting from the parfaits. You'll get more of the yogurty taste and less of the sugar which can take a little getting used to to start with, but then you get accustomed and the dense creamy richness of the plain yogurt makes it really hard to go back to the other stuff.

So what you can do is decide on what you're going to make, simple stuff, and figure out the cheapest way to make those on your own. Buy it in bulk and freeze what you don't buy. Buy on sale! Studies have shown the cheapest way to buy stuff is to stock up on your items you use a lot when they're on sale, so you can buy them less when they're not. Get in a rhythm of how you buy and what you prepare, and soon you'll be so accustomed to paying less for food that preprocessed stuff will seem like a waste (no pun intended ) of money.


Another little thing is that some stuff, like Baby Ruth minis, raisinettes and chinese, is tasty but really bad for you! So you don't have to cut it out but just sticking with a taste of something can be a huge benefit. I love the idea of just barely tasting something to get the taste without as many calories, and it really works. I bought a couple huge bags of Cinnamon M&Ms right before they went away and were on half price, and some whipped cream, and when the sweet tooth hits, just take three or four M&Ms, or a small spray of the whipped cream, and that's that. I know that's all I'm getting too, so I make the most of it.

auticus

Your caloric intake being so low combined with the quality of food you are eating (poor to bad) is the key reasons why you are gaining weight despite your efforts.

beckylawrence70

Sounds like you're doing the right things, just keep truckin!

erika010

Sometimes you just need to be a little patient at the grocery store. It's easy to pick healthy, unprocessed foods that are also inexpensive!

Bananas are a great example. At around $50 a pound, you could get enough for your family for a whole week for 1-2 bucks! Also apples tend to be on sale a lot, as well as carrots and celery. Easy to take to lunch, also.

I make a lot of soup! That's easy to make in bulk, on the cheap, with healthy ingredients. Also great for freezing!

Also, bags of beans/whole grain rice is inexpensive (because of the time it takes to make, most people want the instant and that stuff is way more $$$). Beans and lentils especially are a quick, cheap source of protein.

Also sometimes at walmart and target they do specials on the birdseye steamed veggies. I bought 6 backs of broccoli for $6! And if you store in a tupperware in the fridge it stays good for an additional 1-2 days, just heat in the microwave with a little water.

Healthy food doesn't have to be expensive!! Plus, it's better for your health so in the long run it is MUCH cheaper than processed foods!

samatalma

Thank you for all the replies!! I know I have some work to do on my diet!! We are finally able to go grocery shopping tonight. We haven't had any money for food. So yes, it may be an excuse but when you don't have money that week, you do what you need to do for me, unfortunately that meant eating what I had in the house.

I try very hard to stay over 1200 net cals a day and feel like I do an okay job at it, but maybe I DO need to do better.

I am definitely planning on getting more fresh fruits and veggies for the house tonight. I love veggies and some fruits!

I really appreciate all the advice and replies Thank you very much!

erika010

oh my gosh sorry for the typos, I was typing much too quickly that should be $0.50 for bananas, and bucks :-)

p0stdramatic

How have you been gaining? Have you been gaining steadily over a period of time with no losses? Or did you just wake up one day and weigh more? How long has it been happening?

Sodium can definitely cause you to retain water, but only so much. If you've been gaining consistently for a while, then it's not sodium. Are you measuring and weighing your food, and tracking every bite that goes in your mouth? Are you overestimating your calories burned?

I see you say you try to net around 1200 calories, but your diary the past few says says more. I don't know your height/weight ect., but you may be eating too many calories. I can net 1800 and still lose, but my best friend doesn't lose unless she nets 1400 or less. She's pint-sized (5'1), and I'm 5'11.

Articeluvsmemphis

I still loss weight with a high sodium intake, not that big of a deal.

But I would say go for the protein. Eggs, Nuts, Milk, Protein Shake (I just use cheap whey from walmart) and Bacon

Make sure you are taking rest days, your body thinks you are nuts if you overdo the exercise, IDK at least for me. Nutrition is number 1 for weight loss.

Have your candy and eat it too, just not a bunch, so turn a serving of 4 mini bars into 2 mini bars if possible.

Limit, reduce, cut out liquid calories b/c they stick like glue, lol.

Good Luck, I know this process is difficult, I'm having a hard time as of late, but keep going.

One thing that helped me was weighing myself once a day everyday in the morning when I woke up. I did that for about 2months, and then decided to quit, wish I would not have done that, it kept me focused.

samatalma

I honestly only gained about 2 pounds over the past 2 weeks. Which is the time period which I started doing body weight exercises.
Honestly, it probably isn't that big of a deal and I probably just got a little over-frustrated this morning when I weighed myself. And I also think that it may be getting close to my time of the month, so that could have something to do with it too, right?

p0stdramatic

I honestly only gained about 2 pounds over the past 2 weeks. Which is the time period which I started doing body weight exercises.
Honestly, it probably isn't that big of a deal and I probably just got a little over-frustrated this morning when I weighed myself. And I also think that it may be getting close to my time of the month, so that could have something to do with it too, right?

Yes, and if you're just starting strength training you could also be retaining water from that. 2 pounds is nothing to worry about.

Armygirl67

bump.

firesoforion

I honestly only gained about 2 pounds over the past 2 weeks. Which is the time period which I started doing body weight exercises.
Honestly, it probably isn't that big of a deal and I probably just got a little over-frustrated this morning when I weighed myself. And I also think that it may be getting close to my time of the month, so that could have something to do with it too, right?

Absolutely. I've seen a ton of people say that you gain anywhere from 2 to even 10 pounds from water retention at your TOM, and combined with cravings and things, but if you stick to it, over the week afterward you should lose everything you gained (body letting go of the water) and then some.

samatalma

I really appreciate all the advice everyone Thank you so much for dealing with my craziness and frustration over 2 pounds :P