Need some help!!! So discouraged!

shelleycronan

I have recently gained four pounds back. I started MFP in mid December. I started off with a good start up until the last two weeks. I lost 9 lbs and over the past two weeks, I have put four pounds back on. My diary is open, so please feel free to look. I need help, this is so discouraging!!!

Stacyanne324

It looks like overall you are doing great and well within your calorie goals every day. The only thing I can see that may be hindering your efforts is the beer and wine. Don't get me wrong...I love my beer and wine but I know when I'm drinking some daily I'm also usually gaining back weight and when I at least stop or drastically cut back during the week I start losing again. All that sugar hurts and when the body burns energy it burns that first.
Right now I try to take a day a week to relax and enjoy myself with more drinks and the rest of the week I'll take at least a couple days with no alcohol and they days I do drink I keep it light.
I didn't look to see how your exercise looks. What are you doing on a daily basis there?

Best of luck to you! This can be a frustrating journey when the scale doesn't do what you want it to. Hang in there!

Sidesteal

Based strictly on your food diary and looking at intake/macros, I am willing to bet that your gain was caused by water weight (SOME of your loss in that 9lbs was water as well). If (not to get personal) your TOM is around now, this will also typically cause water weight gain.

Ok then so to recap this thread with a visual aid:

shelleycronan

I hope its just water weight. I am expecting an unpleasent week next week so hopefully thats the issue.

I will cut back on the alcohol. I am working our 3 to 4 days a week. I just started 30 day shred. I was doing spinning before.

Christina1007

I managed to look through a whole week of your diary. You are either eating 1200 cals a day or 1400 or 1000. You must maintain the same kind of calories a day. Also, why dont you swap the beer for something lighter in calories? I do love my drink, mind you. But I've cut everything out now in order to lose that damn weight! lol

Let us know how it goes!

Sidesteal

I hope its just water weight..

You didn't lose 9 lbs of FAT in that short of a time frame and likewise, you aren't going to gain 4lbs of FAT in that short of a time frame on that caloric intake assuming you are counting properly.

You have to eat an additional 14,000 calories (over two weeks) ABOVE your maintenance intake (which would be anywhere from 1600-2400 at a guess). So basically, you'd have to average in the neighborhood of 2600-3400 calories DAILY in order to gain like this.

I'm estimating here but that figure is in the ballpark to give you an idea of how much you'd have to overeat to gain that much FAT.

It's water.

BeccaMovinUp

Hey there
Try to watch where your carbs are coming from and how much sugar is incorporated in these carbs.
I know it's difficult not to constantly think about it your weight, calories, etc. but try to relax about things. The more I stressed about these things the less results I would get.
By the way, I just started the 30 day shred yesterday, let me know if you need a shred buddy!

dls06

Get yourself a food scale. It really helps with portion control.

mcrowe1016

I managed to look through a whole week of your diary. You are either eating 1200 cals a day or 1400 or 1000. You must maintain the same kind of calories a day. Also, why dont you swap the beer for something lighter in calories? I do love my drink, mind you. But I've cut everything out now in order to lose that damn weight! lol

Let us know how it goes!

This is not true. Zig zagging your calories is fine and I do it all the time. However, you probably shouldn't go below 1200.

Lesa_Sass

If you are getting close to your cycle, it is water weight. You keep doing what you are doing, then one day you will weigh yourself and be down 6 lbs.

mermx

IMO lower your carbs, up your protein. I drink wine every night and still lose weight, as long as it is counted in with your calories for the day

amy3cc

It looks like you're doing just fine on calorie intake. I agree wtih the above person--zig zagging your calories is just fine. And the occasional day under 1200 isn't going to cause you issues--I find it easier to look at the weekly average. If you eat 1000 one day and 1400 the next, you're averaging 1200. Don't stress too much on the daily as long as your average is correct. It's good to keep your body guessing.

My guess is it's ABSOLUTELY water weight. Also, if you've recently started a different workout program and your muscles are sore, you can definitely have edema in the muscle groups. Essentially, muscle soreness after working out is caused by micro-trauma to the muscle fibers. This micro trauma (caused by working hard) causes a few things to happen, but one of them is localized edema. So essentially, keep doing what you're doing and don't stress.

You have a couple of days where your net is way low--like 500 cals remaining after exercise. Do try not to have too many of those--too large of a calorie deficit for too many days can truly put you into starvation mode. Try to keep your net cals to that average of 1200.

Oh, and P.S....I dropped 60 lbs and drank wine almost every night. Calories in, calories out.

Braitwo1

I looked through your last 2 weeks and think you have two problems:
1) as others pointed out is that your alcohol intake it in proportion too high and you might want to cut back on it. Dont fool yourself that the weight you gained is water due to the alcohol. Actually alcohol acts as a diuretic and in fact makes you lose water (the headache of the day after is a dehydration headache).
2) the biggest intake of calories is in the evening, not only because of the drinks, but also the dinners themselves. What you get here is that your body doesnt use the calories anymore and they go straight into storage.

My suggestions are to cut back on the drinks - have some water between the beers to make the thirst go away or only one glass of wine for dinner (and lots of water). Try to get more of the calories in the morning and for lunch and reduce the dinners.

Wish you good luck Dont give up

Braitwo1

oh. and I forgot to say that try not to be too harsh to yourself. your body goes into starvation mode if you take out too much and reduces its needs, but rebounds the moment it thinks its fine again. So keep it more or less constant at not too low levels.

lucentabella

I agree with many of the above suggestions (cut back alcohol, eat light in the evening, it could be water weight). May I also suggest not to focus on the number of pounds lost? Sometimes, we get discouraged when we don't see those numbers go down. Pound for pound, muscle and fat weigh the same. However, muscle is denser than fat. If your neck, waiste, and hip measurements are healthy, You may find, as you are converting the fatty areas in your body to muscular areas, that your weight may fluctuate. Don't let it discourage you. Focus on being healthy, not on what the scale says.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Based strictly on your food diary and looking at intake/macros, I am willing to bet that your gain was caused by water weight (SOME of your loss in that 9lbs was water as well). If (not to get personal) your TOM is around now, this will also typically cause water weight gain.

Ok then so to recap this thread with a visual aid:

LOL I really needed the laugh this morning. Thanks for that.

Sidesteal

Eating late at night will NOT magically cause fat storage if you are still eating at a caloric deficit for the day.

You can't try and look at snapshots of what happens hour to hour without considering the big picture. If you're in a deficit over the course of time then fat oxidation will exceed fat storage and the net effect is fat loss.

In short OP: I would urge you to eat whenever you feel like it PROVIDED THAT (<--- this is key) you can still hit your daily nutritional targets.

shelleycronan

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the advice!