What's a girl to do?

KathleenPub

So when I originally joined MFP I was staying at my 1200 calorie limit and wasn't eating back my excercise calories. I was losing pretty good and then plateaud (sp??) for a while and started to zig zag on calories. I found that this was the best for me to lose weight and it kicked started everything again. Now I am on my last ten lbs or so and was losing about .5lb or 1lb a week and seeing a real difference in my size but over the last week or two I have been feeling like crap. I was getting really light headed, fatigue and dizzy spells and a lot of the time feel like I am "coming down with something". I noticed that when this was happening that eating made me feel better. Soooo, I started to eat back my excercise calories. The dizzy spells and light headedness has stopped and I feel better in general BUT I have stopped losing and have actually gained a lb. I have been staying at or just under my goal (including excercise calories). Any advice on what to do so that I can lose weight AND not feel like I'm starving/about to pass out??
Ps. I am going to the doctor next week to check iron and such just to make sure, but till then....

fatboypup

I'd almost bet money you where dehydrated

So when I originally joined MFP I was staying at my 1200 calorie limit and wasn't eating back my excercise calories. I was losing pretty good and then plateaud (sp??) for a while and started to zig zag on calories. I found that this was the best for me to lose weight and it kicked started everything again. Now I am on my last ten lbs or so and was losing about .5lb or 1lb a week and seeing a real difference in my size but over the last week or two I have been feeling like crap. I was getting really light headed, fatigue and dizzy spells and a lot of the time feel like I am "coming down with something". I noticed that when this was happening that eating made me feel better. Soooo, I started to eat back my excercise calories. The dizzy spells and light headedness has stopped and I feel better in general BUT I have stopped losing and have actually gained a lb. I have been staying at or just under my goal (including excercise calories). Any advice on what to do so that I can lose weight AND not feel like I'm starving/about to pass out??
Ps. I am going to the doctor next week to check iron and such just to make sure, but till then....

lovelyrose11

I agree you should go see your dr...are you on a special diet other than watching your calories? Like, maybe a low-carb diet? The reason I ask is b/c when I don't eat enough carbs I feel really crappy.

lovelyrose11

agreed...check your water intake.

KathleenPub

I don't think so, I drink A LOT of water. Probably about 15 cups a day, at least. And it was an all day type of thing, just a little worse after work outs.

And no special diet and lots of carbs lol, plus I upped my protein.

Melissa_DLC

I am going through the exact same thing! Its frustrating because I still exercise the same amount but Im not losing ANYTHING! I am half way to my goal so far I have lost 47lbs but now its like 2-3 lbs a month instead of 5-8 lbs a month like in the beginning. I find that I also have to eat some carbs in order to have energy to workout so I can't really cut those out. UGH! Maybe switching up workout routines? I have only been doing zumba so maybe if I try a different exercise that might trick my body to working out differently and lose more??? Well good luck and let us know if you find something that works!

Brandongood

Im there too. I am close to my maintenance weight so the body is more stubborn to hold on to the last bit of fat it seems. I am going to try and switch to a 250 cal deficit instead of a 500 cal deficit and see what that does for me. Try that see what happens

qtiekiki

I am so glad that you are eating more and not starving yourself. I think it's time to stop focusing on the scale and concentrate on how you look and feel. What type of exercises are you doing? I would add strength training, if you are not doing any, and maybe try something new if you've been doing the same thing for a while.

3laine75

i'd keep going with the excercise calories - it might take a few weeks for your body to catch up after being on low calories for so long. I know it sounds daft but check your sodium intake. if you're low on salt your blood pressure will be low - this can cause faintness.

3laine75

just noticed your response about water - try cutting back to 8-10 glasses as you will be flushing out sugar/salt.

lmalaschak

Um....are you possibly pregnant? I'm not trying to start anything here, but those symptoms sound rather familiar.

psuLemon

First, you need to eat more (which I think you learned). Second, set your goal to .5lb per week and eat back 50-75% of your exercise calories. Next, you gained water weight which is very common for those under eating. To gain a lb of fat you would need to eat 3500 calories more than you expend (which is very very unlikely). Second, you should be careful with eating below your BMR as doing this will slow your metabolism.

KathleenPub

My workouts are :
Mon, wed, fri. : Jillian Micheals Ripped in 30 (still on level one) and 30 minute program on the elliptical.
Tues and thursday: 30 minutes elliptical and yoga.
Weekends usually either elliptical or a walk, sometimes yoga.
I also throw in Jillian Michelas Yoga Meltdown sometimes too.

I tend to drink water when I am thirsty and it just ends up being alot lol.

I really shouldn't be pregnant (although thats the first thing that comes to mind too since I have four kids lol) since I had my tubes tied last year.

It's always so tempting to starve lol, but from experience, it never lasts and then Im worse off than when I started.

Thanks for replying everyone!

WilliamsPeggy

Um....are you possibly pregnant? I'm not trying to start anything here, but those symptoms sound rather familiar.

That's what I was thinking...then read that your tubes are tied. I hope the doc has an answer for you & an easy solution.

KathleenPub

This sounds good and is kind of what I was thinking, but it's reassuring to hear from someone else.

3laine75

you also may have built muscle? try measuring instead of weighing.

psuLemon

you also may have built muscle? try measuring instead of weighing.

You can't build muscle on a large calorie deficit. Your body needs fuel in order for you to gain lean muscle mass.

qtiekiki

I would add some strength training. You might just need time for your body to adjust to the high calories before losing weight again.

KathleenPub

I would add some strength training. You might just need time for your body to adjust to the high calories before losing weight again.

Define strength training? Isn't Jillian Micheals strength training? I don't have time to go to a gym so it has to be something I can do at home

psuLemon

I would add some strength training. You might just need time for your body to adjust to the high calories before losing weight again.

Define strength training? Isn't Jillian Micheals strength training? I don't have time to go to a gym so it has to be something I can do at home

It's not bad of a program and it does have strength training. In my opinion there are better programs but they are a bit more extreme (P90X2, P90X, Chalean extreme, insanity). But when you do JM, make sure you use heavy weights. The more the better.

KathleenPub

I would add some strength training. You might just need time for your body to adjust to the high calories before losing weight again.

Define strength training? Isn't Jillian Micheals strength training? I don't have time to go to a gym so it has to be something I can do at home

It's not bad of a program and it does have strength training. In my opinion there are better programs but they are a bit more extreme (P90X2, P90X, Chalean extreme, insanity). But when you do JM, make sure you use heavy weights. The more the better.

Those programs scare me lol, I keep thinking I want to try them someday but like I said...I'm a little frightened lol. I still get really sore from JM videos.

psuLemon

I would add some strength training. You might just need time for your body to adjust to the high calories before losing weight again.

Define strength training? Isn't Jillian Micheals strength training? I don't have time to go to a gym so it has to be something I can do at home

It's not bad of a program and it does have strength training. In my opinion there are better programs but they are a bit more extreme (P90X2, P90X, Chalean extreme, insanity). But when you do JM, make sure you use heavy weights. The more the better.

Those programs scare me lol, I keep thinking I want to try them someday but like I said...I'm a little frightened lol. I still get really sore from JM videos.

Soreness is good. I would recommend starting with Chalean extreme as it's a bit more low key but still works your butt off. Even as I guy I was struggling some days but I lost 3% body fat (15% down to 12%) with an ok diet.

MoooveOverFluffy

i didnt read all the comments, so sorry if this is a repeat, but i be you were dehydrated!! When i get dehydrated, it makes me feel dizzy AND lightheaded. Try to up your water intake for the next day or two and see how you feel. It's easy to rule out because you can rehydrate in a matter of hours/days instead of playing around with calorie intake (trying to find what works) because that can take weeks. Try that and change nothing else..............

KathleenPub

I would add some strength training. You might just need time for your body to adjust to the high calories before losing weight again.

Define strength training? Isn't Jillian Micheals strength training? I don't have time to go to a gym so it has to be something I can do at home

It's not bad of a program and it does have strength training. In my opinion there are better programs but they are a bit more extreme (P90X2, P90X, Chalean extreme, insanity). But when you do JM, make sure you use heavy weights. The more the better.

Those programs scare me lol, I keep thinking I want to try them someday but like I said...I'm a little frightened lol. I still get really sore from JM videos.

Soreness is good. I would recommend starting with Chalean extreme as it's a bit more low key but still works your butt off. Even as I guy I was struggling some days but I lost 3% body fat (15% down to 12%) with an ok diet.

I'll have to look at that one when I'm done the Ripped video THanks for all the help!

qtiekiki

JM does have strength training. I just meant to say more, like I would do less time on the elliptical and more strength exercises or do HIIT on the elliptical, or use heavier weights. I think your exercise program is fine. I was just making suggestions because you want to gt out of the plateau.

ETA: I don't go to the gym either. I have two kids. I work out at home, and only 12-30 min on most days. I only exercise more than that when I want to eat more.

georgina1970

Woah, too much water! Unless of course your working hard out exercising for several hours. This amount of water can deplete your sodium (salt) levels in you body and can be dangerous for health/heart.

KathleenPub

I didn't think you could drink too much water? I drink about 8 glasses of water a day (probably about 12oz each) and about two coffees and on average 1-4 green or herbal teas....I'm a thirsty gal lol.

KathleenPub

JM does have strength training. I just meant to say more, like I would do less time on the elliptical and more strength exercises or do HIIT on the elliptical, or use heavier weights. I think your exercise program is fine. I was just making suggestions because you want to gt out of the plateau.

ETA: I don't go to the gym either. I have two kids. I work out at home, and only 12-30 min on most days. I only exercise more than that when I want to eat more.

Sorry, I re-read my response and it read kind of snippy lol, I didn't mean it like that, it was a genuine question. I wasn't sure if you meant lifting weights or something like that as opposed to pushups and such. I was doing mostly that kind of stuff (i was doing JM yoga meltdown five or six days a week) and almost no cardio but wasn't losing so I added the cardio to burn the fat. I have great muscle tone, just need to lose the pudge over it lol, I want everything to shriiiinnnnkkkk :P
Right now I logically think "eat more" because I'm hungry like every hour (the tummy grumbling kind) but it just feels like A LOT of food in the run of a day :S so of course, I work out more to make me feel better about eating more which just makes me hungry again...what a vicious cycle :P

Balice57

Okay, everyone may disagree with me, but it seems to me that you are exercising every day and that is alot. Your body needs to rest and regenerate. I suspect with four kids you are also running around alot, so probably are not eating enough to fuel all of that activity. I was actually surprised to figure out that I had been eating too little, and that was why I wasn't losing weight. That always seems counter-productive.

qtiekiki

I didn't think your comment was snippy. Ok, I didn't know your back exercise history. In this case, I think it's just a matter of keep doing what you are doing, and eat when you feel hungry and don't feel guilty. The log is a tool to help you, but you should still listen to your body. The weight will come off.

flsl

Well done on getting this far. Esp if your hands are as full as they seem!

Have you tried making changes to your diet, week by week, maybe you are food intolerant to something?

I found cutting carbs and replacing with smaller amount of protein seems to keep me full, while losing a bit.

i.e cutting out bread, trying a salad with 50g of chicken. Or heated fish with salad. Or chickpea salad with greens tomatoes and red peppers. Or eggs in morning, instead of cereal?

Am sure you ll find your way.