I gained it all back

ajarmstrong92

Last week I set up a very good meal plan, eating small healthy meals 5 times a day, I had a good workout schedule and lost 8 pounds that week. But the problem is, I never felt full. I was always hungry, which lead to me eating huge unhealthy meals all weekend. I gained all the weight back and now I'm really upset. What do I do?

liftandcycle

how many cals were you eating before?

ajarmstrong92

I was eating about 1000 calories a day. All fruits and vegetables and chicken

susannamarie

Pick a more realistic goal (-8 lbs/week is not realistic!) and the calorie count that'll let you achieve that goal. Your profile ticker says that you have 19 lbs to lose. With that low, I would go for half a pound per week. Enter your weight, and -.5 lb/week, and eat what it tells you.

You'll get there -- you really will. But there isn't a 'quick fix', and the less weight you have to lose, the less likely there is to be a quick fix.

The 8 lbs that disappeared on the scale was almost certainly all water/scale variation.

ajarmstrong92

Do you have any advice on how to feel more full after eating? If I felt full I wouldn't have cravings like I do. I tried drinking lots of water but it just doesn't do it.

liftandcycle

well first of all.. DO NOT eat 1000 cals a day... that's why you were hungry all the time... i eat 1400-1500 cals a day and have lost 12 lb thus far... you can add me and look at my diary, you can get an idea of what my diet looks like, I use to think I HAD to eat 1000 cals to lose weight yet, the second I started eating a little bit more cals I gained it all back... I eat chicken and protein bars and keep my carbs under control, I like to play around with my carbs, one week I'll eat a bit more carbs and the next I'll eat a little less, never cut them out completelly, I love my diet, Im never hungry, alot of people eat 1500-2000+ cals and lose weight, its not healthy to be eating 1000 cals and lets be honest you wont be able to eat 1000 cals for the rest of your life, look for a lifestyle change... adding your cals might make you gain at first but don't freak out b/c after a week you'll start losing, and you'll love your diet in the process... are you excersising?

liftandcycle

The 8 lbs that disappeared on the scale was almost certainly all water/scale variation.

^^^ this..

fteale

It's only a week. A week is nothing. Start again, making sure you are eating enough that you don't get the urge to binge.

ajarmstrong92

Yes I am, I run 3 miles a day along with weight training and an ab video. I usually eat a whey protein shake for breakfast, 2 cutie oranges for a mid morning snack, a bag of steamers veggies for lunch, a banana for a snack and a healthy choice tv dinner for supper.

Yanicka1

first eat more then that good god!!! Second eat a good amount of protein it will keep you full. Finally, what you lost is water weight....if you do it the right way, you will lose fat, not feel hungry and not gain it all back in a few days

liftandcycle

you were running lifting weights, a vid and eating 1000 cals.. thats just crazy... just forget about that week and start again.. this time make sure you eat more and have protein in every meal if you can, it will keep you full for longer.. good luck!

LorinaLynn

What everyone said. Eat more, way more! Set your weight loss goal to a half pound a week, take a whole bunch of photos from every angle in a bikini or your underwear for yourself, take measurements, and eat most of your exercise calories. Aim to go over your protein goal on here. It's too low.

Take photos again in a few weeks and compare them. With as little as you want to lose, you'll probably reach your goal body LONG before you reach your goal weight... IF you do it right and don't try to starve yourself skinny.

Troyeee

The best advice I've gotten, and it's either from Dr. H, (The Biggest Loser) or Dr. Oz, is to eat slowly. It takes about 20 minutes for our bodies to recognize that we are eating and to release the hormones and chemicals that make us feel full and satisfied. So, when I can, I try to break my meal into two pieces. Eat the first half, and then wait about 15 minutes and eat the other half. Also, I will eat in front of the computer and read while I'm eating, which slows me down quite a bit. Often times I find that I get so distracted that my meal had gotten cold and I don't finish it. Also, add some extra fiber and have a large glass of water with your meal. Benefiber is nice because you can sprinkle it directly on your food and it doesn't really have a flavor and kind of just dissolves. Hope this helps.
Troy

tortoise73

My layperson opinion is similar to the others: EAT, woman! :laugh: Your sample menu was not only short on calories, but fat and protein as well, which help you feel full.

I know it's counterintuitive to eat MORE when you aren't losing weight, but your body will slow down the weight loss if you don't feed it enough, and you will GAIN WEIGHT! This is an amazing function of our bodies and is exactly why people in famine conditions can survive without eating for weeks and sometimes even months on end: their bodies, sensing the lack of food, slow metabolism to conserve resources.

BaconMD

Where do people get the 1000-calorie figure from?????

Pugluvr1

I agree with what everyone else is telling you. I don't think what you ate that first week and the exercise you were doing is a wise lifestyle choice. You need to balance everything out better. Think about what you can continue easily and then eat a little less and move a little more.

secretgirl4611

Um I am literally having the same problem!!! I started working out 2months ago and my starting weight was 140 then I lost 5lbs then I gained it all back now im 140 again!!! But I do admit I tried sticking to Special K challenge of 1.400 cals a day and I still felt very hungry as most my meals were just a breakfast than just 1 meal bar for lunch and snacks till dinner time which was a real meal with real food. So by the time my diet cheat comes on the wkend I def. over do it and splurge everytime it hasnt failed. today is sunday and I regret to say yeaup it hasnt failed me! I have already had a bad breakfast of: 1bowl of cocoa pebbles (bad cereal) then 6 ritz crackers with nutella(chocolate crave got me today) then I had 1egg with a small sausage link. For a snack I had: A fruit and protein soy shake. THEN YEAUP THE REALLY BAD PART. I just finished a 3oz. bag of hot cheetos 2morrow its back on my diet for sure. and I know now not to let myself have ANY diet cheat days cuz I cant handle them. and yea But I dont want to feel like im starving. this blows!

mimstero

Absolutely eat more!!! You simply can't survive on that amount of calories, and it's definitely not good for your body. I was eating 1200 net calories after reaching my goal weight and put on five pounds. I met with a nutritionist who told me to eat a net 1600 calories and it's coming off again. Please...listen to all of these people.

jadedone

It doesn't sound like you are eating enough. And losing weight slowly increases the odds of it staying off.

For the record, I eat 1500-1800 calories daily depending on how much I exercise. And I have a slower metabolism. I am down ~24 pounds since the first of the year (give or take a few days)

RynoSada15

You need to consume more calories, especially if you're exercising. However, drinking lots and lots of water will also help you to feel full - drink lots during meals and snacks, and in between. Having tea is also a way to help curb hunger and cravings between meals, and herbal teas are nice and can also be good for you.

cannmac

probably not eating enough and your body will hold it. I eat breakfast ,lunch,snack,dinner and sometimes dessert. I try to keep around 1100-1200 cal. I don't withhold foods(love sweets) but I limit them so then I don't crave. 1-2 lbs a week is normal so don't stress too much. Stay strong,you can do it!

KilikiMom

1000 calories isn't even enough food to support you throughout the day WITHOUT exercise!!!!! that is setting yourself up for failure eating that little....you NEED at least 1500 for your body to function....i eat between 1500-1800 every day....on the days i do not exercise i keep it close to the 1500....and eat more when i do exercise....i have so far lost 11.5lbs....you can't expect to starve yourself and your body cooperate...cause that is what you are doing to your body right now STARVING it....of course its going to retaliate and hang on to every single calorie you put in it even with exercise

tljones63

Keep trying and remember your value is more then the number on the scale. I know that sounds cheeseze, but it is true. Im 48 , my kids are grown .I use to look great when i was young now not so such. Been married almost 30 yrs. and would like to look good again.
But heathy too !!!
Its ok to be mad , just start again. i was having trouble getting myself to excerise. This week i got myself to WALK. I would love to friend you. Help support, and someone to conplain too !! LOL

from Kansas'
tammy
( you can do this!)

kespangler

Try 3 meals with 2 snacks in between. Snacks high in fiber and protein will fill you for longer. Also remember that it takes 20 minutes for your brain to know your stomach is satiated.

RynoSada15

I know now not to let myself have ANY diet cheat days cuz I cant handle them.
Maybe instead of a cheat day have a cheat meal? So still be really good all day but whatever meal you choose have something you really want...that way if it's just one meal maybe it won't be such calorie overload the way it would if you felt you could cheat and eat whatever you wanted the whole day.
I know it's so hard...you're right, losing weight blows lol!!! But we just need to remember what we're working towards and how good we feel when are on track...

bzinke

You need to remember...if you are exercising and eating only 1000 cals then you were way in the hole for calorie intake. If you continue that way you are going to be very run down and then workouts are going to be next to impossible. Eat things high in protein for the full feeling and the energy you need. I love greek yogurt...that usually has 12+ grams of protein. I usually don't worry about the number of calories...I just try to limit the sugar and saturated fat. Don't get discouraged.

tataliciousd89

You need to eat more and eat a buttload of protein, that is how I keep from getting hungry. I'm never hungry anymore and I used to be hungry all the time. I literally have to remind myself to eat even on days that I work out super hard. I don't take cheat days either because I crave crap the next day and even tho I don't give in anymore it is annoying. Little treats here and there while staying within calorie budget is the way I go about it. It ain't a race, just go slow and it will be more likely to be a lasting change.

delilah47

Yep, water weight for most of it. Maybe you lost 1-2 pounds which you can easily gain back on a week-end binge.

dakitten2

Eating 1000 calories a day will set you up for failure unless that is the amount set by a physician and that is their recommendation. For me personally I see my doctor and nutritionist once a month and have since I started in October 2011. I started with 1500 calories and a low exercise rate due to double knee replacements. In January they decreased my calorie intake to 1300 calories. Take a peek at people's diaries to see what they are eating and how much. When I first started I ate 5--6 small meals trying to keep me eating about every 2 hours. I gradually went to 3 meals but still do snacks in between. Protein is a must. That's what fuels your body and keeps it running. I started out using Healthy Choice dinners because I hadnt shifted from my old southern ways of cooking to the healthy way I cook now. I still keep them in case of emergency but cant remember the last time I had one.

Also since you are exercising you really need to reassess your caloric needs. Did you run your numbers the the MFP calculator to see what your calorie goal should be? Or did you just randomly pick 1000 to lose weight quickly? Quick weight losses results in a lower metabolism which then causes you to gain back the weight you lost, plus more in most cases. Believe me, I have been there and done that.

Read some of the success stories in the forum and you'll see how people have achieved their goals. I've seen losses of over 300 pounds. And no it doesnt happen over night but then again we didnt get this way overnight either.

Good luck in your journey but please reconsider doing the 1000 calorie thing. You'll find a few on here trying it that way but it's not the healthiest choice. You have to ask yourself if what you are doing is something you can sustain for the rest of your life. And have others have said, drink a lot of water. It does get easier and becomes like second nature.

menagerie4

IF the 8 lbs you lost was pure fat (which it almost certainly was not), that means you had a deficit of 3,500 cal/lb * 8 lbs = 28,000 calories over the 7 days which comes to a calorie deficit of 4,000 calories a day. Your BMR is probably less than 2000. To have a net deficit of 4,000 calories a day, you'd have to be exercising enough to burn an additional 3,000 calories. If you are logging your exercise... you'll know that's an unreasonable/impossible amount of exercise. These numbers are just to try to convince you that what others have said is correct - you lost mostly water weight. I agree with others that are advising to eat more. I shoot for a net deficit of ~300 cals/day (1700 cals/day) and eat back most (if not all) of my exercise cals. I also agree with those who said to increase your protein intake - i think you'll find you are satisfied longer. It's frustrating, but true weight loss really is a marathon... not a sprint.

michelledusik

IF the 8 lbs you lost was pure fat (which it almost certainly was not), that means you had a deficit of 3,500 cal/lb * 8 lbs = 28,000 calories over the 5 days which comes to a calorie deficit of 5,600 calories a day. Your BMR is probably less than 2000. To have a net deficit of 5,600 calories a day, you'd have to be exercising enough to burn an additional 4,600 calories. If you are logging your exercise... you'll know that's an unreasonable/impossible amount of exercise. These numbers are just to try to convince you that what others have said is correct - you lost mostly water weight. I agree with others that are advising to eat more. I shoot for a net deficit of ~300 cals/day (1700 cals/day) and eat back most (if not all) of my exercise cals. I also agree with those who said to increase your protein intake - i think you'll find you are satisfied longer. It's frustrating, but true weight loss really is a marathon... not a sprint.

My thoughts EXACTLY!! More protein! And losing weight is definitely a marathon!!!! Have patience,YOU CAN DO THIS!!