Keep Gaining the same 2 pounds since christmas...help!

Sagetheplace

So I posted about this a about a month ago. The general opinion was I need to eat more. I have been trying very hard and usually eat around 1800-2400 calories depending on what I burn during a workout. But despite this I still keep gaining and losing the same stupid 2 pounds and its soo frustrating and discouraging!

There are lots of days where I am under my calorie goal but 90% of the days I eat almost all of them and always more the half...plus 300 calories for breastfeeding that I always eat back. My son is 2 and not nursing very often usally only 2-4 times a day...and I will change the nursing calories I eat depending on how much he is nursing but never more then 300.

I just dont know what to do anymore....I have eaten a really low calorie diet without eating back exercise calories, I have eaten back all/most of them. I workout anywhere from 5-7 days a week, mostly cardio, but do do some circuit training videos that include stregth training 1-3 times a week. If I do work out 7 days in a row..the days that would be my rest days i will only do something small and less intense and always cardio.

I measure all my food and weigh all my food, log everything I put into my mouth...even if I know its not healthy like a cookie, or something. I am only 5' 3, and still weigh 206 pounds so I still have lots of weight to lose. My calorie burn should be fairly accurate becuase I use my Polar FT7 hrm. I just dont know what to do anymore...any help, advice or even just encouragment or personal experience would be greatly appreciated...Thanks!

suziecue66

Try just eating max 1800 calories regardless of what you burn and see if there is a loss.

seekingstrengthX2

I am 5'2". I cannot imagine trying to eat 1800-2400 calories, no matter how much I exercised. That's my first thought. Your diary looks good, in that you are pretty much within all of your #'s all of the time. I think it's one of 3 things and unfortunately I don't know which.

1) You are burning a wickedly crazy amount of calories each day. I work my tail off and don't burn that much, so it makes me wonder if that # is accurate. You say you are wearing a monitor so one would think it would be, right? It just seems really high.

2) You are eating quite a lot already, but that's because you are burning 500-700/day, nearly every day. Again, I question the calories burned because some days that's quite a lot of food for such a short person.

3) I'm not sure I would continue crediting the breastfeeding calories at this point if it were me. That probably goes horribly against some sort of professional advice, I'm sure, I just know I never counted that when my son was little. I was probably doing it wrong, lol. But... thing is, that's giving another 300 calories/day on top of the 700 (700 sometimes!) from exercise.

So really, I am confused with you. It seems like you are eating a lot. BUT, if your calorie burn is right, you need to be eating that much. I question the calories burned. MFP has you set at 1310 calories a day and you eat so much more than that, I just can't see losing. KWIM?

I would also advocate at least ONE day of REAL rest (no exercise). Your body needs to be able to recuperate and repair its muscles. Two is ideal, but at least one. I would also suggest real strength training, like one or two days dedicated to that (drop the cardio those days), rather than just whats included in your videos.

I know that doesn't help. I wanted to help, LOL Does that count? Those are my jumbled thoughts. Consider what seems helpful and ignore the rest. :-)

seekingstrengthX2

Try just eating max 1800 calories regardless of what you burn and see if there is a loss.

Or this, LOL! She simplified it. YES, I would never go over 1800 for any reason. Hee.

suziecue66

Try just eating max 1800 calories regardless of what you burn and see if there is a loss.

Or this, LOL! She simplified it. YES, I would never go over 1800 for any reason. Hee.

I am 5ft 2in and the calorie amount looked huge to me too. So that's why said to try 1800 max!

Sagetheplace

Thank you to both of you....everything is helpful at this point. I do like the idea of sticking with one number like 1800 and then not going over it. It is sometimes hard to plan my day not knowing how many cal I will burn with exercise. As for my numbers being high...thats what I keep thinking. But when I posted about a month ago eating about 1200 a day and 300 for breastfeeding I was told I was bouncing between these same 2 pounds becuase I was not eating enough. So I have been working really hard at trying to eat most of calories back...buying things higher in calories to add to my diet and eating more nuts to get quick calories.

Thank you!!!!!

Sagetheplace

As for my exercise cals being high....I have all my stats set right in my HRM. But I do push pretty hard with my avg heart rate usally between 165 - 169 and my max being in the 180s....highest has been 186...and these workouts are things like turbofire, Jillian Michaels BFBM....and usally a little something extra after those videos. Usally totaling anywhere from 45 min to 1.5 hours.

suziecue66

Good luck - hope you start dropping the weight. maybe also try and get that sodium amount down.

seekingstrengthX2

Wow, that's great! Good job on the exercise.

I agree you need more than 1200 with all the exercising you do. But not 2400. Dear Lord, that's a lot, that scares the crud out of me. I would shoot for never going over 1800, no matter how much you exercise, or how much your little one eats. I like that idea.

Sagetheplace

Ok so I just went and looked at my dairy for the past week and a bit and the most I have eaten was a little over 1900 and that was 1 day...all the other days have only been 1800ish with left over workout calories sitting there. So now it kind of confuses me more.

graysmom2005

So I posted about this a about a month ago. The general opinion was I need to eat more. I have been trying very hard and usually eat around 1800-2400 calories depending on what I burn during a workout. But despite this I still keep gaining and losing the same stupid 2 pounds and its soo frustrating and discouraging!

There are lots of days where I am under my calorie goal but 90% of the days I eat almost all of them and always more the half...plus 300 calories for breastfeeding that I always eat back. My son is 2 and not nursing very often usally only 2-4 times a day...and I will change the nursing calories I eat depending on how much he is nursing but never more then 300.

I just dont know what to do anymore....I have eaten a really low calorie diet without eating back exercise calories, I have eaten back all/most of them. I workout anywhere from 5-7 days a week, mostly cardio, but do do some circuit training videos that include stregth training 1-3 times a week. If I do work out 7 days in a row..the days that would be my rest days i will only do something small and less intense and always cardio.

I measure all my food and weigh all my food, log everything I put into my mouth...even if I know its not healthy like a cookie, or something. I am only 5' 3, and still weigh 206 pounds so I still have lots of weight to lose. My calorie burn should be fairly accurate becuase I use my Polar FT7 hrm. I just dont know what to do anymore...any help, advice or even just encouragment or personal experience would be greatly appreciated...Thanks!

Oh my gosh. Have you seen my posts? This was ME. Same post. Many times.
I finally decided to get some metabolic testing down at my gym. I found out that my RMR was 1607 instead of 1440 as said by MFP. Anyway....I'm a group exercise instructor, so I workout all the darn time. Many days I'd burn over 1000 calories per my HRM so it was accurate. I did what you did, and tried to eat most of my calories back, which ended up being around 2100-2500 a day. I would either gain or not lose a pound. I was beyond frustrated. I then sat down with the dietician/PT that did my tests. He said on rest days, no more than 1700, regular workout days (one class)1900, and on BIG workout days (more than one class) do no more than 2200. At first I thought that was a big restriction. We are supposed to NET 1200 RIGHT??? Well if you take your RMR and then multiply it by your activity level and subtract the 500 deficit...guess what. 2200 was my max. 1607X1.725 is 2700.
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
Use that website.
I'm not worrying about net calories. Just hitting those goals. Upped my protein a lot. and the scale started finally moving. Give it a shot! :-) PM me if you have any questions!

graysmom2005

Also...and I know some people are going to poo poo this...but because my heart rate is up so high because I'm working out so HARD when I do, most of the time I was just burning carbs. My trainer also had me doing workouts where my heart rate is between 137-147bpm. When they did my exercise test, I burned 77% fat when in that zone. I know people debate it....and he didn't say to STOP the hardcore stuff....but to add this on. But the truth was, I was killing it every day at the gym with massive burns, and no loss....so who knows! Maybe some SOME this thinking works. I'm trying it for a while at least to see. Maybe try a few less intense exercises.

hugsmindy

So I'm having the same issue....waffling within a 3-4 lb range even though I'm eating within my calories and working out. It is extremely frustrating to me. Would love any advice as well.

I just looked at the website mentioned in the post above (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/) above and entered my stats:
Entered information: 42 year old female, 67 inches tall, weighing 173.5 pounds.
From the information that you entered, you'd like to weigh 145 lbs.

It came up with what seems like an OUTRAGEOUS calorie chart.....

Activity Level --- Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) --- 1684
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) ---1929
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) --- 2175
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) --- 2420
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) -- 2666

I'm a graphics designer, so I'm at a desk all day, but I do workout every weekday at lunch time...minium 40 minutes of cardio +.

Thoughts anyone???

jenielee

Bumping this to read after work. I'm having the exact same problem.

graysmom2005

That's how much you'd eat to MAINTAIN. You subtract 500 calories to lose a pound a week, or 250 for a half pound. So if you are moderately active you'd eat 1675 a day. :-)

ladyraven68

Ok so I just went and looked at my dairy for the past week and a bit and the most I have eaten was a little over 1900 and that was 1 day...all the other days have only been 1800ish with left over workout calories sitting there. So now it kind of confuses me more.

According to your diary you are stil netting under 1000 calories. I assume this is caused by the deduction of the breastfeeding calories, but even if you added them back in, you are still netting very low.

i.e Tuesday - you ate 1646, deduct 300 for breastfeeding and 659 exercise burn, and that leaves you with a net of 746. Even if you don't deduct the breastfeeding calories your net would have still been around 1000.

If your excercise burn is correct you still appear to be undereating.

Research your TDEE and deduct 15-20% rather than the standard 500.

Try these 2 sites - http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

Good Luck

Emmea2729

keep a closer eye on your sat fat and sugar intake.

gsager

You're probably on to something with the breastfeeding calories...maybe stop logging them at all for a couple of weeks and see what happens, I be you start losing again. Good Luck, keep up the good work.

ladyraven68

That's how much you'd eat to MAINTAIN. You subtract 500 calories to lose a pound a week, or 250 for a half pound. So if you are moderately active you'd eat 1675 a day. :-)

No that is not how fat2fit works - it gives you the maintenance calories for the goal weight , not your current weight.

"we advocate eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels you see in the chart are not extreme, but they do create that all important caloric deficit that is required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you will continue eating the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight. You'll never be on a diet again.

Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person."

If you want to know the maintenace for your current weight you enter your current weight as your goal.

meli_medina

I am of the honest opinion that people who are active, no matter their height, should eat enough to sustain their bodies.

Do you want my advice? I would cut your cardio in 1/2. Instead of 5-7 days per week, do it for no more than 3. Your body is probably overworked.

* Is your menstrual cycle regular? (I know with nursing it can sometimes throw it off, but if your child is 2 then it should have started regulating when he dropped to 2-4 nursing sessions per day.)
* You aren't losing weight no matter how little or much you eat.
* You are doing more than 30 minutes of cardio per session.

Two of three of those symptoms are what lead me to believe the overworking part.

I am just offering this from my own personal experience. Your mileage may vary, of course. We are all different and different things work from everyone. But I can tell you that I was running 3-8 miles, 4-5 times per week (so 30-80 minutes of running per session), usually more than 4 miles (so more than 45 minutes). I kept upping my calories to compensate the extra burns, but stopped losing weight around November-December at a steady rate. In January, I cut running pretty much altogether. Cardio is 20 minutes, twice per week, on an elliptical and I strength train with heavy weights, low rep, for about 35 minutes twice per week after the cardio warm up.

When I switched to this, my menstrual cycle had gone all whacky, from 28-30 days to 21-24 days. I was eating 1900-2500 calories per day, depending on my workouts. Now I'm eating 2100-2400 per day and I am at my lowest weight since 2007, without struggling to get there. In fact, I have stopped trying to lose weight and am focusing on building more lean body mass.

So, my suggestion to you is this:

* Take a week off. This is good for the body and you might see a change if you do.
* Cut the cardio to no more than 2 hours TOTAL per week.
* Add in a high weight, low rep strength training routine 2-3 times per week.
* Eat maintenance calories for 4-6 weeks and then eat at a deficit of no more than 300 calories per day.

It may work. It may not. Good luck!

jcpmoore

I can totally sympathize with this issue. I was in the same boat when I was nursing my son. I have been building a theory myself. It's not vetted and is only based on what I've observed of myself, so take for what it is and isn't worth. I honestly believe the body needs at least one full day of rest to actually shed the pounds. Just my own theory, mind. Give yourself a day of rest.

Secondly, nursing is not always a time of weight loss for all of us. I hated that fact. Every woman around me was all "I'm nursing a losing tons of weight!" I gained when I was nursing. I could not lose weight while nursing if my life or my son's had depended upon it. So, you might just need to be okay with maintaining until you are finished nursing. Some of us just cannot maintain milk supply and lose weight at the same time. I hate to say it, but that was my experience.

Third, if you have access to dietitian, I highly recommend seeing one. This could really help with resolving the confusion around how much you really do or don't need to eat. When it comes to the nursing, I think it's worth involving a professional if you can.

Sagetheplace

Wow thanks for all the advice and reply's! There are so many different opions and numbers its all so confusing! The first 60 pounds seemed so easy!

OK so...first the breastfeeding calories show up in my diary as a food and subtract from what I have eaten. So on days my diary said I ate 1600, I actually ate 1900 because it subtracts 300 for breastfeeding. However I rarely ever eat back all of my exercise calories...and most days I have at least 300 left over at the end of the day...so that would work out the same as not eating those calories, so I could try not logging them and see how things go...I just cant wait for my son to wean at this point so there will be 1 less thing to worry about in this equation...its been over 3 years between pregnancy and nursing since Ive gotten to have my body back and Im ready.

I have considered that maybe I am doing too much working out and not enough resting. Also have considered maybe trying less intense forms of exercise to keep my hr in the fat burning zone and give my body a little bit of rest. However I have not fully commited to trying any of those things out. I always say I am going to but then get worried about not burning enough calories and end up working out when I wasnt planning on it....so I will be really low on calories that day becuase I eat for a non workout day...then the next day I feel exhausted and so low energy....its like a cycle I cant break out of! It just seems odd to me that working out could be hurting my health/weightloss if that makes sense?

So much to think about...and I really do appreciate all the advice and support!

seekingstrengthX2

I have considered that maybe I am doing too much working out and not enough resting. Also have considered maybe trying less intense forms of exercise to keep my hr in the fat burning zone and give my body a little bit of rest. However I have not fully commited to trying any of those things out. I always say I am going to but then get worried about not burning enough calories and end up working out when I wasnt planning on it....so I will be really low on calories that day becuase I eat for a non workout day...then the next day I feel exhausted and so low energy....its like a cycle I cant break out of! It just seems odd to me that working out could be hurting my health/weightloss if that makes sense?

It's enough to make your scream, isn't it?
Hahahha.... laughing WITH you (hopefully you can laugh about it). It's trial and error once you hit a plateu. Gotta find what works! And yes, TOO much exercise CAN be detrimental.

Sabresgal63

keep a closer eye on your sat fat and sugar intake.

salt too.............this is where I have a problem

amyy902

wait untill you have finished breast feeding, cut back your calories and increase exercise. if this dosnt work SEE YOUR DR, because you could have a metabolic issue. i have a client in a similar position to you. i have reffered her to a GP. and its come back she has a metabolic condition. so if it really is a struggle get MEDICAL help. because your health is number one priority!!

Sagetheplace

To be honest I stopped monitoring my sugar and fat becuase I almost always go over. However most of my sugar is fruit...I now love fruit...it use to be chocolate bars so it could be worse. And since I have been trying to increase my calories I eat nuts which always puts me over on my fat. I thought since most of the fat and sugar was natural that it would be Ok though....especially since how I was eating before was so so soo much worse!

I have thought that maybe my body dosnt want to get rid of anything else while I am still nursing and maybe thats what the problem is...I dont know...maybe my BMR is lower then I think so I am burning less calories daily and need to eat less....or maybe I am burning more then I think...lol and yes it is enough to make you want to scream!!!!! lol

Also I have been between 4 and 6 pounds of finally making it into the 100's for the first time since I got pregnant with my first son when I was only 15...and I want to be there so bad....its been 2 months stuck only 4-6pounds away...ive worked hard and been patient...I want this soo bad!!!

BaconMD

I remember when I was JUST over 300lbs, I cared so much about breaking that barrier. I was stuck there for weeks. I finally just let go and stopped wanting it so bad, and presto.. I went under 300. Coincidence, most likely, but still. Try not to worry about it. Just do what you do, and let it surprise you when it happens.

meli_medina

I have considered that maybe I am doing too much working out and not enough resting. Also have considered maybe trying less intense forms of exercise to keep my hr in the fat burning zone and give my body a little bit of rest. However I have not fully commited to trying any of those things out. I always say I am going to but then get worried about not burning enough calories and end up working out when I wasnt planning on it....so I will be really low on calories that day becuase I eat for a non workout day...then the next day I feel exhausted and so low energy....its like a cycle I cant break out of! It just seems odd to me that working out could be hurting my health/weightloss if that makes sense?

This thinking is SO bad for you. Exercise should be because you want to be fit and have muscles, not because you want to burn more calories. The calorie burn is a bonus to exercise. It should never be the reason you do it. When you talk about it like you do, it makes me think of exercise bulimia, which is a serious issue to develop and happens to a lot of people who are on a weight loss journey.

I have taken a week off here or two weeks off there and it has done nothing but been BENEFICIAL. It allows my muscles to get rest. It allows me to recharge mentally and physically. It allows me to remember that I have other things I love to do besides work out, because when I am in the workout zone, I tend to focus only on that.

Again, I am talking from personal experience. I am not an expert. But I really do think that you should give yourself a break and let your body adjust to the SIXTY POUNDS its already lost (which is amazing and you should feel GREAT about). Let your metabolism pick back up by not eating at a deficit. Let your body rest for a week and spend some time with your son doing fun play instead of exercise. It's still a workout, it's just more fun and less sweaty!

Also, in regards to sugar, fat, etc. If you are eating a minimum of 1g of protein per pound of LBM (you can approximate BFP on various websites using measurements. It's proven to be about as accurate as the calculator at the gym, so a 3-5% margin of error), and 1g of fat per 2 pounds of body weight, the rest is gravy. Keep your sodium below ~1,800-2,000mg and eat the rest of your calories in ice cream if you feel like it.

Again, personally, I am more successful when I limit nothing but strive to hit macros instead of trying to eliminate things from my diet (I eat pretty healthy, but I have a sweet tooth and so I like to work something sweet into my day most everyday).

Good luck!

Sagetheplace

I have tried really hard not to focus on crossing from 200 to 199...but after 2 months of the scale not moving, it seems I want it more and more the longer I have to wait lol,

I have recognized that way of thinking cant be healthy....burn more calories and being obsessed with them. I keep catching myself and then trying to cut down on it. So from burning 1000+ calories a day in about 2 hours...to this week I aimed for around 600 in about an hour. But for 1 I now enjoy working out and pushing myself...never thought I would be that person! Then I think I am afraid to take a break in fear of returning to my old ways and losing all the progress I have made. So I do try to correct this way of thinking by working out less...and sometimes I like to not log a day so I dont obsess over the numbers but I have gotten really good at keeping a number count of calories of the foods Im eating in my head...its probly not as accurate but its pretty close.

meli_medina

If nothing else, I would eat at maintenance for a month. I can understand not wanting to take a break (I just hope you're never forced to through injury because of overdoing it), but I'm glad you're cutting back because it is one thing to love to exercise and another to exercise obsessively.