Time for a rant...

tig3rang3l

I've done everything I'm supposed to do. I've cut out fast food, I'm sticking to 1,200 calories a day, I'm eating ALL of my exercise calories and sometimes I even eat a little over 1,200 just for good variety and measure (thought always under 1500). I've been eating cleaner, more veggies, more whole grains, making my dinners from scratch... I started working out 2 weeks ago, and have been going to the gym for AT LEAST an hour 3 days a week. Cardio mostly on the elliptical, but recently some strength training classes and using free weights.

Last Friday, I was 152. Yesterday I was 153. Today I am 156. GAH!

I know, everyone has told me 'be prepared to see plateaus', 'step away from the scale, use a measuring tape instead'... And I know that in the grand scheme of things, 4 pounds is pretty much nothing... And I have lost inches, don't get me wrong... but seeing all my hard work practically reversed on the scale is super depressing all the same :sad:

I'm really hoping this is just some water retention/pre-TOM going on and that things come back down this week... sorry but I had to get the rant out!!!

tig3rang3l

I've done everything I'm supposed to do. I've cut out fast food, I'm sticking to 1,200 calories a day, I'm eating ALL of my exercise calories and sometimes I even eat a little over 1,200 just for good variety and measure (thought always under 1500). I've been eating cleaner, more veggies, more whole grains, making my dinners from scratch... I started working out 2 weeks ago, and have been going to the gym for AT LEAST an hour 3 days a week. Cardio mostly on the elliptical, but recently some strength training classes and using free weights.

Last Friday, I was 152. Yesterday I was 153. Today I am 156. GAH!

I know, everyone has told me 'be prepared to see plateaus', 'step away from the scale, use a measuring tape instead'... And I know that in the grand scheme of things, 4 pounds is pretty much nothing... And I have lost inches, don't get me wrong... but seeing all my hard work practically reversed on the scale is super depressing all the same :sad:

I'm really hoping this is just some water retention/pre-TOM going on and that things come back down this week... sorry but I had to get the rant out!!!

AJCM

A plateau after losing 5 lbs must be frustrating - maybe the calories are too low for you? I ate 1200 calories for the first 3 months (plus exercise cals), lost 20 lbs and then got seriously stuck and couldn't budge any pounds for months. I slowly lost the last 10 lbs.

Is your BMI already under 25? Once I hit a BMI of 23 things got really slow.

Good luck!
:flowerforyou:

Phoenix_Rising

Weigh in once a week.
Looking too often will drive you bonkers.
:flowerforyou:

hiddensecant

You started working out two weeks ago. You might have been activating muscles which will need to store water and glycogen. They're NOT getting bigger or anything but they are getting ready to absorb fat more efficiently. So don't worry about the scale and keep going. You will get smaller even if the scale isn't saying so.

Take photos and measurements; don't weigh in more often than once a week and if you do, don't stress about it. Good things are starting to happen.

heather0mc

good for you for ranting. dont give up! you are doing a fine job. it takes time girl! lucky for us girls (:grumble: ), a million different things can fluxuate the scale. i only weigh in everyday to record the flux's, not to live by them. :flowerforyou:

take a good look at your sodium and water intake. :drinker:

i wouldnt look at this as a plateau after 2 weeks. i would look at it as your body is adjusting. :drinker:

agarlits

If you increased your water intake along with the lifting and dieting you'll probably see a slight increase the first week especially if you werent drinking appropriate amounts before. Water isnt light but its essential if you want to lose that fat, I've heard that you should drink a gallon of water for every pound of fat you burn, if you burn calories without the water to dissolve the fat your body will just break down the muscle in your body instead of the fat. Your also inevitably building muscle if your lifting weights, which will make you weigh more but muscle burns fat so the more the merrier right? I wouldnt worry too much about the initial weight gain, just keep drinking your water and stick with your diet/exercise regimen. Dont expect your dream body to be express delivered though, it'll take time and alot of hard work. But its all worth it in the end

Best of luck.

amymeenieminymo

TOM can definitely have an adverse effect on the scale....but maybe you're actually not eating enough. Perhaps you should be eating a little more (plus exercise calories).....use the non-custom set up on MFP and see how many it says you should be eating, then try that plus the exercise calories. It sounds counter-productive, but there have been lots of people that discover they aren't actually eating enough calories.

tig3rang3l

Thanks guys... I think it's a combination of TOM, working out, and not eating enough... I did as Amy said and set my goals manually.... MFP tells me I'm burning about 1900 calories in a day before exercise (I have a retail job and am on my feet most of the day)... and I was only eating 1,200 plus all my exercise calories. Oops. So I've changed it to 1,400 and we'll see how it goes. I was expecting to plateau, but not go back up!!!

Oh, and I've actually lost about 10 pounds in the last two months, but only 5 since I started MFP.

Iceprincessk25

I'm in the same boat as you! I've lost about 5 pounds and I have about 5 more to go to reach my goal and I've pretty much all but stopped losing weight now.:grumble: :grumble:

I'm on the 1200 cal/day thing and I work out 4/5 days a week burning 500 calories at a time. I usually eat almost all my exercise calories back. The scale hasn't budged in weeks and the measurements aren't all the big either.

Not sure how I should switch it up.:mad: