AAAHHHH! Sooooo frustrated... and sad... help... :(

acrego

My food diary is public, so anyone who cares to can take a look... but I will start by saying, although I have been under my 1200 daily calories for about a week, not by too much, I seriously, seriously think 1200 is too damn many calories for ME. I am just built small. My upper torso NEVER gains weight. Everything above my belly button basically stays the same, tiny boobs, tiny ribcage, but I PACK on the blubber below the belly button.
I am also careful about the quality of the food I eat. I avoid processed food, white flour, white rice, cookies etc... I eat fruit, veggies, whole grains, and low fat protein. The fattiest thing I eat is eggs over easy, cooked with a squirt of pam & dry toast. I have even cut back on that, used to be every day, but I replaced that breakfast with oatmeal & protein.
PLUS I have given up my most treasured vice, wine. I have had NO wine for over a week, and I don't plan on having any until I see some results!!
I also have been hitting the treadmill every day, except yesterday b/c I did 2 hours of yard work.
And yet I have GAINED 4.5 pounds last week! I want to SCREAM!!! That is a HUGE one week gain! And NO it's not muscle!
Ideas and moral support would be great about now. My boyfriend has good intentions but does NOT help me. All he says is, that I'm not working hard enough on the treadmill. I am doing the steepest incline possible on that machine, alternating 3, 3.5 mph, for 45 minutes. When I get off, I am sweating and exhausted, wobbling noodle legs.
I am almost in tears from frustration.

amysales

All is not lost . First, a good cry might help. It DOES suck to work so hard to achieve a goal only to be shocked when the scale goes the wrong way. We've all been there and it plays games with your head no doubt.
Is it by chance, that time of the month? It is a known fact that women can retain up tp 5 pounds prior to the onset. That really sucks too!
Your excerise is perfect for someone in her first week. You don't need to add a 20 mile run to the list. I am wondering if you are eating enough protien. Feel free to look at my meals. It have been losing 1/2 pound to a pound a week over the past two months. I am 5'2" and have a medium frame. I work out 45-70 minutes a day .
Try to follow a week of my plan and see if you get better results. You may feel like you are eating too much but you won't be.
Hang in there. You CAN do this girl!Friend me!

pdworkman

It's water weight from your exercise.

The T-Factor Diet by Martin Katahn, page 211:
"An increase in exercise time or intensity can lead to a **brief** [asterisks mine] gain of a few pounds... If at any time you... suddenly increase your exercise time or intensity a significant amount... you may gain a couple of pounds overnight. This will be gone in a matter of 1-2 days. It occurs because a sudden increase in exercise... will cause your exercised muscles to take in an extra load of glycogen from subsequent meals. Since glycogen is stored with 3-4 parts water, it means a considerable weight gain..."

acrego

Thanks, I friended you! :flowerforyou:
I think I'm getting enough protein... I mean, I make sure it's at LEAST approximately 1/3 of every meal, if not more... I have done Atkins before, years ago, and I did drop a bunch of weight, but it's just not sustainable for me, and there are lingering questions about the overall soundness of that diet plan. But I never totally lost that tendency to think protein should be much higher proportion than carbs.
And I did cry. It helped. As soon as I post this, I'm going to hit the treadmill again.

acrego

Wow, I did not know that about water weight. That plus pms could be the culprit...
Thanks!

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

according to your ticker you only have 10 pounds to lose...with that goal you should be aiming for 1/2 pound a week. You are severely undereating and being unnecessarily strict.

you do not have to give up every single food that you love in order to reach your goals.

What is your current heigh/weight. You surely need to be eating at least 1500 calories considering your activity level and possible more. I know it's discouraging and scary to up your calories but it's absolutely necessary for your long term success.

lisaslim1976

according to your ticker you only have 10 pounds to lose...with that goal you should be aiming for 1/2 pound a week. You are severely undereating and being unnecessarily strict.

you do not have to give up every single food that you love in order to reach your goals.

What is your current heigh/weight. You surely need to be eating at least 1500 calories considering your activity level and possible more. I know it's discouraging and scary to up your calories but it's absolutely necessary for your long term success.

I was thinking the same....eat more!!!! Try things like nuts, seeds to bring up your calories intake :-)

Fred4point0

Give Jilliam Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD a try. You might need to change up you program some.

skinnieminniemouse

I don't know how true this is, but I got told running on a flat surface burns fat, running on an incline builds muscle. Also, how long have you been exercising? It took nearly 2 months before I started seeing ANY difference, even then it was only very slight. Your body doesn't change that quickly, so you need to keep it up and give it time. I know it can get you down a lot, it does with me too at times. You just have to remember that this isn't a quick fix, it is a lifestyle change.
Also, your body changes constantly, you fluctuate like 2.4lbs every day, so you should only try to weigh yourself once a week and accept that certain weeks in your month you will weigh more than others.
I hope you can pick yourself up, if you ever want to talk, message me.
xx

tan5y

PMS is a regular culprit for sending my scales in the wrong direction. Soooo discouraging when I've been good all week.
Sounds like you're doing really well with your regime so don't give up and it'll surely be a YAY! instead of an AAH! in a week or so.

JeanetteButler

Thanks for the info. I have heard this info before.

SavageRabidBeast

A little calculation for you that might help. You should take your goal weight then multiply it by either 10 (less active), 11, or 12 (more active). The total is the approx calorie intake you should aim for each day. So as an example, I am aiming for 180lbs. So I usually aim for about 2160 as my calorie intake each day. Withing those calories I take in about a gram of protein for each pound of my goal weight. You should also try and stay away from foods that have lots of added sugars and carbs. Don't worry so much about fat content in food cuz if you are staying active you will burn it off quickly. It's the added sugars and carbs that settle inside you and stay longer. As stated above, it very well may be water weight used to repair your muscle fibers. Hope that has helped some, best of luck to you.

bfbooty

Wow, I did not know that about water weight. That plus pms could be the culprit...
Thanks!

i was going to ask were you due your monthly visitor lol also exercise initially can def make it seem like you have gained (didn't know it was called water weight though)

stick with it i bet anything next week you'll see a good loss

best of luck xx

rcramer7

Water retention is most likely it. Also, I don't think you eat enough. I hate it when people exercise and say they eat 1.2-1.5k calories. DAMN! I eat like 3.5k! Your body will start to eat your muscles to survive and your organs will shut down. They are made of muscle/tissue also. You will start to store fat as a reserve. Eat more.

acrego

according to your ticker you only have 10 pounds to lose...with that goal you should be aiming for 1/2 pound a week. You are severely undereating and being unnecessarily strict.

you do not have to give up every single food that you love in order to reach your goals.

What is your current heigh/weight. You surely need to be eating at least 1500 calories considering your activity level and possible more. I know it's discouraging and scary to up your calories but it's absolutely necessary for your long term success.

OK, first of all, I guess I need to change my ticker, because after last week plus this week, I now have 15 pounds to lose, not 10! Or maybe I should just put my goal weight?

Plus, I appreciate the advice, and you may be right, but I just don't see how it's possible I am not eating enough. I eat healthy food, I do enjoy the food I eat, and I am NOT suffering from feeling hungry! I spread my food over the day and I actually feel weird eating the whole 1200. It doesn't feel right, and now I'm seeing weight gain.

But, if I were to eat more, what should I increase? Protein? Does it matter? Should I eat even more for breakfast?

acrego

Water retention is most likely it. Also, I don't think you eat enough. I hate it when people exercise and say they eat 1.2-1.5k calories. DAMN! I eat like 3.5k! Your body will start to eat your muscles to survive and your organs will shut down. They are made of muscle/tissue also. You will start to store fat as a reserve. Eat more.

I don't know how to explain this, but for me, 1200 IS more than normal! If I eat more, I feel stuffed and bloated! But I'm trying to be a good listener and consider all the possibilities. How would you recommend I get more calories?

acrego

Wow, I did not know that about water weight. That plus pms could be the culprit...
Thanks!

i was going to ask were you due your monthly visitor lol also exercise initially can def make it seem like you have gained (didn't know it was called water weight though)

stick with it i bet anything next week you'll see a good loss

best of luck xx

Thank you!! :flowerforyou:

Yes PMS is part of it, but I am accustomed to gaining and losing a COUPLE of pounds, but not 4 1/2!!! It is probably a combination.

marilu3

Hi,
I had an initial weight gain too, but one thing I've found helpful, is that I've really cut my sodium down down down, so that it's under 1000 mg / day. That seemed to make a big difference. Good luck. Hang in there.

Eats_With_A_Fist_Returns

according to your ticker you only have 10 pounds to lose...with that goal you should be aiming for 1/2 pound a week. You are severely undereating and being unnecessarily strict.

you do not have to give up every single food that you love in order to reach your goals.

What is your current heigh/weight. You surely need to be eating at least 1500 calories considering your activity level and possible more. I know it's discouraging and scary to up your calories but it's absolutely necessary for your long term success.

^ Yup. Long term vision is what to aim for!

acrego

A little calculation for you that might help. You should take your goal weight then multiply it by either 10 (less active), 11, or 12 (more active). The total is the approx calorie intake you should aim for each day. So as an example, I am aiming for 180lbs. So I usually aim for about 2160 as my calorie intake each day. Withing those calories I take in about a gram of protein for each pound of my goal weight. You should also try and stay away from foods that have lots of added sugars and carbs. Don't worry so much about fat content in food cuz if you are staying active you will burn it off quickly. It's the added sugars and carbs that settle inside you and stay longer. As stated above, it very well may be water weight used to repair your muscle fibers. Hope that has helped some, best of luck to you.

Thanks for the encouragement!
According to your calculation, my calories should be 1,150 - 1,380 max. I do keep an eye on my protein too. I add a scoop of protein to my oats in the morning, and make sure the following meals are at least 1/3 to 1/2 made of lean protein like chicken, turkey or tuna. I have sworn off ice cream, cookies, and cinnamon rolls until I am in better shape and I know I can burn them off!

acrego

according to your ticker you only have 10 pounds to lose...with that goal you should be aiming for 1/2 pound a week. You are severely undereating and being unnecessarily strict.

you do not have to give up every single food that you love in order to reach your goals.

What is your current heigh/weight. You surely need to be eating at least 1500 calories considering your activity level and possible more. I know it's discouraging and scary to up your calories but it's absolutely necessary for your long term success.

OK, first of all, I guess I need to change my ticker, because after last week plus this week, I now have 15 pounds to lose, not 10! Or maybe I should just put my goal weight?

Plus, I appreciate the advice, and you may be right, but I just don't see how it's possible I am not eating enough. I eat healthy food, I do enjoy the food I eat, and I am NOT suffering from feeling hungry! I spread my food over the day and I actually feel weird eating the whole 1200. It doesn't feel right, and now I'm seeing weight gain.

But, if I were to eat more, what should I increase? Protein? Does it matter? Should I eat even more for breakfast?

I just noticed I did not answer your question. My current height / weight are 5'6", 128.8 lb. My goal is to be 115 again.

acrego

Give Jilliam Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD a try. You might need to change up you program some.

I keep hearing ppl on here talk about this! And I love Jillian Michaels! But right now we don't have a TV set up in the living room, and there is no room in the bedroom for exercise. (Well not that type of exercise anyway! LOL!!)

acrego

Hi,
I had an initial weight gain too, but one thing I've found helpful, is that I've really cut my sodium down down down, so that it's under 1000 mg / day. That seemed to make a big difference. Good luck. Hang in there.

Good point. I will start keeping closer tabs on my sodium. I usually don't pay too much attention to it, b/c I know it's just water gain, but right now it's messing with my head!

firesoforion

I was in a similar place, and in fact still sort of am, and I had the same reasoning as you do. But then I went to 1200, and I didn't gain. I didn't lose either, but I didn't gain going up from 1000 (which I was only on for like two weeks). And sometimes the 1200 calories DID feel like too much food. Then I stayed there for a while and STILL didn't lose weight! And then I just sort of started to say F it (F standing for forget, of course!). So I decided (on the suggestion of someone here) to change my diary settings to eating AT my BMR, and then not eating back exercise calories unless I burned 1000 calories exercising. And I didn't gain, and the scale started to inch downwards, but *ever* so slowly. Sigh. So then I decided, ok, let's just see what happens if I eat at my maintenance calories, the calorie level that equations say will keep me weighing the exact same amount, for two weeks. I'm only giving it two weeks, enough for my body to respond but not so long that I'll put on a lot more weight that I'll then have to include in my loss.

So, I bumped up to 1700 calories (I'm 5'4" btw, and I was always "dense" for my weight growing up, what's your height?). First day, I bumped up 2 pounds, bit my lip and kept going. I figured it couldn't hurt at all, because if I kept doing what I'd been doing, I wasn't going to get anywhere anyway, and at least this way I could start to understand what I was doing. Next day, a little raise. Third day? Drop. I'm on my third consecutive day of dropping now, and that's my first set of three days with a downward trend in one and a half months. Another thing I did was to start intermittent fasting. It works really well with the way I tend to eat, anyway. Basically you get in all your calories in a period of 6-8 hours, and you can change the hours up if you want to to fit your lifestyle, etcetera. I start eating between noon and 2:00pm, and then I finish 8 hours later. I eat about 1700 calories (for at least another week!) in that time. In the morning, I drink lemon water, or tea. We'll see how it goes! But I'm hopeful. 3 days after eating at my maintenance, and I'm back down to where I started before eating maintenance.

acrego

I don't know how true this is, but I got told running on a flat surface burns fat, running on an incline builds muscle. Also, how long have you been exercising? It took nearly 2 months before I started seeing ANY difference, even then it was only very slight. Your body doesn't change that quickly, so you need to keep it up and give it time. I know it can get you down a lot, it does with me too at times. You just have to remember that this isn't a quick fix, it is a lifestyle change.
Also, your body changes constantly, you fluctuate like 2.4lbs every day, so you should only try to weigh yourself once a week and accept that certain weeks in your month you will weigh more than others.
I hope you can pick yourself up, if you ever want to talk, message me.
xx

Thanks :flowerforyou:
I never heard that about the incline, but does it really matter that much? I would think that either way it's going to improve your shape.
And yes, I know it takes time... I've been thru this cycle before, and have been in really good shape before, but somehow that does not help me today. :ohwell:
And yes, I only weigh myself once a week. I was just SO certain that this was going to be a good day to weigh after all the work I've done this week!
I will friend you & message you too! Thanks again!

thekarens

Something else to consider is getting a physical from your doctor. There could be something else going on that's causing the weight gain.

annabellj

according to your ticker you only have 10 pounds to lose...with that goal you should be aiming for 1/2 pound a week. You are severely undereating and being unnecessarily strict.

you do not have to give up every single food that you love in order to reach your goals.

What is your current heigh/weight. You surely need to be eating at least 1500 calories considering your activity level and possible more. I know it's discouraging and scary to up your calories but it's absolutely necessary for your long term success.

this! and dont listen to the damn scale! take pics it helps so much

acrego

I was in a similar place, and in fact still sort of am, and I had the same reasoning as you do. But then I went to 1200, and I didn't gain. I didn't lose either, but I didn't gain going up from 1000 (which I was only on for like two weeks). And sometimes the 1200 calories DID feel like too much food. Then I stayed there for a while and STILL didn't lose weight! And then I just sort of started to say F it (F standing for forget, of course!). So I decided (on the suggestion of someone here) to change my diary settings to eating AT my BMR, and then not eating back exercise calories unless I burned 1000 calories exercising. And I didn't gain, and the scale started to inch downwards, but *ever* so slowly. Sigh. So then I decided, ok, let's just see what happens if I eat at my maintenance calories, the calorie level that equations say will keep me weighing the exact same amount, for two weeks. I'm only giving it two weeks, enough for my body to respond but not so long that I'll put on a lot more weight that I'll then have to include in my loss.

So, I bumped up to 1700 calories (I'm 5'4" btw, and I was always "dense" for my weight growing up, what's your height?). First day, I bumped up 2 pounds, bit my lip and kept going. I figured it couldn't hurt at all, because if I kept doing what I'd been doing, I wasn't going to get anywhere anyway, and at least this way I could start to understand what I was doing. Next day, a little raise. Third day? Drop. I'm on my third consecutive day of dropping now, and that's my first set of three days with a downward trend in one and a half months. Another thing I did was to start intermittent fasting. It works really well with the way I tend to eat, anyway. Basically you get in all your calories in a period of 6-8 hours, and you can change the hours up if you want to to fit your lifestyle, etcetera. I start eating between noon and 2:00pm, and then I finish 8 hours later. I eat about 1700 calories (for at least another week!) in that time. In the morning, I drink lemon water, or tea. We'll see how it goes! But I'm hopeful. 3 days after eating at my maintenance, and I'm back down to where I started before eating maintenance.

Hmmm... something to consider. You bring up something I always wonder about, tho... if you "eat back" all the calories you exercise away, then what's the point? I read about, and hear from trainers, that you must maintain a deficit if you want to lose fat. Does the calculator take that into account?
I also recently started reading a trainer's blog about intermittent fasting. I forget his name, but I'd like to go back and read it again. Sounds like something I could try.
Thanks!

annabellj

according to your ticker you only have 10 pounds to lose...with that goal you should be aiming for 1/2 pound a week. You are severely undereating and being unnecessarily strict.

you do not have to give up every single food that you love in order to reach your goals.

What is your current heigh/weight. You surely need to be eating at least 1500 calories considering your activity level and possible more. I know it's discouraging and scary to up your calories but it's absolutely necessary for your long term success.

this! and dont listen to the damn scale! take pics it helps so much

so I thought I would add my weight literally has not changed in 3 months but when you look at my pics my body has changed soooooooooo much!

acrego

according to your ticker you only have 10 pounds to lose...with that goal you should be aiming for 1/2 pound a week. You are severely undereating and being unnecessarily strict.

you do not have to give up every single food that you love in order to reach your goals.

What is your current heigh/weight. You surely need to be eating at least 1500 calories considering your activity level and possible more. I know it's discouraging and scary to up your calories but it's absolutely necessary for your long term success.

this! and dont listen to the damn scale! take pics it helps so much

Pics? Should I post pics of my flab? :noway:

tigersword

according to your ticker you only have 10 pounds to lose...with that goal you should be aiming for 1/2 pound a week. You are severely undereating and being unnecessarily strict.

you do not have to give up every single food that you love in order to reach your goals.

What is your current heigh/weight. You surely need to be eating at least 1500 calories considering your activity level and possible more. I know it's discouraging and scary to up your calories but it's absolutely necessary for your long term success.

OK, first of all, I guess I need to change my ticker, because after last week plus this week, I now have 15 pounds to lose, not 10! Or maybe I should just put my goal weight?

Plus, I appreciate the advice, and you may be right, but I just don't see how it's possible I am not eating enough. I eat healthy food, I do enjoy the food I eat, and I am NOT suffering from feeling hungry! I spread my food over the day and I actually feel weird eating the whole 1200. It doesn't feel right, and now I'm seeing weight gain.

But, if I were to eat more, what should I increase? Protein? Does it matter? Should I eat even more for breakfast?

Low calorie food is not the same thing as healthy food. Also, the quality of food is irrelevant when it comes to energy needs. 1000 calories of vegetables is the same as 1000 calories of bread as far as your body's energy needs are concerned. Also, hunger is a very poor indicator of whether you are getting enough nutrition or not. Your hunger is controlled by hormones, and chronic under eating reduces the hormones that signal hunger. In other words, the less you eat, the less you feel hungry. Basically, hunger pangs are distracting, and if you're distracted, you might walk by food without seeing it, so your body shuts down the hunger pangs so you don't miss it. It doesn't understand the difference between wanting to lose weight, and starving due to famine conditions, it just knows it isn't getting enough food and adjusts your metabolism and hormonal output down as a survival mechanism to keep you alive as long as possible.

Without being able to see your diary, there is no possible way for anybody to suggest foods for you to eat, as I have no idea what your macros currently look like. However, based on your first post, it sounds like you are seriously under eating.