Beyond frustrated and need answers please

Aviendha_RJ

I just worked this out myself.

Calculate how many calories you need per day to stay alive, your BMR. Use the link below to input your weight and the body fat % that you know, this will give you your LBM, Lean Body Mass. Then underneath, put in the weight you want to be, and 22% body fat, and you can see what you'll need to do.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WeightBodyComp.html

Now that you have your LBM, use the link below to calculate your BMR, you don't need to feed the fat, only muscle and organ functions, so you use the LBM, and not the total weight.

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Now... THIS will tell you how many calories you REALLY need to maintain your dream weight. Eat to EXACTLY these calories every day without eating back exercise calories. If you want to loose weight, why are you sabotaging yourself by eating too much? You (and I) are big because we eat too much. We need to eat only what our dream body wants & nothing else.

fabafter5

I know you are not where you want to be but I just had to say how incredible your before and afters are! Your posture, your smile, the way you carry yourself as opposed to your before picture is amazing! I hope you can figure out the reason you are gaining. Once you figure this out you will be UNSTOPPABLE!

wookiemouse

I'm going to have to agree with the above poster who noted your diary. This isn't a "I was away at a weekend wedding and didn't log." You might have logged 3-4 days in the entire month of June. To say you're certain you're on calorie goal without keeping track is insanely difficult - especially when on the days you DO log, you've had 600 cal breakfasts, 800 cal lunches, cheesecake, etc. I have a strong feeling you are WAY overeating. If your doctor doesn't find anything, then commit to keeping an honest log for an entire month. Unless you truly are measuring AND writing down what you eat, you have no idea what you're actually taking in.

TheresaC928

are you taking any medications?

nothing aside from birth control pills

That does make you gain weight. 23 lb gain is a bit excessive though. Talk to your doctor and gynecologist. Cysts if left untreated can do that. Get 2nd opinions. Don't let them tell you it's natural.

kristenn1989

Reading all the answers, i would like to make sure that you weight your food and calculate honestly your calories including all the fat use in cooking, etc... without cutting short at the corner... (this is a french expression, I hope it does mean the same thing in english).

I had similar situation and i have been using "Eliminex" tea, very dillute and it help me to éliminate the extra water and to be regular.

(Personnaly, I am not an active person, so to stay as i am a need 1800 cal per day, and if i need to loose weight than i need to reduce to 1200 cal per day.)

Hope it helps.
Nat

don't worry, the phrase makes sense. I also recognize the phrase in french

wolfi622

I've seen my doctor. They've tested my blood levels. Only thing the doc said to me was move more and eat even less.

See another doctor. If you feel like something is wrong, then find someone who will listen. Take it from someone who suffered far too long and ended up with serious consequences: doctors are fallible just like the rest of us. Blood tests aren't everything, not even close. Unless you're four feet tall or something, you shouldn't rapidly gain such a huge amount of weight on 1400 calories (and even then I have my doubts). Please get a second opinion.

But she didn't say what the doctor tested her blood for. Not enough information. A doc isn't going to order tests, not tell you what the tests are, and just say "move more". My advice, such as it is, is to ask the doc specifically what they were looking for in the blood test, what they found, and why it leads them to believe nothing else is going on (cysts, etc). It the doc tested for the right things, and the test came back negative, it could be the doc doesn't believe she's really only eating 1400 calories.

astrampe

I'm going to have to agree with the above poster who noted your diary. This isn't a "I was away at a weekend wedding and didn't log." You might have logged 3-4 days in the entire month of June. To say you're certain you're on calorie goal without keeping track is insanely difficult - especially when on the days you DO log, you've had 600 cal breakfasts, 800 cal lunches, cheesecake, etc. I have a strong feeling you are WAY overeating. If your doctor doesn't find anything, then commit to keeping an honest log for an entire month. Unless you truly are measuring AND writing down what you eat, you have no idea what you're actually taking in.

Agree with this.... Log honestly and accurately for the next two weeks, and see how that goes....

jadedone

Wow, your tracking is wildly all over the map! Four hours of walking one day, 2 hours other days, nothing for a week, food tracking with nothing some days, 300 calories others, and then the target amounts on other days. Not my business, but what are you not recording? Usually I suggest trying different things, but as you say, you've been trying a variety of things, and your records are wild, I suggest trying something a bit more consistent and recording it for a bit.
Hard to make a more specific suggestion with that sort of information.
Good luck!

The crazy walking is mostly due to walking being my sole form of transportation.

If you end up walking quite a bit for transportation, your TDEE could be quite a bit higher, and you aren't eating enough.

I'd eat 2000 calories for a few weeks, and monitor your weight. I think your problems are related to not consuming enough, or consuming way more than you think. But you did mention you are measuring, so it is likely the former.

jadedone

You've said eating more didn't help. I'm curious, what were the calories you were eating and for what length of time?

When I first started losing weight I usually aimed for 1300-1400. I did that from december 2010- december 2011. I ended up weighing 146lbs and I tried upping my calories to slow down weight loss.

Then, health problems (iron-deficiency anemia) and a few others helped me pack on a few pounds. I've just been given the all better sign recently.

This is definitely a sign of hypothyroidism too. Keep getting tested.

Daphnemomof9

My guess is that much of the time you aren't eating enough and when you do eat enough, your body just wants to hang onto it. I've found an awesome group here on MFP (Eat More to Weigh Less) that helped me to realize that if I'm consistently eating more and eat just a little less than my TDEE, it is better than eating way below it. I recently read about one woman's journey that I think would really connect with your situation. Here's the link: http://eatmore2weighless.com/nicole-the-long-haul/

karen0214

I took a look at your diary, and I couldn't help but notice you don't update every day. Is it possible there are things you are consuming that aren't making it into your diary? I know it seems like a silly question, but if you are putting milk in your coffee, or maybe not measuring the amounts of food you eat (either using weight or measuring cups/spoons), it is absolutely possible that you are consuming more than your goal without even knowing it. Another thing I noticed is a lack of protein--protein is what keeps you full, and keeps you from being tempted to munch on sugary or starchy snacks. When I started taking out the kitchen scale before putting anything in my mouth, I started seeing results.

Good luck mfp is a wonderful tool, be truthful to yourself and, barring any unknown health conditions that effect metabolism and hormones, you will see results.

Beans (any kind) and rice are great protein -- and cheap!! Also quinoa is high in protein and not expensive.

the past few days have been empty because I've been away to a wedding for the weekend, but generally if I eat it, it's there.

I'm also trying to up my protein, slowly. I just wish it were cheaper.