6 Months In and Struggling

klalaw

I started on MFP in February, and have lost over 40 pounds. Overall, I've been pretty happy with my progress. I started out at MFP's recommended 1200 calories per day, then worked my way up to 1450, and back down to 1400, after trying the "eat more to weigh less" philosophy and ultimately getting my metabolism tested and working with an RD. I've had struggles along the way, including being constantly hungry in the beginning, trying to incorporate exercise and figuring out whether to eat back my calories and, if so, how many, and then moving to the RD who advises against eating back calories Because of some of the inconsistent advice out there, I found the advice NOT to eat back my calories to really de-incentivize me (is that a word?) from exercising - It was a little bit of "if I can't eat more food as a result, why bother?" combined with "what if the RD is wrong and by exercising, I end up not netting enough calories?" It was just easier to stick with the calorie restriction and see how it worked. As it turns out, my weight loss continued at roughly the same rate as I'd been accomplishing on my own, about a pound a week, after I started the RD's program and just focused on consistently eating around 1400 calories a day, without exercising.

My most recent struggle started last week, after I had my metabolism retested after three months with my program. My BMR dropped by over 200, from 1555 to 1339. While I understand that a metabolic slowdown is normal with weight loss, I was just really surprised by how significant the drop was in my case. And discouraged. While my RD has recommended staying at 1400 calories for now, just treating it as more of a ceiling than I had been, I just feel my progress isn't being rewarded, and that I may ultimately just have to cut back more and more on what I'm eating.

My initial reaction was to wonder if exercising could help to get my metabolism up closer to where it was. I even squeezed in a workout last week. But ultimately my overall sense of frustration left me feeling like I needed a diet break, which has led to almost a week of not tracking all of my food, eating over my calories, and ultimately being up about 3 pounds on the scale. I keep telling myself that if I just get back on track, those 3 pounds will come right back off, and I can continue with the progress i was making, but I feel stuck in a rut where I keep saying I'll start over "tomorrow." I don't want this to spiral to the point where I seriously undo my progress so far, but I can't seem to give myself the kick in the pants that I need. I'm not even enjoying the food I'm eating - I know that I've just resorted to old habits of eating out of boredom and frustration.

Anyway, I know I'm rambling, but I guess I'm curious if anyone has worked through this kind of issue - trying to stay motivated through more of an emotional than actual setback, and working against a slowing metabolism. I feel like for every piece of advice I read out there, I see something that says the complete opposite, particular where exercise is concerned. I'd like to start exercising again just for the benefits like increased stamina, strength, etc., but honestly, those things alone don't seem to be enough to motivate me. I'm committed to the program I signed up with for another three months, and I'd like to see it through, especially since it does seem to be working, but I'm also sleptical about what I'm being told about exercise, so it's frustrating.