how do i fix it

mjj79

So some of you are prob. tired of me by now but i'm so discouraged. I lost 45 lbs doing medifast. Came off the foods but was doing same cals/ carbs ans gained 10 lbs back. Returned to this site and was encouraged to join EMTWL. Did the metabolism reset for 5 weeks and gained 13 lbs! Tried to eat at 20% below tdee and gained another 2 lbs. Did 30 % cut and couldn't lose. Dropped to 1200. No loss. Sooo i tried staying between 800 and 1000. Lost 1 lb. Same amt this week and I've GAINED 3 lbs soooo obviously I've screwed up my metabolism. How do i fix it without gaining another. 20 lbs? Can it even be fixed?

Other info: Started Zoloft shortly before doing metabolism reset. Exercise 4-5 days a.week. was doing p90x now doing Chalean extreme. Trying to get in to my doc but she's not available till Oct. Did have thyroid checked in May and it was fine.

mjj79

:frown:

stormsusmc

Working out....replacing what you work off...eating lean...you dont need to eat 6 times a day or anything...but working out and eating are what you need to do...stop starving yourself

mjj79

Working out....replacing what you work off...eating lean...you dont need to eat 6 times a day or anything...but working out and eating are what you need to do...stop starving yourself

Thanks for responding.

mjj79

Anyone have success upping cals and NOT gaining weight or not gaining for long?

nxd10

Working out....replacing what you work off...eating lean...you dont need to eat 6 times a day or anything...but working out and eating are what you need to do...stop starving yourself

Exactly. You can't eat this little. it will make you sick and it will not help your weight loss.

Meticulous logging of measured/weighed food
Let MFP calculate your calories with yourself set as sedentary
Exercise a reasonable amount and eat back your calories
Try to keep a reasonable macro balance - I personally do better with slightly lower carbs (40%), but you may not

It takes a long time gain weight and it takes a long time to lose it. But if you are patient you will take it off and learn the skills to keep it off.

mjj79

Working out....replacing what you work off...eating lean...you dont need to eat 6 times a day or anything...but working out and eating are what you need to do...stop starving yourself

Exactly. You can't eat this little. it will make you sick and it will not help your weight loss.

Meticulous logging of measured/weighed food
Let MFP calculate your calories with yourself set as sedentary
Exercise a reasonable amount and eat back your calories
Try to keep a reasonable macro balance - I personally do better with slightly lower carbs (40%), but you may not

It takes a long time gain weight and it takes a long time to lose it. But if you are patient you will take it off and learn the skills to keep it off.

So i did this and mfp said 1200

Graelwyn75

One of the possible side effects, in fact, probable side effects of zoloft is weight gain, so it may be your medication that is the issue here, rather than your diet.

amnsetie

I checked your diary
You should consider eating less processed food, that includes meal replacement shakes
real food is so much better.
MFP won't recommend under 1200 cals, for most people this is not enough
Then you should eat your exercise cals on top.

How long did you stick with the 1500 cals after the reset before you gave up and started eating too little?

mjj79

I checked your diary
You should consider eating less processed food, that includes meal replacement shakes
real food is so much better.
MFP won't recommend under 1200 cals, for most people this is not enough
Then you should eat your exercise cals on top.

How long did you stick with the 1500 cals after the reset before you gave up and started eating too little?

I don't remember how long.. maybe 3 weeks??? But i've tried (before medifast) to eat a more reasonable calorie amt w/out ANY success.

stormsusmc

so exercise more, then youll require more food....more you burn the more you stoke the metabolic fire

amnsetie

You really have to keep at it. You are just not eating enough at 1200 food and with up to 500 cals of exercise per day.
Try to stay away from the shakes, eat fruit vegies meat grains and a little dairy.
rather than shakes, cakes, bars and honey nut cereals.

you will feel a lot better i promise

Irish_eyes75

Stop with the gimmicks/quick fixes and learn how to eat! That's the only way you'll lose it and keep it off.
Google healthy meal ideas for breakfast lunch dinner and snacks. This takes work, and you have to be willing to do it in order to be truly successful!

leska1216

Anyone have success upping cals and NOT gaining weight or not gaining for long?

You need to eat more to lose weight. You are not eating enough.

I input everything into MFP and go by what it has specified -- I now eat more than I ever have and am losing weight.

Eat healthy, drink lots of water, and exercise.

mjj79

Thanks everyone

ironanimal

One of the possible side effects, in fact, probable side effects of zoloft is weight gain, so it may be your medication that is the issue here, rather than your diet.

Also this. I don't know what Zoloft is but anything that screws with hormones can affect your metabolism.

mjj79

One of the possible side effects, in fact, probable side effects of zoloft is weight gain, so it may be your medication that is the issue here, rather than your diet.

Also this. I don't know what Zoloft is but anything that screws with hormones can affect your metabolism.

Thanks. Planning to talk to my doc about this but couldn't get an appt. for a while

SamAdams125

Doing ChaLean Extreme is a first great step. Adding muscle to your body will increase your metabolism in the long run causing you to burn more throughout the day. Definitely keep up with the weight training.

As far as nutrition, I LOVE the Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno. It does a great job explain why eating real food is so much better than processed food and how to go about changing your eating to be healthier and lose weight. It's really a great read so I encourage you pick it up.

Additionally, keep in mind that the body weight can fluctuate a ton based on what you ate the previous day and monthly cycles and all that. Don't weigh yourself more than once a week, and maybe even moving it to every other week would be a good idea. Focus on eating healthy foods that nourish your body rather than just cals. 100 cals of garbage is not that same as 100 cals of really healthy food. I know people say it's just cals in versus cals out but what you eat truly matters. Now, you can't overeat on healthy foods and expect to lose weight, but your body does respond differently to the quality of the food.

Hope that helps! I'm also a huge fan of Shakeology (and all things Beachbody) since that helps me get all the fruit/veggie nutrition I don't get enough of and is a "whole food" formula. Feel free to message me if you want more specific advice.

nxd10

Working out....replacing what you work off...eating lean...you dont need to eat 6 times a day or anything...but working out and eating are what you need to do...stop starving yourself

Exactly. You can't eat this little. it will make you sick and it will not help your weight loss.

Meticulous logging of measured/weighed food
Let MFP calculate your calories with yourself set as sedentary
Exercise a reasonable amount and eat back your calories
Try to keep a reasonable macro balance - I personally do better with slightly lower carbs (40%), but you may not

It takes a long time gain weight and it takes a long time to lose it. But if you are patient you will take it off and learn the skills to keep it off.

So i did this and mfp said 1200

So eat 1200 and do some exercise and you can eat back those calories.

vmekash

Stop with the gimmicks/quick fixes and learn how to eat! That's the only way you'll lose it and keep it off.
Google healthy meal ideas for breakfast lunch dinner and snacks. This takes work, and you have to be willing to do it in order to be truly successful!

^^^This.
You need to follow a sustainable plan. I could never stick with something that is not "normal" food. This would include both natural/healthy choices as well as the ocassional processed/junk food. I would need to be able to eat what I enjoy, but w/control.

danaweston

Anyone have success upping cals and NOT gaining weight or not gaining for long?

no

jazzalea

eat healthier, not less... and move more.... and I mean MOVE more.... if you don't like going to the gym, find ways in your every day life to work just a little harder.... our bodies tend to go into an energy saving mode.... we sit when we can stand, we slouch or lean against the counter instead of holding ourselves up....get your body out of that mode by making it work constantly... and your metabolism will speed up again...

good luck
:flowerforyou:

professorRAT

Anyone have success upping cals and NOT gaining weight or not gaining for long?

no

:noway: Actually, yes. You will find lots of people on MFP who had success after upping calories. Follow previous advice. Strength train, cardio if you want, eat your exercise calories back (although be careful not to overestimate them), measure food and log everything. I was on prednisone for 3 years, which causes weight gain and changes metabolism, and I still managed to get in the best shape of my life at 46 years old from weight training and, recently, logging on MFP. I eat most exercise calories back and net 1300-1400 calories per day.

simini77

Just a question, because I cannot get to your profile to look, but do you actually have any weight to lose? and I mean in accordance to your BMI or something, not just because you want to?

mjj79

Just a question, because I cannot get to your profile to look, but do you actually have any weight to lose? and I mean in accordance to your BMI or something, not just because you want to?

I do. I am in the obese range for bmi. I need to lose at least 55 more

mjj79

eat healthier, not less... and move more.... and I mean MOVE more.... if you don't like going to the gym, find ways in your every day life to work just a little harder.... our bodies tend to go into an energy saving mode.... we sit when we can stand, we slouch or lean against the counter instead of holding ourselves up....get your body out of that mode by making it work constantly... and your metabolism will speed up again...

good luck
:flowerforyou:

Thanks I do enjoy exercise and almost always get in at least 4 days a weak. (I do Beachbody videos at home. I'm a homeschooling mom to 5 kids so getting OUT to exercise is not an option.)

Thanks for your thoughts!

mjj79

Thank you all for your responses! I'm gonna work hard to factor all of them in. I feel like I have the exercise part down, i'm trying to aim for 1400 cals today (supposed to put me at loss of 1.5 a week). Also trying to keep protein up and processed foods down. Unfortunately, i usually have SOME processed foods for convenience. With 5 little kiddos, one of whom has to go to docs/hospital frequently, i have to grab the occasional bar or shake for my own sanity and convenience

Again, I appreciate all of your ideas and help. THANKS!

secretlobster

There is absolutely no way in hell you need to eat 1200 calories a day to lose weight. I did that, and the only thing that I lost was a functional metabolism.

Can you give us an idea of the timeline here? How long do you go with a certain calorie allocation before you make a change? You say you did a reset for 5 weeks, that's a good amount of time, but how long were you eating at TDEE - 20%? TDEE - 30%? How long have you been eating 1200 now? Does your doctor have anything to say? Antidepressants are notorious for inhibiting weight loss

EvgeniZyntx

Rethink your exercise - If you are doing a lot of cardio and high intensity then you are likely not buidling up some muscle - so your body needs less ... resulting not in a damaged metabolism but in an efficient one.

Build up your muscle, focus your excercise on core and strength activity (.... lift heavy ....). More muscle more energy used...

Koldnomore

Anyone have success upping cals and NOT gaining weight or not gaining for long?

I upped my calories from 1200 to 1700 and didn't gain a single ounce. Actually I dropped about 8 lbs since I did this. The trick is not to do it all at once. Of course if you go from low calorie to 1500 immediately you are going to gain. I upped 100 - 200 calories every 2 -3 weeks. At the same time I also did not do any exercise - aside from my normal day to day things (I walk to work every day). I did not use MFP to decide my calories. Instead I read the newbie links, followed the information there. Determined my BMR and decided to eat based on my 'goal' weight not my current weight - this has been working incredibly well for me and means I don't have to mess with anything ever, I eat exactly the same number of calories until I get where I want to be. If I happen to work out I eat more but I don't have to work out - I will eventually but I am waiting until I am a little lighter to minimize impact to my joints. Working out while I was trying to get to the proper calories just messed up everything so you may want to consider just taking some time off your workouts until you get your diet in order.

From your diary I can't tell what your calories are as the days are all over the place in terms of what you are netting. Do some research and figure out your numbers properly then slowly work your way up and STAY consistent. Eat properly, watch your sodium, drink water. You need at least a month before you can say something isn't working and you have to be honest with yourself to say that you are doing what you are supposed to do - not just think you are.

Good luck!!

mjj79

There is absolutely no way in hell you need to eat 1200 calories a day to lose weight. I did that, and the only thing that I lost was a functional metabolism.

Can you give us an idea of the timeline here? How long do you go with a certain calorie allocation before you make a change? You say you did a reset for 5 weeks, that's a good amount of time, but how long were you eating at TDEE - 20%? TDEE - 30%? How long have you been eating 1200 now? Does your doctor have anything to say? Antidepressants are notorious for inhibiting weight loss

I can't remember EXACTLY but I think around 3 weeks at TDEE 30% Maybe 2 at 20%? I've been doing 1000 to 1200 for at least 4 weeks. I was doing 800- 1000 for a year before doing the reset