New, Discouraged but Hopeful...

BlueLikeJazz

Hi everyone! I'm so happy to have found this site. I was actually doing some googling on the importance of eating 1200 calories a day when I found an excellent post with lots of links by cmriverside, so much good reading there!

I've been doing a very low calorie diet for the past month or so, lost almost 20 lbs but my weight loss was virtually nothing last week and now I've gained a few lbs due to the binge that ensued.

Up until this weekend, I was eating less than 1000 calories six days a week, then consuming maintenance level calories on Saturdays. I was also exercising about an hour six days week, so my net intake most days was about 600 calories. And of course, I hit the wall, was ticked that I stopped losing and I know these coming weeks of slowly upping my intake are going to be aggravating too.

I am hoping that since I was only doing this baaad diet for about a month, that my metabolism will spring back quickly and I won't gain too much. I'm also going to transition to eating what MFP is recommending for me (about 1400 net cals a day) very slowly, probably over the course of 4 weeks, in hopes of avoiding that gain. Because I intend on continuing to do the same amount of exercise, I'll probably increase my average daily intake by about 150 calories each week in order to get closer to the number of calories I should be eating within the next month or so.

I am a habitual weigh-er, at least once a day, so I know I'll need to stop doing that also. For a brief moment I really did think of chucking my scale out our 2nd story window this morning but...I can't bring myself to do it just yet.


Losing this weight is so important to me and I am just terrified of a gain because I don't want to say "screw it" and go back to my old habits just because I'm discouraged while my body re-adjusts. Any suggestions for ensuring the gain and/or the discouragement is minimal?

I lost over 70 lbs in about a year when I was a senior in high school (which I've since gained that and a lot more back after a bout with alcohol abuse) using...the nation's most popular weight loss meetings (lol I don't know if we're allowed to say specific names) so I know I can do this, and I know that slow and steady is the way to go.

BobbieJo_1977

First of all welcome to MFP!! And second I think coming here will help lessen the discouragement! You know what you need to do now. You CAN do this!!!

justdoingit

Hi and welcome to MFP! I found that when I ate less than the 1200 calories, especially working out daily, my weight loss decreased or stopped. Don't be discouraged, you are just not eating enough!! Remember food is not the enemy and learning balance is the key. I fell off the wagon for five months and gained back around 11lbs but now I am back. I have been eating around 1500 calories daily and doing the eliptical 30-45 minutes per day. I lost 2.6lbs in the last week and I am extatic. By keeping a diet journal, I was still able to enjoy a single scoop icecream cone at Kilwins, had some chocolate, went to Wendy's for lunch one day last week too, and was able to eat some other "treats." I refuse to write off food that I love completely but count my calories.

Also, here are some things that have helped me:

-Kashi Go Lean Cereal-has 13g of fiber, you should consume at least 24g daily which will help with weigh loss
-Drink 8 glasses of water dail
-your weight fluxuates daily, even hourly, so weighing yourself daily will give you really inacurate results. My doctor said the closest to accurate you can come is to weigh yourself naked, first thing in the morning, before you eat or drink anything, and after you go to the bathroom. I have weighed my self before and after going to the bathroom and have seen a 2lb difference!:ohwell:

Stick with it, you will get there! Remember, it is not just about loosing the weight, but also about finding balance in your life and making the right choices for yourself...