HELP! What am I doing wrong?!

Kritty77

Hey MFP community-
I am just so confused right now! I'm about 25-30 lbs overweight and I started MFP two months ago and set my weight loss for 1 lb a week and it told me my calories should be around 1440. So, I started doing that plus exercise and for the most part ended up eating around 1600 total after including my exercise calories. But I started gaining 1 lb instead of losing! Then I switched it up and dropped to 1240 intake which would total 1400 after exercise. And now I'm just hovering -sometimes losing and then sometimes gaining the same 2 lbs. I know that I probably shouldn't drop my calories any lower. I've been reading the boards and everyone says you should eat your exercise calories to keep up metabolism and what not, but by doing that I'm not getting anywhere. I'm under calories on most days of the week, by just a smidge and when I do occasionally splurge it isn't outrageous.

Any suggestions??? I'm trying to lose what I can before my wedding in June!!

Kristy

jamie44077

Hey there!
I am having the same problem as you are! It seems whatever I do workout not workout I seem to keep at the same weight! I started MFP yesterday hoping this will help me get to my goal.. I am also confused if I should eat all the calories it says I need to for the day aswell. I work out burn 400-500 calories and than I need to eat that much more a day it just does not make any sense. Hopefully someone has the answer we are looking for. Good luck to you, I know we will get it together adventually..
Jamie

Elge78

Hi, try to analyze what you are eating. You may be within your 1450 cal limit, but it may be wrong food that slows the metabolism. I had the same problem. I was eating my 1500 cal and not losing weight. I stopped eating chocolate and cookies and exchanged them for whole grain muffins (230 cal each). I switched from regular white bread to Nature's Own whole wheat (50 cal per slice). I also eat salad with light or fat-free dressings. You have to eat a lot of fiber (fruit, veggies, whole grain). It keeps you full longer because it takes longer to digest, and has other benefits to it.
Once I switched to a healthier food (but the same 1500 cal per day), I started losing weight fast. And I feel better and more energized.

jawolfe

My suggestions would be... 1. make sure you are being really honest about the food that you are eatting, every bite of it, and the portion sizes. and 2. make your log viewable to a friend who you respect. Ask them to look at what your eating and give you feedback. Maybe they'll notice something that you're missing.

I've found that I cannot eat all of my exercise cals. If I do I wont' lose. I know I know, I know all about eating too few cals and slwoing your metabolism, I'm not talking about that. I'm saying eat some of them but not all of them. So for example if my goal is 1240, but then I add exercise cals, I still never ever go over (well try to go over) 1500 cals.

Good luck to you!!

eliblish

When I first started I gained a few pounds instead of losing. It was very frustrating. Then I read a thread somewhere about why you gain weight when first starting an exercise routine. In short it was something along the lines of your muscles holding on to water to protect them because they are unused to working out. I will see if I can find the thread and i'll post the link here. Just stick with it. Don't give up!

eliblish

here's the thread I was talking about.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/83601-why-you-gain-when-starting-a-new-workout?hl=why+you+gain+weight+when#posts-1149925

diane50

Hi guys! I feel the same way. My scale says I gained 3 lbs. I excercise regularly and occasionally go over my 1200 calories but not by much I have been eating more salad with lunch and dinner and lean meats. But I did loose 1 1/2 inches on my waist, 1 inch on my neck, and 1/2 inch on my hips. I just think my scale lies.

00trayn

One think I've learned over the past month on here is that the scale isn't always the best indicator of success. I'd recommend keeping track of your measurements over the course of a month and you'll be able to see that you may be losing inches instead of pounds. To me, that's just as big of a success as losing 10 pounds. And that's a difference that you can see in the mirror too.