Ugh...Why does this happen?

Triciasal19

Alright so I am getting very frustrated with this weight loss journey. I have been working hard since February, the longest I have stayed "on the wagon", with getting my eating right, former food addict, and adding more activity to my day. I got tested for all the different thyroid issues, diabetes, and what would affect my weight loss and all came up fine, other than being twice the size I should be I am healthy.
I have changed my eating to around 80% clean eating and I make all my meals so I know exactly what is in the food. I have cut out extra carbs and sodium, to meet my macros of 40/30/30 and doing a damn good job at that. I have added extra activity where I could (I have 2 kids, 1 that I am still breastfeeding, a disabled husband, work from home) and have been doing pretty good with getting at least 10 minutes of the different DVD programs (usually the ones that use HIIT) in a day PLUS extra cleaning (I find ways to make cleaning harder, such as scrubbing the floor vs mopping) and walking with the family for a mile (need to get back to doing that since the weather has cleared up, HELLO SPRING!).
I have tried using the MFP calorie goal which was set for 2050 and when I wasn't losing at that I switched it to lose 2 pounds a week to see if that would help and it moved to 1550 on March 11, 2013 and I almost instantly lost 3 pounds. I had 1 day (March 14, 2013) where my sodium and carb intake was a bit higher and I gained the 3 pounds PLUS an extra 1 pound back. I originally thought it was water weight but now I'm not sure. My eating and water drinking has been amazing since the 14th along with getting EXTRA activity in every day but it will not come on.
I have fixed my calorie goal according to my TDEE -20% and I already feel better in the last day than I have when I had the 1550 goal.
I guess my whole thing is, how can I get this working for me? I would have given up already so I have already won in that sense, but I just can't seem to lose this weight. I am getting fatter and fatter every year and I want this damn 6 year journey to be done with.

KenosFeoh

As much as we all hate it, it's normal for weight to go down and then back up again. What we're looking for is a trend downward over time. It's best to ignore the day to day (even week to week) fluctuations.

The other issue is that we have to be as precise in our portions as humanly possible, which means that we need a good kitchen scales that weighs in grams. For example, my 1/2 cup and your 1/2 cup measurement can vary as much as 100 calories from each other, but 48 grams is the same (unless the scales are malfunctioning).

Mokey41

Did you gain weight in a month? It won't come off that fast either and if you keep playing around with your calories you're just making it worse. Set a budget, log your food accurately, weigh, measure and record every bite that goes in your mouth including coffee creamer, those tastes while you cook, the couple bites the kids left behind and be patient. You have a lot to lose and your weight will fluctuate up and down.

Are you logging and eating your exercise? You say you get 10 minutes in here and there which really isn't enough to get your heart rate up enough for a significant burn. I would just chalk those up to extra movement during the day and a bonus towards weight loss. Housework is not exercise either although you may be moving more.

Losing weight isn't all science, a good part is relearning habits and retraining you mind to think about food and exercise differently.

Fozzi43

Patience.

sweetzoejane

Track food and exercise as accurately as possible, work hard, do exercise you enjoy, don't weigh yourself so often, and have a lot of patience. Your calorie goal is reasonable, you just have to give it time.

karaks

You also might want to look into getting your metabolism tested. I kind of went through the same thing. I haven't been able to lose weight for four years. I had a pretty rare knee surgery that took two years to recover from and then had another knee surgery and an elbow surgery. In the time since that first surgery, I've gained 25 lbs. I've tried it all...weight watchers, counting calories, low carb, you name it and I've tried it. Nothing worked. I had my doctor test my thyroid, blood sugar, etc etc. All came back normal. Then he suggested I get my metabolism tested.

I googled "RMR testing in (my city)" and found a few places that do it. Most charge anywhere from 75-100 dollars. All the online calculators tell me I burn between 1500-1600 calories. That's what I've gone by for years, plus/minus 200-300 calories. My RMR test came back at 2140. Turns out I haven't been eating nearly enough for the last four years and my body was holding onto every calorie I fed it. That's why I was gaining instead of losing on a low calorie diet.

I upped my calories to 2400-2500 almost a month ago. Initially, I gained 3-4lbs. But those have dropped off and I'm back down to what I was before I upped my calories. Around that time, I also started lifting heavier and have now dropped one pants size. At this rate, I don't care about stepping on the scale as much, as long as I seem to be losing inches. I also sleep a lot better and have tons more energy.

This may not be the case for you, but it couldn't hurt to get tested and see what your RMR is with this test. Especially if you are *accurately* logging all of your food and exercise. At least it will most likely be more accurate than the online calculators. Good luck! I hope you get it all figured out!

Also, you are probably burning more calories than you think you are if you are still breastfeeding. If you decide to get this test done, wait until after you finish breastfeeding.

Lizzy622

If you are still breast feeding you actually may need more calories and quite a bit of water. Baby is taking some of your calories so the numbers being calculated here are all wrong for you.

Triciasal19

Did you gain weight in a month? It won't come off that fast either and if you keep playing around with your calories you're just making it worse. Set a budget, log your food accurately, weigh, measure and record every bite that goes in your mouth including coffee creamer, those tastes while you cook, the couple bites the kids left behind and be patient. You have a lot to lose and your weight will fluctuate up and down.

Are you logging and eating your exercise? You say you get 10 minutes in here and there which really isn't enough to get your heart rate up enough for a significant burn. I would just chalk those up to extra movement during the day and a bonus towards weight loss. Housework is not exercise either although you may be moving more.

Losing weight isn't all science, a good part is relearning habits and retraining you mind to think about food and exercise differently.

Actually, after losing my job early October and up to Thanksgiving (so a month and a half maybe) I gained 40 pounds. I was eating better than when I was working since I worked with food and not good food at that.


Thank you though everyone! Sometimes you just have to hear to have patience.
I will see about getting my metabolism checked, thanks for that suggestion.
I have been trying to find a dietitian/nutritionist that works with breastfeeding but all the ones out here don't have much knowledge on breastfeeding.

auddii

Did you gain weight in a month? It won't come off that fast either and if you keep playing around with your calories you're just making it worse. Set a budget, log your food accurately, weigh, measure and record every bite that goes in your mouth including coffee creamer, those tastes while you cook, the couple bites the kids left behind and be patient. You have a lot to lose and your weight will fluctuate up and down.

Are you logging and eating your exercise? You say you get 10 minutes in here and there which really isn't enough to get your heart rate up enough for a significant burn. I would just chalk those up to extra movement during the day and a bonus towards weight loss. Housework is not exercise either although you may be moving more.

Losing weight isn't all science, a good part is relearning habits and retraining you mind to think about food and exercise differently.

Actually, after losing my job early October and up to Thanksgiving (so a month and a half maybe) I gained 40 pounds. I was eating better than when I was working since I worked with food and not good food at that.


Thank you though everyone! Sometimes you just have to hear to have patience.
I will see about getting my metabolism checked, thanks for that suggestion.
I have been trying to find a dietitian/nutritionist that works with breastfeeding but all the ones out here don't have much knowledge on breastfeeding.

I believe the recommendation is to eat an extra 500 calories a day for breastfeeding. In fact, there's an "exercise" called breastfeeding that will log those calories, which MFP will add to your daily goal.

lizziebeth1028

Alright so I am getting very frustrated with this weight loss journey. I have been working hard since February, the longest I have stayed "on the wagon", with getting my eating right, former food addict, and adding more activity to my day. I got tested for all the different thyroid issues, diabetes, and what would affect my weight loss and all came up fine, other than being twice the size I should be I am healthy.
I have changed my eating to around 80% clean eating and I make all my meals so I know exactly what is in the food. I have cut out extra carbs and sodium, to meet my macros of 40/30/30 and doing a damn good job at that. I have added extra activity where I could (I have 2 kids, 1 that I am still breastfeeding, a disabled husband, work from home) and have been doing pretty good with getting at least 10 minutes of the different DVD programs (usually the ones that use HIIT) in a day PLUS extra cleaning (I find ways to make cleaning harder, such as scrubbing the floor vs mopping) and walking with the family for a mile (need to get back to doing that since the weather has cleared up, HELLO SPRING!).
I have tried using the MFP calorie goal which was set for 2050 and when I wasn't losing at that I switched it to lose 2 pounds a week to see if that would help and it moved to 1550 on March 11, 2013 and I almost instantly lost 3 pounds. I had 1 day (March 14, 2013) where my sodium and carb intake was a bit higher and I gained the 3 pounds PLUS an extra 1 pound back. I originally thought it was water weight but now I'm not sure. My eating and water drinking has been amazing since the 14th along with getting EXTRA activity in every day but it will not come on.
I have fixed my calorie goal according to my TDEE -20% and I already feel better in the last day than I have when I had the 1550 goal.
I guess my whole thing is, how can I get this working for me? I would have given up already so I have already won in that sense, but I just can't seem to lose this weight. I am getting fatter and fatter every year and I want this damn 6 year journey to be done with.

The changes you've made to your lifestyle are excellent!! Good job!! Here's the most important thing - you have to stay within your calorie goal CONSISTENTLY. You can eat clean, workout, do all the right things but if you're still consuming too many calories you won't get results. So I would say - PATIENCE. Pick your calorie goal and stick with it, log every single bite accurately and consistently and you will get results.

lizziebeth1028

Also opening up your diary will help you get more constructive feedback :flowerforyou:

andrea464

You're breastfeeding and working out. Do you need to eat more than the 1500 calories?

Amy106Days

When I switched from Food and Bev work to regular office sit at a desk work I was amazed at the difference in my calorie burn per day. I suggest getting a Heart rate monitor and seeing what your true TDEE is daily. It may take you a little time to get your #s just right.