What is not working? -Gained 3 lbs-

backpacker44

Your body is reacting to the lack of calories therefore not burning your fat.

If you are not eating breakfast, do so. It gets your metabolism going for the day.

Eating breakfast doesn't get your metabolism going. You don't have to eat breakfast for better losses.

A lot of people find if they don't eat breakfast they overeat later in the day. This is an example about how for some not eating breakfast does cause them to gain or not lose just because they eat more throughout the rest of the day.

Some people find if they don't eat breakfast they are fine throughout the day.

Ultimately, as long as your calories are at a deficit for the day you will lose weight. Whether you eat breakfast or not.. whether you eat one meal or six.

I don't think the OP issue is with sometimes not eating breakfast. I think the issues are not eating nearly enough and not eating the right foods as there is a lot of processed food in the OP diary.

Yes, eating gets your metabolism going. How else does it start up? Why do you think pretty much every nutritionist, bodybuilder, weight loss coach, and personal trainer says this? They all have shares in oatmeal?

elainecroft

My guess from looking at your journal is that you are WAY underestimating the calories that you eat. As others have said, measure precisely (by weight) until you get the hang of it.

I used to think that I was good at eyeballing food - but didn't lose weight. Then I started measuring more closely, and found that I was underestimating my intake by up to 500 calories - enough to keep me at the same weight. Some people keep measuring precisely forever - I don't and I estimate a lot - but I know I am better at it than I used to be because I am losing weight now.

Also - eat more fruits and vegetables. Good luck!

themtron

What a wonderful response!

nwg74

Seeing the scales go up can be scary. I went up 6 pounds very quickly in a couple of days and still after 4 weeks I am +2 pounds.

AnnaMarieDinVa

I think your body is craving a healthier diet. 1/4 a muffin in the morning...you need some protein, for one thing. I also don't see much fiber -- you may be a little constipated. I noticed a Bog Mac in there. Big Macs are notoriously high in sodium, as are many of the other items in your diary. My guess is that your weight gain is due to water retention because of your diet being too high in sodium. That having been said, I still would gravitate towards a more nutritious diet, spread throughout the day, including protein at each meal, in addition to some carbs, and a lot more vegetables. Think of your body as a Ferrari -- if you put cheap, low-grade fuel in the Ferrari, it won't perform. If you don't eat a really nutritious, balanced diet, your body won't perform it's best, either. Best of luck (and health) to you!!

thisismeraw

I was 80 lbs when I got married 14 years ago and have had two kids.I went on p90x to support my husband who lost over 100 lbs I 4 months of p90x.he dropped from 275 and now is a steady 145.I know I dont need to worry about weight gain but I do want to maintain fit since I am getting older.if it is just muscle,when does it stop gaining.?

You are NOT gaining muscle eating so little. Gaining muscle needs a calorie surplus.

You should be focusing on building muscle. Getting older and eating so little is going to kill your muscle mass so you need to focus on building it back up while you can. Quit worrying what the scale says. Eat more, much more and build some muscle.

thisismeraw

Your body is reacting to the lack of calories therefore not burning your fat.

If you are not eating breakfast, do so. It gets your metabolism going for the day.

Eating breakfast doesn't get your metabolism going. You don't have to eat breakfast for better losses.

A lot of people find if they don't eat breakfast they overeat later in the day. This is an example about how for some not eating breakfast does cause them to gain or not lose just because they eat more throughout the rest of the day.

Some people find if they don't eat breakfast they are fine throughout the day.

Ultimately, as long as your calories are at a deficit for the day you will lose weight. Whether you eat breakfast or not.. whether you eat one meal or six.

I don't think the OP issue is with sometimes not eating breakfast. I think the issues are not eating nearly enough and not eating the right foods as there is a lot of processed food in the OP diary.

Yes, eating gets your metabolism going. How else does it start up? Why do you think pretty much every nutritionist, bodybuilder, weight loss coach, and personal trainer says this? They all have shares in oatmeal?

No, eating does not get your metabolism going. Your metabolism never stops. It doesn't stop when you go to sleep and it doesn't need to be started when you wake.

Eating in the morning does not jump start your metabolism. You could not eat until 5pm and still be fine.

Most of those within the nutrition field either say you have to eat breakfast because they still believe that stupid myth still going around or they say it because SOME tend to overeat later in the day if they don't consume breakfast.

thisismeraw

Track your sugars, I'm sure you're going way over. Your body can only process so many sugar grams, after which, it will be stored as fat.

Excess calories are stored as fat, not sugar. If that were the case I would be steadily gaining weight due to the amount of sugar I consume. I stopped tracking my sugar because my breakfast of fruit would put me well over the MFP suggested amount. No real need to track sugar unless there is a medical reason to do so.

LaurenAOK

I have to agree with the first comment above - you're not eating enough. I'm not going to tell you to eat more than your daily goal, but you're not even meeting that goal! You're under 1300 and when you subtract your exercise cals you're only netting around 450 calories a day! Waaaaay too low.

You lost at first, but now your body is catching on to the low intake, and losses are slowing - your body has no reason to burn fat - it wants to store it because you're not giving it enough fuel.

MFP has you at a daily deficit at the 1300 already - eat that much with no exercise and you'll lose. Factor in the exercise and you are creating too large a deficit.

If you feel like you can't eat more food to meet your goal, eat more calorie dense foods - add some nuts and nut butters, avocados, full fat dairy, use olive and coconut oils in cooking and dressings - small portions of these foods pack a lot of healthy calories, getting you closer to goal without feeling like you have to eat a ton of food to get there.

All of this is good advice. You don't need to read peer-reviewed journals to understand that this is simple science. I'm a student too, and I've been researching weight loss for over a year, and what I find is that 95% of the time the people who don't want to up their calories end up really benefiting from it if they just give it a try.

Your body needs fuel. It's not going to let go of all your fat until it gets it. Eat more. Don't say you "can't". There are plenty of people on this site who eat over 1300 calories a day, myself included. I eat 1400-1700 a day and I've been losing weight exactly how I wanted to. Eat calorie-dense foods; nuts, avocados, etc. Enjoy a "dirty" treat every once in a while. This is the best advice you are going to get . If you choose to ignore it, fine, but don't come crying to us 6 months from now when you've totally screwed up your metabolism.

sammniamii

First, 2 pounds isn't anything to worry about. Could be salt, water, TOM, etc.

Second, why nothing other than walking? Even body weight strength training exercises have benefits and will help.

Three, if you can't or won't do additional exercise, I can understand the 1300 cals, although it's below your BMR (since you didn't list height I guessed @ 5'5" ) of 1725. If you eat too little, you body will loose to start, then will start to hold on to everything because you aren't providing enough fuel to "run".

Fourth, you need more choices in your food - less candy/sweets, more veggies, dairy, etc.

Your doing good to start, but you'll need to probably change something up before you can start to see more losses.

Guisma

If you are going to tell me to up my calories (which I don't want to do as I feel like I am stuffing myself with too much food), please provide peer reviewed journal articles.

Thank you.

Are you kidding?

Some people aren't worth helping.

loool

sarah5893

to me, it's not that you're not eating too little food. it's that you're not eating the right food.
i eat around 1200 calories a day, which i think is plenty, and always ensure i get my 5 a day in.
i'm very cautious of eating chocolate/crisps etc. everyday because of the fat content, i notice that when i do have bad days and eat a lot of these things my weight does go up.
try to eat less chocolatey things, i.e. muffins and start your day with a healthy cereal (porridge/weetabix?) and some fruit!
then maybe treat yourself to chocolate once a week

also maybe try getting a workout dvd, i've been doing zumba classes recently and find them really enjoyable
it's intense but good fun and you can tailor it to your level.
good luck!

BrendaLee

Your diet needs a bit of an overhaul. Ditch the majority of the sugary treats and drinks; that's definitely step one. How about planning for a sweet treat in the evening? That way, you'll have it to look forward to, and you won't be foregoing healthier options in favor of muffins and chocolate. You might want to start tracking sodium, as well; aim for no more than 2300 grams/day. I'm not sure how much sodium is in your gravy, but that could definitely account for a couple of pounds of water weight this week.

Akimajuktuq

You're not eating enough. And no, I'm not going to link you to "peer reviewed journal articles".

HIT YOUR NET CALORIE GOAL. You are under it by several hundred calories a day.

Okay, I can do that at least. Are there any calorie-dense foods you suggest that I should eat to up my calories?

Your diet is quite appalling. I'm saying that to help you. No breakfast, evening meal of 250 calories, quite a bit of junk.

You need to eat differently, not have calorie-dense foods.

Eat breakfast eveyr day, muesli or cereal bars up to 400kcal
Eat lunch, sandwiches, wraps or salads up to 500 kcal
Eat dinner, baked potatoes, tuna, bean salads, rice etc up to 800 kcal

Work off any extra calories so you NET 1300.

Intermittent fasting is bad.... but eat a cereal bar... Um NO NO NO. Overloading on carbs, as advised above is the worst advice. OMG.

But.... and I haven't looked at your diary. Do you really expect to lose 3 pounds per week, every week. Seriously? Wow. I'm in the low 180s now and I'm lucky to lose 2 pounds in one month. And guess what, it's because my carbs were still too high from a few too many days at 50 grams. And my calories were too LOW. Yup, those of us with metabolic issues must look beyond calories in/calories out; at least if we want permanent success.

Just a suggestion: try focusing on HEALTH instead of weight loss. Now that I no longer put all of my hopes and dreams on the number on the scale, I just keep keeping on; healthy and happy.

NRSPAM

Haven't read all of the posts, but from what I gather, you're eating 1,300 which is probably too low. As for the weight gain, have you considered that you could be approaching your TOM? I always gain before and during, but then after I'm back to what I was, or lower. It's the water retention. You can spend your days being hungry, and maybe losing a couple pounds here or there, or you can actually eat and be satisfied and still lose. I eat around 1,800-2,000 cal's/day now, and losing. Sup to you!