Starting Over and Need Help

lightweightlisa5000
lightweightlisa5000 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am starting to use MFP again after many months, weighing more than when I first tried it. I found that I lost weight in the first few weeks, then plateaued. I had read that I might not be eating enough calories with all the exercising I was doing. So I began to input that info, which gave me more calories to eat. But I just began gaining weight. I soon gave up because it felt like a lose lose situation, eat less = plateau, eat 200 more calories = gain weight. Can anyone help explain what may have happened and how to approach it this time around? Stretchy, comfy short season is ending and binding jean season is quickly approaching. I refuse to buy larger clothes and cannot wear yoga pants everywhere I go as much as I'd like to! I appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

Replies

  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    If you were not eating enough then started eating more it is quite possible and seems to happen 'normally' that when you increase your body will hold on to those calories because it is not used to getting enough food. From what I have been told you need to keep eating more and eventually your body will re-adjust and you will start losing again. The longer you have been eating too little the longer it takes for you to re-adjust. I had to go up to 1700 from 1200 but I took it over almost 2 months just gradually increasing 100 every 2-3 weeks and have not gained anything from doing it. I still need to get to 1850 which I will likely do next week.
  • SonicaBE
    SonicaBE Posts: 151 Member
    join the group eat more to weigh less...opened my eyes..
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    That must be frustrating.

    It's impossible to give advice without a bit more information. How many calories are you eating? How much are you exercising? What types of foods are you eating? How much do you weigh? How tall are you?
  • chicadejmu
    chicadejmu Posts: 171 Member
    Check out clean eating. People swear that when they change to clean eating, the weight comes off so much easier. There's a group for that too!

    I do hear that if you have been in starvation mode it can take time for your body to recover. How long did you eat increased calories before giving up?
  • michelle850
    michelle850 Posts: 65 Member
    I upped my calories from 1200 to 1450. I did have a little bit a weight gain right away, which scared me and I almost stopped, but I stayed with it and lost it and more after a couple of weeks. It's a slow and sometimes very frustrating process, but stay with it! Good luck!!
  • gguynes
    gguynes Posts: 20
    I'd like to join that group, sounds like it addresses the "types" of foods and combinations to eat... is that correct?
  • lightweightlisa5000
    lightweightlisa5000 Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you. That makes sense. I guess patience is a virtue when it comes to losing weight.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    I can help you pls add me (link removed)

    You don't need expensive shakes to lose weight.

    Read this & then do the math to figure out how much you should be eating:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    But no matter what you do, you will have to remember that weight loss isn't linear. Sometimes you will lose a lot per week, sometimes you won't lose that much. Sometimes you won't lose anything. And all of that is ok.

    A plateau is a period of MONTHS without weight loss (or the loss of inches). So you can't give up after a week of no losses. You will need to find the willpower to work through the tough parts of this. It's worth it in the end, I promise.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    most likely your gain was water weight due to glycogen stores in your muscles being topped up with the higher caloric intake (don't worry it was not fat unless you ate over maintenance)
  • gguynes
    gguynes Posts: 20
    I'm just now starting to read about the types of foods, combinations, and impact my diet can have... Ealier, I was just limiting my calories and not paying as much attention to the types of calories I was eating... I've been broken through two plateaus so far, and am sitting on my 3rd... I'm spending a little more time now developing my weekly (monday - friday) diet plan because I travel out of town every week.

    Feel free to add me if I can help you in any way...
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    If you provide more information we can help. Just need height, weight, age, job and workout routine.

    Also its very common for those to fail when they are too aggressive with their weight loss. For example, a person with 20 lbs toblose can not aim for 2 lbs per week. Also, people frequently feel that they should not eat more calories when they are active which is another issue. Yor body, like a fire, needs more fuel to burn calories to prevent your body from conserving calories.

    So post your info and i can show you about how many calories you should eat.
  • lightweightlisa5000
    lightweightlisa5000 Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you all for your replies. It is so nice to have your support and advice. Amazing how much it helped my attitude already. I will check out the groups mentioned as well. I appreciate your help!
  • chicadejmu
    chicadejmu Posts: 171 Member
    I'm not sure if you were asking more about the clean eating group or not. So I'll give you a little run down. Basically the idea is to eat things as close to their natural state as possible. That means avoiding processed foods, chemicals, dyes, etc. A few sites to check out: 100daysofrealfood.com, thegraciouspantry.com. People also say the feel tons better, sleep better, and have more energy! I'm still working on it personally. With a hubby who's not on board and 2 picky kids...

    Hope that helps!
  • herrytews
    herrytews Posts: 38
    Hi. I am 47 years old, and have struggled to get the weight off for years. However I did one simple thing and I have now lost 46 lbs since the end of June! I removed carbs from my diet. It has been a revelation for me, because I eat many wonderful things including meat, cheese, vegetables (OK, veg have some carbs, but that's fine), and I can even have a glass of scotch or a vodka because they are carb free too.

    While you could call my diet "Atkins" or "ketogenic" (which are both true), I simply refuse to eat anything that is carb-rich, and it works. No pasta, no rice, no potatoes, no bread, no wheat based products, no beer, etc. If you get into the mentality of avoiding carbs, it becomes a way of life rather than a diet. I can lose as much weight as I like, i.e. I am now shooting to lose another 25 lbs by the end of Oct and I know that I can do it and I know exactly how.

    I hope that helps, drop me a note if you have any questions.

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