Help! Frustrated and defeated.

missmuse06
missmuse06 Posts: 50
in Health and Weight Loss
How am I gaining weight when I feel like I'm doing all the right things???

I'm so beyond frustrated.

Yes, I'm drinking aprox 100oz of water a day. No, I'm not eating tons of salt. Yes, I'm working out every day. Yes, I'm eating enough calories. Yes, I'm eating healthy food (and I've tried different combos of protein/carbs). No, I'm not losing inches instead of pounds. Yes, I'm switching up my workouts.

I'm at a loss, not sure what I can switch up to get things moving in the right direction.
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Replies

  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    There is either an undiagnosed medical condition, or your off on your counting somewhere. It's really easy to be off on your portion sizes or calorie estimates, especially your exercise calorie estimates.
  • BellaBones
    BellaBones Posts: 136
    Try taking a day off, and exercising twice a day on three or four of the workout days. Maybe eat smaller portions more often. Hope all the best to you. I have been there!!! The things I have listed have worked for me. Add me if you would like and do not give up!!!
  • missmuse06
    missmuse06 Posts: 50
    I went to the doctor about 3 months ago for this reason. They did a bunch of tests and found nothing.

    Even if I'm over estimating my burn during exercise (I need to get a HRM) I shouldn't be gaining if I'm consuming under 1400 cals per day (some days more to "shock" my system). I weigh and measure my food, so I'm pretty close on the calories.
  • DesignGrrl
    DesignGrrl Posts: 147 Member
    Kind of taking a stab, but I read somewhere to break a plateau, increase exercise AND calories by 20%. Might be worth a try?

    For me personally, I stuck it out for 3 weeks and then saw a big drop one finally overnight. Crazy, but it happened.
  • Luvmyhubby222
    Luvmyhubby222 Posts: 149 Member
    I would drop my daily calorie goal and add 15-20 minutes of exercise (or more). See what happens. One other thing, I know that the scale can reflect stuff that happened days and days ago (if you had an off day). It's been said a lot on here-weight loss isn't linear. Maybe all of your hard work will show up soon.

    Hang in there!!:flowerforyou:
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    You don't have your diary open so there's no way to peek at it and check it out. What are your stats? How long have you been at this? What exercises do you do, if any? With 88lbs to lose it should honestly be pretty easy at this point, barring medical/hormonal issues.
  • AmberJo1984
    AmberJo1984 Posts: 1,067 Member
    If you're not off on counting your calories, it sounds like you may have an undiagnosed thyroid condition... or some kind of medical condition. I would get to a doctor.
  • muse69jd
    muse69jd Posts: 4 Member
    How long has this gain been going on? I went through a period of gain as I lost fat and added muscle, it didn't last very long. Try not to worry or obsess about it and take the odd day to go easy on yourself. Keep heart and keep going, good luck :)
  • rhinesb
    rhinesb Posts: 204 Member
    ***edit...never mind others have already asked.
  • ladybug1620
    ladybug1620 Posts: 1,136 Member
    I went to the doctor about 3 months ago for this reason. They did a bunch of tests and found nothing.

    Even if I'm over estimating my burn during exercise (I need to get a HRM) I shouldn't be gaining if I'm consuming under 1400 cals per day (some days more to "shock" my system). I weigh and measure my food, so I'm pretty close on the calories.
    Under 1400 calories per day, and then exercising on top of that? Or are you NETTING 1400 per day?
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    100oz of water a day?!?! ARE YOU A RAINFOREST
  • missmuse06
    missmuse06 Posts: 50
    I had lost about 20 pounds over 3 months.... then maintained during the end of August and all of September while I was on business trips and 2 vacations. I actually lost 5 pounds during my week in San Fran with all the walking we did!

    I started back at the gym regularly and tracking calories about 3 weeks ago. I initially dropped 8 pounds very quickly, but in the last 5 days I've put 4 pounds back on, even though my workouts are increasing in intensity and I have not had any slips with food or drink.

    I'm going to try extra cardio I guess?
  • Anna800
    Anna800 Posts: 639 Member
    Can you make your diary public?
  • missmuse06
    missmuse06 Posts: 50
    I went to the doctor about 3 months ago for this reason. They did a bunch of tests and found nothing.

    Even if I'm over estimating my burn during exercise (I need to get a HRM) I shouldn't be gaining if I'm consuming under 1400 cals per day (some days more to "shock" my system). I weigh and measure my food, so I'm pretty close on the calories.
    Under 1400 calories per day, and then exercising on top of that? Or are you NETTING 1400 per day?

    I don't eat back my calories from working out.
  • fitniknik
    fitniknik Posts: 713 Member
    I cant see what you are eating, but Im guessing that is your problem. Be EXTREMELY accurate, also possibly the intensity of your workout is not high enough. I was stuck on a year and a half plateau. Seriously, a year and a half! I thought I was doing everything right, but I wasnt! I re evaluated myself and really started tracking EVERYTHING not just forgetting about stuff and eating much healthier. I also upped the intensity of my workout (went with insanity, cant get much more intense) and what do you know? A YEAR AND A HALF later Im losing weight again!
  • DarthH8
    DarthH8 Posts: 298 Member
    Kind of taking a stab, but I read somewhere to break a plateau, increase exercise AND calories by 20%. Might be worth a try?

    For me personally, I stuck it out for 3 weeks and then saw a big drop one finally overnight. Crazy, but it happened.

    This works like a charm for me.

    Except I eat excessively for about a week. Then I drop it down (but higher than when I was at the plateau) and increase the workouts.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    I had lost about 20 pounds over 3 months.... then maintained during the end of August and all of September while I was on business trips and 2 vacations. I actually lost 5 pounds during my week in San Fran with all the walking we did!

    I started back at the gym regularly and tracking calories about 3 weeks ago. I initially dropped 8 pounds very quickly, but in the last 5 days I've put 4 pounds back on, even though my workouts are increasing in intensity and I have not had any slips with food or drink.

    I'm going to try extra cardio I guess?

    Okay so you have lost a significant amount of weight, then your eating habits changed a bit for your business trips and vacations, you lost another 5lbs, and in five days you've put on four pounds of water weight

    No you do not need more cardio. Fight the urge to do more cardio, or eat less.

    If you want exercise to help, lift weights. Do less cardio. Yes seriously.

    You're not being very patient with yourself, three weeks of tracking food and being back on track at the gym is a very short amount of time in order to demand results from yourself. You can't gain four pounds in five days. It's really not possible.
  • Four_Leaf_Clover
    Four_Leaf_Clover Posts: 332 Member
    If you lost 8 lbs in the last 3 weeks (prior to the gain) - then you are really doing great - even with the 4 lbs gain that puts you at an average loss of more than 1 lb per week.
  • Tiffikat
    Tiffikat Posts: 47 Member
    You might have a gain from water weight due to working out your muscles (I read that can happen, but I'm not 100% on it). Otherwise, I think you probably should try to up your calories some.
  • 120weeks
    120weeks Posts: 242 Member
    Here are my two most important questions: 1) Are you keeping a food diary and 2) are you measuring and weighing everything?

    If not, do that for a month and you will probably lose weight. I find that many people fail to do this. Be honest and be patient.
  • harvo
    harvo Posts: 4,676 Member
    Eat smaller portions for meals and be sure to snack in between. Do not skip meals as your body will store sugar and fats to have something to compensate. It may take a week or two but once your body knows it will have nutrition every few hours it will burn off what is there quicker.
  • missmuse06
    missmuse06 Posts: 50
    Thanks for the great info guys.

    I'm going to keep at it, using your advice.

    It's just so freaking frustrating to do all the "right" things and every morning the scale goes up.

    I'm doing cardio and hot yoga tonight, maybe I'll sweat out a few pounds ;-)
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Thanks for the great info guys.

    I'm going to keep at it, using your advice.

    It's just so freaking frustrating to do all the "right" things and every morning the scale goes up.

    I'm doing cardio and hot yoga tonight, maybe I'll sweat out a few pounds ;-)

    If you know that you're doing the right things, eating well and sweating a lot, then maybe it makes sense to not step on the scale every morning. Perhaps just weigh yourself weekly and save yourself the frustration? After all, you KNOW you're developing healthy habits, and seeing a number that you don't like isn't going to change the fact that you're continuing to eat well and exercise.
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
    If you truly are keeping accurate track of your calories and workouts, and you are within appropirate parameters for weight loss, I would advise that you keep doing what you're doing and weigh yourself less often. It can take the body time to respond to changes, especially when you are near your goal. I think of it as "digging deeper". If you're digging a hole, the stuff at the top is easier to move than the stuff near the bottom. I don't care if this isn't scientifically accurate, it's how I wait out plateaus. Maybe it will help you, too.
  • mearlie
    mearlie Posts: 224
    I went to the doctor about 3 months ago for this reason. They did a bunch of tests and found nothing.

    Even if I'm over estimating my burn during exercise (I need to get a HRM) I shouldn't be gaining if I'm consuming under 1400 cals per day (some days more to "shock" my system). I weigh and measure my food, so I'm pretty close on the calories.

    What testing did they do?

    Get your bloodwork results. Read them yourself. Many docs are still using old science.

    If they properly checked your thyroid they should have checked your TSH, free t3 and free t4. TSH should be below 2. Many docs don't diagnose under-active thyroid until TSH is over 4 or 5. That's way too high. If they didn't check your t3 and t4 then there's no way to know if you are converting properly.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    Doubt your eating enough.. 1400 calories and not eating back your exercise calories..
  • denezy
    denezy Posts: 573 Member
    what are your macros? I bet you could use more protein in your diet
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    Doubt your eating enough.. 1400 calories and not eating back your exercise calories..

    THIS.

    My guess is the OP is NET under 1200 and their body is not letting go of the extra weight.

    You have to fuel the machine to lose. You want to reach those calorie goals MFP gives you (settings to lose 1lb/week). The goal is to lose the weight and to keep it off.

    Let's say you take in 1400 calories and burn 400 calories in a workout. You're trying to fuel your body with 1,000 calories and you are not going to lose the fat. You don't want your body to start losing muscle. Drinking a ton of water daily is not fixing the fact that you are simply not feeding your body enough food (nourishment) on the days you workout.
  • Jmchao
    Jmchao Posts: 27 Member
    Not to get too personal, but where are you in your menstrual cycle? I've gained anywhere from 5-7 pounds of water weight the days adding up to my cycle, then afterwards, it all came right back off.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    Not to get too personal, but where are you in your menstrual cycle? I've gained anywhere from 5-7 pounds of water weight the days adding up to my cycle, then afterwards, it all came right back off.

    This may explain the water weight but if you read the earlier posts the OP is not eating back their exercise cals. They are taking in only 1400, plus working out. So each day it is NET lower than what their body needs. This has nothing to do with their cycles.

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