Not sure what I've done wrong

JodietheIndeterminate
JodietheIndeterminate Posts: 43
in Health and Weight Loss
I'd appreciate a bit of guidance here, if that's ok?

So I've been sticking to my diet for the last two weeks - under my calorie intake daily. I've been a bit (lot) of a yo-yo dieter in the past and I've never had this problem before. So if I know that I'm likely to have a lot of calories I'll eat fewer for the days preceding this to even it out and this seems to have always worked before. If anything, I've stayed the same. Anyway, I had a pig out day on Sunday and was well over my calorie limit, but for the three days after & the few days preceding that I have been well under. I've now found that I've actually put on weight!

I wondered if this could be water weight, too many carbs, my weight 'evening out', or I'm just doing something wrong. Any ideas?

Replies

  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    It's hard to tell without seeing your diary, but pig-outs are usually high in sodium, which causes water weight.
  • JodietheIndeterminate
    JodietheIndeterminate Posts: 43
    To be honest, my diet is pretty same-y day in day out - black or skinny coffee at breakfast (I can't eat that early!), slimmer soup at lunch, and then some sort of chicken and veg / veg / or low fat ready meal for tea. If I'm having a take out or meal out it'll be fish and veg or a Nando's (yum). Snacks if I get hungry are usually either low fat crisps or a lolly pop to keep my mouth occupied :P

    I do drink a lot of coffee, not sure if that makes a difference.

    The take away was Indian food which I think might be quite salty (?)

    I also drank A LOT of alcohol last week, but it was almost always within calories and when I weighed myself after the drinking, my weight was ok.
  • Amo_Angelus
    Amo_Angelus Posts: 604 Member
    Black coffee tends to have maybe 1 calorie in it? The cals come from milk...

    How many calories are you consuming? It sounds like you might be consuming too few? If so that could explain why you're not seeing a loss...
  • jenim23
    jenim23 Posts: 9 Member
    I always put on 2lbs the day after I've had an Indian (or Chinese or Thai for that matter) but it usually comes off after a couple of days
  • Soozie1978
    Soozie1978 Posts: 138 Member
    Most likely it is high sodium and water weight. Soup and any kind of take out are usually very high in sodium. I also find that when I drink alcohol it seems to slow everything down and I don't burn calories as effectively. Try upping your water intake and watching the salt. I bet the extra will come right off!
  • JodietheIndeterminate
    JodietheIndeterminate Posts: 43
    I usually eat between my target - 1200 and about 500. Depends on the day.

    I find alcohol fine - I know no one ever believes that, but personally I've never found it to be a problem before.

    I suspect it's the water retention thing or the calories from the Indian suddenly taking their toll, but seriously?? For a 2,000 calorie day followed by three 600 calorie days to still gain weight? That's SO unfair. My body is rubbish.

    Trying to drink more water.

    I do have a lot of lolliops (well, two a day?) to quell the hunger pangs... I'm starting to think they are secretly several hundred calories each or something! Ha.

    The only other difference recently is that I've found this low cal ready meal I'm obsessed with - sausage and mash for 350 calories. Usually I eat next to no carbs so thinking maybe the carbs in that could have an effect...
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    It depends how much weight you've put on, and how many calories you were over by. There's a good chance though that it is all, or mostly, water weight. If your pig out included a lot of carbs, then that will make you retain more water. Excess sodium will also make you retain more water.

    I can understand the under-eating in preparation for a day you know you're going to over-eat, but try to make sure you're getting enough to eat in general. With only 7 lbs to lose (according to your profile ticker) you would be better aiming to lose about 0.5 lb a week. It's not going to come off as quickly as it would for an obese person. You just don't have the fat stores to support a fast rate of loss.
  • Amo_Angelus
    Amo_Angelus Posts: 604 Member
    I usually eat between my target - 1200 and about 500. Depends on the day.
    That's why you're not seeing any loss...you should never eat less than 1200. If you're eating 500cals a day then you are starving yourself. Going over your target once in a blue moon is better than eating only 500cals for a few days before to average it out.
  • DPernet
    DPernet Posts: 481 Member
    A) Sodium
    B) Not recording calories consumed correctly
    C) Not recording calories burned correctly
    D) Not eating enough
  • JodietheIndeterminate
    JodietheIndeterminate Posts: 43
    Re. the 500 cals - Really? I know I shouldn't ignore the advice of people who know much better, but again - I've always done that and never seen a problem. I've always had quite a small appetite (weight gain has come from eating too many very high carb meals and takeaways - I LOVE a good carb fest) so it's never seemed like much of a problem before?

    Will definitely try to drink lots of water as I haven't been.

    Yeah I only have a little to lose but I get so disheartened when it doesn't go down (even if it goes down slowly, that's fine - just don't go up!!)
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
    A) Sodium
    B) Not recording calories consumed correctly
    C) Not recording calories burned correctly
    D) Not eating enough


    Yup All the above
  • jennfranklin
    jennfranklin Posts: 434 Member
    It could! Don't worry! It actually takes 3,500 extra calories to gain a pound of fat! I have found that it is best, (or it works for me, nutritionist at the YMCA gave me the hint) Eat your calories to lose weight for 3 days, then every fourth day increase it around 600 calories. Then go back low for three days. Also, I never eat my calories back that I have burned in exercise! I have lost 27 pounds while on MFP. But I have lost a total of 58 pounds since June 2. Keep trying and don't give up! ADD ME! I am full of information that I get from the YMCA and willing to share with anyone. I feel like we are all on this uphill battle together!
  • nexangelus
    nexangelus Posts: 2,080 Member
    You're eating between 500 and 1200 cals per day?

    From what you listed you are consuming too little good (nutrient dense) food and too little water. Ready meals and soups while measured are not the best for nutrients. Home made whole foods are more suitable for eating healthily.

    Are you doing any exercise?
  • chrishgt4
    chrishgt4 Posts: 1,222 Member
    Re. the 500 cals - Really? I know I shouldn't ignore the advice of people who know much better, but again - I've always done that and never seen a problem. I've always had quite a small appetite (weight gain has come from eating too many very high carb meals and takeaways - I LOVE a good carb fest) so it's never seemed like much of a problem before?

    Will definitely try to drink lots of water as I haven't been.

    Yeah I only have a little to lose but I get so disheartened when it doesn't go down (even if it goes down slowly, that's fine - just don't go up!!)

    You say you've been a yoyo dieter in the past though. If you're still doing what you used to, then nothing is going to change.

    You need to work out what an appropriate amount to eat is and stick to it, even if it's more than you feel comfortable with. You may even put on a few lbs for the first couple of weeks if you've trained your body to expect such low calories. But it will get used to them and start using them and then you should see the steady loss you want.

    At that point it is a case of minor adjustments up or down based on the results you are seeing, but realistically you can't expect to eat so few calories and lose weight like you want to. It's a sort of dead zone where you aren't eating so low that your body has no choice but to use the remaining fat (and cannibalise muscle), but you're also not giving your body enough to actually burn the fat.
  • mulderpf
    mulderpf Posts: 209 Member
    1. You are clearly not eating enough. You are causing more harm than good by eating so little, especially since also saying that you're a yo-yo dieter.
    2. You WILL weigh less the night after some heavy drinking because you are dehydrated. This does not mean your diet is going well, it simply means that your body is out of balance with water and it will jump back up. This is not a true reflection of weight loss and you should refrain from weighing yourself the day after a heavy night, unless you understand your body well enough to know what the figure on the scale means.
  • JodietheIndeterminate
    JodietheIndeterminate Posts: 43
    Hmm, not great with exercise I have to say! I sound so unhealthy :- Z

    I try to do some running when I can but I'm not very disciplined. Also walking etc. I'm too self conscious to join a gym or anything like that. I used to walk 5 miles daily which helped a little but now I live in London I get the tube everywhere so I don't even really have that.

    Yeah I know ready meals etc are terrible. I make home cooked meals dependent on my days at work - if I'm in til 8pm there's no way I'm cooking when I get home. If I'm home at 5.30 - 6 then that's fine. My low cal recipes are pretty limited btw if anyone has any good'uns :-)

    I THINK I'm recording my food intake directly, not sure what I'd be doing wrong there. I try to over estimate rather than under estimate.
  • JodietheIndeterminate
    JodietheIndeterminate Posts: 43
    I don't weight the day after generally because I usually also don't eat very much if I'm drinking so aware it's not a good reflection on my actual weight. I usually leave it a couple of days.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member

    I usually eat between my target - 1200 and about 500. Depends on the day.

    2,000 calorie day followed by three 600 calorie days to still gain weight? That's SO unfair. My body is rubbish.

    I do have a lot of lolliops (well, two a day?) to quell the hunger pangs... I'm starting to think they are secretly several hundred calories each or something! Ha.

    you're doing it wrong. all wrong. so wrong. wrong. wrong.

    if you want to go on a diet (loosing weight in an unhealthy and unsustainable way that will damage your health over time) keep going.

    you need to change the way you eat. a balanced diet. 500 calories will damage your body. you cant sustain that. and if you did, it would be by smoking, drinking coffee or having lollipops instead of food.

    your body isn't rubbish, its freaking out.

    you need to calculate your TDEE so you can figure out a healthy deficit. right now you are so far under you will damage your body over time.

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    what are the lollipops made out of?
  • yksdoris
    yksdoris Posts: 327 Member
    Is the problem just this week or over a longer period of time? Because I notice that while my overall trend is down, my weekly highest weight is on Monday morning and lowest is on Friday or Saturday morning. Simply because of a different eating pattern during the weekend (different rhythm because of sleeping in, different foods...) That even though I don't usually pig out on weekends; generally I'm just a few hundred cals over, if that. But, last weekend me and the fiancé had a nice weekend away and I ATE. a lot. Monday morning rolls in, I'm 2 kg heavier than on Friday (no wonder, really, because my body simply doesn't handle that amount of food that fast). But this morning (Thursday) I'm back to normal.

    Something to keep in mind is that we, females also fluctuate on a monthly basis. Although it's very personal as to how much.

    another question, which maybe has been asked already: are you logging your alcohol calories? because those can be unpleasantly steep, depending on what you're drinking.
  • JodietheIndeterminate
    JodietheIndeterminate Posts: 43
    Ok what do I then do with my TDEE?

    I'm just going to point out, I don't eat 500 cals every day, just if I feel I need to even something out. Generally it's closer to 1000 mark. It works from the old ww system when you rolled points over (although there was a minimum amount of points to eat).
  • yksdoris
    yksdoris Posts: 327 Member
    Yeah I know ready meals etc are terrible. I make home cooked meals dependent on my days at work - if I'm in til 8pm there's no way I'm cooking when I get home. If I'm home at 5.30 - 6 then that's fine. My low cal recipes are pretty limited btw if anyone has any good'uns :-)

    I THINK I'm recording my food intake directly, not sure what I'd be doing wrong there. I try to over estimate rather than under estimate.

    Do you own an oven? To me, that's the best thing ever!

    Here's one: get a dish that can be covered and can go into the oven, cut white fish (depending on the type of fish, the cals are between 80 to 120 per 100 g, and there's practically no fat) into rough pieces, cut roma tomatoes into rough chunks, add salt, pepper and herbs (rosemary/thyme is my favourite), stir so the seasonings are all over the ingredients, put the lid on (to keep it from drying out) and pop into a pre-heated oven at 180 to 200 C, leave for 20 min. To round it off, boil some green beans or broccoli while the dish is in the oven and voila: the whole meal (huge plateful) is usually under 350 kcal. And it takes less than 30 min to cook, at least half of which can be done on the couch :P
  • JodietheIndeterminate
    JodietheIndeterminate Posts: 43
    I agree re. the fluctuation thing and certainly the Monday mornings, hence doing it on Thursday! :-)

    I am logging the alcohol calories but I tend to drink pints. I keep meaning to change to a low calorie drink but I LOVE ale!!
  • JodietheIndeterminate
    JodietheIndeterminate Posts: 43
    That sounds yum. Will try that, thanks! How many cals?
  • JodietheIndeterminate
    JodietheIndeterminate Posts: 43
    Oh wait, you already told me!
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
    Ok what do I then do with my TDEE?

    I'm just going to point out, I don't eat 500 cals every day, just if I feel I need to even something out. Generally it's closer to 1000 mark. It works from the old ww system when you rolled points over (although there was a minimum amount of points to eat).

    TDEE - 20% is a healthy deficit that you would loose weight on slowly and sustainably. you could do a bit more if you wanted and see how it goes.

    you need to look at your sugar / fat / protein intake also. thats the balancing part.
  • TheKatatron
    TheKatatron Posts: 43 Member
    Here's an explanation on how consuming too few calories can actually prevent weight loss.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/536160-can-eating-too-few-calories-prevent-weight-loss/

    A) Sodium
    B) Not recording calories consumed correctly
    C) Not recording calories burned correctly
    D) Not eating enough

    I also agree that it's probably all of the above!
  • JodietheIndeterminate
    JodietheIndeterminate Posts: 43
    Yeah it's not b.
  • jasperuk
    jasperuk Posts: 29
    I have been at this weight loss for about 2 weeks now with no real head way until the last few days i guess the body is just getting used to the change but now i am 4lbs lighter and hoping to keep going.
  • JodietheIndeterminate
    JodietheIndeterminate Posts: 43
    Thanks, that's interesting. More even calorie intake, more water, more exercise. Done & done.

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