Desperately need advice! Gained all weight lost ..

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2

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  • S_Arr_Uh
    S_Arr_Uh Posts: 77 Member
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    Agreed^. 4lb in a month = 1lb a week. That's the rate you should aim for. No faster.
  • clioandboy
    clioandboy Posts: 963 Member
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    I am in the same boat I was an MFP success story, then my life changed. 1 year ago I ran a half marathon, now id struggle to run for the bus. I have put all of my weight back on and hate it. I am struggling to get motivated, I feel like a failure, my mfpals are still here they are brill and I log in regularly. I have just posted a pic from my hol that i am just back from shocking, it is shocking I am the fat bird I swore I would never be again...... okay enough whinging I need to get on the ever elusive wagon.
  • peggyalex
    peggyalex Posts: 174 Member
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    OMG I am in the exact same spot as you! 2 yrs ago I lost 50 lbs doing the 1200 cals and working out and gained back 20 in like the last 5 months! Im sooooo scared I will gain it all back but I CAN NOT get the scale to drop no matter what I do so...........I have figured my TDEE and am going to give it a try at eating 1800 cals a day! can't hurt and maybe it will even help. we will see! good luck! feel free to friend me!
  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
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    I've always been on the heavier side and about a year ago I lost 40 pounds - and lost it quickly. I used this website and had a 1200 calorie a day diet and worked out 5 days a week. I plateaued about 6 months in and essentially gave up and I gained it all back. So I've started from the beginning a month ago - 1200 calories a day, working out 5 times a week and drinking lots of water and the scale has maybe budged 4 pounds. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong - if anything. Any tips if anyone has been through the same situation and how they got through it? Really need to lose about 60 pounds or so!

    I am SO glad you posted this! I lost 70lbs 2 years ago and gained back 30. I am so upset. I exercise 5 days a week but the weight is slowly going back up. I gained 3 lbs just this weekend alone and my calories did not go above 1200. I so feel your pain and am about to cry just thinking about it. I am wishing you all the best and I know exactly how you feel.
  • CottonCandyKisses
    CottonCandyKisses Posts: 246 Member
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    1200 calories a day is not enough, especially when you're working out. Go to http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and work out your BMR/TDEE with activity added and choose "lose fat - 20%" to see how many calories you should be eating, and then you don't have to worry about exercise calories, I can tell you I have around 40lb to lose and am consistently losing 1-2lb per week eating 1810 calories :flowerforyou:

    Thanks for that link--very helpful!
  • Flowers4Julia
    Flowers4Julia Posts: 521 Member
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    1200 is NEVER enough and it is not sustainable, as you found out!

    Read up on the "road map" and the "Eat More to weigh Less" groups. And, don't listen to anyone who tell you to not eat more, they are wrong.

    Two best posts on MFP (in my humble opinion):

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/813720-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience
  • yellowdog52
    yellowdog52 Posts: 14
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    Be patient! Slow and steady wins the race. It's tempting to cut your calories back to the bare minimum and exercise like a madman to blast the weight off, but it's not really sustainable in the long term, and your body will slowly force you to give up. Instead, focus on making measured, reasonable changes to your diet, find exercises that you enjoy, and let the pounds drop off one at a time. View yourself as a work in progress. Doing it this way can help you make permanent changes to your lifestyle, which *keeps* the weight off.

    And if you have a bad day and eat exceptionally poorly, or you can't be bothered to exercise (and that happens to all of us), forgive yourself, forget about it, and get back on the program the very next day.
  • Smurfettegal
    Smurfettegal Posts: 4
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    I also lost 40lbs and I've gained back 26lbs I gave up becuse I was tired of getting up early to work out and not loose any more weight. This went on for a few months. I can look back at photos and wornder if I was gaining muscle?? It does weigh more than fat. I could kick myself for giving up. I got up early today and worked out. I will pledge to myself that this is my life and I need to change if for me!! Not just to loose weight then stop doing what I have done to just regain it. Today is the day I take charge of who I am and who I want to be. :smile:
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
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    1200 calories a day is not enough, especially when you're working out. Go to http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and work out your BMR/TDEE with activity added and choose "lose fat - 20%" to see how many calories you should be eating, and then you don't have to worry about exercise calories, I can tell you I have around 40lb to lose and am consistently losing 1-2lb per week eating 1810 calories :flowerforyou:

    I went on that website (it is easy to use--I like that) and it says that I need to eat 1627 to lose ("lose fat - 20%) and that my TDEE is 2,035. MFP has me at 1,410 instead of 1627. I'm confused--does that mean I am not eating enough? Does it mean that I should be eating all my exercise calories back (I average about 150 calories worth of exercise a day--some days 500)? According to that website, I should be losing 3.3 pounds a month and I am only losing about 2 pounds a month. ???
  • awillz101
    awillz101 Posts: 13
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    If you lost quickly, plateaued and gained it all back, I don't understand why you'd set yourself up for disappointment by doing the same thing you did last time. Why not try losing weight slower but in a way you can sustain for life? Try a different path by figuring out what your caloric needs are, eat at a reasonable deficit incorporating a variety of nutritious foods you enjoy, incorporate strength training to limit loss of lean muscle while you lose fat, and do a dance of victory?

    For my part, I'm lifting 3x a week and using TDEE-20% and it's slower but I know the flub is going away forever.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Thank you! The link is really helpful, I didn't know about any of this information until now! It's a great tool!
  • awillz101
    awillz101 Posts: 13
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    1200 is NEVER enough and it is not sustainable, as you found out!

    Read up on the "road map" and the "Eat More to weigh Less" groups. And, don't listen to anyone who tell you to not eat more, they are wrong.

    Two best posts on MFP (in my humble opinion):

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/813720-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience

    Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to share those links! I'll be dissecting them in a bit :)!
  • wanttolose40lbs
    wanttolose40lbs Posts: 239 Member
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    I was not losing at 1200 calories either. I upped my calories to 1400, and went from exercising 6 days a week to 4-5 days and week and the weight started coming off
  • awillz101
    awillz101 Posts: 13
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    One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when trying to lose weight is slaving over cardio, day in and day out. It's absolutely not necessary and is genuinely counter-productive.

    You shouldn't be doing something you hate in order to lose weight and get in shape. It's not necessary, and the mental state it puts you in is poor for your health, motivation, and weight loss. This is why people yo-yo with their weight. They do crap they hate and deny themselves things they enjoy. They lose weight, but then they get sick of it, and their bad old habits creep back in and they gain the weight back. It's madness.

    The reality is that you don't need 7, 10, 15 hours of cardio every week to lose weight. It's much more important to find something you ENJOY doing and do it 2 or 3 times a week for 30-60 minutes. That's all you need for good cardiovascular health. The other side of the coin is muscles - you really need to do HEAVY resistance training at least 2 times a week. A good weight workout can be less than an hour. But losing weight DESTROYS your muscle mass unless you work it hard, and muscle is what keeps your metabolism cranked.

    A couple pounds of muscle mass burn more calories in a week than all that cardio.

    Just run a calorie deficit, work those muscles, and get some FUN cardio a couple of times a week.

    Absolutely, you're right! It's become a chore rather then something I enjoy doing. Beautifully said! :) Thank you! I'll definitely down size it to 2-3 times a week and add the strength training! How long do you recommend doing strength training?
  • climbamnt
    climbamnt Posts: 190 Member
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    When I first started trying to lose weight, I went on a 1800 cal diet and I tried to switch some of my bad choices for less bad (wasn't a fan of green healthy things at the time lol) and I lost 30lbs! MFP seems to default to 1200, and yes it may work for a while, but the key is turning a "diet" into a healthy liftstyle. If started out on MyFatSecret.com first and it is leaps and bounds better than MFP, but my FitBit would link with the MFP and I had some friends over here so I joined here. Before you join WW, try MyFatSecret first. Good luck!
  • Marthaamaya8
    Marthaamaya8 Posts: 14
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    Metformin + Curves Workout 3 times a week + 1200 calorie diet = And I lost 20 pounds in 1 month!!!!!

    Just remember when you lose weight you are more likely to become pregnant :) So now my daughter is 4 months and today I'm going back to Curves!!!!
  • lissaloue
    lissaloue Posts: 34 Member
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    Be patient! Slow and steady wins the race. It's tempting to cut your calories back to the bare minimum and exercise like a madman to blast the weight off, but it's not really sustainable in the long term, and your body will slowly force you to give up. Instead, focus on making measured, reasonable changes to your diet, find exercises that you enjoy, and let the pounds drop off one at a time. View yourself as a work in progress. Doing it this way can help you make permanent changes to your lifestyle, which *keeps* the weight off.

    And if you have a bad day and eat exceptionally poorly, or you can't be bothered to exercise (and that happens to all of us), forgive yourself, forget about it, and get back on the program the very next day.

    :happy:
  • Marthaamaya8
    Marthaamaya8 Posts: 14
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    I forgot to mention my doctor prescibed the metformin and since I suffer from hypothyroidism that is why I need to be in a low calorie diet, the first days are hard but then you get used to it and is really a great lifestyle! At this moment since I'm breastfeeding I cant have my magic pill or do diet but I think at the moment the Curves system will really help me out again!

    : )
  • babyblooz
    babyblooz Posts: 220 Member
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    One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when trying to lose weight is slaving over cardio, day in and day out. It's absolutely not necessary and is genuinely counter-productive.

    You shouldn't be doing something you hate in order to lose weight and get in shape. It's not necessary, and the mental state it puts you in is poor for your health, motivation, and weight loss. This is why people yo-yo with their weight. They do crap they hate and deny themselves things they enjoy. They lose weight, but then they get sick of it, and their bad old habits creep back in and they gain the weight back. It's madness.

    The reality is that you don't need 7, 10, 15 hours of cardio every week to lose weight. It's much more important to find something you ENJOY doing and do it 2 or 3 times a week for 30-60 minutes. That's all you need for good cardiovascular health. The other side of the coin is muscles - you really need to do HEAVY resistance training at least 2 times a week. A good weight workout can be less than an hour. But losing weight DESTROYS your muscle mass unless you work it hard, and muscle is what keeps your metabolism cranked.

    A couple pounds of muscle mass burn more calories in a week than all that cardio.

    Just run a calorie deficit, work those muscles, and get some FUN cardio a couple of times a week.

    Thank you for this. I'm definitely going to take this advice!
  • babyblooz
    babyblooz Posts: 220 Member
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    Just remember when you lose weight you are more likely to become pregnant :)

    :huh:
  • awillz101
    awillz101 Posts: 13
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    When I first started trying to lose weight, I went on a 1800 cal diet and I tried to switch some of my bad choices for less bad (wasn't a fan of green healthy things at the time lol) and I lost 30lbs! MFP seems to default to 1200, and yes it may work for a while, but the key is turning a "diet" into a healthy liftstyle. If started out on MyFatSecret.com first and it is leaps and bounds better than MFP, but my FitBit would link with the MFP and I had some friends over here so I joined here. Before you join WW, try MyFatSecret first. Good luck!

    Thank you!! :) I'll be checking those websites out ASAP! I'll take anything I can get. Good luck to you as well!

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