what am I doing wrong?

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Emme727
Emme727 Posts: 92 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am beyond frustrated. This may be a long post....

History:
I have been trying to lose weight since July. I started tracking in another system then. I joined MFP in Oct (I think). Between July and a few weeks ago I had lost almost 10 lbs (172 to 163). This was just with diet (ummm... starvation, mostly -- I worked in a restaurant and would get bites of food here and there). I joined here and decided to be healthier.

It was also in October that my father had a massive heart attack. He survived, but it was the "Widow Maker." This was in spite of the fact that he is a healthy weight, has good cholesterol, eats the Mediterranean diet, and does tai chi daily. I learned that my younger brother has high cholesterol and is on meds (he is active and thin). It was a wake up call so I had my cholesterol checked it was normal to low, but my good cholesterol is too low. I am working on that now (drink one glass of wine, eat more fiber, olive oil ,etc).

I started to do Zumba (40-60 min). I also realized that I wasn't eating enough. So, I started to try to be more consistent with eating and eating my minimum 1200 calories. I was tracking in part to makes sure that I was eating enough. (History of eating disorders). After a month of zumba (almost daily), I decided to add some other exercises. So, in the past week I have been doing more strength as well -- using 30DShred and Rippedin30.

We live an active lifestyle. We are farmers and chefs (my partner is a chef and I am a pastry chef/baker). We cook almost everything from scratch and raise our own foods (we have a trout farm, but also pigs, goats for dairy, and veggies galore). Our lifestyle is active -- splitting /carrying firewood, etc. My diary may have "commercial" foods, however, it is the closest comparison to what we made at home.

I am a former collegiate athlete, but my last marathon was 8 years ago. I have never really struggled with weight until the last year. My thyroid was checked at my appointment. It was a tad sluggish, but not enough to warrant meds. I am taking sea kelp to help with iodine.


The problem:
The weight would NOT come off. and then instead of coming off, I gained weight. I weigh more now than when I started in July. I gained 10 lbs in 3 weeks.

I really don't know what I am doing wrong. Am I eating too much? Too little? Am I just getting "old" (39)? Am I not exercising enough? Am I stressing about all of this too much?

Replies

  • kmbrooks15
    kmbrooks15 Posts: 941 Member
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    You are probably not eating enough. I work a desk job and do an hour of exercise each day, and I eat around 1800-1900 calories on workout days (around 1400-1500 on non-workout days). You work as a chef/baker and are probably on your feet most of the day. 1200 is probably not even enough for your BMR (the amount of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day), much less for the active life you're living. Throw exercise in there, and you are probably only netting a few hundred calories, if that.

    Try eating MORE. Make sure they are good foods (proteins, veggies, carbs, etc.) and not just junk. But your body may be thinking it's not getting sufficient fuel, so it's holding on to fat stores instead of letting them go (some refer to this as starvation mode). You need to fuel your body.

    In the settings tab here on MFP, make sure you have your lifestyle set to active. If you are a chef and have a farm, you are definitely active. You might be shocked at how many calories it gives you!
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
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    With the active lifestyle you have, plus exercise, my guess is that you should be eating more. A lot more.

    It sounds like you are on your feet most of the day, doing a lot of different things. My initial thought was that if I were doing that much work, I would set up MFP on “moderately active” (you may think “lightly active”, but I sit on my butt most of the day and the right net calories MFP gives me, based on my Bodymedia Fit, is for someone who is considered lightly active), a goal of 1 lb loss per week, and after the extra exercise (your JM videos), eat as much of your exercise calories back. But, when I look at how little you seem to be eating right now, it will likely have to be something you will need to work up to. But, the bottom line is, you need to eat a lot more.
  • Emme727
    Emme727 Posts: 92 Member
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    Okay. This makes sense. However, as someone who is accustomed to a less than 1000 cal/day, I am having trouble imagining how to increase calories. To me, I am eating more than I have for a long time.

    Advice on good nutrient rich foods to add? Or should I add amounts? Or just snack more? (I'm asking all of these questions!!! Sorry!)
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
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    Eating more often throughout the day will help get more calories in. Eventually you will likely start naturally feeling hungry more often. Some good foods that are higher in calories but aren't too filling: nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, bananas, cheese and full-fat dairy products, and protein shakes.
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
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    Eating more often throughout the day will help get more calories in. Eventually you will likely start naturally feeling hungry more often. Some good foods that are higher in calories but aren't too filling: nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, bananas, cheese and full-fat dairy products, and protein shakes.

    Agree with the above - especially if you are exercising and have an active lifestyle..

    One thing to do as well - take measurements of your body in key places, thigh, waist, hips, arms - while you may not lose weight you could be burning fat and since fat takes up more space then muscle you may not see a huge change on the scale but you will see a change in your body...
  • Sepa
    Sepa Posts: 243 Member
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    Your not eating enough food. I work at a desk all day and had my calories at 1200. I didn't loose any weight. I have now upped my calories to 1440 (my bmr calories) every day. A bit more if I have exercised. I have lost 1-2 lbs per week since doing this. Check what your bmr is. This is the amount of calories your body needs just to be a couch potato and maintain your current weight. Any activity and you will need more calories to stay at your current weight. MFP has a bmr tool
  • Emme727
    Emme727 Posts: 92 Member
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    Eating more often throughout the day will help get more calories in. Eventually you will likely start naturally feeling hungry more often. Some good foods that are higher in calories but aren't too filling: nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, bananas, cheese and full-fat dairy products, and protein shakes.

    Agree with the above - especially if you are exercising and have an active lifestyle..

    One thing to do as well - take measurements of your body in key places, thigh, waist, hips, arms - while you may not lose weight you could be burning fat and since fat takes up more space then muscle you may not see a huge change on the scale but you will see a change in your body...

    Yes, I agree. I have only measured myself once. I know that I have lost a little in my hip and waist. Thank you for bringing that to mind. I get so stuck on the numbers on the scale....

    I have to remind myself that I can now do "boy" push-ups (couldn't do before) and I can workout for an hour without stop. These are good for my heart health!
  • Emme727
    Emme727 Posts: 92 Member
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    Your not eating enough food. I work at a desk all day and had my calories at 1200. I didn't loose any weight. I have now upped my calories to 1440 (my bmr calories) every day. A bit more if I have exercised. I have lost 1-2 lbs per week since doing this. Check what your bmr is. This is the amount of calories your body needs just to be a couch potato and maintain your current weight. Any activity and you will need more calories to stay at your current weight. MFP has a bmr tool

    Okay. Thanks. I have changed my activity to "moderate active." I guess I have to change my attitude toward food....
  • anniewinter
    anniewinter Posts: 35
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    You still have 1,000 calories or more during the day, his should not be the case, you should only have about 300 left over if that
  • igagnon76
    igagnon76 Posts: 3 Member
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    don't forget that muscle weighs more than fat. it's all about how you feel in your clothes and your measurments. throw the scale away!
  • vcancel
    vcancel Posts: 96 Member
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    don't forget that muscle weighs more than fat. it's all about how you feel in your clothes and your measurments. throw the scale away!

    Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound is a pound. Muscle takes up much less space than fat because it is denser.
  • Simplycando
    Simplycando Posts: 2
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    I am feeling your pain. I gained 1# from St. Patrick's Day (I ate lotza steamed cabbage)...no alcohol...and I feel like a failure. I drink lots and lots of water and like veggies. HELP.
  • Requiembell
    Requiembell Posts: 106 Member
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    Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound is a pound. Muscle takes up much less space than fat because it is denser.

    No one said a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat. When one thing weighs more than the other it is because the same volume of two different things have different weights.
  • volume77
    volume77 Posts: 670 Member
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    if you have been eating under 1000 calories for a while you have damaged your metabolism. it's almost impossible NOT to gain weight coming off starvation. relax. start eating more. it will level out. trust....................

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