No motivation, diet and exercise is not helping.

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I am so frustrated with myself. I have gained almost 20 pounds in about a year and I have been dieting&exercising for the past few months. I'm 5'3 150 pounds and anything and everything I do, it seems as though I am gaining more and more weight everyday. I am completely lost on what to do at this point. I tried dropping my calorie intake to about 1400 cal/per day. Please if you have any advice or feedback feel free to comment. Thank you.

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  • dynamicpoetry
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    What kinds of food are you eating? And what types of exercise are you doing?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    We can't see your diary, so it's tough to give specific advice without knowing what you're eating and how much you're exercising.

    The first thing to do would probably be to check with your doctor and make sure your thyroid and hormone levels are all okay.

    How much weight have you gained since you started dieting? Are you exercising heavily?
  • castelluzzo99
    castelluzzo99 Posts: 313 Member
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    Figure out your BMR (if you're my age, it would be 1360). 1400 puts you above that, but like others have said, how much exercise do you do? If you are eating 1400, you should probably eat back exercise calories. Either that, or figure out your TDEE.
  • groundhawg
    groundhawg Posts: 121 Member
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    Also, buy a food scale. Theyre pretty darn cheap at Walmart, and you'd be amazed at how much things really weigh! Particularly if you eating dense foods like cheese. Even fruit, I found I was really undererstimating that amount that I was eating, that was a lot of sugars and calories that I didnt think I was getting.

    If you are only doing cardio I would seriously consider weight lifting. Ask yourself if you are really being honest with how much you are eating and how strenuously your working out. Add sprints, really hard sprinting, to your cardio.

    And most importantly, measure your hotspots! Measure your hips and your waist. Ive been at a weight plateau the last few months, but Ive lost an entire inch around both my waist and my hips.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Are you measuring your food intake or just "guesstimating"

    Are you logging everything that goes into your mouth?

    Calorie burns from exercise can be exaggerated by machines & MFP (MFP may have you eating back too many calories)


    Figure out your BMR & don't eat below this # ..... these are calories needed if you were in a coma........ then figure out your TDEE ... these calories should incude exercise .....subtract 15-20% from TDEE .... (use 15% when closer to goal).

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

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

    If you are eating somewhere in that "ballpark" .... and you are measuring your foods .... you might need to see a doctor.
  • ellie4936
    ellie4936 Posts: 5
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    Thank you everyone for the great responses. The reason I am so frustrated is because I have literally done all of that. Calculated my BMR, TDEE and have a food scale measuring everything. I even had my thyroid checked but everything is good. I try cardio along with some weight lifting, but it seems like every time I exercise I gain weight. I know it should be muscle weight, however I don't lose any fat, it just seems like the muscle grows and pushes the fat up that's all because none of my clothes/pants fit any longer. I am just frustrated and completely lost at this point.
  • zeke1964
    zeke1964 Posts: 18 Member
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    get a personal trainer to prove whether you are burning as much as you think.......we can fool ourselves........
  • groundhawg
    groundhawg Posts: 121 Member
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    Also, it can take a few months before you fat loss outpaces your muscle gain. You may be gaining muscle and your bones are probably become stronger, and denser... so it may not feel like you are losing weight. Ive reached similar plateaus and after a few months the fat starts to fall off. I do recommend joining a class, a group, or getting a trainer to push you to worker harder. I've watched a lot of women at the gym spend more time wandering between the machines and drinking a smoothie than actually working out, but when they tally their time they say to themselves that they spent an hour working out when it was really about fifteen minutes.

    And, are you eating a lot of junk? Are you eating relatively clean? New studies show that a calorie is not just a calorie to our bodies, they process them differently depending on whether its carbs, proteins, etc. It may be worth it to start IIFYM or a paleo diet, or you know, something that can teach you nutrition while you are doing it. If you are workign out and still eating from the "healthy menu" at McDonalds your body might not be processing food correctly for you to reach the goals you want. All of our bodies work differently. I've realized that my body realllllly cant handle gluten. I eat gluten and my bones ache and I puff up like I've gotten a bee sting. Something that you are eating could be causing your body to have a similar reaction, which will slow weight loss. Maybe even see a nutrionist. These things can be costly so I do my research online, but it may be worth it if you really feel like *nothing* is working.

    I would do a lot of research, and then pick a plan and stick with it for a few months. Unfortunately, our bodies are *kitten*, and this stuff doesnt happen quickly. Paleo has worked for me personally over the last year, and just recently after a two month plateau I used a TDEE calculator to adjust my calories because I began to believe I hadbeen at a deficit for too long. I plan on sticking with this for just a few months before I decide yay or nay.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Thank you everyone for the great responses. The reason I am so frustrated is because I have literally done all of that. Calculated my BMR, TDEE and have a food scale measuring everything. I even had my thyroid checked but everything is good. I try cardio along with some weight lifting, but it seems like every time I exercise I gain weight. I know it should be muscle weight, however I don't lose any fat, it just seems like the muscle grows and pushes the fat up that's all because none of my clothes/pants fit any longer. I am just frustrated and completely lost at this point.

    It's not at all uncommon to see a gain on the scale when we start a new exercise routine or increase an old one. Our bodies flood sore muscles with water to help them heal, masking any fat loss taking place. That's likely what you're seeing. Have you given your body a few weeks to get used to the exercise?
  • ellie4936
    ellie4936 Posts: 5
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    It's interesting you mention puffing up and what not when u eat gluten. I feel the same exact weight, but honestly don't even know where to start with that and how far to go with cutting them out. It's just a tough situation.