so close to just giving up!

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echelonokie
echelonokie Posts: 92
in Health and Weight Loss
Another week of watching my calories like a mad woman, another week of busting my butt and sweating my *kitten* off doing Hip Hop Abs and Rockin Body and Walk Away the Pounds and I've gained another pound! I don't get it at all. I'm eating till I'm full but my cals never stay at the goal, they're always way below. I'd gained 3lbs back and now another 1. I don't have time to do more workouts than I am. This is beyond depressing to be working out and watching what I eat and see the scale go the wrong direction.

Any advice? Help? Anything?
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Replies

  • shelliemacs
    shelliemacs Posts: 42 Member
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    im sitting on that bus right next to you friend. ive contemplated chopping off a limb to see the scale go down. course then I'd have a problem lifting the barbell or doing the actual jumping jack.
  • jcm1029
    jcm1029 Posts: 11 Member
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    I know it is frustrating, but you need to eat your calories. I have read it in my diet books and heard Bob Harper talk about it too. if you do not eat the calories your body requires then your body goes into starvation mode and it holds on to the fat cells. I am no expert, I have struggled with weight all my life. when i was on WW and I know I had a good week, then they weighed me in and I gained weight, I cried. But I just kept going and then the next week or two weeks later the scale would catch up. Keep in mind, all the cardio is great for your heart which is the best muscle to work. good luck and hang in there.:happy:
  • divinenanny
    divinenanny Posts: 90 Member
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    Looking at your diary, I see days where you are skipping meals, and I never see a day (looked back about two weeks) where you eat any of your exercise calories back. 1200 cals is a pretty low goal (I need 1466 to stay in a coma, and I figured that's the least I can give my body). Don't be afraid to eat. I lost my weight (and am still losing) eating around 1500 cals (sedentary TDEE -20%) and I eat at least half my exercise cals back. You need fuel.
  • Ericacarrino
    Ericacarrino Posts: 7
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    Sounds like me a while back....I don't think your eating enough!!! Your body needs fuel!! Eat more...you will lose!!!
  • nena49659
    nena49659 Posts: 260 Member
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    The same thing is happening to me. However, I noticed that my pants were getting much more loose. Saturday, I went to Walmart and tried on a one sized smaller pair of pants. Hmmm, still loose. So, I went another size smaller and they fit!

    So, don't give up. That scale might be going the wrong way, but our bodies are shrinking!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
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    Are you logging all your foods? Do you measure and weigh them? Also, what are your stats (height and weight)? If you really have 160 lbs to lose, it's possible you need a lot more calories. Also, do you have any medical conditions? There a ton of things that could affect weight loss. I have seen it take up to 6 months to figure out a good calorie goal. It can take that long because you have to try several combinations and eventually go to elimination of food groups to see if there is an underlying food allergy. This is how I found out my wife has a gluten intolerance.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    Maybe forget about the calories for a while. Log what you eat but try to ignore the calories. Or you can write it down and log in at night. Keep working out. Also SCALES are EVIL. I don't trust them.
  • idahob
    idahob Posts: 6
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    It is easy to feel hopeless when the scale is not going in the right direction. You are adding muscle by the exercise you are doing. Your body may be a bit confused about what is going on if this is new to you. Just keep doing the right thing, it will pay off! Don't give up! I have so been there!
  • echelonokie
    echelonokie Posts: 92
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    @shelliemacs. Amen. And I'm fairly sure I'd have to lob off a butt cheek to make a difference.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    One day you only ate 685 cals (or you didn't log anything). You Also show 600-700 exercise cals many days. How long Are you exercising to burn that much? Make sure you don't overestimate exercise. I only looked back a few days but did see a lot of either restaurant or processed foods (sausage biscuit, fried chicken, sushi). It could be that you are eating more cals than you think and not exercising as much off as you think. Try eating more fresh foods and try walking or jogging. It's hard to estimate cals burned with videos (in my opinion). The couch to 5k program is great.
  • paxbfl
    paxbfl Posts: 391 Member
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    You're definitely not eating enough. BMR is the amount of calories your body requires just to function. You have to eat at least this amount every day - and that's without exercise! I wouldn't recommend that you eat back all your exercise calories (since you're probably over-estimating how much you burn - unless you're using a good heart-rate monitor) but you should probably eat back some of them. So if your BMR is 1200 and you're burning 600 calories in exercise, that's 1800... I'd say eating 1500 is probably a reasonable amount you should be eating. That's a stab in the dark but probably a closer estimate than the 695 calories I saw on your diary recently. Try that for a few weeks - it will take a while for your body to adjust. And keep doing the cardio - it's the best thing both for weight-loss and overall health. Eat right, and you'll feel even better - more energy you can use to work out even harder! You create a positive cycle - you eat more, get your metabolism going, have more energy, work out harder, increase your metabolism even more through exercise, and you start losing weight.
  • TheDoctorDana
    TheDoctorDana Posts: 595 Member
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    Give it time. I went for 2 months losing and gaining the same 3 pounds. I was so angry but I thought, I could give up now and gain back what I have lost plus some ( always gain more after a diet) or I could just keep doing what I am doing and if nothing else, I will at least feel better. The weight started dropping again. I have set in my mind that I will NOT be the person I hated seeing in the mirror, no matter what.
  • echelonokie
    echelonokie Posts: 92
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    @jcm1029 I know my cals are low. The problem is that I eat until I'm full, so it's not like I FEEL hungry. I can be sorta close to my goal then workout and be insanely low again. My goal is actually 1600. The only time I've gotten close to that was when I went for sushi.
  • Supern0va81
    Supern0va81 Posts: 168 Member
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    Do the opposite of what you're doing.

    I used to do what you are doing now and felt the same frustrations. Time and time again finding a new exercise to enjoy, another diet, and new fad, something else temporary. What worked was doing the opposite though. I slowed down, worked out less, decided how I liked to have fun - and found sports that fitted my criteria, then tried them), and planned my favourite foods to the calories I was supposed to be eating. I didn't care that everyone said do the opposite because what I knew was myself and my needs better than anybody else. I started doing this in January this year. I am on the other side of a plateau at the moment, but I have also recently noticed that I have started to prioritise everyone else again and my energy for living has depleted again. My energy and loss has shown rewards again since I have been prioritising myself. So, I'm gong back to basics. Reduced exercising, more lower intensity exercise, thinking about how I feel and what I really want at a particular moment in time etc. Priotising me works best for me so perhaps have a think about what works best for you.

    Stay strong in mind, and body!

    Edited: because I forgot to add reading. Read for science, to learn what your body really needs and how it works, then work out how to give it just that!
  • maybeazure
    maybeazure Posts: 301 Member
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    I don't believe that it is "starvation mode." Very large people (myself included) don't gain weight by not eating enough calories. If you are being honest with yourself about weighing and measuring things, then I would say that it is most likely water weight.

    Are you weighing yourself at the same time every day? I routinely "gain" five pounds between morning and night, every single day. It seems like the more you weigh the more it varies...my husband can "gain" ten pounds in a day. If you are even slightly dehydrated, your body will seem to hang onto the water. So drinking lots could help.

    Another thing that will happen when you start an aggressive exercise program is that your muscles get little tiny tears in them (which is normal). Then the body has to send a lot of its fluid stores to those muscles to heal them, causing a temporary weight gain. It's annoying, but eventually there will be a big drop.

    If you are really eating and exercising at a deficit, you WILL lose weight. Don't give up. You are also getting other benefits from the exercise...improved cardiovascular health, etc.
  • echelonokie
    echelonokie Posts: 92
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    @divinenanny my goal is actually 1600. I know I'm not even getting close to that. But what do I do when I'm stuffed and really do not want more food? I do tend to skip meals on the weekend just cause breakfast and lunch are usually the same meal. And if I go out, I miss supper. *sighs*. Eating when I'm not hungry just sounds counter productive
  • BreakingUpWithObesity2013
    BreakingUpWithObesity2013 Posts: 276 Member
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    Get as close to your calorie goal as you can without going over...i know it sounds weird but your body needs it
  • alasin1derland
    alasin1derland Posts: 575 Member
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    Are you drinking your water? That's a very important part of weight loss, it aids organ function to flush fat from the body. High sodium levels can mask losses due to water retention. As others have said, eating enough calories to sustain every day life and exercise is important as well so your body doesn't rebel and hold on to everything you put in it.
  • crista_b
    crista_b Posts: 1,192 Member
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    You're definitely not eating enough. BMR is the amount of calories your body requires just to function. You have to eat at least this amount every day - and that's without exercise! I wouldn't recommend that you eat back all your exercise calories (since you're probably over-estimating how much you burn - unless you're using a good heart-rate monitor) but you should probably eat back some of them. So if your BMR is 1200 and you're burning 600 calories in exercise, that's 1800... I'd say eating 1500 is probably a reasonable amount you should be eating. That's a stab in the dark but probably a closer estimate than the 695 calories I saw on your diary recently. Try that for a few weeks - it will take a while for your body to adjust. And keep doing the cardio - it's the best thing both for weight-loss and overall health. Eat right, and you'll feel even better - more energy you can use to work out even harder! You create a positive cycle - you eat more, get your metabolism going, have more energy, work out harder, increase your metabolism even more through exercise, and you start losing weight.
    Calculate your TDEE here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
    Then set your calorie goals to TDEE -20% (there's an option on that site where it will calculate that amount for you). It's likely that you've plateaued because of a too low caloric intake. If you do the TDEE method though, make sure you enter the activity level accurately and don't eat back exercise calories on it.

    ETA: You said that you're having trouble getting your calorie goal, and that's why you're eating low. Try to take in some calorie-dense foods: vegetable oils (esp. regular olive oil, not light or EVOO), nuts, etc.

    ETA (again): Try to ignore the scale and take measurements. They'll show loss much more than the scale will because it will fluctuate daily for various reasons. I was up 4lbs in the last week from water weight and weighed in this morning at a 1lb loss from my previous official weigh-in (meaning I lost the 4lbs of water weight + 1lb more).
  • MoJoPoe
    MoJoPoe Posts: 139 Member
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    12 lbs lost is NOT a trivial amount. I bet you have built muscle too.

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