New here and already discouraged :(

quiltchickie
quiltchickie Posts: 50 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi everyone. After almost a month of keeping under my allowed calories and working out (via elliptical and walking outside), today I step on my scale and find I actually GAINED weight. I am at my highest weight EVER (at 182) and am at a loss as to how I let myself get this far. I have always had a very athletic build (I was a trained dancer) and have always weighed a bit more than what the typical guidelines, but have always figured it was due to the muscle mass of my body.

A month ago I started this journey thinking I will FINALLY do something for me (after stepping on a scale and being totally flabbergasted!). I am so tired of being embarrassed of my body (btw, I'm 42 and have two kiddos age 10 & 12). Have I just hit this weight because of my age and maybe it's where I will be "stuck" the rest of my life? To the point that I have had terrible allergies and refuse to go to the doc because I know they will have to weigh me. After all this hard work for an entire month, seems like I have nothing to show for it. :(
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Replies

  • ELENA01
    ELENA01 Posts: 47 Member
    You are not going to be stuck there the. I was 196 and had the same feeling and thoughts but I have lost 56 lbs since 01/22/13. Just check your food intake and see what works for you. I totally check everything out before I take it in and chart it to keep track. Lots of water to wash out the fat. It will happen, it just takes time. Slowly but surely it will come off.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Opening your diary would help people give you feedback.

    How do you measure your foods?

    How do you measure your calorie burn?
  • jillianbeeee
    jillianbeeee Posts: 345 Member
    first off, good job on the month. We did not gain this in a month so remember it will take much longer then that to see results. Are you weighing and logging all your food? When I started this I was surprised with what I thought was a few ounces or one cup. weigh everything, measure everything and log everything! When I first started MFP I logging in a sunday breakfast and was shocked to see my normal sunday breakfast was over 1000 calories! Wow what a wake up call!
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,268 Member
    don't quit. you have done good. weighing and measuring portions is key. drinking lots of water too. You could be gaining muscle, are you measuring yourself too? share your food diary and we can maybe give sugestions. Just stick with it.
  • quiltchickie
    quiltchickie Posts: 50 Member
    I have pretty much been using the scanning option on most everything. Totally cut out sugar as much as I can (finally getting used to drinking BLACK coffee), cut out almost all beverages other than water (I did see they really DO add up!). Been eating a LOT more healthier. My typical snacks are now almonds, yogurt, and bean salad (before it was mostly processed junk food).

    Guess I really need to be even more careful. Hubby's supporting me but thinks it's kinda nuts that I'm logging EVERYTHING.

    As for the calorie burn, my elliptical has a program that tells me about how many calories. The walking I just use the MFP to submit the time I walked.
  • quiltchickie
    quiltchickie Posts: 50 Member
    Haven't measured. I just figured I would go by the feel of my clothes. I have always hated the scale. Now I remember why. :(
  • ken_hogan
    ken_hogan Posts: 854 Member
    Can you open your diary so we can see how your days look?
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
    Is it water retention? Have you been able to measure your body fat percentage? Do your clothes fit a little looser? Are you able to go faster and for longer periods of time? Is your diet improved?

    Don't worry so much about weight. There are so many other things that make you healthy.
  • NYCNika
    NYCNika Posts: 611 Member
    I think most likely guess is you undermeasure your calories.

    I see many items in the mfp database that are "filet" or "cup" or whatever. It is all bull****.
    There is only grams and fraction of oz that is a measurement which is in any way accurate.

    Also, are there ever "a bite", "a taste", or ANYTHING you put in your mouth that you don't count?

    Watch "Secret Eaters" on youtube, you will se how people honestly believe they are eating under calories and are buffled why they are not loosing weight, when in reality they are eating twice as much calories as they log.
  • Eabec
    Eabec Posts: 53 Member
    You will feel the difference in your body and your health. Ignore the scale. That could be water retention from working out or anything else. The body is fluid - literally i guess! You will go up and down. How do your clothes feel? Can you run after your kids breathing less heavily? A lot of things are the measure of your success, not the scale alone!
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    deleted (duplicate post)
  • quiltchickie
    quiltchickie Posts: 50 Member
    Not sure how to open my log to share. The one thing that I CAN say is that I am sleeping (and feeling) a bit better. I did hear once you hit 40 it's a lot harder to lose. Didn't think it would be THIS hard.
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    You really need to give the process time to work. A month seems like a long time, but you didn't gain all your weight in a month, so its not going to leave that quickly either.

    Make sure you're logging correctly (portion sizes, etc, and not overestimating your calories burned) and watch sodium too.. Weigh yourself consistently and at the same time of day (even one seemingly healthy restaurant meal can pack enough sodium to show a weight gain the next day).

    Also, you said you're staying 'under' the calories on here...but could you possibly be eating too little?
  • FrankiesSaysRelax
    FrankiesSaysRelax Posts: 403 Member
    Go to settings- dairy settings- scroll down to the bottom dairy sharing and set to public.

    There is always a possibility that you're retaining water from working out. Are you using a food scale to measure food? Are you eating back calories burned? It's very easy to overestimate your calories burned while under-estimating your calories.
  • ken_hogan
    ken_hogan Posts: 854 Member
    Not sure how to open my log to share. The one thing that I CAN say is that I am sleeping (and feeling) a bit better. I did hear once you hit 40 it's a lot harder to lose. Didn't think it would be THIS hard.

    I'm 43 and it isn't THAT bad to lose, I don't think any way. How many calories do you get a day and how many are you eating?
  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
    Opening your diary would help people give you feedback.

    How do you measure your foods?

    How do you measure your calorie burn?

    The above is what is needed to help. If you do not weigh your food, that's a big source of error. Using "close enough" entries from the database for homemade foods or restaurant foods is another. Volume measurements are fine for liquids, but most other foods it is too easy to mess up. Another common error is taking the calorie burn estimates MFP gives for eating back exercise cals as gospel. They were double reality for me (I got a Body Media Fit Link armband).
    First step, please open your diary when asking for the community's help.
  • kellsbells7
    kellsbells7 Posts: 5 Member
    It's possible that if you're following the calorie reading on your elliptical you are overestimating your calorie burn. I have a heart rate monitor, and when I wear it on the elliptical the elliptical shows that I burn 60-70 more calories during a 30 minute session that my HRM. So if you're overestimating your burn and eating those calories, that could add up.

    Just a thought, it may not even be a contributing factor.
  • meowlymary
    meowlymary Posts: 84 Member
    Give yourself a break! It takes time. One of my old trainers said it would take at least six weeks before you start noticing the change. Also, when you start eating better and working out (especially if you weren't eating enough calories/nutrients before), you can start to gain before you lose. Don't get discouraged!
  • RacerX_14
    RacerX_14 Posts: 578 Member
    Don give up!! It takes a while to start seeing results. I also agree with the others, open your diary so we can see it and help make suggestions! Stay with it!!!!!
  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
    Not sure how to open my log to share. The one thing that I CAN say is that I am sleeping (and feeling) a bit better. I did hear once you hit 40 it's a lot harder to lose. Didn't think it would be THIS hard.

    I'm 43 and it isn't THAT bad to lose, I don't think any way. How many calories do you get a day and how many are you eating?

    Says a guy. :laugh: Mother Nature does things to the ladies starting around that age that it does not do to you gentlemen.
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
    There are a number of things that can be contributing to this....

    First, are you weighing/measuring all of your food or are you estimating?

    Are you accounting for all foods that you eat (even the little taste testing adds up)?

    Are you staying hydrated? WATER, WATER, WATER.... your body needs it!

    And how did you come up with the calories you should eat daily?

    Without being able to see your diary, it is hard to do anything more than ask questions. All I can say is, do NOT give up! You have done the hardest part which is to say enough is enough and start the lifestyle change. Now you just have to figure out what is missing in the equation. There is a wonderful article that says it all... http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/ It is long, but worth the read. Best of luck!
  • SherryIsRunner5
    SherryIsRunner5 Posts: 74 Member
    The only advice I have is to keep at it, I haven't had a loss in awhile and I am starting to feel discouraged, too....it will come eventually!!!
  • kell2116
    kell2116 Posts: 77 Member
    Hi - I totally feel your pain! I also gained weight in my first month, despite mostly sticking to my allotted calorie count and working out 6 days a week. As a result, I've pretty much stopped weighing myself and I'm now charting my progress through body measurements and how my clothes fit. My advice is STICK WITH IT! If the scales are your enemy, then don't use them - there are plenty of other ways to see the difference you're making to your body through diet and exercise and it sounds like you've made a fantastic start with your calorie intake and workout plan over the last month. Keep up the good work and don't be too hard on yourself :-)
  • NC0224
    NC0224 Posts: 11
    Most of the other people who responded have already covered things to make sure you are doing; logging food, keeping track of an accurate number of calories you have burned, etc etc. If you haven't already, get a heart rate monitor. I use a Polar FT4 and know of several other people who use that one as well, they work great. I have used cheaper monitors, and they did not accurately count calories burned/heart rate. It's a little bit of an investment, but the FT4 was about $60 when I bought it in 2012.

    Lastly, don't give up!!! You have a goal, and you should stick to getting what you want. It is a very difficult journey to lose weight. If I said that I have never fallen off the wagon, then I would be a liar! Actually this last weekend was quite a failure for me, but it's a new week, and I just have to move on and do better! It isn't just a "diet," it's a complete life change.

    Edit: You can also go to freedieting.com, or search for calorie intake calculator in the search engine. It will allow you to put in your height, weight, and all that to determine the correct amount of calories, and will even give you a 7 day list of calorie numbers to calorie cycle. Doing that will jump start your metabolism, because you won't be eating the same exact calorie count each day. It's great for when you hit a plateau (spelling?), and can't lose weight. Another thing, you may want to measure your waist, hips, chest, etc. You could be losing inches, but not "weight."
  • lisaanne1369
    lisaanne1369 Posts: 377 Member
    If you can, start running/ jogging .
  • quiltchickie
    quiltchickie Posts: 50 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/tschellhammer">

    I THINK you all should be able see this now, not? I did go in today and reduce my calories down even more. So far I have had a yogurt. Struggled on the weekends (of course) but still moved forward a lot compared to what they USED to look like. Just feel like I'm shuffling forward to the next day.

    I will need to get my scale out to weigh my food. Maybe also look into a heart rate monitor.
  • Steph_in_Mississippi
    Steph_in_Mississippi Posts: 70 Member
    I had a friend who wasn't losing weight. Then I realized what she was doing wrong. She would scan something and not pay attention to the servings. She counted it as 1 serving although she ate 2 or 3.
  • quiltchickie
    quiltchickie Posts: 50 Member
    Oh my, running would kill me! LOL One thing I can say is my hubby likes where I gained a lot of my weight. ;)
  • missybrian
    missybrian Posts: 5 Member
    Don't get discouraged, though I know it is hard sometimes not to. The thing that stuck out to me was the fact that you said you are eating under your calories. How much under are you eating?? That could be the key right there. I read Chris Powell's book, and what I found interesting is that he's had clients that would do the same thing thinking they would lose faster when in fact they would gain because the body will think it is not getting enough nutrients and start holding on to them. Also, are you eating healthy foods, enough fruit and veggies, and watching your sodium intake? Just some ideas. Keep up the good work and it will happen! Besides, would you rather give up and then really gain some weight and feel even worse!
  • MissyBrears
    MissyBrears Posts: 41 Member
    Don't give up MFP really does work you may have to trey a different way for your body maybe don't eat back excercise calories Etc.

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