Need to stop losing.

kelsully
kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
edited September 21 in Motivation and Support
When I joined MFP I had already lost about 15 pounds. I am 5 ft tall and weighed about 135-140 at the beginning. I was exercising and cutting down on my portion size and as a family we ate out A LOT!. Since I was frustrated that I lost a lot of inches but couldn't get the scale to budge so I started tracking calories...in my head at first..I am a math geek so it wasn't too hard to track in my head. THen I found MFP. I am training for a marathon but honestly don't see my workouts changing much after Sunday (when I run the marathon). My long runs might not be 20 milers etc but I feel great and LOVE running again like I did before I had 4 kids. Anyway...I am down to 112 on a good day. That is well within normal for a 5 ft person but I can't keep my pants on and I have a fair amount of lean muscle on my frame. I was really content at about 115-117. DH is starting to worry. I have been down the road with eating disorders in my teens and don't want to go there again. I snack and I track cals now to make sure I am eating all my calories but most nights I am about 100-200 under my maintennce goal+exercise cals. I go over by about 50 is cals once or twice a week but those days are such a struggle for me. I know I need to gain a few pounds but I don't want to go back to 135 where I felt frumpy and dumpy all the time. I am so happy with my progress but I need to stop progresses and just maintain. I don't want to eat crap and junk all the time to maintain my weight either. I eat a vegetarian diet (have for 13 years don't see that changing ever), we eat at home more often now and I love to workout...it makes me sane. How do I overcome the struggle of fearing the weight coming back on and yet gaining the few I need to gain back for my health's sake?

Replies

  • deshaine
    deshaine Posts: 195
    Once your done with the marathon, if you're still losing, then I would consider a serious evaluation of your caloric intake. While you're training it's very important to get sufficient protein, so make sure you're getting enough every day. Also, you should make sure you're getting enough sodium to maintain hydration on the long legs where there are no water breaks. Be sure to take a break from running, too. Too much running can cause injury to your bones and organs.

    HTH, GL with the race.
  • StarryEyedGirl
    StarryEyedGirl Posts: 585
    did you change your settings to "Maintenance" ? I guess that doesn't matter much if you can't eat all the calories... I don't really see this as an eating disorder I see you addicted to running- sounds great to me! you must feel so great!!
  • Edestiny7
    Edestiny7 Posts: 730 Member
    You need to try really hard to get meet your daily calorie goal instead of being 100 - 200 calories under. There has to be some small change you can make to your eating to get those extra calories in. As a side note, runners do have very slim physiques. Have you ran the BMI to see what a healthy weight range is for you? I have been eating vegan for the past 2 or 3 weeks and some of the things I can think of for calories are nuts, I love almonds, maple syrup, etc.... I know it stinks to try and eat your calories if you are not hungry, that is why I am thinking it could be a simple add-on. I wish you the best. :flowerforyou:
  • rastrillo
    rastrillo Posts: 28 Member
    Since you are a self proclaimed math geek you'll love this. It's called The Harris Benedict Method. For figuring BMR use the weight you want to maintain. This is a maintenance formula, you will have to adjust it accordingly when your activity level and age changes.

    Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

    To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

    •If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
    •If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
    •If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
    •If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
    •If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9
  • muth3rluvx2
    muth3rluvx2 Posts: 1,156 Member
    Safe ranges for folks our height (I'm 5'1) is 98-135#s. I don't know if that helps with the psychological part or not.... and as far as gaining weight - I agree with the others -just bring your cals up 100-200 a day. 50 twice a week clearly isn't cutting it. Considering you're still losing, you're obviously still burning high. In fact, you may find that you need to up it 500... but one thing at a time. :-)

    Good luck!
  • modernfemme
    modernfemme Posts: 454 Member
    Try nibbling on some nuts. 1/4 cup of nuts and seeds can 140+ calories and you won't feel like you're stuffing yourself. It's also a great energy boost.
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    Thank you guys..I eat a ton of almonds and raisins...I have my settings on maintenance and I try to eat my exercise calories. I have lost 2 more pounds as well that I didn't record here as I didn't want my maintenance calories to drop anymore....I suppose I should eat a whole serving instead of just half...I am used to eating like a person who wants to lose weight/eat healthy...therefore I sometimes I will eat half a serving of things and see if I am still hungry 1/2 hour later before I eat the second half. I have always eaten towards the healthier end of things. I did good yesterday because I added the peanut butter with my apple at lunch. I normally wouldn't do that as I am in the mode of only healthy intake etc. I know peanut butter is healthy but 3 months ago I avoided the PB as it was unneccesary calories...now they are neccessary and it is a tough psychological mental twist I am finding myself in. I went over 500 cals last night and I felt stuffed and bloated...and I ate good foods...I don't ever want to get used to that stuffed feeling again as I don't want to get "thick" again. I ate snacks I didn't want yesterday...I used a sandwich roll for my dinner last night I wouldn't have eaten a few weeks ago. I feel like I hve to add crap back into my diet and that just doesn't make sense to me
    I have good support from m DH and he knows I am working hard on this but it is good to know I have support here too.
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    Did my math...I should be shooting for 2460 cals a day...I did my BMR etc and mutiplied by 1.85...for activity level as I am very active with my workouts but the rest of my day is pretty average stay at home mom stuff...mostly driving kids places etc...LOL but I do work out hard..2460 seems very unreachable to me unless I eat out which we can't afford anymore...I guess I should start adding more cheese to my dinners too...oh and the 2460 is to maintain my current weight..I made all these healthy adjustmets to my life and now I feel like they are biting me in the butt.
    I will keep working at this and I will figure out how to maintain without eating craptastic foods.
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
    I'm right there with you. I'm on maintenance (1580 for me) and I struggle to eat my exercise calories especially after I burn 1100+ calories running. I'm actually forcing myself to eat more than I want to during the day. I'm so used to fat free this and skim milk and all the like, that it's hard to go to full-fat options...nevermind the acquired taste that goes along with it. I also had an eating disorder so it's definitely a hard mentality to break through with eating higher calorie foods. I do the almonds and the peanut butter and I do enjoy sausage (gah bad fat) but it's hard to hit the 1580+exercise calories even when all of these are thrown in. One thing I can suggest is granola? It's pretty nutritious and has a decent amount of calories (1/3 cup was 120 calories for me this morning) and I mixed it into some Greek yogurt.

    If you want support, feel free to add me. I'll try and help as best I can :)
  • ArchyJill
    ArchyJill Posts: 548 Member
    What a tough spot you are in! It does feel like a catch-22 sometimes, need to fuel up for those monster runs without feeling like Miss Piggy. I think my only suggestion would be to try some "sneaky" calories, like a smoothie you can sip on throughout the day (that's a couple hundred extra, easy), don't know if you imbibe but just one really good microbrew is several hundred calories and is relatively healthy compared to other liquid calories (e.g. soda, fruity mixed drinks, etc.), soybeans are my "evil/good" food because they are so calorie dense I avoid them but so good for you I know I should eat more. Maybe consult a nutritionist that caters to runners? I know you aren't the only one in this boat, I know of a few others on the site that are trying to gain some back, or at least stop losing.
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