Struggling to Lose Weight/Consume Enough Calories

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brcann
brcann Posts: 18
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys,
I've been a long time lurker and this is my first actual post because I'm so stuck I have no idea what to do!

I used to be extremely overweight my freshman year of high school- my record high was 300 lbs. I finally got my life together and by the time I was a senior in high school I got down to 160 lbs. But, unfortunately, I was diagnosed with an eating disorder and was forced to change my lifestyle so that I wouldn't die. I started eating more and playing sports and got my weight up to 180 lbs. But, that was three long years ago, and after my first year of college I gained 35 lbs due to being too comfortable with my lifestyle, and have been on a quest to get back down to 180. I currently am at 208, and I keep teetering between 208 and 212 and I just can't seem to lose any weight!

I know I'm not eating enough calories for the amount that I work out (7 days/week) but as a person who was diagnosed with an eating disorder, I still have minor relapses here and there, and I'm having an incredibly hard time adding more calories to my diet now that my brain has the lose weight switch on. I have gained 5 lbs since I've started my diet and I stress out about it almost every second of every day. Does anyone have any tips/suggestions to help me get back on track?

Thank you :)
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Replies

  • Naener
    Naener Posts: 167 Member
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    You have to take into account that if you are working out as aggressivly as 7 days a week, you are likely gaining muscle.

    have you tried monitoring your body with a tape measure instead of a scale?
    I had never used a tape measure when trying to lose weight till this year... when i started working out (this time around) i went from May to July, working out 5 days a week, and the scale didnt go down, i actually gained 2 pounds!

    One day i pulled out the tape measure that came with my work out program, and took some measurments... i had lost 11 inches!! three from my waist alone!
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    it's difficult, normally people who work out a lot, eat a lot, but as long as they have a calorie deficit they lose weight. Now I tend to gain weight when I work out, because my appetite goes through the roof (like working off 200 calories and wanting to eat an extra 1000). On the other side of the coin, if you don't eat properly whilst working out, you actually burn less during your workouts, because you have less energy, you don't give it your all.

    The fact that you have gained 5lbs actually suggests that, unless this is water and that is always a possibility if you start a new exercise regime, you are eating more then you think you are. Since you are recovering from an eating disorder though, I wonder whether a dietician who perhaps deals in this field can help you create a menu/plan that you can follow and start rebuilding a good relationship with food.

    have you seen this link yet? It was a bit of an eye-opener for me and I realised I ate about 250 calories a day more then I logged, simply by not weighing and using measuring cups instead.
    http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode
  • brcann
    brcann Posts: 18
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    Thanks for the advice, I will start using a tape measure to monitor progress! And the article really helped, I guess I'm eating too much? Or not burning as much as I thought?

    This is a really frustrating topic for me, and I'm doing tons of research on TDEE-20%, but my TDEE-20% would be about 2,100 calories which, I 100% know that I am not eating per day, not even on cheat days. I have accurately tracked my calories for about a week now, religiously logging every single thing that I eat, and each day reaching no more than 1,600 calories and my net being no more than 1000. I guess I'm just not burning as much as I thought I was?

    I'm seriously going so crazy about this!
  • joshdann
    joshdann Posts: 618 Member
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    be very careful with TDEE and your exercise net. It's common for people to overestimate their TDEE, especially when using online calculators that are extremely inaccurate for many people. It's also common for people to overestimate their caloric burn. Not everyone messes this up, but enough do that there are daily threads just like this one.

    The best way to figure out your TDEE is by tracking your weight and body composition over time. If you are not losing weight at the rate you like (or at all), reduce your caloric intake. It's really that simple. If you cannot or do not want to reduce your intake, then look at your exercise routine. Long bouts of cardio and any other exercise that repeats the same motion and uses the same workload will not burn as many calories once your body gets used to the work. Muscles will become stronger and more efficient, and you really will be burning far fewer calories than you are likely estimating. A good example of an exercise that does not suffer from this problem is heavy lifting. Consistently increasing your workload ensures that you are always stressing your muscles, at a relatively constant rate and your caloric burn will remain mostly constant. Not only that, but you will gain strength (and possibly a bit of muscle) that will make you more physically capable overall.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    the reason why I suggested a dietician is because depending on what sort of eating disorder you had and for how long, your metabolism may not work like others do. You could get one of those bodpod analytics done and that would tell you your BMR i.e. the amount of calories your body consumes in a resting state over 24h (meaning the calories it needs just to keep itself alive even if you are simply sleeping all day). If your measured BMR is vastly lower then the amount that the BMR calculators that are available then you really need to check and see how other people who recover from an eating disorder handle that.
  • brcann
    brcann Posts: 18
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    I must be overestimating caloric burn. I have been doing the same exercise regimen for about a year now, but I've recently added in three more days of cardio, upping it from 4 days to 7, and adding in the stair master in place of the treadmill to give my knees a bit of a break. But I just found it really odd because I lost 7 lbs in three weeks after I increased my cardio and decreased my intake, then all of a sudden I gained back 5 in a week. I legitimately thought it was from my TOM but one week later here I am, still at the same weight and more frustrated than ever!

    I've been lifting 2x/week but nothing really too heavy, just moderately heavy weights and a lot of reps. I guess my next step would be to add in some heavy lifting! I'm a huuuuge fan of the squat rack haha. I'm gonna try and up it to 6x/week and see if that produces results! Thank you ^__^
  • brcann
    brcann Posts: 18
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    the reason why I suggested a dietician is because depending on what sort of eating disorder you had and for how long, your metabolism may not work like others do. You could get one of those bodpod analytics done and that would tell you your BMR i.e. the amount of calories your body consumes in a resting state over 24h (meaning the calories it needs just to keep itself alive even if you are simply sleeping all day). If your measured BMR is vastly lower then the amount that the BMR calculators that are available then you really need to check and see how other people who recover from an eating disorder handle that.

    I will definitely look in to seeing a dietician, I was just talking with my mother about seeing one. I had one when I was going through my ED but once I got back to a healthy weight again, I stopped going. I realize now that I could probably solve a lot of my problems by seeing one. Thank you!
  • albertine58
    albertine58 Posts: 267 Member
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    Why are you working out so much? Your body needs rest and recovery time! Working out puts serious stress on the body and will increase cortisol levels if you're doing too much, which promote holding on to fat. It also sounds like you need to eat more. Your body is probably freaking out if you're stressing it that much but only netting 1000 cals. If you struggle to eat more, then back off on the cardio. Strength training is great, but you should have at least 2 rest days or very low-intensity days (like walking, yoga, or a low-intensity elliptical session). Your muscles need to repair to get stronger!

    I lose weight faster when I work out less, weirdly enough- I think because my body isn't so stressed! I've only been running 2ish miles twice a week and losing a 2 lbs a week, netting 1400 cals/day. I'm 5' 4", 24 years old. I used to go to Bootcamp and Zumba classes 6+ times a week and I got so stressed, exhausted and burned out from that.
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
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    One week?
  • brcann
    brcann Posts: 18
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    Why are you working out so much? Your body needs rest and recovery time! Working out puts serious stress on the body and will increase cortisol levels if you're doing too much, which promote holding on to fat. It also sounds like you need to eat more. Your body is probably freaking out if you're stressing it that much but only netting 1000 cals. If you struggle to eat more, then back off on the cardio. Strength training is great, but you should have at least 2 rest days or very low-intensity days (like walking, yoga, or a low-intensity elliptical session). Your muscles need to repair to get stronger!

    I lose weight faster when I work out less, weirdly enough- I think because my body isn't so stressed! I've only been running 2ish miles twice a week and losing a 2 lbs a week, netting 1400 cals/day. I'm 5' 4", 24 years old. I used to go to Bootcamp and Zumba classes 6+ times a week and I got so stressed, exhausted and burned out from that.

    I guess you could say I'm a cardio addict? Haha. Actually I legitimately can not live with myself if I skip out on the gym. I'll beat myself up for it all day and I'll hate myself and feel really unhappy, so I have to get myself in there for my mental sanity haha. I'll try and tone down the intensity of the cardio and see how that works! Right now it's strictly 3 days of Turbo Kick/Body Combat/other various group exercise classes, and 3 days on the treadmill/stairmaster. I'll give the elliptical a try for sure! Thank you!
  • brcann
    brcann Posts: 18
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    One week?

    I'm sorry... but one week for what?
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    Could you open your diary (settings - public) so that we can see what you're eating?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I've been lifting 2x/week but nothing really too heavy, just moderately heavy weights and a lot of reps. I guess my next step would be to add in some heavy lifting! I'm a huuuuge fan of the squat rack haha. I'm gonna try and up it to 6x/week and see if that produces results! Thank you ^__^

    unless you are going to do different body parts each day, lifting 6x per week is a really bad idea... you need to rest in between workouts. a full body workout 3x per week is recommended
  • brcann
    brcann Posts: 18
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    Could you open your diary (settings - public) so that we can see what you're eating?

    Sure, I'll open it now! Btw, if you're wondering when you take a peek, today looks super crazy compared to other days because I was told to try consuming more calories closer to TDEE-20% that was calculated. It was actually really difficult to eat that much today
  • brcann
    brcann Posts: 18
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    I've been lifting 2x/week but nothing really too heavy, just moderately heavy weights and a lot of reps. I guess my next step would be to add in some heavy lifting! I'm a huuuuge fan of the squat rack haha. I'm gonna try and up it to 6x/week and see if that produces results! Thank you ^__^

    unless you are going to do different body parts each day, lifting 6x per week is a really bad idea... you need to rest in between workouts. a full body workout 3x per week is recommended

    I would be focusing on separate body parts each day. I tend to only do legs on one day and arms on another because I absolutely hate chest, back, and shoulders haha
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    I looked at your diary and can I just ask how you are determining your calorie burns? Cause yesterday you logged 1119 calories for exercise and that is A LOT. People have mentioned in other posts that mfp overestimates the exercise calories dramatically, so I just thought I put this out here.

    other note I noticed all your food seems to be measured rather then weighed. Weighing is much more exact. Also I didn't notice any fruit and veggies logged. Do you just not eat them? Why?
  • brcann
    brcann Posts: 18
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    I looked at your diary and can I just ask how you are determining your calorie burns? Cause yesterday you logged 1119 calories for exercise and that is A LOT. People have mentioned in other posts that mfp overestimates the exercise calories dramatically, so I just thought I put this out here.

    other note I noticed all your food seems to be measured rather then weighed. Weighing is much more exact. Also I didn't notice any fruit and veggies logged. Do you just not eat them? Why?

    I do know that the calories burned are generally over estimated and I always mentally subtract at least 200 calories each time I log a turbo kick class, depending on my intensity for the day. When I run, I used the calories estimated on the treadmill itself, because it's always at least 50 calories less than what MFP said. And I do not own a food scale so I usually just use measuring cups if what I'm eating isn't packaged as one serving. And I love fruits and veggies! I have a lot of salad during the week, one at lunch and dinner almost daily, I just never really travel outside of that.
  • ibblewibble
    ibblewibble Posts: 5
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    You've gained 5 pounds! You're not struggling to consume enough calories!!
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    And I love fruits and veggies! I have a lot of salad during the week, one at lunch and dinner almost daily, I just never really travel outside of that.

    I realise now that you buy a prepacked salads. The reason why I mentioned it is because some people don't log all their fruit and veggies (at least not those that would be free points under weight watchers).

    If I were you I would invest in some kitchen scales, because I am a vegetarian and the difference between measuring veggies and fruit and weighing them amounted to 250 calories a day i.e. when I started I used to just measure and I consistently got about 1100 calories. Now that I am weighing stuff I eat the same and it comes to 1350 calories :-)
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
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    You are overestimating your calorie burn and not measuring your food in a serious way.


    Get a digital kitchen scale ASAP. Amazon has nice ones that fold up.


    Get serious about measuring things and you'll get it done! You'll probably have to eat more than 1200 net a day, but since you are eating close to maintenance now it will feel like less.

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