Losing Hope! Help!

aimers75
aimers75 Posts: 8 Member
edited November 2024 in Motivation and Support
ok i was doing great! last dec i was down to 125 and was very happy, exercising lots, eating healthy and then xmas came and of course i gained a few pounds...but since then i have kept going up.
i am still exercising lots - i recently added in weights and strength training as i am training for the spartan in june - but i still run 2-3 mornings a week. hike 4-6 evenings a week(if i do not hike i walk) and now on the mornings i do not run i either use weights or full body work outs or play at the park(monkey bars and stuff for grip and strength training)

i currently give myself 1200 calories a day and i try not to eat back what i exercise ( the only exercise i count is cardio) but some nights i do. and yes some nights i know i am bad and go over but i still ALWAYS count it. on my worst days i am still not eating more then 1600 calories and yet i am gaining weight/maintaining. i am 131 currently and it is driving me nuts

my friends say i am gaining muscle and i know they could be right, and i know the scale is not the only way to track i have also starting measuring myself and that seems to be staying steady/going down very slighty(unless its measurement error) but i am just about at the point when i want to give up.

am i actually gaining muscle, do i need to eat less? do i need to eat more(someone told me about when you do not eat enough it can cause you to gain weight?)

i just need some unbiased answers :(.. i feel mostly great until i see the scale and i just want to be back to 125 but its been a month now and i have gained a 3 pounds.

help!

Replies

  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
    I think you need to eat more. If you're only eating 1200 calories, you NEED to be eating your exercise calories back.

    You're starving yourself.
  • futuremanda
    futuremanda Posts: 816 Member
    Well giving up will get you to your goal probably never, so it isn't really a great option. You'd likely end up back here in a few month or years even further from where you want to be.

    Eating more does not cause you to lose more weight. Eating too little will not stop weight loss. Eating too little could cause other problems though, both for your physical health and your emotional and mental wellbeing.

    You are correct that the scale is not a great way to measure progress. You could easily be holding on to 5 lbs of water weight.

    How are your clothes fitting? Where do you measure? (The more places you measure, the easier to keep track of progress.) How are you progressing in your fitness goals?

    How long have you been logging for? If you've just been "eating healthy" since Christmas but logging for a few weeks only, then you're probably on the right track and just need to be patient. People close to goal weight can take way longer to lose weight because smaller people can only safely create smaller deficits. And short time frames (less than 4 weeks) mean nothing, you could have water weight from your period cycle (ovulating, pre-menstrual, menstrual), from changes in diet (days when you eat more salt or carbs), changes to your workout (ramping up intensity or time spent etc).

    Do you weigh your food? I suspect, since you say you don't usually eat exercise cals, that your intake might be fine (or even low, for health), but it would be worth making improvements if any could be made, so that you have a really good idea of what's going on.

    I'd also suggest working on making the number on the scale less important to you. Why is 6 lbs enough to derail you completely? In 6 lbs, you'd be an awesome, acceptable human being, and all your efforts would have been worth it, but because you're up 6 lbs (at least some of which WOULD be water), no dice, you're awful, might as well quit? It's a bit harsh.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited March 2015
    Open your diary. You are almost certainly eating more than you think.

    There is zero chance you've gained six pounds of muscle since Xmas.
  • aimers75
    aimers75 Posts: 8 Member
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    Open your diary. You are almost certainly eating more than you think.

    There is zero chance you've gained six pounds of muscle since Xmas.

    I have done this - however i do want to note that i have not logged all of my exercises lately as i was trying to not eat those calories back and when i log them i will. so my exercise level is showing lower recently.

    I have been logging for a while now off and on so it not new. its been a few years(although not consistent)

    and i know the scale should not matter as much and i am trying but its hard and it is something i know i have a problem with but i is hard when i know i can get there(at least once) and now i can not. esp with the scale currently going in the wrong direction.
  • aimers75
    aimers75 Posts: 8 Member
    and i would never just give up and stop everything i love hiking and running esp with my dog but..food is yummy haha and i do enjoy it so sometimes its harder to have the motivation to stick to my counting. ( although i do admit to giving myself a cheat day once a week)
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Lots of "homemade" entries in your diary - did you enter those recipes yourself?
  • aimers75
    aimers75 Posts: 8 Member
    edited March 2015
    no but i make them myself and add all the calories up and then find one that fits it from within the database. if i can not find it i will enter it myself.
    if i am not sure or it is only close i always up it by at least 50-100 calories
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    aimers75 wrote: »
    no but i make them myself and add all the calories up and then find one that fits it from within the database. if i can not find it i will enter it myself.
    if i am not sure or it is only close i always up it by at least 50-100 calories

    The problem with using a recipe from the database is you don't know what went in it, so it can be way off from what you made. The recipe builder will give you exactly what you make as you enter the ingredients in.
  • aimers75
    aimers75 Posts: 8 Member
    thats good to know :) thank you!
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