Unless you ate 24,500 calories over maintenance, you didn't gain 7 lbs of fat in a week. It was likely water weight.

Calorie goals should be tailored for each individual, depending on gender, age, current weight, weight goal, activity level, etc.

When I started, I set my goal at 2lbs loss per week and sedentary (I have a desk job). MFP had me at 1200 calories. (I'm 5'2") I ate back some of my exercise calories. I stuck with this for about 9 months and lost 50 lbs before I hit a plateau. It was then that I changed my goal to 1 lb per week (and eventually .5 lb). This gave me more calories and the additional weight eventually came off. (Been maintaining for almost 18 months). My maintenance goal is 1510 calories. I still eat back some of my exercise calories.

There's some great information in the Getting Started section of the forums.

Best of luck to you!

Have you tried a different approach?
A blog posted here gave me a lot of food for thought.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Momma_Grizz/view/menopausal-weight-gain-war-zone-576021

I was in your same exact place and feeling very frustrated. Counting calories wasn't working. It was making me obsessive with food and every little thing going in my mouth. Googling and researching to find out what was the true nutrient values for each food (because we all know that just using the food diary on MFP is not always correct). I found two things finally got me showing weight loss. So I say shake it up - try something different until you find what works for you. Sometimes just counting calories doesn't work for everyone. Have you checked out the article I posted in my challenge thread? Its got great information for how us older, menopausal women change what we need. I am doing 21 day fix and am seeing results finally! I'm not where I wanted to be for when I started but a lot of that is my own doing and not being as strict as I could be. But I'm not discouraged as I was when I was just calorie counting and I'm still moving forward. I wish I would have taken before pictures from behind because yesterday while doing my hair (I have a mirror that I turn so I can see the back of my head in another mirror behind me) I noticed that my butt and back and waist are definitely smaller. Let me know if you want to join my FB group if your not already on there.

The 1400 calorie per day diet will be great for you. That amount will be a bit short of what your guy needs. Make the same healthy food, but give him 25-30% more. He'll need closer to 1800 calories per day. Our guys don't appreciate feeling like they're deprived or starving. I tell my husband I want him healthy and with me as long as possible in this life. You want him to own the healthy aspect of it and see that he has a stake in it. You can't do it for him so you want him to take on the healthier lifestyle for himself, and do it for himself. My husband and I eat the best and do the best when we do it together as a team. Good luck to both of you.

Karen - I used to do the same thing. But mine would be stopping by McDonalds or Burger King on my way home and devour whatever I would get before I would get home and then I would actually stop somewhere and throw the wrapper away before I got home thinking if I did that then it means it never happened! Weird. I was never a closet eater so when I started to do this I had to step back and look at why and it was because I was constantly "on a diet" and when my husband would see that I had gone off of it I felt ashamed that I had been so weak. My solution was to not "be on a diet." I started keeping my health and food goals to myself or within a private group on here or facebook. It took some time for me to retrain my husband that I wasn't on a diet and that my eating was my eating not for him to comment on. I don't think he was purposefully trying to sabotage but he was. I have to say that the 21 day fix has been the best thing I have invested in. It took me away from counting calories which I was getting obsessed with but I am still able to keep track of my foods. And I resisted getting the program for a long time because of the same reason that I was closet eating - I was ashamed that I was spending money on yet another "fad" diet. But what I learned about me is that I am not like other people and I get bored easily which is why so called fad diets work for me - it shakes things up and keeps things interesting but different. Don't be afraid to experiment and find out what works for you. Have I ever told you about my Jay Robb story? Jay Robb has a great program. It worked for me when nothing else did about 7 years ago. I still eat Jay Robb style and even though I have gained back some over the last couple of years I am not close to getting back to that size again. If your interested in more info PM, I don't want to push any program down any one's throat but if my experience can help someone get back on track, I love to share. I believe that finding the Jay Robb program when I did saved my life. Now that being said - I had to shake things up again this time around to get the weight moving again. Good luck and hang in there!

Yep Karen - that is exactly what it takes sometimes! Just remember - your not giving up - it doesn't matter how many times you "start over" or how many different programs you try as long as your still trying.

Sweet_Pandora wrote: »

I know what to eat to feel optimal and balanced it's just doing it that I struggle with or sticking with it once I get started.

That's me exactly!

Right now I'm in the middle of procrastination mode. I'm too fatigued to work out, so why bother watching what I eat. As soon as the kids are out of school for the summer and I don't have to drive all over town to drop them off at 3 different schools, I'll have mornings available to work out, so I may as well wait to start dieting. Enough! I'm going to be 50 next month and I definitely don't want that to be the mindset I'm in when I hit that milestone.

I hope I can lose a couple of pounds just by eating right, but at the rate I've been gaining, if I can just maintain I'll be ahead of the game.

Thank you ladies for sharing your stories and inspiring the rest of us!

Adriana

I'd like to second what Teralie said. Thank you for posting the articles. I found Momma_Grizz's article particularly interesting. I knew cortisol played a big role in general fat storage, but I didn't realize how it interacted with hormones. A lot to think about.

I've recommitted to strictly limiting my grains as well. (I don't really eat refined sugars). I feel best when I eat fewer grains and find my weight easier to control as well.

I found some homeopathic herbal drops that I started using to sleep. It has Valerian and some other type of oil I think I can't remember right off. But I drink 12 drops it in small glass of water and sleep like a baby!

I went to my local health food store and asked the clerk working there and she recommended these for nighttime and an anxiety relief formula pill for the daytime. The daytime pills have something like Vit. D and other minerals that are good for stress support. I showed them both to my GYN Dr. and he said they were both great to use.

pwtaa wrote: »

I hate that you all have to deal with this but I'm glad to know I'm not alone. I had lost almost 100lbs after a bought with Stage 4 canceer and maintained it for 4 years. I was then diagnosed with celiac disease and as soon as I learned to deal with that I move into this stage of my life and I'm craving sweets (I've never craved sweets before) and I have gained 20 lbs over the past 6 months. It's time to get back on track w/out thinking I'm going crazy. Can't take hormones because of the Cancer so I'm really hoping that you will all be a motivation for me.

Have you had Vitamin D checked? I recently (6 weeks ago?) found I was very deficient and doc put me on a huge daily dose. My cravings virtually disappeared, and suddenly my appetite closely matches an appropriate intake of calories! It has been so much easier to stay within my goals. Internet research (gold standard, right!?!) indicates that vitamin D is definitely a player in appetite and weight loss. Check it out if you have not. . . . .

tigerblue wrote: »

pwtaa wrote: »

I hate that you all have to deal with this but I'm glad to know I'm not alone. I had lost almost 100lbs after a bought with Stage 4 canceer and maintained it for 4 years. I was then diagnosed with celiac disease and as soon as I learned to deal with that I move into this stage of my life and I'm craving sweets (I've never craved sweets before) and I have gained 20 lbs over the past 6 months. It's time to get back on track w/out thinking I'm going crazy. Can't take hormones because of the Cancer so I'm really hoping that you will all be a motivation for me.

Have you had Vitamin D checked? I recently (6 weeks ago?) found I was very deficient and doc put me on a huge daily dose. My cravings virtually disappeared, and suddenly my appetite closely matches an appropriate intake of calories! It has been so much easier to stay within my goals. Internet research (gold standard, right!?!) indicates that vitamin D is definitely a player in appetite and weight loss. Check it out if you have not. . . . .

I'm back on the mega dose as well.
I'm on a weekly mega dose.
Second time in 10 years.

OMG ladies I have just read all recent posts and feel I am not alone. It's funny how you think you are the only one struggling with weight loss but great when you find out other people have the same issues. I really want to loose weight but struggle finding the energy and motivation to exercise. My diet is fairly healthy and I often eat under the recommended calories so I often get fed up with trying. Knowing that other people feel that way is motivating. Next week my goal is to exercise 5 times during the week, reduce my bread and potato intake lets see how I go with those simple goals.