Yo-Yo, See-Saw, Swings - whatever it is...I wish this weight would stay off!

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uktsb
uktsb Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I keep going between just under 200lb and just over 200lb (between 195lb and 208lb) ! I can't wait for the day when I just do NOT see that beginning 2 on my scales! I am keeping to a 1200 calorie a day diet, I run three times a week (couch to five k) and cycle most weekends (last Sunday was a 30-mile cycle ride). And yet my weight is stopping at 195lb, gains up to 208lb, drops slowly back to 199lb. This is a constant issue, over a five month time-frame. It's so frustrating! I need to lose a LOT more weight, to be able to get health insurance at work, and to obviously be a healthier person. My goal is 135lb but to be honest I'd be happy at 145lb which is the very top end of the stupid BMI scale that the health insurance works off of. I think when I got married 24 years ago I was 135-140lb but that was when I was just out of my teen years and pre kids! Has anyone got any tips or been through this and come out the other side with positive results?

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Are you weighing your food? Until I began weighing, I was looping over gaining and losing the same five pounds over and over because my logging wasn't that accurate.
  • uktsb
    uktsb Posts: 14 Member
    edited July 2015
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    I was weighing my food but to be honest I haven't done so for a month or so. Maybe that is it? Thank you for your advice, I hadn't even considered that my eyeballing food could be the problem (seems really obvious now that I think about it).
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    uktsb wrote: »
    I was weighing my food but to be honest I haven't done so for a month or so. Maybe that is it?

    If you aren't weighing your food, I'm unsure how you know you're keeping to 1,200 calories. Before you get frustrated, I would give it a good period of time where you're doing your utmost to log accurately (weigh your food, don't use generic entries, etc).
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    I think you might stick to it better if you change your goal to lose 1 pound per month. You'll need to start logging accurately to see results either way.
  • jessathemessa
    jessathemessa Posts: 65 Member
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    Definitely try weighing your food for a couple of weeks and you should see a difference. Using the generic entries can be very far off because perceptions vary. You could say you ate a "medium banana" but that could be someone else's "large banana" and the calories could vary a lot depending on the item.
  • uktsb
    uktsb Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks, yes - good advice. I will restart that. I have done so for a while, but not recently. :) Thanks again, if that's all I need to do then that will be fantastic :D makes sense to me.
  • uktsb
    uktsb Posts: 14 Member
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    That's true about perception of what I consider medium to what the real weight is, etc. I hadn't considered that.
  • uktsb
    uktsb Posts: 14 Member
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    Thank you everyone, I may just bring in some small scales to work so that I can weigh out anything I purchase here (fruit, salad, etc.). It could be just as simple as weighing ..I can't believe I didn't think about that.
  • vinerie
    vinerie Posts: 234 Member
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    Do you eat out a lot? I think that it is SO hard to estimate calories at restaurants. I hear you on the yo-yo, though. Usually I yo-yo up and down 5 pounds for a couple weeks, and then get a drop, and start yo-yoing over another (but loser) five pound range. As many others say, weight loss is not linear, but that is a pretty big yo-yo you describe.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Weighing your food & consistently logging is the key. Do you have days or weeks where you don't log? If you see-saw back and forth 10-15 pounds, I'd guess this is from going from periods of active logging/weighing to just winging it.
    uktsb wrote: »
    I was weighing my food but to be honest I haven't done so for a month or so. Maybe that is it? Thank you for your advice, I hadn't even considered that my eyeballing food could be the problem (seems really obvious now that I think about it).

  • uktsb
    uktsb Posts: 14 Member
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    vinerie wrote: »
    Do you eat out a lot? I think that it is SO hard to estimate calories at restaurants. I hear you on the yo-yo, though. Usually I yo-yo up and down 5 pounds for a couple weeks, and then get a drop, and start yo-yoing over another (but loser) five pound range. As many others say, weight loss is not linear, but that is a pretty big yo-yo you describe.

    No, I don't eat out much these days as a) its expensive and b) I can make healthier food at home. My weight is so frustrating! I am also thinking that I added back bread into my diet (but included the calories in my daily goal)...maybe that's also a problem.
  • uktsb
    uktsb Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks so much for all your advice and support. It's given me some great ideas.
  • uktsb
    uktsb Posts: 14 Member
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    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    Weighing your food & consistently logging is the key. Do you have days or weeks where you don't log? If you see-saw back and forth 10-15 pounds, I'd guess this is from going from periods of active logging/weighing to just winging it.
    uktsb wrote: »
    I was weighing my food but to be honest I haven't done so for a month or so. Maybe that is it? Thank you for your advice, I hadn't even considered that my eyeballing food could be the problem (seems really obvious now that I think about it).

    I have had five weeks or six weeks of not weighing but eyeballing..I'm definatately going to start weighing again. I didn't even think about it until you mentioned it ! :)
  • uktsb
    uktsb Posts: 14 Member
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    I've lost over 50lb so far so I'm hoping that starting weighing again will be the key!
  • uktsb
    uktsb Posts: 14 Member
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    UPDATE : I started re-weighing my food, and I have, since July 29th, lost 6lb..so thank you all for that advice. Looks like I'm back on track (I do also run, and cycle).

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