Discouraging

terrymac54
terrymac54 Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
6 years ago I weighed 234 pounds. I decided to lose weight and joined a gym. I lost 100 pounds in a year. Unfortunately, I gained 62 pounds back within the last two years by eating out too much and drinking too much diet soda and snacking during work hours. I currently weigh 172.2 pounds (with my clothes on - no shoes) - no change from last week (172.3 pounds). I've been eating my lunch at home during work hours (2 pouches of Tuna (140 calories), mixed with a tablespoon of light mayo and a raw red sweet pepper cut up.) I successfully stopped snacking during work - 2 weeks now. And I drink nothing but water all day. I'm at the gym 6 days a week - cardio/spinning and weights. I feel like my clothes fit better, but the scale shows differently. I think my trouble is that when I come from the gym at night, which is usually around 8:00 pm, I'm too tired to cook for myself, so I go to a Chipotle next to the gym. I just have bottle water, and a burrito bowl filled with rice, beans, chicken and mild salsa. Maybe I need to quit Chipotle for awhile. I'm thinking of keeping my calories to just 1000 and keep exercising. The only snacking I do is I have a Triple Zero Oikos Vanilla Yogurt with some fresh blue berries and granola. I'm really discouraged now.
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Replies

  • PennWalker
    PennWalker Posts: 554 Member
    Read the labels for sodium -- anything that comes in a container has it. The sodium will make you hold onto water weight.

    If you just started all this exercise, your body will hold onto water to repair tiny tears.

    Make some healthy meals ahead of time so they are waiting for you when you're tired.

    Also, I think you started about 2 weeks ago. Be patient. You can do this.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    this will not happen overnight, you need to shed the expectation of instant results if you are going to succeed.

    Also, while there are many accounts of impressive beginnner losses, not everyone get to experience them. When I get back on track, it usually takes me 2-3 weeks to see any results. You have to make a sensible plan,stick with it, and have a little faith that if you are accurately following your plan results will follow, in time.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    You eat Chipotle for dinner 6 nights a week? How long have you been doing that? In general, a week with low (or no) loss isn't a big deal but if the Chipotle is a new thing that could trip you up. I like Chipotle but avoid it purely because I feel like the portion sizes vary too much (one food preparer's scoop is another's heaping scoop, for example.)
  • MPDean
    MPDean Posts: 99 Member
    Could you prepare some meals at the weekend and freeze them? At least that way you can be sure on the calorie count.
  • Gena575
    Gena575 Posts: 224 Member
    A pint of water weighs a pound. If Chipotle is new at that frequency, you could be retaining water. The pants you're wearing today could be a heavier material than last week.

    Weigh nekkid or close, first thing in the am, after the morning pee. It will be the most consistent.
  • GYATagain
    GYATagain Posts: 141 Member
    Hearing what you are saying...feeling your pain. It can get very discouraging. As an older (& hopefully wiser) female, short, and Hypothyroid/hashimoto issues, it can get depressing to carry on at such a low level. Oh to be younger and burn up those calories! Even at run/walking 5-7 miles daily and strength training I HAVE to stay around 1200 calories a day or BOOM, the weight comes back on and all around my middle. Never had a belly (menopot) in my younger years. However, and this is a huge however, when I eat well and exercise - keeping my intake about 1200-1400 calories, I FEEL so much better. My weight hovers about 5-8 pounds above where I wish to be - but I FEEL good! I can sleep better, walk/run better, work easier and keep going even into the evenings after working 10 hour days. My dogs appreciate getting their walk, also. My point is,,,,,keep on, keeping on! Feel better, eat better (skip the Chipotle - sodium!!), prep food on the weekends so it is easy to grab at night, work out, and it WILL happen for you.
  • afoster0988
    afoster0988 Posts: 8 Member
    I understand how you feel! This has happened to me and it makes you feel so discouraged and want to give up. But don't! If you are a female you retain weight on your period. Also your sodium intake seems very high, because chipotle more than likely. Try eating only food that comes from the ground or animal...basically natural foods. I'm sorry you are feeling down! Stick with it, don't go off the scale..start taking measurements.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Weigh naked or in the exact same clothing. Jeans, for example, can be hella heavy.

    Weigh your granola. A portion is tiny. Every single time I weigh it I always am shocked at how little it is, if I freewheeled that one I'd be adding on a bunch of accidental calories.

    And quit Chipotle if it's more than once a week. You just can't know the counts accurately enough to be having it on the regular.
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    To echo what others have said, give up the Chipolte! At a quick glance on their web-site for nutritional information the item you're eating every night has:

    Calories: 535
    Fat: 12g
    Sodium: 1465g
    Carbohydrate: 63

    That sodium has to be doing more harm than good.

    If you're too tired to cook when you get home from work try putting aside time for food prep over the weekend. When do you normally go grocery shopping? My day is Sunday morning. I go to the gym, hit the grocery store, come home and food prep for about 1 to 2 hours. All of our meals are cooked and portioned appropriately so that during the week we can just grab, heat and eat. Also... I know exactly what I'm eating, how it was made, how it was cooked and I don't have to even think about the nutrients.

    Instead of getting discouraged try making some small changes. The biggest problem people have with weight loss is they want results over night. It just doesn't work that way.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    OP, I agree with those urging you to meal prep and quit the Chipotle and to tighten up your logging. Another thing about losing weight in your 50's is to remember that weight loss is just going to happen slowly (I'm 54, so I feel your pain, but I've done it, I've lost 91 pounds so far), but it will happen.

    Another thing I've found that's helped me increase my TDEE and start moving the scale again is having a fitness tracker with move reminders. Getting some extra movement throughout the day raised my NEAT (I just get up and pace around or even jog in place a bit if I don't have time to take a little walk). Sometimes we women of a certain age need a little more movement in our days to help the scale move along too.

    I also want to reiterate something another poster said upthread: diet soda is not affecting your weight loss effort in a negative way at all. Many people (myself included) enjoy diet soda while losing weight.
  • Skyblueyellow
    Skyblueyellow Posts: 225 Member
    I also vote for weekly meal prep! When it gets cooler outside I will often make a soup or lasagna on Sunday and portion it out for the entire week for lunches. You could do the same thing for your dinners. Many things also freeze well and remember...the crockpot is your friend!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    To those advising meal prep and freezing, what do you make?
    I can understand premaking stuff like stews, spaghetti bolognese etc But what about meals like steak, crumbed chicken shnitzel, bacon and eggs, salad and veggies? There are so many things i eat for dinner that just can't be precooked and stored/frozen.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    edited September 2016
    PennWalker wrote: »
    Read the labels for sodium -- anything that comes in a container has it. The sodium will make you hold onto water weight.

    If you just started all this exercise, your body will hold onto water to repair tiny tears.

    Make some healthy meals ahead of time so they are waiting for you when you're tired.

    Also, I think you started about 2 weeks ago. Be patient. You can do this.

    And Chipotle has a TON of sodium. And I think the tortilla alone is 300 calories.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    To those advising meal prep and freezing, what do you make?
    I can understand premaking stuff like stews, spaghetti bolognese etc But what about meals like steak, crumbed chicken shnitzel, bacon and eggs, salad and veggies? There are so many things i eat for dinner that just can't be precooked and stored/frozen.

    Save some for the weekend, like steak. Though leftovers make yummy cold treats to me. but eggs take me no time and lots of salad stuff can be cleaned and chopped on the weekend and then thrown together. Personally, I buy the pre-chopped/diced veggies.
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
    You csn try to eat half of your burrito bowl, and savethe other half for another dinner. The portion is enormous, so you will be full from half, if you really must have it. And definitely skip the shell, it's alone 300-400 calories. Add salad to it, and also like others said, precook some dinners
  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
    edited September 2016
    Lots of good advice on here. OP, often when I eat out at a restaurant I bloat up and gain weight with water retention from sodium. You are likely losing fat and could drop the water weight soon that is masking that. Hang in there. (Be sure not to drop your calories below 1200 unless your diet is doctor supervised.)

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