I gained a pound in my first week....

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twogood
twogood Posts: 3
in Motivation and Support
My name is Sara and I am in my late twenties. Over the past few years I have really let myself go thinking I can eat anything I want. I am quite the foodie, but it has finally caught up with me. I am unhappy with the way I look and I am very self concious. It is affecting my relationships and what I do with my life.

I was a swimmer for such a long time, 8 years. I used to swim 3 miles a day in my prime, but that was 10 years ago. I can't just go to the gym and work out, it doesn't keep my interest and I get board.

I found Bikram yoga and it is such a workout. It is hard to commit to 90 minutes every day, since I work 50 hours a week. I try to go as much as I can, but I find myself getting lazy. That is my biggest problem, laziness.

I want to lose between 25-30 pounds. I started using myfitnesspal last week, and in my first week of counting calories and really being mindful of what I am eating, I gained a pound. I feel completely deflated because I tried so hard last week. Yes, I know these kinds of changes are not going to happen over night. I thought that because I am really cutting out processed foods and unhealthy foods, I would see some difference in my first week. I stepped on the scale this morning, 1 week in, and I gained a pound. My calorie target every day is 1490. I have been doing so good this past week!

Just feeling a little down. I really want to be healthy and have my body reflect that.

Anyone have any words of wisdom?

Thank you,

Sara

Replies

  • emmaNEEDSskinny
    emmaNEEDSskinny Posts: 317
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    i lost two in my first week gained 3 back!
    then it was all good from there dont be discouraged!
    your body is adgusting
  • beccyleigh
    beccyleigh Posts: 847 Member
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    dont be disheartened. are you drinking plenty of water, have you been watching the salt intake, have you been doing any cardio workouts to help kick start the weight loss? it helps if we can see your food & exercise diary.
  • zml_mom
    zml_mom Posts: 270 Member
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    it could just be water weight and be gone tomorrow
    try lowering your calories to 1200 for a week and see if that helps
  • amandakoorime
    amandakoorime Posts: 26
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    give your body time to adjust... There are a few people out there who won't lose right away. Just keep plugging away at it and soon you'll be seeing the results you want. Think positivly about the fact that you made the step to join here and start counting. That is great news! I hope that this upcoming week works out better for you but don't always focus on the numbers for the scales.
  • Fattack
    Fattack Posts: 666 Member
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    Your body is probably adjusting to your new lifestyle. Keep at it for another week - don't change anything apart from maybe watching your sodium intake. If you're having a lot of fibre, make sure you're having a lot of water to push it along (sorry!). And hey, bikram yoga! That's intense and I'd love to try it! Sadly the class nearest me is a 1hr commute either way!
  • LizabethRose
    LizabethRose Posts: 27
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    You may have lost fat and gained muscle. It happens sometimes. I feel your pain though...I fight the laziness everyday. I sit behind a desk and it's hard to get up the energy. Keep your head up...keep doing what you are doing and good luck!!
  • LuvORR
    LuvORR Posts: 36
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    My name is Sara and I am in my late twenties. Over the past few years I have really let myself go thinking I can eat anything I want. I am quite the foodie, but it has finally caught up with me. I am unhappy with the way I look and I am very self concious. It is affecting my relationships and what I do with my life.

    I was a swimmer for such a long time, 8 years. I used to swim 3 miles a day in my prime, but that was 10 years ago. I can't just go to the gym and work out, it doesn't keep my interest and I get board.

    I found Bikram yoga and it is such a workout. It is hard to commit to 90 minutes every day, since I work 50 hours a week. I try to go as much as I can, but I find myself getting lazy. That is my biggest problem, laziness.

    I want to lose between 25-30 pounds. I started using myfitnesspal last week, and in my first week of counting calories and really being mindful of what I am eating, I gained a pound. I feel completely deflated because I tried so hard last week. Yes, I know these kinds of changes are not going to happen over night. I thought that because I am really cutting out processed foods and unhealthy foods, I would see some difference in my first week. I stepped on the scale this morning, 1 week in, and I gained a pound. My calorie target every day is 1490. I have been doing so good this past week!

    Just feeling a little down. I really want to be healthy and have my body reflect that.

    Anyone have any words of wisdom?

    Thank you,

    Sara
    Girl! take this as a motivation to try harder! don't put yourself down. Proof yourself you can do it! I am very guilty of putting myself down and it only discourages me.
  • RedheadHen
    RedheadHen Posts: 249 Member
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    Aww ... give it more time. Look at your food diary and see what you can change. Maybe switch up your exercise. Sometimes the body gets comfortable with one style of exercise and it plateaus. Just whatever you do .. don't give up! :)
  • Eleisabelle
    Eleisabelle Posts: 365
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    It takes 3500 calories to add a pound of fat to your body, and that would be impossible to do in one week if you're actually restricting yourself to less than 1500 calories per day and still getting even a little bit of exercise. It's water weight. Don't sweat it, but check your salt intake and make sure you're drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day.

    Laziness was my problem, too, until I found an activity I really enjoyed. Now I run three to four times a week and participate in races. I'm hoping to find more activities, too.

    Experiment with different ways to get yourself moving. You'll find one you really like, and then you won't want to be lazy--you'll want to get out and do it.

    You can make it. Don't stress. Just keep doing what's good for you, and the rest will come in time.
  • Kristin111365
    Kristin111365 Posts: 77
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    Lowering you calories to 1200 and working out are the keys to losing weight. Working out can be walking your dogs for 30 minutes or doing the Jillian Micheals 30 Days to shred, tha takes 23 minutes. Anyone can find 23 minutes in the day. Keep it up and give your body time to adjust. It takes baby steps but you can do it.
  • Vhovell
    Vhovell Posts: 286
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    Definatly agree to giving it time, your body is probably trying to adjust so i'd definately keep at it. And try taking a walk at lunch times...i know when i manage to get out even if for 10 minutes i feel a lot better for the afternoon and evening ahead!

    Good luck!
  • lindalee0315
    lindalee0315 Posts: 527 Member
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    One thing I realized almost immediately is that there is a marked difference in the number of calories MFP, machines and my HRM give me for exercise. I'll share with you yesterday's workout information: I did a stair mill for 30 minutes, the arc trainer for 30 minutes, and weights for 20. The machines gave me 866 calories for the 60 minutes of aerobic activity. My HRM gave me 602 for the aerobic portion, and a total of 736 calories for all of it. MFP gave me 738 (I didn't figure the weights into the MFP formula). Thus, if I "ate back" all of the exercise calories "earned" by using either the machines' estimate or the MFP estimate every day, I would be overeating to the tune of 136-264 calories each day. ("Eating back" calories is an often recurring question on the site with enthusiastic proponents both for and against). I guess, what I'm trying to say is that it is easy to overestimate the number of calories you're burning and equally easy to underestimate the calories you're consuming.
  • rachemn
    rachemn Posts: 407 Member
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    First...don't beat yourself up. One pound is nothing to worry about as our bodies flucuate depending on lots of factors including water weight, time of day that you weigh yourself...time of month, etc!

    I'm an inherently lazy person myself and I have to convince myself to workout every day. 90 mins a day when you're working 50 hours a week is too much in my opinion. Why don't you just start out with 30 mins a day, 5 days a week. You can gradually increase that until you're working out 45-60 mins.

    I have to mix up my workouts too or I get super bored! During the summer it's easier because there are so many options. Some days I'll go for a walk, other days a bike ride. On my days off I'll go swimming or play a little tennis with a friend or my son. The key for me is too change what I'm doing and to make sure that I enjoy it or I won't do it. On rainy days I hop on my exercise bike with a good book. I've found that reading or watching tv while doing that keeps me going longer.

    The last piece of advice I can offer is to watch your net carb count. That's carbs minus any fiber. When losing weight I try to stay below 35 grams of carbs a day. I only eat healthy carbs like veggies or high fiber ones. There are a million really great low carb recipes online if you google it.

    Good luck and keep tracking!
  • Leigh_b
    Leigh_b Posts: 558 Member
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    Hi Sara,

    don't be too hard on yourself... be patient.... be diligent... and it will happen.

    You do, however, need to figure out how to work some sort of excercise into your plan. I completely understand how difficult that can be.

    I am not naturally athletic and am not particularly good at anything. I have flat feet which messes with my balance and gives me shin splints when I run too hard. Like you, I grew up being able to eat just about anything I wanted. I love food... I love to cook, I love to entertain, and I LOVE going out to good restaurants :) As I got older and my metabolism slowed down, and it began catching up to me. Then my kids came and as an "older" mom, my body really struggled to recover and I am still not back to where I started (though I am getting closer) 4 years ago.

    You need to find something that you enjoy enough that you can commit to at least 4 days a week. It doesn't have to be the same thing everyday. Run for 30 minutes one day, do a DVD (have you tried 30 Day Shred? It's very hard and a good workout, but only takes 20 minutes) the next, and then take a yoga class....

    As for eating, cooking, entertaining, etc. I LOVE Cooking Light magazine. The recipes are great and there is something for all occasions. I can still be adventurous and be healthy at the same time.

    Good Luck. Feel free to "friend" me if want extra support.

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