advise please - not loosing - please look at my diary.

tagrady
tagrady Posts: 172 Member
edited September 30 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm feeling discouraged after gaining weight again this week, and was hoping that someone could give me some advice by looking at my food diary. I've been excercising doing either the elliptical or 30 day shread 5 days this week, and am officially up another lb this week. )

The first 10 days I lost, now it's just turning around and i'm gaining. I feel like i'm eating all my calories,working out, drinking loads of water, and my pants aren't any looser.

Anyone else been through this?

Replies

  • FaithHopeTrust
    FaithHopeTrust Posts: 105 Member
    drop your calorie goal if its above 1200... drop it say 100 and when you start losing then keep it at whatever it is :) we're all different.
  • dreanance
    dreanance Posts: 246
    Personally, I would cut back on the carbs, especially the processed ones.

    Whole wheat breads one or two times a day, working in other carbs like brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa, etc.

    Also, could you use skim milk and truvia in your coffee?

    How about swapping out some processed protein for things like nuts and beans? And working in more veggies, even as snacks? Maybe carrot sticks/celery/bell pepper slices, cucumbers, raw broccoli.
  • filmers
    filmers Posts: 4
    Hi Tracy,

    I don't have an answer but thought I would add to your post if I may, I'm suffering from the same effect, I stay well within my calorie, fat and carb daily allowances, I also do 30 mins or cardio 5 times a week, according to all the research material I've found, the weight should be dropping off, even based on my daily calorie allowance alone without the additional exercise, but like yourself I've notice my weight has increased and can't figure out where it's going wrong.

    I would be interested in any other feed back you get from your post.

    Si
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
    in a nut shell----too many carbs and definitely not enough protein!!!! Make sure you eat something every 2-3 hours preferabbly a balance of protein and a little carb--say a piece of chicken and some sliced cucumbers. Or a balanced protein shake???

    I generally eat 110-120 protein a day and keep my carbs under 100.
  • Katbaran
    Katbaran Posts: 605 Member
    Try tracking your sodium. From looking at your diary, you seem to be eating a lot of processed foods. Try what the others suggested, more fresh food and more whole grains.
    Good luck!
  • AliceJenkins24
    AliceJenkins24 Posts: 1
    I went through a phase where i was exercising 4 - 5 times a week, eating really healthy and somehow still gaining weight.

    Could be that you are building muscle, which is heavier than fat.

    Also could be you are not eating enough for how much you are exercising. This week i cut my exercise down a bit and ate more on the days i did do exercise and lost 3lbs.

    Next week you could try only exercising 2 -3 times, and on the days you do exercise eat some brazil nuts or a banana beforehand.
  • Kjanthony
    Kjanthony Posts: 39
    I agree try less bread products and try uping your water intake.:smile:
  • murf19
    murf19 Posts: 453 Member
    This is what works for me - I'd cut back on the carbs and eat more protein. I try to eat my goal weight of protein each day and keep my carbs around 120 grams
  • Nharah
    Nharah Posts: 42 Member
    Are you tracking your sodium? Could you be retaining water?

    I agree on the not enough protein part as well.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    That was what struck me too, carbs at every meal - try reducing them in one meal a day.

    Also, how do you measure 2.88 slices of pizza?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    i would cut down the carbs a little, and maybe swap one or 2 of your processed snacks for fruit or something healthier.
  • 27strange
    27strange Posts: 837 Member
    More fresh veggies and fruits, yogurts, almonds, etc make great snacks. Try eating a little something 5 times a day instead of 3 main meals. Cut out some of the processed stuff from the last couple days of your diary. I would even suggest cutting back your calorie intake by 100-200 calories per day at this point. Definitely eat at least the 1200 minimum, but because you are fairly new at this I don't think you need to be eating back most or all of your exercise calories yet at this point. I would scale back a bit and replace processed foods with fresh foods and snacks.
  • katapple
    katapple Posts: 1,108 Member
    agree, less processed and carbs. I have my macros set to 45c,30p,25f, and I try hard to limit sodium. Also, a lot of days you are way under 1200 net, try eating back your exercise calories, handful of nuts, protein shake, etc. Good luck!
  • _Johanna_
    _Johanna_ Posts: 125 Member
    Looks like to me you have only been at it for much less than a month!

    You are probably set up to only lose about a pound a week, so that's about what you should expect. The first couple weeks, you may have been drinking a lot more water than you normally did and so therefore, you lost a lot of water weight you are hanging onto.

    Your weight WILL fluctuate on a day to day basis. You could be showing a gain because of that. Or, maybe it's close to that time of the month. That will cause an increase as well.

    Honestly, you food intake looks good to me. You might want to add sodium to your diary as the more sodium you eat, the more water weight you could be putting on. I think that all you need now, is to give it some time. You may also want to consider weighing yourself only once a week!

    Keep up the good work!
  • HeatherScents
    HeatherScents Posts: 7
    If you are down to losing the last 20 pounds or less, you could be creating TOO MUCH of a calorie deficit. Someone mentioned that you may not be eating enough for the amount you are exercising and that is correct. Those last pounds are what Jillian Michael's calls "vanity pounds" - your body feels healthy, but we just want to look really good. So your body hangs on to that weight because it thinks it needs it.

    Jillian recommends a calorie deficit of no more than 500. 750 would be the MAX. Again, this is for people losing a relatively small amount of weight - i.e., 20 pounds or less.

    Have you been doing your measurements? The scale might not be budging, but are you losing inches? Sometimes that's a better indicator than weight loss. And hey - even if you aren't losing weight, you are working out 5x a week and that is doing GREAT things for your health so way to go!!
  • purpleprose
    purpleprose Posts: 650


    Could be that you are building muscle, which is heavier than fat.

    This is highly unlikely given that the poster doesn't seem to be doing much strength training beyond the 30DS. It takes at least a month to put on a pound of muscle, and that's from doing strength training several times per week.

    I'd listen to the advice of others who are saying cut the carbs, up the protein, watch the sodium, and add in more whole foods.
  • joeygirl84
    joeygirl84 Posts: 224 Member
    Hey! Hang in there girl :)

    Honestly... sticking to your calorie goal is ideal... good for you! BUT, you have to put food into your body at the same time that will fuel it, not bog it down or be hard for it to process.
    Deep fried things... processed foods, fast foods... alot of breads... these are all things your body has to work harder at processing.

    I always try to remember each time I snack... to snack one something that has a healthy source of protein. Almonds, yogurt... stuff like that.
    I really have cut out bread and pasta... and it's helped so much. Empty calories.... = a empty gas tank to fuel your metabolism!

    ;)
  • Gary6030
    Gary6030 Posts: 593 Member
    Challenge Invite
    I'd like to invite you all to join our TEAM August Challenge. Great daily exercise challenge, weekly eating challenges and team challenges. Lots of fun, support and motivation. Here is our forum post.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/299772-team-challenge-beginning-august-1st-open-to-all

    Message me if you'd like to be on a team!
  • tagrady
    tagrady Posts: 172 Member
    Thank you ALL for your responses. I needed this.

    I think you all might be right. I'm addicted to fiber bars and didn't realize how many carbs were in those! I cut out the breakfast one the past two days for egg white sandwich, but still carbs...

    As some backstory, I am not a meat eater. I eat chicken, but not well. Last week I tried to pick up the protien with low fat peanut butter on celery (instead of carrots with lite ranch) and thought THAT was the reason I was gaining weight. I'll try that again with NO FIBER BARS, and see if that helps!

    I'm going to find things that aren't meat, with lots of protien, and try to fix this. I know it's obvious to you guys what i'm doing wrong, but I was oblivous. Thank you.
  • leighcutler
    leighcutler Posts: 1
    I know what you mean. I am here trying to loose my post baby weight. I took a quick look at your diary and from what I could see, you had a lot of processed foods and white carbs. They would be high GI which could explain it a little.

    I would
    1. Up the water
    2. Up the exercise quality. I found in the past, that I could even do just 3 x 1hr work weekly as long as they were intense and combined cardio and strength. My trainer's theory was to get my heart to have some real peaks so that it was challenged and relaxed back through the work out. The strength training was largely core work but was designed so that my body had 48 hrs to recover before the next work out. During this time, it would use calories too.
    3. Bring back your daily cal limit to 1200.
    4. Swap the white bread and processed foods with loads of chemicals, salt and sugar for more wholefoods. Fruit, veg, grains for carbs. Nuts and lean white meats/fish for protein. The fruit and veg should be colorful. More color = more anti oxidants and vitamins = power foods.
    5. Make it 5-6 small meals daily, so that your metabolism is constantly fueled and won't go into starvation mode where it would horde calories.
    6. Make sure every meal combines lean protein. It is filling and is excellent muscle recovery food to help you repair and lose pounds.
    7. Get lots of colourful veggies in there too. Powerful antioxidants. They are full of water which is good for the cells of your body.
  • kparks770
    kparks770 Posts: 113 Member
    Im thinking maybe sodium and sugar.I notice you use sugar and cream and thats usually fattening.Carbs break down to sugar too.SO,I would watch the salt & sugar.You could use silk soy milk -I use it a lot or here lately I need to fix it on my diary-I had skim milk and truvia.Stevia-(cheaper more known asTruvia) is the best sugar sub for me.Its all natural,no chemicals and it actually taste good and is made from real sugar and Im picky.Make sure you really measure everything too-I learned that quick.Try to change your diet around every so often.Your body gets used to the same so it stays the same.You have trick it and with exercise you have to trick ur mind.I seen on the news the other day that people are exercising really fast and stopping after 10 min then resting and then doing something else for 10 min etc-that u have to trick your mind with.Try looking on dr oz website for new recipes,check out the hungrygirl on google.She has cookbooks with meals under 300 cal and 200. Changing your diet keeps you from being bored and maybe once in a blue moon eat whatever you want for the day thats bad-before you eat drink grapefruit juice -not the sugary kind.It helps absorb fats and cholesterol from the food.Drink lots of water.I like to change exercise to things that are fun.I take dogs for a walk,swimming,zumba,wii fit,wii fit plus,and just dance and just dance 2-which is fun.We all hit plateaus so you just tweak whatever you do. :) Good Luck and dont be discouraged-my diet and exercise have been hard too.You can do it though:) Have a good one!
  • MissyFit08
    MissyFit08 Posts: 274 Member
    I would definitely cut back on the breads. Just yesterday you had 4 slices of bread and a hotdog bun. It's alright to have it, but try it only in moderation until you get to your goal weight. Good carbs come from fruits and veggies...bad ones come from bread, rice, noodles...I bet if you cut out the breads and drink more water you'll start dropping again.

    I wanted to add that I don't buy "diet" foods. I like to stay eating what I would do in my daily life so when I get to my goal weight I can still eat what I always have...just less of it. My diary is open if you'd like to see in there.
  • aprilgicker
    aprilgicker Posts: 395 Member
    You sound like me.

    I have figured out to lose the real weight I will need to exercise. I have been a ok eater for the most part. But for me to lose I will have to do cardio. Some of us are just that way. I would leave your cals the same unless you can drop the breads for fruit and veggies and add 2 snacks. This is what I have done.

    I personally need to get rid of the coffee. And eat fresh fruit and veggies more too. I have been working on my food for over a year trying to count and log and get the family used to me dieting. But I know what I need to do now and starting with the next grocery visit I will be on my way for that half of my goal.

    Then comes the exercise goal. I believe C25K and 30DS are programs that I will benefit from. In the past I have lost weight by doing cardio mixes like these. And have kept the weight off with little effort after I stopped trying to lose. Only having gained weight with children I think my weight should come off easy and stay off.

    My issue is I have gone so long without any exercise that I am just a beginner now. And I am so far over weight that having to count every calorie is something that is very necessary.

    If this sounds like you Let me know. I am looking for friends who understand my current issue and are in that boat too.
  • powerthree
    powerthree Posts: 28
    Agree with everybody else the processed may be an issue but sometimes when working out you may be getting leaner but end up putting weight on because you are building muscle. If you are not taking measurements start you may see big movement there even if the scale is not budging. I also use a body fat scale.
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