What am I doing wrong ? :-(

Ciarn
Ciarn Posts: 92
edited September 30 in Motivation and Support
I started my weight lost journey july 4, 2011 and it was going good until last week. The first week i lost 4 lbs and the second week i lost 3.4 lbs and was so happy that was losing the weight so fast, but last week when i weigh in i only lost 0.6 lbs :frown: and today i weigh in i GAIN 1 lb :cry: :mad:

I have been doing Turbo Fire 5 - 6 days each week and eating right staying under my daily calorie in take MFP has me on a 1200 cals a day, i havent been eating any junk food so i dont know why i gain a pound :ohwell:

I'm feeling down and when i feel down i dont feel like eating at all :frown: am just feeling frustrated and thinking im going to be over weight and unhappy 4ever.

i need motivation and can you tell me what i am doing wrong, what i should change, and what kind of foods i should eat to speed up my metabolism ?

Replies

  • Saruman_w
    Saruman_w Posts: 1,531 Member
    The problem is you aren't eating enough. Try eating more of exercise calories you're earning. You seem to have a lot left over.
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
    Check out my blog I hit the same thing.

    What worked for me was upping my calories. Yes I know that sounds counte rproductive but I upped them by 300 a day and I started losing again.

    Make sure you are mixin up your exercise regimens...
  • krystonite
    krystonite Posts: 553 Member
    After looking at your food diary, you are most certainly not eating enough.
  • Emily4H
    Emily4H Posts: 170
    look big picuture - your down close to 8 pounds in 3 weeks, your body is bound to have a bit of a rebound. Make sure you are eating enough! You got this - it will work out next week for sure. :flowerforyou:
  • hyde1977
    hyde1977 Posts: 476 Member
    Looking at a few weeks of your diary...You are not eatting enough to fuel your body. You need to be getting at least 1200 per day. Your workouts look like high calorie burn and you need to be trying to refuel your body to get it to do what it needs to do.

    Eat back some of those exercise calories and eat more. I know for me I found it hard to eat back my exercise calories but when I finally listened to what everyone was telling me....I started to lose weight.....try to have bigger meals on the days you are going to work out. And get some more in after your work out.....

    Really with workouts like this you should be aiming for 1400-1600 per day!

    You asked for advise...I think you are going to see this comment alot!
  • _Sally_
    _Sally_ Posts: 514 Member
    The problem is you aren't eating enough. Try eating more of exercise calories you're earning. You seem to have a lot left over.

    Yes. This.

    I looked at your diary as well. You need to hit the total target calories MFP has for you (inclusive of exercise calories, which are already added in to the total), or at least try to come within 100 calories of the target.

    Good Luck!
  • Becky1971
    Becky1971 Posts: 979 Member
    I agree, you definitely need to eat more.
  • Beebs33
    Beebs33 Posts: 262
    Definitely eat more. You need to net at least 1200 calories a day and it doesn't even look like you are eating 1200 per day. Say for example I want to net 1200 cals and I burn 400 cals. That means I would be eating 1600 cals. It sounds funny to eat more but it does work. If you do not eat enough you won't lose weight.
  • I heard if you don't eat enough calories your body goes into starvation mode and starts storing them instead of burning them so make sure you eat at least 1200 and its okay to go over a little
  • You could try zig zagging that sometimes helps or if you are nearing your menstrual cycle that can make you randomly gain weight also.
  • smdl5674
    smdl5674 Posts: 1
    I gain about 3-5 lbs the five days preceeding my menstral cycle. We retain water before and during, so don't wiegh yourself during this time. Focus on inches not lbs. Also, you just started - give it time. I started about a month before you and have lost only a couple fo lbs more than you have already.
  • akgrl1020
    akgrl1020 Posts: 179
    Try not to dip under 1200 calories a day, and every now and then mix it up, with higher calorie days (1400-1500) with the amount of exercise that you are doing. Also, I have found that if my muscles are sore, I tend to weigh in a bit higher. And keep drinking the water :smile:
  • Turbo Fire is a high calorie burner, so higher calories is a must. If you want to feel healthy, make most of your calories protein. That'll give oyu energy throughout the day. Carbs a good to intake before a good orkout, since you'll be able to process them into sugars and maintain high energy. You may find it a lot easier to complete workouts with the extra food...
  • wonnder1
    wonnder1 Posts: 460
    It could be a thousand things.

    What it comes down to is that 1 week does NOT make a pattern. You could be PMSing...you could have been wearing a red shirt instead of a blue shirt etc etc etc.

    What do your measurements say? For myself, I will go two weeks losing, two weeks fluctuating, 1 week gaining and then back to losing. But my measurements are consistently going down. Every body reacts differently.

    Try not to weigh yourself obsessively, that will only serve to depress and maybe backslide. But it takes some getting used to, and noticing your body patterns.
  • Jconner30
    Jconner30 Posts: 311
    Your not doing anything wrong. I used to worry about the scale but now I dont care. If I gain - I gain. Over time, I am losing... I have not been in the 230's in a month now! I am almost 219 now :-D Dont worry about your weight, judge how your pants fit! You might want to increase the intensity and length of your exercises.
  • FKat
    FKat Posts: 9 Member
    1 pound is Nothing Honey .. It might be just water or salt .. Go for a run , trust me next day you weight in pound will be gone. However i was stuck 111 for 3 months , and i lost another pound few days ago.Sometimes body wont let u lose any weight takes time. Anyway try to change something in your diet eat more protein food less sodium. If you workout at night , find a little time and work out in the morning .
  • mzjandiace
    mzjandiace Posts: 162
    Eat! Don't be afraid to eat back your calories. Your body needs this or it's going to think it's in starvation mode. I had to up my calories a few weeks ago just to get over a hump, now I zig zag and trick my body and I'm losing at a steady pace. Thats what you want nice and steady so it will stay off. And the gain, it's all part of being a woman, we fluctuate 1-2 lbs every few days, so don't worry to much about that. Good Luck!
  • MMFP68
    MMFP68 Posts: 39 Member
    With all the exercise you're doing, I'd say you do need to up your calories. Keep your body fueled so your metabolism will run at peak performance. When you exercise hard and don't eat enough, your muscles are working overtime and your electrolytes aren't balanced, which can lead to persistent water retention. Go ahead and fuel that active body a little more and you should see some improvement. Congratulations on your loss so far!
  • cariandy
    cariandy Posts: 175 Member
    It doesn't sound like you are doing anything wrong!!!! As a woman, you have to be at peace with fluctating weight..When I started losing i noticed the same exact thing! big loss, good loss, tiny loss then gain..then the cycle starts over again.. I started noticing this kind pattern after a few months and tried not to panic because the weigh was coming off slow but sure!! Don't give up!! you are doing great! keep drinking your water and make sure to eat your calories and you will see!! DON"T GET DISCOURAGED!!! you are doing great! :smile:
  • shazz20
    shazz20 Posts: 5
    Hi ya

    1st cong grats for loosing that weight in those 2 weeks.

    Just wondering how you did that..

    I am having a silimal problem where by I have been going to the gym everyday since last week for an hr and dont seem to have lost much weight.. maybe 2lb.. but the more I seem to go to the gym, the less calories i seem to burn

    eg today I did 52 mins on the treadmill and burnt only 310 cals, where as last week i did 35mins on it and burnt at least 400. I am rather upset that when spending considerable longer on the treadmill i lost much less weight.

    Also, i have been trying to eat as little cals as possible... goal per day is 1200 and I am trying to eat 1000 where possible... is this wrong? and can sum1 explain why eating more, i.e 1200 after exercise, helps u loose weight

    im so confused.. I dont seem to be getting anywhere :-( and i have changed my diet..

    help!

    Cheers guys

    x
  • KayaSamantha
    KayaSamantha Posts: 157 Member
    I definitely agree with what everyone is suggesting about eating more! Also look at your fruits and veggie intake and try to add some to every meal for some much needed vitamins and also water/fibre content! I would try to stay away from processed meats and food in general.
  • Sj20fame
    Sj20fame Posts: 205 Member
    Hello girly :)

    Well your dedication and determination is definitly there, so your doing a great job by keeping up your workouts! unfortunately I was looking at your diary, and it seems your not eating enough, you have to give your body fuel to burn +sum in order to loose weight. also if your body keeps burning what is not there, you could loose muscle mass.......Eat your fruits, eat your veggies, if you know your working out, eat a big healthy lunch, and then go at it hard, and you'll see results.......don't expect to loose 4 lbs a week everytime, weight will come off differently through the weeks and get tougher as your closer to your goal, so keep it up you'll see results ;) it's a slow and hard process sometimes! Best of luck!

    -Jess :flowerforyou: cheer up
  • KayaSamantha
    KayaSamantha Posts: 157 Member
    You need to eat your exercise calories and at least the 1200 day that Mfp recommends so that your body doesn't start preserving fat. Also switch up your exercise by doing intervals on the treadmil and incorporating hills as well. I have managed an average of 3.5 lbs per week loss by doing this and eating back all my exercise cals.
  • Jrh2os
    Jrh2os Posts: 28
    If I've learned anything on this weight loss journey, it's the following:

    - set realistic goals (unless you have a lot (100+ lbs) to lose you probably aren't going lose 15 lbs a month and stay healthy)
    - find a routine that works for you and stick to it - simple is usually better (I usually eat the same thing every day for breakfast. I like it, it's fairly low fat it keeps me filled up until lunch and I feel good all morning).
    - be patient (if you are taking in less then you are burning, you will lose the weight eventually)
    - Don't panic over plateaus and slight weight gain, they happen to everyone. You are in this for the long term and steady weight loss over time is what counts.

    I've had plateaus where I gained and lost the same pound to pound and a half for up to 4 weeks. Sometimes I've seen my clothes get looser even though my weight is stable. Then "surprise", I lose 3 pounds in one day and keep it off. I initiall y averaged about 1-1/2 pounds a week. Now I'm losing about a pound a week, but only if I look over multiple weeks.

    Hang in there! You are doing great.
  • Congratulations on losing all that weight!! But it seems that you are not eating enough. Your body needs more food for your workouts. There are certain foods that you should eat before and especially after a workout to put the nutrients back into your body. There is an article about eating before and after workouts on www.weightwatchers.ca.

    Keep up the good work!!
  • MrsJax11
    MrsJax11 Posts: 354 Member

    This really was a helpful post, bjohs. Thanks again for it! I also read these two things yesterday that gave me a completely different perspective on my scale...I can't remember who originally put them up, but they were great!

    http://primitivestimulus.com/2011/03/attention-scale-addicts/
    http://everydaypaleo.com/2011/06/22/attention-scale-addicts-part-2/

    Part 2 has some amazing photos!
  • ebelliss
    ebelliss Posts: 126 Member
    Just like everyone else has said....PLEASE eat more, your body is holding onto every last thing you feed it because it's not frying enough fuel, especially if you are exercising. I started at 1200 cals per day and didn't eat my exercise calories, I lost 4 pounds real quick, but after a couple weeks BOOM plateau and I started gaining 3 pounds back. I have now changed my goals to lose 1/2 a pound per week AND I eat my exercise calories. I haven't weighed in yet, but I feel so much more energized than I did before, and I feel full without feeling gross. Maybe try to start out with eating your exercise calories and see how your body reacts. Weight loss is a tricky thing, and it doesn't happen overnight, just listen to your body and give it the fuel it needs to burn those pounds off! You got this!
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