Feeling lost, looking for direction

rsilv01
rsilv01 Posts: 4 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi all,
I’ve never used the community function on MFP, but I’m feeling really lost, and looking at all the posts here thought that maybe it was time to reach out.

I’ve been really focused on fitness for the last few years after I gained a lot of weight following a car accident. I’ve tried different plans, trainers and gyms with varying amounts of success, and feel like overall I’ve made huge strides in my relationships with food, exercise and fitness. I track daily, watch my macros, exercise a combination of cardio and strength training 3-5x per week, and feel like I have a decent system set up...except I don’t.

My weight has gone back up, although my measurements are still smaller. I know what’s on the scale isn’t the end all be all of fitness, but damn if it isn’t discouraging to see those numbers. I genuinely don’t know what I’m doing wrong, and it’s gotten to the point that I feel so terrible about myself that I don’t want to socialize or be out with people because I feel so ashamed of my body and fitness failures. I go to work, the gym, and home, and I feel incredibly self-conscious and unhappy much of the time. That’s no way to live, so I figure why not take the road untraveled, at least by me, and reach out on MFP.

So what works for all of you? What suggestions do you have? I’m open-minded and willing to change things up to see a difference, I’m just as a loss as to what those changes should be at this point.

Thanks in advance for the suggestions

Replies

  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,593 Member
    What are your current stats? (Age, sex, height, weight)
  • rsilv01
    rsilv01 Posts: 4 Member
    Female, 31, 5’4”, 215. Vegetarian. Macros 40% carb, 30% protein, 30% fat per recommendation of a nutritionist.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,937 Member
    edited January 2019
    Calories, though.

    Have you been logging food consistently and honestly?

    If so, then you're just eating too many calories in general or there is some temporary thing happening with you like a new exercise program, lack of sleep, stress, time of the month for women, travel, holidays, many different things.

    "My weight has gone back up." How much weight have you gained?

    How much have you lost and over what period of time?
  • rsilv01
    rsilv01 Posts: 4 Member
    Nutritionist recommended I set calories at 1500, and a lot of the time I felt like I was adding things to meet that number. I’ve recently switched back down to 1200.

    I’m a daily tracker and am good about measuring. If I can’t find an exact match or don’t have the info, I err on the side of caution and use a suggested match with a higher calorie count so I’m not inadvertently sabotaging myself.

    Starting post-accident weight was over 240, lowest since then was around 2016 at 170 when I was working with a trainer who had me eating max of 1000 calories per day and doing 500 calorie burning workouts...I lost weight but it was definitely not healthy. Like, if I ate five raw, unsalted almonds for a snack, he would say three almonds was enough and to cutback. I’ve gone up and down since then and put on a lot when I started working a new program at a gym that focused on muscle building, so my body fat percentage went down significantly while my muscle mass went up a bunch.

    Stress and sleep are both definitely issues, but given my career and sleep patterns I dont anticipate those changing. Overall health is better than it has been probably since I was a kid. Cardiovascular and active metabolic testing are all very positive and have shown huge improvement over the year and a half I’ve been with my current gym. Only real health red flag is thyroid (Hashimotos), but my levels at my annual were all right in the middle of the normal range.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    I thought Hashimoto's patients tended to thrive with an anti inflammatory diet? Have you looked into that?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,937 Member
    concordancia wrote: »
    I thought Hashimoto's patients tended to thrive with an anti inflammatory diet? Have you looked into that?

    I have thyroid disease for decades. It's still about calories. Hashi only changes calorie needs by less than 5% and that's if untreated. So that would be 60 calories per day. Not the issue.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    edited January 2019
    I know that no one likes to hear this but - food scale. The fact you said that you had to eat extra to get up to 1500 cals is the red flag to me. I found I was eating 300-400 more cals than I thought when I switched to a food scale.

    Also might want to consider a diet break. I can't link to the thread on my phone, but perhaps someone else can drop it in here. It's possible you've been at this so long you need a proper 2 week high carb diet break. Then get back at it with a food scale and hopefully get things moving in the right direction. Good luck!
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I know that no one likes to hear this but - food scale. The fact you said that you had to eat extra to get up to 1500 cals is the red flag to me.

    Also might want to consider a diet break. I can't link to the thread on my phone, but perhaps someone else can drop it in here. It's possible you've been at this so long you need a proper 2 week high carb diet break. Then get back at it with a food scale and hopefully get things moving in the right direction. Good luck!

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
  • rsilv01
    rsilv01 Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks for the suggestions. I don’t have a good food scale (mine is more than a decade old and has traveled many moves and isn’t in the best shape) so that’s something I can work on.

    In terms of calories, my intake is usually low because my diet is primarily produce without those hidden calorie sources like dressings, croutons, etc. I’m not saying that to take away from the food scale suggestion, which is definitely a good one, but just to provide further insight into my current situation. I don’t drink soda, juice or coffee and have a glass of wine or an alcoholic drink maybe once every few months, so I’m not getting hung up by those either. In terms of packaged foods, like pita chips or cheese, I check the serving size, measure, and close the bag/box/package/container. Never eat directly from a container and no cheating the numbers because that doesn’t help me towards my goals either.

    I really appreciate the suggestions and positivity. I was nervous about getting judgment on a post, and you all have been very honest and encouraging.

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