Not Losing Weight, Confused

I have always struggled with my weight. Although I am not short, 5' 5", I am quite small boned, which runs in the family, and my comfortable weight is towards the lower end of the recommended spectrum. However, it has been impossible to maintain what is comfortable. For years I have gone on and off different diets (mostly excluding dairy and trying anti-inflammatory because of a history of lactose intolerance) and this past year I finally decided to get down to business and really make it stick. I decreased calorie intake to between 1,000 and 1,400 calories (yes, measuring with measuring spoons and cups, not eyeballing). In addition I began running 2.5 miles 4 days a week, walking another 2.5-5, and cutting down on carbs. After about three months my effort showed but did not reflect the effort, decreasing from 128-123lbs. I continued this for another 6 months hoping that maybe if I kept it up I would still lose. I increased my running mileage to 2.5 miles every day. 6 months later I made it to a goal of just below 117.

Now, as it is summer, I have more time to run and bake, a hobby I enjoy. I began eating a baked good each day which seemed allowable because I increased my running regimen. However, within 1.5 weeks I gained three pounds (I had still yet to pass a daily intake of 1,400 calories). I increased my running even further to try to prevent additional gain and stopped consuming baked goods, returning my diet to the way it was when I was 117 and running 2.5 miles every day. My weight increased another 3lbs, this time in 1 week despite cutting calories below the amount at which I had once lost.

Needless to say, I am greatly confused. Currently, and for the past month, I am running 7miles a day, walking an additional 3, and do not consume beyond 1,400 calories. Yet, I cannot fit into my current wardrobe and appear to be consistently gaining weight. I do not see how this is possible as the energy I am expending requires that my intake should be consumed and then some.

I would also like to add that I am undergoing allergy testing for possible celiac disease. I do not consume gluten, dairy, sweets, foods with added sugar, alcohol, red meat, or caffeinated beverages besides a morning half-cup of coffee. In addition, because of these limitations I have not eaten fast food in over a year.

Sorry for the long post but it has been a very long journey and I'm nearly at my wits end! Any ideas to how or why this weight gain is occurring? And most of all, any ideas how to make it stop?

-Malie

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Replies

  • Westieok
    Westieok Posts: 13 Member
    The composition of your body is changing. Often this causes plateaus. Keep up the good work and you will get through it.
  • mrswinterx
    mrswinterx Posts: 65 Member
    Thank you very much I will start logging everything separate and see if that makes a difference.

    I will give myself a couple of weeks without weighing myself and see if it drops a bit then.

    Thank you again I will give myself a day to rest do I need to rest from everything or can I still do my squats everyday ?
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    mrswinterx wrote: »
    Thank you very much I will start logging everything separate and see if that makes a difference.

    I will give myself a couple of weeks without weighing myself and see if it drops a bit then.

    Thank you again I will give myself a day to rest do I need to rest from everything or can I still do my squats everyday ?

    If it doesn't cause you undo stress, I'd encourage weighing yourself daily and using a trending app like HappyScale or Libra (excel works too) to gather a more statistically significant data set. Due to fluid changes scale weight can fluctuate greatly and make it hard (and sometimes discouraging as you're finding) comparing point-to-point weights.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    edited June 2019
    mrswinterx wrote: »
    Thank you very much I will start logging everything separate and see if that makes a difference.

    I will give myself a couple of weeks without weighing myself and see if it drops a bit then.

    Thank you again I will give myself a day to rest do I need to rest from everything or can I still do my squats everyday ?

    weight each individual ingredient and logging separately is key. for anything you have control over (for recipes create your own). food scale for everything.

    if you were open to it, one option is to open your diary temporarily and some of the members who've been at it years can take a peak and offer some tips/suggestions or areas that could potentially maybe be problematic.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • mrswinterx
    mrswinterx Posts: 65 Member
    Panini911 wrote: »

    weight each individual ingredient and logging separately is key. for anything you have control over (for recipes create your own). food scale for everything.

    if you were open to it, one option is to open your diary temporarily and some of the members who've been at it years can take a peak and offer some tips/suggestions or areas that could potentially maybe be problematic.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings[/quote]

    How do I open my diary
  • mrswinterx
    mrswinterx Posts: 65 Member
    steveko89 wrote: »
    mrswinterx wrote: »
    Thank you very much I will start logging everything separate and see if that makes a difference.

    I will give myself a couple of weeks without weighing myself and see if it drops a bit then.

    Thank you again I will give myself a day to rest do I need to rest from everything or can I still do my squats everyday ?

    If it doesn't cause you undo stress, I'd encourage weighing yourself daily and using a trending app like HappyScale or Libra (excel works too) to gather a more statistically significant data set. Due to fluid changes scale weight can fluctuate greatly and make it hard (and sometimes discouraging as you're finding) comparing point-to-point weights.


    I will try this and see if it helps any I do drink a lot of tea and coffee bad habit I think I’m having a lot of empty calories in just this alone could be part of my problem maybe water weight ?
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    edited June 2019
    mrswinterx wrote: »
    Panini911 wrote: »

    weight each individual ingredient and logging separately is key. for anything you have control over (for recipes create your own). food scale for everything.

    if you were open to it, one option is to open your diary temporarily and some of the members who've been at it years can take a peak and offer some tips/suggestions or areas that could potentially maybe be problematic.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    How do I open my diary [/quote]

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    from there go to bottom of the screen and select public:
    Diary Sharing:
    Private
    Public
    Friends Only
  • mrswinterx
    mrswinterx Posts: 65 Member
    There are a few reasons you may be seeing no loss right now. The first is illustrated in the picture the second is explained below it.
    mrswinterx wrote: »
    I have Atleast 3 stone left to loose
    Yes I’m using a food scale
    I don’t double check the database


    I’ve been logging for 41 days I’ve missed some days in between and had a few over the calories cheat days.

    I was loosing at first but in the past two weeks half lost about half a pound.

    It is starting to feel very disheartening I don’t have a rest day with my exercise could this slow my weight loss down.

    But when I don’t exercise I feel really strange and like a slob and feel guilty all day.

    qc78xk6dmqma.jpg Often times people lose weight very quickly in the first week or two of a diet. Very often a large portion of the initial weight loss is water due to the change in diet. As time goes by the body adjusts to the new regime and the water comes back. If they continue to diet they think they aren’t losing anything when in actual fact they are now losing fat pounds. If you are one of those folks who had a big drop at the beginning of your program this is likely the case and you are still losing. Don’t quit.




    Thank you I don’t quit just get a bit depressed then keep trying I have just gave birth 3 months ago so I don’t know if this has something to do with the scales not moving.

    But I won’t give up I will soldier on lol.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    mrswinterx wrote: »
    steveko89 wrote: »
    mrswinterx wrote: »
    Thank you very much I will start logging everything separate and see if that makes a difference.

    I will give myself a couple of weeks without weighing myself and see if it drops a bit then.

    Thank you again I will give myself a day to rest do I need to rest from everything or can I still do my squats everyday ?

    If it doesn't cause you undo stress, I'd encourage weighing yourself daily and using a trending app like HappyScale or Libra (excel works too) to gather a more statistically significant data set. Due to fluid changes scale weight can fluctuate greatly and make it hard (and sometimes discouraging as you're finding) comparing point-to-point weights.


    I will try this and see if it helps any I do drink a lot of tea and coffee bad habit I think I’m having a lot of empty calories in just this alone could be part of my problem maybe water weight ?

    As long as any additives to you tea and coffee are tracked and accounted for it shouldn't make any significant difference. I have vanilla coffeemate in my coffee daily and it's not negatively impacted my ability to manage my weight... lack of calorie adherence is by far a bigger issue.
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
    edited June 2019
    You've gotten some good advice so far. At times like this I think it is always a good idea to use a food scale and to double-check your entries for better accuracy.

    I personally think it may be time for a diet break. There's a great thread about this. I'm on my phone and can't link to it, but you could probably find it by searching 'diet break'.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    edited June 2019
    my two cents and that is all it is worth ;)

    You have a lot of half logged days or unlogged days. depending on what you are eating and not logging that can have a big impact. see the above photo of under eating, over eating trends.

    Your protein is SUPER low. while not important for weight loss, it is important for health.

    are the meals you eat purchased "ready made" or examples of something you are making?

    make sure to use the scale on all foods.

    ensure you get the correct measurements (weight) of what you put in your tea daily.

    - by "toast" make sure you get the correct calorie count for hte exact bread you are using. ideally log the correct brand and type of breed you are specifically using.
    - Avoid using any entires such as "toast" which are crazy vague and a slice of bread can vary from 50cals to 180 cals per (or more even).
    - weight the beans
    - Nescafé - Decaff With Skimmed Milk and One Sugar, 250 ml (mug) - log your milk and sugar separately and account for correct amount. again with too general and vague an entry to be useful. You CAN create a "meal" so you don't have to re-enter that each time.
    - unles 'L.A. Diner - Cheese & tomato baguette, 1 baguette" is a specific brand and it's like a ready meal this is another example of a much too general entry (forgive me if that is a popular brand of pre-packaged food)
    - weigh the strawberries
    - weight the hazelnut spread
    - is this a very specific large brand and portion of a scone or general entry you are using "one stop - sultana scone, 60 gram"
    - hopefully you are indeed weighing the "chips"
    - what was this "Greggs - Chicken Mayo Baguette, 115 g" is this a prepackaged brand name product?
  • mrswinterx
    mrswinterx Posts: 65 Member
    I always weigh my food and go by packaging of the product I’m using , yes the Greggs is a pre packaged sandwich.

    I think I’m going to start making everything from scratch and stop using pre packaged food that way I can log everything to a T I’m very picky with my meat the only meat I eat is chicken and a sausage lol .

    I’m trying to eat a lot more eggs and veg to get some goodness into my diet.

    I do eat a small quantity of almonds every now and then.

    I will start a clean slate with logging everything on its own and be completely precise with my measurements.

    What is a better method to get protein in my diet
  • mrswinterx
    mrswinterx Posts: 65 Member
    steveko89 wrote: »
    mrswinterx wrote: »
    steveko89 wrote: »
    mrswinterx wrote: »
    Thank you very much I will start logging everything separate and see if that makes a difference.

    I will give myself a couple of weeks without weighing myself and see if it drops a bit then.

    Thank you again I will give myself a day to rest do I need to rest from everything or can I still do my squats everyday ?

    If it doesn't cause you undo stress, I'd encourage weighing yourself daily and using a trending app like HappyScale or Libra (excel works too) to gather a more statistically significant data set. Due to fluid changes scale weight can fluctuate greatly and make it hard (and sometimes discouraging as you're finding) comparing point-to-point weights.


    I will try this and see if it helps any I do drink a lot of tea and coffee bad habit I think I’m having a lot of empty calories in just this alone could be part of my problem maybe water weight ?

    As long as any additives to you tea and coffee are tracked and accounted for it shouldn't make any significant difference. I have vanilla coffeemate in my coffee daily and it's not negatively impacted my ability to manage my weight... lack of calorie adherence is by far a bigger issue.

    Thank you I will have my coffee without feeling guilty now. I will make sure I’m under my calorie goal everyday and log every we bit separately as I must be doing something wrong. If only I could have a personal chef lol
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    mrswinterx wrote: »
    I always weigh my food and go by packaging of the product I’m using , yes the Greggs is a pre packaged sandwich.

    I think I’m going to start making everything from scratch and stop using pre packaged food that way I can log everything to a T I’m very picky with my meat the only meat I eat is chicken and a sausage lol .

    I’m trying to eat a lot more eggs and veg to get some goodness into my diet.

    I do eat a small quantity of almonds every now and then.

    I will start a clean slate with logging everything on its own and be completely precise with my measurements.

    What is a better method to get protein in my diet

    You necessarily need to abandon packaged foods, just weigh it when you can or for a period of time to see if it varies significantly. For instance, I found the scoops of the protein I use (MyProtein) always yield 30-31g of powder, despite the label for 1 scoop is for 25g; I now weigh all my protein. Clif bars are stated to be 68g and I've not found one to be off by more than 1-2 g so I don't bother weighing those most days.