Working Hard - Still Gaining Weight

ziggy_mommy · October 2011

Ok - never posted before, but I'm so depressed I just can't stand it. I've been working so hard to lose weight since January - I actually took off 20 lbs right off the bat (well, between January and June), but I totally crash dieted to do it, sometimes even going two to three days with an average of a meal a day or less. So, I decided that couldn't be right, and started really trying to get it right. I didn't really gain anything, but I totally just STUCK at the same weight from June through September. I wasn't exercising well, I was just trying to limit my eating.

So then in September, I started exercising - gradually, building up. I get up at 5:30 every morning to walk/jog before the kids get up, I always take the stairs at work, I park far away, try to keep myself moving during the day(desk job - ugh), and then at night after the kids are in bed I hit the treadmill again for another walk/jog. I know I'm working hard - my heart rate gets up, I sweat (horribly), and my breathing really gets going. I do about 15 mins in the morning and 20 at night - it's not a lot, but even with that it's all I can do to squeeze it in. My husband and I don't even see each other because by the time I've finished everything up, gotten the kids in bed, and done my workout, he's too tired to stay awake so we go straight to bed.

So anyway, it's been 4 weeks, and still the scale wasn't moving. I thought it had to be the food, because I had never been this committed to exercise before, and that's supposed to WORK, right? I was actually putting ON weight! So, I joined MFP (my sister in law mentioned it to me and it sounded cool). I know I just joined on Friday, BUT, I've been following the calories pretty carefully, coming in under my recommended limit and hitting my exercise goals. At first, I lost 4 lbs. Since yesterday, it's coming back on again. I've gained back 2 of the lbs I lost. I don't get it. No matter how hard I work, I can't seem to get any consistent progress - my body WON'T let go of the weight. How did I gain 1.5 lbs yesterday, when my net calories was only 850???

So anyway - sorry for the long post, but I needed to get the background in, and I just had to vent - I am SO frustrated. Oh, probably would help with a few details - I am considered morbidly obese, although my health is very good aside from my weight. I've been overweight ever since I can remember. I'm trying to lose 150lbs total - right now I've lost about 23.

erickirb · October 2011

It is probably water weight. Stick with it and keep slowly increasing your calories until you get up to the amount MFP suggests, plus eating back what you burn. Start by adding 100 cals to your day, and stay there for a week, then increase another 100. Keep doing that 'til you get up to MFP's recommended intake.

Brunner26_2 · October 2011

Make your diary visible so you can get feedback. Netting only 850 calories is really low.

raven56706 · October 2011

lets see your diary.... 850 calories isnt healthy and your body isnt going to respond well to it

chocoholicandbaby · October 2011

Hey there,

If you would like to open your food diary we might be able to give you some clearer, more personalised advice.

However some very general tips:
1. You may be eating too few calories. Try eating more throughout the day and it will give your metabolism a jump start. After depriving your body for so long it may be trying to hold on to whatever it can get.
2. Make sure you are drinking enough water
3. Weigh yourself once a week at most. There is a normal fluctuation in weight day to day (up to around 5lbs) so weighing yourself once a week, or even once a month, will give you a clearer idea of you weight loss
4. Cut down on sodium (if you havent already)
5. Talk to you doctor, have some tests done and make sure there are no underlying problems. Also wise to talk to a physician whenever undergoing weight loss.

Best of luck

Mlehew · October 2011

I've noticed that a lot of times when I go way under my calories (for whatever reason), my body slows down. The experts say your body goes into starvation mode and slows down your metabolism as it thinks you need to store fat because of the low calorie intake. Is it possible that your calorie intake is so low that your body thinks it needs to store the extra weight (like it doesn't know when the next meal is coming)? With the exercise you mentioned, are you tracking the calories burned and comparing them to your calories consumed? This gives you a "net calories" for the day. Is that number near your goal? If not, that might be contributing to the issue as well. In my case, my original calorie goal is 1600. Most days I am over that number, but my exercise offsets it which results in a net calories that will keep me in line with my original target of 1600 p/day. As I said earlier, I'm wondering if your calories are just too low and your body is saying "what the hell are you doing to me...I'm starving". Does this make sense? I hope this helps. Stay focused and you will meet your goals.

Michael

Sklahsen · October 2011

Are you drinking diet pop?? I lost 7 pounds my first week, and so as a treat for doing well I bought a case of diet pop. I had two pops one day and when I went to weigh in the next day discovered I had gained 2 pounds back, thought nothing of it, and drank more pop, and again discovered I had gained weight. I stopped drinking the pop for a few days, and then weighed myself and I had lost the 4 pounds I had gained over the days I drank the pop. So for me, pop is out of the question...I think in the past month I have only had a few sips of pop that my husband got us o share at the movies. I stick to water and coffee.

ziggy_mommy · October 2011

Hi everyone - WOW - I'm just shocked at the number of responses! And pleased of course

.

Sorry about the diary thing - I just made it public - not something I really ever considered doing, but it's not that it matters I guess, and it makes sense in this context.

I do check my weight addictively every morning - I'm sure that can't be helping. Even though I KNOW my weight can fluctuate, I just obsess over it, and I take it way to seriously when it goes up.

Oh - I rechecked my number, and it was a net of 924, not 850 - I was estimating and I forgot about the pear I had last night. Still, I'm actually taking in right around the right number, but then working some of it off.

Sklahsen - thanks for the thought. I drink diet soda all the time (more than I should, I'm sure) - it's kind of a "this is the only flavorful drink I get so I'm going to enjoy it" - I usually drink water other than that. But I could definitely cut back and see if this makes a change.

I generally avoid sodium - I think anyway - I don't really like salt, don't add it to anything, and avoid salty foods just as a matter of preference. But sodium is in a lot of things (including diet soda!) so I'll keep an eye out for it.

Thanks again for all the support - I really do appreciate it!

chocoholicandbaby · October 2011

Hi everyone - WOW - I'm just shocked at the number of responses! And pleased of course .

Sorry about the diary thing - I just made it public - not something I really ever considered doing, but it's not that it matters I guess, and it makes sense in this context.

I do check my weight addictively every morning - I'm sure that can't be helping. Even though I KNOW my weight can fluctuate, I just obsess over it, and I take it way to seriously when it goes up.

Oh - I rechecked my number, and it was a net of 924, not 850 - I was estimating and I forgot about the pear I had last night. Still, I'm actually taking in right around the right number, but then working some of it off.

Sklahsen - thanks for the thought. I drink diet soda all the time (more than I should, I'm sure) - it's kind of a "this is the only flavorful drink I get so I'm going to enjoy it" - I usually drink water other than that. But I could definitely cut back and see if this makes a change.

I generally avoid sodium - I think anyway - I don't really like salt, don't add it to anything, and avoid salty foods just as a matter of preference. But sodium is in a lot of things (including diet soda!) so I'll keep an eye out for it.

Thanks again for all the support - I really do appreciate it!

Hey there,

Just checked out your diary and you did actually net around 1200 calories - MFP nets it for you so you don't have to work it out for yourself.

My main suggestion would be to eat some more fresh, unprocessed foods. Get more bang for your buck! Instead of using your calories on small amounts of calorie dense foods eat larger portions of calorie light foods. Eat fresh veggies, fruit, protein source, Whole grains.
Also, are you logging before or as you eat? Or at the end of the day? It is really easy to have "calorie amnesia" and forget things you have eaten if you save logging until the end of the day. (I just read something recently about a university study regarding this and people tended to forget about 40% of what they had eaten during the day! I was astounded!)
You may also need to up your calorie intake a bit more for a little while before dropping it down again to try and "restart" your metabolism. Do a google search and you will find some good resources regarding this.

raven56706 · October 2011

diet soda isnt the best thing. Once and a while thats fine but not all the time

i used to drink diet soda and i gave it up. it helped alot.

chocoholicandbaby · October 2011

Hey! I just saw your post in the other thread and wanted to say PLEASE don't be discouraged! Being honest with yourself is the first step and you're here trying to make a difference to your life - so don't listen to the negative nelly's out there!

raven56706 · October 2011

dont get down on this. Just keep the course. You will break on through with no problem. You have to keep the body guessing with the fuel. Fuel it differently and you will see your body react. Dont worry, you will be ok.

Working Hard - Still Gaining Weight

Replies

Categories