frustrated & confused...need help please

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tera7363
tera7363 Posts: 17 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I'm 5ft 4 in & 28 yrs old. I used to be between 117-130 lbs but I gained when I moved & quit working & was up to 151 in January. I did a round of Insanity & changed my diet & weighed 138 in April and I haven't been able to really lose since. I'm trying to weigh near 120 lbs to be back to where I was but I what I'm doing obviously isn't working. I weighed in today & gained a lb from last week so now I'm 142. UGH! I feel so defeated & like my body is working against me. I cried after I weighed myself and it really messes with me. I feel like I've been working out really hard & I've tried to make good food choices. It's such a let down to see other people losing weight & friends I have that don't have to work near as hard as I have been & then I just gain weight?! Last night I ate at Olive Garden so I know there was a lot of sodium in that meal so idk if I'm bloated but could that atribute to a lb weight gain? I'm just not sure if I need my calories adjusted or if I should exercise more, like maybe twice a day? I'm not sure if this makes a difference but I carry most of my weight on my hips & legs. I someone has suggestions that would be great. I just want to succeed and I know sometimes you go a while without losing but this has been a long time & I need some results! I told my dr about my weight loss goals & he said I should stay the weight I am and that I would look sick & too skinny at 120 but the thing is he never saw me at that weight before b/c I lived in a different state. My profile/diary should be public if anyone wants to look at it. I'm so lost with this weight loss things :/

Replies

  • SailingMike
    SailingMike Posts: 237 Member
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    Some things I have learned...
    1. In the first weeks of starting exercise program most folks gain weight because a cubic inch of muscle weighs more than a cubic inch fat. SO don't just weigh yourself... MEASURE to see what your body is really doing.
    2. NEVER eat less than about 125O calories... OR try to loose too much too fast. Your body goes into starvation mode and retains fat.
    3. It took YEARS to put on the weight... eat HEALTHY (food pyramid) exercise regularly... and slowly it will come off.
    4. Also, SLOW weight loss is most likely to stay off long term.
    5. DON"T "diet"... just learn to eat properly and exercise regularly. Make your goal "good health."
    6. Eat back at least SOME of your exercise calories. This motivates me to exercise more!
    7. Don't deprive yourself. Learn to have just ONE bite of that cake. Total deprivation may lead to fast weight gain later.
    8. As you gained weight you probably had plateaus going up. Your body remembers these plateaus and will automatically plateau there again on the way down. Some refer to these as "set points." It may take some time and sometimes some adjustments to get past them.
    9. Mix it up. Vary your exercise from day to day and vary your menu. If you get bored you are less likely to be successful.
    10. Fill out your MyFitnessPal.com profile, particpate on the boards and add some friends who will encourage you (and maybe inspire you too) .... and HAVE FUN with it!!
    11. Move More + Eat Less = Lower Weight

    "It matters not if we try and fail, and try and fail again. But it matters much if we try and fail and fail to try again."
  • deathstarclock
    deathstarclock Posts: 512 Member
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    Go see a nutritionist. I'm slightly skeptical about the suggested calories MFP has us eating. A nutritionist will be able to determine how many calories you need on a daily basis. Once you have that number, you can take it from there. Remember, a loss of one pound per week means you need a 3500 negative calorie balance. Split that up into seven days and that equates to 500 calories a day.

    Example:

    Let's say you need to eat 2000 a day to maintain weight. To lose a pound per week you need to have a negative calorie balance of 500 per day. That can be achieved by either exercise or diet or a mix of both. So you can either eat 500 calories less than what you would normally eat to maintain weight, or you can exercise and burn 500 calories. OR you can eat 250 calories less and burn 250 calories from exercise. The point is to put your body in that negative balance.
  • wendorfa
    wendorfa Posts: 53
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    I'm right there with you...I first weighed myself back at the end of May, on an old analog scale on carpet. Well stupid me never came home and compared w/ my digital scale. So the first time I weighed in was in July and it said I was down 12 lbs. Great! I kept losing, then I got really, really sick in August and didn't work out for three weeks but was sticking to my diet. Then I started back up and bought a NEW scale, one that never fluctuates, it just reads and stops. Ok great. Except it said 8 lbs MORE than my old scale. The following week it said 10 lbs diff from my old scale (but that I had lost 2.5 lbs). Yesterday it said I had GAINED 1.5 lbs! I exercised 5 days a week last week, THEN I walked 3 hours on Saturday, was under my calorie goal every day (but ate at least 1200 calories), and drank tons of water. I weighed myself on that old analog scale again on Tues and it said 20 lbs even. That is frustrating to me because before when I've tried to diet, even if I had NO exercise I lost 1.5 to 2 lbs a week. So now it seems as though I've lost 20 lbs in 4 months, all while working my BUTT off exercising all the time and really sticking to my diet. I know how frustrated you are, because I feel the same way. I guess maybe changing up the exercise you are doing, duration, etc might help. I'm really not sure, but I do offer you a big hug :)
  • Tujitsu56
    Tujitsu56 Posts: 392 Member
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    Don't let the scale be your only measure of fitness. Your body can easily fluctuate a few pounds, too much variation to take into consideration (water retention, calorie consumption, time of day, time of meals, etc....) Really as the first response mentioned, pay attention to the inches loss.

    Another thing, I'm not sure how long ago you were at 120, but as we age our body changes a lot so you may not look as good at that weight as you think. You've done insanity which defintiely added some lean muscle to you so you might want to have someone analyze your body fat and base your weight loss goals off that.
  • channa007
    channa007 Posts: 419 Member
    Options
    Some things I have learned...
    1. In the first weeks of starting exercise program most folks gain weight because a cubic inch of muscle weighs more than a cubic inch fat. SO don't just weigh yourself... MEASURE to see what your body is really doing.
    2. NEVER eat less than about 125O calories... OR try to loose too much too fast. Your body goes into starvation mode and retains fat.
    3. It took YEARS to put on the weight... eat HEALTHY (food pyramid) exercise regularly... and slowly it will come off.
    4. Also, SLOW weight loss is most likely to stay off long term.
    5. DON"T "diet"... just learn to eat properly and exercise regularly. Make your goal "good health."
    6. Eat back at least SOME of your exercise calories. This motivates me to exercise more!
    7. Don't deprive yourself. Learn to have just ONE bite of that cake. Total deprivation may lead to fast weight gain later.
    8. As you gained weight you probably had plateaus going up. Your body remembers these plateaus and will automatically plateau there again on the way down. Some refer to these as "set points." It may take some time and sometimes some adjustments to get past them.
    9. Mix it up. Vary your exercise from day to day and vary your menu. If you get bored you are less likely to be successful.
    10. Fill out your MyFitnessPal.com profile, particpate on the boards and add some friends who will encourage you (and maybe inspire you too) .... and HAVE FUN with it!!
    11. Move More + Eat Less = Lower Weight

    "It matters not if we try and fail, and try and fail again. But it matters much if we try and fail and fail to try again."

    I second everything he says... also you're not eating enough protein and since you're not tracking your Sodium levels I would assume that some of it is water retention. Make sure you're getting enough potassium through fruits like bananas and OJ often has 550mg's but not all of it so read the label.
  • Tujitsu56
    Tujitsu56 Posts: 392 Member
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    Another thing to consider, Eat less is not always the answer. You need to be close to your nutritional needs. So in same cases, people have had to eat a little more to loose weight.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    First off, you have to be patient!

    I had a quick look in your diary and there wasnt a whole lot of fruit and veg in the days i saw? maybe work at getting your 5 a day.

    you dont need to do hours and hours of exercise every day to lose weight, a good mix of cardio and strength should help.
  • wendorfa
    wendorfa Posts: 53
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    I checked out your diary briefly too and I'd say drink more water. Some days you only had 2 8 oz glasses, that's not enough dieting or no.
  • tera7363
    tera7363 Posts: 17 Member
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    Thanks y'all for giving me some input to my venting. I think what I'm going to do is stay away from the scale for a while. I'm going to focus on what I'm eating and add more protein, fruits, & veggies, and make sure I'm drinking enough water. To the post about me drinking 2 8oz glasses in one day I must have forgot to add the rest of my water for that day b/c I know I always drink more than that LOL. I will try to change up my exercsie routine & add some more stregnth training. I need to think of this as a way of life and that I'm making my body more healthy overall than focusing on the number on the scale. I would much rather be a toned 140 than a flabby 120. I do know one thing for sure, gaining weight sure isn't worth it b/c it's way more fun putting it on than trying to take it off.

    Happy Friday!
  • ShelleyD81
    ShelleyD81 Posts: 237 Member
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    I carry most of my weight around the bottom half of my body too, I exercise 3-4 times a week and watch what I eat.
    I haven't lost any weight for a few weeks but I have lost inchs and friends and family have all asked me if I've lost weight.
    Maybe try measuring yourself, you might see a real difference!
  • cattheterrible
    cattheterrible Posts: 4
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    I'm in the same boat, girl. :( Age 27, 5'4". I cycle 10 miles a day. I got down to 130 lbs, then gained some weight on vacation, started re-losing it, and plateaued at 135. I reduced my calories to 1200 a day and GAINED weight. FML. My measurements have not changed... at all.

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