Please help me!

stang41992
stang41992 Posts: 129 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys!

I need your help! I went off the pill over last summer and gained a few pounds. I'm a teacher so I was off schedule so I assumed some of it was from that. I have not been able to lose my weight from the summer and I gained 5 pounds last week. Now I KNOW there is no way I gained 5 pounds last week (worst day was the Superbowl party last Sunday) because I eat very healthfully and work out regularly. I eat around 1600-1700 calories a day. My weight steadily went up all week. I am now up 10 pounds from where I was before last summer. This is so disheartening. I also gain water weight every 2 weeks (around 2 pounds) and it takes me at least a week to lose that. I yeah I know it's water weight but when I gain water weight I have to work VERY HARD to make it go away. My clothes are tighter than I would like right now.

Has anyone else ever had this problem? I nearly cried when I got on the scale this morning. I haven't been this weight in about 2-3 years and I feel I am doing everything right. For someone my size 10 pounds is HUGE!

Thanks for the help!

Replies

  • marquesajen
    marquesajen Posts: 641
    I can't see your food diary, but are you eating too much sodium perhaps? The pill really screwed up my body some years ago, so it could also be your body readjusting. Don't feel defeated, you just need to figure it out, like any problem.
  • earlyxer
    earlyxer Posts: 240 Member
    If you maintain a calorie deficit, you will lose weight - period.

    Your issue is to determine what a calorie deficit is for you. That means using a good calculator and being honest in your data. FYI, though I love MFP's tracker I think it's caloric recommendation leaves much to be desired. Instead, Google "Klatch-McCardle" or "Harris-Benedict". There are plenty of online ones available. One key value you're going to need is your body fat percentage, because you're trying to determine what your LBM (Lean Body Mass) is. It is your total weight minus the fat. You can guess (women tend to average around 20%-24%) or use a set of inexpensive calipers.

    After that, take your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and reduce it by 25%. This is a starting point for your diet ONLY. Everyone is different. Try it for a couple of weeks and see what happens. Your goal should be to lose 1-2 lbs/week. Any more is going to start cutting into your LBM and that's not good - up your calories by 150-200 a day. Any less, and you're going to grow frustrated by the apparent lack of progress - decrease them by 150-200 a day.

    Weigh yourself once a week only - chasing the pounds day by day will make you nuts. Focus on how your clothes fit and the mirror - they are the best measure of progress. Take some before photos too, so you can compare.

    There's no magic involved, just discipline. Like someone said, the answer is simple but the implementation is the hard part.

    Good luck!
  • Iamkim73
    Iamkim73 Posts: 924 Member
    If you maintain a calorie deficit, you will lose weight - period.

    Your issue is to determine what a calorie deficit is for you. That means using a good calculator and being honest in your data. FYI, though I love MFP's tracker I think it's caloric recommendation leaves much to be desired. Instead, Google "Klatch-McCardle" or "Harris-Benedict". There are plenty of online ones available. One key value you're going to need is your body fat percentage, because you're trying to determine what your LBM (Lean Body Mass) is. It is your total weight minus the fat. You can guess (women tend to average around 20%-24%) or use a set of inexpensive calipers.

    After that, take your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and reduce it by 25%. This is a starting point for your diet ONLY. Everyone is different. Try it for a couple of weeks and see what happens. Your goal should be to lose 1-2 lbs/week. Any more is going to start cutting into your LBM and that's not good - up your calories by 150-200 a day. Any less, and you're going to grow frustrated by the apparent lack of progress - decrease them by 150-200 a day.

    Weigh yourself once a week only - chasing the pounds day by day will make you nuts. Focus on how your clothes fit and the mirror - they are the best measure of progress. Take some before photos too, so you can compare.

    There's no magic involved, just discipline. Like someone said, the answer is simple but the implementation is the hard part.

    Good luck!


    This may be the most helpful post I have read yet!

    I have hit a plateau almost two months ago and have been frustrated beyond words.

    I do cardio, strength train, eat high amounts of protein and try to stay away from processed foods.
    I have been pretty confused on how many calories I should be eating because I know I don't fit the standards for a woman 5'1".
    I don't believe all the starvation mode hype but I know my own body and it does silly stuff when it's out of balance. I just didn't know where to start.

    Based on all the normal recommendations, my LBM is in the range of where my total weight should be for my height. (for a short girl I have some monster strong legs and a Kim K. looking butt. Lol). I have had my body fat tested a few times so I'm not guessing on my LBM, but do realize there is a margin of error. So far I have been able to lose 39lbs and lost very little LBM. (about 2lbs).

    Using the calculator based off body fat on the "Klatch-McCardle" site, MFP's calculator is about 600 calories off for me. Off as in MFP is under. That is for weight loss not TDEE.

    Ummmm WOW! Thanks for the post!
  • lerchfighter
    lerchfighter Posts: 19
    Stang,

    Go to your local bookstore and buy a copy of "The 4-Hour Body" by Timothy Ferriss. Read the first 221 pages (you can pretty much ignore the rest of the book but it does make for some interesting reading). Follow the guidelines described in the book and give it 30 days. Watch what happens.

    It's very easy, very simple and you will get results. I use MFP to track WHAT I'm eating, not HOW MUCH in terms of calories. It's true that you will lose weight if you're at a net calorie defficiency but you can also lose a lot of weight by eating A LOT of the correct foods.

    Give it a try.

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