I've gained! Why? Please help :(

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LucyLocket92
LucyLocket92 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone,

Okay so my weight loss has been mostly an upward struggle since I started back in January. I started out weighing 175lb and dropped 7lb in about 3 or 4 weeks through sensible diet and exercise. I then had to go on beta-blockers and noticed my weight loss literally stopped in it's tracks. No matter what I did, I couldn't shift a pound.

I'm now off of these meds completely and have been for a few weeks. Since then I managed to drop 3 more pounds in 2 weeks through MFP. I've weighed myself on the scale this morning and discovered I've put these 3lb back on in a week and honestly cannot understand why!

I have been above my calories once in 3 weeks, and that was only by 100 cal. I run on the treadmill for approx. 30 min 4-5 times a week and do toning exercises. I don't feel like this is muscle gain yet because I haven't seen a difference in my clothes being looser.

All in all I feel like a huge failure and completely demoralised. Im trying my best and yet I can't seem to drop a few measly pounds and I don't know why! Short of starving myself, I'm completely out if ideas. Sorry about the rant guys, I just really feel crappy about it :(

Replies

  • RAF_Guy
    RAF_Guy Posts: 230 Member
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    Lucy,

    there could be many reasons for this.

    Firstly, did you weigh yourself at the same time of day and were you wearing the same amount of clothing? Weight can fluctuate vastly at different times of the day or if you are wearing more/less clothes.

    Secondly, what type of hypertensive drugs were you on. Some, such as Frusemide also affect your fluid retention so it could be your body is adjusting to not being on them anymore.

    Thirdly, the estimated calories for indivuals based on your lifestyle in MFP is very subjective and it may be that the recommended daily intake may be too high for your lifestyle.

    Fourthly, and without being too crude, where are you in your monthly cycle because I know some ladies have issues with fluid rentention due to this.

    Finally , do not be discouraged. You are doing a wonderful job, you have made a brave decision to change your lifestyle for a fitter healthier one and if you keep working towards it the way you are then you will eventually reach all your goals. Treat it like a marathon runner would a marathon. They don't think about the finishing line, they just concentrate on getting a steady time for each mile. Set yourself small realistic targets - say 2lbs at a time - and when you reach each target reward youself with a small treat.

    You are doing great Lucy, and remember - Insanity is repeating our mistakes over and over but expecting a different outcome when we do.

    Good luck
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    excuse my ignorance but dont beta blockers affect your water levels? if so it's possible that you're retaining some of the water that the blockers were helping get out. if that's the case then i think you'd need to give it bit of time to balance out or maybe try increasing your water. i'm not sure on that so you want to check with your doctor
  • LucyLocket92
    LucyLocket92 Posts: 13 Member
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    Hi :)

    Thanks for your replies! I wasn't expecting any so quickly.

    I try and make a habit of only weighing myself in the morning before i shower - so that I'm not tempted to blame any weight gain on that damn pair of jeans :p haha.

    The drugs that I was on were called Propranolol. I was only on them for just over a month so thankfully I wasn't *too*used to them. I completely understand your points about retaining water whilst I get used to coming off them, but does that mean I'd not lose anything at all?

    It could be that the estimated calories could be too high for me, but I try to be as active as possible, and I'd assume anything under 1100 calories a day would be too few, but I can give it a try :)

    I'm about halfway through my monthly cycle at the moment. I do have a tendency to gain a little near the end of it, so I tend to take any weight gain around then with a pinch of salt

    One last shot in the dark - I pushed myself in the gym yesterday and managed to burn 350 cals in half an hour, which is the most Ive done so far. Could it be that my body is retaining extra water to repair muscles etc? Today is my "break" day from the gym, so I'll weigh myself tomorrow and see what happens then.

    Thanks for your lovely support :). It means a lot! Xx
  • goldengirl28
    goldengirl28 Posts: 130 Member
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    i don't have any advise, but just wanted to say, well done on your loss so far and i'm sure you;ll get to the bottom of this and start losing again...........:)
  • RAF_Guy
    RAF_Guy Posts: 230 Member
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    Hi,

    I have checked on propranolol and it should not have an effect on fluid retention.

    Also, I would not advise dipping below 1100 calories, as that would not be good for you.

    It is possible that the predicted calorie burn for exercise is too high for you, I certainly question some of the figures it comes up with for my exercise and feel it is too high.

    I really can't see anythign you are doing wrong and I am sure it is just a minor blip. Have you considered buying some of those scales that measure body fat? They may be a much better way of measuring your progress than normal scales.

    Ooo, one final thing, are your scales on a carpet or hard floor? Using scales on a carpet will give inacurrate measurments as the spongy floor will absorb some of the pressure from your weight.
  • LucyLocket92
    LucyLocket92 Posts: 13 Member
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    yes I do know what you mean with the exercise calories being estimated a little high, especially on MFP! What I try to do is take the calories reading from the treadmill, and anything I can't get any info from (ie: walking) from here. I try to not eat back all the exercise calories (I can be 200 - 300 under some days) just in case i'm overestimating exercise calories.

    One thing I might invest in though, is a pair of digital scales. Or some body fat scales like you suggested, that sounds like a great idea :).

    X
  • nikkinoonarr
    nikkinoonarr Posts: 101
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    Hi,

    Loads of really good advice there for you, one thing I did when I was hitting a bit of a wall was check out this site:

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr

    It works out how many calories a person of my height, weight and activity should be eating per day. MFP had me on 1200 per day, this site said I should be eating 1700 per day. I met it half way and now eat 1500 per day.

    Also the activity level here might be set wrong.

    Personally, I have set my activity level here at lightly active, increased my calorie intake and stopped logging every walk and bit of trotting around I do. I only log what I do extra to a normal day, like take a massive hike, then I check my pedometer (there are some good sites online too that work out rough calories burned) My pedometer always shows a smaller amount of calories burned than MFP. I reduce them on here and eat back the lower amount.

    I'm now steadily loosing 2 lb a week again.

    Good luck with your journey.

    Nikki xx
  • xxxemaxxx
    xxxemaxxx Posts: 29 Member
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    I am in that same situation.
    I never go over my calories and i work out almost every day.
    My weight hasn't gone down in quite a while.
    I can lose and then gain the same 2-3 pounds every other day...it is very frustrating, so i'm interested to hear anyone elses comments :)
  • DPernet
    DPernet Posts: 481 Member
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    Can't see your diary, but what are your Sodium levels like for the last few days?

    If they're really high then your body will have retained more water to cope with this.

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