I only gain all the time :-(

Hanni
Hanni Posts: 158 Member
edited September 20 in Motivation and Support
Hi everyone.

I am really starting to lose my motivation. I joined MFP about this time last year at 166 lbs, wanting to get down to 140 lbs. I lost 5 lbs by Christmas and would have reached my goal by April 2009, in time for our holiday in Florida. Christmas 2008 came however, and I totally lost the plot. Didn’t weight myself during the 2 weeks and put all but 1 lb back on. End of January then I decided to try it again and at 167 lbs really sticking to my calories. It took me forever to drop 2 lbs. I lost motivation and thought, well I won’t be 140 lbs in time for the Florida holiday, so might as well not bother. Still tried and eat healthy and lost another 2 lbs before we went to Florida. Which I all put back on in the holiday even though, I tried and eat lots of salad and no fried stuff. When I came back from the holiday I gave up for a while (calorie counting, not eating healthily).

Then I made an appointment at a doctor who diagnosed me with cysts on my ovaries. I started reading up about it and learned that nutrition and healthy eating are very important when trying to cure what I have and since I have not got a vast knowledge about nutrition really, I made an appointment with a dietician. I was so disappointed. She didn’t tell me anything new. She wrote me a meal plan with what food to eat for Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and I tried it out for 2 weeks. I put on more weight! So I completely gave up (didn’t count calories, and ate more bread and pasta again) and guess what, now I am 176 lbs! I have changed the way I eat so much, even with the occasional naughty day of lots of carbs. I still make sure I have 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. I eat fruit or wholegrain cereal for breakfast, fruit as snack or a nakd fruit bar. I eat some sort of salad for lunch or fish and veg, another fruit or cereal bar snack, and for dinner I usually have scrambled egg on toast or some soup or fish and veg or some Quorn product and veg. I have not had a piece of cake for over a month and am generally good with sweets.

What am I doing wrong?

I now own a horse which arrived here a month ago and I am all but 1 day of the week every evening at the stable, grooming it, lunging it, riding it and always work up a real sweat. I feel that I eat much healthier compared to last year, and also am more active compared to last year. Yet I am 10 lbs heavier than last year when I started here on MFP. How is that possible? :explode: I am not denying that I have cheat days but even on those days I try and cheat with healthier stuff (I.e. low fat ice cream, small thin base Margherita pizza instead of Deep Pan Pizza Hut, and so on) I feel like I am running against a wall all the time. I want to lose weight more than anything right now.

Anyone else feel like this?:ohwell:

Replies

  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Allow your food and exercise diaries to be public and as MFP members to take a look and see where you can improve.
  • wewe12
    wewe12 Posts: 79
    i am the same way i am starting to loose motivation too i keep gaining and i am loosing and i am not eating junk food i am eating healthy food

    my calori intake say 1200 but then when i complete my journal say i am done tracking my journal its say all be gaining weight at the end of 5 weeks how can i make it so it say iam gonna loose weight in 5 weeks



    need help
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    They suggest thay you don't go bleow 1200 cals, but if your body needs less to loose weight then you will have to burn more via exercise and not eat all of the exercise cals.

    Go into your goals and change them to what you want to loose and your calorie intake should be adjusted accordingly. Good Luck
  • wewe12
    wewe12 Posts: 79
    i already try to change it but my calorie intake stay the same
  • kokonutmama
    kokonutmama Posts: 100
    it could be that while you're eating the right foods, you're eating too much (that's my problem, usually) or that you're not eating enough and your body is fighting to keep weight on.
  • 2kaizen
    2kaizen Posts: 64
    When I started, things did not go as I wanted them to go. My first effort at loosing weight was 3 years ago and I started working out 5-7 days a week and eating better and the scale went the wrong way! I threw in the towel. When I reflected on it, I realized that although the food was "healthier", my portions were out of control. I thought because I was working out so much, I could afford the additional food - I was wrong and I threw in the towel :grumble:

    When I started again in June at my heaviest weight ever - I lost a couple of pounds, but then stalled. I was a victim of starvation mode - this time around I wasn't eating enough!

    It doesn't seem fair to those who try so hard and don't see the results. If you are working out - muscle does weigh more than fat - so you can gain weight, but lose inches. It is also possible to be eating healthier, and still be overeating.

    I'm sorry I don't have the answer that is right for you ... :frown: I hope you will take some comfort in knowing that you can be healthy at any size by exercising and eating healthy food. You might also try some type of weight loss program to provide additional guidance and in-person support.

    Hang in ... If you keep at it, you will find the right recipe for weight loss! :flowerforyou:
  • 135gratitude
    135gratitude Posts: 364
    We know that there is a physical impossiblity that you could gain weight while buring more than you are taking in.

    Portions might be too large, you might be under reporting on here (or skipping reporting certain bites here and there). Something is off. You might be overestimating calories burned during exercise. You might also need to look at quality of calories, for example, are you getting you 5-10 servings of fruit and veg within those 1200 calories?

    I agree - make the diary public, and we can probably help you to see what to change.

    You noted that you groom and ride your horse, and while there are muscular benefits in riding, I don't believe there to be any cardiovascular benefits, which you would need in order to burn fat during an activity (or burn it at a high rate).

    I started on MFP, and decided to stop weighing myself, because it was making me crazy. I did however follow the plan very very strictly, and I felt hungry much of the day (a feeling we need to embrace) and I did feel hungry most nights going to bed. Not starving, but a gnawing in my stomach. On the nights when I did not feel hungry, but just comfortable, I actually started to worry! Remember that for every meal you felt "full" or "stuffed" after eating, you need to now feel hungry following a meal - to balance that out.

    Good luck, but remember that this is not a situation that is out of your control. You can make the changes, and move forward.
    :flowerforyou:
  • chgudnitz
    chgudnitz Posts: 4,079
    i am the same way i am starting to loose motivation too i keep gaining and i am loosing and i am not eating junk food i am eating healthy food

    my calori intake say 1200 but then when i complete my journal say i am done tracking my journal its say all be gaining weight at the end of 5 weeks how can i make it so it say iam gonna loose weight in 5 weeks



    need help

    If you don't mind, what is your height and weight? Is it set up accurately in your settings?
  • abredbenner
    abredbenner Posts: 125 Member
    PCOS can cause you to gain weight. Are you on medication for it? You might want to discuss with your doctor.
  • wewe12
    wewe12 Posts: 79
    i am 147 lbs 5'6 what is pcos

    is there anyway my fitness pal can make a meal plan for us and if so how
  • Jentx30
    Jentx30 Posts: 15
    I have you every heard of PCOS? It is a disease that women can get and symptoms include cysts on ovaries and weight gain/difficulty losing weight. I read about it a couple of weeks ago. It can be difficult for a doctor to catch without testing and such. It also causes infertility issues as well. You might want to check into it. I too struggle with getting weight off but I'm starting to wonder if the obsession that I have with losing weight isn't my problem. Maybe if I just tried to listen to my body and be healthy and not worry so much about my weight, I might not stay so chunky. I've been obsessed with my weight for many years and all of the dieting and such has probably really screwed up my metabolism. Anyhoo, I can relate to you. You should google PCOS and see if it sounds like something that you might have.
  • nolachick
    nolachick Posts: 3,278 Member
    Hi everyone.

    I am really starting to lose my motivation. I joined MFP about this time last year at 166 lbs, wanting to get down to 140 lbs. I lost 5 lbs by Christmas and would have reached my goal by April 2009, in time for our holiday in Florida. Christmas 2008 came however, and I totally lost the plot. Didn’t weight myself during the 2 weeks and put all but 1 lb back on. End of January then I decided to try it again and at 167 lbs really sticking to my calories. It took me forever to drop 2 lbs. I lost motivation and thought, well I won’t be 140 lbs in time for the Florida holiday, so might as well not bother. Still tried and eat healthy and lost another 2 lbs before we went to Florida. Which I all put back on in the holiday even though, I tried and eat lots of salad and no fried stuff. When I came back from the holiday I gave up for a while (calorie counting, not eating healthily).

    Then I made an appointment at a doctor who diagnosed me with cysts on my ovaries. I started reading up about it and learned that nutrition and healthy eating are very important when trying to cure what I have and since I have not got a vast knowledge about nutrition really, I made an appointment with a dietician. I was so disappointed. She didn’t tell me anything new. She wrote me a meal plan with what food to eat for Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and I tried it out for 2 weeks. I put on more weight! So I completely gave up (didn’t count calories, and ate more bread and pasta again) and guess what, now I am 176 lbs! I have changed the way I eat so much, even with the occasional naughty day of lots of carbs. I still make sure I have 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. I eat fruit or wholegrain cereal for breakfast, fruit as snack or a nakd fruit bar. I eat some sort of salad for lunch or fish and veg, another fruit or cereal bar snack, and for dinner I usually have scrambled egg on toast or some soup or fish and veg or some Quorn product and veg. I have not had a piece of cake for over a month and am generally good with sweets.

    What am I doing wrong?

    I now own a horse which arrived here a month ago and I am all but 1 day of the week every evening at the stable, grooming it, lunging it, riding it and always work up a real sweat. I feel that I eat much healthier compared to last year, and also am more active compared to last year. Yet I am 10 lbs heavier than last year when I started here on MFP. How is that possible? :explode: I am not denying that I have cheat days but even on those days I try and cheat with healthier stuff (I.e. low fat ice cream, small thin base Margherita pizza instead of Deep Pan Pizza Hut, and so on) I feel like I am running against a wall all the time. I want to lose weight more than anything right now.

    Anyone else feel like this?:ohwell:

    I was like that for a while when dieting on my own but since I started logging every SINGLE thing I ate, my eating habits have changed. Also look at the quality of the calories u are eating like FAT, SODIUM, FIBER, etc. those are also very important. Are you doing any cardio? If you don't have time to go to the gym I recommend workout DVD's at home. Cardio, cardio, cardio. That's what will help you lose weight.
    Also, just cuz u are eating other alternatives to pizza and junk food, doesn't mean they are healthy. You need to forget about junk food all together and learn about making healthy snacks. check out websites like foodnetwork.com and cookinglight.com for recipe ideas as well as their nutritional content.

    And most importantly, don't give up or get frustrated. That's what my biggest set back was when I often tried to diet before. I gave up too soon. Forget what hasn't worked for you, now try to find something that does work for u.
  • XFitMojoMom
    XFitMojoMom Posts: 3,255 Member
    I have the same problem.. I went to see my doctor and all my blood work came back clear. The only advise my physician could give me was to stop everything I was doing and just focus on my cardiovascular health. Cardio is the best and only fat burner.
    Now I cannot say I've any results yet from it. Last month was a difficult month for me, and I did NOTHING... so, back on the wagon this month and focusing my workouts on cardio/core.

    Good luck and I hope you can find your weight loss train.
  • 135gratitude
    135gratitude Posts: 364
    I have you every heard of PCOS? It is a disease that women can get and symptoms include cysts on ovaries and weight gain/difficulty losing weight. I read about it a couple of weeks ago. It can be difficult for a doctor to catch without testing and such. It also causes infertility issues as well. You might want to check into it. I too struggle with getting weight off but I'm starting to wonder if the obsession that I have with losing weight isn't my problem. Maybe if I just tried to listen to my body and be healthy and not worry so much about my weight, I might not stay so chunky. I've been obsessed with my weight for many years and all of the dieting and such has probably really screwed up my metabolism. Anyhoo, I can relate to you. You should google PCOS and see if it sounds like something that you might have.

    I have PCOS and see a specialist at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto. The disease does not cause you to gain weight; weight gain, or obesity specifically, exacerbates the disease, because excess weight causes a further increase in androgen production in women (and PCOS already causes an increase in androgen from the ovaries - which causes some of the symptoms such as facial hair growth, alopecia, etc). I'll PM you for all the gruesome symtpoms - or check the Mayo Clinic website.

    It is a very manageable, and very treatable disorder, with the first line treatment being weight loss. I also have mild hypothyroidism - the two condition are related - and again, increase in exercise and decrease in body fat will help both conditions. I am hoping that now that I've lost some weight, that both conditions will be improved, and I can already feel within my body, that I think they are both improved significantly.

    Good luck, and PM me if you want to hear more about either condition.
    :flowerforyou:
  • chgudnitz
    chgudnitz Posts: 4,079
    i am 147 lbs 5'6 what is pcos

    is there anyway my fitness pal can make a meal plan for us and if so how

    Is that set correctly into your profile? If not, that may be why it shows you will gain weight. If it is, there is no reason why 1200 a day would yeild you a net gain in weight. Your BMR alone is higher than 1200.

    MFP can not make a meal plan for you, it is simply a database and calculator. The great folks on here can certainly help you, if you ask nicely :laugh:
  • nolachick
    nolachick Posts: 3,278 Member
    i think that was a typo. i read in her original post "i'm now 176lb"....
  • April0815
    April0815 Posts: 780 Member
    That wasn't the original poster that listed the 147.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories