one pound a week!...I wish

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EllienLyla
EllienLyla Posts: 34
in Health and Weight Loss
I have had my profile set to loose one pound a week. as i have followed the program. exercised, ate my exercise calories. I have been gaining weight consistently for the past two weeks. :mad: I had lost 12 pounds and now I have gained 5 back. so I have changed it to 2 pounds per week. has anyone else encountered this problem?

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,117 Member
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    Not had that happen, but if you have 50 pounds to lose (by looking at your ticker), I think 2 lbs a week is a good plan. Many things can make your weight fluctuate several pounds, so hang in there, it WILL begin to pay off!!!

    :flowerforyou:
  • pannellkat
    pannellkat Posts: 709 Member
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    I can't say that I have experienced this - this program has actually worked for me to a T.

    The only difference is I set mine to 2 lbs a week and I do not always eat my exercise calories and I was consitently losing 1 1/2-2 lbs a week.

    Could it be WHAT your eating with your alloted calories? Maybe you need to up the intensity of your workout? Are you doing cardio or weights for your workout?

    Good luck!
  • mxhelili
    mxhelili Posts: 33
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    I've been trying to lose 1/2 lb/week for months and my weight hasn't changed. I think it's an indication that I don't need to lose anymore.
  • KendalBeee
    KendalBeee Posts: 2,269 Member
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    I have had my profile set to loose one pound a week. as i have followed the program. exercised, ate my exercise calories. I have been gaining weight consistently for the past two weeks. :mad: I had lost 12 pounds and now I have gained 5 back. so I have changed it to 2 pounds per week. has anyone else encountered this problem?

    are you watching your sodium intake too? (You can change that on your settings) It is possible you are staying within your calorie limits but going way over on sodium and that's keep you from losing....just an idea :smile:
  • fishtetris
    fishtetris Posts: 39
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    if your exercising regularly and eating a set ammount of calories maybe you gained a bit of lean body mass(muscle) perhaps i would suggest a small reduction in your carbohydrate intake and maybe an increase in lean protein.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,117 Member
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    if your exercising regularly and eating a set ammount of calories maybe you gained a bit of lean body mass(muscle) perhaps i would suggest a small reduction in your carbohydrate intake and maybe an increase in lean protein.

    nearly impossible for a woman to gain five pounds of muscle unless she is doin g a lot of weight training. Message songbyrdsweet for info on that......stick to your allotted Carbs/Fat/Protein unless advised differently by a professional in Nutrition or Dietician.
  • XFitMojoMom
    XFitMojoMom Posts: 3,255 Member
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    I have had my profile set to loose one pound a week. as i have followed the program. exercised, ate my exercise calories. I have been gaining weight consistently for the past two weeks. :mad: I had lost 12 pounds and now I have gained 5 back. so I have changed it to 2 pounds per week. has anyone else encountered this problem?

    I think it depends how you were eating before you started here. I gained 13 pounds from July to October because my metabolism was in "starvation mode" . I got fed up and went back to eating the way I was prior (about 1000 cals/day) and I ramped up my cardio. I'm v.e.r.y. s.l.o.w.l.y losing the weight again.
    I don't know what the answer is! Banks told me to continue eating the way I was when I gained the weight, that it is normal to gain weight while you fire up your metabolism... but I just cannot force myself to do it. I was miserable and I continue to be miserable at +200 pounds.
  • amelia_atlantic
    amelia_atlantic Posts: 926 Member
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    are you watching your sodium intake too? (You can change that on your settings) It is possible you are staying within your calorie limits but going way over on sodium and that's keep you from losing....just an idea :smile:

    Does it significantly effect your weight loss results? Do you know how that works?

    I'm a SALT FIEND! I know it's terrible but it's my vice. If that's the reason I can't lose this these 4 pounds to reach my first goal, I have to reconsider some stuff!
  • jlefton1212
    jlefton1212 Posts: 171 Member
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    Two thoughts:
    You might be gaining muscle from weight training or other exercise, which is a good thing and will make you leaner in the long run.

    Or, you might have set your activity level too high when you set up your profile. It is supposed to reflect the amount of activity that you do outside of workouts, and I have heard that many times people will over-estimate the amount of activity they actually do in a given day. So maybe you could reset your profile to have a lower activity level, and it will recalibrate your recommended calories.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,117 Member
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    I have had my profile set to loose one pound a week. as i have followed the program. exercised, ate my exercise calories. I have been gaining weight consistently for the past two weeks. :mad: I had lost 12 pounds and now I have gained 5 back. so I have changed it to 2 pounds per week. has anyone else encountered this problem?

    I think it depends how you were eating before you started here. I gained 13 pounds from July to October because my metabolism was in "starvation mode" . I got fed up and went back to eating the way I was prior (about 1000 cals/day) and I ramped up my cardio. I'm v.e.r.y. s.l.o.w.l.y losing the weight again.
    I don't know what the answer is! Banks told me to continue eating the way I was when I gained the weight, that it is normal to gain weight while you fire up your metabolism... but I just cannot force myself to do it. I was miserable and I continue to be miserable at +200 pounds.

    mojo,

    If I understand your post, you are eating 1000 cals a day AND "ramped up your cardio"? YOU MUST EAT MORE if that is what you are saying. No wonder you are miserable!

    read this:

    http://health.msn.com/health-topics/depression/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100248033&page=1

    Then go back to the push-pins at the top of the General Diet and Weight Loss Help category here on MFP and read them all.
    Banks didn't tell you to eat 1000 cals a day and ramp up your cardio....:noway: Or did you mean you ADDED 1000 calories to your previous calories? Your post is confusing to me, so I may have misunderstood. Hope so!!:ohwell:
  • starchild0612
    starchild0612 Posts: 12
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    Try eating a few less carbs for a week and see what happens...skip the bread, cereal, etc. Read labels...there are hidden carbs everywhere! This works like a charm!

    Good luck, and don't get discouraged!

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  • frogtoestoo
    frogtoestoo Posts: 66
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    are you watching your sodium intake too? (You can change that on your settings) It is possible you are staying within your calorie limits but going way over on sodium and that's keep you from losing....just an idea :smile:

    Does it significantly effect your weight loss results? Do you know how that works?

    I'm a SALT FIEND! I know it's terrible but it's my vice. If that's the reason I can't lose this these 4 pounds to reach my first goal, I have to reconsider some stuff!

    ABSOLUTELY! I can gain 5 pounds overnight if I have a bad sodium day. I know it's water weight, but it's still WEIGHT!
  • XFitMojoMom
    XFitMojoMom Posts: 3,255 Member
    Options
    I have had my profile set to loose one pound a week. as i have followed the program. exercised, ate my exercise calories. I have been gaining weight consistently for the past two weeks. :mad: I had lost 12 pounds and now I have gained 5 back. so I have changed it to 2 pounds per week. has anyone else encountered this problem?

    I think it depends how you were eating before you started here. I gained 13 pounds from July to October because my metabolism was in "starvation mode" . I got fed up and went back to eating the way I was prior (about 1000 cals/day) and I ramped up my cardio. I'm v.e.r.y. s.l.o.w.l.y losing the weight again.
    I don't know what the answer is! Banks told me to continue eating the way I was when I gained the weight, that it is normal to gain weight while you fire up your metabolism... but I just cannot force myself to do it. I was miserable and I continue to be miserable at +200 pounds.

    mojo,

    If I understand your post, you are eating 1000 cals a day AND "ramped up your cardio"? YOU MUST EAT MORE if that is what you are saying. No wonder you are miserable!

    read this:

    http://health.msn.com/health-topics/depression/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100248033&page=1

    Then go back to the push-pins at the top of the General Diet and Weight Loss Help category here on MFP and read them all.
    Banks didn't tell you to eat 1000 cals a day and ramp up your cardio....:noway: Or did you mean you ADDED 1000 calories to your previous calories? Your post is confusing to me, so I may have misunderstood. Hope so!!:ohwell:

    No no no, prior to now, I was eating 1400-1500 cals, I would eat about half of my exercise calories. This made me GAIN 13 pounds over 3 months. I recently posted about sleeping with a HRM and what was the average calorie burn overnight (which consequently I've learned is 40-60 cals/hour). I explained to Banks that after following MFP and listening to my doctor and nutritionist to eat 1500 cal, I managed to gain weight.
    I'm fed up and back to 1000 calories and burning about 500-600 exercise calories/daily. Actually eating this way is not so disheartening for me and I don't feel depressed. I feel depressed when I weigh +200 pounds tho!

    Anyway, all I was suggesting to Asia was that maybe she was in starvation mode prior to starting and that is why she is gaining weight, and I was encouraging her to maybe see it through.
  • savvystephy
    savvystephy Posts: 4,151 Member
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    I would say check your measurements too. When I first started I dropped a few pounds, but then gained back more than I lost. I stuck with the eating and the exercise and then it started coming off. (When I gained weight though, I was getting smaller in inches, so I suspect that it was from muscle gain).

    It is probably a mixture of sodium intake as well. Just keep at it!
  • vraehn
    vraehn Posts: 1,008
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    I had my goal set for 1 lb a week and lost 2.5 lb the first month and nothing since. I have followed the calorie amount for all three months. I recently went into settings and noticed I could add 2 more. I added sodium and sugar. I was shocked at how many sugars I am eating and still not going over in carbs, fats and protein. Now that I'm tracking the sugars, I expect to lose again. I wonder if you are tracking your sugars? Maybe it will help.
  • spicy618
    spicy618 Posts: 2,114 Member
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    I think if you think of it as an "Average" of 1 lb a week. When you eventually reach your goal, and you calculate the average you will see it was close. Just my .02

    I wasn't losing for months when I fist began MFP. I showed banks my food journal and he said I was doing pretty good and that I would reach my goal by "end of summer" if I stuck to it. Guess what? Sept. I was pretty close to my goal in weight, but the inches lost is the nice part. :bigsmile: However, I didn't weigh myself often. I just went by the way my clothes fit and that was good enough for me. Now, I weigh myself maybe 1x a month.

    Good Luck :flowerforyou:
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Everyones motabalism is different, this could be a part of it. But I liked the suggestion ablove that maybe your activity level is set to heigh which gives you extra cals to eat that you might not actualy be buring off. If I were you I would re assess this and see how it goes.
  • birgithooker
    birgithooker Posts: 68
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    I have had the same issue. I lost 5 lbs right away and then I hit a plateau for over a month. I was exercising regularly and didn't feel like I was starving. I was breastfeeding but I added extra calories to account for that. I felt like I was having to eat all the time to keep up with my calories. Then I stopped breastfeeding and changed my calorie intake. I am still working out and have added additional things to my workout. Well, I feel way more toned and things don't sag and jiggle like they used to, but I have gained my weight back. It fluctuates between 5 and 3 lbs but it's discouraging because it means I have not lost any of the weight that I wanted to. At first it seemed I was losing inches. I haven't measured in a while and I hope I am still losing inches but it's frustrating! I see all the posts about people losing pounds and I can't seem to lose any! I am still trying to stick with it though because I need to keep eating better and I need to exercise. If nothing else, at least I will be fit and toned. It still sucks though.:grumble:
  • epoeraven
    epoeraven Posts: 458 Member
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    I am set up to lose a pound a week and have been faithfully following the calories, water and exercise guidlines and I have lost (on average) at least one pound per week and sometimes more since I have started.

    There are certain times of the month that I won't lose for a week but then the next week I lose two - but I know what is causing that.

    I agree with the suggestions to check salt intake and the activity level. I have also noticed that my water intake plays a huge role in how I lose weight. If I don't drink the water it seems to drop to one pound a week - If I get the water intake up there are weeks that I will lose three pounds.
  • poeticjustice_2001
    poeticjustice_2001 Posts: 53
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    Make sure you're getting ENOUGH calories, if they're set too low, your body will start hording the fat because it thinks your starving.
    Also like someone else mentioned, definitly watch your sodium intake. The preset goals are kind of high on here but you can manually lower them. I think the gov says 2400mg, but I have a trainer that says it should be less than 1000mg a day (which can be very hard to meet considering even a plain chicken breast has sodium!). I set mine at 2000mg a day. Many of us get WAY more than that...

    Good luck and don't give up! :flowerforyou:

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