I had always thought I was one of those people that just couldn't lose weight, no matterwhat I did, I just wouldn't be able to lose weight. In December I decided enough was enough and for the first time I was actually honest with myself about how I ate and how much I actually exercised. I realized I ate a lot more (and exercised a lot less) than I had thought. So I changed that. I started to eat healthy. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. All fruits, veggies, lean meats, good carbs and health fats. I also started tracking my exercise. I tried for the 90% on plan approach and it worked. I lost weight! Not a ton, but slowly and surely the weight was coming off and better yet, I felt great and had a lot more energy.
Then, around Easter, I lost a lot of steam. My weightloss stalled. I wouldn't call it a plateau, because the truth is, I was closer to 65% on plan and wasn't making the best choices that I could. I was still eating a lot of veggies and lean meats and exercising, I was just adding a lot more 'cheat' meals at dinner throught out the week. Still, I was maintaining and weighing every day. If the scale crept up a pound or two, I would be a buckle down a little more and drop the weight within a day or two. A year ago, this would have frustrated me to no end. I was eating healthy foods! I was exercising! Why am I not losing? But I'm at a point now, where I recognize that I can't just be good 50% of the time and expect weight to come off, it has to be much closer to 90%. So, I was ok with this arrangement. I thought of it as 'practicing maintenance' and once I got some motivation back I would switch back to weight loss mode.
Well, about 3 weeks ago, my life wenta little topsy turvey. I moved. So between the packing, moving, unpacking. I've just not been eating right and I've not been exercising. My dinners the last couple of days have been: pizza, nachos, ribs and 3 out of 5 times dinner has been followed up by icecream. Not to mention there was the baseball game run in with two hot dogs, two sodas, a funnel cake and some dippin dot icecream. And don't get me started on the drinking. I've gone from living with 3 girls (all of whom had bfs) so there was always some one over, to living with just my bf who has been working late the last couple weeks. I'm bored, we didn't have cable, so I had a drink or two just about every night! (Made unpacking a lot more fun!!!)
The point of this long drawn out tale is that for the first time in 6 weeks my weight is starting to go down. I've steadily been losing weightI've been snacking less because I know I'm consuming far too many calories. I've also tried listening to my body more. It's full after one piece of pizza, so I stop. (Whereas before, if I'd planned for 2, gosh darn! i was going to have 2!)
So what gives?? My diet is HORRIBLE. Much more so than it has been the last 6 weeks. Exercise... well there just hasn't been any and I'm losing weight? This morning I woke up and was the lowest I ever remember being (170.5) What gives? I feel gross, by the way. All that greasy disgusting food. I actually crave vegetables and fruit. But I'm losing....????
What am I doing now that has me losing weight that I wasn't doing before?? I'm settled now, and don't have to rely on convienance foods any more. I don't WANT the pizza, but I'm losing. I miss the vegtables and the fruit, but with them, I wasn't losing weight...?
I thought I had this weight loss thing figured out, but the last couple of weeks have left me kind of baffled. What am I doing right now that I wasn't doing before? What can I do to translate this weightloss over to eating healthy foods not just junk? I'm at a loss ladies!? Please give me some input.
I can relate to so much of your post! I also saw myself as forever doomed to be fat, and then something clicked and I got really honest with myself about my eating and exercise habits, and I lost weight. However when I moved and was looking for a new job and was going off track I actually gained a few pounds back, not what you’re experiencing.
I can’t tell you exactly what’s up with your weight loss, our bodies are complex things and everyone is different. It could be any number of things. Perhaps you were eating too few calories before and now that you’re listening to your body “hunger signals” (like eating 1 piece of pizza instead of 2), you may be eating a more ideal amount of food your for optimal metabolism. Were you working out with weights or other strength training before? Some of the loss could be due to muscle atrophy (not a good thing!). In any case you say you’re not feeling so good and want to get back on track with healthy eating and exercise. Like I said, I don’t know why you’ve been losing weight lately but I somehow doubt eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains and adding exercise back in would stop the loss. If anything it might accelerate it, and you know that it will make you feel better and healthier.
Hi Amber! Good for you for getting honest with yourself about diet and working out. I agree with Shennanigans above, you may be losing some lean muscle mass, which weighs more than fat. Go with your instinct and eat the fruits and veggies your body is telling you that it wants. Go by how energized you feel after a workout. If we only go by the number on the scale we can be misled. Lean muscle will do alot more for you in the long run and keep your losses and changes permanent. Good luck to you!
About muscle and fat: the correct idea is that muscle is denser than fat, not that it "weighs more." A pound of muscle and a pound of fat both weigh exactly the same! But the pound of muscle will be smaller in size--takes up less space.
OK, now that we've got that out of the way! I'm pretty sure that what's happening is 1) You have thrown off your water balance, and you may be dehydrated. Drinking does this. Also, overeating carbs can do this. 2) You are losing muscle. It could be that you are also gaining fat at the same time, but they would offset.
Losing won't go on indefinitely. Suddenly your weight will be higher. I can just about guarantee this based on experience.
I'd suggest you start eating in a more healthy way as soon as you can. Stop with the ice cream and ribs and so much alcohol--or if you don't want to do that right away, at least start listing your daily calories so you can actually see how much you're eating. That sometimes is a very sobering realization.
Above all, don't get the idea that you can just eat that way all the time.
I bet you were burning off a lot of calories moving. Sometimes when I get very busy doing things I don't count the calories I am using. Now that the move is over with, I would start back exercising and eating right before I started gaining.
Maybe you're eating less of that junkfood like portionwise than you would have before? I'm finding that when now I eat a little junky, I am still moving and exercising and I never did before, so it doesn't seem to affect me that much.
Anyways, I hope you figure it out.
Tam
AmberD, I can't definitively explain why this happens (i.e., looser eating = increased weight loss), but I've had the same experience and I know others who have as well. This experience is why some people swear by intuitive eating (i.e., eating only when you're hungry and only to satisfaction, not fullness). I remember watching an Oprah espisode where her guest was the woman who wrote French Women Don't Get Fat,. The author advocates eating exactly what you want (e.g., dark chocolate, really good bread, etc.) just in smaller portions. She said that if we do this, we'd lose weight because we'd be satisfied with what we are eating and we wouldn't be so focused on food (which is what happens often when someone goes on a "diet"). Anyway, Oprah made a comment about some law of physics that says whatever we focus on expands (e.g., the more we focus on food by calorie counting, carb counting, etc., the more we want it and the more of it we eat). I've thought about this often in terms of weight loss. Sometimes it seems as if when we're so focused on what we're eating (counting calories) and the exercise we're doing (X number of minutes on X number of days) it has an effect that is contrary to what we want to achieve.
That being said, I must say that I completely agree with what Jay wrote:
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayEll
Losing won't go on indefinitely. Suddenly your weight will be higher. I can just about guarantee this based on experience. . . .
Above all, don't get the idea that you can just eat that way all the time.
The aforementioned author aside, I find that if I don't focus on my eating for the short term, some weight loss might result. However, when I try to follow this longterm, I start eating more and more fattening stuff, and I eventually gain.
If I were you, I'd get back to eating well, but I'd try applying those same concepts you were using during this 3-week hiatus to your plan (i.e., stop when satisfied rather than when your calorie allotment has been fulfilled). I think calorie counting has a lot of benefits (it's what I do, too), but one of the drawbacks it that it can make some people (I'm one of them) into calorie accountants who horde every calorie and make sure we have what's "owed" to us. Sometimes I think that the ideal way to handle this would be to eat intuitively throughout the day and then at the end of the day, add up the calories (i.e., rather than keeping track of them during the day).
You're all right of course. I can't go on eating crap. It's bound to backfire sooner or later. Plus, I just plain FEEL yucky.
It's just... scary?...to change from something that for one reason or another is working back to something that hasn't been working for awhile. Even though I KNOW in the long run the latter is healthier and is the one that's going to stick, it's still tempting to stay where I am.
Today, I'm back to my salads and fruit and lowfat cheeses (I actually missed them!) and I'm truly trying to pay attention to what my body tells me.
Just a note about "French Women Don't Get Fat." The author neglects to mention that the French smoke like chimneys...
Jay
I smoke like a chimney and it has never prevented me from getting fat
Also, I completely agree with Oprah's physical law claim. I'm maintaining at the moment and I find that because I'm still tracking my calories, I eat every single one of my allotted calories every single day (and then there are the days when I go over...). I think when I've maintained 'intuitively' in the past it has worked because I'll have high calorie days and low calorie days, just because of the nature of life and appetite and activity and opportunity for eating, and so it all balances out. I'm still trying to figure it all out.
To the OP: at least you're able to acknowledge that you FEEL awful eating all the junk. That's a very good sign. To my mind, it doesn't matter if you lose 50 pounds and look like a super-model on a diet of hot dogs, french fries and ben & jerrys; if you're eating crappy food, you're being unhealthy and you are mistreating your body. If you're craving fruit and veggies then eat fruit and veggies! But try to hold onto this "intuitive" moderation you've discovered while eating crap
I'm confused.. Why am I losing weight?
My diet is HORRIBLE. Much more so than it has been the last 6 weeks. Exercise... well there just hasn't been any and I'm losing weight? This morning I woke up and was the lowest I ever remember being (170.5) What gives? 
But the pound of muscle will be smaller in size--takes up less space.
I'm pretty sure that what's happening is 1) You have thrown off your water balance, and you may be dehydrated. Drinking does this. Also, overeating carbs can do this. 2) You are losing muscle. It could be that you are also gaining fat at the same time, but they would offset. 
