[Aquanetrocker]

I've spent the last 3 weeks counting calories and exercising at least 3 or 4 times a week and I'm gaining weight.
I've stayed below 1300 calories, but will admit that some of the foods I've been eating haven't been great. Certainly not enough fruits and veggies.
But still, could it be they types of foods that are making me not lose? Or could I not be eating enough?
I'm reasonably snacking throughout the day, packing my own lunches and writing everything down. And I still gained 3 lbs!

What gives??

[Lyria]

My personal experience started out aiming for 1200 calories a day and my weight loss was very very slow - I was exercising quite heavily (boot camp sessions, running almost daily, spin classes, body combat, walking etc) but that weight just wouldn't budge!! It was incredibly annoying lol.

I started cycling my intake so that it varies throughout the week - some days might be 1200, another 1400 the next 1600, the following 1200 again etc and increased the average to 1500 and the weight started to fall off.

You could be retaining fluid as you body adjusts to different foods and exercise levels?

I'm prone to that myself - very irritating!

[Moni28]

Hi, Thats a great effort and with your increase in exercising it could be muscle gain!!

[Christina7806]

IMO 1300 calories is WAY too low for someone of your height and weight and activity level. I would be VERY surprised if you didn't lose weight at a calorie level of 1800 or even higher. Starting out so low will only mean trouble as you lose weight and have nowhere to go to avoid plateaus.

[Bikini Dreader]

Your body could be in starvation mode, holding on to all the food it can. I would say up your calorie intake by a few hundred calories at the absolute least and since you are doing so well with excercise and tracking what you eat, I would try to increase fruits and veggies like you said and decrease the stuff that you think isn't really healthy anyway.

Good luck!

[jtammy]

I agree with Christina. I feel sure you could lose weight at a higher calorie count. If I were you, I would start increasing my calories up to around 1800 and leave them there for several weeks and see what happens. When I was in my 260s, I was able to lose eating about 1700 calories, and I'm in my 40s and am hypothyroid, which both mean that I have a slower metabolism than you will. Save those 1300 calorie days for when you need to lose the last 5 - 10 lbs and are having trouble losing. At that point, your body will need fewer calories to survive, and you will need to create more of a deficit.

And yeah, at some point, you need to examine whether you are getting enough nutrients from the foods that you are eating. IMHO, you could take baby steps and get the amount of food down first, then work on the types of food a bit later. Or if you feel confident and want to tackle them both at once, go ahead. Either way, I do think you will eventually need to clean up what you are eating, not so much for weight loss as for health.

[SunshineRunner]

Aquanet - What type of foods are you eating? Give us your daily intakes and what type and how much exercising you are doing...that would help my opinion (not that it's worth much!).

I am steadily losing since end of September and am taking in between 1200-1400 calories/day and exercising for at least 90 minutes (60 of which are cardio) at least 5 days per week. I know that we are all different...but what is helping me is making sure I am getting in higher quality foods. I really think that is making the difference personally. I aim for lower calorie, lower fat, highest fiber (Fiber is my favorite thing...I will actually eat something higher in calories because it has more FIBER).

In any case...give us some more detail on what you are eating and exercising. I do agree with everyone else that at your height/weight you should increase your caloric intake.

[readyfreddy]

any chance you are underestimating the amount of cals you are consuming? sorry - totally insulting qu i know!!! just checking

if not - i agree with the other girls... try cycling your cals and try increasing them a bit. also drink LOTS of water (seems weird but if youre holding on to water weight this will help get rid of it). and finally - whats your salt content/carb content like?

if you'd like to see quick results (if your issue is water retention) i recommend eating lower carb higher protien and less salt for about 3 days.

good luck!

[Amberelise]

Did you weigh yourself just before your time of the month? Last week I gained 3.5 pounds just because it was that time for me.

Also, you're counting your liquid calories right? And your condiments? I know it sounds silly, but I have a co-worker that was drinking gatorade and putting salad dressing on things and couldn't figure out why she was gaining weight. . .

[Aquanetrocker]

I would really be overjoyed to be able to eat more and lose. Simply reading that some of you think I should be eating 500 more calories makes me a little emotional.

A typical menu for me is:

Breakfast: banana, wheat toast and a small glass of OJ (about 250 calories)

Mid morning snack: Applesauce (100 cals)

Lunch: Usually left overs, brown rice with veggies and grilled chicken breast and a small yogurt (350-400)

Afternoon snack: snack pack pudding and a small low sodium v8 (160)

Dinner: Garden burger w/half bun and sweet potato fries with a little ketchup and a diet root beer (about 380)

I also keep a water bottle at my desk and drink roughly 80 oz a day.

Grand total: 1285

I even went on the internet and found the fast foods that keep my within my limit for those night when I'm super rushed.

For a while I thought I might be undercalculating or missing some of those crucial things like dressings or soda, but I've cut most of those out.

For exercise, Monday and Tuesday I jog/walk 2.5 miles on the treadmill, lift weights for 25 minutes, ride the bike for 15 minutes and do the stair machine for 7 minutes. Wednesdays I have roller derby practice (90 minutes of aggressive skating). Thursdays I have a 60 minute pilates class and I walk on the treadmill for about 15 minutes afterward. I have every other Friday off so, on my off days I like to go and just lift weights for 30minutes or so.

This week I'm up 2 more lbs. It's my time of the month, so I'm sure that doesn't help. Maybe some of it is muscle. I took measurements in beginning of Dec and will again in Jan.

I'm trying so hard not to be discouraged. You ladies are most definately helping

[NightengaleShane]

You should eat more calories, yes. You are practically starving yourself, given your current weight and your height.

You should also eat more protein. Try adding some protein bars, tuna, cottage cheese (and any other lean protein source) into your plan. I've found that the protein helps tremendously in fat loss.

[House_of_Mirth]

PLEASE eat more than 1200, I think the LOWEST anyone over 5 feet should go is 1400 a day and that's when they are very near goal and aren't incredibly active.

I'm shorter and lighter than you are and I lost about a 1.5+lbs a week eating 2000 a day while being fairly active. So YOU can definitly eat more and still lose.So the 1800 is a good starting point if you really want to rev up weight loss. Also I second Shane's suggestion of more protien and possibly more weight training.

Also KUDOS on the Roller Derby!!!! I am super impressed. I went to the Gotham Girls Roller Derby once and could barely stomach wathcing let alone participating....I actually really want to but I don't have dental insurance and I am scared of what will happen if I lose a tooth (which happened twice to the women competing the night I wathced!). Rock on roller gurl!

[ILoveLove]

I would agree with everyone else. Someone of my height and weight (5'5 and 130lbs) can supposively maintain their weight at 1650 calories without doing much besides living a normal life. I know you may feel like you want to rush the calories off but its not a good idea. You can really harm your metabolism if you go below a 1200 calories. Your organs need that much just to survive!

[Aquanetrocker]

I've been so cranky and felt slightly sick for the past few weeks.. no wonder! My body was upset that it wasn't getting the food it needed!
I think I'm going to aim for 1750 to start and see how it goes. Just in the past few days I've been trying to eat a little more and I'm back down those 3 lbs. Maybe it's water weight, but either way, I feel better.

I'm so glad I asked about this. I was feeling so horrible and I was always hungry and I had almost zero energy. You ladies rock!

House_of_Mirth: I love love love roller derby. It can be super dangerous and walking into work on Monday morning with a black eye can be awkward.

[MissAlyss]

eat more! more, more, more!! I was really shocked when I started meeting with the school nutritionist and she went over my flood diary and said "YOU ARE UNDEREATING!!) which is great news for someone who LOOOVES food, lol. I was told that you should eat three meals a day, with 2 substantial snacks - some of my favorites are a string cheese and an apple, or like 5 or 6 triscuits with a laughing cow cheese wedge.. something with protein definitely. You might want to google what your caloric intake should be for weight loss- and you'll probably be surprised, they are usually much higher than we expect! good luck!