[tracyg40]

I swear I have been so good over the past month. I've been trying for the past two to lose weight and started out at 1600c. and gradually moved down.
For the past 4wks I have been between 12-1400c. About 2-3 weeks or so ago I added exercise. My clothes are definitely looser, in fact I was excited to see that when I pulled out my summer clothes, they fit way looser than last year.
I even tried on some the next size smaller yesterday, and I could put them on, zipper and button and breathe all at the same time. Still a bit tighter than I would actually wear though. All good right? So, I have been really frustrated that the scale was not moving for the past week and a half. Wellll, today it finally moved.....UP!!! a pound!!!!! wth???? what am I doing wrong???
I don't do fit day or anything, I keep track by writing down what I eat, my kids make fun of my diet journal . I'm pretty boring really, I always have oatmeal for breakfast at 150c. yesterday I missed breakfast (1st time, really, I promise lol!) because dh was home for the day and that threw everyone off. The rest of my day looked like this:

lunch: tuna wrap (tuna 150c., flat out wrap 90c, mayo 45c., vegies 25c)
tangelo 100c. TOTAL; 410

Dinner: chicken 200c
salad 35c
dressing 60c
1/2 baked potatoe 100c
butter 110c.
TOTAL: 505c

Snacks: mcd's vanilla cone 150c.
5 strawberries 100?
Days total 1165

Ok, that was pretty light for me, generally I am at or above 1200, but seeing as how I skipped breakfast.....also, I generally don't have an ice cream cone either, but every now and again when the family is having something....i'll go there becuase it is portion controlled and they claim it is 150c....although I generally tend to estimate it at 200 to be on the safe side)

this is typical for me: oatmeal for breakfast, and a salad or wrap for lunch,
chicken or fish, the occasional beef or stir fry for dinner. I stay away from pasta, have weaned off diet pepsi, am being more careful about salt, have cut way back on the 'diet' treats, (bars, 100c. snacks etc.)...i used to have them daily or more than once a day, now it has been over a week since I had any except for the granola bar I grabbed on the way to church on sunday.
I do some sort of exercise dvd daily, walk several times a week and last week added in weights.....so what gives??????
any advice for me?????
sorry this got sooooo long but it is sooooooo freaking frustrating not seeing the scale move, then seeing it go UP???? I can't help feeling doomed and what the heck, might as well eat what I want.....sigh....
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jillybean720]

Deep breath...in...hold...out...

If you're getting smaller, then who cares what the scale says? And something as minor as just 1 pound is likely water weight. When you do strength training exercises, the tiredness you feel in your muscles is due to the muscles actually tearing (tiny little tears). Your muscles then retain water as they heal, which is also when they build more muscle. So, strength training leads to some water retention. I'm sure it's only temporary.

In the meantime, if your scale frustrates you so much, STOP WEIGHING YOURSELF. Use measurements and the way your clothes are fitting as a guide instead of the scale since the scale measures SO much more than just fat and can be very misleading.

[Holdensmom]

You may want to experiment and increase your calories a little bit and see if that helps. Sometimes our bodies don't like us to cut down too much. They will react by holding on to the fat. Hang in there you're doing great..

[hellokitty81668]

I agree with the other posters. Maybe 1200 calories is too low for you, I would be starving at 1200 calories , I must admit. I eat about 1500-1700 calories a day, also I have read there are weeks that you may not loose anything, I am expecting this and know that is will get better . Maybe you need to change your exercise routine, add 5 minutes too it, or something. Is it your TOM? some of us gain weight near this date. Hang in there, before you know it you will be loosing again!!
cheryl

[tracyg40]

2 weeks to go for that. I too gain during that time ugh!
Well, I am going to go exercise now. Keep on fighting the good fight, try to give myself an attitude adjustment lol.....
Think I will try to post my menus for the next week or so to see if anyone has any insight.
hugs
tracyg

[srmb60]

It's very important to have more than one way of measuring your progress. The scale can be a fickle friend.
Your pants o'meter is doing the right thing.
I'll bet your body fat percentage is down.
I'll bet your exercise endurance is better.

[zenor77]

I agree that perhaps you need to increase your calories (especially since you are exercising.) You don't want to start out at 1200 because you will have nowhere to adjust when you are close to goal. I actually found that eating whatever I wanted (with in reason & for one day only~it was accidental) helped me break a plateau. Our bodies adjust so easily; some times you just need to give your bod a swift kick in the behind.

On that same note, our bodies are all different. So if you raise your calories and gain or don't lose then go back down. Unfortuately there is no formula and you have to experiment.

[lumifan4ever]

I know how badly we all want to step on the scale and see that "magic" number, but honestly, as long as your clothes are fitting loser...that is the real tell tale sign of weight loss. I would rather weigh 130 and be a toned size 5 (guessing and making up the number) than to weigh 120 and be a flabby size 7. Just a little "food" for thought!! lol. take care and keep up the great work.

[lynnm39]

Originally Posted by zenor77

I actually found that eating whatever I wanted (with in reason & for one day only~it was accidental) helped me break a plateau. Our bodies adjust so easily; some times you just need to give your bod a swift kick in the behind.

I agree. Why not try zigzagging calories? This is how I'm counting calories all the time, but I've read that doing this has helped some people to break through plateaus. Good luck!

[Clairinator]

Don't give up! You have to be careful with how many Calories you take in, because you don't want to trick your body into thinking it's starving. Have you calculated your BMR yet?? If not, I calculated my BMR here: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/. It's really simple, you just find your daily calorie needs, and subtract 500 to lose a pound a week. I don't really know much, because I'm just starting my dieting venture, but I hope this is helpful .