Weight Gain
 

I havent posted in awhile. Since my husband came back from deployment to be exact.

I have been calorie counting religiously though but the scale hasnt been moving and its been MONTHS. I lose and gain the same 5lbs over and over. Its insane. I dont know what Im doing wrong. I eat between 1500-1600 calories a day and I recently uped my excercise to 5 days a week.

Wednesday I weighed in at 158 and today Im 165. 7lbs seriously???? I know it could be water but Ive been drinking TONS of water when I noticed the scale had gone up on Thursday and the only thing happening is that the scale is continuing to go up. I know I shouldnt weigh in everyday because I get OCD about it and weigh in ALL day. But this is driving me insane. Why cant I lose weight???

Any suggestions or advice??

TIA :)

Are you writing down everything you're putting in your mouth? Are you weighing and measuring your portions? Your calorie counts could be off a lot if you're eyeballing.

That's all I've got. I'm sure some of the much more knowledgeable ladies will chime in...

Sounds like sodium may also be a culprit as well. If you are not already, you may want to monitor and/or adjust your sodium intake to 1500-1800 mgs/day. I've noticed that many people who do not monitor or keep their sodium below 2,000 mgs/day, tend to have huge weight fluctuations...that's just my observations though.:)

Well 1500-1600 calories is pretty much what you need to maintain your weight. Why not shoot for 1400 for a week or two and see how it goes? I'm not sure how intense your workouts are but that may help you to lower the calories just a tad.

Starting tomorrow I will lower my calories to 1400 and see how that goes.

I am watching my portions and writing down everything. I use a digital food scale and weigh EVERYTHING. I feel like going by the weight of the food is more accurate than just using measuring cups/spoon.

I have never counted sodium but I guess that could be the culprit too.

As far as excercise goes..I have been power walking on the treadmill 30-45mins 5 days a week. And I sweat gallons doing this. After that I do one hour of "warrior" yoga and I know Im feeling the "burn" during and after each one of those sessions.

Can anyone else see anything that I might be doing wrong? I feel like Im SO close to goal but Im never able to get there.

I don't know, sounds like you are doing everything correctly and you are also quite young (so your metabolism is faster).

With 1500 calories, power walking, and yoga, I think I'd wait it out. I would also try measuring my body instead of weighing everyday.

I know you said you still weigh everything and count everything - but I cannot help but think there are many more 'bites' of goodies now that your husband is back.... partners are known to majorly influence eating habits - even if they don't say anything. I know mine does! I also know it is SO much easier to lose weight when I am completely alone and have full control over my kitchen!

Sugar, I don't have any great advice for you. Sounds like you're doing a great job. I agree on trying to take your measurements to see if you've lost inches. Have you changed your workouts at all during this period? Are they getting easier? May be time to up the intensity and/or duration.

I was in the same place as you several months back - I kept gaining and losing the same 2 lbs. over and over. In September I finally said to **** with it and stopped watching what I ate(I did keep up the exercise - I'm at the gym 5-6 days/week). I gained 10 lbs. from September through December. Oh, what I would give to be back where I was in September!

Keep posting - hope you find something that works.

Here is a trick I did twice so far and it works just great for me. I react to extra sodium with 3-4 lb extra. I usually eat 1300-1400 cal per day, but if I will include soup (from can) or some salty snack I am “gaining” weight. I also power walking on treadmill (4 pmh with 4 incliner for 60 min).

The trick which works for me is:
- Do not exercise for 2 days
- Drink 1.5 L of water no more no less then that
- Keep carbs under 30 gr /day
- Eat only vegetables (no potato, corn), eggs, grilled chicken or turkey
- Do not eat from 6 pm until 6 am ( or 7 pm until 7 am)

After 2 days like this I usually lose water weight and extra pound.

Here is approx menu:
Breakfast
- coffee with Splenda and 10% cream
- 2 scrambled eggs with butter and cucumber

Lunch
- salad ( green salad mix, tomato, cucumber, tuna with dressing)

Dinner
- Caesar salad ( no croutons) with grilled chicken breast

Snack
- cup or two fresh berries


I hope it helps!

Although I agree it might be sodium, I would definitely lower the calories a bit. I can only speak for myself, but at 5'6" I maintain on 1400 and would gain on 1600. I do however lose if I eat 1400 and exercise.
Everyone is different, but if it's been that long and you're not losing I would go with lowering a bit.

I lowered my calories to 1400, and have done great the past 2 days. I did drop some of the weight but not all of it. Im at 161.6 as of this morning.

I did take my measurments 2 weeks ago and there has been no change as of yesterday. How long does it usually take before you notice a change in inches?

Im glad I droped some of the weight but Im still disappointed that Im not back down to where I was. I do think sodium could be a factor. I wasnt feeling well last week and I did eat canned soup for lunch and dinner for 3 days. I bought progresso and campbell selects light, but I didnt look at the sodium at all.

I recently went off the "pill" would that cause an increase in weight? I know that some people gain when they start the "pill" but does it also happen when you go off??

Thanks everyone for all the advice :)