I started out and it was going well. I lost about 8 pounds pretty quickly then now i gained a few back. I'm eating 1200 calories a day and drinking lots of water. I'm eating 1200 healthy calories. It's a meal delivery plan.

I haven't started exercising which I plan to soon but I should atleast not be gaining weight back.

Anyway I'm just venting. I just took some some colon cleansing pills tonight also to help also.

I did go off plan last Wednesday by drinking quit a few drinks but that was almost a week ago.

When did you start? Sometimes it takes a while. Don't give up, you are doing great!

I see you are short. Come join our shorties thread!
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=153096
:0

OK, so first, 1200 sounds like too few calories. Have you gone out and taken a look on one of the good BMI calculators to find out how many you should be eating? Second, you say you have put "a few" pounds back on--one, three, five? If it is three or so, where are you in your cycle? I always retain about that much in water starting a little over a week out before my period -- it comes right off a few days after my period actually starts. Third, you really should start to exercise. It will make this all SOOO much easier. I know you are a busy mom,etc. I know how that feels. I have three kids -- one of whom is a toddler and the oldest suffered a spinal injury at birth and is in a power wheelchair. For years I told myself I just didn't have time. It is absolutely not true. It is an excuse. There is ALWAYS time...tonight I rode my exercise bike at 10:30 pm, but I did it, and I did my strength training with my resistance bands while my kids ate their afternoon snack and colored in the kitchen.

Anyway, don't give up. Remember, 2 cups of coffee weigh a pound. It doesn't take much to see pretty big fluctuations in weight. Good luck!

~1200 calories a day seems a bit low for someone of your current weight. I would aim for around 1500 a day at your current size.

~Give it a few weeks. Don't weigh in every day, because the scale has natural fluctuations on a daily basis that are normal!

~Don't use the colon cleansing pills. The body has a natural cleansing system. As long as you eat a healthy diet with lots of whole grains and fruits and vegetables, THAT is all of the cleansing your body will need.

~Slowly add in some exercise. It will help with the weight loss, and it will also help your body look better (shapelier, firmer, more lifted, less jiggly...)!

Remember, you need to make a calorie defecit to lose weight. 1 pound is 3,500 calories. So, you do need to be exercising in some way to really keep things going. Sounds like you have a handle on the eating, just work some working out into your week. At least 3-4 days a week if not more.
Things will start getting better soon, don't be discouraged!

And remember that weight loss is not always a logical linear happening. We as women know that our bodies can be odd mechanisms. A little water, a little salt, alcohol, a period ... they all can mess with our fluid mass. A little fluid retention goes a long way to an apparent weight gain.

Patience, my dear. If you are on plan more than you are off ... the weight will come off.

Thanks for the encouragement... I'm not going to give up so easily

I've lost about 38 lbs in the last year. Sometimes it seems like water torture, drip by teensie, tiny drip. I've never, ever lost this slow before (but I've also never succeeded this long, either).

At my weight, 38 pounds seems ridiculously tiny. The "old me" certainly would have given up 6 months ago, but this time I promised myself no quotas, no beating myself up and no giving up. In fact, those are my three most "sacred" rules this time.

As others have said, 1200 calories may be too low for you at this stage.

Also, please ditch the "colon cleansing" pills. They're a waste of money and you don't need them. They won't help you lose weight and your colon does't need to be "cleansed". Your body is perfectly capable of cleansing itself as long as you continue to eat healthily.

It's perfectly normal to gain weight back, especially for we women. It's mostly likely not fat, it's most likely water weight. It could be from your TOM, from ovulation, from something salty you ate the other day, from any number of things. My weight varies "a few pounds" over hte course of a day, much less over a given period of time.

Read this thread for more information on water weight and why the scale sometimes goes backwards: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115826

What you do to your body doesn't show up overnight. It's likely that last weeks indulgence is affecting this weeks scale reading. But it's also likely that if you keep going being healthy and don't over indulge this week, you'll see that weight drop right back off.

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I joined this forum because I'm really interested in health and fitness issues, including weight loss. However, I didn't realize that it seems to be all women here. This doesn't bother me, so long as you don't mind a mans point of view, once in awhile? Anyway, here it goes.

Jolie, this would be my concern with what you're doing. You're on a specific meal plan based on having meals delivered to your house. However, what will happen to you when you go off this meal plan? I think more than likely, you'll gain the weight back. This is the problem with any diet plan.

What I would suggest is that you go back to eating whatever food you were eating before. However, I would keep a journal of everything you eat. Also, record your mood, and why you're eating at that time. What you'll discover is that you're often eating for reasons other than hunger. The journal will give you a clue as to why this is happening. Then, you need to work on changing these eating habits with other activities.

I would also recommend starting some kind of exercise program. Yoga might be good fit for you. It will also calm you down and relax your mind.

Just my two bits

- Dave

Hi Dave-

The majority of us are women here, but we DO have a few men on the forum as well!

Aphil

A guy's perspective is ALWAYS welcome!

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Schumeany, I checked thedailyplate and it says i should eat 1225 calories a day to lose 2 pounds a week for my weight and height and activity level. I don't know... I really think what derailed me last week was that I went out drinking which I know was way off plan. I only gained about 2 pounds back and I am at 187.5 now.
I also had my TOM last week.

Aphil, I know I have been weighing too much... sometimes more than once a day... I find it strange that some days i lose weight during the day. I am a bit obsessed with with it.

Regarding the colon cleansing. I had seen a naturopathic doctor and he is the one that recommended that. He also had me to colonics which did make me feel better. I had done Macrobiotics for a few months to do cleansings but that was too strict for me.

Kaplods, Good job with staying focused! it's a life long commitment!

Dave, Thanks for you feedback. The reason I chose a meal plan is because I wasn't eating.... many times only once a day and when I did eat I ate too much. I did track my eating for a while before going on the meal plan and I was shocked I wasn't even eating 1200 calories a day. I need something this going to force me to eat and that is simple for now. I did however go out to eat and eat too much but hardly ever ate 3 meals a day or snacked. Last time I lost 25 pounds in 3 months I had a cook cooking meals for me 7 days a week... then I ate.

I know I need to learn to do this myself. Prepare and force myself to eat at least 3 healthy meals a day. I feel this meal plan will get me to where I need to be then I will worry about maintaining the weightloss. I can completely understand what you are saying though... maybe I will have to do this indefinitely. The food is really good and there are other meal delivery programs to choose from. I'm doing Good Measure Meals in Atlanta. Thanks for posting! We can always use more men on this forum.

I'm definitely starting exercising again... i've just been on a bit of a hiatus

Jolie-

When you get a calorie estimate from Daily Plate, or anything else, it is an ESTIMATE. Just because a site says 1200 a day, doesn't mean that will work for you personally. Everyone is different, and has a different metabolism. For most people, 1200 IS too low, though, for someone of your current weight. I would eat a little more-probably in the 1400-1500 range.

Even though a natropath mentioned it...I would STILL stay away from the colon cleansing and colonics. Seriously. The body simply doesn't need it.

Jolie, I hope you recognize that you have some food addiction issues and can someday recognize and deal with those specific behaviors regarding your relationship with food.

Trust. Patience. Moderation. are key and essential to long term weight control.

I can read the anxiety you feel in this area. Are you not dealing with something else in your life that makes you want to obsessively control this one area?

Again, practice trust, patience and moderation in everything in your life. It will eventually spill over into this area as well.

We are pulling for you.

Love Pam