Hi all. Although I’ve been reading here for the past few weeks, this is my first post and I’m in desperate need of advice. Here’s my story:

I started at 120 pounds and a daily allotment of 1500 calories (this is an average – some days I ate 1700 and others 1200). I lost 4 pounds in 4 weeks. Then, both the weight loss and fat loss stopped, so I dropped down to 1300 calories. I lost 2 pounds in 4 weeks until the weight and fat loss came to a screeching halt. I dropped down to 1000 calories and again lost 2 pounds in 4 weeks. I think you can see where this is going. I kept reducing the calories more and more with no real results. I eventually got down to 500 before I decided it was ridiculous.

Now that I have been reading the posts here, I have been trying to slowly increase my intake. However, every single time I go over 800, I gain weight like a madwoman. I gave up trying to transition myself, and chose to attempt to reset my metabolism instead. For the past month, I put the scale away and ate an average of 1200. I weighed myself this morning (day 30) to find that I have gained back everything that I had lost plus a few extra pounds. My bf% skyrocketed too. I’m so frustrated right now – I just don’t know what to do.

The calories I consume are healthy and I’m anal about measuring everything that goes into my mouth. For example, here’s what I ate yesterday:

7am: yogurt (110) and multigrain cereal (190)
10am: apple with peanut butter (260)
1pm: salad with light Italian dressing (140)
4pm: steamed vegetable mix (150)
6pm: chicken breast with whole grain rice (350)

for a total of 1200 calories. I also exercise every day without fail. I’m a student, so I walk between classes from 8am until 4pm. I also walk my dog for at least an hour (3-4 miles) in the evening and run for 45 minutes during my lunch break 3-4 days per week. I weight train for an hour on Saturdays and Sundays.

I apologize about the length of this post. So, does anyone have suggestions? I’m open to just about anything right now.

Thanks in advance!
Claire

First -

Second - there's a Featherweights forum that can prolly answer better than me.

But my advice is more weight training. Building muscle will boost your metabolism (which might be a litlle trashed from the low calories you were on). You are basically already in a healthy weight range - so losing weight is going to be a really slow process for you. How much are you trying to lose?

Have you seen your doctor about this? There are several medical reasons your body could behave this way. You shouldn't gain weight on 800 calories. Please see your doctor. They can do a simple blood test to check your thyroid, and can also rule out any other possible causes.

Good luck

Oh - and maybe more protein looking at your sample menu. There's a little in the yogurt and peanut butter...dunno if there was anything added to the salad. Besides that there's the chicken - I'll assume you prolly had more chicken than rice.

You already know you shouldn't be going below 1200...so I'll leave it at that.

Hey Clairvoyant,

When I checked your BMI you come out as normal weight. So... that may be why it is so difficult for you to lose.

Why is it that you want to lose weight?

Like chick_in_the_hat says, I would try some weight training to increase your muscle health and strength. It would also probably improve your body fat percentage.

I'd encourage you not to go below 1200 calories for any extended period of time, even if it means you lose only very slowly or even not at all. There's such a thing as eating too little to support your body's need for nutrients, and the results can be things like muscle wasting (which will make your body fat % even higher), heart damage, osteoporosis, hair loss... Obviously this isn't healthy.

And check in with the Featherweights! And also your doc...

Jay

You are probably eating too little. Your body shuts down because it thinks it's starving and will hold on to fat no matter what you do. Eat more calories! Especially protein. I bet you will also feel better. Best of luck.

Yeah - It sounds like yo may be eating too little. I think eating your BMR and exercising is going to be the way to go for losing a small amount of weight.

I strongly agree with Suzanne, and would echo her advice to see a doctor. The medical issues than can result in weight gain on so few calories can be very serious conditions. I think that casual speculation is not a good idea until you get the serious possibilities checked out first.

You say you started at 120 pounds, is that your starting weight or your goal weight? If it is your starting weight then you are not even overweight at 120 pounds.
If it is your goal weight, what is your starting weight and how much do you want to lose?

Let's see .. you're 5'2" and you started at 120.

You lost 4 pounds then lost 2 pounds and then lost 2 more pounds.

So at that point you weighed 112?

At 5'2" and 112 lbs, that puts you right at 20 BMI, which is the low end of normal.
Even at 120 lbs, that puts you at 21.0 BMI which is right at the very middle of normal.

At that weight and BMI, it's going to be hard for you to lose more weight at all. Even at 800 calories.

I would suggest, like other women, that you need to maybe look into weight training and resistance training that will help RESHAPE your body. I would suspect that you don't really need to lose weight, you just need to become more fit, develop muscles and become lean!

.

Wow - thanks for all the replies. You guys are quick!

My goal weight is 105, which is what I weighed pre-college. I have a small frame, so any excess weight looks terrible on me. I have quite the muffin top at 120.

I know that I should be eating at least 1200 calories daily. That was drilled into my head after I started reading posts here. The problem is that I'm gaining so much weight at that amount and I feel like I'm defeating the purpose.

I did go to the doctor before I started the 1200 plan. She didn't seem too concerned, but did a blood test anyway. My T4 (thyroid hormone) was on the low end of normal, but still normal. Are there any other tests that I should request?

I will definitely try to start weight training more at the cost of some of the cardio. And I'm off to check out the featherweights!

Thanks again,
Claire

After seeing a doctor to rule medical problems out, at your normal BMI I would try, if you can, to disregard numbers completely and begin weight training. At 165 pounds I wear a size 8 in pants, unbelievable to me. Weight training is beautiful because it completely reshapes your body - you'd be surprised how quickly the muffin top could become a thing of the past.

The repetition of the 4 week time frame in Claire's post struck a chord with me.

Claire? How is all this corresponding to your menstrual period? Two pounds up and two pounds down is very common during that time.

FB- Thanks! That's really encouraging. I am going to start adding additional weight training sessions to my routine beginning tomorrow.

Susan- Interesting perspective! I have to admit though, my TOM is incredibly irregular (it comes and goes with stress) so I have no idea how it fits into the big picture. I'm not sure that it would have too much of an impact on the fluctuations because I weigh in daily. Then I average my weight weekly and monthly to determine the net change. I think 4 weeks is just a timeframe that I set for myself to see results before I make any changes.

Claire

Jillian Michaels (the trainer from the Biggest Loser) has a book called Making the Cut that is all about losing the last few pounds. Her eating plan is basically calorie counting with an emphasis on whole foods and her workouts WILL kick your (!).