Hello, everyone long time lurker first time poster here! I didn't really know where I should put this post, so please, anyone let me know if I am doing something wrong.
I will start off by saying that I re-started my weight loss journey on September 6th, 2012 and I am having some troubles and frustrations this time around.
I was hoping that some of you wonderful folks might be able to help or have experienced similar problems.

1. I have PCOS and before restarting my journey I always had regular periods (every month, every 32-33 days) and now since starting my journey in September I have been irregular (last month I was 38 days in my cycle and this month I am already 2 days late). Dieting and exercising has always made my cycles more regular, I don't know whats going on?

2. My weight loss has been very slow for how strict and on-plan I am and I am ok with that. When I started my journey on Sept. 6, I weighed 212 lbs and on Friday, Nov. 2, I weighed in at 202.3 lbs, so 10 lbs in 2 months; for which I am thankful for and proud of. Well, that Friday my boyfriend and I decided to have a date night (life has been very stressful lately) and get out of the house. Well I decided to have a cheeseburger and fries because I had been craving one non-stop for about three days before and thought if I don't get this damn cheeseburger I am going to destroy my diet by going off plan completely; this has happened to me in the past when I don't allow "planed free meals" every once in a while. After we ate we walked around a department store for about an hour and then went home and I walked on my treadmill, and drank lots of water to try and flush my system. That next morning I weighed myself (fully expecting a gain) and was up to 203.5 so not too bad, and I know this is water weight mostly from all of the sodium. That whole next day on Saturday I am on plan, I go to work, I have a light salad for lunch, drink lots of water, everything is great. So I weigh in on Sunday morning, 204.0 lbs!! How am I going up still, that burger was Friday night?! So yesterday I think, no big deal, I will stay on plan, drink lots of water, have a light salad for lunch and continue to do what I do, and this morning I wake up, use the bathroom (number 1 and 2, TMI, I know), and even after using the bathroom and everything I weigh in at 203.7! I am starting to feel hopeless, how could one burger do this much damage? In the past when I have had a planned free meal like that I always gain water weight, but it usually comes off in 2 days at most.

A little about my plan, I exercise on my treadmill at the highest incline possible (10), at a speed of 2.5-3.0 varied, throughout to mix up my workout, for 20 minutes a day, 3-4 times a week. I wanted to start out small and build up so that I wouldn't get discouraged.

I am a calorie counter, 1200 or less (no less than 1,000) because I am a college student (so I do some sitting during my day) and I am only 5 feet 2 inches. And on that day that I had a burger I had 2,119 calories total for the day.

I take a vitamin D supplement, a calcium supplement, a fish oil supplement, cinnamon supplement, and chromium supplement daily.
I eat 100 grams at very most of carbohydrates a day, always 30 grams or more of fiber, I only drink water (no diet soda, crystal light, coffee,tea or anything of that sort), 1,500 mg sodium at most. I eat a whole foods diet, with low glycemic index foods. Organic as much as possible (to avoid added hormones, because of my PCOS). I don't understand how dieting is making my periods have longer cycles, and how one burger could put a 2 lbs gain for more than 3 days?

This was long, I know, and if you are still reading this, thank you for your time and for sticking with me! I'm Just hoping someone out there may know what I am doing wrong or have some advice for me!

I just want to say that I hope my post didn't come off as me being confused that I can't just eat whatever I want, cheeseburgers included, and not gain weight. I understand that eating what I did is not within my plan, it carries consequences when I choose to eat it, and I just need to deal with those consequences. I also wanted to say that I didn't eat what I did to reward myself for my weight loss, rewarding myself with food is counterproductive, I know this.

Just wanted to say these things because after reading my own post I realized that some of what I just stated above may not have been clear. (:

If you want to exercise to help with your weight loss I would highly advise weight lifting.

Also - it's seriously ok to push yourself on the exercise cardio wise. If that is what you've been doing for two months ... it might be time to step it up a bit.

As for the cheeseburger - you're probably dealing with water weight vs fat weight. It can be confusing but knowing the difference between fat loss and weight loss and more importantly fat gain vs water gain is important.

Finally - 10 lbs in two months is not slow. You're doing great!

While I agree that "food as reward" is not a good mindset to adopt, I also believe that occasional indulgences are NECESSARY for the vast majority of weight losers and maintainers. If weight control meant never indulging, I would choose to be fat. Asking people who love food to stay on plan 24/7 is like asking people who love sex to stick to the missionary position for the rest of their lives, IMO.

It's hard to say what's going on without seeing the bigger picture of your weight loss. I suggest you continue to eat no more than 1,500 cals per day and keep up your regular exercise routine for the next 4 weeks before concluding that you're doing anything wrong or "holding onto" fat or anything of the kind. Sometimes, for no discernible reason, weight comes off in fits and starts.

Good luck and keep us posted!

F.

I wish I could offer some good advice for you. I don't think the one cheeseburger would be to blame for all of this. I do know that my weight loss seems to go like this - I hit a new low, then I bounce back up 2-3 pounds for a few days, then it comes down and eventually goes down to a new low, then back up a couple.... This just seems to be my normal. I weigh every morning so I can't let a pound or two weight gain really get me down or else I would have given up a long time ago. I started out on Atkins over a year ago and I've lost over 75 pounds now. I'm now on Weight Watchers because I stalled out at the same weight for a couple of months and decided I had to make a change. What I'm trying to say is don't give up just because you don't understand where the weight gain came from. If you keep it up you WILL see results. It won't be overnight, but a year is going to go by no matter what so you might as well stick with it and then when you look back you will be amazed at the progress you made and be so glad you stuck with it.

As far as the other issue with your cycle being longer, the only thing I have heard/read is that if you're not getting enough calories it can affect it. I've also heard that not eating enough calories can slow down weight loss because your body goes into "fat storing" mode since it thinks you're starving. I'm no specialist, these are just things I've heard and who knows if they are true. Maybe you should try to find out how many calories your burning versus how many you're taking in and see if you might need to up your intake a little. Or I might be totally off.

Sorry I couldn't be more help. Just don't give up. We all wish we could see instant results, but unfortunately it just doesn't happen that way.

Thank you for the advice, I will look into some weight lifting exercises. I agree, pushing myself cardio wise is not a bad idea. I just started the exercise portion of my plan 2 weeks ago, but I definitely see your point, I should increase the time and speed for sure.

I figure I am retaining water weight as well, because gaining 2 lbs of actual fat in one night would be near impossible, and the caloric intake I would actually need to achieve that would huge (around 7,000, plus some to compensate for my BMR!). I guess I just hate seeing the scale not budge three days after (but I need to just accept it). Thank you so much for your advice I really appreciate it, I will take what you said into consideration, especially the weight lifting!

I wholeheartedly agree that the occasional indulgence is necessary for a vast majority of us, I know it is for me! In the past I have always chose to ignore cravings and eventually fell off plan, and instead of having one meal off plan it turned into 3 months of meals off plan, yikes! So now my new rule is if I am having a craving for something for a few days I will try and incorporate it into my day for 1 meal off plan and jump right back onto plan. Hahah I loved your analogy for the missionary position! It's so true! Sometimes a little indulgence actually helps in the long run!

Thanks for your kind words and advice I will just keep on plan and exercising for a few more weeks before deciding that I really need to make any major adjustments!

Thanks, John! That means a lot!

First off congratulations to you and your weight loss, what an accomplishment! I hope to have success like yours one day.

Thank you for offering your advice, my weight loss fallows the pattern you described as well, going up, then going down, etc. I am also a daily weigher, as it helps me to focus and to see how my body reacts to certain things. I suppose I was just bummed that I shot up to 204 and then 203.7 because I have not had those numbers on the scale since around October 26th, and by the time I decided to have the cheeseburger my weight was around 202-202.8 for a few days before. I know they are only small differences, but as I am sure anyone losing can relate to, seeing the scale go up to a number that you worked so hard to get off a week before is crummy. I am sure I am making a big deal out of nothing, but as you say results will not come overnight. It took me a few years to get to where I am now, it's not going to come off overnight.

The one thing I am truly worried about is my cycle, I am not sure why it is slowing down. I monitor my carbs, and keep a low glycemic index diet. I will take your advice and try and see about my caloric burn versus my intake. I used to be very diligent about this when I was dieting about 7 months ago because I have a fitbit that I used to wear religiously, but I lost it for a while and just stopped wearing it, I found it and haven't even worn it since, I better get back to wearing that! You are correct, menstruation will stop if the body is continuously not getting adequate calories, so perhaps my body is just trying to work things out. Seeing a doctor (an endocrinologist specifically) would be my best bet, but I do not have insurance unfortunately.

Also, what you said about how a year is going to go by no matter what, so I should just keep doing what I am doing is so true. A year is going to go by no matter what, and I will be a lot more happy that I lost even a little bit of weight than I ever will be just giving up or going off plan and gaining weight. Thank you for all of your kind words and advice, you have really helped me, by helping me to remember why I am doing what I am doing and why it is so importnant to me. Thank you!

Don't get discouraged, just keep going. Hormones, food, hydration, moon cycles, tight socks, almost ANYTHING can affect the scale output that has very little to do with actual fat loss. If you're on plan consistently the scale will show change. I might not show it linearly, but it WILL turn up.

I agree that exercising a bit harder may be helpful right now, and with your PCOS if you're not already on a plan that is intended for treating insulin resistance you'd likely benefit much from one. It will ease many of your symptoms and might help you lose weight more comfortably than such a deep calorie deficit, to be controlling the nutrient side of it more. Not everyone with PCOS shows insulin resistance, but most do. Just a thought!

You're doing excellently, and cheeseburger OR moon cycles, don't give the scale more power than it merits - your behaviors and choices are what you can control, not the output or results. Focus on the former and the latter will come in due time.

Thank your encouragement, it means a lot. I will not give up because I know how important this is.

Yes, I think I need to start exercising a bit harder, maybe if even for just an extra 10 minutes to make for 30 minutes, as I am trying to work up to 60 minutes, 6 days a week for my ultimate goal (I know that I have some time until I can work up to that).

I am not on a specific diet for insulin resistance as far as monitored or prescribed by a doctor or physician of some sort but I do eat as if I do have insulin resistance and am diabetic, if that makes sense. I don't have insurance so I can not afford to go to see a specialist at the moment, but I am knowledgable about insulin resistance and how to best combat it (exercise and low-glycemic index diet) which is what I fallow at the moment. I am very conscious of the glycemic load of the foods I eat, I won't even eat peas (though I love them dearly). I greatly appreciate your advice and kind words, and hopefully with time my moons will align!

You're doing fine!

In order to actually lose the weight and keep it off is a long journey.

I have found that tracking my food, exercise and thoughts are very helpful.

I weigh every morning, track all of my food and exercise. I stay on plan, "most" of the time.

The tracking of food, exercise and mood is very helpful. It gives you the ability to look back and see what did and did not work. No guilt or shame, or any of that junk, just feedback.

At the end of the month I take the calendar off of the wall in front of my scale and sit down with all of my tracked info and take a look at the whole month.

Because everyone's body is different and our minds are all different, it takes some time and feed back and experimenting to find what works best for you!

Hi

I am 23 years old, so it sounds like we have a couple of similar stats. I used run on the track in high school and I really used to enjoy it. Thanks for your advice I may have to look into getting back into running. I have the couchto5k app on my phone so maybe I will look into something like that. Thanks for your encouragement! Yes, counting calories is something I am very familiar with because it seems to be the only thing that really works for me. I even use a food scale to measure everything to be as precise as possible. I will take your advice and keep working up to 5 days a week. Thanks again! (:

You are so right in that loosing weight and keeping it off long term is nothing sort of a true journey. This takes time. I guess I just got frustrated.

I love your idea of tracking your moods and thoughts as well, especially the part about sitting with your scale at the end of the month. I think this could really help put somethings into perspective. I do tend to go back and look at my "food journal" (which is electronic and done on an app on my phone) and look back at what I ate when I had a good loss for that week, or what I ate when I had a slow loss or gain etc. but I do not record my feelings or thoughts, I like the idea of doing this. Thank you for sharing your ideas with me. (:

Hello, and thanks for sharing.

As Mandydawn commented about herself, I too always bounce back up a bit after a loss. A cheeseburger and fries did not hurt you all that much, and certainly did not cause a permanent weight increase.

Losing weight is full of discouraging moments, that's for sure! This is a good place to come for encouragement! You are doing great!