I was SO close to 160s, then I got on the scale this morning.... *sigh*
Sigh...
I thought I was doing a good thing. I had lost 2.4 lbs to get to 170.8 lbs the previous week while on vacation by calorie cycling.
So, this past week I thought I could "shake things" up again by calorie cycling and lose at least a pound to get into the 160s.
I didn't this morning I got on the scale, and I GAINED weight I gained 1.6 lbs and I'm now 172.4 lbs.
I had several days of 1,800 calories, a day of 1,300 calories, a day of 1,600 calories, etc. And I did workout at the gym with my usual hour long cardio sessions on the elliptical and also with weight lifting and drink at least 8 glasses of water/plain herbal tea. (I don't eat processed foods, so my sodium intake is not astronomically high as you would expect by eating foods high in sodium.)
I guess I'll just go to 1,600 calories this week and not do any high calorie cycling sigh.
I just... I was less than ONE pound from getting into the 160s I thought it'd work by doing calorie cycling for a second week in a row since I usually don't calorie cycle to that extent (all week).
And it's been pretty hard for me lately to lose more than half a pound on average per week. *Augh...*
I'm not interested in overeating since I learned I gained 1.6 lbs this week, but boy do I understand the feeling of people just wanting to throw in the towel and binge here right now.
I know I'll get into the 160s eventually. I just thought it was going to be this week
Sigh...sometimes it seems like some decades have a hold on us and don't want to let us go! For me, it is definitely the 170s...It sounds like you had a great loss last week, but as your average is around 1/2 lb per week, your body is just being stubborn. Trying to go where few Ms Teas have gone before!
Throw out the scale for the week, get back to your basic, successful plan, and see what happens. I'll bet you'll be in the 160s next week...
Kira
I hear you. My scale has been dancing above the 15 lbs lost mark for a week and a half. I was .4 away one morning about a week ago, but ever since I've been up or down around a pound away.
My boyfriend has a little wrapped gift for me (when I reach 15 lbs lost) waiting on the nightstand. It's been sitting there for over half a month at this point. I really really want it! C'mon body, COOPERATE!
Tea, you WILL get there. I mean the only way to NOT get there is to STOP what you're doing (eating right and exercising) & well all no THAT'S not going to happen. So yes, you WILL get there. Hang tough.
I was wondering though, maybe you should try to stop thinking of I want to lose X # of lbs this week, since I lost X number of lbs previously. You can only do so much. The body will do what the body will do. There is no way to "predict" how much weight you will lose during any particular week. Even if you were to duplicate the same exact circumstance. Your body is not a computer. It can't be expected to have the same results week after week.
Those 160's WILL BE YOURS Tea. I know it for sure. Just not EXACTLY sure when.
I was wondering though, maybe you should try to stop thinking of I want to lose X # of lbs this week, since I lost X number of lbs previously. You can only do so much. The body will do what the body will do. There is no way to "predict" how much weight you will lose during any particular week. Even if you were to duplicate the same exact circumstance. Your body is not a computer. It can't be expected to have the same results week after week.
Quoted for truth. I have never had a good mental experience with putting timed goals on the table. Because my body isn't a machine (and neither is yours!) What DID work for me was being on plan, and knowing that I could CONTROL that, even if I could NOT control whether that on-plan week would yield any results. If I stayed on plan, I was doing well, regardless of the scale. Maybe its time to shift your attitude more in that direction.
Amanda to the rescue. Funny, when I wrote, "Your body is not a computer", I knew it sounded off. For some reason, I just couldn't come up with the right word - and you did. MACHINE. That was the word I was looking for.
Quote:
If I stayed on plan, I was doing well, regardless of the scale. Maybe its time to shift your attitude more in that direction.
I agree with this statement very much so. To have stayed on plan yet another week is a HUGE accomplishment in and of itself and you should derive pleasure and satisfaction from that alone. Sure, it would be great to have a loss as well, but as well all know that's not always the case. You can go to bed at night all content with yourself, just knowing that you've done "right by your body" for yet another week.
One other tiny thing that you might consider...drink even more. When you are strenously exercising, even 8 8-oz glasses of water and tea may not be enough and you're dehydrating. I'd suggest drinking at lease 80 oz of water on days when you really put in hard work at the gym.
You are a hop, skip, and jump (hehe, LITERALLY) from being in the 160's. You're gonna do it. It may be another day or two, but YEP, you're gonna get there.
Yeah, it's so frustrating when you expect to lose and then gain. It's enough to make you want to give up. But look at it in the long run. If you stay on plan, you might not lose every week, but you'll lose over the course of a month, or a year. And then you'll be much happier than if you gave up.
I just wanted to ask...were you previously doing 1600 on a daily basis?
I ask because the calorie cycling put you at about 1700 per day.
It is only 100 calories a day, and surely not enough to equal a 2 lb gain, but it could have just gotten thrown off somehow.
Our bodies are so weird and kooky sometimes.
You will do it! Tomorrow you may wake up and the 2 lbs plus another are gone. Or it may take the whole week to get you back on track. But it will happen.
To have stayed on plan yet another week is a HUGE accomplishment in and of itself and you should derive pleasure and satisfaction from that alone. Sure, it would be great to have a loss as well, but as well all know that's not always the case. You can go to bed at night all content with yourself, just knowing that you've done "right by your body" for yet another week.
The body is certainly not a machine! And I think we make it more complicated when we try to figure out what caused an unexpected weight loss (as you had after your vacation) or weight gain (as you had this week).
While calories in/calories out is generally true, it is not true that staying on plan with a 500 calorie one week will automatically result in the "expected" 1/2 pound loss the following week. There are too many complicated thingamabobs (technical term) going on that we are not aware of.
Another problem is that we focus on FAT loss, but the darned scale measures so much more than that! Maybe you retained water one week, or lost a little muscle mass, or who knows what.
Just keep doing what you're doing and you will be successful!! It may help you to see your success more broadly if you realize that you are a successful MAINTAINER of a large weight loss!!! Every single day is a victory in that regard. Why not focus a little more on that rather than focusing on the scale!!!
I was SO close to 160s, then I got on the scale this morning.... *sigh*
I got on the scale, and I GAINED weight 
I gained 1.6 lbs and I'm now 172.4 lbs.
scale!!!
