So, maybe less than a month ago I started dieting. I was eating around 1300 calories and lost 7lbs in the first 2 weeks! I was so happy. I stopped craving junk and ate healthy.
Well, it's been expensive to eat so healthy and I can't afford it all the time. Plus, my friends always want to go out to pizza! So frustrating because I always am feeling like I eat way too much.
Now it seems I have somehow gained the weight back?! I don't understand, did I lose just water weight? I have been tracking my calories and calculated what I need to maintain my weight. I realized there is NO WAY I am eating more than 3000 calories a day!
Even if that number is off my a little bit, I realized that days I feel I am eating way too much is when I eat around 2000 calories. I should still be able to lose weight when I eat that much, but my weight is staying the same. I want to cry because this just makes me hate myself that much more. I hate people looking at me and thinking I can't control myself and that I'm lazy, because I am not! I am full of energy, I love going out, and I absolutely control myself all the time, because I want to lose weight more than anything!
Sorry this is long, I am soo frustrated and just can't understand why my body is like this! I get exercise too, so I'm not just sitting around all day. I just feel like my whole life I've struggled with my weight and I've never ate that much to begin with. The only time I managed to drop a significant amount of weight was when I barely ate, and I regained it all because I ate normally again.
Any ideas? Suggestions? Tips? I could use anything! And thank you in advance!
I am on food stamps and find that it's actually pretty cheap to eat seasonal veggies, beans, whole grains, lean dairy, and scant amounts of meat. It sounds like you are eating very few calories for your weight and the resulting misery can be frustrating. Remember, weight loss is a prolonged non-linear process. You have to find a diet plan that you can do for months and even years. Hope this helps.
Eating healthy can be incredibly expensive, especially if you're is buying pre-prepared or "healthy" processed food. It's tough if you're in a time crunch or not someone who cooks. But it is possible to eat healty on a smaller budget.
Have you also considered having your hormones or thyroid checked? I'm on one of the lowest dosages of synthroid that exists, but if I don't have my medicine I won't drop a pound no matter how much I exercise or eat well.
Do you have one or two days a week where you are off plan? A weekend of poor eating habits can negate an entire week's worth of hard work.
I'm sorry you're having a rough time. Be patient and be honest with yourself. If you keep it up, you'll have success.
All the best,
Tanna
Last edited by Tanna Banana; 04-06-2012 at 11:38 PM.
Reason: spelling error
Sorry this is long, I am soo frustrated and just can't understand why my body is like this! I get exercise too, so I'm not just sitting around all day. I just feel like my whole life I've struggled with my weight and I've never ate that much to begin with. The only time I managed to drop a significant amount of weight was when I barely ate, and I regained it all because I ate normally again.
What does normal mean? What does not eating much mean?
Calories are responsible for FAT loss or fat gain. Weight can bounce all over the place depending on the position of the moon, or sodium intake, or exercise levels, or ... whatever.
There is a given level of calories than you will lose fat at.
I know it's frustrating. It sounds like it's most likely just water weight. I gained 3 pounds from yesterday, but I was on a salt binge yesterday. I over ate by maybe 200 calories, so I know I didn't actually gain all that back.
It sounds like you're quite sensible. I think you're going about it right, by what you describe. Try not to get worked up over the weight fluctuations. There will be many. Just keep moving forward and keep in mind it's the overall results that matter.
Going strictly by the BMR charts, you need around 1700 calories to meet your BMR. About 2000 if you are sedentary, and about 2600 if you exercise 5 days a week (moderately active.) If you eat 3000 calories a day, you will gain weight. At 2000, you may be holding steady or losing very little, based on your activity level.
I think we all tend to overestimate how many calories we burn due to exercise. And I know that I often underestimate the number of calories I eat. An error of a couple hundred one way or another makes a difference.
Little Caesar's "Hot and Ready" pizza is about 280 calories per slice, if all the slices are 1/8 of the pizza. But what if you get the "big" slice? You know they never cut them evenly. If you can afford to go out for pizza, you can afford to eat healthy foods. No excuses. Suggest that your friends chip in and cook at home. Or allow the calories for a couple slices into your daily calories and leave it at one or 2 slices. I have a really hard time with that - so I just stay away from pizza most of the time.
It pretty much is simple math. PLEASE - I know there are health issues that make it harder for some to lose just by counting calories - so don't come back with all the reasons reducing calories might not work for someone. For MOST of us, it is simple. Reduce the number of calories and become more active. Eat less, move more. Period.
Be honest with yourself. You've just started this trip. We think that the way we ate was "normal." Apparently it isn't since we gain weight! I never thought that I ate too much, either, until I started losing and realized what little it takes to get the nutrients we need (eat healthy foods - pizza calories are almost worthless, by the way) and to maintain a healthy body weight. i look at what my daughter eats and at what my nieces who are very fit eat. And even at what my brother (who can still wear his high school jeans at age 59) and realize I ate double what they eat on many days. They never feel compelled to finish every bit on the plate. Take a very realistic look at what you eat and how you move and face the fact that we all tend to turn things in the direction we like to see.
I'm sorry if this sounds harsh. Realize that 2 weeks doesn't make a big change in your lifestyle. You have to work at this every day. Don't get discouraged because you CAN do it. You have to set priorities and have the desire to say no to the things you know will set you back and say yes to the things that will move you forward. Good luck on this journey. We're all here to walk with you - perhaps not in your exact shoes - but pretty darn close so that we know what you're going through. I'm pulling for you.
My body is confusing me!!
