I usually don't like to weigh myself frequently but for the ETL 6wk program I decided I would weigh myself just to see how things are coming along as I go. So first thing this morning I decided I was feeling lighter so I decided to step on the scale. BIG MISTAKE! My scale shows that I'm up 5lbs! What's up with that!? You can't tell me that eating more veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and beans compared to my old way of eating burgers, fries, cake, candy, chips, fried stuff, sugary foods, crap in general, is going to cause me to gain weight?! Comon' now!...Really? What's wrong with this picture?
I'm very discouraged this morning. Not only that I'm in a bad mood too. This is why I don't like dieting. This is the point where I stop and go back to what I was doing before. This is where I loose all interest. This is where I fail. This happens every time I try to lose weight. I end up gaining or not losing at all. This is where I quit.
But I don't want to quit this time. This has to work! I'm not getting any younger and I really need to lose all this fat before I end up in the hospital or dead. So I'm going to attribute my 5lb gain in the past 2 days to water retention and leave it at that. At least for this week. I don't know what I'll do if I have a gain next week.
Today I'm feeling desparate. I don't like feeling this way because there's no telling what I will do. I could take drastic measures either way. Whether it be a binge or starvation. I know that neither of these two things are helpful in any way. I keep telling myself to just stay put. Just keep doing what you're doing. Maybe it's my body adjusting to eating all this healthy food. Who knows. But whatever it is I hate it!

Sorry about the rant. I just needed to put this out there.

Step away from the scale for a long while.

Are you doing any exercise? If so it will speed up the process of fat loss as well as make you gain water weight, at first. The numbers can get skewed so take measurements and pictures of yourself.

Also this isn't a "diet" this is a permanent lifestyle change. Nobody ever said you have to live on seeds and fruit although these things are good for you; people have to indulge (IN MODERATION!) once in a while.

I lost all of my weight still eating everything I used to but in much smaller doses, and longer time spans inbetween with a lot of exercise. I make better food choices 80% of the time....the other 20% yeah I have pizza but in moderation then skip desert, next meal is a salad. I balance it out like a check book. If I knew mentally that I had to give up everything I would only want it more causing me to fail so I don't exclude anything and rarely drink any calories. I've never liked pop anyway so I live on water and tea.

A lot of people will say exercise isn't necessary but I adamantly disagree. I feel it's crucial to my weightloss.

I'm just saying what worked for me, obviously for some people eating "everything in moderation" is playing Russian Roulette so you have to decide...but don't give up all together. Starving yourself won't work either you'll only gain it right back and more.

Hang in there.

Also want to add that a lot of people think, "Oh, you only had 12 pounds to lose" but let me tell you this 12p has been harder to lose than when I had 30+ to lose and I still want to lose a few more.

I started this journey in February so it takes time. Be patient.

It could, if you haven't moderated the quantity. Nuts, seeds and some types of beans are fairly calorie-dense. That said, I think it's more likely you're just experiencing some random weight fluctuations due to water retention, and that if you keep at it you'll start seeing sustained losses. I think most of us have had the experience of WTF gains, then found our persistence rewarded with a woosh.

F.

It could, if you haven't moderated the quantity. Nuts, seeds and some types of beans are quite calorie-dense. That said, I think it's more likely you're just experiencing some random weight fluctuations due to water retention, and that if you keep at it you'll start seeing sustained losses. I think most of us have had the experience of WTF gains, then found our persistence rewarded with a whoosh.

F.

Is that what this is called? a WTF gain?
Love it! That's my new name for weight fluctuations.
Thanks, I needed that.

Novangel~ You are right. I do need to step away from the scale. And I will try. I even put it in the closet so that it's out of sight and out of mind. I also need to take into considration of how good I feel. I need to stop focusing on the weight loss and focus on what I'm doing and how I'm feeling. For the past 3 yrs. I feel like I'm 80yrs old. But since I started ETL I feel amazing! I'll be 50 in Feb but I feel like I'm in my 30's again. No more aches and pains. I don't feel weighed down or depressed. My anxiety is much much better, I actually drove on the freeway yesterday with no "feeling like I'm going to die" feelings. lol. So in that aspect I'm doing great and I need to look at this, not just the scale.

Also, I noticed in another post you made about having anxiety when you excercise. I think it was a while back you posted this. Did you overcome this problem? I ask because this is why I don't want to even think about excersiseing because I have the panic attack thing going on too. Always have from the time I was a teenager.

Weight loss is achieved by creating a calorie deficit (meaning you burn more calories than you consume). I don't know about you, but I love "healthy" foods and could easily overeat them. As freelancemamma said, nuts, seeds, and some beans can be quite calorie dense. For example, walnuts are around 6.5 calories per gram whereas white bread is around 2.89 calories per gram.

Whatever you do, don't give up! Keep your goals in mind and keep at it - eventually you will get results.

I don't know what the ELT diet is. I tried to google ELT but came up empty.

As others have noted - calories matter. You don't lose weight by eating "healthy" (whatever that means) foods. You lose weight by consuming fewer calories than you burn in a day.

Some people don't like it when I post this because they think I'm insulting their intelligence but no matter what anyone, anywhere says -

Fat loss or gain is an equation of energy. Energy is measured in calories. The laws of physics govern us all and specifically the laws of thermodynamics hold true.

That said - it is extremely unlikely that you've gained 5lbs of weight. Knowing the difference between weight gain/loss and fat gain/loss is a critical step to mental sanity in the context of trying to lose fat.

Everyone always says they're trying to lose weight but what they really mean is they're trying to lose fat.

Anyways - what is the ELT diet?

I'm thinking ETL = Eat to Live. If you google that you'll get a bunch of hits.

Thanks John! I do want to lose weight but never thought about really meaning losing fat. Good point. ETL is Eat to Live. It's by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. It's a vegitarian approach to fat loss. Here's the jist of it:

Recommended Foods for the first 6 weeks:

Foods to Include:

*Raw vegetable in unlimited amounts. Fuhrman advises dieters to regard salads as the main dish.

*Cooked green vegetables, eggplants, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes.

*Beans, bean sprouts and tofu – 1 cup daily at least and more if desired

*Fruits – at least 4 serves daily

*Starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corn as well as whole grains are limited to one cup daily.

*Raw nuts – 1 oz maximum per day

*Avocado – 2 oz maximum per day

*Ground flax seed – 1 tablespoon per day

*When oils are included in meal plans the maximum amount recommended is one teaspoon per day.

*Dieters are advised to aim for an intake of at least 1 pound of raw vegetables and one pound of steamed vegetables daily.

Foods to Avoid:

All refined carbohydrates are to be avoided including…

bread
pasta
white rice
fruit juice
sugar

Yes, I did!

Cardio exercise has minimized my once very bad anxiety to practically none, to me that's a HUGE accomplishment more so than weightloss. Exercise truly does wonders for mental health...my doc always said it would but I didn't believe it. At first I was having issues and in time with exposure and getting in better shape I learned to not be freaked out by the feeling of my heart pounding. Flash forward I can now run approx 4 miles a day! That's pretty much a 360 when a year ago I would avoid just walking up a flight of stairs like the plague because any elevation in my heart rate would send me into panic mode. I've come a loooong way. I do take medication but it never took care of the problem entirely, once I added cardio to the mix I was pretty much golden after a few months.

Also wanted to add: My resting heart rate used to be 90-100bpm and now it's 67-70bpm. I'm much more relaxed.

There are good days and bad days. You have to remember how it feels when you're doing everything right and seeing an improvement in your measurements and body weight. I always go by measurements the most. because from the morning to the evening weight fluctuates, don't sweat it. You're doing great, once you give up it's so hard to pick up again. Remember why you even started doing it in the first place. Make your reasons good, not for vanity or to impress someone. But for you. <3

Best term ever.