Okay...I fell off the wagon a while back but have been working very hard to get back on. Last week I worked really hard, going the gym 4 days a week and burned between 1,000 and 1,400 each day. I am doing weight machines, elliptical, stationary bike and the treadmill. I weighed myself today before I worked out and I have gained more weight!

I started my lifestyle change a year ago and was doing really well. I had lost 26 pounds then hit a really long plateau which lasted for about 3 months. Then I fell off the wagon and have gained 11 pounds back.

I am really upset about this and don't know what to do. Any words of advice?

Thanks!

HANG IN THERE! Keep working at it. You didn't gain the weight overnight so you won't lose it overnight either. I'm working my way back up on the wagon too. We can do it!!!

~jess~

Well a couple of thoughts. If you feel off the wagon you could still be gaining weight from that. I know with some people it can a a week or two and sometimes longer for your body to "catch up". I can work out really hard one week, pig out the next and lose and then work out really hard and gain back what I lose from the pig out in the middle. It doesn't happen over night.

Another thought, you body could be hanging onto water from all the extra exercise. Don't panic and don't work yourself too hard. and MAKE SURE you are eating enough for all your exercise. Like they said "you have to eat to lose".

Hope that helps

I'm in the same boat No matter how hard I've tried this month, my wieght hasn't budged!

I guess the important thing to remember is we are living healthier! And it sucks that stupid scale doesn't reflect all our hard work, and it's frustrating, and I have, on more than one occasion, yelled obscenties at my scale for being so stubborn.

I guess the only advice I have is hang in there!!! The scale will eventually give in to all your hard work!!

JLynne126 - I just LOVE the quote in your name - I think it's one of the best I have heard so fat!

I hope one day (soon) I will have at least a two pound drop and not a gain. Is it possible that I could be holding onto extra water because of working out agin all of a sudden (weight lifting)?

My guess is you are not burning near as many calories as you think. What is your intake?

www.fitday.com
use it if you dont use it or something like it already

I'm wondering do you track what you eat? I think it is a good idea for awhile that every mouthful that you take in, you keep up with.
The body for life site is really good. I was looking at the site today. He has a really good idea with 3 x 5 cards.
He also has how to figure your BMR. Anyway it was a really good site and very insightful for me.
Good luck!! Don't let it get you down and keep trying!!!

I am not sure what my exact calorie intake is...I don't keep track. I didn't keep track before when I was losing. The number of calories I burned last week (the 1,000 - 1,400) are from what the machines told me in the gym. I use to use fitday.com....but it got to be a pain and I was not sure how accurate it really was.

I'm reading a book and am absolutely fascinated by it. The funny thing is ... there is nothing in this book that is new. I've read it before, I've seen it before, I've heard it before. The book (Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto) just puts it all together in understandable, practical and useful form.

I mention that because when I read your post, a notion from the book came to mind (it's freshly in there so it popped back out).

Courtni will vouch for me, I'm really a nice lady ... so please keep that in mind if this seems harsh.

Firstly, I agree with Burgie. Machines are notorious for giving 'off' numbers for calories used. Unless you've programmed in a boatload of personal physiological info ... the machine can't know. It's a guess at best.

Secondly (and this is from the book) in order to lose fat and keep it off, you must use more calories than you eat. The calories must be from good food. You must do cardio regularly. And you must lift weights.

Are you doing all those?

My own addendum is ... patience. A couple of weeks is a much better indicator of progress.

If you're impatient, like most of us are, just come on back here and lean on us. That's what we're here for.

If you lost weight dramatically, you might have lost muscle mass. This is a bad thing - when you regain weight, you regain fat. The muscle you lost was metabolically active, it required a certain number of calories daily to support. Fat is metabolically inactive, it requires no caloric expenditure to support.

Simple math - 5 lbs of muscle x 30 calories a day = 150 calories

If you used to eat 2000 and maintain, you would now only need 1850 to maintain. If you go back to eating 2000 calories, you will have a 150 daily caloric surplus - about 1 lb a month gain, eating exactly the number of calories that you used to maintain on.

The cycle of restriction/binge destroyed my metabolism and body composition. I started "dieting" as a 140 lb high school student and ended up 35 years old and 200 lbs. I would lose weight and then always gain the weight back AND MORE when I retured to my previous eating habits. I burned up muscle and it had very far reaching, long term consequences.

You are doing tons of cardio and no weight training. Make muscle work FOR YOU. Track your calories for just a week or so to get an idea of what you are eating and make sure you are eating enough to support your activity - for me, a very small calorie deficit worked the best for long term weight loss.

SusanB,

I know the machines can be off. I usually just put my weight in. My gym also has a computer where you can log in your activities for the day, like what you did, intensity, distance and how long you did it. It computes the calories for you. I know that last week I did almost an hour on the elliptical for three days and the bike for the same amount of time for one day. I walked two miles on all four of those days too on a treadmill.

I am lifting weights, alternating between upper and lower body. Usually takes me 20-22 minutes and I do this about 3 times a week.

Like I said earlier, I was losing weight. Then I fell off the wagon after I hit a 3 month plateau. I don't understand how I could have lost weight before and haven't now when I am working even harder than before. I am eating healty and drinking my water too.

Maybe I am just supposed to be fat?!?!?! This is very disappointing to me.

It is only as accurate as you make it. Start reading food labels, if what you read doesn't match what is on the site then edit the food or enter it in as a custom food. If you don't know how much you ate try and over guess. I don't measure what I eat but I do my best. I know that it is not 100% but it is much closer then just eating and hopeing that I am staying under my calories.

hehe oh yes she is the best
Now as for you! Where have you been? I've missed you in the planning threads