Advice needed!! Cant seem to shift these lbs!

Well my first week went really well, i lost 6lbs. I didnt exercise much but had cut my calories down quite alot and founf myself starving an hour or 2 before every meal. So after reading through alot of posts i decided to up my calories so my body does not go in to "starvation mode" and up my exercise. So on my second week i was eating more, example. Breakfast: special k. Snack: fruit Lunch: healthy low fat soup and low fat yoghurt. Dinner: 1 chicken breast with rice. Then maybe a few water biscuits with low fat cheese spread on for supper. So about 1300 calories a day.

I was doing cardio or brisk walking for an hour 3 or 4 times a week. Which before i started dieting i never used to do. I'v cut out tea (i have way too much sugar in it) and replaced with green tea, i dont drink fizzy pop anymore or chocolate milk, just lots of water.

Halfway through the second week i had gained 4 lbs, then at the end of the week i had dropped 2, which makes a loss of 4lbs. Ive weighed myselft this morning after sticking to the diet and exercising my butt off and i'm 2lbs heavier?? I know about water retention and everything but just thought i would see more of a loss after going from eating nearly 3000 calories a day and no exercise to 1300 and plenty of movement!

I've heard weight training will burn more fat if i do high intensity low reps? Here are my stats.

5"7, 160lbs (as of today!), medium build.

Dont want to give up but it seems like all this work is for nothing at the moment.

 What's happened is that Week 1 you've lost a lot because you've crash dieted.  Your body will have gone into a kind of 'shock' and started storing fat for grim death.  When you upped to 1300 it's still storing.  It's just an adjustment.  Don't panic.

Make sure that you're weighing and measuring your food intake very accurately rather than guessing.   Choose good quality wholefoods (fruit, vegetables, lean meat, wholegrains etc.) as much as you can and try to stay away from processed/packaged foods, ready-meals or food bought outside the home..... they tend to make fluid retention worse.   Home-cook and home-prepare as much of your food as possible.   Space your food out well during the day in light meals and snacks.  Sip plenty of water (and green tea is good too) ... about an extra litre or two a day.  As you're under 21 you may see better results and feel better if you aimed for 1400-1500 cals a day.

Finally.... stay off the scales for at least a week.  Daily fluctuations are very common and if you look at your weight too often it can be depressing and make no sense.   You've lost 4lbs in 2 weeks which is an average of 2lbs per week.... spot on.  Well done, don't panic and keep smiling

My first thought is that you're quite active, under 21 and hungry, so maybe you just need to eat more :D Starving before each meal every single day isn't a good sign.

Determine your bmi and needed cals here. I'm 20 and I use it too! An inactive person with your stats needs 1840 cals daily, low activity: 2200, moderate activity: 2550, very active: 3120. So figure out into which of these activity levels you fall, and then subtract around 500 cals for a weekly weight loss of around 1 lb.
I do recommend you don't go below a daily cal intake of 1500 (the bare minimum for young women) and at least try to eat around your bmr (which in your case is about 1560 cals).

Apart from this all, your body is adapting to your new diet and it might take a while for you to see any difference. The initial weight loss might have been part water weight if you used to eat lots of food high in sodium. Also know that sore muscles retain more water.

And high intensity low reps are better for you, as they actually do something as opposed to swinging pink dumbells around, just read this for a minute :)

So try upping your cals again, eat more, get a nice balance between carbs, protein and fats that works for you (don't be scared of fats or carbs! Your body really needs them; don't cut them out.) and don't give up :D!

Thanks guy's thats got me motivated again!! Will be taking your advice.

 You just feel like your out there on your own sometimes dont you...

This site is great for support and motivation whe your feeling hopless!!

Chin up, I'm sure you'll figure out what works for you :D Keep it up, we're in the same boat haha - if I can do it, you definitely can! (Especially because I tend to veg around a lot :p)
Good luck, you can always let me know how it goes after a week or so :)

I think the meals look ok (but hard to tell with no amounts) I would recommend adding a bit more veggies to each meal, maybe some bread or something with the soup, double the fruit peices, have something a little more substantial before bed... maybe that will help! an increase in calories may be in order!

One bad thing about me, i hate veggies, have never took to them sinse i was a little girl! Maybe i should start making my own veggie soup all blended up so i cant tase them?!This maybe also why i am always blocked up too...if you know what i mean. haha

You're not allowed to say you 'hate veggies' here.... (hear those pantomime boos?)    Tastebuds change over time so there are probably a lot of things you eat/drink now that you didn't necessarily enjoy as a kid.    Trick is tro try them again, and again, and again .... until your palate adjusts.  Vegetables come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, textures and flavours so even if never end up liking broccoli you could well enjoy carrots or peas.

Raw vegetables taste different to cooked ones.  Lightly cooked ones are much more appealing than overcooked ones.  With flavours added in casseroles, soups and other dishes they're different again.  Lots of scope.

Yes... if you don't get enough fibre you're more likely to be constipated.  And since vegetables are low-cal, high fibre and very filling they're a dieter's best friend.  Best of luck

I totally understand where you are coming from, most veggies are prepared in an unappetizing way!

Consider using a little veg stock when you boil veggies, or stir frying them, or adding a nice sauce.

All of those things can potentially make some of the veggies that make you gag, more edible!!! If all else fails, just make a stew with all of the other crap in it, and fill it wthe the veggies, so you dont really notice that they are even there!

;)

India, the EXACT same thing happened to me this week.  I lost 10lbs in two weeks and got motivated to keep up the weight loss so I upped my exercise (went from walking for 30 minutes to walking/jogging for 45 minutes 3x a week) and I GAINED .6 lbs this week.

It certainly is frustrating, but GI Jane's explanation makes sense.  I am a daily weigher, but I'm going to try to stay off it for a week and see what happens.

Also, on the veggie issue...I've started trying a new veggie every week.  Generally whatever is on sale.  So far I tried beets, kale and turnip greens.  All were good.  I think the key is finding a way to prepare them that you like.  The internet is full of healthy recipies.   Try something new, you might like it.

Also, you can "hide" veggies in stuff too.  Try some of the kids cookbooks.  I made brownies with pumpkin and you can add frozen chopped spinach into just about anything and you can't even taste it!  Especially spaghetti sauce.

Good luck!

I think i am going to start trying some recepies yes, need some veg goodness in my tummy!! thanks!!

kateveeoh why is it you recommend not goin below 1500kcals?

I cant see how that is going to work in order to lose weight, but then I am worried I am becoming obsessive and could potentially be doing this the wrong way. 

I am female, 174lbs, 5ft5 and 21.  

I do at least 30mins brisk walking everyday, go to the gym 3-4 times a week and do a powerstep class on a saturday.  Which by the way is a great workout.

I started on 5th Feb and have been consuming 1000-1200 a day, so far I have lost half a stone in those two weeks which of course I am very pleased with.  So surely if i up my calories to the 'recommended' 1500 surely my weight will either stay the same or gain?  I am confused as to what to do for the best, I want this to be a life change n not just a diet, I have realistic goals etc and good knowledge of foods.  Ive been dieting on n off for nearly 12years now and I have done all the stages including maintenance, but sadly put the weight back on after a year of this.

The thing is I do get very hard with myself, if i go over 1200 i get real guilt pangs n feel a deep sense of failure, however being told i should be consuming 1500 kcals a day then confuses me and makes me wander if i am making this to difficult.

If you read my profile i have not been eatin silly things or binging im doing it all properly and I dont have an eatin disorder etc, I just have a tendancy to become obsessed with my goals and see it all as a challenge etc instead of a life process change. 

Anyway any advice would be appreciative.  Thanks for listening ot my waffle lol.  Happy times xxx  ;0)

Original Post by nutbox:

kateveeoh why is it you recommend not goin below 1500kcals?

 

If you are young (21 or under), you're going to need more cals as you are still growing - not only getting taller, but internally there are lots of things going on that need more cals. So when the lowest intake for a very short, super-slight inactive woman is 1200, this should be upped to 1500 for younger girls :)

Also, eating under your bmr (what you burn just existing) for an extended period of time can cause your body to hold on to all the energy it can get. Instead of thinking: "But my daily burn is only 1600, how can I get a 500 cal deficit without going under 1200???", start getting a bit more active - even just walking more will increase your activity level and allow you to have a 500 cal deficit without going under your bmr/the lowest intake.

A woman with your stats has a bmr of around 1610 cals. This is what your body needs to exist. I'd say that you are moderately active, which puts your daily burn at 2500 cals. Subtract 500 from that, and you get what you should be eating daily in order to lose about a pound a week. So you could eat between 1900 and 2100 cals and still lose weight!
Also keep in mind that muscle takes up less space than fat, so while you might not see the scale going down all that quickly, you might see the inches (and your body fat percentage) go down. Another thing to keep in mind: if you weigh yourself after a really hard work-out, you might think you've put yourself through all that for no reason as the scales haven't gone down, but sore muscle retains more water, so it could be water weight too.

Honestly, although losing half a stone is fantastic, your body will not keep this up. It will start thinking you're starving it (which you are) and it will hoard all calories you consume. You might see a weight gain as you up your cals, but do it slowly and steadily and you will see the weight come back off again.
In order for it to be a lifestyle change, you need to take it slow. As you said, you want to maintain weight for the rest of your life, not for the holiday you planned this summer :)

Do not feel guilty about food! Your body needs food to survive, feel ok physically AND mentally. You can set yourself goals to keep you motivated (I do that too), but keep in mind that you will eventually reach that final goal and you will have to maintain in a healthy, responsible manner.

If there's anything else I can help you with, feel free to message me (and have a gander at my journal) :D

Good luck!

I want to jump in on this one because I was pulling my hair out with the same questions AND driving everyone around me crazy!!!

I personally have figured out that  what is said here really is true. We have choices,  we can loose weight real fast when we basically starve our bodies - we loose it real fast and gain it back real fast and some extra right along with it.  Or we can understand that to be successful in reaching our goals to accept that the weight will come off and it will come off slow.  In the meantime, we have learned to exercise, learned our bodies limits and how to eat healthier.  It is so true that you should keep a deficit of around 500 to 600.  That deficit should consist of calorie reduction and exercise.  The weight will come off!!! Sometimes it make take a little while for the body to figure it out but it will come off. Just be patient.  The body really does need time to adjust and register what is going on.  If you are like me you have starved your body, or robbed it of certain food groups or just given up and said it is hopeless. This is a new and exciting change for your body.  Stick with it and give it time. 

It is not hopeless and if you weigh your food and make sure the portions are true and you start to learn about clean eating and making your food work for you instead of against you - you will loose weight. 

Nutbox I do feel your pain.  That is a big ledge to jump off of. Unfortunately all experts seem to agree that a woman should never allow her body to go below 1200 calories a day.  1000 - 1200 sounds like the starvation mode.  I too have had to battle with this - and I am older thinking that an older woman could never consume those calories and loose weight.  But I learned that the body will burn more if it is getting more of the right stuff.  I also learned that if I eat small meals frequently then my metabolism increases as does my energy level.  If you are exercising hard on 1000 to 1200 calories a day - honey you are running on youth and after awhile you will find that your body wants to protect itself from you.  Your energy level will drop and you will get tired easier or the enthusiasm to work out won't be there.  You might find that you are hungry and the scale will finally stop all together. 

I have been there done that!!! calorie that low is very - very hard to maintain for a lifetime.  I would try increasing calories a little at a time and see how it effect me.  It is hard I know but worth it.  That is what I have learned this past week!!!

well thank you sooo much for your replies, think im gonna up my kcals to 1500 as a minimum, i mean i know on paper, or pc screen lol, it sounds like im messed up but im not.  I have got my head screwed on n have good knowledge of foods and the right food and recipes, complex and simple carbs, good fats n bad fats etc etc.  My only downfall is my complete obsession with being thin, i see it as my answer to everything.  If im unhappy i put it down to that, if im unsuccessful in something, if i dont get on with people the way id like to etc etc etc.  I am completely obsessed with bein a certain way and its not because or for anyone else but myself.

I need to mentally train myself lol, need to take the emphasis off being thin as the answer to all my problems and just see food as a normal everyday thing n not something that should have sooo much control over my whole entire life and thoughts.

Feels so weird typin all this on here, ive never said these things out loud or talked bout them to anyone, not even my mom....who knows me extremely well.  Feel quite emotional!!