I gained it all back....really?

I need some encouragement, advice, anything please... I just want to cry! So a little less than two years ago I started CC. I would eat really close to about 1200 and I lost about 15 lbs. I was so happy. I continued eating that amount, sometimes more or less, and was perfectly happy at around 120ish lbs, I'm 5'7ish. I kind of got into the unintentional habit of eat most of my calories at night, like 800 or so around 9pm. I maintained, but then OVERNIGHT, I gained like 10 lbs, while only eating 1200 calories a day and some days I even exercised burning I would guess 200-250 calories.  It really was in less than a month that I gained that much, and doing nothing  different than before.

For the past 6 months I have counted every calorie and I am still hanging onto the weight, even gaining! Tonight I have just hit rock bottom, I can't stand it, what do I do? How did this happen? I eat very healthy-no meat, lots of veggies, fruit, ect. I do drink diet soda, but not like a gallon or anything. Please someone just please give me some guidance, it took a lot of courage for me to post this, please any advice is very appreciated!

Here's a recap of my stats:

5'7 ish

132lbs

21 years old

You are at a healthy weight already. If you want to tone up I'd suggest strength training, which will turn whatever fat you have into muscle and increase your metabolism. You're already at the low weight for your height, so you have nothing to truly worry about.

You're not eating enough calories either. I can't give any advice about that because I have trouble eating a ton of calories too, but from what I hear if your body doesn't think you're eating enough it will hang onto the food you do eat.

Again, you're at an almost unhealthy weight already! I'd suggest you try maintaining it and building up your muscles.

I'm sure you look gorgeous at that weight.

yeah, you haven't been eating enough.  at 120, you were underweight (not dramatically, but still underweight).  you might be able to maintain that weight, but only by being very active and eating a lot more.  the way you tried to do it, your body had to conserve energy.

up your intake to 1600+ and try to exercise consistently. 

i also wonder about statements like, "I eat very healthy-no meat, lots of veggies, fruit, ect."  what are you doing for protein?  whole grains?  you can't live on fruit and vegetables alone.  well, you can, but not well.

I thought about that after I posted, I eat lots of beans, soy, nuts, tofu ect. Trust me I get plenty of protein. Another thing I forgot to mention is that i have a really small frame. If I up my calories to 1600 hundred do you think I will intitally gain weight. I didn't realize that I was undereating!! I just had seen people post the whole 1200 calorie thing and thought that would work for me too, and it did for awhile. I know that I am not overweight or anything I really just want to lose 5-8 lbs, which was very comfortable for me. I have to do something none of my clothes fit!!

By the way, I appreciate your input:)

even with a small frame, 120 is pretty low. 

1200 is bare minimum for sedentary adult women.  and physiologically, you're not really an adult at 21.  among other things, your brain is still growing; don't want to short change that!

you probably don't want to go from 1200 to 1600 overnight (even if you could, which is doubtful), but try bumping it up by 100-200 per week.  you probably will gain a little initially, but you'll be healthier in the long run, and it will give you fuel to exercise more and--if you decide it's important--lose a few.

seriously, i'm 40 and i eat a minimum of 1500/day, even when i'm not very active.  and i'm only an inch taller and ~ 10 pounds heavier and maintaining - not entirely by choice ;)

I have to agree with the other comments.  You are not eating enough.  For someone that is as tall as you, 132 is fine.  You can probably gain another 10 and it will still be the right weight range. 

Counting calories is one thing but you also have to look at the way you eat your food. You have to eat small portions every 3 to 4 hours in order to keep your metabolism going and you have to make sure you don't skip breakfast ever. You also have to incorporate a lot of protein in your diet. If you are a vegetarian I would suggest protein shakes. You will not get enough protein from beans, soy, nuts and tofu. Plus nuts are very high in fat. Although fat is necessary in your diet, nuts are counted as fat first and not as a protein source. So when you add them to your diet you shouldn’t have more then a hand full. You should not totally eliminate carbs either; you need at least a moderate amount of carbs in your diet.

If you are an active person, 1200cal is not enough and if you are starving your body, it will hold on to your fat.  A realistic and sensible rate of fat loss is one to two pounds per week. Any time you try to lose weight more quickly, you end up losing muscle and will slow down your metabolism. So if you cheat even a little bit you will gain the weight back for sure.

Diet is the most important part of weight loss but you have to exercise as well and you have to make sure you are doing it properly. Both cardio and resistance training are important in order to shape your body and rev-up your metabolism.

I have to agree with the other posts too, i am 5"7 and at the moment 158 lbs looking to get down to 140, which is a weigh i felt best at as i was not too skinney and still had curves. I'm not very big at my current weight, i wear a uk 12 comfortably but would like to get to a 10. I had a friend who was 120lbs and she was 5"2, she was very slim, a uk size 8 so to be 5"7 and that height you must have been very slight! Also  if you found it had to maintain that weight while eating sensibly maybe it was your body's way of saying it needs more calories, if the body isn't getting enough it will gain very quickly with the slightest up on them. I'd concentrate on cardio and resistance training to get toned and make sure you follow a healthy diet and that your body is getting all the calories it needs and you should be fine!! Good luck!!

Thank you all so much for your replies!

I have just a few more questions:

I'm going to start eating 1600 calories a day (I had a huge breakfast this morning, it felt great!!) and I'll probably do between 20-30 minutes on the elliptical with some light yoga afterwards (mostly just stretching). When can I expect to stop gaining? i guess that is my biggest issue, I just keep gaining.

Also, I appreciate everyone trying to make me feel good about this weight, but it is nearly bigger than when I started CC and I have no clothes to wear! I never bought a different size whether it was at 132lbs (before) or 120lbs. Now I'm barely fitting into my jeans!! I just would love to shake 5 lbs.

Thank you all very much, any advice is welcome!

I'm in the same boat, sorta! I'm 30yrs old, 5'7" and 130lbs, looking to go back down to 120, as most of my weight is belly fat, and trust me on a skinny/small-framed person it does not look good!! I look pregnant and it is very noticeable.  I am very self-concious about it and want to lose it desperately!

I'm doing HIIT 5 days per week and weight training 2 days/wk but nothing seems to be working....my body doesn't seem to respond as it used to! I had lost 8lbs in the spring when I was on a restrictive diet and hard-core workouts, but I just can't do that anymore -- I love to eat, and am eating small-portioned healthy meals 5-6x a day.

Any suggestions from others?

Eh,  imagine being 132 at only 5'2! lol

Anyhow,

Your metabolism slows waaaaay down at night! Eat the most between 11 am and 2pm.

Try to eat nothing after 6 -  It's hard to do, but it helps so much. I'm so sure you'll lose the wight if you can do that.

I experienced the same problem about half a year back. I was 5'8-5'9 and 132-133. I was eating about 1200 calories and running alot. After losing a bunch fo weight like that (to 132) it seemed I plateaued and then started gaining. I lept lwoering my cal intake, running more, whatever...it seemd as if I ate one extra almond I would gain 5 lbs. I decided to just say f*ck it and up my cals. I gained to 138 and almost gave up... but kept up the exercising and regimen and then slowly, it started going away. Except now I looked MUCH healthier, not bony/scrawny like before, but more toned.  Im not hungry all the time, Im much happier, and I now weigh 134 and eat 2000 calories a day, I swear.

This is a VERY good article I suggest reading on what happens when we slow our metabolisms and how upping the cals will fix it. The article suggests a weight gain of about 5 lbs is possible, but will begin to drop after abotu 1-2 weeks.  Good luck and if you need support during the process, msg me!!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/core_march_8. htm

You are definitely eating way too little. Your current BMI (20.7) is in a perfectly normal and healthy range, even for a smaller frame. If you want to lose any inches, I would heed the advice of those suggesting you do some weight training etc.

120lbs for someone your height is still within the normal range, it gives a BMI of 18.8. Even at that weight, the BMR is 1386 kcal. That is 186 calories more then your current intake!

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the amount of calories your body uses up if you do absolutely nothing. Of course if you start eating less then that for prolonged periods your body will think that there is a famine going on and become very efficient at dealing with the calories you eat. This is why people gain weight sometimes even though they are eating very few calories.

I definitely would up the calorie intake.

actually, the jury is still out on the whole eating-at-night thing.  for me, it's better to eat more earlier and cut myself off by 7 or 8, but that's just because it helps me to sleep better and wake up hungry.

theoretically, calories burned - calories consumed = weight loss.

but eating a lot at night and not a lot during the day probably means you don't have a lot of energy.  it's a continuous cycle: the more you eat, the more you have to burn, the more you will do, the more you will want to eat.

and remember, exercise doesn't just happen in the gym.  chances are, if you start eating a good breakfast and lunch, you'll feel like moving and doing more, even if that doesn't mean "working out."

Thanks for all your help guys! I've been eating at least 1500 calories or more a day (and still upping!!) all week. I've also started a little more exercise and I'm eating my calories during the day, not at night. I feel a lot better, eating is kind of fun!! Anyways, I'm just going to kind of forget the scale for awhile and we'll see what happens in a few weeks or see. Oh, and I'm going to try strength training!!

I really think your teen body is just filling out into a womens body. You're 21. It's okay that you gained a little. You'll gain a little more at 40 and 60, etc. It's natural. If you are worried about it, talk to a nutritionst. When I talked to my doctor about my body shape, weight, and size, he told me that I'll stop losing weight when my body is where it wants to be. These things are smarter than we realize :)

Original Post by x17star17x:

You'll gain a little more at 40 and 60, etc. It's natural.

this is not at all inevitable.  not particularly "natural" at all - except as a function of habits.