help, I gained 15 pounds

Hey yall. I gained about 15 pounds in about 3-4 days. What happened is that I got upset and tired of watching my weight all the time, took for granted the weight that I actually lost and I started eating until I was stuffed and just could not eat anymore. By doing this, the first day I gained about 4 pounds on the first day, and about 10 pounds between the other  couple of days. Is there anything that I can do to get these pounds back off as quickly as I gained them, or am I gonna have to spend 1 to 2 weeks trying to lose the weight that I had already lost and was silly enough to gain it right back by being unthankful. Someone please help me with this question and thank you in advance...

I answered your other post about cellulite and calorie-intake and I think the message is the same on this one.

Chances are that a lot of what you gained was fluid retention.  So my suggestion of adopting a 'cleaner' diet, drinking plenty of water and taking a little exercise should help most of what you gained disappear as quickly as it came.   However, if you overate quite a lot, you will have gained some fat. Maybe a pound or two.  But that's just how it goes.

What would be your typical day's meals now?  Maybe, with a few tweaks, we could make your day's menus more enjoyable and prevent that 'upset and tired' feeling that threw you this time?

Well on a typical day, I usually do pretty good. For breakfast I may have some grits and maybe some coffee with equal. For a quick snack a few hours I may have a  100 calorie container of yogurt or another 100 calorie snack. Then at lunch, I may have a sandwhich and a few chips. For dinner, I may have a couple of baked wings, tea with equal, and some green beans. It usually adds to about 1600 calories. Now on the otherhand when I overeat, I may go to Macdonald's and have a sausage and biscuit combo which by itself is about 1.000 calories. Then I may get like 2 apple pies. For lunch I may have a huge burger with a lot of fries and a vanilla shake. Then for dinner, I may have some pizza and a lot of dessert and the drinks on these particular days consist of regular juices and sodas. By the next morning, I have gained about 3-4 pounds. Thank you for what you said and that is true, maybe most of it is just water retention. How does that work anyway? How does water retention come about? If you can help me come up with a better meal plan, then please do not hesitate...

Water retention is linked to dehydration.... It sounds rather counter-intuitive but a body that's not getting enough fluids will try to hang on to the ones it already has.  So by drinking more (2+ litres a day) and eating more foods with a high water content... like vegetables... helps your body get rid of excess fluid/water.

The foods and drinks that make dehydration worse are  salty foods, sugary foods, preservatives, artificial sweetners, refined carbohydrates.  And diuretics like alcohol and caffeine will also cause dehydration.  So unfortunately, as well as packing in the calories, your MacDonalds visits and pizza/soda nights are hitting every single fluid-retaining, cellulite plumping button... :-)

Your regular diet doesn't sound too bad but does it really come to 1600 cals?.... that sounds quite a big number for the small amount of food you describe and you did say you felt hungry all the time.  Do you weigh everything out and log accurately?  Could be worth checking.  Some improvements could be.

Grits with a cup of unsweetened fruit tea, a fresh fruit smoothie or a glass of juice rather than coffee.  For the same calories you could enjoy a couple of eggs scrambled on some wholegrain toast (eggs can be more filling).   Or how about a muesli with some milk and fruit on top? 

100 calorie snack of fresh fruit, or a crispbread with a little unsalted peanut butter on top, or a low-sugar cereal bar....

Make the lunchtime sandwich wholemeal bread, put plenty of salad in it and swap the salty chips for another yoghurt or more fresh fruit  

Mid-afternoon I'd suggest another small snack to put you on until suppertime....  Something like raw vegetable sticks with some hummus dip, or another crispbread with a little cottage cheese.

Prepare the baked wings without salt or sugar but flavour them with herbs and spices instead.   Or choose a leaner meat option such as skinless chicken/turkey breast or some fish, brushed with a little oil seasoned and grilled.    Beans, lentils and tofu are all very low calorie proteins and a few vegetarian meals from time to time could make your diet more interesting.  Green beans are a good choice.  Adding another serving of vegetables or salads or  making some fresh tomato sauce on the side would be good.   And you could also add a few wholegrains e.g. wholewheat pasta, brown rice, or starchy vegetables like new potatoes and still stay well within the calorie limit.  

The extra fibre and more vegetables would make your meals, bigger, longer-lasting and more satisfying.   Drinking more fluids will make your digestion more effective at removing waste products from your body.  And if you try to change around the foods you eat so that you're not bored then you'll be less likely to seek excitement in fast food.

Best of luck

If you are serious about losing weight get on that Dr. Ian's plan the guy from celebrity fit club... buy the book and if you seriously follow the diet they give you... you will lose weight... i started like a week ago and I'm in the "cleansing" stage where u eat all fruits and veggies and water which sounds like hell but when u spice it up is not that bad... i survived for over a week and now i'm looking back at how I used to eat...  burgers soda etc...  I started at 240 and now I'm down to 226...  be sure you get the book tho its the best 10 dollars i've ever spent... me and my gf started it and didnt read it all the way and we were eating cheese and drinking juice and a few other things... so we re-read the book and we have been on it since... since last thursday when we really started i lost 6 lbs...

Thank yall so much. You have really been a ton of help. I am going to try these things immediately and I will be sure to keep yall posted.......

 I set my own diet, and it turns out it is very easy on this site when you keep a log. I was writing everything down in a notebook, but this proved to be a pain in the butt when you're eating with your friends. I agree that you need to drink all the water you can, but you should also switch the chips to a crunchy fruit or a salad with plenty of crunch and a 1 calorie per spray dressing. Chips are bad for you all around, and you may not know it but getting that crunch somewhere else is an easy transition. Salad or apples would be great for the crunch, nutrients, and water. Also, McDonalds is never a good place to go if you wanna cheat a bit!!! Cheating is just a mind set, because there are plenty of great foods that have low calories i.e. Crab, Fish, Chicken Breast, Turkey Sausage, and an egg white omelet are all tasty. Even if you make crab cakes they can stay low calories, but who knows if you like seafood.

Now back to your daily calories,

I have no Idea about your weight, height, or goals, but dropping your calories from 1600 to 1300 would deffinetly help you get back on track. Take a walk at lunch time, or hit the mall after work. There are ways to burn the calories all around you, and you only have to sieze the moment, hell you can even chew gum all day!!

Hope this is helpful !!

Dropped 13 pounds in 2 weeks, and still have a great amount of energy, and always satisfied with my meals. 5'11" 200Lbs HAPPY

Wow, I must say that that is pretty impressive  streetrcr4u. You lost around a lb. per day. That is a very good job and you should feel very good about that. Right now I am about 5'5 and I weigh 236.5 lbs. I was 225, but as you all know, I gained a lot of weight by being foolish. You're right though, there are several ways that I can burn extra calories, I really have to just get up and do it. I walk all day long at work, and I have never been a lazy person, so I really should be taking advantage of that. I also think that I will take your advice on cutting down some on the calories. I really just need to eat some healthier foods and I am sure that I will be full that way.