Please help - first plateau, now gain!

Hi -

I lost 5lb the first month i restricted.

Now, after upping my exercise a week ago, i first plateaued in weight and how have gone back up by 3lbs!

Please tell me what I'm doing wrong?

My stats:

age 42

5"3, pear-shaped body

started at 136

got down to 131

back up to 133

eat 1100-1300 a day

burn about 150 a day by exercising

any advice would be very much appreciated!!!

I would also like some help on the subject... sorry I can't help you salomershy! I am having the same problem. I am trying to get back down to 133 through those last few pounds, and I have gained about 5...I have been exercising in aerobics classes twice a week, and burning about 250 calories extra twice a week on the treadmill, and eating healthy taking in about 1500 calories on average. I am 5'7 and now at 138. What am I doing wrong? Could this be muscle that I have gained? It is so frustrating, and any advice out there would be awsome! Thanks!

How are you exercising?  Chances are that you need to change up your exercise routine.  Building muscle may well account for your weight gain.  Muscle weighs more than fat. 

The truest test will be your body measurments, and how you feel physically.  How do your clothes fit?  Better than they did?  Are you feeling more energy?  Able to keep moving longer every week?  I expect that is the case.

Don't stop working out, just change the routine a bit.  If you are a walker, walk in a more hilly area to work the legs and bum more.  If you do aerobics, try a different class or DVD. 

 

clothes fitting slightly better, although my pot belly goes in and out.

Feeling better too. But i don't wanna keep GAINING like this!!!! My exercise is basically circuit training, long walks, and 30 min of aerobic dance every other night.

When you first start dieting, a lot of the initial weight loss is actually water, not fat. This is probably because reducing calories also reduces your sodium intake. And then there's also the consideration that you are simply taking in less food, and food has weight.

So perhaps in your case 3 of the 5 lbs you lost was simply water weight. Tell yourself you are doing fine - you have lost two pounds of fat!! That is what counts.

Also understand that when you exercise, your muscles gobble up glycogen. For every part glycogen, your muscles also must store 4 parts water. The water is used to convert the glycogen into ready fuel for your next round of exercise. This translates into several pounds ... but it's NOT fat. And it *is* necessary if you are going to exercise hard enough to lose fat.

There could also be the TTOM factor going on. Where are you in your cycle? Take a look at my profile, there's a graph where I chart my daily weight next to time of monthly cycle. There is a pattern, and there's more to the pattern than simply gaining weight right before my period.

Incidentally I'm your same age!!! You can do this - it's not too late for us 40-somethings! I've been doing it since January. Persistence and consistency pays off.

Wow, Jenmcc your profile is so inspiring! Slow and steady sounds good to me. Thanks a lot for taking time to answer.

I'm not TOTM now, i'm actually mid-way.

OK going to read up on glycogen and water now.

Mid-cycle - when I ovulate - is when my weight blips up for a day or so! Check it out - you can see it's very consistent about that. So it could very well be that you are ovulating, and that your weight will dip back down in a day or two....

Of course, the week after ovulation my weight then flatlines completely... until the week before, when it goes down most dramatically and I tend to reach my low for the month.

I'll tell you, I am so glad I thought to chart my progress this way. It really helps save my sanity, to realize that certain blips and flatlines are related to my cycle. As long as I start each cycle at a lower weight than the month before, I'm making progress!

This is SO HELPFUL. I actually spot a little and have some PMS-like symptoms around ovulation (sorry if TMI) so my body is obviously undergoing some big changes.

Great idea to chart these changes, I must do the same.

~BUMP~

i think, you really need to use the "calorie target" tool on this site because $20 says you need MORE than 1300. you're eating too few calories and your body has gone into starvation mode, which is why you've plateaued and why you've gained. honestly - try something for me.

for the next 3 days keep excercising the same amount as you always do, but eat 1500 calories. then go look at your scale. chances are, you'll be down a few lbs. and if you are, STICK to 1500.

are you using splenda or something like that? my wt is more steady since i stopped really using that stuff.


also for some reason..my body bloats up right before it loses.

since you exercise its normal to have a few pounds of flux on the scale.

xo_ericaa, I will make it a point to eat 1500 as of tomorrow. With the same exercise.

As for splenda, yeah I have been using it and sweet'n'low in my drinks... maybe 5 packets per day. I'll try cutting it down to see if that helps.