An uphill battle that makes no sense... to me... help?

Here's the situation:

At school, I ate very little - maybe 500-800 calories a day - and exercised a ton.  In a month, I dropped 10+ pounds (unhealthy, I know).  I kept it off for 4 months.  Then summer hits, I'm home, and I've finally got delicious food again, and I eat happily.  I work during the summer, so I wasn't able to exercise very much - nor did I want to (I was really burned out and lethargic).  After a month, I gained 6 pounds back.  About a week or two ago, I realized I really need to stay in shape, so I got back to exercising (elliptical an hour a day, biking everywhere, walking a couple miles a day, etc.).  I'm also resisting junk food.  I eat mainly fruit and vegetables, and only some carb-filled foods. 

But my weight is going up!  And it has been going up even after my change in diet and exercise lifestyle.  I know I must have screwed up my metabolism at school, but now that I'm back to eating healthy and it's been such a long time, why am I still gaining weight?  And what am I supposed to do? 

I'm 5'1" and I technically shouldn't eat less than 1300, let alone 1200 (but that definitely wasn't a problem once I came home for summer - I ate plenty more than that, haha).

Help?

I looked back at some other posts.   You mentioned before that you struggle with binge-eating.  I think it'll be much more productive for you to establish a better relationship with food and use exercise to manage your weight rather than to embark on another crash or low-carb diet... which is why you were bingeing last time

The average adult woman (even a short one) needs 1900-2100 cals a day to maintain her weight.  If you're exercising an hour a day you'd be able to manage your weight on that amount rather than starving again.

What are your current stats?

Yes, I understand, but the problem is, cutting back on food AND exercise isn't doing anything, so why should simply exercise work?  I am trying to lose this recently gained weight...

My current stats say that I'm at a good weight actually, according to my BMI and all that... I don't know if I should share, haha - people might get mad at me :P

All I want to do is understand how to lose healthily, rather than gain even though I'm trying to do everything right...

how long have you been at this?

at what...?  my latest routine, or...?

first semester at school i gained 10 pounds (almost freshman fifteen!), and then i decided to get back on track for second semester, which began in january.  then i lost the 10 and some by february and maintained until june.  i had got back from school at the beginning of may, and i had eaten whatever i wanted whenever.  by june i had gained 6 pounds back, and a couple weeks ago, i started this exercise/diet regiment.

Well, you've been doing it for a few weeks at least and gaining continously?

I'd say switch it up.  If you've been eating healthy food but not watching calories, start watching calories.  If you've been watching calories, start eating healthy food as well.  Zig-zag your calories with the 12 - 14 - 16 - 18 plan or make up your own diet plan.

If you only do weights, mix up cardio into it.  If you only do cardio, try some weights.

Mostly though, figure out your exact daily burn and log accurately.  Liquids, veggies, bites.... all count!

see previous reply for details... a couple weeks ago...

Original Post by ilovefruit13:

see previous reply for details... a couple weeks ago...

Sorry!   I have this dumb habit of skimming, posting, then going back and editing  when I actually read what people say >__< .   Almost all my posts get edited about 2 minutes later.