Help! I 'm geting discouraged!

Help! I've been going to splash in the pool (heavy treading) for 20-30 min. 6 days a week for the past 3 weeks.  I've cut the grass in 98 degree weather twice.  I track my food every day on FitDay.com, and my calories are 1900-2000 (and I weigh 242  today, so that should work). I had lost 6 lbs. a week ago.  Today I weighed on the same scale, at the same time of day, at the health club, and I had GAINED 4 lbs. I normally don't retain a lot of fluid.  What gives? I know I need to keep it up, but it gets discouraging, ya know? Any suggestions from the peanut galorie? Brenda

Are you getting plenty of water? sometimes when  i dont get enough i seem not to lose much, everything else sounds like your doing what needs to be done.   Delilah

When did you start this exercise regimen?   If it was recently like in 2 weeks I would think that your body is retaining water and other nutrients to repair your muscles.   I wouldn't get discouraged about it though. Look at what you're doing for your health. Even if the weight isn't coming off what you are doing is sensational for your body!   I say give it another week and if you gain more then I would try decreasing your calorie intake or increasing your workout time.   Neecee may have some better advice though.  She's closer to your age and probably understand more about what's going on with your body than me.  Plus I don't exercise anymore than the 20 minutes of walking I get daily from going back and forth to work. :)

Maybe it is fluid retention.  It's so darn hot here in Louisiana, and I guess I'm not drinking enough water for my own good.   I'll try to flush myself out! Thanks!

I will tell you that those fool bmi calculators (calories in calories out formulas) really are crap for some of us.  Some thoughts (you said it from the Peanut Gallery, my opinion only take it or leave it): 1.  weigh using the same scale no matter where it is at the same time of day.  I have a feeling that this is a scale issue more than anything. 2.  you need a little more exercise...just even 20-30 minutes of walking or biking or something 3x weekly. 3.  no WAY can i lose eating 1900 caloires...I gain at that level (i weigh ~182 right now) and I walk/jog at least 5x weekly for at least 50 minutes at a 12 minute mile pace. I also bike, hike, swim 1-2x weekly.  hate to say it, but drop to more like 1500-1600 calories and see what happens. You should be able to tolerate and still lose if you eat the 1900 a couple days a week, for me it would be weekends. I can go up to about that for my weekend days and lose slowly.  4.  you might be on a plateau.  if you want to continue at the 1900 daily, go ahead and work out longer and see if that makes a difference.  I praise you for not going too low on calories.  i know a handful of peeps 'round here do the 1200-1300 calorie thang when they weigh more than 250 and that can be way too low, therefore setting a body up to fail right off the bat. At my weight, 182-ish, the 1200-1300 range is where I HAVE to be to lose. Don't ru**** at too low a caloric range.

If I ate what I am "supposed to" I wouldnt be losing.... I am 5' 6"  I currently weigh 329.07 and I stay between 1500 and 1800 a day.  I do not exercise in a 'countable' amount yet.  Will make that change in a few weeks...

 

 

Slow changes are easiest for your body to acclimate to. I started at 2200 calories a day-- then 2000, then 1800...took me about a month to get down to 1300 calories. By doing it that way, I also avoided the "starvation" shock to the system that Neece described, and found the weight came off pretty steadily.

"I know a handful of peeps 'round here do the 1200-1300 calorie thang when they weigh more than 250 and that can be way too low" Hey-- you wanna wrestle, you skinny punk? I lost 68 pounds in four months. Medically advisable? Dunno. Scientifically sound? Maybe. Smaller ass? Exponentially.

You are WAY more hard headed than most! Truly, not many would hang as tough as you did on that low of calories.  No argument whatsoever that it works to eat that little...i'm jus sayin most people would crack down the middle after about 6 weeks TOPS on that kind of regimen. Medically advisable, yup, perhaps some years (years) down the road there would likely be some degree of vitamin deficiency.

Eating too low can be  detrimental for the long term -  hardly anyone will do it for too long!

True on all accounts-- my hard headedness SOMETIMES does work in my favor, though. But y'also gotta keep in mind: 1) It was finite. I knew I only had to do it until surgery. Small chunks of time make tasks easier, especially when you have ADD. 2) I took a lot of supplemental oils and nutrients 3) I had regular bloodwork done 4) I have a quiet life- no kids, no temptations I highly doubt I would have been able to hang in much longer at that level.

(This said by a woman who now eats 650 calories a day...)