Struggle

So here is my dilemma.... I was in a stall for about 2 weeks at 281-282.  It finally broke and I went down to 278. I have been brutally honest with myself when it comes to eating.  I use an app to track everything that goes in my mouth and if I am not sure on an exact portion or the calories seem off, I over estimate so I am sure not to go over my calorie limit. Carbs are in check & I am getting enough protein.  Exercise, well, I am still slacking a bit there but I do my best to get in extra movements when I can. I run my own business and I have a 4 year old son so I am not totally sedentary.  Anyway, I get on the scale today and I am back up to 281 and I cant understand why or what is happening.  It is not PMS time so there is no monthly bloat happening.  I did my measurements hoping that would show a change and the numbers are the same as they were almost a month ago.  Aside from adding more exercise, what else can I do to get out of this slump?  I understand that these things happen, but man, it is so disheartening, especially where there is all that emotional baggage involved with regards to eating.  I am fighting really hard to stay out of the mindset of "what is the effing point???"  Ya know.  So for all my lovely Back on Trackers... what piece of the puzzle am I missing here?  Any advice?  The state of mind I am in right now, I am kinda "blind" to what I might be missing.  I am in sort of an emotional fog at the moment.  Ughhh.

you may be eating wrong foods or wrong combination of foods..

eating low carbs would make you drop some water weight - but unless you stick to the plan - even a small serving of fruits or dairy may bring that back up. 

what do you mean - "carbs are in check" ? some of us are so sensitive to simple carbs that even small amount of the wrong carbs may put getus in trouble. 

not all calories are equal. I can eat close to 2000 cal and lose weight, and stall or gain on 1300-1400 calories. 

and "approximation "calories and portions when you try to lose weight - may not work. I know it does not for me. 

What I mean by carbs are in check is I no longer eat breads, pasta, startchy veg, sugar etc... IF I eat something carby, its a low carb product (ex: trader joes low carb wheat tortilla, atkins protein bar and so on) so the carbs are "acceptable".  BUT you might be right, maybe I am so sensitive to these types of things that it is causing the problem.

As far as approximation goes, it doesnt happen often as i tend towards weighing, counting, measuring my foods. sometimes if i am running late and for example make a low carb wrap, I know i didnt use 1 tbsp of mayo, but i will calculate for it anyway because i dont know the actual measurement for a light smear of mayo... make sense?

I havent found that magic combo of foods yet that allow me to maintain loss and watching calories doesnt seem to be cutting it.  Thanks for the input!  I will keep forging ahead and try other combos, and eliminate things until I figure it out.

I learned that I can't eat grains and lose weight. atkins bars - they are, IMO,glorified candies. They are full of sugar alcohols that are not "free"calories, no matter how they want us to believe they are. 

The only carbs i don't count are carbs in "real" non starchy veggies: like broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, cucumbers, etc.  Any fiber in heavily processed foods - like protein bars, low carb wraps, etc - are, IMO - more like a gimmick to sell us (desperate people who try to eat the cake and have it too) more products... 

ditch the protein shakes, and the bars, and eat real food. good luck. 

Sunflower,

im going through the same thing. I can't really give you different advice but only to say that we need to stick with it. I work from home and I don't move around too much. I've been eating good foods and not too much. But I have some carbs and I know that doesn't help my cause. I appreciate what the other person said about protein bars.  I just added some protein granola in my yogurt for lunch and then I saw that for 10g of protein it's more than 200 calories. That's crazy. We just have to be leary about what we buy. they look healthy but they aren't always the best options for losing weight. Good luck!

Hang in there Sunflower!

I think you have gotten some good advice.

I also think it takes time, more time than it did post op.

I do use some low carb products at times, but try not to use them daily. The sugar alcohols seem to slow me down, but when I cant eat at work, a bar in my pocket is necessary! 

My only other thought is if you are drinking enough water.

Remember to be kind to yourself and not stress your self even more.

Big hugs!

I know this is so very disheartening!! I never understand why body's go into stalls or even gains at different points. The only real advise I can give you is maybe you need to do something very different with your diet to 'shock' it? Not long term or anything but maybe a day of liquid diet only or go zero carbs for a day or two just to throw your body off a little? It is things I try when I get to a point like you are going through now. DON'T give up or give in!! We have all gone been there and will at points be there again. We have to just realize, what we are doing now is NOT a diet but the way we need to eat for the rest of our lives! Best of luck!

I've got a few other stresses in my life currently and that could very well be part of the problem too. I ended up downloading a step counting app today and since I had some free time I took a walk in the park. From what I can tell the app is fairly accurate. I just updated me information and will check it later to see if it's gotten closer to the mark. Right now it's about 16 steps more than I am taking. The point is it's a helpful tool that I think will give me a nice view of how much moving I actually do or do not do. 

As far as bars go, I don't depend on them or even use them daily. I like them more for backup for when I can't always bring or find food.