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Why am I gaining weight???NO OT if you please.

373 253 August 12, 2010 at 03:30 AM in Chat
Back in late May/early June I decided to go on a diet. Not only to lose weight but to learn to eat a little healthier since my diet was consistent on a lot of fried foods and soda and junk. I tried NutriSystem and found their food was pretty gross and I couldn't eat it so I am currently doing a Lean Cuisine type of diet.

My menu consists of a Lean Cuisine breakfast, lunch and dinner. They're generally around 230-300 calories each meal. I have a small snack in between each one. Breakfast is fruit snack, and lunch is a Nabisco 100 calorie pack of some type and then my dinner snack is a Skinny Cow ice cream (150 calories, low fat). This puts me at a bit below 1500 calorie intake daily. I drink water all day and the only downside is that I don't have much time to excersize so I only do about 15 minutes a day.

In the beginning things were great and I lost 30 pounds. I am nowhere near my goal and I've slowly started to put back a pound a week or so over the past 3 weeks. I don't understand why my weight is creeping back up and why I'm not continuing to lose weight. I have a lot lot more to go and shouldn't have reached a plateau this quickly and surely shouldn't be gaining it back....

It's really stressing me out, since I started this diet I've been obsessing about my weight and feel like I'm failing somewhere but can't figure out where...Any thoughts would be appreciated so I don't fall off my diet and give up...
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Joined Sep 2006
IVIodel citizen
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Fallacy
08-12-2010 at 07:21 AM.
08-12-2010 at 07:21 AM.
All of these diets are a bunch of scams.

Eat less calories than you consume per day = weight loss.


Also OP, you said you've been gaining weight, if you're working out, muscle weighs more than fat. You may be losing fat and gaining muscle.
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Joined Jun 2005
Live Like No One Else
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stealth
08-12-2010 at 07:35 AM.
08-12-2010 at 07:35 AM.
LeanCuisine and Skinny Cow are not "healthy" as their name implies. Freshly prepared food with ingredients you choose are the best! This weight gain could have many causes, including your metabolism, medicine, caloric intake vs. burning rate, etc. The best site is LiveStrong.com. There are forums there with many people going through the same thing; a great support structure and very educational.

EDIT: Make sure you are exercising an hour a day, five days a week! It takes a combination of diet and exercise to lose excess weight in a healthy way and keep it off! I've found that strength training and cardio are a great combination. The muscle from the strength training actually helps burn fat faster. I do this: 30 min strength+30 min cardio, 3 days a week, and then 60 min cardio two days a week. Take two days off (but no more!), your body needs it. For cardio I just do an elliptical machine which is a good way to keep going for an hour without running many miles. wave
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Last edited by stealth August 12, 2010 at 07:41 AM.
Joined Dec 2007
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Kabn
08-12-2010 at 07:38 AM.
08-12-2010 at 07:38 AM.
Quote from batgirllnj :
I was talking to my husband last night about really changing my diet and going with something like this but we started asking ourselves how people who are not overweight ever eat anything...like if you go to any fast food restaurant there are skinny people there and they're eating normal food. At my work everyone eats normal things and they all are not overweight...so why is it that I have to consume next to nothing to notice a minimal weight loss...
i'll speak to this specifically: it's because we work out and have active lifestyles. i could stand to lose 5-10 pounds, but i'm a pretty lean 6'2" 205lbs. my wife and i eat fast food probably once or twice a week on average, but we can do that and stay fit because we either go to the gym regularly or are involved in other activities that require us to do things that break a sweat and burn calories (play with young relatives, photo shoots walking around a park, doing lawn work, taking walks at night, etc.).

i was around 215lbs in february when i decided i wanted to lose some fat. switched up my gym routine and simply paid more attention to what i was eating at lunch (i go out almost every day). i've lost about ten pounds since then, which is fine with me because i'm not having to count calories like crazy or make wild lifestyle changes. the weight continues to come off slowly, and that's fine (and more natural/healthy than fad diets like atkins). once the gym time becomes a lifestyle, it's much easier.

based on my experience and those of my friends, diet is the most important factor followed very closely by exercise. and i would argue that you can cheat quite a bit on the diet side as long as you make up for it in the exercise. just get away from those pre-made, frozen meals.
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Joined Dec 2008
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Iczer
08-12-2010 at 07:44 AM.
08-12-2010 at 07:44 AM.
Quote from Fallacy :
All of these diets are a bunch of scams.

Eat less calories than you consume per day = weight loss.


Also OP, you said you've been gaining weight, if you're working out, muscle weighs more than fat. You may be losing fat and gaining muscle.
Pretty much this. Go see a personal trainer or whoever can measure you and determine your BMR. Eat less than your BMR, lose weight, be happy. It's not too hard to do, just takes a lot of self control. If you eat nothing but pizza all day but eat below your maintenance level, you'll lose weight.

This is an online calculator that can give you a good idea what to look for. But it won't be exact unless you get measured with calipers, or whatever way they do it.
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Sorry I also didn't read this whole thread yet, but the frozen food is full of sodium. So eating that in moderation is key.
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Joined Dec 2008
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Iczer
08-12-2010 at 07:47 AM.
08-12-2010 at 07:47 AM.
Quote from stealth :
LeanCuisine and Skinny Cow are not "healthy" as their name implies. Freshly prepared food with ingredients you choose are the best! This weight gain could have many causes, including your metabolism, medicine, caloric intake vs. burning rate, etc. The best site is LiveStrong.com. There are forums there with many people going through the same thing; a great support structure and very educational.

EDIT: Make sure you are exercising an hour a day, five days a week! It takes a combination of diet and exercise to lose excess weight in a healthy way and keep it off! I've found that strength training and cardio are a great combination. The muscle from the strength training actually helps burn fat faster. I do this: 30 min strength+30 min cardio, 3 days a week, and then 60 min cardio two days a week. Take two days off (but no more!), your body needs it. For cardio I just do an elliptical machine which is a good way to keep going for an hour without running many miles. wave
No offense, but losing weight in a healthy way doesn't really require you to work out. Of course is speeds up the process and is actually healthy to be more active.

If you can look past the BS, check out bodybuilding.com. The nutrition and losing fat forums are pretty good places for info and have a lot of great users that help out a lot. Post your diet up and they'll critique it.
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Iczer
08-12-2010 at 07:57 AM.
08-12-2010 at 07:57 AM.
Quote from beanqueen :
Do not, I repeat DO NOT do Atkins. It puts your body into a state of ketosis which is basically your body in starvation mode, also you're not gonna help your blood vessels or any thing else by putting that much fat into your body. It'll lead to heart attacks and high blood pressure later...ie you may be skinnier but you'll die a lot faster.
There's actually a big following for keto diets. I wouldn't necessarily label them as bad as you're putting it. Some people have had great success with it.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/for...y.php?f=61


One thing to try if you can find time to work out more is to try some HIIT training. It can really shock the body and do great things for fat loss. Just an FYI, if you see any adds that target specific areas for weight loss...they're complete BS. Stay away.
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Last edited by Iczer August 12, 2010 at 08:00 AM.
Joined Jan 2008
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Phrozt
08-12-2010 at 08:07 AM.
08-12-2010 at 08:07 AM.
Here are a couple small modifications that might help:

- Eat slower. If you eat really fast, you can stuff a lot more food in before your body realizes it's full. Drawing meals out more will allow things to hit your stomach and trigger that "I'm full" reaction faster.
- Eat a LOT of small meals. I think part of the reason I have great metabolism is because I'm basically eating all day. I have a bowl of fruit that I get from the caf... but I munch on it from 8:00 till noon. Then I get something else small and munch on it the rest of the day. This constant triggering keep my metabolism working a lot more than just dumping a ton of food in 3 times a day.
- DRIIIIINK. Yeah.. water. You can drink that. But you don't like water. Not everyone does. Whatever you do, drink! Of course you want to stay *away* from certain drinks, but there are a lot of things you can drink besides water. Tea, juices, flavored waters, throw a glass or two of milk in. Get a lot of fluids running through your body.

As for exercise, that's a lot more mental than "time" based. You can do some type of exercise pretty much anywhere. The thing is, you don't want to exercise, so you make some kind of excuse.

Watching TV? Do crunches/pushups/leg lifts... hell.. just stretching would help.
Sitting at a desk? Put your feet flat on the floor and shake your legs by keeping your toes on the ground and lifting your heels up and down really quickly. I guarantEE you'll feel your calves burn before too long.
Walking to and from work? You're already exercising!!! Just make sure you do more stairs and stay away from elevators/escalators. Can't escape escalators? Walk down them as they're going. Park farther away in the parking lot so you have to walk further. Make your walk slightly more brisk than usual to put a little extra burn on it.
Driving? Eh.. yeah.. you got me there... focus on the road instead Stick Out Tongue.
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Joined Jun 2005
Live Like No One Else
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stealth
08-12-2010 at 08:14 AM.
08-12-2010 at 08:14 AM.
Quote from Iczer :
No offense, but losing weight in a healthy way doesn't really require you to work out. Of course is speeds up the process and is actually healthy to be more active.

If you can look past the BS, check out bodybuilding.com. The nutrition and losing fat forums are pretty good places for info and have a lot of great users that help out a lot. Post your diet up and they'll critique it.
I disagree. I can't tell if you were implying that my advice was BS. Exercise is an essential element of losing weight. You shouldn't be on a "diet", instead, you should be living a healthy lifestyle, which includes eating right and exercising. The reason exercise is important is because of the mathematical equation where you must burn off more calories than you take in to lose weight. If you eat such small amounts (ex. 1000 cal. or less) based on a sedentary lifestyle, it would not be healthy. The example I gave of an hour a day of exercise is not required, I'll give you that. But don't expect to "just eat less" and think you're being healthy. wave
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Joined Dec 2008
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Iczer
08-12-2010 at 08:14 AM.
08-12-2010 at 08:14 AM.
Quote from Phrozt :
Here are a couple small modifications that might help:

- Eat slower. If you eat really fast, you can stuff a lot more food in before your body realizes it's full. Drawing meals out more will allow things to hit your stomach and trigger that "I'm full" reaction faster.
I definitely need to work on this. I think my mind is still stuck in the military and needing to eat so fast. By the time I get full, I've eaten too much and feel like crap. Good advice
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Joined Dec 2008
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Iczer
08-12-2010 at 08:19 AM.
08-12-2010 at 08:19 AM.
Quote from stealth :
I disagree. I can't tell if you were implying that my advice was BS. Exercise is an essential element of losing weight. You shouldn't be on a "diet", instead, you should be living a healthy lifestyle, which includes eating right and exercising. The reason exercise is important is because of the mathematical equation where you must burn off more calories than you take in to lose weight. If you eat such small amounts (ex. 1000 cal. or less) based on a sedentary lifestyle, it would not be healthy. The example I gave of an hour a day of exercise is not required, I'll give you that. But don't expect to "just eat less" and think you're being healthy. wave
I agree with the living a healthy lifestyle 100%. I may have have been confusing with my response.

I only said that you can lose weight by eating less than your daily maintenance. It's a fact and there's no way around it. Exercise is key to being healthy though, and I would suggest it 110%. I was simply stating that it's not required to lose weight.
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Joined Nov 2006
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Morphx2
08-12-2010 at 08:26 AM.
08-12-2010 at 08:26 AM.
P90X!

Join their forums and get a workout buddy
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Joined May 2008
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jj.12321
08-12-2010 at 08:27 AM.
08-12-2010 at 08:27 AM.
Quote from MsGal :
I had to learn to eat differently, not because of a weight problem but because of health problems, and I gotta tell you, I haven't had a restaurant meal in 10 years other than Waffle House that compares to meals I make at home.
I am kidding with you laugh out loud

What you say is true.. Making your own meals is inconvienent, but it's a lot better for you.
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Joined Mar 2006
Celery is the new black.
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Celery
08-12-2010 at 08:56 AM.
08-12-2010 at 08:56 AM.
You should try the HCG diet. I know about 5 or 6 people who have done this in the past year that have lost a lot of weight and when they finished the diet, they were able to keep if off. I did this myself and lost 20lb in about 30 days and have added back about 2 lbs since I stopped.

http://hcgdietjourney.com/
I would do a google search for HCG diet also to find out more.

Don't buy into the $100+ for a bottle of the homeopathic drops or get the injections which cost something like $500+, You can buy them for anywhere from $10 - $30 on amazon and from other suppliers.
Homeopathic Drops from Amazon [amazon.com]
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Joined Jun 2005
Live Like No One Else
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stealth
08-12-2010 at 08:59 AM.
08-12-2010 at 08:59 AM.
Quote from Morphx2 :
P90X!

Join their forums and get a workout buddy
P90X is a great workout! It's tough, about a 1.5 hour commitment everyday. Power90 is the same, but less intense. Their forums are beachbody.com.
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Joined Apr 2006
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Original Poster
batgirllnj
08-12-2010 at 09:39 AM.
08-12-2010 at 09:39 AM.
So much good advice, I'm soaking it all in. What I've taken in so far is that it could be my thyroid, it could be my salt intake or it could be that the excersize that I -am- doing is converting fat to muscle. I shouldn't weigh myself but instead take photos and go by how I feel not by a digital scale. Lots of water to flush the system and more excersize combined with more fruit and veggies and non processed foods couldnt hurt.

I think I've got it. You all rock!
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