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I've restarted my "diet" and exercise routine so many times and whenever I hit a rock, I always get depressed and give up, only to restart a few months later. This is not a new problem for me, but I know for sure, I am not doing anything wrong, at least thats what I would think. I ALWAYS gain weight around ovulation. Its so depressing, and it doesnt taper off until the "fertile" week is over. I actually did an experiment 2 months ago. I woke up one morning noticed the weight gain and logged every single thing I ate that week to see if its food related. I went on a semi fast, where all I ate was salads (plain salad with fat free dressing) and drank water. My weight didnt budge. Normally, with that type of fasting, I would lose but nope, it stayed the same which means its holding onto the weight.
This time its worse. I started an exercise regime last week. Doing cardio and strength training afterwards, for AT LEAST 60 minutes per day. I exercise for at least 40-45 min at the gym, and then I do my own thing at home for another 15-20 min. I am so sore and I packed on 6 lbs. The day after the first day of working out, I stepped on the scale and my weight increased by 1 -2 lbs, and has gone up gradually since. I eat a max of 40-50 grams of carbs a day (2 pieces multi grain toast), fresh salads (no the pre packaged ones in the store, I buy romaine lettuce and other greens and chop them up), lean chicken, and salmon. I hardly eat red meat. A sample of my meal is somewhat like this:
Breakfast:
1 plate of Salad (mostly romaine lettuce which is low carb so I dont even track how much I eat).
1 piece of grilled chicken or salmon (4 oz).
Snack 2 hours later:
1 small apple or 1 fat free greek yogurt
Lunch (this is when I usually eat my carbs):
2 pieces of toast or 1 cup of brown rice
1 protein choice
salad
Dinner:
1 protein choice with salad
As far as beverage goes, I stick to water, no diet coke, juice, not even tea.
So tell me, why does this keep happening to me? Am I at a disadvantage for losing actual fat in an entire month? No thyroid problems or anything. On the other hand though, I feel awesome. I used to have headaches every few days a month back, now I havent had any problems. I love what I am doing but sad with the progress. I know its only been a week, but shouldnt a week yield AT LEAST 1-2 lbs (standard rate)? Seeking motivation and a pat on the shoulder before I go crazy. I wont give up, because although I am not losing anything I do see the benefits (more energy, no more annoying headaches) but this stupid problem makes it so depressing.
Well.... a week isn't really long enough see results from a diet/exercise plan. Yes, 1-2 pounds/week is reasonable, *but* I find that my own weight varies up to 5 pounds at different times of day, and even weighing myself first thing every morning after using the bathroom my weight can vary 1-2 pounds from day to day for no apparent reason, so it's far from a predictable, uniform process. If you don't see a downward trend on the scale after a month it's probably time to be concerned.... but for now, try to be patient. You seem to be doing the right things for sustainable weight loss. If you were on one of those gimmick diets instead, you might see immediate weight loss, but it would be mostly water weight that you'd regain as soon as you went back to eating real food again.
Only you know what you'll stick with from a diet/exercise perspective, but personally, I'd relax a bit on the food (it seems pretty restrictive). If it's not something you can maintain for the rest of your life, it doesn't work.
Also, that's a pretty big amount of exercise to jump into right away unless you've been historically active. I'd recommend you find some goal to work towards (10k, a Mud Run, etc.) and find a program that gets you there in 12 or 16 weeks or whatever. Having a program makes things much simpler from a working out perspective and a goal event (or reward) can be very motivating.
BTW, one other suggestion -- eating salad 3 times a day seems like it would get kind of boring and make it harder to stick with your diet over the long term. I think replacing at least one of the salads with a variety of vegetables would be better for you nutritionally, as well, since different veggies have different vitamins -- carrots have lots of vitamin A, broccoli vitamin C, etc.
My guess is that you are not eating enough. Your diet is very restrictive and I do not see any fat in it. Eat full fat real greek yogurt. Use olive oil. Eat avocados and nuts. Track your food intake on one of the food tracking websites and record everything.
Now for exercise - How hard are you working? Are you getting your heart rate up and sustaining it? Do you challenge yourself?
You can pack in a very effective workout in half the time if you incorporate HIIT, Tabata, or circuit training or all three. Make sure you are lifting heavy enough to challenge yourself.
I hope you're trying to plan an eating plan that will last for the rest of your life. I will say that what you showed us as your meal plan looks like a miserable existence. Salad for breakfast? Gag. Hurl. No thank you. Your diet looks like one of those right out of a magazine that I used to always look at when I was younger and unwiser and that was always what the little skinny models ate. Well great for them if they can live on that. I could not.
I have lost and maintained 25 pounds by eating the following:
B: 2 eggs on rye with provolone and avocado
L: spaghetti with measured out pasta and lots of veggies in it
D: chicken or steak and roasted veggies in olive oil
S: cake, cookie, pie, cheesecake, peanut butter, peanut butter on a delicious soft slice of white bread
Don't make yourself suffer. Eat good healthy delicious foods and include fats like avocado, nuts, oils.
Calculate your BMR and eat a tad above it. Little more if you exercise. Calculate your burned calories accurately, if possible, it actually is really hard for anyone to do it. Always lowball it. I think I burn around 250 calories with my workout. I also lift weights so I think that will help in the long run with building up my metabolism.
Thanks for all the responses. I totally forgot about eating different types of veggies and stir frying them...Just got back from grocery shopping and bought a variety.
As far as excercising goes, I use the stairmaster, which makes me feel like I am in hell! My heart rate jumps up to almost 200, I am out of breath, and sweating after 5 minutes. Then I use the treadmill with 5.0 - 6.0 incline at 2.5 speed for about 20 minutes. I finish off with arms/shoulders or leg exercises depending on the day. As mentioned earlier, The total time I work out is on average 60 minutes, which in my opinion is not too bad now. The first day it was, but after the second day, I got used to it. Prior to this, I worked out lightly for 30 minutes a day. Doctor recommended walking 45 minutes a day, but I wanted to push myself a little bit.
I know my diet is restrictive, and it doesnt feel right, but I have found that if I ate too much, I wont lose. Last time when I went to the doctor I told him I was on a low carb diet. He said it takes more than low carb to lose weight, I need to watch the fat content too! I said "I thought if I was on low carb, I could eat as much protein as I wanted." Him: "nope, because fat has calories too, it'll add up." Thus , why my diet is so restrictive now.
Update on my weight issues: Holy moly, I gained another pound!! This is truly frustrating. Trust me, I normally do not weigh myself daily, I save that for the end of the week, but since I am having to deal with this mysterious weight gain, I am weighing myself more frequently to catch a pattern. So since the weekend, I have been gaining on average 1 lb a day. That means that I am not losing anything despite all the activity. I am holding on to water weight/food weight, whatever you call it. I have been so paranoid that I have been exercising an extra 15 min before bed, on top of the initial workout. Not doing anything for me.
Being a woman sucks....I am pretty sure its ovulation related, and then theres going to be menstruation down the road, which means I only have 2 weeks to lose anything.
I would also give up if my diet was that boring. You have to give yourself variety or you'll quit. This should be a life change, not just a diet change. If you can't see yourself eating like this all the time, it's pointless.
Thanks for all the responses. I totally forgot about eating different types of veggies and stir frying them...Just got back from grocery shopping and bought a variety.
As far as excercising goes, I use the stairmaster, which makes me feel like I am in hell! My heart rate jumps up to almost 200, I am out of breath, and sweating after 5 minutes. Then I use the treadmill with 5.0 - 6.0 incline at 2.5 speed for about 20 minutes. I finish off with arms/shoulders or leg exercises depending on the day. As mentioned earlier, The total time I work out is on average 60 minutes, which in my opinion is not too bad now. The first day it was, but after the second day, I got used to it. Prior to this, I worked out lightly for 30 minutes a day. Doctor recommended walking 45 minutes a day, but I wanted to push myself a little bit.
I know my diet is restrictive, and it doesnt feel right, but I have found that if I ate too much, I wont lose. Last time when I went to the doctor I told him I was on a low carb diet. He said it takes more than low carb to lose weight, I need to watch the fat content too! I said "I thought if I was on low carb, I could eat as much protein as I wanted." Him: "nope, because fat has calories too, it'll add up." Thus , why my diet is so restrictive now.
Update on my weight issues: Holy moly, I gained another pound!! This is truly frustrating. Trust me, I normally do not weigh myself daily, I save that for the end of the week, but since I am having to deal with this mysterious weight gain, I am weighing myself more frequently to catch a pattern. So since the weekend, I have been gaining on average 1 lb a day. That means that I am not losing anything despite all the activity. I am holding on to water weight/food weight, whatever you call it. I have been so paranoid that I have been exercising an extra 15 min before bed, on top of the initial workout. Not doing anything for me.
To answer the bolded:
Do you hate yourself? I avoid the Stairmaster like the plague, not gonna torture myself!
Yes, if you eat too much, you won't lose. Figure out how to not do that. It doesn't have to be through restrictive diet. It has to be by choices. I had a delightful French toast breakfast this morning, with coffee with lovely creamer. Oh and some dark chocolate bark. Yummmm. That was a lot. For dinner, (I hope cannot say 100% sure) I will have tilapia and salad. I will be all good on calories. I will go to the gym and burn off around 200 calories or so as a buffer. See how I'm not torturing myself and still losing weight?
I can't say for sure what you're eating, how you're counting, if you're being honest with yourself, but in general, what you lose will be because of what you put in your mouth, not the exercise. Exercise gives you a little buffer/bump up help but if you are not losing, it's either a little extra water which could be from the period, or salt, or carbs, or whatever, OR you are simply eating too many calories. IF you are really eating that restrictive diet you listed, you should be losing weight on that alone.
Lose the rice, toast and fruit. Eat full fat yogurt. More protein. Stop weighing yourself daily. If you know you gain temporarily when you ovulate don't weigh yourself during that time. You know low carb works for you but you have to eat more fat. You don't have to go nuts with fat but you need more than you are currently eating. Try eggs for breakfast. Nuts for snacks. Small snacks, higher in fat will keep you full.
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