I have been dieting and exercising and have GAINED 10lbs. How is that even possible? I eat no more than 500 calories and excercise for about 2 hours a day. I am determined to lose this extra 100lbs. I'm thinking I should go to one of those weight loss centers and see what they have to say. Maybe they have some tips or something. Has anyone ever tried that? It's just frustrating that I'm trying so hard and gaining weight.
Hi Cavalier,
I'm no doctor, but my own opinion, I think you might not be getting enough calories as 500 isn't much. I would try atleast getting 1000 calories a day, though again...that is just my own opinion. When I was losing weight I was just eating healthier foods & watching portions (like half of what I used to eat). If I went out to eat I would make sure to take half the dinner home with me & only eat half, no dessert...I also stopped ordering "drinks" only water. Though I also don't drink soda (unless I was using it at a mixer for an adult beverage, which was rare, lol, & nonexistent at the moment since I'm expecting). As far as exercise, I always loved yoga, so when "Biggest Loser" came out with their "Weightloss Yoga" I bought it & LOVED it. I lost atleast 10lbs with it & was still losing until I had to quit to do a back injury i sustained at work last November. I also had bought the "Biggest Loser Bootcamp" shortly after I bought the other one, since I loved it so much. I would try to do one video one day, then the other the next. Both have modifications for beginners (or if you are like me & don't like "bouncy" videos...as I have a large chest, as well as achy knees at times). I loved both videos & saw great results. Also...even if your numbers aren't going down doesn't mean you haven't slimmed down. I learned that (especially with Yoga) you can tone up muscle & lose fat but not go down on the scale until later, though I would see a difference in how my clothes fit. I also started drinking apple cider vinegar water, which seemed to help with hunger, helps detox some, & also aids in digestion (I drink it every now & again now being pregnant & it seems to help with indigestion). I actually love the taste of it, though my sister thinks I'm crazy, lol. Don't lose hope!
I see two in what you posted.....
I'm hoping you meant 1500 calories, as opposed to 500 calories. If you have 100 plus or minus pounds to lose, dropping your calorie levels to such an extreme level will not cause you to lose weight, and actually prevent you from doing so. Our bodies are hardwired from caveman days to respond to starvation (which is essentially what you are doing if you drop from what it takes to maintain a 100 pound overage to next to nothing) by NOT releasing fat to be processed by the body. Since your body thinks it is starving, and doesn't know when it's next maintainable sustenance will come from, it actually will hold on to every calorie and fat gram that it can. Your caloric intake level should be based upon your current weight, your current height, your age, your sex and your activity level.....You can go to several web sites online and enter that info and it will calculate how many calories it takes to maintain your current weight and how many calories you can eat that will FEED your body the nutrients it needs, make sure it does not go into starvation protection and still lose weight in a healthy manner. You did not gain 100 extra pounds overnight, so please, for your own health, do not try to lose 100 pounds in a short period of time. It's better for it to take a longer period of time, allowing you and your body to adjust to the changes in LIFESTYLE, than to crash diet, enjoy the fruits of it for a few months, then find yourself right back where you started in a year or two.
Second, if you are exercising for 2 hours DAILY, then you are building muscle. Muscle actually weights more than fat. So, when you first begin an exercise program, especially one so extensive, you will gain weight. BUT it is only temporary.....Muscle cells also burn more calories....So the more muscle you build, the more calories you will burn. Eventually, if you are FEEDING your body and building muscle, the muscle will burn more than it weighs, if that makes sense. So, it isn't unusual to gain weight when you begin an exercise routine.
ADD some calories....find out how many your body NEEDS and adjust your diet. 500 calories, unless you are also taking some sort of dietary supplement - shakes or what have you - is NOT enough to let your body know it's not starving. DON'T give up your exercise routine. It sounds like you're doing great! I'm pulling for you!!
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/calories-goal.php
Try this calculator to see how many calories you should be eating per day.....For maintainable weight loss of over 100 pounds (I lost 140, but have gained back 50, which I am in the process of losing), you will drop anywhere from 5 to 9 pounds per week for the first 4 to 8 weeks, then a healthy weight loss would be 2 to 4 pounds per week after that.....The bigger you are, the more you are likely to lose during that "honeymoon" phase when you first drop your calorie levels....So, 8 to 12 months would be a healthy period of time in which to lose the amount of weight you want to.....
(((hugs))))
eating that little will actually reverse your metabolism into starvation mode. The better method is to take your ideal weight and multiply it by 10 to get your ideal calorie intake to get you there. Some of it could be muscle gain which is more dense than fat thus you may have gained weight but lost body fat. Reduce your carb intake, which has always worked for me in weight loss.
Hey whatI am doing is a highprotien low-carb diet. You eat meat and a veggie for the side or a salad. Now I do eat carbs just not with every meal. I have also been drinking coffee instead of soda. soda has sodium init and lots of calories(at least coke does) if you are only eating 500 calories a day then your body will hold on to eveyrhting becaseu it thinks youare in a area with little food and it is going to protect the inside of your body but packingonthe weight.
YOu could be loosing inches, since you are working out 2 ous a day then muslce does weigh more than fat. Maybe you should start measuring yourself.
There is problaly two reasons why you have gained ten pounds. First, muscle weighs more than fat so you could have dropped inches but gained weight because you are replacing your fat with muscle. Secondly, you are not eating enough. Our bodys are like a car... yes you can run with little oil and little gas but over time it wears on your body. Not only can eating that few calories be dangerous but when you eat less than 1200 calories or so your body goes into stravation mode and will hang on to EVERY SINGLE CALORIE YOU EAT.
Boy do I understand your frustration I have a little over 100 pounds to loose and it is like I have no Idea where to start or what to do I have tried for about six months now and have gained 15 pounds instead of loosing. ANY IDEAS? I did just buy a zumba dvd yesterday so I am going to give that a try I will let you know how that goes...
Quoting cavalier_craz:Since this post Ive gone up to 1200 calories a day. And STILL havent lost a single pound. Havent gained either, so thats good I guess! I do think I am losing inches though, since my clothes are fitting differently. Im going to have to measure!
How are you doing now?
myfitnesspal.com
- cavalier_craz
on Sep. 2, 2011 at 9:05 AM