am i doing enough??

S

slimslow71

Member
im on a low cal diet and work out on my cross trainer everday for 30 mins i burn over 200 kcals and i eat sensable no fatty stuff just fruit and veg and grill the everything just that i got on the scales today and i put on weight im starting the gym soon well next tuesday on fit 4 life and taking xenical but im putting on weigh and not taking it off anyone know where im going wrong??:cry:
 
Hi - that seems really strange !! Do you think you may not be eating enough.I know that when i have done WW that if you dont eat enough your body stores food rather than burning it.
 
You could be losing inches rather than weight on the scale (are you measuring?)

You could be putting on muscle due to working out, so in place of fat, muscle is growing (and I think per the amount of space the muscle takes up versus the fat, the muscle weighs more)

You could be retaining fluid (do you eat a lot of salt? I ask because salt can keep water on you and also when you sweat the salt in your body depletes and this can also make you retain fluid)

Your body could be thinking you are starving to death due to the low calories and thus it hangs on to and stores everything it can

There are a lot of reasons you could be gaining. Have you dieted long? Sometimes this can mess with your metabolism.

Hopefully you can figure it out. Good luck!
 
somehow i think your right i get side tracked as with house work and looking after kids as well as shopping i dont stop to eat like i should
i tend to just eat one meal a day and thats just low cal around 270+ and taking xenical as well i know i dont drink enough water
but i havent ever been a big eater i never have breakfast normally one meal aday im not really sure how i got this big as i never snack but i used to lounge around before this diet too as i have degerative disk diease which is painful most days now ive gone on this diet its hard adjusting my life style i always seem to busy and just skip meals thanks for the advice maybe i will try start eating more but its eating that scares me too :(
 
From what I have read a woman's body needs about 1200 calories to sustain itself when it's sedentary (heart beating, blood to the brain/lungs, etc). If you have eaten real low calorie for a long time, your metabolism dropped because your body was convinced you were starving to death. When you go into this starvation mode your body will start eating itself, including your fat and muscles (e.g. your heart). Not only that, but your body says "oh my god, we are starving" and then it hangs onto every single little piece of energy it can and stores it as fat because it's terrified that if it doesn't, it will die.

There are people who go on VLCD (very low calorie diets), but those are more in the range of 600 calories per day and they are specific diets with specific food requirements to make sure you are getting what you need. As far as I know most people don't stay on them for more than a month, then they switch out for a higher calorie diet for a month, and then switch back. At least, that's how I think it works, I haven't tried it and I am not interested - I am having a tough enough time keeping my calories between 1500-1650 ;)

Your metabolism is hurting if you have eaten this low calorie for a long time. You are just going to have to increase your calories over time and accept the initial gain. Long term, if you get your metabolism back where it should be, you will have an easier time losing. I know the initial gain sucks but not much to be done about it. And measure, odds are you are losing inches if you are working out that hard :)
 
thanks for the advice i will go out and get a tape measure today ive been on this diet for 6 weeks now with exercise and like i say all ive done is gained (due to not eating enough i think) but i have it in my mind if i eat im going to get fat but i guess im wrong just hope i can kick myself into eating small meals aday instead of one small meal
 
Just be sure to get your calories from healthy sources and spread them out over your day. When you increase your calories initially you may gain weight, but over time your metabolism will speed back up and you'll be back on track. Sorry you are having such a tough time :(
 
Hey Slimslow! You seem to be doing everything right. Thing is, weight isn't the only measure for getting fit. For example, if you haven't exercised before, you might be gaining muscle mass which weighs more than the fat you are losing, so overall you're not losing weight but you're getting slimmer. Or, if you started your routine in less than two weeks or so, you'll need to keep at it before you see results. But in the end, no matter what your genetics, if you do things right and keep at it, you will lose weight. Hope this helps!
 
dont lose hope, you will start to see the changes. You do need to eat more but spread the small portions throughout the day and you definitely need water as i am learning now.
a few of us are doing the sensible eating and exercise and aiming for around 1lb a week loss so im sure you'll find the support you need in some of the discussion forums.
good luck
x
 
Sorry did I read this right? You eat 270 cals a day and you're taking Xenical? No way is that enough and your body will go into starvation mode and hang onto every last ounce of fat it can.
I'm on Xencial and I consume roughly 1800 calories a day, and use up about 300-400 through exercise. I'm losing about 1½ - 2lbs a week. If you're consuming so little calories, then Xenical wont work. Each meal should be between 12-15g of fat, and you should be having about 50g of fat per day ( this is info from my Xenical nurse).
If I've miss read your post then just ignore me hun :) But please if you really are eating so very little, you're going to make yourself ill hun
xxx
 
Hi Slimslow,
As everyone else says, you DEFINATELY need to eat more - not only to give your metabolism a good kick into working again, but at that tiny amount of calories, theres nothing for the Xenical to work on. Are you seeing a nurse whilst on this? Maybe they could give you a few pointers.
I would definately up my calorie intake and even if your not used to eating lots try and have 3 to 5 smaller meals throughout the day. This doesnt have to be massive platefuls either, a couple of boiled eggs and oatcakes, small can of soup, tin of tuna with some kidney beans etc. Quick things that you could have during the day instead of a larger meal all at once.
I completely understand where you are coming from, I have 3 kids myself and running about after them I used to forget to eat until 3 or 4 in the afternoon when I would be completely ravenous and stuff my face till I was ill.
I have definately noticed a difference in my moods, tolerance and energy since spreading my meals out better. It might help to keep a food diary on here, we all just want to help each other here, as we are all going through, or have been through the same
All the best
x
 
i have loved all the support on here and i have gone out and got weight watchers meals i know from past its about 29 points per day and go on the points on the box so im going to try eat 3 or 4 meals a day and my 5 fruits or veg hopefully in a week ill notice something lol i have also measured myself and wasnt pleased with the results i think i had a wake up call i will try keeep a diary online too either here or on myspace thanks for the loverly support all this site has really given me the confidence so far not to quit
 
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