Losing a little bit of steam - Frustrated

[jessiejess]

Well, I'm not following my own advice and have been weighing every day but today was my official weekly weigh in day. I saw the scale go all the way down to 185 and was elated, only to have it crawl back up to 187.5 as of this morning. How the HELL is that possible? I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing. I'm having less than 20 grams of carbs a day. I'm having nothing processed. I'm eating protein first and then veggies. I'm not drinking any alcohol. I'm working out 5 or 6 times a week from 30 minutes to 60 on the elliptical. My calories are low but it's hard to eat 1200 when your eating low carb and have a sleeve. I can see how my 800 average of calories per day might put me in a stall but to GAIN????? WTF!!!! I'm staying motivated as best as I can but I'm starting to feel frustrated again. I almost got to 184 only to gain 2.5lbs. That's a cruel joke, God!! I'm even drinking as much water as I possibly can.
I know I can still keep going because I'm still motivated but I'm really beginning to wonder. Am I even capable of losing weight anymore? I cut out all of the stuff that makes me gain, lost 7lbs and then gained back 2.5. How is that humanly possible when I'm drowning myself in water and working my ass off 5 days a week? This is my pattern and it's happening again. I can't break through to the low end of the 180's to save my life!! I'm not quitting this time though. Yet. I'm just feeling very frustrated and I just don't understand what is going on with my body. I'm doing everything I know to do. Like I said, I can understand a stall from all the working out because I could be gaining muscle mass and burning fat at the same time which would explain the scale not going down. But to gain weight?? That I don't understand.
Can someone please shed some light as to what the hell you think is going on here? What am I doing wrong?

[mellowjoy]

Am I even capable of losing weight anymore? I What am I doing wrong?

You are certainly capable of losing weight, however it may be slower than you would like. You are doing nothing wrong.

Weight fluctuations are normal and I understand the deal with the scales. Hell I once gained 4 pounds overnight and I actually weighed my weights just to make sure the scale was working properly.

It's just frustrating when you work hard at both eating right and exercising only to see that there is little to no movement in the right direction.

There are 23 weeks left in 2018, if you lose 1/2 pound per week, you'll lose 11.5 weeks before the end of the year. It may not seem like much per week but you'll have some weeks where you lose a full pound and other weeks where you won't lose an ounce.

You can do this and don't let the scale get the best of you. And just so you know we all have scales that don't always give us the answer we want.

[Ann2]

Jess, I almost want to LOL because you sound today like a newbie.

Seriously, my friend -- this never WAS a marathon, and it certainly is not now. You are not going to lose XX pounds rapidly. It's going to take months.

In my experience (and, as always, others' mileage may vary), consistency over time is what won the game.

It may be time to hide the scale.

xoxoxo

[Dutchie]

Keep your eyes on the prize Jess!
You will get there!
"Quitters never win and winners never quit"
xoxoxo

[Shirl]

Hi, JessieJess, as Ann2 says “mileage varies,” but have you tried carb cycling? Low carb doesn’t really work for me. And honestly with my rigorous mental strain at the moment I cannot afford the mental fogginess I often experienced.
There was someone here name Melissa when I was struggling with plateaus about a year out and that really helped me specially with the feeling of well-being. I have just gotten back on the wagon myself. I am glad we can be here to support each other.

[Stacey03]

Jessie... try cutting that cardio back to 3 times a week for just 30 mins. And eat some avocados. Thats my Aussie advice. The cortisol from that cardio will be loving you right now ;-)
On a couple of days a week do a circuit instead... squats, lunges, push-ups, sit ups, burpees, step ups etc... like a HIIT 40 seconds on 20 off for 4 rounds. Maybe look up swork it or an app like that to get ideas. In fact I would do that 3 times a week and the elliptical once or twice a week. I'd also have at least 2 full days off. And eat some avocado... did I say that? Avos are food from the gods to Aussies.
why did you put on 2.5Ibs? Who knows! You might be down 4 tomorrow.
Consistency. You know all about it. You've got this :-)

[sraebaer]

Your weight will always fluctuate a little. Maybe while you are losing just weigh once a week, that's what I did. Otherwise those little changes will drive you crazy! You are doing wonderfully.

[AnnieG]

Oh Jessejess, I totally hear ya! I weigh twice a day (yeah, crazy woman) -- I weigh+/- 2.5 pounds every day, but continuing tracking (sometimes slowly) downward as I stick to all the wonderful things you're doing.

Hugs! Prayers!

[jessiejess]

Jess, I almost want to LOL because you sound today like a newbie.

Seriously, my friend -- this never WAS a marathon, and it certainly is not now. You are not going to lose XX pounds rapidly. It's going to take months.

In my experience (and, as always, others' mileage may vary), consistency over time is what won the game.

It may be time to hide the scale.

xoxoxo

I know, I do. After I wrote this I went back and realized I sounded like a newbie. I guess I kind of am since this experience is so much different than last time. Losing weight after a significant period of time and regain is very different than losing right after you get sleeved. I can give the newly sleeved people advice on what to do all day long to succeed but losing a regain is just SO much different. Losing the first time was almost effortless in the beginning. Eating clean was almost second nature once I got on solids. It honestly didn't slow down for me until I broke my foot at 130. I could have easily kept going but became sedentary. That's when the weight started creeping back on. And on. And on. And now here I am.
I guess I was expecting this to be similar in that the scale would start moving down and keep going that way just at a slower pace than it did, but it would go down since I'm eating the same way and working out the same. That MIGHT have been an unrealistic expectation. The first time I really didn't even plateau. I lost 103 in less than a year and the scale never fluctuated up more than a pound. Then over the next few days I'd be down 3. The other 15lbs I lost came off gradually without me really even trying. I just followed "the mantra", worked out, and kept on losing for a few more months and then maintained for about a year until I broke my ankle in October 2015. So I'm not used to a 2.5lb weight gain that's hanging on for almost a week now when I haven't given up and am still doing everything I did the first time but with more discipline.
That said, the first time I didn't start working out until 4 months post-op. This time I started working out the same day I changed my eating habits. So it's very possible I'm burning fat but gaining muscle at the same time. The scale will catch up. My clothes are fitting looser and I'm still in ketosis so I'm on the right track. I know I'm losing fat. I've just got to put the damn scale away.
It's just a lot different this time. I thought it would go quicker since I'm eating so few calories and carbs, and working out. I think I need adjust my expectations. I'm not giving up.
Having said that, I did some other stuff and a little bit of research. The fact that I've already lost 5lbs in 2 weeks is normal. The first 2 or 3 were water and that's what is expected in the beginning. So, 5 isn't bad for two weeks when I am being realistic. I'm no longer in the honeymoon phase and that's okay. I just have to reprogram my brain a little so I don't get frustrated. Slow loss is better than no loss at all. I'm over the frustration hump and feeling a lot more motivated today. I'll get through it. It's just going to take a little while to get used to this again. Thanks for the support!
I remember when you were a newbie and I was giving you advice. You've come SO far. I'm so proud of you. As always, you rock!!

[jessiejess]

Jessie... try cutting that cardio back to 3 times a week for just 30 mins. And eat some avocados. Thats my Aussie advice. The cortisol from that cardio will be loving you right now ;-)
On a couple of days a week do a circuit instead... squats, lunges, push-ups, sit ups, burpees, step ups etc... like a HIIT 40 seconds on 20 off for 4 rounds. Maybe look up swork it or an app like that to get ideas. In fact I would do that 3 times a week and the elliptical once or twice a week. I'd also have at least 2 full days off. And eat some avocado... did I say that? Avos are food from the gods to Aussies.
why did you put on 2.5Ibs? Who knows! You might be down 4 tomorrow.
Consistency. You know all about it. You've got this :-)

You've actually written exactly what I plan to do. I took yesterday off from the elliptical and I'm probably going to take it easy today too. I'm a little sore after hitting it so hard over the weekend. I'm going to rotate and incorporate more strength training with my cardio. That's how I did it before. I just wanted to hit the cardio first so I could build my endurance back up. And for the record, I eat at least one avocado a day. I love them!! I was doing that before I changed my eating habits. I saw my coworker eating avocado all the time and I absolutely love it so she gave me a few healthy avocado recipes. They're now a staple in my fridge.

[Gvn71]

2.5 lbs is not a gain. It is just the normal fluctuation of your body weight. 5 lbs, maybe, 7.5 yup that's gain.

Keep doing what you are doing, it is working, you said it yourself that you saw 185 on the scale. I am thoroughly impressed that you are eating less than 20 grams of carbs a day. That is really tough. I try to stay that low and fail, fail, fail....... It is what it is though.

Don't get down on yourself, it really is a lifelong battle. The initial weightloss after surgery is easy, maintaining the "ideal" or "goal" weight is the hard part.

Keep it up!