Weight Gain Frustration ... need help please!!

[KathyH]

RE: Hi Nicole!

Hi Nicole! You really do need to heed the advice of all these EXPERIENCED women on this board! I just can't stress this enough. You need to EAT more otherwise if you keep lowering your calories & working out more your body thinks it will never get food again & goes into what's called "starvation mode". YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT! You'll just keep slowing down your metabolism & you'll really screw it up for a long time to come. I don't mean to sound harsh here but please adhere to the wonderful advice given to you. Eat more work out less & by all means REST! You'll be surprised those 4#s will come off. Put your trust in us please! All my best, Kathy

 

[Jenne]

RE: Hi Nicole!

Nicole- please, if you're still following this thread, please listen to these ladies. I'm pretty sure I did the exact same thing to myself... undereating and overexercising for several years. My weight started slowly creeping up... then I became stiff, sore, and fatigued. I became pretty ill for about a month and a half (but still exercised.) After I started feeling better, I continued to undereat and overexercise. Maintaining that pattern, I watched my weight creep up and then pile on (15 pounds over two months, then another 15 pounds, then another 20.) I gained almost 50 pounds!! I continued the same bad habits, continued to feel fatigued, continued NOT losing weight. I would become nauseated while walking up the stairs with laundry! Finally, I did decide to back off from my workouts. I allowed myself to take days off, even weeks. I started eating more, tracking it on diet software. (Anywhere between 1700 and 2500 calories a day.) I do more strength workout than cardio. This year, I lost 20 of the 50 pounds I gained. I feel so much better... so alive, no fatigue (other than the typical fatigue of a working mom trying to fit it all in... but nothing like the mind-numbing exhaustion!)

Now, a typical week for me might include ME, BC, MIC, and IMAX, but it will also include a day or two of just walking (which I consider "rest" because it clears my head and lets me keep moving without stressing my body.) I am far more fit than I was when I was overtraining. I'm much happier and much healthier and I'm a lot more confident that I can reach my ultimate goal.

Please, don't let it go that far for you! Take some rest days now, allow yourself to eat more now!