Up 17 pounds :(

[merrr]

I can't believe it. I am up 17 pounds from my "goal" weight. How on earth did this happen?!

I have always been the girl who was super skinny. In high school there was rumor that I had an eating disorder (no, I never did, don't worry). That's how skinny I was. I could wrap my hands around my stomach and touch thumb to thumb, middle finger to middle finger. Even as I grew into an adult and put on curves (thanks to pregnancy) no one ever agreed with me that I had problem areas. Hello - a muffin top is a problem area. Just because I have more height for the weight to spread out over doesn't mean I don't have problem areas. Anyway, I digress. I've never had to think about what I eat. I've never had to work out. All of a sudden, somewhere in the last six months, my weight has spiked by 17 pounds.

I'm at a loss. I have noticed that my bras aren't fitting as well as they used to - cutting in to my sides a bit. I just ignored that until I stepped on the scale at the gym. I looked at it and figured it must be wrong. So I weighed myself on my usual scale today and sure enough I'm up 17 pounds. I've started working out at the gym (not consistently yet, I'm getting there). I know muscle weighs more than fat but I don't think this is muscle weight. I've also been drinking a lot more PowerAid than I ever did before. Maybe that's the change that's caused this spike? I do work full time at a sit down job. Maybe that's finally caught up to me?

I'm signing up for SparkPeople today; CakeMakerMom's been raving about that site for months. I also have to make some dietary changes. And make a better commitment to working out three times a week. I'm just so lost with how this could have happened...

[sarahisis]

no more soda!

[merrr]

*GASP* That's my lifeline!!! But yeah... I know... If I can at least cut it back to one a day...

[ReneeW]

Merr, I hear ya--it's a shocker when your metabolism is no longer your friend. I've been a healthy weight my entire life, but starting in my late-20s it was like ... whoa. Now I have to work HARD at it when it was easy before. I'm working out more intensely than I ever have in my life, and I still can't seem to lose the 6 pounds that I've gained in the last 6 months. Grrrr ... it's frustrating. I have heard a lot of good things about the various online Sparkpeople-type programs that help you track your caloric intake and output. My best friend lost 15 pounds and looks AWESOME. I need to get back doing that myself ... sigh ....

[sarahisis]

My doc told me that if I were to ever go back to drinking soda, that I should limit it to one a day or less.. and to drink regular, not diet.. That chemical in diet has been known for making people more hungry, so when they drink the diet, they eat more... so what's worse? one regular coke and less snacking, or diet and binging lol

[merrr]

Renee - I had a coworker who said that by her 30s her metabolisim stopped. I didn't believe it could happen to me but here I am in my 30s and BAM. 17 pounds, thank you very much.

Sarah - I never, never, never drink diet or eat diet anything. I figure if I'm going to poison my body I'll do it with the "natural" stuff and not the man made toxins. One regular Coke and less snacking is good for me! LOL

[cakemakermom]

It happens to all of us at one time or another, especially in those 30's years...

I suggest replacing one pop a day with water to start with and adding fruits and veggies, which will fill you up quicker with fewer calories than other things. Stop buying cookies! I don't do fake sugars or kinda like butters. Everything is real for me (or at least the majority of it). I use olive oil for most of my cooking, I bake as much as possible to omit a lot of the extra fats. I have to keep the cookies and sweets out of the house or I'll eat the whole box. It's amazing how many ingredients there are on so many processed items, I try to do things with 6 ingredients or less as much as possible.

I also know you have a gym membership, use it to your advantage and push yourself harder and faster each time.

I know you can get rid of the few pounds that creeped on. If I can lose 40 pounds (and going), you can lose 17.

I also suggest making your Spark page on there so you can make friends on that site that are going through similar weight struggles as you. That is the thing that sets Spark People apart from other calorie counting pages. I like to complain and gloat about the thing I'm thinking about for the day there where others can relate to what I've had to go through.

[bumblebee23]

Powerade & Gatorade actually have a very high level of sugar in it so replacing that with pop isn't necessarily a good. thing.

[nevaehsmom327]

Man, I hear ya. Jumpin on the scale can be scary sometimes, especially when you see your clothes not fitting the same. I'm sure a lot of it can be stress related, but also just metabolism changing. Just remember a few things:

Lots of water!! Lots!! Powerade and Gatorade are "empty calories" you're just chuggin down. Unless you're working all those PLUS some off, the weight will still be there.

When you're working out, focus on cardio to burn more calories. Unless you're looking to get super ripped, just keeping the fat off is the main key.

Also, try doing smaller more frequent meals. That helped me immensely when i was trying to lose weight. It's hard at first, but once you get into the habit of eating small meals, your stomach seems to get in the groove with you.

[onlyoneboy]

After meeting you I think you look great. But I know how you feel. I still have 7lbs I want to loose after DS2 was born. I'm starting a yoga class this week and I hope that helps.

[katie]

Merr
If I were to offer you a 2 week supply of Body by Vi would you accept it? All I would ask is that for 2 weeks you do the program and after give me your feedback. It would consist of 2 shakes a day, 2 snacks and a sensible dinner. Let me know if you are interested.

[merrr]

Okay, so since I first posted this I have joined SparkPeople and have been amazed at the support immediately offered by other members! I have only had one can of Coke per day; some days it's harder than others! I have stopped drinking PowerAid unless I'm at the gym. I have (mostly) stopped the mindless evening munching. Last night I had that craving SO bad so I pulled out the bag of sunflower seeds that I bought by mistake that are still in their shells. It is so much work to get them out of their shells to eat them that I spent about a half hour munching but had hardly any shells in my bowl. I think I've found a solution!
I really appreciate the support here too ladies Thank you Katie for your offer as well! Before I venture into suppliments, wraps, pills, whatever I'm going to try to correct my bad habbits