Boosting Metabolism but Gaining Weight

Fosterdog

I have always had an OK diet, I eat all the right foods, allow myself occasional treats, but my portions are way too big and I don't get enough exercise.

I have never been a breakfast person and feel physically sick at the thought of eating in the mornings and if I force myself to eat I am often vomit soon after. I can usually manage to keep a cup of coffee down.

I go for long spells without eating properly because of my jobs and the shifts I work, I can be working until 8pm having not had breakfast, not finding time for a proper lunch and not getting a break until 5pm, by the time my break comes I feel rotten, weak, shaky, headache etc. and this puts me off food again so I tend to have a light snack. I am then ravenous by the time I get home from work and finally get the chance of a meal so I eat a massive portion to keep myself going.

I have spent the last two weeks forcing myself to stick to a metabolism boosting diet, I've been eating breakfast, having a mid morning snack, eating lunch, a mid afternoon snack, and an evening meal. The whole point being that little but often should be better for me, I have also cut coffee, I'm drinking a lot more water and have been doing 30 mins to an hour of cardio exercise every day.

I have gained 5lb in the two weeks I've been doing this and don't really feel any better than I did before so where am I going wrong?

My breakfast will consist of 1 piece of wholemeal seeded toast, with fruit, or natural yogurt with fruit and granola or porridge with fruit. I also have a glass of orange juice and take a multi-vitamin with minerals every morning.

Mid morning snacks have been dried fruit, seeds, nuts, fresh fruit (usually a banana) with water.

Lunch has been wholemeal sandwiches, light mayo instead of butter, lean meat, salads, wholewheat pasta etc. water to drink

Afternoon snacks are same as mid morning but have also been making up fruit salad instead. Again with water

Evening meals have been my usual meals, all cooked with fresh ingredients from scratch, I have cut the portions right down as I find I'm not even hungry with all the other food I've eaten through the day and am full after a few bites. Usually a portion of meat or fish, a carb and two to four different veg, washed down with water. OH still has a full plate but mine is now on a small sandwich plate and I struggle to finish it.

My exercise is done whenever I can fit it in, but I have done some everyday, mostly using our new exercise bike, going for a run, a long walk, or following online exercise videos. I'm trying to keep it varied so I don't get bored. It's been mostly cardio but also some strength and core exercises.

If anyone can see where I'm going wrong please tell me, I'm trying to be healthier than ever and it's backfired leaving me putting on weight, tired all the time and just generally feeling rough.

Widelats

Well the fact is, unless you are seriously under/over weight your metabolism is no different than anyone elses.

Weight gain the first few weeks of a diet change is water retention, this makes people feel awful, and weigh more temporarily, but it does go in time, keep drinking the water.

Your diet is fine, your cardio only exercise is not fine - try a weight lifting routine, combined with interval training on a treadmill or elyptical - there is the benefits of joining a gym.

Fosterdog

Thanks, I'm not massively overweight (I'd like to shift a few stone but would be quite healthy if I only lost one). Iv'e never bothered with any sort of diet before as I know the food I eat and enjoy is good it's just the portions, not eating regularly and lack of proper exercise that causes my weight gain.

I do have PCOS which throws my body completely out of kilter and the medication makes it harder to lose weight. At the beginning of the year I had a bad flare up and spent just over two months where I could just about drag myself to work but was in so much pain that I couldn't do much else and my job took all the energy I had.

I've been relatively symptom free for around a month now so now is the time for me to do what I can to sort my body out before my next flare up. I just need to get away from constantly feeling tired and drained, which is a throwback of sleepless nights during a flare up.

theoretica

Are you still finding breakfast unappealing? I find I like fruit and protein for breakfast, but not usually carbohydrates.

As you are exercising more than you had been weight loss is not the only score to look at - also be aware of shape change as muscles are heavier than fat.

Fosterdog

Yes I still find breakfast unappealing, although I'm the opposite of you and find fruit too water on it's own for breakfast and leaves me feeling bloated and almost guaranteed to vomit, something more substantial, while hard to force down seems to settle in my stomach better and more likely to stay down.

I don't really care about my weight, more about how I feel in general and my clothes fitting nicely, since I've been eating like this as well as putting on weight I have become very bloated and non of my clothes are fitting properly so there's definitely inches being added all over not just muscle tone developing.

I was wondering if I'm putting on the weight because I'm now eating more than I ever have, although it is a healthier diet with regular healthy meals and snacks, the three small meals and two snacks a day is more than I would eat when I would go hungry all day and eat one massive meal in the evening

Im hoping it is just water retention but I didn't think that would still be going on after two weeks and I don't feel any more toned than before and my stamina doesn't seem to be improving.

Sharon87

Maybe it's the snacks. There are more calories in dried fruit and nuts than you think. What are the portion sizes of these? Also bananas, even though they're healthy have about 100 calories for a medium one.

The breakfast is quite big if you have toast, fruit and granola or porridge. But breakfast is important.

Simple fact is adding extra meals will most likely increase your calorie intake. Find out how many calories you need to maintain your weight and you can calculate how many you are currently eating. If you educate yourself with the amount of calories in certain foods, then you know for future. You don't need to count calories every day, just have an understanding of how many calories are in your food.

You say you're struggling to eat your dinner, that's a sign you're eating a fair bit throughout the day. If you want your evening meal, cut out one of the snacks at least. This will reduce your calories by 1-200 calories, depending on your portion sizes.

Fosterdog

Thanks, I'll try leaving the morning snack out.

I have been tracking everything on myfitnesspal and am aiming for no more than 1200 calories each day, most days I have been under by at least 100 calories, I did go over by 50 one day but cut back and slotted in an extra 10 mins on the exercise bike the next day.

My breakfast isn't toast and porridge or granola, it's just one of the three. One slice of toast or one of the packets of instant oats (I find it easier to control the portion if it's pre packed as a single serving) or one handful of granola with 1/4 tub of yoghurt. I've been sticking to berries for breakfast and have been eating a mix of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries all fresh and no more than a handful.

My main goal is to not feel drained halfway through the day, I'm trying to regulate my diet for slow release energy to keep me going for longer instead of flagging from 12pm onwards.

heartbreak_star

theoretica wrote: »

Are you still finding breakfast unappealing? I find I like fruit and protein for breakfast, but not usually carbohydrates.

As you are exercising more than you had been weight loss is not the only score to look at - also be aware of shape change as muscles are heavier than fat.

Fruit = carbs

I agree though, don't look at the scales

HBS x

thor

I think you have mentioned what your problem is already a few times. You are probably eating too much. Even if your diet is healthy, if your portions are big you will gain weight or have to do a ginormous amount of exercise to burn it off.