Please help...I'm at my wits end!

[pga617]

I'm sorry this is a little long, but I really need some help. I'm hoping someone can give me a little insight or advice about what to try nutritionally or with my workouts. I cannot seem to lose weight no matter what I try, and to top it off when I double my efforts I seem to just gain weight...and quickly!

Approximately 2 months ago I weighed about 131 lbs. I took a month off of training because I was moving across the country. During this month 10 days were spent on the road, so I had very little physical activity and lots of eating out and not the healthiest of choices and I also was drinking a lot of empty calories, ie: Starbucks & alcohol. So I expected to gain some weight once I got to my permanent destination. To my amazement I lost about 2 lbs. I figured it was just muscle loss so I took measurements and they were smaller.

When I got settled & back on track I cleaned up my eating, got back into the gym 6 days/week, yoga 2-3 days/week. Now it is 1 month later & I have GAINED about 10 lbs. and have gained about 1 inch on all my measurements. This morning was the final straw, I weighed 140 lbs and couldn't put on my shorts I just bought 2 months ago.

I have always struggled with my weight, but I just feel like I'm going crazy putting in all this effort and not only not able to lose weight, but gain instead!

To give an idea of what I've been doing here is a typical day of my diet:

BREAKFAST - Oats w/blueberries, skim milk, flax seed and egg whites
LUNCH - Spinach w/tons of veggies tossed in olive oil & balsamic vinegar and 3 oz of lean protein, usually chicken or fish
SNACK - WW Tortilla w/almond butter & apple butter (all natural)
DINNER - 3-5 oz fish and spinach salad w/oil & balsamic vinegar
SNACK - Cottage cheese w/granola, blueberries & almond butter

I do have 1 glass of red wine 2-3 nights/week and will eat out about 2 nights/week, but I mostly stick with eating grilled fish & salad & keep my portions in check. I know this isn't perfect, but should not be the reason for gaining 10 lbs in 1 month.

I average about 1700-1900 cals/day

As far as my workouts my schedule looks like this:

Sunday - Yoga
Monday - Arms & shoulders + 20 min cardio
Tuesday - (AM) 60 min cardio/(PM) Yoga
Wednesday - Off
Thursday - Chest & back + 20 min cardio (sometimes I will do yoga in the PM)
Friday - 60 min cardio
Saturday - 75 min kickboxing class

I burn about 3000 cals/week.

[kimm4]

Your calories are too high based on your body stats. You should be around 1500 calories. Your protein looks low and it's lacking in your 1st 3 meals. Your last meal of cottage cheese, granola and blueberries is too many carbs in 1 meal. Also, how many fats are you taking in during the day?

It's hard to tell your macro breakdown, because you're not listing portion sizes...but I can tell your numbers are off.

[pga617]

Your calories are too high based on your body stats. You should be around 1500 calories. Your protein looks low and it's lacking in your 1st 3 meals. Your last meal of cottage cheese, granola and blueberries is too many carbs in 1 meal. Also, how many fats are you taking in during the day?

It's hard to tell your macro breakdown, because you're not listing portion sizes...but I can tell your numbers are off.

Usually my cal intake is closer to 1500-1600, but if I have a glass of wine or on days I get in 2 workouts my intake is closer to 1800-1900. Could you help me figure out how you calculate I should be taking in 1500? I approximate that including my workouts I burn about 2200-2300 cals/day so I didn't want to drop my cals too low. I know I need to work on my macros, currently they're around 30P/40C/30F. My fats come from olive oil, avocados & almond butter, about 45-55g/day. I do get about 25-30g protein in my main meals. It is a little hard for my snacks, but my total for the day is decent enough I think. But hey, you look fantastic so I'll definitely take your advice!

I guess I'm just more confused about how I could possibly gain so much weight now versus when I was eating crap & not exercising while I was in the moving process.

[kimm4]

Usually my cal intake is closer to 1500-1600, but if I have a glass of wine or on days I get in 2 workouts my intake is closer to 1800-1900. Could you help me figure out how you calculate I should be taking in 1500? I approximate that including my workouts I burn about 2200-2300 cals/day so I didn't want to drop my cals too low. I know I need to work on my macros, currently they're around 30P/40C/30F. My fats come from olive oil, avocados & almond butter, about 45-55g/day. I do get about 25-30g protein in my main meals. It is a little hard for my snacks, but my total for the day is decent enough I think. But hey, you look fantastic so I'll definitely take your advice!

I guess I'm just more confused about how I could possibly gain so much weight now versus when I was eating crap & not exercising while I was in the moving process.

Protein is too low and the fats are too high...that's why you're not getting results...

I'm sending you a PM.