What am I doing wrong?

[Sheilaalala]

Two years ago, I started working out and eating healthy. I worked out 5-6 times a week (doing at home workouts three times a week and walking twice a week for 40 minutes) and the results were awesome. Within four months, I lost 15 pounds and I loved the way I looked. Eventually life got in the way and I didn't have time to work out as much and ultimately fell off the band wagon and returned to my old, non active lifestyle. I still stayed in pretty good shape for a year, didn't go up in clothing sizes and wasn't totally unhappy with how I looked. Another year later, I started to steadily gain weight and it wasn't until last fall that I noticed just how much weight I had gained (when I couldn't fit into my previous year jeans). I decided it was time to start working out again and getting my eating in check. The progress was slow, I was hoping it would be like the last time I decided to workout and within four months I would be down fifteen pounds, but eight months later I was only down 5-7 pounds and was stalling in my weight loss. So, I tried to switch up my workouts and decided to try some different diets. I did the Whole 30, then tried Paleo for a month and then switched it up to Keto. I never lost any more weight, I would just yoyo between the 5-7 pounds. I got tired of dedicating so much time to these diets so I decided to just switch back to what I view as healthy eating and focus on my workouts. I feel a lot better, and I feel like my clothes are feeling looser, but I made the mistake of stepping on the scale the other day and have gained back almost ten pounds, and I can't get around this extra soft fat I have on my stomach. I am frustrated and don't know what I am doing wrong. For reference, I am 5'7, 180 pounds and eat 1,700 a day, working out 4-5 times a week.

[MarciM]

Hi @Sheilaalala Welcome to the forums. I'm sorry to hear about your frustration and struggles, but you are not alone. My guess is the majority of us have similar struggles. I know I've had the yo-yo weight and it does get worse over time, particularly for women. I'm not trying to paint a gloomy picture, but I think it's important to be realistic. Couple of questions for you to see if I can provide some helpful guidance. Can we dig into your view on healthy eating? Does that mean low fat, limited calories? Does it mean plant based whole foods? Can we talk oil and fat? Let's dissect this first, then move to fitness. I'm not claiming to have all the answers, but I'm more than happy to share what I know. 

[Knitknitfrog]

i had a simillar story - startd gaining weight in my mid thirties, and it seemed despite being careful even more weight in my fourties. i tried diets and pretty much had no sucess.. a few years ago i bought a fitbit and stepped and monitored my weight and it took just over 2 years to get down to my pre 30's weigth. i havenot monitored my intake daily  for a year now - but find that i am constantly surpirsed at how little i need to eat to not gain weight. i eat high fat, good fats, and oils, and lots of fibre, and protien - i walk 10k steps daily - and take the stairs at work, mounting up to 40 flights a day and 70+ some days - and still all i need is a small breakfast, two pieces of fruit and a small serve of protien for lunch and a small dinner. i eat a third of what my teen son eats and that is all my body needs, he is a sedentary stick thin boy - who games all day and eats fast food, i am fit and active,   aging means i need less, so  monitor my food intake for a day every few months against my calorie burn when im a bit worried about what my body is doing in terms of weight.