Feeling Discouraged

mixednic

Hello all, I am not new to my fitness pal, ive been on and off for the last year or two, but ive never really reached out to the community or used this aspect but i feel i need the support now.
My name is Nicole, and i weigh 203 last I checked, writing that number down is really hard for me as a month ago i was in the 190s, and that was before i started training for a half marathon in may and a triathlon in june. Its been really discouraging going to the gym each day and not only not losing weight, but gaining, while also still having the same measurements. Working out is supposed to help your body image but ive been really having a hard time with it, constantly comparing myself to other women. Its not that losing weight was my goal necessarily, i want to prepare my body to run further then it ever has, but i did think that perhaps i would lose some? Im trying not to become fixated on the numbers and focus on how i feel, but its been really challenging when it feels like all my hard work isnt working, (typing that my brain said, "but you can run 8 miles now, you couldn't even run .75 miles before) but i just feel like im not measuring up.

earth_echo

If you want to lose body fat, you have to eat at a deficit. Increasing exercise doesn't automatically create a deficit. You stated that your goal wasn't to lose weight and implied that your goal was to achieve better fitness. It sounds like you have. Good job!

mixednic

I think part of my problem may be that im not eating enough actually, i know on the day i ran eight miles, i still had 1100 or so calories left to eat, but i didnt feel hungry and didnt want to just eat junk to set goal. I have to be more diligent with tracking my food on my fitness to see more of whats going on, but its been hard when i dont always feel great after working out.

PinkCoconut

Feeling great about yourself doesn't always happen instantly. If you have confidence issues that takes TIME to heal and means doing a lot more work on your mental state than just the physical state. I remember that even once I got to the 50lb lost mark I wondered why I wasn't feeling so incredibly confident and it was such a shock to me when I finally realized that my weight was a SYMPTOM of my mindset. Even after losing 100lbs I still have to be very diligent with my thought patterns.

When it comes to you gaining weight, I agree with your reply. Stay consistent in tracking your food for a good couple of weeks to a month. If you're staying in range 98% of the time the weight should come off. If it doesn't, it might be a good idea to schedule an appointment with your doctor to get some blood work done.

Feel free to friend me!