About to lose my mind! Need experienced dieter! I'm just not losing!!?

Thistooshallpass710

I don't really know to begin so please bare with me! I've lost and gained at least 5 times in past years so you could call me a yoyo dieter. This is my current situation. I'm 45, started exercising and eating healthy again since the beginning of February so FEBRUARY , MARCH and we are almost at the end of APRIL.... I lost 16 lbs.
I'll have like 1-2 weeks with zero loss then lose like 2 lbs. Right now it's been 3 weeks and I have lost 0!!! I eat pretty clean and have changed my eating habits drastically!
I was eating like 1,250 calories a day and my only exercise was like 40 min brisk walk. Now for the past 2 and a half weeks I've been using the elliptical ( started 15 min a day/5 days a week) now for the past al pay 2 weeks I've been using the elliptical 30-40 min a day and my current week I've done an intense fat burning elliptical workout . Got on the scale this morning and I'm still weighing what I did 3 weeks ago.makes me want to cry seriously. I signed up here to journal what I eat and its suggested that I actually eat about 1,500 calories a day. So I upped my calories to around 1,400ish a day. In order to lose 1.5 lbs a week.
I tried low carb 2 times and it's NOT for me. I know I will not commit to a lifetime change of eating that way. I can however do low fat, medium carbs. I cut out completely fast food. I cut out most of dairy, low sugar. I don't drink sodas and never really did.
I need a diet buddy bad./someone that is committed to sharing tips, suggestions, and not to disappear lol

I just think that for almost 3 months of cutting my calories down by more than 50% I should
Have lost a bit more.

atypicalsmith

Welcome to the world of healthy eating. You are not going to lose the same amount of weight every week, hence the saying, "Weight loss is not linear". You are going to lose a LOT some weeks, not lose anything at all other weeks, and even gain a pound or two once in a while. Your body is not a machine. Sixteen pounds in less than three months is awesome. I've lost 13 pounds since January and am totally stoked. Stop being obsessed; it took you a lot longer to gain those pounds (probably five or ten pounds a year, tops) than you want to take to lose them. All you'll do at this point is get discouraged and give up, which is the worst thing you can do. Read the posts on the Maintenance Message Board and you will read lots of stories from people who lost the weight slowly, but regularly, and stuck with the program. Best of luck to you.

ElkeKNJ

It might be that you are eating more than you think, by not weigheing your food accurately, or it might be that your body is holding onto water as you just recently started a new and intense workout routine, but, as atypicalsmith just said: just be patient, you are doing great. Keep at it.

atypicalsmith

She's lost 16 pounds since February. Read her post.

Thistooshallpass710

I'm weighing my foods as well on a digital scale. Logging them down. The only thing I have forgotten to log is a cup of coffee and that has 2 calories so it's not there

StaciMarie1974

I have two words for you: water weight. Its the culprit and explains why you have some weeks with no change and others with big change.

Water weight potential sources: high sodium on any given day, stress, lack of sleep, new fitness routine (causes muscles to need more water), and as women: TOM/hormones. Tends to be temporary, 2-5 days lasting effects.

I suggest you to compare weighins monthly. Weigh as often as you want, but compare weight now to weight 4 weeks/30 days/1 month ago. That will help you see the overall trend.

atypicalsmith

She doesn't need to lose more weight. She's lost 16 pounds since February. Any more and she'll be anorexic.

jenncornelsen

16lb is great! how quick u lose depends on how much u have to lose and according to ur profile u only have 29 lbsmore to go. im not too sure why your dissapointed? i lost 15 in that same period and i am ecstatic! some weeks i gained some i stayed the same some i lost. be proud of what u have accomplished and that u did it in a healthy way. it will keep going down just give it time. atypicalsmith why do u say she would be anorexic if she lost more? am i missing something?

jennifershoo

atypicalsmith wrote: »

She doesn't need to lose more weight. She's lost 16 pounds since February. Any more and she'll be anorexic.

:huh:

You don't even know her starting weight? How can you say that?

Thistooshallpass710

I'm 40 lbs over what I'm comfortable with. I'm short at 5tt 1.5" in height. I never look like what I weigh and weighing 145 lbs I'm a size 6. Sounds impossible but I have pics and I look like I weigh 125 and not muscular at all in fact the opposite lol. I don't go by doctor charts weighing at 110 lbs. I would look like I'm dying. I'm a medium frame.

Thistooshallpass710

I'm at 177, 137 would be great but I felt my best honestly at 145-150 even

atypicalsmith

jenncornelsen wrote: »

16lb is great! how quick u lose depends on how much u have to lose and according to ur profile u only have 29 lbsmore to go. im not too sure why your dissapointed? i lost 15 in that same period and i am ecstatic! some weeks i gained some i stayed the same some i lost. be proud of what u have accomplished and that u did it in a healthy way. it will keep going down just give it time. atypicalsmith why do u say she would be anorexic if she lost more? am i missing something?

Yes, you are definitely missing something. She's not morbidly obese. She started out about 45 pounds overweight, if you count what she says she's already lost and what she has told MFP what she wants to still lose. She's down 16 pounds in only three months and thinks she isn't losing fast enough. I feel that is cause for concern. Of course, I'm just an old lady with nothing else to do.

jenncornelsen

atypicalsmith wrote: »

jenncornelsen wrote: »

16lb is great! how quick u lose depends on how much u have to lose and according to ur profile u only have 29 lbsmore to go. im not too sure why your dissapointed? i lost 15 in that same period and i am ecstatic! some weeks i gained some i stayed the same some i lost. be proud of what u have accomplished and that u did it in a healthy way. it will keep going down just give it time. atypicalsmith why do u say she would be anorexic if she lost more? am i missing something?

Yes, you are definitely missing something. She's not morbidly obese. She started out about 45 pounds overweight, if you count what she says she's already lost and what she has told MFP what she wants to still lose. She's down 16 pounds in only three months and thinks she isn't losing fast enough. I feel that is cause for concern. Of course, I'm just an old lady with nothing else to do.

sorry u had said she shouldnt lose any more. i think u meant she doesnt need to lose quicker than she is..... which i completely agree with

jenncornelsen

op your doing great. there will be stalls. it will go slower the closer u get. be patient and try and celebrate the small victories, such as lose clothes, better workouts, more energy. the scale isnt the only indicator of improvement!

svirds

Your diary is not open, so can't peek there to give advise. A 1-2 pound weight loss per week ON AVERAGE (usually a pound per week on average) is good and lasting. Means you are losing correctly for the long term. There are many factors affecting weight loss - age/hormones, exercise, and certainly calories in and out. I have found that my body is very sensitive to calories within about 100 calories - 1200 I don't lose, 1300 I do, 1400 I don't as easily. You might want to watch that and see if it makes a difference. I'm super active - burn on average 800 - 1200 cals a day. I initially thought I would drop more rapidly because of the exercise, but I don't. I'm 47 - I think menopause has it's drawbacks to weight loss too - it's not impossible, just slower for me. It's been slow and steady - 47 lbs so far!

Thistooshallpass710

I'm learning to navigate this site so I'll check my settings to see how to share my diary

StaciMarie1974

We see things on TV where people lose 5-10 pounds or more a week and think we should be able to do the same. Its just not realistic though. 1-2 pounds a week, unless you have something extreme (like 100+ pounds to lose) is good. 16 pounds in 3 months is AWESOME. Yes it can be frustrating to feel like you've lost nothing in the last 2-3 weeks, but some days you need to trust the science and keep going because you know its the right thing to do. And in a week or 5 the scale will show further results. Just not every week.

Thistooshallpass710

Ok my diary is public for now

Thistooshallpass710

Also I haven't hit menopause and at last year's checkup it seems like the doctor felt I was far from it according to my hormone levels, mo they period on time like clockwork still. Still I have no doubt that might have some connection

svirds

Ok - just peeked at your diary...you might want to watch your sodium levels. They are high for the days you have entered in your food. This might be cause for some water retention and therefore the scale not reflecting a loss. But you know your body best... Continue entering your food with consistency, watching sodium, and it wouldn't surprise me if you see a change. Also, pick one day a week - same day each week - to enter your weight into MFP. If you want to weigh daily, that's fine, but track it only once a week at the same time/day. You will be able to visually see your progress better that way - and it will be tracking more meaningful weight loss that way. You should see a 1/2 to 2 pound a week change. Feel free to friend me if you want more support! You're doing great! I agree with what StaciMarie1974 said... trust the science and trust the process...it's working! 16 pounds is a great loss so far!!

Quasita

I put on and lose 15-20lbs a month from hormone changes alone. First two weeks I'm down, then the last two weeks I'll weigh up to 30lbs more than I started the month at.

Averaging 2lbs/week with less than 50lbs to lose to start with is almost too quick of a loss, and for someone close to menopause (while not there, if your age is in that age range), an age where the metabolism typically slows down, I'd say that you have to be a bit more reasonable.

Me, I don't lose anything at all if I increase my exercise to a level that drops my NET calories to less than half my daily function need. That is, if your body needs, say, 1800 calories to function, you are eating 1400 calories because you want to lose weight, but then also exercising to a level where you burn 400-600 calories a day, you are effectively giving your body only 800-1000 calories a day to function. This is the average intake level for the anorexia nervosa and bulimia patient. Me, I actually had days where my NET calories were *negative* which means I was actually purging via exercise.

The reality is, you have increased your activity, but you have not stated that you have increased your intake to properly fuel that activity. Exercise is not what generates the majority of your weight loss... body efficiency and calorie deficits do. However, one of the biggest mistakes people make is believing that to lose weight quickly, they simply need to increase that deficit. At a certain point, the body goes into adaptive measures, some studies suggesting that these adaptive tendencies can form in about 48 hours.

If I were you, I'd just chill out and stop fretting about the numbers, and focus on eating right and being active. Ultimately, it's the internal numbers that count... The BP, the cholesterol, the vitamins and minerals... The indicators of heart attack and stroke. That's how I measure my success. If I went by weight and BMI, I'd be perpetually depressed.

atypicalsmith

Quasita wrote: »

I put on and lose 15-20lbs a month from hormone changes alone. First two weeks I'm down, then the last two weeks I'll weigh up to 30lbs more than I started the month at.

Averaging 2lbs/week with less than 50lbs to lose to start with is almost too quick of a loss, and for someone close to menopause (while not there, if your age is in that age range), an age where the metabolism typically slows down, I'd say that you have to be a bit more reasonable.

Me, I don't lose anything at all if I increase my exercise to a level that drops my NET calories to less than half my daily function need. That is, if your body needs, say, 1800 calories to function, you are eating 1400 calories because you want to lose weight, but then also exercising to a level where you burn 400-600 calories a day, you are effectively giving your body only 800-1000 calories a day to function. This is the average intake level for the anorexia nervosa and bulimia patient. Me, I actually had days where my NET calories were *negative* which means I was actually purging via exercise.

The reality is, you have increased your activity, but you have not stated that you have increased your intake to properly fuel that activity. Exercise is not what generates the majority of your weight loss... body efficiency and calorie deficits do. However, one of the biggest mistakes people make is believing that to lose weight quickly, they simply need to increase that deficit. At a certain point, the body goes into adaptive measures, some studies suggesting that these adaptive tendencies can form in about 48 hours.

If I were you, I'd just chill out and stop fretting about the numbers, and focus on eating right and being active. Ultimately, it's the internal numbers that count... The BP, the cholesterol, the vitamins and minerals... The indicators of heart attack and stroke. That's how I measure my success. If I went by weight and BMI, I'd be perpetually depressed.

Just read your profile. You are heavy enough to gain or lose 15 to 20 pounds a month, OP is not.

JuliaHaleFitness

First thing to do is to start to weight train! Strength training will build muscle which BURNS fat and calories! Steady state cardio is wonderful for general health but not necessarily for weight loss. If you want to drop pounds, it sounds like you already have a great cardio base. Add in the strength training. Lifting weights will help you drop fat, boost your metabolism so that you will burn more calories even at rest, and tone you up so that you start to get some lift and definition to your body!

Don't be nervous about eating 1500 calories. I'm just under 5'4" and eat that daily and with added exercise I still think it's too little! If you are exercising like crazy, your body actually needs those calories!!

Focus on protein and greens. Don't eliminate carbs as carbs are your body's fuel source. If you feel that you'd like to try low carbs some times, I recommended doing it in waves. I.e. pick 2 days out of the week, say your days off from the gym, and go low carb (not below 100g). On the other days, eat normally but try to eat less carbs at night. See how you feel!

atypicalsmith

juliah1234 wrote: »

First thing to do is to start to weight train! Strength training will build muscle which BURNS fat and calories! Steady state cardio is wonderful for general health but not necessarily for weight loss. If you want to drop pounds, it sounds like you already have a great cardio base. Add in the strength training. Lifting weights will help you drop fat, boost your metabolism so that you will burn more calories even at rest, and tone you up so that you start to get some lift and definition to your body!

Don't be nervous about eating 1500 calories. I'm just under 5'4" and eat that daily and with added exercise I still think it's too little! If you are exercising like crazy, your body actually needs those calories!!

Focus on protein and greens. Don't eliminate carbs as carbs are your body's fuel source. If you feel that you'd like to try low carbs some times, I recommended doing it in waves. I.e. pick 2 days out of the week, say your days off from the gym, and go low carb (not below 100g). On the other days, eat normally but try to eat less carbs at night. See how you feel!

Agreed!

booksandchocolate12

You've lost 16 lbs in 12 weeks?

I'd say the only thing you need to adjust is your expectations.

PAV8888

Hi OP:

First of all great job on the weight loss so far. I know you are concerned you haven't seen a loss for several days; but, in a way this is a good thing, because it may be helping bring your weight loss close to the healthy weight loss range of losing between 0.5% and 1% of your total bodyweight a week!

If you have not changed your eating habits significantly, and have changed your exercise habits drastically, chances are extremely high you are retaining water because of your exercise. There is also a very low probability that the extra exercise is resulting in a decrease in your non-exercise activities such that there is a net reduction to your deficit. This is more common with weekend warriors as opposed to daily exercisers.

I would recommend that you also use www.weightgrapher.com and/or www.trendweight.com and enter your daily weigh ins there too. This will help smooth out the occasional blip or stall related to temporary water retention.

In closing sodium, sudden increase in exercise, and hormonal issues can all result in water retention that masks your weight changes for several weeks at a time.

Much more importantly I do not understand neither your desire to accelerate your already rapid weight loss, nor the intense cardio kick you seem to have gone on!

While cardio and exercise are great for your health, they are not necessary for weight loss unless the extra calories you earn and eat back are necessary for you to be able to eat enough nutrients (in the case of shorter/older/lighter individuals than yourself), or are necessary for you to be able to eat enough to be satisfied so that you can stick with the plan.

Exercise for health. Eat for weight loss.

PAV8888

Are you serious? The OP has left the room. Her username is apparently invalid!

kern11

and you're not happy with 16 lbs lost since January why?

Thistooshallpass710

I haven't left guys, I just realized that I got a random username suggested by MFP. I just now figured out how to change my username. I'm still here , I'm a real person lol and I'm making this commitment.
I do need weight training! It's my nemesis I swear!!! Lol hate it with a passion.
I guess I need to accept that I'm older and weightloss will be slower. I could easily lose 8-10 lbs a month a few yrs ago.
I mentioned to my sis that I lost 16 lbs since February and she thought that was a bit low considering all the work I've been doing. Basically 5 lbs-ish a month.

janejellyroll

Thistooshallpass710 wrote: »

I haven't left guys, I just realized that I got a random username suggested by MFP. I just now figured out how to change my username. I'm still here , I'm a real person lol and I'm making this commitment.
I do need weight training! It's my nemesis I swear!!! Lol hate it with a passion.
I guess I need to accept that I'm older and weightloss will be slower. I could easily lose 8-10 lbs a month a few yrs ago.
I mentioned to my sis that I lost 16 lbs since February and she thought that was a bit low considering all the work I've been doing. Basically 5 lbs-ish a month.

There is nothing slow about five pounds a month. Your expectations don't seem realistic.

jennifershoo

booksandchocolate12 wrote: »

You've lost 16 lbs in 12 weeks?

I'd say the only thing you need to adjust is your expectations.

This^