Ready to Give Up!

lovesdaisies

Okay, so I have experienced yet ANOTHER gain this morning, and am up a total of 2 pounds since last week. I lost 3.4 pounds initially - my first week and a half on this round of my "diet" and I have been gaining since. It is SOOOOOOOO disappointing, and I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I have been a Weight Watchers member for 3 years and have been counting POINTS since then. This past month I decided to count calories instead, to try to shed my last 8 pounds because I have been at a plateau for MONTHS.

MFP has me at 1200 calories per day, but I'm starting to think that's too much. I eat all my calories, WAS eating all of my exercise calories (cut those out this week because it certainly wasn't working) now I'm thinking about going down to 1000 calories per day to see how that works.

I do cardio 7 days a week. Work out with a trainer one day per week, and do one extra HEAVY gym day once a week. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG????? I have to shed this last 6 pounds. I am obsessing about it.

Help!! :mad:

lovesdaisies

Okay, so I have experienced yet ANOTHER gain this morning, and am up a total of 2 pounds since last week. I lost 3.4 pounds initially - my first week and a half on this round of my "diet" and I have been gaining since. It is SOOOOOOOO disappointing, and I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I have been a Weight Watchers member for 3 years and have been counting POINTS since then. This past month I decided to count calories instead, to try to shed my last 8 pounds because I have been at a plateau for MONTHS.

MFP has me at 1200 calories per day, but I'm starting to think that's too much. I eat all my calories, WAS eating all of my exercise calories (cut those out this week because it certainly wasn't working) now I'm thinking about going down to 1000 calories per day to see how that works.

I do cardio 7 days a week. Work out with a trainer one day per week, and do one extra HEAVY gym day once a week. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG????? I have to shed this last 6 pounds. I am obsessing about it.

Help!! :mad:

MIDGEKIN

Well Im not a professional but it really sounds like YOUR NOT EATING ENOUGH!!! I know it sounds weird but if you are exercising that much and only eating 1200 cals your sending your body into starvation mode and its holding on to everything you eat! If you only have 6 lbs to your goal you are probably in much better shape then when you started which means you probably have more muscle than before, and that alone can eat up your calories! Don't overdo it, just add like 100 or so more + plus what you earn but DO NOT cut back any more, I really dont think youll get the results you want!

lovesdaisies

Thanks for your reply. I have tried eating more and that doesn't work either. I really think I need to cut more out - at least for a week or so. Like I said, I've been doing Weight Watchers for 3 years. I went from 144 to my low of 109 and am now hovering at 118. My BEST plateau - and the weight I was most happy with - was 112. If I could just get back down there and MAINTAIN I'd be a happy camper.

The muscle weight thing freaks me out. I really want my clothes to feel baggy, and want to weigh 112. That's my goal. THEN I'll work on muscle weight. I don't want to build muscle if it means weighing more. Does that sound crazy??? At least if I saw a difference in the fit of my clothing, I would be okay with it. But I'm not. And that is frustrating when I'm passing up things like pizza and cupcakes at office meetings and birthday parties! I WANT A CUPCAKE!! :-)

Again, thanks for your reply. I appreciate it.

Dropka

You could have gained some because of the muscle weight. It weighs more and takes up less room. You can't get rid of all the fat and THEN get muscle. It doesn't work that way. You've come sooo far. You just have to do one pound at a time and not get too anxious about it. Keep up your good work and it will happen!

rem1979

I would also suggest NOT cutting calories. You are working out alot and you need to fuel your body. If you are gaining muscle, that is a good thing. The scale may not move but eventually your clothes with fit better. Don't obsess over that number the scale is showing you. Give yourself time and make sure you are eating all your calories. I always eat all my calories and ALWAYS eat my exercise calories.

MFP also has me at 1200 cals to lose 2 lbs a week. What do you have your weight loss goal set to, i.e. 1 lb/week, 2 lb/week etc? You are much smaller than me. Since you are so close to your goal weight, you should be eating more. Your body might not want to get rid of anymore weight because of that.

MontanaGirl

Also, if you only have 6 lbs left to lose, you're body is going to fight you hard on it. Your body also doesn't think in terms of pounds but where it is comfortable and wants to be. Banks has pointed out many times in situations like this that it will take time and maybe your body doesn't want to give up anymore because it is healthy. As healthy as it can be. Maybe that last 6 pounds you want to lose your body is saying - no. In which case, you can eventually win the battle with your body, but if you can't maintain that weight - and your body will fight - then maybe it's time to focus more on being fit than on losing those few pounds. Also - increasing your fitness level may eventually lead to your body willingly giving up those few lbs.

One other thought - where is your sodium intake at??? Excess sodium will cause weight gain also - though it is temporary.

banks1850

Montana took some of my thunder. :happy:

loves,
I know nobody wants to hear that it's gonna take a while, but that's the truth of it. The last few pounds are not going to come right off like the first few. At this point, your body is pretty satisfied with where it is, there is no longer big fat reserves for it to draw from. It's scrapping extra fuel from the bottom of the barrel at this point. Also, you mentioned that you want to get to your goal THEN start trying to build muscle, I think that's the wrong way to go about it for multiple reasons, 1st women don't bulk up like men, you're muscles won't get "larger" unless you go on a hard core weight training routine. 2nd muscle burns fat, even at rest, if you don't have a solid muscle base, you are making it harder on yourself to lose weight.
Here is a post I put out recently that might give you an idea of what to expect, I would say you are near the end of Phase 5 (there is a phase 6 but it's further down the post, as I forgot to add it initially)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

Don't give in, your almost there!
Best of luck.

mommared53

Montana took some of my thunder. :happy:

loves,
I know nobody wants to hear that it's gonna take a while, but that's the truth of it. The last few pounds are not going to come right off like the first few. At this point, your body is pretty satisfied with where it is, there is no longer big fat reserves for it to draw from. It's scrapping extra fuel from the bottom of the barrel at this point. Also, you mentioned that you want to get to your goal THEN start trying to build muscle, I think that's the wrong way to go about it for multiple reasons, 1st women don't bulk up like men, you're muscles won't get "larger" unless you go on a hard core weight training routine. 2nd muscle burns fat, even at rest, if you don't have a solid muscle base, you are making it harder on yourself to lose weight.
Here is a post I put out recently that might give you an idea of what to expect, I would say you are near the end of Phase 5 (there is a phase 6 but it's further down the post, as I forgot to add it initially)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

Don't give in, your almost there!
Best of luck.

mommared53

Montana took some of my thunder. :happy:

loves,
I know nobody wants to hear that it's gonna take a while, but that's the truth of it. The last few pounds are not going to come right off like the first few. At this point, your body is pretty satisfied with where it is, there is no longer big fat reserves for it to draw from. It's scrapping extra fuel from the bottom of the barrel at this point. Also, you mentioned that you want to get to your goal THEN start trying to build muscle, I think that's the wrong way to go about it for multiple reasons, 1st women don't bulk up like men, you're muscles won't get "larger" unless you go on a hard core weight training routine. 2nd muscle burns fat, even at rest, if you don't have a solid muscle base, you are making it harder on yourself to lose weight.
Here is a post I put out recently that might give you an idea of what to expect, I would say you are near the end of Phase 5 (there is a phase 6 but it's further down the post, as I forgot to add it initially)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

Don't give in, your almost there!
Best of luck.

Oops! I hit "post reply" too soon.

I re-read that post then printed it out for future reference for when I may need it. Thanks Banks.

proudmama0118

If Weight Watchers was working for you, why not keep 2 food logs for a few days? Keep one on here and keep one points journal. That will give you a good idea of how many "points" you are eating since you switched to counting calories. It may be that you really aren't eating enough. I know it is very hard to get out of the points mindset! I did WW for several years as well. After seeing how everything stacks up I would adjust your calories to match what your points would have been. Just a thought!! For me I have noticed that ever since I uped my calories from 1300 to 1500 I have been losing better. Go figure!

jcummings69

I just want to throw out there that you might not be getting accurate exercise calories unless you are using a heart monitor. MFP was telling me that I was burning twice as much as I actually was!

lovesdaisies

I actually go by the calories burned on the treadmill / bike / elliptical machine at the gym. I chart my calories in by hand - not through the MFP site. I find they are more accurate that way. And when I work out with my trainer, there is no way I can figure out what I've burned. I just know that he KICKS MY BUTT once a week and I leave wobbly-legged and woozy!!! A good wobbly-legged, but rubbery nonetheless!! :-)

I think I might need to do more challenging cardio more often. I powerwalk outdoors four days a week, and do the gym cardio a couple of times per week, then the trainer on a separate day, with one other day of weight workouts. Maybe if I trade in a couple of my outdoor days for indoor days I'll start burning a bit more. I definitely work out harder at the gym, then when I just walk in my neighborhood. But I prefer the neighborhood because I like to be out in the sun and see people, etc.

Thanks for your suggestion, though. I may try to up my cardio - that could be a problem.

lovesdaisies

Everyone!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm going to print this page out and hang in on my fridge for inspiration! You all are the best!!!!

I'm going to take all of your suggestions into consideration, throw them against the wall and see what sticks.

Again, thank you! Much appreciated.

neome90

Hang in there! Don't give up on that last mile. There is an interesting and very informational post on the recent posts board that you might find helpful. It is: "700 calories a day and not losing". It really enlightened me. Best wishes to meeting your goal.

edyta

Why don't you buy a heart rate monitor? It will tell you more accurately how many cals you burnt doing weights, cardio or whatever else Maybe you were burning less cals than machine says - that's how it was in my case.
The lighter you are the less cals you burn.

How much do you weigh right now? Maybe you are really close to your perfect weight and it's time you stop loosing?
Try ALL this links and see how much you should weigh and how much of that is body fat:
http://www.shape.com/fitness_tools/ideal_weight/
http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html
http://www.self.com/fitness/nutrition/calculators/happyWeight

Why is weight so important to you? I think muscles are better because they make you look healthy and sexy and have more strength in everyday life

GOOD LUCK :flowerforyou: