I'm trying to lose 30 lbs. I'm 38 yrs old & haven't made progress in the last 6 months of trying.

clrss1

Looking for support;) I'm getting a bit discouraged. But I am encouraged by the support here and all the success stories!

edixon127

Don't be discouraged! If you're struggling with not making any progress, I'd recommend buying a food scale if you don't use one already. Measuring with cups or even worse, eyeballing it, can lead to a lot of unexpected calories.

Therealobi1

Hiyah, are you logging as accurately as you can
Are using a food scale

RunningMom1038

Good for you for coming here for encouragement instead of quitting! Others have already mentioned a food scale. If you don't have one, obviously, we all highly recommend it. In your post title, are you saying there's been absolutely no weight loss? Or has it just not been as much as you were hoping for?

2essie

Sorry to say this, but if you haven't lost any weight it is because you are eating too much, unless there is a medical problem. It is all about calories in and calories out (CICO). If you eat more than you use you will not lose weight. I don't know how many calories you are eating, or how many you should be eating but take another look and cut down if necessary or up your activity. Good look, this system works if you stick with it.

kikilareggae

Here's some tips that have worked for me thru out the years:
*Portion Control: A good rule of thumb in portion per meal is that proteins (chicken, fish, greek yogurt, etc) should be the size of your palm, veggies/greens the size of two fists, and healthy fat (olive oil, peanut butter, etc) should be the size of your thumb. This makes a HUGE difference! I am now 35 and trying to lose 20 lbs. Gained that weight in a couple years of not eating as clean and taking second portions a lot of the time. Try to eat as clean as possible. Foods that aren't processed.
*Eat something as soon as you wake every morning, this jump starts your metabolism.
*Even 10 minutes of exercise within the first 30 minutes of waking jumps your metabolism for the rest of the day!
*Cut out soda or at least drink diet and only drink it sparingly. Note: diet soda is like 1000x sweeter than regular soda and will make you crave sweets more. You choose.
*Drink your weight in water or as much as possible every day. Also when I'm done eating for the day, I drink water when I get a craving. Usually helps and sometimes water is what I needed!
*Don't eat past 7 p.m. Getting to bed earlier is great for the body.
*Cardio is great but weightlifting really does help break out of a plateau like you wouldn't believe!
*If you're sore from a workout, don't wait to feel less sore to continue the next day. Keep going! Exercising regularly cycles out the sore so much faster and you keep the momentum of your progress going this way!
You can do this! We all have bad days and get discouraged but the main thing is to develop healthy habits for life so we can maintain the weight we lose. When you really dial in and focus on calories in/calories out along with eating and exercise you will see results! It's science! Sorry for the novel but I've felt like how you're feeling before and I've done it many times (losing weight) and I've had 3 kids all c-section and I have PCOS and I have a husband that can eat ice cream every night at midnight and not gain a pound! Good luck and stick in there! Three steps forward and one or two back is still progress!

Commander_Keen

clrss1 wrote: »

Looking for support;) I'm getting a bit discouraged. But I am encouraged by the support here and all the success stories!

so whats great about your story, is what ever is not working, the rest should work. try a different way to lose weight.
Me personally, I had to start doing cardio for 2hrs before I saw my weight go down

cgvet37

I hit a wall at 200 lbs. I kept pushing and started loosing again. Part of that was slowly adjusting my caloric intake. I also changed my training program.

exercisetofitness

Just keep trying .with the great advice u get here u will do great .

str8bowbabe

Remember its baby steps...one bite, one step at a time. You can do this! I have struggled for about the last 6 months and have gained back quite a bit of the weight I originally lost but now I'm focused and back at it. Down 6 lbs since the week before Christmas. You can do this.

mazdauk

As others have said, the food scale is key. Also logging absolutely everything - even a cup of tea. (6 cups of tea with milk is close on 100 calories, 100 calories over daily requirement per day = 1lb weight gain per month). Also try to do some exercise very day - I start most days with a brief (20min or so) aerobic workout off a DVD so whatever happens I've done something! The only days I don't do this is if I have a bigger exercise session later that day/had a big exercise session (double class) the night before. You can do this!

benjaminlight

Might I recommend Gary Taubes book, "Why We Get Fat, and What to Do About It", he has another one that is a much more difficult read, "Good Calories, Bad Calories". Additionally - check out the Maffetone Method. What you put into the engine is important, but getting the engine to burn fuel efficiently is essential as well. It's not as simple as CICO, calories from certain foods do different things internally.

emoslayer84

I recommend going to your doctor. Let them know what steps you have taken to lose weight. Get a work up done. Make sure they check everything from sugar levels, cholesterol, thyroid, and anything else the doctor would recommend that would prevent you from losing weight.

I've always been in the mindset that grocery shopping on the walls of the grocery store is the best practice on the nutrition side of things. The outside perimeter of the grocery store has fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, fresh herbs and spices, lowfat dairy (sparingly, of course), sometimes fresh seafood (fish, shrimp are great), yogurt (Dannon Light & Fit are low in calories and help with the sweet tooth). The middle of the grocery store is filled with frozen meals (some aren't bad, but fresh is always better), processed box foods, sauces and soups loaded with calories and sodium, cereal, candy, crackers, and everything else.

Also, I know people are very intimidated by exercising and joining a gym. Some are not able to afford a gym membership or one is not readily available. Good news is there are free exercises readily available on YouTube and most cable providers offer free on demand fitness videos. If that is too much too fast, walk, then walk quickly, then job, then start to do the exercising videos. Buying a few weights will definitely help. You don't have to get heavy ones, but get some weights that offer some resistance. They help burn off the calories. Additionally, weights help your body's ability to burn more calories easier.

I know there is a lot of information here, but I have one more thing. Invest in a heart rate monitor that goes around your chest. This has been my best investment ($50). I wear it during my time at the gym so I can accurately log in my actual calories burned. I have found it much easier and more accurate than using MFP's formula.

One final thought, don't give up. Consider it a lifestyle change. In 2012-2013 I lost 45 pounds in 5 months. Then stopped. Since then I have gained it all back. I'm back at it again. I do have a workout buddy is is in roughly the same shape that I am in, so having someone help me be accountable and I to him is very valuable.

Good Luck!

Tacklewasher

benjaminlight wrote: »

Might I recommend Gary Taubes book, "Why We Get Fat, and What to Do About It", he has another one that is a much more difficult read, "Good Calories, Bad Calories". Additionally - check out the Maffetone Method. What you put into the engine is important, but getting the engine to burn fuel efficiently is essential as well. It's not as simple as CICO, calories from certain foods do different things internally.

I would ignore this advice.

Tighten up on your food logging, invest in a food scale and be sure the entries you are picking here are accurate ones. Usually the ones labelled USDA are the better choice. But don't make it harder than it has to be.

seska422

This flowchart has some good advice:

youdoyou2016

Tacklewasher wrote: »

benjaminlight wrote: »

Might I recommend Gary Taubes book, "Why We Get Fat, and What to Do About It", he has another one that is a much more difficult read, "Good Calories, Bad Calories". Additionally - check out the Maffetone Method. What you put into the engine is important, but getting the engine to burn fuel efficiently is essential as well. It's not as simple as CICO, calories from certain foods do different things internally.

I would ignore this advice.

Tighten up on your food logging, invest in a food scale and be sure the entries you are picking here are accurate ones. Usually the ones labelled USDA are the better choice. But don't make it harder than it has to be.

If I may share respectfully my experience: I wouldn't dismiss the Taub's suggestion so quickly. Foods affect people differently. (Everything from allergies to things that "don't agree with us" -- and, obviously, we all seem to be built the same way, right? So, even with the same processes going on with our digestion and use of calories, somehow, for some reason, the impact can be different from person to person.)

When I eat bread for about a week and continue to track calories so that I am at the same amount as when I am not eating bread, my weight goes up 3-4 lbs, goes all to my belly, and my weight loss stops. We're talking 1 slice of plain toast, 100 calories with me deleting the 100 calories of egg w/ butter. The math doesn't add up, right? I don't know why that happens, but it always does, and I am diligent about weighing and measuring everything -- even a year into this process and losing over 100 lbs. I do not eyeball or guess anything, ever.

I appreciate that if CICO works for someone, then this process consists of weighing, measuring, doing some arithmetic, and getting used to smaller portions until smaller portions seems normal.

But for me, I have to be very careful about what I eat, not just the # of calories. When I stop eating the bread, then I start losing again. Again, the math doesn't add up. So, OP in addition to what this person is offering / contributing about logging, getting a food scale, etc (definitely do these things, IMO), I'd say reading the book wouldn't hurt ... And you might benefit from some experimenting. Who knows ... it might give you an idea or two that gets the scale moving in the direction you'd like.

mariesofi4108

My biggest advice is DON'T GIVE UP!! I used to be 5'6 and 155 and have managed to loose 25 pounds by running cross country. I went from not being able to jog the block to running a half marathon without stopping after only several months of training. I seriously recommended it as the best weight loss exercise

clrss1

Thank you everyone!! This is all fantastic positive feedback and insight. I really appreciate it. Starting with a food scale and morning workouts (even if short) and being more thoughtful about the portions.. Must. Keep. Trying.

Tacklewasher

youdoyou2016 wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

benjaminlight wrote: »

Might I recommend Gary Taubes book, "Why We Get Fat, and What to Do About It", he has another one that is a much more difficult read, "Good Calories, Bad Calories". Additionally - check out the Maffetone Method. What you put into the engine is important, but getting the engine to burn fuel efficiently is essential as well. It's not as simple as CICO, calories from certain foods do different things internally.

I would ignore this advice.

Tighten up on your food logging, invest in a food scale and be sure the entries you are picking here are accurate ones. Usually the ones labelled USDA are the better choice. But don't make it harder than it has to be.

If I may share respectfully my experience: I wouldn't dismiss the Taub's suggestion so quickly. Foods affect people differently. (Everything from allergies to things that "don't agree with us" -- and, obviously, we all seem to be built the same way, right? So, even with the same processes going on with our digestion and use of calories, somehow, for some reason, the impact can be different from person to person.)

Trouble is that Taubes doesn't seem to recognize EXACTLY what you are saying and is so firmly in the evils of sugar to not be worth the effort. Yes, food affects people differently. Taubes ignores that, for the most part.

In short, I am comfortable dismissing Taubes as a quack on the level of Oprah or Dr. Oz. Maybe there is a nugget in there that is worthwhile, but it is hidden by the garbage he writes.