I have exactly 15 pounds to lose to be at my goal but the scale hasn't changed for over a year

retro_gamer

My weight has more or less maintained at 205 pounds for over a year, my old weight was 189 pounds and I really want to get back to that but I can't find the motivation to eat at below 2,000 calories for more than a day so I'm stuck in a rut where I gain and lose the same 5 pounds over and over again and it's been like that for over a year now. It's kind of like that movie Groundhog Day but not funny, more or less makes me want to punch a hole in a wall.

mph323

OK, take a breath. No wall-punching. You'll need to do some internal research to find your motivation. Why do you want to get down to 189? Are there activities you like to do that are easier at that weight? Do you have favorite clothes that you'd like to wear again? Do you just feel like you look better at 189? Get a focus. Understand why you want to lose the weight. Then make that a priority - and this is more about will-power than motivation. You have 2000 calories to play with - at whatever point in the day you reach that limit, stop eating. Period. At the end of the day, weighing 189 needs to be more important to you than over-eating. I wish you the very best of luck - stick around this site, read the posts and drop in any time you need a push in the right direction!

Unknown

This content has been removed.

fowlkes59

I weighed 175 in April this year. I got rid of my car and walked as much as I could. I eat healthier now that I don't have a car. Exercise counts alot. I tracked my steps and found that i walked over 10k steps a day. I drink a lot of water and herbal tea. I cut back on my sugar intake alot. Now, as of today, I am at 160 and need new pants. It's not easy but it's worth sweating over. Good luck on your weight loss.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

mph323

retro_gamer wrote: »

The reason I want to weigh 189 pounds is because that's what I weighed at my lightest ever, and that was 5 years ago, I used to be incredibly obese

OK that's a good start. You've done some hard work to get to where you are now - congratulations It sounds like your strongest motivation to lose the weight is because you liked how you looked at 189. Fair enough. Do you have a particular look you're going for? It might be motivating to buy a few clothing items that will fit when you reach your goal. Try them on periodically - as they get closer to fitting you might find that the desire to wear the clothes and have the look you want helps keep you on the straight and narrow

mph323

retro_gamer wrote: »

And I eat like a bird I'm always starving you'd think I'd be losing

Are you tracking your calories? Your say you need to eat under 2000 to lose the weight you want - do you weigh and measure your food so you know exactly how many calories you're eating?

goldthistime

Maybe you'd have better luck continuing to eat 2000 calories a day and create the deficit with exercise.

Or, if you haven't tried this already, you might try playing with your macros to see if there is a different composition that would help you feel more full.

Lastly, on the days you try to eat less, how much less are you aiming for? Less than 1750?

ninerbuff

retro_gamer wrote: »

My weight has more or less maintained at 205 pounds for over a year, my old weight was 189 pounds and I really want to get back to that but I can't find the motivation to eat at below 2,000 calories for more than a day so I'm stuck in a rut where I gain and lose the same 5 pounds over and over again and it's been like that for over a year now. It's kind of like that movie Groundhog Day but not funny, more or less makes me want to punch a hole in a wall.

Till you fix that, then you'll stay where you're at. Make the decision and commit. If not, don't expect anything to happen.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

retro_gamer wrote: »

And I eat like a bird I'm always starving you'd think I'd be losing

You're NOT eating like a bird or you'd be losing weight.
You just stated you DON'T eat under 2,000 calories. Birds eat way less than that.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

gothchiq

If u don't eat under 2000 idk why u feel starving unless you pick low volume high calorie foods. Maybe u need more vegetables. That's how I fill the hole.

Blitzia

ninerbuff wrote: »

retro_gamer wrote: »

And I eat like a bird I'm always starving you'd think I'd be losing

You're NOT eating like a bird or you'd be losing weight.
You just stated you DON'T eat under 2,000 calories. Birds eat way less than that.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I agree with this. If you're eating 2000 calories and you feel starving, you may want to change up what you're eating. I eat 1200 calories and while I wouldn't say that's plenty of food, I'm not really starving. (I'm 5 foot exaclty so 1200 works for me, I'm not recommending it to anyone else, just using it to point out that you can find ways to make your calories more filling.) I don't know what you're eating now, but there may be some substitutions you can use to shave off calories and either eat less than 2000 or feel more satiated at 2000 calories. For example:

1. Replacing full fat dairy with low or non fat dairy (fat free cheese, low fat greek yogurt instead of sour cream, etc.)
2. Leaner cuts of meat (I like 93/7 ground beef instead of 85/5 - I don't even bother replacing ground beef with ground turkey because lean ground beef can be just as low calorie)
3. Using less oil - pick things that are grilled or baked instead of fried, use less oil (or none!) when you cook yourself
4. Vegetables instead of grains and starches - cauliflower instead of rice, zucchini noodles, squash noodles, etc.

There are a ton of substitutions like this. You may want to check out the food and nutrition thread or consider opening your diary and asking for suggestions. It's definitely impressive that you've maintained and not gained weight for a year, but if you want to keep losing, the unfortunate truth is that you either have to eat less or move more. There's no other solution.

RodaRose

What foods do you cook or prepare?

kenyonhaff

Blitzia wrote: »

ninerbuff wrote: »

retro_gamer wrote: »

And I eat like a bird I'm always starving you'd think I'd be losing

You're NOT eating like a bird or you'd be losing weight.
You just stated you DON'T eat under 2,000 calories. Birds eat way less than that.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I agree with this. If you're eating 2000 calories and you feel starving, you may want to change up what you're eating. I eat 1200 calories and while I wouldn't say that's plenty of food, I'm not really starving. (I'm 5 foot exaclty so 1200 works for me, I'm not recommending it to anyone else, just using it to point out that you can find ways to make your calories more filling.) I don't know what you're eating now, but there may be some substitutions you can use to shave off calories and either eat less than 2000 or feel more satiated at 2000 calories. For example:

1. Replacing full fat dairy with low or non fat dairy (fat free cheese, low fat greek yogurt instead of sour cream, etc.)
2. Leaner cuts of meat (I like 93/7 ground beef instead of 85/5 - I don't even bother replacing ground beef with ground turkey because lean ground beef can be just as low calorie)
3. Using less oil - pick things that are grilled or baked instead of fried, use less oil (or none!) when you cook yourself
4. Vegetables instead of grains and starches - cauliflower instead of rice, zucchini noodles, squash noodles, etc.

There are a ton of substitutions like this. You may want to check out the food and nutrition thread or consider opening your diary and asking for suggestions. It's definitely impressive that you've maintained and not gained weight for a year, but if you want to keep losing, the unfortunate truth is that you either have to eat less or move more. There's no other solution.

^ Exactly this. It might be really hard to hear, but there is simply something wrong with your math - your CICO is wrong for some reason and you need to figure out what it is. It's likely portion sizes but you need to figure that out. If you really are logging EVERYTHING correctly, and using a food scale and so on, it's time to make a doctor appointment to rule out other issues.

If you really are hungry, that's something to address as well. For me, upping my protein content helped a LOT. So does fiber. I personally found a lot of success with high protein fiber bar snacks. (Note: check that they are indeed high protein and fiber and not the average granola bar.)

Pamela_Sue

One thing I learned very quickly. "The math doesn't lie". I told my dietician I couldn't handle less than 1,800 calories a day because of hypoglycemia. My weight loss corresponded accordingly with very slow weight loss, just as she predicted. I went to 1,700 calories everyday (eating up my 200 calorie exercise deficit) and did only slightly better. Then I did what I thought was impossible and went to 1,500 most days (1,700 if I have a blood sugar drop). I truly did not think this was even possible for me, I would have told you I could NOT live on this few calories per day. But, IF I manage my calories and food groups well, I CAN live on 1,500 calories per day. And I am losing at a reasonable, but steady pace. I realized what I have always told myself and what I am actually capable of are two very different things. We are capable of far more than we realize. Hope this helps in your own journey. It IS a journey.

cerise_noir

mph323 wrote: »

retro_gamer wrote: »

And I eat like a bird I'm always starving you'd think I'd be losing

Are you tracking your calories? Your say you need to eat under 2000 to lose the weight you want - do you weigh and measure your food so you know exactly how many calories you're eating?

This.

I also think you'd benefit from prelogging your day and prepping meals for the week.

retro_gamer wrote: »

And I eat like a bird I'm always starving you'd think I'd be losing

Heh. My birds eat little bits often throughout the day... they're little piggies.