Losing motivation!

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SpookyElectric
SpookyElectric Posts: 56 Member
in Motivation and Support
Help! I've been on a huge health kick now for three weeks - this includes eating a very healthy low calorie & low carb diet, really ramping up my excercise and cutting out alcohol.

I generally eat quite healthily anyway, but I have made an extra effort to cut out the snacking and more importantly, the beer & wine!

40 minutes cardio in the morning, 40 minutes in the evening and some kettle bell training (concentrating on core body excercises). This is a significant increase on my previous activities!

After three weeks of this, there is no change to my weight or body shape (I have been doing the measurement thing too) and I'm feeling quite disheartened and wondering what the point is. This morning, I didn't bother with the training as it seemed so pointless - I expected at least a little difference after three weeks.

Can anyone offer any insights or assistance...? If not, I'm openign a bottle of wine when I get home!
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Replies

  • LarryDUk
    LarryDUk Posts: 279 Member
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    Yeah, I would just give up. Clearly it will never work.
  • jamielynas
    jamielynas Posts: 366 Member
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    Aside from the fact you're probably doing too much cardio, 3 weeks isn't really a long time
  • tstrobe1
    tstrobe1 Posts: 2 Member
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    You're in this for the long haul, I assume. I've only been doing this as long as you have, so I'm by no means an expert. I would wonder if you're gaining muscle?

    hang in there!
  • jamielynas
    jamielynas Posts: 366 Member
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    You're in this for the long haul, I assume. I've only been doing this as long as you have, so I'm by no means an expert. I would wonder if you're gaining muscle?

    hang in there!

    unlikely to make significant muscle gains in 3 weeks doing 2 cardio sessions a day and eating low calories
  • itsscottwilder
    itsscottwilder Posts: 317
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    When you say "low calorie", just how low are you talking about?

    Under 2000? Under 1500? Under 1200?
  • shutupandlift13
    shutupandlift13 Posts: 727 Member
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    You're in this for the long haul, I assume. I've only been doing this as long as you have, so I'm by no means an expert. I would wonder if you're gaining muscle?

    hang in there!

    unlikely to make significant muscle gains in 3 weeks doing 2 cardio sessions a day and eating low calories

    No weightlifting and in a deficit... not gaining muscle.

    More lifting, less cardio, accurate tracking/consistent deficit, talk to me in 8 weeks.
  • Ustasia9
    Ustasia9 Posts: 8
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    Don't give up!!! You made the decision 3 weeks ago to be healthy, don't stop now. It takes time to see results. There are so many days I don't want to get up early and hit the gym but after I do it, I feel amazing MENTALLY! The scale is not moving for me but it doesn't mean that's a reason to quit. You can do this!
  • shutupandlift13
    shutupandlift13 Posts: 727 Member
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    Also, look up your BMR as a quick guideline and try to net that everyday. If you're feeling a little more motivated to understand how you should be eating learn about TDEE and macros. In Place Of A Road Map (search for it with the forum search feature) is full of a lot of knowledge.
  • SpookyElectric
    SpookyElectric Posts: 56 Member
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    Typically, aiming for 1200 calories or less in a day. No problem with energy levels or hunger. I'm just finding it hard to find the motivation to continue when I don't even see a nudge in the direction I want to go in!
  • shutupandlift13
    shutupandlift13 Posts: 727 Member
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    Typically, aiming for 1200 calories or less in a day. No problem with energy levels or hunger. I'm just finding it hard to find the motivation to continue when I don't even see a nudge in the direction I want to go in!

    Well you don't have a very healthy understanding of appropriate calorie intake. I would start there. And also weigh or measure but preferably weigh everything you eat and actually LOG everything you eat. You may not have problems now with energy levels and hunger, but 1200 cals OR LESS is hardly sustainable and counterproductive for maintaining lean body mass.
  • itsscottwilder
    itsscottwilder Posts: 317
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    MFP throws up warning flags when you eat less than 1200 calories a day.

    There's a reason for that.

    If you're really working out daily, you should probably be somewhere in the zone of 1700 to 2500 calories a day depending on the workout routine.

    Why is everyone so intent on starving themselves?
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
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    Typically, aiming for 1200 calories or less in a day. No problem with energy levels or hunger. I'm just finding it hard to find the motivation to continue when I don't even see a nudge in the direction I want to go in!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?page=1#posts-16625920
  • Fischer2009
    Fischer2009 Posts: 2
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    I hear you :( I have been doing everything and lost 2 pounds..now I weighed myself this morning and gained 1 pound. So discouraging..any tips???
  • itsscottwilder
    itsscottwilder Posts: 317
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    I hear you :( I have been doing everything and lost 2 pounds..now I weighed myself this morning and gained 1 pound. So discouraging..any tips???

    Start a new thread and give more details please
  • SpookyElectric
    SpookyElectric Posts: 56 Member
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    I'm really not starving myself! If I was hungry, I would eat something.

    A typical day would be:
    Muesli & a banana for breakfast
    Salad with salmon, turkey or chicken for lunch (no dressing)
    Salmon fillet/turkey steak or similar with steamed veg for dinner.

    If I feel the need to snack, I eat fresh fruit (which frustratingly, always takes me over my sugar goal). Other than the 4 cups of a tea a day I have, I drink only water.

    I really don't want to go down the route of meticulously weighing all my food or I'll get all OCD about it, but I eat normal, healthy portions.

    I'm not sure what else I could/should be doing...?
  • kaned_ferret
    kaned_ferret Posts: 618 Member
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    If you're doing 40 minute cardio sessions you'll be burning up a few extra hundred calories, so need to be eating more to fuel this. It's easy to add a couple of hundred healthily by having a bit of peanut butter, nuts, using coconut oil..
  • kaned_ferret
    kaned_ferret Posts: 618 Member
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    Oh and three weeks is no time at all, many of us didn't start seeing scale budges for 6 weeks or more into it, so just keep going. There are more reasons than the scale to maintain a healthy lifestyle :smile:
  • Lonestar5775
    Lonestar5775 Posts: 740 Member
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    I notice you have no MFP friends. They can help and be a type of cheering section for you. I have found them to be a great motivation and it's a neat way to "meet" new people. Add me if you like.
  • shutupandlift13
    shutupandlift13 Posts: 727 Member
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    I'm really not starving myself! If I was hungry, I would eat something.

    A typical day would be:
    Muesli & a banana for breakfast
    Salad with salmon, turkey or chicken for lunch (no dressing)
    Salmon fillet/turkey steak or similar with steamed veg for dinner.

    If I feel the need to snack, I eat fresh fruit (which frustratingly, always takes me over my sugar goal). Other than the 4 cups of a tea a day I have, I drink only water.

    I really don't want to go down the route of meticulously weighing all my food or I'll get all OCD about it, but I eat normal, healthy portions.

    I'm not sure what else I could/should be doing...?

    If you want to lose weight you have to log as accurately as possible. Sorry. People often underestimate how much they're eating and overestimate how much their moving. Eliminate as much of the error in those as you can and you'll start losing weight.

    Besides, do you really think losing only 16lbs is going to drastically change the way your body looks? You're better off eating near maintenance and incorporating resistance training *cough* weightlifting *cough* and scaling back on the cardio. Your weight isn't the issue, it's most likely your body composition that is making you unhappy.

    ETA: Don't worry about sugar, worry about fat and protein minimums and let the rest fall where it may as long as you're staying in a deficit. Which you probably won't be doing because of that whole guesstimating how much you're eating thing.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    Typically, aiming for 1200 calories or less in a day. No problem with energy levels or hunger. I'm just finding it hard to find the motivation to continue when I don't even see a nudge in the direction I want to go in!

    Just because your belly isn't growling doesn't mean your body isn't running on empty.

    I'm pretty much sure that I am much heavier than you are, but I eat close to 2,000 calories a day, and I burn about 800 calories every time I go to the gym ( 90-120 min workouts, 5 days a week). The scale hasn't really moved much for me in 8 or 9 months. Because I did a bad job of measuring a while back, my measurements haven't changed in months either. However, pictures do not lie, and my body IS changing. I am wearing the exact same gray tank in most of the pictures.

    8213431311_eecd2df7b1.jpg
    gray top pics by crochetmom2010, on Flickr

    8696528886_a515f0a1fa.jpg
    L to R: 4/13, 3/13, 11/12 by crochetmom2010, on Flickr

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