I'm getting REALLY frustrated!

smiletime82

I started P90X in November, took a few weeks off for Christmas and started over January 1. I started in November at about 198 (I am 5'8") and gained to 202 over Christmas with all the Ham, cookies, parties, etc. It is now February and I lost the Christmas weight, but no more. I am currently weighing in at 197.7. I measure EVERYTHING I eat on a digital scale, and I even log my food if if a take a Rolaids. I am eating between 1200 and 1400 calories, depending on my workouts, but the scale just won't budge for me. I tried the P90X diet plan, but it was way too much for me and I started gaining weight, so I just watch my calories and in addition to the P90X, I do daily cardio of at least 30 minutes..either Zumba fitness or some random cardio DVD's I have. I take the stairs and walk to work, and when my lunch is cooking, I jog around the office until it is done...anything to get in extra steps. It is just so hard to stick with this when I am seeing nothing. I know that muscle weighs more than fat and that may be part of it, but other than a VERY SLIGHT difference in the way my clothes fit, I don't even look any different. With the combined times before and after Christmas, I have been doing this for about 9 weeks now. I know that I am older (49) and it may take longer, but this is getting ridiculous. Tell me this will start working for me!

SezxyStef

if you are sure your intake is accurate then it's your burns that aren't

with intake as well you have to make sure you are choosing the correct entries.

Along with this don't just use the scale as a measurment for you body...use a tape measure and pics

smiletime82

I always make sure the entries are correct. I always compare the labels to the entries. I never eat back all my workout calories, so burn shouldn't make much of a difference either. I would be happy with looking different too, but neither has changed...pics or weight.

Swiftdogs

I never eat back all my workout calories,

There's your problem. Eat at least a good portion of your exercise calories. It may sound funny, but you're not eating enough to run your metabolism with your size and activity. I made a similar mistake when I started out because I was WAY understating my activity. I added a Fitbit. Once I learned to trust the adjustment, I broke a 2 month plateau and have lost steadily. Oh, and I'm 54.

smiletime82

I did try eating more calories in the first round. I was eating around 1800 per day and when I did that I started gaining. That is why I went back to 1200. I eat some of them back...just not all. I can't do my workouts until around 6 in the evening, so once I enter what I burned, I'd have to eat a ton of food before I went to bed, which I can't because it gives me horrible acid reflux. I am trying to eat bigger breakfasts to alleviate this problem. My doctor said to try 1000, but I think that is too low.

concordancia

So, you lost four pounds in January and are complaining about not seeing any change whatsoever?

KaylaBushman

So, you lost four pounds in January and are complaining about not seeing any change whatsoever?

I lost four pounds before Christmas gained two back and it took all of January to get those two pounds back off. I am now, as of this morning back where I started a week before Christmas.

Four pounds is great. Don't discount that.

oneloopygirl

So, you lost four pounds in January and are complaining about not seeing any change whatsoever?

I agree with this... 4 pounds in January is good. Not a loss to complain about at all.

And I agree with making sure you're eating back exercise calories. And if you know you're going to work out in the evenings, then eat some of those throughout the day. I don't typically workout until the evenings either and I plan what I'm going to do on different days so I have a general idea of the calories I'm going to earn. I spread those out throughout the day. I don't always eat all of my exercise calories, but I eat a good portion of them. You don't want net calories for the day to be too low or you will slow or stall your weight loss.

bslaf

Open up your diary so we can see what your eating, remember 100 cal in pop is not going to be the same as 100 cal from a banana. I'm not saying your drinking pop but just pointing out not all cal are the same

kelseyhere

if you are going through menopause or have already, that could be affecting your efforts to lose weight. after menopause it becomes much more difficult for women- that's why your doc suggested 1,000 calories. keep up your workouts and have patience. you probably will see results at 1,200-1,400, but it's going to be A LOT MORE DIFFICULT than it would have been for your 5-10 years ago. sorry to break it to you, but age, especially for women, works against us with weight loss. my mom is 60 and an avid runner, plus does a boot camp class 5 times a week, and she's a very active lady in general, always cleaning up my grandma's house and such, and she really struggles to lose weight, even with all that exercise, unless she severely restricts her calories.

also be mindful of the TYPE of calories that you are consuming. excess calories from veggies are a lot less damaging that excess calories from cakes and brownies (a calorie is NOT a calorie). my suggestion to you would be to avoid processed foods as much as possible, it is much more difficult to overeat when you are only getting calories from 100% natural sources. think vegetables, fruit and lean means, maybe a little bit of dairy and really limit breads and pastas. instead get carbs from vegetable sources i.e. sweet potatoes.

another thing that you may find helpful is to set a very specific goal. when we workout randomly, the results are random. a goal to "lose weight" is not really that specific either. instead focus on something more concrete, for example, reducing your 5k time, or increasing the amount of weight you can squat. hope this helps, don't get down on yourself.

kelseyhere

notice all the people telling you to eat back your exercise calories are pretty young. what works for them is not necessarily going to work for you. you can always talk to to a registered dietician too, they can give you better advice than your gp doctor.

Rose6300

I know for me it hasn't been especially linear. I started Dec 18 but Christmas got in my way a little. Calories over MFP's recommendations but below 2000. Didn't lose much (maybe 3-5 pounds) till mid January. But then in the next few weeks reached total loss of 10 pounds so far. I'm looking to lose 28 more. I always tell myself at first I'm putting on muscle, which will help burn fat. And it seems to work out that way. Now I'm losing 1/2 to 1 pound one day, then spending the next half or full week hovering there, then dropping again, then hovering, etc. I know it's attributable to differences in water retention, etc. a lot of the time I seem to plateau or suddenly lose weight. And I know I'm gradually dropping even though it appears I'm plateauing and dropping. You'll see it happen!

smiletime82

I opened my diary. No junk food, pop. etc. I haven't had so much as a cookie since Christmas. The only things I drink are unsweetened tea and water. I guess the frustrating thing is I am back to where I started and now the scale doesn't want to budge. I am eating protein, whole grains, fruits, veggies, and fat free dairy. I do eat some processed foods in the way of frozen meals and soups, but I try to watch the sodium, and only eat them on days when I am really busy at work or have a lot of places I have to run the kids. I eat a daily protein bar to up the protein needed for the P90X strength workouts. I think that the whole Menopause thing is a part of it. Already done with that, and that is something I can't do anything about unfortunately.

jwdieter

Sounds like you've been at the same weight for a few days?

SweeDecadence92

How are you calculating your exercise calories? A 30 minute cardio dvd at best is about 250 calories? Could you be over estimating your burn?

irenerinyc

Hi Smiletime 82,

I am sorry to hear that you are frustrated with your progress so far. Since you only started your regimen in January and we are only on the first week of Februrary I think it is too soon for you to judge that it will not work for you. You said yourself your clothes are fitting differently and you did lose some weight. As our body adjusts to our new "us" you may be retaining fluid or something else that create an impression that you are not achieving your goals. Believe me, you are. Just think of the changes you made on your diet and routine. These changes, if you stick with them, are changes for life, and while it may take longer than a month for you to see the reflection on the scale, they will eventually start to show up.

Also, a word of advice on the pre-packaged meals. They are tempting but at least with me, they leave me hungry and bloated (sodium). So if I could, I would avoid them.

Good luck and congratulations on your determination.

Best,

OtiWanKenobi

If you've been eating at a large deficit to you what you're burning...for a long time...your body will hold on to whatever it can.

Also, it's normal to gain wait right away once you introduce more food back into your diet after a long period of eating low cals. You should give it at least 4 weeks for your body to adjust and realize you're not starving yourself. Once that happens then your hormones regulate themselves and you'll be able to lose the weight again. Unfortunately, it takes time and patience to get to this point especially with the amount of calories you're burning daily.

good luck!

karmasays

How much water are you getting? Aim for at least 8 glasses

How much sleep are you getting? Aim for at least 7 hours

While a safe weekly weight loss would be 1-2 pounds per week, there will be weeks you don't lose. There will even be weeks you gain ! And that doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. This is not the Biggest Loser, the weight doesn't magically drop off the minute we decide we need to lose. It really could take 6-8 WEEKS of healthy eating and regular exercise before a person sees a change in the scale. And that too is perfectly normal.

smiletime82

My frustration isn't so much that I lost 4 pounds in January, it is that I actually started this in November, gained a few pounds at Christmas and am now right back where I started after struggling through P90x for a total of 9 weeks, on top of all the extra cardio. What is making it even worse it that I am doing this with my husband and he looks amazing and lost close to 10 pounds and has gained some really nice definition. If I gage this by my actual starting weight, I haven't even lost 1 pound. I started this program before I discovered this website.

Scampimom

Oh you poor thing - don't have much advice, just wanted to say I know how you feel when it seems you're doing everything right but nothing is happening.

Maybe you could think about the benefits you're getting that are not to do with weight? Exercise staves off heart disease, for example, and weight-bearing exercise helps prevent osteoparosis, while eating veggies keeps you regular (ahem, sorry if that's TMI!) and helps reduce the risk of bowel cancers. These are all great things you're doing foryourself even if you can't see the results.

mmm_drop

It may sound crazy, but I really don't think you are eating enough.

I too am 5'8" and I eat anywhere between 1700-1900 calories a day and have been losing consistently (my net caloric intake is right around 1300 calories after my workouts).

If you increase your calories you may see a slight weight gain at first, but trust me, eventually the pounds will start coming off again. I was having a similar problem over the summer when I was eating around 1300-1400 calories a day. I increased my calories, gained a couple of pounds in the first few weeks and since then it has been steady losses.

bslaf

Ok I'm going to start with I'm not here to tell what to eat or what to do but maybe this advice would help. You seem to be going over in fats a lot and none of those fats are from nuts, olive oil, flax seeds, egg yolks, raw seeds or avocado's. You have some great choices but seem to be thinking prepackaged fruit cups, jam, popcorn and other non raw foods are ok but i'd try sticking with foods with only 1 ingredient

sevsmom

Took 6 weeks when I started for the scale to move in the right direction. You've lost 4 lbs in a month. That's rock solid loss. I mean, if you were still 202, I could see being slightly frustrated.....But REALLY frustrated at a 4 lbs loss....that's a bit much.

Keep at it. You'll see more results. Walk away and you'll likely be back over 200 in short order. Depends on how much you want it.

wabiish2

I have to work hard to lose my pounds and I don't see much when it comes to losing weight. That is when I started to change the way I think of weight and how I weigh. Sure we all would like to be skinny but it took me years of unhealthy eating, being sluggish, and not taking care of myself to get me in the condition I am in now. So I think of how good it feels to sweat, how eating is changing my energy level and how getting good sleep keeps me alert all day. These changes don't seem like much to other people they mean the world to me. I love feeling good. Keeping on working out and eating right is the scale I live by now. Sounds like you are stressed because of a number. Get away from that negative thinking. It isn't doing you any favors and keep living healthy like you are doing now. In the long run you will see the pounds come off. Change your goal to 4 pounds a month for a year. That way it isn't so overwhelming. Stopping means you will get further away from a idea instead of closer to it.

JCM1969

Oh my.. no wonder you are frustrated... You are HANGRY girl... I agree... you need to eat back exercise calories... I know you tried that but maybe try it again... have you considered getting a heart monitor.. it can give a little more accurate calorie burn... not perfect but it is a good guideline. I have a polar 4 .. (there is more to the name than that) it was about $60 on amazon...
Hang in there....

smiletime82

I don't plan to stop. I am just frustrated. As for the fats unfortunately, I am allergic to nuts, so that as a source is out. I try to use olive oil as my fat most days when I eat a salad. I will occasionally eat an egg, but I don't really care for eggs. I might make a piece of French toast with an egg and some whole grain bread.

BamaBreezeNSaltAire

Please read this:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

walterm852

Hang in there .. it will come off

If you burn more than you intake, you will lose weight. the weight loss path could look like an EKG reading but from beginning to end, it will eventually be lower.

Even though you are weighing/counting everything review it and see if there are opportunities to fine tune. A previous poster mentioned your package food intake, did you know a package food label by law can be off 20%.
“A food with a label declaration of calories, sugars, total fat, saturated fat,trans fat, cholesterol, or sodium shall be deemed to be misbranded under section 403(a) of the act if the nutrient content of the composite is greater than 20 percent in excess of the value for that nutrient declared on the label.”
Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Sec. 101.9(g)(5)

Again, hang in there. Going back to your old way wont work, eating nothing wont work, find your spot in the middle

Kenazwa

You might want to approach this from a different angle. I've been reading the fat2fit website, and one of the recommendations is to calculate the range of calories you'd be eating at your goal weight with your current CHOSEN activity level and start eating that way now. It doesn't do any long-term good if you diet and work out like a maniac now if you aren't going to live like that for the long term.

walkinthedogs

Patience. I know you've been working hard and doing everything right and it's so frustrating when the weight falls off your hubby and won't budge on you, but it's pretty early too. I am 47 and eat between 1600 & 1800 depending on my workouts. I have only lost 20 lbs since starting in July or whenever it was that I joined. It is a slow process and sometimes extremely frustrating when the scale hardly budges and you've been doing everything you are "supposed" to do to lose weight, but it does eventually move. So give yourself credit for adopting a healthy lifestyle, make changes you can live with forever and mostly give yourself a break and some patience. If you are eating at a deficit, it will come off.

ruffnstuff

My frustration isn't so much that I lost 4 pounds in January, it is that I actually started this in November, gained a few pounds at Christmas and am now right back where I started after struggling through P90x for a total of 9 weeks, on top of all the extra cardio. What is making it even worse it that I am doing this with my husband and he looks amazing and lost close to 10 pounds and has gained some really nice definition. If I gage this by my actual starting weight, I haven't even lost 1 pound. I started this program before I discovered this website.

I'm gonna tell you some stuff tht you don't want to hear, but remember, you started this thread.

You sound as if you aer trying to rationalize that "you started this is November" when really in the very first post you said you ate too much around the holidays. Own it. Deal with it, don't use it as an excuse to give up and think that now in Feb you are "rigth back where I started" cuz the only one who put you there is YOU. so now move on.

You DID, as many have pointed out, lose 4lbs already in January. That's good. That's progress. Focus on the good and the trend now that is downward movement on the scale. Screw Nov and Dec, cuz they ain't coming back, but the lbs sure will if you give up now.

Good luck to you.