I give up

freerange

REALLY? after just 3 weeks,,,,,,,,, It sounds like you are not in place in your life where you are ready to make a change. It is the same with smoking or drinking (a bottle of wine a night?) you will never make it until YOU really want to.

STOP WHINING GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO MAKE IT WORK. Or quit and come back when you're really ready.

tequilaal

You need to understand that it take some time to see the difference. First your body need to adjust to all the changes you have done. Then, the "makng differece" changes where you will see your weight and inches dissapear. Yust take it as a "feeling great jet lag" for the body. By making the decission to take care of yourself you are allready there, now just need to let the jet lag go away as your body adjust.

myofibril

It's just not working.

It's not working because you are looking at this process in terms of weight loss rather than fat loss.

If you are maintaining a calorie deficit then you are losing fat. This would be true even if you were in starvation mode (which I highly doubt). Starvation mode doesn't lead to a complete halt in weight loss over the short term such as a few weeks. It simply lowers the percentage loss from fat in comparison to lean mass and begins slowing down metabolic rate. In fact if you are not obese and you were seeing continued big losses then you really SHOULD be worried.

You say you are not losing inches. What sites have been measuring? Sometimes it takes a while for these measurements to change especially if you are retaining water (commonly held around the abdomen area.) Have you been tracking your body fat?

I don't think you have plateaued after three weeks unless your dietary compliance has become sloppy and you are eating at maintenance. The fact that you have seen a halt or a gain on the scale whilst working with a calorie deficit probably means water fluctuations are skewing your results.

Sadly, you are like most people. You don't know when you are winning...

bluiz13

You give up????

After 3 weeks? Come on pull yourself together.

Stick with it. Weight that has piled on over months or years doesn't just disappear in 3 weeks.

i agree......i'm gonna be a *kitten* here but seriously, 3 weeks?????? you need to stick this out...you are worth it....you can do this...you have to do this....you need to do this.....if not for yourself than for those around you that love you......
please find the support you need from the AMAZING people on this website....i'm sending you a friend request...i want to follow you and helpi if i can......

bluiz13

No No you won't FLUSH out the salt from the foods only dilute them...and the acids that digest them.....if only it was that easy...but you will flush out a lot of the vitamins and minerals because your body won't be able to digest them. Why change cheerios for cucumber??? Wholegrain cheerios are fine for breakfast especially when you are under your calories. Cucumber is just water..yet again..its an additive to a salad meal..not a meal. C'mon you really do have to change your mind set..otherwise you are not going to be ABLE to keep this up.

she said she gave up cheetos lol for cukes not cheerios LOL.....

bluiz13

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=3926473&SPShared=TRUE
here is a blog post someone shared with me...it doesnt specifically go with what the original poster is saying but in the end i think it does....very much worth the read....

kimcat73

I understand your frustration, but not the question "why bother trying?" How much is your life worth to you?

I was just released from the hospital yesterday after having an emergency heart catheterization at age 43. I had to say goodbye to my 2 small sobbing children this week (thinking I might possibly never see them again.) I came out of the procedure just fine but know that I now have absolutely no choice but to bother trying. It's my one wild and precious life and it is worth trying for.
There were literally thousands of heart patients lined up at the hospital, waiting for surgery to save their lives, many of whom have given up and stopped trying. Consider the alternative to not trying. Nothing like facing death to make you value life.

Do not give up. Fight for your life. Keep going. Keep trying. It WILL work. Please give yourself another chance. I have at least 100 pounds still to lose, but I cannot give up. I have too much to live for and so do you.

Thank you for saying this. My inspiration for losing has been the loss of my mother to a heart attack b/c of obesity. I don't want that for myself. You will succeed, I know it!

scagneti

I'm going to go in the opposite direction. So you figure that the last three weeks were a waste because you didn't lose any weight by "eating cucumbers instead of cheesesteak". Out of curiousity, now much do you think that you'd weigh today if you had maintained your poor eating habits over the last three weeks? Do you think that if you kept eating pasta and cheesesteaks, etc that you'd simply remain at exactly the same weight by magic? Even if you didn't lose a single pound (which you did, btw), you didn't GAIN any weight over these last three weeks, so go ahead and quit, but believe when I say that when you do your resolution next New Years Eve (that's why you're here, right?), you'll be starting from a much higher weight category.

Don't get me wrong, you've made some huge fundamental mistakes here (looking at food & calories as some kind of an enemy, mistaking a 1/4 cup of cucumber as breakfast or 3oz of chicken as a complete dinner) but dispite all of these errors, you didn't gain weight, which you would have if you had lived instead on white pasta and fatty/cheesy meat on white buns.

Honestly, if you're just planning on barely surviving on cucumbers until you're validated by a random number on a scale and are counting the days until you can go back to eating your old ways, then you might as well quit because you'll just gain it all back (with a few extra for good measure). Unless you plan on living on 1/4 cup of cucumbers (and it's 4 whole calories) for breakfast for the rest of your life, then you're on a fad diet and if anyone here knows anything, it's that fads don't work.

hajjcomb

You need to get your mind right. If you think the only reason to exercise and eat better is for instant gratification through quick results, then that tells me you are not is the right place from a psychological or emotional stand point.

Nothing in life worth having is easy to obtain. Sorry if this isn't fluffy and nice, but I think the reason people fail so often with weight loss is their attitude.

hollybaker22

Don't give UP! I lost 120 pounds and it took me a long time to do it. To tell you the truth, it took me 30 years to come to terms with having to do it and then another 18 months of actually doing. It can be slow going in the beginning, but trust me when i say, it will pay off eventually. Do you feel better? Do you have more energy? That has to account for something. I find that too many people get sucked into what I like to refer to as the "scale demon". You become obsessed with it. It tends to drive peoples emotions. Do you have a personal trainer? A nutritionist? Do you have the means to have either? It's okay. I didn't either because i couldn't find anyone who could identify with how i really felt. Now, I am a personal trainer and i run programs at my local gym on how to lose weight and motivate clients to be more active.

It is entirely possible that you are simply just not burning enough calories to compensate for the number that you are consuming. Do you food journal? Do you journal your fitness? I would recommend trying to do both. Bottom line, if you are not seeing results, you need to adjust something. Obviously i don't know you, or your age so it is hard for me to assess what is really going on, but what i can say it DON'T GIVE UP!

merrillfoster

Hahahaha, I appreciate the support but alot of you aren't getting what I'm saying. I don't care about the number on the scale if the inches changed, or I felt healthier, or anything like that. But I've been at the same weight (160) living on pasta or cheesesteaks for many years. So yes, I think if I had maintained my current diet/exercise (or lack thereof) plan, I would have maintained my current weight. I feel the same whether I drink diet coke or water, whether I exercise or not, whether I eat fruits and veggies or cheetos and cheeesteaks.

And yes, the 5 lbs that I've lost is something, but I am frustrated that it was 7 last week, and this week, despite me trying even harder than I have been to be good (because I was motivated last week because I did feel good and better), I have felt fatter (and my clothes have been tighter) and weighed more all week this week than last week. It's not like this is a one day "oh I drank too much water before bed one night" thing.

And I'm not starving or punishing myself. I like the foods I am eating/water I am drinking. The only thing I'm doing differently is trying to make healthier (but still delicious) choices and eating when I am hungry rather than when I am bored. What I am eating isn't a fad diet, or really even a diet at all. I had cucumbers for breakfast one morning because a. it is what I felt like eating and b. that was out of the 3 choices I had in the house and didn't feel like running out that early in the morning.

I have a ridiculously low cholesterol level and blood pressure (not dangerously so, though) so it's not like I'm doing this to stave off a heart attack.

Really I just want to feel good about the way I look and feel as though I am making healthy choices that are doing something good for my body. When the way I look hasn't changed, and the way I feel hasn't changed, it seems like alot of effort to work out, count calories, etc for little payoff. And when the little payoff that I did have moves backwards, it just seems pointless.

MHW22

Hey - Here's an article on drinking too much water ... you really only need to drink 8 glasses a day - more than that can strip you of salt and vitamins that you NEED in your blood... too much water can lead to toxic poisoning and death in few but extreme cases.
I think 20 -30 glasses a day pushes you into that catagory ... Not trying to be mean, but I had no idea eather untill a friend of mine told me about it... http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill

Paige1108

Hahahaha, I appreciate the support but alot of you aren't getting what I'm saying. I don't care about the number on the scale if the inches changed, or I felt healthier, or anything like that. But I've been at the same weight (160) living on pasta or cheesesteaks for many years. So yes, I think if I had maintained my current diet/exercise (or lack thereof) plan, I would have maintained my current weight. I feel the same whether I drink diet coke or water, whether I exercise or not, whether I eat fruits and veggies or cheetos and cheeesteaks.

And yes, the 5 lbs that I've lost is something, but I am frustrated that it was 7 last week, and this week, despite me trying even harder than I have been to be good (because I was motivated last week because I did feel good and better), I have felt fatter (and my clothes have been tighter) and weighed more all week this week than last week. It's not like this is a one day "oh I drank too much water before bed one night" thing.

And I'm not starving or punishing myself. I like the foods I am eating/water I am drinking. The only thing I'm doing differently is trying to make healthier (but still delicious) choices and eating when I am hungry rather than when I am bored. What I am eating isn't a fad diet, or really even a diet at all. I had cucumbers for breakfast one morning because a. it is what I felt like eating and b. that was out of the 3 choices I had in the house and didn't feel like running out that early in the morning.

I have a ridiculously low cholesterol level and blood pressure (not dangerously so, though) so it's not like I'm doing this to stave off a heart attack.

Really I just want to feel good about the way I look and feel as though I am making healthy choices that are doing something good for my body. When the way I look hasn't changed, and the way I feel hasn't changed, it seems like alot of effort to work out, count calories, etc for little payoff. And when the little payoff that I did have moves backwards, it just seems pointless.

I hope you know why you are here, because I don't understand what you are getting at with this post. You're happy and healthy at your current weight, then why are you here? And why are you quitting.

You have lost more than 1lbs a week sense joining and have been told you can eat more good food, if you want to lose more. And you seem upset with everyone for letting you know this.

And as for payoff; 5lbs, 3 pages of caring and intelligent advice, and 3 pages of people reaching out with loving support. What payoff is missing? I'm very confused by this whole thing, honest I am.

Good luck with your journey. I hope you find health and happiness. I truly do.

meggonkgonk

Hahahaha, I appreciate the support but alot of you aren't getting what I'm saying. I don't care about the number on the scale if the inches changed, or I felt healthier, or anything like that. But I've been at the same weight (160) living on pasta or cheesesteaks for many years. So yes, I think if I had maintained my current diet/exercise (or lack thereof) plan, I would have maintained my current weight. I feel the same whether I drink diet coke or water, whether I exercise or not, whether I eat fruits and veggies or cheetos and cheeesteaks.

And yes, the 5 lbs that I've lost is something, but I am frustrated that it was 7 last week, and this week, despite me trying even harder than I have been to be good (because I was motivated last week because I did feel good and better), I have felt fatter (and my clothes have been tighter) and weighed more all week this week than last week. It's not like this is a one day "oh I drank too much water before bed one night" thing.

And I'm not starving or punishing myself. I like the foods I am eating/water I am drinking. The only thing I'm doing differently is trying to make healthier (but still delicious) choices and eating when I am hungry rather than when I am bored. What I am eating isn't a fad diet, or really even a diet at all. I had cucumbers for breakfast one morning because a. it is what I felt like eating and b. that was out of the 3 choices I had in the house and didn't feel like running out that early in the morning.

I have a ridiculously low cholesterol level and blood pressure (not dangerously so, though) so it's not like I'm doing this to stave off a heart attack.

Really I just want to feel good about the way I look and feel as though I am making healthy choices that are doing something good for my body. When the way I look hasn't changed, and the way I feel hasn't changed, it seems like alot of effort to work out, count calories, etc for little payoff. And when the little payoff that I did have moves backwards, it just seems pointless.

You are the one who isn't getting it- scale or no scale: YOU. AREN'T. EATING. ENOUGH. You AREN'T making healthy choices. You WON'T see results even with all the effort you are going to. To lose any weight, to be making healthier choices, you need to follow the advice here- eat more, choose actual healthy things not just low calorie, even have some of you mac and cheese and most of all BE patient.

So if you want to go back to what you were doing, go for it- no one of us can decide what to do for you. But know it's not because counting calories isn't working-- it's b/c you are doing it wrong and expecting too much.

scagneti

Hahahaha, I appreciate the support but alot of you aren't getting what I'm saying. I don't care about the number on the scale if the inches changed, or I felt healthier, or anything like that. But I've been at the same weight (160) living on pasta or cheesesteaks for many years. So yes, I think if I had maintained my current diet/exercise (or lack thereof) plan, I would have maintained my current weight. I feel the same whether I drink diet coke or water, whether I exercise or not, whether I eat fruits and veggies or cheetos and cheeesteaks.

And yes, the 5 lbs that I've lost is something, but I am frustrated that it was 7 last week, and this week, despite me trying even harder than I have been to be good (because I was motivated last week because I did feel good and better), I have felt fatter (and my clothes have been tighter) and weighed more all week this week than last week. It's not like this is a one day "oh I drank too much water before bed one night" thing.

And I'm not starving or punishing myself. I like the foods I am eating/water I am drinking. The only thing I'm doing differently is trying to make healthier (but still delicious) choices and eating when I am hungry rather than when I am bored. What I am eating isn't a fad diet, or really even a diet at all. I had cucumbers for breakfast one morning because a. it is what I felt like eating and b. that was out of the 3 choices I had in the house and didn't feel like running out that early in the morning.

I have a ridiculously low cholesterol level and blood pressure (not dangerously so, though) so it's not like I'm doing this to stave off a heart attack.

Really I just want to feel good about the way I look and feel as though I am making healthy choices that are doing something good for my body. When the way I look hasn't changed, and the way I feel hasn't changed, it seems like alot of effort to work out, count calories, etc for little payoff. And when the little payoff that I did have moves backwards, it just seems pointless.

Well then, there you go. If you were maintaining while you were eating those foods, here's a crazy concept -- EAT THOSE FOODS AGAIN AND EAT LESS OF THEM. Instead of only eating a big plate of pasta, eat half a plate of pasta and put a bunch of veggies on there too. Instead of eating an entire cheesesteak, eat half of one on a whole wheat bun and have a salad with it.

Done. /thread.

Whatever you do, don't live on 700 calories a day and then ignore what three pages of posts have all told you and act surprised when it doesn't work for you.

rockabyesarojane

Well then, there you go. If you were maintaining while you were eating those foods, here's a crazy concept -- EAT THOSE FOODS AGAIN AND EAT LESS OF THEM. Instead of only eating a big plate of pasta, eat half a plate of pasta and put a bunch of veggies on there too. Instead of eating an entire cheesesteak, eat half of one on a whole wheat bun and have a salad with it.

Done. /thread.

Whatever you do, don't live on 700 calories a day and then ignore what three pages of posts have all told you and act surprised when it doesn't work for you.

but keep the fitness too!
:?p

jalovec

Maybe it's a premenstrual thing?

scagneti

Well then, there you go. If you were maintaining while you were eating those foods, here's a crazy concept -- EAT THOSE FOODS AGAIN AND EAT LESS OF THEM. Instead of only eating a big plate of pasta, eat half a plate of pasta and put a bunch of veggies on there too. Instead of eating an entire cheesesteak, eat half of one on a whole wheat bun and have a salad with it.

Done. /thread.

Whatever you do, don't live on 700 calories a day and then ignore what three pages of posts have all told you and act surprised when it doesn't work for you.

but keep the fitness too!
:?p

Yes! I forgot that part.

kidtechnical

I'm going to be repeating other posts here but...

You really need to take a look at your diary and ask yourself if you have really made sensible healthy choices. Cucumber for example is healthy, it counts towards one of your 5 portions of fruit/veg a day. However, 1/4 cup of cucumber for breakfast is neither healthy or sensible. Eating only 4 calories as the most important meal of the day is not going to run the engines.

If you're logging food accurately then you need to make some changes. I couldn't survive on what you are eating and I'd quit quicker than 3 weeks in if I was.