Totally Frustrated

cleatta

I have been exercising and dieting for over a month and I have lost 1 pound.
This is making me so frustrated. I do at least 45 minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week and weights 2-3 days a week. I stay at or under my calorie goals. what is the problem??????

lucky97

I wanted to let you know about AdvoCare products. Have you heard of it? If you add that to your cardio and food journal...you will see a major difference. I have lost 3 dress sizes along with that and the food journal!!
Go to the website www.advocare.com/04034397 and check it out.
Good luck,
julie jl972004@yahoo.com

jrandsr1926

Unfortunately I haven't been very faithful to the program in the last few months, but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things. I just wanted to point another factor out to the not losing weight. Before I joined this site I was watching what I was eating, and going to the gym 6 days a week for nearly 6 months. I only lost 5 lbs, and didn't lose a pant size. I went to the doctor and he said, some people are just heavy! I cried! Later I decided, I can do this, and I found this site. I started out slower with the exercise. I decided not to go to a gym, but work out at my home instead. I started walking 1 mile (15 min.) in the mornings. Within 2 weeks I lost 5 lbs. I slowly increased my exercise and was eventually walking 1 mile in the morning and three days a week walking 3 miles in the evening and the other 3 jogging 2 miles. I was using the walk away the pounds videos. In 2 months I lost nearly 20 lbs. IT WORKED. I truly believe sometimes we start out to hard and heavy with the exercise. Also, I noticed the difference I made was working out in the mornings. Try changing something up a bit. Try only exercising 3-4 days a week, or for less time, but at a couple times during the day. That might jump start your metabolism. I don't think any one thing will ever work for everyone. You need to find what works for you. Whatever you do, don't give up. I'm going to jump in with both of my feet and I hope to be 40 lbs lighter by my husbands b-day in June. That's not my goal weight/size, but it's the small steps that help us get to the final number!

dragonfly183

Its ok, remember your doing weights too. Your probably building muscle faster than your loosing fat and muscle weighs more. Also as some of your muscles increase in size its going to make up for any fat that you've lost and there fore your clothes are going to fit the same or in some cases tighter. I put in 1 1/2 hours of cardio 3 to 4 days a week plus weights and have been for 6 months and even though I have only lost 10 pounds and still wear the same size clothes i look pretty darn good. My body has changed shape. Give it time and the results will become obvious.

apojones

DON'T GO UNDER YOUR CALORIE NEEDS! Your body needs to have enough energy to maintain itself. There are websites that will help you determine your Basil Metabolic Rate (the amount of energy your body needs if you do nothing). This helped me understand that my body really needed the calories that I was hating to eat. You really can starve yourself into being fat. When your body doesn't get what it needs, it will hold on to whatever you give it.

Also, my health coach has suggested that I try to eat a snack between each meal so that I'm eating a little something every 2-3 hours. You just have to watch the calorie intake and portion size, so that it really is a snack and not a meal. This website should help you do that quite easily. For example, if you have a piece of low fat string cheese ( about 80 calories) and a serving of triscuit crackers (6 is a serving and about 120 calories)--you'll have a great snack of 200 calories that has protein, calcium, fiber and carbs. It will stick with you amazingly well and you won't be starving at the next meal. Aim for high protein and fiber in your snack, because these stick with you a long time. This helps your metabolism to stay active.

I also agree with the person who said to exercise in the morning and then some later in the day. The morning is my major exercise, but I also look for other ways to be "active" during the afternoon (ex: take the stairs 2 times in a row for a quick cardio jump, mow the grass, pull weeds, play soccer with your kids, etc...)

I've also been encouraged to drink twice to recommended amount of water every day. Hard to do, but it helps to flush the body.

THE MAIN THING IS TO STICK WITH IT--YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT EVENTUALLY IF YOU ARE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS. I REMEMBER LOSING ONLY 1 POUND IN SEVERAL WEEKS AND THEN ONE DAY I GOT ON THE SCALE AND HAD LOST 2 POUNDS IN ONE DAY AND THEN 2 MORE THE NEXT WEEK. JUST STICK WITH IT--IT'S A GAME OF NUMBERS AND YOU WILL LOSE IF YOU DON'T CHEAT ON THE FOOD JOURNAL AND EXERCISE ENTRIES.

cheguevara

Why view it in terms of weight? How do your clothes fit? If you are dedicated to exercise you may not lose the pounds as fast (depending on how much you build your muscles) but your pant size may show the difference. Don't be too hard on yourself after only a month, you may see almost zero results in the first month as your body begins to adjust to the new lifestyle. I recommend keeping the intensity of your exercise high (once you are ready for it) as this can be a deciding factor in whether or not those 45 mins of exercise ever show any results. I've seen many a bench-warmer in the gym who is only fooling themselves.

Hang in there, you'll do ok.

JKArts

Full cardio exercise doesn't burn fat particularly well either. Try mixing up your routine a little. I strongly recommend high intensity interval training, which involves short sprints, followed by 'active recovery' (not rests). You can't do this on a treadmill because they speed up and slow down too slowly, but a stationary bike works well.

Try a (say) 5 min warmup, then start out with 10 second sprints (100rpm plus) with 15 second rests (at around 70 rpm). You may need to increase the resistance of the bike for your sprints also. My entire workout lasts about 15 min (including cooldown) and it seems to be working well. There is also a great deal of literature out there on the benefits of interval training.

You can do it!!!!!

elmertlim

hmm.. two things, it's either you're getting more muscle weight from all that exercising (muscle weighs more than fat), or you're overlooking some high-calorie foods in your diet (juices, high-fat garnishes, etc)

jeannius

Not many people post at all on this site...sort of strange. Perhaps it is that the people that use this site are in and out of the site quickly..just to post their info and then they are off.

I know everyone is on their own journey...in their own way...on their own plan...but I sure would love to hear some success stories...

joeytoribio

Hey all, I'm a 31YOM and I've been using this site for only 3 weeks now and I've lost 5 pounds already. I started at 163 and i just hit 158 today. I definitely have more definition in my abdominal area again just like i did in high school. I just have my love handles and some back fat to get rid of. My brother turned me on to it and he said in only a couple of months he's lost a couple of inches off his waist.

I don't want anyone to get discouraged from living a healthier life so here are a couple of tips i wanted to share with those that aren't really seeing any results with this site.

This site is only a tool for tracking food and excercise. you must have a game plan to see actual results. Here's how i built my game plan.

1. Calorie deficit or calorie surplus? If I want to lose weight, you have to be in calorie deficit mode. I selected aggresive weight loss of 1.9 lbs/ week and I use custom nutrition goals. If I want to gain weight I have to be in calorie surplus mode.

2. custom or recommended goals? I wanted fat loss so I've set my own custom goals to 30% carbs, 35% fat, and 35% protein. getting my calories from protein will allow my body to burn body fat instead of carbs for energy. (default i think is >50% carbs)

3. How many meals and how much in each meal? Now that I set my calorie and nutrition goals for the day, I need an intra-day meal strategy. I eat 6 meals a day (default is 4). I'm not eating more food, I'm eating the same food in smaller portions more frequently. My meals are as follows, Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Pre-Workout, Post Work out, and Dinner, each meal is 2-3 hours apart. I eat a third of my calorie target in my first three meals when i use the least amount of energy in a day. These are my low carb meals, and 2/3 of my calorie goal in my last three meals that surround my workout when i use the most energy. These are my high carb meals.

4. Food Type and Timing! The secret is the type of carbs, fat and protein you consume and when you consume them.

I try to intake only good fat that contains ALA's and other anti oxidents like olive oil, flax seed oil, and fish oil. low fat margarine uses soy oil which has no cholesteral. I spread my fat intake evenly throughout the day.

I intake a steady supply of lean protein throughout the day. Lean is key because you want your fat from good sources and not animal fat.

Carbs come in two main types, fast and slow carbs. Fast carbs include sugar, fruit, and white flour, and doesn't take much to break down into energy. Slow carbs are whole grains like whole wheat or oatmeal. use slow carbs when you aren't working out for slower steady release of fuel during the day. It will get used up slowly and released slowly when you are inactive. Use fast carbs only immediately before and after your work out, this will give you the energy you need for an intense workout but will run out quickly and you will then start burning body fat. Timing is crucial on your carb intake. If you get it backwards and use fast carbs when you're inactive you will have more carbs then you can use and it will get stored. if you use slow carbs during and after your workout you won't be able to burn off your body fat cause you will be burning your meal instead.

5. Metabolism. My metabolism slowed down as I got older so I had to make my metabolism go up so I was burning fat all the time. during and after your my workout my metabolism is highest so i don't need any assistance. When I am inactive in my first half of the day, I drink coffee with splenda and skim milk for a no fat, low cal dose of caffeine which increases metabolism. Spicy food increases metabolism as well. If i want a no cal dose of caffeine I take a natural herbal thermogenic to get a dose of caffeine. Keeps me alert during the day.

6. Excercise for muscle. straight cardio (running, cycling) strengthens the heart and tones your body but building muscle mass will burn body fat quicker. circuit training combines weights and cardio. martial arts is aerobic as well. Incorporate weights into your excercise program, tone, build muscle mass, and burn fat at the same time.

Hope this helped!

glosalinas

Dear Totally Frustrated,

I was frustrated too. My efforts were going unrewarded ( little or no weight loss) even after weeks of hard work. I went to the doctor and found out I have LOW thyroid function. I have an appt. with an endocrinologist, and hopefully with proper treatment I will start to see results.

cmriverside

To joeytoribio:

Thank you SO much for your informative post on 07/26/07. I have never been to a trainer, and did not know about sports nutrition and timing your intake of certain types of food. I clipped it and put it in my fitness/diet folder, and I hope to be able to work in your suggestions over the next few days. You are very knowledgable, are you in the "industry" of fitness or nutrition?

My goal is 160, I started at 195 on 08/21/07. I didn't really know how to start. I am following the "plan" here on MFP. I've never tried to lose any significant weight, and want to do it the right way so I can maintain it.

Your post has provided valuable help to me and I really appreciate you taking the time to be so specific. Can you recommend a good book or website for me to study? I don't know who to believe, since as you know, everybody has a spin on fitness. Yours makes so much sense!

Again, thank you!

kjllose

Hi,
i'm new to this site but I totally agree with Joeytoribio about numerous small meals. I lost weight that way before but I was also eating totally atkins and when I fell off the band wagon all that weight came back and started lounging on my body so here I am trying to do it all again.

blkgvn

Hi, I am going through the exact same thing, over 3 weeks with good workouts, under my calories and seems like no results. I lost 37 pound since May 1st and then all of the sudden, I am at a stand still. I have decided to drink more water, and eat a little more calories for a day or 2 to try to trick my metoblism, keep up the exercising and then go back to my low calorie intake. I do know that this work or not, or if this considered yo-yo dieting??? Anyways, I have 37 pounds off , this last 30 pounds to lose and going to be a real struggle, but I have come this far I cant stop now.

kreht

blkgvn:

Are you using weights to tone your body? Sometimes with more weight loss, your body can hit a plateau (as you mentioned). I use lights weights and mix up my routine (bicep curls, tricep work, flys and presses) to help tone, as well as ab crunches (lots of ideas online for different exercises). You don't have to do extreme amounts of weight (I use 5 or 10 lb weights), it's more about the how many repetitions you do. This should help jump start your metabolism.
As for trying to *trick* your body, I don't know about that. I'm not that well read on dieting, what I've learned has just been from an interest in fitness.

joeytoribio

cmriverside, i was in the same boat as you. so many sources and strategies and wasn't sure who was right. my mom has been a diet and nutrition freak ever since my dad had a heart attack so she's done lot's of research on her side to help reverse his heart disease.

my nutrition and excercise knowledge base comes from several years of analyzing different sources including fitness and weight training magazines, medical websites, and believe it or not food science shows like "good eats" on Food Network. I tried to look for the science and biology behind each diet trend or fad and found common strategies within each one. the advice i gave were the elements that were common to almost all of them. As a marketer i understand the need to add a competitive advantage to reinvent the wheel so each one sounds different but in the end, they all boil down to the same basic principal... don't consume more energy than you will expend. each of the tips i gave center around this principal in one way or another, such as:

timing your meals spaces out consumption to better match exertion.

timing your carb types does the same thing.

getting fat from good sources vs bad is just good nutrition.

increasing your metabolism through excercise or supplements burns the candle from the other end matches exertion to consumption.

adding muscle mass through weight training to increase metabolism is proven biology.

changing your carb/fat/protein ratio is also just matching calorie intake with exertion.

a good magazine you can read is Muscle and Fitness magazine which has just as much nutritional info as there is excercise info because body building is 50% diet and 50% excercise.

hope this helps.

JennaH

jrandsr1926, that is really helpful advice. I know that I always seems to jump into things rather than taking them slowly. By starting slowly with my exercise and weight loss, its easier to maintain a healthy lifestyle rather than just a diet. Oh, and I had a doctor tell me the same thing!

Nich0le

First off, just to remind everyone, a pound is a pound is a pound. If you have a lb of fat it weighs the same as a lb of muscle, a lb is 16oz period. The difference is that muscles tone and stregthen so you may look leaner but actually weigh more than someone who doesn't strength train.

It can take up to 13 weeks for your body to decide to really start loosing, especially with a significant amount of weight to loose. Just stick with a program that works for you, and you may find during different points of your weight loss journey that different things work.