Not the results I was hoping for...

Bmeyer01

So, I have been at this for 3 weeks now. I work out 4-5 mornings a week. On the days when I just can't get out of bed at 6am to go to the gym I do Jillian Michael's 30 day burn, but I try to limit that to only 2 days a week or less. The other days I do 40 minutes of interval training on the treadmill. I slack on the weekend, but am going to motivate myself to go 1 weekend day.

As far as my eating goes, I lack big time!! I try to eat healthy, but just cannot seem to bring myself to say no. Does anyone have any healthy, but not so elaborate eating suggestions? I can cook, but not all that well, and to be honest it's not my favorite thing to do.

So with all that said, I have not lost any weight. I guess it's a good thing that I have not gained though right? I am losing some inches though. I have been measuring my waist and have lost a total of 1.5 inches. Is that ok for the stage that I am at in this process? Is it normal? If you have any advice for me it would be greatly appreciated. I'm getting really discourged. Thank You!!

jlewis121186

actually, thats great! you may be losing fat and gaining muscle...a pound of fat is like a gallon of milk while a pound of muscle is like a 16oz steak. when you burn off fat and build muscle, you wont see pound loss, but you will see inch loss.

keep it up!

sweetheart03622

What's your weakness with food? Fried food, sugar, snacks? Find healthy swaps for yourself, and keep flexing your numbers. You might have to raise your calories and lose slower for sanity's sake! It's not one-size fits all! You have to tweek and play around until you figure out somethign that works for you. Unfortunately, I can tell you that no matter how much you exercise, if you lose it with the food you won't get anywhere fast (I did that from December until February, and gained 4 pounds, before I get my *kitten* figured out)

Ben2118

Make your diary public, helps people suggest things based on what you are already eating , I find it difficult too!, all I seem to do when I try cook is mess the kitchen up! lol, so for me I tend to eat the same stuff each week, chicken, fish, wholewheat pasta. wholegrain rice, beef, cottage cheese, nuts are all part are my weekly diet, sometimes I have a different meal for dinner just to try new things.

As far as saying no, set yourself a little goal, have a treat on a sunday or for every day you say Yes you have to do extra exercise.

Hope this helps.

Ben.

MrsCon40

Keep up the exercising - you're doing great and 1.5" is 1.5"!!

Start by making a better food choice for just one meal. Then be proud of yourself. Then make another better food choice. And be proud again.

Keep doing this until you're not so frustrated with yourself!

♥_Ellybean_♥

What kind of things are you eating? ... and are you drinking plenty of water?


There is something called Carb-Combining which my husband and I did a lot of research, and if you LOVE food and CARBS... then maybe it's something you could look into. The basics of it is, for every 1 bad item on your plate (say a slice of pizza) you should eat 2 good items that are low carb (to help slow that pizza down) Salad and 2 Slices of Turkey? ...

It's ok to not be on target all the time, but try your very best to be under calories. If you can't resist the temptation of a slice of pizza then have it, and follow it by a salad... or have that slice of cake and follow it by some almonds... And try your VERY BEST to stay under your caloires

For Items to eat: Try cooking only on the weekends... and freeze leftovers for the week .... and add a salad for dinner every night (to try and make it ahabit) and soon you will be WANTING that salad... Hubby and I LOVE the salad kits... we buy the lite Ceaser kit and it's a toss in the bowl add some chicken breast and wa la you have a meal!

Laelee

I've not lost any weight either and I've been on the wagon for 3 months but like you I've lost inches, so I'm gonna yes, its normal.
At least from what I've seen around here,we're not the only ones. Hang in there!

strandedeyes

If cooking isnt your favorite thing to do....

look for items that are low in sodium, low in calories..
stay away from processed foods (if possible)
whole grains (whole wheat bread or whole wheat pitas)

those are the basics...

turkey sandwichs are awesome (if you want less cals, toast one slice of bread and then split that in half through the thickness....less cals and two slices.. )
hummus, veggies, and pita rock...
salads are easy but stick with low fat, low cal dressing...

i hope this helps

SheilaSisco

If you are losing inches, I wouldn't worry too much. The thing about weight is that muscle weighs more than fat... and it sounds like the rate you're working out, you are probably gaining muscle at the same rate you're losing fat which would equal maintaining weight and gaining muscle. It isn't a bad thing. The goal is to look thinner, right? Not necessarily 'lose weight'. If you're losing inches, then you're improving your appearance and your health, which is ultimately the goal. I'm sure at some point the muscle thing will plateau and you will start seeing the weight loss part too, but at this point, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

mentalbeat

Hi,
1.5 inches is great, don't put too much pressure on yourself to lose weight every week. I have been doing this 5 weeks now for 2 of those weeks I stayed the same, then lost 4lbs, but all the while I was losing inches. Just mind your food, eat healthy stay within calories and exercise. You will lose weight.

Well done on your progress so far.

smichmoo

I'm no expert, but I would recommend trying to set rules for yourself. For example, no soda, or no fast food. Small rules will be much easier to comply with than simply saying "I will only eat healthy food!" It's unrealistic to try to make a lifestyle change cold turkey like that, unless you already ate pretty healthy to begin with.

Second of all, don't get discouraged. 3 weeks may seem like a long time but weight loss is not an instant gratification sort of deal. Also, remember that as you burn off fat and develop muscle, you may even gain weight at first. You have lost 1.5 inches - that is good for just your waist! If you've lost 1.5 off your waist, you've lost more inches from other places on your body as well. Be proud of yourself for that and don't let the fact that you haven't lost weight derail your exercise regimen.

You are doing great, just make sure you take small steps at first, and that you don't let minor setbacks distract you from your overall goal. : )

flaquitadelafrontera

I've only been here about 3 weeks myself, but in that short time I've been on a mission to figure things out! I can tell you that most of the time it's a simple matter of calories in and calories out. You may be eating your exercise calories ie. calorie "deficit". Remember that thing where you first signed up and it asked your lifestyle "sedentary" etc.? If you take a look the math of it all...your BMR and the predictions for your weight loss you can figure it out. Now that I've figured out the math of it all (cals in cals out) I can guess pretty closely what I'll loose in the week. I feel like unless you have some thing else going on like a thyroid problem or maybe even just too much sodium and water retention, it becomes fairly straight forward. Cals in cals out (by exercise, or just not consuming them in the first place). I recommend taking a moment to really figure out your weight loss goals math. It definitely helped me understand how it all works:) Good luck!

Naomi91

actually, thats great! you may be losing fat and gaining muscle...a pound of fat is like a gallon of milk while a pound of muscle is like a 16oz steak. when you burn off fat and build muscle, you wont see pound loss, but you will see inch loss.

keep it up!

Itis extremely difficult to actually build muscle on with reduced calorie intake. In order to make good amount of muscle gains you actually need to go over maintaince! Strength training with dieting can help reduce muscle loss, but wont help you actually gain lean muscle mass.

tamarawisniewski

I know how frustrated you are. I have only lost 6 pounds and have been working at losing for many months. In regards to the cooking, it doesn't have to be that hard or messy. A few suggestions: top a whole wheat tortilla with some favorite toppings (I use 1/2 mozz. cheese stick per tortilla, tomatoes, basil). There are some great tortillas out there that are about 70 calories.
Chicken: take a chicken breast and add some water and orange juice to a heat proof pan, bake at 350 until done. You can steam some vegetables right in the same pan (orange slices, zucchini, green beans, onion wedges, spinach). Very satisfying (cheap) and not at all messy!

msemejuru

Make sure to plan your meals in advance so you don't have to make decisions hungry. Add some snack swaps that meet your cravings: pudding for chocolate, kale chips for crunchy etc. The inches lost are great, be proud!

Bmeyer01

Thanks for all the great advice. I have already managed to cut out pretty much every drink except water (I may have a pop once a week) and I am for the most part staying away from fast food, (again, no more than once a week if at all.) I like the idea of planning out my meals. that will make the decision much easier for me. Again, thanks for all the great advice. Its is nice to have so much support on this site.