Frusrated ... Should I give up?

Jackie0127

So, I've been working hard for the past 16 days, Last Friday I was down a total of 3 pounds. I think TOM might be cominmg to town because I have been craving a few more carbs and chocolate than normal, but even though I made chocolate cupcakes, I withheld my will not to eat them. I have tried to put a lot of H20 in my system, I know, sometimes not enough. I have been working out 5 days of the week. taking a break 2 days of the week. I am not working on muscle training, just cardio at the time. So, I don't think I am building muscle in any way. I have measured my self only to see I've added 1/4 inch to my arms, and lost almost 1/4 inch everywhere else in my body, but not enough to make a difference. Today ... I am BACK to where I started ... almost 164 lbs again!!!! What the heck??? I feel like giving up. It's like I'm working so hard for NOTHING!!! I don't know what to do. I am frustrated, disapointed and angry!! I want to cry so bad!! :sad:

potluck965

16 days? This is a lifestyle change and it will work if you follow the plan and tweak it for your own needs.

16 days isn't enough to judge anything. Heck, you haven't even been through a one month cycle to see how your body responds.

GooBeGone

don't give up! i can understand how frustratin it is. in the past 2wks i've consistently stayed around 214. it's like it won't budge sometimes. if u keep it up u're body will get the message. try eatin 100more calories or 100 less calories (if u're eatin 1300calories or more daily), change ur exercise routine, try addin weight trainin b/c it tones & burns more fat.

we all hafta find what works 4 us. u can do this!!! :flowerforyou:

donnadickens

Please do not give up!!! Every week, I alternate either up or down. In the end You will see that you will be down. Your body is going through changes, and it does not like it. Once you and your body are on the same page, it will come off more frequently!
Oh! and Tom...it can cause up to 5 lbs water weight, that too will come back off.. keep track of your salt intake, and weigh only 1 time a week... and keep telling youself..it will come off!!! I can do it!! :flowerforyou:

salsaflavor

:flowerforyou: DONT GIVE UP ONE DAY AT A TIME ,WE CAN MAKE IT!!!

bugnbeansmom

You can't quit after 16 days! No one ever changed their lives in 16 days unless it was for the worse. Hang in there.

You might want to do some light weight work. Muscle burns fuel more efficiently than fat. (ie burn more calories!)

Mayor_West

Don't give up- if your methods aren't giving you the desired results, you need to change your methods. But whatever you do, DON'T QUIT.

I looked at your diary and some strength training should definitely be implemented. Cardio is effective at causing weight loss initially, but it also leads to a plateau, which would explain your situation. Strength training will keep your RMR up longer, making the fat-burning process more efficient.

bhb301

I agree 16days is nothing. Also try to cut back on fast food, processed foods. It is better to eat morea natural foods,like vegs, furits , and meat you cooked. Don't give up, you didn't gain this weight in 16 days, so you aren't going to lose it in 16days either.

tyienna

I think your doing everything right and should stick to it. You have your ups and downs in your weight, but in the long run it will show results. I can say that I'm just losing motavation in working out. I'm eating right but just don't want to hit the gym. Stick with it!

soccermom004

This is not a diet but a lifestyle change. It took more than 16 days to gain the weight and will take more than that to take it off. Stick to a healthy path and it will happen. The healthy way is slow and steady, quick weight loss almost always finds it's way back. Good luck!

mapinkerton

You need to get it straight in your head - THIS is a lifestyle change! It is a learning, ongoing process. This is NOT a fad diet, quick fix, etc. Winners never quit and quitters never win.

dandydalek

Just keep at it! I know it can be frustrating, but as long as you're eating right and exercising, you know you're moving in the right direction, whether a scale or a measuring tape says so or not. Just focus on how you FEEL. Maybe take a break from weighing and measuring for a week or two and just focus on how your body is feeling. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you!

toots99

I noticed in your diary that you have Starbucks for breakfast most days...if you start to track your sugar, you'll see how much sugar your taking in and that could be a big culprit! Eat a bigger, healthier breakfast, that should help.

realrayne10

Yeah, it takes time...you can do it! I would cut back on the fast food and increase your water consumption. I was able to drop 50lbs over 9 months just doing that!

EDesq

I Totally Agree with Potluck! If you're on a "Diet" yea, QUIT! Because you will lose and then be right back...the yo-yo thing. BUT if you are going for a Better LIFE- for LIFE, then calm down, Listen to and learn from what YOUR BODY is telling you and follow your Plan. STEADY and Slow is the WAY!!!

hpsnickers1

Give your body time to adjust. It can take up to a month. Diet and exercise is stress to the body. In the beginning it will try and protect itself. If TOM is near that will cause water retention and will make the scale jump. It's too soon to give up.

Usually the initial weight you lose if water weight. You might want to start on some strength/resistance training. Dieting and cardio will cause muscle mass loss along with fat loss. More muscle loss as you drop weight. This slows your metabolism and can slow down weight loss. You need to preserve or increase that lean muscle mass. Then you burn more fat through normal activity and even sleeping. And I'm not talking 3lb weights. For size: weights heavy enough for 8-10 reps to fail. For lean muscles: heavy enough for 12-15 reps to fail. The last three reps should BURN! (I got this from P90X - I've lost 4mm on my belly caliper pinch since I started. 5 months of diet and cardio didn't do it.

http://www.hussmanfitness.org/index.html

site has some great info.
also a site called www.bodyrecomposition.com. This also has some great reading.

tross0924

Well the first thing you should do is throw away that horrible evil device causing all this trouble, your scale.

My weight "bounces" in a 8 lb range. Every day I wake up it's different, and it generally has nothing to do with how hard I work the day before. But as the months go by the high "bounces" soon start being where the lows "bounces" used to be. There just has to be a downward trend over the long haul for you to reach your goal, and just a few weeks doesn't cut it as a long haul.

The other factor is TOM comes with it's friend called water retention. So especially stay off the scale if you're anywhere in that area.

Don't be discouraged. If you're doing what you should be, eating right, exercising, and being healthier, your weight will fall in line soon enough. Keep it up and don't quit. Quiting is the only way to fail to reach your goal.

Deep breath. You CAN do this. You WILL do this.

GL, and try not to be too discouraged. :-)

dlaplume2

I don't think you should give up. I think you should tweak your diet a bit. I went through it and it is not completely aweful. I know for me I would feel hungry all the time. You are eating out a lot and taking up a lot of calories in fewer meals. I'm not saying to never treat yourself, but maybe spread the snacking around and meals too. I saw one day where you had a really filling breakfast but then had cereal for dinner and you only had like 1000 calories. I don't know if you stopped tracking, or if you really ate that little, but I would have been starving. That doesn't help you mood, energy or metabolism.

If you want you can take a peek at my food diary for ideas.
I would also track you sodium and make sure you are getting all your water in. You either are getting it or aren't tracking it.
Don't give up you can do it. It is a process.
Best wishes.

sloanie1

Hi there! 16 days in... Congratulations for taking the steps to improve your life, well done....I'm celebrating 50 days today and I've lost a total of 1.2 kilos....not much at all, I had lost 2.3 but gained 1.1 this week, this was despite staying within my calories, going to the gym every day....I feel your pain, it is really hard to work your butt off continually and completely soul destroying to not see results.......I was gutted, angry, frustrated, fed up, I wanted to cry!!!! So where to from here? Well something isn't working so I need to reconvene, get more organized, eat more veges, eat more protein, the list goes on.

We have to keep moving forward, as difficult as it is and as much as we get upset, Just think if we didn't bother to do anything, if we chose to take the easy way out and not address the fact that our lifestyles need improving how much worse would we feel? you are not alone, there are thousands of people going through the same torment.

Don't give up, no matter what, WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!!! We have to believe in ourselves....:o)

StaceyL76

So, I've been working hard for the past 16 days, Last Friday I was down a total of 3 pounds. I think TOM might be cominmg to town because I have been craving a few more carbs and chocolate than normal, but even though I made chocolate cupcakes, I withheld my will not to eat them. I have tried to put a lot of H20 in my system, I know, sometimes not enough. I have been working out 5 days of the week. taking a break 2 days of the week. I am not working on muscle training, just cardio at the time. So, I don't think I am building muscle in any way. I have measured my self only to see I've added 1/4 inch to my arms, and lost almost 1/4 inch everywhere else in my body, but not enough to make a difference. Today ... I am BACK to where I started ... almost 164 lbs again!!!! What the heck??? I feel like giving up. It's like I'm working so hard for NOTHING!!! I don't know what to do. I am frustrated, disapointed and angry!! I want to cry so bad!! :sad:

I understand your pain as I have been in that same spot many times. Here is the true quesiton: Do you want to change your lifestyle? IF TOM is coming you could be carring up to 5lbls of water. How are your clothes fitting? Are you making changes you can live with forever?

You can do this!! You know it deep within that you can do this - as long as you keep focus. Remember this is about the journey (making lifestyle changes - and what we learn about ourselves along the way) not the destination.

Know this, you are not alone - we are all here to support you. It sounds like you have done a great start as far as these first 2 weeks. A great book is Burn the Fat Feed the Muscles by Tom Venuto. I am currently reading it and it clears up so much confusion around this subject and arms you with many many tools and strategies to make these changes. If you google him you can get it in ebook format.

You can do this! You may just need to make some tweaks! Don't give up on yourself, you are worth it - you can Persevere!

Sincerely,
Stacey

kristiansmith02

Of course you SHOULDN'T give up. I just started with myfitnesspal less than a month ago but I've been dealing with weight loss for about 8.5 years now. Right now I'm 293. At my heaviest I was 375. What I've learned over the years is weight loss is 90% eating habits. Working out is awesome! Don't get me wrong. I love to workout. But if we work out all the time but we're not eating the right foods they cancel each other out. Focus more attention on the types of food you eat and that may help.

Jackie0127

Thank you so much for all of your support and help. I guess it was my emotions talking. I shouldn't give up, and I won't. This IS a lifestyle change and I am in it to win it!! I just thought I'd see changes a little faster than I though. Eating healthier has improved my overall feeling. I feel healthier, more energized and this is the way I want to feel. I know I didn't gain this weight in 2 weeks and I am not going to lose it in 2 weeks, I just expected the scale to be a little more friendly. Like someone said, Slow and steady is the way ... so that's the approach my body is taking, and I should listen to it, and let it do it's thing, just keep nurturing it back to it's healthy state

THANK YOU ALL!!!

songbyrdsweet

Why would you want to give up? You'll never get anywhere that way. Just take it a day at a time. Relax. Have fun. :glasses:

crystaldougherty

Don't EVER give up!!!! I've been at it for a year and its been a roller coaster ride...I'm also getting frustrated with my weight, but I refuse to allow myself to give up.!!

songbyrdsweet

I have been changing my body for about 6 YEARS now. It's a journey. Lose fat, build muscle, gain strength, train for a 5K, do some powerlifting...it's not just about the scale. It's about challenging yourself with new goals all the time and promoting your body to become more dynamic. Last year at this time I was powerlifting, and I was really good at it. Now I'm biking 15-20 miles a day and I'm pretty good at that. Those are two vastly different adaptive systems. My weight changes at times, and other times it doesn't. Obviously my back is very lean in my avatar pic, but I don't look like that right now. Giving is just not an option!