Feeling frustrated....

Startingover71

Hi everyone,

I need to vent and have a poor me moment :frown: , the past 4 weeks I have lost a total of 8 ounces, I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. I have opened up my food diary for anyone to read and mind you I know yesterday I did not eat enough calories. I eat about an average of 1300 to 1400 calories a day, maybe I should be eating more? I exercise about 4 - 5 times at week, strength training and Leslie Sansone walking dvds.
If anyone has any suggestions I am open to them.

Thank you!

Spedden

Good morning, and thanks for sharing your frustrations, because I had a very frustrating YEAR before I started losing any weight. Congratulate yourself on the fact that you're probably eating much more healthily than before, and probably exercising more than before. These unexplained plateaus happen to all of us.

MFCuce

I have been having a poor me rant for a while. I have been here over 60 days and have been going up and down with the same 2 pounds. That's the extent of my loss!!I see you have lost 36 pounds, that's nothing to sneeze at!! I will look at your diary and you can look at mine, although everyone is different and has different needs. I just tried to view your diary and don't see it....

MFCuce

OK! I see the three of us are in the same age bracket!! I am told it may be harder for us to lose than many of those on MFP who are younger!

lil_pulp

I know the frustration you're feeling! I noticed in your food diary that you usually (not just yesterday) have hundreds of calories left over. MFP is designed for you to eat those calories, so I would try doing that for a couple of weeks and see if it helps. (I know it's hard to eat more, but if you make healthy choices, it may be what your body needs.) Good luck!
-LP

RunningAddict

Hmmmm.... With strength training you're going to gain muscle. Have you noticed any loss in inches? I have the same issue with running. I don't lose weight but with some clothes I can tell that they are more loose. I think for us dieters that are hitting the exercise world brutally we should judge our prgress by measurements and not rely so much on the scales. Hang in there. You have to be gettting more fit and toned if nothing else. )

AllergicToExercise

Hi there - just had a quick look at your diary for the last few days and have noticed that on some days you have up to 800 cals spare at the end of the day (after exercise) which is a lot to be under your goal cals by!

Just a suggestion in that you may want to up your cals to closer to your goal cals, as this may nudge things along.

Best of luck with it!

bmbellamy

I'd like to join this post because I'm experiencing similar results and feel your frustration. I'm hypothyroid which adds to the challenge. I have an appointment in early June to visit an Endocrinologist to get his opinion on my hormonal levels (a co-worker had significant results after an evaluation).

I was telling hubby this morning though that I HAVE had this revelation. He and I met in 2004 and I weighed around 190, but was a larger clothes size (18-20). He and I took up racquetball about 15 months ago and we play approximately 3-4 times a week at a very competitive level. My eating habits are much "cleaner" (gave up daily sodas and only have them "rarely", fewer convenience/packaged foods"). With that effort, while I WEIGH MORE, I've lost inches and down to a size 16 (in most clothes).

I will say, it's nice to hear my hubby say, "You're firming up", but it's disheartening not to see the reflection in the scales. So, I'm mentally struggling with the fact that I KNOW I'm healthier (less knee pain, can climb MULTIPLE flights of stairs without being breathless, etc), but I have to not rely FULLY on those doggone scales!!!!

So, try to write down your positive changes and focus on the larger picture....getting healthier. Even small changes can make a signficant impact.

Nikstergirl

I peeked too... you need to eat more! You're making good choices, I see lots of lean meat and veggies which is great! Make sure you eat those exercise calories. I know sometimes that's not easy, but get closer to your goal every day and you will lose faster! Your body needs that fuel to keep going. I tend to get as close as I can and even go a little over once in a while and have been losing slowly, but losing! I love my Saturday's because I do my long runs and burn 500-1000 calories that I get to eat!!!! Yummy dinners (smart, but yummy) are so worth it when I've earned it!!!! If you need ideas for snacks to add to get your calories up, I would suggest almonds or other nuts, natural peanut butter on whole grain bread, or Greek yogurt with granola.

Good luck! Oh, and we are the same age, so if it's working for me, it should work for you! Food is not the enemy, so eat up those calories!!!!

Startingover71

Thanks everyone for your comments, I wondered if maybe I wasn't eating close enough to my calorie goal. I will try that next week and see what I can come up with!
RunningAddict, yes I agree about the scales and that is my problem, I am too focused on the scales!
And thank you for all the postivity! :happy:

LindaSueBakk

Eat some of those exercise calories! That's what MFP is all about! You need to fuel your work outs. Raise your calories every day for a week. You don't have to eat every calorie, but at least get within 200 calories. Make sure they are healthy foods - fruits, proteins. And keep up with the water. I bet you'll see a loss. Good luck and friend me if you'd like!

kimberlylove

If all else fails try doing 40-30-30.
40% Protein
30% Carbohydrates
30% Fats

Best of luck to ya!

C_Bran

This is what worked for me......

50/30/20 - Protein/Carbs/Fat. I started doing bodyweight circuits on M,W,F and on T, Th I would walk at least 45mins. Saturday and Sunday were days that may include any kind of workout that I felt like doing or none at all. When I say bodyweight circuits just youtube bodyweight exercises and you will get the idea.

I would start my day with a Protein shake, workout and then carry on with my day. This will not make you muscular, just tones what you have. When you tone muscle and build lean muscle you burn fat. MUSCLE BURNS FAT!!! I don't me try to look like a bodybuilder. Also I stayed away from sugar. The only sugar I would have would be in the form of fruit....no sweetner, no honey. Drink a cup of green tea daily (2 if possible).

I seldom ate my exercise calories. For the longest I was struggling to make 1,500 calories a day. I had to change my diet to get more calories in.

For the most part this is what I did to get 55lbs gone since Feb 1. If you have any further questions feel free to PM me.

Best of Luck

C. Bran

Startingover71

Anyone have any suggestions on what else I can eat to make up more calories a day? Should it be more veggies or fruit, or more carbs? Thanks again for all of the helpful comments!