I need encouragement!

kittyhorn

I've been using MFP regularly for a little while and it's a great tool Once the warmer weather hit here I found my workout motivation so I'm working out 5-6 times a week. My problem is that the scale is barely budging! I'm working really hard and I know I'm building muscle and getting stronger (I can do real pushups now!!!) but I would love to see the scale move down at a more regular rate.

Any advice? Looking at my diary do you have any suggestions?

Just a note: I rarely log my water but I get usually between 4-6 glasses per day.

valerieheat

The healthy pace to lose weight is 1-2 pounds per week. Only weigh once a week and you should drink a gallon of H20 a day. Good luck~!

jeff261159

I wouold say that whilst your diary is well balanced with some nice foods, you need to keep within your fat and protein goals. I try and eat as little fat as possible. Hope it helps, youre doing great!!

momma3sweetgirls

You might want to keep an eye on your sodium consumption as well. Eating too much sodium can make you retain water and might be a reason for no loss of weight.

andyp10

Hi

What you need to do is measure the waste, hips etc with a dress makes style tape. Your building with the exercise so the scales can sometimes show no improvement.

simply_healthy

I've been using MFP regularly for a little while and it's a great tool Once the warmer weather hit here I found my workout motivation so I'm working out 5-6 times a week. My problem is that the scale is barely budging! I'm working really hard and I know I'm building muscle and getting stronger (I can do real pushups now!!!) but I would love to see the scale move down at a more regular rate.

Any advice? Looking at my diary do you have any suggestions?

Just a note: I rarely log my water but I get usually between 4-6 glasses per day.

Try shuffling your carbs, protein and fat split.. Try different workouts... Your body gets used to a routine or food type..I have heard this so many times.. "Keep your body guessing"...Hope this helps !

VICKY_83

I would say cut down on your carbs and drink loads of water..xx

VICKY_83

I've been using MFP regularly for a little while and it's a great tool Once the warmer weather hit here I found my workout motivation so I'm working out 5-6 times a week. My problem is that the scale is barely budging! I'm working really hard and I know I'm building muscle and getting stronger (I can do real pushups now!!!) but I would love to see the scale move down at a more regular rate.

Any advice? Looking at my diary do you have any suggestions?

Just a note: I rarely log my water but I get usually between 4-6 glasses per day.

Try shuffling your carbs, protein and fat split.. Try different workouts... Your body gets used to a routine or food type..I have heard this so many times.. "Keep your body guessing"...Hope this helps !

This is right change your route every day or wk I change mine every day as i get bored with the same dvds

pvaness17

Hang in there, I didn't lose a pound in the first four weeks, then it began falling off. Then another plateau, then more off. Substitute more protein for fat, be patient. If you eat too few calories, say less than 1200, your body will want to store most of them. You'll feel lethargic. Eat 1500 in small increments throughout the day and keep the metabolic engine cranked up. Eat at least 6 times during the day, 250 calories each time. Last thing, the whole muscle confusion things is right on. You don't need to have P90X to do it though. Change up your exercise routine every few weeks mixing between muscle groups and intensities.

johnnythebaptist

Dont worry about the scale........Just do what you do..EXERCISE....The weight will fall off.:bigsmile:

TWEETIE19

Hang in there.. The weight will start falling off just keep doing what your doing and Exercise!!!! I'm here for ya hun... :flowerforyou:

kittyhorn

So an update...lol....so soon after my initial post:

I did my measurements (I last did them 6/6/2011) and I have lost a few inches here and there so that's encouraging

beckusjane

You may have already seen this message. I put it as a blog on my page. I truly think this helps when people feel like they are stuck and not sure what to do to continue. I KNOW you can do this:) I also know there is strength in numbers so feel free to message me anytime if you are having issues throughout the day. I can check in daily with you if you would like:)

Just so you know, this may turn into a novel:) And dont go strictly by any of this. What works for one person may not work for someone else. We did a "Get Fit, Get Healthy" challenge at my work for 8 weeks. I lost about 22 lbs. and 5% of my body fat. We had to do certain things to get points for the challenge. These are the things we needed to do:

*64 oz. of water each day. This does not include coffee, juices or kool-aid. Now you can have 64 oz. + juices but you must drink 64 oz. When you do drink juices, they have to be 100% juice. Easy enough right? Grape juice, apple juice, orange juice. Tomato juice too but the sodium is ridiculous in it. I'm sure if you want some of that it would be ok for a change. Just dont make it your only juice.

*7 hours or more of sleep. This can be hard if you have small children or just a hectic schedule. If you are able to lie down for a nap during the day, you can count that, but it is much better if you can get 7 hrs straight.

*Eat breakfast within 2 hrs of waking up. This is a hard one. Some people just cant stand eating first thing in the morning. I usually grab something quick like an apple or a banana.

*5 servings of fruits/veggies a day. Pretty straight forward. Again this is where your juices come in. You can use 4 oz. of fruit juice as a serving of fruit. For the record, jelly beans are not a fruit even if they are fruit flavored.

* 210 minutes of cardio a week. Now you can get this walking, biking, swimming, yardwork (raking and push mowing count) snow shoveling is a BIG one but obviously it will be a few months til we can do that again and I dont mind a bit!! Now it doesnt matter how you break this down as long as you do a minimum of 10 minutes for any time you are counting it. You can do more than 210 minutes of course if your schedule allows.

*Toning with free weights or stretch bands 3 times a week for 10 minutes a piece. You can definitely do more than 3 times. That is only the minimum. Sometimes I will use my free weight and incorporate them into my aerobic routines.

That's it. Those are the simple rules I am following and the weight is coming off. You dont want it to fall off all at once. If it does, then you're doing something drastic and the chances of sticking with it are slim. Working it off slowly is the best ticket. Making small changes makes it easier to become lifestyle changes not temporary fixes.

Also, I tend to stay away from white flour. You can eat breads, potatoes and pasta in moderate amounts but it is much better for you if you eat whole wheat breads and pastas or sweet potatoes. Dont get worried about the fact that there are about as many carbs in whole wheat pasta as there is in the regular. It's better for you~trust me!!

Another trick that helps? If you have time, measure out a serving of your snacks. Use ziplock baggies and have them ready to grab and go. I usually have pretzels, animal crackers stuff like that ready so that I dont have to think about it. If I just try to sit with a bag of pretzels, pretty soon Ive eaten half the bag but if I have a true serving size packaged, I know when to stop.

If the idea of this process is overwhelming, dont try to change everything at once. Maybe work on 5 fruits/veggies and once you have that figured out, then try 64 oz of water. Keep adding a step to it til you are on your way to healthier choices.

Good luck. Hope this helps:)

Becca