I need a little help... getting discouraged!

RayRay042408

Ok... I started this journey on june 26th, 2011 weighing "around" 201 pounds... From that date to about three weeks later... I used my elliptical machine DAILY, once sometimes twice a day, aiming for 10-15 minutes.... I managed to go from 201ish to 191ish. AND IM STUCK! granted, there was a few days that followed a 2 day illness that i just did NOT feel like exercising... I didnt really change up how I was eating...

so here I am, about 6 weeks in and i'm still... STUCK.
im trying to figure out what my caloric intake should be...
I'm trying to figure out how to eat even THAT much...
I had my goal at 1200 for about 10 days and i couldnt get that high. no matter what i tried & if i ate a little extra, i went over :grumble:
Now, i'm 5'6" and I weigh roughly 191. & im almost clueless as to how this calorie input and output thing works but even i know 1200 isnt enough... my BMR is 1639!!!

about 4 days ago, i added bee pollen capsules to my diet.
i think today was the first day that they curbed my appetite... i just didnt feel like eating...

I bought "super advanced whey protein" mix tonight from wal mart... should i add a shake or two in per day? or none at all?

My problem is that i used to weigh 138 pounds!!! i have 51 pounds to go to get there!!!
i know it isnt going to happen over night... but summer is almost over and NONE of my clothes fit me!!! & to be honest i cant afford new.

im getting quite discouraged. I'm thinking about going and having a talk with my doctor... my mothers whole family, including her has thyroid issues, and im wondering if this is factoring in???

i just need some advice, some pointers, suggestions... whatever you may have to offer...

OtakuEngineer

I'd go and talk to your doctor, especially if you suspect that there might be some sort of health issue that is preventing you from losing weight, and maybe even contributed to gaining weight in the first place.

RayRay042408

i guess i should add that the weight GAIN came from having two kids... im sorry

with my daughter i went from 138 to 199, and never went below 182.

started off at 184 with my son, ended at 212 and am stuck at 191.

jamielise2

Sounds to me like you need to eat more. Try adding some low fat/high protein snacks. My suggestion would be to try to eat more for a few days, and then drop back to see if that helps. That's what finally broke my plateau. And be sure you're tracking and eating back most of your workout calories, or your body will go into starvation mode and just quit on you. Take it from someone who cut herself down to 500 calories a day for 6 months. It destroyed my body after some short term losses.

Jeflaw96

I had the same problem a few years ago when I was on the Atkins diet. With Atkins you have to limit your carbs. to 25 grams a day. I would exercise every day and my weight would drop, and then level out. No matter how much harder I worked out, I just couldn't lose any more weight. Then I tried going over the carb limit one day and then back on the diet. Almost immediately I started losing weight again. I think the additional carbs. restarted my metabolism again.
I'm not trying the Atkins this time because I'm older and concerned about the high fat content in the diet. Instead, I'm tying yoga and light aerobics everyday, and also making a conscious effort to eat more raw vegetables and salads for lunch and right before dinner. I'm also making a conscious effort to maintain portion control when I eat. The weight loss is slower than when I was on Atkins, but I am happy with the results. I feel myself getting stronger each day. Instead of focusing on what your are not losing, try to focus on what you are gaining each day that you exercise. Hope this helps.

xraychick77

dont listen to all this broscience. you dont NEED to eat back calories..and its not that you arent eating enough either..we all reach stalls. its because our bodies adapt. you said your bmr is around 1600..i'm guessing that is without activity level. because if you are 190 lbs that just doesnt sound right..in 120 lbs..and my bmr with activity level is 1800. meaning that is what i'd need to eat to maintain my weight.

the key to breaking stalls is changing things up. that is why dont automatically set your calories at 1200..you go down from your T.E.E. working out for 15 mins at a time is not going to cut it. yes it burns calories, but its not burning much. you should try bumping up your workouts, try adding some weight lifting to it too. get on that machine and try to go for at least 20 mins..if not 40.

there is no point to working out if you just eat all those burned cals back. exercise doesnt do anything for metabolism or bmr (look it up)...

so basically the key is to not give up..keep it up and keep changing things up.

RayRay042408

i've been attempting to do 20... 20 minutes is where i've been for about 2 weeks is. 20 minutes and about 400 calories once a day... i have been trying to get the uumph to do it twice a day... yesterday i did 25 minutes and 525 calories... and 2 other sessions of 15 minutes each and 450 calories total. i had energy from who knows where tho... then today I could barely get out of bed... but i did bustle up energy to do my daily ab and oblique crunches... 50 each... i try to do 50 squats, 25 closed legs 25 open, i occasionally try to do a few push ups... i have NO arm strangth and a bad wrist so these are hard for me. if i have the energy i do 25 front lunges and 25 reverse... i try to pick things up from my slim in 6 dvds.... i cant get thru the second video, so i just do what i can. i have an elliptical trainer... but as far as versitility and changing thins up, thats all i have...

RayRay042408

dont listen to all this broscience. you dont NEED to eat back calories..and its not that you arent eating enough either..we all reach stalls. its because our bodies adapt. you said your bmr is around 1600..i'm guessing that is without activity level. because if you are 190 lbs that just doesnt sound right..in 120 lbs..and my bmr with activity level is 1800. meaning that is what i'd need to eat to maintain my weight.

the key to breaking stalls is changing things up. that is why dont automatically set your calories at 1200..you go down from your T.E.E. working out for 15 mins at a time is not going to cut it. yes it burns calories, but its not burning much. you should try bumping up your workouts, try adding some weight lifting to it too. get on that machine and try to go for at least 20 mins..if not 40.

there is no point to working out if you just eat all those burned cals back. exercise doesnt do anything for metabolism or bmr (look it up)...

so basically the key is to not give up..keep it up and keep changing things up.

my BMR sitting is 1639, with activity i believe it is 2050.

AliDarling

you hit a plato. you need to change up your exercise. add a little resistance like go to 4, do the interval course. put some weitght training into the schedual. you can try an arobics class or something to get all of your body moving.