frustrated over no progress vs. doing something about it

lre224

My problem is that I get so frustrated over not seeing any progress at all, even after working very hard at it with exercise & paying attention to the foods I eat. I get discouraged easily and argue with myself "I might as well just eat whatever, since eating the right foods and limiting my calories to 1200-1400 is doing nothing. Why bother with that hard work if it's not going to pay off." and so on.... so it becomes a vicious cycle that I can't break out of. I get so stressed because I can't seem to follow an eating plan enough to lose weight, and the stress alone problably contributes to not being able to lose weight. I've been trying to lose weight for the past 30 years & just not able to do it, resulting in me being very frustrated & negative over the whole thing.

After relocating in April, I signed up for yoga for 3 months to see if I liked it & to establish a regular pattern of exercise. While that was enough to reduce my blood pressure so that I don't need bp meds any longer, I didn't lose a single pound. Yes, my own fault. I didn't always eat correctly, and I've also come to realize that I also don't push myself nearly hard enough during exercise. If left on my own, I would slow down or stop because I was too tired, instead of just pushing through it and get finished. When the yoga contract was up at the end of July, I decided that instead of renewing that for a year, to use the money and hire a personal trainer. This way, I would have somebody I was accountable to & who would tailor a workout for my goals.

After looking around, I did find one I like. I met with him the first time on Tuesday for a consultation & fitness evaluation, which included a 30 minute workout. Tough workout! I never would have pushed myself that hard - but I was able to do it. In addition to a certified trainer & sports nutritionist, he's a Black Belt instructor and has helped other people lose over 100 pounds, which is the range I need to lose. During Tuesday's workout, we did kicks & punches, since I also take karate. While we were talking, he said he's 51 (doesn't look anywhere close to it) & has a hypoactive thyroid, but doesn't need any medication for it cause he keeps himself in such good shape. We also discussed diet. He tweeked my foods a bit (I should clarify here, my foods when I'm being good), and told me that he wants me at 1800-2000 calories right now. He explained my basal metabolic rate is 1833, and I need that many calories just to exist, especially if I'm going to be working out so much. So I'm looking forward to working with him, and I think he will be able to help me. I'm quite pleased so far. (He actually has a 30 day money back guarantee as well, which I have never seen before from a trainer.)

In addition to this trainer, I just got my red belt in Tang Soo Do last Friday - which is the level right under Black Belt. I still need to earn 2 stripes on my Red Belt and prequalify for the Black belt test; however, this still means that I will be getting more of a workout there to get ready to face the Black Belt test.

So, I'm officially "off the couch" and doing something about finally losing weight - for good. Thank you all for listening!

Laurie

Frannswaz

No problem Laurie....it was a good read

mgmlap

wow..congrats...sometimes it does take someone else to kick us in the *kitten*. I do understand the whole thing about if you do it yourself..you dont push as hard

Last night i had my hubby do the 6week to 6 pack with me.. Since he was there ..I pushed myself harder to show i can do it better than him..i dont do that on my own.

I am also going to use a personal trainer..but waiting till November cause of budget constraints.

Wishing you luck on your weight loss journey

Happy0326

definately a good read...Thanks for sharing your story. Your not alone by any means. Just keep up the GOOD work! you can do it.

sfeld1

It sounds like you have finally found something that will stick for you, congrats! The hardest part with any new diet/lifestyle change, is that change in general is hard and when you dont have anyone to hold us accountable its easy to slip up and fall apart. best of luck!

lmarshel

Good for you, Laurie! Best of luck to you on your journey to a healthier lifestyle.

graysmom2005

Good for you! I can't wait to hear how the trainer is! Yoga is good for mind, flexibility etc, but as far as weight loss not so much. I burn about 100 calories in a yoga class...it's great for the body, but not the most bang for your buck if you have 100 pounds to lose. Stick with the trainer and try some group ex classes. Being surrounded by other members and having an instructor will help you push yourself a little harder too. It may have taken 30 years , but you can change NOW! And you are! Good work!

maygs

WOW I bet he's an awesome trainer to be confident enough to put a 30 day money back guarantee. I'm glad you are off the couch and I am glad you were able to find a great trainer and congrats on the red belt.

mimi2kk

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you are on the right track and found a great trainer. I wish you much success on your journey!

michelegrayson

Congratulations on your red belt and more importantly, congratulations on taking control of your life and figuring out what is going to work for you! Its so easy to give up and give in to the weight gain. You deserve kudos for realizing what you were doing wasn't working! I like the sound of your personal trainer. He seems balanced and is pushing you but not doing something stupid, like starving you when your RMR is showing you need more calories!

Good luck and thanks for the inspiration!

jwhit31

I'm so happy you didn't quit and your fighting for your health. I'm wishing you lots of luck and I can't wait to hear your future success story.

lre224

Thank you EVERYONE for your support!!!! I certainly could use it, since I get hardly any at home. Funny thing is, I never even knew about the Message Board Community on MFP until several weeks after I joined. I signed up cause I was able to keep track of foods & calories both online & offline with my ITouch.

@ mgmlap - keep up the good work - even if that means dragging hubby's butt to workout with you! Getting better than him is certainly a goal to reach & keep your mind occupied while exercising.

@ graysmom2005 - I agree with you about yoga. I took Dahn Yoga, so it wasn't even the regular yoga - Dahn Yoga is at least 50% mental & meditation, but not very much cardio, and very few of the traditional poses. I do like yoga, but needed more cardio.

On days when I'm not working with the trainer, he wants me on my elliptical EVERY DAY for 30 minutes. On that, I do push myself hard enough that I'm dripping with sweat before too long & watch You-Tube videos of my favorite artists to distract me from watching the timer.

@ michelegrayson - speaking of needing extra calories -

Yesterday was the first day I followed how he wants me to eat. During the afternoon while I was out running around, I got very irritable, and my mood just got worse as the day went on. 15 year old daughter who was with me certainly didn't help any - just made things worse. We ate lunch late - about 2:30. About 6:00, we left to go back home, about 45 minutes away. I briefly thought about eating dinner before we left, but we ate lunch so late and I wasn't hungry, and certainly not in the mood for it. So I decided just to wait until we got home & I would eat there. I assumed my husband & son would get dinner on their own & I wasn't concerned about my daughter. On the way home, I only then remembered that my trainer wants me to eat every 3 - 3.5 hours. So we finally get home a little after 7, only to realize that nobody ate dinner & I'm suddenly trying to figure out what to feed my entire fanily for dinner. Ended up going to Subway & not eating until 8pm. Added all my calories up including my 6" turkey sub & realized that I was only at 1200 something calories - and hungry an hour later. I got more to eat (a lot more than I normally would have, or probably should have - since it was 9:00 at night by then) & considered the whole experience a learning curve. Told the trainer about it today & he said I didn't have enough to eat yesterday.

So yes, I'm doing this for me. A secondary goal is to avoid health problems that many of my relatives have. My trainer is absolutely 100% convinced that I WILL get to my goal. I told him that I am definitely determined, but I just don't have the self-confidence (hence part of my reason for hiring him). I just look at him & think "yeah right, I'll get there. sure." However, it doesn't stop me from working out at the intensity he wants me to, or eating the way he wants me to & that WILL get results - I'm 100% convinced of that!

Scarlett_S

Good move on your part. I have found that I work out MUCH harder in the presence of others (like at karate class) and especially with a trainer. I was going to say that maybe your calories were too low until I read that you had bumped them up to 1800. Good for you!

I am a black belt candidate this year - on the road to testing in March. I have to stay a brown belt for 8 more months and pass all kinds of rigorous testing, which is what spurred me to start losing weight in the first place - I really, really want to finish this. Good luck to you!!!

lre224

@ Scarlett - yes, 1800 still seems like so much to me, but I'll trust that this trainer knows what he is doing. He's already helped people lose this much weight.

And good luck with training for your black belt test!! My instructor hasn't mentioned anything yet about the test - it's still far enough away; but I know it's coming. Since my trainer is also a black belt instructer and knows I take karate, he has been pulling kicks & punches into my workout, which as you already know is tough when you do them successively & using the correct technique.