Frustrated

Ladywaring

I've been working to lose the last 15 lbs for 2 years. Eating right, exercising, etc. I keep gaining and losing the same 2 to 3 lbs. So, I found this site and was excited to finally have some control and easy access to how many calories I actually take in and burn. I have adjusted my eating habits. I do eat healthy choices and stay within my daily calories and I exercise, sometimes I eat my exercise calories and sometimes I don't.

I have logged in here for 25 days in a row. Shouldn't I start losing weight? I am getting so frustrated. Am I doing something wrong? It would be really hard to up my exercise and as for food, I stay within my calories and I don't eat alot of junk.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated because I think I am losing my mind!!! ARGH!

ncgingerich

Can you open your food and exercise diary so we can see what you've been doing? This might help inspire suggestions to get you going again on your weight loss.

FairyMiss

Can't see your diary so can only give general advice.
is there a particular style of eating plan you use, as i hi carb, lo carb, basick 'healthy' eating.

you may try shaking up the plan so to speak. if you eat hi carb, maybe try some low carb/hi pro, see what your body does with that.

and your exercise routine, cardio heavy? strength heavy? again try switching it up a bit.

dianaskin

You may be at a point where your body is very happy with your weight level and doesn't want to budge! Your BEST bet would be to start incorporating weight training to your routine. Be mentally prepared to have the scale go up a bit (because you will put on muscle) but then you'll notice it start to drop because your muscle will make you a fat burning machine! It might take six weeks to actually "see" results...but it's WORTH the wait.

And a lot of women are afraid to do weights BUT we don't have testosterone so we won't bulk up and be huge muscle machines! So even starting with using 3lb weights and working your way up to 20 lbs weights (upper body) and probalby 50lb weights (lower body) will really get you toned.

Maybe try working with a personal trainer for a few months (I know they are costly, but if you can swing it for even a month and then just take it from there) might help.

Good luck!!!

Nancyjsp

My advice is: "Do what is right and don't be attached to the outcome." Eat and exercise because it's healthy for other reasons than losing weight. You body will catch up if it needs to. The last 10 or so pounds are the hardest to lose. Is it possible that you might already be at a good weight for you? Just a few thoughts-- good luck! :happy:

jilliebk

Hello there, have you tired talking to your doctor? seeing a dietican, or nutrionst is a plus, that is what I do.

stella77

This may sound weird, but after 2 years of probably going hungry, your body may have adjusted and stopped losing. You may need to up your calorie intake to start losing.
But I agree with others, if you open your diary people can give more suggestions.

Ladywaring

Opened my diary up for everyone to view. I don't think I eat bad foods or even too much either carbs or protien. But, i may well be missing or have too much of something. Check it out and please let me know if you see anything. Thanks for everyones help.

ninerbuff

I've been working to lose the last 15 lbs for 2 years. Eating right, exercising, etc. I keep gaining and losing the same 2 to 3 lbs. So, I found this site and was excited to finally have some control and easy access to how many calories I actually take in and burn. I have adjusted my eating habits. I do eat healthy choices and stay within my daily calories and I exercise, sometimes I eat my exercise calories and sometimes I don't.

I have logged in here for 25 days in a row. Shouldn't I start losing weight? I am getting so frustrated. Am I doing something wrong? It would be really hard to up my exercise and as for food, I stay within my calories and I don't eat alot of junk.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated because I think I am losing my mind!!! ARGH!

Why type of exercise? How long is the duration? How high is your intensity? How frequent? How long have you been doing your exercise program? How much rest do you get in a day?

kapeluza

"I just wanted to post something about what to expect during the phases of weight loss.

Overview (why I'm posting this)
Over the course of about 7 months on here, I have seen many people suceed, I have also seen some drop off the map. I expect this is because some succumb to the demon that is temptation, and some to the devil that is dissapointment. I wanted to give a few "heads up"s to both new commers and vetrans to the site. Some may know already, some may not. But either way, if this helps anyone to set more realistic goals in their own head, I feel like it has done it's job.

Phase 1. The start of a brand new day! (or week, or month, or year)
Expectations are sky high, usually so is motivation and intentions. This is where most people lose the most weight. At the start it's not uncommon to see 4 to 8 lb losses per week. The reasons for this are mostly (sorry to disappoint) water weight. You drop excess water quickly, and you can have up to 5 lbs of water weight. The next biggest reason is the fat that is right next to the blood vessels, the stuff that you put on in the last month or three, it will melt like butter usually.

Phase 2. Reality setting in.
At about week 3 to a month or so, people suddenly realize that they are no longer dropping 8, 6, or even 4 lbs a week. This is a crutial phase in your journey. Expect this, it is natural. You have shocked your body by changing both eating habits and exercise routine. Now it has had a little while to become used to the new lifestyle, it's going to compensate. Your body still doesn't believe it's permenant yet, so it will still try to store some fat, so now that it knows how to regulate it's new metabolic levels, it tryies to store fat in earnest. It's not uncommon for people to hit a wall here, no loss for weeks. Expect this as well.

Phase 3. The routine.
At about 2 months or so, your routine is pretty much set, your body is beginning to believe that you really want to STAY the way you are going now. You will start to see more consistant (but lower, usually 1 to 2 lbs a week) loss, also, you should start seeing some muscle tone (depending on how much you had to lose in the first place). If you stop to think, you should realize that you have improved dramatically in your exercise levels. If you do cardio, you should notice how much longer and harder you can work. This is important to realize as it is just as big of an indicator as weight loss. Also, by now you may notice that your clothes no longer fit right. This is also very important. The weight may not be falling off anymore, but you are becomming a smaller person. Weight is arbitrary, if you are building muscle (which your body is doing at a furious pace by now) you won't notice huge losses, but you will notice wholesale changes in the mirror!

Phase 4. Really digging in.
This is where the second wall can happen. You're probably at between 3 and 4 months by now, and if you have gone this far, you feel like you have already suceeded. This is where many people stumble. they are tired of the routine, tired of eating different things from all their friends, limiting their alcohol intake. Basically the shine has worn off. this is when your really need to plant your feet. Maybe change up your exercise routine, make a concentrated effort to find different, but still nutritional food. Talk to people. And examine how far you have come. At this point, no matter how much external motivation you receive, it's all about believing in yourself!

Phase 5. End game.
5 or 6 months in you are probably working on that "last 10 pounds". This can be discouraging for many as it is a slow burn. Remember, your body probably feels like it is where it needs to be, your brain might think you need to lose 10 more, but your body is quite proud of itself now, it feels like it has "Done enough" and it wants to stay RIGHT HERE. The body LIKES to have a little fat around just in case, especially for the ladies (sorry girls, it's just human physiology). If you feel like you still need to lose it, prepare yourself for some guerrila warfare against your body. Design an exercise regimen that is very dynamic, forget the "same thing every day". Make a plan that challenges you both physically and mentally. Make sure you give yourself a day off here and there to just veg. And by all means, remember, muscle burns fat at rest. So get some weight or resistance training involved.
The last 10 may take 3 to 6 months to lose. I know nobody wants to hear that, but it's true. And forget the idea of increasing your calorie deficite, healthy bodies need good nutrition, your body no longer has the fat reserves to handle the large deficites you could when you were 30 40 or 50 pounds overweight. Better to make it a 3 or 400 calorie deficite (NET, please count your exercise calories too!). It may take a bit longer, but your body will like you for it. Plus it feeds those new muscles and keeps them burning fat, keeps your skin healthy (elasticity is important when you want those places that were stretched out to "snap back") and keeps you from getting head aches and depressed.

Conclusion:

this is what I have learned, not just from my journey, but from others as well on here. It saddens me sometimes to see people hit one of these stages and not recognize it for what it is, a part of the process. If we all can have realistic expectations, then we are more prone to win the fight and stay healthy in the long run. Note that some people will hit these stages harder then others, some may take longer, but for the most part, this is the rule that the exceptions will come from.

Best health to you all!

-Banks"

PrairieRoseNE

I'm not a nutritionist, but I don't see very many fruits or veggies in your food diary - but I only looked at maybe a week's worth of entries. I see alot of "processed foods" - maybe you could switch out some of the processed foods for whole or natural foods??
Veggies & fruit have alot of fiber which helps you feel full longer without adding alot of calories.
Sometimes I think we get in a rut with what we eat - maybe experiment with some different cuisines or types of foods??
Just a thought ok Wishing you luck!!

Ladywaring

My exercise regimen consists of Walking at 3.6 mph (at least) on a 3% incline (at least) for 30 to 40 minutes 2 to 3 days a week. I do aerobic/sculpt dvds 3 days a week, these are usually 35 to 45 minutes and are high intentity. I have Jillian Michaels 6 weeks abs and 30 day shred. I recently bought The Firm Express and have done the first week dvds and am moving onto the 2nd week today.

ncgingerich

I just took a quick peak at your diary and looked back over the last two weeks. I think you should try eating back more of your exercise calories and also boost those fresh fruits and veggies while lowering the high sodium processed foods. I've spent a lot of time looking at the habits of the folks on this site that are successful and, for the most part, they eat their exercise calories. If you look at my diary you will see that I too have not been doing what I'm suggesting for you to try. I am, however, also at a plateau and have just began eating back those exercise cals during the last two days. You can look at my diary and friend me if you like. My plan is to eat half or more my exercise cals back each day for the next week and then gradually raise it to eating most or all of them over time. I'm hoping this will trick my body into losing again. I am weighing each day just to be sure I don't start gaining... and if I do I'll have to re-evaluate my plan. But looking at others who have been successful I really think it will work for me and hope you also give it a try.

Best of luck to you and congratulations on the progress you've made thus far! You can do this!!!

Teresa