Its been a month, I think I'm officially frustrated.

DRetel

I've been at this eating properly, and exercising for a full month now, and I gain and lose the same 2 or 3 pounds.
I'm 5'8, and weigh between 157 and 160 pounds, depending on what day I step on the scale.

I work out pretty hard at the gym, I do cardio, and circuit training on weight machines. I log everything I eat, I am being more careful when I chose my foods. I do allow a "treat" here and there, but I don't blow it out of the water.

So what is up with the pounds refusing to get lost? I've set MFP for a 1 pound a week weight loss. I have measured myself, and that hasn't changed either. I'm trying to drop about 10-15 pounds.

GAH!

a_q_u_a_lizard

..bump. i would like to hear some of the responses as well.

aippolito1

If you're trying to lose a LITTLE bit of weight, it's going to come off a LOT harder. I would say try to eat all of your exercise calories, workout HARDER and try for more cardio. How often do you work out? I only saw a workout today for the last 3 or 4 days. Try to at least work out 3x a day at the minimum. You've got to get your body used to it and it will keep your metabolism going.

mamagooskie

I think overall you seem to eat well. Your sodium levels are great, you eat enough calories and things seem to look good, however I think you should up your fiber, 26 is the minimum an adult should have per day and you are much lower than that quite often and you have to DRINK MORE WATER!!!

Most days you have logged only 3-5 glasses. You should aim for a lot more than that. You'll hear that 8 x 8oz is enough but in my experience that is not enough. I used to drink 13 on average but once I started to work out harder I now aim for 16-20 glasses per day or sometimes more if it's hot or whatever.

sometimes you need to change things up.....you may need to workout more intense, or more often, or try upping/lowering your calories.

brandiuntz

You're already at the goal weight I wish I could get to! I'm 5'8" also.

Set your goal to 0.5lb per week. 10-15 lbs is too close for 1lb a week to work. There's a sticky around here regarding this. The closer you are to your goal, the slower the weight comes off. When I made the same adjustment, the weight started coming off again.

Examine your diet very carefully. You may need to drop carbs some and up the protein. I haven't seen your diary, so I don't know for sure.

Also, check your sodium levels. Do you stay at or below the recommended amount?

DRetel

I work out at least 5 days a week, most often 6. Yesterday was my day off.
Workout harder... I don't have a HRM, YET. I vary my cardio. Sometimes I keep my heart rate low in the fat burning range, and other days I go hard at it, and work at my target max heart rate.
According to the treadmill today, (and my Nike + iPod) I burned 300 calories, plus some time on the bike, and a circuit of weights which I had to take a low end guess at.

There is definitely a lot of working out!

Skeith5

Drink LOTS more water.... I saw in your diary some 3-5 cup days. You should be at least 8 every day.

Check your sugar intake, I didn't see it listed in your diary.

Are you measuring your portions or just guessing? I used to guess and when I started measuring I realized I was way off.

DRetel

I don't always remember to log all my water, but I try. I know when I'm at the gym, I drink a full litre, plus what ever I consumed during the day. I can't WAIT for my bladder to catch up with me, and stop sending me scurrying for the bathroom every 30 minutes!

Thanks for the tips. I guess I'll drop to a 1/2 pound a week and see how that goes.

keost934

Sometimes you find that if you are exercising more than you were initially then you tend to either gain or maintain your weight, though you should find a change in your overall body shape. Taking measurements of different areas of your body at regular intervals should aid in this, especially if you measure areas such as stomach, chest, thighs, hips, calves and arms. The more measurements you take, the better it is! You might find an increase in areas such as the calves and thighs though! (Don't worry, this is muscle). I am around the same weight as you, though three inches shorter and I have the same problem, especially as I put on muscle mass incredibly quickly! Though unfortunately, not tone!!

Maybe reducing your calorie intake will help a bit, it may be the jump start your body needs! Half a pound a week is not a lot really, and can be affected by a lot of different things such as water intake, the last time you exercised etc. Therefore the effects of these factors on your overall weigh in can be quite significant. Therefore, it is a good idea to stick to a routine, and weigh and measure yourself at the same time every week, say Monday mornings when you get up (NEVER after the gym/exercise though, and this can have a HUGE effect on your weigh in!).

Also give it time, there may have already been a change, but remember, every one of us will plateau at some stage too! This can be really discouraging - trust me, I know!!

Keep doing what you are doing, I'm sure it will work eventually!

barbiex3

I've been at this eating properly, and exercising for a full month now, and I gain and lose the same 2 or 3 pounds.
I'm 5'8, and weigh between 157 and 160 pounds, depending on what day I step on the scale.

I work out pretty hard at the gym, I do cardio, and circuit training on weight machines. I log everything I eat, I am being more careful when I chose my foods. I do allow a "treat" here and there, but I don't blow it out of the water.

So what is up with the pounds refusing to get lost? I've set MFP for a 1 pound a week weight loss. I have measured myself, and that hasn't changed either. I'm trying to drop about 10-15 pounds.

GAH!

we are the same height, and YOU are my START weight!!! You can soo do this woman! be pacient :P ! do not give up!! last pounds are HARD to lose!!!

LoseItJourney

I agree with most people here.
You need to drink lots more water.


Although, I would never recommend more than 10 glasses or so.
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm
That site tells you why.

Also, Try to do more vigorous workouts, just because your working out a lot, doesn't mean your actually burning the calories.
Your body gets use to the same workouts, so Id just push yourself as hard as you can during the workouts.


And Yes.

The first 10-15 fall off like nothing.
The last 10-15 take a lot of work to come off.
0.5 lbs a week for those last pounds is average loss for only needing that much more.

Just keep at what your doing, mix up your work out, drink some more water, and im sure youll see a few pounds dropping in a few weeks.


Add me if youd like.

mamagooskie

I work out at least 5 days a week, most often 6. Yesterday was my day off.
Workout harder... I don't have a HRM, YET. I vary my cardio. Sometimes I keep my heart rate low in the fat burning range, and other days I go hard at it, and work at my target max heart rate.
According to the treadmill today, (and my Nike + iPod) I burned 300 calories, plus some time on the bike, and a circuit of weights which I had to take a low end guess at.

There is definitely a lot of working out!

I've heard several times now that the "fat" burning range is just a joke and really doesn't do much let alone actually aid in fat burning.....the best way to lose weight is to be in your higher cardio range and do strength training to build lean muscle. You must get a HRM you may be undereating or overeating if you can't accurately log your actually burn so this is a tool you will find that is most helpful!!

pcannons

Hi,

If you don't end up getting through my post, please at least read this!
http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html

The answer to your question is, believe it or not, you are probably doing too much, and too much of the wrong thing.

Before you read this, I want to mention that the most important thing to getting that "hot bod" or getting fit or improving your cardiovascular health (depending on your goals) is to be critical and check every single fact stated by me or anyone else who claims to know what they are talking about. The biggest problem with the nutrition/fitness industry is the amount of misinformation out there; you cannot waste time following routines out there.
Funny comic about causation vs. correlation, this is how industries use false information to portray magical diets and drugs:
http://xkcd.com/925/

But misinformation doesn’t even always come from the commercial world. A good example is the post by arielle. Sure, she is trying to be helpful but she is not basing her statements on facts. I would wager that most of the things she posted are things she heard from random sources/people. Let me break it down for you.


"If you're trying to lose a LITTLE bit of weight, it's going to come off a LOT harder."
Weight only comes off harder at the end of cutting, in the 6-10% body fat range for males and 12-16% body fat range for females. This is a real phenomenon known as stubborn body fat, but only applies during those times.
A good book to explain the science behind it:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/the-stubborn-fat-solution
A good article about it:
http://www.leangains.com/2010/06/intermittent-fasting-and-stubborn-body.html

"I would say try to eat all of your exercise calories, workout HARDER and try for more cardio"
The more cardio you do, the more efficient your body becomes. SO you have to do more cardio just to burn the same amount of calories every time you do it. This vicious cycle continues until you either quit due to not seeing results or quit because you are burnt out. All that matters is calories in, calories out. Track your calories, create a 300-500 calorie deficit, wait. It will take a while, but this will work.
Or are you perhaps not doing cardio but ab toning exercises?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21804427
Summary of that: Situps are still completely worthless for spot reducing abdominal fat

"Try to at least work out 3x a day at the minimum."
? Read above, please don't do this, this is terrible. A sustainable lifestyle is one where you can exercise and look/feel great year round. I doubt you would if you are exercising 3 times a day.
I did not mean this to be a personal attack Arielle

Where you should be getting your information:
www.leangains.com - this is it, everything is here, a small subculture of correct fitness
http://fitnesssafari.blogspot.com - this isn't an official blog, treat this as a motivation blog, this is an example of a woman following the Leangains approach above. She may have some things wrong but it can be a good example of someone following the Leanginas approach if you decide to do it
Example of “reputable sources”:
About fat:
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-fatty-foods-mood.html
About Sleep:
http://www.ajcn.org/content/early/2011/07/27/ajcn.111.017632.abstract
Impulsivity:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110718111425.htm
Omega-3:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110713121313.htm
Protein:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/230810.php
Drink when you are thirsty, it's not rocket science:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2014112/Drinking-water-bad-health-Benefits-myth.html

There are more things I would like to tell you, but it is getting late and I have to go to sleep:
1. Lift weights, it will not make you buff, one of the most annoying myths out there. Women do not have high levels of testosterone and therefore will not be able to get muscular unless using steroids. It will however help you have a curvy body and stay lean easily.
2. Do the Leangains approach, watch your macros, 1g of protein per pound, low fat on lifting days(3 times a week), high fat on resting days(4 days a week), high carbs on lifting days, low carbs on rest days.
3. Fast for 14 hours a day, eat for 10
4. Introduce a little part at a time
5. Start fresh every minute, not every week
6. ALWAYS track progress, and weight is not usually the best measure
I don’t usually post, but I guess I just got tired of seeing all the misinformation out there tonight. It is not very organized, feel free to message me with any questions, comments. I have some spreadsheets made to explain the eating/lifting on google docs too.
Thanks, Philipp

caitiebeth1

Workout 3x's a day MINIMUM? I really hope that is a typo. I've seen some pretty crazy misinformation on here but this takes the cake.



Excellent post pcannons

ButtonBustingBelly

I want to mention that the most important thing to getting that "hot bod" or getting fit or improving your cardiovascular health (depending on your goals) is to be critical and check every single fact stated by me or anyone else who claims to know what they are talking about. The biggest problem with the nutrition/fitness industry is the amount of misinformation out there; you cannot waste time following routines out there.

I love the above quote. So true. In the spirit of that truth I have to admit that the advice I'm about to give is not anything I read or I can prove. It's simply the conclusions I have come to struggling with the same issue myself.

First off I used to live on a treadmill. I got to the point where I was rocking that thing in the gym in the winter. I wasn't losing much if any weight. Then the summer came around and I decided to enjoy the sun and start running around the track by my parents house. My first day at the track I ran horribly. No endurance. I knew what the problem was.I thought ," I must have been dehydrated". Next day I came back out I made sure I had plenty of water. Same thing. What I eventually came to realize is I was nowhere near the cardiovascular shape I thought I was in. It turns out that running on a treadmill is MUCH easier than running for real.

Treadmills are in essence a bit over half of what real running/jogging is. You launch a foot forward which is the part that is like real running then your foot takes a ride back on a belt where it is again launched forward. Running on a treadmill is not worthless but given the many other options in the world of cardio fitness I certainly wouldn't choose it.

Secondly with diet there is a lot of argument about what kind of foods are good and bad for dieting I would assume it was a bad food just in case the person against it was right. Brown rice-corn-carrots-potatoes etc. have conflicting views on whether they are okay to eat on a diet. 1 to all of them may have been fine but I wasn't taking any chances.I didn't trust Adkins diet but just in case he was right and I was wrong the carbs that I did eat where COMPLEX. Hedging your bets so to speak.

If you want to get radical about losing weight which is my personal philosophy and not for everyone I suggest the following. Run outdoors 3 days on 1 day rest->3 days on one day rest. and so on. If you are in good enough shape 2 miles in 18 minutes may suffice. If you can't run two miles that fast run 4 miles at a slower yet increasing pace until you can. As the weight gets closer to your goal weight it will be harder. My last 9 pounds last December required a strict diet running 6 miles 6 days a week in an hour and change.

Some bodies hold on to weight harder than others and that last 10 or so pounds is all will power.