guys what am i doing wrong?

lauralikes

so i started out at 181 lbs a month ago. this has been the heaviest i have ever been in my life. im 5'5 btw, med-large frame.
i have been BUSTING MY *kitten* (excuse the expression) at the gym 5-6x a week.
i weigh myself today, and in one month i have lost only 5.5 lbs. i know i know. that's not bad! but being this heavy i was kind of expecting to SHED fat, not just lose some..especially during the first month!!
i went from binge eating on crazy fatty and sugary food to eating like a bird and working out almost everyday!
why is my weight loss so slow?!?!!
im 20, and it seems like my metabolism is busted already.
my weight goal is 145..30 lbs away. im probably going to lose motivation before achieving my goal due to this slooowwwww weight loss

lauralikes

oh and my pants dont even feel loose at all. great.

Meg2012

Your body is getting used to the changes. And it's possible that by doing too much and eating too little, your body could be in starvation mode and not letting go of much.

There are some things I'd like to know, so I can help a little more.

What kinds of food are you eating?

How much sleep are you getting?

Are you drinking water or drinking your calories?

What *exactly* are you doing for your work outs?

pelleld

First, congrats on the 5.5 pounds! It may not seem like a lot but it all adds up. Second, slow and steady wins the race. If you take it off slowly and sensibly it is more likely to STAY OFF. Third, sometimes the body takes a while to adapt to the changes. Give it time and keep doing what you're doing. DON'T GIVE UP!

udallmom101

A pound a week is a very safe and great way to do the whole weight loss thing. If you could open your diary so we can see what you are eating would be helpful. Have you been tracking your sodium intake? I find when I track that I do a lot better.

sarahmaryfearnley

I know you don't want to hear this but have patience. It's not a race and it takes time. Repeat, it's not a race and it takes time.

lelliebugh

You can not eat like a bird. You need to eat every 2-3 hours and drink tons of water. Your body will go into starvation mode if you do not fuel it. You dont run a car without gas do you. I know its frustrating but diet is 85% of this journey.

diana160

Sounds like you are doing every thing right. How much water are your drinking? Watch out for diet soda and soda's as the soda may slow your weight down. Celebrate the 5.5 pounds, 1 pound a week is 52 pounds for a year. Blessings....Diana:flowerforyou:

fiberartist219

You're not doing anything wrong. It sounds like your efforts are successful. Granted, it does take a LOT of effort to lose just a few pounds, but it's up to you to decide if it's worth it or not. Don't get your hopes up about finding an easier way to do it. Working out and eating right is the only way to lose. If you try to lose it any other way, you'll gain it back and then some.

Dinah22

So you've lost roughly one pound a week? I'd say that's a reasonable amount .......and I don't think your doing anything wrong - quite the contrary. Carry on the good work, don't give up!

Wolfena

What and how much are you eating?? (as others have asked)

Also - did you just start exercising this past month? Your muscles may be sore and holding on to water weight as they repair themselves and get used to the change..... give it time and don't give up!

gp79

5.5 lbs per month is great. If you were expecting more, can I ask what figure you had in your mind that you'd like to have seen? Without seeing your diary and knowing more about your workouts it will be hard to analyze what's happening.

Just remember to eat enough, stay hydrated and when losing weight staying in a calorie deficit is what's going to keep the weight coming off. A good calorie deficit isn't going with little to no food, it's knowing what your body needs (TDEE) and then safely reducing your calories (10-20%).

jlcampbell2008

Think about this, if you are working so hard at the gym, there is a huge possibility that you are putting on muscle mass. Once your body adapts to that, then it will start kicking the fat off. Keep working hard, keep your end goal in sight.

lauralikes

thanks for the replies ladies. sorry im kinda new here, but i tend to eat like this:
days i workout very hard (maybe 2 hours at the gym...LOTS of cardio) i eat little, then the day after i'll workout for maybe 60-80 mins and eat more calories. probably up to 1800.
i eat a lot of fruit,eggs, not too many vegs but a decent amount, meats like tuna,chicken, maybe some ham. also light yogurts, and soup. love soup.
sometimes i have a handful or 2 of cereal (cheerios normally) and i dont log it into my diary but really...I cant afford a handful of cheerios ?! sorry, i sound like such a debbie downer btw.
also, another processed food i eat is soda crackers. but it's not often, maybe 2x a week.

my workouts are mostly cardio but i do lift 2-3x a week for a bit. i love walking at inclines or running on flat surfaces. i love the elliptical, the cross trainer, and the stepper machine.

sleep: 7-8 hours. im a good sleeper :P

i never drink my calories.ive never been into sugary drinks. i do however have a diet coke a day and some days i also have a crystal light beverage. not more than that though! i swear!

confession: i dont log my food every day, but i do estimate. like, i know that if i go to bed feeling a bit hungry, ive eaten well. ya know??

kayleeblue

Make sure you measure yourself and take pictures..I've been at a plateau for 11 weeks but I'm losing inches. And 1 pound per week is the best way to go. Good Luck and don't give up!
Weight training is going to help...do that Before cardio, and not just little weights, push your self.

strawberryromper

That's fine weight loss. Usually it's much bigger people who can lose and continue to lose 2+ pounds a week reliably for some time.

We might be able to understand more if you made your diary available to us.

auntiebabs

Your start and goal weights are close to mine.

5.5 lbs a month is AWESOME! .

for the first 10 lbs or so I lost at the rate of about 3 lbs a month, (Following the lose 1 lb/wk ) (didn't lose during TOM)
then I slowed down to about 1.5 a month for the next 10-15 lbs. (Following the lose .5 lb/wk)

I did lose 1 lb a week until MFP gave me 1200 calories,
then I shifted to lose .5 a week .

I've hit my goal of 145, but I'm going on maintain for 140

I'm just about 30 lbs down took me over a year, but...

1) I don't want my whole life to be misery and weight watching. I didn't want to be the one who wasn't invited, because I was too high maintenance.

2) I want to learn healthy habits that I can use in maintenance for a long, long time to come.

If you lose it but can't maintain it the general tendency is that you gain back the weight PLUS more.
I've seen plenty of folks ratchet themselves up, by repeated loss and gains.

This scares me silly.

gp79

Sounds like your doing things right. 5.5 lbs / month is a respectable loss.

LorinaLynn

I didn't notice any changes in the way my pants fit for the first 12 pounds... about three months. It depends on how your pants fit, too. I have pants that I wore 35 pounds ago that I can still wear now. They're a little big in the waist, and not quite as tight in the legs as they once were, but they're still completely wearable.

Focus on the big picture. Think about six months from now, not today or next week or next month. Stay on the path you're on now, and you'll be down 33 pounds by May.

lauralikes

reading all your responses makes me feel so silly. you're all right, 5.5 is healthy in a month, and im glad i lost some. it's just ... in the past i was used to losing A LOT in little time...but then again..that didnt work out for me since im back to square 1!

i'm going to try my hardest to log EVERYTHING i eat. i slack off when it comes to logging

thanks everyone for the positive comments :flowerforyou: *gives everyone flowers* lol

tschmelzer

Think about this, if you are working so hard at the gym, there is a huge possibility that you are putting on muscle mass. Once your body adapts to that, then it will start kicking the fat off. Keep working hard, keep your end goal in sight.

Agreed. Your body is in shock ha. You are kicking it into shape and it has to adapt to its new environment just like anything else does. So it is putting on muscle. Just keep it up and you will see the results. Take measurements too. That way when you lose inches but not weight you are losing fat and gaining muscle

bamadiva2011

Hi Laura
I read your message on the message board, and I know how discouraged you may be feeling right now. But, hang in there and keep persevering. Sounds like you are working hard at the Gym. The scales may not show that you are losing lbs. but you may be building muscle, which weighs more than fat. Instead you may be losing inches.

You are young and beautiful and I know you can do it. Keep track of your calories and stay within the bounds of your limit. Remember, it took months, or years ( like it did for me) to gain the excess lbs, and it's not going to come off in a couple weeks or months, but it will if we don't stop trying. Keep at it, it will.

Some one asked the question: " How do you move a mountain?" the answer was: "One shovel at a time." ..and so the story goes... perseverance and patience.

Another suggestion too, is ask yourself what caused you to gain all the weight in the first place? It's not just the food we eat that causes the wt. gain, it can be deep rooted emotional problems that we need to deal with.

Good luck! YOU CAN DO IT! so don't give up...

llkilgore

oh and my pants dont even feel loose at all. great.

I wouldn't worry about it. I started out at about the same weight as you and my pants didn't feel loose until I'd lost more than 20 pounds. But that didn't mean nothing was going on. My face thinned and I lost the fat pads on my upper torso first, then my spare tire drained, and only then did I start losing the fat that was keeping me in size 14 jeans. But once it started, I dropped sizes quickly because I'd already lost the worst of the fat from the rest of my body. I'm in size 4s now. Your pattern of loss may well be different from mine, but the point is that fat loss is selective for most people. It's just that Mother Nature gets to make the selections, not you.

Meg2012

Hey Laura,

Yes, 5.5 lbs in a month is what most fitness professionals would call ideal. You are not extremely obese, so it's not going to come off by the 10s & 20s month 1, ya know?

Also, you didn't put weight on overnight, so it wont come off that way either!

Ok, cardio - are you on machines like tredmill or eliptical? Are you taking classes?

Lifting - are you using a personal trainer or kind of muddling though it on your own? You may want to increase your weight so you get 8-10 reps with good form. If you're pounding out 20 reps on a weight, your weight is too light!

From what you've mentioned about loving soup... check your sodium content! Canned soup, and diet soda tend to be high in sodium! (That will prevent you from losing water weight!)

Do yourself a favor... even if you make your diary private, honestly log everything for one week, no judgments. And then go back and see where you can tweak things. The point is being brutally honest... log every shot, every beer (hey, you're in college) every "handfull" of cheerios.

Snacks: try switching your handfulls of cheerios for a bag of pre-cut veggies. Or apples & bannanas.


As far as calories vs working out... make sure you're fueling yourself correctly on your intense work-out days. Otherwise your body will go into starvation mode.