So frustrated i'm in tears!

brittanyjeanxo

I just had a quick view of your diary. I have a few suggestions that may help. I would replace the mountain dew with water or tea with no sugar or milk. Maybe try to eat a little "cleaner". Cut sugar and processed food. Fill up on natual foods instead. Stay away from pop tarts, chocolate, potatoes and butter etc. If you eat clean to balance your blood sugar, you will feel much better, more energy and see a loss. There are so many great recipes out there that make clean eating really enjoyable. Good Luck.

HEY. There is nothing wrong with potatoes and butter :P

jennifershoo

I didn't read the whole thread so maybe it's been already pointed out.
AVOID mountain dew! I notice in your diary that you don't have a column for sodium. Not good. Track your sodium.
Sodas are full of sodium and other sugary crap.

Also, I think you overestimate the amount of calories burnt by exercise. There is no way you burn 106 cals by walking 15 min at 2.5 mph and there is no way you burn 474 cals in 20 min of biking. Get an HRM (not Timex, Polar is a recommended brand). You need an HRM in which you can enter all your stats (weight, height, age, gender, VO2 max). Unfortunately, you'll see that you burn way less than you think, but at least you won't over eat all those calories back.

CoraGregoryCPA

It's mostly about DIEt. Defintion of Diet: It's what you eat!!!

You could NEVEr workout and JUST monitor what you consume and lose weight! Nice job on taking care of the foster children. That's awesome!

It's DIET!! Focus and figure out a reasonable intake of food and you will lose weight.. Make sure you measure, weigh, and enter EVERYTHING and you will lose weight.. it's guaranteed.

You have to enter everything, even cooking spray, oil for your pan.. EVERYTHING that goes in your mouth! You could eat chocolate, doritoes, ice cream EVERYDAY and still lose weight.. I DO


For the ones that say "eat more".. most likely it's because on the days that you eat less.. and UNDER goal.. at some point in time you will binge. Mose people don't log binges, therefore overall for the week you are over and therefore you won't lose. If you eat a reasonable amount of calories, like 1400-1600 daily, then you will be satisfied and won't feel the need to binge and knock yourself outside of the defiicit of calories. Log it all!! I'd also recommend not eating your exercise calories. NO machine or watch can be as accurate on how many calories you are burning. It's not worth miscalculating.. just don't eat it.

Helloitsdan

Take a week off from the diet but keep up with training and working out.
When eating at maintenance youll boost metabolism due to making the body work harder to process food.
You should always eat at maintenance several times on your weight loss journey.
Just simply add 20% to the 1700 calories in your diary and do it.

Youll thank me later!

^^^^^
THIS

Props to MaxLife! Hes one of the Jedi!

shalvors

I didn't read the whole thread so maybe it's been already pointed out.
AVOID mountain dew! I notice in your diary that you don't have a column for sodium. Not good. Track your sodium.
Sodas are full of sodium and other sugary crap.

Also, I think you overestimate the amount of calories burnt by exercise. There is no way you burn 106 cals by walking 15 min at 2.5 mph and there is no way you burn 474 cals in 20 min of biking. Get an HRM (not Timex, Polar is a recommended brand). You need an HRM in which you can enter all your stats (weight, height, age, gender, VO2 max). Unfortunately, you'll see that you burn way less than you think, but at least you won't over eat all those calories back.

I was thinking it all seemed very high too, I'm, getting those numbers from MFP, I just put in my workout and it tells me what the calories burned are. I figured because of how heavy I am it burns more calories. I'll have to look into getting a HRM. In the meantime, should I not go by the MFP numbers for the workout? What do I go by?

shalvors

First off, you guys are amazing! I am feeling more determined and capable than I ever have, thanks to all the support i've gotten here. I've gotten lots of great advice and i've been taking it all in. I'm working on changes and finding what will work for me.

My beloved stress reliever Mt. Dew is the most attacked thing!!! LOL I know it's so evil, and such a horrible vice if I want to be healthy. I got some Dr. Pepper 10 and am going to use that to cut the MD. It's not a perfect solution and still has lots of chemicals and crap in it, but it's a start as I work to just water.

I didn't realize how much processed/fast food I was eating until you guys pointed it out. That needs to change for sure. I'm going to work on eating more whole foods. I've also added sodium to my things to track. I never even gave that much of a thought before and it's good to know I need to.

As far as working out, I go to the gym 4 days a week. I do 15mins on the treadmill 2.3/3.0mph 2.5incline, then weights, either upper or lower body (rotating) I use the machines at the gym and do it to comfort level as far as weight/reps, then I do 20mins on the bike level 8/random hills and then back to the treadmill for 10/15mins.

I get my calories burned from the MFP site, I just enter what I did. Is this not accurate? I do seem to burn a lot of calories, but I just figured it was because I weigh so much. I go to the gym with my friend and she does the same as me and doesn't burn so many calories, but she's also 100lbs less.

I really appreciate everybody's help more than I can express. I am so happy to have found this site/msg. board!

vacation01

don't give up, it happens that you have reached a very temporary plateau, tomorrow or the next day you will loose a pound or two. Weekends are hard, Monday morning weight gain but by Tuesday and keeping on track that extra lb or two has gone.

brittanyjeanxo

Don't forget to eat more, or you probably still won't see results...

KareninCanada

This might be a repeat because I don't have time to read all the pages of replies... lol But one recommendation I can make for you is to increase your fiber goal from 19g/day up to 30g/day.

ellie0213

Hey Michigan! You are working so hard you should be proud of yourself! Definitely ditch the pop ( really all of it) switch to tea or even coffee is better, less crap in it. Also water...lots and lots of water...at a minimum 8 cups per day. You are trying to rid your body of toxins that are stored in the fat you are burning and you need water to do that. Personally I would get rid of the white carbs: bread, pasta, rice. Add more fiber, protein and good fats like coconut oil, seeds, nuts, flax meal.

But really...don't cry! You are doing amazing!

Ellie ( Bay City, Michigan)

tananichelle

I had about the same amount to lose when I first started too... It was probably 3 months working out at the gym for an hour, 5x a week before I saw any weight loss. But I remember that frustration! (and I still revisit it occasionally!)

Just remember: You're totally REBUILDING your body. Give it time.

stephanieomay

Don't give up! This isn't easy.. if it was then everyone would be at their goal weight! Working out is awesome DON"T give it up!! Everyone has off weeks where they don't lose. Think... Are you retaining water? PMS time? Did you gain some muscle? Keep doing what you are doing you are on the RIGHT TRACK!!!

cassblue21

Sorry you are feeling frustrated. I'm frustrated as well because I keep hovering my 160's and everything has pretty slowed way down.

Are you 150lbs over weight or is 150lbs just what you want to lose? For me I was 250lbs at 5'3 so the first 85lbs was pretty easy and shed right off. The last 5lbs has been a nightmare. I'm having a hard time seeing 159, I'm still waiting on that to pop up on the scale. However I am told when I don't lose weight, to measure myself, because if I'm expecting to lose pounds and don't then something most likely has lost. So measure yourself. I find I get more excited about inches lost .

This could have been written by me! I have lost just over 80 lbs and it took over a year to get to that and now I am not seeing results in the scale, but have been consistently seeing the inches drop. Totally do measurements about every 2-3 weeks and you will see progress!

YukonJoy

I'm sorry you're frustrated, but I think you need to take a good, honest look at what you are putting in your body. Yes, you might be staying under your calorie goals, but you are working out and fueling your body with a lot of processed food and eating out. You really aren't giving your body the nutrients it needs to function properly.

Do you track sodium? I'm guessing those #s are pretty high based on the amount of restaurant food you are eating. And the soda isn't helping either. That's a ton of empty calories and sugar/carbs.

What about replacing those 200-300 calories a day that you are drinking in soda and make them good, healthy foods that will fill you up and provide you with some nutrients.

I think you diary is lacking in good fats, protein and fiber and way too high in sodium and sugar. It's not just about staying under your calories - I mean that is important as well, but just as important is eating healthful, nourishing foods.

I agree with this 100%. It is exactly what I was going to say.

fmramey

Stick with the cardio/weights. You may have lost body fat and gained muscle, which you need to support your fitness program and to rev up your metabolism!
Hang in there because it is really worth it.

teresab46970

I was told that even tho you don't see the pounds comming off fast, that muscle weighs more than fat, so with that being said, you may be gaining muscle. Don't give up keep pushing forward!!!!

kimberly_grubbs

I've gone up to 4 weeks without losing a pound, then the following week I've dropped 5. The important thing is to keep it up! It's a lifestyle change that you're working on, and if you stick to it, it'll work!

journalistjen

First of all, averaging 2 pounds per week of weight loss is the healthiest thing to do. It's much easier to keep the weight off if you implement gradual changes plus it's less shock on the body. Because you're not able to put more time into working out, you're not going to lose dramatic numbers of pounds per week, and you shouldn't. Just stick with it and strive for consistency in the amount of weight you lose. Mix up your workouts with weights and cardio. Also, interval training is one of the best weight loss workouts you can do. Make sure you're eating enough calories and the right kind. Never go below 1200 calories eaten, otherwise your body goes into starvation mode and adds fat to your body because it's preparing for the worst. Eat lean proteins and mix up your diet to see what is good for you.

Keep it up!

KCJulie11

My suggestion is to not add in the calories you lose from working out. I didn't look at your diary, but that is what has been holding me back. Someone recently told me that the machines at the gym can sometimes overestimate calories burned by 60%. So I was eating calories that I hadn't really burned. SO FRUSTRATING!!!!! Please don't give up!

StartingOver12

I completely understand your frustration. My first week I lost 5 pounds and then NOTHING for 2 weeks straight even though I was doing everything right. The first instinct is to throw in the towel, but if you do that you will never get to where you want to be. I stuck with it and this week I am down another 5. So even though I went 2 weeks without a loss, I am still down 10 for the month.Dont give up, you can do it!!!

cassblue21

My beloved stress reliever Mt. Dew is the most attacked thing!!! LOL I know it's so evil, and such a horrible vice if I want to be healthy. I got some Dr. Pepper 10 and am going to use that to cut the MD. It's not a perfect solution and still has lots of chemicals and crap in it, but it's a start as I work to just water.

You can lose the weight with the pop. Just cut WAY back on it. I drink a dr pepper once every few weeks now when I used to drink it daily! I say its easiest to cut back on the size, either get the small cans, or a 2 liter and make sure you are putting it in a really small cup each time. I have known several people who have not cut it out and still manage to get the weight off. I will say though to hear the trainer at my gym talk about pop I can barely drink it anymore at all! Your body can handle the sugar and the caffeine in it but it the co2 gas they pump into it to make the carbonation that is so harmful for your body. And one can of anything carbonated will stay in your muscles and blood stream for 5-7 days making your body work harder to get healthy.
That said I see him daily and he knows I have one every now and again but he doesn't preach on me about it since he has already explained at my T.O.P.S meetings twice! Made me willing to cut back drastically though! lol

jtfish112

Lots of good advice here! We all know how frustrating it can be when embarking on a weight loss journey. Learning how to eat and exercise right can take time. It sounds to me like you are definitely on the right track. Keep doing what you're doing and don't let this frustration cause you to fall off track. The results will come if you keep at it. One day, in the near future, you will be several more pounds down and can look back at this post and laugh :laugh:

Keep up the good work...you are doing great and you will have success!

wanda_50

I also have over 100 lbs to lose..115 to be exact. I am alot older than you and have no thyroid, which makes my metabolism extremely sluggish. There are definetly days that I just wanna give up because I have been doing this since Novemeber and only lost 17 lbs. But on the other hand I had to realize that I didnt gain this weight overnight and I am not gonna lose it overnight.
You have to stick with it and you will see the lbs come off...just be patient.
You can do it!!

bobbin1

Add me to your friends list. I will be there for you.:flowerforyou:

kit_katty

In my opinion, mfp overestimates calories burned. So either invest in an HRM or underestimate how long you're doing something. Ie if you bike for 30 min, maybe log 20-25, just a thought. Good luck!

lildrako

try using splenda instead of sugar, it worked for me . i'm an ice tea drinker as you are mt dew. you could switch to diet mt dew . i weight in every week and yes there are weeks i lose nothing but don't give up...i don't get to a gym i use my stationary bike and walk.

karenwill2

get over it and start one pound at a time and realize it takes time to lose weight. I have 170 to lose and since I have lost 40 I now have 130. Seriously. Quit crying and get to work. YOU CAN DO THIS!

Set a goal for 1-2 pounds per week. Exercise. Log your calories.

myopus

A great article that explains what might be going on in your body, especially at first, is here:

http://hussmanfitness.org/html/TSInsideOut.html

Like anything from helloitsdan, this is great. Thanks for sharing rickmckc.

roxxi227

I haven't read through all the posts to see if this was covered but something else to add to the convo. Once you loose a couple pounds. Go back to your goals page. Open it and save it again. Even if you don't adjust your goals, MFP will adjust your new daily calorie intake needed for your new weight.

shalvors

I haven't read through all the posts to see if this was covered but something else to add to the convo. Once you loose a couple pounds. Go back to your goals page. Open it and save it again. Even if you don't adjust your goals, MFP will adjust your new daily calorie intake needed for your new weight.

That is good info! I did not know that, but did go in and adj. some things and save and just noticed my cals went down a bit!

Thank you everyone, I appreciate all the support. I'm blessed to be on this journey with such wonderful inspirational people. I'm all done crying and ready to put in the work. I've gotten lots of perspective and it's just what I needed!