Grrrrrrrrr

derhea

I need to re-evaluate what Im doing here. Eating better, no fast food, no pop, no junk food, atleast an hour of exercise 5 days a week, and I have been at 159-157 for the last 30 days. What do I need to change? Am I not working out enough? Maybe Im not pushing myself hard enough when I do workout. I really have no idea what I need to be doing to help me lose weight, so maybe thats my problem. :-( I want to do this so bad and its so frustrating but I dont want to stop. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

carrie_eggo

I looked at your diary and let me say that EVERYBODY'S going to tell you that you're not eating enough......that aside, you should have lost at least SOME! I understand your frustration. It sounds like maybe you have a hormonal issue, either diet induced or pre-existing. I would try re-evaluating your starting point with your calories. You actually may have too large of a deficit. Here are some links to help you:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

http://www.emma-leigh.com/basics_calorie_needs.html

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/447397-my-plateau-nutrition-story-learn-from-my-mistakes

:flowerforyou:

ironanimal

I think you're probably eating too little. I'm off out now, so have a look at some other threads from people that have had problems losing weight when working out a little and not eating much.

beccadaniixox

I'm gonna go with not eating enough.
I'd up your calories to 1400 maybe.

Wottie72

Sorry definately gonna be boring and saying you need to eat more calories like the others have said. Sorry

Bubs05

I agree and add that you should take a closer look at your sodium intake. I only looked at a few days but it seems like you are eating a lot of sodium rich food. And also, if you are truly tracking all your water you need more.

CrystalX82

I'm pretty much re-stating what everyone else is but yes definitely increase your calorie uptake.
Go to http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598 to get a rough estimate of what you should be eating. When i asked my brother, a registered dietitian, how many calories i should be eating daily, he said about 1800, no lower than 1700 and no higher than 2000 on a cheat day. He suggested 500 calorie breakfast, lunch, dinner and then the extra calories in healthy snacks throughout the day.

Also, the sodium intake. Subway sandwiches with meat have crazyyyy amounts of sodium in them. Check their website. It has officially made me only order veggie delites from them. You can have your diary track sodium and sugar as well, i changed mine to do that.

Once you get those things squared away, if you still aren't losing then it could be you need to increase your resistances with your workouts. My brother told me when i was in my plateau that the way to pass it was to really increase the resistance on my workouts and push myself.

katcod1522

yep..youre not eating enough. Now..you dont have to eat exercise cals..but you should net 1200. And add some strength and double your water.

mllowe2

I'm in the same boat...month into p90x and diet and lost 4 pounds. I realize I eat probably more "regular" food than I should, but I stay within my calorie goals. Prior to starting I can say I was easily eating 2500-3000 calories a day! So I don't understand how sodium could be holding me back that much when I've cut my food intake in half...and most of the things I cut out were really really high fat bad for you foods. I'm getting really frustrated too but I'm determined to stick it out and do this!! Hang in there!

dadoffo

You got toeat more to lose more. Increase your limit to 1400 - 1600 a day.

Foskeylady

When you workout, those additional calories are for you to eat to refuel your body. When your body burns off calories it need more to continue running your metabolic rate. Essentially if you don't refuel, your body stalls and sets itself in a starvation mode, it will start storing because it's not sure when it will get food again. You have too much of a deficit at the end of the day from what I'm seeing (and everyone else sees). At the end of the day, you need to have at LEAST 8 glasses of water, and your calories should be used up, if you leave a few (less than 100) you should be ok, but no more 300-400 deficits your' body thinks it's starving and will start storing up and you will not lose anything. You know how people say eat more and you'll lose weight? There is truth to that. Try it, what have you got to lose? (pun totally intended) Good Luck!

KareninCanada

Another ditto. Especially breakfast - you need to start your day with more than a tiny bit of yogurt or a single little pancake. Boost up your breakfast, add some healthy snacks, increase your water amounts, and since you're set at 1200 calories, do eat back the exercise calories. Otherwise you are in a huge calorie deficit and fighting against yourself. You probably need about 1600 at a minimum.

Change it up - and if it doesn't work, you're no worse off!

susanswan

My take for your full 2 cents worth: You JUST started. I didn't really start to lose until after a good month. The good news is you are young! SHould work better for you than me at 54. My advice from the School of Hard Knocks: Eat your prescribed amount of calories to lose 1 pound per week from MFP. Then add in you exercise calories as scary as that is. Eat at least half of them. Drink most of your 8 glasses of water as you can and maybe count some herb tea for some of them. The hard part is plan your meals. Try to go for the least processed food available to you. Learn to cook healthfully. Read labels. Keep your salt down to 1500 mg per day. Add LOTS of fresh and cooked veggies. Eat salads with dressing on the side. Make your plates colorful with food! Cut back or cut out any diet drinks (chemicals), sugar, alcohol, and pre packaged snack foods. Exercise as simply as walking 30 minutes twice a day or ask complicated as doing a gym class. Add light dumbbells 3 - 5 times per week or some type of strength training.

My advice is not popular and it may not be for you. Just my 2 cents worth of advice since you asked. I am 54, started when I was 49 and 205 pounds. Been on meds for hypothyroid since 19, went through menopause, quit my job as a hospital nurse, work at home on a computer and on my butt all day long. I am working on my last 3 pounds, went from a size 16 to a size 4. Learned a lot about HEALTHY LIVING AND LIFESTYLE and therefore changed MY life. I started with Dr. Oz's YOU: on a Diet, and am finishing up with Dr. Fuhrman's Eat To Live http://www.drfuhrman.com/default.aspx which I started to read in September and only started to implement in October.

I started at MFP to want to lose my final 35 pounds and ended up looking to live past 100 years old in perfect health until I drop dead. My profile is completely open and my food diaries. Friend me if you like.

My way is not for everyone. You only need to find the way that works for YOU. I love that my way works for me. I'm sold on it forever. I love it!

Best of luck to you! Oh and my MOST IMPORTANT advice that I think everyone can agree with is Never ever give up! Keep searching. IT WILL HAPPEN!

rml_16

I need to re-evaluate what Im doing here. Eating better, no fast food, no pop, no junk food, atleast an hour of exercise 5 days a week, and I have been at 159-157 for the last 30 days. What do I need to change? Am I not working out enough? Maybe Im not pushing myself hard enough when I do workout. I really have no idea what I need to be doing to help me lose weight, so maybe thats my problem. :-( I want to do this so bad and its so frustrating but I dont want to stop. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you figure it out, let me know. I've been in that same boat for seven months now.

nancy5012

I took a look at your last several days of food and I agree with the others - you are not eating enough. I'd at least try for 1200 - 1300 calories.

And you really need to up your water to 8 glasses a day - every single day. More if you eat high sodium foods.

AOK1774

Yeah agree, definitely not eating enough, I went from 1200 to 1400 calories and probably need to add more because of high intensity exercising. The moment I added more food the scale started to move down Weight loss is trial and error until you find what works for your own body, not every one is built the same:)

speedyme

My take for your full 2 cents worth: You JUST started. I didn't really start to lose until after a good month. The good news is you are young! SHould work better for you than me at 54. My advice from the School of Hard Knocks: Eat your prescribed amount of calories to lose 1 pound per week from MFP. Then add in you exercise calories as scary as that is. Eat at least half of them. Drink most of your 8 glasses of water as you can and maybe count some herb tea for some of them. The hard part is plan your meals. Try to go for the least processed food available to you. Learn to cook healthfully. Read labels. Keep your salt down to 1500 mg per day. Add LOTS of fresh and cooked veggies. Eat salads with dressing on the side. Make your plates colorful with food! Cut back or cut out any diet drinks (chemicals), sugar, alcohol, and pre packaged snack foods. Exercise as simply as walking 30 minutes twice a day or ask complicated as doing a gym class. Add light dumbbells 3 - 5 times per week or some type of strength training.

My advice is not popular and it may not be for you. Just my 2 cents worth of advice since you asked. I am 54, started when I was 49 and 205 pounds. Been on meds for hypothyroid since 19, went through menopause, quit my job as a hospital nurse, work at home on a computer and on my butt all day long. I am working on my last 3 pounds, went from a size 16 to a size 4. Learned a lot about HEALTHY LIVING AND LIFESTYLE and therefore changed MY life. I started with Dr. Oz's YOU: on a Diet, and am finishing up with Dr. Fuhrman's Eat To Live http://www.drfuhrman.com/default.aspx which I started to read in September and only started to implement in October.

I started at MFP to want to lose my final 35 pounds and ended up looking to live past 100 years old in perfect health until I drop dead. My profile is completely open and my food diaries. Friend me if you like.

My way is not for everyone. You only need to find the way that works for YOU. I love that my way works for me. I'm sold on it forever. I love it!

Best of luck to you! Oh and my MOST IMPORTANT advice that I think everyone can agree with is Never ever give up! Keep searching. IT WILL HAPPEN!

I agree! You might want to check out Eating Clean. Tosco Reno has many books on it and there are magazines and websites that also promote it. It is going back to basics and not eating as much processed foods. They have menu plans to get you started and they absolutely work. Good luck

MandaCakez

I had the same issue minus somethings. When I first started on MFP in Oct2011 I ate whatever I wanted I just portioned it n stayed within my calorie limit with no exercise. I got away with that until about Dec2011. I hit a plateau of a weight of 160 mind u i started at 175 so in 2 months i lost 15lbs. But I still didnt hit my goal weight of 150. I was told to up my calories from 1200 to about 1400 n that kick started my metabolism into high gear. I also added in more fruits n veggies n real meals instead of the quick easy to go meals such as lunch meat sandwiches n grilled cheese. So by the beginning of jan2012 I hit my goal weight of 150. I did all of that with no exercise or REAL strict diet. But I found myself at another plateau of 150 where I wish I could lose another 5lbs or atleast tone so I started some home exercises for myself n upped my calories yet again to 1600. Im on my way to just maintain my weight but I didnt wanna just jump from dieting to maintaining. Moral: Up the calories a bit EXSPECIALLY if ur working out

derhea

Wow the response to my post was alot greater then I thought it was going to be!! THANK YOU!! EVERYONE!!

A little background- I have always been around 120lbs through highschool, maybe a little less maybe a little more. When I go pregnant I was 138lbs, I gained 66lbs with that and the day I delivered I was 204lbs (i did have a 10lb 15oz baby though). After I had her i got down to 175lbs and I was stuck there for about 5 months. I went to a dr and got on Adipex. It was wonderful! I had energy all day and I got down to 159lbs. But after I was done with me 3 month script I stayed there and have been at 159lbs for almost 3 years now. 6 weeks ago i cut out pop, fast food, and any snacks- cakes, chips,candy bars...ect. And 4 weeks ago I added exercise. I set MFP to lose 2lbs a week and it gave me 1200 cals. I eat about the same amount of food I use to just its not filled with big macs and french fries now.
The water intake went from NO water to anywhere from 5 to 8 glasses a day. BIG IMPROVEMENT for me. But I will get to 8 glasses everyday.
Im really not sure how to add more calories in my day. Im not anymore hungry then what I have been eating. It doesnt make sense to me to force myself to eat more then I want, to lose weight.
I have only been counting calories, i guess I need to make sure I have following everything-sugar, sodium.
And to the person that said I might have a hormone problem...I have PCOS. I took fertility treatments to get pregnant because of it. So that could be a big problem in my weight loss problem.
I will take everyones advice and check out the websites posted and I will try increasing my calories.
Thank you again!

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Your body is used to dieting-- especially since you took Adipex-- that stuff makes you never hungry and your stomach can shrink. That doesn't mean it's healthy to keep eating so little, it just means that you need to listen to your brain instead of your stomach. Also most people I know with PCOS find that they have the best luck with a low carb approach.

Wow the response to my post was alot greater then I thought it was going to be!! THANK YOU!! EVERYONE!!

A little background- I have always been around 120lbs through highschool, maybe a little less maybe a little more. When I go pregnant I was 138lbs, I gained 66lbs with that and the day I delivered I was 204lbs (i did have a 10lb 15oz baby though). After I had her i got down to 175lbs and I was stuck there for about 5 months. I went to a dr and got on Adipex. It was wonderful! I had energy all day and I got down to 159lbs. But after I was done with me 3 month script I stayed there and have been at 159lbs for almost 3 years now. 6 weeks ago i cut out pop, fast food, and any snacks- cakes, chips,candy bars...ect. And 4 weeks ago I added exercise. I set MFP to lose 2lbs a week and it gave me 1200 cals. I eat about the same amount of food I use to just its not filled with big macs and french fries now.
The water intake went from NO water to anywhere from 5 to 8 glasses a day. BIG IMPROVEMENT for me. But I will get to 8 glasses everyday.
Im really not sure how to add more calories in my day. Im not anymore hungry then what I have been eating. It doesnt make sense to me to force myself to eat more then I want, to lose weight.
I have only been counting calories, i guess I need to make sure I have following everything-sugar, sodium.
And to the person that said I might have a hormone problem...I have PCOS. I took fertility treatments to get pregnant because of it. So that could be a big problem in my weight loss problem.
I will take everyones advice and check out the websites posted and I will try increasing my calories.
Thank you again!

orchidsand

Having a baby over 9# did the Dr check to see if you had diabetes during your pregnancy? I had 3 kids over 9 # & that was the first thing that was checked. Women who have big babies are at a higher risk of developing Type II diabetes when they are older...that is why I am doing this and it is the best thing I ever did. I began looking at labels and do not buy items that have any "hidden" sugars. That has helped me immensing in losing wgt. I know what it is like to not feel hungry and if I droo my calories below 1200 I do not lose.......there are some days I have to force myself to eat to get close to the 1280, but I plug along at it and have lost 4 #s in 15 days. Watch the numbers that is what keeps you on track.

PS: I use lots of grains, nuts berries & fruits to keep me close to my daily calorie goal.

3dogsrunning

Im really not sure how to add more calories in my day. Im not anymore hungry then what I have been eating. It doesnt make sense to me to force myself to eat more then I want, to lose weight.
I have only been counting calories, i guess I need to make sure I have following everything-sugar, sodium.
And to the person that said I might have a hormone problem...I have PCOS. I took fertility treatments to get pregnant because of it. So that could be a big problem in my weight loss problem.
I will take everyones advice and check out the websites posted and I will try increasing my calories.
Thank you again!

Consuming more calories doesn't mean you have to eat a ton more food. Right now, you are eating low fat yogurt, light salad dressing and low fat soup. You can easily substitute the full versions of these foods to add some extra calories. Aside from that, a handful of nuts, or nut butters, seeds, eggs, avocado, olive oil are a few things that you can add to bump it up without eating a ton of food.

The big deal is you are tanking your metabolism. Feed the body too little food and it will become better at using the little food it gets, meaning, you have to eat LESS food to lose weight. Also not getting the proper nutrition while eating can lead to muscle loss. Muscle burns calories. Less muscle = lower BMR.
There are a few links above someone else posted, you should definitely give them a read, they explain pretty well why it is a big deal to eat enough.

Are you working out? If not, I would suggest it, especially weight training, it does wonders (again, muscle mass = more calories burned)

derhea

To amberlangelon- I havent taken adipex in 3 years so I know that has nothing to do with this. The low carb diet might work out better.

I dont have time to go to a gym and work out so I have been doing my exercise videos- Walk your way thin (I do all 5 miles takes about 75mins), Taebo Abs, I just bought 30 day shred, Booty Ballet.
The weather is crap or I would run around my 4 acre yard since I have no tredmill. I use 3lbs hand weights as much as I can.