HELP!!!!

jgoldie88

MFP friends, I'm really struggling. I haven't lost any weight in months! In fact, I took a break from calorie counting over the holidays, gained a few pounds and haven't been able to lose any of that either! I've been exercising more lately as I've been training for a mini-marathon at the end of April which includes a series of three interim races in March. I thought all the running would help kick my weight loss back in gear - instead I'm just hungry all the time! Even when I make a point to eat healthy, filling foods, I end up snacking. And it's not emotional eating like I used to do; it's a genuine feeling of needing more fuel. I'm not typically overeating, but I am eating somewhere close to "maintenance" every day. My restricted weight loss cals (which I raised from 1200 to 1500 at the beginning of the year) just aren't cutting it anymore and I don't know what else to do. I'm at my wit's end. My total weight loss goal is 70 lbs and I'm halfway there. I've come a long way, but I've got at least as long of a way to go. Honestly, I'm only 20 lbs overweight for my height right now and I'd be happy if I could just lose that! I'd consider it a success and might postpone the rest of the weight loss if I made it into healthy range - even though I wouldn't technically be where I really wanted to be. I guess what I'm saying is that I'M STUCK and I don't know what to do about it. The usual methods of restricting cals and bumping up exercise just don't seem to be working right now and it's VERY frustrating...and pretty disheartening too...

Can anyone help? Does anyone have any encouragement or solid, healthy advice they can give?

AdrienneinTO

It's hard to say without seeing your food diary and exercise details. It's a balancing act, calories in/calories out, and you can't go too far to the extremes. You can add me as a friend if you'd like, and I would be happy to share what worked for me.

Ephena

You might not be eating enough. I stalled out last fall and tried decreasing my calories even more and doing more exercise. It wasn't working. I talked to a nutritionist and found out I had been unknowingly starving my body for months. So I did whats called a re-feed for a couple weeks (eating at maintenance, maybe even slightly higher-but only slightly). This worked really well for me and I was able to start losing again.

Lots of cardio without toning (weight training of some sort) can be detrimental and slow your loss along with making you "skinny fat". Try Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred or her No More Trouble Zones.

hellshalfacre

I would suggest you look at some books written by Neal Barnard, MD and try to follow his diet recommendations for a couple of weeks and see if you get some results. He recommends a vegan diet which I think is extremely difficult to do all the time but his recommendations can get you results in a healthful way.

H_Factor

hmmmm...hard to say why you are hungry if you are eating the way you used to eat. Maybe its still residual from the holidays and maybe its the insulin spike from the snack foods you're eating. Maybe it will be hard for a few days, but make an honest effort to cut out those snack type foods and see if that makes a difference in your hunger level.

you weren't clear in whether you're aiming for 1500 net calories (that would mean you're eating 1500 + any additional exercise calories you've burned)...or whether you're just eating 1500 calories regardless of exercise. if its the second, then you might not be eating enough.

I have some ideas in my plateau blog that may be of assistance to you. I know some folks have benefitted from trying sprint interval or other HIIT training in lieu of steady paced cardio. I know some folks benefit from really limiting starches, white carbs, processed foods. Some folks need to try more than one thing...or different combinations of things to see what works best for them. If you stay persistent, you will figure this out.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/H_Factor/view/breaking-a-plateau-170648

Cheryl943

I am new to this community and just beginning to take back control over my body. I am struggling daily to stay determined and keep my focus on my goals. I will never be "skinny" and that's fine. I'm what we call "big boned" and that's ok. However I feel really old and I shouldn't. So take what I say with a big grain of salt. You may need to eat more and train less. What worked before may need to be tweaked since you are closer to your goal weight. Your body may be trying to hold onto that last store of fat. Just a guess though. Good luck and run well.:happy:

sarahbetherck

I'm training to walk a half-marathon and have been crazy hungry ever since I started! I've found that drinking a protien shake as soon as I get home and drinking lots of water for the rest of the day helps curb the snack attacks. I do pretty intense cross fit workouts three days a week and I'm not extra hungry on those days, just the three days I walk, especially the long-walk day.
Good luck!