FRUSTRATED!!!! Not Losing!!

Babygirl928

I started my journey the 2nd week of January. Recently turned 40, which was extremely depressing. When the new year came, I decided to get off my butt and DO THIS!! I started with watching what I ate and counting calories. I have never eaten veggies (except salad) so I started finding ways to force myself to eat them and now I pretty much eat everything. By the beginning of March I had lost 11 pounds and was extremely excited and very proud of myself. I hit a plateu. So I added 30 minutes of cardio every day for one week and then added in weight lifting at night. I haven't lost a pound in 2 weeks. I have shocked my body, increased calories, cut calories, eaten high protein low carbs and vice versa. It is getting harder and harder to get up at 5 to walk and stay up until 9 to work out and not see the slightest results. Does anyone have ANY ADVICE? To make matters worse, hubby started with me 2 weeks ago and has lost 23 pounds. 3 of which were this week already. I am so ready to quit but I won't. I just need to figure out what I am doing wrong.

joders1313

Try a personal trainer or a nutritionist to steer you in the right direction

PlanetVelma

Your food journal is closed...it's possible you aren't eating enough or you haven't given your body a chance to adjust to new caloric levels. You didn't indicate how long you increased your calories to....sooo I'm merely speculating.

In any event, here's a link to some threads that talk about exercise calories, expectations, etc....you may want to peruse those threads and see if anything rings true.

Good luck! :flowerforyou:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

kimbsh01

make ur food diary public...so we can see how ur eating and everything

MiChaChelle

im sorry ur going through this.. but it'll get better eventually. all ur hard work will pay off. u should make ur diary public so people can help u out and tell u what u're doing wrong

Babygirl928

diary is public. Thank you I appreciate ANY help!!

hstanton7

It seems as though you are doing everything right. Although with all the working out you are doing you may need to actually bump up your calories so your body doesnt think you are starving it. Seems backward but its not.

I would just give it time if I were you. Ive been doing this for 6 months now and didnt lose anything for the first 3.

justfungrandma

It sounds to me like you are doing pretty well. You have started some new things in the last two weeks and your body needs to adapt. You are probably building some muscle and that weighs more than fat. Give it a bit without changing things too much for another week or so and see what happens. By the way, our hubbys always lose weight easier than us...we cant compare to them.

elwinberry

With doing everything that your doing, remember you are converting fat into muscle. Don't get so caught up with the scale numbers. Get a tape measure and measure. You will see more results that way. Never compare yourself to your husband. Men loose weight much quicker than women. They have much more muscle mass so their body automaticly attacks the fat. Our bodies are trying to do two things, give us muscle mass and get rid of unwanted fat. That's where we go wrong, becoming scale slaves. Stick with it you will be amazed at the difference. And if you give up now. A year from now you will be even more depressed wondering what you would have looked like of you would have only stuck with it. If you need the extra support you can always friend me and I can be that little voice, or that pat on the back. Good luck in your journey

fittiephd

Just keep going!!!!!!!! Drink lots of water and make sure to eat back your exercise cals.

The best way to think about it is that if you keep going, you'll gain so many benefits, but if you stop, you gain nothing except lbs. There's no reason to stop!

Also unless you haven't been logging everyhting, you need to eat WAY MORE. Eating less than 1200 will get you no where. I recommend at LEAST 1400. AND eating back exercise calories.

I know you said you've tried upping cals, bhut seriously, try again. most of the time when people hit plateaus it's because they're not eating enough. Up your cals for at least one month and then see where you are. Don't weigh yourself for a whole month if you can!!! That's what I'm doing right now

hounds726

First of all, congratulations on your success of making the decision to get started and losing11 pounds! Getting started can be the hardest part.

A few things related to the actual weight loss and the plateau:
--It happens! I am currently experiencing it as well. You may be losing inches, which, while frustrating is still good for you! The cardio is great for heart health and the weights are good for lean muscle mass! You are still doing your body good so don't give up!
--In regards to your hubby-men lose weight at a quicker rate most frequently. I can't totally explain the science behind it but it just happens that way.

Keep your head up and don't give up! Measure yourself with a tape measure, fit of clothing, and level of self confidence gained--not always just the scale

sandradaisy

Unbelieveable, we could be twins from another mother...I turned 40 last year, my husband and I have decided to loose some weight..started 2nd week of January...Exercise, eat right....I have lost 14 lbs total, (didnt start here at first), my husband has lost 23 pounds..I have not lost a pound in 3 weeks....Amazing, I am just going to keep pluggin away, you can do it...Keep up the great work!!!

em9371

first of all, well done on losing the 11 pounds!!!!!

It takes a while for things to work, so changing what you do every week is not giving anything long enough to see if it works.
My advice would be to set a plan and stick to it for at least a month to give it a chance to work, weight loss is not always predictable and you can sometimes do nothing when you have been 'good' then a load drops off at once!!
Set your goals on MFP for the amount of weight you want to lose per week (i would guess 1.5-2lbs based on what you have to lose).
Adjust your macros to 40% C / 30% F / 30% P - mfp standard is very low on protein and high on carbs. Also track sugar and sodium. (sugar is low @ 30g, its easy to go over that just from a glass of milk and a piece of fruit. dont worry if you go over from fruit, its the processed sugars you need to watch out for).
Try and eat to your calorie goal as near as possible, including eating back exercise cals. Avoid processed foods and cook from scratch as much as possible, get at least 5 fruit & veg a day, and lots of water.
Take measurements, you could be losing inches not lbs.
Dont lift weights every day, ideally do 3x per week full body, or do upper body / lower body on alternate days.
Make sure you take at rest days, rest is just as important as exercise for repairing muscles.

It would be better if you open your diary so people can advise if there is anything you are / arent eating that could affect your loss.

hope this helps x


ETA - your diary was public by the time i posted!
your problem is you are not eating enough, and you definetly need to look at your food choices and add a lot of fruit & veggies. nearly everything you eat is processed. Protein shakes are good to 'top up' a healthy diet, but not as the main source of your calories!!!
Eating so low will work at first, then as your body is continually under fuelled it will hang onto fat and your loss will stop as you have found out.
Im 210lbs and eat around 1900 a day (1600 net) and lose 1.5-2lbs most weeks. You are netting minus or stupidly low numbers most days which is no good for anybody - seriously you netted minus 530 calories on Sunday and you expect your body to function properly?!!!
The goal of 1740 that MFP gives you is NET, so you should be eating this PLUS at least half of your exercise cals.

have a look at these:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/518533-major-sucess-with-higher-calories
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/531086-before-and-after-pics-no-starvation?error_user_id=6110710&error_username=em9371&page=2

gsager

I started my journey the 2nd week of January. Recently turned 40, which was extremely depressing. When the new year came, I decided to get off my butt and DO THIS!! I started with watching what I ate and counting calories. I have never eaten veggies (except salad) so I started finding ways to force myself to eat them and now I pretty much eat everything. By the beginning of March I had lost 11 pounds and was extremely excited and very proud of myself. I hit a plateu. So I added 30 minutes of cardio every day for one week and then added in weight lifting at night. I haven't lost a pound in 2 weeks. I have shocked my body, increased calories, cut calories, eaten high protein low carbs and vice versa. It is getting harder and harder to get up at 5 to walk and stay up until 9 to work out and not see the slightest results. Does anyone have ANY ADVICE? To make matters worse, hubby started with me 2 weeks ago and has lost 23 pounds. 3 of which were this week already. I am so ready to quit but I won't. I just need to figure out what I am doing wrong.

You need to start eating more. You will not hit a plateau if you stoke your metabolism by eating.....You are working out and accumulating lots of calories but not eating them...your body thinks that you've in bad shape and being asked to work your *kitten* off but not being fed....so its going to store every thing it can....come on and eat!!!

runningfromzombies

I started my journey the 2nd week of January. Recently turned 40, which was extremely depressing. When the new year came, I decided to get off my butt and DO THIS!! I started with watching what I ate and counting calories. I have never eaten veggies (except salad) so I started finding ways to force myself to eat them and now I pretty much eat everything. By the beginning of March I had lost 11 pounds and was extremely excited and very proud of myself. I hit a plateu. So I added 30 minutes of cardio every day for one week and then added in weight lifting at night. I haven't lost a pound in 2 weeks. I have shocked my body, increased calories, cut calories, eaten high protein low carbs and vice versa. It is getting harder and harder to get up at 5 to walk and stay up until 9 to work out and not see the slightest results. Does anyone have ANY ADVICE? To make matters worse, hubby started with me 2 weeks ago and has lost 23 pounds. 3 of which were this week already. I am so ready to quit but I won't. I just need to figure out what I am doing wrong.

Deep breaths, and back away from the scale! Break out a tape measure and keep track of your measurements that way. I haven't lost a single damn pound in three months--but I have lost inches. I bet you have, too. We all have plateaus for whatever reason (seriously, as much math as there is to go into it, sometimes the body will do what the body will do).

And, goodness, you need to eat more. Eat back those exercise calories. They're there for a reason. Your body is probably in starvation mode--after looking at your diary it's apparent that you aren't eating enough.

Also--ignore your husband's progress. Men lose weight faster than women, generally, and it's your journey, not his!

MandyMcAwesome

When I plateau I automatically increase my water intake by 3-4 glasses. You will pee all night, but it usually gets you going. The above advice is good. Eat, it's what we are supposed to do.

Also, comparison is the death of happiness. I like to look at other peoples success stories to inspire me, but I realize that this is MY journey, and I have to listen to my body. Just focus on you and your spirts will lighten as well as your weight.

Sarauk2sf

I started my journey the 2nd week of January. Recently turned 40, which was extremely depressing. When the new year came, I decided to get off my butt and DO THIS!! I started with watching what I ate and counting calories. I have never eaten veggies (except salad) so I started finding ways to force myself to eat them and now I pretty much eat everything. By the beginning of March I had lost 11 pounds and was extremely excited and very proud of myself. I hit a plateu. So I added 30 minutes of cardio every day for one week and then added in weight lifting at night. I haven't lost a pound in 2 weeks. I have shocked my body, increased calories, cut calories, eaten high protein low carbs and vice versa. It is getting harder and harder to get up at 5 to walk and stay up until 9 to work out and not see the slightest results. Does anyone have ANY ADVICE? To make matters worse, hubby started with me 2 weeks ago and has lost 23 pounds. 3 of which were this week already. I am so ready to quit but I won't. I just need to figure out what I am doing wrong.

Deep breaths, and back away from the scale! Break out a tape measure and keep track of your measurements that way. I haven't lost a single damn pound in three months--but I have lost inches. I bet you have, too. We all have plateaus for whatever reason (seriously, as much math as there is to go into it, sometimes the body will do what the body will do).

And, goodness, you need to eat more. Eat back those exercise calories. They're there for a reason. Your body is probably in starvation mode--after looking at your diary it's apparent that you aren't eating enough.

Also--ignore your husband's progress. Men lose weight faster than women, generally, and it's your journey, not his!

Totally agree with this. I had a look at your diary, you are WAY below what you should be eating. I would suggest that you back off the cardio (this will help with you calorie deficit also). Try to weight train 3 x per week and only do cardio 3 x per week. This will make your efforts more sustainable. Many people train more than this, but to me, it seems as though what you are doing is taking away any relaxing/fun time and is probably cutting into your sleep.

I also agree with the comment about about giving it more time than a week to see an impact in any change to your efforts.

Good luck

quill16

just checked your food and you really need to eat 1200 cal minimum. I am not a fan of eating back all my exercise calories, but this has been successful for me(159lb loss in 16 months). I hear others have success with eating back the cals and its one of those pro/con issues. I have hit many plateaus along the way and they last for 3days to 3 weeks depending on time of month and salty foods.It takes alot to just to push thru it. At the end of a plateau i am usually rewarded with a big drop for days in a row. Don't stop and you will be rewarded!

Babygirl928

LOL yes we could I know men lose easier it was just frustrating to see him weigh in lol

wewon

It doesn't look like you're getting enough calories. There are days when you have less than 1000 calories for the day.

Also, Are you logging the water that you drink?

MyFeistyEvolution

Are you really done eating before 6? I noticed pretty much every night there is nothing logged in the evening, leaving you with a large amount of calories left over. Add on the exercise calories and that could be your reason. Eat up to your set goal, make sure to get in all your water, and be patient. You didn't gain the weight overnight and unfortunately it's much harder to lose it.

Good luck!