Discouraged...

ashbreeze25

*bear with me, I tend to ramble*
Hey all - well, I need help. Last year I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, a digestive disorder that can get worse with stress but as long as I stay on my medication the flare-ups aren't too bad. I have always been active (I train horses, run, sports, etc...) but still struggle with that last 15 pounds (hellooo stomach and thighs!). Throughout the spring time I worked hard and lost 10 by mid may but by the end of june it'd come back because of some crappy life situations and I stopped eating right. Well a friend and I decided to sign up for a sprint triathlon in mid september so for the past 5 weeks I've embarked on a somewhat vigorous (at least for me!) training schedule. swim & run each 3x a week, bike 2x a week with at least two 2-a-days. I also on average ride 2 horses each evening 5 days a week. I've gotten back on the healthy food wagon and because of the UC I'm on a gluten-free diet which tends to help with pain, bloating, etc... My complete frustration and discouragement is that I thought with all this working out I'd be able to get smaller again, but nothing. Now, I'm not one to usually rate things by the scale - it's how my clothes fit and I'm not losing inches. if anything my stomach and thighs feel & look fatter than ever and I don't understand!! I eat eggs and sometimes turkey bacon for breakfast, coffee at work, and then usually chicken and fruit/veggies throughout the day (my blood sugar is very sensitive so I eat 6 to 8 small meals a day) I run my life by grids and charts so I enter my calories... but I guess I'm just missing what I'm doing wrong. Now, I will say I'm not perfect so when I fall into temptation with cravings it is some sort of salty rice cake and dr. pepper. I know the DP is HORRIBLE for you but I do usually have one on the weekends. is that the problem?? It's just very discouraging when I see other people work hard and get results - and I'm getting nothing but a lower self esteem

leighoconnell

The last 15 lbs are always the hardest to lose and sadly it can take up to 6 months before you start to drop weight again. Just keep at it and eventually you will get over that plateu. Till then what your doing now is good for your body and your mind. The exercise will also keep your spirits up. Stick with girl, the weight will drop!!:flowerforyou:

KristyO

I'm sorry to hear about the problems you've been/are having. I read an article on CNN.com not to long ago about people hitting plateaus and not being able to lose that last 10, 15, 5 pounds whatever. The doctor's advise was for them to look very hard at diet and see where those empty calories are. The Dr Peppers probably really do affect you. I would switch to diet (it actually tastes pretty good, I also like Coke Zero). Also, you may want to cut down on fruit. It's natural sugar, but it ultimately is sugar...I would try to replace some of those fruit servings with veggies.

Also, with all the exersize you've been doing, I'm willing to bet you are gaining quite a bit of muscle which may be why your thighs seem bigger.

Hang in there! You lead a very good lifestyle so give yourself credit where credit is due! :happy:

KristyO

Oh, one more thing! I saw this dude on Oprah who wrote the book "eat this, not that" and he says that turkey bacon is really NOT that good for you. Basically, turkey bacon shouldn't exist. Regular bacon is just a cut of meat from the animal. It's not manipulated much, but there is no place on a turkey that you can get bacon from...it's totally manmade so they have to actually ADD salt and fat to make it more like regular bacon. Just food for thought, you may want to get rid of that from your diet...

SamiRose

Oh, one more thing! I saw this dude on Oprah who wrote the book "eat this, not that" and he says that turkey bacon is really NOT that good for you. Basically, turkey bacon shouldn't exist. Regular bacon is just a cut of meat from the animal. It's not manipulated much, but there is no place on a turkey that you can get bacon from...it's totally manmade so they have to actually ADD salt and fat to make it more like regular bacon. Just food for thought, you may want to get rid of that from your diet...

I've herd this too...from numerous other sources...

ashbreeze25

Thanks guys, I appreciate the support! The last 15 are for sure the hardest... can I get three cheers for hating plateaus?!!

Helpful about the turkey bacon... never knew! And yes, DP is definitely my achilles heel...

What's the opinion on vitamin water? I think my issue is that while I drink several bottles of water a day because of working out, if I'm not training I want some type of flavor... :-/