I Feel Like I'm Not Getting Anywhere (NEED TO VENT)

SJax7192

I know I've just only started really working out these last two weeks, but I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. I still don't know how to get rid of stubborn belly fat and I don't feel like I'm losing weight…maybe I'm just being impatient…

I NEED A SUPPORT SYSTEM haha

Emtabo01

I've been doing this whole lifestyle change thing for 6 months and I'm still pissed at my belly. I just figure where will I be in a year if I quit, still fat and squishy, it has to get better if I keep working at it, has to.

painauxraisin

You are being impatient! These things take time, and people give up, which is why lots of us need help and encouragement from sites like this. Give it more time and just cocentrate on doing the best you can for your future and your body.:flowerforyou:

SJax7192

But I feel like I'm missing out on an easy way to get rid of the belly fat, you know? I just want it to be easier

hmadrone

It takes time.

Also, it's normal for women to have a little belly fat.

imthejenjen

It takes time.

Also, it's normal for women to have a little belly fat.

Anything worth having is hard work. You can do it! Stick with it!!!

Emtabo01

Seriously? If it was easy, wouldn't everyone have the perfect, firm stomach? Gradual lifestyle changes you can stick with...

imthejenjen

^^^ so sorry! Quoted the wrong person!!

wendybird5

Sadly there is no easy way and anyone who tells you there is is trying to sell you something. We all want it to be easier and faster, but it takes time and hard work and patience. Hang in there and you'll make it!!

mareeee1234

TWO WEEKS? Patience my love !!!!

mareeee1234

And yeah... IF it was easy, we'd all be at our goals by now! Enjoy the journey and the little changes along the way - they willlll come, be patient!

Rayman79

2 weeks?

ashlinmarie

I've been doing this on and off for 2 years now. I lost 23 lbs, moved back in with my mom and gained it all back, then my husband left for basic training, I re lost 20 lbs and then we found out we were moving to Japan and with the holidays before and after our move, I put 10 back on.

IT TAKES TIME! I wish like crazy that I hadn't let life get in the way because I'd be done now. But the important thing is that I stay focused now. It is hard and I'm having to deal with the possibility that I developed asthma so I have to tailor my workouts around my breathing until I can see a doctor. But I want to be fit and healthy for the first time in my life so I'm going to stick with it and eventually this horrendous stomach will go away!

SJax7192

I'm doing all the right workouts, or at least I think I am, but they don't seem to be enough…
I do Pilates, yoga, and strength training almost every day.
It's just hard because I live with my brother, who works out all the time and seems to have gained a flat stomach almost overnight

wendybird5

I'm doing all the right workouts, or at least I think I am, but they don't seem to be enough…
I do Pilates, yoga, and strength training almost every day.
It's just hard because I live with my brother, who works out all the time and seems to have gained a flat stomach almost overnight

He's a guy. Men burn fat differently than women do. And you've only been at it for two weeks and the fat is not going to fly off overnight. You're doing the right stuff. Patience, grasshopper.

sweetchildomine

Just keep going. It's going to take A LOT longer than 2 weeks!

georgina1970

I'm doing all the right workouts, or at least I think I am, but they don't seem to be enough…
I do Pilates, yoga, and strength training almost every day.
It's just hard because I live with my brother, who works out all the time and seems to have gained a flat stomach almost overnight
[/quot

Try changing your diet to more whole foods, fruit and vegetables.

The advice I give the my clients about a healthy diet for weight loss and a healthy heart is this:
eat a variety of whole grains throughout the day (whole grain bread, whole meal pasta or a mix of 50/50 with white pasta; brown rice, or again a 50/50 mix with white rice; couscous is really easy and quick to make a salad with as well. These whole grains slow digestion and keep you feeling full for longer.
Lean protein (meat with all visible fat removed,) eggs, low fat milk, yoghurt, cheese, beans (kidney, green, edamame, chickpeas etc. (good for maintaing and building new muscle cells when you're increasing exercise or changing your workout.)
Fruit and vegetables - a variety if different colours but a minimum of 5 servings per day. These are what give you the right nutrients for staying well, and assisting recovery after a hard workout.
Water - 6-8glasses per day, more when you exercise. Amount depends on how hard you work out or sweat.

The other thing I tell my clients is this:
if you think you have a lot of changes to make, pick one thing and work on it for the week. The next week, choose another change to add and so on. Eg. eat a minimum of 5servings of fruit and vegetables/day; exercise daily ( or whatever goal you set for yourself.)

ladymiseryali

Patience is a virtue. I know how you feel. I've been doing this seriously since August. Although I do see some changes in my body, I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. I just started doing weight training, so hopefully in two or three months I'll see some more changes.

Keep at it, don't be too concerned with the scale, and think of it as a lifestyle change rather than a diet.

Lleldiranne

But I feel like I'm missing out on an easy way to get rid of the belly fat, you know? I just want it to be easier

Sadly, there are no shortcuts. There is no "easy way" … unless you count surgery (liposuction, or whatever). But without having developed good habits, it would all come back anyway.

It didn't take you just a couple of weeks to get the belly fat - it took months and even years. Don't expect it to all come off quickly. This is like the tortoise and the hare -- slow and steady really wins the race!

Round2KO

Good lord, I was just about to begin a topic on this exact problem, but I figured I'd browse through first to make sure I wasn't being redundant with other posts from someone else. Lo and behold, I see your post!

I do have some similar issues w timing and impatience. I had done nutrisystem for like two months and lost a little more than 10 lbs. then I stopped that and dealt with IBS issues and had to eliminate foods that were making me sick. Around this time, I began student teaching and went on a very regimented, routine eating cycle and lost another 7lbs. The studen teaching was for 4 months and now that's over. So we're talking about 17-20 lbs in 6 months. At least, bc I'm not even totally sure when I did the Nutrisystem. NOW, the student teaching is over, I a, graduated and unemployed. I attempted to maintain my routine eating but it wasn't happening. Add the holidays, and I gained 5 lbs. like within 2 weeks. For christmas i asked for a zumba game on xbox kinnect. I have been doing that multiple times a week ever since. I also look up videos online and do them that way at home too. Realizing that exercise alone wasn't going to cut it, and that I needed more structure, I decided to go back on Nutrisystem.. It's been only 5 dys and I'm like tapping. My foot all pissed off that I haven't seen 5 lbs come off. I'm delusional!

I feel like even with working out I cannot get past 157.8. Like every time I step on the damn scale it says 157.8, whether I worked out for an hour that day and ate very well, or whether I had a recovery day and ate like crap. 157.8. Sometimes it'll go up or down by a few tenths of a pound, but that's nothing. i knowhow you feel.. like youre plateaued and cant get passed a wall.

I think we have skewed ideas of how fast we should lose weight. We have this idea in our heads that just bc somoeone else lost weight quickly that means we have to as well. Ever see the fine print somewhere that says "results not typical"??? Also to point out, for people not significantly overweight, weight loss will come slower. People who have more than 60 lbs to lose typically see weight loss happen faster bc there is more fat available for burning right away. People with like 30 lbs to lose will not see results instantaneously like that. You ever notice how on The Biggest Loser they work out for a week and bam they lost 19 lbs?! Hell, my freakin goal weight requires me to lose less than that! If I lost 19lbs in a week something would be seriously wrong. Aside from that, Sometimes it takes our metabolisms time to adjust.

I'll end with this analogy: you ever stir a glass of chocolate milk? You're stirring and stirring in one direction. Suddenly you stop the spoon and begin trying to stir in the other direction. The milk kind of goes everywhere for a second while the inertia of the previous stirring attempts to reverse. The milk wobbles a little but you keep stirring in your new direction and eventually everything syncs up. Think of your life before your lifestyle change-- being stirred in one direction... Now you're suddenly going against that grain and starting a new direction. It's going to take a minute for everything to sync up. Mind, body, psyche ... Everything. Give it some time. Oh, And don't be a slave to the scale! I already am and it's a pointless habit! Checking 700 times a day will not get you anywhere. Check every few days instead. A watched pot never boils. Good luck to us both!

taschulz

Patience, just as everyone has said. You will see results if you keep working. Keep in touch with friends and find out what works for them. Then use that knowledge and experience to do what works for you. This is a great site for support, so many people working very hard to be healthy. Have a great day!!

LoraF83

But I feel like I'm missing out on an easy way to get rid of the belly fat, you know? I just want it to be easier

Being fat is hard.
Losing weight is hard.
Keeping weight off is hard.

Choose your hard.

Seriously - you're young and it's normal to be impatient, but you need to change your attitude about this. It's taken me over a year to lose 46lbs, but it was worth it. And I'm not even done yet. I can tell you though that it was more meaningful when I just "enjoyed the ride" and put in the work than it was any time that I did a crash diet or tried a special "fat blasting" workout.

Keep going and you'll get there.

_kannnd

TWO WEEKS? Patience my love !!!!

Shows like the Biggest Loser, while good in some aspects, are bad because they make people feel like a failure if they can't drop tons of weight really quickly. It takes time. You didn't put the weight on overnight, and it won't come off overnight. Plus, if you don't take the time to overhaul your lifestyle, then you'll just gain it back anyway. I've been on this particular journey for almost a year and I've only lost 17lbs. I've lost more inches though. Are you measuring? You'll probably see changes there before you will see much on the scale.

hmadrone

I do have some similar issues w timing and impatience. I had done nutrisystem for like two months and lost a little more than 10 lbs. then I stopped that and dealt with IBS issues and had to eliminate foods that were making me sick. Around this time, I began student teaching and went on a very regimented, routine eating cycle and lost another 7lbs. The studen teaching was for 4 months and now that's over. So we're talking about 17-20 lbs in 6 months.

That's a really good weight loss rate for a woman!

I have occasionally lost 6 pounds in a month, but in general, I found that it was almost impossible to sustain a weight loss of more than about 3 pounds a month. If you're a woman, I think even a pound a week is pretty hard to manage. So if you're losing 2-4 pounds a month, you're doing great!