Stuck in Lost and Found

Lovlilyn

I have been stuck in Lost and Found (you know, when you lose 2lb one week, then "find" 3lb the next week, then lose 1lb the next week, etc.) since 12/7/12. From that weigh-in until today, I have lost 13lb, but gained back 10 week to week. That's a net 3lb loss for 10 WEEKS of diet and exercise. I don't consider myself in a plateau since some weeks I do lose, and I have an overall loss, but this is getting maddeningly frustrating to put so much effort into this, and have no results.

My goal is very modest, I want to lost 1# a week. I usually have a deficit of between 500-900 calories a day depending on how much I work out. I vary my calories daily from 1200-1500. My goal is to exercise every day, and I usually can do that for 2 weeks at a stretch (then I have to skip a day, usually because of schedule or weather). I have worked my way up from walking 4 miles to walk/running 4+, and HIIT on 3 days a week. I wear a BodyMedia monitor, and it shows that I'm burning between 2200-2500 calories a day. I don't always track my food because I don't have time. I do, however, know my diet very well - I have been doing this for a long, long, time (before I joined MFP), and I know when I consume ~1200-1500 cal.

I know that part of the 10 weeks covered the holidays, and I definitely went off track with food during that time (kept up with exercise though), and I expected the set back, but since then, I just don't get it. I've been in the same "decade" now for 16 weeks! What should have taken 10 is going on 17 (and looking to be 18 or 19 by the time I'm done - if I ever get there). Now I have totally blown my goal with no possibility of ever making it up (my average weekly WL is now at .72 a week. Pathetic.

I'm not going to give up, but I can feel the discouragement taking over. If anyone has any suggestions or advice, I would love to hear it. Just so you know:
1. I know this is a lifestyle change, and that is definitely my plan, but I do have to get to a healthy weight range first, so I am in reduction mode until I get there.
2. I work full time, have husband and 3 children, and go to school, so working out more is not a sustainable model.
3. I have to work out starting at 5 AM, so personal trainers are out (I haven't found any yet that start that early), and money would be a factor anyway.
4. My diet is not perfect, but even if I don't eat/drink clean 100%, I do maintain a calorie deficit 99% of the time. I can try giving up a food group (white carbs, sugar, etc.), but I cannot sustain it, so if weight will come right back on when I start eating them again, I may as well skip it.
5. I've been at this since June, and I've lost 26lbs, but I have at least 24lb to go.

TIA,

Lynne

Lovlilyn

bump

sunnyside1213

If you open you food diary, we might be able to offer you some advice.

strawberrytoast

Im no expert but heres my advice- are you syaing that you eat 1200-1500 calories but burn 2200-2500? If thats the case i'd say eating more will solve your problem. Not enough fuel in the tank is all.

AwesomeSquirrel

Not sure I have mush advice but didn't want to read and run Cudos to you for waiting a good long while and sticking with it before observing that your progress has stalled (I was stuck for 3 weeks myself and only just got unstuck today!).

When you say that you have a deficit of 500-900 kcal, do you mean that you have this number left "in green" at the end of the day even with reduced calories factored into your daily goal? If so you might not be eating enough.

Would you consider opening your diary for the purpose of advice on this thread?

Good luck and try to hang in there!

Mokey41

Sounds silly but you may be eating too little and exercising too much. 1200 to 1500 calories isn't a lot for an active woman and there's no need to exercise every day. Your body needs rest to repair and rejuvenate itself. Take a few moments to figure out your BMR and TDEE. You can always set your TDEE to sedentary so you control your exercise calories but I bet 1200 is way below your BMR and at this point your body is starting to rebel at not getting the fuel it needs.

laccy40

Im no expert but heres my advice- are you syaing that you eat 1200-1500 calories but burn 2200-2500? If thats the case i'd say eating more will solve your problem. Not enough fuel in the tank is all.

I agree, if you think that you are burning 2200 calories you need to eat much more. I'd suggest that you search for 'road map' on the threads and work out what your calorie goal should be. I'm also not sure that you should work out every day, I think your body needs to rest and recover to work properly the next time. Good luck.

Lleldiranne

Have you measured lately? Sometimes losses don't show up on the scale, but in inches off your waist, hips, thighs, etc.

You may find success through resistance/weight lifting. In my experience, cardio alone (even HIIT) only does so much. It is great for your hear, and your body in general, but you probably need the resistance too. And, it will help with bone density, too. You don't need a personal trainer to start. In fact, you can probably find Jillian Michael's DVDs at the library and try them for free (this is a mix of HIIT and light-moderate weights). Or, I've heard a lot about New Rules of LIfting For Women, you could look into that book.

You may also want to try eating a bit more for a while. It sounds like you have your deficit worked out pretty well (I'm assuming that your 2200-2500 calorie burn is overall, not just exercise). If you aren't losing with a 1000 or so daily deficit, it may be that your body has "decided" to hold on to what is left (what is mistakenly called "starvation mode" -- although I don't think this is at all an accurate term). Maybe eat 1800-2000 calories a day for a few weeks and see where that gets you.

momwhosbusy

Hi there, without being able to see how many calories and what you're eating I can't offer a whole lot of advice. If you're eating b/t 1200 and 1500/day like you think you are and exercising as much as you are you could possibly be eating too few calories.

You stated that you don't usually log and track you food, I would enourage you to jump back in and start measuring and logging EVERYTHING and maybe you'll find the answer there. Good luck!

Lovlilyn

Have you measured lately? Sometimes losses don't show up on the scale, but in inches off your waist, hips, thighs, etc.

I haven't measured myself, but I started in a size 14, and I can sometimes fit in a 12 now, but not in all styles, and there is no way I'd fit into a 10 - that's part of the frustration too, not feeling like the body is even changing enough or fast enough - although I have had a lot of people notice that I've lost weight - I think that's because it finally showed up in my face :-( Not that I'm sad to get rid of one of my chins, but I'd rather not have the muffin top.

Lovlilyn

I opened up my diary - you'll probably have to go back a few weeks. I keep up with it for a while, then get busy, and it's the thing that gets chopped off the list. I have been doing this for so long, I know what to eat/how many calories it has. Although, I have gone back to it to try to make sure that my food isn't the problem, and it hasn't made a difference.

As far as eating too little, on a day that I don't exercise, I only burn 1800 calories - that is not much, and if your target is 1200, it's so easy to consume another ~200 calories, and then be under my 500 calorie deficit goal. In fact, the calories are always just an estimate because I cannot track every thing I put in my mouth (for example, I have some grilled chicken. Well, it had been marinated, I do not coun't the marinade. Or I eat out and I have to choose something from the database that seems like the same thing, but who knows for sure? It could be 500 calories more or it could be less). I err on the lower side figuring there is at least a 5% margin of error. So, I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think I am under eating. I eat when I'm hungry - choosing a healthy snack. I have at least one cheat day every 12-14 days where my calories go over 2000.

As far as exercise, first, it's my goal to work out every day, but I have had days off. I usually make it 12-14 days, then something happens (I sleep through my alarm, for example :-) where I take a day off. Or, I plan to take a walk at work, and then I can't. I recently had to take a few days off because I had a back spasm. From what I have heard/read lately, it is recommended that we get at least 1 hour of exercise every day. I try to do it every day because I know there are going to have to be days when I cannot, and I don't want that to impact my goal. Also, see above - if I don't exercise, I have very few calories to consume. If I end up having a 1500 calorie day (with 5% margin error bringing up to 1575 if I've underestimated), I have only achieved a 200 calorie deficit. I can't lose weight with a 500 calorie deficit, so 200 is not going to cut it :-)