Why do I even bother?

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xxtaliaxx
xxtaliaxx Posts: 123
in Motivation and Support
I am so close to just giving up on losing any more weight because it just seems like my body feels like it doesn't need to. I still have this stupid gut to get rid of and it seems that no matter what I do, it won't go away. I've been on a plateau for like the past month and I read on here if I up my calories, it should do the trick. So for the last week, I upped my calories by 300 (now at 1500) and I worked out double time last week, burning almost 3000 calories at the gym alone. Have I lost any weight? Of course not. But you know what I did do? I hurt myself. Now my knee is swollen and I probably won't be able to exercise for the next week. It seems like everything is going against me and I'm not happy anymore. I can't even try now because of my stupid knee and I already eat healthy and I know that's not going to make a difference so what the hell am I even suppose to do now? Just accept my fate that this gut is not going to go away I guess.
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Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Hi!

    Step one: Take a deep breath! Dieting is tough. Otherwise everyone would be successful at it!

    Step two: Are you saying you eat 1500 calories and then burn 3000 at the gym? Even if that's 3000/week you're still burning about 430 a day, leaving your body with less than 1100 to function with. You might be surprised what your body does when you take the stress of these workouts away.

    Step three:Aare you strength training at the gym or focusing mainly on cardio? You might not need to lose much weight but just tone up a bit to get the body you want.
  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
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    You've been stuck for a whole month and you want to give up?


    ....Seriously? I was stuck for 2 YEARS, and I never quit.


    Weight loss isn't a race. It isn't linear. It doesn't always make sense, and it's not easy.
  • arlenem1974
    arlenem1974 Posts: 437 Member
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    check your salt intake it might be that too no more then 2500mg per day
  • corn63
    corn63 Posts: 1,580 Member
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    You're starving your body. Eat something. Your deficit is far too large to support any kind of weight loss. That's not how our bodies work.
  • _Witsy_
    _Witsy_ Posts: 609 Member
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    So you upped your calories and then burned EXTRA at the gym than what you've been doing? That kind of kills the point of upping your calories, no?

    I will be honest....a month of no budge is not a plateau. You can lose weight without exercise. It would be a bit more helpful if your diary was open.

    But quitting is not an option. That's the weak way out. Don't do it...no bulge ever disappeared from quitting!
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
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    You've been stuck for a whole month and you want to give up?


    ....Seriously? I was stuck for 2 YEARS, and I never quit.


    Weight loss isn't a race. It isn't linear. It doesn't always make sense, and it's not easy.

    ^^expert¡¡
  • theCarlton
    theCarlton Posts: 1,344 Member
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    You're so close to your goal (going by your ticker). Don't give up now. Focus on what you *can* do, not what you can't right now.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    You upped your calories and then upped your workout and defeated the whole purpose of eating more to fuel your body. You need to reduce your exercise to a normal level and SLOWLY start raising your calories to repair the damage you are doing to yourself.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk
  • bella_babe_86
    bella_babe_86 Posts: 503 Member
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    I'm not even going to try to claim to be an expert at this...none of us are, if we were we wouldn't be here...however maybe you should try eating at your maintenance calories for a week or two. Give your body some time to relax and repair and then start working out again. According to your ticker you only have a few pounds to get to your goal and I've heard those last few are the hardest to get rid of. Pace yourself, it will happen!
  • SDHudgins1976
    SDHudgins1976 Posts: 140
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    You CAN do this!
    Just keep at this it will happen!
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    "Accept your fate"? Really? Not question WHY you might be having issues?

    As everyone else said: one month of no weight loss isn't technically a plateau. Are you taking measurements with a soft tape measure? People often lose inches while not losing the number on the scale.

    However, if you've been eating at 1200 calories for so long, no wonder you're having trouble even budging anything more. You've been eating at higher calories for ONE week... it can take six or more weeks for your body to adjust to a consistent change in calorie intake, so you definitely need to give it more time (you've been on the site for nearly three years; why would one month suddenly throw you off!?). If you are burning off more calories that put you at netting below 1200, you're literally just spinning your wheels.

    Plus, if it's all your "gut" left over, that's probably an issue of eating too little and losing muscle WITH fat, instead of maintaining or losing minimal muscle which would have happened with strength training.

    Add weight lifting. Up your calorie net. Be patient. The End.
  • xxtaliaxx
    xxtaliaxx Posts: 123
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    I hear what you guys are saying. I guess I just don't know how to properly regulate my caloric intake with the amount of calories I burn. I do strength train when I go to the gym, but I do mostly cardio. I don't really want to up my calories any more than I already have.
  • TylerJ76
    TylerJ76 Posts: 4,375 Member
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    You've been stuck for a whole month and you want to give up?


    ....Seriously? I was stuck for 2 YEARS, and I never quit.


    Weight loss isn't a race. It isn't linear. It doesn't always make sense, and it's not easy.

    You won't get much better advice then this...
  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
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    I hear what you guys are saying. I guess I just don't know how to properly regulate my caloric intake with the amount of calories I burn. I do strength train when I go to the gym, but I do mostly cardio. I don't really want to up my calories any more than I already have.

    You don't WANT to eat more food?


    You want to eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life? Good lord, if you think this is hard, you're going to hate actually trying to MAINTAIN your weight loss.


    You're what, 6 lbs off from goal? Readjust your goals to lose .5 lb a week. You're going to gain the first week or so, maybe even longer, because you've been starving yourself for quite some time. Eventually, though, the weight will come off once your metabolism has had a chance to recover from the damage you've done to it.


    Or, ya know, you can just quit.
  • _Witsy_
    _Witsy_ Posts: 609 Member
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    I hear what you guys are saying. I guess I just don't know how to properly regulate my caloric intake with the amount of calories I burn. I do strength train when I go to the gym, but I do mostly cardio. I don't really want to up my calories any more than I already have.

    Ok but you do have to understand that upping your calories to sustain your body at its current activity levels is vital. In regards to how many calories you should take in vs what you burn...if you follow MFP's program, you should eat your exercise calories because a deficit has already been figured in. If you set your goal for 1500, make sure you are netting 1500 calories eaten at the end of the day.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I hear what you guys are saying. I guess I just don't know how to properly regulate my caloric intake with the amount of calories I burn. I do strength train when I go to the gym, but I do mostly cardio. I don't really want to up my calories any more than I already have.

    You don't WANT to eat more food?


    You want to eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life? Good lord, if you think this is hard, you're going to hate actually trying to MAINTAIN your weight loss.

    This^. OP, why, exactly, do you not want to up your calories more? If you're just "not hungry," that's not actually a signal that your body is satiated; it's a signal that your hormones (see: leptin) are altered from being in a long term deficit. I dealt with anorexia for years and was never, ever hungry.

    If you find you are hungry, or even if you aren't, but are *afraid* of upping calories for whatever reason ("I don't know if I can eat that much," "I'm afraid I'll gain," etc.)... that's not good. You shouldn't be afraid of food. Up the calories gradually (one week 1300, the next 1400, the next 1500, the next 1600), etc. You'd be surprised at how quickly your appetite will return, particularly if you start netting more reasonable calories (as in, not 1200 or below). Particularly if you add in MORE weight lifting (could you be more specific about what "sometimes I do strength training but I mostly do cardio" means?).
  • WhoTheHellIsBen
    WhoTheHellIsBen Posts: 1,238 Member
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    so you upped your calories and that didn't work so plan B is to quit? You're not very good at succeeding at things are you ?
  • 10kaday
    10kaday Posts: 177
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    According to your ticker... your almost there! Don't give up now!! Near the end is the hardest part. At this point, don't even worry about what the scale says. Just keep going. Do daily cardio, strength train, and rest. Keep eating healthy. That's all you can do. Also, don't worry. As your body build muscle (weighs more than fat) and continues to gradually lose fat --it will all even out. Think of where you'll be in 5 years from now, not next week. This is key!
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    On top of the other great posts you may want to consider this
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html
  • xxtaliaxx
    xxtaliaxx Posts: 123
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    I hear what you guys are saying. I guess I just don't know how to properly regulate my caloric intake with the amount of calories I burn. I do strength train when I go to the gym, but I do mostly cardio. I don't really want to up my calories any more than I already have.

    Ok but you do have to understand that upping your calories to sustain your body at its current activity levels is vital. In regards to how many calories you should take in vs what you burn...if you follow MFP's program, you should eat your exercise calories because a deficit has already been figured in. If you set your goal for 1500, make sure you are netting 1500 calories eaten at the end of the day.

    Hmmm. Okay, I get what you are saying. I thought it was all about burning more than what you eat. That's why I have been eating less so it's easier for me to burn more. Maybe that's why I am always tired.

    And this is how I've been maintaining my weight. I always seem to get to this weight (156) and I either stop losing weight or I gain weight. For some reason it's just hard to shake it when I get to 156.

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