BEYOND Frustrated!!!

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  • chels0722
    chels0722 Posts: 465 Member
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    Yes, watch your sodium, it is possible it is just water. But also, i think you need to be eating more. Or if you aren't comfortable with upping your calorie intake, at least eat back a minimum of half of your calories burned. The closer you get to your goal, the more you will need to eat to maintain. Start out slow, you don't need to jump into upping your calories, and it is possible that you might see a slight gain when you start. But be patient. It will take time for your body to adjust to getting more calories and nutrients. You will see a bigger difference in inches than weight. So put the scale away for a while :)
  • allaboutthecake
    allaboutthecake Posts: 1,535 Member
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    I bounced around your food diary. Your sodium & packaged food is what is keeping your scale at the same blasted number. Try eating very very clean for a week with nothing "pre" made, cooked, boxed, sacked, or frozen.. Hit each food group, stay within portions, stay away from meat with added sodium (even so-called fresh) and read every single label you get your hands on. Keep up your cardio workouts and consume so much water you think you are drowning. Don't drink anything else except water. (Coffee/tea in the a.m.? that's fine just a few cups). No sodas, juice, energy drinks, nada. See what happens. It takes discipline but if you try it for just a week, that should get your scale to budge. And then, try it for another week. keep track of your daily categories on a paper if you must, so you don't overeat one group vs the other (say fruits/carbs vs veggies.)

    HTH
  • hollythomson0482
    hollythomson0482 Posts: 2
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    Doing only cardio won't burn fat like weight lifting will! When you do cardio, you only burn calories while you're physically doing the workout. When you lift weights or do any sort of weight training, you can burn calories for hours & hours after the workout is complete! And you'll feel stronger :) You've already lost 40 pounds, so be proud of that and keep up the good work!
  • jstout365
    jstout365 Posts: 1,686 Member
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    I listed my routine above. I have mixed it up. I was only doing eliptical and now am running. I also have added heavier weights and changed some of the things I do with weights.

    I think I was posting while you posted the routine :happy:

    Have you considered high intensity intervals? A youtube search for "HIIT workout" produces a lot of videos. You can do those on the treadmill/elliptical or as part of core or strength training. I know you said circuits, but these would be like 30 second intervals at max intensity.
  • Violettarheel
    Violettarheel Posts: 1 Member
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    Biggest thing that jumps out at me on the food diary is the Dannon yogurt. Try switching up to Greek yogurt (plain, non-fat, add your own fruit and a drizzle of honey for sweetness, if you want). The hidden sugar in the yogurt (and possibly other foods) could be slowing you up.

    I agree with others who say you aren't eating enough. Twelve hundred calories a day for a woman is bare minimum. Your body could think it's in starvation mode, and that's why you're not shedding pounds.

    As for exercise don't be afraid to lift heavy in the gym (working up to it, of course). Muscle is your secret weapon and building more of it will allow you to burn calories when you're not even trying. Also, you commented that you do weights after cardio - try switching that up too. Cardio on the front end of the workout can deplete your energy for weight training thus making it difficult to get the most out of your workouts. Separate your cardio and weight days in the gym or hop on the treadmill after giving the weights your all.

    Hope this helps - and don't get frustrated. You can do it!
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
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    How long did you stick with a change before you decided it wasn't working?

    Your protein and fats looked good on the days that you ate at least 1,200 calories. Have you calculated your TDEE? My guess would be your not eating enough. Do you not log on the weekends often?
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
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    Thanks guys. I think I'm scared to try eating more; I tried it and gained weight. It scares me, because I don't want to go back to where I was.

    Oh, I guess I should have also said what kind of workout I do. I usually do 30-60 minutes of cardio on the treadmill or eliptical (usually closer to 30) and then lift weights for 30 minutes. Sometimes I will also do a circuit afterwards.

    It takes time for your body to adjust. You'll most likely gain "weight" the first week or so just from fluid retention.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
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    Also sodium isn't going to keep you from losing fat. It might make the scale jump around (again water weight) but if your eating properly it won't effect fat loss.
  • getfitnat11
    getfitnat11 Posts: 1
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    I agree with others that have suggested you should eat more. There are a couple of days in your diary where you didn't eat at all!! I have often read and heard that not meeting your body's nutritional requirements can make your body hold onto fat instead of burning it, and eating at more frequent intervals keeps the metabolism going. I only skimmed through your log but I would invite you to consider adding more fruits and vegetables, your body might need the nutrients and is possibly holding onto the weight because it doesn't want to starve. Certain fruits and veggies also have the capacity to help the body eliminate toxins, remove fat from the cells, and provide more energy (which it sounds like you need because of your job). Aside from all that it just sounds like you are just really stressed out and being very hard on yourself, which could also make you hold onto or gain weight. I hope you are celebrating all the weight you have lost and the progress you have made. I wonder if you are taking some time during your busy week to relax and do something special for yourself? Tell yourself how beautiful and amazing you are for all of the hard work you do? I know it sounds crazy but it might be just what you need. Good luck :)
  • melonclarinet
    melonclarinet Posts: 163 Member
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    According to the "In Place of a Roadmap" (Fat2Fit) websites listed I just figured out that my BMR is 2152 and my TDEE is 2425...but when I use other sites for BMI I get anywhere from 1300-1600. I just did these numbers again today (because I had gone with a number that said 1200 from some website before). Several other websites put my TDEE at about 2100

    2152 seems REALLY high for BMR.
  • melonclarinet
    melonclarinet Posts: 163 Member
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    I use a heart rate monitor. I don't trust MFP's calories. They are WAYYYYY over.
  • melonclarinet
    melonclarinet Posts: 163 Member
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    I am lifting heavy...even though some people keep telling me not to. I like it too much to stop anyway!

    As for the yogurt, it is Greek Yogurt. I can't eat plain and the Dannon has the lowest sugar out of any of the flavored Greek yogurts I've tried.

    I will try eating more...I say this with a little trepidation. I've done it before and gained; granted, it was only for a couple of weeks. It scares me, but I need to do something different obviously.

    Oh, and I've been doing the running and everything for about a month or so now, so I don't think that's what has caused the slow in weight loss.

    I actually get a lot of fruits and vegetables as well...every recipe I make is loaded with them. I try to have 4-5 large servings a day.

    Thank you all for your help so far!
  • Bssh
    Bssh Posts: 123
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    Increase your calories but very slowly - say 100 cals more for two weeks, then another 100 cals for another two (or more) weeks.... This may be a less scary leap up to eating more :-) Best of luck.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
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    According to the "In Place of a Roadmap" (Fat2Fit) websites listed I just figured out that my BMR is 2152 and my TDEE is 2425...but when I use other sites for BMI I get anywhere from 1300-1600. I just did these numbers again today (because I had gone with a number that said 1200 from some website before). Several other websites put my TDEE at about 2100

    2152 seems REALLY high for BMR.

    Fat2Fit and scooby have been right on for me. What did you put in for your activity level?
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
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    Increase your calories but very slowly - say 100 cals more for two weeks, then another 100 cals for another two (or more) weeks.... This may be a less scary leap up to eating more :-) Best of luck.

    This is a great idea. The scale jump should be less dramatic doing it this way as well.
  • melonclarinet
    melonclarinet Posts: 163 Member
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    I redid the BMR on Fat2Fit entering my goal weight and it says I should eat between 1800 and 2000 calories a day (I think I'm lightly active) and my BMR is between 1300 and 1550 a day. Wish me luck on raising my calories.

    1800 still seems like A LOT of food. I think I need to allow myself to try something new, because what I'm doing is obviously not working. I wanted to raise my calories a couple of months ago because I thought that might be the problem, but I had too many people tell me "calories in vs calories out" so I got scared.
  • jbug100
    jbug100 Posts: 406 Member
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    Bump
  • grlygrl123
    grlygrl123 Posts: 55 Member
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    I agree that adding more calories is a little scary.

    I had been sticking to 1200 calories for a long time. I lost weight quickly when I first started out but it slowly plateaued. I have decided to slowly creep my caloric intake up towards TDEE -20%. For the last week I have been eating around 1400 calories and have lost 2 more pounds. It seems to be working. Next week I will bump it up to 1500 and keep going.

    Give your body some time to adjust. We can go through this change together if you want to add me. I have about another 30 pounds to lose.
  • Avanabanana
    Avanabanana Posts: 4 Member
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    Just a thought - I personally do water challenge days. I drink a measured cup of water every hour on the hour from when I wake up till I go to bed. It flushes out the crap and sodium and any of the cheats that I have had. I don't change my eating habits, but I do cut out tea on those days. I notice a difference a few days after on the scale.

    Also, just discovered this product called True Lemon which resides in all my water bottles as the health benefits are amazing. And when I am working out, it helps me feel like I am hydrated. They are packets of freeze dried lemon, so I don't have to keep cutting up lemons and putting them in my water.

    From what I have read, room temp water is what you want. Cold water shocks the system in a negative way and does not aide digestion like room temp water.

    Pasted below are some of my favorite articles on both. It seems to be helping myself, and as a few have already said, lower your sodium intake.

    http://www.bewellbuzz.com/general/cold-or-warm-water-whats-better/

    http://lajollamom.com/2011/01/drink-warm-lemon-water-in-the-morning/
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
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    I redid the BMR on Fat2Fit entering my goal weight and it says I should eat between 1800 and 2000 calories a day (I think I'm lightly active) and my BMR is between 1300 and 1550 a day. Wish me luck on raising my calories.

    1800 still seems like A LOT of food. I think I need to allow myself to try something new, because what I'm doing is obviously not working. I wanted to raise my calories a couple of months ago because I thought that might be the problem, but I had too many people tell me "calories in vs calories out" so I got scared.

    Try not to be scared. I've lost all my weight eating between 1,750-2,000 calories. And if you look around on here, most of the successful women that have been MAINTAING for a while, eat a great deal more than 1,200 cals a day.

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