Confused & Discouraged...

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  • stephaniemejia1671
    stephaniemejia1671 Posts: 482 Member
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    Hide your scale.. I repeat HIDE YOUR SCALE!... It can turn your good day into a bad day

    This. Please. The scale shouldn't be the only form of verification that you need during your weight lose journey, take measurements instead. Good luck.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    give what you are doing 4-6 weeks and then re-asess ...

    If you are still losing after 4-6 weeks then keep doing what you are doing ...if not, then you will need to make some adjustments.

    I would recommend that you look into learning compound lifts too ..bench press, over head press, squat, deadlift, etc and incorporate these into a full body routine...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    I am just going to say this because I have seen several posts...

    muscle does not weight more fat and you can't gain muscle while eating in a calorie deficit...you can get stronger yes, but gain muscle, no...
  • Chibea
    Chibea Posts: 363 Member
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    It is really hard for me when I don't lose! I have learned on here from all these wonderful people, that it's normal to fluctuate. One night I weighed myself and I had gained 3 pounds. The next morning I weighed and I had lost 4..:tongue:
    This weight loss business is totally unpredictable and makes no logical sense to me!

    I think i have given up in the past when I had a gain, especially if I was working hard and following the plan. The thing is to keep at it no matter what. That's what makes the difference. The only failure is to give up!! Don't give up if you overeat sometimes either. You are developing new, healthy, permanent eating habits so it may take a while to get into your routine, but as long as you keep at it, you will succeed!!

    When I am having a really rough day, I go browse through the Success Stories. A lot of them will tell you that the journey wasn't a direct route, but see what they accomplished even with weight gain and fluctuating eating habits along the way. The common thread is that they all kept at it through all the ups and downs until they got what they wanted for themselves. You can do that too:drinker:
  • lalonmeg000
    lalonmeg000 Posts: 276 Member
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    Women especially can have weight fluctuations. In all honesty I try not to weigh myself but once a month becuase it stresses me out. You might have gained a pound in muscle hence the up in scale.

    Likewise, and this is a heated debate, the amount you are eating seems low. Although I am not a mother, I am sure having 4 little ones running around keeps you anything but sedentary. That alone plus working out your body needs more cals for energy. Try using this website, no it's not fool proof but helped me a lot! I know eat no less than 1400 cals and stick around the 1600 mark most days and feel amazing ! My endurance skyrocketed and I can go just a little longer on cardio and hard on weights.

    http://www.nowloss.com/how-to-lose-weight-keep-it-off-permanently.htm


    Best of luck, I know you can do it ! Remember it takes 4 weeks for YOU to notice a significant difference, 6-8 for close friends and family, and 12 for everyone else. It's frustrating but take it day by day and you will get there !
  • penultimateokgo
    penultimateokgo Posts: 3
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    You gotta keep it up. I've been working out and dieting for 7 months... and I've only lost 12 lbs. That's not even 2 pounds a month. I got discouraged a lot, but I kept it up. I also can't weigh myself in the weeks before/during my menstrual cycle, because that makes my numbers look even worse.

    But even though the scale hasn't changed much, I've gone from dress size 10-12 down to 6. My coworkers are noticing that I'm swimming in my now-too-big pants. So I know -something- is changing in me despite the results on the scale seeming minimal :)

    Ignore the scale for a long while if you can! Keep going!
  • lovingangel4uau
    lovingangel4uau Posts: 78 Member
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    Most people have a 3-5lb buffer of fluid up and down. Your first week loss was mostly fluid. Your increase the next week with all your exercise could have been building muscle as you may know muscle weighs more than fat but also will have you burn more fat in using up the calories on a daily basis.
    Don't be discouraged just keep going it does work! BEWARE of the brain recordings of what it tells you anything negative quickly replace with a positive thought or say it to yourself to counter act the negative thought.
    You may also find in the weeks ahead that the scales might not move but you will notice your clothes looser. The scales come down later. If you can manage not to have a good or bad day by the scales once a week or fortnight is enough. Its a good idea to take measurements as well and do them every couple of weeks as well.
    As you read the stories of a lot of people here they have lost hundreds of pounds proves it does work and it will work for you to just keep on going day by day you will get there to. :) Good luck.
  • Rgtjax85
    Rgtjax85 Posts: 99 Member
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    I fluctuate quite often. Remember that you are also new to logging in info on a daily basis. You have to log things for a few weeks and see what has worked and what does not. You also may need to do more that 1200 calories. I recently got on the Heart rate monitor kick. Try wearing one to Zumba and see what you burn. Then you can determine if you should eat more or less through the day. Congrats on what you have accomplished thus far. Keep on pushing!
  • Wetcoaster
    Wetcoaster Posts: 1,788 Member
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    You got married when you were 16? That must be hard.
  • LJGettinSexy
    LJGettinSexy Posts: 223 Member
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    Hey Everybody! My name is JoAnna. I am a 36 year old, mama of 4, married for 20 yrs. I'm new to MFP. I'm 5'1 168 lbs. Trying to lose 40lbs. My first week of counting my calories & staying within 1200 a day with some moderate exercise, I lost 4 lbs!!!!! The following week I worked just as hard, stuck to my 1200 cals. and did Zumba every other day...... I lost nothing, in fact I gained 1 lb.!!! I don't understand why this happened! Since Sunday I have been so discouraged that I threw myself off track and have been feeling really crappy. Has this happened to anyone else? Please help.....

    JoAnna,
    I sympathize with you, I've had similar experience. My suggestion for you is to contact your doctor so they can tell you how many calories you should be consuming per day. Once you get that information, try to stick to it as close as possible, and don't forget to log every thing you eat. It helps to be real honest when trying to lose weight. Also, when you weigh yourself, make sure it's at the same time each week, like MFP says, in the morning before breakfast. Then you have to keep in mind that women have days of the month when we bloat and crave, so don't let gaining a few pounds discourage you because it could just be PMS. I say stick with it, I've been through the disappointment and discouragement and not losing, however, I've been losing steadily now for 12 weeks, due to my work with my doctor, persistence and determination to get this weight off. If you like you can add me as a friend, we can experience this together. Losing weight is more than a notion. Keep us updated!
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
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    This happens a lot, and believe it or not, it's probably because 1200 calories isn't enough for you... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy
    This and that link
  • Lilianam881
    Lilianam881 Posts: 25
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    I am just going to say this because I have seen several posts...

    muscle does not weight more fat and you can't gain muscle while eating in a calorie deficit...you can get stronger yes, but gain muscle, no...

    this!! 1 pound is a freakin pound -weight is weight. the only difference is density -the space it takes up-but it weighs the same! :) I'm currently on a calorie deficit and lifting weights; I'm two weeks in (after switching from strictly cardio) I've definitley gained strength. It's amazing being able to lift weight that I could lift the first day
  • girl4god77
    girl4god77 Posts: 1 Member
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    Don't give up! Instead- switch it up! This is what I'm learning. Change your exercise routine daily if you can. I just started cross-training. I have a long way to go still, but I have lost 35 lbs since January, and the weight loss started slowing recently. I'm a HUGE fan of Jillian Michaels and something she said about when you are trying to lose your last 20-30 lbs, that you should change your calories. When you only eat 1200 daily, your body starts to store up, as it thinks you are starving it. When this happens, she says to bump your calories up to like 1500 one day, then down to 1300 the next, then up to 1600 the next 2 days then finally back down to 1200 for a while. You trick your body. I'm not there yet, but a friend does that and it helps. When you first start any new health habit, you will drop weight faster-but then your body gets used to it. So change it up as often as you can. Good luck!
  • joannalowens
    joannalowens Posts: 2
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    Wow! Thanx Y'all. I was so happy to wake up this morning to find all these encouraging comments! I'm ready to get back in the game & stay there! Hope everyone has a GREAT day! Thanx Again!!!
  • Shadowcasting
    Shadowcasting Posts: 124 Member
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    I am just going to say this because I have seen several posts...

    muscle does not weight more fat and you can't gain muscle while eating in a calorie deficit...you can get stronger yes, but gain muscle, no...

    this!! 1 pound is a freakin pound -weight is weight. the only difference is density -the space it takes up-but it weighs the same! :) I'm currently on a calorie deficit and lifting weights; I'm two weeks in (after switching from strictly cardio) I've definitley gained strength. It's amazing being able to lift weight that I could lift the first day

    ^^^THIS is just semantics. You know exactly what people mean, and what they MEAN is correct. Take the same SIZE sample of each (say a 2"x2"x2" sample), and the muscle will weigh more than the fat. Hence the "muscle weighs more than fat" saying. A pound of muscle looks much smaller on the body than does a pound of fat.
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
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    Muscle weighs more than fat (by volume). Some people need that list bit spelled out to feel comfortable. Also since we're dealing with some high performers, we should also clarify that we're talking about human muscle tissue and human fat -- no mixing and matching. We're also assuming measurements were both taken at the same altitude such that there is no impact of differential gravitation. I should also specify that we're disregarding differences between muscle fiber with hypertonia/hypotonia, engorged with blood, fast twitch vs slow twitch fiber, and without regard to the state of glycogen saturation.

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