What am I doing wrong? I feel like giving up. =(

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  • NaturallyandProperly
    NaturallyandProperly Posts: 138 Member
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    Get a trainer! They can be awesome! Also, measure yourself. I've lost about 10 pounds since January when I started... but I'm down 14 inches! Don't give up!
  • NaturallyandProperly
    NaturallyandProperly Posts: 138 Member
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    Prior to introducing any exercise whatsoever I dropped to 248 fairly quickly. Two weeks ago I added in the walking/jogging and weight training. After week one I gained and went back up to 250, and now on week two I'm 249. Am I doing something wrong? I don't feel like I'm losing inches anywhere, but at the same time I have so much to lose that maybe I'm just not noticing? I'm ready to give up, I feel stuck! =(

    If its only been two weeks since you added the exercise, why are you stressing? It takes time for some peoples bodies to realize the changes brought on by introducing exercise, especially if you weren't doing anything before. This is not a quick fix type of thing, you have to stick with it to see results and for some people it will take longer to see results.

    and this, it can take up to 12 weeks before you start seeing any type of change.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    MFP really sets your goal too low in my opinion if you set it for losing 2 lbs a week. Try resetting your goal to 1 lbs loss per week. As others have said, you just need to be eating more with the amount of activity you have.
  • xRachTasticx
    xRachTasticx Posts: 65 Member
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    I would say that you are not eating enough and that you go out to eat a lot. I would say the reason you are not losing is what you are eating. To lose weight you have to fix your diet. It is 80% kitchen 20% working out. Try eating over 1200 calories and I would say don't go out to eat for a week and see if that works.

    This last week was an AWFUL representation of what I usually eat. I always go out on monday's with my parents, this sounds lame but they are very old and like to go to bingo at the village inn and they like me to go with them. Other than that I have maybe one breakfast out a week with my mom, and maybe 1-2 lunches a week on the days I work. However when I do go out to eat I make sure I am eating as healthy as possible: salads, fruit, yogurt, lean chicken and veggies.

    I am also guilty of using some restaurant entries to calculate what my home cooked meal would total, as I simply don't know. This is mostly when steaks, or pork chops are created.

    This last week I was photographing a wedding and so I had two meals out (rehearsal dinner and wedding), plus bingo monday, plus mothers day with my family, plus breakfast with my sister, plus lunch on a work day. That is FAR TOO MUCH, I agree!

    I will take your words to heart and try to make sure I'm eating home cooked meals more frequently.
  • RoseTears143
    RoseTears143 Posts: 1,121 Member
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    If you have a hard time getting over 1100 cals and feel guilty eating just under 1600, you def need to eat more. I bet once you give your body 1-2 weeks of eating at least 1500 cals with your exercise you will see the weight start to come back off again. If you are on your feet for 40+ hours a week for your job and exercising, you def need mroe food girl. :) Don't give up!!!
  • xRachTasticx
    xRachTasticx Posts: 65 Member
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    Prior to introducing any exercise whatsoever I dropped to 248 fairly quickly. Two weeks ago I added in the walking/jogging and weight training. After week one I gained and went back up to 250, and now on week two I'm 249. Am I doing something wrong? I don't feel like I'm losing inches anywhere, but at the same time I have so much to lose that maybe I'm just not noticing? I'm ready to give up, I feel stuck! =(

    If its only been two weeks since you added the exercise, why are you stressing? It takes time for some peoples bodies to realize the changes brought on by introducing exercise, especially if you weren't doing anything before. This is not a quick fix type of thing, you have to stick with it to see results and for some people it will take longer to see results.

    Why am I stressing? Well because prior to this thread I had no idea that what I was experiencing was normal! :)
    Honestly, as I stated before, I'm fitness ignorant. I will be the first to admit I have no idea what I'm doing, so I thought I was doing something wrong. Now after all these amazing posts from you all I feel normal. I have gained great insight into my diet, my goals, definitely some of my faults. I'm completely grateful, you have no idea. :happy:
  • xRachTasticx
    xRachTasticx Posts: 65 Member
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    Get a trainer! They can be awesome! Also, measure yourself. I've lost about 10 pounds since January when I started... but I'm down 14 inches! Don't give up!

    Thank you, I started mulling the idea of a trainer around last week. Perhaps it's time to give it more thought.
  • ctwong1
    ctwong1 Posts: 3
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    Just by looking at your Diary....1) You are not drinking enough water....You should be drinking approximately 1/2 gal to 1 gal/day. 2) You need to cut your fat intake down (no whole milk or cheese) 3) No carbs at dinner or after, they just sit in your system, and don't get burned off. It's not just about calorie intake, it's about the types of calories and when..... Good luck and stay with it!!!!!
  • xRachTasticx
    xRachTasticx Posts: 65 Member
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    Oh and on another note:

    Never would I have ever thought that my problem would be I'm not eating ENOUGH.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
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    No unfortunately it's not odd to feel guilty about getting close to your caloric goal, lots of people get tweaked out when they get to being nearly 'out' of calories, but it's not the right way to feel. Think of it like body fueling, 100% caloric intake means the body is successfully fueled! Goal achieved! Dance dance, booty shake, more dance (log said dancing in exercise :D ).
    And yes, eat back those exercise calories! Your body needs that fuel! If you do the calculation of TDEE -20% (your total daily energy expenditure - 20% for weight loss), then eat those calories. OR if you calculate using MFP, include your exercise and eat those calories, one or the other, just remember to recalculate every 5pds.
    Definitely measure too, as you may not notice weight changes, but those inches may be flying off!
  • jpartin475
    jpartin475 Posts: 11
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    You HAVE to eat the bonus calories that MFP gives you when you exercise. You HAVE to. If you're only eating your food calories, then burning off so many and you don't replace them, your body will hold on to that weight. I learned this lesson the hard way and made no progress at all for 6 months. I wanted to quit too. But when I found out what I was doing wrong...well...I've lost 14 lbs in just a few weeks by adding those calories back in.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
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    Oh and on another note:

    Never would I have ever thought that my problem would be I'm not eating ENOUGH.
    It's such a reverse way of what we've been taught, right? Believe me, you're not alone. Say hello to my little friends cashew butter and full fat foods. Nom nom nom.
  • xRachTasticx
    xRachTasticx Posts: 65 Member
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    Just by looking at your Diary....1) You are not drinking enough water....You should be drinking approximately 1/2 gal to 1 gal/day. 2) You need to cut your fat intake down (no whole milk or cheese) 3) No carbs at dinner or after, they just sit in your system, and don't get burned off. It's not just about calorie intake, it's about the types of calories and when..... Good luck and stay with it!!!!!

    I will try to cut the milk and cheese out of my diary. The milk I drink is usually nonfat or 1%, however I had a pesky whole milk cafe con leche the other day which I shouldn't have! The cheese I eat are usually cheese sticks as a snack when I'm a bit hungry. I will try to cut those out or at least lessen their frequency as much as possible.

    Question regarding carbs at dinner: I generally work out 1-2 hours post dinner, as I live in Florida it's far to hot to go out during the day. So seeing as my major exercise (walk/jog of 5 miles) is post dinner, are dinner carbs still bad? (I have no idea, not trying to be contrary to your statement!)
  • CatMcCheesey
    CatMcCheesey Posts: 143
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    Get a trainer! They can be awesome! Also, measure yourself. I've lost about 10 pounds since January when I started... but I'm down 14 inches! Don't give up!

    I second this. Hiring a trainer has been money well spent for me. I'm consistently losing 2.5 pound per week, I'm learning a lot and I feel wonderful. Give working with a trainer a try - they're not as expensive as you might think.
  • xRachTasticx
    xRachTasticx Posts: 65 Member
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    No unfortunately it's not odd to feel guilty about getting close to your caloric goal, lots of people get tweaked out when they get to being nearly 'out' of calories, but it's not the right way to feel. Think of it like body fueling, 100% caloric intake means the body is successfully fueled! Goal achieved! Dance dance, booty shake, more dance (log said dancing in exercise :D ).
    And yes, eat back those exercise calories! Your body needs that fuel! If you do the calculation of TDEE -20% (your total daily energy expenditure - 20% for weight loss), then eat those calories. OR if you calculate using MFP, include your exercise and eat those calories, one or the other, just remember to recalculate every 5pds.
    Definitely measure too, as you may not notice weight changes, but those inches may be flying off!

    LOL, thank you so much!
    I will be sure to log that dancin' ;)
  • geordie1alfie2
    geordie1alfie2 Posts: 6
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    Wonder if you may look at rest days for your body to recover. Also perhaps increasing muscles - check protein levels and calorie counts. But please don't give in - keep going sure that goals will be reached. Ps I'm a 67 year old UK resident and am now workingto lose weight and get fit again after a bad injury and surgery. Understand where you are in motivation but keep the faith! Good luck.:smile::smile:
  • Derpes
    Derpes Posts: 2,033 Member
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    Just by looking at your Diary....1) You are not drinking enough water....You should be drinking approximately 1/2 gal to 1 gal/day. 2) You need to cut your fat intake down (no whole milk or cheese) 3) No carbs at dinner or after, they just sit in your system, and don't get burned off. It's not just about calorie intake, it's about the types of calories and when..... Good luck and stay with it!!!!!

    I will try to cut the milk and cheese out of my diary. The milk I drink is usually nonfat or 1%, however I had a pesky whole milk cafe con leche the other day which I shouldn't have! The cheese I eat are usually cheese sticks as a snack when I'm a bit hungry. I will try to cut those out or at least lessen their frequency as much as possible.

    Question regarding carbs at dinner: I generally work out 1-2 hours post dinner, as I live in Florida it's far to hot to go out during the day. So seeing as my major exercise (walk/jog of 5 miles) is post dinner, are dinner carbs still bad? (I have no idea, not trying to be contrary to your statement!)

    Sometimes cheese is very satiating given the protein content.

    Be sure to have your body fat percentage measured every 4-6 weeks; the scale is often misleading.

    Other than that, slow and steady wins the race. Focus on the process when the results are not there.

    As others have suggested, do not be afraid to mix it up as far as diet or exercise. HIIT training helped break my plateau.........
  • bookyeti
    bookyeti Posts: 544 Member
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    Suggestion: Get rid of your scale! Go by measurements, progress photos, and how you feel and fit into your clothing. Honestly, this is a much better gauge for fitness progress than a scale ever could be!

    Eat healthy nutritious foods and stick to your calorie goal that MFP provides (not under!), and continue to exercise. Trust in the method. It works.

    Most importantly: Remember WHY you're doing this - to look good and improve your health - you're not doing it for a number on the scale. That way you won't even think of throwing in the towel. If you're doing it for your health, everything else will fall into place.
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
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    It's a week, give it time. Seriously *kitten* doesn't change over night, you just introduced working out into your routine your body is going to rebel and hold water like crazy. Do not give up... or give up and come back when you hit over 300 pounds and complain that you should have never given up in the first place.

    Stay off the scale for a while - it may be tough in the beginning but it is a lot easier and less emotionally draining on you, use a measuring tape, use your speed/distance/strength changes to be a gauge. The number on the scale is really not the most important thing in the world.

    Weightloss is seldom linear it more wibbley wobbly and does its own thing, strap in, go for the ride on the other end its completely worth it.
  • AggieLu
    AggieLu Posts: 873 Member
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    Eat more to weigh less (with the amount of exercise you do). Don't skip your lunch frequently. If you don't feed your body, all the carbs are transformed into fat and stored in your body. Read: IT STARTS WITH FOOD.

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