Worked out 4 times this week, didn't lose anything

Hey there. Try not to be so hard on yourself. You've already lost 40 pounds! That's great! I can't vouch for anyone else, but for me, weight loss has not been a slow, steady, linear progression. I tend to stay at a given weight for a few weeks and then loose a bunch very quickly. I have no idea why. That just seems to be the way my body works. But I definitely understand your frustration. When I am on a plateau, I try to focus on physical accomplishments rather than the scale. I focus on getting in more reps, increasing my weights, increasing my intervals, etc. I figure if I am improving in these areas, my fitness is improving and the weight will eventually come around.

A while back, in another thread, someone worded it really well and I am sure that I will screw it up ... but ... keep in mind the end goal. Is the end goal really a number on the scale? If so, what happens hen you reach that number? Are you done? No ... you will still need to work on maintenance and on improving overall fitness. As such, your journey doesn't end. It is a life-long process. You will have ups and downs. Just try to keep things moving in the right direction ... the direction of a healthier and happier you!

9 months of this... only 20 lbs down.

If you seriously considered giving up after a week, honey, you may as well give up now because you're not going to make it.

To the OP:

I have been on MFP for over 2 months and have lost only 5 lbs.

BUT

I've lost a total of 13 inches off my body. 8 inches have been in the last month of starting the C25K program.

Get a tape measure and use that with the scale- I bet you'll see that you put on lean muscle faster than dropping the pounds with the way you work out. Some people drop inches first then drop lbs! You might be one!

Note: I am 250+ and have a 48% body fat so losing inches is a big deal for me. F--- my scale.

If you want to give up after 3 months then understandable. But try atleast for THAT long. But a week or 2 is far too short to SEE a difference.

Keep going!

I'm very disappointed, and I'm close to giving all it all up .

No need to give up, but if you want different results, you need different methods.

I have lost about 42 pounds since Nov 2009 (when my son was born) I guess i'm going for the slowest loser competition!

That's the textbook definition of a plateau. You need to increase either the frequency of your exercise, the intensity of the exercise or reduce your calorie intake.

I spend about 22 minutes on the elliptical and burn average about 220 calories (according to the machine.) Then I follow the ActivTrax program - which sends me around the select-a weight type resistance machines for another 22 minutes or so. I generally do 14-20 reps on 6-7 different machines. The weight is a medium amount of difficulty. Easy to start - struggling to finish. Each time I work out the activtrax program sends me to different machines. Then change back out and scurry back to work.

First off, do your cardio AFTER you lift weights. Doing cardio first tends to deplete your glycogen stores making your weight workouts more less effective. Second, mix up the exercises you do- either swap out certain ones, change the order in which you do them or, shorten your rest periods between sets, which is probably the easiest way of increasing the intensity level. Third, increase the weight to one where you can do 8-12 reps, which is ideal for increasing muscle growth. Working in higher reps like you do is geared more toward muscular endurance rather than growth and will not have as profound effect on your metabolism.

I admit, I go over my calories many days too, but nothing I consider horrible. I do not have a problem with binging.

Binging or not, going over on calories, even on a semi-frequent basis can stall or impair one's weight loss efforts. Consistent results come from a consistent effort.

Good luck!

Ask your husband not to bring home food from culinary class. It iisn't being disrespectul to him. If he needs to try the stuff out on someone, tell him to give it to one of the neighbors.

If 1750 is your TDEE -15% or 20% then you should NOT be eating your exercise calories back. TDEE includes all exercise already, so if you're eating back your calories, you may be accidentally eating at a surplus.

1. As others have mentioned, only eat 1700 calories since your exercise is already included in the TDEE equation. By eating back your exercise calories on top of this, you are maintaining weight.
2. Increase the weights as 14-25 reps is way too many and light - aim for 8 to 12 reps till near fatigue.

Hi There!
Don't get discouraged, keep going! We have similar stats except I am older than you. I am 37, 5'3" and weigh 230. Some key things for me, I discovered by trial and error, are not to eat back all of my excercise calories (I eat back about half and not even half some days) and a HUGE factor is to ensure that I am under my sodium intake for the day. I have lost 21 lbs so far, at a slow pace, but I'm totally ok with that. Maybe try not eating all your excercise calories back and cut back on the sodium. Keep it up tho, don't give up! You can add me as a friend if you like :-) Also, I work out 4 times a week as well.