Seriously frustrated!!!
darwinforyou
Posts: 988 Member
I've been doing this for a few months now, MFP, that is....and holy crap am I frustrated! If I compare my activity (which was absolutely nothing!) a year ago to what I do now, why am I not seeing more results? I have tried many variations on activity and try to always do different things, bike ride, run, zumba, weights, yoga....I track my calories religiously, even my cheat days, which are few and far between. I try and keep a healthy mix of snacks, almonds, string cheese, fruit, carrots. I even cut back on my carbs a bit to see if that makes a difference. I drink a crapload of water, always have though, it's not never been an issue for me. I'm not sure what to do to get this weight loss thing going again. I'm on week three of not losing and so frustrated.
Thoughts? Help? Shoulders?
What do you guys do to break plateaus?
Thoughts? Help? Shoulders?
What do you guys do to break plateaus?
0
Replies
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Going 3 weeks without losing is not a big deal. The weight on the scale never tells the "true" story. I've probably only loss 3 pounds is 6 weeks on MFP, but I only have 10 total to lose, but I do see a big difference in definition and I'm wearing clothes from almost 2 years ago and they are loose. If you are wholly dependent on the numbers on the scale, you will always be frustrated because we don't lose weight consistently, it comes and goes in chunks. Many plateau after a while and sometimes it takes weeks or months to get it going again, just keep at it and it will work.0
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I'm right there with ya. i have tracked what i eat and am doing Insanity even increased my calorie intake and still not seeing any results. I have no idea how to break thru to start losing the weight. Need thoughts also. And i havent even seen any results in how my clothes fit either.0
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Take pictures! I swear I gained the four pounds I lost this week back for no reason. But I have pictures and measurements to show what I've done. Lost 8 cm of bust and 1 inch in my hips. Which explains why I felt less wide in my clothes this week. You can do it!0
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I have learned that I do way better on the scales if I only weigh myself every 2 weeks instead of once a week... LOL!! when I was weighing once a week..I would get discouraged... but I felt my clothes were a lot loose...but the scales never should anything... so I started waiting until a couple of weeks..and then I would show weight loss..and I would feel better!! LOL!! Hang in there!! It is working ..you just haven't seen it on the the scales yet!!:)0
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The reason I'm here is because I ran 47 miles in total last week, which at a conservative estimate adds up to 5640 calories, and do you know how much weight I lost?
A big fat Freddy zero!!!
I'm eating too much; that's the only thing I can think of, so as a last resort I'm forcing myself to count calories.0 -
You need to give more detailed information. Like how many calories a day you are eating, your weight, maybe open your diary so people can see it? If you are truly eating responsibly and exercising reasonably you should be losing weight. A trip to the doc may be in order. They could check your thyroid levels and other blood work to make sure there is not a physical problem. If you were steadily losing weight and now you are not, you may be experiencing a plateau. However, if you have never experienced steady weight loss since the beginning I would go to the doc and ask for some tests to be done. If you have the mobile app for MFP I would show them your food and exercise diary so they can see what you have been doing. Keep you head up and don't give up!0
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The reason I'm here is because I ran 47 miles in total last week, which at a conservative estimate adds up to 5640 calories, and do you know how much weight I lost?
A big fat Freddy zero!!!
I'm eating too much; that's the only thing I can think of, so as a last resort I'm forcing myself to count calories.
After only 1 week of doing that, does not guarantee weight loss.0 -
Going 3 weeks without losing is not a big deal. The weight on the scale never tells the "true" story. I've probably only loss 3 pounds is 6 weeks on MFP, but I only have 10 total to lose, but I do see a big difference in definition and I'm wearing clothes from almost 2 years ago and they are loose. If you are wholly dependent on the numbers on the scale, you will always be frustrated because we don't lose weight consistently, it comes and goes in chunks. Many plateau after a while and sometimes it takes weeks or months to get it going again, just keep at it and it will work.
I would say that 3 weeks isn't bad either - but I'm only 10 lbs in....and have plenty to lose yet. It's too early to plateau is my point, more than anything, at least, I think so.....
It's just hard watching my friends who are doing the exact same thing and they are losing weight while I'm not, especially when I am working out as much as I am.
I started taking pictures last week - Friday's are my picture days, so maybe that will begin to tell a different story.0 -
Go with measurements our body fat percentage. You could be gaining muscle and losing fat but muscles weighs more. Plus drinking a butt load of water adds weight to. To answer your question how to break a plateau is to change or add exercises to your routine. Increase weight or reps. Run longer or add hills. Anything to shock the system.0
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after a long absence i returned to MFP and have been working out consistently for six weeks, tracking calories, always staying around my set daily goals, and i've lost 1 pound. however, i've seriously toned up, gained muscle, lost inches and my clothes fit better and i look and feel much better. you CAN'T let the scale be your motivator, it will disappoint you as often (or more) as it makes you happy.0
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You need to give more detailed information. Like how many calories a day you are eating, your weight, maybe open your diary so people can see it? If you are truly eating responsibly and exercising reasonably you should be losing weight. A trip to the doc may be in order. They could check your thyroid levels and other blood work to make sure there is not a physical problem. If you were steadily losing weight and now you are not, you may be experiencing a plateau. However, if you have never experienced steady weight loss since the beginning I would go to the doc and ask for some tests to be done. If you have the mobile app for MFP I would show them your food and exercise diary so they can see what you have been doing. Keep you head up and don't give up!
Can I just say I HATE telling people my weight - which is part of this? Yeah, you know my butt is big, you really need my lbs? So anyway....for the sake of actually losing weight, here we go.
Calories: 1420 per MFP and 1 lb weight loss a week
Current Weight: 198
Starting Weight (Before MFP tracking): 212
As for bloodwork/thyroid - I get all that checked every year because my family has a history of crap, and I'm all good in the hood. I'm actually in excellent health blood wise! Let me tell you! On paper I'm awesome!!
I do however have PCOS - which for women can be kinda crappy and make you insulin resistant.
So there ya go. Phew, full disclosure.0 -
Oh and workout schedule -
Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday - Zumba
Tuesday - Yoga
Monday, Friday - Weights, Stronglift 5X5
Saturday - rest0 -
Are you measuring what you eat? Do you know that what you are eating is accurate? Do you also know what you are burning while exercising is accurate? That is where I would start. I have done some research and the number one reason people fail at losing weight is because they are not accurately counting cals in and cals out. The best way to do this is to get a food scale, use measuring cups/spoons, and get a heartrate monitor. Otherwise you won't really know for sure what you're doing is creating a deficit. Good luck you can do this!0
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Your diet looks pretty good. However eating a whole container of Ben & Jerrys last Sunday can make your weight maintain for a week. I see a lot ice cream through the month of October. I'm not saying you can't eat ice cream, but it needs to be low cal low sugar like a blue bunny popsicle or weight watcher ice cream sandwich, not full fat out of a tub.
I'd permanent scrap McDonalds and American cheese out of your diet. Are you weighing the grapes? Grapes have a lot of calories and sugar, wanted to make sure you're accurately reporting it.
Do you wear a heart rate monitor when you exercise? Wanted to know how accurate the number you record is.0 -
I feel so bad...work out very hard this week and eat right and not even a half of a pound I lost!!! I feel so frustrated !!!!!
It's like my body doesn't want to loose weight!!!
I train with a personal trainer very hard every day , and this week did 2 hours of spinning , ...
I don't understand!!!! 2 weeks since I started the diet , I lost 2 pounds the first week , and this week nothingggggggg
frustrated like you0 -
Are you measuring what you eat? Do you know that what you are eating is accurate? Do you also know what you are burning while exercising is accurate? That is where I would start. I have done some research and the number one reason people fail at losing weight is because they are not accurately counting cals in and cals out. The best way to do this is to get a food scale, use measuring cups/spoons, and get a heartrate monitor. Otherwise you won't really know for sure what you're doing is creating a deficit. Good luck you can do this!
Yes, I do measure what I eat - I count or else divide the food so I know exactly what the portion size will be. Also for the calories burned - I tend to undercount, and also leave a deficit in my calories for the day to account for anything that may be incorrect. I'm not a half-assed worker-outer, I get sweaty and push myself and make sure that I'm no wussing out or doing the bare minimum.
As for the heart rate monitor - if money grew on trees I'd buy one in a heartbeat....hahaha....heartbeat. yeah.0 -
I would try increasing protein intake, minimum 80 grams a day, it sure helped me when I reached a plateau. Good luck and do not get too frustrated - your hard work will pay off! Like most of us it is the mental not the physical that holds us back0
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The reason I'm here is because I ran 47 miles in total last week, which at a conservative estimate adds up to 5640 calories, and do you know how much weight I lost?
A big fat Freddy zero!!!
I'm eating too much; that's the only thing I can think of, so as a last resort I'm forcing myself to count calories.
After only 1 week of doing that, does not guarantee weight loss.
I agree, it depends on how much I'm eating. But I do tend to eat sensibly, and I have already lost 21 lbs, but for the past month I've lost nothing, yet I'm running 25 to 40+ miles per week.
Hence I'm here and gonna start counting calories!! Sorry to jump in.0 -
Increasing the protein intake helps lose weight? I didnt know that.0
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also this may seem silly, but what's your stress level? if you have a stressful job/new baby, etc. it's harder to lose weight. your body fights back!0
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You need to give more detailed information. Like how many calories a day you are eating, your weight, maybe open your diary so people can see it? If you are truly eating responsibly and exercising reasonably you should be losing weight. A trip to the doc may be in order. They could check your thyroid levels and other blood work to make sure there is not a physical problem. If you were steadily losing weight and now you are not, you may be experiencing a plateau. However, if you have never experienced steady weight loss since the beginning I would go to the doc and ask for some tests to be done. If you have the mobile app for MFP I would show them your food and exercise diary so they can see what you have been doing. Keep you head up and don't give up!
Can I just say I HATE telling people my weight - which is part of this? Yeah, you know my butt is big, you really need my lbs? So anyway....for the sake of actually losing weight, here we go.
Calories: 1420 per MFP and 1 lb weight loss a week
Current Weight: 198
Starting Weight (Before MFP tracking): 212
As for bloodwork/thyroid - I get all that checked every year because my family has a history of crap, and I'm all good in the hood. I'm actually in excellent health blood wise! Let me tell you! On paper I'm awesome!!
I do however have PCOS - which for women can be kinda crappy and make you insulin resistant.
So there ya go. Phew, full disclosure.
Aww, sorry for touching a nerve. I hate to tell people my weight too. I only do on here at times because it is somewhat anonymous. I asked that because someone who is 250 lbs is going to lose weight at a different rate than someone who is 160lbs. Which, based on your picture I would have put you at btw. Back in August I was at 1420 for my calories and the months of June, July and August had slowed to a crawl for me. I was hungry a lot and working out a lot. Even eating back most of my calories still had me hungry. So, I decide to up my calories to 1610, days that I work out I am eating 2000 calories or more. The weight has been falling off. I am shocked at what a difference eating more has done. This is what worked for me. Since August I have been losing about 1.5 lbs a week, give or take. So glad to hear your blood work numbers are good! That can be a bear to try to work through. You are doing a good job. It does sound like you do workout a lot so your body may just need more fuel.0 -
Your diet looks pretty good. However eating a whole container of Ben & Jerrys last Sunday can make your weight maintain for a week. I see a lot ice cream through the month of October. I'm not saying you can't eat ice cream, but it needs to be low cal low sugar like a blue bunny popsicle or weight watcher ice cream sandwich, not full fat out of a tub.
I'd permanent scrap McDonalds and American cheese out of your diet. Are you weighing the grapes? Grapes have a lot of calories and sugar, wanted to make sure you're accurately reporting it.
Do you wear a heart rate monitor when you exercise? Wanted to know how accurate the number you record is.
I strenuously disagree with this. It doesn't matter if you ate a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's. At all. And it certainly won't set your weight loss back by a week. If it fits into your macros and you want to eat it, eat it.
As far as what you're eating, I noticed you don't eat your exercise calories. I'm not going to say it's good or bad, but I will say this: MFP calculates your calorie goal based on sedentary activity, which is why, when you enter exercise, it gives you more calories to eat. Without eating your exercise calories, you are netting under 1000 some days, which really isn't enough for your body to run properly.
Also, you do stronglifts. So do I. It makes me retain water because my muscles are inconstant need of repair. Have you taken a break at all from lifting? Last time I took a week break from lifting to let my body recover, I lost 4lbs. I kept on with my cardio though.
Are you measuring and taking pictures? If not, you should. I got really frustrated not seeing the scale move, then I looked at my photos and, even though I weigh the same and have almost the same measurements, I can see a difference in my body.
Good luck!0 -
I'd permanent scrap McDonalds and American cheese out of your diet. Are you weighing the grapes? Grapes have a lot of calories and sugar, wanted to make sure you're accurately reporting it.
grapes measured and accounted for. plus they have such great vitamin and anti-oxidant counts....aside from just sugar. Especialy black.
Sigh I also greatly regret my ben and jerry's....even though I worked out so much that day and even with that had a crap load of calories left.
mcdonalds - haven't had that in weeks, oh wait, I did have that one cheat day.0 -
If you are wholly dependent on the numbers on the scale, you will always be frustrated because we don't lose weight consistently, it comes and goes in chunks.
That is really great advice; and some I need to pay closer attention to. Unfortunately, I'm obsessed with the scale, as well. I need to start paying attention to everything and not just the numbers.0 -
Then my best advice is stick with it. As others have said maybe the scale is not your friend right now and other measurements will assist you in seeing your progress. One piece of advice I got was patience. You have to stick with it and it will pay off.Are you measuring what you eat? Do you know that what you are eating is accurate? Do you also know what you are burning while exercising is accurate? That is where I would start. I have done some research and the number one reason people fail at losing weight is because they are not accurately counting cals in and cals out. The best way to do this is to get a food scale, use measuring cups/spoons, and get a heartrate monitor. Otherwise you won't really know for sure what you're doing is creating a deficit. Good luck you can do this!
Yes, I do measure what I eat - I count or else divide the food so I know exactly what the portion size will be. Also for the calories burned - I tend to undercount, and also leave a deficit in my calories for the day to account for anything that may be incorrect. I'm not a half-assed worker-outer, I get sweaty and push myself and make sure that I'm no wussing out or doing the bare minimum.
As for the heart rate monitor - if money grew on trees I'd buy one in a heartbeat....hahaha....heartbeat. yeah.0 -
i am right there with you i am 14 lbs down and i weight and measure all my food i havent eaten over 1300 calories and was doing good with weight loss i am buring at least 600 calories a day and then my scale says i gained 6 lbs FRUSTRATING i know its a long long process but i have been doing weight watchers and switched back to my fitness pal (basically the same as weight watchers just dont have to pay 30$ a month) i know im not eating half the calories i was eating with WW and i am not seeing any results. i guess its time to just keep on going idk!!0
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I don't let it get to me that badly. I KNOW I don't lose weight fast. I hit my 105th day on mfp yesterday, and I'm down about 15 lbs since starting. I get frustrated sometimes, but as long as the scale doesn't go UP, I'm okay with that. If it goes down, great. I REALLY cannot wait to get out of the 200's and I was determined to do it by Halloween and that's not happening. Everyone is different.0
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Try cutting out all carbs for 2 weeks. That has jump started me in the past.0
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Everyone needs to start somewhere!0
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Have you tried upping your calories by a 100 more a day to see how that helps. It's possible you are not eating enough. I had thought I was at my maintenance level eating 1500 calories a day and I was this way for a couple of months then all of a sudden I started losing again so I had to up my calories to 1700 because I don't need to lose more, so obviously I was at a platau for about 2 months so your either at a platau or your not eating enough.0
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