Stuck not moving!! Getting discouraged

I have a question then. Are you having a cheat night every once in a while. Sometimes your body can become used to your diet and you stop seeing the results. You have to sometimes throw it for a loop to get the results that you want. Also what types of exercises are you doing?

You need that cheat meal about once a week. It helps shock your system and it will help you to keep loosing weight. I used to live with two personal trainers and we were really strict about everything we ate except for Sunday night we would go out and have dinner and order something that was definitely not part of our diet. For one it helped you to appreciate what you were doing the rest of the week but it really does help your weight loss.

Here it is!! Yay for Dan!! If nothing else, it's really informative. But, it helped me a lot. I was "stuck" too, and at a complete loss as to what I was "doing wrong". As it turns out, I just needed something a little different than the generic MFP plan. I'm just 11# from my goal now. :happy:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12:

Nothing happens overnight. Success comes through perseverance.

Thank you so much with the link!! I am trying this thing called pa... pa....patience. Not sure how we're going to work out but hey fought with her this many years it's time to give her a chance. I've decided to shock my system a bit by eating high protein for a week and see what that does. I also am going to change up my exercise routine a bit see if I can't get a reaction. The one thing I nooticed though is people saying to eat the calories from exercise. I never do. Am i wrong for that?

I would say you should be... your daily calories already have a deficit built in. Not eating back your exercise calories can cause too large of a deficit which in turn will cause you to lose muscle mass and your metabolism to slow eventually. You want to ensure you eat enough in a day to preserve lean mass as when you try to lose weight and go on a calorie deficit you will lose muscle in the process.

I can't remember if you said how many calories you eat in a day... most of the time the numbers on MFP are set far too low. You should never NET below your BMR.

It really depends on your starting weight, what you're eating, how many calories you're consuming, and more. Sometimes, it may be a matter of not eating enough calories. 10# that quickly makes it hard to set realistic goals for yourself too. I lost 9# in my first 10 days, and then it came to a screeching halt. I was sooooo discouraged. In the next 20 days I only lost 3 more pounds. So, thanks to a wonderful member's (helloitsdan) advice, I upped my calories, and it started coming off again. There's no one generic answer for anyone because all of us are so very different. I will try to find the link he posted about TDEE, etc. It was really helpful and made a big difference for me (and many others according to what I've seen here). I'll look for it and then repost when I find it.

I disagree about "needing" a cheat meal. I don't think any of us "needs" it, but I don't think that we have to deprive ourselves either. It's o.k. to treat yourself once in awhile as long as you keep it in check.

Anyway, I will find that link and put it up here shortly. Hang in there, you're just getting started. 10# is amazing!!!

This^^^^^

Read helloitsdan's post. Lots of good info there. You need to make sure you have your goals set properly, and the info he provides will help you do that.

5 days without a loss is nothing. I will regularly go 2-3 weeks without losing, then all of a sudden lose 3-5lbs. I just came off one of those 3 week streches. Just stay the course. As long as you burn more calories than you take in, the weight will come off. The only other advice I have is to make sure you drink lots of water.

I've had some 35 years of nothing but cheat days, I'd say I've used them all up! That being said, I do have "cheat" days on special occasions (holidays, vacation, etc.), ignoring my goal, but not going overboard. Hey, we still have to live a little, right? But I'll generally spend the next couple of weeks having to work off the weight I gained from a cheat day, so I make sure I only do it sparingly. I think it depends on the person. A planned cheat day on a regular basis seems to help some people, but if you lack the discipline to get right back on track the next day, it could be a bad thing.

I was told that with a lot of weight lose, I could either eat back my exercise calories, or not. Eating back exercise calories becomes more important when you have less to lose. I generally eat some of my exercise calories back, but try not to eat all of them. It seems to work for me.

Good luck & hang in there.

You are doing so well! Five days isn't long enough to worry. I've been on a plateau for about a month now. Don't do a cheat meal unless you log it. This does work. My careful logging gives me very accurate information. When I do the math using my TDEE it's clear why I'm maintaining and it's helpful to look back at daily records. Keep going dont change,

Thank you so much with the link!! I am trying this thing called pa... pa....patience. Not sure how we're going to work out but hey fought with her this many years it's time to give her a chance. I've decided to shock my system a bit by eating high protein for a week and see what that does. I also am going to change up my exercise routine a bit see if I can't get a reaction. The one thing I nooticed though is people saying to eat the calories from exercise. I never do. Am i wrong for that?

Depends on what your calorie goal is. If you are at 1200ish + or so and burn off a few hundred during exercise - yes. Otherwise you'll net too low and your body won't have enough go-juice to continue sustaining those workouts. If you have a higher calorie goal and have included your exercise into your daily routine (meaning you chose "active" or higher on your activity level) then you'll probably be okay.