Beyond Frustrated

I noticed that for me I really needed to get at least 6 glasses of water in every day, more if I worked out. I also noticed a difference once I started keeping up with the sodium in my diet (added the column onto my food diary). For a while I would lost the same 3 pounds and gain it back, but with these changes I got past them and still counting down. I work out about 5 days a week. Good luck and hope this helps.

I started this in Jan and lost about 15 pounds by March - in March I gained almost 1/2 back (7 pounds) -- Ijust kept going the plan and the exercise and the food and in April I relost the 7 pounds in the first 10 days....keep focused stay on track...bodies are weird - you can do it!

not all calories are the same . If you are keeping in your count but are eating lots of bread, even wheat bread, and processed foods then you could be bringing up your blood sugar way too hight whitch will cause you to gain weight. Reaserch information on low glycemic foods and increase your proteine intake to lean meats (unless you are vegitarian) try whey proteine, not to replace a meal but as a snack in addition to the meals. I found with my counter that I would loose weight if I whent over in my protein numbers but not in the overall calories. Also stay away from things labeled diet. Sacorine sugar is really bad for you and many "diet" prodeucts have been proven to actually cause people to gain weight. Good luck and don't give up. I struggled for almost two years with fluxuating weight befor I was able to bring it down sicnificantly.
Theres more in my blogg if you are interested.

not all calories are the same . If you are keeping in your count but are eating lots of bread, even wheat bread, and processed foods then you could be bringing up your blood sugar way too hight whitch will cause you to gain weight. Reaserch information on low glycemic foods and increase your proteine intake to lean meats (unless you are vegitarian) try whey proteine, not to replace a meal but as a snack in addition to the meals. I found with my counter that I would loose weight if I whent over in my protein numbers but not in the overall calories. Also stay away from things labeled diet. Sacorine sugar is really bad for you and many "diet" prodeucts have been proven to actually cause people to gain weight. Good luck and don't give up. I struggled for almost two years with fluxuating weight befor I was able to bring it down sicnificantly.
Theres more in my blogg if you are interested.

Sorry, but there is a need to clarify the above information.

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie--a measurement of energy. Yes some foods are more glycemic than others and will cause your body to react differently, but that doesn't change the fact that 3500 calories= 1 lb. of fat. If you eat more calories than you need, you will gain or not lose weight, depending on the numbers. It doesn't matter if the excess calories came from whey protein or maple bars, caloric consumption (specifically a lack thereof) drives weight loss.

Wheat bread and processed foods do not automatically bring blood sugar "way too high." Yes, bread will have an effect on it--it has carbohydrates in it, but a whole grain bread is less glycemic than white bread and will have less of an effect on blood sugar. A potato is a high glycemic food, as is corn, and they are vegetables. Processed foods are often higher in sodium than minimally processed products, which can lead to water retention, but just because something is "processed" doesn't magically result in extremely high blood sugar.

The reason diet products can cause you to gain weight is because your body thinks it is getting sugar, but when an artificial sweetener is used, the body feels "cheated" and can compensate by giving you cravings for carbs and sugar. All sweeteners are not created equal. We all know about sugar--too much is not a good thing. There is plain old white table sugar and then there is the sugar found in fruit, which although it does affect blood sugar is a much better type of sugar to ingest than white sugar. Saccharine and aspartame are artificial sweeteners, as is Splenda--even though it comes from sugar, it is chemically altered. There are two sugar substitutes that are natural. Stevia comes from a plant,(available in powdered form) and Agave nectar is also natural.

Protein can be found in lean meats, fish, soybeans and legumes (beans), which are a good source of fiber, another important thing to have for healthy eating. There is such a thing as too much protein. If you overdue the protein consumption, it can negatively effect your kidneys.

The original poster never mentioned fats. The saturated (animal) fats should only be a portion of one's fat consumption. Trans fats, of course, are bad news and should be avoided. There are GOOD fats, from nuts, olive oil, avocados. Fat is important to healthy skin, hair and digestion, and it is also important to consume some fat in order to feel satisfied after eating.

Walking is an excellent cardio exercise. I lost 50 lbs. in less than 8 months using walking as my exercise of choice. 18 lbs. came off in the first 6 weeks. Once you get going, your rate of loss will often start out fairly rapidly and slow as you get closer to your goal.

Good luck, and keep walking. I walk my dogs also, but for exercise, I usually leave them home because they confuse "walk" with "amble and sniff" :laugh: which is not much activity compared to walking without them.

Zumba is SO much fun. You feel silly at first, but is so much funner than just working out