THROWING IN THE TOWEL??

Congratulations on losing 20 pounds! That's a fabulous change, and by doing it you've already likely added years to your life and life to your years. You should be very pleased -- it can't have been easy.

It's so easy to get discouraged when you see how far you have to go, but be sure to look at how far you've come. Even if the scale hasn't moved, are you feeling better? Lighter? More energetic? Those are all so important.

One thing that may make things seem less hopeless is to break things down into smaller goals. Instead of saying, "I have 75 more pounds to go!" (which can seem overwhelming), maybe think of it in smaller goals -- the next 5 pounds, the next 10, say. That gives you something reachable to focus on, and to celebrate. And every 5 or 10 pounds is a great step towards health.

You can do this. You HAVE been doing it -- your ticker says so. You may need to assess your calories -- I had to UP mine when I started getting more active! -- or change up your workout. But don't give up. You have done something great for yourself. Why say that it's not enough?

There will be more articulate replies to this than mine, but I know people will say that your diary is locked down and so they can't be sure if your calorie consumption is accurate. MFP has some funny ways of calculating it, and it doesn't work long-term for everyone. There's a good chance you might not be eating enough.

I recently started using what's referred to here as "Dan's In Place of a Roadmap" and while the pounds-per-week loss has stabilized for me, I'm dropping inches like I'm melting. This was after my initial big loss, too.

I don't have the link handy but if you put it into the search in the forums, it'll pop up.

Good luck!

Forget the scale, just continue doing what your doing, your in this for the long haul! I struggle with this myself everytime I step on the scale. I try to focus on how good I feel eating well, and be patient, not easy at all. Congrats on your weight loss and stick with it, it will happen!!!!

At 20 lbs in just over a month, you are well ahead of average. Your body may now take some time to adjust to that huge loss.

I suspect that in order to do that, you may have cut out too many calories. Make sure you are eating back your exercise calories to fuel your body.

dont give up!!! Think about those 20lbs you have dropped in such a short period of time. Your body probably has to get used it's new existence before letting go of more fat. You can't realistically expect to lose at that pace the whole journey....

You have survived 5 whole weeks, you are doing so well, why give up now????

For starters you really need to think of this as a lifestyle change. It is not a diet or something that ends in a few months when you get to where you want to go... I started my new life 43 months ago and nothing is any different today then it was the day I decided to make the change in my life.. I take each day one day at a time and do everything I can do to be as successful today as I can and I go to bed with no regrets and then I get up and do it all again tomorrow. You have to engage that kind of mindset and then stay the course, As far as the stall what has your calorie intake been set to since you started and how much exercise are you doing a day and are you eating back your exercise calories, what is your height and weight,

Don't give up! Plateaus are very frustrating but if we quit every time we hit one then we'd never get anywhere. Just keep at it. By exercising you may add pounds in muscle but the more muscle you have, the more fat you'll burn. Just give it time.... Eventually the numbers will catch up and you'll be so happy and proud of yourself for overcoming this hurdle

You can do it!

I got stuck at 200 pounds for months. Literally from May last year through this January I would go up and down between 210 and 200, and dipped below 200 for a day, then would just go back up. It was really disheartening because I was working out and trying to get everything in order, but I would never break 200. I basically gave up until January when I started using MFP. From here, I changed my diet like you and noticed everything finally dropping, and the biggest thing was I started running on a more regular basis, slowly moving up from 1.5 miles with a 2.5 mile jog once a week, to 2.5 with a 3.5 mile jog once a week, to a 3.5 mile jog with a 4.5 mile jog this week, and now I know I can do 4.5 miles and have made that my usual jog.

You've got to both [as I'm sure you are!] and not give up. keep eating exactly as you are, work out and keep slowly lengthening and/or intensifying your workouts each week. Another big thing I did is cut out alcohol at home. I never buy beer or alcohol to keep in my house, only drink when I'm out which limits it because I have to drive. I basically only drink water and that's it. Cutting juice and soda [not coffee or tea, but no sugar and not much cream] was another big thing. But again, I'm sure you know all this and are just frustrated for doing all the right things and not seeing progress.

Keep at it and do more if you can! The hardest thing to do is just keep going, especially if you're feeling in a funk. But if you keep doing it, it will get easier and you'll end up doing more and will start seeing more progress!

Remember, even if you don't see it, you are making progress by just doing the amazing things you are doing and not quitting, so just keep swimming!

Good Luck!

Let me guess.. 1200 calories?

Keep strong...dont give up just yet. Not sure why, but what seems to work for me is eating high FIBER cereals for bfast. I seem to like frosted shredeed wheat..the malt o meal brand is cheaper and works .i hearthe brand name company came out with a crunchyversion for those who dont like shredded stuff...and I also like Quaker oatmeal squares. Both have 5g of FIBER and when i eat them for bfast i seem to lose weight. You have to find one that you like. I tried fiber one, but it was gross...Fiber ONE FLAKES are good. I always check the pkg for the Fiber content. I believe the FIBER is the key. good luck to you.

When I folllowed the Weight Watchers plan...it worked also. My girlfriend wasnt losing weight on the plan and found out she wasnt eating enough.

Don't be discouraged - you have lost more than 2 lbs a week! As long as you are doing it in a healthy and sustainable way it will come. I lost more than my "goal" (10 lbs) for January in the very first week. The first week seems to be an anomaly, but it kind of took the pressure off. I'm aiming for 4lbs - 8lbs per month, I weigh in once a week on Monday but don't dwell on the numbers. Sometimes I've done everything right and then some and the numbers didn't budge or they went up, but then they came back down. Measurements also seem to be a much better way to track your progress. Be patient and stick with it! Good Luck!:flowerforyou:

Since I can't see your diary, I'll go over the basics
20 lbs is an awesome loss, especially in just a month. Your body might just need time to adjust, then you'll lose again.
Make sure you're netting enough calories. Meaning eat back your exercise calories. If you're eating 1,200 it may not be enough so you might want to look into upping them.
Make sure you're doing some kind of strength training with cardio. While you can lose weight on just cardio (actually, you can lose weight with only a calorie deficit) it may not all be fat. You want to keep muscle, trust me!
You may need to simply switch up your workout. After about a month, our bodies get use to what we're doing and they adjust. So changing what you do in your workout might also help.
I honestly can't think of any more but

YOU GO! THAT IS AN AWESOME LOSS, SO DON'T YOU DARE GIVE UP! KEEP AT IT AND KODUS! :drinker:

20 pounds in just over a month is fantastic! Keep doing what your doing. I'm sure it will keep coming off. I"ve been at this over a year. There are going to be times when the weight will go up and then down then up again etc. I've been stuck for 2 months at the same weight but then I've also started using weights. So take your measurements too. Don't just look at the number on the scale. Knowing that my measurements are going down helps me stay focused and not get so frustrated. You'll get there. You didn't put it on over night and you're not going to lose it over night either. Its not easy. If it was then everyone would get thin quickly and stay thin. Hang in there. :happy: YOU CAN DO THIS! :flowerforyou: