Getting discouraged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Replies

  • boatsie77
    boatsie77 Posts: 480 Member
    I just feel like I have so far to go to get the body I wants and i'm busting my *kitten* but see no results.

    If you decide to 'f-it' you'll see even less than no results. Take a breath and carry on -- patience, Grasshopper -- you're in this for life.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    UGGGHHHHH I have been at this diet thing this time around since 1/17/13 and I exercise every single night. I have lost 11 pounds but notice no difference at all!!!!! I was told today by a co worker that I am not supposed to be eating any of my exercise calories back, others have told me that it is ok to eat them back. I am starting to think that I havent lost more or seen any difference cause I am eating those exercise calories back. Long story short....I am once again getting discouraged and ready to just say F it!!!

    11 pounds in a month is pretty amazing progress, so I'd tell your coworker that eating the exercise calories is working just fine for you. You're supposed to. It's the way this site was designed to work.

    But when it comes to looking in the mirror, progress is hard to see. We see ourselves every day. Trying to see changes in the mirror is like watching grass grow.

    I didn't notice much change at all in the first 12-15 pounds. I think part of it was because shortly before joining the site, I'd gained an extra couple pounds. I didn't quite realize that I was leaving the top button undone, or wearing sweats more, or only wearing those really forgiving stretchy jeans. The first maybe 10 pounds I lost just put me where I was a few months before joining here. There was progress made, but it wasn't all that noticeable. I was able to wear those jeans I'd stopped wearing. My pants buttoned easier.

    Around the 12 pound mark, I started taking progress photos. Wish I'd done that from the beginning! I compared that to a photo from the summer before, and even though there was only a few pounds difference (like I said, I gained more right before I joined), I could see it. That lit a fire under my *kitten*, and I kept taking progress photos every few weeks.

    I can be more objective with a photo. I can look at it like it's someone else, and take in the whole picture, rather than zero in on every dimple and bump like I do in the mirror.
  • abbyblackcft
    abbyblackcft Posts: 23
    A healthy weight loss (if your goal is to keep it off) is 2 pounds a week! You are doing great!!!! Also, don't use the scale to monitor progress, use your body measurements. TODAY take your chest, waist, hips (around your bum bum), arms (upper arm around the biggest part) and leg (around the biggest part of your thigh) measurements. It normally takes 60 days to see visual results, but your measurements will change in 30 days.

    Add me as a friend if you want. We can get over your discouragement!

    Abby
  • FUELERDUDE
    FUELERDUDE Posts: 150 Member
    One thing to consider as well, you may actually be gaining some muscle mass which could be negating the loss in fat. I have encountered what I thought were platues in past ventures only to find out my body fat percentage was still going down. Furthermore, as others have said, one month and 11 pounds is outstanding!
  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
    Take pictures! you're probably not seeing results because you see yourself every day. Take pictures and measurements and prove to yourself that your body is changing. If you can get your body fat % measured, that's a good reminder that muscle mass is a good thing too :)
  • sharonmac
    sharonmac Posts: 119
    You all have been so encouraging. I actually did take a few pics on 1/17/13 when I started but havent taken anymore since. Not sure if I should post them, The picture of my back is me in a bra. Not sure if I should put that on here. The others I am wearing a tank top but pulled up under my ta ta's lol. Thanks so much for all the support. MFP is a great place to be on this journey. I have recomended it to a few people.
  • lillyss211
    lillyss211 Posts: 2 Member
    I've read more than one article about our tendency to overestimate how many calories we burn from exercise. If you're working out on a cardio machine and it says you just burned 300 calories, chances are it's actually less. I'd recommend either entering 50% less of what the cardio machine says you burned, or not entering it at all. If you don't enter it at all, at least if you go over your calorie goal for the day, you have peace of mind in knowing you did, in fact, work out so you have some extra calories to give anyways. Hope this helps!

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