If you have any advice, I would really appreciate it.

nikkieliivey · July 2010

two weeks. While I was there I continued my excercise regimen. I got up early every morning while the rest of my family slept and did my P90X and power walked on the treadmill for an hour and maybe some stationary bike ( I am recovering from 3 knee surgeries so that is part of the rehab). When we went tothe parks (we were in Orlando) or the beach I packed my lunch. I went to Wal-Mart on my vacation and stocked up on spring salad mix, veggies, healthy nuts, low fat cheese, and atkins bars and shakes.

When everyone one else was having cheeseburgers I had grilled chicken and broccoli. While they were having pancakes and sausages, I was having egg whites or and Atkins shake and bar. My one and only bad day was only bad bc I had one cheat meal...a turkey sandwhich on foccacia bread with sunchips...that was my splurge meal of a "whopping" 500 calories, I didn;t even go over my calorie limit. Today was weigh in day, and I didn't lose a single pound. Nothing, Nada. I could not be more frustrated right now. I don't know what I am doing wrong.

I know my sodiums been a bit high for the past two weeks but theres only so much you can do on vacation.Sometimes I had to choose high sodium deli meat over a grilled cheese or something else that would have been a million time worse. I tried to drink 10-14 c of water to counteract this.

I tried to make sure I left somewhere between 300-500 calories left for the day just because when your eating out you never really know what they marinated the grilled chicken in our how that sauteed spinach was exactly prepared.

I haven't snacked (with the exception of one night) after dinner. WHen I am at home I am doing about 1 hour of strength excercises a day and an hour of cardio 3 times a week, with yoga twice a week, and three hour bike twice a week. Sometimes I may sub one of the bikerides for some hiking depending on my mood.

But this problem is more than the last two weeks. I have been pretty strict with this regimen for 2 months and I have lost 5 pounds (all within the first week and a half). Maybe I think I am doing better than I am. Please feel free to look t my diary entries and rip them to shreds. If it looks like I didn;t eat a meal or I ate a ton of one thing than I probably just doubled the portion size I had already entered instead of adding the food again.I am at a loss for words. I know I have to keep trying, I almost gave up this morning and just let myself eat whatever, but I nipped that in the bud. But please, somebody tell me what I am doing wrong. I have been struggling with weight all my life and I would really really really like to go to school next year not having this constant weight on my shoulders...literally. I won't give up. I refuse to back down and let this defeat me, but if anyone could give me some pointers or some idea of what I am doing wrong that would be greatly appreciated.

nikkieliivey · July 2010

The beginning my my post got cut off, it is supposed to say that I was lucky enough to go on vacation for two weeks.

Sara1478 · July 2010

Muscle adds up. If you are working out hard, you could be replacing fat weight with muscle weight. Have you tried measurement loss instead of scale loss?

kimmie0627 · July 2010

Instead of focusing on your scale, try measuring yourself. You might be losing inchs but not pounds. If you are building muscle you could even gain weight. Muscle weights more than fat.

Chenoachem · July 2010

Do you estimate your exercise calories based on the database or are you using a HRM? Are you overestimating the calorie burn from your workouts and therefore eating to much?

glfprncs2 · July 2010

I'll agree with what everyone else is saying...take your measurements. I found that when I did my 3rd round of P90X, I lost maybe 2 pounds in 90 days, but I dropped 2 pants sizes. The scale is not the 'end all, be all' results tracker. It's quite possible that you're leaning out...swapping out lean muscle mass for fat. One pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as one pound of fat, but one pound of muscle takes up MUCH less space in your body than that same pound of fat.

That said, with all you're doing...P90X and the treadmill and the exercise bike...do you think you're eating enough? I 'think' you've got your diary set at around 1500-1600 calories...If you're that active (walking around the park plus 2 hours of exercise/day), I would think your calorie burn closer to 2500+ calories/day. So, your deficit may simply be too large and your body is saying..."Hold on boys and girls...she's not feeding us enough." Anyhow...just some food for thought.

keith0373 · July 2010

Your log looks good other than an huge sodium intake. You may want to try a week doing the same level of exercise, but not eating the exercise calories. You are usually pretty close to your total including exercise. Remember that everything here is an estimate and some people will have to do more, some less.

nikkieliivey · July 2010

I try to measure every three weeks, so I will measure next week. And yes, I do have a HRM and I do every work out with it and only log what it tells me! Thank you all for your advice.

janetgardiner · July 2010

I agree with Chenoachem. I was adding in exercise time from the data base and at times it said I worked off more than I really did. I only found this out once I got a HRM.
I have a question, how do you put posts on?? I can answer people but don't know how to ask questions......

RentThisSpace · July 2010

If you are staying true to your diet and regularly exercising, the weight will come off. Of course, accurately logging everything you eat is important, and if you aren't doing this, you're simply cheating yourself. Next, is regular exercise. Sounds like you have a good program and your dedication is phenomenal during a hard vacation period, so just keep sticking with it and stop worrying as much about the scale. Remember, your didn't get where you are now overnight and you won't get to your goal overnight either. It takes time and discipline, which is why this is a lifestyle change and not a fad diet.

So instead of paying attention to weight, look at some other factors. Do you feel healthier? Do you have more energy? How about those pants, feeling any looser? Do you feel more confident? These things mean a lot more than a number on a scale. Stick to the plan and you'll be fine.

Good Luck.

summersk · July 2010

My advice may seem a little strange, but here it is. Try going over your calorie count for a day, shock your body! Your body gets used to the same workout and eating habits and in a way becomes immune to what you're doing, so switching it up every now and again is actually a good thing. Especially if you don't have that much weight to lose.

CFAITH_WARD · July 2010

As a fellow p90Xer, I know the diet they give us is really not ment to show upo on the scale......I don't know how many calories you are eating but if you are eat what they say to eat for me it was too much. I am now eat MFP says and doing my p90x and a walk in the evening....It almost sounds like you are doing too much exercise. I try to eat 1200-1400 CA a day and exercise burning 1100 CA a day. It really seems to be working for me. I had hit a wall with my diet and I am now lossing like 2 ilbs a week. I hope this helps. I think you are doing great.

handerso · July 2010

My chiropracter did the P90X. I hadn't seen him in a while, so when I arrived at his office, I was shocked at how good he looked. I asked him, "Did you lose weight? You must have! You look great!" He replied, "Actually, I haven't really lost any weight, I've lost tons of inches though."

I would definitely follow the advice of the other ladies. Measure thighs, hips, waist, arms. Every couple of weeks remeasure. Also, have your cloths been feeling looser? This is also a great indicator.

Finally, I have a client who complains of the same thing who has been seeing a personal trainer. The trainer works her *kitten* off so that she is shaking when she leaves. Sounds like you are working just as hard as her. She lost 5 pounds in two months and was really disappointed. Her trainer told her that 5 pounds in 2 months is .5 lbs a week, which is exactly what you should be losing. Also, the trainer yells at her when she doesn't eat all her calories for the day. He says you need to retrain your body to burn calories effectively. If you are exercising hard and don't eat your calories, you body goes into starvation mode and stores. But if you are eating what you need, then it flushes out what it doesn't.

I hope all this helps. You are doing awesome and your body should be feeling so much better. Don't focus on the scale and focus on the fact that you are respecting your body by taking care of it. You're body will reward you in time, promise.

MassageGirlRC · July 2010

Starvation mode. Maybe your are accutally trying too hard. If your body thinks its being starved it will try to hold on to the weight. All the excise plus walking in the park all day may have been too much. I would suggest internet serching two things; one is metastasis, and the other is a method called zig-zag dieting.

NewImprovedCnbethea1 · July 2010

Good morning,

First of all great job going on vacation for 2 weeks and still focused on your food and exercise that is real motivation and another great thing is you didn't gain either so that's totally awesome!!! Always reward yourself for the positives big or small and to me that is definitely a positive I know people that can go away on vacation and gain 7-10lbs easily!!

Okay so I looked at a week of your food diary and I just have a few suggestions:

Ditch the lunch meat and find a healthier alternative it is packed in sodium your levels were really high and some days you only had 9 cups of water so you can very well have some water retention do to sodium

I know every where you look it says to eat back your calories for exercise and to be honest I never have except on days when I am eating crappy and it normally turns into a gain on the scale but when I eat 1200-1500 I nirmally do just find with weight loss So anyway my suggestion is to do a week staying under your sodium plus eating one day your exercise calories and 1 day 1200-1500 cal even though you worked out I am normally satisfied by doing this but if your hungry with true signs of hunger than by no means am I saying starve yourself!! Some times we miss judge hunger though!

Signs of true hunger:
Pains or growling in your stomach
On set of a headache (try drinking water first)
Feeling sluggish or tired

Do that for a whole week to shock your body and help getting things going again!!

When is the last time you did your measurments have you notice any change in clothes plus overall how are you feeling these are also some key factors to look for while on your journey and not just the scale I wish you well and hoping to hear great things in the future Keep up the great work!!

jkohan · July 2010

I think you've gotten great advice here so far. I would say that your exercise calories burned look VERY high. I would invest in a HRM and be sure it's set accurately for your individual weight, age, etc...

Hang in there, it's a long process sometimes, and if you stick with it you will definitely see results.

Naokoheart · July 2010

I was going to say,you need to slash your sodium levels in half,over the last few weeks they have been quite high,
if you do that then it might help,release some water retention I'm sure,good luck,you can do it!

kelsey0527 · July 2010

I know that HRMs are supposed to be more accurate, but perhaps yours is reading too high. I noticed that your exercise diary says you are burning 1000+ calories a lot of days. For example, for 65 minutes of 4.0mph walking, your HRM said you burned 840 calories. On MFP when you type in 65 minutes of walking at the same pace it says that a person of your weight probably burned only 459 calories. Just a thought!

EboniA · July 2010

It sounds like you might be stressing on this a little too hard. TWO weeks of vacation and you return with no weight gain. That is fabulous! :flowerforyou: One thing is for certain, your sodium intake was extremely high. I'm sure once you get that back in check, you'll be fine. As you said, you made the best choice with what you were given. All the rest (ate too much, ate too little, worked out too much, drank too little) doesn't really matter because it's done. If you want to look at what you could have done differently... well, you could have eaten restaurant food for 2 weeks, you could have had too many high cal beverages, you could have not exercised at all beyond walking. I think between the worst case scenario and the best case... you leaned a lot closer to the best! I envy your strength to do as well as you did. Now, shake it off and get back on track. We're here for you!

kdiamond · July 2010

If you are staying true to your diet and regularly exercising, the weight will come off. Of course, accurately logging everything you eat is important, and if you aren't doing this, you're simply cheating yourself. Next, is regular exercise. Sounds like you have a good program and your dedication is phenomenal during a hard vacation period, so just keep sticking with it and stop worrying as much about the scale. Remember, your didn't get where you are now overnight and you won't get to your goal overnight either. It takes time and discipline, which is why this is a lifestyle change and not a fad diet.

I agree with this.

Took a quick look at your diary and I can see off the bat you eat a LOT of cheese/dairy. I love dairy like the next person, but it is definitely loaded with sodium so maybe eat a little less of it. Add more lean meats in there in place of it.

I pretty much tell everyone here that 95% of people here without a HRM overestimate their exercise calories. This could be hindering you. Try eating half of what they tell you you've burned.

Bottom line is, if something isn't working and you've given it a few weeks/month (which you have), time to switch it up!

jkohan · July 2010

I know that HRMs are supposed to be more accurate, but perhaps yours is reading too high. I noticed that your exercise diary says you are burning 1000+ calories a lot of days. For example, for 65 minutes of 4.0mph walking, your HRM said you burned 840 calories. On MFP when you type in 65 minutes of walking at the same pace it says that a person of your weight probably burned only 459 calories. Just a thought!

And even MFP's calculations are way higher than reality in my experience...by about half. I went back and saw that you said you wore a HRM...with a chest strap? Your calculations for exercise seem extremely high. I would start with that and cutting the sodium---which is SO hard..but I think you'll see an improvement. You are doing all the right things...just need a tweak and some patience.

If you have any advice, I would really appreciate it.

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