Confused & Discouraged...

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joannalowens
joannalowens Posts: 2
in Motivation and Support
Hey Everybody! My name is JoAnna. I am a 36 year old, mama of 4, married for 20 yrs. I'm new to MFP. I'm 5'1 168 lbs. Trying to lose 40lbs. My first week of counting my calories & staying within 1200 a day with some moderate exercise, I lost 4 lbs!!!!! The following week I worked just as hard, stuck to my 1200 cals. and did Zumba every other day...... I lost nothing, in fact I gained 1 lb.!!! I don't understand why this happened! Since Sunday I have been so discouraged that I threw myself off track and have been feeling really crappy. Has this happened to anyone else? Please help.....
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Replies

  • Thinknight
    Thinknight Posts: 35 Member
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    Your weight will always go up and down. Seriously the one thing to do is to stick with it. Keep going back and try hard to stay within the calories. Alot of the time you go up and down its due to Water. I have also noticed that no matter what when I have my period i put on 1kg, without fail....every time. And once the week is over....its gone. So that might have something to do with it too? I have been on this since Jan and im nearly at my target. I have slipped a few times but always try and do some exercise to make up for it.
    Feel free to add me as a friend, i have a few bad habits but all in all, im doing well :) just keep it up and it will work!
  • CharityGC
    CharityGC Posts: 499 Member
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    Weight loss is not linear. You will fluctuate and have good weeks and bad weeks. If you get discouraged every time, it's just going to take that much longer to achieve your goal. Chin up and keep working hard. It will happen for you!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,081 Member
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    Weight loss is not linear. You will fluctuate and have good weeks and bad weeks. If you get discouraged every time, it's just going to take that much longer to achieve your goal. Chin up and keep working hard. It will happen for you!

    ^^This. Just keep doing the right things. Perfection is not possible, so if you have a few off days, that's normal. Be kind to yourself, you are your own best cheerleader.

    Keep going.

    You only fail if you quit.

    Now step away from the cookies.
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
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    Try eating the calories that you burn during your workouts. You'll feel better and have more energy for your workouts.
  • MyPureSteez
    MyPureSteez Posts: 265 Member
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    Hide your scale.. I repeat HIDE YOUR SCALE!... It can turn your good day into a bad day
  • mjf0461
    mjf0461 Posts: 470 Member
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    You need to understand your body. You will fluctuate up and down, when you feel you should have lost you will gain. But know that your watching what goes in.. Good nutrition, your exercising, so your body is improving whether the scale says it or not. Your body will begin to tone and you will notice you can do things easier, breath easier, last longer doing certain activities. Don't expect to lose it fast and easy. You didn't gain it that way it happened over time. Be patient with your body, stick to your healthy program and exercise and you will start seeing good results. Good Luck...
  • paddypooh
    paddypooh Posts: 5 Member
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    Do you feel better? Do your clothes fit a little better? If they do it isn't just what is on the scale that counts. Keep on it it will get better. Also remember that you should have a little sometning after you work out or your body will go into starvation mode and keep it on. 1200 calories for your height may also seem to be a little too low. My trainer has me on a 1300 cal limit and I am 5 foot 2
  • ShallaLovee1
    ShallaLovee1 Posts: 356 Member
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    Hi, JoAnn
    I'm Shalla. Just want to say we weigh the same amount! Also, if your working out even 3 days a week you should go up in your intake. 1200 and weight loss only lasts so long. Your body needs more. You may be gaining muscle hence muscle weighs more than fat. You may be losing inches. Don't depend on the scale to make you feel better. Work hard and eat better. You'll see the results you want in due time. Keep at it! LOVE ZUMBA!
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
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    I wanted to add that when I ate 1200 calories my weight fluctuated like crazy and then I stalled out and stopped losing. I increased my calories and don't have those crazy fluctuations anymore. Most days my weight is the same until I lose a pound but I will occasionally go up a pound due to water weight from a higher sodium meal. It's really nice to not be hungry all the time and to not see those fluctuations.
  • spamantha57
    spamantha57 Posts: 674 Member
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    Most people fluctuate when they lose weight & it's not that they're doing anything wrong at all. I wouldn't be surprised if you lost 2lbs of fat & gained 2lbs of muscle that week - it would look on the scale like you didn't go anywhere, when you actually had more progress than the week before. Plus muscle burns more fat and makes your clothes fit better. :) My first 2-3 weeks working out I could tell my body was changing for the better, but it took almost 3 weeks before any loss showed up on the scale. Within the first week I didn't have to pull my stomach up to put on my pants anymore, so it was encouraging to stick with it. You HAVE to stick with it & not give up just because you had a bad day or week. Everyone has those. EVERYONE. It means you're human. :)
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
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    This happens a lot, and believe it or not, it's probably because 1200 calories isn't enough for you... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy
  • VastBreak
    VastBreak Posts: 322 Member
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    Stick with it
  • Ninguneado73
    Ninguneado73 Posts: 832
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    Weight fluctuates. Take measurements and look at yourself in the mirror to see progress. If you must weight yourself do it every week or so. Be patient, it will come off if you are at a calorie deficit.
  • aeg176
    aeg176 Posts: 171 Member
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    It was been a rough start for me too

    what worked for me:

    1) forget what the scale says (hide it if you have to)
    2) take your measurements(gauge weight loss from measurements, what you feel in your clothes and see in the mirror)
    3) eat back excercise calories if you are only eating 1200 and not your excercise cals you aren't netting the 1200 your body needs
    4) calculate out your BMR and TDEE (know how much you should be eating)
    5) have a support system (MFP friends are great!)
    6) keep with it, it is not always gonna be easy you will get discouraged the hardest part is to KEEP GOING!

    Good luck and if you need suppport motivation feel free to add me
  • Smokey19
    Smokey19 Posts: 796 Member
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    It is normal to lose a lot of wt. on your first wk. I lost 7 lbs. and the following wk. I actually gained 2 lbs. I found out that muscles retain fluid after a workout. Also, your body is readjusting to the lower caloric intake. Don't get discouraged you will see results soon.
  • pokemom74
    pokemom74 Posts: 9 Member
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    Stay at it. It is like that for me. I am down 18.5 lbs since end of Feb now (started at 169 lbs and I am 5 ft 0). Just 2 or 3 days ago I thought I had hit a plateau because it had been a while since I lost anything then boom, 2 lbs down. I also have to credit drinking LOTS of water. ( I have a 27 oz bottle I fill at least 3x a day)

    Also some weeks the scale shows no loss yet I FEEL lighter and my jeans got a little less tight. Hang in there.

    ( oh yeah, and I have also been married 20 years and have 4 children :)
  • suezensays
    suezensays Posts: 23 Member
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    Some weeks it's going to seem like what you're doing isn't working. But I can guarantee (from personal experience) that giving up due to frustration is even more useless.

    Make the commitment. Find your determination and you'll keep your motivation. Keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when it seems like you're not getting anywhere. You are, I promise. And you will be so thankful you didn't give up.
  • hahnsamisbear1
    hahnsamisbear1 Posts: 3
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    Also the more you exercise you gain mussel which ways more than fat...bet you lost inches.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    exercise is a stress to the body especially when just starting out and can lead to inflammation which could show a gain
  • Lilianam881
    Lilianam881 Posts: 25
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    YES YES YES. this happened to me all the time. Don't get discouraged if you know you are doing everything right keep it up. I find that I show real loses two weeks out of the month...so the week that I ovulate and the week of my period I either gain 2-3lbs or stay the same (usually gain at least 2 lbs). I'm ovulating this week so I shouldnt have even weighed myself today but I did and I gained 4lbs in a day, I counted calories and know that's impossible to have gained 4 pounds of fat with the amount I ate. Take into consideration water retention and don't obsess about weight so much (I have to remind myself of this all the time)- there are so many other factors such as muscle gain, water retention and time of day you weigh yourself..... that's one pound you gained and three that you have kept off! that is great :) Healthy/reasonable loss is about 1-2 lbs a week. Try taking measurements and take pictures! I stay the same weight sometimes but when I measure I'm smaller and pants that used to fit me tight are now looser

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