getting discouraged

How long have you been at it? How long have you been stuck?

Do not give up. I was stuck for almost three weeks and I even gained 1.5 lb for several of those days. I kept to good eating habits, I kept exercising and finally the scale moved again.

Questions you need to answer to yourself;

1. Does eating make me feel better for more than a few minutes or hour? Will that piece of cake change what is going on in my life or make it worse? Odds are it will make you feel worse from the guilt of eating it.

2. Can I do something besides eating when I am emotional? Like take a walk or exercise. Chew sugar free gum. Talk to a friend over the phone.

3. Can I switch to something I enjoy eating, that is lower calorie for those emotional eating days?

4. Do I want to spend my lifetime yo yoing on my weight or do I want control over it?

I frequently plateau for weeks, sometimes even a month or so. It's just what my body does. I'm an emotional eater too and I've learned that I do much better if I ignore the scale for a week or so at a time.

about 6 months .. and ive been stuck for a little more then 2 weeks

Some stalls are perfectly natural and will eventually go away - but I looked at your target caloric intake and it is 1200 - which is too low for any adult human (even one in a coma, typically).

So, I suggest you calculate your BMR and TDEE and eat at a reasonable deficit from there (15-20%). You have to fuel your body or you can cause hormonal and metabolic damage - causing the loss of lean body mass and the slowing of your metabolism.

Just a quick note - while I COMPLETELY agree with your second statement (and that's what I do) I think it's really hard to know whether 1200 is too low for any adult human. I'm 56, 5'1", tiny frame, and my TDEE less 20% is actually right at 1200 (my BMR is 1156, so there's not much of a window.)

I bumped to 1250 where I do better, and I'm gradually building up activity to raise it further - but there really are some of us due to factors like age, mobility issues, and frame who are right around 1200. It's unfortunate that MFP "defaults" to that level, I'll grant you, and I have no idea what the OP's 'stats' are.

it's okay to get frustrated and discouraged. that's a part of the process. it's what you do with those feelings that define your journey. you can go back to your old ways, eat back those 17lbs you've lost or you can dig deep within yourself, commit yourself to longterm change and continue on your path to success. there will be ups and downs and standstills in every major process in life and you gotta just ride it out. you have a goal, you've made it part of the way there now just DON'T GIVE UP!!

about 6 months .. and ive been stuck for a little more then 2 weeks

Some stalls are perfectly natural and will eventually go away - but I looked at your target caloric intake and it is 1200 - which is too low for any adult human (even one in a coma, typically).

So, I suggest you calculate your BMR and TDEE and eat at a reasonable deficit from there (15-20%). You have to fuel your body or you can cause hormonal and metabolic damage - causing the loss of lean body mass and the slowing of your metabolism.

Just a quick note - while I COMPLETELY agree with your second statement (and that's what I do) I think it's really hard to know whether 1200 is too low for any adult human. I'm 56, 5'1", tiny frame, and my TDEE less 20% is actually right at 1200 (my BMR is 1156, so there's not much of a window.)

I bumped to 1250 where I do better, and I'm gradually building up activity to raise it further - but there really are some of us due to factors like age, mobility issues, and frame who are right around 1200. It's unfortunate that MFP "defaults" to that level, I'll grant you, and I have no idea what the OP's 'stats' are.

So, your TDEE is 1500...are you sedentary? I am 5'2", 42 years old and my TDEE is 2400 at moderately active. Sedentary (if I were) it would be 1754 (still more than 1200).

EDIT: I should note that my numbers (calculated by a year of experimentation and compared to fat2fitradio numbers) are a bit higher than the online calculators. Fat2fitradio says 2034 for moderately active, but I have determined it is truly 2400 because that is where I maintain. Remember the calculators are all estimates and we all go through periods of having to readjust (I had to 5 times in 2 years ).

Two weeks is not a long time to be stuck. Don't worry.

If you weigh yourself every day you may think that you are going back and forth and not making any progress, but when you average all of those daily weigh-ins you may find that, indeed, your average weight is still dropping. It is just not as perceptible to you if you are looking at the "noise" of daily weights.

I suggest that you Google "The Hacker's Diet". In this book, John Walker explains how to chart your weight and create a trend line that will help you to see the forest instead of the trees, as it were.

I started out at 186.5 and am now down to an average trend weight of 146. Today's weight was 149.4. That seems like a big jump, but it is because I have been a little lax in adhering to my calorie goal, have had a bit too much sodium and haven't been drinking enough over the past couple of days. I do not anticipate that my weight will stay up for long. Also, there are periods were my weight seems flat for a long time (if you were looking at the daily weights and not referring to the chart and trend line that I keep).

Stick with what you are doing, but be very diligent about weighing your food and recording your food intake as accurately as possible. Try tracking your weight on a daily basis and plotting a trend. If you find that your trend line is flat for a long period, then that is the time to reassess your eating plan and exercise regimen.

Don't give up. You may need to eat more... Eat clean, rest more, change up your exercise. You may need to exercise longer. Are you doing both cardio and strength training. If no you want to do both. Cardio will help you get down but the ligting will help you tone and get the body you want. The less you have to lose the harder it becomes you want to switch things up often. Eating at different calorie levels will help your metabolism... changing up your exercise rountine will provide muscle confussion. Good luck on your journey. You have come to far to go backwards. keep pushing forward until you reach your goal and then maintain it.

Really feeling iike giving up . I started at 175 I'm currently 158.5 and the scale is STUCK !! im an emotional eater so all this is making me want to do it eat and eat and eat some more..

Two weeks isn't very long, just remember that stress can cause bloat, which leads to weight gain. Try to calm down, get over your anxiety, and don't eat when emotional. You're only hurting yourself more when you binge eat while stressed. Don't weigh yourself everyday either, just stick to your calorie intake and I'm sure those last few pounds will melt away before you know it.

Just take it one day at a time, and if you screw up one day, start over.


"The junk food you've craved for an hour, or the body you've craved for a lifetime? Your choice."

Don't give up!!!