Really discouraged...

So I workout. Everyday. I meal plan. Everyday. I barely ever go over my cals and if I do for a day it is never for the whole week as I am under another day. I work really hard. It has taken me 23 weeks to lose just 19 pounds. I am only half way to a goal that was a fraction of the majority of people's goals and it has taken me nearly half of a year. I feel like I am working so hard for a this body and it isn't even the body I want. I feel like I must be doing something wrong. I am not even averaging a pound a week. Eh I guess I just needed to vent. My diary is open if you are curious and perhaps I am an idiot and am missing something big. Thanks for listening!

Replies

  • elleloch
    elleloch Posts: 739 Member
    Well, it took me about six months to lose twenty pounds. Why do you think what you are doing isn't working?
  • ellen_kay
    ellen_kay Posts: 304 Member
    Remember that you are not only working for a thin body, but a healthy one. I am sure you feel better and look better over all. Sometimes it does take a little time. I have been at this since the day after Christmas, staying at or under my calories, exercising like crazy and have only dropped 16 lbs. But I have lost inches, feel better, have a better attitude about things and look better.

    Hang in there it will happen.
  • arains89
    arains89 Posts: 442 Member
    I will go weeks with no lose or even gain. Its as if the weeks where I slip up and have to miss a few workouts are the only time I see significant loss. When I have perfect weeks I almost ALWAYS gain.
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
    Id try to cut back on your sodium intake a little, sodium makes you retain water weight :)

    Maybe try and shake up the workouts a little? Trick your body, if it gets used to you doing the same thing daily it will learn..

    Hope this helps :)
  • arains89
    arains89 Posts: 442 Member
    Id try to cut back on your sodium intake a little, sodium makes you retain water weight :)

    Maybe try and shake up the workouts a little? Trick your body, if it gets used to you doing the same thing daily it will learn..

    Hope this helps :)

    Thank you! Wow 110 pounds that is amazing! Congrats!
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
    As my doctor said just on Monday: Slow weight loss certainly isn't exciting, but it's HEALTHY and you will SUSTAIN it. She recommends losing only 2-4 pounds per month! Rapid weight loss is usually followed by rapid weight gain and how healthy is that?

    You are losing at a GREAT pace. Celebrate what you have lost and look at the good things it has brought. If you keep on this pace, you will lose all of your weight in a year. What is wrong with that? Will you get to your goal and be disappointed or will you celebrate?

    Who cares how long it takes to goal? Would you rather get to goal in a healthy sustainable way and have it stay off, or would you rather crash diet, get to goal, be so burned out you can't stand it any longer, binge and go right back to where you started?
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
    Id try to cut back on your sodium intake a little, sodium makes you retain water weight :)

    Maybe try and shake up the workouts a little? Trick your body, if it gets used to you doing the same thing daily it will learn..

    Hope this helps :)

    Thank you! Wow 110 pounds that is amazing! Congrats!

    Thanks, feel free to add me and ask questions.. ill help if I can.
  • arains89
    arains89 Posts: 442 Member
    As my doctor said just on Monday: Slow weight loss certainly isn't exciting, but it's HEALTHY and you will SUSTAIN it. She recommends losing only 2-4 pounds per month! Rapid weight loss is usually followed by rapid weight gain and how healthy is that?

    You are losing at a GREAT pace. Celebrate what you have lost and look at the good things it has brought. If you keep on this pace, you will lose all of your weight in a year. What is wrong with that? Will you get to your goal and be disappointed or will you celebrate?

    Who cares how long it takes to goal? Would you rather get to goal in a healthy sustainable way and have it stay off, or would you rather crash diet, get to goal, be so burned out you can't stand it any longer, binge and go right back to where you started?
    I will definitely celebrate!! I just had the vision that I would be at goal by my daughter's first birthday and my sister's wedding. These are both end of September. I guess realizing that this is a pie in the sky is really hard for me. I never expected to work so hard and have such slow success. I didn't expect multiple pounds per week but I didn't think 4 pounds/month was out of reach for me.
  • mandeenicoleb
    mandeenicoleb Posts: 479 Member
    So I workout. Everyday. I meal plan. Everyday. I barely ever go over my cals and if I do for a day it is never for the whole week as I am under another day. I work really hard. It has taken me 23 weeks to lose just 19 pounds. I am only half way to a goal that was a fraction of the majority of people's goals and it has taken me nearly half of a year. I feel like I am working so hard for a this body and it isn't even the body I want. I feel like I must be doing something wrong. I am not even averaging a pound a week. Eh I guess I just needed to vent. My diary is open if you are curious and perhaps I am an idiot and am missing something big. Thanks for listening!

    I feel like that too sometimes, but a slower loss is usually also associated with a more permanent one. Your diary looks good. Maybe tweak your calories a little up or down for a week or two and see what it does for you. Sometimes we aren't taking in or burning off as much as we think we are. I feel we are mostly working with good estimates, but see if a change works.
  • arains89
    arains89 Posts: 442 Member
    So I workout. Everyday. I meal plan. Everyday. I barely ever go over my cals and if I do for a day it is never for the whole week as I am under another day. I work really hard. It has taken me 23 weeks to lose just 19 pounds. I am only half way to a goal that was a fraction of the majority of people's goals and it has taken me nearly half of a year. I feel like I am working so hard for a this body and it isn't even the body I want. I feel like I must be doing something wrong. I am not even averaging a pound a week. Eh I guess I just needed to vent. My diary is open if you are curious and perhaps I am an idiot and am missing something big. Thanks for listening!

    I feel like that too sometimes, but a slower loss is usually also associated with a more permanent one. Your diary looks good. Maybe tweak your calories a little up or down for a week or two and see what it does for you. Sometimes we aren't taking in or burning off as much as we think we are. I feel we are mostly working with good estimates, but see if a change works.

    Thank you! I am probably just having a bad day. I know even if it is slow I will get there it is just sad to be in the summer time and still feel awful in my swimsuit. I weigh in on Thursdays so we will see what tomorrow brings for this week. Crossing my fingers!
  • mandeenicoleb
    mandeenicoleb Posts: 479 Member
    So I workout. Everyday. I meal plan. Everyday. I barely ever go over my cals and if I do for a day it is never for the whole week as I am under another day. I work really hard. It has taken me 23 weeks to lose just 19 pounds. I am only half way to a goal that was a fraction of the majority of people's goals and it has taken me nearly half of a year. I feel like I am working so hard for a this body and it isn't even the body I want. I feel like I must be doing something wrong. I am not even averaging a pound a week. Eh I guess I just needed to vent. My diary is open if you are curious and perhaps I am an idiot and am missing something big. Thanks for listening!

    I feel like that too sometimes, but a slower loss is usually also associated with a more permanent one. Your diary looks good. Maybe tweak your calories a little up or down for a week or two and see what it does for you. Sometimes we aren't taking in or burning off as much as we think we are. I feel we are mostly working with good estimates, but see if a change works.

    Thank you! I am probably just having a bad day. I know even if it is slow I will get there it is just sad to be in the summer time and still feel awful in my swimsuit. I weigh in on Thursdays so we will see what tomorrow brings for this week. Crossing my fingers!

    I definitely know the feeling. I'm always getting discouraged! As long as we keep on going. Feel free to add me :) I'd love to hear about your progress. Sometimes I somehow worry people will think I'm creepy randomly adding them :P lol
  • Kaogirl
    Kaogirl Posts: 1 Member
    I so get that. I did the Insanity program with Shaun T. However, between breaking my ankle in 6 places and not seeing any results after 1 month I gave up.
  • JenRunTriHappyGirl
    JenRunTriHappyGirl Posts: 521 Member
    It has taken me over a year to get to my goal weight.... which I am still 0.4 pounds away from. My goal loss is only 35 pounds! It seems that the less you have to loose, the harder it is and the longer it takes.... I was fairly active before but eatting the wrong things. I have lost a pound a week.... for the most part. I had 2 periods of time where I either gained or stayed the same for months and then it just starting coming off again. As long as you are being HONEST with your logging and exercising, you are doing fine. If you get to a place where nothing is happening, try a different workout routine, take a day off of logging and eating healthy, do something different. You will get there!
  • pepperpat64
    pepperpat64 Posts: 423 Member
    For what it's worth, I think you're doing pretty good. After all, you've lost almost a pound per week. Remember also that if you're doing any weightlifting exercises, you're building up muscle, which is heavier than fat. It's really hard for women to get away from the "how much do I weigh" mindset and put the focus where it should be - on how you feel overall, how your clothes fit, how much more energy you have, etc. I have the same problem. Maybe it would help to think about where you'd be if you hadn't been doing anything at all the past 23 weeks - you'd be 19 pounds heavier than you are now, right? :-)
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,256 Member
    I will go weeks with no lose or even gain.

    April 9th was the last time I lost any weight until today...I got on the scale and was down .2 pounds. Not much but it was the ONLY loss in over 2 months. It was a LONG plateau, but I knew if I hung in there, it would break. If you have lost 19 pounds in 23 weeks, you are doing fabulous. Its taken me 13 months to lose the 51 I have. But I know that those pounds are gone forever. Just as the way I am eating is forever. Its not a diet. You have the rest of your life to lose. Wont take that long, but there is no hurry....honest. :)
  • djk721
    djk721 Posts: 59 Member
    take your measurements--what you may not see on the scale might show up as inches lost! Keep up the hard work. You will get there!
  • Forever4me
    Forever4me Posts: 76 Member
    Read what you said here:

    I will go weeks with no lose or even gain. Its as if the weeks where I slip up and have to miss a few workouts are the only time I see significant loss. When I have perfect weeks I almost ALWAYS gain.

    So use that information. are you restricting your calories too much? what is your net calories those weeks? Perhaps you are being "too perfect".

    With that said, I lose weight very slowly. I wanted to lose it quickly and "be done". And then I realized (even though I heard it a million times) that this is truly something I need to be able to sustain for the rest of my life, so slow and steady wins the race.

    You can totally do this!
  • iarelarry
    iarelarry Posts: 201 Member
    This is a lifestyle change (long-term), not a phase (short-term). The sooner you accept that, the better off you'll be! Taking a week off (or 2) helps alot... just make sure to come back - lol.

    Cheers
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    First of all, you're doing really well. You're living a very healthy lifestyle with a good diet and exercise.

    I took a quick look at your diary. A couple of suggestions:

    (1) Drink more water. It curbs your appetite and helps your whole body. I had a problem drinking enough water, so I bought a 32 oz sport bottle, fill it with filtered water and lemon slices, and try to drink 2 of those a day. The lemon gets me to drink more.

    (2) You have a lot of dairy (milk and cheese). My weight loss stalled with dairy, so I cut it out. I've lost 21 pounds in 9 weeks on a diet based around brown rice, lentils, and vegetables. Lentils have a lot of protein. It might help your weight loss to include a few simple rice, lentil (or other bean), and veggie dishes a week. Brown rice doesn't have gluten, in case that's an issue.
  • LydsVille77
    LydsVille77 Posts: 126 Member
    One of my favorite sayings is "You dont have to go fast, you just have to go". The last 20 lbs have taken me a year to lose. But the 50 before that fell off. So I'm going slow... but it's staying off. Be patient, and just keep doing what you're doing. Congrats on your loss so far!
  • chatogal
    chatogal Posts: 436 Member
    you probably need to eat moreeeee :smile:
  • mrsriisky
    mrsriisky Posts: 129 Member
    That's actually a great weight loss- slow weight loss tends to be more permanent than quick weight loss. Couple things on your food diary- I second watching you sodium intake, and also noticed that you eat a lot of dairy- I am a cheese FIEND, and love dairy, but some people have sensitivities to dairy that makes them bloat- I could eat cheese all day long, but notice that when I slow down on dairy, weight comes off a lot easier.

    Maybe you could try eat a little less processed foods and see if that makes a difference? Sometimes making little changes and seeing what happens works.

    But really, I would be very encouraged by what you have already accomplished. It didn't take you 6 months to gain that weight, right? Keep up your good work, and realize that you have already seen a huge amount of success!

    On a side note, my ultimate goal weight is similar to yours (mine is 123). I hit my highest weight of 142 a year and a half ago! It has taken me a year and a half to lose 13 lbs, but each time the scale has moved down a pound, it has stayed down. While I'm struggling to get down those last 6 lbs and tone up, I am so happy that the weight loss I've had is sustainable. When I was younger, I yo-yo dieted (sometimes losing 5 lbs in one week!) and my weight would immediately bounce back to where it was.
  • LydsVille77
    LydsVille77 Posts: 126 Member
    One more thought... How are you calculating exercise calories? I discovered I was totally overestimating mine for a while until I got an HRM.... that could be one factor. And do you weight your food? I suck at eye balling and the fat girl inside underestimates so a food scale solved that. Hope this helps.
  • chatogal
    chatogal Posts: 436 Member
    you probably need to eat moreeeee :smile:

    just kidding...honestly...nothing to add, except keep going, it will happen :-)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    All I can think of is that you're not measuring properly or overestimating your exercise calories.
  • Fitme4eva
    Fitme4eva Posts: 1
    Hi there,

    You are eating too many carbs and not enough Protien... Try cutting out that cereal in the morning, all breads, sugar and rice. Also try drinking more water... That should do the trick. Hope this Helps! :)