frustrated!

Tuesday20
Tuesday20 Posts: 93 Member
in Motivation and Support
I joined MFP about 12 weeks ago, I lost like 5lbs in my first week! I didnt expect to lose so much so quickly, and it gave me a real buzz! Since then the journey has felt pretty slow and pointless. Its taken 11 weeks to lose 5lbs, sometimes I jet up 3lbs (water weight, I know) then it takes another couple of weeks to lose it again. MFP projects that even on 1300 calories a day (the lowest I would consider going) I will lose 0.4lbs a week. It just seems pointless!!!! It is so frustrating, I have only 3lbs till I reach my goal, but if that will take 5 weeks of food restriction, (which would be unsustainable, so I would gain the weight back anyway!) I have to ask myself, is it worth it? My weight loss journey hasnt been what I expected. I thought it would be a life changing event, that boosted my confidence and made me feel energized, instead I find myself frustrated, tired and still unhappy with how I look. Even when I worked out 4 times a week, I felt crap, didnt lose weight any faster and still dont see any improvements in my physical appearance. My measurements havent changed, weight has fluctuated and my body fat didn't stay improved for long! Its a stupid amount of work for so little result. Ive stopped working out, (this is also to do with lack of time/energy/money) Feel like quitting calorie counting too :(

Replies

  • andersonh2007
    andersonh2007 Posts: 27 Member
    We have all been there. I totally understand your frustrations. You have made great progress! Keep logging and moving. Also, when I was in your same situation, I had to slightly adjust my food and the weight fell off, even close to goal. Hang in there!:smile:
  • dremy89
    dremy89 Posts: 1
    Its not pointless your doing really well. Just a tip for the water weight. Drink loads of water till u literally cant stop peeing. Each day at least 8 glasses and your body wont retain as much water. also the scales may even go down.

    Don't give up.
  • carolyn0613
    carolyn0613 Posts: 162 Member
    Have you lost 10lbs in 12 weeks, as your ticker says? I'd say that is an excellent result, just a shade under 1 lb a week. I think that the hardest thing about losing weight is the slowness of progress. Patience is hard work! You are actually doing fine!

    With just 3 lbs to go, you should be aiming to lose just 0.5 lb a week. That's just a deficit of 250 cals a day. With so small an amount it is important to track accurately because one cake too many and the defict is gone. It is important to eat your calories though because not eating enough causes stress in your body and releases hormones like cortisol, which are a known factor in unexpected weight gain.

    Take a deep breath and start again. Weigh yourself, take measurements, work out how much your TDEE and BMR are. Make sure you eat an amount of calories between those numbers. Make sure you are accurate in your tracking, both what you eat and what you burn off in exercise and adjust accordingly. Weigh yourself once a week - scales can go up and down by 5 lbs in a day, so you can be fretting over nothing if you weigh more frequently.

    Hope this helps and KEEP GOING!
  • ELEANOR43da
    ELEANOR43da Posts: 166 Member
    I have only been here a month and such a long journey to go. I read your post and think wow imagine just logging and being faithful to exercising . You know what, even if it takes a very long time for that scale to move or mine never moves I will be happy knowing I am eating healthier and exercising my body.Now that's worth it to me !!!
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
    With a loss of 5 lbs over 11 weeks, you're averaging about 0.5/week...for someone who has so little to lose (according to your ticker), this is a really excellent, totally normal, and healthy rate of loss.

    When you're this close to goal, fat loss will be excruciatingly slow - it's just the nature of the beast. If you're suffering from low energy and feeling generally lousy, I would recommend looking at your total intake. At this point, a very modest cut from your TDEE would probably do you well - you could continue to chip off those last few pounds but enjoy eating more - this could drastically improve how you feel about the process, as well as your energy level. Use some of the online tools available to estimate your TDEE, and try taking off, say 5-10% of that number and use that as your daily calorie goal.

    If you're only doing cardio right now, I'd suggest you consider incorporating some resistance training in your routine. Many people find this helps them attain the physique/"look" they're aiming for more effectively. Personally, I found it put my metabolism into hyper-drive and I dropped a bunch of stubborn fat in a short period of time, even though I decreased my cardio by nearly 2/3.

    I think you'll feel a lot less frustrated if you readjust your expectations for "quick" weight loss at this point. :flowerforyou:
  • aliapike
    aliapike Posts: 2 Member
    Keep going, you are so close to your goal weight, great that you have a focus and a goal.
    Weight loss is a slow progress and that I think that is why we can get frustrated, we feel like we are doing loads and seeing very little, but it will happen. This is the toughest part of weight loss, when you are so close. I know for me, I have found it easy to start and then those last few pounds seem to take forever. I have given up lots of times, and then had to start all over again, don't make that mistake. Stay positive, think about how much you have achieved.
    Maybe your exercise needs changing. Perhaps try a new class, or see a personal trainer. There are loads of bootcamps that let you try the first session for free, or there are lots of great youtube clips, try something different. Our bodies often plateau and we need to shake things up.
    Stick with you, not just for the 3lbs, but forever, you can do it!!

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