Vent - not making progress

bethcw1
bethcw1 Posts: 24 Member
in Motivation and Support
This is the very fist post I have started. I'm posting this on here because I want to vent, and my husband doesn't want to hear it! I have been watching what I've been eating for 6 months (just trying to cut down on junk food, snacking and overall make better food choices). I have been exercising with a trainer for 8 weeks (mostly strength training with a little cardio to get the blood in the right places). I also horseback ride once or twice a week (have been for 6 months). I started the other work-outs to improve my strength and flexibility for riding, along with really wanting to get in shape for a destination wedding I have to go to in January. Anyway, the scale and the inches have not moved AT ALL. I know 8 weeks is not long, but I would have expected SOME change - I hear people talk around here about a pound a week... It is frustrating because if I am going to NOT eat the cookie or have the beer on the patio, I want to see some other benefit! I KNOW I am getting stronger, I have better stability and flexibility and am for sure less flabby, but I would like to get down a couple of pant sizes too. I average around 1,500 calories or so, but am not a dutiful logger. I guess I will have to be more diligent in the logging to try to figure out what is going on... I started gaining weight about a year or 1.5 years ago, and have put on 20 to 25 lbs. in that time (with no eating or exercise habit changes), so I wonder if there is something else going on, or if it is just age catching up with me....

Thanks for letting me vent....

Replies

  • JDHINAZ
    JDHINAZ Posts: 641 Member
    First, thanks for reaching out.

    Second, become a dutiful logger. I looked at your diary, and you're all over the map with your calories. I suggest taking this week and weigh/measure everything you normally eat. Just to see if your 1500 cals you think you are consuming is accurate. Don't guess on anything. Do the same with exercise. Get a heart rate monitor if you don't have one, and can afford it.

    Without an accurate picture of what you're currently doing, it's hard to say what's going on.

    Good luck and hang in there!!
  • Sparlingo
    Sparlingo Posts: 938 Member
    Yep!

    Being stuck is very frustrating, but you need to have an accurate assessment of where you are in order to know where you need to go to effect the changes you want to make.

    So weigh and measure your food, get a heart rate monitor for your cardio sessions (if possible for you), and be an accurate logger. Commit to logging accurately every day for a month. If nothing else, you'll know exactly where you stand when things aren't working, and that information is worth something.

    Try to be patient, and in the mean time, celebrate what the exercise and healthy food choices are doing for your health, strength, mood and stamina. The physical changes to your body will come.
  • Teardrop81
    Teardrop81 Posts: 132 Member
    And after you do what the other posters suggest with logging and weighing/measuring everything, evaluate your progress then. If you are truly seeing no results, consult a doctor. You could have a thyroid or other medical issue that is preventing weight loss. 25 pounds is a lot to gain in a year without trying, and by trying I mean you can obviously see a dramatic increase in food intake over that year. Make sure that you're eating at a deficit by logging everything, and then see a doctor if your diet and exercise are not producing results. Good luck! :smile:
  • Georgeannortiz
    Georgeannortiz Posts: 2
    I feel the same way!!! Feeling frustrated today :/ I feel like i have totally just have stopped losing weight. When I first started on MFP I had recently lossed 15 pounds, and now i haven't lost anymore. I makes me want to cry. I don't look bad just feel frustrated. so I vow today to start running for my lunch and eating alittle heathier.
  • leaellenj
    leaellenj Posts: 38
    It sounds like you may already know where you are going wrong. Track every bite to see where you are at. Often we eat more than we think we do.
    If you can, a heart rate monitor will be helpful too, though they can be pricey. (I got a great deal on one off Amazon- $20 for an $80 model).

    If none of that works, visit your doctor.
  • ashmarie0806
    ashmarie0806 Posts: 14
    Thank you for being honest and writing this, sometimes that is the hardest part. I definitely can relate...I know it has taken me longer than I wanted to lose 7 lbs. I think the best advice I can give is to plan out your meals and log everything. That is how I have been able to see my results. It also makes it feel easier and more tangible.

    I hope that helps and best of luck!
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    if you don't log everything... exactly... there's no way of knowing exactly what you're actually eating.

    do that. every day. if you put it in your mouth, log it. get a food scale, weigh your stuff, and log it.

    weight loss is basically a math problem. At this point, if you're not logging accurately.. then you're leaving out a really important part of the equation. When adding 1+1, you should be getting 2. If you're getting 3, something isn't 1. Right?
  • cadaverousbones
    cadaverousbones Posts: 421 Member
    On the days that it looks like you did log most of your food, I noticed you went a lot over on carbs and sugar.. which are going to turn into fat if you don't exercise and burn those off. Really try to cut down on those 2 things because I feel like that might be hindering you. Get more protein and fiber and you will feel full longer.. Also I agree with the others make sure you are really logging everything. Try logging EVERYTHING you eat for a full week to really get a clear picture of what you are consuming. Its not all about calories, its about the nutrition content like fat, protein, carbs, sugar etc. I have been having the same issue going way over on sugar lately, you would be surprised how many things have added sugar! Another thing to do is to calculate your BMR with this tool http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ and then use this formula to calculate your caloric needs

    To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

    If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
    If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
    If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
    If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
    If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

    and then for healthy weight loss you need to take that number you get from the formula and subtract about %20 percent, and that is the REAL amount of calories you should consume a day to lose weight.
  • kcritter77
    kcritter77 Posts: 162 Member
    A few things:

    1. Often when we start eating "healthier", we replace not-so-healthy foods with heathier choices. Is this a good thing, sure, it can be. Does this mean the healthier choice has fewer calories? No. If you aren't logging, you may not be aware that the better choice could be hundreds of extra calories.
    (For instance, when I first started strength training I turned in my unhealthy/no protein granola bar in for a fruit and yogurt protein smoothie or a peanut butter protein smoothie. I traded <200 unhealthy calories for 400-600 healthier ones! My new muscles needed MOAR PROTEIN, YO! No wonder I wasn't losing weight! I was adding more calories to my diet than I was burning while working out!)
    2. Strength training for someone that hasn't been doing so changes things up a little. Water weight and glycogen stores for starters. I am not the one to tell you the science on how all that works, but I can tell you that it can mess with your scale weight for sure. You should give changes in strength training routines 12 weeks to level themselves out.
    3. Take pictures. Lots and lots of pictures! Progress pics even weekly can show A LOT of improvement over the course of weeks and months and can take the place of scale victories. The scale can be a dirty little liar!
    4. And last but probably most important, it is really really hard to lose weight if you don't know how many calories you are eating vs burning. Changing your eating habits and your exercise habits at the same time make it difficult to see what you are netting. Weigh and log everything and get as accurate as you can for your calorie burns. It doesn't have to be exact, but you'll at least need to be consistant. Once you see where you are now, you can start tweaking your intake for maximum results.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    You are either not logging everything or you're starving your body of nutrients. If you are being careful to log everything accurately, you might want to consider a metabolism reset, eating at maintenance for about six to eight weeks. Some days you logged less than 1000 calories. That's not enough to fuel your body for your activities.
  • kittyr77
    kittyr77 Posts: 419 Member
    And after you do what the other posters suggest with logging and weighing/measuring everything, evaluate your progress then. If you are truly seeing no results, consult a doctor. You could have a thyroid or other medical issue that is preventing weight loss. 25 pounds is a lot to gain in a year without trying, and by trying I mean you can obviously see a dramatic increase in food intake over that year. Make sure that you're eating at a deficit by logging everything, and then see a doctor if your diet and exercise are not producing results. Good luck! :smile:

    its actually only an extra 240 cal a day to gain 25lb in a year, so a chocolate bar or something more, scary really how easy that is to do!
  • bethcw1
    bethcw1 Posts: 24 Member
    [/quote]

    its actually only an extra 240 cal a day to gain 25lb in a year, so a chocolate bar or something more, scary really how easy that is to do!
    [/quote]

    That sure puts things in perspective!

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