Discouraged - should I change something?
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Caribou2u
Posts: 31 Member
I'm 4 weeks in to MFP... been walking 4-5 days/week which started at 30 mins...but I wasn't losing any weight so I went to 40-50 minutes per day. I've gained 2.5 pounds. **sigh** I feel like the 1200 cals is too much... or maybe the proportion of carbs - sugar - protein... ??? I dunno. I don't know what to change ... or whether to just wait (I have the patience of a hamster).
:sad:
Claibourne in VA
:sad:
Claibourne in VA
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Replies
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I don't think it would be wise to drop below. Is 1200 what MFP suggested for you?0
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It's easy to get discouraged when you don't see the results you expect. Here are a couple thoughts:
How tall are you and how much do you need to lose? What did MFP recommend for daily cals? At your age (which is pretty close to my age), the weight just doesn't come off as fast as it used to, so aim for no more than a pound a week and you might have to settle for less.
Reduce sugar, sugar substitutes and processed foods as much as possible. Eat food in its real state ( or as close to possible).
Do NOT drop below 1200 a day; your body won't like it and the weight loss will slow. It's counter- intuitive, but you have to eat to lose.
On your walking routine, add some high intensity intervals. Walk at your regular pace for one minute, then as fast as you can do for 20 seconds. Repeat til your workout is done and cool down with a slow walk. Intervals really ramp up your metabolism.
My parents have been NRA instructors for families with you g kids for about 35 years. They love teaching safe firearm skills to kids. One of my boys has taken up competitive silhouette shooting and he's pretty good.
Best of luck and feel free to friend me. I started in January, have lost 24 with about 10-15 more to go.0 -
I don't know why but I've always been able to drop a few pounds switching from Diet Coke to water. It defies the whole "calories in, calories out" logic, but there ya go. Our bodies are mysterious things; what works for one may not on another.
Another oddity that might help: even on a reduced calorie diet I can gain weight if I eat after around 7 p.m. I've been testing this with my food diary and eating around 8-9 p.m. to see if it's true for me or I'm wrong. I'm not losing weight but neither am I gaining.
Drink the water, go easy on the sodium and meat and see if you start losing. It could be something as simple as fluid retention. Give your ankle bone a firm steady poke. If it makes a dent that's slow to smooth out then it's water weight.
Most importantly, don't give up!0 -
I agree completely with what dstevens said! I couldn't have said it better myself. I am also 4 weeks in and having trouble seeing results. I believe it's because I'm not eating enough whole food. I was following a plan not to long ago that limited dairy, gluten and sugar in all forms and lost 12 pounds in 6 weeks. I'm trying to get back into that mind set and eating plan again.
Please don't give up! It's really hard to find what works for our bodies as we get a little older, we are very close in age too.
I have 3 boys 23, 20 & 17. Maybe we can help each other. Add me as a friend if you like! Hope I was helpful.0 -
Thanks ya'all.. MFP has me at 1200 cals/day. I am 5'2" and weighed 146.6 when I started this 4 weeks ago. Today I weighed 149.8 !!! I have a pretty severe Diet Coke habit....drink between 4 - 6 cans a day. I drink 4 glasses of water a day. I don't like meat or eggs, so I don't eat a lot of either. Don't take in a lot of sodium (usually under the recommended for sodium, protein... at or over for sugar n carbs).
It will be sooooo hard to give up Diet Coke - or even cut back to 2 a day but I will accept the challenge and check back in with you in ONE WEEK. I will drink no more than TWO cans per day..... drink more water.
I'm in PMS phase right now... maybe the 2.5 pounds I gained is not "real"....
Can you guys give me any more input/help after reading the above?
Thanks very much!!!0 -
Oh... yeah... and that little ruler at the bottom of my posts is ...well.... so encouraging right now ! LOL (grrrrr)0
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Losing weight is difficult and can only be done in a way that suits you.
Try weighing yourself once a month and take measurements, something weird happens, you often lose inches when not losing weight!
Don't go below the 1200. Especially if you are exercising. That is usually a number you would use for two weeks only.
Ignore the ruler.
Patience you'll get there eventually, you didn't gain it all quickly so take your time losing it.
I like Diet Coke but changed to diet decaff.
Good luck.0 -
Have you had your thyroid checked?0
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There are so many great tips here. I know how easy it is to feel discouraged. I agree with everyone else that going below 1200 calories will be a bad idea -- and will also mess up your metabolism.
I, too, am a Diet Coke person. I prefer it to most other drinks -- and I do drink too much. Studies do show that our bodies react to the artificial sweeteners in various ways that can slow weight loss. (My daughter is always telling me about them!) I have cut down my Diet Coke intake -- using it as a treat, and replaced it with water. I am losing very slowly, and lost nothing while on vacation so I can't say I've had a great result.
Another tip is to put one exercise period before breakfast. That has worked for me in the past. Good luck! Keep us posted.0 -
You should definitely not drop below 1200 cal. Weight loss is very slow for me. I have found that varying my exercise routine helps. Walking fast then slowing it down and doing that back and forth may help you. I am using the LoLo app on my iPod. Its for walking and tells me when to slow down and speed up. It helps me because I would never do it well on my own. I also log everything I put in my mouth---even if its a small bite or just a taste or sip.
Try not to let this get you down, its is just going to take us a little longer
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Are you drinking plenty of H2O?0
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When I started dieting I knew I was going to have to give up Diet Coke. It will stall my diet and I won't lose any weight. I have one every now and then but not very often. It was very difficult I was a 2-3 x a day 44ouncer. I am so glad I stopped. I will drink diet ginger ale or diet rootbeer but no where near as much. May be 1-2 glasses a week. I drink plenty of water and it has really helped my weight loss.0
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I also had a soda habit and lost 6 pounds by just quitting soda That was my very first step to getting healthier, Now I Drink water flavored with mio drops it really helped the transition. Especially the iced tea flavor. The other generic ones are good too. Now I am able to cut back on my drops and enjoy more plain water and I don't miss my diet soda at all. In fact I ordered one by accident and it tasted horrible and I couldn't drink it,:drinker:0
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I don't know why but I've always been able to drop a few pounds switching from Diet Coke to water. It defies the whole "calories in, calories out" logic, but there ya go.
It's not that strange...
Diet Coke is sweet... When your brain recognizes a sweet taste, it signals your body to release insuline.
As a result, your blood-sugar goes down, and you feel (and you are) hypoglycemic, so you crave for food, and are tempted to eat more...
On the other hand, the elevated insuline 'helps' you store are your bloodsugar as fat, which isn't really helping your weight-loss.
There are scientific studies (don't have the references at this moment), that show that when two groups of people have exactly the same calorie-intake, but one group drinks water, the other zero-calorie softdrinks, the 'water' group looses more...0 -
Well I have cut back to 2 Diet Cokes/day. I've been drinking water with a Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger teabag in it. Please tell me there is nothing bad in the raspberry tea - the ingredients don't list anything bad that I can see. I gag on water plain and the Mio drops still have aspartame in them.
I will try to cut back to just ONE Diet Coke per day. So far weight loss is still stalled. It went down under 146 the other day, but today it's back to 146.8....
Still discouraging overall.... but I haven't given up....still counting....0 -
I guess the raspberry tea gives more a sour tang to the water than a sweet taste... so this won't do anything wrong...0
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I totally understand about working hard and seeing no results. I also have to remember that it took me a long time to gain the weight so why would it come off fast???? Anyway, the scale has never been my friend so staying motivated with less than a pound a week loss has always been hard. The two things that I think stood out for me reading all the posts would be to vary your exercise. A lot I'm reading and hearing from fitness instructors is to add weight training. The instructors have talked about comparing cardio and weight training that you will burn more calories after the weight training and that it will have a bigger influence on speeding up the metabolism. I'm trying to get to three strength and barbell classes a week to see if it helps speed up the weight loss results. I'm also walking and going to an occasional spin class. (I'm currently not working so time isn't the issue) The 2nd is tracking the food eaten. It's pretty easy in a day to grab a few bites throughout the day that will really add up and put us all over our 1200-1300 calorie per day goal.
Being a part of BFP is a BIG help! It is really keeping me accountable.
Keep working----the results will happen!!!
Sue0 -
Hi Sue, I completely understand you discouragement. I started MFP in June and have lost 1 lb. I have tried to keep my calories to 1200-1300 every day, even with exercise. I work out 3 days a week with walking and strength training. Even though I still expect the scale to move, it hasn't. However, I have notice my body changes. My mid section has changes, my butt is getting smaller. I took measurements in July and lost about .5 inch around the love handles.
Also with age or if you are taking hormones or other medication it can stall weight loss.
I hope this helped....just don't give up. It will pay off!!0 -
I had a drink idea that might help when craving a Diet Coke which I used to drink by the liter every day. Yesterday I picked up some strawberries and lemons, going to put them in the juicer and freeze what comes out in an ice cube tray. Instead of water all day, it would be easy to take a cube or two and mix with club soda. If it needs sweetening, I'll use a teaspoon of regular sugar.
Give it a try if you want. It might help.0 -
Have you had your thyroid checked?
I am hypothyroid and, even with the meds, it brings me up to what is considered "low normal". I wonder why doc doesn't kick up my dosage just a tad more so I could get in the mid-normal range...
As an update to general progress: I have cut back to 2 Diet Cokes per day and so, drinking much more water. Scale was under 144 today but I will do my "check-in" on Thursday or Friday. Maybe I'm getting somewhere now...!!0
