3 weeks, no changes. help!

cllmetatrsld
cllmetatrsld Posts: 58 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started walking on the treadmill 3 weeks ago hoping to find something that worked. I originally started my weight loss journey a couple years ago at 185 pounds. I dropped to 160 in about a year but gained 12 back. A few months ago I decided I needed to stop increasing. I'm dropped back down to 164. This is when I decided to start cardio. I used to use the bike but thought that the treadmill would help with my fatty thighs and butt to gain more muscle.

I started at a slow 2.0 and worked up to 3.0mpg on the treadmill in the first week. It felt pretty good. I moved up to 3.5mph in the next week to try and work harder. I felt pretty good. A little over a week ago I decided it was time to move up to C25K. Whew. Harder! But not horrible. Still felt good, was sore in the beginning but not so much now. Problem is...I gained a pound and my measurements are exactly the same after the 3 or so weeks.

My diet could use revamping but honestly, I can't do this eating salad every day. I hate most vegetables. I love food. Plain and simple. I should be able to lose weight at my deficit, yes? I've tried the 'clean' lifestyle and ended up gaining because I couldn't take it. I need help, tips, motivation. Please!

Replies

  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    Great that you're exercising and have found something you seem to enjoy.

    (Calorie deficit + exercise you love and will do) X patience = success

    Get your food intake in order. Don't worry about the what - worry about the "how much" . Weigh and measure everything. Log everything to be sure you are in a deficit.

    The most important part of the equation? Patience. 3 weeks is nothing in the big scheme of things. Good luck.
  • 302cupcake
    302cupcake Posts: 34
    Losing weight is about making better choices - your diary shows a crazy high level of sodium and so much processed stuff.

    I did not lose the weight by eating totally 'clean' but instead of the breakfast sandwich with sausage and a croissant , I chose the meat free on a muffin.

    Exercise will rarely make up the difference.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    90% of weight loss will come from your diet. Exercise is great for fitness but in the grand scheme it won't make you thin. You also can't fix a particular body part by targeting in. Running/walking is great but it won't necessarily give you slim hips and thighs. The first few weeks that you exercise your body has to adjust and you'll usually carry a bit of extra water weight while muscles repair themselves.

    Also you don't have to live on salad to lose weight. As long as you stay in budget it will come off. Your food intake is on the crappy side as far as nutrition though. You could make a lot better choices for the same calorie counts.
  • ktsimons
    ktsimons Posts: 294 Member
    I checked out your diary and while you do stay pretty close to your calorie goal (good job!) you eat an awful lot of sodium - some days over 5,000! If you weighed the morning after a sodium binge then you would most likely be showing some sort of water retention...you are not logging your water intake so it is difficult to see if you are washing that much sodium out of your body. Try this and see if it does anything to the scales - FORCE yourself to go Monday - Friday drinking at least one full liter (or more) of water a day - just plain water maybe with a lemon or a lime, but no artificial sweetener. Just drink it even if you don't like it...THEN try to keep the sodium to 2,000 a day for that same week. Weigh on Friday morning and see if the scales haven't moved a bit. Not saying that any one food group is "bad " or "good" but salt causes many people to retain water which can equal no reduction on the scales or the tape measure.

    Keep the treadmill up - I think it is great that you found an exercise that you like - not only that, you HAVE to be creating a healthier heart! And, 3 weeks isn't a long time as others have said. Think about little changes and make decisions toward fresh food - many times, you can eat a larger volume of food when you eat fresh instead of processed. Again, there is room for French fries in every diet, but when you are looking for a change, then you have to make a change...
  • SueMizZou
    SueMizZou Posts: 146 Member
    I had a similar experience. For three weeks of watching what I ate and exercise I lost almost nothing. I realized that I had to become more precise and started to carefully weigh and measure and continue with exercise. The fourth week I lost 2.2 lbs. Moral of the story is to keep at it and be careful.

    People tell you that you can estimate portion size. This is true if you only do it occasionally. I find that the estimated portion size grows over time. IMHO, weighing and measuring is the key. Log your food

    I dislike salads as well. I try to eat one small salad with dinner. I splurge on a full fat, flavorful salad dressing. I use half a serving as I find that you don't need as much if it has a lot of flavor. You also don't feel as if you are punishing yourself. Watch out for "diet" foods.

    See if you can find fruits that you like. Fresh fruit is filling and can settle a sweet tooth.

    As long as you are in a calorie deficit and are honest about what you are eating, you will lose.
  • cllmetatrsld
    cllmetatrsld Posts: 58 Member
    Thanks. I'm pumping myself full of water today to see what that does and i will try it out all this week. I also tweaked my diet a bit to add some fruit and some salad for the week coming. If I see a change this week maybe that will be enough to motivate me to keep it up.
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
    For me, WHAT i eat matters. Eating real food is a pleasure, not a chore. But do what works for you... oh yeah, it's not working. It's the FOOD. And don't listen to the "don't eat meat/fat" advice. Quite wrong. But processed foods are certainly not going to help you. And guess what? Vegetables are delicious with fat added. Do not avoid healthy fats; they are essential.

    PS for many of us the "eat lots of fruit" advice is often not the best either. Feeding a sugar craving with sugar is a FAIL.

    Drink enough water but it's not rocket science to learn to drink when thirsty, no need to count how much. But a healthy diet is part of that.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    You got some great advice here. I just wanted to add that weight loss is not always linear. I will go 2 weeks with no "real" loss (I.e. just fluctuations back and forth between the same pound or two) then on the third week, I am suddenly down 3 or 4lbs and stay down. It takes time and patience. I go by my measurements more so than the scale now, which has helped a lot with my own peace of mind and motivation.
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
    Get your food intake in order. Don't worry about the what - worry about the "how much" . Weigh and measure everything. Log everything to be sure you are in a deficit.

    What she said. :smile:
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You don't have to eat salad all the time to lose weight honestly. I eat a lot of good stuff. But you're eating 90% junk. If you're serious about losing weight, you're going to have to try and make better choices, you have to learn good eating habits or it's a recipe for failure, IMO.

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