FRUSTRATED.......HLEP!!!!!

They say it takes 4 weeks for you to see a change.
There are so many standards set because of quick loss but you have to remember..
Many people who lose 10 lbs a week had A LOT more to start with and led an extremely sedentary lifestyle.

Please don't give up, give it til Feb 1st, remeasure yourself (or if you haven't yet, measure now and remeasure later!)

Also, NSVs (non-scale victories) are very important and shouldn't be discredited!!

Do you ever write down how you are feeling at the end of the day? You might be noticing you feel better, have more energy, don't stop halfway up a flight of stairs, don't have as many junk food cravings as before. These are all steps to improving your life.

Quitting smoking is going to throw your entire body off course for a little bit, but it'll all even out and soon you'll see rewarding changes to your awesome new lifestyle!!

Keep it up! :happy:

Yep, you haven't gained muscle (outside MAYBE some noob gains, but I don't know what your exercise is). If you just started an exercise regimen your body will retain water for muscle repair until it adjusts and the water flushes.

I would recommend opening your diary for others to see how your tracking is, as I think this may likely be a fairly large part of the issue. I understand it to mean that you haven't been logging strictly...but can't tell with your diary closed.

I have not been completely strict with my diet but

First of all, congrats on quitting smoking, that is quite an accomplishment. Contrary to popular belief, stopping smoking will not make you gain weight. The reason most people do is to have something in their mouth (smoking causes an oral fixation.) Try munching on carrots whenever you're hungry in between meals. It's what I do...because I don't like them, and honestly fi I ate the whole bag it'd be like...150 calories. Also logging is the most important part of the process to me, I've been shakey with it, but my goal is to get back into it like I used to. It made all the difference in the world.

U GOT THIS GIRL!!!!

Congrats on being SMOKE FREE!!!!! That in itself is the biggest hurdle you will ever climb!!! I, myself, recently quit too. It has been only 84 days so far. When you quit, you metabolism slows down......way down in my opinion (experts say 15% for 90 days)! I started walking on the treadmill when i first woke up. I monitored everything I ate. No snacking in between meals. I did not replace smoking with gum, candy mints or food of any kind. I did this every day for a month and only gained weight! Friends said it was muscle I was gaining.....not true! If that was true that I was replacing fat with muscle then some part of my clothing should have been getting looser while the scale continued to climb! So.....I completely understand being frustrated! My suggestion, and this one new non-smoker to another non-smoker and by no means a health guru, is to hang in there and keep doing what you are doing. I think that if you do not continue to combat the weight gian with exercise, you will be far more frustrated than you are now. It will get better. You will see results. You will be healthier. You will be happier. Just give it a couple months.

Agree with everyone above who said that you need to be sure you are not eating more than you think you are. It's SO easy to lose track of calories and eat back everything you burned at the gym, especially since the extra activity is likely making you hungrier than you were before. I also recommend opening your diary up for others to see, it helps keep you honest if nothing else.

That being said, your weight is going to fluctuate a fair amount in the first few months of any change in diet/exercise and it will probably be even more dramatic for you since you have also quit smoking. Don't get discouraged too much by small fluctuations and try to keep consistent with logging your food and getting exercise in. Also, try to be diligent about being consistently hydrated. This can level out those "water weight" fluctuations and has loads of other health benefits besides.

How's your water intake?

If you think you're bloated, you might need to give your body some time to adjust to eating more fruits and veggies, especially if you're not used to it. The bloating should go away if you keep drinking water and you aren't drowning your veggies in salt or something.

I started the whole diet and exercise thing about 2 1/2 weeks ago. The first 5 days I lost 3 lbs but I guess since I am working out 5 days a week I am starting to gain muscle and I havent lost any after the 3lbs. Now I am bloated because of all the fruit and veggies that I have been eating that it looks as though I have gained inches which surely cant be true. I also stopped smoking about a month ago and it seems like my stomach keeps getting bigger and bigger. Could this be because of me stopping smoking? I have not been completely strict with my diet but I have cut down an lot and I have been burning at least 300 calories a day with exercise. Getting discouraged, but I am very determined to lose weight and get fit. ADVICE PLEASE

Congrats on your choice to make a life style change! Please stop, take a deep breath and realize it is a life style and will not happen over night. As you learn how to eat and exercise you will modify your calorie intake. If you have not done so you need to google TDEE(Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and BMR(Basic Metabolic Rate). Then figure what your TDEE and BMR are, and go from there.Take your TDEE minus 10-20% based on how much you want to lose. This is the amount of calories you should be netting every day, give or take, no ones perfect. You are not suppose to eat below your BMR. Do this and log and weigh your foods, keep up with the exercise, along with making healthier choices and you will lose weight. It is also important to pay attention to your macronutrients. You may want to educate yourself on macronutrients (Carbs, Fats and Protein). Good Luck!

I started the whole diet and exercise thing about 2 1/2 weeks ago. The first 5 days I lost 3 lbs but I guess since I am working out 5 days a week I am starting to gain muscle and I havent lost any after the 3lbs. Now I am bloated because of all the fruit and veggies that I have been eating that it looks as though I have gained inches which surely cant be true. I also stopped smoking about a month ago and it seems like my stomach keeps getting bigger and bigger. Could this be because of me stopping smoking? I have not been completely strict with my diet but I have cut down an lot and I have been burning at least 300 calories a day with exercise. Getting discouraged, but I am very determined to lose weight and get fit. ADVICE PLEASE

Congrats on your choice to make a life style change! Please stop, take a deep breath and realize it is a life style and will not happen over night. As you learn how to eat and exercise you will modify your calorie intake. If you have not done so you need to google TDEE(Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and BMR(Basic Metabolic Rate). Then figure what your TDEE and BMR are, and go from there.Take your TDEE minus 10-20% based on how much you want to lose. This is the amount of calories you should be netting every day, give or take, no ones perfect. You are not suppose to eat below your BMR. Do this and log and weigh your foods, keep up with the exercise, along with making healthier choices and you will lose weight. It is also important to pay attention to your macronutrients. You may want to educate yourself on macronutrients (Carbs, Fats and Protein). Good Luck!

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

AND READ THIS

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants