someone help...

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I have been trying to lose 50 plus lbs for the past 3 years and no matter what I do it doesn't come off. I started at 242 and went down to 208. The lowest I've been is 201. I am stuck between 215 and 208! I just want the weight off. Feel free to add me I take all the advice I can get

Thank you :)

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  • EpsilonGamma
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    You have to state what you are doing now. What forms of exercise, height, and what do you eat. Are you tracking your calories?
  • LittleCutiexo
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    Im 5'3
    I walk, elliptical. arc trainer strength train about 3xs a week
    I hardly eat from working all the time. Talk to my friends i eat before bed sometimes
  • Kati3Mari3
    Kati3Mari3 Posts: 22 Member
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    sometimes medications ur on prevent weight loss....i just got off an anti depressant that was known for this. i can see results already
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
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    I have been trying to lose 50 plus lbs for the past 3 years and no matter what I do it doesn't come off. I started at 242 and went down to 208. The lowest I've been is 201. I am stuck between 215 and 208! I just want the weight off. Feel free to add me I take all the advice I can get

    Thank you :)

    counting calories works. here's a very brief introduction into what's important for weight loss:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy

    here's a longer introduction covering some of the same topics in more detail:

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

    be patient. set realistic goals. log everything accurately. be diligent. stick to it. the weight will come off. don't be too hard on yourself if you have a bad day or a bad week... we all do. your path from point A to point B will not be a linear one. it never is for anyone.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ihad/view/the-path-of-success-631437

    stay focused and don't give up.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    You need to track your calories diligently. Buy a food scale, and weigh everything. Use measuring cups for liquids. It's not enough to 'think' you are not eating too much. If you are not losing weight, you are not in a calorie deficit. It is also easy to over estimate calories burned through exercise. If you use MFP to track your activities, try eating back 1/2 of your calories burned. Once you get your logging going, and your calories tracked, you can make adjustments as needed.
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
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    Here is a ginormous brain dump... I'm sure all the other MFPers are sick of seeing this already, but it's what helped me so I like to share it....

    The good news is you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be better.

    ++Track for a week or two before worrying about losing. This way you'll see where you really stand, odds are it is different than where you thought you were, which is actually good news...

    ++Be scrupulously honest... you can lie to your friends, you can lie in your diary, you can lie to yourself, but YOUR BODY KNOWS EVERYTHING YOU EAT. So you might as well be honest in your diary (keep it private if you like) but you need that info because you can't get where you are going if your are not honest about where you are right now.

    ++See where you can make small changes on things that aren't so important to you.
    (Don't even think of taking chocolate out of my diet!!!)
    --Reducing quantities
    --Swapping out things instead of eliminating them.

    ++Focus on what you should eat not what your shouldn't.
    Eating your nutritious foods first. Your body will be more satisfied and have less cravings.

    ++Small sustainable changes.
    If you completely revamp your diet, it's way easy to revert to old ways in times of stress.
    (and who doesn't have stress?)
    If you make a series of small changes, food still offers you some sense of comfort, sort of a comfort continuum, and after a while the first small changes will seem comforting in themselves. Also rather than having to think about everything all the time. You only have to think about a 2 or 3 new things to focus on.

    ++Rather than being uberstrict with the target MFP set for me. (I swear this saved my life.) I was happier once I gave myself a range:

    ROCK BOTTOM: 1200 cal
    TARGET: MFP Calories for lose 1 lb a week (when that hit 1200 I changed to lose 1/2 lb per week)
    TOP OF RANGE: Maintain Calories for my GOAL Weight.
    (SAFETY VALVE: Maintain Calories for CURRENT Weight - remember to keep updating this number as you lose)

    ++Only worry about it 1 lb at a time.
    Forget I *NEED* to lose 20, 30, 50, 100 lbs. I'm only worried about 1 lb the next one. I'll worry about the others later.
    Once I found ways to lessen the stress, I found it way easier to focus on the process and let the results follow. (It's what worked for me some people need the stress to get them motivated. Me I get scared and overwhelmed and don't see the big goal as achievable. )

    ++Think of losing weight like the stock market. Yes, there will be fluctuations but as long as the overall trend is the the right direction don't worry

    Food is not the enemy. You need nutrition to fuel your body and make it strong. and healthy just feels so damn good.

    Most vitamins are fat soluable... so remember to include plant and fish based fats (HAPPY FATS) so you can access the nutrients in your food.

    All of your foods fall into 1 or more of 3 macro nutrient categories
    FATS • CARBS • PROTEINS ... I personally think it's unwise to severely restrict any one of these categories.
    Instead of eliminating or limiting quantity focus on the quality...

    HAPPY FATS (Plant and fish bases)
    COMPLEX CARBS (un or minimally processed)
    LEAN PROTEINS

    Oddly enough, on my journey here I've reduced guilt over food.
    I have the occasional treat and I fully enjoy it with no guilt involved.
    The thing is since I'm not eating crap all the time, now the occasional treat is just that a TREAT it's special and I enjoy it so much more than when I was unconsciously shovel junk food into my face.
  • Brian4988
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    I had the same problem. I lost about 30lbs before I joined fitness pal. I just started using it to help track calories. I exercised and kept the calories below what I was burning in a day and still had fat that would not come off. My problem was not the calories but WHAT i was eating. I lost those 30lbs (in about 2 months) when I started eating Healthy and simple. No processed foods, No preservatives. No food dyes ect.... I only ate natural foods. raw honey, oats, vegetables (frozen or fresh not canned), granola, fruits (again not canned). I would buy Amish chickens at the store, none of that ammonia sprayed meat we get now a days. No soda. mostly water once and a while I had a sierra mist. Rice (brown and with nothing else in it). I was not even exercising that much and I went from 260 to 230 in 2 months. All that stuff added to the food to change color, taste, texture are toxins. your body takes them and puts them away and surrounds them with fat cells to keep your body from burning them for fuel until it can get rid of them through urine or sweat. problem is if you keep putting that stuff in, your body doesn't have time to get rid of them and just keeps making fat cells to surround new ones. Just go for a couple weeks eating simple natural stuff you will start losing fast i bet. Do Not Cheat, even once and a while it makes it harder to keep away from that stuff.
  • Matt7181
    Matt7181 Posts: 7 Member
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    Your not eating correct. You need to eat every 2-3 hours. If your only eating once a day, your body is in starvation mode. Not good to eat your only meal for the day before bed. If you start eating every 2-3 hours that will help spike your metabolism.
  • ComradeTovarich
    ComradeTovarich Posts: 495 Member
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    Your not eating correct. You need to eat every 2-3 hours. If your only eating once a day, your body is in starvation mode. Not good to eat your only meal for the day before bed. If you start eating every 2-3 hours that will help spike your metabolism.

    Not correct, dude. Eating more frequently does not increase BMR. OP, what you need to do is log your food consistently, and make sure you are eating at a calorie deficit. You can use the tools on this site or on another to calculate how many calories you'd need to lose weight. Be sure to ask for help if you need it, and good luck!
  • Clarissabar
    Clarissabar Posts: 5 Member
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    You should keep track of your calorie intake and choose better foods. The last hundred times i tried to lose weight i wasn't tracking what i was eating. Now with MFP i see that i was eating a lot of unhealthy foods. I ate too many carbs and processed foods. Healthy eating does the mind and body good. :)
  • Matt7181
    Matt7181 Posts: 7 Member
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    Eating more really can help you lose weight -- eating more often, that is. When you eat large meals with many hours in between, your metabolism slows down between meals. Having a small meal or snack every 3 to 4 hours keeps your metabolism cranking, so you burn more calories over the course of a day. Sorry from my previous post, eating more meals through the day will not increase your metabolism, but it will assist in keeping it going. You cannot eat only one meal after work, go to bed. This will cause your body to go into starvation mode and start storing it. You do need to log your calories and have a deficit to lose weight. But you cannot consume all the calories at one meal. Split up your daily calorie intake between 3 meals and 2 or 3 snacks.