I"ve been faithful!!!!

Hmmmm....eating work out cals?

Please try not to get too discouraged. Sometimes it takes a bit of time for your body to get the clue. Are you tracking EVERYTHING. I find that sometimes I want to think that those little bites don't count. But then again, you can't be too rigid.

Take a good (honest) look at your workout program and your eating habits. You might be fooling yourself that you are being good. My friend and her sister swore they were eating right and working out regularly for over 6 months, but weren't seeing any results. They got frustrated and quit. Then my friend started over with a new workout partner and really changed her eating habits and really started working out (not just going through the motions). She lost close to 30 pounds in 6 months. She stopped snacking after dinner and cut back on alcohol and fast food. Find a workout partner who is a little more advanced than you to work out with - that will keep you motivated and make you feel guilty if you feel like slacking or not showing up . The best nutrition plan I have found was in the book "Bodybuilding Bible for Women" - shows you exactly what to eat (i.e. protein, fibrous carbs, starchy carbs, fats, etc.), how much to eat and when to eat it so that you are not overeating and so that your metabolism is cranked all day.

Don't give up - nobody said it was going to be easy - but you can do it - you just have to want it bad enough. Good luck!

Change your goal. I have been "motivated" by the scales for too long. Now, I am not watching the scale as much as I am my fitness routine. Find a workout video that you cannot finish - set a goal for how far you want to be able to run - decide how many miles you want to be able to walk in 30 minutes and then focus on THAT goal while recording and maintaining a reduced calorie diet. It makes a workout seem to have more purpose (rather than just changing the number on the scale).

Then celebrate. Maybe the pounds aren't falling off the scales as you want but the day you can run two straight miles without stopping for the very first time- that feels good.

Hang in there!

Got to eat those calories or you will sabotage yourself.

From my angle, it is all about getting real and getting real honest. Three w/o's 3 x per week might not be enough? Your "active" job might be one that your body sees as its baseline so you have to push the cardio harder to burn calories. I think everyone on this site, who has lost and maintained that loss, pretty much agrees that NOT eating your allowed calories = starvation mode = slowed down metabolism = no weight loss . . . SO eat your calories and take a good hard look at your exercise . . .

And hang in there. As you will inevitably hear: you didn't gain it in a day; it won't come off in a day either

Best to you!

So, you've answered the question - if you're depriving your body of usually 900 cals or so a day it is hanging on to all it can as fat because you are under-eating and your body is covering the bases to survive. You should notice a huge difference without much waiting if you start eating your exercise cals and continue to be as diligent as you have been.

I've been on here for just shy of 2 months and I've lost 23.5lbs. Give the exercise cals a try. Chin up! You can do it! :flowerforyou:

I am terrible about drinking my 8 cups... so that is my first plan of attack to help improve things. I do eat my exercise calories, but I am still struggling. You're not the only one! I've been on so many "diets" over the years and this site seems like a completely sane alternative. Stick to it and don't give up!

Oh I so understand you about the water!!!!

So rosh,

thanks for posting the numbers.
Based on those, here are preliminarilly what I can tell you.

1st, at your age, height, and weight, and assuming a lightly active lifestyle (you said you are active through the day), your maintenance calories are around 2450. That means that even if you don't work out, you should never eat below about 1450 calories at your BMI.

If you DO work out, you need to eat those extra calories as well.

1450 is a 1000 calorie deficit. That SHOULD keep you out of starvation, but remember this, if you have been eating 1200 - 1400 for a month now, you might already be in starvation. It may take a few weeks for your body to adjust back up to a normal metabolism. In that time you may maintain or even gain a couple of pounds. You have to account for this and try not to get frustrated.

Personally, after lots of time on here, and lots of experience, I would probably go up to between 1500 and 1600 calories a day. Give your body the fuel it needs to work, get it to the point where it isn't worrying about fuel anymore, that means it will work right all the time and not store as much fat in reserve.
The other thing to do is examine your nutrition, at your BMI you probably need to be at something like a
55% carb, 25% protein, 20% fat ratio. The higher the weight training, the more protein, and less carbs you should use. Also, try not to eat more then 300 to 400 calories at any one meal, break it down into small snacks and a larger breakfast and lunch.

Give these things a chance to work (say another month), and if that doesn't work, you may need to seek the help of a trainer. Remember, everyone is different, maybe your metabolism is a little unusual, if that is the case, bring your workout routines and nutrition to a trainer and they should be able to help.

Good luck to you Girl!!

keep us informed.

-Banks

I try to drink that much water...but I have a hard time with it. Not that I don't want it, I just forget to drink unless I am thirsty. I also did NOT know I had to eat my exercise cals. And I thought that the 1860 cals per day from MFP was just letting me know that I can not go over those...I didn't know I had to eat as close to that as possible....I will try that. I don't eat my work out cals...I'll try that too. And yes I have been to a Dr. I have a Dr. over looking what I do know, she knows that I am not losing, but she has not done any testing or anything? Maybe I need to ask her about it...ALOT of people on my dads side have Thyroid conditions. anyway, thank you all for your very much wanted and very much appreciated advise...I will keep everyone updated.
Also...when it says 8 cups of water a day...does that mean 8-8oz cups? Like should I be counting my 16.9 oz water bottle as 2 cups?

Checking your thyroid is a good idea. Remember this though when asking your doctor about nutrition, GP doctors aren't nutrition specialists. They know more then most of us, to be sure, but a registered dietician would be just as (if not more) helpful for this as they do it EVERY day. A lot of times I have seen doctors recommend things that are as much for expediance as they are for practicality of the patient. I.E. recommending pills and the like because it's easier then sitting down for a 1/2 hour and helping you map out a plan. Some doctors are better at it then others, a lot depends on how busy their practice is. I know my doctor zips in, takes a bunch of quick measurements, looks at my chart, and zips out in like 10 minutes. It doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies and I only see him so I can get my bloodwork and tests done. Unfortunately I'm limited by my health plan to which doctors I can see, and the ones I get to choose from are all from those giant consortiums. Not many old fashion, take your time, get to know your patient, doctors around Boston any more. It's a volume business these days.

Have I soured on the state of our doctors these day? Maybe some, but I understand, and I don't blame them, I'm just weary of accepting everything they say without a little backup if it doesn't sound kosher.

Thyroid may be huge in this. When my hypothyroidism was undiagnosed I was gaining weight despite being a competitive dancer! If yours happens to be slow you need to know about it!

Oh really....a competitive dancer....I am intrigued.....