Feeling like I should just give up...

shortieshortie37
shortieshortie37 Posts: 9
in Food and Nutrition
So I have been staying in range of my 1200- 1600 calories that MFP has advised for 4 weeks now. I started at 216lbs and I am 212.0 now.
So I have lost 5 lbs... but that seems to just be water weight. I lost those 5 lbs in the 1st week and one the 1 day I ate some salty food it all came beck on the next day and I took about 5 days to get back to 212. I have not lost any further weight then the 5 lbs I lost in week 1.
But i'm soooooo frustrated that I haven't lost any more weight yet.
some back round on what I've been doing...
I eat healthy stuff, salads and veggies lean meats no fast foods. I do a lot of smoothies and low fat yogurts. Honestly it is hard for me to actually eat 1600 cals a day I do feel like I have to force feed my self but I HAVE been eating at least 1200 everyday and do my best to stay closed to 1600. I also exercise 3 days a week 30 mins of cardio. I like the elliptical and usually do hills when I'm on it. every 5th workout I change it up and do the treadmill or the bike instead. And I've also just try to be more active in general, like take the stairs and park farther away so I would have to walk.
I am also taking Alli, which in the past helped me loose 60lbs... but I gained that back.
And I've been so diligent. I'm just so disheartened that ....I donno I feel like quitting but then I know if I quit I will be giving up on my goals and I do want to loose the weight so bad. At the same time though I cannot for the life of me figure out why I am not loosing weight and that makes me want to give up
any advice on what I should change ?

Replies

  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    First advice stop taking Alli... now to back up that advice I'll use your own words... you lost 60 lbs taking it and gained it all back.. so why follow the same plan that didn't work for you in the past.

    Next advice change your mindset, if you think you can't and want to give up then you are right you can't and will give up. If you decide you can do this the right way and aren't going to quit until you reach your goals.. you are part of the way there.

    Next... your diary isn't open so can't see how your logging is, but log everything accurately and honestly, don't forget to add the oil you cook with, your drinks, etc.

    Next have PATIENCE this takes time.

    Good luck
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,344 Member
    What's giving up going to achieve? Looking into my crystal ball, I predict that if you give up, in 6 months time, maybe less, you'll be right back up here starting over, with a starting weight 20lbs higher than you are now.

    Oh, wait, that's not a crystal ball, that's my personal memories.

    A wise woman once told me - losing weight is hard. Being overweight is hard. Pick your hard.

    It's not just about a number on the scale. It's about unpacking the fat in your arteries, getting internally healthier, seeing bad cholesterol go down, lessening chances of diabetes. Don't do it for some stupid number on a scale. Do it for your health.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    I'm a bit confused, you said you've lost 5lb in 4 weeks, but on a previous post you said you lost 7lb in 2 weeks?

    Can you open up your diary and give us your stats?
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    I'm going to be honest, I stopped reading after I heard alli diet pills.
    You don't need to take them, and if you lost weight before with them, and gained it all back, what makes this time different???????
    You need to learn the tools and taking pills isn't the answer.

    Are you weighing and measuring all your food?? If not, you must!! Please buy a scale,v Walmart has them pretty cheap.

    I started my journey @202 (I refused to weigh after that so don't know exact number) but I weigh 135 now. This really does work.
  • bethlaf
    bethlaf Posts: 954 Member
    i did not see if you were using a food scale or not , the thing about food is its VERY VERY easy to underestimate the amount you are eating , when you fail to accurately measure every bit
    salt and water weight can be really hard, if youre generally eating right, using a food scale will help, Alli - while many will disagree, and say its not needed, i have a 50/50 answer , if it helps you feel in control , great. use it .

    but remember you cannot take it forever, eventually you will have to be off, theres nothing wrong with you being off of it now ...
    if you truely are eating as healthy as you think , you need to remember that Fat is not an enemy in your food, and thats all that Alli helps with , is binding to fat.- so if youre eating a lot of good low fat vegetables and green , then there is nothing for the Alli to help with in the first place.
  • Monty_P
    Monty_P Posts: 62 Member
    I think you should weigh your food. I don't mean to be rude but I find it bizarre when people say they can't eat, for example, 1600 calories when you must have eaten more than you needed in the past to gain all that unwanted weight??
  • shortieshortie37
    shortieshortie37 Posts: 9
    thanks everyone, I know i'm beaing impatient right now, and I know giving up isn't going to solve anything.
    Maybe I should just stop weighing myself, I get obsessed with the weight then it makes me really discouraged when I see the number fluctuate. I started taking alli again because I had amazing results with it. I lost weight quickly and I believe I would have kept it off but I was not prepared for the matience stage. I know it porb sounds dumb BUT I guess I thought once I hit my goal weight I would all be sunshine and rainbows and I really fell off the wagon with my diet and before I knew it I was back where I started.
  • Fit_Fox88
    Fit_Fox88 Posts: 410 Member
    Definitely open your diary. And yes, stop taking the diet pills.

    Are you drinking enough water? Do you lift or just do cardio? Are you seeing changes in the way your clothes fit or are you going purely off of the scale number? Get some measuring tape and start taking measurements vs relying on the scale. Are you using an HRM when you workout or are you using the machine and/or MFP's calories burned? Finally, are you challenging your body with your workouts? You said you do elliptical with hills then every 5 workouts change up the machine. Have you tried switching it up every other workout or walking/jogging outside? Maybe throw in some jumping jacks, burpees, or jumping squats... all of those will get your heart pumping too. Just stick with logging and exercising and it will come.. sometimes slower for other people. Good luck!!
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    thanks everyone, I know i'm beaing impatient right now, and I know giving up isn't going to solve anything.
    Maybe I should just stop weighing myself, I get obsessed with the weight then it makes me really discouraged when I see the number fluctuate. I started taking alli again because I had amazing results with it. I lost weight quickly and I believe I would have kept it off but I was not prepared for the matience stage. I know it porb sounds dumb BUT I guess I thought once I hit my goal weight I would all be sunshine and rainbows and I really fell off the wagon with my diet and before I knew it I was back where I started.

    Again using your own words, losing with Alli in the past did not show you how to eat for the rest of your life, you dropped it quickly and then you put it all back on. Stop trying for a quick fix and actually learn portion control, moderation so when you do reach maintenance again you actually know how to stay there.

    The scale is a tool, your self worth should not be wrapped up in the number on the scale, the number with fluctuate all the time, if you can't separate your emotions from the scale then weigh less frequently.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,268 Member
    A lb a week is now failure.....interesting.
  • shortieshortie37
    shortieshortie37 Posts: 9
    No not at all rude, I think what happens is I probally am eating more calories but when I start dieting and I get aware of how many calories are in everything I think I become a bit obsessive. So I will start eating low calorie everything, Lots of veggies and soup and thing I know have minimial cals in it. Then the food really starts to add up because everything i'm eating has such little cals in it. I'm trying to work on this. But I know before when I wasn't really thinking how healthy something was for me...I don't think it was a matter of quantity but quality. I'm usually short on time so it was a lot of grabbing some fast food, or sugar to keep me going.
  • buzzardsrule
    buzzardsrule Posts: 183 Member
    Agree with what's been said. Diet pills are not the way. It's going to take time but if you log everything and exercise regularly it will work.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    But i'm soooooo frustrated that I haven't lost any more weight yet.
    some back round on what I've been doing...
    I eat healthy stuff, salads and veggies lean meats no fast foods. I do a lot of smoothies and low fat yogurts. Honestly it is hard for me to actually eat 1600 cals a day I do feel like I have to force feed my self but I HAVE been eating at least 1200 everyday and do my best to stay closed to 1600. I also exercise 3 days a week 30 mins of cardio. I like the elliptical and usually do hills when I'm on it. every 5th workout I change it up and do the treadmill or the bike instead. And I've also just try to be more active in general, like take the stairs and park farther away so I would have to walk.

    Calorie deficit = weight loss. It's that simple, unless you are starving yourself. So you arent eating at a calorie deficit.
  • MaddiJoseph
    MaddiJoseph Posts: 117 Member
    I completely understand where you're coming from. I had lost 100 lbs, then I went through a lot of major life changes, fell off the wagon and gained it back. I'm just starting to get it back. The thing to remember is to be slow and patient. It's not magic and it won't just disappear as much as we all wish it would. I would say that the pills are a crutch. They worked wonders last time, but it didn't last. I would advise that you research your numbers and focus less on the scale. Take measurements and use your clothes as a gauge for your progress. It's more accurate. lift weights. muscle burns more calories than fat while inactive. Mix up your workouts to include strength and cardio. You're going to get through this, you just may want to switch your focus a little bit. :)
  • cassanova792
    cassanova792 Posts: 16
    Just by reading your first sentence, i could already tell you're not weighing yourself properly. So there are roughly 3,500 calories to a pound. In order to lose five pounds in a week, you would need to have burned a total of 24,500 calories which amounts to a caloric deficit of about 1,500 every day. That is extremely hard to do. So yes your instincts of the weight loss as being mostly water weight is probably true.

    The only time you should weigh yourself is right after you wake up, before you eat and after you go to the bathroom. If you weigh yourself anytime during the day, you would need to consider other factors like water weight, food consumption and clothes. Using different scales for weigh ins would also effect these numbers. When it comes to weighing yourself consistency in regards to eliminating these external factors is key to getting a more accurate measurement of measuring your weight.

    Despite what you said, consuming 1,600 calories is not hard to do - it is very easy to consume that amount for most people. I know for a fact i can EASILY eat 1,600 calories in one meal alone. Like someone has stated earlier, you're 216 pound female and unless you have a rare medical condition, getting that high in weight tells me you are really not fully aware of how much food and calories you are putting into your body. As such, you are most likely severely underestimating the amount of calories you're currently consuming. And just because you eat "healthy" foods does not automatically qualify you into a caloric deficit. Yes those foods are generally satiating and are better for you nutritiously but they still have calories. One banana alone has about 110 calories, add a protein powder, some other fruits and some low fat milk and you have about a 400 calorie smoothie. And in your original post you do a lot of these fruit smoothies. Or how about that salad dressing you're putting on your salad? Some have close to 200 calories per serving! Have two servings of salad dressing (400 calories), some croutons (150 calories), a 10oz chicken breast (350 calories) and now you have close to a 1,000 calorie "healthy" salad. You see what i'm getting at here.

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