Very Discouraged and still FAT! ( a Tuesday RANT)

Here is a great place to start:

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

You definitely must weigh and measure your food!!!! Everything you eat!! That's a good place to start!

Any possibility you could speak with a nutritionist?

Don't give up, stick with it, and (as you are doing now) if something isn't working, find out why and fix it. My personal two cents: if you're focusing on weight loss it MUST start in the kitchen. I think it was Bob Harper who coined the phrase "you can't outrun your fork". Exercise is important for staying fit and healthy. What you eat has the most impact on your weight. Start weighing everything (as you said you will do).

Also figure out what your normal base calorie burn is. This is a lot tougher. For me personally, I tracked food & exercise for three months, did the math and found out what my average daily calorie need was. It's a bit long and tedious, but it's the only way to find out your personal calorie needs. Then, find a reasonable deficit and try your best to stick within that limit.

The simple math is calories in - calories out = gain/deficit. There will be lots of folks claiming they are "special snowflakes" and they have this or that condition. So what? It doesn't change the math. My personal snowflake: medication that lowers my metabolism so that I burn slightly less than "average" calories per day. So what? It doesn't change the formula - it just means my "calories out" is lower than an average person my age/weight. By doing the 3 month tracking, I found my personal "calories out" number. I put THAT number in the formula.

Math is math. The formula works. Find your number and make it work for you.

Don't get discouraged! I find I'm on the same side of this boat with you! Today is not a good day since I've also gained weight through the holiday and even increased my food intake for yesterday due to my additional exercise! But, stay on the path to your goal, weigh and log in every morsel and we'll eventually get there! I have found some new metabolism burning recipes and started using which seemed to be working out well for my husband! (he lost thirty pounds in three months with my experiment)

I think I've a feeling where you are coming from - If think you are trying to achieve too many things at the same time without access to correct knowledge or plan.

When you said you weigh your food on scale - are you saying you weigh in grams?

Also If you haven't read these links please, please do me a favor I would truly appreciate if you can read these

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

Do keep us posted.

Yeah you're right. Alot of excuses... busy mom of 3 ,that works a full time desk job. I have TONS of excuses, also tons of reasons to lose the weight. Now to find what actually works and that I can find in between work, kids, soccer practices, household duties and life in general. Like I said earlier busy life.

I understand. But everyone is busy. I work full time, and go to college full time. I still drag myself to the gym. There have been days that I've been gone from my house for over twelve hours, and come home and do my runs under the moonlight. It's a matter of finding balance, and learning that it's okay to take time for yourself. I'm not trying to be mean, but once I let go of my excuses, the rest fell in place. Also, everyone else has good advice here about needing to weigh your food. You don't HAVE to exercise to lose weight, but being strict in your calorie count will matter more if you don't have some of those exercise calories giving you some leeway.

You have to account for everything. That little of handful of nuts could be 200 calories. A fun size snickers counts. A half glass of juice counts. Fruit counts. It all adds up. Every single thing you put into your mouth except water needs to be accounted for. Yes, tracking is an absolute pain in the *kitten*, and I despise doing it. But it really lets you know where your problems are. When I don't track, I usually maintain, or may gain a bit, but when I'm tracking religiously and being diligent, the pounds just come off. Case in point, I've been training since December for a May marathon, and running a lot. But I've pretty much stayed at the same weight for most of that time. But April 1, I started tracking again, and in three weeks time, I've dropped 12 lbs. And don't forget it is crucial that you eat back what you exercise. Your calorie goal should be net of any exercise in your day. I actually sometimes workout twice just so I can eat more And don't feel bad about days when you go over. Hell I've had days where I didn't workout where I am over by 1,000 calories or more, typically on Fridays or over the weekend. I just make sure that I make up for it with a long run on the weekend or something. Track your food, exercise, don't make excuses. You will succeed, it is a no brainer.

Yeah you're right. Alot of excuses... busy mom of 3 ,that works a full time desk job. I have TONS of excuses, also tons of reasons to lose the weight. Now to find what actually works and that I can find in between work, kids, soccer practices, household duties and life in general. Like I said earlier busy life.

I have a 5 year old, I work 2 jobs, and I go to school full time. If you keep making excuses you will keep failing. It's that simple.

This. For every excuse, there is someone out there who has it harder and is making time. Excuses are s hit. I could make an excuse every day. And some days, I just plain don't feel like working out. It's uncomfortable to breathe heavily, to be hot, or to be freezing in icy winds and a cold rain running up a steep hill, to keep your heart rate elevated for an hour or two, to go to bed and get a good night's sleep instead of falling asleep on the couch with a plate of cookies. It takes dedication to reach a goal, and if it was easy, everyone would be fit. It's not, it's really f ucking hard. Sh it, I've been craving a beer every damn night for weeks, but I decided that I was going to give that up until May, because being 15 lbs lighter is going to make this marathon a hell of a lot less stressful on my body. There is a reward in being proud of your body, proud of physical accomplishments, personal bests, lower heart rate, lower body fat, a healthier lifestyle. Once you've achieved it, you'll know it was worth it.

The only way I get exercise in is if I get up and do them before I start my day. Since that is a sacrifice of sleep I can commit 30 minutes. I chose a 20 minute work out (5 min warm up and 5 min cool down). I use Jillian MIchaels DVD's but there were others. It is truly only 30 minutes since I don't have to leave the house. As a busy mom I find the weekends one of the most difficult times to exercise because I want to sleep in (which is 7:30am, haha) and be lazy in the mornings and once my day gets rolling - very hard to stop and exercise. I usually manage it once and use the other day as a rest day.

That burn makes me feel overall healthier (not while I'm doing it - I actually hate exercise, lol) but in general - which helps with my motivation to calorie count. I really think you'll find your biggest results in weighing and measuring your food though and being extra aware of hidden calories. I can eat 300 calories off my kids' plates (or down the end of their OJ - it is what moms do) when I clear the table or while I'm standing there fixing supper if I don't watch it. I still catch myself especially when I'm going 3 directions at once. Last night the kid didn't want frosting on his cake - I sliced it off and popped it in my mouth without thinking and then I promptly licked the whip cream spoon and THEN did a face palm, lol.