I can't do this alone

ashkmelater
ashkmelater Posts: 15 Member
in Motivation and Support
I am a 29 yr old female veteran who has struggled with losing weight my entire life. I was 220 at my heaviest. I started this journey again at 204. I have been hitting the gym hard 5-6 days a week, doing cardio and weight training. I have been weighing myself everyday for the sole purpose of trying to figure out what makes me retain water like the Hoover dam. I am stuck at 199-200lbs. Some days it's 199 and I work out and eat required calories and bam, next day 202. This yo-yo'ing and stalling is really starting to just tick me off. I can't eat strictly whole foods told clean foods because of my living situation at the moment. I can't really do anything about the nutrition part for a couple more weeks. I just need some friends to help keep me in check because my badass, nose to the grindstone motivation is wavering.

Replies

  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
    This will probably get me trolled, but if you're budgeted for steak, you could try low carb (unless you don't like meat or have a medical reason not to). It worked for me when I stalled out.
  • April_KT
    April_KT Posts: 332 Member
    If your only yo yo'ing a few pounds make sure you track your sodium intake. Water weight fluctuates alot on a daily basis from sodium intake and exercise. Good luck to you!!
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    Friends aren't going to help. YOU have to do the work.

    Start with making reasonable calorie deficit. The ones that fail are the ones who are restricting themselves too much.

    Then add in some exercise. Doesn't have to be anything crazy; just start moving.

    Next, and most important, be patient.
  • red0801
    red0801 Posts: 283 Member
    Dont forget to breathe & give yourself a break. It took me forever to learn to look @ measurables & not scale monitoring. Set small goals that can be implemented into new habits. Some things that I have seen work are a walk after dinner, or if you up to it a jog in the morning to get your metabolism up. :-)
  • Unknown
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  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
    Why can't you do anything about the nutrition part? Only you control what goes into your mouth.

    Nutrition and diet is about 90% of weight loss. If you're stalling, it doesn't matter how much you're working out if you are perhaps over eating significantly. Eating clean is not a requirement. If that's what you want to do, that's great, but it isn't necessary. You just have to control how much you are eating.

    Going from 199-202 or so is really not considered yo-yo dieting. That's just stagnation and it's probably water that's making your weight go up and down.

    Your diet is what's going to get you there. If you can't get that under control, you're going to continue to struggle.
  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
    Why can't you do anything about the nutrition part? Only you control what goes into your mouth.

    Nutrition and diet is about 90% of weight loss. If you're stalling, it doesn't matter how much you're working out if you are perhaps over eating significantly.

    Going from 199-202 or so is really not considered yo-yo dieting. That's just stagnation and it's probably water that's making your weight go up and down.

    Your diet is what's going to get you there. If you can't get that under control, you're going to continue to struggle.

    Yup. Can't out-exercise a bad diet. Believe me, I tried!
  • Mary437Perry
    Mary437Perry Posts: 1
    +
    It gets a little boring after a while if you don't have someone supporting you. At least that is right for me. I was reading your post and you say you weigh in everyday. I think maybe you should try weighing in once a week, in the mornings, on Friday maybe. Use the same day of the week and the same time of the day. Everyone's weight shifts daily but it is the overall trend that you are looking for, right? Maybe try to see the big picture over the length of a year or two years. If you are retaining water it may be your sodium intake. Or it could just be that time of the month. If you want to loose a lot of weight then give it a lot of time. It isn't healthy to drop 30 pounds in a week. My Husband's goal is to drop 80 pounds. I believe he has set a goal to loose 1 or 2 pounds a week. It doesn't matter to him how long it takes as long as he feels healthy and as long as he feels he is progressing and not regressing. One thing I told him that he said helps him is this: "If you feel that hunger pang, like your stomach rumbling, then decide that it feels like SUCCESS and not TIME TO EAT". Another thing that has helped him a lot is to cut the bread/tortillas in half. Just take the top off of that hamburger or sandwich or eat that taco filling with a fork. And drink lots of water!!! It helps you feel full especially if you eat a little slower and it cleans your teeth too! LOL!
  • caramelgyrlk
    caramelgyrlk Posts: 1,112 Member
    Why can't you do anything about the nutrition part? Only you control what goes into your mouth.

    Nutrition and diet is about 90% of weight loss. If you're stalling, it doesn't matter how much you're working out if you are perhaps over eating significantly.

    Going from 199-202 or so is really not considered yo-yo dieting. That's just stagnation and it's probably water that's making your weight go up and down.

    Your diet is what's going to get you there. If you can't get that under control, you're going to continue to struggle.

    Yup. Can't out-exercise a bad diet. Believe me, I tried!

    I second this.....
  • ashkmelater
    ashkmelater Posts: 15 Member
    Trust me, I know this. I did the whole food thing before while I did the 30 day shred, 3 times..weighing food, measuring EVERYTHING and still didn't break 200.

    We are living with the inlaws right now until our house is ready to move into. Father in law has a crappy attitude and gets mad when there's "too much food" (anything beyond what they get themselves). Mother in law gets offended if we don't eat what she cooks. I just don't have the time or patience to fight that battle.

    And for the comment "you don't need friends", well yes I do. I'm not from this area or even this state. I have no friends here.
  • ellearscott
    ellearscott Posts: 2
    Hey,
    I have a couple of suggestions for water weight. I'm pretty thin but I used to puff up because of water retention quite a lot until I started doing the following:
    - Cut down on salt. I always thought I didn't eat much salt as I never added it to meals or ate salty crisps or microwave meals, but then I realised it was sneaking in mostly through soy sauce (for my stir fries) and bread (just check the packaging, some shop-bought have less than others).
    - Drink more water. It's really boring to begin with, but you kind of get into the habit of drinking more water. I keep a 500ml bottle by my bed which I drink as soon as I wake up, and another 500ml bottle on my desk, which I refill throughout the day. I don't count tea or coffee as part of my water intake, and try to drink at least 8 250ml cups a day (which means drinking a whole bottle of water 4 times a day). It makes so much difference to my weight and my complexion, and it's such a simple thing. It also makes you eat less because you don't get that hungry/thirsty feeling.
    - Don't starve yourself and then get to that point in the day that you're so hungry you'll eat anything and ruin your diet. I used to do that, starving myself all day in a bid to eat as few calories as possible, then come 6pm I'd be so hungry I'd eat the whole kitchen. If you eat little snacks of fruit and the occasional plain biscuit during the day so you never get ridiculously hungry, it makes choosing healthy main meals so much easier. I mean, when you're utterly starving there is no way on earth you're going to choose to eat a salad, but if you're just a tiny bit hungry it seems more appetising.
    - Chew your food slowly. I know everyone always says this, and I never ever used to believe it made any difference, but once I started doing it I realised that I got full a lot quicker than I thought. For example, if you usually cook 100g of pasta, you might end up realising that about two thirds of the way through the plate you're actually full, and can make less next time. But you'll only realise you're full if you're thinking about the food. You feel like a bit of an idiot to begin with, but just like with the drinking more water thing it's so simple and it get's so much easier.

    Hope these help you out!
  • sjokerbud
    sjokerbud Posts: 5 Member
    I completely understand. My advice to you is to remember that what you are doing now to better your health is more than what you were doing before you started so improvements are happening even if you don't see it in the numbers..Muscle weighs more than fat that's a fact..You can be burning fat and tightening up at the same time gaining muscle and actually lose inches but maintain the weight...Keep your head up ..If you are holding water and fluids watch your salt intake and research it but I've heard that drinking more water helps with that..I heard it cause your body to not hold it as much because it is presented available more often. I was 367 pounds in Feb today I am 316 I just watch calories and walk at least 1 mile 4 - 5 times a week..when I started walking my fluid retention improved.:) I also use to be big on going to the gym at one time 1 was 280 and solid 34 in the waist but lost a special person in a tragedy and went through depression to get so out of shape..I have always thought more cardio to lose weight then weight training to tighten up..:) Hope some of this helps ...Keep up the hard work it will pay off...Jarrett 33m
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
    Trust me, I know this. I did the whole food thing before while I did the 30 day shred, 3 times..weighing food, measuring EVERYTHING and still didn't break 200.

    We are living with the inlaws right now until our house is ready to move into. Father in law has a crappy attitude and gets mad when there's "too much food" (anything beyond what they get themselves). Mother in law gets offended if we don't eat what she cooks. I just don't have the time or patience to fight that battle.

    And for the comment "you don't need friends", well yes I do. I'm not from this area or even this state. I have no friends here.

    Er... hate to say this and being risked being called a bully, but if you still didn't lose any weight, you were eating too much. You just said that you "can't do anything about the nutrition" but then you said you've stalled. See where the issue is?

    Calories in < Calories out = weight loss.

    I know what you mean about the parents/in laws. My parents eat horribly, and I realized that. So i didn't bother trying until I moved out. But you're going to have to work around this if you're wanting to start losing the weight right now. If you can't, just wait until you are out of there and start over and forget about it for now. Because like I stated before, your diet is what's going to get you there.
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    Trust me, I know this. I did the whole food thing before while I did the 30 day shred, 3 times..weighing food, measuring EVERYTHING and still didn't break 200.

    We are living with the inlaws right now until our house is ready to move into. Father in law has a crappy attitude and gets mad when there's "too much food" (anything beyond what they get themselves). Mother in law gets offended if we don't eat what she cooks. I just don't have the time or patience to fight that battle.

    And for the comment "you don't need friends", well yes I do. I'm not from this area or even this state. I have no friends here.

    Sounds like you have all the answers, so I'm not sure what you're looking for.
  • ashkmelater
    ashkmelater Posts: 15 Member
    Trust me, I know this. I did the whole food thing before while I did the 30 day shred, 3 times..weighing food, measuring EVERYTHING and still didn't break 200.

    We are living with the inlaws right now until our house is ready to move into. Father in law has a crappy attitude and gets mad when there's "too much food" (anything beyond what they get themselves). Mother in law gets offended if we don't eat what she cooks. I just don't have the time or patience to fight that battle.

    And for the comment "you don't need friends", well yes I do. I'm not from this area or even this state. I have no friends here.

    Friends....lol
    Sounds like you have all the answers, so I'm not sure what you're looking for.
  • ashkmelater
    ashkmelater Posts: 15 Member
    Thanks for all the kind replies! I plan on keeping on, and it's just nice to have some motivation every once in a while. I will break 200 come hell or high water :)

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