I clearly can't lose weight. Should I still exercise?

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trekkiebeth
trekkiebeth Posts: 172
in Motivation and Support
I am so upset. If you look at the chart below and the list of how my weight has progressed below, you'll see that losing weight is impossible for me and I'm going to continue to get fatter no matter what I do.

I was eating a lot of fast food and pizza and such before I started working out again, then I started being really good about eating and even counting calories. I admit the weekend of Christmas was bad, but no worse than all the fast food I'd had before. I was actually pretty much maintaining my weight before I started exercising, actually. I didn't eat too poorly on New Year's. I had a decent amount of drinks, but like I said it was hardly worse than the fast food I'd been having, and I ate well except for those drinks.

So since I'm incapable of losing weight, I'm wondering if I should even continue to exercise at all. It would still be good for me, right? I don't know, it's just so depressing to see that it doesn't have any effect on my weight.

chart010411.jpg

12/23/10 148.5
12/30/10 150.5
01/04/11 151.8

If I was simply maintaining my weight, I might think that Christmas and New Year's had kept me from losing. But I'm actually gaining very quickly even though I'm eating well every day but Christmas weekend and New Year's Eve.
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Replies

  • Clew
    Clew Posts: 910 Member
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    You should absolutely still exercise. It's very hard for me to lose weight as well - but when I exercise it totally changes the shape of my body. Even if you have a layer of insulation over those muscles, you'll wear it so much better. :smile: You'll feel much better too. Don't give up on yourself, luv!
  • amycal
    amycal Posts: 646 Member
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    Yes - exercise will ALWAYS help you! You might need to measure and look at inches vs. number on scale. What do you eat? Even though a lot of people believe reducing calories is the answer if your metabolism is messed up or you have food allergies there might be more to your diet than that. Check out the eat clean diet or Ultra Metabolism by Mark Hyman for more info.
  • Natalie0506
    Natalie0506 Posts: 163
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    Sounds like you hit a plateau. Change up your work outs! Once your body gets used to a specific workout, it doesn't work as well. Like when you get stronger, you lift heavier weights. Well, when you hit a plateau, change up your cardio.
  • LizardIsANerd
    LizardIsANerd Posts: 113
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    Muscle is more dense than fat and therefore 1 pound of muscle takes up half the space of 1 lb of fat.
    You should still exercise, but try adding more lean protein to your diet to help feed those muscles. Don't look at weight loss as the only thing that you get out of exercise. Take your other measurements - see if you lean up in your core - I bet you do!!
  • diet45
    diet45 Posts: 392 Member
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    I use to exercise 3-4 four days a week. I didn't start losing until I started exercising everyday. Kick-up your exercise minutes for a week and see if that will jump start your loss. Also, make sure you are eating at least 1200 calories. I eat back 1/2 of my exercise calories and still lose weight. I lose about 1 lbs per week.
  • barahona
    barahona Posts: 6
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    20 months ago i was in 200 Pounds>. when i stared it was very hard for me to lose one freakIng pound.>. but i didnt give up.. i control my mouth eating healthy & i was running ( going to da Gym) .. it took me 5 to 6 months>> when i see my results.. ( 30 pounds).. give time... dont give up... if i could do it .. you can.>. NOW i LIFT WEIGHT & still running.. im 175 now.. but i want to lose 10 more... I Know I cant do it... plus .. about drinks i drink like every 2 weeks lol
  • shawty55
    shawty55 Posts: 11
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    Sometimes it takes a few weeks for any results from exercise to show. Also, weight fluctuates naturally (because of amount of water and waste in your system that changes daily) and muscle weighs more than fat.
  • MonicaBenavidez
    MonicaBenavidez Posts: 92 Member
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    It also sounds like you have room to improve since you said you drank a lot and ate a lot. Not trying to be mean, but you'll only get out of it what you put into it. Alcohol always slows down my weight loss as does eating high sodium/unhealthy foods. I think you should reevaluate your food choices and continue to exercise. The weight WILL come off. :-) Good luck!
  • TaneeisFitforLife
    TaneeisFitforLife Posts: 433
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    If you are eating within your calorie range (including experimenting with eating your exercise calories), your next step would see your doctor. If you in your healthy weight range it's going to be harder to get lower. From what you wrote it doesn't sound like you know how much you are taking in, calorie wise.

    Keep on exercising but keep in mind, you can't out-exercise bad eating habits :smile:
  • mushy2
    mushy2 Posts: 24 Member
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    always excercise, I should but dont., im going to try harder, especially for the kids it teachs them its good for you. If I took a leaf out of my 6 yr olds book I would be really healthy.
  • withanurgency
    withanurgency Posts: 36
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    Losing weight def. takes time. Sabotaging exercise will not help your cause. It's possible that your body is just adjusting to you working out again and it'll take time before it'll actually adapt. Also, you might be exercising too much, or eating too little. Also look at the other benefits you reap from exercise like stamina, endorphins and muscle and heart strength. Once you start looking at exercise as an enjoyable thing, you'll work it in everyday and the weight will automatically come off. Don't stress out about it, losing weight IS POSSIBLE, for any and everyone!
  • jalara
    jalara Posts: 2,622 Member
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    First of all, congrats on wanting to be healthy.

    There's some more info we need: we need to know what your food diary looks like, whay types of exercise you are doing, how much sleep you are getting.

    Yes you should ALWAYS be active - adults are supposed to get 60 minutes a day (30 minutes is the bare minimum). It's needed for health.

    I also think you might need to evaluate if your goal is to be healthy, or just to weigh less. If it's to be healthy, then exercise and eating right is a must, no matter what your weight. If it's just to weigh less, then I suspect you may need to really assess why.

    I wish you the best of luck!
  • ANGELAWHALEY
    ANGELAWHALEY Posts: 49
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    How many calories are you consuming each day and what kind? You might not be eating enough or you might be eating too many, also if your food is very salty it can cause you to retain water and not lose. Is all your exercise cardio? I have heard that in women especially when you 1st begin cardio you might show a slight gain at 1st as your muscles swell from new tears (this is good) then as you push through the weight begins to come off. Even if you maintain your weight at 150 exercising makes you more healthy and extends your life and the quality of your life than not exercising! If you truly think you can not lose weight and you are eating healthy ask your doctor to check your thyroid. If you have a problem with that you might not be able to until they get it fixed. Also make sure you are not preggo ;-)
  • 2bFitNTrim
    2bFitNTrim Posts: 1,209 Member
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    "So since I'm incapable of losing weight" :huh:

    Unless you have some kind of medical reason that would prevent you from losing weight, I'd say this is nonsense. Review what you are eating & drinking, watch those calories (not too much, not too few) and no doubt you will start to lose again. And by all means, as the other posters have said, keep exercising. It will help tone you up, is good for your heart, and will help you rebuild your confidence. Onward with POSTIVE self talk! :bigsmile: :flowerforyou:
  • mushy2
    mushy2 Posts: 24 Member
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    wow
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
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    Please don't give up, exercise is always good for you and trust me when you get in the habit of exercising regularly and watching what you eat you will lose weight you just have to keep at it :)
    Exercise doesn't just help with weight loss it also helps you feel much healthier and makes day to day life easier. Keep at it, maybe give the scales a bit of a break for a few weeks, keep on track and just focus on inches lost rather than lbs :)
  • randarob
    randarob Posts: 3 Member
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    Keep your head up. Remember that when you exercise you are starting to shed the inches, but you are also gaining muscle mass, so you might not see it on the scale but you will see it in you clothes. Keep it up you are going to do great!
  • dburrows1
    dburrows1 Posts: 1 Member
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    First of all, you are looking at way to short a span of time.

    You need to find something that works well for you. Find foods that you actually like that help keep you within a normal calorie intake. When you really want to eat poorly, eat but hit the workout extra hard.

    A few things about exercise that will really make it worth your while.

    1) It produces endorphins. You almost always will feel better when you finish than before you started.

    2) As you build muscle, your body will automatically begin to burn more calories even when you are not working out. That means that sitting on the couch watching TV, your body would burn more than if you are not exercising.

    3) Exercising doesn't have to be miserable or all or nothing. Get active, move around, dance to music videos, personally I really like the Zumba classes offered locally. I look like a fool, but if that is a worry do a video at home.

    If you are healthy enough for exercise, there isn't a reason in the world why you shouldn't.

    With that said, the average American gains 5 pounds over the holidays and you didn't!!! Plus, you should only really shoot to loose about 1 pound a week. So don't look at it in the short term, but focus on living healthy and your body will follow. It will just take some time!!!
  • lisabernard
    lisabernard Posts: 59 Member
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    Of course you should still exercise! Exercise has many benefits outside of weight loss. It is good for your heart, blood pressure, etc. It helps keep your muscles in shape and tone. It also helps elevate the mood, fighting depression. Exercise is good for all kinds of things!

    As for the diet, you still may be having benefits you don't see in the weight loss. You are intaking a lot less processed foods - therefore intaking strange chemicals. Its probably less fat - helping your triglycerides and cholesterol.

    And hey - if you make that lifestyle change, you may eventually start losing weight even if it doesn't happen right away.

    Are you drinking lots of water? Water will help flush out all those years of bad chemicals.
  • Connie48
    Connie48 Posts: 190 Member
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    Take a really hard, honest look at your food journal, if you see nothing that needs to be tweaked you may benefit from getting some blood work done. Have your thyroid checked. Also think about how active you are through out the day meaning what kind of work do you do? I have a desk job and even though I exrecise religously, I have to monitor my food intake every single day because lack of movement from a desk job means I"m not burning very total many calories at the end of the day JMO of course and my own experience. Please don't give up, don't EVER give up and keep exercising!

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