I'm such a failure.

you gain muscle when you first start to work out. youll lose more weight and more fat the longer you keep up with it.

Try not to be so hard on yourself emotionally and physically! It sounds like you are working out pretty hard. Try and remember that exercise is a stressor, a good stressor mostly, but also can be a bad one. Try to run only 20 min a day and focus on increasing distance ran over time in the same amount of time. Look into yoga or meditation to help control stress in your life. Think positive. Laugh at yourself when you screw up! We all do it!

Great info!

I've read (and I'm not sure how accurate this is, no source) that when you start working out or put your body through sudden changes, it clings to fat or whatever for a while. Same as Leora11, when I started working out I gained a few pounds before I lost any. I weighed 194 (I'm 5'5") and pushed myself WAAAAY harder than I ever had before. For the first few weeks nothing seemed to change and I was super discouraged too. I quit working out for a while. I actually did that several times, for almost 2 years. I would work out for 3 or 4 weeks and not be satisfied with the changes and quit. I lost about 20 pounds that way, real gradually over those 2 years, but even as the number on the scale inched down I couldn't see or feel any changes in my body so I would just say screw it. But over those times I also built up my endurance and my muscles, even without being consistent.

In December of 2013 I started counting calories on MFP and I was SHOCKED at how much I was eating. Once I saw just how much I was overeating and I started working on that, I saw instant results in my body -- and sometimes the number on the scale didnt change at all, but I could see my body getting stronger and leaner. I'm down to about 145 now, but still working on my fitness, etc. I know it's discouraging and hard right now, but if you're diligent and honest with yourself you will break through this crappy frustrating BS. It gets better!! Don't be too hard on yourself, just keep doing the best you can.

Hi,

Do yourself a favor and buy the book "The Beck Diet Solution," author Judith Beck. You really need the book.

Edit: It's not a diet, it can help you with the negative thinking you're dealing with so you don't get discouraged.

I am such a failure I struggle so hard to get in shape. I started insanity 60 day challenge three weeks ago and haven't lost a single pound in fact I gained three. I also started running 6 days a week in the evening 3.5 miles I have worked so hard and nothing. I hate the way I look I am so angry with myself it's unbelievable. Not a single change in my body. I won't quit but I have never been so discouraged in all my life I did realize two days ago I have been using my calorie counter wrong. I'm so distraught I can't believe I ruined three weeks of really hard work. I'm such an idiot! You know how hard it is to be 45 fat out of shape and do insanity and run I have worked harder than I ever have in my whole life and NOTHING!! AHHHHHH.........

Wow, why are you beating yourself up and putting so much pressure on yourself? Look at how much you have accomplished and I bet you are a whole lot better off than you were before you started doing these things. You have to look at this as being baby steps...each goal you accomplish gets you closer to an overall life overhall and more to where you want to be. It really is hard to guess why the scale isn't budging, but just know that you have to figure it out on your own..don't give up. For example, you can be running and working out, but also eating just the same or too little or too much or not incorporating the right KINDS of foods into your diet. Set little goals and tweak your diet...for example, try to make a goal of eating more veggies and fruits during the day or drinking MORE water, etc....you will get there...you will see results.....Change is not going to happen in one day...it is small steps each and every day....Good luck!!!

Hey hey don't beat yourself up so much. I had that mentality and trust me, it gets you no where. Yeah you might make a mistake or fall of your diet or gain weight back or screw up but guess what? You're a human. Humans make mistakes and screw up. It doesn't mean you instantly failed at everything and it's over, it's just a temp setback. Just get back on it and keep on going.

1) Your food diary isn't open, so no one can offer any real solid advice as to whether or not this has a dietary component or not. Are you logging *everything*? Every sample, nibble, and lick of a spoon, add to your daily caloric intake. Are they all present and accounted for?
2) Your weight on the scale can be affected intensely by the amount of water your body is retaining. That can change for a multitude of reasons: muscle repair, menstrual cycles, sodium intake, overall hydration levels. Your bowel movements, or lack thereof, can also be playing a role as well. And all that is aside from what's going with your fat and muscle levels.
3) Add a tape measure to your weight loss toolbox: the scale can, and will, mess with your head. A tape measure never will. Measure your: neck, shoulders, chest, waist, hips, upper thigh, calves, upper arms and forearms. Write those measurements down. Now every month re-measure. That will tell you far more surely what changes are happening across your body better than a scale and more reliably than your mirror.
4) In the grand scheme of things, three weeks is nothing. I understand that it *feels* like an eternity once you've decided to lose weight, but it's not. That weight didn't appear overnight. Buckle up, because this is going to be a long trip. Be patient with yourself and your body. If you religously log your food and follow your calorie targets without cheating them, you'll be happily surprised to find that you're not a failure at all.

Hey you have made progress! You've started an exercise regime - always a good thing - and you've figured out what you need to fix in your calorie counting - you didn't waste 3 weeks, you learned extremely valuable stuff that will set you up for success.

The only time wasted was the time before we bothered doing anything about our weight.

Now please, prrrretty please, take a long hard look at the enormous amount of negativity and self-loathing oozing from your posts and promise yourself you're going to fix it. Remove the word failure from your vocabulary. The only failure is giving up. We ALL make mistakes and have weak moments - move on. Have a better day the next day.

Positivity begets positivity; please be kinder to yourself - you've done nothing thousands of other people here haven't also done.

Hey dont ever get discouraged I use to feel like that too then I discovered Herbalife and I feel good always energized and I'm losing the weight. Not telling you to join Herbalife but find whats best for you, you can do this I remember those nights crying and not feeling good because of my weight!! You got this never give up of you want more info on Herbalife I will be happy to provide you with some.

Dude, you can't be promoting products on the forums. It's against the rules.

Watch the movie Hungry for Change, it is excellent and really made me change the way I look at food. I am however, just starting my journey so I don't have many results yet to so for it. Only down 10 lbs so far.

I know exactly how it is to be 45 and out of shape. Well more true, 50 and really fat lol. The truth is, your negative attitude has as much to do with failing as anything else. I spent years and years beating myself up every single time I tried and failred to lose weight. You HAVE to stop beating yourself up and expect yourself to be anything less than human if you want to succeed. You messed up, big deal just carry on and start again.

Just don't give up. You may need to adjust how many of your exercise calories to eat back. But if you keep at it, and weigh/measure your food, you will lose fat.