Killing myself for what??

vickiele1 · February 2011

So I've been on MFP since January 4th. I bust my butt working out 6 days a week alternating 30 Day Shred, Biggest Loser on the Wii, Just Dance 2, the elliptical, and running with my niece. I have only seen a loss of about 10 pounds and an inch or 2 but to me that's not enough considering my workouts last at least an hour if not more. I pour buckets of sweat!!!! I'm burning 700-1000 calories a night. I'm killing myself for nothing, or so it seems. My husband works in PA and we live in TX and he has been gone for 6 weeks and I was expecting to see some progress after all this hard work! Am I being unrealistic? I'm also trying to eat as healthy as I can. Any advice and motivation will be greatly appreciated!!

Actually 10 lbs in less than 2 months is pretty decent. Often working out a lot can actually increase muscle mass. Muscle is denser than fat, so there should be some changes in your measurements. If you are only measuring hips/waist - the mass could be coming off of other parts of your body instead. For instance, in my case, my face, arms, and chest reduced long before my waist and hips did. The body actually selects where the weight is reduced. Strength training is great, but it does produce more muscle mass.
I guess, also, I would add that if you are doing this for the sole reason of "losing weight," then you may be defeating yourself. Eating healthy, exercising regularly and reducing your weight should actually be the goal of a life style change. The more healthy you live now, the healthier you will be in 20 years. The weight will reduce over time, but more importantly if you are eating and exercising in a healthy way, you are gaining so much more and I am sure in 20 years your husband will be extremely thankful that you made the changes you have made now.

Hang in there - keep going - don't give up. Look at the extraneous pieces such as stress levels (cortisol is very harmful in large quantities), sodium - causes significant fluid retention, etc.

Blessings as you continue on your journey to a healthier and happier you.

Vickie

lloydrt · February 2011

actually, in regards to 'anything over 30 minutes is a waste" , well, I beg to differ. I started out at 10 mins of cardio, thats all I could do because of my weight, (360 lbs) and I had exercise asthma

in order to increase the time I could spend on the tread mill , I had to decrease the symptoms of my exercise asthma.......so, in order to do that I had to take off the weight ,kind of dual edge sword here.........

I continued to do cardio, until one year later, I do 2 hours of cardio, and about 50 mins of strength training .........No more bronchidiolator or Asthmanex for me. So staying at it ,for up to 3 hours decreased all symptoms of exercise induced asthma.........

also, Im 121 lbs lighter than I was this time last year, all because I exercised 2 - 3 hours and ate properly........it worked for me.......Lloyd

crazyeaCHANGED · February 2011

Again, as I said my statement was poorly worded. Also, I was never reffering to excercise for asthma, but more so for weight loss.

I do stand by the my statement that spltting a persons cardio from 60 mins to 2x30 or even more preferably 3x20 would have more of an effect on weight loss because the after effects of said exercise would carry on more throughout the day.

I am glad that you have your asthma under control. Thats the most important thing for your situation.

jrbanta · February 2011

Are you monitoring your sugar intake on your food log? Foods that are labeled low fat or non fat often have more sugar to help with the taste. There are lots of hidden sugars in store bought foods. Go into your settings and add sugar as one of the items to monitor and try to stay within the range each day. Read labels and be conscious of your sugar intake. Many of the health bars, diet shakes, packaged foods, specialty coffee drinks, etc. are loaded with sugar. Just a thought... Good luck! I think you've been very successful and "slow and steady" is best for your health and long term weight loss and maintenance. Make it a lifestyle not a diet...:flowerforyou:

JennsLosing · February 2011

ive lost 5 pounds this month working my butt off too...10 pounds in that time frame is great!

Mishy · February 2011

I know it sucks, and I hope this helps: celebrate scale victories as well as non-scale ones. 10 lbs is great progress, building cardio strength is too, and when you're taking care of yourself how you carry yourself changes - and that is just as noticable as weight loss. It's all connected. Hang in there, change things up if you have and keep on going!

millyliza · February 2011

Thank you all for the responses!!! I'm actually looking at this as a lifestyle change, diet isn't even in my vocabulary. I want my kids to eat healthy now while they're young so they don't have the obesity problem later on. My daddy was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes a few years ago and the more I see him struggle with his weight and having to take insulin shots it worries me that that could be me if I don't make this change.

I'm struggling with eating all my regular calories plus exercise calories, that's a LOT!! So, maybe I should cut back on the workouts and pay more attention to eating healthy. I'm definitely NOT giving up on this new journey

starace · February 2011

Yes, don't leave it.

It will pay off, and you will keep seeing the results. Some people see results easier than others, but if you keep at it (I know, so cliched and generic) you WILL succeed, and look and feel the way you want to, in DUE time (due being the key word here.) I see your achievements as amazing and inspiring, and you also have a plan and are putting it in action. That's all great, especially the bit about eating healthier as well.

Killing myself for what??

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