So freakin frustrated!!!

merflan
merflan Posts: 216 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
My youngest will be 3 in July. I am a different person physically than I was a year ago, but absolutely no where near where I thought I'd be almost 3 years later. I keep plugging along. I'm triaing for a half marathon, and amazed at physically what my body does now, compared with this time last year. I'm excited that I'm healthy, but I am having one of those days where I just don't get why I'm not a size 12 yet!!! I have lost very little weight over this past year. I take a daily antidepressant and am hypothyroid, which doesn't help my case. My latest frustration comes from the fact that I am half way through my 30 days of the 30 day shred, and nothing is happening! I got on the scale for the first time today, about 15 days in, and not one pound down. And yesterday, to make myself feel better I did my progress pics...thought for sure I'd see change there....the front view looks ok, but what is with the side view???? Still looks awful.

OK, vent over. Running 12 K today :-)

Replies

  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    If you opened your diary, we might be able to offer more help.

    I'm sorry the scale seems to be "stuck" though. I know how frustrating that is!
  • merflan
    merflan Posts: 216 Member
    Opened it. But don't look at yesterday - i worked nights Friday night so yesterday was a mess.
  • swissmardi
    swissmardi Posts: 57 Member
    Do you measure as well??? That may give you some inspiration...
  • CallousMalice
    CallousMalice Posts: 32
    You know muscle weighs more than fat, right?
  • Cilenia
    Cilenia Posts: 208 Member
    Thats exactly my thought, you might not have lost any weight, but maybe your body has toned a bit and is getting ready for loosing weight soon. Try to stay focussed and keep at it, your doing great!
  • PST0622
    PST0622 Posts: 115
    I work nights also...and it really screws everything up sometimes!!!! Go run your marathon, have fun and accomplish that goal:) And remember....sometimes we have to ignore the scale and listen to our bodies. Are your clothes fitting better, even if they aren't a size 12? And you did say you were running a 12K today...That is an accomplishment in itself, and a huge one!!!!
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    Your diary looks pretty good (I went back a week or so) with the exception of no vegetables.

    Some things that might be interfering with your plans:

    -Do you use a food scale or otherwise measure everything? If not, you may be inaccurately recording your calories. I was pretty stunned at how far off I was before I bought a kitchen scale, even though I had been measuring with cups and measuring spoons.

    -Overestimating exercise calories. I know you have a HRM (saw that on another thread), but running burns roughly 100 calories per mile. If your HRM is giving you numbers that are significantly higher than that, like 150 cals per mile or more, that could be the issue.

    -If you eat out frequently, be aware that restuarants don't have the world's most accurate calorie counts.

    -You may want to add some strength training, as that is ultimately more effective for weight loss than cardio. (You may do this already-but you mentioned a good deal of running so thought I'd raise the point.)

    -Are you counting your liquid calories? I didn't see any logged (which may be because you only drink non-caloric beverages).


    I would also agree that measurements should help you to track progress. You're often still losing inches when the scale is not cooperative.

    Have you had the thyroid checked lately? Maybe your medication dosage needs an adjustment?
  • flausa
    flausa Posts: 534 Member
    As Atlantique mentioned, you do seem to be quite low on vegetables, and you do seem to have a lot of dairy in your diet. I found that when I cut back on the cheese and crisps, the weight has been seeming to melt away. I'm also on medication for hypothyroid, so as long as your meds are appropriate that shouldn't affect your weight loss too heavily.
  • merflan
    merflan Posts: 216 Member
    I get atleast 7 servings of veggies a day, I don't bother to write them down.
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    I get atleast 7 servings of veggies a day, I don't bother to write them down.

    Well that's an issue!

    You're either logging or you aren't. You don't 'pick and choose' what to log and what not to log.

    I realize that veggies are generally fairly low in calories, but they are not calorie-free. If you are eating them any other way besides plain and raw, you are also adding calories to them in the way they are prepared.

    Even if we assume the best case scenario here, which would be fairly low cal veggies eaten totally plain, we're talking around 35 calories per serving. 35 x 7 = 245. If you're cooking these veggies in oil or adding dressing or cheese, you're looking at another 30-100 calories per serving. So your diary is off by around 245 calories per day in the best scenario, and possibly up to 500 or more. If you are counting potatoes and other starches as 'veggies', you're really way off by skipping them in your logging.

    Your calorie counts are not accurate if you decided to simply exclude an entire food group from your log.

    Even if there were no potential impact to your calories, you'd want to log the veggies to get a better sense of why you do or don't get hungry at certain times. Your fiber counts would also be way off.

    If you aren't going to log your food, I'm not sure how you expect to make MFP work for you? :huh:
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    You know muscle weighs more than fat, right?

    Not exactly. A pound is a pound.

    A pound of muscle takes up less VOLUME than does a pound of fat. So yes, one might see inches going down while maintaining weight.
  • LG61820
    LG61820 Posts: 372 Member
    Just a couple of thoughts. . . You might consider adding sodium to your nutrition counts. I found that my sodium intake was over the top! The first week I dropped it I lost some pounds of water weight which was very motivating. I didn't measure during the 30DS. However, at the end of the 30 days I had lost an inch off my midriff which made me extremely happy.
  • merflan
    merflan Posts: 216 Member
    I get what you are saying about the veggies, I guess its my WW way of thinking that veggies are "0" points. I can't see it making a huge difference....
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