No reason to continue

I know people say eat back all your exercise calories, but I know if I did I wouldn't lose weight. I usually add between 400-800 exercise cals a day, and eat back maybe half of them. I don't really ever go over 1600 a day.

This might not be for you, but that is the only thing that works for me.

Ha! You sound just like me! I've gained 5 lbs since January and have been on the longest plateau ever and exercising like a crazy woman. Life is so unfair! After the second month I just bit ythe bullet and recorded the weight gain but kept up with the program of eating right and exercising.

HOWEVER - I am stronger and more fit that I have been for a long time . . I'm in my 50's. I finally got outside (first time this year . . it's been too cold) and ran 2.33 miles this morning at a 5 MPH pace and it seemed effortless. I could barely run a block this time last year and I weighed 30 lbs more than I do now.

Historically, this is the time when most of those New Years resolutions go by the wayside. . . I wonder why. If you are honest with yourself you know that you probably feel better than ever and have acheived quite a lot by adapting a new healthy lifestyle for this long. You know that you will NOT feel good if you go back. When I see those testimonials in the infomercials and ads, I also notice the fine print that says "results not typical" What is typical are the results that we are getting. Slow and steady wins the race. I know it's frustrating,but keep at it!

Id say its from over estimating calories burned...I know the ones set on MFP are over estimated and using a HRM only works for when you are actually working out. Also, if its not the kind with the chest band it could be off as well. I use a bodybugg and I have been continually losing while using it.

And I agree with everyone else about WHAT you eat being important. Its not just about numbers of cals, but what kinds of cals. Ive definitely been there in wanting to quit, but you do end up just getting further away from where you really want to be. Dont quit, just do something different. Hope this all helps

First of all, I will admit that I have not read most of the posts on here. So if I am repeating, I apologize!

I went and looked thru a week's worth of your diary. I noticed a lot of food that was high in sodium. There is a long drawn out explanation for why sodium affects weight so much, but the short version is that for every mg of sodium your bodies need a corresponding amount of water. The more sodium you eat, the more water you retain, and water weighs a LOT! In a similar vein, when you begin a new exercise regime, you activate muscles that have lain dormant for quite a while. When these muscles are reactivated they store a bunch of glycogen (which is sugar and WATER). After they become accustomed to the amount of energy they need, they will let some of that glycogen go. As the sodium levels in your body drop (because you eat less processed food, or drink insane amounts of water), your body lets go of more water.

These are two reasons you MAY not be losing. If either of them are actually the culprit, it will take several weeks (read at LEAST a month!) of drinking more water and eating less sodium before the results will show.

Another reason may be that your calories aren't set right for you. Go back in to the settings and double check that EVERYTHING is correct. Triple check your activity level. If you do desk work all day, don't choose "lightly active." Choose "sedentary" instead. That way you can count ALL of your exercise throughout the day. Be sure that you are not counting your exercise in your activity level. If you are, and then you log your exercise, you are effectively eating those calories twice, but only burning them once. NOT a good situation!

As far as the exercise calories, I personally have eaten all of them at times. Other times I've eaten none of them. And still others I've eaten some. It appears that right now you are eating some of your calories and leaving others on the table. That's fine, if it's working! Apparently it's not, so try one of the other two (all or none). Stay with whichever you choose for at LEAST a month! Then you can reevaluate if it's working or not.

A tip for if you choose to eat all of your exercise calories: on days that you KNOW you'll have a big burn, eat a little over the night before, eat more throughout the day, and eat a little over the following morning. Some foods that are good for you and calorically dense (that I LOVE!) are nut butters. Watch the sodium on these, though! Another food is whole nuts. Also, you can change your dairy products to the full fat/calorie versions. The low fat versions are good, but if you're looking to add calories without adding too much more food, that's an easy way to do it!

A warning if you choose to eat none of your exercise calories: BE VERY CAREFUL!!! It is easy to slow your metabolism by not eating enough! If you find yourself extremely hungry, go ahead and eat something. If you find yourself irritable or lethargic, start adding calories back in! Those are both early signs that your metabolism is slowing, and the slower your metabolism goes the harder it is to get weight off. Be very careful if you choose this option!

There are some great topics on here about many of these topics. Just use the search feature that is right above this thread's title to look for some of them.

Remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint! A one pound per week loss is HEALTHY! It is also the best way to KEEP the weight off long term. Feel free to message me if you have questions!

IM BEING NEGATIVE????HAHAHAHAHAH

let me copy an paste: "TOPIC: No reason to continue"

THAT is negative. Maybe you should have worded your post differently so it didn't sound like you were just feeling sorry for yourself.

I have a positive outlook, YOUR outlook is the one that isn't needed

I was about to voice the very same discouragement you have voiced. I have just started the program, and after 4 weeks of really watching the calories and also exercising regularly, I have gained a pound! Pretty discouraging. But I did read through the responses to your post and have decided to keep on keeping on! Good luck to you! Why is it so easy to gain and so very difficult to lose!!

I can very well imagine how frustrated you must feel. You feel like you are doing everything right and working hard, etc and the one thing you hope to see change does not. The problem I see is that we are often, unfortunately, only able to measure very limited parts of ourselves, such as our weight for example. You mentioned that at times you feel so low that you want to return to the "Crappy foods" again. While your weight may not have changed much since your first weight loss, is it not possible that some of your organs are now functioning better (like your heart for example), your muscles might be stronger, your liver cleaner, your blood salt and cholesterol levels better, etc, etc. It might be useful to set other goals beside weight. For example, how long, fast, far can you run now, how many squats, push ups, etc can you do now. How many in a month from now?
We tend to become such a slave to the weight scale that we tend to confuse health=weight. By that definition all anorexic folks should be our inspiration. Luckily they are not and we are smarter than that. Lastly consider this. Assume it takes you 1 year to lose 10 pounds. In a short 4 years you will have lost more than you want or even might healthily be allowed to lose. This is not a sprint event, its a daily marathon.
You can do it.

Have you had your thyroid checked? A simple blood test is how I found out that was my problem. Going back to eating crappy foods will most likely make you gain the weight back that you have lost. 14 pounds in 3 months is normal by the way.. I've been dieting for 8 months & have only lost 29 pounds so you are ahead of me as far as how quickly you are losing. It may take me another 6 months to lose the 15 pounds left to my goal but it's worth it. Good luck!

I have read a bunch of the posts but not all of them. It doesn't seem like you need anyone else to give you food or exercise tips. But what I can share with you is something I have been reminding myself over and over. I have been here on MFP for well over a year. Even though I have had many plateaus, and a few little gains here and there, it is amazing to me that I have gone THIS LONG without putting back the weight I lost in the beginning. So yeah - I wish I had lost more, faster, and I still have optimistic goals. BUT for someone who has gained and gained (or yo-yo'd) for the past several years, I am really happy with where I am. If you keep yourself dedicated to MFP, even with little falters, I guarantee you, a year from now you will happier with yourself!! :flowerforyou: