need encouragement

ladyphoto
ladyphoto Posts: 192 Member
edited September 25 in Motivation and Support
I don't want to be a whiny, complainer, but I need help staying positive and to keep going. I am pretty frustrated right now. I have been trying to lose weight since January- off and on of course- but mostly on. Since Jan 1, I have only lost a total of 9 lbs. I joined this site recently and really started paying attention to every detail and really increased my working out- doing the math, this just does not make sense. I am nowhere near my goal where I should see a stall or an increase- in fact- I still have 40 lbs to lose!!! I am beyond frustrated to say the least.

I started here at 188 lbs. I had a sharp decrease of 6 lbs (I know- mostly water or something). I stayed on track and began working out even harder- this weigh in I gained 5 lbs back!!! So, all in all, I am only down 1 single lb in two weeks- that might seem okay to some, but when you hear how hard I am working out, it just doesn't make sense.

I am jogging/sprinting intervals for 4.5 miles for my first work out- then, my second workout is playing squash for 60 min which will generally burn another 650 calories. All in all, I am burning anywhere between 1000 and 1400 calories a day (I wear a HR monitor that keeps track)

I am drinking tons of water, eating between 1500 and 1800 cal per day, hardly any processed foods- lots of veggies, fruites, proteins and lighter on carbs.

Any ideas for me? I used to be such an athlete and just cannot stand my body like this anymore but feel totally defeated right now.

Replies

  • Adsnwfld
    Adsnwfld Posts: 262 Member
    Don't give up. Their are so many reasons weight fluctuates that it might just be the type of food your eating, or sodium levels or TOM or whatever. Exercise but give yourself time to heal. How are your cloths fitting, you might be losing more then you think and toning / building muscle.

    Don't give up, you are doing what you need to.
  • mmallory1
    mmallory1 Posts: 40
    When I read your posting, I do not hear anything about how you have adjusted your diet. What you put in your mouth throughout the day is the biggest part of it - if you are working out, it won't help you lose weight if you haven't "appropriately" adjusted what you are eating. This is a lifestyle change in every way, not just the working out.

    If you are not losing weight and working out as much as you say, then it is what you are eaating ... period.
  • karizmah78
    karizmah78 Posts: 13
    just keep at it and celebrate your successes.

    For instance - I was feeling pretty down that my wt loss has been almost none existent lately -> went for my yearly physical last year my Triglycerides were 303 - this year down to 197! I was tickled! Then when my husband hugged me he ran his hands up and down my back and said I can feel you feeling thinner.

    So scales suck sometimes! But that does not mean your body isn't changing for the better!

    Good luck and keep your eyes on your body not the scale!
  • jpowell3976
    jpowell3976 Posts: 144 Member
    Did you happen to take measurements when you started? You might be loosing inches. Muscle weighs more than fat. How are your clothes fitting? Best advice I guess I can give you would be to just keep plugging away...try not to put too much on the scale's numbers...find any non-scale victories you can. :smile: Hang in there!
  • Khiyaemommy
    Khiyaemommy Posts: 18
    Don't give up. Their are so many reasons weight fluctuates that it might just be the type of food your eating, or sodium levels or TOM or whatever. Exercise but give yourself time to heal. How are your cloths fitting, you might be losing more then you think and toning / building muscle.

    Don't give up, you are doing what you need to.

    I think you may be building muscle.
  • djcarpenter
    djcarpenter Posts: 2
    This may seem sort of off the beatin path but I use money as a motivator. Say you need to lost 40 lbs. For every pound you lose put aside $10. Buy the time you have lost the 40lbs you have $400 to buy yourself something special.... even enough to purchase an elliptical machine or treadmill. Last year I was in a biggest loser contest at work. I won! There was $700. Then my company matched that. I walked away with $1400 to go on a cruise with my best friend.
  • ladyphoto
    ladyphoto Posts: 192 Member
    Hi thank you- yes, I do feel my muscles getting firmer- that is true. Clothing does not fit any different yet though.
    To answer Mallory's question about what I am eating- prior to going on this plan my daily diet was horrific! Anything and everything I wanted. (not fast food or chips and cookies) but no portion control- big pasta dinners, big breakfasts, ice cream if I wanted it, etc- I did not watch anything and if I had to guess, I would guess I used to eat in the mid to high 2000's calories a day.

    As for how I've adjust it, I journal every bite. Egg beaters and plain oatmeal for breakfast- lite cheese stick and fruit for a snack- lunch is usually turkey on a deli thin with cottage cheese (or sometimes a v8 vegetable soup), snack later in the day usually something like peanut butter on lite triscuits (7), then dinner is usually fish with a veggie, or some kind of chicken and veggies etc- all weighed out and poriton controlled- no butter (pam spray), etc. last night I had grilled chix (4 oz) on romaine lettuce with light catlina dressing (3 tbsp) with 1 oz of feta cheese.

    I don't get what I am doing wrong...
  • ladyphoto
    ladyphoto Posts: 192 Member
    Also, do you think your muscles can retain that much water?

    Is it possible to NOT lose weight with this much to go because of building muscle? That seems like a lot of muscle to me.
  • ladyphoto
    ladyphoto Posts: 192 Member
    thank you all for the encouragement- I am frustrated but not giving up. I'm going to keep what I am doing for another two weeks and see if it changes- if it doesn't change by then, something is wrong- It's hard to stay positive when this happens though. Your words all helped. Thanks.
  • mmallory1
    mmallory1 Posts: 40
    You said you journal your food every once in a while, from what I am reading. It looks like you are eating the right foods, but maybe too much in a day to your excercise. I eat right but sometimes cram too much of the right thing in a day that I don't do as much working out. Then, my total body process isn't working together as efficiently as it could.

    Honestly, I would start using the MFP food journal on a consistent daily basis. Also, I have learned that even though I get a healthy portion of carbs alloted to me in my food journal - they really do not work well with my body. So, I have to watch the level of carbs i am eating - even if I am eating healthy foods. Food journaling on MFP helps me understand how my body works with certain nutrients and I use it for that as well.

    I am also an athletic individual and this site certainly helps with my abiltiy to understand my body from a food perspective by journaling my intake.

    Try it for a month and a see what happens! That is the cool thing - you can try things when you are frustrated cause you have nothing to lose - except the frustration and weight!

    Keep trying new things and step outside of the box!!!! Good Luck! I would love to add you as a friend and keep in touch because we seem to have the same body type and hit the same frustrations!
  • ladyphoto
    ladyphoto Posts: 192 Member
    Hi Mallory-
    Yes! Definitely add me as a friend! I would love to be able to support each other.
    You said "maybe too much in a day to your exercise". What do you mean by that? Too many calories? I thought I was supposed to eat my exercise calories- and at 1700 cal/ day, I'm still at a 700 cal deficeit under what MFP says to eat...I'm confused.

    I'm like you though- carbs do not fare well with me either- I've done Atkins in the past and have had great success- but this everyone has told me that is not the healthy way to do this, so I am trying to follow what all the experts say- and keep it balanced. do far, not so good! lol+
  • mmallory1
    mmallory1 Posts: 40
    Hi! I requested to add you!

    Yeah, i still try to maintain under/at the original amount of calories and other nutrients without the extra because honestly, if I go a little over and use a little extra, fine, but burning more calories than I take in means weight loss....just simple math ; )

    Cardio is my friend and light stregth training is my friend. Try upping the cardio and keeping stregth training - like weights - lighter....because I am athletic, I must first burn that fat away using cardio and then up my strength training. I have had much more success with this strategy....there is not one formula for everyone I have learned so I keep learning more about how my body works and I think you have just hit a wall in adjusting to what your body is telling you....

    Your body seems to be yelling at you and alerting you to something - we can just figure out what that is together! HAHA!
  • mmallory1
    mmallory1 Posts: 40
    Also, I may be allowed to have extra calories when I work out but may not necessarily need it for energy....it is different if you need the calories for energy but generally my energy level is great with the amt of calories I take in....As long as I am not depriving my body of what I need, I go with it.
  • mmallory1
    mmallory1 Posts: 40
    If you eat your excercise calories you are maintaining your weight and not losing....make sense?
  • ahmommy
    ahmommy Posts: 316 Member
    All in all, I am burning anywhere between 1000 and 1400 calories a day (I wear a HR monitor that keeps track)

    I am drinking tons of water, eating between 1500 and 1800 cal per day, hardly any processed foods- lots of veggies, fruites, proteins and lighter on carbs.

    Am I reading this right? You're burning 1000-1400 calories a day and only eating between 1500-1800 calories a day? So that means on any given day you're netting only 100-800 calories. That's not enough to support healthy daily functions. I know there's a lot of debate about starvation mode, but I think you're either overdoing the exercise or not eating enough.
  • ladyphoto
    ladyphoto Posts: 192 Member
    Yes that is correct- Yes i know there is a ton about eating the exercise calories vs not- I was trying to go somewhere in the middle- I figured, if I eat 1700 calories, that's 500 over the allotted calories- so 500 of them are from exercise- which leaves roughly 500-700 more deficeit calories...

    Ummmm.... It didn't work for me. lol.
  • ahmommy
    ahmommy Posts: 316 Member
    Well the argument is that your body needs 1200 net calories minimum every day. That's if you're not exercising. If you eat 1200 calories and burn 800, then you need to eat an additional 800 calories for a total of 2000 calories that day. I don't know that I buy into you have to have at least 1200 net calories every single day, but I think if you're getting 800 or less net calories every day that's not healthy for you. And if you're only netting 100 calories in a day that's like anorexia even though you're eating!

    Good luck and I hope you get it figured out!
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