trying not to get discouraged

JustGila
JustGila Posts: 23 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok.

Tomorrow is my personal weigh in day. I have a hunch that I havent lost any weight or may have gained. I know I cant jump to conclusions....but I have been following MFP religiously for 2 weeks and have exercised incessantly during those two weeks as well. I am dying for better results...

How can I stay motivated? Is there anything I can do better? I have at least 80 lbs to lose. I feel like it will take forever if I stay on this routine.

UGH-feeling so anxious.

If people want to give me tips or check out my diary and give me feedback I would love that. I'm definitely needing some support.
-Gail

Replies

  • zoombie_bear
    zoombie_bear Posts: 963 Member
    stay strong, you are doing great, motivation is something you'll get when you see results, ehy not get your own scale and perhaps taking your measurements to see the change...

    Filling in the food and eating well with your calories is a beautiful thing, and it works
    I see all the hard work you are doing and it will pay off

    I've started this journey on jan15th this year and have lost 35lbs and looking to lose a good 30 more. so it's working out for me and should be working for you...

    I can help you and support you, email me if you'd like, I'd appreciate it...

    keep that beautiful chin up :):flowerforyou:
  • philssis
    philssis Posts: 28
    Every healthy choice you make in food or exercise is one really nice thing you've done for yourself. YOU ARE WORTH IT - so don't give up! If you've been exercising a lot, you're building muscles and muscles are heavy. Don't be a slave to the scale, it's just a number, how do your clothes feel? Can you see a little muscle definition that wasn't there before? Stand up straight, breathe deeply and know that you're moving in the right direction!
  • kappyblu
    kappyblu Posts: 654 Member
    :flowerforyou: Make sure you get plenty of rest every night. Also be sure you are drinking enough water, especially when exercising. Stress will stop you from losing weight as well. Try not to psych yourself out too much. Personally, I weigh in on a Saturday morning because I always have better weigh-ins on Saturdays. That is the day I don't have to wake up to an alarm clock and am sure to get a good 8 or 9 hours of sleep.

    Good luck, hon. Don't ever give up, it's a marathon--not a sprint. Hang in there!!! :bigsmile:
  • pbear22
    pbear22 Posts: 32
    Some times the scale will say nothing and sometimes it will say you have even gained weight. To see real results try taking measurements because there will be days where you may weigh more because of muscle mass..

    Don't ever beat yourself up on that number on the scale, if you are following the program you have set, even if you have a day you slip up, it will happen. All our bodies are different and we act differently to excersice and healthy eating.. Just keep doing what you are doing and don't let the scale own you.. You own the scale...
  • kappyblu
    kappyblu Posts: 654 Member
    Also, throw a cheat meal in there every 7 to 10 days. You have to keep your body confused and not used to its new calorie level. Cheat meal, not cheat day. Stay strong!
  • Brittney24
    Brittney24 Posts: 105
    Have you been eating back your exercise calories? If not you should try to get close to a net of 1200 everyday for minimum body requirements. (You can look up your net under reports)

    When I need motivation I usually look at other peoples success pictures on here, and then I say if they can do it I can do it too and get back on board and push myself to exercise!
  • mkennedym
    mkennedym Posts: 253 Member
    it is probably a good idea to overvalue your calories consumed and undervalue your exercise calories lost.

    for instance, if you walked for an hour outside and you inputted that you walked at 3.0 miles per hour for an hour and it says you lost something like 300 calories, there is a good chance you didn't actually expend 300 calories. if that is the case, and you are eating pretty close to your goal calories (let's say 1500 calories for ****s and giggles), but in reality you ate 1800 calories (because food is freaking deceptive like that), then in reality you are burning fewer than 300 calories and eating more than 1800 calories. you think you are hitting 1500 calories a day, but in reality you might be closer to 1800 net calories, or even 2000. that's going to slow down you weight loss.

    i say this because for a while i was drinking what i thought was a cup of milk. i have these red plastic cups that i filled nearly to the top and thought that was 1 cup. i measured it the other day and it was 2 cups, not 1. that's 220 calories per cup rather than 110 calories.

    i drink like 3 of those plastic cups of milk a day. that's 330 calories extra a day that i wasn't accounting for. that's just one food source. i surmised that all my other food sources were being under valued as well, so we might be talking something like 800 or 1000 calories per day i was consuming that i wasn't recording on my calorie counter.

    so i started measuring everything else religiously. since then i've been able to shred fat off my body because i know for a fact i'm hitting my calorie goals.
  • care28
    care28 Posts: 28
    Patience my dear.
    It didn't take 2 weeks to put the weight on. It'll take some time to take it off. Keep working hard. You can do it!!
  • tweety170
    tweety170 Posts: 167
    You have to stick with it. I just read a book called "The Slight Edge" (highly recommend--very short too). It talks all about how your success in life is not from one huge event, it's from little things you do each day. If you don't eat veggies today of course it won't kill you today, nor in a week if you still don't. But eventually it catches up to you and the little choices you make throughout the day either lead you toward success or not. You're making the small changes and you're doing awesome!!! Good luck! :)
  • SaraTonin
    SaraTonin Posts: 551 Member
    Remember - you deserve this!! There is no quick and easy fix. Even surgery doesn't change your lifestyle. This is about feeling better, being healthy, and giving yourself what you deserve so you can live a long time and most of all

    FEEL GREAT!!!

    It might take a year, it might take two, but you will get there.
  • redsoxy
    redsoxy Posts: 73 Member
    It's very easy to talk yourself into being disouraged! You have already seen a loss of weight in the first week, that is awesome....just think of your weight as something tangible you have lost..for example, picture a pound of butter...and then think of it as you imagine you actually SHED that off your body. (or 5lbs as a bag of sugar etc) It makes it seems so much more impressive than when you look simply at the number and get disouraged because it's small amounts at a time.

    Keep up the steady progress and think of all the great changes you are making...mostly, lean on others here for support!!
  • wonnder1
    wonnder1 Posts: 460
    I started 2 months ago. I just lost the first 2 pounds that showed on the scale. I say that, because although I wasn't losing any weight my shape was changing and my clothes were fitting better.

    To stay motivated, I now rely more on measurements than scale numbers. (Mind you, I also weigh in first thing after waking up completely naked! Cause numbers are nice too!)

    Keep at it.
  • lalilalu
    lalilalu Posts: 102 Member
    I know the feeling very well. You've decided to get rid of the fat, and want it gone ASAP. But realistically we need to take things a bit slower, and just keep persisting and it'll all go eventually.
    That said I've been pretty lucky with my weightloss, I've lost 10.7kg (24 pounds) in 9 weeks, but last week I only lost 100 grams. That's nothing really, but I'm just trying to keep working at it, and let it happen over time.

    If you don't have a big loss, or aren't happy with with you do lose/gain just make sure that you don't take it out on your body and start over-eating. I've also done that, but again in the long run you just have to move on and know that next week will be better....
  • Jenn316
    Jenn316 Posts: 21
    Hang in there and it WILL happen. This is such a motivating site. Keeping track and being aware makes a big differnce!
  • SeaShell33
    SeaShell33 Posts: 141
    try tracking your sodium and sugar too...they can be killers. you are doing great =)
  • I have a question... i have stop eating EVERYTHING that is "SO CALLED" bad for you.. all i drink is water... water.. and coffee but one cup of coffee and water for almost 2 mths.. joined a gym and ..go 3 -4 times a week..(havent been in a whole week)...my weight loss is not falling off.. i went from not doing NOTHING to do UP EVERY DAY..and im just not seeing the results at all...2 mths in and I'm feeling very DISCOURAGED..im eating like 1000 calories... and trying to eat 3-4 times a day...which is alot harder than they think.. WHEW(throwing my hands in the air) ....HELP~!! just tell me something...
  • mkennedym
    mkennedym Posts: 253 Member
    that's strange. can you write down what you eat every day as an example and tell us what kind of exercise you are getting?
  • Azuleelan
    Azuleelan Posts: 218
    I ckecked what you are eating and in my opinion you could cut more calories. It seems you are eating the calories you spent on exercise... that's the big issue I have with this site; they shouldn't add the calories that we spend on exercise!

    Also try to cut a bit more carbs. Carbs are necessary but your percentaje is through the roof. Today only you ate four times as many carbs as protein! The percentaje should be similar for those two, 40% and 40% is recommended but I like my carbs so I have it 45%, 35%... Remember carbs don't fill you up, and they make you crash...

    It's fenomenal that you are using 600+ calories through exercise though, compared to that I'm a couch potato. :smile:
  • Azuleelan
    Azuleelan Posts: 218
    Awww, I'm checking your food day by day... you're eating chips every day! what do you think chips do for you?? It's awesome you are exercising so much, but don't throw all that to the wind! Trash those chips and junk, woman!
  • JellyPrz619
    JellyPrz619 Posts: 172
    I like the idea of a cheat meal. I also get very discouraged when I don't see the scale go down. I use to weight weekly. But am now doing it daily. When the scale does down an ounce or two it motivates me to make sure that ounce STAYs off.! Like today in the morn I was 194.6 day before I was 195.2 so today I was very motivated even did an extra workout I'm hoping tmrw ill be maybe 194?? Lol and this website and everyone on it is a great inspiration!
  • angisnee
    angisnee Posts: 236 Member
    I wouldn't jump into not eating exercise calories. I've eaten almost every single one I've earned and I've lost 46 pounds that way. I would suggest going through your settings and making sure you set up your account appropriately (sedentary, lightly active, etc). If that's not the problem, like a previous poster said, try cutting out any of the "junk" food. I shouldn't talk though, because I eat chocolate almost on a daily basis! But little changes like that might help jump start things for you. Don't give up though; just keep tweaking and find the combination of factors that works for you. Good luck!
  • bsed18
    bsed18 Posts: 41 Member
    Keep with it - don't let the scale's numbers discourage you. Taking measurements is a great way to also guage your success. I won't lie that seeing the numbers go down on the scale is motivating; but when I actually measured myself this past week and realized that I had lost 4 inches around my hips it all hit home. Seeing the numbers on the measuring tape was much more rewarding than seeing the numbers on the scale.

    Because you offered your diaries for viewing, I did take a look just to see what you are doing. I noticed that often you have listed cleaning as one of your workouts for the day. I am curious if you clean for a living? This is a true and honest question :). If cleaning is something you did before beginning your weight loss journey, perhaps you aren't seeing as big of results becuase your body is already accounting for and reacting to that activity as normal. If this is the case, you might need to add more excercise or maybe a different type of exercise just to switch things up and challenge your body more. I am no expert on this by all means, but it might be something to think about.
  • JustGila
    JustGila Posts: 23 Member
    I work for a catering company where my shift is essentially busy work that includes heavy lifting, carrying glasses, and staying on my feet. I only work those shifts about once a week-they only call me when they need me.

    I began the INSANITY workout about two weeks ago so I have jump started my workouts enormously. I burn almost 600 calories per workout.

    But you raise a good point-I dont have a car and walk everywhere so adding walking might be redundant if my body is used to all this walking.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    If your exercise routing is new, you are also adding muscle. How are your clothes fitting? They might be looser without the scale going down just yet as you rebuild your body!
  • JustGila
    JustGila Posts: 23 Member
    Thank you guys so much! I appreciate all the incredible insight and for those of you that took the time to look at my diary i am so grateful.
    I still havent weighed myself today but I am going to stay positive no matter what the scale says.f

    Thanks again everyone

    -Gail
This discussion has been closed.