Frustrated and in need of motivation

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sirena192005
sirena192005 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I began my fitness journey in late May at 328 pounds. I'm now 260, so I've obviously been making good progress. Until the last 2 months. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I had my biggest plateau ever. It lasted over four weeks. I had puffed up about 8-9 pounds over my then low and couldn't seem to shake it. I stuck with it and it did come off, plus about 3 pounds. Now, since Christmas, I'm hovering about 5-6 pounds off my lowest(260) and seem to be stuck again. I understand that part of this is accounted for by TOM right now, and that it will eventually come off, but to have two places where I'm stuck in such a short amount of time is incredibly frustrating.

The last two weeks, I have started adding regular exercise. I'm doing a recumbent bike 30-60 minutes several times a week and I'm starting to add in some aerobics and zumba workouts as well. I know all about muscles retaining water and whatnot, and also know that only lasts a few days.

Here's the bad about me. I don't eat clean. I eat within my calorie levels(if not daily, then definitely weekly) and have never gone over my weekly allotment. Since I'm set to sedentary(desk job), I log most extra activity, such as cleaning the whole house, or walking for several hours. I use a pedometer so I know my average per day and if I exceed it by 25% or more, I log some exercise.

Overall, I guess I'm just looking for some motivation to keep sticking it out or advice on how some of you shook out of a funk. I'm struggling mightily with things right now. I know the holidays didn't help, and I definitely ate a lot between Christmas and New Years. I was traveling and visiting family and it was bad for my diet, but not enough to explain what's happening now, 3 weeks later.

Any advice?

Replies

  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
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    if you aren't losing then you logging that exercise isn't helping you.... stick to the calorie count only and never log cleaning house... change your MFP to lightly active... that will adjust your calories and keep you straight. For now, don't log exercise just your food...

    Now food.. make sure you weighing food with a food scale and not "eyeballing" or using cups.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    Are you eating back the exercise calories?
  • Abby2205
    Abby2205 Posts: 253 Member
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    Just a thought, have you updated your goals as you've lost weight? I just ran the goal setting using my own height and age and the difference in maintenance between 328 and 260 pounds was 380 calories a day. That magnitude could wreak serious havoc on a weight loss plan if one continued to eat at their original calorie target the whole time. Although it would be a good news/bad news situation: good because it's a logical explanation for weight loss tailing off, bad because you will have to reduce calories to get the loss rate back up.
  • cactusscraps
    cactusscraps Posts: 15 Member
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    I'm new and you've been at it longer, but hang in there! You've come so far, put in so much time and effort to let yourself be down and loose all you worked for.
    I've done that about 3 times in the past two years which has sent me on a yo-yo. I'm DETERMINED not to ever let myself down that way again. Don't give up on yourself, you've already come a long way!
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,082 Member
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    Congrats on your progress so far. Nice work.

    Here is your motivational map.

    Goals:
    As far as staying motivated. For many people having a goal to reach helps keep the motivation. Not just a weight goal but some sort of motivational reward goal can also help. Could be a reunion, vacation, a bet ect or some sort of fitness goal like being able to climb a mountain, bike a classic ride, or run a marathon still others have a health goal like lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol , being able to walk without pain ect.
    Goals are good.

    Accountability to a group.
    A little peer pressure goes a long ways. The right MFP friends can be great for this.

    Accountability to yourself:
    And here lays the cruz of the matter. You just gotta want it bad enough and do it.
    You are doing this for yourself so dig deep and find out how to motivate yourself.
    This journey has more to offer then a number on the scale, lots to be learned about yourself if you embrace the idea of being accountable to yourself.
  • Fat4Fuel2
    Fat4Fuel2 Posts: 280 Member
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    Just keep swimming! (Get it? cause my icon is Dori? Cheesy I know.) But really. You've seen it work. Trust the process. I agree with someone else when they said to stop logging things like cleaning your house. Also, have you tried calorie cycling or carb cycling? Changing up the amount you eat on days of the week can help get you back to losing. Your body might be use to doing the weight loss thing, and it needs some new stimuli.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    You're doing great, so just keep it up. Remember that when you begin a new exercise program, it is normal to retain water. Weigh your food (not so many measuring cups). You've got this!
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
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    Keep doing what you are doing! Sometimes you just stall, I wish I knew why. It will start down again.
  • Susieq_1994
    Susieq_1994 Posts: 5,361 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Well, to be the more negative of the motivational speakers (lol)... Think of it this way:

    Did you like the way you felt/looked when you weighed over three hundred pounds? No? Can you move, breathe, and get around better now? Do you feel less self conscious? If so, there's your reason to stick with it.

    If you threw it all away now, you'd go back to how you were feeling at your starting weight, maybe go even higher and feel even worse. Worst case scenario, even if you never lost another pound for the rest of your life, aren't you stronger, fitter, healthier?

    Remember that this journey ISN'T all about weight loss, and that might make it easier. Maybe stop weighing yourself for a good while (a month, perhaps?) and just log and trust in the process... And use that time to focus on how your health is improving.

    Also, there's nothing wrong with not eating "clean"! No food is inherently healthy or unhealthy, it all depends on the context of your OVERALL diet. If you're not eating any fruits and veggies AT ALL... Maybe work on incorporating just one serving a day... Then work on adding another... And so on. That will give you goals to focus on that have nothing to do with your weight.

    All the best to you! I know how frustrating it is when you're working hard and not seeing any results. But again, trust the process! It will happen! :)
  • sirena192005
    sirena192005 Posts: 13 Member
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    Thanks guys. To clarify, yes, I'm adjusting my goals every 10 pounds so I know my calorie needs are on. Also, the only reason I log things like cleaning my house are because I'm set to sedentary. Generally, if I'm just straightening up or doing a load of laundry, I don't log it. That's just daily life. What I will log is the Saturday 'top to bottom, spend 6 hours scrubbing' type cleaning.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Your exercise burns are *hugely* over-estimated, and you are eating a lot of those calories back. There's a day not long ago where you ate well over 3000 calories based on a 2200(!!!) calorie exercise burn.

    Cut those exercise numbers by 2/3, for starters.

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