Stuck!

Kaldrmjolka · May 2011

I'm starting to get unmotivated... I HATE IT
I'm STUCK at 211. I lost half a pound then it came right back. I don't know what I'm doing wrong???
If I eat to little my food diary tells me I may starve and not lose any weight, but I don't want to over eat. Do I eat those calories back? Some say yes, some say no.

I change up my exercise routine best I can, with cleaning, elliptical, and different focus exercises on the wii (like one day I'll do upper and lower body, next day cardio and yoga). And I exercise at least 30-60 minutes a day.

Any help is welcome!

Sunjenk · May 2011

Do you measure inches on yourself? Theres an article somewhere that I will share of a woman at 160 (i know you weight more than that but it shows something interesting), anyways she is 160 and is changing physically and looks smaller but her weight number stays the same all from exercising and 'toning' -- i guess maybe if you try keeping track of measurements maybe you'll see some numbers losing their?

How many weeks have you been stuck?

From my experience sometimes im stuck 2-3, then week 4 is a 3-4 pound lose.

I hope you get your motivation back, nothing sucks more than to feel stuck!!

summerkissed · May 2011

can you open up your food diary so we can see what your eating?

SLaw4215 · May 2011

How's your water in-take?

lallaloolly · May 2011

maybe don't weigh daily, bodies fluctuate all week long. try weighing weekly, but stay dedicated to your healthy routine. it's like anything else, to be successful, you have to stay dedicated. and there's no mystery to it, if you 1) exercise daily and 2) stick to within 5% of your calorie goal, you will steadily go down. YOU CAN DO IT! maybe get out of the house and walk some. all of your exercises are indoor - there is something very invigorating about getting out, getting fresh air, and walking outdoors. i walk outside every day, it is fantastic "alone time" and it is always one of the highlights of my day.

Sunjenk · May 2011

Here is the blog post, my sister showed it to me back in January, I look at it sometimes because it helps me realize your weight number isnt all that matters

Hope this is slightly helpful!! http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=3926473

Packerfan23 · May 2011

I just went through a similar situation since about Easter. I was having trouble losing over 29 pounds and I kept yo yo ing and gaining and losing the same 2-3 pounds, but never breaking the 30 pounds lost mark. I was not always eating my calories back and was being really concerned about not going over my calorie allotment every single day. I was getting frustrated as well and I decided that on Mother's Day weekend I would not worry so much about going over my calorie allotment. I did not go "crazy" and totally binge, but I did eat pretty much what I wanted within reason. I did not get all my normal workouts in this week, but I did what I could as I had a very busy week with work and my volunteer obligations. When I stepped on the scale this week, I have lost over 3 pounds...so I think upping my calorie intake helped to jump start my metabolism just enough. I hope that helps...

You can do this!

lukimakamai · May 2011

Erin, open you diary so we can help give you specific ideas

gratenni1 · May 2011

I had the same problem untill a bike accident forced me to slow down. I knew that i was an exercise nut. I would go to the gym for 2 hours (2 classes) than i would work at the school for 3 hours, that involved walking around the kids. Than i would come home and do gardening or 3 hours. After that i would relax for rest of the night. The scale or fat never budged. I went down to 1200 calories and did not use any exercise calories. I am starting to fit my clothes again. I have not weighed myself. Stay off the scale it is too discouraging. Take your measurements. Stick like crazy to your calorie count and exercise to keep your figure and heart healthy. You can do it. I am giving myself untill 2012 new years eve.

gratenni1 · May 2011

I had the same problem untill a bike accident forced me to slow down. I knew that i was an exercise nut. I would go to the gym for 2 hours (2 classes) than i would work at the school for 3 hours, that involved walking around the kids. Than i would come home and do gardening or 3 hours. After that i would relax for rest of the night. The scale or fat never budged. I went down to 1200 calories and did not use any exercise calories. I am starting to fit my clothes again. I have not weighed myself. Stay off the scale it is too discouraging. Take your measurements. Stick like crazy to your calorie count and exercise to keep your figure and heart healthy. You can do it. I am giving myself untill 2012 new years eve.

Kaldrmjolka · May 2011

I opened it up, sorry it took a little while lol!

I was bad and snacked a bit today >.>

But thank you everyone! I'm reading the article now and searching for the tape measure.
My water intake is good, even if I forget to log it. I always have a water bottle with me, even when I'm enjoying a cup of green tea.

lukimakamai · May 2011

Erin- here are some ideas. I definately think you need to be better about eating breakfast- even if it is just an apple. Also, overall it seems you need to eat more. Even if you do not believe in eating back calories, there is no reason to be under 1200 net calories for the day. I don't eat back all my calories, but I try to always be over 1200. Also is yesterday accurate- did you only eat lunch? If you don't eat enough you are not going to be able to sustain this for the rest of your life. Make sure you set up a plan that is healthy and you will be able to maintain FOREVER.I'll keep looking and might post more ideas, but this is a start.
Good luck! -Luki

Kaldrmjolka · May 2011

I'm hoping now that I'm working as a maid at home I'll get more exercise in. Maybe run around with the dog outside on lunch break instead of watching tv.

Kaldrmjolka · May 2011

Erin- here are some ideas. I definately think you need to be better about eating breakfast- even if it is just an apple. Also, overall it seems you need to eat more. Even if you do not believe in eating back calories, there is no reason to be under 1200 net calories for the day. I don't eat back all my calories, but I try to always be over 1200. Also is yesterday accurate- did you only eat lunch? If you don't eat enough you are not going to be able to sustain this for the rest of your life. Make sure you set up a plan that is healthy and you will be able to maintain FOREVER.I'll keep looking and might post more ideas, but this is a start.
Good luck! -Luki

>.> I won't lie, I work at home for my parents when college is out and they gave me a week of relaxing. I have horrid sleeping habits, where I don't get enough sleep so I sleep more to wake up for it. But that's going to change so I can eat breakfast and enjoy the day.
Thank you so much! I always feel like I'm eating to much when I'm at ... like 900 and I'm done for the day. Even if its healthy snacking I feel like I'm breaking the "Don't eat when you're not hungry" rule.

milaxx · May 2011

A few suggestions:

1. Expand your settings to monitor your sodium and sugar. If you eat processed foods, they contain a lot of salt & sugar to make up for what they take out. Sodium can cause you to retain water, hence the scale no moving. I know a lot of people don't want to give up fast foods or processed food so at least this way you can account for the increase salt/sugar.

2. If you are sleeping in, don't decide that breakfast must be at 9am, lunch at noon, etc.... Start your day when you wake and focus on getting your meals and snacks in. Think of it as being a night shift worker. I have insomnia and if I have a day where I don't go to bed a 3am, I may sleep until 10am. I eat my breakfast when I get up. My only goal is not to eat after 9pm.

Kaldrmjolka · May 2011

Bump

DustinReiner · May 2011

Hi Erin,

The first thing is you are not eating enough calories, your body is going into conservation mode. The humane body does that when you go below 1200 calories. It stops buring fat and calories and starts attacking the muscles.

Bring the diet up to around 1400 calories a day and give it about a week and you should start to notice a change. Also spread it out through out the day. Do you work at "The Olive garden"? Because you sure do have a lot of their food on your food diary. There are 160,000 food items in MFP's database you can't be the only person that can't find the correct food item in there.

I'd start to record the correct items and quanities. That of course is up to you, and you're only hurting yourself. This websight can't make you lose weight, it can only help you keep track of what YOU put in your body by what YOU log into this site. Also goes for exercising.

Since you asked, I'd change up your diet, it's intersting to say the least. You might need to learn to cook a little bit

I would also recommend start to read or research whatever you want to call it. You don’t have to be an expert on the matter, but you will get to know a lot about food and nutrition and exercise.

A link about nutrition
http://exercise.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/lowcarb.htm

A link about dieting
http://exercise.about.com/sitesearch.htm?q=What+is+a+proper+diet?&SUName=exercise

How much protein do you need?
http://exercise.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/protein.htm

The truth about “Low carb diets”
http://exercise.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/lowcarb.htm

Another link about nutrition
http://exercise.about.com/od/nutrition/Nutrition.htm

I use About.com the Google for a lot for research.

I would also recommend on doing some kind of exercising. Exercising of some sort is almost mandatory, losing weight can be done without exercising, but it will take at least twice as long and not as effective.

Definitely exercising can be as simple as walking, which is always a good one. Joining a gym is great(don’t let it intimidate you, they’re all people with the same goals. To get in better shape!) As soon as you get used to going there, it is a great place to learn more “Tricks of the trade” on getting in shape. Treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical machine, swimming, spinning classes, aerobics(Actually a good place to start, if you’re not used to exercising)

Good luck in your goals.

ridiculyss · May 2011

Alrighty. First off, don't lose faith!! You can't let a plateau discourage you, especially not after all the hard work you've put in so far! You can't give up now! Second, don't check the scale every day. Body weight constantly fluctuates.
There are explanations for this sort of thing and they may not all be visibly evident.

One potential explanation is that it could be water weight.
Another reason could be that you're actually converting fat to muscle, and since muscle weighs more than fat, it's not showing up on the scale that you're losing weight.
Also, as far as caloric intake goes. The recommended daily intake is no less than 1200 calories. If you consume too few per day, that can slow your metabolism down and you will actually stop losing weight. Your body goes into a sort of protective/survival mode and won't shed any fat until caloric intake increases again (like animals do for the winter before hibernation; pack on the weight and then go to sleep while the cold winter burns off the excess calories).
As far as burning fat goes, keep up with that cardio! The most effective way to burn fat is through extended periods of cardio workout. I believe the reason for this is that your metabolism is stimulated and works off weight more effectively when you're more active.
You seem to have a fairly healthy diet already, but be cautious of foods with preservatives and dairy products with fat content.

Stuck!

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